I'm worried about Kamala Harris. I don't think those plexiglass dividers will do anything useful.

[Towlie]

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/10/07/921161567/beyond-plexiglass-scientists-say-this-simple-solution-could-keep-vp-debate-safer

... but as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged this week, the virus can spread through the air. Given that fact, scientists say plexiglass barriers alone may not be enough protection if one of the candidates is infected and exhaling virus.

Contaminated air is not going to head directly from one candidate to the other like a bullet and bounce harmlessly off the barrier. Air circulates around a room. To me these plexiglass barriers seem as pointless as holding up a shield as protection against tear gas.

[LizBeth]

1. Better if not curved for style too... But ya, I am not thrilled with the set up.

[58Sunliner]

2. I don't understand why it has not been cancelled. Are they testing??

[Tumbulu]

3. I'm with you in this

My goodness!

[ihas2stinkyfeet]

4. she needs to pull a jaimi harrison and bring her own.

show that she gets it, knows the science, and aint messin around.

[Eliot Rosewater]

5. Another perfect example of how the media must treat cons like gods and dems like bumbs

in this situation if the proper thing was done and Kamala pulled out, the media would ATTACK HER VICIOUSLY and she and the campaign know that.

If the 9 yr old (I wont refer to him any other way) pulled out, nothing.

[gristy]

18. No, they would not! Not at this point, what with all that has happened in the past week.

She could pull out 15 minutes before the debate at this point.
I'm hanging on to a slim hope that she will.

[treestar]

6. Dictator and Biden didn't have anything

And Dictator is positive.

Isn't Vice Dictator negative?

She is relatively young, and healthy, should be OK.

[triron]

7. Should?

[Tumbulu]

12. we are hoping that he stays negative, but that was a totally unnecessary exposure

and he could still get cover from it. We are not out of the woods until 12 days after exposure. And Biden most likely was exposed.

She may or may not be OK, we do not know enough about this virus to conclude such a thing.

[treestar]

23. The Bidens do need

More tests as Dictator may have already been infected. Perhaps Wallace too.

But Pence could say the same here.

[Lucinda]

21. WTF?

Are you that poorly informed?
That's rhetorical BTW...

[treestar]

22. Not necessary

You are a mean person.

[louis-t]

8. If mother's boy get's there "too late to be tested"

Kamala should cancel.

[consider_this]

9. I agree with you, this is IDIOCY!

Why is she agreeing to that. I know she can toast him to a crisp, so maybe she thinks the return/risk factor is worth it, but c'mon, this is insane.

Zoom or put them in booths or DO IT OUTSIDE like Biden did for his downhall.

I am beyond sick of this virus.

[underpants]

10. It's a constant visible reminder of the Trump/Pence virus failure.

I can’t believe the Pence team didn’t fight it more. The entire debate there will be this big blinking light saying FAILURE.

[BlueJac]

11. All debates should be virtual from now on!

[Tumbulu]

13. YES!!!!!! nt

[Towlie]

14. After I posted that I came across this WaPo article expressing essentially the same sentiment:

The plexiglass barriers at the VP debate are useless — but symbolically necessary

When Sen. Kamala D. Harris and Vice President Pence debate on Wednesday night, they’ll be seated 12 feet apart and separated by plexiglass barriers, installed despite the Trump campaign’s initial objections. Those barriers are, from a practical standpoint, useless to the point of being absurd.

But because of the message they send, they might still be a good idea.

First, the practical question. As we’ve learned more about how coronavirus spreads, it has become clear that aerosols — tiny particles that swirl around like smoke — are a critical way the virus can pass from person to person. Droplets — the larger, heavier particles pulled down by gravity — can contain the virus, but are less of a problem if people are spaced farther apart, as Harris and Pence will be.

Which is why, as one epidemiologist told the New York Times, “Those plexiglass barriers are really only going to be effective if the vice president or Kamala Harris are spitting at each other.” So a much more important unknown is the ventilation system inside the debate hall.

more...

But the barriers might even make things more hazardous if the candidates find themselves speaking louder or yelling at each other because the barriers make it harder for them to hear each other. We can only hope that Pence isn't carrying the virus.

[Lucinda]

15. I didnt see your thread before I posed and I have the same concerns. I think Pence

hoped she would bail out due to safety concerns - so he wouldnt have to debate her...Looks like she called his bluff. I still wouldnt be surprised if he didnt show for some reason...but I'm not happy they didnt do this remotely. There was no reason not to do it via remote

[femmedem]

16. It's madness.

I don't understand why the campaign didn't insist on a virtual debate. This is risky for both candidates and the moderator, and I think people would have applauded her for believing in science and risk reduction.

[gristy]

17. I've been posting for days that this is insane

Looks like there are at least a few people here that agree.
They should be in separate locations.
We of course have the technology.
And no doubt Americans would be totally support separate locations at this point.

Insanity that they are in the same room.
Somebody is trying to infect / kill Harris.
And there are many more who are in a position to stop it but instead are letting him do it.

[tgenerico]

19. Maybe I'm being paranoid ...

... but are those things perhaps bulletproof?

[crickets]

20. I honestly do not understand why this is being done in person.

I don't understand why, after trump came down with COVID, the whole setup didn't immediately go to remote debates only as a matter of course. It's just crazy.

[lostnfound]

24. Pence looks a little ill -- reddish eyes