Well, we need to start looking at this realistically for all involved.
Look I get it, you don't want to overwhelm the health system, and you want to protect those at risk. That's 2 metrics. Now lets talk about everything else affected. That's a lot more then those 2 groups but a metric ton.
You cannot keep stuff shut down and live in fear. The risks to the majority and it's a huge majority at this point are greater than the risks to the at-risk. There are risks everyday & we've been in other pandemics.
There is just too much incomplete data on CV and it will never be totally accurate, especially the mortality rate due to lack of unreported cases from those that got it but were told to just stay home or those that got mild symptoms. As more get it (and more will), we've been here before with over-whelmed hospitals from past flu epidemics, the last a few years ago being the latest in 2017/18. We didn't shut down the economy, stop travel, etc...we did measured response of those areas...maybe closing schools for 2 weeks, etc. And before you get the "IT'S NOT THE FLU"...the '17 flu was vaccine resistant basically and anti-virals didn't work well.
Across the country, medical centers are taking extraordinary measures.
time.com
Look, it's not the flu, we get that over and over.. but we take the flu waaaaay to lightly. And BTW, the flu targets children that CV is not so you can make a case that the flu doesn't discriminate...CV does. The flu kills a metric ton of people everywhere in the world every single year. We're complacent on that. On a scale of 1-100 we're at a 10 with the flu.
With this, we're too far at the other end...like a 90-100.
The data is so incomplete, distorted by certain factors like this starting in China that has a ton of problems with honesty, age ranges, smokers, air quality, food they eat, their government, etc,.
It's massively distorted by Italy who every year gets HAMMERED by respiratory diseases (24K elderly died of flu in 2017)
Lack of testing here, other places that aren't testing or have stopped that we're just basically throwing darts at the wall. So because of that, fear has taken over and we're at a 100 with this thing.
We need to be measured here where we are super cautious but not destroying everything.
On a scale of 1-100, we should be at a 40-50 with the flu and doing a better job every year of cleaning things, staying home when you're sick (many work when they're sick because they have too), staying away from at risk folks, not touching your face, washing your hands, etc...and most of you are not doing most of these before this CV outbreak.
With this we should be at a 50-60...and going up IF needed. We just went way too far too quickly and the economic consequences of these governors of CA/NY just weren't thought through enough IMO...Cuomo at least is waking up to the economic damage NY is taking.
Look, it's not going to matter if millions lose jobs, have no money or health insurance. You think CV kills, wait till you have massive poverty rates from this thing because we went too far the other direction. Poverty kills, that's a statistic that's factual.
There's something in the middle and we need to get people back to work, back to normal lives living without fear but being vigilant and still fighting this thing.
