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On Opening Up
May. 14th, 2020 08:28 amSince the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been watching my social media fill up with people who have not been paying attention to the facts. It went from "it's just the flu" to this week's "hospitals are padding the number of COVID-19 deaths Because Reasons." I have a distinct lack of patience for this people. In fact, we are undercounting COVID-19 deaths by not counting people who die at home or die before getting a test.
On the other hand, I know a lot of local businesses are struggling and millions of people are out of work. So I understand the frustration. I also know several local businesses who are saying some variation of "if Wal-Mart can open why can't I?" I also understand that the closures were supposed to buy us time for testing and contact tracing - but we seem politically unable or unwilling to do enough of either.
Now, I should note that one of my local business contacts is a specialty shop. People can go their entire lives without buying what he sells. I don't know if there are enough people willing to risk getting sick by visiting his shop to save his business. However, he feels he should be allowed to try.
I have more patience for people taking a fact-based approach to the situation. The mayors and city managers of DuPage County, where I live, are arguing that based on the facts, DuPage County should be in Phase 3 of the Illinois opening plan, not Phase 2. This is in part because as long as Cook County stays in Phase 2 the cross-county transmission rate will be low. Basically, until the commuter trains and roads heading into Chicago are full on a typical morning rush hour, there won't be a lot of spread.
All this leads me to believe that, ready or not, the relaxation of the lockdown is coming, and right soon. Unfortunately, that will mean America will be Number 1 - number 1 in deaths from COVID-19 and number 1 in duration of the pandemic.
On the other hand, I know a lot of local businesses are struggling and millions of people are out of work. So I understand the frustration. I also know several local businesses who are saying some variation of "if Wal-Mart can open why can't I?" I also understand that the closures were supposed to buy us time for testing and contact tracing - but we seem politically unable or unwilling to do enough of either.
Now, I should note that one of my local business contacts is a specialty shop. People can go their entire lives without buying what he sells. I don't know if there are enough people willing to risk getting sick by visiting his shop to save his business. However, he feels he should be allowed to try.
I have more patience for people taking a fact-based approach to the situation. The mayors and city managers of DuPage County, where I live, are arguing that based on the facts, DuPage County should be in Phase 3 of the Illinois opening plan, not Phase 2. This is in part because as long as Cook County stays in Phase 2 the cross-county transmission rate will be low. Basically, until the commuter trains and roads heading into Chicago are full on a typical morning rush hour, there won't be a lot of spread.
All this leads me to believe that, ready or not, the relaxation of the lockdown is coming, and right soon. Unfortunately, that will mean America will be Number 1 - number 1 in deaths from COVID-19 and number 1 in duration of the pandemic.
