Although it has killed over 120K Americans (compared to previous years) the toll could have been higher if we had not treated it as a big scary thing. You probably have a well honed argument that this is not the same as the Spanish flu but we all needed to be careful that it did not become like that. Would you rather there were more dead so that you would not feel so bad about wearing a mask?

And Fundamentally changed? Yes you are being dramatic. You are being asked to be considerate of others until we can develop a vaccine or effective set of treatments. A significant portion of the medical community is working towards that end. This will pass.

Hopefully you have not had friends or family that have been affected by this disease but I have and it’s not pleasant at all. Maybe I’m a coward by your definition but I will give up my constitutional freedoms (right...) and wear a mask in crowded places to prevent others from catching the disease from me if I am Asymptomatic. I’m thinking about others. You?

Note that I’m not attempting to disparage those who have reasons to be concerned or are simply taking precautions on their own accord. My issue is with the forcible nature of recent events on the government side and the violation of our constitutional rights, particularly with something that is so poorly understood. What if there isn’t an effective vaccine or treatment developed? The vaccine for the flu some years is only marginally effective depending on the prevalent strain. Does the world just stop? It’s easy to see scenarios in which any large gathering is prohibited, even if only due to corporate fear of liability. Not to mention the abundance of businesses that simply won’t be able to survive operating at limited capacity. Is that the “new normal” that you all want for the future?

Freedom is all about risk, and in the past we have been given the ability to choose the level of risk that we are willing to accept. Thomas Jefferson said “I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery”, pretty relevant to today.

I feel sorry for the people who do live in fear. I think it’s mostly a matter of ignorance. It’s unlikely any one of us will get the disease, especially if we take basic precautions. I brush, floss, wear a seatbelt, and when I’m out I wear a mask. It’s not that hard.

My greatest concerns are chance of the world slipping into an economic depression and/or a major disruption in the food supply chain. If enough workers and consumers get sick the economic impact will be devastating. We’ve seen businesses shut down not because of a government mandate but because so many of their employees were sick with the virus - and some of them were in the food supply industry.

We’ve had a number of local businesses close because of financial failure due to the government lockdowns. Most service industries operate at a fairly narrow profit margin, extended periods of shutdown and/or artificially limiting capacity will ultimately kill off a lot of them. I suspect that the government SBA loans are propping up a lot of them, when that money expires I bet things get ugly quick.

As owners of expensive toys, I say many of us live in a 1st world bubble. Others have to work to put food on the table. Many are required to work as in essential workers. The OP's article is an affront to what these folks go through.

Part of living requires taking chances. We just have the luxury of not having to do so while still enjoying life and the fruits of someone else's labor.

^^ This!

All the polarized narratives that "fear we are all gonna die!" or "It's a government hoax to rob us of freedom!" are completely useless. This virus will be around for a while so improvise, adapt, and overcome. Mitigating risk is what we all do every day, it is not "FEAR OF DYING" it's just not being a dumbazz.

Every time we get in a car we mitigate risk and this is no different. We drive on our own side of the road, drive within controllable speeds, *most wear seatbelts, observe traffic controls, and we avoid oncoming traffic or T-bone situations because sometimes other drivers are not paying attention and bad stuff happens.

When I am racing at AAA Speedway Fontana entering turn 1 at 140mph I am wearing protective gear, I have carefully inspected my wheels, tires, brakes, suspension. I am also very aware of the drivers around me because sudden moves can create carnage.

When wreck diving in Micronesia I have a dive plan, watch my gauges, avoid sticking my arm into unknown holes, and take multiple safety stops coming up to avoid the bends. One guy on our trip dove foolishly, got the bends, is now forever in a wheelchair.

So what do we do now? Mitigate risk like we do every day with the rest of our normal activities:

* Take daily Vitamin D supplements or sunbathe 30 minutes daily to be certain we are not deficient in vitamin D.
* Avoid public transportation.
* Avoid crowds and observe 6' distancing whenever possible.
* Wear a simple mask when we cannot maintain 6' distancing.
* Get 8 hours of sleep per night.
* Wash hands often and avoid high touch surfaces. (handrails, door pulls, gas pump handles).

We will get through this, there will be winners and losers but we are not all going bankrupt. If we mitigate risk, the chance we get this nasty bug and spread it around to others is quite low. COVID-19 is essentially an engineering problem and biologists, MDs, and engineers are working feverishly around the world to develop solutions. Vaccines, effective treatments, and preventative measures are all on the table. One thing being considered is adding UV-C lighting to the HVAC serving public areas, airlines, and cruise ships. This technology is used in many hospitals to kill airborne virus' and bacteria in operating rooms. It has proven safe and effective so how do we spin this up and put it in every possible application? This might be a total game changer but it all takes time.

https://hospitalnews.com/ultraviolet-hvac-keys-reducing-hospital-acquired-infections/

I do think public transportation will take a big hit from this.

not to mention elevators and the skyscrapers they service...


I promise you that this is a very, very mild "preparation" for what could happen next. People who work on BioWarfare Defense (incl. terrorism) have been predicting something worse for decades.

I was speaking to my 92 year old mother today and she recalls living in a pre-antibiotic world where a simple cut could easily be a death sentence, many illnesses commonly cured easily today were at a minimum major risks and illnesses that would take much time and significant toll on the afflicted people.

We've gotten spoiled, every one of us, all suffering under the delusion that we are safe from almost all diseases, secure in a durable government and leaders who have the country's best interests at heart and honestly believe the "world" owes all this to us...along with prosperity, happiness and safety.

Bunk.

Hokum

Pure and utter BS.

Life is a struggle from one end to the other, and the little hiatus that we have had in the last 60 years or so is basically over and you know what, we can't all curl up in our nice houses and pretend that the big bad covid will go away, 'cause guess what....it has mutated brothers and sisters that will become Covid 20, Covid 21 and who knows else.

Let's just all get on with life, take whatever precautions that are reasonable and, just like everyone for the last few millennia, you pays your money and you takes your chances.

Eat, drink and be merry...for us who are about to die.

Dennis

+1
I think of that every time I’m at a checkout counter. I hope when they look at me wearing my mask they think, “At least I don’t have to worry about THIS joker.”

What do you mean “we?” If you think this way fine, but don’t ascribe it to everyone else.

the point of civilization and technological advancement is to keep us safe from almost all diseases & etc.

Sorry you have trouble with collective nouns, I was making the argument that the vast majority of the people I interact with and likely the vast majority of the people on this list "think this way".

I, in fact, most definitely do not.

I personally have zero faith in any institution, corporation and individual. I can count my circle of trust on the thumbs of my right foot...so please take my use of the collective noun as an indication of my sheer disgust with far too many of my fellow humans...likely including you.

Nothing personal....you are, after all, just a name on the internet with zero real presence to me.

Dennis

Calm down.

I would tell you to look yourself in the mirror and repeat that comment. We should each take the precautions that are appropriate for our own lives. But I wouldn’t tell you how to live your life, and conversely you have no right to tell me how to live my life. Fortunately we live in a world where it is relatively easy to live almost contact free if desired.

Considering that we haven’t yet conquered the common flu, cold, or most allergies, maybe you should rethink that statement?

think about the diseases that have been vanquished

This is what worries me.



I think the virus itself will be dealt with by better treatments, a vaccine(s), herd immunity, it will get weaker, or more likely, a combination of all the above.

I also tend to agree that we, in the western societies, mostly, have become soft. While this pandemic is not over yet, compared to the 1918 flu, it is a wuss. Not to mention all the other past plague types that have swept thru societies.

Wearing a mask, using hand sanitizer on your hands, etc will not stop you from getting infected with corona virus. It will permeate your skin, and enter your body anyway.

The social distancing, masks, etc are a corporate/ government CYA move so that government types can absolve themselves of blame for doing nothing, as if the 'government' can magically make all risk in life disappear.

The only thing that will stop the virus is (1) complete isolation, or (2) a vaccine or your own immune system.

More people are going to die. And that is very sad. But it's the truth. Your best hope is that you don't contract Covid-19 from being infected. Second to that is to honor the memories of the dead by not letting our society get ruined out of sheer panic and hysteria.

This is what scares me more than the virus. Hey, remember Joe McCarthy?

Wow - more scared of an ideology than a disease - this is the type of thinking that will ultimately destroy humanity.

Amen...Americans as a whole rich or poor live in a First World Bubble that went bust in 08 and has been propped up by government and Central Bank intervention.

You do what it takes to survive..nothing is sacrosanct nothing is not subject to change..take a look at Europe after the Black Death.

The CV is the catalyst that has set into motion an economic collapse that was on its way to happening.

Not being able to service debt is the ticking bomb..with so many out of work it is on its way. So far about a 105m missed payments..

The effects of the CV will be felt in your life long after the virus is no longer a serious threat.

The state of corruption and hedonism has ethically and morally weakened our society to the point where any stress causes it to unravel.
To the point where the glue that binds democracies together has been lost. This is not a cohesive society anymore .