>First of all, from all reports I've seen recently, COVID cases are increasing at geometric rates all across the country, so while we were once on the verge of flattening the curve, we are now experiencing a full-on surge...btw, this is not just a U.S. concern...I've been emailing with a close Italian friend in Rome who tells me that their government/HC officials are imposing tight restrictions for the very same reasons (many other countries as well).
>I've been texting/emailing with ID and ICU Doc friends about their views and they are highly alarmed right now...they're communicating with peers in other parts of the country (e.g. Nebraska, South Dakota) and hearing of hospitals being literally overrun, with the consequent effect of not only increased COVID morbidities, but the lack of ability to provide urgent care to MI (heart attack) and Bowel Obstruction cases, to name just a couple of areas for which the general public counts on their HC system in "normal times".
>The virus needs 'new hosts' in order to survive, therefore if we stop the means of transmission, we kill it. Since "Opening Up" goes against that logic, a temporary shutdown, designed around the known features/parameters of this pathogen, is a positive step toward putting this behind us...along with continued mitigation, testing and contact tracing...before and after "V-Day".
>This strategy has been successfully employed already...the medical professionals have "earned their stripes" with Smallpox, Polio, Ebola and other battles...what we need now is a healthy dose of "Trust" in their Rx.
>BTW, I'd like to carry on a discussion of China/COVID in another thread.