4 ms·
The patchwork shutdowns should have been used to buy time to scale up testing, improve contact tracing, acquire as much PPE as possible, and equip hospitals as
by Spartan-S63 6y ago
The patchwork shutdowns should have been used to buy time to scale up testing, improve contact tracing, acquire as much PPE as possible, and equip hospitals as best as possible to handle excess demand. The reality is that the shutdowns were used to enforce social distancing (because apparently Americans can't understand how critical it is to prevent the spread) and display the appearance of testing and contact tracing.
What we ended up with was the illusion of a "win" when really we're just waiting to lose a second time and in a more dire way. I'm not sure the country will stomach another shutdown with a second wave, so I'm thinking that we'll just let the virus burn through and incur the high human cost it comes with.
- ashtonkem 6y agoI’ve said this before; any permanent social change caused by the virus alone (protests over police brutality did not enter my predictions) will come into existence due to any second waves that might occur. I think the snap back from “we’re reopening America” to mass casualties will be strong and sudden. Now I can’t even begin to predict what that snap back will look like. A permanent growth of remote work seems plausible, but I’m sure there will be unexpected secondary and tertiary outcomes.
- noobaccount 6y agoHas a snap back happened anywhere else in the world? While the unknown is scary, in this case it seems like we can look to our neighbors at home and abroad for comfort.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- ashtonkem 6y agoI don’t know, but I’m not heavily connected to any other culture to speak to that. It could be happening right now and I would miss it.