4 ms·

> There is no perfect compliance to masks, lockdowns etc. and masks, lockdowns etc. are not 100% effective. They don't need to be 100% effective, only reasonab

> There is no perfect compliance to masks, lockdowns etc. and masks, lockdowns etc. are not 100% effective. They don't need to be 100% effective, only reasonably effective. Take New Zealand for example. They have a population of about 4.8 million, yet have only had 25 deaths. Louisiana, a state in the US with a similarly sized population has had 5,375 deaths as of writing. Just because the lockdowns in the US didn't work isn't a flaw of lockdowns in general; it's a flaw in the response of the US government. We needed swift, strong, decisive action, and we needed it when cases first started appearing. We didn't get that, and now hundreds of people are dying each day.

jMyles 6y ago
I think it's too early to assess New Zealand vs. Louisiana. New Zealand likely has very little immunity to this virus. And it will have paid a heavy price in second-order effects from lockdowns.
- dstaley 6y ago
  I picked Louisiana because they reported their first COVID case a few days after New Zealand reported theirs. I think it's an apt comparison in their current outcomes, just to indicate that strong action could have prevented virtually all of the deaths that have occurred. That being said, I do agree that the long-term implications of their actions aren't something we can really discuss at the moment. My biggest concern, however, is the increasing number of cases of heart damage following COVID infection. We may find ourselves in a situation where deaths _after_ COVID are significant. A vaccine won't help the almost 7 million people who have likely already suffered that damage. I sincerely hope that in a few years time the most significant damage COVID has is on a country's economy, since that's something that can recover.
  - kyleee 6y ago
    I don't think it's a great comparison, one is an island and the other is a contiguous US state in a country with freedom of travel

jMyles 6y ago

I think it's too early to assess New Zealand vs. Louisiana. New Zealand likely has very little immunity to this virus. And it will have paid a heavy price in second-order effects from lockdowns.

dstaley 6y ago
I picked Louisiana because they reported their first COVID case a few days after New Zealand reported theirs. I think it's an apt comparison in their current outcomes, just to indicate that strong action could have prevented virtually all of the deaths that have occurred. That being said, I do agree that the long-term implications of their actions aren't something we can really discuss at the moment. My biggest concern, however, is the increasing number of cases of heart damage following COVID infection. We may find ourselves in a situation where deaths _after_ COVID are significant. A vaccine won't help the almost 7 million people who have likely already suffered that damage. I sincerely hope that in a few years time the most significant damage COVID has is on a country's economy, since that's something that can recover.
- kyleee 6y ago
  I don't think it's a great comparison, one is an island and the other is a contiguous US state in a country with freedom of travel