We're in it together: why patchwork "re-opening" could be really dangerous

[Lemon Drop]

Latest from Nextstrain.org:

Executive summary
We analyzed 1,347 publicly shared SARS-CoV-2 genomes from the United States. By comparing these viral genomes to each other, we can characterize how SARS-CoV-2 is moving around the world and spreading locally. In this week's updates, we report:

The New York outbreak has cosmopolitan origins, but the majority of cases are attributable to introductions from Europe.

The outbreak in New York City shows mixing of cases across all 5 boroughs.

The outbreak in California is related to both nearby Washington State and distant New York.

The Midwest outbreak is heterogeneous and is the result of many independent introductions.

Ongoing outbreaks in Utah and Idaho are closely related.

The decisions made by each state profoundly impacts the fate of the others. Safely easing restrictions in any state will require coordinated containment, with all states acting to protect each other.

https://nextstrain.org/narratives/ncov/s...-04-17?n=1

[Acer]

As we speak, betcha some MAGA Covid-shutdown protest nut is organizing a Mad Max road tour of the Heartland.

[RgrF]

Betsy Brown pretty much agrees with Grace or Grace pretty much agrees with Betsy - one or the other.

[deckeda]

This is not an American phenomenon. This story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/eur...story.html highlights how places like Germany, S. Korea and others are moving to reopen despite people still getting sick.

No one has effectively eliminated the threat and there remains no cure other than isolation. It seems the dreaded double hump” of infections is a conscious decision many governments are willing to suffer. Perhaps they need to say, “hey, we tried! (to avoid total economic collapse)”

One country remains an outlier. New Zealand seems committed to fighting C-19 with extended isolation even with flattening numbers of infections.

[PeterB]

deckeda wrote:
This is not an American phenomenon. This story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/eur...story.html highlights how places like Germany, S. Korea and others are moving to reopen despite people still getting sick.

No one has effectively eliminated the threat and there remains no cure other than isolation. It seems the dreaded double hump” of infections is a conscious decision many governments are willing to suffer. Perhaps they need to say, “hey, we tried! (to avoid total economic collapse)”

One country remains an outlier. New Zealand seems committed to fighting C-19 with extended isolation even with flattening numbers of infections.

Unfortunately, I agree with this assessment. There seem to be a number of people who feel that their personal and others' wealth is more important than peoples' lives. The counterpoint to this is that you can always get another job, reacquire wealth, etc., but you can't get lives back. So ultimately it boils down to the usual selfishness and "who cares what happens to the other guy, I have to think of myself".

Speaking of, note to self: move to New Zealand.

[pdq]

I can’t help but see this “open up NOW!1!” astroturfing as backfiring. Here in MN, we had a small group of such protestors saying so last week, and this morning the top headline on the paper is “Deaths, infections see 3-day spike” - total Covid deaths in the state jumped 40% over the weekend, and now there’s another pork processing plant, this one in our state, which has just had an explosion of cases.

Seems to me that these Deplorables picked the absolute worst time, just a week or so before the peak, to demand we reopen. (God bless them, they’re just not too bright). And FWIW, the polls seem to support the governors:

Governors have a 69% approval for their handling of the coronavirus, while Trump is at 44%, according to an average of the national polls FiveThirtyEight uses.

What's more, the governors who have shown the most improvement in their approval ratings from before the pandemic to after are many of the Democratic governors he's picked fights with and Republicans who have been most aggressive with stay-at-home orders. DeSantis, who was slow to close down, has seen a decline...

(Specific numbers at the link - honestly, if Biden were to keel over tomorrow, I think Cuomo or Newsom could step in and win in a cakewalk).

[RgrF]

Peter -Speaking of, note to self: move to New Zealand.

Troubled waters in Paradise:

the leader of New Zealand’s parliamentary opposition, Simon Bridges, wistfully referred this week to the takeaway coffees and haircuts Australians are permitted to access. New Zealanders can only leave their homes to walk, buy groceries or see a doctor.

An editorial published by the group – which appeared to have sparked Ardern’s remarks on Tuesday – generated a backlash on social media where users said their proposition would condemn to death the elderly and those in ill health.

“I’ve never experienced the level of vitriol that occurred over this,” Thornley said.

[RgrF]

[RgrF]