"Once the American people get to the point they are sick to death, of putting up with this virus which can make them sick to death, they will agree to put their lives, their families lives, on hold for a month or so."
I will be the first to admit I rarely if ever agree with Gavin Newsom. But he has done two things as of late which are very, very gutsy and correct. First off, he gave the President kudos for how he is doing in managing this COVID - 19 crisis. Usually, he spouts off that the President cannot even cross the street correctly. Then came yesterday. The boldest thing any Governor of California has probably ever done. He shut down his state. Everyone is to stay home.
A state of 40 million people. A state with a GDP of over $3 T dollars. A state, if it were a sovereign country, would the world's fifth largest economy. To shut this state down, takes guts. A real commitment to "flatten the curve". This is also what the Mayor of NYC wants to do. However, the Governor of New York is not yet of that ilk. Neither is the Governor of Minnesota. But it might come to that. For all of us. How soon? Maybe before the end of March.
The feds and the states have been doing a lot of thing right in this war on COVID - 19. The one thing however, which sticks out like a sore thumb, is this paucity of valid tests. If we could test everyone in the country, we would know exactly where we stood right now. For example, the Governor of California said it is his belief that if his state were not shut down, the infection rate could reach over 50%. Rather than a guess or an estimate, I would like to know the exact number of infections NOW in California. Also in New York. And in Minnesota.
Maybe the best news to come out yesterday for California as well as the rest of the nation was Malaria. Not the disease, but the vaccine. Seems there is a glimmer of hope this COVID - 19 virus does not like this Malaria vaccine. Wouldn't that be a God send for so many, if true!
In any event Lindsey Graham summed it up well yesterday. "First we are going to starve this virus, by practicing social distancing and proper cleanliness. Then we are going to bomb it with vaccines which will kill it." The Malaria vaccine could be one of those vaccines to "bomb" it with. Thank you Senator Graham. Your words were spoken like a Colonel in the Army Reserve.
I mentioned this before, but it might bear repeating. The only way the American people will agree to draconian measures like sheltering in place, is if they feel that is less painful than giving in to this runaway virus, with some potentially deadly effects. Once the American people get to the point they are sick to death, of putting up with this virus which can make them sick to death, they will agree to put their lives, their families lives, on hold for a month or so.
So one more time. Well done, Governor Newsome. A gutsy move, and a right move. "Bending" or "flattening" the curve might just take gutsy moves such as this. Having the most populous state Governor, you might just have set the tone for the rest of us to follow. That is what leadership is all about.
Nah. Any good statistical model will show that, like any "Ponzi scheme," even the most virulent virus very soon runs out of new people to infect. And this virus isn't that contagious. Social distancing will help even more, but we can't just stop the world; the death and destruction from a cessation of social and economic activity will very quickly exceed that of the "pandemic" itself. Two weeks, tops, before this madness and overreaction must end, and that should be all that is necessary.
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