New York, New York...

"If nothing else, this invasion of the invisible COVID - 19 virus has been a wake up call for the world. If we learn nothing, it will end up just being an expensive waste of human life and resources. If we learn a lot, it could protect us from going though this again. Let's try and getting smarter this time. Or the next time, could be the last time." 

New York City. For those who live there, it is home to just about everything. Like - why would anyone live anywhere else? For those of us who do not live there, especially out here in "fly over land", many in the "city" look at us as hayseeds. But right now, this large, happening city, has a huge problem. Because they have always prided themselves in living vertical, living in the middle of the action, recommended social distancing has taken a hit. The result is a world "hotbox" for COVID - 19.

Then comes the rise of Mario Jr. (Andrew). He is one the news every day now with an update. With 433,000 cases worldwide, 55,000 of those in the United States, New York alone has 26,000 of them - almost half of what the country has. And with that number of cases, and the projections for the number to go much higher, New York state, and in particular, New York City, has a huge problem. And people are dying in New York - so far, 271 people have passed.

Here is the issue which New York faces. Besides the normal sickness which requires some to be hospitalized, this wave of new patients which need ICU beds due to COVID - 19 infections, are swamping the system. EVERYTHING is in short supply. Ventilators, masks, gowns, gloves, beds, and - doctors and nurses. This is a mess of the highest order. New York might soon look like Italy where doctors need to decide who gets an ICU bed and lives, and who does not get a bed, and dies.

It is not my intent to get political in this post, as this is no time for politics. That being said, here is an excellent reason why living vertical has its risks. Agenda 21, the pet rock of the UN, is a loser. So is Thrive 2040 in Minnesota. The states in "fly over land", where suburbia and acreage live, the numbers of infection are much lower. They are still bad, but nothing like NYC or other large, vertical cities. When this is over and we do a national lessons learned, I hope this makes the list.

Speaking of the "lessons learned list", I have a few suggestions:

• Since many of our recent virus outbreaks have been ones which attack the upper respiratory system, we should have tens of millions of ventilators in our national stock system.
• We should also have at least a billion N 95 masks, and maybe more of the non - N 95 masks in our nation's supply system.
• When I was in boot camp, we had an empty hospital ward with sixty beds, cleaned and ready to go. It was there "just in case". We need to do the same in our country. Many, many more ICU beds, cleaned and ready to go - "just in case".
• Grocery stores will change how they operate at the check out counter. Better safeguards for both the customer and clerk alike, and much cleaner.
• Digital thermometers will become very common, and "swiping" one's forehead every morning before work or school should become routine.
• "Distance learning" and "social distancing" are here to stay (in some form).
• Washing one's hands will go from just a rinse, to an art form.
• Shaking hands might just become very rare. Hello, fist bumping.

If nothing else, this invasion of the invisible COVID - 19 virus has been a wake up call for the world. If we learn nothing, it will end up just being an expensive waste of human life and resources. If we learn a lot, it could protect us from going though this again. Let's try and getting smarter this time. Or the next time, could be the last time.