Shutting down. Fear, fact or flinch?

"There will come a day, hopefully sooner rather than later, that a vaccine will be available to kill this thing. Then our lives will continue as they have been. Only (as the President says), we will come out of this stronger and smarter. I totally agree with him on that point." 

Drudge is reporting, that right now 20% of the nation is shut down. Of course, having California in that mix really shot that number up. There were rumors going around yesterday that the Governor of Minnesota might mandate a "shelter in place" for Minnesota starting on Monday. Turns out - just a rumor. However, Illinois did it. And NYC did it (sort of). In any event, all this hub-bub over shutting down has led to a national conversation. Is shutting a state down based on fear, on fact, or is it a flinch?

Every doctor which I have heard on the media, especially the world famous docs who are on the President's task force, say the same thing. Stay away from each other, wash your hands frequently, and don't touch your face. Most importantly, protect the elderly and immune compromised. Not one doc I have heard, has said to "blow this thing off". But many folks I know of, think this is a poor trade off. To trade our economy for a the few thousand lives this virus may cost us. Even though the President addresses this issue daily, that question remains.

By the way - here is a fact. If we let this virus get on top of us, like what happened in Italy, the death tole can look very scary. Yesterday, in one day alone, over 600 Italians died. That brings their death tole up to 4,000 since this virus invasion began. This is in a country which has less than a fifth of our population. In other words, that would be like our country having over 20,000 deaths from this virus so far. Would that change any minds?

Also, this virus (according to the medical profession), is over three times as likely to be transmitted as the regular flu virus is. And if you catch it, and if you are elderly or compromised, at best you will get a hospital stay. At worst, a funeral. And what the WHO has found out from young people who have caught this virus in Europe AND survived - what it can do to the lungs is "terrifying". Bad damage, sometimes permanent.

President Trump is confident our economy will come roaring back ONLY IF we beat this virus. And yes, beating this virus might mean taking a hiatus from our daily lives for a while. This is not fear talking - this is leadership. There are few things in life which mean more to our President than our economy does. He is damned proud of it, and should be. However, one of the things which means more to him than our economy, is the safety and well being of the American people. For that reason, he is willing to unplug the motor of our economy for just a while. Long enough to (as Lindsey Graham said), to "starve the virus".

I would like to see the entire country shut down until May 1st. Then we can check to see how (or if) this contagion is being checked. Shelter in place, working at home if able to. Schools will all practice "distance learning". Folks would be able to shop for food, medicine, and to see an doctor if an emergency. Other than that, our homes would be our everything.

There will come a day, hopefully sooner rather than later, that a vaccine will be available to kill this thing. Then our lives will continue as they have been. Only (as the President says), we will come out of this stronger and smarter. I totally agree with him on that point. 

Not all will agree with me on this post. In fact, many will not. But this is the way I feel. This is the way the doctors feel. This is the way the President feels. One day, we will have a cure for every disease which ails us. But that someday is not quite here as yet. Until we can "kill" these germs and viruses, all we can do is "starve" them. And that is what I think we should do. NOW.