Originally Posted by Setopbug

I can totally understand and empathize with your desire to get to work. It's been a month and it's killing me to not have an airplane to fly right now.

But your willingness to accept personal risk is not a decision you get to make for others. Your desire to disregard the professionals we have that spend a lifetime in public health and our practitioners, virologists, researchers and epidemiologists isn't wise. It's an emotional reaction to a perceived threat to your livelihood.

Rushing back to work now will result in much more damage to our economy and our infrastructure. We have to come through the other side of this with our healthcare system, pathetic as it is compared to the rest of the world, intact. Able to treat sick people. We cannot afford to needlessly kill much larger portions of the population than a return to normal ops would result in.

The experts are as close to correct as we're going to get. Just because they don't always get it perfect means we should abandon their counsel and start listening to politicians who can barely form a coherent sentence.

And what sucks the most? Is that we don't have the leadership in place to handle this. There's no coordinated response. No political detente as both sides set aside their concerns and act together for the good of country.

Just small groups of governors from both parties doing the best that they can. And many of them aren't up to the task.

It will be safe to go back to work when you see the White House open for daily tours again. It will be OK to drag your family to Hawaii and spend money when you see state houses open, with elected officials doing your work.

It will be safe to go back to work when agencies like the CDC says it is, and their scientists' conditions are all met.

Until then, it isn't safe for any of us to be out and about.

Originally Posted by Turbosina

My point is, it's really easy to be a keyboard warrior, or a talking head on TV, and tell people 'Suck it up buttercup, it's just the flu.' It's entirely different to actually get out there and go about your daily life.

My point is simply that it's really really easy to hide behind a keyboard or step up to a TV microphone and pontificate about how we all need to just suck it up because 'its just the flu'. Breathing is kinda important to life, and people tend to like hanging onto their lives as long as they can.

Originally Posted by Excargodog

Well if that is your point, you certainly haven’t made it. Being real ill isn’t FUN for anyone and most of us don’t want to die. But Calling people ‘keyboard warriors’ and gratuitously demeaning people who honestly hold different views from yours - views they back up with hard facts and good arguments does not make your point. It merely undermines their opinion of you.

Originally Posted by Turbosina

Yup, the 'suck it up buttercup' folks *never* gratuitously demean anyone. Oh no. Not ever. All sunshine and rainbows .

Originally Posted by Excargodog

What, their bad actions justify yours? No, I don’t think so. Not if we are talking about reality and not just dick measuring.

And there ARE NO No-risk scenarios in this outbreak. The shutdown is costing lives too:

Originally Posted by Turbosina

So here's the thing.

I want to get our economy reopened as soon as possible. I run a small business (45 people) when I'm not flying, and my constant focus has been on keeping my business afloat. This shutdown is really hurting us.

Looking at the latest news out of Sweden, we indeed have reason to believe that we've overreacted here in the US. The data coming from Stanford and USC, if correct, would indicate that this thing is far less lethal (and more contagious) than previously estimated. Which would mean that a rational, thoughtful relaxation of these restrictions is in order, ASAP. It also seems clear that 'one size fits all' restrictions aren't appropriate. What's right for NYC may well be far too restrictive for rural communities with far less population density.

But most of the stuff I've seen from the 'Open it Up!" crowd can be distilled to:
• "MAGA!!!!!"
• "This is a lamestream media / Democrat hoax!"
• "Generic assertion of bravery/ superiority vs. the 'cowards' who advocate continuing restrictions"

Then again, why am I surprised? Replace covid with nearly any issue and that's pretty much how political discussions take place these days in this country.

Originally Posted by OVC010CB

The May Clinic is furloughing and/or reducing pay for 30,000 employees.

Such a relief we prevented a hospital overcapacity.

#winning

Originally Posted by WutFace

But what about the June clinic?

What this crisis has shown is that for-profit healthcare is a failure. We can't have our national healthcare system be dependent on knee replacements and tummy tucks to make ends meet.

Originally Posted by OVC010CB

The risk of death is not "down".

For those of us that do not have comorbid conditions, there is literally no risk from COVID-19. There is no risk for children and the healthy, and it is completely unacceptable to lock up people that do not have risk.