Well, the numbers don’t lie, and today’s numbers spell catastrophe for the United States. For the third straight day, the U.S. reported more than 50,000 new cases. These grim numbers confirm the much predicted failings of the premature reopening, and the inevitability of a future shutdown. Even in states like CA, where the governor acted early, we are seeing a spike, as enough people took “reopening” to mean a return to normal. This led some people, particularly young people, to attend social gatherings, and disregard recommended safeguards like social distancing and facial coverings. At this point, it seems clear that only strict “stay at home” orders can stop the exponential spread of the virus. When Italy got in real trouble, they got serious about their shutdown, and people were arrested for leaving their homes without good reason. These measures brought the virus under control, just as they did in the rest of Europe. In America, even the most fundamental measures, like wearing facial coverings in public, have been undermined by the politicization of the pandemic by Trump and his loyalists. Simply put, America is losing the battle with Covid-19 because there are enough people willing to disregard science in favor of political loyalty, even if that means millions of Americans dying. It is a classic case of a few bad apples spoiling the whole bunch. Unfortunately, one of the “bad apples” is our president. His constant, dishonest messaging has been undermining America’s Covid-19 response since the very onset of the outbreak, more than 6 months ago.
Just today, I was in the store and a customer in front of me wasn’t wearing a mask. I don’t know how he got in, but a “Masks Required” sign was posted on the entrance. In a friendly tone, I said “Hey bro, where’s your mask?” He was a young man, whose age would likely classify him as a millennial. He turned to me and said, “I don’t feel I should have to wear one if I don’t want to, and I believe in god.” Well, I felt compelled to educate him, so I peppered him with questions. I said, “Yeah, which god is that? Does your god teach you to be selfish, and not care about others? Does your god teach you to disrespect your elders? Did you see the sign on the door? Do you see that everyone else is wearing masks?” Well, he was already reeling. Rather than answer a single one of my questions, he barked a couple feeble retorts, like “everyone else is doing it on Main Street”, and “do you know who you’re talking to?” We went back and forth until he realized that he would be defeated by reason at every turn. Finally, the manager took him aside and told him he would not be allowed in the store again without a mask, and why he should wear one. He was apologetic when he left and hopefully learned something, but I doubt it.
Anyway, I bring this up because of how misguided this young man was. All of his statements were easily refuted, and he demonstrated an established and entrenched level of ignorance. My point is that he is so disconnected from reality, with his head stuffed full of flimsy talking points, that it is no wonder our country is now in grave peril. It was clear that his information sources enable his point of view and defiant behavior, and that he was simply repeating their misguided talking points. When called upon to defend his position, he digressed into personal attacks. Sound familiar? After further consideration, the young man’s behavior was just a microcosm of the Trump Administration’s messaging and failed handling of the pandemic. He neither understood how the virus spreads, nor cared about the consequences.
The key to stopping the spread of coronavirus is quarantining the asymptomatic spreaders, period. That is what makes this virus so formidable. However, many countries have defeated the virus by implementing plans that understood this premise. To date, the U.S. has no testing program to identify these spreaders. That is why calls for widespread testing have been going on since March. Sadly, Trump has downplayed the need for testing, and been absent in coordinating a national plan. Thus far, only an inadequate supply of testing for symptomatic patients has been made available. That means we only have a testing strategy that is “reactive”, which would preclude our ever getting ahead of the virus. We need to find the asymptomatic spreaders, and the only way to do that is to test everyone.
Yes, in order to stop the spread, everyone must be tested. That has been the solution since the beginning. That is the only way to identify asymptomatic spreaders and quarantine them, which is the key to stopping the virus. I drew up a simple plan a few days ago. However, until the Federal government stops acting as an ally to the virus, you should expect the spread to continue exponentially. Even as I write this article, nearly 4 months into the crisis here in America, our “president” is at a planned event where masks and social distancing will be intentionally discouraged. Let that sink in for a moment. Not only is the leader of this country providing a bad example, he is encouraging his supporters to follow suit, and undermine the containment of the coronavirus. Such behavior will necessarily lead to more sickness, death, and damage to our economy. There is no way to make sense of such a complete loss of perspective.
So, where do we go from here? Well, our Federal government has completely failed to take a leadership role in combating the pandemic. Instead, they have left the states to fend for themselves, resulting in a logistical mess. They have also undermined the recovery as a whole, with continued messaging to disregard CDC guidelines and other safeguards. Consequently, the implementation of an effective containment strategy will have to come at the state and local levels. Unfortunately, we have already seen a rise in cases that will overwhelm some hospital systems, and that will leave people to fend for themselves. If we do not change our trajectory immediately by completely shutting down, hospital systems across the country will be overwhelmed, and we will witness a breakdown with apocalyptic consequences. That is the worst case scenario, but we are almost there. I am talking about millions of dead Americans, and complete chaos and collapse in our financial system.
– Rondym Kiefe