I hate to be “chicken little” but – as much as I love that at last we are starting to get some real traction on such a critical issue – if the virus is as contagious as they currently believe it to be I don’t see how we can avoid being back at or close to ground zero early-March numbers) again a week from today. There will be a small or medium spike amongst the protesters which will grow from there as each protester returns home to his/her bubble group. I really hope I’m wrong but if this happens I’m also thinking given the recent 180 degree turn in terms of guidance – from you cannot even have a family funeral to now it’s okay for thousands to gather together – if there is another spike people may resist going back to “pre-phase 1 -“ again which might then result in a really bad winter – much worse than the first wave.
Did I mention I hope I’m wrong?
Also I think I liked yesterday’s format the best
Hi mama. My youngest and I just had this conversation…especially the part about having to back track on openings. You are not chicken little. Your comments are always well reasoned.
And we need to remember that spikes can’t all be blamed on protests
Thanks for the link Joshua – I can’t wait to dive in and read it although I’m still hoping someone else might chime in with a hearty “Hell no Mama!” And then convince me entirely that I’m wrong and we didn’t just totally undo our progress. As a girl with the former nickname “Cassandra” I never like these hunches-based-on-logic that aren’t yet true but might be and are not good omens. But in 5-7 days we should start to know….
Joshua – Just finished the article – excellently written and clearly we are of a mind. What a difficult, unusual situation we are evolving into everywhere now. There’s an incredible piece up on the Washington Post about homelessness that follows a family in extreme financially tough times in Kissimmee, FL. due to the shutdown. It’s heartbreaking and should be required reading by everyone in the US. After so many years of increasing partisanship at least partially due to people’s unwillingness to compromise on so many issues they considered the hills to die on (guns, abortion, religion, Trump, global warming) we now find ourselves at this pivotal moment with 3 competing – possible equally compelling – hills to die on – economic and/or socioeconomic disparity to the point of increasing homelessness and food insecurity (as we race headlong towards becoming a 3rd world economy – 99 v 1 percent), vs. urgency to address racial inequality that has escalated to physical assaults and murders by Police, and has finally reached its moment of revelation – versus the immediate and valid need to prioritize public health and social distancing over everything in the face of a global pandemic. And I truly can’t say which of these 3 competing priorities is THE one that needs to come first now. I volunteer in the public health space and wrote my college thesis on the need for universal health care in 1997, so part of my intellectual DNA says pandemic and public health trump everything so stay home, but my son’s best friend is like a second son to me and he is Black and so wonderful and he’s 10 and already I have seen enough to know this issue is REAL and it’s BIG and ROTTEN. And it’s not okay to watch my friend explain to her beautiful and sweet 10 year old son the different rules of the game for him vs. my son so he can stay safe. Or see how she worries about her older son – not because of him (he’s also a wonderful kid) but for him. But what about the fact that the protests could lead to more sickness which might mean more shutdowns which then means more hungry kids living in cars…..
Wow – how did we get here? And is now the tune to add that as a twist I see the Floyd movement as potentially another #metoo moment as well? The feminist in me can’t help but wonder why it wasn’t enough when a woman was killed the week before. Is it meaningful that in the end it was a man’s death that triggered a movement. But that’s for another day.
Except – the problem is that for all of these issues we are already too late – we cannot wait for another day.
C-19 for 6-7 is up…
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Your no-hype southeastern New England weather blog!
I hate to be “chicken little” but – as much as I love that at last we are starting to get some real traction on such a critical issue – if the virus is as contagious as they currently believe it to be I don’t see how we can avoid being back at or close to ground zero early-March numbers) again a week from today. There will be a small or medium spike amongst the protesters which will grow from there as each protester returns home to his/her bubble group. I really hope I’m wrong but if this happens I’m also thinking given the recent 180 degree turn in terms of guidance – from you cannot even have a family funeral to now it’s okay for thousands to gather together – if there is another spike people may resist going back to “pre-phase 1 -“ again which might then result in a really bad winter – much worse than the first wave.
Did I mention I hope I’m wrong?
Also I think I liked yesterday’s format the best
Hi mama. My youngest and I just had this conversation…especially the part about having to back track on openings. You are not chicken little. Your comments are always well reasoned.
And we need to remember that spikes can’t all be blamed on protests
https://www.newsweek.com/florida-sets-new-single-day-record-coronavirus-cases-since-reopening-economy-over-4000-three-1509055
Thanks Vicki and good point!
I believe the warm summer sunlight is helping out considerably.
Mama Mia, I agree with you. While the virus could be weakening and transmissibility is limited outdoors I’m concerned. We’re still in a major pandemic that continues to produce a lot of deaths and many new cases daily. Wrote about this on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshuacohen/2020/06/06/in-the-midst-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic-america-has-grown-weary-of-social-distancing/#29378d1f191c
Thanks for the link Joshua – I can’t wait to dive in and read it although I’m still hoping someone else might chime in with a hearty “Hell no Mama!” And then convince me entirely that I’m wrong and we didn’t just totally undo our progress. As a girl with the former nickname “Cassandra” I never like these hunches-based-on-logic that aren’t yet true but might be and are not good omens. But in 5-7 days we should start to know….
Joshua – Just finished the article – excellently written and clearly we are of a mind. What a difficult, unusual situation we are evolving into everywhere now. There’s an incredible piece up on the Washington Post about homelessness that follows a family in extreme financially tough times in Kissimmee, FL. due to the shutdown. It’s heartbreaking and should be required reading by everyone in the US. After so many years of increasing partisanship at least partially due to people’s unwillingness to compromise on so many issues they considered the hills to die on (guns, abortion, religion, Trump, global warming) we now find ourselves at this pivotal moment with 3 competing – possible equally compelling – hills to die on – economic and/or socioeconomic disparity to the point of increasing homelessness and food insecurity (as we race headlong towards becoming a 3rd world economy – 99 v 1 percent), vs. urgency to address racial inequality that has escalated to physical assaults and murders by Police, and has finally reached its moment of revelation – versus the immediate and valid need to prioritize public health and social distancing over everything in the face of a global pandemic. And I truly can’t say which of these 3 competing priorities is THE one that needs to come first now. I volunteer in the public health space and wrote my college thesis on the need for universal health care in 1997, so part of my intellectual DNA says pandemic and public health trump everything so stay home, but my son’s best friend is like a second son to me and he is Black and so wonderful and he’s 10 and already I have seen enough to know this issue is REAL and it’s BIG and ROTTEN. And it’s not okay to watch my friend explain to her beautiful and sweet 10 year old son the different rules of the game for him vs. my son so he can stay safe. Or see how she worries about her older son – not because of him (he’s also a wonderful kid) but for him. But what about the fact that the protests could lead to more sickness which might mean more shutdowns which then means more hungry kids living in cars…..
Wow – how did we get here? And is now the tune to add that as a twist I see the Floyd movement as potentially another #metoo moment as well? The feminist in me can’t help but wonder why it wasn’t enough when a woman was killed the week before. Is it meaningful that in the end it was a man’s death that triggered a movement. But that’s for another day.
Except – the problem is that for all of these issues we are already too late – we cannot wait for another day.
C-19 for 6-7 is up…