Coronavirus
Surprisingly, the most successful response to the virus I have read about is China’s. Since China is such a centralized, controlled state, they have an advantage in preventing the spread of Coronavirus; they can force citizens to remain in houses and have total control of everything that happens within their borders. Citizens are used to government intervention and censure of their lives. They immediately shut down almost everything for two weeks- the incubation period is 2-14 days. Seemingly healthy people can walk around for two weeks infecting others - that’s part of what makes Coronavirus so contagious. As America is a free state often shackled by bureaucracy, we can’t control the movement of the population or shut everything down as easily or quickly, meaning we are at risk to suffer the same fate as Italy. Our best hope is to shut down all but the most essential societal functions--utilities, food, law enforcement, fire stations, hospitals, etc. If people can limit their contact, it is possible to reduce the total number of people sick at the same time. At the current rate, the virus is spreading exponentially, this will lead to overwhelmed hospitals where doctors are forced to use triage to determine who receives limited resources. If we can encourage individuals to isolate themselves to keep healthy people separate, we can slow the spread to a more linear curve, reducing strain on limited medical resources. This is what China did and they have fewer new cases. Italy arguably didn’t act soon enough, their recent countrywide shut down will help. The U.S. is about ten days behind Italy.
Hopefully the virus magically disappears, but we have to prepare for the worst. As Douglas Adams so wisely put it, the first step in any situation is “don’t panic”.
How long do you think it will take for things to start shutting down, and what do you think will happen with the virus?
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