Posted on 03/22/2020 8:47:32 AM PDT by FlipWilson
We routinely differentiate between two kinds of military action: the inevitable carnage and collateral damage of diffuse hostilities, and the precision of a “surgical strike,” methodically targeted to the sources of our particular peril. The latter, when executed well, minimizes resources and unintended consequences alike.
As we battle the coronavirus pandemic, and heads of state declare that we are “at war” with this contagion, the same dichotomy applies. This can be open war, with all the fallout that portends, or it could be something more surgical. The United States and much of the world so far have gone in for the former. I write now with a sense of urgency to make sure we consider the surgical approach, while there is still time.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
So, is America being played?
South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore have all basically beaten this virus with none of the draconian measures of Italy or America.
The Diamond Princess cruise ship... basically a floating petri dish of old people...had about a 20% infection rate and seven deaths (all elderly) out of 3,700 passengers.
A death rate not even on par with the flu.
When I look at Italy, the answer is no. It shows what happens in a western country when it gets away from you. Spain and Germany aren’t out of the woods yet either.
Yep, they are covering their butts now.
Pax were quarantined to stop the spread on the ship. Not 100% effective, but not 0% either.
Italy, with a large elderly population, is counting anyone that dies with the coronavirus as a death because of the coronavirus.
I should have been clearer in my comments. I don’t post this article to prolong the debate. I post it to note that the NYT, which was firmly on the scare and fear side of the debate, has suddenly pivoted to the “its overblown” side of the debate.
Why? Oh, that’s simple, it didn’t have the desired effect of killing Trump’s Presidency. It had the opposite effect and the media now sees it as something it must end, pronto.
Look for the other media outlets to follow their leader, the NYT.
Yes.
$2 trillion in spending. Using borrowed money.
That’s $6000 for every man, woman and child America.
Can your family of four spare $24,000?
What future medical issues will you put on the back burner because you need to pay that future bill?
Yeah, the CDC has been doing that for the past few years with the common flu here too. I know. We also have a pretty large elderly pop too.
Well since the Russia collusion and impeachment thing didn’t go anywhere the MSM has to hysterically hype this COVID thing in order to stay relevant which after more than a decade of deceit they’re not. As I said before: I’d believe what the Babylon Bee reports than anything the MSM does.
Thanks for posting this! I despise the NYT as much as anyone on this forum, but when they say something worth saying I’ll applaud them for it. At this point, I don’t care about the writer’s motivation - I just want to see the economic destruction of my country prevented.
I don’t see how one random opinion piece counts as an entire sea change and massive pivot by the NYT. They randomly publish off narrative pieces sporadically. We’ll see what direction their coverage takes next week.
COUNTRIES NEED TO LOOK AT THE RESULTS OF SANCTUARY CITIES AND STATES. CITIES, STATES AND COUNTRIES WHO LET ANYONE INTO THEIR COUNTRY WITHOUT PROPER VETTING ARE OVERRUN WITH COVID19. WORLDWIDE,, MOST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DO NOT HAVE NATURAL IMMUNITIES THAT UNDEVFELOPED COUNTRYS HAVE AND NOW, THANKS TO THE LIBERALS, THE USA ALONE HAS DISEASES THAT WERE WIPED OUT HERE BUT RAMPANT IN UNDEVELOPED COUNTRIES AND HAVE INFECTED THE LOCAL POPULATION. THANKS NANCY, CHUCK AND LIMPDICK DURBIN AND OTHER HACKS WHO WANT OPEN BORDERS.
YES!!!!~! TRILLIONS LOST!!!
On the cruise ship, they implement active infection control measures constantly because of the risk of norovirus. Thus, the infection rate is expected to be low, especially after infection control protocols were tightened after identifying the outbreak.
The Diamond Princess cruise ship had 712 infections with 8 deaths and 325 recovered. That is a death rate of 1.1%, about 10 times higher than the flu. And with 387 active cases and a lag time of 2 to 6 weeks from time of infection to time of death, I would not be surprised by more deaths.
Such is the collateral damage of this diffuse form of warfare, aimed at “flattening” the epidemic curve generally rather than preferentially protecting the especially vulnerable. I believe we may be ineffectively fighting the contagion even as we are causing economic collapse.The current approach is open-ended with no end-game specified just as the author says. Just WHEN will we get back to normal? It sure as hell isn't the two weeks we are supposed to "shelter in place." These things take time to run their courses and these pandemics often "burn out" after a full year -- IF we let everybody get infected. If we forestall the herd immunity, it might take two full years to get through the population....There is another and much overlooked liability in this approach. If we succeed in slowing the spread of coronavirus from torrent to trickle, then when does the society-wide disruption end? When will it be safe for healthy children and younger teachers to return to school, much less older teachers and teachers with chronic illnesses? When will it be safe for the work force to repopulate the workplace, given that some are in the at-risk group for severe infection?
But there are several major problems with subsuming the especially vulnerable within the policies now applied to all.
First, the medical system is being overwhelmed by those in the lower-risk group seeking its resources, limiting its capacity to direct them to those at greatest need. Second, health professionals are burdened not just with work demands, but also with family demands as schools, colleges and businesses are shuttered. Third, sending everyone home to huddle together increases mingling across generations that will expose the most vulnerable.
[if we changed our] focus on a much smaller portion of the population would allow most of society to return to life as usual and perhaps prevent vast segments of the economy from collapsing.
We've got a kid who is home and another who may be on her way. This sudden economic collapse is causing the inter-generational mingling the author points out and is exactly what my wife and I do NOT need at this point.
The author is asking the questions that need to be asked.
I do take issue with his claim that the "health care system is chronically underfunded." If it were, we wouldn't have enough capacity to service the normal illness caseloads and that is not true in the United States.
YEP!! WHO are the people that are dying?? Are they illegal immigrants?
GET back to work and BUILD THE DAMN WALL!!
If they had a condition and developed a Covid-19 infection, then they died of Covid-19, not the other condition. The exceptions would be events such as getting into a fatal car accident on the way to the clinic to get treated for Covid-19.
While a comorbidity might make death from Covid-19 more likely, it is not the cause of death. Those people died of Covid-19, not other causes.
It’s clearly worse for the NYT and the Compost if Trump wins this one and uses it to move his agenda.
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