One more “scientist” who ascribes the good effects of mitigation to COVID-19. The small prevalence was intentionally induced by shutting down our society and social distancing, not by COVID-19. The low death rate was intentionally induced by the same measures in order to allow our medical system to catch up. The low death rate was not accomplished because the virus is weak or ineffective at transmitting.
Conversely, this lockdown was not intended to keep people from catching COVID-19. It never was. It was intended to delay the spread so that our medical system could prepare for opening up.
This doctor has the right proposal for the wrong reasons. He says his medical staff have nothing to do now. Great! We have accomplished our goal. Now let’s get back to work.
Sir, you make good points if the virus would have, w/o mitigation steps, ran rampant and if the US health care system would have been overloaded. Field hospitals, Hospital ships and ad hoc treatment centers have gone all but unused.
So either the advisors and their recommendations are wonderful and spot on, or they needlessly ran our greater than ever before economy and state of employment into the ground. Maybe to a carpenter (epidemiologist) with a hammer (access to policy makers) everything looks like a nail (isolation situation)?
Most areas of the US have minimal incidence of SARS cov2 cases, some areas have none, whilst a few ( major urban areas) are nasty places. Yet all of everything is closed. Good way to ruin our nation for the foreseeable future. Nail, meet sledgehammer.
My only angst with Mr. Trump is that he allowed non-governance folks to lead him down this path. I have been saying all along, measured responses to areas/populations that need it, liberal policy elsewhere. Maybe there is bigger game afoot ( China? NORK? RUS? IRN? all the above?) I don’t know, but I hope this is worth the pain and suffering of a war time status, as that is where we are at, only the rationing and shortages have not yet really begun. I hope I am wrong, but I am somewhat pessimistic.