“ That’ll all be coming out later, Tuesday or thereabout.”
That slow roll out of ‘get back to work’ for low infected number areas is problematic. Those states/counties are low for the simple reason they are low population areas.
Low population = fewer contact points (stores/gas stations) = low infected numbers. BUT not lower percentage numbers.
This whole thing has been geared to not overwhelm local systems. Completely unsurprising large population center county hospitals are first to feel it. Dem areas even more so.
Yeah, but I think it's just the nature of the beast. As you note, the mission is to not overwhelm local health care systems. All well and good, but not all of them are on the same calendar.
Two things are potential game changes if the government can get out of bureaucracy mode. One is treatment, if HCQ/Z-pack is highly effective, then we can relax. Also, serum tests. If a substantial fraction has been infected and is immune, that is also justification to relax.
The doctors' models do not include the treatment adjustment variable. They assume status quo treatment. Most of the people who get bad enough to need a ventilator for breathing, die.
ALSO, some states are behind NY, etc., so that “lag” has to be taken into account as well. Granted that some of the lagging states should benefit from greater social distancing occurring earlier in their curve(s).
I do wonder why restaurants that could do it cannot be allowed to reopen but with distancing and much lower occupancy limits employed. “Smart” restaurants could post “seats available” throughout the day, and hopefully businesses could be more flexible in when employees could leave to eat. This way restaurants could fill in their “slow hours”. I know many are (or at least were some years back) almost dead in mid-afternoon.
This might not turn a profit, but it could help reduce losses until we get this virus beaten back.