Are we though? Don’t polls show both sides think we should take precautions overall?
Everyone here represents like 0.001% of the US population. It’s easy for us to be like “WTF are these people thinking?” But there’s a large group of Americans that simply do not pay attention to what’s going on in the world. Their thinking is “It’s a nice holiday weekend and this bar is open. Let’s party!”
We’re open for business and when the case numbers spike again no one will be paying attention or it will just seem normal, with Trump et al. pushing that they’re no big deal, much lower than expected or they’re rigged we’re doing great, millions of lives saved, the economy has bounced back, transitioning to greatness, etc. And eventually it will be normal. Anyone who doesn’t agree and continues to treat CV as an existential threat will be looked on like the Japanese soldiers who kept fighting the war long after it had ended.
Redacted for privacy.
This is a good point. Aside from being a good person and having empathy, it’s not even irrational from a human perspective to treat every new crisis in America as, “Ehh, the chances that affects me are so low it’s not even worth worrying about.”
That’s the way life here has been for the last 70 years or so. It’s what everyone has learned. When I was in sports broadcasting, there would be frequent “crises” of technical problems getting set up for game broadcasts and such. When producing stories on a deadline, there were often moments that it looked like it was impossible to get it done in time. But it always just worked out, you always figured something out, because you had to.
So after experiencing this a few times, I stopped freaking out and just stayed calm, and it was absolutely the +EV way to go.
This is kind of the same thing, unfortunately this is the crisis that is going to change that thinking. Obviously in reality, while it’s not irrational for people to think that way based on their life experience, it’s not +EV because the downside if you do happen to get that once in 100 years thing is so tragically bad… and the last 70 years was not JUST because America was super rich and exceptional (lol), that stuff helped but we also ran like the bastard child of Jamie Gold and Joe McKeehen.
Oh I agree this crisis will change everything. We just aren’t there yet. I moved to Tennessee a month ago. I know 2 people personally that have COVID. But I have family in NYC area. Two of my friends in Tennessee don’t know anyone that has it. For them, life hasn’t changed. Why should it? They don’t know anyone. But yea, if/when we get tens of millions of cases, shit will hit the fan. Bubbles are gonna be popped.
WHO suspends trial of ‘Trump drug’
A clinical trial of anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine - the drug US President Donald Trump has touted and said he was taking to avoid getting Covid-19 - has been suspended by the World Health Organization (WHO) amid safety concerns.
Director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “The executive group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the solidarity trial while the safety data is reviewed by the data safety monitoring board. The other arms of the trial are continuing.”
On Friday, a study in medical journal the Lancet found there were no benefits to treating coronavirus patients with the drug.
It found that it actually increases the risk of patients with the disease dying from it.
Mr Trump has repeatedly promoted hydroxychloroquine, against medical advice, and said he was taking it despite public health officials warning it could cause heart problems.
In US, virus hits hardest in Democratic states
There are now more than 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the US and more than 345,000 deaths. But the rates of the sick and dying are not spread evenly: the hardest hit areas are disproportionately Democrat-leaning.
According to analysis by the New York Times, counties won by Republican President Donald Trump in 2016 have reported just 27% of infections and 21% of deaths, even though 45% of Americans live in these areas.
Why? Part of the answer is linked to population density. The virus has wreaked most havoc in densely populated counties and urban America has long been Democrat-dominated.
Overall, infections in some Republican-leaning counties are rising, while Democratic-led states like New York and New Jersey are seeing cases fall - but not at a rate fast enough to close the gap, the Times reports.
The country’s divides - urban/rural, Democrat/Republican - are exacerbated by wide discrepancies between states in their economic reopening. On the whole, Republican-led states have taken more aggressive steps to loosen social distancing, while Democratic governors have been more cautious.
lol, BBC stating 345k deaths (must be including assisted living and undercounts)
If you actually accurately record covid stats your numbers look worse (and most cities are Dem leaning). Who knew.
Yeah it would be a mistake to think these are all young 20 somethings. These are lifestyle photos and the lifestyle lasts through the 50s.
Don’t forget to mix in excessive drugs and alcohol to impair any judgement as it relates to trying to remain a little bit safe.
Be safe Doctor.
345k is the global number of deaths.
Gotcha. Clear as mud though, eh.
Sweden warns of dating dangers
Sweden’s Public Health Agency has published official advice on dating and sexual relationships for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
The advice came as the agency announced that the Covid-19 death toll had passed 4,000.
The agency has updated its online guidelines to state that “dating and temporary sexual relationships with new partners…pose a risk of getting infected or infecting others”.
However, it advises that “closeness, intimacy and sex are good for well-being and public health” and says that for those who are in relationships “sex is no obstacle if you and your partner, or partners, show no symptoms of illness”.
Last month, Denmark said that its social distancing guidelines did not extend to sexual relationships, whether serious or casual.
Sweden never had a lockdown and has kept larger parts of society open than many countries, including bars and restaurants.
However, venues have already been asked to make efforts to avoid mingling or hook-ups between strangers, for example by offering table-service only and spacing out seating.
LOCK HER UP
That is crazy and probably doesn’t help but I bet it was cathartic for many of them.
Honestly dumb people refusing to wear masks should be shouted out of everything, but we know it won’t happen.
Agreed. I don’t know if the author mixed up the numbers or wrote a misleading sentence. It‘s bad either way.