Tbe

Not shutting down mass transit is next level stupid.

My friend is a nurse in Seattle. They were anything but ready for this. His hospital had 6 masks for the entire hospital when this started. They still don’t have enough PPE. The only place that could handle testing was the university of Washington. For a while, they were closing on the weekends. Total WTF stuff.

NC looks to be flattening out quite a bit. We’ll see.

I guess Bats are still ok huh?

Unfortunately, tariffs are paid by the importer not the exporter. China doesn’t pay anything, US companies pay since they are the buyer.

True story. I have a friend that owns a company that works with large pieces of granite. It is far cheaper for him to import these large pieces of granite from China and ship it to Georgia than it is to buy the same granite from a quarry in West Virginia. He hates it, but he’d be out of business if he didn’t do it. Also, knowledge work is not a joke. Someday, China’s economic model will be replaced by robotics. Everything will be manufactured in fully autonomous factories strategically placed near population centers to cut down on transport costs. That would be the case now, but slaves are cheaper than robots at the moment.

None of us can afford our lifestyles without cheap stuff from China. The sad reality is, China now holds most of the manufacturing expertise. We couldnt make a lot of things even if we wanted to. Not quickly anyway. I do think we start making our own medicine and medical supplies though.

Don’t spend it all in one place.

We’ll see if that happens. From what I’ve read, the current stimulus’ small biz protections are pitiful. We would need trillions or tens of trillions more. I can tell you my job and the jobs of my 500 other colleagues are gone forever if this thing lasts past august. Nothing short of a 20 mil bail out would bring the org back.

It’s not about the stock market. It’s about businesses still being around to bounce back. It’s about people having money to pay for food etc. I’m not saying I’m for this. However, what happens when people start seeing their jobs and companies disappear forever? Fear is a powerful force.

Give it another few weeks and the general population might be saying that too.

Yeah, all the experts have said that if they could wave a magic want that kept everyone at home (and family members 6ft from each other) this thing would be over in 2-3 weeks. These half measures are just going to prolong it. People are now reporting that they are getting it even though they haven’t left the house in 3 weeks except for groceries. Jeez, I wonder where they got it.... Everyday I look outside and neighbors are standing in groups right next to each other talking away. WTF!

Maryland’s new order is indefinite.

Yeah, I work with two people who most likely had it weeks ago. They couldn’t get tested so they will never know.

I see what you’re getting at but this would take a ton of prep time. Not all old people live by themselves and can take care of themselves. The deadly outbreaks in the Seattle retirement homes were started by employees and nurses bringing the virus in. Also, it’s worth noting that the U.K. was going to use a similar plan but realized the number of hospitalizations that would happen among the “non at risk group” would still overload their healthcare system. They went from “let the young work and get the virus” to “put the entire country in lockdown” in just a week or two. What should have happened was an earlier travel ban and a complete lockdown of those first few cities where the virus took hold. Unfortunately, that type of lockdown is unconstitutional at the moment. We might end up seeing the first constitutional amendment in a century when this is over.

Yeah, you can only get tested if you are in the hospital and testing has ruled out everything else. Mild cases don’t get reported.

One thing we have going for us is our population density is nothing like China and Europe. Most of us don’t take public transport, etc. It’s way easier for us to isolate.

Absolutely, it can be done and I think it will be done. A lot of people think this is nothing more than the flu and we don’t need to take all these precautions. To me, that is what Tom is getting at.

Like Tom, a lot of people have a terrible time assessing risk. You see this with hurricanes. There are always people who say the risk is overblown and they stay home because “very few people die in these storms”. Well yeah, because people leave. What would happen if everyone stayed and did nothing? Same with this. What would happen if nothing was done? Italy x 10 would happen. You wouldn’t tell a cancer patient that their disease is no big deal because way more people die in car accidents. No, you take the appropriate steps (drastic if required) to stop the threat.

Apparently, the panelists were not happy with his notes and feel it is not 100% accurate. https://twitter.com/thebasepoint/status/1238345777497272321

Sounds like it was worth it....

I know, but I don’t want people to read his posts and think there is something to it. People love conspiracy theories.

Italy right now. Reporting 463 total fatalities from the virus, out of 9,172 confirmed cases. 2019 flu season in Italy. 2,768,000 cases. 240 deaths.

Yes, SARS was way worse. Most people won’t die from corona virus, but we have a responsibility to protect the vulnerable. Our medical system cannot handle a modest influx of sick people all at once. That’s the real danger here. I’m going to trust my friends in the medical field and what they are telling me they are seeing over whatever YouTube channel you are watching.

No one is saying it is the Black Death, but is is serious. King County (Seattle) has 376 known cases so far with 23 deaths. Some were elderly but some were people in the 50s and 40s. The person in her 40s was a regular employee of the nursing home. She didn’t have major health issues except maybe high blood pressure or something. The point is, there are a lot of elderly people and people with health issues. If hundreds of thousands or millions of people had this already, basic math says it would be hitting the fan right now.