I was surprised, though, when one of the podcasters went off about how he doesn't think that telling people the truth about the seriousness of the situation is helpful, since it isn't calming peoples' fears; and then, for an encore, he went on about how he doesn't think he should need to make the sacrifice of working from home, even though he could, because his workplace isn't far away, and because packing and moving all the stuff that he would need to work from home will be such a hassle (or, as he put it, "a big undertaking").
I can't being to describe how angry this made me. This dumbass kept saying how he understood how serious the situation, was... but. He understood that everyone had to make sacrifices to win the fight against COVID-19... but. He kept saying that he had "no argument" with the sentiment that protecting the health and lives of first responders, and health care workers, was absolutely essential... but.
Hey. Dumbass. Real talk time. There is no "but."
I am very, very lucky. I live in Canada, where we have universal health care, and governments at all levels who have clearly got the message, who understand how serious both the epidemiological and economic aspects of this crisis really are, and who are working around the clock to safeguard the health, the lives, and the livelihoods of as many Canadians as possible.
But I also live right next door to the United States of America, who have, for the most part, none of that. Donald Trump finally acknowledged this week that a best case scenario for America would be a six-figure death toll. The problem is that the health care systems in even the best-prepared states are already on the verge of collapse, all while states like Louisiana, Florida, and Alabama do nothing. Mardis Gras happened in Louisiana, spreading COVID-19 to basically every reveler who took part; how many of them were from out of state? In how many states is this thing spreading invisibly, with no testing, tracking, or containment, and with Trump-supporting governors who are still convinced that the whole thing is a Democratic party hoax to bring down their party's standard-bearer?
250,000 deaths is a best-case scenario, remember, and the situation is so far from a best-case that I don't even know where to start. I think that seven-figure death tolls are not only possible, but a near-certainty, with a death toll of 10,000,000 Americans being within the realm of the possible. Make no mistake; unless Donald Trump, for the very first time in his presidency, really starts taking this situation seriously, understanding that it's not about him, and doing everything that his country's experts are telling him are necessary to start getting this thing under control, the situation south of the border is dire.
I am not American. But America is right next door, and watching Americans suffer, while being able to do almost nothing to make any material difference, is beyond frustrating. It's infuriating. And now, I'm in the early days of what can, and probably will, be months of watching millions of Americans slowly be killed by a COVID-19 outbreak that didn't need to be allowed to get anywhere near as bad as it will.
Yes, for the mayor of Los Angeles to order power and water to be cut for any business not deemed essential probably will scare people. That's partly the point: to scare people who aren't nearly scared enough, or who believe that they, and they alone, are somehow immune to this thing, or can't spread this thing, or who just can't be bothered to do their part to safeguard their friends, their families, their neighbours, and the first responders, health care workers, grocery store workers, and other genuinely essential people who are risking their lives to keep the rest of us alive and fed.
The other part of the point? To force the dumbasses to finally go home, rather than continuing to put the health and safety of others at risk by going to work anyway, even though they don't really have to. Because the pandemic really is that dangerous.
If you can work from home, then do so. I don't care how big an undertaking it will be to pack up the shit you need to make that work, and take it home. Just do it. Because every time you don't, every time you choose to drive to your workplace in spite of the fact that your job really isn't essential, you're not only making that decision for yourself. You're making it for every other person you interact with. I don't care if your stupidity gets you killed; if it were only about you collecting a Darwin Award, I'd say have at it. The problem is that your stupidity isn't only putting you at hazard. You're risking other peoples' lives.
Under ordinary circumstances, your argument about your civil liberties and your right to choose whether you take risks that might kill you might have some validity. But the circumstances you're now living with are anything but ordinary. You are about to watch millions of your fellow Americans die over the next few months. Take it seriously. Go home, and stay home. Now. Right now. While you can still make a difference by doing so.
UPDATE: In case you think I'm being alarmist about this, consider the latest COVID-19 projections released on Friday (that's April 3rd, 2020, for those of you reading this in the future) by the government of Ontario, in Canada. As reported by CBC News:
"The most important function of epidemiological models is as a simulation," Tufekci wrote, "a way to see our potential futures ahead of time, and how that interacts with the choices we make today."
In that respect, the most significant numbers released by Ontario were not the currently projected mortality or infection rates. Beyond those possible outcomes, the Ontario projection looked at two alternative scenarios.
[...]
In one scenario, no measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 were taken. In that case, Ontario's model projects that 300,000 people would be infected by the end of April and 6,000 people would die.
In other words, by taking action and continuing those actions through the next four weeks — closing schools and businesses, telling people to stay home and practise physical distancing — 4,400 lives might be saved and 220,000 fewer people might be infected.
If anyone was tempted to believe that the events of the last few weeks were an overreaction to a small threat, they should be thoroughly chastened by such numbers.Ontario's model also projects what could happen if further measures — stricter closures, more testing — are implemented. In that scenario, the death toll might be reduced to 200 people, saving the lives of another 1,400.
"These numbers tell a story of Ontario's fight against COVID-19," Premier Ford said shortly after the presentation by the province's top medical experts. "But what matters is the ending of our story is still up to us."
[...]
The actions of individuals and governments, Ford said, can change these forecasts.
"Over 1,600 people could be dead by the end of April," Ford continued. "Each one could be your brother, your sister, your mother, your father, your grandparents or your friend …
"And we all have to ask ourselves, what is the cost of a life? Is a life worth a picnic in the park? Is a life worth going to the beach? Is a life worth having a few cold ones with your buddies in the basement? The answer is no. None of those things is worth as much as a life. So to everyone in Ontario, we need to listen — we need to listen to what the data tells us."A few paragraphs back, I said that I was very, very lucky to live in Canada. That the governments here, at all levels, were competent, and taking the situation seriously. Even with those advantages, though, you can see from these projections just how bad COVID-19 could become, even here. Just imagine how much worse it's going to be in the United States, where the response to this pandemic has been fractured, scattered, and incompetent. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: without immediate, focused, and competent response from the federal level, now, the death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. will be horrific.
If I weren't an atheist, I'd pray for you all.
If you're still thinking that this doesn't affect you, you're wrong. If you're still thinking that you can ride this out without making any sacrifices, you're wrong. If you can work from home, then do that. Pretty please, with fucking sugar on top. Go home, and stay home, RIGHT NOW.
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