Y2K had a hell of a lot or work and expense put into it to MAKE it a non-event.
In a pandemic, if a shutdown works and few die, then people ask if the shutdown was worth it. Can't win that way.
Trouble is, shutdown worked in some places, but not others. NY has done wonders with virus rates. The country as a whole has done badly over the same period. And it's about to get much worse. It's in part due to politics (how on earth did wearing a mask become political??) and in part due to that cultural memory of 200+ years of frontiersmen, don't tread on me attitude.
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First. Y2K was ALWAYS a non-event. Computers did not cease to work, traffic lights did not fail, electrical grids did not fail and bank computers didn’t stop counting days...because they never were going to fail, there programming wasn’t faulty and the “00” didn’t mess up 99.99999999% of technology. I was personally tasked with writing a parallel computer program capable of operating my hospital laboratory system that was entirely self contained and had been programmed to ‘think’ it was 1998 turning 1999 ...just in case our already ancient system really did fail to operate at the turn of the century as feared. The ‘hell of a lot of work’ needed to solve the much feared Y2K catastrophe amounted to nothing more than cleaning up sloppy programming that should never have been allowed to accumulate...we even had a couple movies about the year 2000, it shouldn’t have been a surprise.
As far as the shutdown goes...went? is going? The evolving consensus is that it did little to change the pace or outcome and was largely the wrong move as it was applied at the time. This is not to say it isn’t a good idea or the right idea, just that the blanket application as it was applied beginning in March did not achieve what it was hoped it would. (Enter through thundering mob of pitchfork wielding citizens slow walking up my driveway). Yeah, the mask thing has become a form of political rebellion(or is it expression?) but remember when they specifically told us NOT to wear masks ...They only told us not to so there would be enough for the medical professionals. At one time my county issued a mandate requiring masks whenever you left your home, including while driving alone in your own vehicle. In a way, masks became a symbol of ‘the big lie’ or the ‘manipulation’. But...let’s leave the political angle out of this/my rant because it’s not necessary for my big picture issue. My problem is less political and more about how quickly and willingly citizens/individuals have gone ferrel . Seriously, it’s like nobody even thinks about anyone else or the greater good let alone ‘patriotism’. I guess that’s political but it’s not partisan so I’ll allow it (my rant my rules...I’m ferrel too.
now, about those curves. The U.S has a population of something like 300million versus maybe 30-60 million the others AND our geography is vastly different (larger, more spread out). Our numbers are going to be higher, which also means the area under the curve is going the curve is going to be proportionally larger. You’ll notice the shape of those other curves (you gotta put Brazil in there, that’s a tragic story too) is sharper than ours. If ours were as sharp, the relative shock would be more like what occurred in NY but the time to equilibrium would be sooner. If there’s a silver lining for NY, Italy, Spain and possibly France (although they have more porous borders) is that the early pain they‘ve endured my provide a buffer against future resurgence. My point is, the numbers aren’t the story, there’s more to it. ...again, why I said early in my rant I’m NOT reacting to the spikes, I am not being wagged around by the tail.
What I AM bothered by (since the graphic has been provided) is, look at the deaths in Italy...Spain...The US (I don’t know enough about France to comment). So, so many of those that died did so ALONE, their families NOT by their side. They entered the hospital sick with hope, hugged and waved good by to their loved one(s) ...and that was it. Making that horror worse (as if it could get worse) so many of them died anonymously or without notice to the family and/or were buried without the family present to protect them from infection. These are cultures that revere family and loved ones, yet the best the world could come up with was to place 1/3 of humanity on lock-down while thousands died alone and doctors and nurses lay crumpled in hallways in tears because they could do nothing to more to help.
I am telling you, the biggest tragedy that has come of this so far and if we do nothing to change it, WILL continue to come of the COVID19 crisis is the separate isolation of those entering the medical System for treatment. COVID will infect an increasing number of people and an increasing number will die, that is tragic and the closer to those events you are the more tragic they will be for YOU. But so, so SO many people access the health care system each day for various reasons, reasons that seem mundane but ones that have major impacts in the long run. If people fear they will be isolated and alone if/when they choose/need to access the hospitals or doctors they won’t go. If people can’t or won’t access their doctors or hospitals because of overbearing system imposed obstacles (as simple as “patients only” & “no visitors/spouses” policies) We can expect a lot more health problems down the road, including mental health issues.