Coronavirus Thread

Here we are at half-time in the corona sweepstakes folks. We still don’t know who the winners and losers are going to be. There are a few givens at this point. We know that the virus has proven to be extremely contagious. We know that in some circumstances it can kill, and we know that in others the symptoms have been more of an aggravation than an illness. We know the death toll is nowhere near as horrifying as the flu, but we also understand that it would be better if we had could eliminate this additional cause.

What we surely don’t know at this point is when and if this is going away. We don’t know how the world will be changed. I know some countries are going to be changed just because the government says so. I hope we stay very aware of changes in the USA.

To make sure the people have a say in the way we move ahead. This has to be a strangely powerful time to be a governor or law maker. With most Americans living in fear, the government has a much stronger grip on the steering wheel. Let’s make sure choices like crowd control, etc. are put up for referendum so we don’t wind up being treated like chattel.

And we have to clean up the disparate political policies some how. Pay attention to what’s happening. Make what you feel are wise choices, regardless of political party.

Yes, this has leaked over to politics. I didn’t intend that, so when I got there. I carefully tip-toed around taking political sides. If anyone wants to reply to me and wishes to take sides, please do so in the political thread so we can keep this thread more about the virus itself...

I know, I know! Lock my arse up and toss the key away... I’ve never been a perfect rule follower. I should have revealed that much earlier in life than I did...

Sweden is basically practicing herd immunity concepts. Early returns are good, but the medical community remains skeptical of the long term results.

If it’s true that after contracting the virus we become immune (no assurances yet, though speculative banter has occurred, that would be good news for those have already survived it l...

I’m going to dare to make an assumption or two here. The purpose of social distancing is to keep the first wave of virus victims from being massive to allow medical personnel to be able to have the capacity to treat the most seriously ill. This doesn’t prevent us from seeing additional waves of the virus. In actual fact it does give medical more time to develop an effective vaccine, if there ever will be one. If there is never a vaccine developed then theoretically eventually everyone that is susceptible to the virus (which appears to be nearly everyone if not everyone will have to catch the virus for herd immunity will have occurred.

So if the goal of keeping the death toll and need for immediate services under immediate control, and if a 3-4% death rate is to be assumed, then somewhere around 1,000,000-1,500,000 deaths would occur. It may take longer for that death toll to add up, so I
initial success in the first wave (100,000-200,000 would be a tremendous “success” at that point) will not necessarily result in a lower death toll in total after all waves unless immunity is somehow realized.

While these are indeed guesstimates they are based on the experiences in other countries to date and basic algebraic mathematics. We know that the more is learned about the disease and available treatments (indeed potential vaccines) that the circumstances may change. Sadly, we must guess at how many people are on the USA. I understand that official estimates say 320,000,000 or so. I suspect that if all human beings in the country are counted, legal or not
it’s more likely we total something closer to 375,000,000. If that turns out to be true, then the death toll over the next few waves could expand with the higher population...

For so many years, the one positive highlight Saints fans had was the old grainy film footage of Tom Dempsey setting the NFL record with a 63 yard field goal. The Saints first non-losing season was in 1979 at 8-8, thirteen years after their entering the league. They followed that hopeful season in 1980 by going 1-15. Not until Jim Mora’s team in 1987 would the Saints have their first winning season at 12-3. Before then, Tom Dempsey was the one lone actual highlight for Saints fans. Rest In Peace.

RIP to Tom Dempsey and the 65,000 people this terrible disease has killed so far across the world.

The US economy has rebounded from Civil War, multiple recessions and a crushing depression. It will again. This is not a third world country. But, death is final. And, we aren’t close to being clear from this. Some people are numb until it happens to one they love or when they themselves are struggling for breath, then the economy is far from their thoughts. Until then, some think like Stalin: “One death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.”