
Stop Expecting Life to Go Back to Normal Next Year - aaronbrethorst
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/15/opinion/coronavirus-precautions.html#click=https://t.co/WoNMv8hNFD
======
just-juan-post
> Aaron E. Carroll is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times. He
> is a professor of pediatrics and associate dean for research mentoring

> Anthony Fauci warned us last week that Covid-19 is likely to be hanging over
> our lives well into 2021

Anthony Fauci will say and do whatever it takes to keep his face in the media
until 2021. I have yet to see him say anything of actual substance. Anthony
Fauci needs to stop superspreading fear to the population so he can continue
to have podcast conversations with Julia Roberts.

> It’s also about an overwhelmed health care system where so many beds are
> filled that we can’t get care for the many other conditions people
> experience

Can anyone show me a single news story from anywhere in the world where this
has happened?

> Because of all these unknowns, we will need to continue to be exceedingly
> careful even as we immunize

No. I'm done living this restricted lifestyle.

> We need to normalize mask-wearing. It’s a tragedy that this has become
> politicized and that this simple, safe and effective measure is in dispute.
> It’s about protecting others even more than ourselves. That such an action
> is now viewed as weakness is horrific.

Clutch those pearls, wring those hands, put everyone into the same basket.
There you go.

I view it as nannys such as Aaron E. Carroll and the government telling me how
to live when instead they could be telling the vulnerable and scared to mask
up and stay inside.

Perhaps Aaron E. Carroll should go back to treating children and perhaps Dr.
Fauci should stop superspreading fear, under the guise of safety and concern,
for his own gain.

~~~
PragmaticPulp
> Can anyone show me a single news story from anywhere in the world where this
> has happened?

Yes, absolutely. The New York hospital systems were in bad shape during the
initial outbreak, for example: [https://www.foxnews.com/health/nyc-hospitals-
overwhelmed-by-...](https://www.foxnews.com/health/nyc-hospitals-overwhelmed-
by-coronavirus-patients-resident-warns)

Check local NY news websites during that timeframe for more examples:
[https://abc7ny.com/nyc-hospital-queens-coronavirus-
news/6070...](https://abc7ny.com/nyc-hospital-queens-coronavirus-
news/6070475/)

Also note that hospitals have suspended or delayed procedures that can be held
off in order to allocate more capacity to Coronavirus patients. Hospitals are
notoriously revenue-hungry operations, so taking voluntary measures to reduce
certain procedures to make room for Coronavirus treatment is not something
they're going to take lightly.

~~~
briandear
It happened. But it's not still happening. Note that New York hasn't had the
promised "second wave."

Article: "New York City nervously braces" ->
[https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/27/new-york-city-
anoth...](https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/27/new-york-city-another-
spread-403379)

No big second wave in Sweden either: [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-
health-coronavirus-sweden...](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-
coronavirus-sweden-secondwave/swedish-covid-19-response-chief-predicts-local-
outbreaks-no-big-second-wave-idUSKBN25K1B2)

Yet we did have a second wave in California. What's the difference? California
locked down fast and tight while De Blasio was telling New Yorkers to visit
Broadway. As late as March 12, De Blasio was hoping to keep subways and
Broadway open. Santa Clara County locked down around March 16. Sweden never
locked down at all. New York was late to the lockdown party and it seems that
while it caused a steep curve, that curve probably led to a more rapid herd
immunity. People seem to forget that "Flatten the Curve" doesn't change the
area under the curve.

Most people here are going to scoff at this source, however, this article is
pretty solid on data on lockdowns and deaths per capita:
[https://www.aier.org/article/a-closer-look-at-the-states-
tha...](https://www.aier.org/article/a-closer-look-at-the-states-that-stayed-
open/) (TLDR: non-lockdown states are among the best in terms of deaths per
capita, while the strictest lockdown states have been hit hardest.

------
csilverman
It’s not at all my intention to sound cynical or smug, but “normal” for me is
a blurry point somewhere in the future, not nearly close enough to 2021.

And while dashing anyone’s hopes is the last thing I’d want to do, I really do
worry about what premature optimism is going to result in. I live in the
Hudson Valley, and our numbers are pretty low right now. Given how many people
are going to bars, gyms, and restaurants—my friends included—I don’t expect
that to last.

