COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[Calthrina950]

It's dropping nationwide, but in how many states is it still increasing? I think Hawaii is starting to drop a little, so are there any left outside the Midwest?

Kentucky is at sort of a plateau, but it was always one of the lowest to begin with (and accomplished this without tossing people in jail over a stay-at-home order).

I think Iowa is leveling off, and I'm not sure why it had that really bad day a few days ago. That might have been a backlog.

Being an isolated methhole that nobody wants to go to probably also has helped your state .

This is somewhat unrelated, but one thing that has continued to astound me over the past several months is how this pandemic has truly exposed the characteristics of human nature. People have responded to it in radically different ways. You have some who have been taking the virus very seriously, to the point of paranoia. I'm talking about the people who have been wearing a mask and a face shield, and those who have been wearing gloves. You have those who have been taking it seriously or semi-seriously, complying with the mask mandate and taking some precautions, but not going overboard and not allowing the virus to dominate their lives.

This is the category where the vast majority of people lie. And then you have those who have viewed the reaction to the virus as "overblown", or who have pretended that if life is normal, ignoring the virus as best they can. This category includes those few who continue to go about maskless in public. When I am at my job, it's always interesting when I deal with one customer who falls into the first category, wearing a mask and gloves, and then with the next customer who is maskless and acting as if things are normal.

At school I definitely am in the first category. We have had two confirmed cases already in the school itself and it’s pretty crowded, so I wear a mask and a shield.
Although elsewhere I don’t wear the shield.
It is strange to see how people are reacting differently to the same event.

Very much true, though as I've said, the second category predominates. For example, I had to checkout ~25 customers within the span of half an hour or so yesterday. Out of those 25, only one person was maskless; all the rest were wearing masks. And the previous day, I had a line of four or five customers, with one maskless person in that line. The maskless certainly do stick out these days, and are a reminder that even the most vigorous orders coming from government cannot compel absolute compliance from everyone. You're always going to have those who rebel against the system or deviate from societal norms.

[Calthrina950]

Very much true, though as I've said, the second category predominates. For example, I had to checkout ~25 customers within the span of half an hour or so yesterday. Out of those 25, only one person was maskless; all the rest were wearing masks. And the previous day, I had a line of four or five customers, with one maskless person in that line. The maskless certainly do stick out these days, and are a reminder that even the most vigorous orders coming from government cannot compel absolute compliance from everyone. You're always going to have those who rebel against the system or deviate from societal norms.

Once the police fine those people a couple of times, they will start complying no problem; even if it is because of fear of being fined rather than because of the COVID prevention. I would personally fall on that category when in the streets; as I wear a mask only because of fear of being fined, not because I think it is useful when in open spaces (in stores and enclosed spaces I do see its usefulness, but it's always been mandatory here in stores anyways)

Even businesses independently putting orders of "no mask, no service" would already do a lot to force people to comply

Well, it's highly unlikely that fines over mask-wearing come to Colorado. When Polis issued his mask mandate back in July, several of our country sheriffs-including the Sheriff of El Paso County, where I live-stated that they would not enforce his mandate, and that they would only respond to trespassing, not mask violation, calls from local businesses. And my own workplace (Home Depot), has told us not to confront or deny service to maskless customers, as I've noted before. At work today, I saw at least a dozen maskless customers in one hour. 85-90% of people are still complying with the mask mandate, but it seems like the numbers of maskless may be back on an upwards trajectory as we enter September. I'm aware of how your native country (Spain), has been among the harshest in terms of dealing with violators of your mask mandates.

[Calthrina950]

Very much true, though as I've said, the second category predominates. For example, I had to checkout ~25 customers within the span of half an hour or so yesterday. Out of those 25, only one person was maskless; all the rest were wearing masks. And the previous day, I had a line of four or five customers, with one maskless person in that line. The maskless certainly do stick out these days, and are a reminder that even the most vigorous orders coming from government cannot compel absolute compliance from everyone. You're always going to have those who rebel against the system or deviate from societal norms.

Once the police fine those people a couple of times, they will start complying no problem; even if it is because of fear of being fined rather than because of the COVID prevention. I would personally fall on that category when in the streets; as I wear a mask only because of fear of being fined, not because I think it is useful when in open spaces (in stores and enclosed spaces I do see its usefulness, but it's always been mandatory here in stores anyways)

Even businesses independently putting orders of "no mask, no service" would already do a lot to force people to comply

Well, it's highly unlikely that fines over mask-wearing come to Colorado. When Polis issued his mask mandate back in July, several of our country sheriffs-including the Sheriff of El Paso County, where I live-stated that they would not enforce his mandate, and that they would only respond to trespassing, not mask violation, calls from local businesses. And my own workplace (Home Depot), has told us not to confront or deny service to maskless customers, as I've noted before. At work today, I saw at least a dozen maskless customers in one hour. 85-90% of people are still complying with the mask mandate, but it seems like the numbers of maskless may be back on an upwards trajectory as we enter September. I'm aware of how your native country (Spain), has been among the harshest in terms of dealing with violators of your mask mandates.

Yeah I guess if police don't enforce the mandate, then it is not going anywhere. Though given El Paso County seems to be a very Republican county I wonder if things are different in say, Denver or something

As for stores individually not doing it I guess it is probably not worth it for the 10% or so of maskless people

I've only been up to Denver once since the pandemic began-back in late July, a few days after Polis issued his mask mandate. And it's a mixed situation up there, to say the least. It seems like most people are wearing a mask inside businesses, but there is a large homeless population in the Downtown area, and almost all of them, obviously, are not wearing masks (or have access to ones). The only people outside who I saw wearing masks were clearly not homeless-they were either housed residents or tourists. Denver imposed a mask mandate back in May, over two months before the state did so, but I highly doubt that they are rigorously enforcing it, as they don't have the resources to.

[Calthrina950]

Students who are irresponsible enough to put the lives of others and the well-being of their entire community at risk should be punished. This is a serious situation and not a joke, excess deaths are well over 200,000 already. Prioritising individual selfishness and 'rights' above all else is creating a dysfunctional and worse-off society.

Eh, they should be given their money back considering how expensive tuition is here.

Well there should be some form of punishment.

By forcing students to carry tens of thousands of dollars in student debt for potentially decades to come, without having received their degree?

[Calthrina950]

The most unrealistic assumption is the expectation that people can live like this indefinitely. Like everyone else, I hope that we have an effective vaccine deployed within the next six months. More likely we don't but political pressure builds to the point that most of these measures cannot be maintained.

I certainly agree with you here. It's amazing to me that we've been contending with all of these restrictions for six months now. I've predicted before that the present situation will probably continue at least until the end of this year, but I don't want to still be wearing masks and practicing social distancing in September 2021. And I'm sure that the vast majority of Americans don't want to be either. Sacrifices are necessary for now, and have been necessary for months, but they are unsustainable beyond a certain period of time. In my view, it is unrealistic to expect that we can completely suppress the virus without a vaccine, and even a vaccine won't eliminate it.

[Calthrina950]

Are most people still wearing masks in your area? I went out for the first time in a while and about 80% of people weren't even wearing masks. Kind of shows you why Biden and Harris backtracked on the mask mandate.

Yes, but there has been an noticeable (and alarming) increase in the number of maskless people recently. I got back from work not too long ago, and today, I saw at least 20-30 customers who were maskless, which was quadruple the number which I had observed in the previous two days. It has been nearly two months now since Polis issued his mask mandate, and there still isn't 100% compliance (and never will be). It goes to show you (and this is a point I made on here a few days ago) that even an official government order cannot compel absolute obedience from everyone. Many people simply don't care, and will go about as if things are normal.

[Calthrina950]

Have we finally turned a corner on the coronavirus?

Pandemic seems to be leveling off in U.S., but numbers remain troublingly high, experts say

The coronavirus pandemic appears to be leveling off in most of the United States, with new cases, deaths and hospitalizations all down over the past week, but the plateau leaves the country with high and persistent infection numbers and worries of a post-Labor Day surge in some areas.

The number of new cases reported daily peaked above 70,000 in July and has been falling since. The decline now seems to be slowing, with the daily number hovering near 40,000 for more than a week, a review of nationwide data showed Tuesday. That is one sign that the infection may be leveling off.

Although that is good news, the numbers suggest continued high levels of infection and a long road ahead, particularly as cold weather and the flu season approach. Without a vaccine or a major advance in treatment, significant reductions in new cases would probably require voluntary or mandated changes in behavior that experts say are unlikely six months into the public health crisis.

This part is critical. We have been living with canceled events, capacity restrictions, social distancing guidelines, work from home, online schooling, mask mandates, quarantines, travel restrictions, tests, and all of the rest for over six months now. I'm not sure how much can be done to further reduce the number of cases, short of ordering another lockdown. I think it was foolish for us to expect that this virus would be completely suppressed. What we must do now is focus on "maintaining the curve", as it will, preserving hospital capacity and continuing with the reasonable restrictions that are currently in place.

[Calthrina950]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/halloween-trick-or-treat-not-allowed-los-angeles-county-coronavirus/

Door-to-door trick-or-treating will not be allowed in Los Angeles County this Halloween, according to the county's health department. The L.A. County Department of Public Health put out guidance on how to celebrate Halloween safely, saying some of the traditional ways of celebrating do "not allow you to minimize contact with non-household members."


"The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health would like to share information on how to take part in this holiday in a manner that reduces your risk of developing COVID-19," the new guidance reads.

Trick-or-treating at houses is not permitted and neither are "trunk-or-treating" events, in which children go from car to car instead of door to door.

 
Gatherings and parties with non-household members, as well as carnivals, festivals, live entertainment and haunted house attractions, are also not permitted.

This doesn't surprise me. I'm sure people are looking forward to a joyless and "virtual", or "stay at home" Halloween.

[Calthrina950]

India recording +95,000 cases today.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/india/

From a population of 1.4 Bn people, the cases are only 1/6th of the rate of the US, so the spread is set to continue.

Considering their testing, I am 100% certain they have significantly more cases than what is being seen.

Of course, India has many, many other health problems, including malnutrition, congenital deformities, infertility, tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS, dengue fever, chicken pox, rabies, cancer, sanitary issues......so coronavirus is just another issue (albeit a serious one) that they have to deal with.

[Calthrina950]

We now have a massive stockpile of non-medical masks and I dread to think what will happen to all of them once this is over.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is destined to grow even larger. I've already seen reports about masks washing ashore on beaches worldwide.

[Calthrina950]

We now have a massive stockpile of non-medical masks and I dread to think what will happen to all of them once this is over.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is destined to grow even larger. I've already seen reports about masks washing ashore on beaches worldwide.

Stockpile them for the next pandemic to come along.

That's what responsible people will do, but irresponsible people are going to discard those masks as fast as they possibly can. I'm sure that many people are itching to get rid of them at the first opportunity that they have.

[Calthrina950]

The updated numbers for COVID-19 in the U.S. are in for 9/14 per: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

I'm keeping track of these updates daily and updating at the end of the day, whenever all states finish reporting for that day.

ΔW Change: Comparisons of Weekly Day-to-day Growth or Decline of COVID-19 Spread/Deaths.

• IE: Comparing the numbers to the same day of last week, are we flattening the curve enough?

Σ Increase: A day's contribution to overall percentage growth of COVID-19 cases/deaths.

• IE: What's the overall change in the total?

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9/6: <Sunday>

• Cases: 6,460,250 (+29,098 | ΔW Change: ↓14.81% | Σ Increase: ↑0.45%)
• Deaths: 193,250 (+432 | ΔW Change: ↑17.07% | Σ Increase: ↑0.22%)

9/7: <M>

• Cases: 6,485,575 (+25,325 | ΔW Change: ↓34.13% | Σ Increase: ↑0.39%)
• Deaths: 193,534 (+284 | ΔW Change: ↓44.53% | Σ Increase: ↑0.15%)

9/8: <T>

• Cases: 6,514,231 (+28,656 | ΔW Change: ↓37.55% | Σ Increase: ↑0.44%)
• Deaths: 194,032 (+498 | ΔW Change: ↓57.22% | Σ Increase: ↑0.26%)

9/9: <W>

• Cases: 6,549,475 (+35,244 | ΔW Change: ↑6.27% | Σ Increase: ↑0.54%)
• Deaths: 195,239 (+1,207 | ΔW Change: ↑13.44% | Σ Increase: ↑0.62%)

9/10: <Þ>

• Cases: 6,588,163 (+35,244 | ΔW Change: ↓20.81% | Σ Increase: ↑0.59%)
• Deaths: 196,328 (+1,089 | ΔW Change: ↓0.46% | Σ Increase: ↑0.56%)

9/11: <F>

• Cases: 6,636,247 (+48,084 | ΔW Change: ↓10.65% | Σ Increase: ↑0.73%)
• Deaths: 197,421 (+1,093 | ΔW Change: ↑3.80% | Σ Increase: ↑0.56%)

9/12: <S>

• Cases: 6,676,601 (+40,354 | ΔW Change: ↓4.14% | Σ Increase: ↑0.61%)
• Deaths: 198,128 (+707 | ΔW Change: ↑0.00% | Σ Increase: ↑0.36%)

9/13 (Yesterday): <Sunday>

• Cases: 6,708,458 (+31,857 | ΔW Change: ↑9.48% | Σ Increase: ↑0.48%)
• Deaths: 198,520 (+392 | ΔW Change: ↓9.26% | Σ Increase: ↑0.20%)

9/14 (Today): <M>

• Cases: 6,749,289 (+40,831 | ΔW Change: ↑61.23% | Σ Increase: ↑0.61%)
• Deaths: 199,000 (+480 | ΔW Change: ↑69.01% | Σ Increase: ↑0.24%)

Even odds today is the big day. Where was the poll about when the big day would be? How'd we do?

This was the original thread: https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=375303.0.  The most common guess was "won't happen", followed closely by September and October.

Given the rate at which things have been proceeding, we'll probably surpass 300,000 by the end of the year.

[Calthrina950]

The updated numbers for COVID-19 in the U.S. are in for 9/14 per: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

I'm keeping track of these updates daily and updating at the end of the day, whenever all states finish reporting for that day.

ΔW Change: Comparisons of Weekly Day-to-day Growth or Decline of COVID-19 Spread/Deaths.

• IE: Comparing the numbers to the same day of last week, are we flattening the curve enough?

Σ Increase: A day's contribution to overall percentage growth of COVID-19 cases/deaths.

• IE: What's the overall change in the total?

Older Numbers (Hidden in spoiler mode to make the post more compact)

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

<Last Numbers for 3/26-3/28 in this Post>
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9/6: <Sunday>

• Cases: 6,460,250 (+29,098 | ΔW Change: ↓14.81% | Σ Increase: ↑0.45%)
• Deaths: 193,250 (+432 | ΔW Change: ↑17.07% | Σ Increase: ↑0.22%)

9/7: <M>

• Cases: 6,485,575 (+25,325 | ΔW Change: ↓34.13% | Σ Increase: ↑0.39%)
• Deaths: 193,534 (+284 | ΔW Change: ↓44.53% | Σ Increase: ↑0.15%)

9/8: <T>

• Cases: 6,514,231 (+28,656 | ΔW Change: ↓37.55% | Σ Increase: ↑0.44%)
• Deaths: 194,032 (+498 | ΔW Change: ↓57.22% | Σ Increase: ↑0.26%)

9/9: <W>

• Cases: 6,549,475 (+35,244 | ΔW Change: ↑6.27% | Σ Increase: ↑0.54%)
• Deaths: 195,239 (+1,207 | ΔW Change: ↑13.44% | Σ Increase: ↑0.62%)

9/10: <Þ>

• Cases: 6,588,163 (+35,244 | ΔW Change: ↓20.81% | Σ Increase: ↑0.59%)
• Deaths: 196,328 (+1,089 | ΔW Change: ↓0.46% | Σ Increase: ↑0.56%)

9/11: <F>

• Cases: 6,636,247 (+48,084 | ΔW Change: ↓10.65% | Σ Increase: ↑0.73%)
• Deaths: 197,421 (+1,093 | ΔW Change: ↑3.80% | Σ Increase: ↑0.56%)

9/12: <S>

• Cases: 6,676,601 (+40,354 | ΔW Change: ↓4.14% | Σ Increase: ↑0.61%)
• Deaths: 198,128 (+707 | ΔW Change: ↑0.00% | Σ Increase: ↑0.36%)

9/13 (Yesterday): <Sunday>

• Cases: 6,708,458 (+31,857 | ΔW Change: ↑9.48% | Σ Increase: ↑0.48%)
• Deaths: 198,520 (+392 | ΔW Change: ↓9.26% | Σ Increase: ↑0.20%)

9/14 (Today): <M>

• Cases: 6,749,289 (+40,831 | ΔW Change: ↑61.23% | Σ Increase: ↑0.61%)
• Deaths: 199,000 (+480 | ΔW Change: ↑69.01% | Σ Increase: ↑0.24%)

Even odds today is the big day. Where was the poll about when the big day would be? How'd we do?

This was the original thread: https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=375303.0.  The most common guess was "won't happen", followed closely by September and October.

Given the rate at which things have been proceeding, we'll probably surpass 300,000 by the end of the year.

Just comes to show that Democrats need to totally rework their strategy and platform if they underperform and especially if they get wiped out this year. I just don’t see how you can meet a Trumpy GOP in the middle though. With Reagan’s GOP, we could talk about welfare reform and crime bills , with W’s GOP, we could talk about Roe going too far or avoid talking about AR-15s. How do you say were going to moderate on racism, though?

OK. Rant over.

What are you trying to argue here? Are you saying that, given all which has transpired this year, the fact that Trump is still doing this well in the polls reflects poorly on our country? If so, I would agree. Even after 200,000 Americans have died-many of whose deaths were preventable-and this country's society has been so disrupted to such an unprecedented extent, his base is still behind him. I doubt that even a Second Great Depression would cause him to drop below 45% of the national popular vote.

[Calthrina950]

CDC director says COVID vaccine won't be widely available until mid-2021

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told lawmakers on Wednesday that he doesn't expect a potential COVID-19 vaccine to be available for most Americans until the middle of next year, even as the government unveiled plans to begin distributing a vaccine as soon as possible.

At a hearing before a Senate subcommittee on Capitol Hill, CDC Director Robert Redfield said any vaccine is unlikely to be widely available to most Americans before the summer or early fall of 2021, given initial constraints on supplies if and when a vaccine wins approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"I think there will be vaccine that will initially be available some time between November and December, but very limited supply, and it will have to be prioritized," Redfield told lawmakers. "If you're asking me when is it going to be generally available to the American public so we can begin to take advantage of vaccine to get back to our regular life, I think we're probably looking at late second quarter, third quarter 2021."

This means that we can expect to be wearing masks until next summer. I'm not looking forward to it.

[Calthrina950]

I got back from work about an hour ago, and I have two observations to make concerning the "Land of Lamborn" (Colorado-5th), one of which is related to the pandemic, and one that is related to politics. I'll make them both here for the sake of space and convenience. The first is that the number of maskless at my job has definitely trended upwards compared to what it was one or two months ago, despite the mask mandate imposed by Polis back in July, and which was extended for another month last week.

The breakdown of masked to maskless customers is now probably about 80-20% or 85-15%, rather than the 90-10% that it was before. More and more people are becoming bold with that kind of behavior. I probably saw more maskless today then I have seen at any other time since the mandate was implemented. Given this, I have my doubts as to whether we will all really be wearing masks still for another year, as the experts seem to think. It just seems like many people don't have the patience or the tolerance for it.

The second observation is that I saw an abnormally large number of customers wearing Trump paraphernalia, more then I've seen before. There were at least 20-25 people wearing such gear today. I had to process three of them. One was wearing a Trump hat, one had a "MAGA" bandanna on, and another was wearing a "Trump 2020" face shield. I'm not sure if this occurred just because it was the weekend or because it's drawing closer to the election, or if it's because it's the day after Justice Ginsburg's death-which many have argued will drive up turnout and enthusiasm among both bases. But it was an interesting observation nevertheless, and I still haven't seen anyone wearing Biden gear. That seems to accord with the views of many that Trump voters are much more enthused than Biden voters.

[Calthrina950]

I got back from work about an hour ago, and I have two observations to make concerning the "Land of Lamborn" (Colorado-5th), one of which is related to the pandemic, and one that is related to politics. I'll make them both here for the sake of space and convenience. The first is that the number of maskless at my job has definitely trended downwards compared to what it was one or two months ago, despite the mask mandate imposed by Polis back in July, and which was extended for another month last week.

The breakdown of masked to maskless customers is now probably about 80-20% or 85-15%, rather than the 90-10% that it was before. More and more people are becoming bold with that kind of behavior. I probably saw more maskless today then I have seen at any other time since the mandate was implemented. Given this, I have my doubts as to whether we will all really be wearing masks still for another year, as the experts seem to think. It just seems like many people don't have the patience or the tolerance for it.

The second observation is that I saw an abnormally large number of customers wearing Trump paraphernalia, more then I've seen before. There were at least 20-25 people wearing such gear today. I had to process three of them. One was wearing a Trump hat, one had a "MAGA" bandanna on, and another was wearing a "Trump 2020" face shield. I'm not sure if this occurred just because it was the weekend or because it's drawing closer to the election, or if it's because it's the day after Justice Ginsburg's death-which many have argued will drive up turnout and enthusiasm among both bases. But it was an interesting observation nevertheless, and I still haven't seen anyone wearing Biden gear. That seems to accord with the views of many that Trump voters are much more enthused than Biden voters.

I don't think that Biden voters are less enthused, so much as they're less loud about it.

There is legitimacy to this point, and I am in El Paso County, which is heavily Republican. But bear in mind that many of Biden's voters aren't voting for him, so much as they are voting against Trump-a point that one of my co-workers made in a conversation I had with him today.

[Calthrina950]

I wanted to make a few quick observations. I happened to catch a quick glance of the television not too long ago, and saw a group of people gathered together shouting the refrain "Good Morning America!" in the introduction segment to the program of that same name. The thing about it though, is that they were all wearing masks. So one could see their mouths move through the masks, but couldn't actually see their facial expressions. I trembled in anger at seeing this.

Yes, I know all the talk about how "we wear masks to protect each other", and how they're a valid public health measure, and all of that. But I have come to hate masks with a passion, and cannot stop commenting on them whenever I see them, which is almost every day (when I go to work and such). And everyone everywhere, except for a stubborn minority, are wearing them now. Members of Congress, members of the Armed Forces and of law enforcement, employees at just about every store and business, most of the general public, and now, even most Trump supporters at his rallies (and this is a good thing, from the public health perspective). But it's a terrifying and sickening sight, one that I will not forget for the rest of my life, and I'm praying to God that this will be over soon.

[Calthrina950]

I wanted to make a few quick observations. I happened to catch a quick glance of the television not too long ago, and saw a group of people gathered together shouting the refrain "Good Morning America!" in the introduction segment to the program of that same name. The thing about it though, is that they were all wearing masks. So one could see their mouths move through the masks, but couldn't actually see their facial expressions. I trembled in anger at seeing this.

Yes, I know all the talk about how "we wear masks to protect each other", and how they're a valid public health measure, and all of that. But I have come to hate masks with a passion, and cannot stop commenting on them whenever I see them, which is almost every day (when I go to work and such). And everyone everywhere, except for a stubborn minority, are wearing them now. Members of Congress, members of the Armed Forces and of law enforcement, employees at just about every store and business, most of the general public, and now, even most Trump supporters at his rallies (and this is a good thing, from the public health perspective). But it's a terrifying and sickening sight, one that I will not forget for the rest of my life, and I'm praying to God that this will be over soon.

Interesting.
I’ve taken the opposite route.
Because literally everyone at my school is masked (required) I’ve come to ignore it completely. It will feel weird when this is over and everyone is maskless again.
Maybe your experience is different because it’s more politicized where you are.

Not to the extent that you would think. As I've said before, the vast majority of people where I live-and that includes most Trump supporters-are wearing masks or facial coverings in public at this point. That was precisely what I was getting at in my initial post.

[Calthrina950]

Scottsdale, Ariz., and Rutherford County, Tenn., have repealed their local mask mandates.

In Colorado, our mask mandate remains in effect at least until October 14. But as I've said before, I fully expect Polis to extend the mandate again when the time comes.

[Calthrina950]

there's fans at sports games again - the nation has moved on, whatever the case/death numbers may be, ppl are fatigued by the virus and are resuming their lives as much as they can.

Agreed. People are tiring of the virus-which may be explaining why I've seen more and more customers at my job going about maskless (which I find to be an alarming development, but it's still notable enough). Unfortunately, a return to normalcy won't be fully possible until we have a vaccine, but to think that we can continue with lockdowns and social distancing restrictions indefinitely would be an unwise gesture. And the harsh reality at this point is that the pandemic has only exacerbated polarization, not loosened it. People are more fixed to their political ideologies and ways of viewing the world than ever before.

[Calthrina950]

there's fans at sports games again - the nation has moved on, whatever the case/death numbers may be, ppl are fatigued by the virus and are resuming their lives as much as they can.

Agreed. People are tiring of the virus-which may be explaining why I've seen more and more customers at my job going about maskless (which I find to be an alarming development, but it's still notable enough). Unfortunately, a return to normalcy won't be fully possible until we have a vaccine, but to think that we can continue with lockdowns and social distancing restrictions indefinitely would be an unwise gesture. And the harsh reality at this point is that the pandemic has only exacerbated polarization, not loosened it. People are more fixed to their political ideologies and ways of viewing the world than ever before.

The messaging from the government was dreadful, and I truly do mean both parties here. Two weeks to flatten the curve is turning into half a year now. Perhaps if it was made clear that this would be a year long slog, the public would be more engaged

If we actually had a mask mandate and people weren't allowed to ignore it without penalty, or if people would just quit pretending the pandemic is a hoax, it wouldn't have gotten this far in the first place.

At this point, I don't think a national mask mandate is realistic. Biden seems to have backtracked on it, and we've already seen how difficult it is to enforce compliance with the statewide mandates that have been imposed. I've discussed at length the difficulties which have been encountered here in Colorado.  I'll agree that the government's messaging was horrible, even though I do recall a report back in March or April when health experts predicted that the pandemic could last up to eighteen months (that is, more than a year and a half). Obviously, that prediction seems to be bearing itself out, reinforced by the CDC Director testifying that a vaccine won't be available to the general public until the second half of next year. If this is the case, then the pandemic may not "wind itself down" until September 2021, at the earliest. By that point, many more Americans will have died, and many others will have lost their sanity, their financial security, or both.

[Calthrina950]

https://twitter.com/BryanLowry3/status/1308876205400166410

Parson is now the second Governor to have contracted coronavirus, following Governor Stitt of Oklahoma, who got it about two months ago (if I'm recalling correctly). And like Stitt, Parson has mishandled his state's response to the pandemic. I'm still waiting to see if other Governors like Kristi Noem, Kim Reynolds, Pete Ricketts, Brian Kemp, and Ron DeSantis, to give a few names, will end up contracting the virus as well.

[Calthrina950]

https://twitter.com/WardDPatrick/status/1309490727177592832

The third Governor to now contract the virus, following Stitt and Parson. And it only took what, a day or two after Parson?

[Calthrina950]

I don't want to defend DeSanits on most issues, but at this point, what could he really do? Do we really expect things to be closed forever? Is that what we want?

Hang on just a few more months until a vaccine is generally available?  That would seem to be a lot shorter than 'forever'.

Judging by what the CDC Director said in his congressional testimony last week, it's going to be longer than a "few more months." We could be looking at almost another year.

[Calthrina950]

I don't want to defend DeSanits on most issues, but at this point, what could he really do? Do we really expect things to be closed forever? Is that what we want?

Hang on just a few more months until a vaccine is generally available?  That would seem to be a lot shorter than 'forever'.

Judging by what the CDC Director said in his congressional testimony last week, it's going to be longer than a "few more months." We could be looking at almost another year.

Perhaps so.  But if we just give up now and say the hell with it, many many more people will die or end up with permanent health problems during that year.  As a nation, we should be willing to pull together and put up with the inconvenience as long as it's necessary.  There *is* an end in sight.

I remember my mom talking about rationing during World War 2 (she still had one of her old coupon books, and gave it to my son several years ago because he's interested in history).  That lasted for more than two years -- and much longer than that for our friends in the UK.

This event has placed into better context for me the duration of previously transformative events in American history-World War II (which you allude to me) did last for six years; World War I for four years; the Civil War for four years; and the Revolutionary War for eight years. The Great Depression, on its part, lasted for the better part of a decade. And previous generations did have to sacrifice and endure until those events were over. I certainly recognize and appreciate this, but given the considerable damage which has already been incurred from lockdowns and all the rest this year, I'm not sure how much longer the present situation will be sustainable fo.