From this morning’s New York Times:
Leading infectious disease experts in the United States are warning that the coronavirus will be making life difficult for the foreseeable future.And as strict social distancing wanes, some leaders in New York and Texas are threatening renewed lockdowns in an effort to get people to take the persistent threat of the virus seriously.
"This virus is not going to rest” until it infects about 60 percent to 70 percent of the population, said Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, in an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
The virus has not gone away. There is no vaccine. We are nowhere near the number necessary to achieve herd immunity (and I am pretty sure that most of the people tossing that phrase around have no idea what it actually means). Every single credible public health and infectious disease expert has said we should expect ongoing waves and spikes, even under the realistic best-case scenarios.
Every day, I hear people saying "Now that everything is opening back up…" or "Now that we flattened the curve…" and then discussing plans to go back about normal activities.
This is crazy. Nothing has changed. The only goddamned reason the number of new cases is going down in some states is the lockdown measures that everyone is now so excited to be done with.
It’s not done. Infection rates are shooting up across the southern US, and the same thing will happen elsewhere as everyone rushes to get back to normal.
Yeah—I want to be able to hang out with my friends too, but this all seems like magical, wishful thinking that is going to kill a bunch more people.