Well, it looks like our leadership crisis in the United States has turned our coronavirus recovery into an unmitigated disaster. From the beginning of this series of Blindsided articles, we attempted to stick to “just the facts ma’am” and avoid any political inferences. We will continue to stick with that policy, as much as reasonably possible and let just the facts, as established beyond a reasonable doubt, tell the story.
From the beginning of this pandemic in the United States in early February, it was clear that Covid-19 was an extremely dangerous killer virus. It was stealthy, highly contagious, lethal for some and there was no medication to prevent it, treat it, or test for it in the general population. It was like an invasion from outer space with no defenses except to run and hide.
Initially, the administration minimized the danger to the public apparently to avoid a stock market crash. In late February and early March, when the public did become aware of this virus’s devastating potential, the Dow fell ten thousand points in just a few days. Though some may fault the administration for its initial slowness in response, there was still time for prompt action in bringing the country safely through this crisis.
There was no question among all the medical experts what had to be done. First and foremost, stop the spread of it as quickly as possible. Since there was no medication and very few masks for the general population at that time, quarantining everyone, except for essential workers, in their homes for a few weeks was the best and only real choice. Many states mandated that policy closing all non-essential businesses. However, the administration continued to downplay the seriousness of the virus and some states, influenced by that thinking, did not follow suit.
After about four weeks in lockdown, the isolation was understandably getting on the nerves of many with a political divide developing essentially along party lines. On the one hand, the quick return to normal and wearing no mask group, influenced by the administration, versus, the more cautious and concerned group who wore masks and observed social distancing.
Though the medical experts cautioned against opening too early and urged everyone to always practice social distancing and mask wearing, there was a strong desire by many, encouraged by the administration, to get back to normal and disregard our only defenses. Since statistically it appeared that new cases and deaths from the virus were moving more favorably downward, it was understandable why many decided the crisis was over.
What a big mistake that causal “wear no helmet” attitude has been. Last Friday was reported to be the largest number of new coronavirus cases in the US on record. All of the “open too early” states are reporting a major increase in new cases and hospitalization due to the virus, and no, it is not because of more testing.
So, bottom line, what’s in store for us during the next few weeks? That’s the proverbial $64,000 question. Unless there is a big change in the attitude and behavior of many of our leaders, starting at the top, our future, including the US economy, could be in very serious trouble.
The remedy to me seems to be quite clear and straight forward. Our leaders should always require everyone in the US to wear masks and observe social distancing when in public under penalty of embarrassment. The not wearing of a mask is not like the not wearing of a helmet while riding a motorcycle. The former involves the health and safety of others, the latter does not. We also need not shut down the economy. If social distancing and wearing a mask is not practical when people must work in close quarters, then employers must provide protective clothing, just like they do in hospitals.
If everyone pitched in and did this, despite our leadership crisis, operating under the forces of kindness, consideration, or alternatively, embarrassment, then we can beat this thing in a reasonable period of time. Better yet, if our leadership mandated a war-like effort to develop a vaccine and a cure for this virus, that would certainly be a big help in avoiding more of these resurges in the future.