by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Congress called for ramped-up coronavirus testing in the first relief package that it passed on March 4th, yet now, six weeks later, that necessary component in the battle to defeat the virus and the disease, COVID-19, still has not happened. In fact, our government has so far failed to devise and implement a plan to test all of those individuals who are symptomatic for COVID-19, much less begin testing the larger asymptomatic general populace - people who might unknowingly be carrying the virus.
Now Congress is again trying to dramatically increase testing with the newest stimulus package, but Trump and the GOP machine are prattling on and telling America that the states already have what they need for adequate testing when they clearly do not.
Without testing a much greater portion of the population, it is impossible to tell how far the virus has spread - or to know if the situation is leveling off, getting better, or worsening.
In addition to a much more rigorous testing regimen, a program will also need to be put in place to trace the contacts of all people who have tested positive so that those contacts can be directed into self-quarantining. It will be a complicated and arduous process, but only after comprehensive measures such as those have taken place will much of our nation's population feel even remotely comfortable in resuming the lives that they were leading before the pandemic manifested itself on our shores.
But Donald Trump and many of his political and economic persuasion want to skip all of that hard work, flip a switch, and declare the problem to be over. They argue that maintaining a robust economy takes priority over the lives of ordinary working Americans. Others, of course, disagree.
Testing seems to be a particular hang-up with Trump, and there is some sense abroad in the land that he opposes large-scale testing out of a fear that it would reveal that the coronavirus has taken a much greater hold in the nation than has been known up to this point. They feel that Trump wants to keep the number of positive cases artificially low in order to make him and his administration look better.
However, it may take even more than adequate testing and a tracking program to put the minds of many at ease regarding the pandemic. There are many for whom even those measures won't be sufficient. Yesterday I spoke with a young, upwardly mobile suburban professional, someone whom I respect, and he told me that his family would not be fully re-integrating into society until a vaccine becomes available - something that is reportedly at least a year in the future. And, in particular, he noted that he and his wife would not be sending their children back to school until they had been vaccinated for the coronavirus.
The politicians can posture and proclaim until the cows come home, but in the end it will be the American public who decides when this crisis is over. And, by and large, they will listen to doctors and scientists over windbag politicos, and they will seek out the best medical practices before they put their families and themselves back into their pre-pandemic routines. Some of the new practices that Americans have adopted during this emergency will, in fact, likely live on into their post-pandemic lives - and things like stockpiling more groceries and essential items, more hand-washing, and wiping down surfaces with disinfectant wipes will become the new normal.
Many who survive this catastrophe will walk away from it stronger and better prepared for the next one - and there will be a next one. On the other hand (the unwashed one), those who choose to wallow in denial and self-interest will continue to be swept along into the dark void by the maelstroms of their own ignorance.
And in the end, Darwin will out.
Citizen Journalist
Congress called for ramped-up coronavirus testing in the first relief package that it passed on March 4th, yet now, six weeks later, that necessary component in the battle to defeat the virus and the disease, COVID-19, still has not happened. In fact, our government has so far failed to devise and implement a plan to test all of those individuals who are symptomatic for COVID-19, much less begin testing the larger asymptomatic general populace - people who might unknowingly be carrying the virus.
Now Congress is again trying to dramatically increase testing with the newest stimulus package, but Trump and the GOP machine are prattling on and telling America that the states already have what they need for adequate testing when they clearly do not.
Without testing a much greater portion of the population, it is impossible to tell how far the virus has spread - or to know if the situation is leveling off, getting better, or worsening.
In addition to a much more rigorous testing regimen, a program will also need to be put in place to trace the contacts of all people who have tested positive so that those contacts can be directed into self-quarantining. It will be a complicated and arduous process, but only after comprehensive measures such as those have taken place will much of our nation's population feel even remotely comfortable in resuming the lives that they were leading before the pandemic manifested itself on our shores.
But Donald Trump and many of his political and economic persuasion want to skip all of that hard work, flip a switch, and declare the problem to be over. They argue that maintaining a robust economy takes priority over the lives of ordinary working Americans. Others, of course, disagree.
Testing seems to be a particular hang-up with Trump, and there is some sense abroad in the land that he opposes large-scale testing out of a fear that it would reveal that the coronavirus has taken a much greater hold in the nation than has been known up to this point. They feel that Trump wants to keep the number of positive cases artificially low in order to make him and his administration look better.
However, it may take even more than adequate testing and a tracking program to put the minds of many at ease regarding the pandemic. There are many for whom even those measures won't be sufficient. Yesterday I spoke with a young, upwardly mobile suburban professional, someone whom I respect, and he told me that his family would not be fully re-integrating into society until a vaccine becomes available - something that is reportedly at least a year in the future. And, in particular, he noted that he and his wife would not be sending their children back to school until they had been vaccinated for the coronavirus.
The politicians can posture and proclaim until the cows come home, but in the end it will be the American public who decides when this crisis is over. And, by and large, they will listen to doctors and scientists over windbag politicos, and they will seek out the best medical practices before they put their families and themselves back into their pre-pandemic routines. Some of the new practices that Americans have adopted during this emergency will, in fact, likely live on into their post-pandemic lives - and things like stockpiling more groceries and essential items, more hand-washing, and wiping down surfaces with disinfectant wipes will become the new normal.
Many who survive this catastrophe will walk away from it stronger and better prepared for the next one - and there will be a next one. On the other hand (the unwashed one), those who choose to wallow in denial and self-interest will continue to be swept along into the dark void by the maelstroms of their own ignorance.
And in the end, Darwin will out.
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