It’s basically here

Well it didn’t take long for Covid-19 to arrive locally.  Two confirmed cases in Lee County died late last week.  I also heard a rumor that there are some cases in local Naples hospitals that they are trying to keep out of the news.  The strategy of deliberately hiding or misrepresenting the truth when it comes to a situation like this is a delicate balancing act.  Lying to the public is an attempt to keep society from entering into a state of panic, something human beings revert to quite easily.  However if the truth is really that ugly and the misinformation prevents people from taking as many precautions as they should, you ultimately wind up with an even bigger problem.

You already see the snowball that is forming and getting bigger every day.  The stock market is imploding, travel related businesses are getting crushed, and events involving large groups of humanity are getting cancelled left and right.  Basic grocery/sanitation items are being hoarded by the general public at rates faster than they can be produced.  All of this has occurred with less than 1000 confirmed cases in the US.

What comes next as the virus, which has expanded far beyond containment, is the medical facilities in the country being obliterated as they are overrun with people that need medical care, both real and imagined.  Imagine the repercussions if huge segments of the American workforce “self quarantine”, shutting down core services.

The good news is we have an organized, intelligent, proactive, thoughtful president who surely has a top notch response team working around the clock to minimize the crater covid-19 could potentially cause.  Haha, just kidding, we are fcked.  He was playing golf this weekend.

I personally am still going about my routines although I have added more hand washing/sanitizing than is the norm.  I even went to the gym yesterday which is a germ factory even under normal circumstances.  I looked around at the overwhelmingly elderly population that was there with me and questioned which ones were candidates to be taken out if they caught the bug.

With protective masks being basically a luxury item right now I did secure one of these buffs that can be used in various manners, including covering the nose/mouth.  It isn’t medical grade obviously but it would prevent you from directly touching your mouth/nose in pubic interactions, which seems to be key.  It can be washed/reused infinitely, another bonus.