Virus Blog

3/20/20

History Books. This article by the Associated Press tells the global story as of today. It's quite complete and, I think, appropriate to understand the context of my self-absorbed writing. Imagine reading this 20 years from now in school and trying to imagine the immensity of it all.

Dr. Greg. It seems to me that this whole testing thing is being done wrong. If this was left to me I would prioritize who gets a test.

If you work at a hospital you get tested every day.
If you set foot inside a hospital you get a test
If you are both HEALTHY and part of our SUPPLY CHAIN you get a weekly test. I want our grocery store, our UPS guy and everything we need to survive to be "clean". We need to make sure that these people who are interacting with people are regularly testing.
Everyone else.

The idea that if you feel sick that you should get a test is ridiculous. If you get sick the truth is that there is no cure. So everyone that doesn't feel perfect should isolate themselves! No need to get a test...stay home. Sure, if you need a hospital go for it, but no one should be calling their doctor just because they are curious (I think I could make an exception for the President).

Governors. Eve posted "thank god for governors" today and she couldn't be more right. The lack of Federal leadership, has left a GOP gubernatorial quandary that the "pro business" and "anti poor" policies they will lie for means that they have to resist shutting down the state. But then there is the math of the thing. The math seems pretty obvious. Forecasting is part art and part science but it seems obvious that you err on the side of shutting things down sooner than later. It's taken a week and probably instigated by San Francisco. The logic minded people may have resisted shutting it all down, but they looked at San Francisco's "better safe than sorry" approach and quickly followed suits. In the case of New York's Cuomo he seemed to have changed his mind completely overnight. His concern was that a lockdown would be more mentally taxing than it was preventative. Those arguments seem to have evaporated over night.

Random Thoughts.

Today is the beginning of my second week of quarantine.
Starting to wonder if my closed health club is going to bill me this month?
Italy's "daily new cases" count continues to grow and the daily death toll jumped from yesterday's record in the 400s to the 600s today.
That kid is playing basketball again right outside my window!
What's for dinner?

3/21/20

Insurance Companies. We expect the virus to overwhelm our medical system. This will strain both those who are insured and those that aren't. What's the outlook for the insurance industry? What will happen if Republicans propose a bailout for the insurance industry? This might be the tipping point that bankrupts the insurance companies and moves us toward a one-payer system like the rest of the world. The Democrats won't allow an insurance company bail out. They are about to be overwhelmed and rates will spike at a time when neither individuals or companies can afford these spikes. The result, hopefully, is that the government will be forced to step in and provide a level of stability with a one-payer system. Imagine if attorneys asked for a bailout? They might have a better chance of making that happen than insurance companies!

Random Thoughts

Lockdown Beard Update. I'm not sure I can last. It's been almost a week and it still exists, but there's huge pressure from those that have to look at me and I can't stop touching my face with all this new fuzz.
Anne Frank. She spent two years sheltering at home. If she could do it, I'm sure I can manage for a few months.
Airplanes. I took a long walk with the dog this morning. Every time I heard an airplane above it seemed odd to me. Who is flying in airplanes now?!

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