I haven't read a word from the leftist media......... just listened to healthcare experts, scientists, pastors and those who have nothing to gain from any meltdown of the economy (including the President and VP who spoke with our Governor today).
Prevention is the way to keep this from becoming what it has been in Italy. Prevention.
The left may be cheering on disease and economic collapse, but good people all over the country are trying to prevent both.
The idea is to minimize the crisis so that our healthcare facilities and hospitals can handle the increase in cases and those who are at great health risk.
Flattening out the line is imperative to keeping this under control.
This, I agree with. Keeping the peak of the infection (number of cases) curve low, while the area under it might remain the same over the run of the disease is key to keeping mortality down. Mortality will go up by multiples if the facilities, personnel, and equipment available to treat serious cases do not outnumber or equal the number of serious cases, because the correct care will not be available for the number of serious cases which exceed capacity.
This is the only area the raw numbers really matter, in a statistical sense.
Cases requiring care vs capacity to deliver that care.
We can't get rates, really, because we may never know how many mild cases requiring no medical treatment and people otherwise exposed but who sought no medical attention there are out there. Without that denominator, those infected but never even tested, we can't even calculate mortality rates. Yes, slowing infection rates down is good. But that comes with a caveat: If the economy slows to the point where the often unsung but vitally necessary services and goods are no longer available, then the situation will go from serious and warranting concern to critical.
For as long as needless panic (versus rational concern) can be avoided, those goods will flow, perhaps in increased numbers to match demand, and what is needed will be more likely to be there when it is needed.
But if the warehouse guys don't show, if the trucks don't roll, if the containers don't come off the ship, sooner or later there won't be tubing, IVs, medications, etc.--even toilet paper to use when the chips are really down.
If that becomes the case, the mortality rate will spike, because serious cases which otherwise might have recovered will not for lack of supplies or care..
