COVID-19 Thread

[Kwoodhawk]

Not trying to be political, but allow me to me political.

Give me a fricking break. They’re busting their asses to do the best job possible. This is not the time to be sniping. This is the time to pull together and limit the carnage as much as possible. Sadly, many seem to think this is the perfect time to score political points. Makes me sick.

Wait........what? Sick? Do you have a fever.........? Dry cough....? Have trouble catching your breath.?

Ok.....enough fun at your expense........

I'm actually reasonably pleased that most have refrained from political attacks This is the Cesspool after all......we all know how bad it can get.

No, WWDM, not "MANY" as you state, have made political comments. I actually think most have stuck to comments germain to this crazy virus situation.

If anything most here have avoided what is completely obvious and refrained from making political comments about the lack of preparation and planning from our Government.

When you read about some of the lack of action that our Government has taken these past few months it really is suprising that more haven't commented about it.

Having seen what was going on in China back in January what did they do for 2 months. Just read today that they only started placing large orders for PPE and other supplies starting in mid March. That is not how we would expect our Government to work.

They were in denial for such a long time and have still not gotten up to speed. They have been very consistent in their response. They have been pretty incompetent from the beginning.

It has nothing to do with Politics. It really is all about getting the job done. And getting it done correctly and efficiently. Lives are at stake. And they have not been up to the task.

The people of this Country deserve a better response from our Federal Govt. When I read about or watch what some of these Doctors and Nurses are having to go thru and the lack of PPE for them for the protection of their own lives, that is what is sickening. Not some pretty minor perceived political sniping.

Saw a video of a Nurse on a regular Ward that was being turned into a ward to care for COVID-19 patients. She quit because they were not going to give them any PPE to protect them. She was married with a couple young kids at home. She could not take the chance of getting infected and leaving those kids without a Mother. That is not only sickening, it verges on criminal what they asked those nurses to do.

I view this as a competency issue, not a political one. You either perform the tasks before you appropriately and efficiently or you don't, Get the job done.

The time to be pulling together was in January and Feb. We are way past that. Too much time was wasted and lost.

People may end up losing their lives due to Govt. inaction and incompetency. That is not a red versus blue situation. That is a human situation with life affecting consequences.

Did our Govt. take appropriate actions at the appropriate times to ensure the lives and safety of our citizens? That is the bottom line.

Anything else is distraction.

 

[el dub]

Wait........what? Sick? Do you have a fever.........? Dry cough....? Have trouble catching your breath.?

Ok.....enough fun at your expense........

I'm actually reasonably pleased that most have refrained from political attacks This is the Cesspool after all......we all know how bad it can get.

No, WWDM, not "MANY" as you state, have made political comments. I actually think most have stuck to comments germain to this crazy virus situation.

If anything most here have avoided what is completely obvious and refrained from making political comments about the lack of preparation and planning from our Government.

When you read about some of the lack of action that our Government has taken these past few months it really is suprising that more haven't commented about it.

Having seen what was going on in China back in January what did they do for 2 months. Just read today that they only started placing large orders for PPE and other supplies starting in mid March. That is not how we would expect our Government to work.

They were in denial for such a long time and have still not gotten up to speed. They have been very consistent in their response. They have been pretty incompetent from the beginning.

It has nothing to do with Politics. It really is all about getting the job done. And getting it done correctly and efficiently. Lives are at stake. And they have not been up to the task.

The people of this Country deserve a better response from our Federal Govt. When I read about or watch what some of these Doctors and Nurses are having to go thru and the lack of PPE for them for the protection of their own lives, that is what is sickening. Not some pretty minor perceived political sniping.

Saw a video of a Nurse on a regular Ward that was being turned into a ward to care for COVID-19 patients. She quit because they were not going to give them any PPE to protect them. She was married with a couple young kids at home. She could not take the chance of getting infected and leaving those kids without a Mother. That is not only sickening, it verges on criminal what they asked those nurses to do.

I view this as a competency issue, not a political one. You either perform the tasks before you appropriately and efficiently or you don't, Get the job done.

The time to be pulling together was in January and Feb. We are way past that. Too much time was wasted and lost.

People may end up losing their lives due to Govt. inaction and incompetency. That is not a red versus blue situation. That is a human situation with life affecting consequences.

Did our Govt. take appropriate actions at the appropriate times to ensure the lives and safety of our citizens? That is the bottom line.

Anything else is distraction.

Thanks for stating that so well.

There’s plenty of shame to go around. But not many into accepting responsibility, apparently. Must be a new leadership style.

 

[chuck285]

Thanks for stating that so well.

There’s plenty of shame to go around. But not many into accepting responsibility, apparently. Must be a new leadership style.

No blame required. It's all PENCE..Just ask Donald and you're all fired.

 

[PrairieHawk1]

Wait........what? Sick? Do you have a fever.........? Dry cough....? Have trouble catching your breath.?

Ok.....enough fun at your expense........

I'm actually reasonably pleased that most have refrained from political attacks This is the Cesspool after all......we all know how bad it can get.

No, WWDM, not "MANY" as you state, have made political comments. I actually think most have stuck to comments germain to this crazy virus situation.

If anything most here have avoided what is completely obvious and refrained from making political comments about the lack of preparation and planning from our Government.

When you read about some of the lack of action that our Government has taken these past few months it really is suprising that more haven't commented about it.

Having seen what was going on in China back in January what did they do for 2 months. Just read today that they only started placing large orders for PPE and other supplies starting in mid March. 1) That is not how we would expect our Government to work.

They were in denial for such a long time and have still not gotten up to speed. They have been very consistent in their response. 2) They have been pretty incompetent from the beginning.

It has nothing to do with Politics. It really is all about getting the job done. And getting it done correctly and efficiently. Lives are at stake. And they have not been up to the task.

3) The people of this Country deserve a better response from our Federal Govt. When I read about or watch what some of these Doctors and Nurses are having to go thru and the lack of PPE for them for the protection of their own lives, that is what is sickening. Not some pretty minor perceived political sniping.

4) Saw a video of a Nurse on a regular Ward that was being turned into a ward to care for COVID-19 patients. She quit because they were not going to give them any PPE to protect them. She was married with a couple young kids at home. She could not take the chance of getting infected and leaving those kids without a Mother. That is not only sickening, it verges on criminal what they asked those nurses to do.

I view this as a competency issue, not a political one. You either perform the tasks before you appropriately and efficiently or you don't, Get the job done.

The time to be pulling together was in January and Feb. We are way past that. Too much time was wasted and lost.

People may end up losing their lives due to Govt. inaction and incompetency. That is not a red versus blue situation. That is a human situation with life affecting consequences.

Did our Govt. take appropriate actions at the appropriate times to ensure the lives and safety of our citizens? That is the bottom line.

Anything else is distraction.

Addressing the bolded items above.

1) In my experience with local and federal government, this is exactly what I would expect. If I remember, you are retired military, correct? I'm sure you experienced a lot of inefficiencies in your days.
2) See item 1 above. This is pretty much what I expected. Things just take too long to get done in our government.
3) You're right we deserve better. We have for decades.
4) If this is the same story that I saw, there has been a lot more information come to light on this story. Such as the gal being an Instagram model that returned to work for exactly 1 day before quitting (she was on personal leave for a year prior). She later came out and said that they did indeed have PPE, but she wanted to use a different protocol, and the Hospital shut down her special request. She also had posted publicly just a week prior that she had extreme anxiety and bipolar depression about the Covid situation, and the way it was being handled was TRIGGERING. The whole thing reeks of a girl trying to get some attention on her Instagram, and going back to work for the sole purpose of raising the alarm.

That being said. My wife works at a local hospital, and I recognize that conditions are not good, and the stories of being issued one mask a paper bag are legit.

 

[24 so far]

Thanks for stating that so well.

There’s plenty of shame to go around. But not many into accepting responsibility, apparently. Must be a new leadership style.

Don't know if you're aware, but the United States Government is a MASSIVE enterprise, made up of people from all walks of life with differing sets of skills and responsibilities. One person does not now nor ever has been solely responsible for any outcome regardless of the circumstances at the time. It's a collaborative effort and always has been. The System is set up that way for a reason.

They are flawed human beings, all of them. Always have been, always will be, so if you're expecting the perfect outcome under every possible scenario presented, you're going to be deeply disappointed.

 

[grapplefann]

Not trying to be political, but allow me to me political.

Give me a fricking break. They’re busting their asses to do the best job possible. This is not the time to be sniping. This is the time to pull together and limit the carnage as much as possible. Sadly, many seem to think this is the perfect time to score political points. Makes me sick.

This administration tries to score political points Every. Single. Day. Everyone is busting their ass right now, particularly medical professionals and first responders. Sadly, people asking for honesty for them and for the country are treated like adversaries by the guy at the top. There's certainly a lot of sh*t to go around these days.

 

[grapplefann]

Here's and article about what it will take to open things back up:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/upshot/coronavirus-four-benchmarks-reopening.html

How do officials know when it’s time to reopen public spaces and start to bring life back to normal?

1. Hospitals must be able to safely treat all patients requiring hospitalization, without resorting to crisis standards of care. That means having adequate beds, ventilators and staff.
2. The authorities must be able to test everyone who has symptoms, and to get reliable results quickly. That would be well more than 750,000 tests a week in the U.S.
3. Health agencies must be able to monitor confirmed cases, trace contacts of the infected, and have at-risk people go into isolation or quarantine.
4. There must be a sustained reduction in cases for at least 14 days, because it can take that long for symptoms to appear.

 

[Kwoodhawk]

Addressing the bolded items above.

1) In my experience with local and federal government, this is exactly what I would expect. If I remember, you are retired military, correct? I'm sure you experienced a lot of inefficiencies in your days.
2) See item 1 above. This is pretty much what I expected. Things just take too long to get done in our government.
3) You're right we deserve better. We have for decades.
4) If this is the same story that I saw, there has been a lot more information come to light on this story. Such as the gal being an Instagram model that returned to work for exactly 1 day before quitting (she was on personal leave for a year prior). She later came out and said that they did indeed have PPE, but she wanted to use a different protocol, and the Hospital shut down her special request. She also had posted publicly just a week prior that she had extreme anxiety and bipolar depression about the Covid situation, and the way it was being handled was TRIGGERING. The whole thing reeks of a girl trying to get some attention on her Instagram, and going back to work for the sole purpose of raising the alarm.

That being said. My wife works at a local hospital, and I recognize that conditions are not good, and the stories of being issued one mask a paper bag are legit.

Oh My on #4. if that is accurate, then that is horrible on her part. And I do not doubt your info at all.

1) yes, former Military, and they have their issues, but when a job needs to be accomplished they are set up to take action and get things done usually.

I think if some of the Military officials in the areas of health care or supply chain logistics had been given some prominent positions early on that maybe more might have been accomplished. They are used to taking action to accomplish a task.

Not that they would be at any Press briefings or anything like that. More like being in charge of logistical situations. Organization and ordering supplies, making sure of proper channels of distribution, etc. Might have been of help.

Just read yesterday that some of the supplies from our National stockpiles are not what they should be. Some supplies having dates of expiration from 2010, elastic bands on the back of masks having rotted away. Other masks having mold on them. Not good,

Prayers for your wife for health and safety. Absolutely shameful what some of them are being asked to do with such little PPE available for their own protection.

St. Louis University has opened up some of their dorms for local health care workers to use so they don't have to risk taking the virus home to their families.

My goddaughter is one of several Doctors that is in charge of the emergency room at one of the large Hospitals here in St. Louis. She said there are still ICU beds available, but are filling up fast. And we are behind most areas of the Country for cases. We look to peak in 3rd week of May or thereabouts. Their pediatric ICU unit is currently being transformed into adult ICU.

She emailed me how many beds the local Hospitals think they will be short when it finally peaks here. I think the number must have been a typo it was so large. Remove a 0 and it is more believable.

 

[rcamp67]

I don’t really understand those bashing our federal response. Did our federal government botch the response for France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, etc. Our numbers are similar or better than most of these countries.

You can easily pick things to say Trump screwed up. Lack of testing, downplaying it early on, etc. You can also easily pick things he did right. Travel ban(while others said it was racist and unnecessary), moving ships into ports to augment local healthcare facilities etc.

This is a worldwide problem not an American problem. To claim Trumps response was terrible just seems silly. If our numbers were way worse than the rest of the world I could see this argument. That is just not the case. Almost every country downplayed this crisis because they were believing what China and the WHO were saying.

 

[Kwoodhawk]

I don’t really understand those bashing our federal response. Did our federal government botch the response for France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, etc. Our numbers are similar or better than most of these countries.

You can easily pick things to say Trump screwed up. Lack of testing, downplaying it early on, etc. You can also easily pick things he did right. Travel ban(while others said it was racist and unnecessary), moving ships into ports to augment local healthcare facilities etc.

This is a worldwide problem not an American problem. To claim Trumps response was terrible just seems silly. If our numbers were way worse than the rest of the world I could see this argument. That is just not the case. Almost every country downplayed this crisis because they were believing what China and the WHO were saying.

Fair point. Some countries were caught sleeping with their eyes wide open. In this day and age of International travel with people moving around all the time, this is not something unexpected. Those in the field have warned about this type of thing for years. Papers have been written. Warnings issued.

Yes China. Yes WHO.

However.............

bashing...... a noun....meaning a violent physical assault or severe criticism.

Not sure either of those apply. Pointing out some things that could have been done better is hardly "bashing". Not sure there has been any claim that the President or Govt. response has been "terrible". Just not as good as it could have been IMO. Could be wrong of course.

 

[24 so far]

This administration tries to score political points Every. Single. Day. Everyone is busting their ass right now, particularly medical professionals and first responders. Sadly, people asking for honesty for them and for the country are treated like adversaries by the guy at the top. There's certainly a lot of sh*t to go around these days.

They are adversaries. See the Beginning of Time, this is not new or news. Is someone digging into your affairs every single minute of every single day hoping to find something, anything they can to hang you with? Doubtful. That is also not the role of elected officials. I'd say they have bigger fish to fry on a daily basis, long before Covid-19 entered the fray.

Sadly that is not how D.C. operates, because it's largely full of a bunch of pricks on both sides of the aisle who have little sense of reality, and are making a lifetime occupation out of something that should be anything but that.

 

[el dub]

Fair point. Some countries were caught sleeping with their eyes wide open. In this day and age of International travel with people moving around all the time, this is not something unexpected. Those in the field have warned about this type of thing for years. Papers have been written. Warnings issued.

Yes China. Yes WHO.

However.............

bashing...... a noun....meaning a violent physical assault or severe criticism.

Not sure either of those apply. Pointing out some things that could have been done better is hardly "bashing". Not sure there has been any claim that the President or Govt. response has been "terrible". Just not as good as it could have been IMO. Could be wrong of course.

I see the response to this crisis as terrible. I’m working from home and watching press conferences. That’s all I need to see to label the response at the highest levels as a secondary disaster.

 

[dhm az]

Regarding what intelligence services were saying about coronavirus and when:

from Washington Post:

U.S. intelligence reports from January and February warned about a likely pandemic

• The US intelligence community was warning President Donald Trump about an impending pandemic as early as January, The Washington Post reported.
• Officials were giving Trump classified briefings on the matter at the same time the president was publicly downplaying the risk of the novel coronavirus and insisting the US was well prepared to handle the outbreak.
• "The system was blinking red," a US official told The Post. "Donald Trump may not have been expecting this, but a lot of other people in the government were — they just couldn't get him to do anything about it."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...9d8cda-6ad5-11ea-b5f1-a5a804158597_story.html

Wapo, nuf said.

 

[Kwoodhawk]

 

[grapplefann]

They are adversaries. See the Beginning of Time, this is not new or news. Is someone digging into your affairs every single minute of every single day hoping to find something, anything they can to hang you with? Doubtful. That is also not the role of elected officials. I'd say they have bigger fish to fry on a daily basis, long before Covid-19 entered the fray.

Sadly that is not how D.C. operates, because it's largely full of a bunch of pricks on both sides of the aisle who have little sense of reality, and are making a lifetime occupation out of something that should be anything but that.

If he tells lies, people will dig for the truth. He brings this on himself. The role of elected officials is to work for the best interests of the people who elected them. FInding the truth is part of that. I don't know whether Washington D.C. makes pricks or just attracts them. We can agree that these elected posts were not meant to be lifetime jobs.
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

 

[grapplefann]

Wapo, nuf said.

You don't believe that the intelligence reports warned of a Pandemic?
This wasn't part of the opinion pages. If not true, you could force them to print a retraction.

 

[Herkuleez5]

Hasn't there been a lot of people saying we should all listen to Fauchi? If so he just stated that Iowa and Nebraska were doing exactly what should be done and yet neither are a shelter in place state. This will be the last comment I make here and probably the last time I read this thread, nobody is changing minds here just like politics and it is the same thing over and over again. F'N Corona Wuhan motherf*$#$in POS!

 

[24 so far]

I see the response to this crisis as terrible. I’m working from home and watching press conferences. That’s all I need to see to label the response at the highest levels as a secondary disaster.

Geezuz Dude. Every f'ing Country on Planet Earth that has Covid-19 cases is experiencing the same damn thing, or will be soon. Do you think their citizenry is sitting home thinking what a wonderful job their Government is doing? People everywhere want the shit to go away, and nobody was prepared for it, and even if they were "somewhat" prepared there were still going to be complications, and it should certainly be easier with Countries that have far less than 330 million people to placate. You'd have to be either extremely naive or dumb as a post to think otherwise.

No Heads of State anywhere were antcipating some random Chinese citizen of gutting a live bat for lunch leading to a global shutdown of this magnitude. The real world doesn't operate that way, even with prior experience of "gifts" from our Chinese friends. They do have other shit to worry about everyday ya know.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, I'm guessing every single person on Earth wishes they could have a do-over on a myriad of things throughout their lifetimes, but as previously stated, the real world doesn't operate that way. If you haven't experienced that, then Congratulations are in order, you're a Party of One.

 

[el dub]

Geezuz Dude. Every f'ing Country on Planet Earth that has Covid-19 cases is experiencing the same damn thing, or will be soon. Do you think their citizenry is sitting home thinking what a wonderful job their Government is doing? People everywhere want the shit to go away, and nobody was prepared for it, and even if they were "somewhat" prepared there were still going to be complications, and it should certainly be easier with Countries that have far less than 330 million people to placate. You'd have to be either extremely naive or dumb as a post to think otherwise.

No Heads of State anywhere were antcipating some random Chinese citizen of gutting a live bat for lunch leading to a global shutdown of this magnitude. The real world doesn't operate that way, even with prior experience of "gifts" from our Chinese friends. They do have other shit to worry about everyday ya know.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, I'm guessing every single person on Earth wishes they could have a do-over on a myriad of things throughout their lifetimes, but as previously stated, the real world doesn't operate that way. If you haven't experienced that, then Congratulations are in order, you're a Party of One.

We must be watching different pressers. I see a lack of leadership at the top.

I see reelection concerns overriding the reality on the ground.

Promotion of untested drugs overriding professional medical staff advice.

Finger pointing at political adversaries, turning Covid related pressers into political rallies.

Maligning members of the press for asking questions concerning the perceived lack of Covid testing.

Party of one? Hardly.

 

[hoythawk]

Obama is the Todd Lickliter of Presidents with how bare he left the cupboard. He was warned years ago that the U.S. couldn't handle a widespread pandemic, yet chose to do nothing.

 

[hoythawk]

We must be watching different pressers. I see a lack of leadership at the top.

I see reelection concerns overriding the reality on the ground.

Promotion of untested drugs overriding professional medical staff advice.

Finger pointing at political adversaries, turning Covid related pressers into political rallies.

Maligning members of the press for asking questions concerning the perceived lack of Covid testing.

Party of one? Hardly.

Or maybe the pressers aren't geared for people on drugs. The press and Trump deserve the shit they get. The press just happens to be worse in my opinion.

 

[el dub]

Or maybe the pressers aren't geared for people on drugs. The press and Trump deserve the shit they get. The press just happens to be worse in my opinion.

I’ll pray for you....

 

[dhm az]

Obama is the Todd Lickliter of Presidents with how bare he left the cupboard. He was warned years ago that the U.S. couldn't handle a widespread pandemic, yet chose to do nothing.

You have to remember, he preferred to lead from behind, like a few of the 2nd Lt's in Nam.

 

[dhm az]

If he tells lies, people will dig for the truth. He brings this on himself. The role of elected officials is to work for the best interests of the people who elected them. FInding the truth is part of that. I don't know whether Washington D.C. makes pricks or just attracts them. We can agree that these elected posts were not meant to be lifetime jobs.
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

As to your IDK whether DC makes pricks or attracts them; think Schumer, Schiff, Nadler and Pelosi(prickett), what difference does it make?

 

[rcamp67]

Obama is the Todd Lickliter of Presidents with how bare he left the cupboard. He was warned years ago that the U.S. couldn't handle a widespread pandemic, yet chose to do nothing.

Oh good. We have plenty of left wing nut jobs posting on this thread. We really needed some right wing nut jobs also.

 

[IAChief32]

The US intelligence community was warning President Donald Trump about an impending pandemic as early as January, The Washington Post reported.

"The system was blinking red," a US official told The Post. "Donald Trump may not have been expecting this, but a lot of other people in the government were — they just couldn't get him to do anything about it."

So I'm guessing they told Trump it was a "Slam Dunk?" The WHO and the CDC were not blinking red. I can hear the axe grinding from here.

 

[grapplefann]

Obama is the Todd Lickliter of Presidents with how bare he left the cupboard. He was warned years ago that the U.S. couldn't handle a widespread pandemic, yet chose to do nothing.

Hoy, lay off the hard drugs. They're making you delusional.

 

[dhm az]

Hoy, lay off the hard drugs. They're making you delusional.

Well, someone is delusional

 

[grapplefann]

Well, someone is delusional

Glad we agree.

 

[dhm az]

FIFY

So you can change my entire post and make me look like freakin liberal?

 

[thom67]

Obama is the Todd Lickliter of Presidents with how bare he left the cupboard. He was warned years ago that the U.S. couldn't handle a widespread pandemic, yet chose to do nothing.

If I remember correctly a pandemic dept was set up to deal with possible pandemics in the future. Trump eliminated that department and got rid of the experts who were in that group. Trump was warned by HIS intelligence group in January that the pandemic was coming. After that time he had 6 campaign rallies and played golf numerous times, but waited almost 2 months before begin ordering supplies for the pandemic such as tests, masks, gowns etc.

 

[el dub]

If I remember correctly a pandemic dept was set up to deal with possible pandemics in the future. Trump eliminated that department and got rid of the experts who were in that group. Trump was warned by HIS intelligence group in January that the pandemic was coming. After that time he had 6 campaign rallies and played golf numerous times, but waited almost 2 months before begin ordering supplies for the pandemic such as tests, masks, gowns etc.

And no sense of accountability. Instead we get, “The cupboards were bare when we took over,” excuses. On tv. Daily.

 

[24 so far]

We must be watching different pressers. I see a lack of leadership at the top.

I see reelection concerns overriding the reality on the ground.

Promotion of untested drugs overriding professional medical staff advice.

Finger pointing at political adversaries, turning Covid related pressers into political rallies.

Maligning members of the press for asking questions concerning the perceived lack of Covid testing.

Party of one? Hardly.

Let me spell it out for you since you don't seem to grasp the concept. The President isn't now nor ever has been solely responsible for your personal well being.

Ever watch a sports presser? Yeah, Coaches hate answering stupid questions too and don't mind telling reporters they don't care for just how little they like it. But that doesn't fit your narrative so by all means carry on.

 

[el dub]

Just now... I’ll protect you if your governor fails.”

So, if shit hits the fan, it’s the failure of the individual governors?

Is that the way a country goes to war?

 

[IAChief32]

1) yes, former Military, and they have their issues, but when a job needs to be accomplished they are set up to take action and get things done usually.

I think if some of the Military officials in the areas of health care or supply chain logistics had been given some prominent positions early on that maybe more might have been accomplished. They are used to taking action to accomplish a task.

I respectfully disagree. Logistically, the military is governed largely by rules that the U.S. government sets for them through GSA etc. For example, the military sees the need for Widget X. From cradle to grave, it can take years for Widget X to be produced...even in a hurry. By then, most of the technology is out of date.

I agree with your "can-do" thinking; not much has changed but it only works if their is a logistical train in place that makes sense. The military doesn't because most of it is set up to subsidize. Why spend $15 on a pack of good pens when you can spend $40 for a pack of substandard ones?

 

[Kwoodhawk]

I respectfully disagree. Logistically, the military is governed largely by rules that the U.S. government sets for them through GSA etc. For example, the military sees the need for Widget X. From cradle to grave, it can take years for Widget X to be produced...even in a hurry. By then, most of the technology is out of date.

I agree with your "can-do" thinking; not much has changed but it only works if their is a logistical train in place that makes sense. The military doesn't because most of it is set up to subsidize. Why spend $15 on a pack of good pens when you can spend $40 for a pack of substandard ones?

That's right,the Military is not going to produce what is needed. And that seems to be a big stumbling block in this situation.

But I would like to think they would have been a little bit more ahead of the game in getting things ordered from the companies that make the PPE.

Nobody can spend $600 for a Toilet seat like our guys can........

 

[Kwoodhawk]

And in answer to what would happen if we did not do any stay at home and physical distancing.

 

[Kwoodhawk]

 

[Kwoodhawk]

 

[Jackhawk87]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, I'm guessing every single person on Earth wishes they could have a do-over on a myriad of things throughout their lifetimes, but as previously stated, the real world doesn't operate that way. If you haven't experienced that, then Congratulations are in order, you're a Party of One.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and there are many opinions on what the goal is and what the best way to get there is. It is very complicated. Do we even know what the goal is?

Is the goal to
1. Reach herd immunity ASAP without overwhelming the medical resources and limit deaths while minimizing the financial damage to all people?
2. Limit the number of infections and deaths no matter the financial costs?
3. Somewhere in between?

If great treatments are not available soon, the infection does not abate during the summer or go away at all, and a good vaccine takes a long time, Option 1 may be the best. Countries like South Korea which did a great job in limiting infections in round 1 may find themselves fighting this off for a very long time as very few people there have gotten the infection and have immunity. If there is a round 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. will S. Korea shut things down indefinitely to financial ruin (and eventually still have the same number of deaths)? Countries with more infections in round 1 will reach herd immunity faster and will be the winners.

If a great treatment becomes available soon or the infection dies out in a month or two and a vaccine gets fast tracked and is ready in the fall, option 2 may be the best.

We just don’t know at this point. The answer is very likely option 3. But is it the option 3 that is closer to option 1 or option 2?? We will only know in hindsight. So be careful about criticizing anyone choosing either option. We don’t know which one is right yet.