I agree with Phil, but I wondered how long this would go before it turned political. I’m a conservative, but I also claim to be an educated man (not to imply conservatives aren’t educated). So I might as well “ jump in”. It reminds me of the Vietnam war. As the death toll mounted, politicians debated. But the total dead have now surpassed all the US dead of the Vietnam war by a long shot (over 130K now, vs 56K of Vietnam). Over 1.3 million (In the US alone) infected and increasing every day. Many politicians seem to be the biggest deniers, for whatever political agenda they follow, even as Hospital ICUs reach capacity, and the heath care system is stretched beyond the ability to respond to “routine” emergencies. Many say “it hasn’t happened to me, or it hasn’t happened here so it can’t be that bad”. Still others shout “conspiracy!”. The truth is, every 100 years or so in human history, a virus or bacteria comes along to humble mankind, and we are arrogant enough to believe our generation is immune. Or politicians are to blame. Or we should have enough science to avoid and defeat it. The simple reality is that it’s here again. Virus’ fight to survive and they mutate. They don’t kill everyone, (because if they did, there would be no future hosts), but they kill and weaken enough to make us miserable. Then they recede, dropping back in the shadows to re-emerge with different features. We can accept it, and do something about it, or stick our heads in the sand and deny it. Read about the great pandemic of 1918, or all the great plagues of the past, and you’ll see many of those who died had no idea what was killing them, while others took precautions and lived (some of them). They didn’t always know until much later it was a virus, just like COVID-19 is a virus. Don’t be foolish, protect yourself, stay safe, and stop listening to political agendas. There’s enough evidence for smart folks to know this is real, it’s a threat, and we should be smart enough to protect ourselves. Don’t enable this killer by getting it. Stay home and build models if you can, if you can’t, social distance and protect yourself, don’t take unnecessary risks.
VR, Russ
