A couple of things. First, I finally know someone in a real fight for her life against this virus. She is a little older and I believe would qualify as being in the high risk category. The thing that compounds the situation is that from the moment she entered the hospital, she will never see family or friend again unless she pulls through.
Now that we're over 26,000 deaths nationally and steadily adding over 1,000 every day, I don't care if the numbers may be somewhat inflated in certain circumstances. I also don't care that more people die each year from the common flu. This shit is serious and needs to be handled as such. Having said that, I continue to believe the response has been way over the top. Yes, I think shutting down sporting events and gatherings where tens of thousands of people will literally be shoulder to shoulder is just plain common sense. Forcing the shutter of "non-essential" businesses is just plain idiocy. Non-essential becomes essential real quick when you lose your livelihood. People should be left to make their own decisions and choose whether or not they want to keep their business open, go shopping or quarantine themselves. If you're scared of contracting it, keep yourself away from folks. Your decision.
As I've said before, my fear is that next year, when the newest, funky named flu virus comes around, this reaction will start up all over again. Below is a copy/pasta from the bookfaces written by a CRNA in New York. Kind of echoes what many have said on here.
Ok, here comes the rant and I apologize ahead of time, but I really can’t take it any more. I am a CRNA working 14 hour days in the heart of NYC in an ICU. I have been here over 2 weeks now. I have seen and experienced things I would not wish on anyone. People truly have been sick and dying right before our eyes with very little that we felt we could do for some because of the extent of their coexisting diseases sometimes. That being said, we are not, nor have we ever been at full capacity. We have consistently kept at least 15-20 beds available since we opened (We are 68 beds of Covid only patients), even at the peak census last Friday. Over Easter Sunday we did not have a single admit. And now we are allowing a few staff to leave for home by the end of the week.
I say all this because I hear talk of extending the social distancing and people fearfully saying we need to just stay home for longer. I see posts from friends saying it is too soon to open America back up for business. Let me be quite clear about this, if you think a hospital which statistically makes most ALL of their money on elective surgery can remain open by only taking on Covid patients, you do not understand basic finance.
And for those hospitals with low PPE, it is not because they cannot get any. We have plenty here and change it out multiple times a shift. Most hospitals reduced their supplies of PPE when Obamacare reimbursements took away their ability to reinvest in things like stock. Now that we have cut off their biggest source of revenue, how are they supposed to buy more and keep their full staff (including outpatient surgery and clinic staff) employed without their cash cow?
It has been over a month since outpatient surgeries were stopped, since scheduled heart caths and tumor removals and important preventive measures were stopped. How many people will now die of a cancer that could have been caught early or a heart attack that could have been prevented before the American Public gets it? Stop living in fear, people. This is a terrible virus and I am not for a minute saying we don’t take precautions and protect those we love. Use masks. Wash hands. Those with heart disease, diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure must especially be careful and if possible remain quarantined. We are learning quickly about those at greatest risk, so as a nation we can help those who are at greater risk, but we cannot continue to shut down hospitals, clinics, and businesses for the sake of something that may never happen (a flooding of the healthcare system). Nurses are being laid off. Doctors are shutting down their clinics. Businesses are being closed. The cure CANNOT be worse than the disease.
I am sharing the video my good friend, Suzy Redd, posted as it gives you a very stark difference from the lies being perpetuated by the media.
Above all, our faith right now must be firmly planted in God. We cannot live in a spirit of fear. This is the time for the church to rise up and reach out. We can help those that have immune compromising health issues. We can help those who are jobless seeking work. That is what Christ has called us to do in the first place.
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
As Americans we have a Constitution that guides us, NOT politicians. It is time for us to demand our congressmen and senators, on both the state and federal level, abide by the constitution and allow Americans to get back to work.
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