Its more than the fact that Covid-19 does not have a vaccine nor an approved treatment in comparison to the flu having a vaccine and approved treatment. New diseases without vaccine do in fact scare people and their government. There's other issues involved that the other Pandemics in prior history did not have. For example, they didn't have a global connection in comparison to today that allow infections to literally travel very easily from one country to another country in less than 24 hours. Just as importantly or more importantly, its less detected or less contact tracing in today's global economies. Another issue out of many, Covid-19 is new...they're still learning about how it impacts our bodies in comparison to the flu and prior Pandemics. Another issue...there's that mutation factor involving these types of bacteria / virus. These diseases are resilient and can change very quickly. Thus, one day they are attacking a particular weakness in the population and not something else. The next day, week, month or year...its attacking a different type in the population that had prior seem less effected by the disease. The government created a lot of ignorance and fear among its population long before Covid-19 and it started the day President Trump took office. Today, you have more trigger happy people, people willing to protest, other countries willing to turn their back on you and a booming economy that many felt was invincible or can recover quickly... Perfect storm for Covid-19 and a lockdown. The above are just few reasons out of others that I don't have time to mention about why the U.S. lockdown and why other countries will prevent U.S. people from entering their countries. Those countries are starting to get things under control, quickly putting out outbreaks, less ignorant, leaders wearing masks / social distancing... U.S. is very lucky its only a lockdown that people are bitching about because history has shown governments to be overthrown by its people / military for less crap. P.S. Don't hold your breath in waiting for a vaccine. Best route right now is to find an approved treatment so that people can just go to their local pharmacy and get some syrup like medicine, go home and get some bed rest before returning back to work. wrbtrader
I would wear a mask, goggles, medical gloves, fire blower around something that needs to breath because we do not know what has crawled up there. Regardless, masks are breathable. wrbtrader
Forgot to mention the benefits... Exposes the weaknesses (e.g. social / economic disparities) in your population so that you'll know exactly what needs to be fixed including exposes the weakness in our healthcare system so that the same issues don't catch you off guard when the next Pandemic occurs considering that it seems like its a Pandemic every 10 - 20 years. These bugs are becoming tougher to vaccinate against after being exposed to them. Maybe due to some growing resilience to all to drugs being pumped (dumped) into nature. Another benefit, it shows that front line folks are under paid and should be paid a lot more to take care of people and not just in the health care system. The real enemy to the citizens are revealed. There may be a baby boom next year...more Americans born to replace those that were killed off...a twisted benefit. Another benefit for other countries...they now know who had turned its back on them and wanted to weaken the alliances so that there's less preparedness for a Pandemic crisis although not intentionally. Another benefit, mothball industries will surge to the forefront after being mothball for many years and new job opportunities will be created although on the surface it may seem not equal to the number of jobs that were lost / businesses closed (bankrupted) forever. 2020 will be a historic year and not for just the Pandemic...it is a perfect storm and we still have another 6 months remaining in the year...scary to think about in some ways. wrbtrader
We can never lockdown again. The number of people hurt, dead or devastated from the lockdown is much much higher than deaths from Kung Flu.
Total lockdown didn't work and won't work if implemented again. I suppose there was some fingers crossed hope that the virus wouldn't magically disappear. it didn't, and was silly to think it would. So most people are now back at work and now we're dealing with case by case lockdown. One person tests positive and the whole company gets shutdown, just one person. Everyone supposed to go home and self quarantine for 14 days and then return. Rinse, wash, repeat every time it happens. Beyond being a pain in the ass for the individuals, you simply cannot run a business this way. Impossible. Total lunacy.
If everyone did as they were told the first time, then the virus would have run out of new hosts to infiltrate and perpetuate itself. I imagine it would have all but disappeared. We'd still need a vaccine, but the situation would have been largely deescalated.
As it has been in every country that took this seriously and now have a fraction of the death rate of the US and Brazil whose leaders decided to politicize this and ignore science in favor of their own personal gut feelings.
But some people just can't look outside their own borders for cues, or even listen to their own experts, for that matter. Freedom-loving rugged individualists, mostly.