Austin just canceled SXSW. Is it safe to think Nationals will go on as planned. Is it safe to do so. I really want to go to Nationals, but I am 71 and concerned.
You're kidding, right??? :shakeshead: Everybody who is reading this, check back on his post at the end of the month and see where we're at in this country. Michael's statement will look like... well, you can judge for yourself.
Glenn,
I presume that everyone will act not only in their best interest, but in the interest of a safe and healthy society. I may be asking too much for some, but most are aware and would have had the same introspection you did. You entered nationals and presumably were ready to travel and participate, despite your misgivings. But you applaud USMS for canceling the meet to prevent your possible infection. That only sounds as if you think letting someone ales make the decision was the right thing.
Elaine,
Although I hesitate to respond to your thinly veiled insult, I need to remind you that nothing in my post suggested politics. Instead, it was trying to attack the herd mentality of cancelling events more than a month away. The real killer historically in the USA is any version of the annual influenza season, killing an average of 20,000 citizens per year. COVID-19 is up to about 55 as of this writing. We do not cancel sport seasons for the flu. So why this, which is reportedly less intense and has a mortality rate of under 1%?
Elaine,
Although I hesitate to respond to your thinly veiled insult, I need to remind you that nothing in my post suggested politics. Instead, it was trying to attack the herd mentality of cancelling events more than a month away. The real killer historically in the USA is any version of the annual influenza season, killing an average of 20,000 citizens per year. COVID-19 is up to about 55 as of this writing. We do not cancel sport seasons for the flu. So why this, which is reportedly less intense and has a mortality rate of under 1%?
Your invective towards the "mass media" was much less thinly veiled than anything Elaine said.
4-5 times more contagious than the flu and a good solid order of magnitude more lethal. Ignoring that is like saying that people driving under the influence of alcohol going 150+ MPH don't cause as many accidents as those driving under the speed limit completely sober shouldn't be cited or reeled back in. It really isn't that tough to figure out.
I'm aware that adults work at schools. That makes them relevant gathering points for a few dozen adults. But since the hundreds or thousands of students aren't really in the mix, it is a secondary point. Which should be considered with other secondary issues - like, for example, a large percentage of working nurses in the US have school-age kids. Osterholm discusses that in the Rogan interview.
I'm not sure what the best decision would be about schools - but very little of the discussion I've heard about it seems to be fact-based.
We need extreme measures. And that is an extreme measure. Is it a useful one? I don't know.
Everybody who is reading this, check back on his post at the end of the month and see where we're at in this country. Michael's statement will look like... well, you can judge for yourself.
I think that might be part of his point. If we are great in a month, everybody looks like a genius. If not, another reason for half the country to hate our leadership. While we can't predict the future morbidity and mortality, what is certain is when the economic impact of this settles, a lot of people may wish they were dead.
Who posted that Nationals are cancelled? Where did you see/read this?? I have not received any such notice.
I'm a big fan of try everything, scale back as we get data. As a doc at a major referral center, I worry about icu capacity at the peak of infection. Glad to see these measures and especially glad that we are going to avoid exposing our usms athletes until we know more...
My suggestion for the future: Do a little research first on your own before you ask questions about Nationals, Senior Games, etc. It's amazing how much you can learn online when you set your mind to it.
Don't forget, the interwebs never lies.
