Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
I'm not arguing that we're able to perfectly walk the line with medical resources and social interaction, only saying that the direction of trends in itself isn't sufficient criteria to make decisions. The fact that there's several weeks delay between implementing a change and observing the results poses serious challenges to perfecting a strategy.
2/3rds of Americans have at least one risk factor, which is being overweight. The thing that astonishes me though is that it's a risk factor for nearly any disease, yet people don't view being overweight as being as alarming as say, a pandemic that kills very few people as a percentage of the population. My point isn't to diminish the seriousness of the pandemic, but to put it into context with our other misplaced anxieties.
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My point is that it is foolish for a state to attempt to return to normal before they have the ability to rapidly test people in all counties and do contract tracing.
One thing I think Oregon has done well is that we sent the rapid testers and test kits that we got from the Feds to rural counties that don't have ready access to labs. That way they can get results almost in real time instead of sending test samples by courier.
Speaking of reopening it looks like 15-May is the date for opening parts of Oregon on a county by county basis if they can meet 6 criteria.
Those are: declining cases, significant testing capacity, a system in place for tracing cases, isolation facilities, adequate health care resources, and adequate masks, gowns and other personal protective devices.