TOPSHOT – This handout illustration image obtained February 3, 2020, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. – Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. A novel coronavirus virus was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. (Photo by Alissa ECKERT / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO /CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION/ALISSA ECKERT/HANDOUT ” – NO MARKETING – NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Photo by ALISSA ECKERT/Centers for Disease Control and /AFP via Getty Images)
As the country begins, slowly to reopen for business after what has been, in some areas of the country, devastating numbers of cases and death, it may be time for a look back to see if what we did, staying at home, social distancing, was any better for us than having a more targeted response. By that I mean, respond where large numbers of cases “pop-up”, get those under control. Would this have been a better way than placing more than 30 million people out of work – some businesses which may become shuttered forever? That is a question that cannot readily be answered, but what we can say is that what was implemented, in various ways, over the fifty states, probably didn’t work to the extent it was thought it would.
