Covid19 Shutdown- Has it been Necessary ?

   

     Was the economic shutdown we are now enduring necessary ?  Ever since the President announced he was instructing the states to shutdown their economies due to the threat of Covid19 I was skeptical.   Walt Disney World (a 25 minute drive from my house) announced they were closing for at least a few weeks and I was sincerely upset because I really thought it was unnecessary to put all those people out of work for even one day.  These are my neighbors and friends.   As time went by and we were spoon fed more information from the government and their friends in the media (who seem most happy and involved in a story when there is fear and conflict and death)  I came to believe it was necessary to "flatten the curve".  My niece, who is a Doctor, published a meme explaining the importance of "flattening the curve" and that made sense to me.  I don't want the Doctors and nurses dealing with this to be overwhelmed and if we need to stay home to lighten the load for a few weeks., that makes sense.   In addition, of course we don't want people suffering for lack of medical care.  I hope that at the very least that was a consequence of this shutdown.  

  

     It has been FIVE weeks and the emergency seems to have passed.   I understand that we need to be cautious about reopening, but now I'm doubting the entire thing was helpful and that it may even be harmful.   The herd immunity that would have come about if we had kept the economy open would be in full swing by now and most of us would be immune to it.   Now, most of us are not.   There is a video going around from a Doctor in California that outlines some of this doubt.  He is at the front line and he is not a government official or the President or the Governor- meaning there's no motivation for him to have it end up in any way other than to lighten the load and help his patients.   He is dealing with this., and he 'nor his peers at that hospital feel the shutdown should continue as it is.  The caveat he offers is that we need to have widespread testing so we know who can affect the vulnerable.  These people should be quarantined, not the entire population.

      So, was the nationwide shutdown necessary or even helpful ?    Time will probably tell, but the reader must remember we now have a government and a media that are very tied into the multi- national corporations and governments (of all varieties) of the world that have a vested interest in gaining power and influence in the day to day activities of all human beings and it will end up, according to them,  to have been necessary because the entire episode empowers them even more.  They need to be the heroes because they know better than all us hillbillies and common folk trying to make a living.  Never mind the truth.  "Time will tell"?  I have no idea, but I like to think that ultimately the truth will be clear and "history will tell".