richandtd Loc: Virginia

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – “Flatten the curve” has become the rallying cry of the efforts to fight the c****av***s (C****-**), but now the University of Michigan researcher who came up with the phrase is cautioning against loosening restrictions too soon.
It’s been 14 years since Dr. Howard Markel, of the University of Michigan, conducted his research on the affects of social distancing. That research is helping to guide experts and politicians through the current p******c. Markel believes we are making progress in the fight against C****-**, but he said we can’t let up now.

“When you’re in the fog of war, it’s very hard to see exactly where you are, but I think the preliminary data is showing that we are flattening the curve in that we are lowing the number of cases and deaths per day,” Markel said.
His research focused on 43 American cities and their actions during the 1918 Spanish flu p******c.

“Of those 43 cities, 23 cities did react early, and as a layered banner of the social distancing measures, but they released the break too early and then they had a second peak, which often was worse than the first peak,” Markel said. That scenario could result in far more deaths and another extended period fo social distancing and shutting down businesses.
“All these measures are so disruptive, not only to our lives, our daily lives, but to the economy,” Markel said. “So you don’t want to risk a second peak and more social distancing measures, all for nothing.”
In 1918, St. Louis acted quickly to put strong social distancing measures in place. Deaths stayed low at first.

“They said, ‘Well, you know, it’s time to relax the measures,’ which is a normal response,” Markel said. “Then they saw the cases go right back up because it has not gone down enough to make sure it doesn’t circulate on a wide scale. If we open up too soon, we risk the c****av***s spreading even worse, and then we will have endured all of these restrictions for nothing.

Markel said to make this progress stick, we need to hold on until new cases reach a low enough point that they can be managed without contact tracing and isolating just those who are sick or exposed. He said we’re not at that point yet.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

Very interesting. And the question, of course, is how do we know when we reach that point? It's not as important as saving lives but saving the country and the economy is kind of important.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Someone with great knowledge will tell us.
The government will guide us.
The government knows what's best for us.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

Well, that's good news. I'll sleep better now.

Charles 46277 Loc: Fulton County, KY

Actually, in this case, is there anybody better positioned to know than the government? Who else could even coordinate all the information through departments of health? Who else could synchronize the assets where they belong? Who else could keep us alive while we are quarantined? Fat cats? They are able to live on their portfolios (such as they are--but only the government could hold up the stock market now). Our government is certainly one of the best organized, equipped, and staffed, in the world. We should be proud of it.

"Democracy is the theory that the people ought to decide what they want--and get it good and hard." --H. L. Mencken

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Deleted

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

I absolutely agree with you. Just trying to inject a little humor into a serious subject. And I, for one am proud of our government and the way this whole thing has been handled.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

I in my usual stupid manner I feel they should also be sterlized so as to keep the selfish and self centered genetics from spreading any further. Lmao. 😂

IDguy Loc: Idaho

Me too.

Not so much with the media seeking to disparage and disrupt.

alawry Loc: Timaru New Zealand

We in New Zealand also have "flatten the curve" in our daily discussion. The best story I read about it was comparing it a parachute. Yes we have the rate of descent well in control but now is not the time to undo the harness.

Good luck to all fellow 'hogs. Andrew.

cochese

our government has been decimated by the current POTUS. All of the "best" staff have been fired or chased off and replaced with "acting" officials, most with no experience or qualifications for the post they hold other than they have supported the president either in action or donation. If you rely on the current federal government to make sound decisions you will likely end up in one of the refridgerator trucks parked at hospitals around the country.

5dogsken

Democracy? Sounds more like an oligarchy:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy

anotherview Loc: California

Probably not comparing like to like. "In contrast, a 2007 analysis of medical journals from the period of the p******c found that the v***l infection was no more aggressive than previous influenza strains. Instead, malnourishment, overcrowded medical camps and hospitals, and poor hygiene promoted bacterial superinfection. This superinfection k**led most of the victims, typically after a somewhat prolonged death bed." {found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu}

steve33 Loc: Yarmouth MA

We need much more testing, in order to see how many infected people without symptoms, are out there. Asymptomatic people are the carriers!

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

/s