American Dispatch from Vietnam 01

It’s a few weeks into the American lockdown from my perspective. (Date would be useful here but will depend on where you might live.) Today, I’m reading that the federal government will wind down federally sponsored COVID-19 testing. I guess you can’t really have an increase in the number of infected without the testing. What it seems is that the federal government authorities have made a (hasty imo) decision to monitor the spread due to the massive impact on the economy. Maybe they’re seeing something with their “projections” that are much rosier than my plebeian research informs me. Maybe...maybe not. One theory I have is that they’ve made a decision that many people will be allowed to die in order to restart the economy. These people are working people, poor people, people of color, older people, first responders and the lot. That’s a big decision they’ve been afforded to make — and I believe it’s a great gamble. I also don’t think the American people are willing to lock up for the next 3 months and may be willing to take their chances until it happens to them or those close to them — at that point my guess is that the hospitals will be beyond capacity. Moving further along in the future is obviously anyone’s guess — will that cause action or more inaction? There’s no clear path forward here — a lot more people are going to die — and the only question is do you want them (or you) to die sooner or later? What will you do with that time? What if you’re prevented from going anywhere and die in isolation? This is hell for many. There’s no easy way out here. 

Currently watching S1:E7 of Ken Burns’ Vietnam