What happens on April 30th?

[Initech]

Say the spread of the virus is "contained", and we all follow the rules like we're supposed to, then what? It's not like we' will be able to just go back to normal as if nothing happened. Does this get dragged out to May 30th? Summer?

Is there any scenario in which life can return to some sort of normalcy before the outbreak or will things be suspended indefinitely until a cure / vaccine for this disease is discovered? I feel like the unknowns are currently outweighing the knowns at this point and I just want to have a sign that things are pointing in the right direction.

[FiveGoodMen]

1. Probably, everyone goes out and kicks off a second wave of the disease

[Ex Lurker]

41. It is inevitable

Might as well get it over with. What we're doing now is unsustainable for more than a few weeks.

[JHB]

2. It'll be an apt time to signal "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday"

[WhiteTara]

3. Normal died last November

and this is what is left; chaos and uncertainty.

Because there isn't a concerted stay in place all over the country, it will continue to spread in all communities because people think that there will be the normal normal again. Stay home and wash your hands and close the toilet lid! That's the new normal.

[Yavin4]

25. Normal died in November 2016 n/t

[WhiteTara]

33. That's what I meant. Normal died 11-8-2016

[LakeArenal]

4. Don't we all need to head to the streets for Cinco de Mayo

Just kidding folks.

[Beakybird]

6. Celebrate Cinco de Mayo, and then spend cinco dias in the Mayo Clinic!

[LakeArenal]

9. Si. Fiesta.

[Newest Reality]

5. There may be...

There may be a tendency to hope this is over quickly and so, we search and try to find something to support that. It makes sense and that is an impetus behind hoping and wishing, etc.

It is probably more realistic to think in terms of months before this starts to resolve to a point where one does not have to wonder if it is really OK. However, we have also exposed some real, glaring systemic flaws in our culture, economy and government now and those are also going to be long-term issues that will require resolution.

There is a saying I find rather sensible and actually an inspiration:

A pessimist complains about the wind. An optimist waits for it to change. A realist adjust the sails.

So, let's keep adjusting our sails and keep our eyes open while we ride this storm out.

[Initech]

10. I know that we're supposed to take this one day at a time.

But it seems like every day is getting more hopeless than the next. The sad reality of this is that Bill Gates was right in that we were, and still are, grossly under prepared to handle a pandemic like this.

I just wish that we could have a sign that this will one day be over and social distancing will be a thing of the past.

[Newest Reality]

14. I understand.

Well, it is a good idea to take stock of where you are at with it, as well.

We may not have expected something like this, but lo and behold, here it is despite that. Things are imperilment and anything can and does happen over time. One opportunity we do have is to appreciate what is good right now and not take so much for granted. We can often sleep walk through life when it is too cushy or comfortable or redundant, but this is something that can really wake us up to what is most essential and important while revealing what we are made of, i.e., our character and inner strength and capacities.

The old saying is, "These are the times that try men's souls." Taking that as a test of our metal, we are perfectly capable of dealing with what is at hand and can avoid succumbing to that urge to resort to fear and anxiety about uncertainty. Not much is ever really certain, so how much of that sense of things is of our own delusions and projections about reality itself.

Right now, social distancing can also be useful. How? Well, for many, it is getting to be by yourself more. Who is that? Can you handle you? Why or why not? It is a good time to reflect and do some introspection. Do you make a good companion for yourself?

Consider that, in the long-run, everything resolves. That's why patience has always been considered a virtue. Cultivating it now has great value and maybe our current travail will bring what has essential value back into view and vogue. Maybe we will find what we have lost in this process and experience true eudaemonia and more inner peace.

[MineralMan]

7. I suspect it will all be extended for another month at that time.

[customerserviceguy]

22. Agreed

And when we transition back to the new normal, it will be gradual.

[PJMcK]

29. Agreed

All along, I've felt that the authorities were slow-rolling this in order to prevent the masses from freaking out. The silly run on toilet paper is an example of people losing their minds, (there is plenty of toilet paper in the U.S.; the problem has been distributing it when people were panic-buying).

At least two weeks, if not another month, will be added. Then, maybe even more time will be added if the circumstances call for it.

This virus is going to be with us for a long time, I fear.

[bdamomma]

35. not to be funny

there is more toilet paper than test kits and medical supplies. Sad.

[Ex Lurker]

40. If they keep moving the goslposts there will be mass noncompliance

People will only put up with it so long without a definite endgame. They can't arrest everybody. These scientists are very smart at what they do, but they're clueless about economics and human nature.

[Skraxx]

44. Yup, Step by Step

Long haul...

[jmg257]

8. We start the clock again, because there is no way this is cleared up in the next 4 weeks.

[Beringia]

11. My sister sent out a text yesterday

that everything will be back to normal in 1 month. I wanted to laugh. She usually is about the most pragmatic person in the family, but I think she is really naive in this case.

[Submariner]

12. Until there is a vaccine 12-18 months from now, we hope

there will be some form of social distancing. At 73, I won't be going to any movie theaters, ball games, and I'll stick with senior grocery shopping hours as long as they are available. This Corona virus will probably re-occur when the fall/winter cold returns.

I hope they open the beach in a couple of months, and I'll walk upwind of everyone with my sand chair.

We are just a big petri dish experiment until the vaccine arrives.

[gibraltar72]

13. At this point the disease will tell us when it's done winning.

[Jamastiene]

17. THIS.

We cannot rely on our government for that. Ultimately, the disease decides.

[Jamastiene]

15. Uhm, things will not point in the right direction for many months to come.

It is not even remotely possible for things to point in the right direction until January 2021. That is if we have enough Democrats left alive to vote in November and the Republicans cannot manage to steal it and skew the results to try to claim they won again. That is the easy question to answer.

As far as the virus goes, it depends on the stupid people around us and what they decide to do. Pretty much like everything that happens, it depends on stupid people and what they decide to do. The less stupid people spread this crap around us, the more chance we have to flatten the curve. When the stupid people settle down and and do what they are supposed to do, like the rest of us have already been been doing, we can give the virus time to die off, then maybe have our lives back. Until the stupid people who are not following the simplest of guidelines, settle down, and pretend like they understand and do the right thing, we are at the mercy of what stupid people decide to do, as usual.

Plus, we have a stupid person in charge of the whole country right now. That's not helping.

[LuckyCharms]

23. +1

[bdamomma]

37. I agree

Very good post.

[Alex4Martinez]

16. Trump's 15-day, er, 30-day plan will be updated. You know, he's number one on Facebook!

Will announce the 60-day plan and a new war on Canada.

[bdamomma]

39. what new war

on Canada?? Being a bully again? PM Trudeau is a compassionate intelligent man unlike the idiot boy. I listened to his press conference today, I only wish we had leadership like that.

[Alex4Martinez]

42. This week he hinted at responses to Iran, then pivoted to South America

...sending ships to take on the drug cartels.

Grasping at straws, it wouldn't surprise me if he took on Canada because they aren't showing enough gratitude.

[Runningdawg]

18. In OK we have been told not to expect the peak for another 6-8 weeks

At this point I just hope everyone is able to sit at the Christmas dinner table.

[eleny]

19. Hopefully red states won't try to falsify numbers to create a false flattening of their curves

Since Florida appears to already be falsifying its numbers, I wouldn't put it past the administration to use creative cunning.

[kairos12]

21. My thought all along was Red States will hide their numbers to please Cheetolini.

[JenniferJuniper]

20. World Dance Party!

&list=RDS4HaDCkkfzo&start_radio=1

(nah, probably not)

[onethatcares]

24. with food trucks

and plenty of tacos........

For some reason I don't think that's gonna happen though.

Good luck.

[clutterbox1830]

26. who actually think that this virus will be contained by 4/30

Even the government models show at least till end of May or even end of June.

[Kablooie]

27. Probably a lot of wild parties

After which everyone comes down with the virus.

There’s no simple answer until there’s a vaccine.

[EarthFirst]

28. I don't believe that we will see the former sense of normal before Labor Day...

...and even at that point; we need to remain vigilant as we resume our daily lives or we risk the potential of another outbreak of magnitude.

It may even be unavoidable that a second wave occurs this fall...

We’re in this for the duration. Months; not weeks.

Stay strong. Stay vigilant. Stay safe.

[Initech]

38. Yeah my brother said June is optimistic, August is more likely.

And even then it won't be open back to crowds or anything of that nature. We probably won't be back to normal until a vaccine is developed. We'll probably be able to go out, but it will be limited in scope. I honestly don't see things going back to pre-virus times until next year. It's gonna suck.

[randr]

30. My birthday for one thing

It is also the date that a number of wars have been declared ended

[Ace Rothstein]

31. It will get extended for another 30 days in about 2 weeks.

Come June, they'll have to decide to either start putting more money in people's accounts or to open up the economy.

[PJMcK]

32. It's an interesting date

April 30th will bring birthdays for Kirsten Dunst, Gal Gadot and Willie Nelson.

It'll be the 121 day of the year.

In 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United States.

In 1902 French composer Claude Debussy's only completed opera "Pelléas et Mélisande" premiered in Paris.

In 1997, Ellen DeGeneres Publicly announced she is gay.

April 30th will also be International Jazz Day.

This self-isolating is giving me too much idle time!

Seriously, governments will probably extend the rules for at least two weeks, more likely a month.

[OnDoutside]

34. You'll be lucky if it's contained by July. Don't forget 5 states are doing nothing.

[Kaleva]

36. Michigan isn't expected to hit its apex till that time.

[moonscape]

43. I've been thinking a lot about how this will work

for the most vulnerable, maybe because I'm on that list.

I have several vulnerabilities, the greatest of which is being on chemo for a blood cancer. But there are others.

When people are gradually able to go back out, carefully, many of us won't. Right now I don't see my closest friends/family because nobody I know is as self-isolating as I am right now. Either they live with someone else, or they take precautions but still go to the grocery store.

What happens when there is not social distancing in stores? It would be even less safe for me. And so less safe to be around others. In Battle CV vs moonscape, CV has about a 99.9% chance of victory. I definitely would make sure I had vacuumed and made my bed before taking a chance Out There ...

So do the vulnerable not have in-person contact with loved ones for 1.5 years? Do we ask ourselves each time before deciding: is this trip/event/dinner/evening worth my life? At the same time, how does a person remain sane and healthy without human contact, touch, in-person laughter and sharing? How to balance risk/reward?

I guess more answers will come in time, but it's daunting to contemplate. So I'll stop and watch another movie ...

[ananda]

45. No worries. Nothing will be normal ..

.. for quite some time.

I'm thinking next year.

[uponit7771]

46. *** FLAT CURVE *** is for hospitals not our normality, we can't go back to normal unless...

..."the curve" is bottomed out.