Biden Covid advisor says U.S. lockdown of 4 to 6 weeks could control pandemic and revive economy

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: CNBC

Shutting down businesses and paying people for lost wages for four to six weeks could help keep the coronavirus pandemic in check and get the economy on track until a vaccine is approved and distributed, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, a coronavirus advisor to President-elect Joe Biden.

Osterholm, who serves as director of the Center of Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said earlier this week that the country is headed toward "Covid hell." Cases are rising as more people grow tired of wearing masks and social distancing, suffering from so-called "pandemic fatigue," he said Wednesday. Colder weather is also driving people indoors where the virus can spread more easily.

A nationwide lockdown would drive the number of new cases and hospitalizations down to manageable levels while the world awaits a vaccine, he said on Wednesday.

Link to tweet

?s=20

"We could pay for a package right now to cover all of the wages, lost wages for individual workers for losses to small companies to medium-sized companies or city, state, county governments. We could do all of that," he said. "If we did that, then we could lockdown for four-to-six weeks."

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/biden-covid-advisor-says-us-lockdown-of-4-to-6-weeks-could-control-pandemic-and-revive-economy/ar-BB1aVgKx?li=BBnb7Kz

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You can just hear the howls from the Republicans

[soothsayer]

1. Maybe they should have piped down for the time being

Though things are clearly spiraling out of control

[Rebl2]

7. It

May happen anyway if many businesses have to close because so many employees are out sick.

[soothsayer]

8. Yeah might as well be straight about it

Wish we could do it tomorrow

[hedda_foil]

2. Big mouth. He's gonna wind up off the advisory team.

[DeminPennswoods]

10. Yeah, but not surprising since

he's been one of the medical experts on cable a lot always espousing the worst case scenario.

[NickB79]

11. In case you didn't notice, the worst case scenario IS where we're at now

We're rapidly approaching 200,000 cases per day. We'll hit 400,000 dead by spring.

Dr. Osterholm has been one of the most intelligent experts this whole pandemic.

[DeminPennswoods]

13. The population of the US is approximately

330M. Total cases amount to about 3% of that with the vast majority of those being recovered. It's only a crisis because our completely disfunctional healthcare system evidently cannot handle 50,000 Americans being sick at the same time. We will see where the death rate goes, but at the moment it's around 2.5% and has been falling. It's possible that covid19 has changed to become more contagious, but less deadly.

We would be far better informed if the media reported active cases (total cases - recovered cases) of covid19 rather than total numbers because it would give a fuller picture of the epidemic.

[Jimbo S]

30. This

Report active cases and hospitalizations. Some of the graphics I see (MSNBC) reporting total cases are factually true but misleading.

[yaesu]

3. tRump judges would reverse any attempts at another lockdown like they have in the states. nt

[Moostache]

5. Good...no one can FORCE you to go into those businesses that flout public health

I will NEVER frequent any establishment that does not enforce shut downs, shelter in place orders or any lock downs. Boycott them out of existence...large, small, medium...you are either helping to beat the virus or you are going out of business without a social safety net.

I have lost too much to this fucking virus already to give one-billionth of a shit about these fucking people's feelings and freedom...stay home, obey the safety regulations or arrest them, incarcerate them in Wyoming and build a giant wall around that state to keep them in. When they all get sick, leave them to die...if they live, air drop books on livestock, animal husbandry and farming with seeds and a pallet of boot straps...

[newdayneeded]

28. Masks

I walked into a subway a few months back. None of the workers had masks on. (I did of course). I asked do they wear masks here? One of the girls gave out a long cocky "nooope". I walked out.

[Moostache]

31. Exactly!

Send the owner or manager a note to inform him of the lost business.
I wouldn't go back, but if they aren't aware of it, they should know their employees are literally killing the business.

People need to get a firm grip on reality and this unicorn thinking - promoted by social media hypnosis and marketing gladly riding along - has GOT TO END! If reason and science can't pierce the veil, perhaps bankruptcy and hunger can...

[Blasphemer]

4. He's right. And paying people is the right way to go about it... nt

[a la izquierda]

27. That's what's happening here in the UK

I don't love being in lockdown, but it is what it is. I'm safe, I run daily, every damn person wears a mask when in the shops. No one is happy about it at all, but if it works, good.

[ancianita]

6. Yeah, it's gonna get blown up as oppression planning on RT/right wing US media.

Fox might be positive about it, though.

And maybe it's good thing to get Wall St's endorsement ahead of time for getting the economy full on better faster, and making accommodations for a month so that happens. It's a transparency statement, imo.

But still. Let's just get this vote count over with before ANY Biden team people talk to media.
Just 'til then, maybe. Let's not invite unnecessary drama until Jan 20.

[iluvtennis]

9. Agree w/him. We had over 122,000 new CV-19 cases today - a record. A 4 to 6 week shutdown with pay

could help the US get Covid corralled. If we don't corral it, we'll be heading toward 400,000 people dead of Covid.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. According to WaPo it was more than that!

In one week new daily coronavirus cases in U.S. go from 104,000 to 145,000, latest all-time high

By Meryl Kornfield, Jacqueline Dupree, Marisa Iati, Paulina Villegas, Siobhán O'Grady and Hamza Shaban
November 11, 2020 at 10:15 p.m. EST


In one week, new daily coronavirus cases in the United States went from 104,000 to more than 145,000 on Wednesday, the latest all-time high. Almost every metric is trending in the wrong direction as states add restrictions and health officials warn of a dangerous fall ahead.

The rise in infections comes with new highs in the number of deaths reported in a single day at 1,549, the highest since May 14. Tennessee, Alabama and Minnesota all reached new highs in the number of deaths reported in a single day.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/11/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/

And at one of their links they were showing IL with > 12,000 positives today and I was bemoaning PA's reported 4700 positives.

[iluvtennis]

15. Wow, thanks for the correction - much appreciated...I'm a day off as usual :-) nt

[BumRushDaShow]

24. I got a WaPo breaking news banner on my iPad earlier

and was floored.

We may be headed to 200,000 per day if we keep it up at this rate.

[cstanleytech]

20. Wont work though. Why? Because of this

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

There are simply to many people (mostly Republicans) that do not give a damn if hundreds of thousands or even millions die due to their actions and will ignore any such shutdown.

[Baked Potato]

14. Send out the checks first. Money talks...

[inwiththenew]

16. The problems is that once you tally up all the essential workers you probably have over half

Of the workforce still going about their regular days.

Just look at a grocery store. You need the people who work in there. All the truck drivers who deliver there. All the meat processing, food plants, and consumer goods that are made need to stay open to supply the grocery stores. The warehouses and distribution centers need to say open. The gas stations and truck stops need to stay open for the trucks. The mechanics who service the trucks need to stay at work. The business that produce parts for the trucks need to stay open. The utility workers need to be at work to deal with any outages and regular maintenance. Banks and financial institution need to stay open to some extent in order to process payments, issue loans, and various things that they do to keep the wheels of commerce turning. We are coming up on winter so you need the city and state workers to plow the roads when it snows. And the list goes on.

Best case you shut down bars and restaurants and maybe non-essential shops but a lot of stuff will still be open.

[DeminPennswoods]

25. Exactly

During the spring lockdown here in PA, things were not actually that different. There was no school, less traffic and no entertainment venues or eateries, but otherwise life was not that different. People were out and about.

TBH, I think most people have just learned to live with covid19. When I'm out, I see only the rare person who isn't using a mask and almost everyone keeps a respectable distance in line.

[Polybius]

17. I think we need longer than that

Shut down for three to four months.

[Initech]

18. Whatever kills this damn virus and ends this pandemic.

I am sick of being on fucking lockdown. I am going fucking berserk being at home all the time. I want it to stop!!!

[Aussie105]

23. It won't stop.

Simply because not enough people are on lockdown, not wearing masks, not observing social distancing.

Consider your lockdown as you protecting yourself, nothing more.

[cstanleytech]

19. To late for that due to the selfishness of the Republicans in this country.

No, I think what we need to do is to redirect DOD funding (which the Republicans allowed Trump to do) to providing for those that need medical care as well as mobilizing the national guard to assist the hospitals is our best bet.

[C Moon]

21. It worked in California...until they opened up again.

[DeminPennswoods]

26. Yep, lockdowns just do not work

As you say, they work for awhile until things open back up, then cases start up again. Europe proved that. Lots of praise for them and finger-wagging at the US, but as soon as people came back out, covid19 re-appeared.

It makes me no end of angry that the entire reason for the lockdowns in the US is to protect our broken healthcare system! If thousands of Americans were catching covid19, but hospitalizations were rare, no one would be freaking out.

[cstanleytech]

32. Yup but that is why I thinks better strategy for Biden would

probably be to divert a significant amount of DOD money to aid the hospitals as well as mobilizing the national guard to provide the hospitals with assistance.

[DeminPennswoods]

33. The Army Corps of Engineers

has already designed and prototyped storeage PODS that can be used to add capacity quickly and cheaply.

Anyway, I was reminded today that Biden specifically said he planned to shut down the virus, not the economy. I suspect Osterholm spoke out of turn here and created a needless distraction. Klain has probably already let him know that.

[Aussie105]

22. America, what took you so long?

Lockdown has been done by other countries a while back, with some very good results.

Deaths have been minimal in New Zealand, Australia, and quite a few other places due to early and coordinated action.
Hospitals over run, people in corridors breathing their last, third world disaster scenes are classic signs of too little too late in the fight against the pandemic.

It's not a new idea, in short. But the 'pay workers to stay home' is obviously too much like Socialism for Americans.

[Bayard]

29. Lock it down

Until a fair percentage of the population has been inoculated with the new vaccine. We will all be guinea pigs, but maybe we won't be dead.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

34. I don't think we have the discipline to make a shut-down work.

Right-wing libertarian freedom types will refuse to wear masks, just because. And they'll be out in droves exhibiting their freedom.

College kids will have large parties, neighborhoods will have block parties, kids will have underground parties (is "rave" still a word?).

Put some penalties in, loss of driver license, fines, etc, maybe it will work.

I'm keeping the mask on, and hoping for a good vaccine soon.

[Steelrolled]

35. Why aren't we getting more state-wide lockdowns?

The recent restrictions in NY are very weak compared to what we were doing earlier this year. Is it just a game of chicken?

Suppose Biden would put out a call for all states to invoke a lockdown with specific parameters (this might be all he can do practically). How many states would follow it?

[apnu]

36. Its breath taking to hear from an expert after years of Donnie Small-Hands

Where the fuck was this in March? The rest of the world did it, but not us. Granted the rest of the world is seeing second wave like us, but our wave seems to be totally out of control.