14 minutes ago, HiFlyer said:

Plus, if there is a rebound, very few people will have any trust in the government after that. There is already the feeling that too many people in charge are thinking more about money than about people, and if those leaders walk us into a rebound of this virus, they won't even be able to convince people that the sky is blue, after that. Suggestions to return to work will be resisted, and which ever political critters realize that and accede to it will be the ones in power when the smoke from the election clears.

Yep. That is exactly why all the talk from people who want things opened back up now to save the economy is so foolish. If you open it back up too soon and things go sideways, and they will,  you will be in a much worse situation. Everybody wants it to be opened back up. Just make sure we do it right or else we lose even more.

54 minutes ago, HiFlyer said:

Plus, if there is a rebound, very few people will have any trust in the government after that. There is already the feeling that too many people in charge are thinking more about money than about people, and if those leaders walk us into a rebound of this virus, they won't even be able to convince people that the sky is blue, after that. Suggestions to return to work will be resisted, and which ever political critters realize that and accede to it will be the ones in power when the smoke from the election clears.

Even the medical experts within the govt. say that we can begin to reopen parts of the country soon.  Are they thinking more about money than safety?  As with so many things in life, it is about balance, and sometimes one must walk a fine line.  Soon we can begin to gradually reopen parts of the country while maintaining the protective measures and applying containment where necessary.

Yes, it is also about money, which also means jobs, jobs, jobs.  If we end up with 50% or higher unemployment because we don't want anyone to die then believe me you and everyone you know will feel the negative consequences personally.  No one will be immune to that, pun intended.

BTW, if money is such a negative thing for you then I'll be happy to take some of that burdensome currency off your hands. 😉

Dave

Edited April 17, 20206 yr by dave2013

To answer the OP: Just About, and No.
Strange times.

On a more personal note:
I haven’t joined an AVSIM discussion for a long time, hovering on a post count of 1,999.

Like a bottle of that rare and expensive wine needing the right aging, somehow there is no situation that measures up to uncorking that bottle of 2,000.

Thank you, Corona Virus #19, for creating such a slot: the 999th post in its megathread. Like measuring the position of a subatomic particle, there is no way of knowing if this hit the mark. Good enough to be in the vicinity...

There will be things that we have done as a result of these astonishing times, and many more inventive things to come I’m sure. I removed the 400ft altitude limit on my drone and went to 1,500ft because local airspace was deserted! Auckland City never looked so peaceful. And it's quiet: our Geonet earthquake monitors have lost their background traffic noise.

Short of anarchy, what will the innovative flightsimming community get up to in this brave new world I wonder?

 

Edited April 17, 20206 yr by WingZ

There are a few right ways to get us out of this pandemic, but many ways to do it wrong. Lets all hope that we get it right! Stay safe everyone!

Martin

Edited April 17, 20206 yr by MartinRex007

58 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

Even the medical experts within the govt. say that we can begin to reopen parts of the country soon.  Are they thinking more about money than safety?  As with so many things in life, it is about balance, and sometimes one must walk a fine line.  Soon we can begin to gradually reopen parts of the country while maintaining the protective measures and applying containment where necessary.

Yes, it is also about money, which also means jobs, jobs, jobs.  If we end up with 50% or higher unemployment because we don't want anyone to die then believe me you and everyone you know will feel the negative consequences personally.  No one will be immune to that, pun intended.

BTW, if money is such a negative thing for you then I'll be happy to take some of that burdensome currency off your hands. 😉

Dave

Stop. You’re not listening. This *is* about money. If you reopen too rashly, you will lose even more money.

1 hour ago, dave2013 said:

Even the medical experts within the govt. say that we can begin to reopen parts of the country soon.  Are they thinking more about money than safety?  As with so many things in life, it is about balance, and sometimes one must walk a fine line.  Soon we can begin to gradually reopen parts of the country while maintaining the protective measures and applying containment where necessary.

I'm not really into history rewrites, and there's not a thing wrong with my memory; which means I clearly recall how not very long ago, our government was making noises about full churches by easter, while our most trusted medical experts essentially struggled not roll their eyes. I also don't believe the plan released just today, which by the way did a hasty reverse and explicitly ceded decision power about timelines back to the states, in any way conforms to the original "aspirational" comments being made just days ago.

In other words, somebody realized that the states, as a general rule, simply were not buying the getting back to work right away happy talk, and were gearing up to fight vigorously as a group, with probably a good majority of the country backing them. The scientists winning this round is essentially whats happened, probably because political critters saw their careers going right in the pooper for just the reasons I mentioned earlier if they got it wrong in the face of all the warnings from the medical community and others.

1 hour ago, dave2013 said:

Yes, it is also about money, which also means jobs, jobs, jobs.  If we end up with 50% or higher unemployment because we don't want anyone to die then believe me you and everyone you know will feel the negative consequences personally.  No one will be immune to that, pun intended.

Jobs, jobs, jobs and money, money, money don't really mean much if you are dead, dead, dead..........

"Welp, mom, grandpa and little johny are gone, but dang, at least we avoided a depression!"

1 hour ago, dave2013 said:

BTW, if money is such a negative thing for you then I'll be happy to take some of that burdensome currency off your hands. 😉

Btw if lives are so secondary to you, then I'll be happy to take all those burdensome (and all too rare, currently) masks and things off of you while you speed back to work! 😷

Edited April 17, 20206 yr by HiFlyer

1 hour ago, WingZ said:

There will be things that we have done as a result of these astonishing times, and many more inventive things to come I’m sure. I removed the 400ft altitude limit on my drone and went to 1,500ft because local airspace was deserted! Auckland City never looked so peaceful. And it's quiet: our Geonet earthquake monitors have lost their background traffic noise.

Day in the life: America 2020

I was feeling stir crazy enough to wander down to one of the local lakes (living at the convergence of several national forests, I am surrounded by them) and since its approaching trout season and everything is already stocked, I decided to see if the fish were biting.

Instead of the usual crowd at around this time, I found a total of three people standing several dozen yards apart, glancing across at me as I approached as if I might just be the 4th horseman. (a look I'm getting used to, nowadays)

Nope, nobody had on a mask, as fish are not contagious.

Yet.

I had also been to the creepily deserted mega-food store. The roads and highway on the way were disaster movie abandoned, and once in the store, it felt almost like it was running out of food. Made me wonder how the massive place was making enough to stay open, but I could see they were running on a skeleton crew.

It also turned out they had nothing I was interested in buying. Everything I went there for was pretty much gone, so popeyes chicken it is! 🐔

At the lake, tons of unmolested fish were leaping from the water every few seconds, showing off and apparently enjoying not being pestered.

Strangely, the old urge to throw a line in was gone, and I felt very vaguely depressed. I did spare a few minutes of fish talk with the people, but quickly left. They seemed squirrely (also common nowadays) and home feels like the place to be, right now.

I'll be back to check on the fish another day; soonish, I hope.

The end.

Edited April 17, 20206 yr by HiFlyer

1 hour ago, HiFlyer said:

I'm not really into history rewrites, and there's not a thing wrong with my memory; which means I clearly recall how not very long ago, our government was making noises about full churches by easter, while our most trusted medical experts essentially struggled not roll their eyes. I also don't believe the plan released just today, which by the way did a hasty reverse and explicitly ceded decision power about timelines back to the states, in any way conforms to the original "aspirational" comments being made just days ago.

In other words, somebody realized that the states, as a general rule, simply were not buying the getting back to work right away happy talk, and were gearing up to fight vigorously as a group, with probably a good majority of the country backing them. The scientists winning this round is essentially whats happened, probably because political critters saw their careers going right in the pooper for just the reasons I mentioned earlier if they got it wrong in the face of all the warnings from the medical community and others.

Jobs, jobs, jobs and money, money, money don't really mean much if you are dead, dead, dead..........

"Welp, mom, grandpa and little johny are gone, but dang, at least we avoided a depression!"

Btw if lives are so secondary to you, then I'll be happy to take all those burdensome (and all too rare, currently) masks and things off of you while you speed back to work! 😷

More propaganda, plain and simple.

Would you rather the President come on television and state that this pandemic is a catastrophe and we're all going to die if we don't shut down everything for a year?  Boy, that would be a real morale booster.  A real spirit-lifting message of hope.

The federal govt. from the beginning has granted most of the power in dealing with this pandemic to the States, with the federal govt. taking on a support and guidance role.  But I think you know that.

As far as everybody dying from this, well, if you want to participate in more hysteria then that's your right.

Dave

3 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

More propaganda, plain and simple.

Yup. Propaganda.

I can only say that if you told that to the gentleman from New York my cousin was speaking too two days ago who just lost 5 family members to this virus that it would not be appreciated.

You could also explain to the stacked bodies behind the hospitals and the medical workers struggling to cope, about your apparent perception of the situation.

4 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

Would you rather the President come on television and state that this pandemic is a catastrophe and we're all going to die if we don't shut down everything for a year?  Boy, that would be a real morale booster.  A real spirit-lifting message of hope.

I believe both this and your previous comment about money being a negative to me are both types of straw men. Essentially creating an argument that was never made and inviting a person to defend said argument.

So I will make it clear that nobody but you has suggested that the only alternative would be for the president to behave in such a fashion. To date, many national leaders all over the world have explained the situation and the options to their citizens quite plainly without being ridiculous. It's not the message that is the problem in these cases, it's the ability to responsibly deliver it over and above ideology and politics.

16 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

As far as everybody dying from this, well, if you want to participate in more hysteria then that's your right.

And.... yet another straw man. Could you point out exactly where i mentioned "everybody dying"?

Take your time. I'll wait.

Oh dear China now saying  the death toll in Wuhan WAS 50% higher than they said oops!! , but no deaths in the  big city`s and new deaths caused by incoming foreigners.

4 hours ago, dave2013 said:

Would you rather the President come on television and state that this pandemic is a catastrophe and we're all going to die if we don't shut down everything for a year?  Boy, that would be a real morale booster.  A real spirit-lifting message of hope.

Correct. Can you imagine a leader telling his people that he had nothing to offer them but blood, toil, tears, and sweat?

 

Edited April 17, 20206 yr by Alan_A

Politicians do not suddenly start to tell the truth just because there is a pandemic.

For a spirit-lifting message of hope to be credible, it has to come from someone with credibility.

It is pretty clear what needs to be done to minimise the effects and it's not very complicated. Most sensible people are doing what is needed.

Regardless of what we are being told by our elected leaders, we are the only people who can keep ourselves safe from this.

 

I would like to go on the record and make some predictions:

1. Many States and localities will begin to relax their restrictions and begin reopening within 2 weeks with minimal negative effects such as greatly increased death rates.

2. The vast majority of the country will be fully reopened within 2 months, with some small problem areas like New York City remaining.  Again, minimal or no negative effects.

3. The Covid-19 death toll for 2020 in the U.S. will be less than 200,000 and likely much closer to 100,000.  At least 80% of those deaths will be folks over 65 years of age.  95+% of Covid-19 deaths of those aged <65 will have underlying health problems such as diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, obesity, etc.  The overwhelming majority, 99+%, of people under the age of 65 who contract Covid-19 will survive and experience flu-like symptoms. 

4. The Covid-19 fatality rate in the U.S. will end up being around 1%, or less.  Not 2-3% as some have claimed.

About a year from now, most folks will realize that much of the hysteria related to the coronavirus was unwarranted.  There was indeed cause for alarm in high population density cities like New York City and a few others, but in 95+% of the country there was no cause for alarm.  Simple safety measures such as social distancing, hand washing, wearing masks, etc. would have been enough to stem the spread of the virus. 

Governments erred on the side of caution and overreacted, which they had to do at the time, but in the end a lot of the reaction was unnecessary.

Covid-19 was not nearly as deadly as so many claimed it would be and there was no need to shut things down for more than 4-6 weeks, except in a few badly affected areas like NYC, and no need to lock things down at all in many parts of the country.

 

Dave

 

11 hours ago, HiFlyer said:

Yup. Propaganda.

I can only say that if you told that to the gentleman from New York my cousin was speaking too two days ago who just lost 5 family members to this virus that it would not be appreciated.

You could also explain to the stacked bodies behind the hospitals and the medical workers struggling to cope, about your apparent perception of the situation.

That's below the belt, man.

You know darn well that I'm not saying that Covid-19 deaths are in any way propaganda.  I was referring to your partisan comments about the government's response to the coronavirus.

Yes, early on the administration did try to minimize the severity of the coronavirus as they didn't want to alarm everyone and create a panic.  As they learned more they changed their guidance and policies.  That's what you do when you're in a leadership position, i.e. you assess the situation and the facts on a daily basis and change your strategy and policies accordingly. 

Our govt. did exactly the right thing by banning flights from China back in January, while the partisan political folks and the majority of the media criticized them as being racist. 

But you know all this.

Normally, I wouldn't bother responding to people like you because I know that I'll never win the argument.  You have taken a side and you won't budge no matter what facts are presented to you.

The only reason I do reply is to publicly rebut your incorrect statements and set the record straight.

Dave

48 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

That's below the belt, man.

You know darn well that I'm not saying that Covid-19 deaths are in any way propaganda.

Then you should have said that, rather than a blanket statement. Cuts down on misunderstandings.

48 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

But you know all this.

You seem pretty clear on making assumptions about what other people know and don't know. And you know what they say about assuming.....

48 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

while the partisan political folks and the majority of the media criticized them as being racist.

So earlier, you mentioned propaganda............ Good thing you yourself have no agenda? 

48 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

Normally, I wouldn't bother responding to people like you because I know that I'll never win the argument.  You have taken a side and you won't budge no matter what facts are presented to you.

I'm thinking this sounds like classic projection. And as to remarks about people like me.... Well, yes, I am unusually tall. 🤔

48 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

The only reason I do reply is to publicly rebut your incorrect statements and set the record straight.

Yes, I do feel I have a better grasp of where you are coming from now.

Edited April 17, 20206 yr by HiFlyer