The nation has been lockdown due to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. It’s led to folks becoming stir crazy. Netflix watching will never be higher in its history possibly. Overall, everyone is doing their part staying home. We’re finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel, as hospitalizations and the death rate have stabilized, though the latter is still high. As of today, over 641,000 Americans have been infected. The death toll is approaching 30,000. It’s a serious disease. It’s highly contagious. And no one is immune. Staying home is our best defense in the absence of a vaccine.
It’s killed us economically. Millions have filed for unemployment. And for some cities, like Las Vegas, where closing the strip is akin to cutting off oxygen to the brain, the Democratic mayor is demanding an end to the shutdown for precisely that reason (via Fox 5 Las Vegas):
Las Vegas’s mayor calls for hotels and casinos to reopen, says shutdown makes no sense. pic.twitter.com/WjBadLg4iv
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) April 16, 2020
Mayor of Las Vegas Carolyn Goodman on Wednesday called the closure of nonessential businesses in the city "total insanity."
While opening Wednesday's City Council Meeting, Mayor Goodman said that "this shutdown has become one of total insanity." Adding, "For there is no backup of data as to why we are shutdown from the start. No plan in place how to move through the shutdown or how to even come out of it."
Mayor Goodman said that according to experts who she has spoken to, the coronavirus is "not going away."
"It's not going to be going away this month, next month, and much like the flu and other viruses that have impacted populations around the world, this virus, or a derivative there of, will be part of what we work through going forward," Mayor Goodman said.
[…]
Goodman emphasized that of the estimated 900,000 people who have lost their jobs, 300,000 have already filed for unemployment. "These are families that no longer have the ability to buy food for their children and other loved ones. Pay their bills. Pay their rent. Pay their mortgage. Pay their car payment. Or enjoy the life that they had prior to this shut down," she said.
The Fox affiliate added that Goodman has called on Gov. Steve Sisolak to reopen the state economy. Yes, in the future, it’s true that we may have to get the seasonal flu and seasonal coronavirus shot. Yet, I really don’t see mass sporting events, concerts, etc., coming back until we have a vaccine that is months away. some aspects can re-open, but with no real defense, we risk spiking infection rates. At the same time, the economy has to start gradually re-opening because another 4-6 weeks and some businesses, small and large, will be wiped out. The latter can only be achieved, however, if people continue to follow the social distancing guidelines outline by the Trump administration, which is working. Re-opening the Las Vegas strip is a roll of the dice, to say the least. And if more outbreaks occur due to rushing a re-opening, the longer this stay-at-home model will remain.
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