Experts have struggled with how to get ahead of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic as infections across the United States continue to rise. States are in various phases of reopening, with some areas requiring Americans to wear masks when out-and-about. Despite pushing for people to wear masks, maintain social distancing and frequent handwashing, some are advocating for the United States to undergo another nationwide lockdown.
"Given everything we now know and the fear that even a mild case of this virus could lead to long-term health impacts, would you be recommending a shelter-in-place in these hot spots at this point?" host Chuck Todd asked.
"I think it's got to be considered, yes," Dr. Kavita Patel said frankly. "Now, I say that knowing the serious gravity with which the implications of that on working families, etc. but Chuck, we got here because we're not taking it seriously."
According to Dr. Patel, the United States has had a "national strategy" for dealing with the Wuhan coronavirus.
"We are never going to do any sort of economic recovery if people just don't feel safe," she said.
One concern the MSNBC guest had was with the long timeframe it takes to get back the results of Wuhan coronavirus tests.
"It would also be really nice, Chuck, we keep talking about testing when I talk to you, it would be really nice if someone of us could get our test back as quickly as Representative [Louie] Gohmert did," she said. "At this point, I'd be willing to take a day or two [to get results back]. At this point, it's hard to see how you get ahead of this without putting into place that type of infrastructure."
MSNBC’s Dr. Kavita Patel (@kavitapmd): Another “shelter in place” order has “got to be considered" pic.twitter.com/Si1XTJnu7H
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) July 29, 2020
Here's why people have issues with lockdowns: we have been told so many different things about this virus. When all of this started months ago, we were told to stay home for 15 days as a way to slow the spread. The idea was to help the medical field catch up and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. If the virus spread too quickly and too many people were infected, hospitals wouldn't be able to treat everyone and we would see a shortage of ventilators.
Americans did their part. Many stayed home, waiting out the coronavirus. Those that had to be out-and-about practiced social distancing and frequently washed their hands. Some even wore masks throughout this entire pandemic. But nothing changed except our economy took a nosedive. Practically overnight, we went from having the best economy in the history of the nation to the worst. People struggled to feed their families, pay their mortgages and their bills. On top of that, families were tasked with homeschooling their children. Americans have had enough. They realize these lockdowns have done nothing but perpetuate government dependence and topple our economy. How much longer do they expect us to continue on this path?