Some people are saying that in our hospitals there are decisions being made to take some patients off of ventilators because they are too old or were previously ill and are unlikely to survive. I have seen no evidence of this and doctors in our federal government reporting to President Trump have repeatedly stated that this is absolutely not happening. There are many such reports that seem plausible, but weather or not they are true is another matter.

Hundreds of years ago, diseases worse than this would strike every five years. Something like this hasn't really happened since the 1950's. So this is somewhat of a new phenomenon that our culture is trying to understand. We are now hearing that it is likely that between 100,000 and 250,000 Americans will die from this disease (about 0.006% of our population). My reaction is that this is an absolute tragedy. On the other hand, more than one percent of our population dies every year from natural causes.

So how does one put this into perspective. For many hundreds of thousands of years, people spent their entire lives around only a small tribe of people. There used to be less than 100,000 thousand people in all of Europe. This may be why it's difficult for us to put what's happening into perspective.

The next two or three weeks are going to be very difficult for America. We are entering the worst period of the pandemic. Makeshift hospitals are being constructed in our major cities as the hospitals are filled with sick people. A U.S. Navy hospital ship (USNS Comfort) arrived in New York City yesterday, giving an additional 1,000 beds to the city. NYC is currently the worst infected city in the world.

We are being told that the best way we can help is to simply stay home and not come into contact with anyone other than those we currently live with. I can only imagine what it must be like to live in a large city like NYC or Los Angeles. We are hearing that people from the large urban centers in the northeast are leaving for other parts of the country that are not as baddly infected. Many of them are going to Florida, our fourth most populous state. For this reason we are being told that Florida is likely the next hot spot for the Coronavirus infection.

Currently, about 100,000 Americans are being tested for Covid-19 per day, according to Vice President Mike Pence.

Effects on the Individual

The federal government will be giving out $1,200 to every adult. Lets take an average 20 year old that had a take home pay of at least $2,500 per month, but has now lost his job. The money that the government is handing out certainly helps, but its just a drop in the bucket in terms of income from a lost job.

What this tells me is that the average person has far more influence on the economy, and other things, than the government could ever have. Government grants will soften the blow that many are experiencing, but long term it is up to all of us as citizens to restart our country after this disease has subsided.