There will be major changes in the US!! We can give guidance to people but we do not force them to follow that guidance. In time, the virus will kill people or they will learn how to deal with it. Self reliance and common sense will come back to those who survive, those who can not will perish. We have put social distancing in effect across the country, yet we read news stories of people with total disregard for the idea - the virus will educate them!. We will learn how to adjust our lives until science comes to our rescue and even when there is a vaccine, people are still going to have a more conservative stance on close socializing.

A couple things on this: Walmart has established a maximum occupancy in their stores, 5 people per 1000 square feet. Shopping carts are disinfected prior to each use. The state I'm in has stopped all short term rentals (hotels, motels, campgrounds and such) to discourage visitors. They have also closed most attractions. Significantly discourages out of state visitors!! Bars are closed and food is take out only. It all equals nothing to do, no place to stay, and eating in your car or along the roadside!

We have been waiting for a real President much longer than 4 years. The elder Bush was decent but probably the last great President was Regan, the greatest before him was probably JFK who we lost to an assassination. There is no great Presidential material running in 2020 or in the wings for future years.

For POTUS, I would much prefer someone else. While both have some capabilities and both are intelligent, both are also deeply flawed but in different ways. Neither will bring to the US government what it so desperately needs which is a major realignment and removal of around 50% of the bureaucratic incompetents. We have been through numerous administrations and our government is still incapable of actually functioning. The idea of replacing the entire management level team every few years and expecting departments to operate efficiently is ridiculous!!

Summer will come and we all will find ways to enjoy it even if not to the extent or ways we would consider normal. Some activities just won't happen and we will have to find other ways to enjoy.

The only 100% safe area from the virus is outside in an area where no person who has been exposed to the virus has ever been. Anyplace where others have been in the last 6-9 months is suspect. In reality, there are ways to enjoy the better weather and be outside without much risk of catching the virus. Be someplace where others have not been in recent days such as your back yard or on a lake. Do all the protective things to get there and back safely. Be suspicious of anything that someone else may have touched in the last few days. If you need to get or use something that someone else may have touched, spray it or wipe it with disinfectant. The studies I have seen indicate that the lifespan of the virus outside of an infected person varies with the material the virus is on. Some are as short as a couple hours and some are several weeks. We can enjoy life to some extent and still be safe but you have to understand what you need to do to protect yourself and others around you.

I think that even after we have gotten past this corona virus pandemic, some level of social distancing will continue. Perhaps not the 6' idea but still more spacing than in the past. That will help reduce the transmission of the common cold and seasonal flu along with the Covid-19 making all of us have a healthier life.

Sorry, but you can't fix stupid!!

I have been having difficulty finding the new case trends easily, seems like it is getting harder to locate. I do see in the states where some areas are starting to level off while others are rapidly increasing. The social distancing only is as good as the weak links (people)! Trying to protect ourselves is the best we can do, can't fix stupid people!!

And that is why it is important to clean your hands after you have touched something in public. Use a foot or arm to push open that door when you can. When you wash your hands in a public restroom, use the paper towel to open the door. Gloves are only useful if you don't touch your face with them and then remove them properly. Trying to keep your hands clean however you can will help!

I think you mostly have it correct. The social distance (6 foot) mostly will stop the actual transmission between 2 people. The common surface transmission is a method but not as often. With the surface transmission you both need to pick up the virus on your hands or other ways and transmit it to your mouth, nose or eyes. If the virus is not transmitted to your eyes, nose or mouth, you will not get the virus. That is why the hand washing and not touching your face are important.

A lot of responsibility that others put on us are caused by their failure to take the responsibility that should be theirs. It is up to each of us if we want to carry their responsibility. Your failures are NOT my responsibility!! When you are strong enough to allow others to suffer through their responsibility failures, you will no longer be emotionally stressed by the responsibility you have left. Those that remain are controlled by you and you can resolve those problems.

The problem isn't just finding the right tool, you have to know what the job is to begin with. Using that screwdriver to mix a cake doesn't work very well!

For health privacy they cannot publicly identify the people tested. They also won't identify any contacts or specifically where the infected person is located, again, privacy. They do publicly identify the location by county. When the number of cases in an area is small, they do attempt contract tracing to identify people who may have been exposed. They then want those people in a 14 day quarantine starting from the contact day. When you get a higher case load, it just isn't feasible.

Not as bad as it was a couple weeks ago. Still shortages of eggs, bread, paper products, and some canned stuff. Plenty of fruit, veggies, meat, and seafood. It is getting better.

Tom, that's different than here in NW Arkansas. Went to Walmart Thursday and they had associates sanitizing carts. Not much yet for social distancing. I do understand they are making changes to their check out lanes. They also are providing PPE for check outs who want them; also considering making some of the aisles one-way. Locally here, the local grocery has had disinfectant wipes for carts for months. They have removed some of the entry displays to make more space. Today I noticed they had removed one of the checkout lanes and closed another to make more distance. Signs all over the store reminding people about the 6 foot social distancing. All the churches are closed as well as bars and restaurants. The public seems to be taking it serious here.

self confidence and the ability to back it up

The new test for the corona virus was unveiled yesterday by one of the major testing manufacturers. It is a small portable piece of equipment that can conduct the test in under 15 minutes. Manufacturing is in progress and they expect to provide the new test equipment next week. You are right that the limit on the current testing methods are the limits in the labs.

The malaria drugs being considered are being administered in New York in the medical facilities for very ill people. While it is not the standard evaluation because there is not a control group receiving a placebo. It will be evaluated in the field to see if it helps in some way. Eventually further evaluation may be required.

The 100-200k deaths from the virus is from projections by the health professionals. Those numbers are based on best outcomes with the existing guidelines. The numbers from not following the guidelines where over 2 million deaths. Most of that reduction is based on the public's reaction to the guidelines. We must remember these are computer generated results with a number of assumptions. They will have a better understanding when the new cases reach the peak of the curve.

There seems to be a number of problems with getting this under control.
A failure of some people and groups to abide by the social distancing guidelines. Some areas are now arresting people for violating the guidelines.

Another problem is people just not understanding what is going on and how to limit their exposure. Things like washing your hands with soap & water, maintaining separation between people, and limiting travel.

Another problem is those who are in a hot spot and migrate to other much lesser infected areas. Some will bring the virus with them. Some states are now enforcing quarantine protocols on people coming into their states. If should be noted the virus has a rather short life expectancy when not in an infected person.

Sounds like a participation trophy. Makes some people feel good about themselves while failing to recognize the accomplishments of others. Those good feelings of self worth may also then fail to improve that person and people suffer the consequences when they get into the real world. The goal of criticism should be to help the criticized person improve; criticizing without showing how to improve is just meant to humiliate another person!

The problem is mostly a product of the smart phones many people use. Miniature keyboard you use your thumbs with instead of an actual keyboard you can actually type (keyboard) on.