COVID-19 Pandemic in Illinois - waiting for the other shoes to drop
Here in Chicago, it feels like the hits just keep on coming.
As I've commented on other social media platforms, the big reason why I'm unnerved is the sheer uncertainty. On Friday, Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker ordered the closure of all K-12 public schools until at least March 30. A decent chunk of suburban libraries shut down the same day (with a few more shutting down over the next few days), while Chicago Public Library system and the few suburban libraries are still operating, but all programs and activities have been cancelled. Senior centers throughout the region have either closed or reduced activities. And, on Sunday, Pritzker ordered all restaurants, fast food establishments, bars and coffee shops to do close dining rooms and limit their operations to carry-out and delivery as of March 17. Most of those measures are tentatively designed to last until some point at the end of March, with the obvious asterisk that this may be extended.
Even before last weekend, several public and private universities shut down their campuses, while others scaled back classroom activities and tried to shift to video streaming. Companies that could have their workers telecommute have been increasingly shifted to telecommuting. Large events and then smaller events were already getting cancelled or "postponed" left and right. And many businesses have been closing on their own. I'm not sure if it was because they thought that, with the declining customers, there was no point in staying open, or because they wanted to help. Probably some combination of both.
The idea is to try to "flatten the curve" - that is, reduce the number of COVID-19 cases - by reducing the opportunities for the infection to spread. Which is made more complicated by the fact that Illinois, much like the rest of the United States, has not been testing nearly enough people due to shortage of testing kits. The experience in South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore showed that testing as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, helps countries to not only understand the full scale of the pandemic, but more effectively track down and quarantine the infected and figure who else may have gotten infected. As more test kits become available, Illinois is going to see more diagnoses, but for now... As it has been pointed out, even if you reduced places where people gather, getting everybody to stay home is impractical, and the risk of carriers, asymptomatic or otherwise, infecting others is going to be greater.
Besides, as it has been pointed out elsewhere, there are economic consequences. A lot of people are not getting paid right now, or getting paid less. Money is not going into the economy. While there's plenty of stories for reporters like me to cover, media outlets do rely on some combination of ads and subscriptions (and, in some cases, donations) to keep things running, including paying reporters. Performers and artists who make their living through events - as well as people like stage crew members - don't exactly have anything to fall back on, especially with a lot of low-wage jobs not being there anymore. Reduction of social services is going to hurt the most vulnerable populations. I'm particularly worried about the homeless.
There's a reason why People's Republic of China is trying to send kids back in schools and get the businesses going again as soon as its own curve showed consistent decline. COVID-19 epidemic is far from over in PRC, but so long as it's not getting worse, they have to try to get the economy running again.
Here in Illinois - two weeks is one thing. But what if we don't see any noticeable change in the curve? What if the numbers keep climbing? The consequences for residents, businesses and social services, are only going to get worse.
As I've commented elsewhere, the closest thing I can compare it to is the collapse of the Soviet Union. As a kid, there was a lot I didn't understand - but I remember the skyrocketing prices, the long lines at grocery stores, certain types of food I've come to take for granted since then simply not being available, heat and electricity getting cut, pension checks, benefits and paychecks not coming in for months. And one thing I distinctly remember through it all was my mom and all of my grandparents worrying about what they were going to do, and what else is going to go wrong.
Even if I didn't understand everything, even if, over the years, my memory softened some of the rougher edges, I remember this uncertainty, the waiting for the other shoe to drop. And I remember how terrifying that was.
#коронавирус
As I've commented on other social media platforms, the big reason why I'm unnerved is the sheer uncertainty. On Friday, Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker ordered the closure of all K-12 public schools until at least March 30. A decent chunk of suburban libraries shut down the same day (with a few more shutting down over the next few days), while Chicago Public Library system and the few suburban libraries are still operating, but all programs and activities have been cancelled. Senior centers throughout the region have either closed or reduced activities. And, on Sunday, Pritzker ordered all restaurants, fast food establishments, bars and coffee shops to do close dining rooms and limit their operations to carry-out and delivery as of March 17. Most of those measures are tentatively designed to last until some point at the end of March, with the obvious asterisk that this may be extended.
Even before last weekend, several public and private universities shut down their campuses, while others scaled back classroom activities and tried to shift to video streaming. Companies that could have their workers telecommute have been increasingly shifted to telecommuting. Large events and then smaller events were already getting cancelled or "postponed" left and right. And many businesses have been closing on their own. I'm not sure if it was because they thought that, with the declining customers, there was no point in staying open, or because they wanted to help. Probably some combination of both.
The idea is to try to "flatten the curve" - that is, reduce the number of COVID-19 cases - by reducing the opportunities for the infection to spread. Which is made more complicated by the fact that Illinois, much like the rest of the United States, has not been testing nearly enough people due to shortage of testing kits. The experience in South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore showed that testing as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, helps countries to not only understand the full scale of the pandemic, but more effectively track down and quarantine the infected and figure who else may have gotten infected. As more test kits become available, Illinois is going to see more diagnoses, but for now... As it has been pointed out, even if you reduced places where people gather, getting everybody to stay home is impractical, and the risk of carriers, asymptomatic or otherwise, infecting others is going to be greater.
Besides, as it has been pointed out elsewhere, there are economic consequences. A lot of people are not getting paid right now, or getting paid less. Money is not going into the economy. While there's plenty of stories for reporters like me to cover, media outlets do rely on some combination of ads and subscriptions (and, in some cases, donations) to keep things running, including paying reporters. Performers and artists who make their living through events - as well as people like stage crew members - don't exactly have anything to fall back on, especially with a lot of low-wage jobs not being there anymore. Reduction of social services is going to hurt the most vulnerable populations. I'm particularly worried about the homeless.
There's a reason why People's Republic of China is trying to send kids back in schools and get the businesses going again as soon as its own curve showed consistent decline. COVID-19 epidemic is far from over in PRC, but so long as it's not getting worse, they have to try to get the economy running again.
Here in Illinois - two weeks is one thing. But what if we don't see any noticeable change in the curve? What if the numbers keep climbing? The consequences for residents, businesses and social services, are only going to get worse.
As I've commented elsewhere, the closest thing I can compare it to is the collapse of the Soviet Union. As a kid, there was a lot I didn't understand - but I remember the skyrocketing prices, the long lines at grocery stores, certain types of food I've come to take for granted since then simply not being available, heat and electricity getting cut, pension checks, benefits and paychecks not coming in for months. And one thing I distinctly remember through it all was my mom and all of my grandparents worrying about what they were going to do, and what else is going to go wrong.
Even if I didn't understand everything, even if, over the years, my memory softened some of the rougher edges, I remember this uncertainty, the waiting for the other shoe to drop. And I remember how terrifying that was.
#коронавирус