Fatass
Registered User
- Apr 17, 2017
- 21,951
- 13,920
It’s what i bolded in your post that is nonsensical. Wearing masks, keeping distance, and following health authority recommendations will certainly limit viral spread. Your other point of contention (are the restrictive measures doing more harm than the virus?) is moot within the discussion of limiting viral spread.Read what I wrote a little bit more closely. I didn't say that they aren't effective, only that I suspect time will tell that the beneficial effects were insufficient to justify the negative effects. Given the long-term implications involved with respect to both elements it is impossible to say yea or nay to that statement at this point, hence why I only say I suspect this will be the case. There is not enough data on the long-term effects to justify a definitive conclusion at this point, since the knock-on period will be in the span of several years at least.
Yes it is common sense that these practices will limit the spread of any virus. However, this begs the question of why such measures were not already in place? After all there are many other similar viruses, many of them deadly. Yet we never took such stringent measures in the past - presumably because of the downside in terms of impact on economic activity, social norms, cultural life and so forth. Now they are apparently justified, and it's apparently obvious beyond the point of any further justification, but is covid so much more serious than any other previous ailment that it is in fact so obvious?
Perhaps the long-term downside of such restrictions is greater than the short-term upside - the numbers are simply not in yet. The current data is not reliable enough to make the result of any such calculation convincing. Perhaps more information which is yet to be uncovered will shed new light on the scenario. Perhaps it is the very "novelty" of this coronavirus which engenders a kind of hysterical or figuratively-allergenic response on the part of society - one that will abate when the novelty wears off. Perhaps we will all look back in the sober light of morning and think, dear god we trashed the whole place and for what? I'm not saying this IS the case, but it COULD be - it's a possibility that can't be eliminated based on the information on hand right now.