STATNEWS: Winter is coming: Why America's window of opportunity to beat back Covid-19 is closing

[SheltieLover]

https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/10/winter-is-coming-as-flu-season-nears-americas-window-of-opportunity-to-beat-back-covid-19-is-narrowing/

By HELEN BRANSWELL @HelenBranswell

AUGUST 10, 2020

he good news: The United States has a window of opportunity to beat back Covid-19 before things get much, much worse.

The bad news: That window is rapidly closing. And the country seems unwilling or unable to seize the moment.

Winter is coming. Winter means cold and flu season, which is all but sure to complicate the task of figuring out who is sick with Covid-19 and who is suffering from a less threatening respiratory tract infection. It also means that cherished outdoor freedoms that link us to pre-Covid life — pop-up restaurant patios, picnics in parks, trips to the beach — will soon be out of reach, at least in northern parts of the country.

More at link.

[smirkymonkey]

1. That's going to be rough. Not only that, but the holidays are going to be a problem as well.

Deciding whether to travel, risking the health of family or other loved ones, ordering gifts that need to be shipped, sending packages and cards through the USPS, potential food & household item shortages in the case of another lockdown, etc.

And that's not even mentioning any weather catastrophes such as hurricanes or crippling winter storms which, given how this year has gone so far, I wouldn't rule out. It would be the olive on top of the 2020 shit sandwich.

[tanyev]

3. I was just thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas.

A lot of people will travel and have parties, no matter what.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. I believe that the Southern Hemisphere had almost

no influenza this year, apparently because it wasn't being brought in by people from other places, which is normally how it spreads.

So that may be a very positive sign for this upcoming winter.