Surviving the Pandemic: It will continue to get worse

 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/usa/utah/

Back in the latter part of September, the Daily New Cases in Utah of the COVID-19 virus went over 1000 a day for the first time. After spending most of my life involved in court cases in the Arizona and Federal Court system as a trial attorney, I am used to looking at evidence. Because we now live in Utah, I have been following the statistics closely. What did the State of Utah do when the Daily New Cases went over 1000? The Governor urged the residents to wear masks and practice social distancing. 

About that time, I could see from the increasing statistics including the percentage of positive tests that the number of Daily New Cases would soon go over 2000. The number did go over 2000 about a month later in October. I was wondering what the State of Utah would do when the number went over 2000 a day. The State issues an Amber Alert statewide and asked people to wear masks and practice social distancing. Hmm. When something doesn't work the first time, you just keep doing the same thing over and over hoping that it will work. 

When the number of Daily New Cases went over 2000, I could easily see that the rate of increase was accelerating and I wondered what would happen when the number went over 3000 new cases a day? Here is a quote from a KSL.com article about the increase entitled, "2,987 more COVID-19 cases, 17 deaths reported Friday as Utah breaks records again."

"The numbers being reported today are exactly what we've been warning Utah residents about for weeks," Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said in a news release. "They are why we've implored Utahns to adopt the behaviors that could have prevented us from reaching this point."

So, if what you are doing doesn't work, you just do more of it and hope it starts working. The positive test rate for the rolling seven day average in Utah climbed to 19.7%. This indicates that almost 1/5th of the population is now sick with the virus. Despite this, business is as usual in Utah Valley where I live. People are still gathering in large groups. People still come to our door without masks and there is no indication that the people in the state are taking this dramatic increase seriously. In fact, I am still hearing that the "virus is a hoax and as soon as the election is over, it will go away." The "virus" does not know about or care about any one country's election. 

I am now predicting that the incidence of the COVID-19 virus will go over 4000 a day here in Utah very shortly and may go even higher. 

Right around me, I am seeing multiple families where the entire family is sick and it will take months for the family to recover. I have friends who are dying of the disease. All of this is just in our own neighborhood. What does it take to follow what is being done in many other countries with success in limiting or at least reducing the incidence of this disease? The government throughout the United States seems frozen into inactivity by trying to protect an economy that will end up being thoroughly ruined by the pandemic if no action is taken. 

In the last few days, here in Utah Valley, I have seen groups of young people with as many as 30 to 50, mostly without masks and huddled together without even a semblance of social distancing. We are also having church meetings in Utah Valley with up to 100 people in attendance where those attending are "encouraged" to wear masks. Hmm.