I was pleased to see that Trump is going to throttle visits from Europeans, since that seems to be where there's a growing threat. By suppressing the numbers of incoming visitors, some of whom presumably would carry the virus, we may not reduce the absolute number of Americans who ultimately become infected, but we are more likely to slow the rate of infection and spread it over time. That's critical because the U.S. does not have the hospital coverage to care for a rapid rise in infections, especially since we are also currently dealing with a fairly bad flu season, which requires some of the same hospital space and equipment needed to fight COVID-19. If we can spread the infection's time line, we can assure that a higher percentage of critical cases will get hospital care.
I remain somewhat appalled by the hospital situation. A University of Minnesota public health expert said this:
"Right now, today, in Minneapolis-St. Paul, every one of the beds that we use for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a high-level machine that supports the heart and lungs and is critical for keeping people alive who have illness like COVID-19, are filled. This is in part because we are just coming off a moderate to severe flu season and that has really stretched our care capacity. On top of that, a number of hospitals throughout the country have only 5 to 10 days' worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) available for health care workers. They don't know when over-stretched PPE manufacturers will be able to deliver more."
Minneapolis St. Paul, with the University hospitals, two large public medical centers, a large VA hospital numerous private hospitals, and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester just to the south of the Cities, has some of the best per-capita health care in the nation, and this guy is saying that with a big outbreak, the Twin Cities would be in serious trouble.
I really don't like the fact that this discussion of the virus has swerved into political debate, although I agree that things would be better with a different President (of any reasonable political philosophy, left or right) or at least one who kept his mouth shut and stopped spreading incorrect information. But, what we've got is what we've got, and we simply have to keep encouraging a realistic approach to the infection.
