Random Blogger's Suggestions for Re-Opening the World

Hey, we all got an opinion. How about mine? It can't be worse than the government's opinion.

Yes, I do believe the shutdown is working to "flatten the curve," but continuing the shutdown for a month was asking a lot, all of April a lot more, and if they extend it into May, painful. June would be a bridge too far. The danger here was not so much the virus, but the idea that hospitals would be overwhelmed, dooming people coming in for routine emergencies like heart attacks and accidents. To those that say only 25,000 (at this writing) are dead; that's 25,000 that wouldn't be dead if it weren't for China. That's close to half a regular flu season dead since February 29.

You can believe the danger of the virus and at the same time believe that we over-reacted. I disagree with the idea because the numbers are low that the risk isn't there; you can't prove a negative. We never had a nuclear war with Russia, so does that mean all our nuclear weapons and military preparations during the Cold War were not necessary? You see my point. 

I'm not happy about the way it was done; the death rate for the virus just isn't there. This whole thing could have been done a lot more smartly than it was to create less pain, but with similar results. The virus is not an existential threat to the nation or world; it's not Ebola. For that, quarantine the first city it showed up in. Hell, nuke it. 

Again, our efforts have worked to avoid this, but extending the shutdown much longer in such a stupid manner is not necessary. We can achieve the desired goals with sensible precautions. We have to for the good of the country. This shutdown is what you get when retarded public officials who care more about statistics than regular people and regular life are in charge. 

Here are my sensible ideas. 

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Make it mandatory to wear a face covering while in a building that you don’t own. Your mask protects me, and my mask protects you. You don’t need to wear a mask outside or while exercising (or in your car, especially alone).
 
Vulnerable people (the elderly, the immunocompromised) need to remain isolated until the danger is well-past, and then limit their exposure until a vaccine is available.
 
Houses of worship should voluntarily remain closed for another month, then possibly re-open maintaining wide spacing during services and/or creating small groups for in-person services. Home churches were how the Apostles did it.
 
Encourage strangers to keep their distance from each other, like 6-12 feet, whenever possible.
 
Casinos remain closed for an additional month. They concentrate a lot of people into tight quarters. When they re-open, restrictions on crowds in eating establishments should be restricted to 25-50% capacity and generous spacing ensured on the casino floor.
 
Dine-in restaurants should remain closed for another month. After that, they should reopen at 25-50% capacity. All staff must wear masks and gloves at all times. Tables need disinfected, not just wiped, after meals. Bar patrons should be spaced out too.
 
White-collar workers should work from home as much as possible for the foreseeable future. Offices and call centers that need employees to come in should space employees out as much as possible. There’s no reason to have workers in such close proximity. It’s harmful to the company as there could be a lot of sick-outs at once (and lots of civil liability for not taking mitigating steps).
 
No one should be fired for not coming to work for valid health concerns if their employer cannot accommodate them, at least until the risk is much lower.
 
Any retail store or similar business that can maintain social distancing should reopen at a reduced capacity. Employees should wear masks and gloves. This goes for the barbers and beauticians as well. There is no reason Sportsman’s Warehouse or Bass Pro Shops can’t sell clothes, etc. if people are already coming in for guns.
 
Theaters and live music venues, any place where people crowd together, should stay closed. Sorry, no bowling alleys or going to the stadium.
 
Park need to re-open. Staff can close the gates if too many people come in. Police/rangers used to close the place and enforce the closure can enforce social distancing instead, like extra patrols on major holidays. Limit the amount of children on playgrounds at one time and educate parents to keep them away from each other.
 
Keep the schools closed until September. Kids spread disease amongst each other and bring it home.
 
Stop releasing criminals from jail/prison. Make the defense attorneys fight every step of the way and resist any judge’s order to release inmates early until a federal marshal is about to be sent to arrest a prison official.
 
Dump the sales tax on necessary items like food, non-food groceries, fuel, and clothing to ease the burden on the consumer for a few months.
 
Create COVID hospitals specifically for the coronavirus patients. These hospitals will handle only known or suspected pandemic patients to contain the virus and concentrate specialists. Move virus patients to overflow hospitals as necessary. Utilize non-COVID hospitals as usual to support the patients who need regular medical assistance.
 
Keep the homeless wherever they are and don’t release them except to go to jail, rehab, or a mental health facility unless they get a job.
 
Do studies on how the virus is transmitted in ordinary life. Swab door handles, ATMs, and card readers to see where the virus is present. Sample the air in grocery stores. Tell us where the risk really is so we can protect ourselves from the most likely threats instead of fearing everything and everyone.
 
Test anyone who wants a test for antibodies or for the virus. We need to know who has it and who has had it. Tests for SARS CoV-2 should be as easy to get on demand any time in any quantity like STD tests. You can’t know how big the problem is if you aren’t trying to map it.
 
Encourage people to entertain themselves in small groups at home or in parks. Avoid going out to socialize with strangers or in grubby public places. Sure, bars and venues might suffer, but hasn’t it been great to see people in the park, out in the neighborhood, or getting together with their families and friends again? This kind of community what our country desperately needs.
 
Keep international travel shut down for the foreseeable future. Cargo and American citizen repatriation only. We don’t need foreign businessmen or tourists. Crackdown on illegal immigration.
 
Cancel major events with crowds this year. Mardi Gras and Spring Break was a major disaster and spread the disease.

Beat the administration of the CDC with a stick.

Move as much business out of China as possible and slap them with tariffs to punish the corporations who off-shored there. Reward companies that move factories back to the US with tax breaks. Put factories in Mexico to move the country away from a failed narco state and keep their citizens there as they can have a better life at home.