Coronavirus (COVID-19) Discussion Thread

[EricHiggin]

Pemalite said:

I can only speak to what occurs here... But the answer short answer is yes. - Depending on a myriad of factors, you have risk/hazard assessments performed to ascertain it's extent and take the appropriate course of action.

For example there was a big recall on cars here a few year ago due to an airbag fault discovered in a heap of different car brands... Manufacturers were forced to repair/replace the part.

Sales of some new cars had to get temporarily halted here a few years ago because the materials they were derived from were significantly stronger than older cars... And our Road Crash Rescue tools were unable to handle the new materials until we got new equipment in.

There is allot that goes into the safety of cars, allot of planning and legislative frameworks exist and constantly change.

Sure, but unless that faulty part is in every single vehicle, you don't force all people to stop driving their vehicles until the vehicles with issues are back to proper form. You single out the specific vehicle models, and the owners of those models have to deal with the inconvenience, not everyone. Unless that is how things are done there, which I don't believe is the case, correct?

Pemalite said:

If there is an intersection which is a known "black spot" (I.E. High road accident counts) then the Government steps in and improves the intersection.

If there is a trend of deaths, then new safety features like seat-belts and airbags get introduced and legislated.

Everyone adheres to the same road rules and legislative safety requirements.

If someone is being stupid, then that individual will get "done by the system" - Everyone has to adhere to the same rule set... And sometimes if people are doing stupid shit consistently in a certain area, there are often infrastructure changes (I.E. Road speed bumps) to reduce those.

I know the angle you are trying to take... I.E. "Freedom" above other peoples health and safety... It just doesn't work, the USA is proving that to the world right now.

Yes, the Gov does get involved at times, but they don't always have to. It's not as clear cut when you're talking about the entire world and all it's different types of medical systems, Gov run or not, but they don't necessarily have to be involved in everything, and yet things work quite well, though never perfect.

I'm not saying freedom or bust. I'm saying somewhat limited freedom is almost always better than as little freedom as possible. You don't kick everyone off the road because some drivers/cars are having deadly issues, just like you don't lock everyone inside when there's some people having deadly health issues. You do your best to take care of those who are having the problems, yet warn everyone else of the dangers and let them decide.

How many people have heard that a certain vehicle had a recent recall for a major problem, yet got killed in an accident by being struck by that same recalled vehicle shortly after? Should they have been given the choice to drive or be a passenger? That may only be just one person in all of human history, but if every last equal life matters, then things needs to change drastically and quickly.

Pemalite said:

It's not just the death counts you need to consider, it's the overall health impact during the short and long term, if a large % of the populations capacity to breathe is impacted for life... Then that becomes a significant burden on society in the long term and thus a greater reliance and cost on the health system and tax payer... The USA already has an insanely expensive and inefficient health system as it is, could you imagine it being worst?

All lives are obviously valued equally.

And it is stupid to put the economy ahead of health and well-being of a countries populace. - The countries who went into total economic lock-down early and defeated the virus are now enjoying their social freedoms and return to full economic activity.

Countries like the United States and Brazil who have systemically failed in containing and controlling the virus through sheer leadership incompetence and neglect are just prolonging the economic and social hurt.

The problem is we can't predict the future worth a damn. The further we look ahead, the more wrong we tend to be. For all we know, what we did to the economy will have worse implications than those directly related to the covid 19 illness itself. Which is why the choice needs to be put in people's hands as much as possible, and not the Gov. If you've screwed yourself or others over which led to negative covid 19 consequences, that's on you for not being a decent citizen. If you choose to remain quarantined, to be extra safe or out of necessity, even if it means a lack of free market income, then that's also your choice as a citizen.

Some countries who didn't do much to stop the spread are also in reasonable shape. Some countries who've done less testing have better looking numbers. Who's undoubtedly doing it right and who's doing it wrong? I don't think there's any answer that can undeniably answer that, long term.