They are STILL way too high…..
The pandemic is NOT over ….
The winter is coming when people have to go back indoors for most of the country….
Thank goodness people ARE wearing mask’s in increasing numbers…
Now?
If they can get a handle on the college kids going back to school….
(And for grade school kids going back we hope the best)…
A vaccine is coming….
Actually several…
But who gets it ?
How fast?
And what about those who will NOT take it?
Coronavirus infections are down in nearly every state. That could either give President Donald Trump just what he needs to prime his reelection odds or become another missed opportunity to capitalize on a lull during the pandemic.
The positive trends are real. Covid-19 cases have been falling since late July, including in several battleground states. Hospitalizations have dropped 37 percent in the last month and the daily death count is leveling off.
But that doesn’t mean the pandemic is over, even if Trump and his team portray it that way.
The circumstances create a moment to reinforce public health measures like testing, tracing and social distancing that could finally bring the outbreak to more manageable proportions, while the world waits for a vaccine or new treatments.
Trump hasn’t been inclined to go that route, instead pressing states to reopen and slowing down testing. In his closing speech at the Republican National Convention Thursday night. the president said it was time for Americans to return to work and school, and called on Democratic governors to open their states.
“We want them to be open,” Trump said. “They have to be open. They have to get back to work. They have to get back to work, and they have to get back to school.”
And holding the event on the White House’s South Lawn with a boisterous crowd of about 1,500, only a few of whom were wearing masks, signaled that the threat was over, it’s time to get on with life.
Morgan Stanley projects at least 6.5 million U.S. infections by October, and the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation on Thursday predicted more than 260,000 people could be dead from the virus by Election Day, a 44 percent increase from current levels.
Democrats are betting that even if the coronavirus’ toll on the U.S. continues to decline, the perception of the president’s handling of the virus is already baked, and that a message that thousands of Americans needlessly died will resonate no matter the infection level come November….