Member-only story
Culture is a critical factor in controlling the coronavirus
By Kent R. Kroeger (August 7, 2020)
As he sat before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis on July 31st, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), was asked about Europe’s success in controlling the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and the possible need for a national-level mandate on mitigation and suppression policies (M&S) in the U.S. His response illustrates the problem in relying solely on scientists to make sound public policy.
“They (Europe) shut down about 95 plus percent of their (economy)…we (the U.S.) shut down only about 50 percent. As a result, Europe came down to a low baseline (for new daily infections), while we plateaued at about 20,000 cases-a-day at the time that we tried to open up the country — and when we opened up the country we saw — particularly in the southern states — an increase of cases up to 70,000 per day.”
The implication Dr. Fauci was making — and what the Democratic committee member were eagerly poised to jump on — was that the U.S. should have shut down 95 percent (plus) of its economy, as Europe did, and that we may still need to do so.
It is somewhat trivial to say that strict lockdown policies can stem the spread of a highly contagious virus like SARS-CoV-2 (“the…
