It’s happening now, as you read this, on a wider and wider scale, thanks to the outbreak of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).
Democratic governors in Illinois and New Jersey over the weekend decreed that all “non-essential” residents will have to remain at home.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s order covers all 9 million residents, “and follows similar mandates that have been handed down in California, Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania,” Zero Hedge reported.
Murphy also mandated that everyone in his state engage in social distancing when they do leave their homes for groceries, to see a doctor, buy medicines, or go to perform ‘non-essential’ jobs.
“We must flatten the curve and ensure residents are practicing social distancing,” he said Saturday.
He added: “Even with this order in effect … life in New Jersey does not have to come to a complete standstill.”
No. Just a partial standstill.
And though he asked residents not to panic, Murphy followed that up by saying “we are at war.”
No hyperbole there.
The real hit, however, will be to ‘non-essential’ businesses. As is the case with the orders issued by other governors, Murphy’s order includes a mandate that businesses not deemed vital to the function of life will have to close indefinitely.
That means, of course, that there won’t be many ‘non-essential’ employees leaving their homes to go to their ‘non-essential’ jobs at ‘non-essential businesses.’
If they can’t work from home, they simply…won’t be working. Indefinitely.
That ‘can’t happen in America!’ Only, it is.
The problem with these lockdown orders is that they seem to be based on the mere presence of coronavirus
In fact, following New Jersey’s order, roughly 86 million Americans are now under China-like or Italian-like lockdowns. Over about 500 infections, most of which are mild, according to World Meter, which tracks the virus’ spread in real-time.
Yes, the infection rates are rising dramatically, but according to the site, the vast majority — like nearly 100 percent of cases — are considered “mild.” Just 64, at this writing, are in “serious or critical” condition.
Still, that could change, obviously. We’re dealing with a virus here, and one thing that viruses are good at is figuring out a way to survive by adapting to their environment. UV light (from the sun and artificial sources) seem to be a natural defender against viruses, but they are resilient and it’s likely that COVID-19 is, as well.
As for New Jersey’s action, Zero Hedge speculates that more states — Connecticut next, perhaps — are bound to follow suit with lockdowns. Governors talk all the time, especially governors of neighboring states, so they are probably staggering emergency declarations so as not to cause greater panic.
But more are coming. And then what? (Related: Now 24,000+ confirmed cases in the USA, with 288 deaths, increasing by the hour.)
One thing that Americans are not being told — so far, anyway — is how long these lockdowns, travel restrictions and mandatory business closures are going to last.
The closest we are getting to an explanation is “indefinitely.” “We don’t know.” “We’re not sure.”
That’s not good enough; Americans who are going to be smarting in just a few weeks without paychecks are going to want to know what conditions their leaders will have to see before the rescind their lockdown orders.
Peak infections? Declining infection rates? No more infections whatsoever? Is there a magic number of infections that will trigger governors to rescind their orders, and if so, what is it?
The problem with these lockdown orders is that they seem to be based on the presence of coronavirus. But we’re being told the virus isn’t going away and the infection rate may not peak for 2-3 months.
Americans who were living on tight paychecks before coronavirus can’t survive for 2-3 months without an income.
This all just seems like a recipe for upheaval, given that desperate people will begin to do desperate things.
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