Welcome to the tenth 2020 edition of The Nett Report. Given the uncertainty of the coronavirus crisis, we are publishing this report to provide our clients and friends with new perspectives and insights in hopes of stimulating creative thinking in the weeks and months to come. Feel free to share with friends! Links to the first nine 2020 reports can be found here.
Poll: tell us what you think about how and when the pandemic will end
There are many good, well-informed minds who receive this newsletter. We are wondering what you think about the following three questions and have created a poll to get your input. All responses will be anonymous.
- When do you think the pandemic will be over, and we will get back to normal?
- When will we be able to attend group gatherings like sporting events, movies, concerts, etc.?
- What do you think needs to be done to end the pandemic?
Please click on this link to take the survey.
Since this is the tenth issue of the 2020 Nett Report, we thought it might be worth looking back to the first issue, on March 27, not long after the lockdown began, to see what has changed.
A look back – what did we think at the beginning of the pandemic?
In the first issue, we reported that the first U.S. case was reported on January 19, and, that little more than two months later, on March 23, the CDC reported 33,404 cases and 400 deaths. On March27, after only four more days, the CDC reported 85,356 cases and 1,246 deaths. This was worrisome enough to lockdown the economy except for essential services. At the same time, we included CDC’s flu data. On August 7, the CDC reported 4,858,596 Covid cases and 158,887 deaths. Here’s a chart that compares the original data with today’s numbers.
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1/19/2020
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3/23/2020
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3/27/2020
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8/6/2020
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Covid Infections
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1
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33,404
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85,356
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4,858,596
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Covid Deaths
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0
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400
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1,246
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158,887
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Flu Infections
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|
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38-54 million
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39-56 million*
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Flu Deaths
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|
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23-58 thousand
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24-62 thousand*
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We also reported on the answer to this question on March 27: How could the coronavirus numbers ever become worse than those for the flu?
- Coronavirus is more infectious and easier to transmit.
- A greater percentage of people need to be hospitalized.
- It is more lethal.
Those answers have proven to be true.
We warned about issues regarding the right to assemble
We wrote that “Discussions about the First Amendment have traditionally focused on freedom of speech and the press. What about ‘the right of the people to peaceably assemble?’ While the current restrictions on public gatherings are critical to slowing the spread of the coronavirus, they have effectively over-ridden this First Amendment right. We should be all be vigilant in making sure that right is not lost as we come out of the coronavirus crisis.” Our concerns about that issue were right on the mark, as public gatherings have been the subject of concern, from protestors to churchgoers.
Guidelines for getting back to work were addressed.
In the beginning, it was thought there would be simple strategies to ending the pandemic; that it didn't last long. From an article by opinion columnist Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, "A Plan to Get America Back to Work," we provided these guidelines for getting America back to work from his interview of Dr. Dale L. Katz of Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, essentially a two-week isolation strategy.
- Those who have symptomatic infection should then self-isolate — with or without testing, which is exactly what we do with the flu.
- Those who don’t have symptoms, if in the low-risk population, should be allowed to return to work or school, after the two weeks end.
- High risk populations, the elderly or those with underlying conditions would remain isolated until the infection rate reached near zero.
Friedman’s story said “this would allow the majority of the population to go back to work after the two-week isolation period, thereby protecting the economy.” How did that work out?
“For What It’s Worth” - Is it 1967 all over again?
- “There's something happening here, What it is ain't exactly clear …
- “There's battle lines being drawn, Nobody's right if everybody's wrong …
- “We better stop, hey, what's that sound, Everybody look what's going down”
Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth 1967 - YouTube
If the lyrics above sound familiar to what we hear on the news now and heard in the 1960s (see and hear all the lyrics here), then it appears the “something’s happening here” is more than just about the pandemic. We might not be going back to the life we knew and took for granted, but to a new way of living. As a result, The Nett Report from time-to-time will include reporting on “what’s going down” by sharing stories that provide non-partisan insights into the turmoil that’s ripping into our nation and the world even as we continue writing about topics related to the pandemic. We hope you will keep reading.