Whither lockdown?

(c) The Week
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My experience of lockdown is benign inconvenience and self-enforced psycho-emotional pause; can’t swim or walk, 14,000 miles separating me from my immediate family and houseboat home, can’t book a return flight, and little to no one-on-one intellectual stimulation. In other words, except for feeling constrained, my situation is comparatively cushy.
Within a 25-mile radius of my location, people have it far worse.
Some South Africas advocate:

A “smart lockdown …targeted to protect the elderly and those with health conditions that put them at higher risk…focused on geographical areas or hotspots where the virus is uncontained. [And] stop the police and soldiers from abusing, assaulting and even killing citizens who break the lockdown laws. (It is striking to see their new-found enthusiasm for checking vehicles and stopping people from shopping or working – an enthusiasm that lacked when it came to serious criminal offences prior to the lockdown.)

Other South Africans “warn that we should not allow our freedoms to be removed during the national lockdown.

“We must ensure that the economic rules are rational and I think that a lot of the decisions that have been taken don’t pass the test of rationality, what you can buy, what you can’t buy, doesn’t work… the general appeal for reasonable conduct that extends to the police and army. Also, the idea that you can only exercise for three hours a day … none of this passes the test of rationality … we need voices to speak to the National Command Council and ask …that rationality be the order of the day [with] the objective … to prevent the spread of the infection and illness.”

Confusion reigns as health experts, politicians, and economist offer differing views. 
In the United States yesterday, Dr Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and White House health advisor quarantined for the next two weeks, addressed US Congress from his home. He's

… worried some states are prematurely reopening businesses and may have ‘little spikes’ in coronavirus cases that erupt into full-blown outbreaks.
Fauci’s comments come as the virus continues to spread across the United States, infecting more than 1.3 million people and killing at least 80,684 as of Tuesday morning … health officials say the true number of cases and deaths is likely much higher as some people infected with the virus go undetected.

My cushy position allows me to follow the advice that best protects peoples’ health and prospects for health, safety and survival. For people really under the gun, it's a tougher call.

South Africa now has the highest rates of confirmed infections on the continent:

Of the 11,350 cases detected so far, 97 percent have occurred in four of the nine provinces, with Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape province accounting for 54 percent.
The numbers may be skewed by varying testing and screening approaches and capability.
The government is still reviewing its virus response… “There are very different stages that different parts of the country are in,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a televised address. “There are areas that have shown no new patients, no new cases, and therefore we have to approach the issues and levels very differently.”

Latest numbers weigh in
Worldwide confirmed cases: 4,262,055 Deaths: 291,965
South Africa confirmed cases: 11,350 Deaths: 206
US confirmed cases: 1,369,685 Deaths: 82,375
Sweden: confirmed cases: 27,275 Deaths: 3,315
Russia confirmed cases: 232,245 Deaths: 2,116
Russia’s numbers have risen dramatically and, currently, are second only to the US.
Sweden refused to institute a lockdown or stay-at-home.

Sweden's controversial plan to deal with the coronavirus allows most people to go outside, visits bars, restaurants, and shops, and keep life relatively normal as long as they try to stay distant from each other.
Not everyone in Sweden is happy with the approach. But even as deaths rise, the majority seems satisfied.
A poll this week showed that just 11 percent of people in the country said they did not trust state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who is leading the strategy.

As you mull your thoughts on easing lockdown, keep in mind:

As governments around the world plan to loosen restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic, some countries have reported a resurgence in cases — prompting fears that a new wave of infections is imminent.
… several Asian countries including China and South Korea where the coronavirus first hit, have experienced an uptick in cases after restrictions were eased. In some instances, authorities have had to reimpose measures that restrict interactions between people to once again fight the virus spread.
Public health experts — including those at the World Health Organization — have for weeks warned authorities against lifting containment measures too early, which could cause a rebound in new coronavirus cases. Meanwhile, investors and analysts said another round of lockdowns would exacerbate the damage already inflicted on the global economy.

Whackjobery unchained – cont’d…

Online poopaganda* and poopagandists* - including those of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) persuasion – “are finding out what happens when political speech collides with misinformation rules during a global pandemic” : you get shut down.
*poopaganda – a quasi-genteel term (thanks, Andy) for virulent bull-s**t “truthiness” masquerading as self-empowering info.
*poopagandist – one who perpetuates poopaganda and then complains that social media is trying to silence all conservative voices.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

An intruder yesterday afternoon entered at least three neighborhood gardens. Our garden was the last and as he ran, six neighborhood women yelling at him, he shouted, “People are chasing me, they want to kill me.”
I saw no one pursuing him.
Did he mean we six ferocious ladies?
Three of my mother’s dogs barked from the safety of the upper verandah. Deaf Scruffy slept through the incident. Two senior mutts pricked up their ears but elected to remain on the bed.
The gate at the back of the garden is looped with razor wire that offered no obstacle. The intruder scaled it and disappeared into the brush.
After calling the security company - “someone,” I was told, “was on the way” – I checked the fence. The razor wire was intact with no torn fabric or bloody flesh on the barbs.
No one from the security ever arrived.
Life under lockdown resumed.
For now.

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