b'EditorMarch 21st, we have averaged 3.5 new cases per day. For the low end of the TAMUCCWeve closed all the restaurants, so grocery sales are at an all-time high. As a re-prediction to come to fruition, 9,924 infections would have to take place by the endsult, stores cant keep up with stocking products or the size of crowds, so, they reduce of the monththat would be 496 per day. This thing better pick up the pace. hoursand (you gotta love this), they reduce entry and exits to the stores. If store op-If someone actually paying for this? Is someone actually listening to this? erators were trying to pack customers closer together, at the same place, at the same Unfortunately, playing it super-safe at considerable economic cost, Nuecestime, and in search of the same toilet paper, this would be the way to do it. Spectacular.County Judge Barbara Canales said of the researchers models, Dont let theseHow about the shopping process itself, despite those clever, germ stopping (and graphs scare you unless youre not doing the right thing, and added, If youre do- catching) Plexiglas sneeze guards at the checkout line? An infected person takes his ing the right thing, let these graphs empower you to keep doing the right thing. 20 items that he individually handled while shopping, puts them on the conveyer Replace empower in the second sentence with scare from the first. Oncebelt that every customer after him will touch, those items are then handled by the again, they are told something ridiculous and they just go along with it. clerk (behind the sneeze guard) who passes them on to the bagger who will touch Its certainly not Judge Canales fault, or President Trumps, or any of the thou- each item, followed by the infected customer handing his money to the clerk, who sands of scared, nervous and overly-cautious elected leaders throughout the coun- will place it in the cash drawer with everyone elses money, some of which will be tryeveryone is playing by ear, there is no composition for this symphony. handed back to the customer in the form of his change. Shall we illustrate the same Embedded federal bureaucracies stopped the development and production of achain-of-pathogens as related to delivery drivers? Well save it, but you get the point.Covid-19 test, starting in university research labs, that has contributed to a testingThis desperate attempt to keep us away from each other, while committing eco-policy that does nothing to contain and stop the spread of the virus. Think about it nomic suicide in the process, is no more than a stop-gap destined to fail. Its an ad-even if you have all the symptoms and are in a high-risk group, the likelihood thatmission of Americas negligence of preparation and that we actually have absolutely you will qualify for a test under CDC guidelines is akin to winning a lottery. Thatno idea what to do. Wouldnt it be nice if someone in power actually said that?is, of course, unless you are a prominent political figure, Hollywood actor, or profes- South Korea did it right. They had their first Covid-19 case the same day we did. sional athletethen your odds go up quite considerably. How did they handle it? First of all, their hospitals were equipped and ready. More Covid-19 is one of the most contagious diseases ever identified. We can carryimportantly, and central to the success of their strategy, was the speedy production it without symptoms for two weeks before getting the least bit sick, and some of usof a good test along with the organized effort to administer it on a wide-scale basis. will experience no symptoms at allthe entire time, we can pass it on to anyone. TheThey never closed down the economy, though they did close schools and public ven-virus can live on surfaces like stainless steel and plastic for up to three days, and onues. The result has been a little more than 200 deaths, a steadily declining new case paper, cardboard packaging and money for up to 24 hours. How are we supposed toload, and most of what has been closed, is soon to reopen.prevent picking it up? Social distancing? The Trump Administration promised four million tests that still have not shown 26 THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINEQ2.2020 TheCoastalBend.com'