This was a common cold virus, one of several families, all of which caused the same symptoms. From the Spanish Flu a century earlier we already knew how to deal with viruses: Focus protection efforts on the old and the fat, leave everyone else alone until we know more. Put sick people outdoors in sunlight, because even a light breeze will dispel a droplet cloud and sunlight damages viruses.
Instead, we acted as though everyone had an identical risk profile and locked everyone inside.
Operation Warp Speed would probably fix the problems. The virus originated in the Wuhan Institute; those of us who had been in the intelligence field knew that it was the Chinese center for biowarfare. The wet market was a smoke screen. The Chinese had allowed SARS, MERS and a few others to escape over the years, and I believe it was all unintentional.
Social distancing was BS. The six feet was taken from a German bacteriologist's work in Hamburg in the 1890s, when he photographed droplet clouds and determined that they went a maximum of two meters, or 6.5 feet. Following World War II we improved optics to be able to photograph a viral droplet cloud, which went eight meters, or more than 26 feet. Masks were useless.
The traditional track and trace could only be effective in island nations which could exercise absolute control of its borders. The US could not do that, and once a patient entered the New York Subway System he was lost.
Yes, I had an advantage. I had had multiple careers, including intelligence and medicine. But, nothing I knew was privileged or hidden.
Excellent post. It's good to know that others saw the same things I did, and more—I didn't know the Hamburg bacteriologist, etc. But I did see the tracing studies of spreader events, including the Chicago birthday party and the Korean call center, both of which made it clear that people could get infected at least 20 feet away if conditions were right. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond.
Ned,
By August 2020 several things had become clear:
This was a common cold virus, one of several families, all of which caused the same symptoms. From the Spanish Flu a century earlier we already knew how to deal with viruses: Focus protection efforts on the old and the fat, leave everyone else alone until we know more. Put sick people outdoors in sunlight, because even a light breeze will dispel a droplet cloud and sunlight damages viruses.
Instead, we acted as though everyone had an identical risk profile and locked everyone inside.
Operation Warp Speed would probably fix the problems. The virus originated in the Wuhan Institute; those of us who had been in the intelligence field knew that it was the Chinese center for biowarfare. The wet market was a smoke screen. The Chinese had allowed SARS, MERS and a few others to escape over the years, and I believe it was all unintentional.
Social distancing was BS. The six feet was taken from a German bacteriologist's work in Hamburg in the 1890s, when he photographed droplet clouds and determined that they went a maximum of two meters, or 6.5 feet. Following World War II we improved optics to be able to photograph a viral droplet cloud, which went eight meters, or more than 26 feet. Masks were useless.
The traditional track and trace could only be effective in island nations which could exercise absolute control of its borders. The US could not do that, and once a patient entered the New York Subway System he was lost.
Yes, I had an advantage. I had had multiple careers, including intelligence and medicine. But, nothing I knew was privileged or hidden.
Excellent post. It's good to know that others saw the same things I did, and more—I didn't know the Hamburg bacteriologist, etc. But I did see the tracing studies of spreader events, including the Chicago birthday party and the Korean call center, both of which made it clear that people could get infected at least 20 feet away if conditions were right. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond.