I’m gradually shifting towards this line of thinking. Social distancing and stay-at-home are great in theory but terrible in practice because a large portion of the population isn’t playing along. Let’s see.... DFW shuts down but lots of surrounding rural counties refuse to issue similar orders because “they don’t have cases” (their cases haven’t been tested or diagnosed). So in 2-3 weeks they get overwhelmed with cases and their hospitals are full and they want to transfer to DFW hospitals which are already full, despite DFW citizens quarantining for weeks prior. Then what? Fuck those other counties that selfishly think they aren’t affected currently. Get on board now. Not only that, counties issue SIP or stay-at-home orders but 80% of businesses find loopholes to deem themselves essential because greed. Car dealerships? Oil and gas? Residential construction? Give me a break. It should be healthcare, police, fire, utilities. I don’t care if a car doesn’t get sold or a house isn’t built on time. Those people will survive for a while without it. And certain everyday citizens apparently don’t think these orders apply to them. We walked our dogs today and see people around the neighborhood standing in front yards socializing. People seem to think it’s okay for their kids to play with other kids because their friends don’t look sick or what? They are still oblivious to the asymptomatic yet contagious incubation period? They think it’s okay in small groups because apparently COVID-19 only spreads amongst big groups? WTF people. There’s just too much selfishness in American society for this to work. Too many people seem to find ways to justify their own exemption. These half measures punish the cities, businesses, or individuals that are complying without any ramifications for those who don’t. Then we all pay the price together. If we’re gonna quarantine let’s all do it together. If we can’t do that then maybe we just tell high risk people to stay at home and everyone else do their normal thing. I realize many high risk people will still be exposed but I also think that’s on the individual at a certain point just like every other health decision that we leave up to the individual. Not trying to be callous and I definitely don’t know the right path here, just frustrated at the lack of coordination and agreement at all levels on this. There is a significant cost associated with stay-at-home orders and that cost is being paid unequally at the moment. Even if it is paid equally, the eventual damage to the economy, unemployment, poverty, homelessness, physical health, and mental health of our society may very well outweigh whatever lives are saved by ongoing quarantine measures.