ReOpen protesters are marching in downtown Raleigh. What craziness! I’m not sure what they really want. It does not good to lift restrictions unless you can make sure there are customers. Rightly or wrongly, many people are afraid to go out.

I really think this is a political thing. The protests seem to be speadheaded by conservative leaders who are looking for a way — ANY way — to get their foot in the door. I don’t understand how this became a political issue rather than a health issue. People are refusing to wear masks or practice social distancing as a political statement.

It is not realistic to think we can eliminate social distancing overnight — BAM — and have everything instantly get back to what passes for normal thee days. But I also don’t know how long we can keep going like this. It may be 18 months or even more until we have a vaccine that is widely available, which should allow us to reopen safely. I’m not sure there will be any businesses left if things don’t open at all before that. People are desperate to get back to work. (Possibly, people are desperate to get away from their children.)

I do think we should be laying the groundwork now — looking at data to see how it can be done without creating a second wave of the virus. Mostlly we need effective ways to test and track coronvirus victims and the people they encounter. Opening things back up involves slow and methodical progress. If we don’t let science guide that progress, we are in real trouble.

UPDATE 4/23: Several nearby states have announced they are relaxing restrictions starting net week. Sounds like NC is going to move more slowly, which is fine with me. Georgia plans to just turn the restrictions off. That’s just what I said above couldn’t happen. Even Trump says that is a bad idea, although he may be setting the stage so he can say whatever happens wasn’t his fault. I don’t know what they expect to happen, but I know what I expect and it isn’t good.

GRAPHIC: CDC Public Domain