Theoretically with increasing knowledge and safety measures - masks, social distancing, etc. - you would anticipate a decrease or leveling off of the number of cases. That has not been the case. Clearly a virus is a more unique phenomenon, with numerous variables and sociological factors at play. In other words it’s not easy science. I have no doubt the increase in testing is one factor but I was wondering what some of the other reasons are? I still would like to do more reading on this so I would be curious if anyone else has done so?
The science is fine. Most people aren’t scientifically rigorous.
Fatigue. Hubris. Mobility. Capital.
All play a part.
But it’s not because the science is hard.
From the link:
“The actual worldwide tally of COVID-19 cases is likely to be far higher, as testing has been variable, many people have had no symptoms and some governments have concealed the true number of cases. To date, more than 1.1 million confirmed virus deaths have been reported, although experts also believe that number is an undercount.”
It would be interesting to know the actual case count vs the reported case count.
Knowledge doesn’t mean consistent appication.
By not an easy science I mean truly obtaining conclusive data on a worldwide phenomenon vs say something like developing a new fertilizer.
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There was never any shut down to speak of really anywhere except certain countries. For the most part it was middle class people mostly hiding at home while working class people brought us stuff.
Where I live in Texas stores still have a mask mandate but I see more and more people angrily flouting it and I asked someone who works at HEB what their policy was and they’ve been instructed to just get them out ASAP because they’re looking to cause a scene. It’s like come on man, we’ve been at this since March, why can’t people get their ■■■■ together.
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Let’s be fair the only place to really crush it used authoritarian and cruel methods to stop the virus -China. Europe which did a better job than us has now double the cases it’s hardily controllable unless one wanted to go the Wuhan blockade route.
I only have firsthand knowledge of my little corner of 'Murica.
People know what to do. It’s inconvenient to do it, it’s a lib plot to replace freeberty with kommanysm, or it’s both.
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More people are indoors now due to the change in season. Also, with all of the people wearing masks now, I still find myself reminding people to cover their noses with their masks at a hospital that everyone knows has covid patients.
Nah it’s just a very contagious virus that has plagued the world and the only ones who have halfway controlled it used techniques that wouldn’t set well with western counties which is why Europe has now doubled the cases of America, as soon as they relaxed policies some. All it took took in South Korea was one guy on a night out on the town to shut down most of the nightclubs there were 100’s of cases and they think they all can be tracked back to that one person.
Politics aside I think this thing will never be eradicated and at best end up being an endemic like the flu, but I hope I’m wrong. We don’t have a good track record of eliminating viruses other than smallpox.
Actually I think it’s because policymakers haven’t grasped the implications of the disease only being spread by a small percentage of infected people in very precise conditions (small crowded venues with not great ventilation).
They also haven’t adapted their test and trace methods to go backwards to detect superspreading clusters.
Until they do, the disease will continue to stymie.
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Easiest way to increase cases is expand testing.
Simple really, people are dumb asses.
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I’m probably a few hours away from your area and can validate all of this. The raging at simple precautions just astounds me, even as our numbers spike. My city decided that it’s “over” this pandemic and consequences be damned. It’s entirely possible to raise concerns about overreach with the understanding that personal responsibility is NON-NEGOTIABLE, but nobody wants nuance.
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its a virus. we can slow the spread. we cant stop it without an effective vaccine. the nature of this virus would appear to make herd immunity impossible naturally, it will continue to come back again and again, each time reaching about 25% spread before it abates, drops back down, and then, about 4 months later, returns.
The other day I was in an HEB around lunchtime and some guy walked in wearing a mask, then took it off and I could see he was just looking to start some ■■■■■ He looked at me and I thought about saying something and then I’m like screw it, this guy is half my size, he’s looking for a confrontation and that’s all I need is to go viral slapping some jerk through the ice cream freezers.
The. I saw him in the checkout line so there wouldn’t any hassle getting checked out. Like, way to man the barricades of freedom, ■■■■■■■■
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We’re moving into fall now, and the weather is starting to cool down in the northern hemisphere. Scientists have been saying for months that counts would start to increase as we moved towards winter and the weather cooled.
Covid fatigue is real. Wearing a mask sucks. Our only hope is mitigation until a vaccine is produced. Otherwise, the numbers are gonna get very ugly as people move inside.
It’s really sad we can’t get 50% of people to wear a mask in public. 
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