by April 23? .. Some appear to suggest the pandemic is over.

seems flawed. And the toll keeps rising daily.

Neither the end nor 4/23.

That's the IMHE date, but it's about when most models strongly suggest the first wave will have reached a low number, possibly zero, deaths per day.

Zero deaths per day by Aug. 4 seems highly unlikely.

I keep hearing people say, "Well, we haven't had 100,000." I think that remains to be seen, and I personally think it will be much, much higher.

I don't recall anyone ever saying anything about a time period in which the death toll would reach 100,000.

It's kinda like when Dubya got on that aircraft carrier with the big ass "Mission Accomplished" banner behind him. Nope. The mission was definitely NOT accomplished.

We're barely into this hellish thing, and idiots are already thinking it's done.

So we think the body count is about to suddenly stop? WTF? How can people live with themselves, writing such obvious crap?

We don’t need this parachute—look how slow we’re falling!

Not only are we seeing numbers be tossed around, rather than empathy and compassion for others in regards to so many people dying and losing loved ones, but there is a crucial point being missed about the reopening hubbub.

How many people have already been financially decimated to some degree by this? I think that factor increases with each week. I am also of the opinion that we have a long way to go before we have this pandemic corralled at all.

Despite the risk of going back to work for the crucial wages slaves of America, what is being expected here? Oh, a mass of flat broke folks will go out and do what? If anything, they will be trying to desperately catch up on rent, car payments and bills and, since food prices are due to skyrocket, keeping food on the table.

What is being expected here? Sure, I'll bet everyone is going to go out first thing and spend lavishly on what is going to be seen as non-essential luxuries. Dinner out. A movie. Bowling. Hair salons, manicures and pedicures. Trips. Vacations. Flying. Yeah, right. Really now?

They want to give an economy that few can afford to attend at this point. Opening up will only make that more obvious and increase the number who contract the disease and die. It does not seem like it will turn out to be the grand gala mega sales event that may be expected or suggested. We have many results brewing even now that assure it won't. Hard times ahead.

And we won't know, contra numerous specious claims, for a while.

So you're unemployed. Do you get unemployment? Is your state kicking in the additional bonus amount? If so, you won't be at a loss unless your income's fairly high.

No unemployment benefits and unemployed? Serious ouchage. But wait--some sole proprietors *can* apply for loans, and gig workers can collect unemployment. So much has shifted so quickly it's hard to account for all the updates.

But a lot of people aren't unemployed. My family--two income, both still working, but now that we're working from home we don't have gas, mileage, quite the number of expenses. And we have more trouble eating out. We're ahead. That'll change if 1 or more of us get sick.

Oh. And that's not counting the $1,200 breathing stipend. Per person.

If things get up and running soon, the damage to businesses that are shut can be reduced. But there are loans and grants, and while most of the loans/grants have been for under $150k (by a wide, wide margin), that's only something like 1.2 million businesses. (Those getting over $50 million? Under 5k business. Them's the big boys, but they're less than 10% of the total.) But now there's more money. Thing is, some of those businesses are having moral or practical problems with the pass-through funding.

States and cities got some help the last two spending bills. Will it be enough? Dunno. Depends where they put it--if in their pensions, laying off workers instead of funding them so they can claim cuts are because of the Model T, then those politicians should be seriously voter-shafted next time they're exposed. But it may not be enough.

As with a lot of things that depend on how long a circumstance lasts, you can't know the cumulate effect until the end.

We lost my wife’s income permanently. Along with our healthcare and her retirement benefits.

As much as we’d love our return to the previous version of normal; it just isn’t going to happen.

The benefits she is receiving are limited in scope from where we were a month ago.

There is no entertainment fund or “lavish non-essentials” for us.

We’re in survival mode.

We aren’t the only ones...

Trump is in good company.

ridiculous. We WILL have 100,000 deaths and possibly many more from this virus.

nor on the degree of infection and distribution yet to be accurately observed.
COVID-19 is not like any previous disease we have encountered. There is no such thing as Herd Immunity, nor does having the disease seem to convey immunity from its many variants.

We are ever so far from over. We have only begun to count the dead and the dying because we cannot yet tell accurately why and how they died.