That car comparison Mike Rowe offers is flawed, in my opinion, probably for several reasons. One involves the notion of permanence. In the car example, we are keeping our car in the garage PERMANENTLY. That would be impossible on a practical level. In the case of the virus, however, no medical expert is suggesting that we have to shut down the economy or isolate ourselves permanently, but only for a few months. This is exactly what we have done in New York City, and we have, so far, reaped the benefits of our TEMPORARY, precautionary approach. The virus has subsided because of the enforced closing down of the economy and stay-at-home policy. But now we are in Phase 4 of the reopening of the economy. We are still not up to indoor dining, bars, and fully in-person schools, but WE ARE GETTING THERE, only because of effective leadership on the part of our governor and mayor and compliance on the part of citizens. Meanwhile, our leaders are carefully monitoring our progress, including possible outbreaks, so that we do not backslide. One of the problems with much of the rest of the country is that their leaders did not heed the advice of the medical experts and instead opened up too soon or did not close in the first place. Of course, if we had an effective national policy at the outset, we might have avoided the outbreaks that we now see in several states.
PAZIENZA, my fellow citizens, PAZIENZA. That is the key to saving lives and reopening the economy.