As the death toll from COVID-19 tops 50,000, there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight. We hear good news from New York about the curve flattening there and then we see the low patient count here in Hawaii and think that the end is near for us. Then we read about a cluster in a meatpacking plant or how the virus is now the leading cause of death in California and the cycle of doom and gloom starts all over again in your head.

What I think many people fail to understand is that the United States is huge and we have the 3^rd population in the world. These are two things, combined with our disparately governed municipalities, and a complete lack of leadership at the federal level almost guarantees this nightmare won’t end soon. Every expert agrees that until a vaccine is developed, the only weapon we have is social distancing and PPE. All you need to do is look at the seven states that are opening up in various forms and realize that this isn’t happening. I can’t really say what the motivation is in these states. It might be financial, it might be political, and honestly, it might just be stupidity or bravado.

The seven states, along with the protestors in several others are going to be our downfall because this isn’t China where the government can swoop into a hot spot and shut everything down, including dissent, to choke off spreading. We also aren’t like New Zealand or Taiwan where there are limited points of entry that can be controlled. Not only do we have huge borders with Canada and Mexico, but there are few, if any barriers to cross state lines. The virus doesn’t care how good a job Cuomo is doing in New York because it’s just going to march right back in with tourists and commerce from the open states.

When you add in the totally inept job being done from the White House, this is just a recipe for continuing peaks and valleys of outbreaks. It gets worse each day as it becomes clear that nobody is going to step forward at the federal level to lay down the law and set rigid guidelines for what is and isn’t acceptable at the state level. The President does NOT have that power authorized by the Constitution but in emergencies, he can send in the military to ensure that the simpleminded leaders of some states don’t end up killing people in other states. Protestors be damned, when you fail to adhere to the rules of social distancing, you are a threat to national security.

Lastly, let’s talk a little about the situation in Hawaii. Yes, we’re an island state and so far, we’ve done a great job at keeping the numbers low. Although I still don’t have much faith in DOH’s ability to test, it isn’t a complete disaster. The problem is, and I see it all over social media, people are getting complacent and cranky. They want what the want and they want it now. They don’t see hospitals full of patients or a large death toll. All they see is empty hotels, deserted airports, and closed restaurants. They want what they had 2 months ago because it’s their free choice to decide if they expose themselves or not. First, exposing yourself exposes everyone because you don’t live in a vacuum. Second, if there are no tourists coming here from the mainland and many foreign countries still under lockdown, how are you going to conduct business or do your job? How will the government provide services like police, fire, ambulance, road repair, and all the other services you need in order to function when half the population is sick or dying? This isn’t fun for anybody but we have to do it and we have to keep doing it. Our lives are at stake.