Column: COVID-19 deaths will be ‘a 9/11 every single day’ – The San Diego Union-Tribune

COVID-19 milestones come and go regularly these days, and it seems like the public has become numbed by the numbers.

Last week, San Diego County recorded its 1,000th coronavirus death and while it wasnt met with a shrug, it was received with the grim acknowledgment of something bad that was expected.

The ubiquitous human stories have helped put faces on the tragedy, about people lost to the disease and how that affected family and friends who could only standby helplessly at a distance.

But every day, indoors and outside, people are seen throwing precautions to the wind, not wearing masks and gathering closely as if the coronavirus pandemic was happening somewhere else.

As each COVID-19 milestone passes, theres always hope the next one will be the one to shock everybody into acting responsibly.

This is probably wishful thinking, but theres a coming statistic that may cause even skeptics to pause and think.

By this time next week, we are going to be talking about 3,000 deaths a day, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a renowned cardiologist and professor at George Washington University, told CNN in a story published Thursday.

Thats 9/11 every single day.

Most people probably dont think about the pandemic in relation to the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, but maybe they should, given how that tragic event nearly two decades ago jarred the entire nation and changed the world.

This sounds tiresome, but it bears repeating: Simple measures can prevent further loss of life from COVID-19. Its dumbfounding, and more than a little maddening, that everybody doesnt want to take them even for their own self-preservation, if not to protect others.

We need to mask up. We need to social-distance, Reiner said. In some areas where it is really bad, we are going to need to shut down certain things, like bars and restaurants. We cant keep doing what we are doing now and expect a different result. That is insanity.

Now, lets pause here to reiterate that whatever shutdown actions officials take, they need to back them up with data. That hasnt always been the case in California and elsewhere. One glaring example: Gov. Gavin Newsoms latest order, among other things, would shut down childrens outdoor playgrounds even as he encourages other outdoor activity.

That kind of thing is frustrating to people in the vast majority who are trying to do the right thing even Newsom supporters.

But wearing masks and distancing are no-brainers, yet too many people are still acting like they have no brains.

Yes, very early on in the coronavirus pandemic, there were mixed messages about masks. But that was a lifetime ago, and the science has been clear for months.

The Centers for Disease Control late last week further expanded its guidelines, recommending universal mask use everywhere, including all indoor areas except in ones own home.

There have been several studies, and all but the rare outlier generally agree on variations of two themes: Wearing masks will safe lives and help the economy.

A recent one comes from the National University of Singapore, which concluded that if 70 percent of the people wore surgical masks, that could lead to the eradication of the pandemic, according to one of the authors of the study.

Even wearing less-effective cloth masks would slow the spread, the study said.

And for those who may prioritize dollars and cents over public health, go back and look at the report from Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs, released in late June, that estimated a national mask mandate could have helped the United States avoid a 5 percent drop in the gross domestic product.

President Donald Trump, who has downplayed the pandemic from the beginning, refused to go there despite evidence that masks are good for business.

For people who find wearing a mask to be inconvenient or a violation of their individual rights, well, get a grip. Dying or being unable to breathe without assistance of a machine is kind of a drag, too.

But heres the new thing: It really wouldnt be for that long.

Vaccines are just around the corner. Theres light at the end of the tunnel, but, as weve been warned, it will get worse before it gets better and much worse if people dont change.

While businesses, churches and others get sanctioned for violating rules, enforcement on individuals is still lacking, even though people are occasionally ticketed for not wearing masks. There are so many people not wearing masks when they should that it would be impossible to cite all of them.

So what?

Ramping up citations and making a big deal about it would send a message. It did during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918, according to a story in August by John Wilkens of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

As more and more San Diegans were fined $5 (more than $80 today) for going without masks, fewer people were seen not wearing them.

It doesnt help that some of todays leaders, at all levels of government, are falling short in this time of crisis.

Trump has been out of the picture when it comes to dealing with the pandemic, lost in his alternative reality about the election. Even officials who have enacted strong enforcement, like Newsom, have undercut their efforts by violating their own rules.

And when a social media icon like Kim Kardashian takes a bunch of people to a private island for her birthday and documents it on the Internet is it any wonder that her followers might just chuck this distancing stuff and go party?

Lessons of history have not been learned, whether from the 1918 pandemic or just this summer.

After Newsoms early stay-at-home order helped slow the spread of COVID-19, restrictions were loosened. The number of cases jumped over the summer, leading to another crackdown. Restrictions were again relaxed and now were facing the COVID-19 version of a nuclear winter.

Experts warned of a surge during this time of year, but added that it didnt have to be so bad if everybody, well, behaved particularly over the holidays.

But cases are up, deaths are up and hospitals are filling up people being fed up isnt going to change that.

More shutdowns are returning. Its back to the flatten-the-curve future.

Except instead of warm and sunny, its cold and dark.

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Column: COVID-19 deaths will be 'a 9/11 every single day' - The San Diego Union-Tribune