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Testing Is Our Way Out (Lockdowns are unsustainable. Let’s save lives without a depression.)
Wall Street Journal ^ | April 2 2020 | Paul Romer and Rajiv Shah

Posted on 04/03/2020 10:46:35 PM PDT by rintintin

For now, social distancing is the best America can do to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. But if the U.S. truly mobilizes, it can soon deploy better weapons—advanced tests—that will allow the country to shift gradually to a protocol less disruptive and more effective than a lockdown.

Instead of ricocheting between an unsustainable shutdown and a dangerous, uncertain return to normalcy, the U.S. could mount a sustainable strategy with better tests and maintain a stable course for as long as it takes to develop a vaccine or cure. The country will once more be able to plan for the future, get back to work safely and avoid an economic depression. This will require massive investment to ramp up production and coordinate the construction of test centers. But the alternatives are even more costly.

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: communityspread; coronavirus; covid19; data; usatestingfail; wuhansarscov2
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1 posted on 04/03/2020 10:46:35 PM PDT by rintintin
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To: rintintin

Test everybody. Quarantine those who test positive., and let the rest of us go back to work


2 posted on 04/03/2020 10:48:31 PM PDT by rintintin (qu)
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To: rintintin

The screw up that may haunt Trump is his statement back on March 6th that anyone can get a test. It still isn’t true almost a mont later. Testing has been a disaster in the US, which has one of the lowest, slowest test rates.


3 posted on 04/03/2020 10:51:11 PM PDT by Wayne07
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To: Wayne07

The screw up that may haunt Trump is his statement back on March 6th that anyone can get a test. It still isn’t true almost a mont later“

Don’t I know it. I have a family member with the covid symptoms who can’t get tested .


4 posted on 04/03/2020 10:52:58 PM PDT by rintintin (qu)
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To: rintintin

Works for me!

I still have a job (fortunate) but I’m forced to work from home on a limited basis. I know a lot of folks don’t have that at this time.


5 posted on 04/03/2020 10:57:40 PM PDT by Mr Fuji
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To: Wayne07

Us has done more testing than any other country in the world.

More than 1.5 million test.

US has unique 15 minute test as well.


6 posted on 04/03/2020 10:58:03 PM PDT by lonestar67 (America is exceptional)
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To: rintintin

Can they get a flu test to rule that out?


7 posted on 04/03/2020 10:58:06 PM PDT by Mr Fuji
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To: rintintin

There are lots of changes coming. Testing, telemedicine, really quick dna breakdowns of viruses.

Ive been listening to Hannity covering all this and the medical revolution is going to be bigger than the industrial revolution.


8 posted on 04/03/2020 10:58:24 PM PDT by Jonty30 (What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death by cultsther)
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To: Wayne07

Yep, and get a move on approving antibody/serology tests so that we can tell who has already had COVID, had minor flu-like symptoms, and is now immune. Those people can also be donors of blood plasma to help the currently infected:

https://hub.jhu.edu/2020/03/13/covid-19-antibody-sera-arturo-casadevall/


9 posted on 04/03/2020 11:00:51 PM PDT by Drago
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To: rintintin

Well, well, well, finally. There have been many of us saying this for two weeks and more now.
First President Trump. Followed closely by Rush Limbaugh. To name men of consequence.
The Computer Models proclaiming an apocalypse have been shown to be wrong. The SELF-PROCLAIMED EXPERTS using those Computer Models are now actively BACKTRACKING and looking to shift blame from themselves to our President.
Meanwhile, their BS Models have resulted in the Destruction of our Economy. The Destruction of many many thousands of small to mid-sized businesses. The loss of employment of hundreds of thousands and, counting.
For what? For a viral outbreak that at its worst is similar in consequence to a very bad common flu year outbreak? Perhaps, a bit worse?
We’ve become a Nation of Handwringing Pussies. And, we will suffer the consequence of what we have become.


10 posted on 04/03/2020 11:01:41 PM PDT by ocrp1982 (ll)
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To: lonestar67
Germany for example has done a million tests, and they only have 1/4 the population. So while tests in the US have ramped up in some areas, the tests per capita are still very low. And they are tragically low in some key states like Texas. Tests in Texas are taking ~10 days to get results. The 15 minute test was recently approved, but not really available yet.

You can see in the tests per capita, US is doing poorly in spite of recent ramp up.


11 posted on 04/03/2020 11:12:05 PM PDT by Wayne07
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To: Wayne07

Many could have had a flu test. If it was negative for the main flus A and B, then symptomatic patients were likely to have the KungFlu.


12 posted on 04/03/2020 11:16:53 PM PDT by rfp1234 (Democratus Partitus Delendus Est)
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To: rintintin

Dear Wall Street Journal,

It should be clear by now that as long as Dr. Fauci Doochie Do is running things, Lockdown is the ONLY solution that will be tolerated. The guy who gives us a fabulous prediction a day is PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1.

On January 21st it was “nothing for the US public to be concerned about.” Repeat that one on the 24th of February. Later it’s a million to two dead. Then it’s 240,000 to 300,000 dead. Now, not so much. It’s the modellimg’s fault don’t cha know. Ignore the Egghead arsehat mouthing the models religiously with a but “don’t hold me to that” disclaimer.

This man realizes it’s an “inconvenience” that many will lose their businesses and life savings. But it won’t be to him as he continues on in his $384,000/year taxpayer funded government job. Don’t worry about grandpa Guido Fraud Dooochie, he’ll be just fine.

The absolute societal breakdown that can occur when an economy completely crashes?!!! Why that is just wild speculation that Dr. Stephen King can’t concern himself with. Print that government paper. Ignore that Weimar Republic behind that curtain.

Meanwhile governor Cuomo and his lapdog neighboring governors are talking LOCKDOWN until the Fall. People who need “elective” surgery to relieve serious problems? They can just curl up and die, but at least it won’t be because of the virus. Need a tumor removed? How about spinal surgery? Sorry Charlie, just curl up and suffer permanent nerve damage and let that cancer spread.

Security detail?!? Follow the money. The fear and loathing that will he created by a complete loss of economic security will result in a fear that will dwarf what Dr. POS inflicted on this country in order to sell us LOCKDOWN USA!! Try an armored division because when the torches and pitchforks come out that is what this Lilliputian idiot is going to require.


13 posted on 04/03/2020 11:21:21 PM PDT by FlipWilson
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To: rintintin

baloney president Sanders is making everybody happy they can hang out with their family, have garage time and finish all those little projects. Unless of course your dying from Xi LuvsSpecialSauce


14 posted on 04/03/2020 11:21:54 PM PDT by datricker (Cut Taxes Repeal ACA Deport DACA - Americans First, Build the Wall, Lock her up MAGA!)
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To: rintintin

where in the US ?


15 posted on 04/03/2020 11:26:38 PM PDT by knarf
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To: rfp1234

if you had serious flu symptoms and tested negative for flu A and B, I think they automatically count you as positive covid....no further testing needed...


16 posted on 04/03/2020 11:27:02 PM PDT by cherry
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To: cherry

if you had serious flu symptoms and tested negative for flu A and B, I“

They need to test people who have no symptoms, to identify and quarantine the asymptomatic carriers


17 posted on 04/03/2020 11:42:06 PM PDT by rintintin (qu)
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To: rintintin

Make prophylactic chloroquine available to every frontline worker who wants it.

Sic the DPA on Big Pharma. Big time.


18 posted on 04/04/2020 12:23:06 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: ocrp1982

I dont know where you get your information, but the models have been providing excellent guidance. We are undergoing an exponential increase in infections and muti-fold increases in the death rate every week. I see no letting up in the next several weeks from the current data. The states with stricter controls do show slower infection rates. But slowing down the infection rate is acceptable if effective drugs and vaccines are quickly made available to the masses.

There are three extreme measures:

The National Socialist Approach:
Have Corona-virus block parties, and let the 20% who go critical, just die off. Leaving the “strongest and fittest” to continue. Whats left of us can all go back to work!

The Libertarian Approach:
Everyone decide on their own without government interference. Believing its a hoax anyway, or assuming its no worse than the flu.

The hard-core Communist Approach:
Shoot anyone who becomes infected (disabling his ability to spread the virus to the weak and strong alike).

The Authoritarian Government approach”
Quarantine everyone, causing the spread to drop to a small value, but prolonging the outbreak and destroying the economy.

But I hope we can come to a more reasonable solution than these?


19 posted on 04/04/2020 12:37:52 AM PDT by Swirl
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To: rintintin; Wayne07

Why the CDC botched its coronavirus testing
The first testing kits from the Centers for Disease Control had a simple fault, and red tape prevented other labs from creating their own.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615323/why-the-cdc-botched-its-coronavirus-testing/

That’s the MIT Technology Review.


20 posted on 04/04/2020 12:53:19 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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