We were told that pillars that the Arizona Stay-At-Home order stood on were public safety (flattening the curve), protection of our healthcare system (not to overrun hospitals and care facilities), and to prevent a second wave of the “Silent Killer” COVID-19.
Curve models are just that, models. As Dr. Fauci said, “Models are only as good as the assumptions that are placed in them.” We have seen models that will support anyone’s objective or narrative.
As far as the dreaded “2nd Wave” is concerned, We guess that the Russell and Hunter crystal ball is broken. Let’s talk like grownups. No one, and we mean no one, can predict another wave. That being said, if there is a 2nd wave, we should be more than prepared and ready for it. After trillions of government spending, we better be.
Let’s focus on what we have actually seen, the virus’s impact on Arizona’s healthcare system.
We have shut down our state's economy. We have stayed home more than any other time in our lives. We have hunted toilet paper like our primitive ancestors hunted wooly mammoths. We were in this for our local heroes. We were in this for those Arizonans that are serving on the front lines, facing COVID-19 face to face, our medical professionals.
We will not be selfish and let Arizona turn into New York with overrun hospitals, bed shortages, and limited PPE! We are in this together!
So what happened? It worked!
Our hospitals are not overwhelmed. Our hospitals are dangerously underwhelmed! Some hospitals standing by with 65% of patient rooms, empty.
Just this week, Banner Healthcare began lay-offs, furloughs, and pay cuts. They are feeling the pain from doing their part. They were told by the modelers and “experts” that they needed to suspend elective surgeries and procedures for non-life threatening cases. Banner held on as long as they could while they waited for the wave watching their revenues fall through the floor.
Why weren’t there bodies piling up at valley hospitals? Because we all took precautions and acted like grownups. We are talking about our fellow citizens, not the government. We saw the numbers. We saw the projections. We took necessary steps.
It’s time to stop falling for the next future, potential, possible, non-probable crisis. It’s time for the government to stop moving the goalposts. They gave us guidelines. We followed them knowing that they were orders, they would be blatant violations of our American rights. And it worked. The curve is flattened, we aren’t afraid of a 2nd wave because we know that we are now prepared.
It’s time to get back to our normal lives. Time to take care of the medical professionals that we now see as first responders. Let them get back to work!
We can all, as proud citizens of this great state, dust ourselves off and get back to work.