In the US, we have a national holiday on Monday called Memorial Day that honors those who died serving in the US military. For many Americans, they view it as a three-day weekend and is often when recreational activities begin, pools open, people go camping, and many other social activities.
My fear this year is because of all of the mixed messages about COVID-19 at all levels of government, people are frustrated and confused, and rightly so. The need to continue social distancing measures seems to have gotten lost in the noise.
For most Americans, I think it would be very unwise to spend time this weekend with friends or family members outside of your immediate household. We are still benefiting from the stricter measures that had been put in place by various states, which has probably developed a sense of complacency that this is all over. Unfortunately, making that assumption could be very perilous.
Something happened this week that might help impress how serious this situation still is in spite of being in analogous eye of the storm.
The Minnesota Department of Health is one of the top state health departments in the country and has helped influence some of the decision making within the state. The state just purchases a former refrigerated produce warehouse in St. Paul that will be converted into a surge capacity morgue. The cost of the facility itself and converting it to this purpose will be about $6.9 million and will hold 5,100 bodies. If that doesn’t alarm you to the reality of what is now forming on the horizon again, I’m not sure what will.
I urge people only be around those in their immediate household and avoid any areas where there would normally large crowds of the public. This weekend promises to be a massive mixing event for the virus in the US population.
Yes, I may be wrong. You may lose your plans for one holiday weekend if I’m wrong. However, if I’m right, you or your loved ones could lose dozens of holiday weekends in the future. The cost/benefit analysis on this seems pretty clear to me.
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