Let me explain to you how this is going to go down. The virus is widespread in the community right now. The country will re-open without adequate contact tracing or testing. The pandemic will smolder for a short time, and then explode.

Sadly, it won’t be just the conspiracy theorists who get it. It won’t just be the self-dealing, incompetent politicians. It won’t be the billionaires desperate to get people back to work. It will be regular folks. Poor people with a structural lack of access to resources.

It will be doctors like me who will be waist-deep in bodies, and eventually catch it ourselves.

Don’t tell me this is the flu. It isn’t. Don’t shower me with nonsense platitudes about heroism. I don’t want to be a hero. No doctor or first responder does. Do you know why?

In real life, heroes end up DEAD. I don’t want that for me, or for my friends. We want you at home, safe and healthy with your family, until the incompetent sociopaths in government can take the hard, necessary steps to safely reopen the country.

In the end, we are all that is going to stand between you / your loved ones and a truly horrible death. We are doing our best to hold the line. You have it in your power to help. STAY AT HOME. HOLD YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO ACCOUNT.

And, for the love of God, STOP WITH THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES. The present government is incompetent on its face. Major companies can’t even run a customer service phone line! Do you genuinely think any of these fools can tie their shoes, much less run a worldwide conspiracy?