This whole re-opening of the country feels like watching a train-wreck in slow motion. I really, really hope things just get better and better from here, but I fear that we are doing the same thing that happened in the Spanish Flu and will cause an even worse second wave.

I believe that if everyone practiced social distancing, wore facemasks indoors and in close quarters, and worked from home when possible we would probably be okay. I haven’t been out much but I just don’t see that happening.

I hope that the summer helps reduce the spread of the virus, but I worry that in places like Texas where everyone is inside in the air conditioning all day it won’t make enough of a difference.

@spwells suggested that might be why Singapore has been hit so much harder than other Southeast Asian countries - because it’s wealthier and has lots of air conditioning where poor countries live a more rural lifestyle without central air.

I hope that we will have a vaccine soon but the fastest any vaccine has been made before is 4 years which doesn’t make me too excited about being the first one to take it. It takes time to ramp up production. And then there will be new strains.

I hope that we have cheap, rapid testing available soon so that everyone can get tested every day on their way into school or work. I know startups working on it! But hard to say when it will happen or if enough people would take advantage of it.

The most promising solution I’ve heard of is what @iamdavo is working on which is a breathalyzer for COVID-19. That will be amazing when it’s working and widely available.

I’ve noticed a trend about COVID-19. People who focus on statistical risk of dying generally don’t think it’s a big risk. People who focus on what doctors who have been on the front lines say about what it’s like to have this virus are doing everything they can to avoid it.

Here is the latest data on Travis County in Texas. We successfully flattened the curve with the stay home orders, but new cases and hospitizations are holding steady, not decreasing. I hope it stays flat and doesn’t start spiking.

There is a reason that the hospitizations chart is front and center on the city and county dashboards… that’s the main metric they are watching. If the hospitals get too full, we go into lockdown. ALL of the offical projections I’ve seen show us going back into lockdown.

This was presented to Austin City Council by Austin Public Health Department. The best case scenario shows us entering another lockdown period in June that lasts longer than the one we just experienced.