It’s better than it looks

Charlton Heston in The Omega Man would feel right at home in contemporary Las Vegas. The lights are on but literally no one’s home. Or rather, everyone’s at home, sheltering in place—except that one guy seen getting busted by Las Vegas Metro. News reports take on hints of the post-apocalyptic, whether it’s coyotes roaming the streets of San Francisco or rats swarming the pool area at Trump Plaza (well, that place was always dystopian).

Writes one Denver resident, “I never thought I would see a global pandemic in my lifetime. It’s so eerie to see my home city empty, so many people are scared. Anxiety is starting to get bad.” It’s understandable why people would feel that way after looking at drone videos of deserted streets in Boston and New York City, from Houston to Chicago. It gives a whole new meaning to the term “viral video.” But here’s the good news: Seclusion is working.

According to today’s Boston Globe, “Even while the number of positive test results continues to climb in Massachusetts, the pace of the increase has appeared to stabilize. Similarly, while the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized at Massachusetts General Hospital continues to rise, the increase has been more gradual in recent days, although it is too early to be called a trend, according to the chief of infectious disease, Dr. Rochelle Walensky.” (Massachusetts has some of the most stringent shelter-in-place measures.) Data-crunching company Kinsa told the New York Times that “since social distancing directives have taken hold, flu-like illnesses have decreased throughout much of the country.”

“You would like to have all of this confirmed, but it might bring a small smile to your face during a generally dark time,” said Vanderbilt University Medical Center‘s Dr. William Schaffner. Added Dr. Anthony Fauci, Cassandra of the Covid-19 crisis, “We’re starting to see glimmers that that is actually having some dampening effect. But that does not take away from the seriousness.” So, yes, the good times will return if we can all exercise patience—and fiscal restraint, Wall Street—in the interim, however long it may be. As Bay State Gov. Charlie Baker (R) concludes, “The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in this battle. Everyone needs to play their part. People need to stay home as much as possible.”