The U.S. Is in a Pandemic Freefall. Why Isn’t There a Federal Lockdown?
Message from experts is ‘you’re on your own’
The United States is in a state of pandemic freefall, and we’ve already used up our parachute.
Coronavirus cases are surging uncontrollably with rates higher than they’ve ever been. Nearly every day last week broke the previous day’s record, with more than 170,000 people testing positive for the virus on Friday alone. Hospitalizations are also increasing, surpassing numbers from the spring and summer peaks with no indication of slowing down. And after hospitalizations come deaths, rising for five straight weeks and on track to reach their highest number since July any day now.
Countries in Europe, including France, Germany, and the U.K., re-enacted nationwide restrictions in October for case numbers a fraction of the United States’. But despite the dire state the U.S. is in, experts say you shouldn’t expect a national lockdown any time soon, or potentially ever again. There have been some local exceptions made recently — Oregon, New Mexico, Michigan, Washington, and Chicago started temporary, targeted stay-at-home orders — but these will likely be the exception, not the norm.
