How long will Americans allow themselves to be quarantined?

Let's set aside how dangerous the Covid-19 virus may/may not be for a moment. Even though I work at a business which hasn't yet shut down -- but likely will shut down very, very soon whether we like it or not -- I'm fine with "quarantining" (for lack of a better term) for the next 2-3 weeks. Yes, it'd be a financial burden on myself and the place for which I work, but if this is as dangerous as advertised, I'm cool with limiting exposure to it and hopefully curtailing its spread for everyone's well being.

But what happens after these next 2-3 weeks pass? Schools in my area are shut until about April 6. Many businesses are forced closed until about then as well. When that date comes, and the powers-that-be say, "No, we're not in the clear yet. Everyone continue to stay home," what's going to happen then? Will Americans really listen? Should they listen? Or will there be a lot of, "Screw this, I need to get to work, get my kids back in school, and let what happens, happens?"

This is especially of note if by that April 6th date the number of deaths isn't a very dramatic number (and I'm hoping that's the case). Because the government could easily say, "it's working, let's all keep it up," while citizens will likely respond with, "it's not/never was that dangerous, the worst has passed, now let me get back to my normal life."

This, to me, will be the most interesting confrontation of the whole pandemic. Who gets to say when it's over, and how long with average Americans put up with government's mandates? And what will be the price to rebel against those mandates if they overstay their welcome?

a reply to: MrParanoid

Wouldn't there be a wide range of reactions, from not following quarantine for even one day to those who would do it for the rest of the year?

a reply to: MrParanoid

how fast does the average American run out of food..

that would be my measuring stick.

So far it's been the next 10 days the next 10 days the next 10 days.

I'm still working and so is the wife but she runs a grocery store. Management doesn't want to stop taking cash or set up a line for cash only so I think she's done soon.

Michigan 65 to 113 overnight just as expected.

Locally nothing confirmed, officially

I believe that as their catastrophic predictions will not happen people will start to lose their patience. I give it two weeks from now and we will start to see some ugly situations. I also believe that some riots or even governments falling will happen if this keeps on too long.
There is only so much panic you can spread before people pull themselves together and start doubting you.

It really depends upon how bad this gets and how fast it gets there.

For the moment - most - people remain directly unaffected so there's a measurable push back in some circles. A few politicians are still actively pushing self-benefiting narratives. It's life as usual in the US.

If that continues, the backlash will boil and eventually seep over.

However if things take a turn south and it all starts to go wrong? Most opinions will change. Sadly most of the early, anecdotal reports I've read so far are not from people saying "I got tested and I'm negative" or "I got tested, came up positive and it wasn't all that bad" ( though there are examples out there of both ). Most of the folks I've seen discuss it or have spoken to about it say "I / my loved one got sick and couldn't get tested at all."

The TL;DR: As long as there aren't open graves people will moan. If we reach the point of open graves and field hospitals the moaning will cease but likely too late for it to matter one way or the other.

originally posted by: Irishhaf
a reply to: MrParanoid

how fast does the average American run out of food..

that would be my measuring stick.

Right. I, like many Americans, have never been able to afford more than about 2-3 weeks out.

People are already getting desparate here...I expect crime and robbery to uptick, possible looting/ rioting. Already heard "bring it" concerning martial law by more than one person today due to work drying up.

It's not a virus we should fear; it's a permanent attack on our previous way of life.

a reply to: Irishhaf

That's the thing -- if everyone goes to work, we won't run out of food. In fact, even now, there shouldn't be shortages beyond those suddenly deciding to hoard and/or prep for the next 2-4 weeks. If we return to "normalcy," we're fine food-wise pretty darn quick.

All of the quarantining seems to be geared towards helping healthcare cope with an expected influx of patients. If that doesn't occur -- especially outside of large cities -- why continue forcing people to stay home and not work? Especially as healthcare gears up to respond, the need to "stem the tide" should abate rather quickly.

a reply to: MrParanoid

the govt is using this to finally remove some more pesky freedoms in the bill of rights... or they think or know there is a secondary part of the virus that is going to wreck things.

Or they are just being stubborn and slow to adjust to a rapidly changing situation.

a reply to: MrParanoid

Just from a hypnosis/nlp perspective, after 3 weeks habits are formed and broken. Thus, most folks will settle in and accept the news. It is why they are knowingly holding back and attempting to slowly drip feed info. It reduces panic and chaos after 3 weeks psychologically for the majority.

a reply to: Irishhaf

The government -- especially the bloated bureaucracy known as the federal government -- will ALWAYS be slow to respond, no matter what the crisis is. Why people expected otherwise is beyond me.

But what you wrote is true: there might be more to the story than we're being told. But assuming this response is all truly virus-related (perhaps a large assumption), my question still stands: how long will folks allow themselves to be inconvenienced (which, outside of the stock market tanking, and hopefully, many temporary job losses) is what's this has added up to thus far?

originally posted by: Irishhaf
a reply to: MrParanoid

the govt is using this to finally remove some more pesky freedoms in the bill of rights... or they think or know there is a secondary part of the virus that is going to wreck things.

Or they are just being stubborn and slow to adjust to a rapidly changing situation.

What rights are they trying to take away? Your statement is pure hog wash.

originally posted by: CynConcepts
a reply to: MrParanoid

Just from a hypnosis/nlp perspective, after 3 weeks habits are formed and broken. Thus, most folks will settle in and accept the news. It is why they are knowingly holding back and attempting to slowly drip feed info. It reduces panic and chaos after 3 weeks psychologically for the majority.

LOL. You just don't see much about the GOOD of human beings on this site, but I have to say......even though this is couched in we're just programmed to take it easy all the way, until we HAVE to act for ourselves, loved ones and one another.....(notice that's all couched in neuroleptic programming, in other words, that's why folks would wait and take it easy)....

It's really starting to get to me...the whole bash human thing on this website. I've watched it for years: the underlying if humans do any good, it's because they are so controlled. If you did something bad, it's because you're human, and that's just natual human behavior.

Maybe, just maybe, humans would really like to believe the best, that man is basically good, confronted with the true evil of the direct opposite......and while you're feeding them actively the penultimate "blame the victim" mentality, that has also been prevalent for many years, that science somehow has proven that whatever people consciously recognize, MANIFESTS.....it's a closed box in which humanity can only show up as the dead schroedinger's cat possibility. Wow.

Love the choices we are confronted with these days. It's just reached a huge paradox/apex point for me....

However, let's hope everyone is willing to deal with what we've been given as long as we have to, and NOT pay any attention to any inciting or fomenting displeasure that may lead to a total anarchical breakdown. There is a way to fight what is controlling us, and a way NOT TO that ensures our defeat. Just saying.
regards and stay safe,
tetra50

Too many people are going to be too conscious that they are not able to support just being home doing nothing for long. Those are the ones who will run out of patience first.

Those of us who are able to work from home and feel reasonably secure at it, will be convinced to stay there longer, but even then, you can only keep people cooped up for so long before they will go stir crazy.

If we get through a cycle or three of this and things don't seem to be ramping up in an area, then I expect people will really start to push back on the necessity of continuing. If people are dying in the streets? ... well, you may get folks to stay put a bit longer.

The point of the "quarantine" (which it isn't) is not to wait out the disease until it "just goes away" or a vaccine is available. The point is to reduce the rate at which new infections occur in order to reduce the load on health care facilities. Right now it is not known just how rapidly it will spread in the US but rather than just ignore what has happened elsewhere and to wait to see what happens with no action being taken, reducing contact is a rational approach. The trouble is, people don't seem to want to that voluntarily. Too many seem think "It's just old people", while ignoring or not understanding epidemiology.

There isn't going to be an "all clear" for many, many months and many people will become infected no matter what is done. But if the rate of infection can be kept down in these early stages it will reduce the "peak" of cases requiring intensive care, which, modelling shows, would occur in June.

www.imperial.ac.uk...


How long will people put up with it? I think that depends on whether or not the models pan out. If the curve stays flat, people won't put up with it. If it doesn't, they might be more inclined to do so. I think it's worth giving it a chance.

originally posted by: CynConcepts
a reply to: MrParanoid

Just from a hypnosis/nlp perspective, after 3 weeks habits are formed and broken. Thus, most folks will settle in and accept the news. It is why they are knowingly holding back and attempting to slowly drip feed info. It reduces panic and chaos after 3 weeks psychologically for the majority.

The intro into full shutdown and not working wasn't slow & over time, though. People were shoved into it unprepared and not expecting it. Thus, Americans WILL get suspicious in short order, followed quickly by defiant, then all bets are off after that. A month MAX is about all I see this country tolerating before having enough of it & it gets extremely ugly if normalcy doesn't return. Between now and then, smaller riots might start next week, I think I already predicted that on here.

a reply to: Phage

To add:

originally posted by: Phage
The point of the "quarantine" (which it isn't) is not to wait out the disease until it "just goes away" or a vaccine is available. The point is to reduce the rate at which new infections occur in order to reduce the load on health care facilities. Right now it is not known just how rapidly it will spread but rather than just wait to see what happens with not action being taken, reducing contact is a rational approach.

There isn't going to be an "all clear" for many, many months and many people will become infected no matter what is done. But if the rate of infection can be kept down in these early stages it will reduce the "peak" of cases requiring intensive care, which, modelling shows, would occur in June.

www.imperial.ac.uk...

Surely, yes it will keep the infection down, or subdued for a longer period of time, so as not to overwhelm medical and community resources.

However, there is much not known. Such as reinfection possibilities, especially after lung damage from first infection. Or the supposed and what I've read in medical research papers that the virus binds to antigens after first infection, to go straight to the immune system and hijack it, spelling disaster for those whom once had it, become reinfected later, and already have weakened system from the first round of damage.

Of course, it's a little early to know all that, and specifically, information isn't readily available right now as to these issues....
regards and stay safe,
tetra

a reply to: Liquesence

Of course, I believe Philly is a bit of an outlier too. They held a massive war bonds parade which sparked their outbreak making it the worst in the US.

That would be like taking a normal city without social distancing and scrapping its data in favor of taking in a KC that decided to just have their massive Super Bowl victory parade with no social distancing held afterward, during or before. The data would be spiked by an out of the ordinary event creating a chance for disease spread not normally occurring in the community.

a reply to: tetra50

However, there is much not known.

Yes.
But that doesn't mean nothing is known. There is China to view as a model. South Korea. Europe. There isn't much reason to think the unimpeded progression of the disease would be very different in the US.