09 Apr 2020 To Beat the Coronavirus, Don’t Overwhelm the System

As of April 9, there were just under 15,000 reported deaths in the United States attributed to coronavirus. A much deadlier statistic was the number of reported deaths attributed to the annual flu season: an estimated 24,000 and 63,000 Americans died from the flu between October 1, 2019 and March 28, 2020.

Project 21 Co-Chairman Horace Cooper told talk radio host Joe Messina about how – when he got the flu in a previous year – “it knocked me out – it put me on my back.” But for all too many people and their families, the results can be much worse, and even deadly.

That’s why Horace took the time to talk with Joe – actually losing the opportunity to talk about their scheduled topic, NEPA reform, in the process – about how the Trump Administration is dealing with increasingly difficult problems of the coronavirus outbreak. And, more importantly, they discussed how Americans can manage their fears and expectations so that the pressures and panic that could hurt relief efforts can be as limited as possible.

Discussing the coronavirus response in relation to how the government and the public deal with the flu, Horace said:

[W]e’ve experienced this happening every year. And all that this administration has been attempting to do is help people understand there is no reason to panic and to assume that we are in a dire situation.

At a time when so many Americans are being found positive for the coronavirus and the death toll is rising, these daily numbers may be reaching their peak. The United States, and other countries, may soon be experiencing a decline in daily infections and deaths. As President Donald Trump said at a recent press briefing, “[t]here is tremendous light at the end of the tunnel.”

That’s why Horace repeatedly spoke about the need for people to remain calm in the face of this adversity. He cautioned:

If we overwhelm the testing protocol by getting people who are not in any way exhibiting any physical sign of having the coronavirus, we’re going to make it harder for those who are, in fact, exhibiting signs from getting their tests processed…

We have to just listen carefully, not panic.

And, in a lighthearted aside, he spoke out against adding to the overwhelming demand for products like toilet paper:

I promise you, the CDC has shown that there is no correlation between the number of rolls of toilet paper that you have in your possession and your likelihood to catch or be immune from coronavirus.