SHELBY COUNTY, Tennessee —
In Friday's Ransom Note: Phase 3.
We didn't ask the question tonight, but our live viewer vote Thursday night showed more than 75% of you think going to Phase 3 this Monday is too soon.
If we're to believe what the CDC has said from the beginning, it is. The guideline was, we needed two weeks of a decline in new cases before starting to reopen. We're now five weeks into reopening and have yet to have even one week of decline. In fact, the trend line is going up. Yet we're moving ahead with Phase 3 anyway apparently. A doctor on the COVID-19 task force may be one of the reasons why.
John McCullers told The Daily Memphian Friday the increase in numbers isn't that bad, we have plenty of hospital bed capacity, and most outbreaks are isolated within families or workplaces. He said we're headed for a long term chronic state for the next six to twelve months. So, go to the beach, he said. He'd feel safer there than in a confined movie theater in Memphis. Flying anywhere? Shorter flights are safer than long ones.
Ultimately, be prepared for months of sanitizing, keeping our distance, and wearing masks.
