Yesterday, the attending physician to the U.S. Congress and Supreme Court had a closed-door meeting with Senate staffers.
According to NBC News, Axios, and other outlets, Dr. Brian Monahan told those staffers that he expects anywhere from 70 to 150 million people in this country to contract coronavirus.
The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci told the House Oversight and Reform Committee Wednesday that Covid-19 is "10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu," _ in line with the estimated but optimistic death rate of 1% for prepared counties.
You can do the math _ one% of 70 million, 100 million, 150 million.
A staggering number. That's a catastrophe.
And it will disproportionately affect those who are older and those with pre-existing medical conditions.
And what will make this disease so widespread is the fact that for people under 60, the death rate is in line with the seasonal flu. We're not infectious, we're just "a bit under the weather".
But that kind of thinking can no longer exist _ not if you want grandma and grandpa or your friend with diabetes to be ok. The threat to them is clear and present. We simply cannot go on with our normal lives anymore. Too many people will die if we do. Hospitals will be overrun if we do. It's a risk that's not worth taking.
This is bigger than sports now.
Now, sports are big business, but they are also, inherently, frivolous entertainment. The world will go on without sports. It'll be less fun, for sure, but the time for fun has passed.
When it comes to sports, we need to shut it down, on every level.
The NBA didn't have a choice. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert's positive test for Covid-19 forced the league to indefinitely suspend play Wednesday night. Turns out his teammate, Donovan Mitchell, has it too.
They had to shut it down
If nothing else, the possible legal liability of someone becoming infected at a game is enough to bring everything to a halt. The league cannot reasonably function until it's clear that there is no immediate risk to its players, the fans, team personnel, and the media. That moment, sadly, looks a long way off.
The league is currently estimating a 30-day hiatus, per the Toronto Star. That's aspirational.
The NHL and Major League Soccer have wisely followed suit in shutting down. Nearly every NCAA basketball conference tournament has been stopped, too. Major League Baseball has suspended spring training and will delay the start of the regular season by two weeks. That's aspirational, too, but at least it's not obtuse.
They're necessary and correct measures. If we _ yes, the collective we, as Americans (I know we don't use that 'we' that often anymore) _ going to stop SARS-CoV-2 from infecting 75, 100, 150 million people, we have to be as proactive as possible. What we do today should have been done yesterday. And closed-door games won't do enough _ we can't have teams flying all over the country, possibly spreading the virus, for the sake of a television product.
I want normal life to be back, too. I, like everyone else, was looking forward to Opening Day at the end of the month.
But the NCAA, the XFL, the NFL _ everyone _ needs to recognize that our normal day-to-day operations are no longer possible.
The NFL Draft needs to be done in front of a green screen. There are enough diseases floating around Las Vegas _ the coronavirus doesn't need to be one of them. Baseball might found out a shorter schedule will do the sport some good.
And the NCAA Tournament? Unless you're quarantining everyone in one location, testing them frequently, and only letting them out to play games on a single court in Atlanta, it's not a good idea. Plus, a lot of teams won't show up if you have it.
No, everything needs to be shut it all down. Yesterday.
Do that, and hopefully, the day where sports can resume will come a bit sooner.
