After weeks of lockdowns from the coronavirus, death projections are finally being revised downward. We may be approaching the domestic apex of the pandemic sooner than expected, meaning we can hope for a limited reopening of parts of the economy within weeks, not months. But this will require a vast societal shift on an individual level in how we perceive personal safety and hygiene.
To put it bluntly, we are an unhealthy people. Our habits are horribly conditioned to stop disease transmission, much less one that’s highly contagious and can be fatal. Case in point: our sexually transmitted disease epidemic. We discovered penicillin, one of the first cures for gonorrhea, nearly a century ago. It’s a disease with an easy cure and a cheap test, yet the country has seen a 63% increase in cases since 2014, only increasing its antibiotic resistance.
