Some people, especially on social media, keep posting the memes that "If it worked the first time, why are we doing it again? If it didn't work the first time, why are we doing it again?"
The simple answer is, it did work the first time. Shutting everything down helped to keep our case numbers low. When we opened up, people were very casual about getting together in groups.
When schools started up again in September, and the inevitable cases started up, instead of shutting back down as we should have, we tried to ride it out to allow businesses to catch up. Left unchecked, the infections increased until we finally had to admit that we needed to shut back down.
It's frustrating. It's sounding more like we'll be working from home through the winter. Halloween was all but cancelled. We set up a few decoration and gave out candy but only five dedicated kids showed up in the chill rain.
Christmas will be rough. The local stores will have a hard time as people will either have to rush together to get their gifts in the final two weeks before the holiday, or will have already bought their gifts online.
So far we are still doing well.
There are two or three good vaccines that are close to being released, probably early next year, but I wonder how many people will not bother taking them.
Our neighbors to the south finished their election. With the final flurry of campaigning as well as their refusal to not gather together for their Thanksgiving, their numbers continue to rise. With the expected crowds for the Black Friday sales, I fear the following weeks will be rough for them.
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