[Mick]

With the caveat that I did not sleep at a Holiday Inn last night so anything I say should be taken with a grain of salt, there seems to be a correlation between each "step" that the government takes and the market dropping.  So I guess I'm wondering...how many more steps do we have?  By steps, I mean desperate actions to counteract the spread of the virus.  Is lockdown the last step?  Or are there other ones that could happen before that or after that?

Lockdown is the last step, though there are various types. The bay area's current one is more porous that Italy's, which I believe is more porous than Wuhan's was. But what we're doing now is basically the last resort.

The caveat there is that the federal government can't order this (although I suppose they might try), it's up to states/counties/cities to do it. Hence why Seattle and the Bay Area are under lockdown, but I'm not sure anyone else is (although I may have missed it).

Of course, it being the last step doesn't mean it will work. The markets will really go haywire if we do end up hitting 70% of population infected and millions dead.

Bay Area is not under lockdown.  It is shelter-in-Place, a significant difference.  Many activities are still allowed that would not be under a lockdown.  More areas are rolling out the shelter-in-Place.

It will take a few weeks to see if the curve has been flattened.  The governor is indicating that schools may not reopen until fall.

I don't know how schools would reopen in the fall.  Will we have reached herd immunity by then?  I doubt it.  And schools are petri dishes.  My wife used to catch something every September when she was teaching and the students returned.

[Mick]

With the caveat that I did not sleep at a Holiday Inn last night so anything I say should be taken with a grain of salt, there seems to be a correlation between each "step" that the government takes and the market dropping.  So I guess I'm wondering...how many more steps do we have?  By steps, I mean desperate actions to counteract the spread of the virus.  Is lockdown the last step?  Or are there other ones that could happen before that or after that?

Lockdown is the last step, though there are various types. The bay area's current one is more porous that Italy's, which I believe is more porous than Wuhan's was. But what we're doing now is basically the last resort.

The caveat there is that the federal government can't order this (although I suppose they might try), it's up to states/counties/cities to do it. Hence why Seattle and the Bay Area are under lockdown, but I'm not sure anyone else is (although I may have missed it).

Of course, it being the last step doesn't mean it will work. The markets will really go haywire if we do end up hitting 70% of population infected and millions dead.

Bay Area is not under lockdown.  It is shelter-in-Place, a significant difference.  Many activities are still allowed that would not be under a lockdown.  More areas are rolling out the shelter-in-Place.

It will take a few weeks to see if the curve has been flattened.  The governor is indicating that schools may not reopen until fall.

I don't know how schools would reopen in the fall.  Will we have reached herd immunity by then?  I doubt it.  And schools are petri dishes.  My wife used to catch something every September when she was teaching and the students returned.