[teejers1]

This is the dumbest thing I've seen today.

Given what is happening now, how does the fact Chinese scientists studied the bat virus two years ago matter even a little bit? Likely millions of bats carry SARS-CoV-2. If the virus lab were next to the Russian border, how would that have prevented one of these millions of bats from infecting something that made it to the Wuhan wet market and launched the pandemic?

The Washington Post is suppose to be better than this.

I have a more fundamental question that pertains to this and other topics:  why are some people so vested in the belief that (a) the virus did not reach the US until late January/February versus earlier, and/or (b) the virus must have started in late 2019?  Who cares at this point?

Is it because if it's been around longer than originally thought, then the spread modeling being used now is inaccurate?  I guess I "get' that, but again, as a layman my big concern is ability of hospitals to be able to treat those that need it.  Can't you just say "we are at capacity, thus we shouldn't pull back on restrictions," or "we have excess beds and equipment and can handle more cases," which militates in favor of loosening to some extent?

Anyway, I find it interesting that people tweet their absolute certainty that this didn't arrive in US till February; or alternatively, those insisting that the virus was here earlier than initially believed.  I don't "get" why it is such a big deal either way.

[teejers1]

This is the dumbest thing I've seen today.

Given what is happening now, how does the fact Chinese scientists studied the bat virus two years ago matter even a little bit? Likely millions of bats carry SARS-CoV-2. If the virus lab were next to the Russian border, how would that have prevented one of these millions of bats from infecting something that made it to the Wuhan wet market and launched the pandemic?

The Washington Post is suppose to be better than this.

I have a more fundamental question that pertains to this and other topics:  why are some people so vested in the belief that (a) the virus did not reach the US until late January/February versus earlier, and/or (b) the virus must have started in late 2019?  Who cares at this point?

Is it because if it's been around longer than originally thought, then the spread modeling being used now is inaccurate?  I guess I "get' that, but again, as a layman my big concern is ability of hospitals to be able to treat those that need it.  Can't you just say "we are at capacity, thus we shouldn't pull back on restrictions," or "we have excess beds and equipment and can handle more cases," which militates in favor of loosening to some extent?

Anyway, I find it interesting that people tweet their absolute certainty that this didn't arrive in US till February; or alternatively, those insisting that the virus was here earlier than initially believed.  I don't "get" why it is such a big deal either way.