A new and totally not tied to the Chinese government study out from Harvard University is now predicting that society may need to continue implementing widespread social distancing regulations through 2022 to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The study comes as more and more states are seeing widespread pushback against state and local restrictions, which include bans on the sale of certain “non-essential” items at retail stores, harsh regulations on traveling even to one’s own private property, and unconstitutional crackdowns on drive-in services at churches. But even as millions of Americans begin questioning “social distancing” guidelines, Harvard predicts that “Under current critical care capacities, however, the overall duration of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic could last into 2022, requiring social distancing measures to be in place between 25% and 75% of that time."
“Absent other interventions, a key metric for the success of social distancing is whether critical care capacities are exceeded. To avoid this, prolonged or intermittent social distancing may be necessary into 2022,” the study projected.
The model is based, in part, on seasonal fluctuations and coronavirus flare-ups that would cause a near-constant reimplementation of social distancing measures.
But regardless of whether the study is right about a predicted resurgence of coronavirus outbreaks, millions of Americans don’t seem particularly interested in “social distancing” for the next two years – or even for the next two months. Protests have already broken out in North Carolina – where police faced backlash for breaking up protests after declaring them a “non-essential activity” – as well as in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin as residents demanded their state and local leaders roll back a slew of unconstitutional restrictions and begin reopening the economy for businesses and workers.