Why does the US seem to be carrying on almost as normal?

[ArtemisBean]

Given that their death rates are even higher than ours per 100,000 people, how is it that they seem to have largely avoided lockdowns, closures, restrictions on meeting others in so many areas? Is it that their hospitals are better equipped than ours so there's no bed crisis? Are they in denial? Or is the media just painting a rosier picture than the reality? Genuinely trying to understand and fully accept that I've been living under a rock as regards how overseas have been handling Covid!

It varies state to state.
Some states are not as densely populated others like California are struggling.
You can generalise such a big country as carrying on as normal.

More people equals more morons.

Their population is 5 times bigger so by comparison their death rate is much smaller.

I've just been reading about california.

article

The article says they are experience a mass fatality event, they don't have enough storage for the deceased, they are considering scrapping the nurse to patient ratio, scrapping medical paperwork, and the children's hospital is being asked to take patients upto 27 yo.

It's an interesting read because they say they're also experiencing a more infectious strain, they're only just seeing the effects of Halloween and thanksgiving and are yet to see the Christmas and new year mixing effects.

They also say that if the infections, 12 % need hospitalisation and another 12% ICU/ventilation.

I have family in New York. My nieces and nephews attend school 2 days a week in a mask and the rest of the time attend remote school. They wear masks at all times they are out of the house - indoors and out. They havent been anywhere or seen anyone since March really. This is mandated by the state.

I have other family members in Florida, they are free to go to restaurants, pubs etc and seem to be constantly in and out of each other's houses.

Restrictions vary state by state but almost all regions are struggling and people are just as scared as they are in the UK

Our friends in Maryland have been home schooling since last summer.

They’ve just given up worrying about it. ICUs are overrun and there are no beds. But still people don’t give a fuck. Well a lot of them anyway. My ex lives in a suburb around Seattle. They’re all carrying on as normal. At Christmas they had a huge party - 30 ish people- they told them all to park down different streets so they didn’t get told off. They said almost everyone was doing it (this was told to my 17 year old dd over FaceTime). My family is from the USA and they either think it’s a conspiracy or they just don’t care anymore and are fed up with it all.

(Schools are all shut though and they seem to be much stricter about day long online schooling).

It's not a good picture in the US at all. I don't know how you have reached that conclusion op?
I have have family out there, some are medics, and the stories they tell me are shocking

They have a fundamentally different view of society. Republicans believe in the individual, in individual reward and individual failure, to the extent that presumably if you're exposed through your job, it's your fault for having a low paid job. And if you make dumb decisions that expose you, your dumb decisions. Commercial interests and work are pretty much an article of faith and cannot be interfered with. Never quite understood why Republicans also seem to be bible bashers.

I have family in Boston, the children have been at home since last spring, parents working from home and they haven't met with any other families at all. Masks compulsory even when just going for a walk. It's quite bleak and scary over there from what they tell me

The situation varies state by state as do the restrictions
California is certainly not carrying on like normal - their healthcare situation is in dire straits, it's in acute emergency mode
Our relatives there have had a horrible time with an elderly relative who was acutely ill with CV struggling to get a hospital bed and the news from the state is declaring it to be in a state of emergency.
They are struggling to meet healthcare needs and even process the dead normally

Because their president is even more of a useless, irresponsible gibbon than our PM.

It's not true that everyone in the States has given up or dont care. We have friends in Florida and California who have basically shut themselves away at home since last March. They are terrified, angry and scared.

@tatutata

They have a fundamentally different view of society. Republicans believe in the individual, in individual reward and individual failure, to the extent that presumably if you're exposed through your job, it's your fault for having a low paid job. And if you make dumb decisions that expose you, your dumb decisions. Commercial interests and work are pretty much an article of faith and cannot be interfered with. Never quite understood why Republicans also seem to be bible bashers.

The nation is not entirely composed of Republicans though. That's a really sweeping statement about a very large country.

In some parts of America they have been looking at the lax way our children were funneled back into schools with disbelief. Children congregating at close quarters indoors without masks looks like the height of risky behaviour to my family in America.

They are not all government hating rednecks in America

Our restrictions are all aimed at protecting the NHS. The US has historically rejected any notion of what they call “socialised” healthcare. I’ve never got my head around that but it is what it is. Therefore in many States the prevailing attitude is if you get sick it’s up to you personally to deal with it. So you don’t get any sense of communal action to save the medical services that might help everyone when they get sick.

Add in the notions of “freedom” that again are woven into the cultural DNA then you end up with a very individualised (selfish) attitude. The prevalence of extreme Christian beliefs also are impactful (people saying I’m in the hands of God, He will protect me etc)

@Quornflakegirl

Their population is 5 times bigger so by comparison their death rate is much smaller.

The OP did state it was the rate per 100,000 so it is irrelevant what the population size is.

In fact the death rate per mill is pretty much the same for U.K. and USA according to Worldometers. The cases per mill is much higher in the US but death rate is very similar.

My friend in Virginia has been working from home since April and her child has had online schooling since then.

She's expecting her child to go back to school in time for the new academic year (so late August).

Their schools never went back properly. That had the common sense to introduce masks/rota/full remote learning combos between states.

I think people not familiar with the US don’t realise quite how decentralised it is. Health is principally a local issue and views vary quite distinctly on party lines. Red states tend to value as little government intervention as possible and are deeply suspicious of centrally derived messages. Blue states tend to be more pro government action, but tend also to me the more densely populated.

It is understandable that COVID rates have been highest in the densely populated areas, but they have also been, per capita, extremely high in low density states like the very red Dakotas because people refuse to take COVID seriously and also refuse to have any of their perceived liberties curtailed.

It is a terrible situation. Just look at the imbeciles who stored the Capital last week. Many of those sorts of people (and the number in the millions) believe in things QAnon and the like.

@Morgan12

More people equals more morons.

I followed a family of vloggers for a few years and have unfollowed them as at Christmas they flew their entire family (7 kids, both sets of older grandparents, nannies) from Utah to Disneyland Florida for a holiday.

So utterly irresponsible. I was shocked DW was even open, but to take everyone on a packed airplane on an unnecessary jaunt across the country is just such poor taste.

And this is a family who for the previous two winters, have essentially locked down at home to keep the flu out.

@Quornflakegirl

Their population is 5 times bigger so by comparison their death rate is much smaller.

It isn't though, not according to the current stats, it's a bit less than ours but the two countries are in no comparable. A valid comparison would be a US State if similar size, similar population density and with the same variants of covid. Otherwise apples and oranges spring to mind.

Fascinating isn't it? The psyche is very different - as far as I could tell Christmas and Thanksgiving went on relatively normally whereas the Xmas restrictions here were quite tight.

Vaccine rollout in the US looks to be very messy without a nationalised health service. Lots of articles online about people getting vaccines who definitely wouldn't be entitled yet in the UK (eg wfm payroll as they happen to work for a hospital)

Each state has its own lock down rules (and its own laws generally. Each state is like a country in Europe ... huge and self governing) some states are in complete lock down and have been throughout. Others have resisted this.