I’ll get into a little detail about why this CDC change, if implemented, will only speed up the economic crisis we are about to enter. [However, don’t share that aspect with anyone other than those closest to you.] First, the change being discussed…
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the husband of a very sketchy Chinese communist party shadow official that no one ever discusses, told CNN today the CDC is likely to revise the quarantine guidance to include a negative test for COVID before exit.
(Via Daily Mail) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to further change its recommendations for Americans diagnosed with COVID-19, potentially requiring a negative test to leave isolation before ten days.
Last week, the agency shortened its recommended isolation period from 10 days to five days for people who have minimal Covid symptoms. The move drew criticism from experts who said a negative test should’ve been included.
Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy said that the CDC is working to further revise the isolation guidance, telling CNN on Tuesday that he expects a clarification ‘any day now.’
‘What they’re trying to do – and it’s important to say more broadly – is recognize and incorporate both the evolving science on Omicron and on prior variants in terms of how long somebody remains contagious, with the critical need to maintain essential services,’ Murthy told CNN.
‘I believe that there will be a role for antigen testing here to help reduce risk as well,’ he said. The further-updated guidance could impact millions of Americans, as the country reports record case numbers during the Omicron surge. (read more)
Here’s why this is going to be exponentially more problematic ,and be cautious who you tell about this.
First, imagine the impact to the U.S. industrial and service economy when workers who have ordinary colds and sniffles are now taking five days off work, and cannot come back until they test negative for the cold/flu virus. That’s what the CDC was trying to avoid when the original guidance was modified.
If essential workers with ordinary sniffles, sneezes, coughs, stuffy-heads and general aches and pains do not come to work because these are Omicron symptoms, the U.S. economy is going to be in staggeringly big trouble at a macro and micro level.
Add to that an inflated and ‘blown out of proportion‘ reaction to the seasonal cold with a demand for a negative test, and there are limited to zero tests readily available, and it is not hard to see what happens to business operations throughout the country. Already existing shortages of workers, products and services only gets worse…. exponentially worse.
Production stops. Manufacturing slows… end products get less. Transporation, warehousing and distribution (the logistics aspect) gets hit with the boxcar effect again. Quickly, store shelves get bare, and products become scarce. The supply chain issues that already exist only get worse, much worse.
Some businesses then have to close. Those employees that could work, then can’t. The downstream consequence from a disrupted workforce will make the supply chain issues of 2020 look like a mere hiccup compared to what’s coming.
Food distribution is a complex system of logistics, warehousing, transportation, delivery and preparation. There are two macro sectors: “food at home” (grocery stores etc), and “food away from home” (restaurants etc.) In 2020, the country learned how interconnected the supply chain is when 50% of the possible food distribution (restaurants, cafeterias etc) was turned off.
Within days of turning off restaurants, the other side of the food supply chain was overwhelmed, and that shock to the system lasted for several months. Most people don’t know that the supply chain is still dealing with the downstream consequences. Grain silos were wiped out as manufacturers demanded more raw material to process. Ingredients like citric acid, flavorings, and preservatives have still not recovered (go look for flavored sports drinks).
Pet food manufacturers were lowered in priority for distribution of raw material, and that raw material comes at a much higher price. The pet food sector is still less than 50% recovered from where it was before the restaurants were shut down in early 2020. That’s how long this impact has lasted.
People just do not know how the U.S. food supply system operates on massive storage systems for bulk products to smooth out the seasonal fluctuations for food commodities. It is a very complex system to deliver fresh products (produce, fish, meats) and simultaneously organize, store and distribute, the raw materials for things like flour, bread, cereals, soups, and frozen foods.
Trust me, if everyone decided to eat only fresh foods starting tomorrow, there would be fist fights in the supermarket, because there’s not enough of that fresh stuff to feed all of America. We need, heck we rely upon, processed foods, manufactured foods, shelf stable and refrigerated/frozen stable foods, in order to fulfill the total caloric needs of 350,000,000 people.
This grocery store supply chain has never recovered from the mistake of closing 50% of food distribution in 2020. CTH warned at the time what would happen, and it did. We then watched the predictable five phases of impact show up.
If you remember the shortages of products and services in 2020, you have a baseline for what is about to happen in two weeks. This next round is going to be worse. Last year’s grain harvest is already almost gone. Most of the next round of harvests cannot start for months. The food storage our supply chain depends upon to smooth out seasonality is nearly exhausted, and the inbound prices show the scarcity.
It’s not one thing; it’s a multitude of things. However, add on top of that a major employment disruption with quarantines and tests, and, well, you can see where this is heading. The service sectors like hospitality, hotels, restaurants and home services will be stretched very thin.
Prepare for your family accordingly.
Secure yourselves for coming shortages. Don’t forget your pets. The window to be ahead of the zombie swarm is now down to around 15 days.
Centinel2012 