The current COVID situation, nationally and locally, is just so effing frustrating. Most public policy problems are complicated and have no easy solutions.

This one does. Pay the freaking bars and restaurants to stay closed until the vaccine is more widely available.

We have more information now than we did in the Spring. We know that the biggest risk of transmission is indoors in crowded places where there is prolonged exposure. The risk of outdoor transmission is much lower, as is the risk of indoor transmission when it’s just for a minute.

This means that we don’t have to lock everything down! Playgrounds are fine! Surface transmission is not really a thing.

Even retail where everyone can wear a mask is fine. You can keep the malls open as long as there are some capacity limits.

The things that are the biggest risks are large gatherings, small indoor mask-less gatherings and indoor dining/bars.

Most places already have a limit on large gatherings. Good.

Small indoor gatherings are a huge problem, but it’s really difficult to enforce. We’re not going to be sending cops to everyone’s house to see if they are having guests over. It’s just not practical. We can at least TRY to set limits on those, though.

But indoor dining/bars is easy! Close them! It’s very easy for someone to check to make sure indoor dining at a restaurant is closed. Easily enforceable. We already did it in the Spring. And you can still do takeout and drink all the booze you want at home.

The reason we’re not closing them? $$. And that’s a HUGE problem. Many of these institutions are going out of business for good. That is really really bad for everyone.

But guess what? The Federal government can borrow money right now for LESS THAN NOTHING.

All Congress has to do is just appropriate that money right now. I get that even my side of the political aisle is playing chess and trying to use PPP funding as a hostage to extract larger concessions on other things. But now’s not the time for that.

Just spend the damn money.

Once that money gets to the States, then the States have the obligation to close indoor dining/bars immediately. No more excuses.

And I don’t think it will have to be for THAT long.

By March, a high percentage of people will either have already had COVID, or have had vaccine.

Also, weather will get warmer and we can do more outside things again. So transmission rates will drop, and will keep dropping. This will NOT go on forever. In May or June, you can go to a bar with your friends if we just do the obvious thing RIGHT NOW.

Ok, end rant.