we need to collectively take a step back and put this pandemic into proper perspective so we don't fall for privacy and liberty erosions like this. the panic is unproductive and dangerous to our civil rights.<p>for context, roughly 8000 people die per day in the US. the virus has killed 2 days worth of people in the US in the 80 days of <i>known</i> infection, and probably ~100 days of undiagnosed infection. so covid has killed 2% of the expected number of dead. it's serious, but it's not the black plague, or even the 1918 flu. and we're already seeing transmissions curb.<p>the virus overwhelmingly infects others in close and closed proximity with a lot of cross-breathing going on. random airborne infections or surface infections are likely small, certainly less than 10%, probably less than 1% of infections.<p>so, you don't need to social distance outside unless the other person is actively coughing/sneezing (or maybe singing/talking extra forcefully) in your direction within 6 feet. you don't need a mask unless you are in close proximity (less than 6 feet) to random other people for more than a couple minutes at a time. grocery clerks, and other service workers in close proximity to strangers, on the other hand, <i>should</i> wear non-n95 masks (but probably not gloves) during work. same with those who are often near folks with comorbidities like age, auto-immune disease, diabetes, etc. medical providers should wear n95 masks, gloves, gowns, and take many other precautions that make no sense for the general public. you are not lowering your risks in any percepitble way by doing so. allay your anxieties with those basics, rather than looking to buy more toilet paper. it's enough, really.<p>the overwhelmingly most effective way to prevent transmission is to not breath in a sick person's exhaust. that's it. that's all we need to do. and yes, we don't know everyone who's carrying the virus, so it makes sense to reasonably physically distance in enclosed places like grocery stores. but not more than that as you've already reduced risk to background noise with these basic distancing rules.<p>contact tracing only makes sense when groups of strangers come into close proximity. it doesn't need to track every single person you brush past on the street. so for instance, you could just provide "contact tracing" with beacons in stores rather than always-on phone tracing.<p>let's not lose our heads, and our rights, over this.