I feel lucky in Lithuania in that the coronavirus never hit more than 90 new cases per day, and this for a country that tested heavily throughout the pandemic. In large part this was due to the vigilance of the government that maintained a lockdown for more than two months, finally easing up restrictions in mid-May when new cases had leveled off to no more than a dozen per day. The summer has gone relatively smoothly with some worries about citizens returning from vacations but even today new cases average less than 20 per day. Still, the government felt the need to reimpose mask restrictions as the new school year approaches. They plan to reopen public schools on September 1.
This is a far cry from the US where new cases continue to top 50,000 per day, and deaths remain high in states that have done little to combat the virus. Just recently, more than 250,000 motorcyclists descended on Sturgis, South Dakota, few if any of them wearing masks or any form of PPE. This in a state that has been hit hard by coronavirus over the summer. It seems conservative Americans feel it is their god-given right to choose to wear a mask or not, much like motorcycle helmets, throwing caution to the wind.
By comparison, South Dakota has a population less than one-third of Lithuania, yet has reported four times the number of cases and twice the number of deaths since March 12. However, it has taken few if any precautions against the virus outside the Native American reservations, which have enforced their own restrictions, including blocking access to the bikers. This has been a major sore point with the governor, who has reached out to Donald Trump to force the Sioux tribal councils to allow public access.
Trump himself came to Mt. Rushmore on July 4 and gave a speech in which he made virtually no reference to the pandemic. Instead, he bemoaned the "cancel culture" in America that would wipe out the faces on Mt. Rushmore if they could. The irony literally flew over his head as the Sioux have complained for decades that the presidential faces make a mockery of their sacred Black Hills, which the Supreme Court ruled in 1980 belonged to them. The federal government ignored that decision, leaving Mt. Rushmore in the custody of the National Park Service.
It only adds to the irony that Trump apparently reached out to Gov. Kristi Noem about having his likeness put on the mountain. She laughed it off but according to her the President was dead serious. Gov. Noem tried to placate matters by giving him a small sculpture with his likeness on the mountain, not that she would have any say in the matter. The decision would have to be between the NPS and the Oglala Sioux tribal council and such an image could only be a fraction the size of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt as there is no room left for a similar-sized facial relief.
Of course, the President hotly denies such a discussion ever took place, but Gov. Noem has been one of his most vocal supporters and some are conjecturing may replace Mike Pence on the 2020 ballot, especially if Joe Biden picks a woman Vice-President as he has promised.
All this misdirection helps take the media focus off the pandemic that continues to sweep the country. Remember, Trump had it on good authority that the virus would "miraculously be gone" by April and his son-in-law Jared predicted the economy would be "rocking again" by July, along with many other false statements that have emanated from the White House. The lack of any clear leadership on the part of Trump and Republican governors like Ms. Noem has resulted in a summer that saw daily new cases of coronavirus soar much higher than they did back in March and April, which had formerly been considered the peak. The number of deaths have reached a staggering 160,000 throughout the country, by far the highest in the world.
No one could have ever imagined that the US would become the epicenter of the pandemic, given its vaunted national pandemic response system, which Trump had dismantled only to boast of reforming in the wake of the first cases reported in January. Throughout the pandemic, he has defied its recommendations, openly challenging Dr. Fauci and turning him into a much maligned target of the conservative media, with faux documentaries claiming he had a hand in the creation of the coronavirus.
By contrast, Lithuania had no such system in place and relied on state-mandated restrictions to keep the case numbers low so as not to overcrowd the hospitals. A strategy that worked because everyone got on board. Yes, it was horribly inconvenient but most Lithuanians complied with the restrictions. Companies have followed state guidelines as businesses began reopening in May and the case load has remained low throughout the summer. As a result, the drop in GDP was much lower than it has been in other European countries, roughly 5.2 percent.
In the US, the GDP dropped more than 30 per cent due to the impact of the virus of the economy and lack of any orchestrated relief between federal, state and city governments. Unemployment swelled to 13 percent at one point. A "misery index" Biden will no doubt exploit in the general election.
Yet, the Good Ship Donald Trump sails on despite the depressing numbers. He touts the ever-rising Dow Jones Index, whose investors appear determined to top 30,000 by November despite the squalid economy. And you wonder where all that bailout money went, as few new jobs have been created in the months since the massive influx of cash by the Treasury Department into the economy. Yet another example of the graft that has characterized the Trump administration. The only question is whether voters will fall for this false narrative this Autumn?
Lithuania faces a parliamentary election as well. Many predict the Farmers and Green Party will win re-election largely based on its response to coronavirus. This despite the many misgivings with the party leadership. Unlike the US, the opposition parties didn't politicize the virus but worked with the majority to assure the best possible response to the pandemic. It is doubtful that they will be remembered for this.
The most important thing is to remain vigilant, whether it is protecting ourselves against an invisible virus or existential threats. Lithuania will most likely survive another four years of the Farmers and Green Party. I'm not sure America will survive another four years of Trump.
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