We probably need 8–12 weeks (2–3 months) of social distancing in the US in order to deal with COVID-19 as a society. However, the virus will come back and we’ll basically have a roller coaster of “social restrictions, easing up, social restrictions, easing up … to try to smooth out the demand on the health care system.”

It is unclear how things will actually proceed in the United States. Some states have avoided implementing any public policies in response to the pandemic, and there aren’t yet many firm recommendations or policies coming from the White House. Some states are shutting everything down, while others are leaving everything open.

Furthermore, the economic impact we are gliding into is unprecedented. I expect a large stimulus package to be passed by Congress soon, but there has been an unacceptable delay moving this package out the door, which has been making tens of millions of people nervous about paying their bills. One executive in the hospitality industry estimated last week that 1 million hospitality workers had lost their jobs in one day. There is a big question mark about whether or not Congress is going to go “big enough” on the stimulus package.

Even if it is big enough for this month, the completely uncharted territory we seem to be entering holds a large question mark about what might be needed beyond March and April. If we will indeed have another 8–12 weeks of near lockdown followed by cycles of varying levels of social restrictions (something that is simply a common proposal from medical professionals right now), that is like nothing the United States has ever gone through. There are almost no models even exploring what happens in such a situation.

This overall societal problem is what is technically termed a “wicked problem” in city planning. There are so many effects and side effects to every decision that there is no clear path forward that is absolutely, definitely best. Furthermore, the “problem” is constantly changing, or evolving. In a narrow sense, it is clear that self-isolation and shutting everything down early has worked best in this pandemic. Korea seemed to nail it. Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong followed a similar course.

However, that doesn’t necessarily explain how we should deal with this in the long term (if the problem doesn’t disappear like a “miracle” someday).

One thing to remember is that we are architects of our own destiny. We create positivity with positivity, and we create fear with fear. We are — every single day — creating our future and influencing the future of the world. In times of disruption and change, we are more likely to break out of habits or complacency and make more dramatic turns in one direction or another. If we focus on positive, evolutionary, uplifting actions, attitudes, and agendas, we are more likely to create a better world than the one that preceded this pandemic.