I suppose the most predictable thing about the coronavirus would be that people would start to believe it& #39;s here to punish people for doing things they don& #39;t like. It& #39;s really not. Transmission risk is based on factors like proximity, lack of masks and being indoors.

The most obvious example, of course, is people blaming the protests for the virus, when the evidence points to the spike coming more from people going crowded indoor places like bars and yes, church.

But that puritanical streak in American culture, shared by the right and the left, is popping in the anger over people going to the beaches or other outdoor recreation spaces. That& #39;s relatively low risk, but we are so suspicious and judgmental of pleasure, so people freak out.

This is why I& #39;ve been hostile to treating coronavirus as a moral hazard. That kind of reaction tends to lead to more transmission, as we found from the HIV epidemic. What is risky doesn& #39;t map as neatly as people would like onto what they consider morally suspect behavior.