Seal the Gates

[Steezie]

Its the worst nightmare come true, a deadly virus has been released into a major city. The virus is extremely contagious and is spread through physical contact (Infected sweat, blood, saliva) with a 99% mortality rate. It causes a complete degeneration of the walls of the blood vessels, a horrifying and painful death after a day of incubation.

The city has been sealed off completely but there are people still inside.

You are in command of troops stationed at the last exit point to the city. There are thousands of people at the gate wanting to get out, they are shouting and screaming to get through the gate.

They may be infected, they may not be. Theres no way to quickly test them. You have the city contained and the virus may eventually burn itself out. If it is released however, the disaster would be incalculable. Billions of people world-wide would die before the disease ran it's course.

However if you keep the gates sealed, thousands of people will die at the gates wanting to get out. You have been authorized to use deadly force to keep the city contained and are under strict orders NOT to let any person outside the city for any reason whatsoever.

So do you crack the gates or lock them tighter?

 

[Yusuf Evans]

As crazy a scenario this might be, it's still a possibility. I would leave the gates closed. You have to sacrifice the few to save the many. You can't risk outside exposure, so you quarintine everyone until you have sorted out who's infected and who is not.

BTW, is this some kiind of scenario from a movie?

 

[Steezie]

As crazy a scenario this might be, it's still a possibility. I would leave the gates closed. You have to sacrifice the few to save the many. You can't risk outside exposure, so you quarintine everyone until you have sorted out who's infected and who is not.

BTW, is this some kiind of scenario from a movie?

Not that I know of. The closest I can think of is Resident Evil Apocolypse.

 

[Nithavela]

Close the gate. If it is so extremly contagious some of those people are bound to have it, and if some do they all will in a short while.

So yeah, this is a no-brainer. Braaaaaaiiinnns.

 

[Ryal Kane]

It's also a little like 28 weeks later. The security in that film was appauling.

And I'd seal the gates.

 

[Patzak]

Close the gates.

And the closest movie to this is most certainly Outbreak. A city becomes infected by a deadly ebola-like virus, the government quarantines it and Dustin Hoffman has to find a cure before the city is napalmed just to be sure.

 

[Yusuf Evans]

Close the gates.

And the closest movie to this is most certainly Outbreak. A city becomes infected by a deadly ebola-like virus, the government quarantines it and Dustin Hoffman has to find a cure before the city is napalmed just to be sure.

Napalm? Damn, that must've sucked. Wait, we already did that to Tokyo in WWII.

 

[Cerberus~]

Napalm? Damn, that must've sucked. Wait, we already did that to Tokyo in WWII.

Yup, they were infected with Japanese.

 

[KarateCowboy]

Its the worst nightmare come true, a deadly virus has been released into a major city. The virus is extremely contagious and is spread through physical contact (Infected sweat, blood, saliva) with a 99% mortality rate. It causes a complete degeneration of the walls of the blood vessels, a horrifying and painful death after a day of incubation.

The city has been sealed off completely but there are people still inside.

You are in command of troops stationed at the last exit point to the city. There are thousands of people at the gate wanting to get out, they are shouting and screaming to get through the gate.

They may be infected, they may not be. Theres no way to quickly test them. You have the city contained and the virus may eventually burn itself out. If it is released however, the disaster would be incalculable. Billions of people world-wide would die before the disease ran it's course.

However if you keep the gates sealed, thousands of people will die at the gates wanting to get out. You have been authorized to use deadly force to keep the city contained and are under strict orders NOT to let any person outside the city for any reason whatsoever.

So do you crack the gates or lock them tighter?

I think the only ethical thing would be to keep the city quarantined.

 

[Arnold_Philips]

But what if the ones that live are destined to travel to an old black lady in Nebraska?

 

[Futuwwa]

Keep the gates closed, and shoot anyone trying an outbreak. Everyone inside can potentially be infected, and they know they can be. By trying to break out they're risking to infect further billions, i.e. committing nothing short of attempted genocide just to save themselves. People doing that should not expect to have a right to life.

 

[wanderingone]

Not that I know of. The closest I can think of is Resident Evil Apocolypse.

Nah there was a made for TV movie with this scenario a couple years ago... I forget the name of it though...

 

[wanderingone]

But what if the ones that live are destined to travel to an old black lady in Nebraska?

 

[trunks2k]

Assuming very few limits on resources...

Close the gates to quarantine the city as a whole. Inside the city, there should be tightly controlled sub-quarantines. Preferrably hospital by hospital or something like that, each with quarantined rooms/levels. And directly outside the city, there should be further quartine areas.

The inner city sub quarantines divide the population by areas with little/no known infections, and areas that have known infections. Those in a given quarantine area who are known to be infected are immediately removed to a section with others who are infected. After a given set of time, if a group in the smallest quarantine unit type does not show signs of infections, they are moved up a level, to a safer quarantine level.

Once they've moved up through all the quarantine levels inside the city, they go through a similar thing outside the city where they are quarantined by themselves before finally being released. This may not be at all a practical system for a large city. But at least it can maximize the number of survivors.

Shoot anyone that tries to escape.

 

[TinkaBella]

But what if the ones that live are destined to travel to an old black lady in Nebraska?

Or Las Vegas...::shudder::

Honestly I would guess that a separate quarantine area would be set up for those still alive. That way they would be removed from the city and could be monitored by health professionals who would be working to find a cure. Anyone found to be immune could be extremely valuable. "Closing the gate" is a start but probably isn't enough to stop something like this from spreading.

 

[Cygnus]

I'd keep the gates closed. It's the option that causes the least harm...sacrificing the few for the good of the many.

 

[Cerberus~]

I'ld like to know what you'ld all do if you found yourself trapped inside said city with no sign of infection. What means for ensuring your survival and the survival of any loved one with you would you take?

 

[trunks2k]

I'ld like to know what you'ld all do if you found yourself trapped inside said city with no sign of infection. What means for ensuring your survival and the survival of any loved one with you would you take?

Stockpile food & water and quarantine myself. Hope that eventually the people who were infected had died off, and we'd gotten to the point that people are slowly being removed from the city.

 

[Mumei]

Close the gates... probably.

It depends on how the disease is spread, I suppose. If the disease is spread through casual contact, having quarantining the areas where it already exists and having people stay in their own homes for a period of time would make sense. Not sure what I'd want to do if it were an airborne disease...

 

[WhiteMageGirl]

Why would people be at the gates? I would be in my house, since the virus is not airborn. As long as the town is not bombed, I would be fine. Even if it was going to be bombed I wouldn't be at the gates, because I know no one would open the gates. I wouldn't want them to. My life isn't worth much more to me than the life of one innocent person outside the gates that would get infected by the virus.