I
continue to look for some evidence that a curve somewhere, anywhere, is being
flattened. I look every day, and so far,
the only evidence I have seen is the study out of Israel, almost a month old
now, indicating that the pattern of new cases follows the same curve regardless
of the country and regardless of the amount of quarantining imposed on the
citizenry. Italy, Sweden, the UK,
Israel, New York---total lockdowns, partial lockdowns, laissez-faire followed
by severe lockdown, complete freedom---none of it makes any difference to the
course of the disease through the population.
There
are plenty of opinions out there, and there are many people deeply invested,
politically and otherwise, in the idea that trying to “flatten the curve” by
shutting down society is wise. If anyone
is aware of any actual evidence on this point, please send it to me at duck3351@aol.com.
*
You may have noticed there has been a
major shift in the supposed importance of flattening the curve over the past
month or so. The original justification
for lockdowns was that the onset had to be slowed down and spread out because
the medical community would be overwhelmed.
We wouldn’t have enough hospital beds.
We wouldn’t have enough ventilators.
Therefore, everybody had to be locked in their homes.
At this
point, not even Andrew Cuomo is claiming there aren’t enough ventilators. In fact, medical facilities are being closed
down and health workers furloughed all around the country because there isn’t
enough work for them to do. Thus, the
original stated purpose for driving tens of millions of people into poverty and
homelessness and despair is no longer viable.
And yet, businesses are still not permitted to reopen.
As I recall,
Dr. Fauci himself started the repositioning at a press conference on April 2
when he said we can relax the restrictions only when there are NO new cases for
an extended period of time. (Hint: that ain’t tomorrow.)
Other fans of the shutdowns quickly chimed in, arguing that the economy
must remain locked until a vaccine is discovered. (Also not tomorrow, or even the day
after.) Cuomo himself, a couple days
ago, dragged out the “infinite value of a single life” rhetoric to explain why
nobody can get a mani-pedi for another millennium or so.
I
strongly suspect they have a different measuring stick in mind. On the night of Tuesday, November 3, when
virtually everyone in America has been made so miserable and impoverished that
a Democrat actually gets elected President, we will all be allowed to take our
masks off and shake our neighbor’s hand.
*
In my
job at the Big Box, I must wear a mask the entire eight hours I am working. I find the experience extremely unpleasant. Since this is Pennsylvania, all customers must
wear masks within the store as well.
Over
the years, there have been a number of scientific studies published on the
efficacy of masks in protecting the wearer, or those near the wearer, from infection. Most find that the protection provided is
very low, though there are also many that find masks provide NO protection at
all. On April 7, a month ago, a study published
by Yale University found “no difference in reducing influenza-like illnesses,
either in the general population or in healthcare workers.”
In
February, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams tweeted “STOP BUYING MASKS.” In March, he said that wearing a mask can increase the spread of the coronavirus
if not worn properly. (Emphasis
added.) He later changed his mind.
The
CDC, on January 31, said, “We do not currently recommend the use of face masks
for the general American public.” On
April 3, the CDC reversed itself and now recommends that Americans wear masks
in public.
The WHO
still recommends that the general public NOT wear masks.
At
work, the range of face wear runs the gamut from the professional to the absurd. There are paper medical masks, a few N-95s,
construction masks, Frito-bandito-type bandanas, scarfs wrapped around the
face, ski-masks and Muslim veils. About
half of the employees walk around with their masks pulled down so that their
nose is uncovered, rendering the supposed purpose for the mask meaningless. Maybe 40% of the customers do the same. Also, as soon as an employee enters the
backroom or another non-public area, the mask is pulled down immediately.
I find
it increasingly difficult to believe the wearing of masks in public serves any
medical purpose at all.
Aside
from the feel-good aspect (I’m doing something!), wearing a mask while walking
on the streets or jogging in the park, where they are not required (and scolding those who don’t wear them), is just the
latest form of virtue-signaling. That
has been my view for a while, but I may be changing my mind. Some argue that masks are being used to
subdue us, and that they are physical symbols of oppression imposed by
power-obsessed state governors and our Health Commissioner overlords. I don’t think this is a crazy point of view
anymore.
*
As
tempers fray, the police are being summoned to the store more frequently. Yesterday, a woman in the check-out line
realized she had left her wallet in the car, so she went out to retrieve
it. Returning, she tried to by-pass the
line at the front door but was stopped by a security guard who would not let
her enter. An argument followed. Reportedly, the word “bitch” was used. The woman then drove home and returned
fifteen minutes later with two male friends, who engaged store security
personnel in a melee in the parking lot until the police were able to restore
order.
Copyright2020MichaelKubacki
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment