As a confirmed conservative I am always leery of any government intrusion as it regards freedom of assembly and movement. Our government has followed the U.S. imposed guidelines and perhaps instituted them with even more draconian glee. We see many examples of the irony of some edicts; i.e. liquor/beer stores are essential services but religious gatherings in cars outlawed. Is this because 'sin taxes' revert to the state? Similarly, you can buy lottery tickets and cigarettes, big money makers for gov't, but can't buy vegetable seeds at the garden store.
There are numerous more examples, some make comedic reading on social media, but I don't think these control measures are reasonable or necessary.
In Chatham we have had 25 positive tests in 6 weeks with some people staying in hospital a few days. One older lady has died but no tests are positive in senior facilities, very few people have presented with any symptoms at doctor offices or hospitals. Is this due to mitigation or has the infection rate and severity of the virus been overstated? We won't know unless a large percentage of the population is tested for the virus or for the antibodies to predict total infection rate.
Is this virus more or less severe at inflicting lower respiratory disease than the seasonal flu virus or H1N1? I researched the rates of mortality from seasonal flu in 2017 in the U.S. and found that 55,672 died from influenza and pneumonia and a further 160,201 from chronic lower respiratory diseases in that year. Contrast this with the number of COVID19 deaths in U.S. to date of 43,674 out of a total positive tested cases of 897,932. The ratio per 1,000,000 people for 2017 was 55.2, versus 48.6 for the 2020 cases.
This appears to show that mitigation habits for any infectious disease would be beneficial but at what cost? The economy of North America has been decimated, democratic rights have been eroded, people are already testing municipal and state guidelines and policing is becoming arbitrary. e.g. in Petrolia a man was fined for running the track at Greenwood park, alone, for exercise. The small pocket park across from Kathryn's house on Princess St. (not a playground) displays a CLOSED sign, even though it is surrounded by sidewalks legal to walk on. In the U.S., at a Planned parenthood abortion clinic, four pro-life friends on the sidewalk, social distancing, were summarily arrested and/or fined for assembling, while 10 people inside were being serviced. This is called arbitrary enforcement and the Attorney-General will intervene on constitutional grounds.
As we observe the ongoing guidelines for the forty-second day, April 23rd, I will be taking note of the results of this "Pandemic" and will tack on an update to this blog as I see fit.
Now April 30th----the news last night was mentioning the interview of 2 doctors in CA who were suspicious of the total shutdown after their own data in Kern County showed morbidity even lower than seasonal flu. The 55 minute interview was subsequently purged from Youtube because it did not agree with WHO (World Health Org) guidelines. This is clearly selective science, if the results don't fit the narrative then remove the results.
Thirty-five states in U.S. have started to remove draconian enforcement but NY mayor DeBlasio on the 28th fined many at a Jewish funeral for non-compliance of guidelines while nearby hundreds gathered together to watch an airshow over the Hudson River. Citizens won't stand for much more of this.
Now its May 30th....Chatham has still had the one fatality, some migrant workers at the greenhouses had tested positive and were isolated for 14 days. They have all gone back to work. We know no one who has contracted COVID and know of no one else who knows anyone. One of our friends, at 87, has died of natural causes and we couldn't attend a funeral or graveside service. We have not had a Catholic mass in Chatham since March 8th. Sunday masses are televised from multiple cities and we have watched one each of the 11 weeks since.
People are doing a lot of walking in our neighbourhood, we see masks on faces but not a lot, we shop for food and essentials and can now go to the garden supply store but have to wait in lines to enter, also at the bank. Checkouts all have plastic screens and TIM's drive-thru cashiers seem to resent taking your card to pay. No lawn bowling, all cancelled, as are most plans this summer.
Now it's July 16th....The world is still lingering under the crazy idea that this virus is a great threat to the world population. What is not being told in the media, but will eventually be admitted to, is that this isolation was a hasty step which has mostly destroyed a strong economy. The truth of the mortality data will be published, but then the big lie will have to take hold. The unprovable attempt to prove a negative; that the mortality would have been SO MUCH GREATER had we not isolated people and forced masks on people, and closed schools and stores and theaters etc.
The numbers keep getting bigger, but the stats don't change. In the U.S. over 48 million people have been tested and the rate of infection found to be less than 10% in nearly all demographics. Total deaths are tracking yearly mortality for respiratory disease, only 4% of people that test positive are actually getting sick enough to see a doctor and 90% of deaths are of aged and infirm patients.
To-be-continued.
Now it's October 27th.....Still under lockdowns, businesses are closing their doors, but the U.S. election is in 7 days and if President Trump is re-elected I predict that most of the U.S. will begin opening up to usual practices soon after.
The numbers of cases that are deemed positive for Covid based on the controversial PCR test is now up to 15 million but deaths are still only 260,000 so the recovery rates are amazingly high. 99.98% of +cases survive if under 65 and only 2% of older adults die WITH the disease, not OF the disease. This is also being stressed by many doctors.
Now it's December 29th....The two vaccines that have been put in circulation are both producing unexpected rates of mild and serious side effects. SOme countries have floated the idea of making it mandatory to be vaccinated but there is great pushback. Under no circumstances are Pennie or I going to take it. If a "social credit score" is to be instituted we will defy it and see where it leads. I have some very good reasons for not taking the vaccine and will go into further details if things get crazy.
