When COVID lockdowns first hit the West in March, they were touted as a means of “flattening the curve,” preventing hospital intensive care units from being overwhelmed by a huge number of patients. But the lockdowns dragged on, and months after they first were implemented, governments have continued to leave in place restrictions on mass gatherings, sporting events, and religious services. How effective have those restrictions been, and do lockdowns continue to make sense?
As we’ve seen in many areas of the US, COVID cases rose in recent weeks, despite mask mandates and size limits on gatherings. In many communities, case loads are now higher than they were in the spring, although hospitalizations and deaths are lower. That in many ways reflects the seasonal nature of illnesses such as the common cold or the flu, which peak in the colder winter months and dissipate in spring and summer.
In fact, given the spread of COVID today and the fact that new restrictions on dining, churchgoing, and other social activities have been implemented, it’s hard to see how lockdowns have been at all effective. Viruses are going to spread, regardless of the wishes of government officials. All that lockdowns are good at doing is destroying economies.
The US economy collapsed by more than 30% in the second quarter of 2020, and despite its recovery in the third quarter is still down nearly 10% compared to the first quarter of the year. And none of that did anything to stop the spread of COVID. It’s almost as though viruses don’t care what governments do or bother to check with government officials before replicating and spreading. We know that, of course, but our “leaders” today have the same levels of arrogance as King Canute’s advisors, and are probably not nearly as well-educated.
All we need to know about coronavirus we can learn from the numbers. Daily case numbers are 6-10 times higher than they were in the spring, yet daily deaths never exceeded springtime highs, and both cases and deaths now appear to be dropping. To sum things up, COVID seems to have run its course, having killed those most vulnerable already, and the US population is now becoming more resistant to the virus. But we’re still held hostage by governments that ignore the science and the numbers in their lust to control us and take credit for “defeating” the virus. How long must we suffer this indignity?
This article was originally posted on Red Tea News.
