"Lockdowns were for naught"

[Wherryj]

So a virus known to impact overweight people with low vitamin D can't be stopped by locking people in their homes with no exercise or sunlight? Who could have foreseen this?

This statement also ignores the fact that a virus that is readily transmissible but not universally fatal will continue on in high enough amounts in the population to allow a lockdown to serve as nothing but a temporary delay in cases. As soon as people venture out, the virus spikes again as if nothing happened.

Lockdowns likely only work for low level contagious illnesses without an asymptomatic vector to harbor it or for quickly lethal varieties like Ebola. If you can just wait those out, the virus kills everyone infected then disappears. That isn't going to happen with things like Coronavirus, influenza, etc. so even in the best case a lockdown can't be expected to do anything except delay the inevitable. That is without considering the damage done by the lockdown itself of course.

[ACfixer]

Hard to say it much better than that.

[WWDHD?]

I heard this analogy the other day:

When Gavin said we need to "Flatten the Curve" for two weeks and we all agreed it was best to lock-down and stay home- that was the moment we all got into the car with the kidnappers and we were never seen again.

[ACfixer]

I heard this analogy the other day:

When Gavin said we need to "Flatten the Curve" for two weeks and we all agreed it was best to lock-down and stay home- that was the moment we all got into the car with the kidnappers and we were never seen again.

Good one.

[therealnickb]

Yep. However, I never got in the car. Never will.

[TrappedinCalifornia]

Strange because CA still has draconian rules for certain businesses (mostly medical), so they are continuing with the lockdowns even with mounting evidence that all they do is destroy lives and businesses. Par for the course, unfortunately.

This statement also ignores the fact that a virus that is readily transmissible but not universally fatal will continue on in high enough amounts in the population to allow a lockdown to serve as nothing but a temporary delay in cases. As soon as people venture out, the virus spikes again as if nothing happened.

Lockdowns likely only work for low level contagious illnesses without an asymptomatic vector to harbor it or for quickly lethal varieties like Ebola. If you can just wait those out, the virus kills everyone infected then disappears. That isn't going to happen with things like Coronavirus, influenza, etc. so even in the best case a lockdown can't be expected to do anything except delay the inevitable. That is without considering the damage done by the lockdown itself of course.

I was visiting someone I know in a long-term care facility recently. That facility has had recurring problems with COVID lock downs; mostly or almost exclusively due to staff becoming 'infected.' (Mostly testing positive or reporting having been in proximity to someone who tested positive or were sick.) I'm not sure that any of the patients who 'tested positive' ever actually died from COVID. However, I do know that any number of them who did 'test positive' were initially quarantined and now only the floor is quarantined, where patients are allowed to intermingle unless showing active signs, which, according to everything we know, is already too late to halt transmission.

It's kinda strange. All staff must wear masks any time they are outside the staff-only rooms. Visitors are encouraged to wear masks, but evidently not required as I wandered around maskless and no one said anything. (Though I believe some of the looks I got from staff were more envy than daggers.)

Another person I've known for 30 years came up and nudged me with an elbow when I was there. It appeared he was visiting someone as well. He's starting to crowd 80 and he too was maskless so far as when I saw him in the hallways. So...

The new 'policy' began in November, just in time for Thanksgiving, and so far as I know, no concerns (or even 'positive test' cases) have been reported. Ostensibly, they claim to be bound by California State rules.

Let's just say it is a tremendous relief to the patients to be able to have unfettered visitations again and, so far as I know, none of them are complaining about visitors not wearing masks.

[LBDamned]

The mask thing has literally become part of 'political correctness' - nothing more.

It is solely to not offend (some) others... like all PC issues.

I've had a few visits recently for hand issue... the front check-in staff are obligatory masked... patient/doctor area is more realistic and starts with mask facade (sometimes) - none of the clerical staff in the back are masked - doc walks in room masked - I ask "are we still doing the mask thing?" - doc pulls down mask and we discuss hand issue.

Hand surgeons office had no one wearing mask at all.

It's 100% to appease (some) people - like all other politically correct issues are.

PC has ruined society.

[Garand Hunter]

I repeatedly told the twoo mask believers how about your eyes and ears ? Ya know about the tube in the corner of your eyes that goes into your sinus and the tube that goes from your ears into your throat ? They would NOT acknowledge that ! What is that mask doing for you, one out of three openings ? I usually left their arse orifice out of the issues at hand.

Psalm 1

[Libertarian777]

LA county mask mandate are basaack.

Waiting for resolution of the court case for that church in San Jose, where Santa Clara county health (Sarah Cody) admitted the only 'evidence' they had for the masks was the poorly run Bangladesh study, which, amongst others, proved purple masks work better than blue and that the effect of masks work for people under 50 but not over 50.
Magic masks I call it

[theLBC]

up to last year, an outrageous percentage of deaths had occurred in old people homes, in the states (5) where the governors forced covid+ patients into them.

[TrappedinCalifornia]

I was visiting someone I know in a long-term care facility recently. That facility has had recurring problems with COVID lock downs; mostly or almost exclusively due to staff becoming 'infected.' (Mostly testing positive or reporting having been in proximity to someone who tested positive or were sick.) I'm not sure that any of the patients who 'tested positive' ever actually died from COVID. However, I do know that any number of them who did 'test positive' were initially quarantined and now only the floor is quarantined, where patients are allowed to intermingle unless showing active signs, which, according to everything we know, is already too late to halt transmission.

It's kinda strange. All staff must wear masks any time they are outside the staff-only rooms. Visitors are encouraged to wear masks, but evidently not required as I wandered around maskless and no one said anything. (Though I believe some of the looks I got from staff were more envy than daggers.)

Another person I've known for 30 years came up and nudged me with an elbow when I was there. It appeared he was visiting someone as well. He's starting to crowd 80 and he too was maskless so far as when I saw him in the hallways. So...

The new 'policy' began in November, just in time for Thanksgiving, and so far as I know, no concerns (or even 'positive test' cases) have been reported. Ostensibly, they claim to be bound by California State rules.

Let's just say it is a tremendous relief to the patients to be able to have unfettered visitations again and, so far as I know, none of them are complaining about visitors not wearing masks.

Just as a follow-up...

I got a call this morning from the person I was visiting and told that someone knows someone who tested positive and that they might go on lock down again.

I called the receptionist and the 'must wear a mask when visiting' is back on, but no lock down seems to be pending, for now.

All I can say is...

[bigbossman]

LA county mask mandate are basaack.

Waiting for resolution of the court case for that church in San Jose, where Santa Clara county health (Sarah Cody) admitted the only 'evidence' they had for the masks was the poorly run Bangladesh study, which, amongst others, proved purple masks work better than blue and that the effect of masks work for people under 50 but not over 50.
Magic masks I call it

I just returned to my home in Idaho, after a 10 day trip to northern and then southern CA. My observations -

In the Boise airport, maybe one or two masks seen, mostly old folks. Landing in San Jose, about 20% were wearing masks, mostly Asians or man-bun boys and their partners. Spent the day in San Ramon, saw a pretty good sprinkling of masks.

Flew into Burbank and saw about 40% of the people were masked up, and it was here that I witnessed my first double-mask on the trip. Out and about in the SFV for several days, easily 50% of the folks were masked up.

I never once put on a mask, and no one asked me to. If there is a mandate in effect, it is not being communicated or observed.

Flew home yesterday - Soooooooo glad to be back among sane people again.

[Creeping Incrementalism]

I checked a different source than the article mentioned in the original post, and it showed Sweden was about average for Western countries in all-cause excess cumulative mortality. Sweden is less than the U.K., U.S., France, or Germany, but higher than most other Scandinavian countries (except Finland) and higher then Canada, Australia and Japan & Korea. The source I found used the Economist's "estimated" excess mortality rate since 1/1/2020. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/e...ND~USA~IDN~BRA

Either way, I think the lockdowns did not help keep people alive. People of working age were not likely to die anyway. So all lockdowns did was hurt the economy and our liberty.