Time to Pull back on the Coronavirus Hysteria
February 25 Update: There is some cautious optimism that this virus isn’t as deadly as the prediction models are making it seem. In a nutshell, because the very common coronavirus has been around for years during flu season, people infected don’t realize they’ve contracted the virus. They may have very mild to no symptoms but pass it around anyways.
So when some higher numbers of fatalities out of Wuhan started to appear and a government crackdown happened, the rest of the World took notice. Mortality rates appeared quite high but as explained in the following articles, infection rates are probably massively underestimated. The true mortality rate could be as low as .06% which is lower than the annual flu.
So maybe soon we can all take a deep breath, stop freaking out, and approach this issue a little more rationally. We’ll see how the numbers from all the testing in the States works out when more data comes in.
As an aside, does apocalyptic predictions ring a bell with anyone? You know, stuff like, ‘The World is going to end in 12 years’; ‘Ban plastic straws because it’s killing all the sea turtles’; ‘Arctic Ice, snow, polar bears, glaciers are a thing of the past’; ‘Shut down all the pipelines & tar sands because they’re killing the planet!’; ‘Manmade CO2 levels are sending the planet over the tipping point.’
It would seem that the same players, Lefties, Liberals, MSM, that have fallen for and pushed these apocalyptic scenarios bit hard for this latest gambit. They seized down on the worst case predictions, people have panicked, the World shut itself down.
Our populations are primed for Doomsday. Movies, TV, and the media push the worst of scenarios or they aren’t noticed. Keep the people in a constant state of panic and the overlords can do whatever they please. Trudeau almost had absolute control of the country without Parliamentary oversight for two years. Thankfully, the Conservatives stood up to the dictator.
Stand on Guard Canada. It isn’t the coronavirus you should be afraid of, it’s your government.
From the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams), “It is said that despite its many glaring (and occasionally fatal) inaccuracies, the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy itself has outsold the Encyclopedia Galactica because it is slightly cheaper, and because it has the words ‘DON’T PANIC’ in large, friendly letters on the cover.”
Carrying on with the Hitchhiker’s theme, the Earth and it’s denizens were originally described as Harmless then later edited to be Mostly Harmless after the alien field researcher, Ford Prefect, spent many years exploring the planet after he was marooned in Britain.
I would like to segue briefly over to how cattle act during calving season since that’s what we have been doing on the farm for several weeks. Normally, these animals are quite placid, cooperative, and act rationally as much as any cow would. But during calving when their hormones are racing, they often act irrationally or even dangerously. Sometimes they come to their wits on their own; occasionally a good, solid two-hander with a stout stick is needed across their forehead; and for one or two, it’s off to the cull pen before someone gets killed. It isn’t the animal’s fault, they’re just reacting to a very stressful time in their lives. But if a firm hand isn’t present to do what needs to be done then someone could end up hurt or dead.
As it is so with the literal hysteria surrounding the virus outbreak. Emotions are running wild and people are starting to act irrationally. Really, if this was ‘THE APOCALYPSE‘, should your first instinct be to go out and hoard toilet paper?
I place firm blame on our supposed political leaders and the media for whipping everyone into such a frenzy over this health issue. Our yellow-belly Prime Minister decided to run and hide after possible exposure to the virus. If anyone should be getting tested immediately it should be essential personnel. They do not have the luxury of self-isolating for two weeks. Trudeau was never cut out to be a leader and Canada is suffering badly from multiple crises that he has not been able to handle.
Another major blame to lay at the feet of the government is the incomprehensible policy of keeping the borders open even to this minute to people arriving from other world hot zones. The vast majority of positive virus cases in Canada were imported from overseas and mostly by air. A firm policy regarding testing and quarantining border crossers needed to be implemented. The Leftie ideals of open borders has screwed over the country.
That was the inaction that has gotten regular Canadians worked up wondering what they should be doing. In the wake of that, many provinces have over-reacted and have essentially enacted martial law through declaring states of emergency.
Poof! Just like that, our civil liberties are gone.
If you are interested, here are the Federal Emergencies Act legislation and the Manitoba Emergency Measures Act. The penalties, which are administered through summary conviction, are steep. Up to a year in jail and/or a $10,000 fine for an individual. Interesting tidbit from the MB Chief Public Health Officer who declared a $50,000 fine limit and $500,000 limits on corporations. I would be clarifying those numbers as it is not in the present legislation. This is precisely why government should not be enacting these powers willy-nilly. Tossing our freedoms aside should not be done lightly and normally the population would have been demanding a damn good reason for these draconian measures.
You have probably noticed on social media that there are reports of people clamouring to literally ‘bring the hammer’ down on people who are not ‘social distancing’ themselves properly. All over FB and Twitter, people are being chastised for the crime of being outside. Every province has enacted their Emergency Acts. Arrests are starting. Do people realize that we are coming dangerously close to Stalinist Russia?
There is a line where government should act with more authority but in general, it should not because of the inevitable abuse of power. In my personal opinion, after studying all of the reports from how this virus has been handled, Canada does not need a mass lockdown using government force.
Here is some of my reasoning. The Federal government reports over 100,000 tests to date. As of the 23rd of March, Canada has about 1500 cases with 21 deaths. I also follow the MB news releases. MB has 20 cases, all travel related with one non-critical hospitalization. The province has done thousands of tests and has testing stations set up in various locations.
This virus has been compared to the Spanish Influenza. It is not. That H1N1 virus vicously attacked young, healthy adults. The coronavirus mainly is fatal to older people with chronic health conditions particularly lung disorders. Here’s the Italian numbers: average age of victims: 79.5 y/o; only 5 victims below 40, all of whom already suffered other illnesses; and only 3 victims in total did not have other contributing illnesses.
Here is an Imperial College of London paper which also concludes that the oldest in our populations would suffer the greatest. 50% of the infected in China were not even considered as cases. It was the 80+ year olds who suffered the highest mortality rates.
***UPDATE on the Imperial College paper that walks back the dire predictions***
Here’s another interesting, optimistic article from a Nobel Prize winning chemist: Nobel Prize winner shares some good news about the coronavirus pandemic
Canada and the rest of the world needs a coordinated strategy that is based on reasoned logic before we all become victims of dictatorial edicts and destroy our economies. Targeted plans to protect those who are most at risk need to be enacted instead of mass government enforced lockdowns.
If people were falling over dead in the streets, that would be one thing. But they’re not. The majority of people catching this virus will have mild to no symptoms. Canadian cases are barely rising when they should be spiking if this bug was as contagious as it is made out to be. All the testing should have bumped the numbers substantially, but it hasn’t. Hardcore ‘social distancing’ only just started in the last few days, so those already infected Canadians should have gotten many more sick but again where are the numbers? We didn’t ‘flatten the curve’ that fast.
Being safe and not sorry only works if the cure isn’t worse than the disease. Ironic that Canada just went through a period of mass protests where civil liberties were sacrosanct even against popular opinion. Now, it appears Canadians are eager for massive government crackdowns despite shaky reasoning.
The MSM doesn’t help. Here’s a good article on how the media has been more useful at spreading panic instead of useful context about the whole issue. Canadians are under siege and constant ‘COVID -19’ bombardment. It’s no wonder many people are freaking out and are almost literally blockading themselves in their homes.
I will finish with these everyday recommendations: practice good hygiene; if you are feeling sick, stay away from others, particularly the old and sickly; turn off social media and the news, especially if you are feeling freaked out; be patient with the frontline workers, they are stressed and doing their best; it is always a good strategy to use extra civility with others, many people are outright panicking during this latest crisis. Start with a kind word before going straight for the two-hander upside the head. Mind your own business about what other people are doing, if they want to lock themselves down, fine, it’s their choice. If they are out for a walk in the park, piss off with the hostile attitude that they’re contributing to the ‘Walking Dead World Apocalypse‘. You do you and I’ll do me.
Despite the MSM’s fervent wishes and the preponderance of popular Hollywood tales promoting ‘End Times‘, this virus is not ending anything. It will be sad that many of the most sick and aged are going to be the bulk of the victims. Locking down old age homes and hospitals hopefully was an early priority. Not to sound cold, but elderly, sick people dying is a part of life.
What is also life, is that with all this social isolation, Canada is going to have a Christmas ‘Covid-19’ Baby Boom. New life always finds a way.
Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.