Now that the Wuhan Virus outbreak has peaked, the newly self-appointed despots known as governors and mayors are doubling down on their seemingly limitless ability to restrict our freedoms.
For the past six weeks of essentially house arrest in Illinois, we have been able to go to the few “essential” businesses allowed to be open without wearing masks. During this time we have “flattened the curve” and are on the way down. Here are daily deaths and emergency room visits in Chicago due to influenza-like Illnesses:
Deaths are being inflated so that if you die of a drug overdose but also had the virus you’re counted as a COVID-19 death. Even so, it’s clear we have peaked. Hospitalizations are probably the only reliable metric left and clearly show a peak in the middle of March for all age groups and the beginning of April for people greater than 65 years old.
All this has taken place without requiring people to wear masks. Now that we’re on the downward side of the slope, Governor Pritzker has made a new edict that we must now wear masks to visit those same businesses. Apparently that’s his definition of loosening restrictions. And individual mayors have proclaimed their own edicts to the same effect, because they don’t want to come off their own power trip either.
Not to be outdone, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is now opening some parks. We are now allowed to go boating but no more than two people in a boat. No mention of family members. Apparently you can have three family members at home and they’re safe, but as soon as they get into a boat they’re unsafe. You don’t have to wear a mask in your home (yet) but you’d better wear masks if you get into the boat in the fresh outdoors, even though we know that ample sunshine will quickly kill the virus and the wind disperses it so it’s almost impossible to catch it outdoors. But that might make those little viruses mad and maybe they’ll target you like angry bees.
One thing’s for sure, you don’t need an IQ test to hold public office. Just delusions of grandeur.
Richard J. Wright, a chemist and information technology specialist, has been tracking the official Covid-19 epidemic (SARS-CoV-2 virus) data and assessing our government’s disease progression modeling, plus responses, at virtualwright.com.
A story to lasso and keep in tow, this also passed along by the author.