What a glorious thing the reopening is! After nearly a year of darkening times, the light has begun to dawn, at least in the US.
Given how incredibly political this pandemic has been from the beginning, many people smell a rat. Is it really the case that the reopening of the American economy, particularly in blue states, is so perfectly timed? Do the science and politics really line up so well?
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For those of us inveighing against lockdowns for a full year, it’s truly been a remarkable week. Restrictions are being loosened or are going away. We are finally getting some truth about the carnage. And we are even starting to see some elected officials being honest with us.
Let’s start in the most locked down state on the mainland:
Massachusetts. Governor Charles Baker, whose pandemic management has wrecked so many businesses in his state, has decided it’s time to open up restaurants and businesses.
A hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center admits that the lockdowns didn’t achieve their goal. Shira Dorn said: “Businesses and restaurants have not been shown to be a significant source of spread of infection, and it’s not clear that the additional measures that were instituted in November and December actually helped.”
So sorry we ruined your holidays and lives.
The egregious limits on gatherings will persist for a few more weeks, but the tone of the argument here has shifted. It is the most significant change in state policy in a very long time. Perhaps people can begin soon to get their human rights back?
The same is happening in other states.
Washington, D.C. will resume indoor dining.
Maryland’s governor has decided that the state needs to reopen schools now and no later than March 1.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of
Michigan says Michigan restaurants can reopen for indoor dining on February 1. Her health adviser decided to resign. Let us hope it is the beginning of many.
Chicago’s mayor is now demanding an immediate opening of restaurants and bars. Chicago is also threatening teachers unions that they must return to work.
New York Governor Cuomo has dramatically reversed his rhetorical course and demanded a reopening of the city. More announcements are expected in the coming days.
Governor Gavin Newsom, incredibly, has lifted all stay-at-home orders across the state and is permitting dining to open up. Many restaurants have defied orders for months now, and good for them. This new announcement shows that their defiance had an influence.
Montana’s new governor has lifted Covid restrictions.
National Public Radio has decided to announce that the virus has peaked.
The WHO is insisting that the PCR cycle threshold must change. If nations adjust, it should make a big difference in the case trend.
And perhaps in the most honest statement uttered by any elected official in twelve months, Joseph Biden said the following: “There’s nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next several months.” He didn’t need to qualify that statement. He could have stopped after pandemic.
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Finally, we have actual experiments in openness right here in the US.
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and South Dakota have all been open since the spring of last year, with life continuing on more or less as normal. The results have been no worse and most often better than what we see in lockdown states. It’s almost as if the virus doesn’t care about your political solutions.
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More:
https://www.aier.org/article/all-hail-the-reopening/
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Originally Posted by Swordsmyth
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