Written by Michael Palomba
A recent editorial published by the The Sacramento Bee claims that California finally reopening is a “dangerous experiment” and that residents shouldn’t “be a COVID-19 guinea pig.”
Very early in the article the author mentions that the US death toll has “crept past 100,000.” While that is true, and a tragedy, I worry that people are using the number for its shock factor. The 100,000 number sounds like a lot, but we live in a country of 382,000,000 people; 100,000 people make up 0.026% of the population.
Compare that to Italy, and the U.S. is doing much better. Italy has had 33,415 deaths and has a population of over 60,000,000. So with a population five times that of Italy, the U.S. has a far lower proportion of deaths.
That doesn’t make these deaths any less tragic, but it’s important to look at the big picture. The United States is doing a fine job in its coronavirus response.
The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board then discusses that countries like Germany, Singapore, and South Korea experienced resurgences after reopening too quickly. Despite that, all of those countries continue to roll back coronavirus-related restrictions.
The board also mentioned that Lassen County “is believed to be the first in California to retract its plan to reopen because of a potential new outbreak.” The lockdown was reimposed after only four people tested positive, which seems like quite the overreaction if you ask me.
Data from other states, however, contradicts the editorial board’s belief that reopening is a “dangerous experiment.” Take Florida, for example. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis began lifting coronavirus restrictions a month ago. Since then, the state has seen no spike in hospitalizations, cases, or deaths. Additionally, City Journal reports that fewer Floridians have died from COVID-19 than those in New York’s nursing homes. The latest data show 2,259 deaths in Florida compared to 5,800 deaths of nursing home residents in New York.
Reopening in Dallas, Texas is also proving to be successful. The Dallas Morning News reports that this week’s daily case average is 200, which is down from 233 last week. There have been 40 deaths, compared to 27 last week, but hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and emergency room visits have remained flat. Dallas County Judge Clay Henkins signaled that this is good news, but residents should still act with caution.
“Overall, this week has been good news and we will hopefully begin to see a decline, but that is entirely up to you,” Jenkins said in a written statement. “We must all make good decisions and focus not on what is legal, but on what is safe … Avoid crowds, when you must be in a crowd wear a face covering and maintain 6 foot distancing, and practice good hygiene by washing your hands regularly.”
While we obviously want to prevent as many people from contracting the virus as possible, the side effects of lockdown orders are proving to be worse than the virus itself. Mental health problems, suicide, and domestic abuse are all on the rise. Meanwhile, peoples’ physical health and overall well-being have been on a sharp decline. Not to mention all of the financial problems that have resulted from these lockdowns.
The time to end the unconstitutional, crippling lockdown in California is now. Those who feel at risk still have the right to stay home, but the rest of the state and country should not be forced to do the same.
