CORONA-19: The mask is off.

This blog began six months ago as a daily encouragement and means of staying in touch, because lockdown already had begun. We faced a hundred unknowns, and had little to go on. We were being told that countless millions would die.

You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to see that what has happened is nothing like what the early models predicted. And yet, for the first time in human history, healthy people were being quarantined. We covered this in BB 129, where we observed. . .

“If you recall, one headline read, ‘COVID-19 predicted to infect 81% of U.S. population, cause 2.2 million deaths in U.S.’ Needless to say, that prediction, thankfully, never materialized. None of the early models did. But it was typical of the rhetoric which stoked the worldwide fear and hysteria which still show little sign of abating. . .

“The CDC web site reports that ‘For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned,’ while ‘on average there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes of death.’ In other words, in only 6 percent of the deaths was the Coronavirus the exclusive cause.”

The facts and figures are out there for anyone who wants to know them. While we began with “flattening the curve” and hospital admissions, now we hear only about cases, not deaths. Of course the number of cases ballooned when tests were readily available. But while the number of deaths keeps coming down, the hysteria remains.

Outside the bunker we see solitary dog walkers wearing masks, as are many in their cars alone. Bicyclists and lone joggers are wearing masks. These must believe that the Corona virus hangs in the air like pollen. That is following superstition, not science, but I doubt you will convince them, and personally, I would not even try, for fear of being called “a denier.”

It used to be somewhat amusing to see this. Today it is just sad. Our parting words are, “Stay safe.” It reminds me of the saying that a ship is safe in the harbor, but that is not why ships are built.

When you ask folks what it would take to get them out of the house and back into society, you still get a deer-in-the-headlights look. A vaccine won’t do it, since it’s not foolproof. Because there can never be an iron-clad guarantee that we will never be infected, we are immobilized by caution, fear, or both.

No wonder many churches have not reopened. Like many businesses, some never will. But what is going to change any time soon? Will we continue as before, or at some point admit that we were rightly cautious of an unknown quantity, and now live in fear of a slight risk?

Hundreds of physicians have called for the reopening of schools and businesses. Some have lost their jobs and have been censured for merely quoted research, even without drawing conclusions.

And for all of the fear for our children, the CDC recently revealed the number of people under the age of 21 who died due to the virus from February through July: 121. That is 121. And about half of those were age 18-21. So for the 200,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the US, about 60 have been school age children.

For perspective, over 4,000 children are killed each year in car crashes, and nearly a thousand drown. Those numbers will, of course, be significantly lower this year, since we no longer are driving kids around, and the pools remain closed. It is true, if we don’t leave the house, the chance of dying from anything (other than falling off a ladder) is significantly reduced.

Am I downplaying risk? Hardly. But I am quantifying and weighing it, which is what we do every day. There is a chance I will die on my way to the office today. But I will take that risk. It’s not a foolish, cavalier risk, and of course, I obey traffic laws (mostly), wear a seat belt (always), and drive a vehicle with air bags (four). In real life we learn to reduce risk, knowing there is no realistic way to eliminate it.

After six months we have weathered the storm, and it’s time to reassess what we do next. Of course we will continue to advise people not to take undue risks. Increased awareness of how diseases spread has been a blessing. At church we will observe the recommended safeguards, as we have since we regathered.

We will continue to leave the rest to individual consciences. But while we must never judge one another’s choices, wisdom demands that we constantly reevaluate our own.

“Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still;
teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.”
Proverbs 9:9


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