Rant-y rant

I've specifically refrained from posting anything Covid-19 related, since we're stuck hearing about and dealing with it pretty much 24/7...but I've had a really tough couple of days, am really peeved about a couple things and need a little more space (and privacy) than a Facebook post to rant about them. 

Consider yourself forewarned and feel free to skip this if you're not in a reading-a-long-rant kind of mood. 

Ok...here we go. 

A couple of days ago, two Nebraska state senators wrote an article (included below) calling for an end of the pandemic-related policies and that "the lockdowns have devastated our economy, set our students back, and made the cure worse than the disease" and that herd immunity "can be achieved and the coronavirus defeated in about four weeks" if we open "schools, hospitals and businesses, but separating the elderly and those with certain medical conditions."

Here's my comment when I posted the article on Facebook: 

This perspective is dangerous and completely irresponsible. We have fewer deaths BECAUSE of all the measures we've taken to stay home, social distance, etc. By following and continuing to follow these measures, we're keeping the healthcare system from being overwhelmed, which in and of itself saves lives. Clearly they don't understand how "herd immunity" works. This "just let everyone catch it so we can be immune to it" approach would not only put our vulnerable populations (the elderly and immune compromised) in jeopardy, but our healthcare workers and first responders as well. They're already catching and dying from Covid-19. Arbitrarily adding to the patients they'd need to care for is irrational and unsafe. I'm seriously angry about this (in case you couldn't tell). 🤬

Some other thoughts I refrained from including:

1. How can you be so stupid?
2. Are you purposefully ignorant? Have you not kept track of what's happening in other states and countries?
3. What part of "won't hit our peak until the end of April" do you not understand?
4. Why would you want to put our first responders, elderly and sick in greater danger?
5. How about the people who have reacted worse than anticipated? The people who died that were young and in reasonably good health? 
6. Clearly more people have caught Covid-19 than have been tested. In Lancaster County alone, over two thirds of the positive cases were community acquired. By removing the restrictions, those people who caught it but are unaware would rapidly spread it through the community, which means people will die who wouldn't have otherwise.
7. I understand the valid concerns about how this is affecting the economy, but if we loosen the restrictions too soon, there will be a spike in cases (and deaths), which means we'll have to go on lock-down again, only prolonging the economic consequences.   
8. The Chinese goverment has absolutely underreported the infected and death rates, so replying on information acquired from them nullifies any "findings." They covered up the outbreak, arrested whistleblowers and punished the 34 year old doctor who raised the alarm about the coronavirus. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I have grave doubts that he died from contracting Covid-19. 

Here's the original article that set me off. 

Sen. Steve Halloran: Another view on the COVID-19 pandemic

• Apr 12, 2020 Updated Apr 14, 2020

Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard (Legislative District 47) and I have received numerous emails, phone calls and text messages concerning the coronavirus. They are all very similar in nature.

The details may change a little, but the message is usually the same: “If these restrictions continue, my business will close and never reopen.”

Cattlemen and feedlot operators share with us their stories about not being able to sell their fattened cattle, and when they do get an offer, they usually lose more than $500 per head.

In this article, we will share with you some revolutionary information about how to deal with viruses, including the coronavirus.

This information will be difficult for many to accept, but it is the truth.

We regret that fear and panic have directed our policies in the past, but a fundamental change is now needed in how we deal with the coronavirus.

There is a way back to normalcy, but it does not include waiting for a vaccine, shutting down schools and businesses, and doling out another stimulus package.

We may, by the end of the year, look back and see that influenza has killed more people than COVID-19. While that fact remains to be seen, our nation’s leading experts on COVID-19 are beginning to say similar things.

For instance, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stated last week, “Although one of the original models projected 100,000 to 200,000 deaths…those numbers are going to be downgraded.”

The original models used by Dr. Fauci were flawed because they already had mitigation measures factored into them. To be sure, the Act Now model and the IHME model, which are both based on U.S. data, instead of overseas data, now predict the final death toll to be somewhere around 61,000 deaths.

Because these new U.S. models are downgrading the projected death toll, the question is now being asked about whether federal, state and local governments overreacted to the threat of the coronavirus.

One such person is Alex Berenson, a Yale graduate and former pharmaceutical reporter for the New York Times.

Before the new U.S. models were released last week, Berenson Tweeted, “This isn’t complicated. The models don’t work. The hospitals are empty. WHY ARE WE STILL TALKING ABOUT LOCKDOWNS?”

An early-on, more targeted approach to combating the coronavirus would have been a better approach for the country to take rather than the lockdowns that the current mitigation policy calls for.

For instance, isolating those individuals who are most at risk, banning large gatherings, and concentrating our efforts on hot spots, such as New York City, are three things which could have been done while the rest of the country continued to go to work and school.

Instead, the lockdowns have devastated our economy, set our students back, and made the cure worse than the disease.

The genie has now been let out of the bottle, and there is no way to get her back in.

Another ardent critic of the current mitigation policy is Dr. Knutt Wittkowski, former head of the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design at the Rockefeller University in New York City.

Dr. Wittkowski exposed the fact that both China and South Korea had already reached their peak numbers of cases before they began implementing their mitigation procedures. In effect, nature had already run its course before these two countries began their new mitigation policies.

Dr. Wittkowski said flattening the curve is the wrong way to defeat the coronavirus, because it only prolongs the inevitable.

According to Dr. Wittkowski, “With all respiratory diseases, the only thing that stops the disease is herd immunity.”

Dr. Wittkowski’s interview can found at: https://www.thecollegefix.com/epidemiologist-coronavirus-could-be-exterminated-if-lockdowns-were-lifted/.

Herd immunity is achieved by allowing those who are less vulnerable in society to interact with the disease. According to Dr. Wittkowski, approximately 80 percent of the population needs to come into contact with the virus before herd immunity can be achieved.

The population as a whole must develop its own immunity to the coronavirus.

Few of these individuals will ever experience symptoms worthy of hospitalization because they lack the preconditions for a serious illness.

However, by keeping schools, hospitals and businesses open, but separating the elderly and those with certain medical conditions, herd immunity can be achieved and the coronavirus defeated in about four weeks.

As Dr. Wittkowski said about the coronavirus, “… it will go on forever unless we let it go.”

We agree with Dr. Wittkowski’s analysis.

The coronavirus will continue to spread across the country, despite our feeble attempts to try to contain it. Herd immunity is the only way to defeat COVID-19 once and for all.

Moreover, the current mitigation policies have led to 13 percent unemployment, a 5,000 point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a potential 40 percent drop in the GDP, and a two trillion dollar bailout package from the Federal Reserve.

Ian Goldin, an economist with the New York Times warned us back on March 16 that the U.S. economy would never be able to survive the coronavirus, and he was right.

If Nebraska continues to operate within its current mitigation policy, civil unrest will eventually ensue.

All life is sacred and valuable, but Nebraskans also need to re-open their businesses, go back to work, go back to school, and get the elective surgeries they need.

What better time to get elective surgery and recuperate than while businesses are shut down?

But, we cannot afford to go another day with this current failed policy.

Historically, civilized societies have crumbled from failed economies, leaving them vulnerable to attack from enemies, but they did not dissipate from diseases.

You may not agree with our analysis, but we believe this is the conversation we should now be having.

😡😠😡😠😡😠😡


Rant Part-2 involves Nebraska Crossing, the outdoor outlet mall between Lincoln and Omaha.  I agree with the Hospital Association that this is an irresponsible move, especially since Nebraska isn't expected to peak until the end of the month. The Douglas County Health Director says this development is "disappointing," that if we open things up too soon, we're going to see an outbreak. Again, I completely agree. 


Owner of Nebraska Crossing Outlets plans to reopen mall this month amid pandemic

• By Alia Conley World-Herald staff writer
 
• Apr 14, 2020 Updated Apr 15, 2020

Nebraska Crossing Outlets will reopen to the public before the projected peak of coronavirus cases in Nebraska, the outdoor mall’s owner and developer said Tuesday.

Rod Yates said Nebraska Crossing has an opportunity to be a leader in the retail community and praised Gov. Pete Ricketts for “keeping the community on top of mind and working to get businesses open again.”

“We’re looking at the great opportunity to set some best practices and help our retailers open their portfolios across the country,” Yates said. “We are going to be the first shopping center that opens in North America.”

The president of the Nebraska Hospital Association, which represents 93 hospitals, said Tuesday that the action could “nullify our efforts to this point.”

“This move is in direct contradiction with public health guidelines and poses serious risks to the health of all Nebraskans,” Laura Redoutey said in a statement. “Quite simply, it’s irresponsible for a nonessential retailer to open its doors to the public in the middle of a pandemic.”

The outlet mall plans to have a “soft opening” on April 24 — only 15 days into Ricketts’ plea from earlier this month for Nebraskans to stay home for 21 days, a time period that would end April 30. Officials have said the state isn’t expected to reach the peak of COVID-19 cases and deaths until the end of April.

A “formal grand opening” would be in May, potentially as early as May 1, according to correspondence sent Friday to the more than 80 retail stores and restaurants in the mall, which sits along Interstate 80 near Gretna.

But Nebraska Crossing initially had decided on an earlier date for the soft grand opening — discussing the matter with Ricketts Thursday night.

“We have kept in close communication with the governor, and based on these conversations, we are taking steps to soft-open stores beginning the 18th of April,” according to an update sent to general managers Friday.

“Our governor, Pete Ricketts, has done a phenomenal job trying to create a safe community environment and ultimately setting goals to get businesses back to work,” an official letter said. “We have had weekly calls with the governor personally.”

When asked Tuesday about the outlet mall’s plans to open April 18, Yates said the soft opening date had been pushed to April 24. He provided The World-Herald with an updated letter sent to retailers on Tuesday that deleted the line about weekly calls with Ricketts.

At his daily coronavirus press conference, Ricketts on Tuesday said Nebraska Crossing leaders reached out to him to tell him of their plans.

“I did not ask them to open, but I said if you do, just follow the guidelines,” he said. “If companies are looking to be able to get prepared for some point down the road when those restrictions are loosened, that’s OK, but anybody who’s operating still needs to continue to follow all the guidelines.”

In a different article, Rod Yates described exactly what I'm concerned will happen. 

"We could see the retailers getting anxious about getting open," said Rod Yates, owner of Nebraska Crossing Outlets. 

"My phone has been ringing off the hook with customers asking us, 'When can we get the stores open, we have some shopping needs, we want to get out of the house, we want to do something different,'" Yates said.

It's such a dumb idea it's making national and international news, with the New York Times and the UK Daily Mail among those reporting on it! From the New York Times:

Salespeople taking the temperatures of customers before they can enter stores. Strict limits on the number of shoppers allowed to browse the aisles. Hospital-grade disinfection of any surface on which someone might lay a hand. 

These are some of the measures that Rod Yates envisions for the reopening of his sprawling outlet mall near Omaha, Neb., which he has scheduled, despite criticism, for the end of next week. 

“If you’re feeling good and you’re feeling healthy and you’ve got a little pent-up demand, we’re going to create a really, really safe environment for you,” said Mr. Yates, owner of Nebraska Crossing Outlets, a 376,000-square-foot outdoor complex with Nike, Coach, J.Crew and Kate Spade — 80 stores and restaurants in all. 

Mr. Yates said he planned to distribute 100 infrared thermometers and plastic shields to help protect workers. But some mall employees — even ones who have been laid off or furloughed — said that would not be enough to ease their worries about contagion.

One of the biggest problems with this is not everyone who has contracted Covid-19 has an elevated temperature. It's only one of the possible symptoms. There are people who feel little to no symptoms, which means "feeling good and feeling healthy" are stupid criteria to judge whether or not you should be out among the throngs of people who will descend upon the outlet stores. The other issue is that, while they might restrict the number of people entering the stores, there is no restriction on the number of people walking around or sitting on benches or tables throughout the complex (which aren't going to be cleaned between each new set of people sitting on them!). Because everyone has been cooped up and stuck at home for the last month, Nebraska Crossing is going to be INUNDATED with shoppers, which is going to lead to a spike in people contracting Covid-19. 

If nothing else they should wait another week, getting past the predicted date of Nebraska's peak. 

I'm mostly ranted out, but need to include a couple quick thoughts on the Bishop of Las Cruces, New Mexico lifting the ban on the public celebration of Mass. New Mexico currently has a stay-at-home order, which was extended until at least April 30th. As Catholics, we are required to honor authority unless being asked to do something immoral (CC 1897-1904). So while some of the innovative ideas (for example, having Mass in the parking lot so people can remain in their cars, spaced at least 6 ft apart) the diocese has come up with would be good to implement once the stay-at-home order is lifted, they don't have the right to defy ban at this time. Not attending Mass in person is not immoral, given the current perilous conditions. We also benefit from technology which allow us to attend even daily Mass from the safety and comfort of our living rooms. Through such means we can participate in the Sacrifice of the Mass and even partake in perpetual adoration. No, it's not the same or as spiritually beneficial or fulfilling, but it is a sacrifice we're being asked to make. 

Ok...I think I'm done. 

On a slightly different topic, GISH (Greatest International Scavenger Hunt) is holding a special one-day play-at-home scavenger hunt on April 25th. It will start at noon and last 24 hours. On the 25th they'll email a list of fun things to do and/or create while sheltering in place. Registration is $15, part of which goes to help those affected by Covid-19 (with every registration, GISH is donating 10 meals to those in need). If you're interested in playing and want to join my team, click here to join TeamWerepire!



~ Katie Q. 🐧