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Cones are set up to help beachgoers keep a safe distance from one another after Clearwater Beach officially reopened to the public Monday, May 4, 2020, in Clearwater Beach, Fla. Many public beaches and restaurants are reopening as part of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to stop the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
We were told that states ending their lockdowns and freeing the people were going to see widespread infections and increased deaths. We were told that bringing quarantines to an end would bring doom.
We were told wrong.
According to a graph by Axios, states ending the lockdown have either stalled in COVID-19 case numbers or are beginning a decline. This includes Georgia and Florida, which according to Axios are seeing double-digit declines.
“Florida’s new cases have actually declined by 14% compared to the previous week, and Georgia’s fell by 12%,” reported Axios.
Factors that increase reported COVID-19 rates also correlate with the amount of testing done, so even with rising cases in various states, alarm bells still may not be going off, especially since with each new confirmed case and subsequent recovery, the fatality rate drops like a rock. As of this writing, the U.S. fatality rate for COVID-19 is between 0.5 and 1.0 percent.
We should take note here. The lockdowns are currently still in place in many states. According to the latest data, this is currently a useless gesture, and while rates a declining in states that are continuing lockdowns, these states may well be worse off in the long run due to economic collapse. Los Angeles has announced that it may well keep its lockdown in place well into July. Nevada has every intention of continuing its lockdown into June.
If Florida and Georgia are any indications, then both states are killing their economies and destroying livelihoods in order to hide from a monster that isn’t there. Florida governor Ron DeSantis seems to agree that the hype is overblown.
“There’s been a lot that’s been done to try to promote fear, to promote worst-case scenarios, to drive hysteria,” DeSantis said last month. “People should know that worst-case scenario thinking — that has not proven to be true [in Florida].”
There’s still a lot of time left on the clock until an all-clear is given. In fact, an all-clear may be withheld indefinitely and the virus may now be another seasonal sickness we deal with regularly. Regardless, it would appear that quarantines and excessive rules aren’t the solution to this problem. In fact, they will be the start of many others.