COVID-19 (Wuhan Novel Coronavirus) Pandemic Master Thread

[avromie7]

Abott is certainly not doing it because of science...

He's not telling you not to wear one, he just feels it's time for the government to allow people to make their own choices.

[Lurker]

He's not telling you not to wear one, he just feels it's time for the government to allow people to make their own choices.

Why is now the time?

[avromie7]

Why is now the time?

Cases are down, vaccines are ramping up. How much longer should we wait? I know some people want the government to force people to do things, but others think freedom is more important and people can make decisions for themselves with government involvement.

[Lurker]

Cases are down, vaccines are ramping up. How much longer should we wait? I know some people want the government to force people to do things, but others think freedom is more important and people can make decisions for themselves with government involvement.

Without getting into the freedom argument again... how about waiting until May or June? Cases are down nationally because we're in the short period of time between the second and third waves, but TX happens to have seen an increase in cases and positivity rate since 2 weeks ago. Vaccines are ramping up, but are not yet ramped up. TX has one of the worst vax rates in the country, with 7.5% of the population fully vaccinated and 13.6% given one dose. Their hospital systems also have a history of getting overloaded. It just doesn't seem like awesome timing to me, but what do I know...

[PlatinumGuy]

He's not telling you not to wear one, he just feels it's time for the government to allow people to make their own choices.

I know some people want the government to force people to do things, but others think freedom is more important and people can make decisions for themselves with government involvement.

You mean like whether they should harbor a fetus inside them for 9 months? And whether their defenseless baby should be circumcised or not?

[avromie7]

You mean like whether they should harbor a fetus inside them for 9 months?

Exactly. I should also be able to kill my annoying neighbor because I don't like him.

[PlatinumGuy]

https://twitter.com/travisallen02/status/1367565018137579521

[Lurker]

Exactly. I should also be able to kill my annoying neighbor because I don't like him.

By giving him Covid? Smart. Hard to make those charges stick.

[PlatinumGuy]

By giving him Covid? Smart. Hard to make those charges stick.

His neighbors are all immune already

[yuneeq]

Without getting into the freedom argument again... how about waiting until May or June? Cases are down nationally because we're in the short period of time between the second and third waves, but TX happens to have seen an increase in cases and positivity rate since 2 weeks ago. Vaccines are ramping up, but are not yet ramped up. TX has one of the worst vax rates in the country, with 7.5% of the population fully vaccinated and 13.6% given one dose. Their hospital systems also have a history of getting overloaded. It just doesn't seem like awesome timing to me, but what do I know...

It all comes down to the freedom argument because the science behind mask mandates preventing spread is shaky at best. Texas’ mandate did less to prevent COVID than Florida’s lack of a mandate. It comes down to what the constituents believe and follow. If they believe masks are useless then a mandate does nothing. Texas had more spread than Florida and likely less mask compliance despite having a mandate.

Personally I’m not fully against mandates, I think masks should be mandated in public enclosed spaces and essential stores. Everywhere else should be up to the business owner and patrons. You will find plenty of/most private businesses enforcing masks on their own.

[Lurker]

It all comes down to the freedom argument because the science behind mask mandates preventing spread is shaky at best. Texas’ mandate did less to prevent COVID than Florida’s lack of a mandate. It comes down to what the constituents believe and follow. If they believe masks are useless then a mandate does nothing. Texas had more spread than Florida and likely less mask compliance despite having a mandate.

I'm not going to pretend to know anything about Texas' compliance, but the FL info is wrong. Mask mandates were issued on county and city levels, and were very strictly enforced in many places with fines and citations.

[avromie7]

I'm not going to pretend to know anything about Texas' compliance, but the FL info is wrong. Mask mandates were issued on county and city levels, and were very strictly enforced in many places with fines and citations.

Is TX stopping counties and cities from creating mask mandates?

[Lurker]

Is TX stopping counties and cities from creating mask mandates?

What's your point?

[avromie7]

What's your point?

If not, they're the same as FL.

[Lurker]

If not, they're the same as FL.

First of all, that's not something to aspire to. Second, what did they accomplish? The people aren't more free. They would still need to follow local mandates. And by announcing that the State doesn't believe  these restrictions are necessary, they made it harder for the local jurisdictions to enforce those mandates, or even put them in place to begin with.

[avromie7]

First of all, that's not something to aspire to. Second, what did they accomplish? The people aren't more free. They would still need to follow local mandates. And by announcing that the State doesn't believe  these restrictions are necessary, they made it harder for the local jurisdictions to enforce those mandates, or even put them in place to begin with.

It depends on the county or city, just like in FL. Some have mandates and others don't. Just because one lever of government takes away freedom doesn't mean we should have another level taking it away. Now the counties and cities can decide for themselves when they feel is the right time to remove any mandate from their constituents.

[Lurker]

It depends on the county or city, just like in FL. Some have mandates and others don't. Just because one lever of government takes away freedom doesn't mean we should have another level taking it away. Now the counties and cities can decide for themselves when they feel is the right time to remove any mandate from their constituents.

If that had been the argument from the get-go (like FL), you would have a better case. By accepting responsibility from the beginning, and now saying that the state's health department no longer deems these rules necessary, they undercut the locals' ability to enact and enforce new mandates for the same rules. At the same time, the individual living in Houston has no more freedom than he did the day before.

[avromie7]

If that had been the argument from the get-go (like FL), you would have a better case. By accepting responsibility from the beginning, and now saying that the state's health department no longer deems these rules necessary, they undercut the locals' ability to enact and enforce new mandates for the same rules. At the same time, the individual living in Houston has no more freedom than he did the day before.

These can't both be true.

[Lurker]

These can't both be true.

Sure they can. If the principal of a school makes a rule and then changes his mind and says it's not necessary, but a teacher says it is necessary and institutes the rule for his class, the teacher's ability to enforce the rule is undercut by the principal saying it's not necessary. That doesn't change the fact that the kids in that class are still obligated by the rule that the teacher put in place.

[S209]

It’s easier to move to another city than it is to move to another state, just like it’s easier to move to another state than it is to move to another country.