mask

COVID-19: Finding Fault (Part 2)

(CONTINUED from Part 1)

In China, they halted the spread by shooting people who broke curfew.  Doors were locked for months, and if you went hungry, too damn bad.  It still got out because there’s a privileged upper class that habitually ignores the laws, and now there’s new outbreaks because it’s a sneaky bastard of a virus, but for a while it worked.

In New Zealand, they beat the epidemic by sealing the borders.  Anyone that came in was put up in a hotel room for three weeks and tested repeatedly, and health care workers lived in quarantine.  But they did well primarily through stopping it at a few dozen cases at a time.

In the United States, when we (more…)

COVID-19: Finding Fault (Part 1)

(Editor’s Note:  This is closing on 3000 words and growing, and even the best rants start losing people around the 1500 mark, so I’m chopping it into its component parts.  Expect further installments.)

I have evidently been guilty of failing to express myself plainly.  To be clear, then:  When I say “This is all your fault”, I’m not implying that it might be someone else instead.  I blame you.

I’m saying that all this is your fault.  You personally.  Yes, you, the one reading this right now.  I know you don’t believe me, and if you’re starting to… no, it’s too farfetched, and you just think I’m nuts.  Too damn bad, because it’s all your fault.  You’re the one (more…)

COVID-19: Goggles And Gloves?

There’s a great deal of information available on protective gear and its recommended use during the present pandemic.  In a healthcare environment, full gowns, face shields, masks, and gloves are frequently used when there’s any great chance of exposure.  The general public, on the other hand, is advised to wear cloth masks, wash their hands, and stay away from people.

But there a lot of essential workers out there who have no choice but to deal with the outside world and (more…)

Masks, Handwashing, and Social Distancing: The Science

The following is basic medical knowledge backed by science, and I’ve linked the science for you.  Very little of this is new; the concepts have been around for quite a while now, and we’ve spent decades refining our knowledge.  Most is not a matter for discussion; it is factual rather than opinion, and should be treated as such. (more…)

FAKE NEWS: Face Masks?

Obviously there’s no government “Freedom To Breathe Agency”.  It’s a private group out to sell cards, which unless you’re very lucky will not help you one bit.  You would be ill-advised to rely on one of these to evade arrest.

But you didn’t need anyone to tell you that.  You already knew it.

That’s why we’ll discuss other things, such as whether having a legitimate medical condition is enough to get you out of wearing a mask (more…)

It’s Not About Me

I keep having to tell myself that:  It’s not about me, I say.  And then fifteen seconds later it becomes about me again.  Pretty silly, isn’t it?

When I go outside wearing a mask, I can’t breathe.  I get light-headed; there’s a tightness in my chest; I get dizzy.  My lungs are going like a bellows in a steel mill and my heart’s like a jackhammer.  It’s called a panic attack, they tell me, though like Paul Vitti I object strongly to that term.  To me, it’s that I’m overheating and can’t get enough air.  That will always be my private interpretation, no matter that my brain tells me otherwise. (more…)

On The Twelfth

We’re having a great debate in this country, and as per usual it’s about the wrong things.

When I say the words “great” and “debate” in this context, I’m being misleading.  It’s more of a drunken argument between ignorance and stupidity somewhat reminiscent of politics and religion over post-Thanksgiving football between (more…)

COVID-19: Armchair Quarterbacking

There’s a ton of anger toward Donald Trump for his mishandling of the present outbreak.  I understand it; at present, I myself am quite disappointed.  There’s a few things that ought to have been done much sooner, and we should examine them.

We have too few doctors, nurses, nurse’s aides, people trained in hazmat disposal, (more…)

You Don’t Need A COVID-19 Test

…probably.  Yes, one or two of you do, but if so you’re in the hospital right now because you can’t breathe, and so you’re probably not reading this.

Bear in mind:  I’m writing this with a persistent sore throat, bad lungs, and a massive case of paranoia.  It might just be the damned cherry blossoms and the annual pollen dump; it might be the coronavirus.  I have no (more…)

COVID-19: Flattening The Curve

Here’s what is meant by mitigating and flattening the curve.

COVID-19 has between a 5 and 20% hospitalization rate for severe symptoms.  If it infected as many people in the U.S. as influenza we would be looking at a minimum of 1.7 million people in need of hospitalization — and not just for a few days.

No country in the world is prepared to take on this kind of caseload quickly. (more…)