Muh Muh Muh My Corona (virus)

News: How will the COVID-19 pandemic end? (The Los Angeles Times) - Behind the headlines - NLM

The massive number of "essential" occupations ensures that there was no way tens of millions of people would be staying home anyway.

 

It was a pretty common thought four years ago — isolate and it’ll burn out just like SARS did.

Big differences are that A) SARS was largely contained to five Asian countries, and 2) the kind of lockdown those countries endured is completely untenable and impossible in the U.S. Like, strict quarantines to the point where sick people were basically imprisoned in hospitals or hotels that governments took over.

By the time COVID got to our shores, there were already a half-million cases worldwide. By comparison, there were 8,000 cases of SARS, total.

 

Also, what happened here was in no way, shape or form a “lockdown.”

We were never, for example, going to mobilize police or military to keep people isolated.

 

Still can't believe some of the shit we went through in the first few months. Duct tape on the floor every six feet at the registers. Wiping down the belt and counter after every customer. Our store manager made up t-shirts for some of the baggers who were redeployed to the "sanitation crew" to wipe down all the shopping carts and monitor how many people were going in and out of the store. I suggested a red rope like at dance clubs. Dealing with maskholes and hoarders. The best part may have been closing at 9 p.m. instead of being open 24/7 so the stockers could get their work done without any bs. That and coming home one night to see our RSN was replaying some Giants World Series games - in this case, Pablo Sandoval's three-homer game vs. the Tigers in 2012 - settling down in front of the tube, beer in hand, and watching it like it was the most normal thing in the world.

 

Among the craziest things I remember from the stores
1) Having to do shopping at 6am (unless it was dedicated time for senior shopping) because otherwise everything was picked over. I also did this right before the shutdown just to get TP. Won't ever forget a dude trying to bring an entire box he lifted from the stocker to the checkout. Think he was told to put it back.

2) Having to line up outside the store. It was never more than 5 minutes, but it was still a thing.

3) Not being allowed to use the reusable bags. They temporarily stopped charging for bags, but I thought it was dumb.

 

Santa Cruz County declared the pot shops essential businesses!

 

I remember a conversation about whether liquor stores should be open. Someone pointed out no booze is actually a health concern because of physical withdrawal.

 

Follow the science

Opinion | Why the Pandemic Probably Started in a Lab, in 5 Key Points

Man. We were lied to, weren't we?

 

I appreciate your commitment to objectivity.

The Lancet letter in February 2020 was not a tire kicking, or even particularly science. It was "back off" statement. It called the lab leak argument a "conspiracy theory" and "misinformation."

And people did back off, too. For a good long while. It shaped reporting. It shaped our mindset, too.

 

The "conspiracy theory" and the "misinformation" was that the virus was created and released intentionally.