Tag: covid-19

What they DON’T tell you about Covid: Fewer beds taken up than last year, deaths a fraction of the grim forecasts, 95% of fatalities had underlying causes… and how the facts can be twisted to strike fear in our hearts

How accurate were the Government’s grim predictions?

The short answer is: not very. In a July report commissioned by Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, scientists estimated that there could be 119,000 deaths if a second spike coincided with a peak of winter flu. Yesterday, that figure stood at 54,286 – less than half that.

In fact, the second peak seems to have passed – over the past week there has been an average of 22,287 new infections a day, down from 24,430 the week before.

In mid-September, Sir Patrick made the terrifying claim that the UK could see 50,000 new coronavirus cases a day by mid-October unless more draconian restrictions were introduced. Yet we have never got near that figure.

What about its prophecies on deaths?

Ditto. Its warnings simply don’t bear any relation to reality.

During the ‘Halloween horror show’ press conference used by Sir Patrick and Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty to scare the Government into implementing a second lockdown, one of their slides suggested that daily Covid-19 deaths could reach 4,000 a day by December.

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Masks to be required between bites and sips while dining out in Shelby County

Restaurants owners are expressing frustration with the Shelby County Health Department directive released Friday evening, worried the latest round of restrictions will deter people from dining out.

The directive, which takes effect Monday, requires restaurants and bars to close at 10 p.m. and caps them at 50% capacity as opposed to the 75% capacity they’re currently allowed.

Other notable restrictions include a six-person-per-table limit and a requirement that restaurant patrons wear masks in between bites and sips.

“I feel like the health department treats everybody like children,” said Halsey Werlein, general manager of Pontotoc Lounge on South Main. 

“I don’t know how we’re gonna have somebody at each table right after they take a bite or they take a sip, have them pull up their mask,” Werlein said.

It’s a concern shared by other restaurant owners. 

“We’re doing everything that we can and, you know, this is a burden on us,” said Memphis Restaurant Association President-elect Mike Miller, who also owns Patrick’s. 

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Gov. Brown encourages Oregonians to call police on neighbors who violate COVID-19 freeze

Days before Thanksgiving, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she believes residents who know their neighbors are violating the most recent round of COVID-19 protocols, which includes capping the number of people allowed in your home at six, should call the police.

“This is no different than what happens if there’s a party down the street and it’s keeping everyone awake,” Brown said in an interview Friday. “What do neighbors do [in that case]? They call law enforcement because it’s too noisy. This is just like that. It’s like a violation of a noise ordinance.”

The restrictions, known as a freeze, were implemented this week via an executive order by the governor. For the next two weeks in Oregon, and four weeks in Multnomah County, residents are banned from eating out at restaurants and going to the gym, among other restrictions. Social gatherings in our homes are also limited to no more than six people. Violators could face up to 30 days in jail, $1,250 in fines or both.

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Andrew Cuomo’s Emmy Award for His COVID-19 Briefings Is a Disgusting Prioritization of Style Over Substance

He’s presided over the second most deadly COVID-19 outbreak in the country. He’s implemented draconian lockdown restrictions that have devastated small businesses. He’s fought with and mocked reporters trying to get basic answers to simple questions. Now, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) will get an Emmy.

On Friday, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced that Cuomo would be receiving the organization’s International Emmy Founders Award, which “celebrates the accomplishments of an individual or organization, whose work is recognized throughout the world” and which crosses “cultural boundaries to touch our common humanity.”

Past recipients include Oprah Winfrey, Al Gore, and Steven Spielberg. Cuomo will join this illustrious group because of the daily news briefings he’s given during COVID-19 in which the governor describes how terribly the pandemic is going in his state and what new restrictions on businesses and individuals his administration will impose.

“The Governor’s 111 daily briefings worked so well because he effectively created television shows, with characters, plot lines, and stories of success and failure,” said International Academy President & CEO Bruce L. Paisner in a press release announcing the award. “People around the world tuned in to find out what was going on, and New York tough became a symbol of the determination to fight back.”

As of Thursday, New York state has reported 34,206 confirmed deaths from COVID-19. That’s the most of any state in the union, and the second most per capita, behind only neighboring New Jersey.

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