There is Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

I know it has been some time since my last post. I have been focused of late of just absorbing information rather than commenting on what has been happening, specifically the current Covid-10 "pandemic" we are being subjected to. As time passed I started having doubts and so started doing research. The greatest concern I had was that there appeared to be too much panic that did not appear to support the facts. I put these thoughts and concerns down and first tried submitting to the local community paper, the Nipigon Gazette. But the local editor has yet to publish it so I tweaked it and submitted  the following slightly modified version to the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal, that was published last week.
 

The media and our politicians are screaming that we are in the throws of a deadly pandemic and that, in order to fight it properly, we need to suspend many basic freedoms. I too have been resigned to having my rights infringed but with the understanding it is for the better good. But I have been troubled in that, to me, things do not appear as they should; the numbers are not adding up.

I first became suspicious when it was declared that we had reached the “pandemic” stage. While familiar with that term it did not feel appropriate to the numbers being published.  I, like many of us, have been following the reported cases, and associated deaths, worldwide closely for several weeks now. A pandemic is defined as being an “epidemic over a wide geographic area and affecting a large proportion of the population”. The fact it has been reported in most countries in the world meets the first criteria, but cases and related death numbers do not support the second.

There is a web site called “nCov2019.live” that has been tracking the virus for some time. As I write this, April 14th, there are 1,988,816 cases reported worldwide and 125,597 have died from the virus. Scary numbers for sure but let us put them in perspective first to better understand if this is a “large proportion” of the population. Currently there are about 7.8 billion people on earth, or 7,800 million. 2 million have been diagnosed as having the virus which does not look so bad. Sure, it is growing but it has been over 3 months since it was first reported. How about if we look at the numbers from a Canadian perspective?

There are 37.7 million people in Canada. Of those a total of 26,897 have been diagnosed as having the virus. And of those diagnosed a total of 898 have died. While it is sure to climb higher that number does not scare me, yet there is a lot of fear mongering going on right now. So, I looked to see, on an annual basis, what the most recent leading causes of deaths in Canada are. For example, 12,524 died last year from accidents (number 4 out of 10), and 6,235 from influenza and pneumonia (number 8). Even if the death numbers for Covid19 end up being 5 times higher (about 5000 total) we would then barely be in the same ballpark as the annual influenza epidemic yet it isn’t considered a “pandemic” which we do not panic over; we have all come to accept it as a risk we have no choice but to live with.

But it is very deadly you say! Well, again let us check the available evidence. A closed system that has been well documented is that of the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Now I am going to cite from a report issued by the United States Centre for Disease Control issued March 27th. On January 25, a passenger with Covid-19 symptoms got off in Hong Kong. Within days the ship was put into quarantine when it reached Yokohama. The results of the quarantine showed that of the 3,711 passengers and crew that were on board, 712 had positive tests for the virus, meaning that the rest (90.8%, or 4 out of 5) did not, and in effect were immune! Of those that were diagnosed a total of 9 died, or 0.2% of all on board. The other interesting feature of the virus is that it is a viral pneumonia that is deadly if old and infirm or if younger people have pre-existing respiratory issues. It also needs to be noted that the average age of all on board was 60, whereas the average age of Canadians is 41 so the death rate one would expect based on the Diamond Princess data is less.

It has not helped that while worrisome, this “pandemic” is being blown way out of proportion. The fallout is that we are being subjected to what a free society should consider totalitarian measures encouraged by a deeply ignorant media apparatus. While the media should have been digging deep to find the evidence to prove it is the scourge that they pretend it is, they instead are fanning the flames of panic!

I am appealing to all to please relax and calm down! As Marie Curie said: “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more so we can fear less”. The silver lining is that we are now more aware of how we can lessen the effects of the annual flu. Wash your hands more frequently. Give others a bit more space during the winter months. Do not be ashamed to wear a face mask; no matter the quality it is still far better than not using one.

But this is not the time to let our rights be trashed by petty tyrants no matter who they are, using fear of this “pandemic” as the means of doing so. Just remember that the last time personal rights were abrogated by government to the  extents we are starting to see now was by the Fascists in the first half of the twentieth century taking advantage of the fear that enveloped many countries thanks to the ramifications of the Great Depression. Let us not have history repeat itself.