Letter: Handling of COVID-19 so bad, government just trying to save face (Opinion)
My wife and I went to Blue Lakes Rd., to enjoy a little picnic. Vehicles lined the road. I could hardly find a place to park.
Back home, we noted crowds out in the commons. Many customers at one business appeared to not care about distancing. I asked myself, what are these people saying by their behavior? It appeared they were saying that they believe this coronavirus is not what the media and the government hype portrayed.
It’s understandable based upon what has been in the news and from government edicts that many people were truly worried and obediently stayed home in fear. However, our county statistics currently show only nine active cases (as of Wednesday, May 13, the rest are recovered). Nobody is in the hospital due to COVID-19 and there hasn’t been one death in a county of 192,000.
Considering this new information, the state restrictions now appear draconian and are most certainly unprecedented in U.S. history.
The statistics now show that given the per capita ratio of deaths to population of the 1918 flu, El Dorado’s share, given our present population, would be 680 deaths by the end of the pandemic.
How about the 1968 flu? Deaths were over 100,000 in the U.S. with two-thirds our present population. For COVID-19 to be as deadly as 1968, on a national level, there would have to be over 150,000 deaths.
The masses now feel that they’ve been conned into giving up their freedom for the illusion of safety and are starting to ignore government restrictions.
In 1968, some schools shut down, some public offices shut down and yes, people were asked to socially distance and take precautions, voluntarily.
No private businesses were ordered to shut down causing mass bankruptcies. People were trusted to make wise choices. The situation now is so bad in my opinion, that I believe the governments are now trying to loosen up the restrictions in order to save face.
The parade has left and they are racing to catch up. The heartbreak is lost jobs, businesses, a poorer populace, distrust, social pain now and in the future.
Lesson learned.
Leonard Carter, South Lake Tahoe
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