13 minute read
Commentary
What can we do? Exercise caution
As politicians, businesspeople, some economists and libertarian-minded individuals agitate for an end to the covid19 lockdowns, the argument invariably brings up the relatively small percentage of virus-related deaths versus the economic ruin these restrictions will cause.
But the question that’s seldom discussed, as we argue over whether the exercise of common sense might negate the need for these repressive measures, is what the covid-19 numbers might be now if governors had not acted as they did.
The anti-restriction perspective asserts that, given the devastating economic problems that could lie ahead, we might be better off with less government control and more responsible common sense behavior by the citizenry.
If only common sense was that common. If it was, to cite some examples from everyday life, we wouldn’t have motorcycle helmet laws, or speed limits. We wouldn’t have laws that prohibit throwing objects at vehicles, property or persons, or have, as Ocean City does, a law that prohibits landing an aircraft in town. Obviously, government officials and ordinary citizens have seen common sense thrown out the window so many times that it defies the imagination to believe that suddenly it will dominate our behavior. Hence these shackles on our liberties.
The question, however, remains: have these lockdowns done more harm than good? That is unknowable. The only estimate of the death toll of an unchecked covid-19 pandemic in the public conversation comes from Imperial College, London, where researchers in March concluded that the covid-19 fatalities in this country alone would be in the range of 2 million ... as compared to the current 60,000-65,000.
Is that overblown? Maybe. Then again, maybe not. Common sense suggests that governments need to react to what’s in front of them based on the advice of experts and their own opinions of public behavior.
After that, no one can say definitively what we need to do, other than to proceed with caution and not swing too far in either direction.
Ocean City Today
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EDITOR ............................................ Stewart Dobson MANAGING EDITOR................................ Lisa Capitelli STAFF WRITERS .................. Greg Ellison, Morgan Pilz, ...................................... Joshua Kim, Elizabeth Bonin ASSISTANT PUBLISHER .......................... Elaine Brady ACCOUNT MANAGERS............................ Mary Cooper CLASSIFIEDS/LEGALS MANAGER .... Nancy MacCubbin SENIOR DESIGNER ................................ Susan Parks GRAPHIC ARTISTS ................ Kelly Brown, Kyle Phillips PUBLISHER........................................ Christine Brown ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT ...................... Gini Tufts
PUBLIC EYE
Navy reveals aliens
This explains everything.
I’m referring to the Pentagon’s revelation this week that videos taken by Navy pilots in 2004 and 2015 really are recordings of Unexplained Aerial Phenomenon in our skies.
So now, when we have reached a point where nothing makes any sense, we know why: we have been and continued to be secretly ruled by aliens.
Obviously, Trump has been worrying about the wrong aliens all this time. Instead of focusing on the southwest, he should have gone to Congress for funding to build not a wall, but a space shield between us and Alpha Centauri. Not that it would have mattered, because it’s way too late for that: we have been taken over by the Pod People and didn’t even know it.
We realize now that the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” in which the Pod People debuted in 1956 and then reappeared in several remakes, was not an unsettling piece of fiction at all, but a documentary shot by someone who, as is always the case with Pod People invasions, is no longer with us to explain how he or she got the footage.
If you think I’m wrong and are skeptical of the existence of Pod People, I offer two strong pieces of evidence, the first of which are these Navy films. Clearly, someone or something was here that did not file a flight plan. Secondly, why do you think they call them Podcasts? Or iPods? Or Storage Pods?
Well, that’s exactly what these latter pods are for: they harbor the extraterrestrials until they can take over a human body, which is then discarded as inferior, presumably along with Win
By Stewart Dobson
dows 8, tape cassettes, and fondue.
And iPods? It makes complete sense now that the reason Apple Inc. was so far ahead of its computer-code writing competitors in those earlier years is that Steve Jobs was not from this planet. Interestingly, Elon Musk, Strange-Dude-in-Chief of Tesla, just seems like an alien, while Justin Bieber ... oh come on, we’ve all known for a long time.
And Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg? Has anyone ever actually seen him blink? I did just one time: his eyelids closed sideways.
Fans of the fact-based television show “Ancient Aliens” will read this and go, “Yep, u-huh, tell it like it is, brother,” because they have been tuned into the truth for years.
I mean just think about how our society has changed over the last several decades. At one time, for instance, this country’s favorite condiment was ketchup, Heinz 57, in fact. Now? It’s salsa. What does that tell you?
Further, if you asked your grandparents if they could imagine gathering around the television to watch “My 600-Pound Life,” they would call you nuts. The truth is the stars are Pod People, multifamily occupancy.
Politically speaking, the Pod People have been in charge for decades. Look at Sen. Mitch McConnell. Any questions?
The continuing uproar over disinformation campaigns, nut-job conspiracy theories, the unstoppable spread of surveillance, paralyzing political discord and, yes, the invention of Almond Milk, are the products of one thing: Pod People aliens. Thank you, U.S. Navy, for revealing the truth, because some of us were having a tough time believing that we were really that crazy. Now we know, it’s not us at all. Oh, and this fascination with taking Selfies everywhere, apparently to prove your own existence? Alien all the way.
We will defeat covid-19, but at what cost? OP-ED
(May 1, 2020) As of this writing, 49,963 Americans have perished to covid-19 and 869,172 US cases have been confirmed.
In response, governors across the country are following CDC guidelines and have issued shelter-in-place orders with exceptions for essential services only.
Over 26 million Americans are now unemployed, wiping out the post-recession employment gains. We have all been touched by covid-19 in some way; whether you or someone you know has contracted the virus, become unemployed or worst case, perished from this horrible disease.
What’s clear is that we are all scared and that is understandable.
A phased approach to re-opening the economy has now been developed. The three phases are intended to balance the risk of contracting the virus with the dire consequences of the current remedies.
While the decision lies with the governors of each State, the CDC and
By Alfred Grasso
Contributing Writer
White House have issued guidelines that are based on up-to-date data and readiness, mitigating the risk of resurgence, and protecting the most vulnerable.
We now turn to our state leadership to Lead. The safe and easy response is to go slow and avoid additional deaths attributed to the virus. However, what is needed is a balanced approach that avoids systemwide risks.
We will defeat covid-19, but at what human costs if we move too slowly?
Let’s look at some less-discussed statistics. Suicide hotline calls and reported domestic abuse cases have increased 10-20 percent since shelter-in-place orders were declared.
Calls to suicide hotlines in Philadelphia have increased about 10 percent in the last few weeks, said Omoiye Kinney, the communications director at the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disability Services (DBHIDS) which oversees two hotlines.
Of 22 law enforcements polled by NBC News in early April 2020, 18 agencies stated that they had seen a rise of domestic abuse reports in the previous month ranging from 5 percent to well over 20 percent.
In the United States, an average of 20 people experience intimate partner physical violence every minute. This equates to more than 10 million abuse victims annually, 1 in 3 female murder victims and 1 in 20 male murder victims are killed by intimate partners.
Seventy-two percent of all murdersuicides are perpetrated by intimate partners. This rise in covid-related domestic abuse cases and suicide hotline calls can account for tens of thousands of deaths nationwide and many more worldwide.
We have yet to understand the effect of long-term closures on those with addiction issues. The United States was struggling with an opioid crisis long before this outbreak. 2018 data shows that every day, 128 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids.
Could a longer “shutdown” have a more devastating effect on those involved in an opioid or other type of addiction?
According to Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) a $20 billion wine and spirits distribution company, sales of spirits jumped by around 50 percent for the week ending March 21. According to Nielsen data, the overall increase nationally for the week, was a 55 percent spike in sales.
An estimated 88,000 people (approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women) die from alcohol-related causes annually, making alcohol the third leading preventable cause of
death in the United States. The first is tobacco, and the second is poor diet and physical inactivity.
The closure of schools and gyms is contributing to a lack of physical activity and a poor diet for children dependent on school lunches.
While shelter-in-place orders minimize the physical risk of contracting covid-19, these orders have clearly caused a rise in psychological and emotional risks that are known to result in equally devastating physical consequences that will endure well after we defeat the risks associated with contracting this virus.
Today, The New York Times published, “Instead of coronavirus, the hunger will kill us,” citing the World Food Program estimates that 265 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of the year.
The White House and CDC phased approach tries to balance both sides of this equation. The governors must do the same.
We must not move too quickly so as to overwhelm and imperil our healthcare systems. But we cannot move so slowly that we do not account for the enduring damage done by closing our economies and shuttering ourselves indoors.
Here is my message to my governor. 1) Strengthen our statewide healthcare system. Protect the staff and See AT Page 29
workers, ensure adequate facilities and supplies, increase capacity by balancing the load statewide, recruit a reserve and ready healthcare workforce: doctors, nurses, EMTs, etc. 2) Test, test and test more. Set up safe and efficient screening and testing sites. Prioritize not only symptomatic individuals but also those most vulnerable.
Trace contacts of covid-positive results, test and isolate if needed. Provide added assistance and resources to those most vulnerable; the elderly, those with pre-existing conditions and/or addictions. 3) Pay close attention and respond accordingly to psychologically induced consequences such as increase in suicides, domestic abuse or alcohol- and drug-related incidents. 4) Follow the White House and CDC gating criteria closely, but don’t hold back. Place confidence in your healthcare system and begin opening the economy as soon as the criteria are satisfied. 5) Monitor the situation closely and be prepared to make changes. Create plans by region so as not to create undue stress in areas that are less affected. (Mr. Grasso, a resident of Lewes, Delaware, is the former president and CEO of The MITRE Corporation, a not-for-profit company operating federally funded research and development organizations. He held the position from 2006-2017 and currently serves as a consultant. He is a member of the Defense Science Board and a former member of the Army Science Board. He is a Ted Talk participant, and is a member of the National Academy of Science’s Government, University and Industry Research Roundtable). Continued from Page 28
Send hugging heart to local AGH heroes Editor,
All of us have seen the images on the news showing the brave caregivers who every day put their lives on the line for us.
We have our own local heroes here at Atlantic General Hospital who are working hard to keep us healthy and safe.
These are our friends and neighbors – doctors, nurses, aides, office staff, lab technicians, ambulance drivers, housekeeping staff, maintenance, food preparation staff, and so many others. We need to show them we think and care about them.
We are calling on our community to show support for our local caregivers at AGH by sending hugging hearts with messages of encouragement and support to the hospital.
You can download images of the hugging heart from the Art League’s website at www.ArtLeagueOfOceanCity.org or on the Art League’s Facebook page.
The hugging heart is available as both a color image to print directly on home printers, and also as a coloring bookstyle page that can be printed for children and family art projects.
Finished hearts can be mailed through the Post Office to: Atlantic General Hospital, Att: Caroline Phillips, 10320 Old Ocean City Blvd., Berlin, Maryland 21811. Or digital hearts can be uploaded to COVID19donations@atlanticgeneral.org.
Thank you, neighbors, for having a heART and sending a hug to those we count on. Rina Thaler
Executive Director, The Art League of Ocean City Opening economy too soon could hurt us
This letter was sent to President Donald Trump and forwarded to Ocean City Today Dear President Trump:
I am writing to you to express my deep concern about the direction that this country is going under your chaotic leadership from the Oval Office as we battle the covid-19 virus.
I understand the increased level of frustration that a reported minority of people are experiencing because of the stay at home orders that the governors of most states have issued.
Now to get more specific.
I have seen you on television say that you, as President, had the power to declare, possibly as early as May 1, 2020, that our economy was opening for business.
This was quickly followed by a pronouncement that really that power rested in the hands of the governors. And now I have watched the reports on television about demonstrators in the streets demanding that these stay at home orders be relaxed in order for some businesses to begin to open, etc.
The really sad part of all of this is the total lack of your support for the governors as they try with all their heart to protect the safety and well-being of their citizens.
In fact, I view many of your comments on this issue as undermining the governors while encouraging these protestors to continue their demonstrations.
My greatest fear is that your behavior on this issue could lead to riots in the streets similar to what we had in Charlottesville, Virginia, a few years ago.
I believe that we have come a long way in our battle against this invisible enemy.
However, we should not attempt to reopen the economy before steps are in place to do it in a safe and orderly manner.
This includes a number of steps that have been identified by your Task Force such as wide-spread testing, tracing, etc.
As horrific as this virus has been, it would be devastating to find ourselves back to square one in this battle because we opened the economy too soon.
In closing, I ask that you be less concerned about the stock market while paying greater attention to the medical and scientific professionals that can provide you with sound advice as to the best way to move forward in these difficult times.
After all, we only get one-shot at getting it right the first time! Harry W. Yeich
Ocean City
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