It’s time to end the emergency declaration

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By REP. BEN CARPENTER

Like most business owners, I have been concerned about when our government response to the current viral outbreak will come to an end, as it must eventually do. 

It is a question of timing. It is also a question of vision.

I recently received a long sought-after answer from Gov. Mike Dunleavy as to what his vision is for the end state of his emergency declaration. 

His concept of when this thing ends has been a moving target that I hope has stopped moving.

The governor recently declared in his Aug. 22 opinion piece in the Anchorage Daily News that “…no amount of government effort can fully restore Alaska’s economy until a vaccine or cure is developed. We intend to build on these successes as we work to stabilize our economy and improve the lives of everyday Alaskans.” 

Clearly, his intent is for his administration’s response to remain in effect until a cure in the form of a vaccination has been developed.

Gov. Dunleavy’s recent ADN opinion piece and our follow-on phone conversation solidified for me where I think he is headed. I don’t think he will mandate a vaccine cure. We will treat a COVID-19 vaccine as we do the flu vaccine. It will be voluntary and will help to reduce the number of deaths but will not eliminate them.

I believe there are other effective medical remedies for treatment of this virus and a potential vaccination is not the only effective treatment option available but I agree with his vision with regard to not mandating a vaccination.

We may, or may not, ever have an effective vaccine. If there is no vaccine, or if it does not eliminate all deaths, we will likely continue to have medical and political pressure to continue health mandates until the mortality rate reaches a politically acceptable level. A morbid thought for sure, but it is the reality we will face without a 100% cure. 

For perspective, a greater number of deaths attributed to the flu virus each year do not result in medical or political pressure for emergency health mandates in Alaska. With a COVID-19 vaccine, we will likely strive to reach a comfort zone with the number of unfortunate COVID-19 related deaths, just like we do with the flu virus. 

The governor’s end state will be reached when there is an effective vaccine and the death rate is at an acceptable level, however that will be defined. Our businesses will continue to suffer under the health mandates until that time.

Upon receiving the governor’s vision for when he would consider lifting all health mandates, it became clear to me that it is time to immediately end the emergency declaration.

Other states have already done this.

Regardless of the availability or effectiveness of a vaccine or the number of deaths from the COVID-19 viral outbreak (or the deaths from the approaching flu season and other diseases with high death rates), what we will certainly have is fewer businesses and fewer employed people in this state as our economy continues to strain under the emergency mandates. 

Failed and failing businesses more accurately describes the situation under the Municipality of Anchorage health mandates. It is time that public policy reflects the acknowledgement that the COVID-19 virus will remain with us for the foreseeable future and that we must have a healthy economy to be successful in the future. 

The CARES Act stimulus money can only temporarily slow the bleeding; what we need is to stop the hemorrhage. Only a return to a free economy, with no restrictive health mandates, can save our businesses. 

Eliminating the health mandates at the state level will not eliminate the mandates in Anchorage but it will provide leadership and political momentum for the business leaders in Anchorage to reign in their Mayor.

I supported the extension of the governor’s emergency declaration made in March of this year. 

My support was based upon the governor’s declaration that there existed an imminent threat to the life and health of Alaskans statewide, and discussions with members of the administration who believed at the time that the extent of the crisis was likely to overwhelm our medical capacity to respond effectively. 

I agreed to the emergency declaration with the goal to slow the spread of the virus and give our medical community precious time to build up its response capacity.

We have learned a lot about this virus since March and much of what we feared would come to pass has not occurred in Alaska. Our medical community has built up sufficient capacity to effectively respond to this viral outbreak and previous medical projections of the overwhelming nature of the viral infection have not been proven to be accurate in Alaska. 

Several treatment options exist today that make managing this virus more successful than it was in March. Much of our success this summer can be attributed to the quick and tireless work of our medical community and to our fellow Alaskans who have taken this viral outbreak seriously.

We have also learned that less people are dying from Covid-19 than we originally thought. Recently, the CDC released updated statistics that indicate that only 6% of the nation-wide Covid-19 deaths can be attributed to the virus only. 94% of the nationwide Covid-19 deaths were attributed to two or more comorbidities. 

The governor has been very vocal about his belief that Alaskans can be trusted to behave appropriately during these trying times, and it is our behavior that is going to be the difference-maker in the outcome of this viral outbreak. I agree with this sentiment. If we can trust Alaskans to behave appropriately, then mandates are not necessary.

I believe that the Alaskan medical community is doing a superb job of managing this disease and their efforts will only be more successful if an effective vaccine is developed. If there is no effective vaccine in the immediate future, our medical providers will have to continue doing the best that they can. 

We must not ask our businesses to continue to remain closed indefinitely or shoulder the burden of the consequences of the health mandates pending a cure that may, or may not, arrive. 

The best immediate government response to help restore Alaska’s economy is to end the emergency declaration. Our medical community has proven capable of handling the viral outbreak and Alaskans can be trusted to be responsible for their health decisions.

Our government response is now doing more harm than good. There are many businesses that are struggling financially due to our government response and there are federal funds that continue to be made available to help these businesses. None of these financial assistance programs is intended to make businesses whole from the damage that has already occurred during our economic shutdown. 

The best action government can take now is to restore the freedoms our businesses enjoyed prior to the government induced shutdown. Ending the emergency declaration will not jeopardize the continued availability of these financial assistance programs. But ending the emergency mandates will give our businesses their best fighting chance of survival.

The Legislature’s support of the governor’s emergency declaration is due to automatically expire on Nov. 15 without legislative reauthorization. Waiting until mid-November is unnecessary and only continues the harm to our business owners. The two biggest reasons in favor of waiting until Nov. 15 are a bitter pill for our businesses to swallow.

Political campaigns and fear of partisan political power struggles over spending should not prevent the legislature from doing the right thing for our Alaskan business owners and employees. 

The easiest solution is for the governor to end the emergency declaration on his own. I am amenable to dialog with the governor for the purpose of achieving this end in a timely manner. If he is unable to act quickly, it is incumbent on the Legislature to call itself into special session and end the emergency declaration. 

At my request, Legislative Legal Affairs has drafted the necessary bill to modify the end date of the emergency declaration to Sept. 15, or a date of our choosing. Our special session need not be a long drawn out affair and I assume there is little appetite from most legislators to do so given the election season.

There are political consequences in joining with members of the Majority Coalition to call a special session, such as the inevitable excessive spending requests. However, there are political consequences for not putting our businesses before politics. If, as all members of the legislature espouse, our business community is important to us, then we should be able to set aside politics in this extraordinary time and agree to a limited special session focused on saving our business community.

Our State economy is floundering right now with many a hope that things will eventually get better. Getting better is up to us. Providing clear and decisive leadership at this crucial time is what is needed and expected of us. I invite you to join me in a call for action by our governor to immediately end the emergency declaration. If unsuccessful, it’s time to request our legislative leaders to pursue the calling of a limited special session of the Legislature for the purpose of ending the emergency declaration.

Rep. Ben Carpenter lives in Nikiski, District 29, where he grows peonies.

43 COMMENTS

  1. I’m curious how Alaska flu death stats compare with Alaska COVID-19 death stats right now. These COVID stats shouldn’t include Alaskans who died while out of state. (We don’t count out-of-state flu deaths do we?) And the COVID -19 deaths should be deaths actually caused by the virus – no inflated statistics.

    • There is no absolute count of influenza deaths that I could locate. I am sure an analysis of death certificates would yield a supportable number, but that would take more time and effort than I want.

      However, the CDC estimates that AK’s flu burden is in the range of 60 deaths a year. It is important to note that the CDC only considers about 20 weeks of data for flu data, not the full year. (If I remember correctly, it is from late Sept to March or thereabouts.)

      Compared to COVID-19, which has been in AK for about twice that amount of time, the seasonal flu is significantly more deadly.

  2. Repetitive, prolix, and obnoxious nescience. The writer does not know what the issues/problems are and thus fails to present a cogent motivation for a change to the health mandates. And no, influenza does not cause more fatalities than this novel coronavirus. It is currently the leading cause of death worldwide in adults. I would post the link to the evidence but the owner of this site is paranoid about links evidently and uses software to block posts with links.

    • Rob, if you are personally concerned then please wear an N99 mask when you go out and stay home as much as possible. Why do you require an emergency authority that denies nearly 800,000 Alaskans their constitutional rights for something that less than 40 Alaskans have died with, but not all from, in the last 6 months? When does your right to be afraid trample on everyone else’s right to calculate their risk and choose to live? We started on this path by talking about protecting hospital bed capacity and ventilator capacity, we also talked about preserving PPE. Well none of that is ever mentioned anymore. We have never come close to filling our hospitals, ever. We have never even touched the still idle million dollar covid field hospital that used to be called the Alaska Airlines Center. We have never come close to reaching our ventilator capacity, partly because we now know ventilators are a last resort for covid patients. No one, in any state, has ever been denied a ventilator that needed one. We have all the PPE we could ever dream of. Some local physicians helped make sure of that, importing over 100,000 surgical masks on their own dime during the peak shutdown. So with all these things no longer an issue, what are you hanging on to?

      • Well Said. The people who think we aren’t “doing enough” are free to hide in their homes forever. They can live that way as long as they like and leave the rest of us alone. Much like the PFD this about the people who thoroughly enjoy taking from others, their property and rights.

      • You made a mature and cogent response that I enjoyed reading until you wrote fecklessly with:

        “No one, in any state, has ever been denied a ventilator that needed one. We have all the PPE we could ever dream of.”

        Which is pure unadulterated nonsense when reviewing the records. Sadly, thanks to the handy skills of medical professionals single ventilators were adapted to service several patients when a chronic shortage was encountered. Many areas currently under stress state that there is a shortage of PPE.

        My bottom line is medical pandemic and virology and epidemiology professionals and experts should be providing guidance along with social economists.

        • What records Rob? Where were patients denied ventilators and in what hospital(s) were multipliers used? Didn’t happen.

          Where is there a shortage of PPE right now? How about Alaska? Where? I’m here. Working every day. We all have more than we need.

          • Your google must be broken. PPE shortages US gives 4,850.000 results in 0.43s. Ventilator shortages gives slightly smaller response. The ventilator situation is now mitigated but PPE supplies are critical.

          • Read the article from National Review: The Ventilator Shortage That Wasn’t –
            When President Trump noted that Cuomo’s state had thousands of unused ventilators it hadn’t even placed yet, Cuomo admitted this was true but said he still needed more. “Yes, they’re in a stockpile because that’s where they’re supposed to be because we don’t need them yet. We need them for the apex,” Cuomo said at the time. On April 2, Cuomo predicted the state would run out of ventilators in six days “at the current burn rate.” But on April 6, Cuomo noted, “We’re ok, and we have some in reserve.”
            From USA Today: Rare look at stockpile handouts shows which states got ventilators, masks amid coronavirus

        • Rob… I much prefer real world experience and practice over counting google results. Step away from your computer, take off your mask and go outside for some air. Then think for a moment and be grateful your doctors aren’t making decisions based on how many google hits a search word gets. At least now we see where you got your degree in life and where your misplaced self assurance comes from. Now we can all just ignore you completely. .

          • Personal real world experience is obnoxious ignorance. I’m sure you also think the earth is flat, and orbits the yellow sun which rises and sets. Now if you had the ability to do research you’d know none of that was true. Your patients are being treated by a pompous ignoramus. Good luck to them.

    • Rob:

      No. COVID-19 is not the leading cause of death in adults worldwide. Heart disease, stroke, and respiratory diseases far exceed COVID-19 deaths.

      And, given that more then 94% of the deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the US had one or more co-morbidities, it is questionable whether the real cause of death was the virus. That is from the CDC, not some made up stat. In fact, according to the CDC, the average number of co-morbidities each death from the virus had was 2.6. Yeah, the person did not die from COVID, they died with it.

      Finally, the seasonal flu results in about 60 deaths in Alaska a year. Data is from the CDC, and it only encompasses the flu season, not the full year. Whereas, the COVID-19 virus has been in AK for about twice as long as that, and only resulted in half the amount of deaths.

      Oh, one more note. You do not have to post a link to the source. You can cite the source, as in: CDC: Weekly Updates by Select Demographic and Geographic Characteristics

      • “No. COVID-19 is not the leading cause of death in adults worldwide. Heart disease, stroke, and respiratory diseases far exceed COVID-19 deaths.”
        ————————————————–
        The data disagree with your pernicious statement. I would gladly give you a link to the data analysis but conservative paranoia by the owner of the site has software blocking that. The analyses run about 21 days behind the current time because of data lag and verification. As of 8/12/2020 top five causes of death worldwide in adults were:

        COVID 749,358 #1
        HIV/AIDS 607,050
        Suicide 505,350
        Malaria 398,475
        Malnutrition 325,375

        • 2018 is the last year that all data has been compiled and your numbers don’t add up. And this is just the USA. Where is Heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, Flu and pneumonia, Nephritis, suicide? BTW HIV/AIDS deaths are from related illnesses; kind of like the Wuhan Virus.

          1. Heart disease (655,381)
          2. Cancer (599,274)
          3. Unintentional injury (167,127)
          4. Chronic lower respiratory disease (159,486)
          5. Stroke (147,810)
          6. Alzheimer’s disease (122,019)
          7. Diabetes (84,946)
          8. Flu and pneumonia (59,120)
          9. Nephritis (51,386)
          10. Suicide (48,344)

          So I will ask again. Why hasn’t anyone died from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, pneumonia or anyone of a hundred other causes but they have (183K people) mysteriously died from the Wuhan virus?

          • “2018 is the last year that all data has been compiled”
            ——————————-
            That is a fase and obnoxiously ignorant statement. Grow up and put your big boy pants on – I don’t respond to an adult behaving like a petulant child.

        • Rob just cannot stand being disagreed with, it’s almost like the m.o. of a fascist. Call people petty names, attack their opinions/facts with insults. Just like fascism.

    • I am with you, Rob. And after Carpenter’s antics during the last legislature, I continue to wonder how the fine folks of Nikiski arrived at the opinion that he is the best person to represent them in the Alaska legislature.

      • Because he doesn’t blow smoke up their butts and has the ability to read through the nonsense being propagated by mass media hysteria.

  3. Why are we taking about vaccines, death rates and the other bs? Is no one in Alaska dying from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and anyone of another hundred illnesses? Stop the Wuhan madness, stop spouting the talking points and look at the real data. You have been played, this is nothing more than a well orchestrated smoke screen. My two small businesses have been decimated by this nonsense while large corporations have been able to reap billions of dollars in profits. If you can’t get the Wuhan and Costco then why can you get it at Kriners Diner? It’s all bullshit and the sooner you wake up the sooner we can stop these petty tyrants from destroying our city, state and country.

  4. CDC has reported approximately 9200 deaths *from* the KungFlu.

    2018-2019 deaths from seasonal influenza was 61,000.

    • No faster way to throw your credibility away than to racialize a disease that has killed 186K Americans and counting.

      And yes, people who have obesity or diabetes or a myriad number of comorbidities that affect millions of Americans are still, you know, people, no matter how much Rep. Carpenter would like to sweep their corpses under a giant rug.. People who had many years to live.

      • Ignoring the fact that nearly three, serious, co-morbidities existed in 94% of those listed in those stats, as well as the fact that many of them were over 80 years of age, the 185k number is patently disingenuous. The bottomline tho is, you were and are, free to socially distance and mask up and self quarantine, indefinitely if you like. You don’t have a right to force others to. Likewise, you are free to give your PFD to whomever or whatever entity you like. You aren’t free to take your neighbors to do so. The two aren’t related except for there seems to be a propensity of some, to exercise zero restraint when it comes to securing rights and property from their neighbors. That approach, will not lead to productive, harmonious societies. It will lead to bitter, divisive societies.

  5. “…until the mortality rate reaches a politically acceptable level.” This virus NEVER reached a mortality rate that would justify the response we have endured. Population mortality is VERY low. And you can not even compare it to any past flu, the CDC and our national and state response made sure of that. We have never done massive population testing for the flu among asymptomatic people before and we have never counted flu deaths anything like we have counted deaths for this disease. This is the only disease that having it is the only criteria required for it to be the official cause of death on your death certificate. How can you compare these numbers to anything else when they were obtained so differently? If you die of stroke, a heart attack, sepsis, or cancer while also having the flu, you aren’t counted as having died of the flu. So the data is by design apples to oranges, collected to support the fear of covid. Do you personally know anyone in your family or friend group who has died of cancer in the last year? A stroke? A heart attack? An accident? How about covid? Now do you know anyone who had covid? Did they die? We are treating this virus differently on every level. I firmly believe the governor and mayor of Anchorage have killed more Alaskans through government induced poverty, child abuse, spousal abuse, and depression then this virus has killed. Add to that the thousands of lives they have utterly destroyed. The toll of devastation is mind blowing. And the virus did not do this. Stop blaming the virus. People did this. We did this. Our political and media talking heads did this. The ADN did this. Rather than report honestly unbiased information and ask people to respond responsibility, we were forced into this fear chamber, our small businesses (aka families) were destroyed, our access to quality healthcare was decimated, every sector of our economy brought to its knees, and our mental health was crushed. Will one honest reporter please call Alaska CARES and ask them about child abuse this year compared with last? Friends, this is insane. We don’t need a vaccine, it would be great to have one, just like for the flu. If one is developed and properly tested through proper channels I will get one, just like I get my flu vaccine each year. But if I do its not because I am afraid of dying, its because I don’t want to miss work… I don’t want to be sick when I would rather be taking care of Alaskans. Plus I hate feeling sick, LOL. One or two weeks of not feeling well is not worth it to me. I hate getting the flu, so I get the flu shot and hope its accurate that year. But I will not take a vaccine that is fast tracked and not properly tested. Why? Because covid 19 is NOT deadly enough for me to take that kind of risk. I am not an anti-vaccer but I do believe vaccines should be properly tested and and individual choice. I don’t like abortion but I believe that should be an individual choice too, FWIW. For the vast majority of patients covid 19 is a mild illness, barely noticeable. If I were over 75 I would take sen a fast tracked vaccine. Why? calculated risk. As the risk of the disease increases, so does my willingness to take on counter risks. That’s living, thats freedom. That is what America is, or used to be. BUT I am confident we can all go on living right now without a vaccine. Our body is cure enough, and the author here is correct there ARE other treatments that significantly reduce morbidity and morality. We went to school while our friends were falling ill with polio before there was a vaccine. We went to college and military dormitories before there was a meningitis vaccine. All kinds of viruses have crossed the face of the earth and we have never shut down commerce and shredded our bill of rights, until now. Why? We MUST end this emergency declaration. I hope it doesn’t take an emergency session to do it. Because human nature being what it is, this lame duck legislature will not be able to help themselves and will raid the cookie jar while they meet. Please Governor Dunleavy, do the right thing, wake up, clear the mud from your eyes and end your emergency mandates, stop sending us daily covid counts that read like obituaries but are filled only with mostly healthy people. Send your not so stellar medical team home and give them a much needed vacation where they can sing songs together around the fire and sleep in their yurts. The medical advice you are getting is NOT evidence based and does not represent a sampling of the physician leaders we have among us… anyone who doesn’t preach fear and hysteria has been silenced either professionally or on social media. This is the first major healthcare event in our lifetimes where most medical professionals have been completely marginalized. It we don’t support the hype, or say it doesn’t fit with what we are seeing, we are “right wing” and must be canceled. Our community is acting in ways we have never acted before, without evidence to support our behavior, and we are getting results that will destroy our way of life for at least a generation. It is time. Everyone needs to start flooding the governor and mayoral offices with calls and letters. Grass roots organizations need to form to file dozens of simultaneous lawsuits on behalf of each business group directly impacted, on behalf of churches, on behalf of regular citizens whose liberties have been stolen. Peaceful protests involve widespread civil disobedience and lawsuits. There is no data, no mortality that supports the continuation of this insanity. Restaurants and salons, you have been unfairly targeted. There is absolutely no evidence that you have ever been a threat let alone a problem. You must stand together.

  6. Define emergency.
    1: an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action
    2: an urgent need for assistance or relief

    If there was an emergency at the beginning of this scamdemic (because no one knew at the time the full story), there no longer exists an emergency according to the definition. Much more serious and distressing are the joblessness and homelessness resulting from the unconstitutional mandates of overreaching local “leaders”.

  7. These constantly changing “emergency” regulations, particularly by the mayor of Anchorage, just put a local business owner into ICU where he is at death’s door. No, not from COVID, from health problems caused by the stress of trying to save his business and his employees jobs. It is insanity by now. You are safe in a tent but not in a building, you are safe at a table but not at a bar. And what was safe yesterday is not safe today. You could be open yesterday and maybe again tomorrow but not today. No one can keep operating their business like that, every two weeks something else and you have to wait till Friday to find out what you can or can’t do on Monday. This madness has to stop- it is killing people that were perfectly healthy before this all got started and NOT from the virus. The cure is slowly killing more than the disease. Of course there are no statistics for that. The mayor and the governor need to start taking a look at the collateral damage their mandates are causing, especially in the long term. These are human lives as well and deserve the same considerations as those threatened by COVID.

    • Agree. Ridiculousness all around.

      If stopping the spread of the virus is such an emergency, why can the restrictions wait for 48 hours before being implemented?

      And, what really is the emergency? People testing positive for the virus? Apparently that is it. Because it cannot seriously be hospitalizations, Anchorage has not seen that many at any one time to warrant business closures. There is a difference between testing positive and being sick. Sick makes you a drain on healthcare resources. Testing positive means you need to take a few days off and might feel sick.

      I have heard a lot about serious long term effects, but cannot find anything other than anecdotal information about them. Even the CDC has vague information about these long term effects, and almost zero information about how many people/percent of cases that will get those long term effects.

      When I contacted Dr. Anne Zink and asked her to tell me what exactly is so horrific about this virus that these emergency measures are warranted, her response boiled down, basically, to “scary headlines.” Which, curiously was essentially the same response I got from my Assembly members.

      OK, so a measurable amount of people are dying from the disease. However, most of these people already had one foot in the grave, and the other one on a banana peel.

      Where, I ask, is the emergency?

  8. I will be wearing a mask from now until the end of time. since I moved to the worst allergy place in the world, and I am an elder now so more susceptible to the regular flu and the kung-fu I just don’t want to take the risk any mask May provide and also I don’t want to spread the disease if I can help it. That being said, Florida’s numbers have been decreasing for the last few weeks and the governor has just opened back up nursing home visitations. It appears that herd immunity has ran its course down here.

    • I’ve spent a lot of time in Florida during the point in time when it was being promoted as a so-called “hot spots” on the news, and quite frankly the reality on the ground couldn’t be further from such proclamations. Florida not only had a better positive case rate overall versus most other states, they’ve also been more transparent in their numbers by showcasing the difference in first time positive test results versus positive test results which included the same individuals being tested multiple times. In one county, the positive case rate was roughly 8% when considering the metrics utilized elsewhere, but it was closer to 4% when only first time results were considered. This is the catch as well, as most states and locales are utilizing positive case results from single individuals who’ve been tested sometimes a half-dozen times or more, and each time that person comes up as positive they’re displayed in the data as if they are a new person being tested.

  9. The “emergency” never existed in Alaska and the shutdown has already broken the backs of many businesses in Anchorage. This idiocy needed to end in June to allow the businesses to attempt to stay alive through the winter. Landlords are going to be the next level of bankruptcies going forward due to these idiot mandates that constricted the economy.

    • Perhaps the shutdown in Alaska saved the emergency declaration from becoming a catastrophe if this thing had gotten loose in The villages and killed a generation of native elders.

    • I thought it interesting that CDC declared a critical “emergency” lasting until just past the election (although it said “year end” because that sounded better than “until the day after the November election”). So mask wearing isn’t important enough for a federal mandate, but the risk of delinquent tenants catching COVID from a U-Haul justified this action for this one particular group/circumstance. Some tenants are truly impacted. So are some landlords. I’m not necessarily against helping tenants in need, although I AM against an edict putting this entire load on landlords who still have mortgages, utilities, insurance and maintenance costs. It seems the next step is to say “Let’s have a moratorium on shoplifting prosecution because folks need food/cars/computers during the pandemic!” Fortunately for some, CDC decided this “critical risk” ONLY affects tenants making less than $99,000 per year, so apparently the science proves folks making $99,001 are not at risk of catching COVID….

  10. The lack of economic opportunity has made us all armchair epidemiologists with a particularly strong faith in our inherent lack of understanding. The lack of objective data has exacerbated this to a huge degree.

  11. UCLA and Stanford, California, universities, yesterday released the results of their studies on wuhan v. The odds of any one person contracting wuhan v is 19 million to 1 that you won’t catch it. If you do catch it, the odds of being hospitalized due to wuhan v are 850,000 to 1 that you won’t be. These are leftist liberal universities in the left most state in America. The studies do not confirm the need for hysteria and lockdowns. Just the opposite. Take it for what it is. Actual fatalities due to wuhan v are 9,200 (nine thousand two hundred), not 180,000, like the msm and democrats say. The ‘new’ CDC said the real number of deaths due only to wuhan v, was less than 6% of msm and democrats numbers. They said that three days ago. All the rest of fatalities claimed to be caused by wuhan v had an average of 2.6 other morbid/potentially fatal diseases or conditions. Words of the CDC. Now, who do we believe? The CDC was the “science” and medical “expertise” that got America neck deep in the scam, caused untold economic damage to us and gave leftists their dream. A reason to lock down and destroy America, based on faulty CDC recommendations. The new director of CDC, Dr. Atlas, is telling it like it is. Fauci is in the dunce seat. Birx should be right with him. Alaska will see no wuhan v plague. Neither will all of America. It is all a fraud. The “vaccine” hype is utter nonsense. The entire wuhan v issue has been staged, orchestrated, rehearsed and implemented. The world fell for it. Now humanity must pay the fiddler. While that is happening, the leftist/communists are shooting for world domination, with America being the cherry on top. Take us down and everyone goes down. The leftist plan.

  12. What a sad flawed analysis of medical statistics. Obviously, the commentator has little to no education in statistics or medical science especially virology and epidemiology. There’s an obvious reason why the buffoons in our society are easily duped and vote for an impeached, obese, orange, pathological lying turd, and a coward. The bone-spur draft dodger disdains veterans and service members among many groups who he belittles and ridicules.

    You like most people who get their knowledge from social media don’t intellectually process the whole picture. In a nutshell – every case is a potential long term ongoing compromised health issue. Every new transmission is a potential new hospitalization – capacity is strained in TX, FL, and AZ – in NM making decisions about who to treat – the ones with the best potential to survive. All because we have an impeached and incompetent man-child leading the most corrupt and inept administration in US history couple with a terrible disdain for science. The statistics scream that very loudly to people who can process grade 5 math. 4% of the world’s population has 26% of the cases and 24% of the deaths. Obviously, the death rate will fall – the medical fraternity are fast learners and coming to grips with this novel coronavirus. Look up what the word novel means. Wearing a mask is a no-brainer and a not so subtle IQ test.

    A jarring thought experiment: If the US had done merely an average job of fighting the coronavirus how many fewer Americans would have died? If the US had accounted for the same share of virus deaths as it did the global population? The answer: about 145,000. That’s a large majority of the country’s 183,000 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths. No other country looks as bad by this measure. The US accounts for a tad over 4% of the world’s population but has 22% of confirmed Covid-19 deaths. It is one of the many signs that the impeached, obese, orange turd’s administration has done a poorer job of controlling the virus than dozens of other governments around the world. And some countries, like Australia and South Korea, have a positive version of the gap. Japan is home to 1.7% of the global population but less than 0.2% of deaths. An additional 12,000 Japanese residents would not be alive if the country had merely an average death rate.

    • Since I have little to no education in statistics or medical science can you answer a couple of questions for me? And if possible please refrain from adding your political commentary.

      Of the 184K Americans who perished how many of them died from only the Wuhan virus?

      Why does wearing a mask in Carr’s keep you from contracting the Wuhan virus but it will not protect you if you are in a California prison?

      Why is it that you can be stricken by the Wuhan virus if allowed to attend an Anchorage Assembly meeting but the virus flees from you if purchasing marijuana at a pot shop?

      Why hasn’t anyone died from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, pneumonia or anyone of a hundred other causes but they have (183K people) mysteriously died from the Wuhan virus?

      How much do hospitals get paid for reporting a death due to the Wuhan vs. heart attack?

      And lastly, since you mask metric is an IQ test. If you are wearing a mask and come within 6′ of another human being what should be done with that mask when you remove it? How should the mask be removed and how should it be stored? If you are in an office work environment and are within 6′ of multiple colleagues how often should you replace your mask? If the Wuhan is so deadly and wearing a mask will protect you and others from its horrible scorn, what should one do about their eyes?

      • “Of the 184K Americans who perished how many of them died from only the Wuhan virus?”
        ————————————————————–
        There is no such virus as a Wuhan virus. What was that about refraining from adding a political commentary?

        “Why does wearing a mask in Carr’s keep you from contracting the Wuhan virus but it will not protect you if you are in a California prison?”
        ———————————————————————
        The mask does not protect you, it stops you from infecting other people.

        “If you are wearing a mask and come within 6′ of another human being what should be done with that mask when you remove it? ”
        ————————————————————-
        You should wear a new mask every day or more frequently depending on the circumstances. They can be safely disposed of in the regular trash.

        • Ebola – Ebola River, Zaire
          Lyme disease – Connecticut
          Guinea Worm – Guinea
          West Nile virus – West Nile District, Uganda
          Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever – Rocky Mountains
          St Louis Encephalitis – St. Louis, MO
          Lacrosse Encephalitis – La Crosse, Wisconsin
          Lassa fever – Lassa, Nigeria
          Marburg Virus – Marburg, Germany
          Norovirus – Norwalk, Ohio
          Zika Fever – Zika Forest, Uganda
          Legionnaire’s Disease – American Legion Convention, Philadelphia, PA
          German Measles – Germany
          Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) – Saudi Arabia
          Wuhan Virus – Wuhan, China

          The world media called the Wuhan Virus the “Chinese Virus” before they became outraged at the President for shutting down travel from China.
          ————————————————————
          I am not infected so why would I need to wear a mask?
          ————————————————————
          Under normal circumstances; 8-12 hours of work, coffee shop visit, pot shop visit, Costco visit. You would need to change your mask every time you encounter a new individual. Medical professionals generally change their mask before seeing any patient. One patient, one mask. If you have thirty people in your office and visit two places after work, you would need 32 masks for that particular day. Stop copying and pasting CDC/WHO guidelines which are only published to pacify the mostly scared general public.

          • “I am not infected so why would I need to wear a mask?”
            ————————————-
            One of the most ignorant comments of all time on this website and that is despite a plethora of very strong challengers.

            Your naming list of viruses has no consistency. We have the most despicable buffoon for a president who is going to be given his eviction notice in November in a Tsunami that will destroy the obese. impeached orange dotard and turd’s Republican party so that decent folk can rebuild it and restore its grandeur and sensibility.

      • There was no need to confirm that you are an undereducated loser. No one with experience and science education would write they know the truth. We do know what the evidence shows but that may not be the truth.

        • There’s a portion of the left that is openly totalitarian. They tell you up front they want to take your property, tell you how to think, what to say, and that if you don’t, then you will be punished. You can look at the last 100 years to see what they mean by that, or look at the cities burning right now. There is also, a good section of the left, that doesn’t think it’s totalitarian. They justify their intervention, by saying the people who’s rights and property they are securing, are either not fit to have them, or are somehow injuring others with them.
          I find the second group, much more dangerous. They have fooled themselves into thinking their theft and oppression is somehow righteous. I think it leads them down darker roads than even the open authoritarian leftist, which, by nature of their absurd belief, are easier to see coming and to dismiss.

          • The right are the known violence mischief makers as history and current FBI records show. The left is not totalitarian that is the preserve of the right and dictators. The left moves humanity forward. All progress on this planet across the spectrum is lead by the left. You clearly consider that technology and science are useless to you, then I wonder how you manage to post messages using recycled bits on internet forums with your electronic devices? My suggestion to you is to stay away from electronic equipment, out of aircraft and hospitals, don’t drive, etc. – they are just filled with lefty technology.

  13. Rob, I assume you are including such right wing “mischief makers” as Joseph Stalin? The widely celebrated Mr. Stalin was nearly worshiped by the progressive left in the U.S. in the 1930’s. Before Mr. Stalin had assumed room temp, some 60 million of his countrymen had been murdered, starved and otherwise killed.
    If memory serves the progressives , like yourself when confronted the horrible atrocity of Uncle Joe, remarked, ‘one must crack a few eggs to make an omelet’.

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