Media Pushes Narrative that BLM Protests Did Not Contribute to Spike in Coronavirus Cases
If true, perhaps this proves social distancing guidelines are nothing more than this millennium’s equivalent of leeches and blood-letting.
For months the Centers for Disease Control has been pressing social distancing guidelines on the nation to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The recommendations include standing at least 6 feet apart, wearing masks, and using hand sanitizer generously.
All of these rules were thrown out the window by Black Lives Matter protesters as they marched and demonstrated. Furthermore, pillagers and rioters were likely ignoring infection control measures as they tore down statues, burned buildings, and looted stores.
As a biosafety expert, I would like to stress: All. The. Rules. Were. Broken.
Now, after the demonstrators engaged in virus-spreading behavior (see the CDC’s own guidelines), there is a deluge of articles about the spikes in coronavirus cases across the country:
The United States reported a daily record of 63,247 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
It’s the second time this week the U.S. topped its record for new infections reported in a 24-hour period as outbreaks expand across a number of states, mostly across the American South and West. California, Florida and Texas reported more than 30,400 new cases collectively on Tuesday, according to data from Hopkins, accounting for nearly half all new cases in the U.S.
The U.S. has reported about 53,699 new cases on average over the past seven days, a record high seven-day average, up nearly 17.6% compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data collected by Johns Hopkins. The U.S. seven-day average has hit a new record every day for more than two weeks, according to CNBC’s analysis.
There is so much to take issue with here. I hardly know where to start. Let me begin by reminding readers that the guidelines were put in place to “flatten the curve” and not overwhelm hospitals…not to hide away until someone discovered a vaccine.
Furthermore, anyone with common sense would expect more cases after reopening, in the absence of a vaccine. However, treatment options are available, the number of death is declining (from 21,000/week to just over 1,000/week), and the hospitals are not swamped. These facts are also not being featured.
Instead, our press has decided to protect the social justice narrative and push a new study that absolves the BLM protests of all contribution from the spike:
Black Lives Matter protests haven’t seen coronavirus cases surge in cities since the massive demonstrations began, a study says.
The new research, which was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found no evidence that coronavirus cases jumped in 315 cities in the weeks following the first protests.
Researchers determined that protests may have been offset by an increase in social distancing among those who decided not to march.
Using cellphone data, the study determined that more people opted to stay home “perhaps due to fear of violence from police clashes or general unrest.”
“While it is almost certain that the protests caused a decrease in social distancing behavior among protest attendees, we demonstrate that effect of the protests on the social distancing behavior of the entire population residing in counties with large urban protests was positive,” the report reads.
There are many potential explanations for this result, including the possibility that protesters took the virus back home with them and infected more vulnerable family and friends. Those that skipped the protests now have COVID-cases that they wouldn’t have had otherwise.
A scan of today’s headlines reveal the press is pushing this narrative hard:
Perhaps the bureaucracy, academia, and “journalists” are teaming up to promote a study that had the desired outcome? They have had years of practice promoting climate change fear using the same technique.
Some analysis tends to confirm common-sense, albeit it hard to find:
BLM Protests overlain on the graph of Covid-19 cases. Protests and Riots still causing damage to our country. pic.twitter.com/LZUYhiLc6q
— Lancer Report (@cccinnc) July 5, 2020
And yet the data.. pic.twitter.com/YIJkdgw7iV
— Mull J (@MarshallJ85) July 7, 2020
However, let’s say that the BLM-protests are not responsible for the spike. I would argue, then, that the entire suite of social distancing guidelines is nothing more than this millennium’s equivalent of leeches and blood-letting.
The original “compact” that was made is that Americans would quarantine themselves to flatten the curve. Our medical system can now handle the cases, and the fatality infection rate is not as high as forecast, so the country should be reopened without the “spike” scare stories and the lies dressed up as “studies”.
[Featured image via YouTube]
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Comments
https://twitter.com/conserv_voice/status/1282748121496395777
AHH, when the going gets rough turn to crime….. or, as we did, cut wood for heat and grow a garden for food. course not being in a city helps….maybe THATS the root of all evil???
GRR wrong article sorry
But Antifa-BLM-DNC did contribute everything to cause this.
Jesse Ousley
Gay Hispanic American Killed For Trump Hat
https://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/politics/rip-jesse-ousley-martin–gay-hispanic-american-killed-for-trump-hat/90888857/
Tucker:
‘Social justice’ shields elites from criticism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_mRZHDl9u4&app=desktop
Horowitz:
How Racist liberals really view black voters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JGmKHrWKMQ
Note, the actual professionals never say “Covid was NOT spread at protests”. And the news have been breathlessly reporting how protesters were wearing masks and social distancing, which their own viewers eyes could see was untrue. And Deblasio and other mayors instructed contact tracers NOT to ask if new patients were at a protest (https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-contact-tracers-not-asking-people-attend-george-floyd-protest-2020-6), so the best tool to isolating cases is gone there. Do I think scientists and doctors are actually colluding with politicians and the media? No. But politicians and the media haven’t listened or reported what they’ve been saying since day 1.
Look, unless you reject that covid is super contagious, spreads best through particles in the air, and kills a good percentage of older people, I would social distance and wear a mask when in crowds. But then again, I don’t know the demographics of who else comments on this site. Maybe none of you are higher risk. So take your chances. If cases spike and they close daycares and schools I really don’t care what happens to people who don’t take precautions.
“Do I think scientists and doctors are actually colluding with politicians and the media? No.”
Oh, I do! Government-funded science is ripe for corruption and politically-approved conclusions (see “climate science”).
There have been many instances of doctors and scientists whose attempts to speak out against the narrative were suppressed.
The ones we get to hear in the mainstream media are the ones toeing the party line.
https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1282754415741599749
Donald Trump Jr.
So here we have pediatricians unanimously saying they would “absolutely” send their kids back to school in the fall, “without hesitation.” Stick around for the befuddled anchor’s reaction, “They all said yes.”
See video at link for lol.
My Dr who is very can’t actually told me ot is very hard to get. One person may infect 2-3, usually family
I actually had to quarantine because at work someone used a thermometer, unfortunately a moth one, right before me
And he tested positive that very night
Now he breathed all over it and I used it within a
Few seconds, plastic one time use covers and all, he still had mouth moisture all over it in reality
If someone tried to gaslight me to my face like the press does in print and on the screen, I would kick them right in the gonads.
They’re not ‘pushing’ anything, but merely feeding more poison into the established pipeline.
Poeple on the left have not been merely brain-washed. They are dry-cleaned.
Speaking of more poison:
George Soros Pouring $220 Million into ‘Racial Justice’ Movement:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/07/13/george-soros-pouring-220-million-into-racial-justice-movement/
Soros should be hunted down and killed like bin laden, while we still have a country to save.
I’m increasingly convinced that although Covid-19 is real, the response to it was an application of “never let a crisis go to waste.”
Continued fear-mongering is required because the Bad Orange Man is still president and there’s an election in November. Ordinary Americans must not be allowed to get all uppity, nor to believe they can re-elect their own president who often tells the truth about our rulers’ shameless lies.
Exactly!
First, we had to endure daily death counts- well, considering almost 3 million Americans die every year, that number never gets smaller. But it sure is scary!
We never heard the death rate per thousand, because that wasn’t outrageous compared to other epidemics. Now, the death-porn cry has shifted to “cases are skyrocketing” which they will do when quarantines end. Is “sickness” rising, not really. We’ve got
required twice-weekly testing of employees, anonymous testing, States mixing antigen tests (you are sick today) with antibody tests (your body saw a virus sometime in the past) and we have concocted another number that will never go down. Meaningless, unless you want to scare people so they’ll stay home.
So what is going down? The number of admissions (per thousand), the ICU rates, the ventilator rates and the death rate. The vast majority of people showing up in droves for tests aren’t getting sick, aren’t going to the hospital and certainly aren’t dying. Even the over 75 with multiple co-morbid conditions aren’t dying at the rate they were a few months ago.
So, even though Americans are going back to work, traveling, socializing, and picking up a few viruses along the way, the sky is not falling. Exactly the story the the future election-fixers will never, ever tell.
What to do about it? Tell every politician, via email, twitter, facebook, etc. daily! Answer every comment on social media with the facts. Provide quotes and references, not that it does any good. Do it anyway. We all know the story, time to spread it around to counter the one-sided coverage we hear all day long.
Covid will be miraculously cured on Nov 4th.
Some, select, Black Lives Matter.
#BabyLivesMatter
The national and local media is running the story that Florida recorded its highest positive number of cases this past Saturday into the ground. What they tend to gloss over is the % positive test rate was almost the same, actually a slight decline of over one percent from the previous day and also a record high in the number of tests reported, a record number as well by some 47k.
They reported 143k test results on that day.
Even on late Monday afternoon they aren’t reporting a decline in positive tests and a decline in the number of tests, with a percentage rate of positive new cases up 0.26%.
Even with increasing numbers the fact remains that 83% of deaths are age 65 and older.
Of course it keeps going up, because the virus is contagious!
What they won’t say is that it isn’t as deadly as was thought, as evidenced by all these ‘positive’ people walking around, getting tested on their way to work or in preparation to visiting Universal Studios.
Every time I see these stupid rallying cries I put in my comments, provide some statistics, etc. People who might be curious aren’t going to get any help from the press, we’ve got to show ’em the way.
The “numbers” did not go up in cities because, surprise, the BLM criminals and looters did not go out and get tested– either due to being generally irresponsible or for fear of maybe actually being arrested for their crimes?) Without tests, no uptick.
And in NYC and other places, COVID contact tracers were forbidden from asking if you were in a protest, a looter or arsonist.
They got the results they wanted. A very well-done fraud.
Whether or not protests spread the virus depends on the nature of the protests. The MSM were quick to proclaim that re-open protests spread the virus, somehow matching cellphone data with virus data. According to the same MSM more unruly
protestsriots are not a problem and do not contribute to virus spread. What can we conclude? Clearly China Flu is politically active and only attends er attacks conservative events.Need I put a sarc warning on this? 🙂
1. We don’t quarantine healthy people.
2. This will disappear the day after the election.
3. Politicians need to man up and stand up for their citizens.
4. Texas is full of crap. Masks? Why? If you think you’re vulnerable, stay the hell home.
5. You can now have a test even if you don’t have symptoms. We’re testing sooo many people….
I’m not wearing a mask, unless in a govt. building where they won’t let me in without it. Period.
And I’d go to Texas on a little trip, except they’re going crazy over there. Very disappointed in them.
“I’m not wearing a mask, unless in a govt. building where they won’t let me in without it. Period.”
Good for you. I don’t wear one except in a customers facility when they require it. Even then it’s pretty lenient.
“And I’d go to Texas on a little trip, except they’re going crazy over there. Very disappointed in them.”
Yep, disappointed as hell.
Katy,
If you don’t want to wear a mask, ok. Please don’t turn wearing a mask or failure to wear one into a political or social judgment. There are folks who have health issues or are just plain scared. Let’s not be too judgmental.
I, reluctantly, comply now that the Gov ordered it. It really hasn’t changed in EL Paso. Most businesses and every government office required one to enter anyhow.
I agree with you that the mortality rate for the everyday person below say 65 or 70 with no underlying risk factors is negligible. That’s what an honest look at the numbers shows.
Can the Rona be memory holed if Biden wins? Maybe or maybe not. The whole of the MSM is still trying to decouple the post riot spike from the riots.
So yeah they can try but that’s a whole lot of people who do know that ‘Oceana has NOT always been at war with East Asia’ so to speak.
Leslie, here is something to look into, there are many labs in Florida reporting a 100% positive rate. One lab had 445 positive and zero negatives, there were many over 200 tests with zero negatives.
https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/#latest-stats
scroll down to see state report, run report and scroll down to page 28 for details.
Wanna bet they get more $$$ for a positive result?
Leslie,
Don’t you know that ‘they have the strength of ten because their hearts are pure’? (Sarcasm)
In any event since mass outdoor gatherings in semi-contained areas are now declared to ABSOLUTELY NOT enable the transmission of the Rona then where are the lawsuits against professional and college athletics acting to disregard the NEW SCIENTIFIC NARRATIVE by fleecing season ticket holders out of their games.
What about the revenue lost to business and local government as a consequence of this anti scientific bias on the part of the various sports leagues?
Either mass outdoor gatherings =good OR mass outdoor gatherings = bad, can’t be both and can’t be situational.
So either the league’s need to pay up or the epidemiologic community needs to fess up.
However, let’s say that the BLM-protests are not responsible for the spike. I would argue, then, that the entire suite of social distancing guidelines is nothing more than this millennium’s equivalent of leeches and blood-letting.
——————————————-
Masks are the equivalent to little kids bathing suits being able to stop their pee from entering the swimming pool.
Neither one will actually stop anything.
Also – The obedient always think of themselves as virtuous rather than cowardly. Robert Wilson
The NY Times blames churches for the COVID-19 spike:
https://pjmedia.com/columns/matt-margolis/2020/07/09/new-york-times-falsely-blames-churches-for-spike-in-coronavirus-cases-n624904
My large Catholic parish is limited to two masses – 5 PM Saturday and 9:45 Sunday. Attendees must RSVP on line. Attendance is limited to 120 per mass in a church that holds about 1,000. When you RSVP you choose an arrival time (e.g. for the 5 PM mass (40 @ 4:39, 40 @ 4:40 and 40 @ 4:50).
“I would argue, then, that the entire suite of social distancing guidelines is nothing more than this millennium’s equivalent of leeches and blood-letting.”
Well… It has no scientific basis like a quarantine does. It is nothing more than a high school science project gone wrong.
IOW’s, social distancing is on par with a mask.
So much science being ignored by those who allegedly worship it. I guess that’s allowed when the science doesn’t fit the narrative.
It’s hard to keep up with all these double standards. The left must be exhausted.
Thos haloloween, the fav costume will be one with no mask.
Governor Abbott needs to be unelected. Everyone in Texas please vote this sack of shit out of office. Mask wearing needs to be up to the people just like it was and is for the folks rioting. How about enacting and enforcing laws that will actually save lives. Like no cell phone use, no eating, no laptop use, ect. In automobiles.
What I find to be amazing is that seemingly intelligent people continue to quote media reports of these astronomical “infection” rates as though they are real. The media, the medical profession and politicians have been caught fudging the statistics to generate higher COVID infection and death rates than actually exist. THEY HAVE BEEN CAUGHT DOING THIS. And still people treat these reports as being accurate. Here is how this is being done.
First, everyone who tests positive for EXPOSURE to COVID is counted as an active case of the disease. In some locals, those that were in contact with the exposed person are counted as COVID cases, even with out being tested.
Second, almost every upper respiratory infection is counted as a COVID case, usually without a positive test. Then, if a test is administered and the patient tests negative, the stats are not adjusted to eliminate that patient from the COVID case stats. Virtually every hospitalization, for an upper respiratory infection, is counted as an active COVID case. I’m sure that the fact that insurance carriers pay more for the treatment of COVID cases than they do for flu, pneumonia and other respiratory conditions has anything to do with that. And, they re still classifying non-respiratory infections as COVID, if the patient tests positive for exposure.
Third, some places are still counting any non-trauma death as being COVID related, if the deceased tests positive [even post mortum] for COVID exposure, whether they displayed any symptoms of the disease or not.
Also, the reports on where these cases are occurring is very suspect. Almost all reported cases are occurring in southern sunbelt states. states having low incidence rates in the previous months. Locations which had high extremely high incident rates [such as NYC, NJ and others] are seemingly immune to COVID infections now. As nothing has changed in these places, this situation is highly suspect.
As for hospitalizations, most of the hospitals reported upon are not in danger of running out of bed space. And, confirmed COVID cases only account for about 20-25% of those admitted to the hospital. Also, the COVID death rate is reportedly going down, not up. How is that possible?
So, what we see, is media reports of huge spikes in COVID cases, based largely upon people testing positive for exposure. Then we have media reports of high rates of hospitalization for COVID, which seem to be exaggerations by omission of the percentage of patients being treated for COVID. States with high density populations, which had high COVID infection rates, are now seemingly immune to the disease. Media reports of seniors dying from COVID have all but disappeared. Now, all we see are reports on the few younger people, usually with significant preexisting medical conditions, who contract and, in some cases die from, the disease. Seniors are apparently immune to COVID as well now. And, we still see the medical profession claiming that the overwhelming percentage of COVID cases are asymptomatic; something which we have never seen before.
So, is there a significant increase in COVID infections? Do a significant percentage of those cases require hospitalization? Or is all of this reporting on a COVID “spike” just propaganda to advance another agenda, such justifying the continued closure of the economy for political gain?
Mac45,
I agree with most of your post. I would offer the following as potential reasons for spread or lack of spread.
1. The densely populated states like N.Y. have basically already had their spread from the critical mass number of infected transmitters. Testing hasn’t caught up and they are likely getting some form of herd immunity. Especially when the most vulnerable are taking prevention measures.
2. Sunbelt states have less density and less international and domestic travel. They started late as it were. Now that summer temperatures are here folks stay inside vs going out. This increases potential exposure. Those factors combined with increased testing should be expected to lead to more cases.
Now severity of the cases is another thing. Mortality for average person with no risk factors below age 65 is miniscule.
Another factor in border states is infected persons travel to and from Mexico. Here in EL Paso about a third of our covid hospitalization patients are from Mexico.
Good points and very thoughtful post on your part. This is just my additional thoughts expanding yours.
What you are doing is assuming tht there is an actual spike in COVID INFECTIONS. Once let me say that we can not depend upon the media for accurate reporting on this. The media, politicians, and the medical community are all classifying EXPOSURES as infections. They are not. If you only classify cases having the symptoms associated with COVID along with positive exposure testing or, better yet, serum testing for traces of the virus then you get a much more accurate, and dare I say it, far lower number of both cases and deaths.
What you are doing is assuming that there is an actual spike in COVID INFECTIONS. Once again let me say that we can not depend upon the media for accurate reporting on this. The media, politicians, and the medical community are all classifying EXPOSURES as infections. They are not. If you only classify cases having the symptoms associated with COVID along with positive exposure testing or, better yet, serum testing for traces of the virus, then you get a much more accurate, and dare I say it, far lower number of both cases and deaths. AS long as the current system of classification is in place, you are going to get outrageously high numbers of COVID infections and deaths.
Mac45,
I don’t think that I am making an assumption at all. I carefully selected the words transmitters and exposure as well as emphasized the much higher levels of testing in addition to describing the fact that folks in the Sunbelt stay inside using AC during summer heat to explain Sunbelt rise in case number.
To get a positive test result;
1. An individual must be tested, no test availability = no positive test result (note that the presence or absence of a test doesn’t mean the individual is or isn’t positive, it only means that without a test we don’t know)
2. An individual must be exposed. No exposure = no Rona. Triple digit temperatures = folks soaking up AC inside which increases opportunity for exposure.
3. The incidence of exposure and infection is transmission. Even with exposure if no transmission occurred then that means no infection.
The scale up of testing is obviously going to show a higher number of positive tests. All we are doing is providing evidence of penetration. Some are present some are past.
The real question is, assuming the tests themselves are accurate, does the positive result mean:
1. A person has the Rona and is capable of transmitting it
2. A person had the Rona previously but is no longer capable of transmitting it
Of course you are correct in that those with a financial or political interest in either continued economic lockdown or getting grant funds, research funds, gathering and keeping emergency powers, selling media advertising etc will continue to do so as long as they can get away with it.
I have no idea what you are trying to say.
In clear language, a positive result from such tests as the nasopharyngial swab test, only indicates that there is viral material in the nasal passages. It does not indicate that the person is infected. Even a serum test, which shows the presence of antibodies due to the virus does not mean that the person is currently infected. See, these terms are much cleared than “transmissions” and “penetration”. What you continue to assume is that these tests indicate that a person is currently infected with the virus, if they test positive.
Unless viral material is found in the blood, there is no way to categorically state that the person is infected. If the person tests positive to exposure to the virus and shows symptoms consistent with the virus, then it can be reasonably assumed that the person is infected with the virus. Though the person may not be. But, it is impossible to make an accurate assumption that a person is infected based upon most of the tests being conducted in the US.
Now, one more time. Currently, all positive COVID tests are being classified as active COVID cases. In some places, even people who have had contact with people who test positive for exposure only are being classified as active COVID cases. And there are still the reliable reports that deaths from nearly all causes were classified as COVID related cases if the deceased tested positive for exposure, either before or after death. What this means is that, at this point, all of the numbers are totally unreliable and most likely high; possibly very high.
So, you can always choose to believe the same media which swore that the Russian Collusion charges were actually real or take everything with a HUGE grain of salt.
Mac45,
Dude you are one weird cat. Instead of accepting the 98% of the issue where we agree and can be allies against the uniparty/elite/MSM narrative and power structure, you choose to quibble about the 2% where we may don’t really disagree but rather view and describe that remaining 2% differently.
Look man, let’s work to gather folks together to vote against Biden and the uniparty, not push folks away because they don’t hold views which are 100% in alignment with your orthodoxy.
Look, the COVID virus is being used to depress the economy, worldwide. And, in the US is being used for that purpose specifically to defeat President Trump in November. The way this is being done is through media hype [out and out lies] and the manipulation of disease statistics. As long as people do not push back, strongly, on this practice they are losing the battle and possibly the war. If the economy remains i the toilet, where it still is, Trump could lose to a Biden guarantee or fiscal security. And, Covid will also be used to drive a demand for nationwide universal mail-in voting, a practice which is ripe for vote abuse and fraud. All of this driven by falsifying statistics to make appear that COVID is causing immense, widespread infections.
The COVID hoax is one of the most dangerous activities out there, Possibly even more dangerous than the civil unrest being fomented. Positive COVID test results should NOT be classified as or referred to as COVID cases, unless the test shows actual viral material in the blood stream. To do otherwise simply plays into the hands of the political enemies you wish to fight.