All it took was the recommendation from an unelected bureaucrat as the impetus to force the residents of a major metropolitan county to do tell citizens what to do with their bodies: wear a face mask in public.
Palm Beach County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of requiring face masks to be worn in public to help prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus. The vote was 7-0. Dr. Alina Alonso, director of the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County, said COVID-19 cases have “risen very, very rapidly” since the county entered Phase One of Florida’s reopening plan on May 11.
“Our numbers are going in the wrong direction,” Dr. Alonso said.
— Fox 29 WFLX, 6/23/20
Of course, it’s obvious to most that the only reason we’re seeing a spike in coronavirus is because testing is more readily available and widespread. And in almost all of the sensational , national headlines reporting this steep rise in COVID-19 numbers, they never seem to get around to reporting a subsequent steep rise in deaths… because it isn’t happening.
Cases of coronavirus are increasing in 20 states, with dramatic spikes found in places from Florida to California. Even so, overall deaths due to coronavirus are on the decline in the U.S. Even in some places where cases are spiking, the number of people checking into hospitals and dying of the coronavirus is actually stable, or even going down. What’s going on?
— Slate, 6/18/20
Good common sense question, but the Palm Beach County already had their minds made up; wearing face masks in public would become the mandate of the day, safety concerns would be blown on, commissioners could mock the concerned public on social media, and allowing the public to speak was a mere formality the commissioners would tolerate.
The national media looked at the public’s response with the predictable disdain because the “experts” aren’t being listened to and obeyed.
Some residents of Palm Beach County, Florida, erupted in anger at a commissioner’s meeting after an unanimous vote to make wearing a mask mandatory. Medical experts continue to say that wearing a mask can help contain the coronavirus pandemic.
— CNN, 6/24/20
So-called “medical experts” have been all over the map when it comes to predictions and remedies to the coronavirus, but they still expect the public to drop everything and do what they say because they are medical experts, and it’s easy for the media to cherry-pick those who’ll justify their parroted objectives.
Again, as has been happening across the United States, public policy is being driven by politicians with an agenda and given actionable information by those who weren’t elected and are unanswerable to those directly affected. Dr. Alina Alonso was never elected to her position as Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County “director”, so it can be argued her opinions shouldn’t be the final word when it comes to the implementation of public policy.
The political infection has expanded to Miami-Dade County.
As Florida sees a surging number of new coronavirus cases, Miami-Dade County announced that it plans to close all beaches ahead of the Fourth of July weekend. The state on Friday reported an all-time high of nearly 9,000 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, topping the state’s previous record of 5,500 cases. Violators of these policies are subject to a second-degree criminal penalty of up to $500 and 180 days in jail.
— CBS News, 6/27/20
No mainstream media mention of a corresponding rise in COVID-19 death, but so much for properly informing the public.
The Centers for Disease Control estimates the coronavirus may have infected 10 times more Americans than known, nearly 24 million, meaning the infection fatality rate is no higher than one half of 1%. That percentage, which is higher than other current estimates, nevertheless sharply contrasts with the alarming estimate of 3.4% announced March 3 by the director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesusin, which fueled the global lockdowns.
— World Net Daily, 6/27/20
Whoops.
Leave a Reply