© MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty ImagesDr. Anthony Fauci (L), director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases speaks next to Response coordinator for White House Coronavirus Task Force Deborah Birx, during a meeting with US President Donald Trump and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards D-LA in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on April 29, 2020.
Since the pandemic began, I've been described as a so-called "COVID warrior," which makes some sense. After all, I've defended the shutdowns of large gatherings. I've insisted that it's wise to temporarily close churches and postpone funerals and other ceremonies. I've argued that extreme caution is necessary — that to do anything else would be to blatantly and selfishly ignore the
scientific information at our disposal. I've held the opinion that, although it has caused
irrevocable harm to the economy and caused millions of people to suffer, business owners who close up shop for fear of spreading contagion are in the right.
Now I feel like a fool.
By no means am I a coronavirus denier — more than 100,000
and counting have died from the COVID.
But with conflicting reports about everything from wearing masks to the spread of the virus through surfaces coming out of the World Health Organization and the CDC almost weekly, my head is spinning. Nothing seems to make sense anymore.For fear of spreading the virus, health experts have consistently recommended shutting down and avoiding public spaces, including
schools,
playgrounds,
public pools, and
public transportation. They've also advocated for
limiting large gatherings and closing anything that might draw crowds. It's advice that's been repeated for months — to the point that those ignoring it have been
reviled and accused of experimenting with "
human sacrifice."
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