A few points in reply regarding COVID-19:
* Citing population density to explain away Michigan's bad COVID-19 numbers compared to Sweden's is unconvincing. If Michigan's draconian lockdown measures were the right approach, population density should not matter, given the fact that Swedes have been out of their homes a great deal more than have Michigan's residents. Furthermore, Taiwan's population density (1,680 per square mile) is more than double Michigan's, yet Taiwan has had fewer cases and deaths than any nation on earth.
* We can all Google the fact that the panic-peddling experts cited so often by liberals screamed bloody murder that we would see massive numbers of new deaths in states that began to reopen in May. Not only has this *not* happened, but the case death rate has dropped by more than 50% since states began to reopen. Yet, Democrats continue to scream about the increase in the number of cases, while they ignore the dramatic drop in the death rate.
* Cases where sizable groups of people were isolated when COVID-19 broke out, such as three notable cruise ship cases, prove that the virus's transmission rate is nowhere near as high as liberals keep claiming. In all those cases, the transmission rate was below 50%.
* If your only sources of news is the traditional news outlets, you will rarely if ever hear about the following facts:
-- That the overall average survival rate is over 97%.
-- That the death rate for ages 0-19 is between 0.01% and 0.09%, much lower than the flu's death rate.
-- That the death rate for ages 20 to 34 is no more dangerous than the common flu--the death rate is between 0.13% and 0.29%, virtually the same as the flu.
-- That the death rate for ages 35 to 49 is only 0.44%, or far below 1%, which, of course, equals a survival rate of 99.56%.
-- That the death rate for ages 50-59 is 1.49%, which equals a survival rate of 98.51%.
-- The the death rate for ages 60-100 ranges between 2.4% and 13.5%, since the death rate for ages 65-100 is much higher than it is for ages 60-64.
When people learn about these statistics, their first reaction is usually, "Then why in the world are we so panicked over this virus?"
* A rational, fact-based approach would be to impose strict protective measures on ages 65 and above and on the medically ill, and to let everyone else resume normal life. Instead of banning large gatherings or limiting large gatherings to 10K-20K people, lift all such restrictions but ban anyone aged 65 and older and the medically ill from attending. Instead of making everyone wear masks, only require masks for the aged and the medically ill.
Then, once we have a vaccine, the first groups to get it should be the aged and the medically ill. Once they've had the vaccine, they could resume normal life.
