The fear is overblown

Re: Protest the protesters 

In response to the writer of the letter "Protest the protesters".  If he had taken the time to hear what the protesters had to say, he would know that they do not think that the virus itself is fake. No one is saying that, at all. One would not be able gather that information from the poor coverage Castanet offered, unfortunately.

What is truly fake, is the reason for fear.  Wishing harm on the protesters, simply for having a different viewpoint is something I find rather disturbing, to be honest.

I would like to ask the letter author, what information research have you done? Have you taken a good look at the cases vs death numbers?

Have you taken the opportunity to look at the epidemiological studies that conveniently show the cases on graphs, visually showing not just a flattening of the curve, but that it has flatlined?

Do you remember "15 days to slow the spread"? The whole idea was so that we would not overwhelm the hospitals with sick people.

Speaking of the hospital, have you been to the hospital in the last 2-4 months? I have. While I was there I saw no cases, no sick people whatsoever, other than those in the ER for completely different reasons. I have spoken with health professionals that confirmed what I saw as well.

Are you aware of how many people in BC are hospitalized with COVID as of Aug 6?

A total of nine people are currently hospitalized, with 6 in ICU. That's for the WHOLE of BC. (Population 5,071,000)

What's most interesting is that the number of hospitalized is actually down from last month's hospitalizations of 15 people on July 16th. While we are seeing a "surge" in cases, shouldn't hospitalizations be going up? One can easily come to the conclusion that this virus is far from a death sentence.

We have been told to cower in fear of something that has a better than 95 per cent survivability rate for the general population. One just has to do the math to see that. No one knew what we were up against at first, but now it's all becoming clear.

I have worked the front line throughout this whole thing, with the exception of a two week closure back in April. I have been maskless the entire time as well. Workers like me, who kept going, in what has strangely turned out to be one of our busiest seasons to date, should be dropping like flies, but we're not. 

I have not gotten sick. I also don't know a single person who has gotten sick from COVID either. That is not to say it doesn't exist, or won't happen to me. It does, however, tell me that the fears are overblown, as I deal with a lot of people in any given day and have had far more exposure than most.

To the author of the aforementioned letter, it is you, sir, who needs to give your head a shake.
 

Michelle Cartmell