Although the further lapse of time will place the Covid-19 experience in context, after one year it surely is time to consider the worth of certain Covid-related measures that have been made mandatory and to declare that masks must fall.
The wearing of masks and social distancing is not practised by the majority who queue to collect their grants nor was it apparent among those who participated in King Goodwill Zwelithini’s funeral procession.
According to the US Center for Disease Control, wearing a mask has neither slowed nor stopped the spread of Covid. That view is endorsed by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. It contends that there is evidence that mask-wearing does more harm than good. A year ago, the great medical scientist, Dr Fauci, actually denounced mask-wearing. But last month he advocated wearing two masks.
One of the reasons masks are not scientifically endorsed concerns the great variety of materials from which masks are made. There is also the view that by limiting exposure to others, they may actually weaken personal immune systems.
The difference in Covid infections between the states of North and South Dakota adds further substance to the case against mask-wearing. While North Dakota made mask-wearing mandatory, South Dakota did not. Yet the infection rate in South Dakota was less than two percent different from that of North Dakota.
The states of Texas and Alabama have rescinded legislation concerning mask-wearing. Regarding social distancing, the states of West Virginia, Connecticut and Arizona have rescinded capacity limits and resumed normal, pre-Covid social practice.
In 2020, 52, 196 people are said to have died from Covid in South Africa. In 2019, 63,000 people died from TB. Despite the highly contagious nature of TB, mask-wearing and social distancing were not mandated. Of the 1,54 million cases ascribed to the Covid virus, 1,46 million people recovered – some 95%.
The recovery rate raises the question as to why a vaccine is necessary. In any year, as many people die from seasonal Influenza-related symptoms as those who died in 2020 from what was claimed to be Covid.
Published in The Mercury 2021
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