[QUOTE=Dr Sardonicus;560256]The Great Barrington Declaration[/QUOTE]

I think links like that should be accompanied with a note of their political non-scientific origins.

[QUOTE=Nick;560290]I think links like that should be accompanied with a note of their political non-scientific origins.[/QUOTE]I don't see why. The folks here seem to have zeroed in on the fact that the Great Barrington Declaration "proposes" a facile phrase -- "focused protection" -- without any real idea of how to carry it out.

The principal signatories are statisticians and economists. Being able to identify how an outbreak of disease is progressing, and how it is, or has been, affecting economic activity has its place. But, as far as I can tell, these folks don't have any particular expertise in [i]dealing with[/i] infectious diseases.

It's easy, though:[quote]A comprehensive and detailed list of measures, including approaches to multi-generational households, can be implemented, and is well within the scope and capability of public health professionals.[/quote]
See, just claim that [i]someone else[/i] is able to work out the details. And when things go south, you've got ready-made scapegoats.

A sentiment attributed to economists (but which I think fits ideologues of all stripes) is, "If my theory does not agree with reality, then so much the worse for reality."

Speaking of ready-made scapegoats...
 

From a Monday call to campaign staff -- knowing members of the press were on the line -- as quoted, e.g. [url=https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-virus-outbreak-joe-biden-donald-trump-nevada-00a1dc6f5932c9fe778ee5e9cabacc71]here[/url] and [url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/19/fauci-trump-wearing-mask-weakness-430114]here[/url],

[color=orange]"People are tired of Covid. People are saying, 'Whatever, just leave us alone.'"

"People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots."

"He's been here for, like, 500 years. He's like this wonderful sage telling us how -- Fauci, if we listened to him, we'd have 700,000 [or] 800,000 deaths."

"Every time he goes on television, there's always a bomb. But there's a bigger bomb if you fire him. But Fauci's a disaster."[/color]

The call's also on YouTube.

Opioid deaths almost double compared to a year earlier. [URL]https://www.syracuse.com/coronavirus/2020/10/onondaga-county-opioid-deaths-skyrocket-during-coronavirus-pandemic.html[/URL]

"The coronavirus pandemic is making the opioid epidemic worse, according to Dr. Ross Sullivan, an emergency medicine doctor at Upstate University Hospital and medical director of Helio Health, a drug treatment agency.
The increase in pandemic-related unemployment and depression have led to more drug use, he said.
A [URL="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/pdfs/mm6932a1-H.pdf"]national survey[/URL] conducted in June by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 13% of U.S. adults surveyed said they had started or increased substance use to cope with stress or emotions related to the coronavirus pandemic."

White house Chief of Staff Mark Meadows recently said, "We're not going to control the pandemic."

I can assure everyone that the White House is relying on wisdom from one of the most famous sages in American history:
[indent]I don't like to face problems head on

I think the best way to solve problems is to avoid them

This is a distinct philosophy of mine

No problem is so big or so complicated that it can't be run away from![/indent]
-- Linus, in [i]Peanuts[/i], by Charles M. Schulz (27 Feb. 1963)

I believe that CoS Meadows subsequently explained that they were not going to [B]contain[/B] the pandemic, but "We are going to [B]destroy[/B] the pandemic."
The above in quotes should be in the voice of Lrr, from Futurama.
[YOUTUBE]gZfpaUDllqs[/YOUTUBE]

Death takes a holiday...
 

I was looking at graphs of COVID-19 deaths in the US by day, like [url=https://covidtracking.com/data/charts/us-daily-deaths]this one[/url]. There is an obvious periodic variation which I reckon is an artifact of the reporting process. The numbers dip on Sunday and Monday, regular as clockwork. I noticed other dips associated with Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day.

[QUOTE=Dr Sardonicus;562299]I was looking at graphs of COVID-19 deaths in the US by day, like [url=https://covidtracking.com/data/charts/us-daily-deaths]this one[/url]. There is an obvious periodic variation which I reckon is an artifact of the reporting process. The numbers dip on Sunday and Monday, regular as clockwork. I noticed other dips associated with Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day.[/QUOTE]It's about the testing IMO, more than the reporting. People are less active during days off. Welcome to the modern lifestyle. We've only been living like this for a few millennia, we'll wait while you catch up. :razz:

[QUOTE=retina;562334]It's about the testing IMO, more than the reporting.[/QUOTE]It has been mentioned in the news by the pros that it is about[B] reporting.[/B] Filling out the DC's and doing other work to verify that it is related to the virus often only happens on the weekdays.

I found this article informative.
Perhaps others might as well:

[QUOTE]
Coronavirus vaccine: When will we have one?

[/QUOTE]


[url]https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51665497[/url]

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;562335]It has been mentioned in the news by the pros that it is about[B] reporting.[/B] Filling out the DC's and [b]doing other work to verify that it is related to the virus[/b] often only happens on the weekdays.[/QUOTE]Is that not testing?