Why don't we have all of our higher ups spend a LITTLE BIT MORE TIME blaming China as attempted diversionary tactic for our own mishandling of coronavirus (China 82,735 US 739, 437 *) then proceed to do EXACTLY the SAME thing we accuse China of? (Attempting to silence free speech) This sheriff is NOT defending the constitution of the US. He had NO RIGHT to tell her that. It is a SHAME to our NATION to even attempt to defend the conduct of sheriff who has not shown loyalty to a basic tenet of American freedom!! I hope he loses his job!
Also note there were 927 confirmed (confirm, LOWER than ACTUAL) cases in WI on the day the sheriff made the visit to her family house according to world data. I have been tracking it.
Edit 1: Well hmm, looking at this chart RSV seemed very RARE in March. Yep, now I am wondering about competence issues of medical peoplewho attended me. Especially when you look at my region. It was a higher chance of being Covid than RSV. [slh.wisc.edu]
The young lady should be tested for antibodies when that test becomes available.
The police and school official are closet Nazis.
Yes. Why would the school call the police over such a matter? Also considering there are currently 197 cases in the county discussed, trying to block information from being posted just comes across now as an attempt to not honestly deal with the reality of the virus.
It's a shame we don't have more definitive tests. /snark
It would have been nice to test whether she had antibodies (whether she had had the virus).
What is a shame is that we're betting on probabilities and possibilities rather than acting on direct evidence.
I don't care what the probability is - violating basic tenets of free speech is UNACCEPTABLE by any standard and I can tell you that with absolute certainty. Why? Because if we don't have free speech than we are NOT who we say we are "free people".
@Flowerwall They mention yelling-fire-in-crowded-theater right in the link. It's interesting that you put your 'freedom' before other people's safety.
@RichCC How many Americans are CURRENTLY INFECTED with covid? When numbers start reaching certain levels, at what point do we say we are "on fire"? Is it when the fire is over and all we are left with is the burnt out shell? WHEN? A fire can be easily perceived, covid CANNOT given the high asymptomatic rate and limited scope for testing we have been using due to having limited tests available. Once community spread is documented contact tracing is useless. Define WHEN we say we can talk freely about having or possibly having had covid? Let's also ask the Chinese citizens when they are allowed to talk openly about covid and then compare our answers.
@Flowerwall How would I know? Why did you ask me?
@RichCC I know protestors want to open the US back up and they are getting praised by people in high places. That looks like, what? Counterproductive? Saying one thing and then supporting the opposite?
I think people who are not following basic government mandates and putting fellow citizens lives at risk should be fined with all proceeds going to covid victims.
@Flowerwall
Personally I am just now sheltering at home and I think the girl acted responsibly by not going back to society.
The sheriff was stuck because she announced to the public that she (and presumably her family) might be contagious.
I think he acted irresponsibly as a government employee by threatening to arrest them.
They both were put in bad situations by bad luck. But she was likely not completely without fault -- although his reaction was more extreme than hers.
What would he hope to accomplish by arresting them?
My remark was intended as a cynical comment that we have been too slow to develop tests both for current infection and for previous exposure to the virus.
I think that is the fault of our federal government -- they should have acted sooner.
@Flowerwall
I agree that the protesters and the high places people trying to reopen the U.S. are almost certainly being premature. Here is a graph of Denver's data from the 1918 flu outbreak. Even if we see another peak and decline in our current epidemic, opening prematurely will likely cause another double peak like Denver saw with the flu in 1918.
@RichCC " But she was likely not completely without fault" what fault do you see?
"I think he acted irresponsibly as a government employee by threatening to arrest them" where is sheriff's culpability for possibly scuttling a needed warning of a possible danger? We just shrug our shoulders and move on, I guess. Step directly on the basic tenets of free speech, and we will find it passable, no problem. Watch what you say on social media or else the thought police might arrest you!
@RichCC Additionally there is a real threat of physical harm coming to people if you yell fire in a movie theater when there is no fire. No such threat exists in saying online a Dr. told you, you might have had coronavirus. This is a complete false equivalence. The law enforcement agents took an oath to uphold the constitution. You DO NOT threaten a law abiding citizens to jail time because they are saying something you disagree with. I wonder if other instances of this authoritarian behaviour have occurred elsewhere throughout state or country. This is not acceptable. The regulatory agency over this law enforcement agency needs to get the employees of the state of WI in line with proper procedure and adherence to the overriding law of the land. An Oath is your highest duty - uphold the constitution of US!
@RichCC I do agree with some of the reopening of the economy being not appropriate yet. I read an article that labeled the weekend protests as "street theater" because the protests were largely attended by people who have an agenda not just your average working class American who needs to return to work for financial reasons. I believe if it is not handled appropriately we will see a resurgence as you pointed out with the graph. It's frustrating to see a mixed message being sent out. People are easily confused. Give too much support to the people who are attempting to appear as protestors, and you are also supporting all the people out there that believe this whole pandemic is an exgerrated political ploy.
On the other hand, certain areas of the country should be reopening in limited amounts and on certain terms. In counties with very low case rates all businesses should be open with a pick- up type option. It does get a little difficult to run certain business this way, but it's better than nothing. It's a much better option than being completely closed. Or possibly require entering customers to wear face masks. I do agree stores cannot stay closed forever.