Texas Uncovered

Well, I guess Texas really wants a fourth surge.  Citizens of Texas should start preparing now.

Yesterday, Govern Abbott issued an executive order lifting the state's mask mandate and occupancy restrictions.  "We must now do more to restore livelihoods and normalcy for Texans by opening Texas 100 percent."  Businesses are left to their own discretion regarding individual mask or social distancing requirements within their doors, but starting next Wednesday, March 10, 2021, any business in the state of Texas will be able to have 100% capacity with no mask requirement if they so choose.  It also removes any kind of enforcement capabilities local governments could have to enforce their own mask and social distancing requirements.

Meaning - Texas is taking off the mask come hell or high water.  And damn the consequences.

It's hard to write about this without being punchy, because it's so short sighted.  Yesterday, when Abbott made this announcement, Texas had 7,747 new cases.  271 new deaths from Covid-19.  Only around 7.5% of the population has been fully vaccinated.  Texas is no where near where it would need to be regarding potential herd immunity either from the virus or the vaccine to where it could start easing restrictions designed to stop this virus from running rampant.

The sad thing is, by easing restrictions in the name of "freedom," Texas is only making things more difficult for small business owners who want to continue to protect their employees and families by continuing a mask or social distancing requirement for their business.  Make no mistake, masks are still going to be required at your big national chains.  You will still have to wear a mask at Wal-mart.  You will still be asked to wear a mask at HEB.  And there will be small businesses who wish to continue to require it there as well.  What Abbott has done has encouraged entitled egotists to flaunt the requirements and provoke altercations with front line employees at those businesses.  

It's been sickening to scroll through Facebook and see the number of people praising this decision as if it were on the level of Texas Independence.  Or as if it "restored a fundamental freedom" on the level of the Civil Rights Act.  In reality, it revealed that we do not have it within us anymore to sacrifice for the greater good.  We do not have it in us anymore to care more for the people around us and make small concessions for their well-being.  It revealed that we don't have what it takes to endure a minor setback in the grand scheme of life.

That's the most frustrating aspect of the whole ordeal - we only had another few months to go through to where easing restrictions could start to make sense.  The announcement today indicated that vaccine production should be ramped up enough to where all American adults could get vaccinated by the end of May.  Two more months, and we could really start pulling things back and restoring normalcy, whatever that was.

But we can't wait.

Make no mistake, this was political theater.  It was designed to distract Texas from the utter failure that the Texas government displayed through their lack of preparation for a winter storm, not learning the lessons from 2011, and their total mishandling of the whole affair during the storm.

We're at that moment in Jaws where the citizens have caught a tiger shark and the mayor goes out and proclaims that everything is safe.  Everyone should go back out, everyone should go to the beach and visit Amity Island.  We need those tourist dollars.  Think of the Fourth of July.

That decision didn't work out well for the citizens of Amity and I fear this decision will not bode well for the citizens of Texas.

Stay safe.

Wear your mask, no matter what the governor may say.

Keep your distance.

There is light at the end of the tunnel; we just have to persevere.

Mandatory Masks

Today, masks become mandatory in Indianapolis and Marion County.  Everyone over two will need to where them out in public in places where it is not possible to stay more than six feet away from those that are not in the same household.  It is a similar order to the ones already in affect in three other counties in Indiana and has no expiration date.

This is not a surprise to us.  We have been operating as if this order was always in effect.  We where masks when we have to go out and shop.  Even the few times we have gone in somewhere to eat, we have worn them while waiting and ordering.  We each have multiple masks and have had fun picking out styles and patterns that matches our interests.  Jude has been so excited about having a Nightmare Before Christmas mask, he has frequently worn it in the house.

We've even made a point of making it exciting for Avalyn to get the multiple masks she will need for school.  She's gotten to pick one out each week at the local farmer's market.  So she can have styles like Frozen II and Star Wars that she really likes.

I have my Marvel mask that I wear everywhere out in public.  The only major exception is on the morning walk on the trail, where I'm basically isolated.

So, this will be business as usual for us, even though it is not affecting our specific county yet.

This order comes not because of an increase in cases in Indiana, but out of an abundance of caution.  Especially as the number of cases in neighboring states has been increasing.

Which highlights the problem we have been having in this country keeping COVID-19 under control.  Without national guidance, without leadership that is factoring the differences of specific states into their guidelines, we've created a system in which has fostered the petri dish that we have in which our national numbers keep growing exponentially.  

We have thirty-six states with rising positive cases.  Texas has become the 11th largest pocket of cases per million people in the world, leaping over many countries.  Florida likewise is seeing a tremendous rise in cases.  

We've never had a decline cases, we never flattened the curve, we're still in a first wave.  

We never got this under control.

Largely because we never had leadership on this issue.  And what leadership there was frequently combated their experts, undermined their recommendations, and caused unnecessary confusion on pretty simple issues.

Like masks, for instance.

Despite masks being the simplest way to get this under control, we have had too many people in high positions that have been outright combative to the need to wear masks for public safety.  

And before the comments start coming, I'm going to start muting people that continue to spread misinformation that masks lead to hypoxia or that it's part of some slow-burn conspiracy to keep conditioning us toward having our rights taken away.  One represents a fundamental misunderstanding of science, the other a complete misunderstanding of government.

If you look at the countries that are starting to see a positive trend, if you look at Asia as it has been reopening, masks have been the key.  Countries like Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan, all provide ample evidence of the benefit of masks.  Japan in particular is interesting, as masks were largely its primary tool in fighting off the virus.  Japan has had no lockdown, but encouraged people to stay away from enclosed spaces with poor ventilation, crowded places, and close conversations.  They also have high mask use.  Yet, even with densely packed cities like Tokyo, their transmission and death rates have been shockingly low.

So, once again, I urge you, all of you, everywhere, wear the mask.  It is, quite literally, the least we can do to fight off this surge in cases and deaths.  Literally the least we can do to help get everything back on track.

And if you are not, if you won't, why not?  Seriously, what keeps you from doing something so small for to protect yourself and others?  I understand breathing related health issues and I understand claustrophobic anxieties, but everyone else who refuses because of some misguided notion of freedom, I will never understand.

Do your part.  Wear a mask.

Please.

I would like this all to end at some point.