What Does A Quarantine Due To Coronavirus Mean For Truckers?

First off, I am not promoting extending the nationwide shutdown policies , or lifting them. There’s just something about two arguments re: COVID-19 that bother me.

It doesn’t feel like it’s a fair comparison, the numbers of infected + deaths generated by the flu versus those numbers incurred by COVID-19. All of the statistics we have for the flu have been during times when there have been no shutdowns , no social distancing, or none of the rules in place today. The flu has enjoyed free reign over the population. COVID-19 however, has been spreading and infecting and killing during a time when extreme measures have been taken. Granted, many of these measures were put in place after a large part of the population had probably already become infected, but still many of those numbers were generated post-isolation.

The only fair way to compare the two would be after a period of time when both viruses are existing among the population with no restrictions, or compared during a period of time when restrictions are in place, such as now. Since COVID-19 has been loosed upon the population, what have the numbers for the flu looked like? Reported numbers for both viruses probably won’t be entirely accurate… I’ve seen numbers of deaths caused by the flu in the US vary by as many as 40,000. But we only know what we know.

My initial thoughts about COVID-19 were that it was another flu-like virus; but it seems much more aggressive, spreading more easily.

I am also finding it difficult to believe the argument supporting herd immunity. The flu has been around for over 100 years, and the herd still hasn’t become immune to it. Tens of thousands of people (or more) get the flu every year, and it’s not as if people who come down with the flu only get it once. How many of us or people we know have been sick with the flu multiple times? The best ways it seems to avoid getting the flu are taking a flu vaccine or living healthy and practicing self isolation-like behaviors in conjunction with consistent attention to good hygiene. I prefer the latter; I don’t get flu vaccines. In the last three years, since I’ve been driving a truck, and up until about a month ago I hadn’t gotten a sniffle, cough, cold, or fever. Then while delivering to a customer in Washington I did get a cold. I did not run a fever or experience shortness of breath. But I’ve largely led a lifestyle the past three years of self-isolation anyway. I don’t eat out, I don’t socialize with others, I mostly keep to myself. The most time I spend with the humans is when I grocery shop about every 9 to 14 days. But I don’t think for a second that I’ve developed an immunity to the flu or any other viruses out there. I just live a very healthy lifestyle and don’t subject myself to very many opportunities where I’ll contract viruses.

‘Herd immunity’ seems like a buzzphrase implying a feeling of safety or return to normalcy through the natural development of antibodies or immunity by widespread exposure to this virus. It doesn’t seem like that’s worked with the flu, I don’t expect it will work with COVID-19 either. I wish people would stop using that term, I don’t think it’s relevant with regard to COVID-19, and just say what they’re really thinking. These extreme isolationist and shut down measures need to be lifted, and the economy restarted. It simply can’t be allowed to devolve to 16th century practices. The fallout from that is going to continue to be unpleasant, but we have to move forward amid the loss.

Please note I did not mention politicians or the media. Both have the ability to facilitate this transition or serve in an unproductive manner.

Pete is bothered:

It doesn’t feel like it’s a fair comparison, the numbers of infected + deaths generated by the flu versus those numbers incurred by COVID-19.

Pete, I appreciate that you are thinking about this issue, and wondering about it for yourself. I added my thoughts earlier on this topic - see Page 37page (warning, geeky details ahead)

Clarification: COVID-19 is a flu virus. In fact, the term "Coronavirus" has shown up for years - some one claims there is a US patent on it. The problem is that "coronavirus" is like "dog": What breed are you talking about? The virus group called "Coronavirus" was identified in about 1965. COVID-19 is a type of Coronavirus. You want documentation of the similarities and differences? Coronavirus Disease 2019 vs. the Flu from Johns Hopkins.

COVID-19 is one virus strain. any illness or death labeled as COVID-19 is only from that one strain of bug.

Flu is actually an umbrella of several strains of influenza viruses. So when you see the mortality compared (as of April 23, 2020, US deaths are 46,785. Flu averages 12,000 - 61,000 per year. See the Johns Hopkins link above.) Go ahead and sniff, "See? COVID-19 is right in the middle of the pack!" No, for two reasons. The year ain't over yet, the 2020 flu season doesn't really start till fall. and you are comparing the COVID team to the whole league.

The flu has been around for over 100 years, and the herd still hasn’t become immune to it. Tens of thousands of people (or more) get the flu every year, and it’s not as if people who come down with the flu only get it once

Flu virus usually takes about two years from a new source till it hits the worldwide population. That's a two year head start in developing a new vaccine for the new flu strain. So especially in the summer-fall you are often urged to get a flu shot. Like a magazine, the issues are similar, but different.

We do not have the luxury of two years to develop a vaccine. In that Johns Hopkins article they do point out that an official mortality rate for COVID-19 isn't settled yet, "but at present, it is thought to be higher than that of most strains of the flu."

‘Herd immunity’ seems like a buzzphrase implying a feeling of safety or return to normalcy through the natural development of antibodies or immunity by widespread exposure to this virus.

The Oxford English Dictionary says Herd Immunity is

The resistance to the spread of a contagious disease within a population that results if a sufficiently high proportion of individuals are immune to the disease, especially through vaccination.

This is more like Social Distancing, only with people who are immune standing between the people who may get the disease. It's not a buzz word.

As I said on Page 37 here, COVID-19 is more than a fancy name for a flu, and it's not a conspiracy by Big Pharma or secret Illuminati organizations. The shut down is not easy on anyone but the population needs to stay separated from each other until some form of vaccine is made available. Drugs that lower or remove the symptoms do not cut down on spreading the disease. Only hand washing, face masks, social distancing and such can slow the disease down. A vaccine given to everybody is the only way to kill the virus once it gets into you.

Pete says,

Please note I did not mention politicians or the media. Both have the ability to facilitate this transition or serve in an unproductive manner

Yes. News reports are not documentation. If yo want to look up information, look on non-news web sites that you personally figured were trustworthy a year ago.

The shut down is not easy on anyone but the population needs to stay separated from each other until some form of vaccine is made available.

Errol, I'm sorry, but that's complete bullsh*t.

For starters, it has been documented numerous times already that the numbers they're giving for coronavirus deaths are wildly inflated. They're calling everything a coronavirus death based on "suspicions" and possibilities. It has also been documented that Italy, France, and Spain have been doing the same.

How can anyone believe that over 20,000 people in NYC died from coronavirus and 75% of all deaths have occurred in only 5 countries when:

• The hospital ships remained empty and were sent away
• Hospitals throughout NYC and across the country have been virtually empty this entire time. There is plenty of video proof of this.
• Hospitals nationwide have been laying off staff for weeks now
• 29 states still have fewer than 200 deaths even though the virus has spread from coast to coast.
• Sweden never went under lockdown and only lost like 1,600 people.
• South Korea was the first country to get it after China, never went into lockdown, and only lost like 1,000 people.

I've been following this daily since February. I've been documenting the facts for over two months. If you believe the news and the politicians then shame on you guys for not doing the research and thinking for yourselves. I find it incredible that in polls the U.S. population listed "Members of Congress" as the least trustworthy professionals in our society, and yet when the government told us to lock ourselves in our homes, give up our businesses, and stop living our lives because some crazy virus was gonna kill us all people jumped at the chance.

Fools.

They just told us in early March that 2 - 3 million Americans might die. Here we are a short time later and even with wildly inflated numbers we have the total at under 50,000.

I'm not going to relist the hundreds of facts I've uncovered in the past couple of months, but I will say it's incredibly disheartening to hear you guys still repeating what the government is telling us when no institution on Earth has ever proven to be more unreliable or corrupt.

You would think we would have learned something about trusting politicians and the media over the past 75 years or so, not to mention thousands of years before that, but apparently there is no limit to how fraudulent or corrupt an institution's track record can be. Somehow people still think we should blindly believe what the politicians tell us.

I've also documented how wildly wrong the W.H.O has been throughout the years with their gloom and doom prophecies almost every time a new virus is detected.

Wake up, people! Look around you a little bit. Think for yourself. Do some fact-checking. Heck, if you won't do that at least go back through this conversation and look at the facts I've presented over the past couple of months.

This is not the apocalypse. It's the flu for God's sake.

Sorry, Errol, but you're not going to quote Wikipedia and use Mark Twain quotes to muddy the waters as your case. Wikipedia is crowd-sourced and famously inaccurate.

To quote Mark Twain and say "statistics are pliable" instead of giving a direct explanation for the statistics doesn't cut it. Our officials told us 2 -3 million people would die and thus far only 50,000 (they claim, anyhow) have died and your answer to that is to quote Mark Twain that statistics are pliable? Take a hike with that kind of garbage. Give me real answers.

Where are the millions of dead bodies they claimed would happen? It never happened.

Where are the overwhelmed hospitals they said would cost lives? It never happened.

If quarantine stopped the virus then why does it appear in every state of our nation and every country in the world? Quarantine didn't stop anything. It barely slowed it down for a short time. Even the W.H.O confirmed that.

You've asked me to link to documentation demonstrating that the numbers are inflated and I've done that already. I'm not going to dig back through it right now. You dig through it if you want it. It's all there. I've been doing the work for two months to demonstrate this is not what they claim it is. The evidence is everywhere if you look for it.

And how do you figure Sweden and South Korea were better prepared? Better prepared to do what? They never closed down their societies, they never went into quarantine, and there is no cure for this. So how did their preparation prevent a ton of deaths? What preparation? What exactly did they do? They're out working, going to school, and living their lives as they have been the entire time. Where are the piles of bodies we were promised?

I've also demonstrated that the W.H.O has been wildly wrong in the past about the severity of numerous strains, as they were with this one.

Let's talk about Sweden

“Of course there is pity and sorrow when somebody aged 80 dies, who could have perhaps lived for another 5 years but ... still one has to see that in proportion because for the absolute majority of the population, this virus is not dangerous”.

Chief physician and senior professor at Linköping University (Sweden), Johnny Ludvigsson

Sweden never shut down their schools. They never shut down their businesses. They're not walking around wearing masks. Their National Guard is not threatening to take ventilators at gunpoint if needed, and their hospitals are not overrun with sick people.

Yet there are no piles of bodies in the streets!

How can this be? Are they superhuman? Are they lucky? No. They're confident enough to do what they know is right instead of pandering to the panicked populous.

Sweden’s gamble on a different coronavirus approach

Sweden has taken an approach no one else is willing to test in the face of COVID-19, and the rate of death from the virus is more than twice as high as its Scandinavian neighbours. But could their approach be working? And how many lives could be spared in the process?

But in Sweden, people are still free to go to bars, restaurants, gyms and cafes. Students under the age of sixteen continue to go to school every day and people are asked not to gather in groups more than 50.

Professor Peter Nilsson, an epidemiologist and medical historian at Lund University, calls it “a flexible restrictive strategy” based on the notion that “Swedes should behave in a decent, adult way, to respect each other and abide by these fundamental precautions - social distancing, protecting the old and frail and staying home if you have got symptoms.”

Chief physician and senior professor at Linköping University, Johnny Ludvigsson, is less discreet with his opinion of this tactic, despite countries like the UK and the Netherlands quickly abandoning it upon the realisation their health authorities would not cope.

“I don’t understand why people think that herd immunity is something negative. What sort of immunity do they expect? Do they wait for the vaccine immunity?” He asks rhetorically.

Peter Nilsson explains, “just to show the very low deaths now, without taking into consideration the long term consequences [of a lockdown],” is naive, he says, “the financial breakdown could kill and hurt many more people.”

Chief physician and senior professor at Linköping University, Johnny Ludvigsson agrees.

He stresses not only can economic breakdown lead to devastating psychological effects but that people are less likely to seek treatment for morbidities such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.

“You have to look upon the total result. In the coming years, how many will die at younger ages from other causes - caused by the crisis, not necessarily the COVID-19?”.

“Of course there is pity and sorrow when somebody aged 80 dies, who could have perhaps lived for another 5 years but ... still one has to see that in proportion because for the absolute majority of the population, this virus is not dangerous”.

At this point, this whole "wringing our hands about how to get society back up and running" thing is nothing more than the medical community, the government, and the media trying to save face. They've shut down the world, panicked our society, and completely devastated the world's economy over an ordinary virus and they hope people won't figure that out. Fortunately for them, most people take everything they hear on television at face value so people have fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

Brett,

Why are Errol's opinions any less valuable than yours? You both are valuable contributors to TT, both experienced and intelligent. By putting either opinion on a post you allow the readers to make their own decisions as to what is best for them. I feel as you were a little rough on Errol for not stating what you have said on this subject before.

It's rare I do this, but almost every word of this article is critical. I'll quote much of it here, but it's a must-read for anyone who thinks the numbers they're telling us are legitimate.

Why Are They Inflating the Numbers? New York City Adding 3,800 Unconfirmed Cases to COVID-19 Death Toll - Apr 17, 2020

New York City recently added close to 3,800 deaths due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19). The problem is that the Coronavirus death toll is unconfirmed.

According to a report by Bloomberg News, ‘NYC Adds 3,800 Probable Virus Victims to Death Toll’ stated that “New York City added thousands of people to its coronavirus death toll to account for victims who died in recent weeks without a confirmed diagnosis.”

Yes, you read this right, they added close to 3,800 deaths without any confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Even on World-o-meters website it says:

New York: the numbers shown below include probable deaths (and, consequently, probable cases for the same number) as reported by New York City

So if it's "probably" a coronavirus case or death, that's good enough. They don't even test for it, and they won't question the results later on. Read on:

The data according to Mayor Bill De Blasio’s administration titled ‘Confirmed and Probable COVID-19 Deaths Weekly Report’ defines probable as:

“A death is classified as probable if the decedent was a New York City resident (NYC resident or residency pending) who had no known positive laboratory test for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) but the death certificate lists as a cause of death “COVID-19” or an equivalent”.

The press secretary to Mayor Bill de Blasio, Freddi Goldstein said:

“that the data include at-home deaths of people suspected of having Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. That judgment is based on reported symptoms including cough, fever, and shortness of breath.”

So if you happened to have a cough, a fever, or shortness of breath then you must have died from coronavirus, because what else could it be, right? Couldn't be any of a million other things, right? Because no one who has died from a heart attack, stroke, pneumonia, cancer, appendicitis, or a million other things could have possibly had those symptoms beforehand, right? So yeah, we'll just call it coronavirus. Bag 'em and tag 'em.

The Bloomberg report said that “the unconfirmed presumed victims represent about 36% of the 10,367 virus-related deaths in New York, the nation’s most populous city.”

So they admit that a full 1/3 of the total deaths were presumed and unconfirmed. That's just what they're admitting to.

Read on, this is one of my favorite parts:

Mayor De Blasio said that there was an increase in “unexplained at-home deaths” and that he “suspected many of them were caused by Covid-19″and he also said that “there’s no question in my mind and the doctors can speak to this, the driver of this huge uptick in deaths at home is Covid-19 and some people are dying directly of it and some people are dying indirectly of it, but it is the tragic X factor here.”

There is something terribly wrong with this picture. Why are they adding unconfirmed cases to the death toll?

Ahhh.........the "tragic X factor."

It's interesting that the Mayor says there is no question in his mind that these were coronavirus deaths because there was no question in their minds a short time ago that several million Americans would die and that the hospitals would be overflowing with patients.

But this isn't just limited to New York. The CDC got in on this too:

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) came out with ‘Guidelines for Certifying Covid-19 Deaths’ that clearly states the following:

"In Cases where a definite diagnosis of COVID-19 cannot be made, but it is suspected or likely (e.g. the circumstances are compelling within a reasonable degree of certainty), it is acceptable to report COVID-19 on a death certificate as “probable” or “presumed”

So again, even according to the CDC, if it seems like it might have been coronavirus, that's good enough. After all, everyone is dying from it these days.

So why would they inflate the numbers? One explanation:

Why did the CDC release guidelines that will certify questionable Covid-19 deaths in the first place? One answer to that question is that First and foremost, The CDC and the pharmaceutical industry (Big Pharma) want to scare the public about the seriousness of the outbreak, which is serious especially for the elderly and those with serious health issues. But they also want the public to believe that a future vaccine that is already in development is needed to combat the Coronavirus.

For Big Pharma, an elevated death toll with inflated numbers will allow the state to vaccinate the public because of the fear factor. The bigger the number, the more people will want the Covid-19 vaccine so that they themselves won’t end up being part of that statistic. The CDC is pro-Big Pharma and pro-vaccine.

As more data is released down the road, unsettling truths about the death toll will be revealed and hopefully, people will wake up from the mass hysteria.

Navypoppop,

The entire purpose of my reporting is to give the statistics, circumstances, and historical perspectives that are not easily found or promoted by the mainstream media, the medical community, or politicians. My information is not meant to drive panic and fear, promote the sale of pharmaceuticals and vaccines, or promote one political viewpoint over another.

I simply want people to consider viewpoints outside of the mainstream media and think for themselves. For God's sake, we must look into the facts, consider all viewpoints, and think for ourselves.

Most people share Errol's opinions because they get them from the same source - television. And when they're presented with facts they can't reconcile with their own opinions they try to dismiss them by muddying the waters with nonsensical quotes that call the source into question.

Not enough people are really digging into this to uncover the facts and determine for themselves what they believe is going on here and how we should handle it. Most people simply believe the politicians and jump onto the "We're all in this together" bandwagon and can't wait to get home to join the quarantine in hopes they're part of a movement that's saving humanity from an apocalypse.

It seems we've forgotten that politicians can't be trusted. In fact, the medical community is split on this issue, but you never hear from doctors who say, "Hey, this is just an ordinary virus. Let's not panic and do anything crazy." If you listen to the mainstream media you would believe that every doctor in the world is in agreement, when in fact that's far from the case.

In the end, there will be no question as to whether or not I'm wrong. Millions of Americans will die if I'm wrong. There's no avoiding that. You can't stop a virus, you can only slow the spread. So if this virus is as deadly as they say, millions of Americans will die in the coming months.

I know that will not happen because many places throughout the world have already demonstrated this is an ordinary virus, not some super-virus that will kill tens of millions. In fact, if this was some super-virus, many millions would be dead already with millions more to come. That is far from the case.

There are also way too many inconsistencies. How is it that over 20,000 people died in NYC alone under strict quarantine when in South Korea and Sweden the numbers are extremely low and they're not under quarantine? Shouldn't that raise red flags?

They said millions would die, and thus far only 2% of that has happened, and even that number is clearly inflated by "suspected cases." Why doesn't that make people wonder what's really going on here?

They said the hospitals were overrun and yet clearly they're almost empty and they're even laying off staff. The hospital ships went unused. Yet somehow everyone still thinks we're going to be pushing piles of bodies into mass graves. I don't get it.

I just want people to look into things for themselves and draw their own conclusions. Somehow our society has gotten to the point that a person who doesn't trust politicians and do what they're told is a lunatic or a menace to society. How easily we forget.

And should we trust the medical community? Well, if you guys want a cause to rally around and something to panic over, I'll give it to you - and it sure isn't this virus.

The third-leading cause of death in US most doctors don’t want you to know about

A recent Johns Hopkins study claims more than 250,000 people in the U.S. die every year from medical errors. Other reports claim the numbers to be as high as 440,000.

Medical errors are the third-leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer.

Makary defines a death due to medical error as one that is caused by inadequately skilled staff, error in judgment or care, a system defect or a preventable adverse effect. This includes computer breakdowns, mix-ups with the doses or types of medications administered to patients and surgical complications that go undiagnosed.

So our fine medical folks making boo-boo's is the third leading cause of death in America. Yes, I believe these are good-hearted people with great intentions. But something needs to be done about this.

So far they tell us that 50,000 people have died in the U.S. from coronavirus, but somewhere between 5 and 9 times that many will die from simple mistakes that should never have happened. Yet somehow no one talks about this.

Do the research. Gather the facts. Think for yourself.

Is FMCSA still enforcing all regulations with this crazy COVID-19 going on now? How do you keep track of everything. Small owner operator going a bit crazy.

Brett observes:

Most people share Errol's opinions because they get them from the same source - television. And when they're presented with facts they can't reconcile with their own opinions they try to dismiss them by muddying the waters with nonsensical quotes that call the source into question.

Yes, admit I linked to information on Wikipedia. I also called it a "stew" of information. My Bad. However, none of the information or links I wrote were from or to Television or radio (See Pete's comment). If you consider globalresearch.ca or Worldometer or CNBC (a TV network more or even as authoritative as Becker's Hospital CFO Report Beckers Hospital Review, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins University the Oxford English DictionaryOxford English Dictionary or The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, that I did quote and link to, so be it.

Well, I tried to express a 100% differing opinion. Dealing with public safety involves all humans and I thought it was important to speak up here. At any rate, dropping mic and leaving the stage. Not necessarily leaving the building - teaching about trucking is important to me these days.

It is getting harder and harder to have a rational discussion on this issue because even though people claim to be rational and cool headed, the truth is that almost everyone's opinion on this subject is ideology tainted. Following is a short interview which, even though was aired on a liberal leftist platform, yet I thought it was fairly reasonable.

[Video in the next comment below]