Mixed Messages About Lockdowns Cause Confusion | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's note: The author of this post is Mitch Kokai for the John Locke Foundation.

    Cassidy Morrison of the Washington Examiner reports on the impact of unclear messaging from federal and state officials about the justification for economic lockdowns.

  • A lack of clarity about the purpose of stay-at-home orders and mixed messages from federal and state government officials have confused the public, contributing to social-distancing fatigue.
  • "I think there's been a real lack in clarity as to the goals, which the orders have clear, but it's not been clear for people about why they're supposed to do it," said Dr. Suzanne Judd, an epidemiologist at the University of Alabama Birmingham's School of Public Health.
  • In widely watched coronavirus task force briefings, starting in mid-March, the coronavirus task force asked people to self-isolate for two weeks, and then another month, to "Slow the Spread."
  • Around the same time, a grassroots campaign to "flatten the curve" took off, a goal understood to mean slowing the spread of the virus so that fewer people are sick at one time and the hospital system can care for everyone without becoming overwhelmed.
  • Weeks later, the U.S. as a whole has flattened the curve. The rate of new hospitalizations is down thanks to social distancing efforts. Hospital systems have not been overwhelmed.
  • Yet a majority of states have not withdrawn shelter-in-place orders, causing confusion about what the goal behind the orders is. ...
  • ... Public support for state stay-at-home orders remains strong, but has slipped in recent weeks. About 62% of Americans say reopening the country too quickly is not worth it because more people would die, according to ABC News/Ipsos polling from May 8. Polling from April 24 showed that 72% of Americans were more worried about moving too quickly rather than too slowly to reopen the country.

    The primary public policy debate in North Carolina today involves the pace of Gov. Roy Cooper's phased reopening of the state's economy. Follow Carolina Journal Online's continuing coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic HERE.
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




How to Bolster Telemedicine Post-Coronavirus John Locke Foundation Guest Editorial, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics Watergate-Era Lawyers Try to Influence Judge Against Flynn


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

ancient forests being destroyed to build wind turbines and solar "farms"
President Joe Biden took direct aim at Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during a recent interview, referring to him simply as “the guy who likes to spend a lot of time on yachts.”
The best way the county and city can help hold down inflation is to resist all tax increases
Pope Francis lambasted leftist gender ideology during an address this week, warning that it presented an extreme danger to mankind.
amnesty would just encourage more illegal aliens to storm our borders
The Christmas candy was barely off the shelves when the Valentine’s candy appeared. Red and pink hearts with caramel and nut-filled chocolate goodness caught our eye. We are reminded of how we love love. Young love, especially.
far left sugar daddy has also funded anti-Israel groups and politicians in US

HbAD1

Be careful what you wish for, you may get it
America needs to wake up and get its priorities right
Former President Donald Trump suggested this week that if he becomes president again, he might allow Prince Harry to be deported.
It's a New Year, which means it's time to make resolutions — even for prominent evangelical leaders. The Babylon Bee asked the following well-known figures in the faith what they hope to accomplish in 2024:
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit a Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic, reportedly the first time a president or vice president has visited an abortion facility.
An eight-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville has been temporarily closed due to a string of “human and bear interactions,” the National Parks Service announced.
University of Wisconsin tried to punish conservatives for the fact that liberals regularly commit crimes to silence opposition
most voters think EU officials not doing a good job on illegal immigration
Come from behind by GOP candidate is a blueprint to 2024

HbAD2

Biden spending and energy policies to blame
Tuberculosis carried by illegal invaders has already infected Texas cattle
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said this week that the only campaign promise President Joe Biden has delivered on as president is the complete dismantling of the U.S. southern border.
Hamas is reeling after losing two of their most cherished leaders on the same day: military commander Saleh al-Arouri, and Harvard President Claudine Gay.
President Joe Biden’s brother told the Internal Revenue Service that Hunter Biden told him he was in business with a “protege of President Xi,” referring to the leader of China, according to notes by an IRS investigator that were divulged during a congressional interview of Jim Biden.
Gov. Roy Cooper seeks a temporary restraining order to block a law changing the composition of the State Board of Elections.
X owner Elon Musk mocked a news segment from ABC News this week that promoted President Joe Biden’s talking points about the Democrat-led Senate’s failed border bill, which critics and many experts have said would make the situation on the border worse.
That’s the question Marguerite Roza of Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab sought to answer in a recent webinar on the topic.

HbAD3

 
Back to Top