*Four other doctors, and a nurse practitioner, are also signatories.* *MCM* Eight Reasons to End the Lockdowns As Soon as Possible
[image: Jonathan Geach, M.D.] <https://medium.com/@jbgeach?source=post_page-----b7bb0bc94f00----------------------> Jonathan Geach, M.D. <https://medium.com/@jbgeach?source=post_page-----b7bb0bc94f00----------------------> Apr 11 <https://medium.com/@jbgeach/eight-reasons-to-end-the-lockdowns-as-soon-as-possible-b7bb0bc94f00?source=post_page-----b7bb0bc94f00----------------------> · 5 min read <https://medium.com/p/b7bb0bc94f00/share/twitter?source=post_actions_header---------------------------> <https://medium.com/p/b7bb0bc94f00/share/facebook?source=post_actions_header---------------------------> https://medium.com/@jbgeach/eight-reasons-to-end-the-lockdowns-as-soon-as-possible-b7bb0bc94f00 This post does not deny the effectiveness of social distancing or quarantine for COVID-19. I am not encouraging people to suspend these practices before official determinations have been made public. This post is to help physicians, thought leaders and public officials understand and weigh the risks and benefits of extended lockdowns versus more measured and earlier return to work measures.We have already flattened the curve Social distancing works. We have gone from predictions of millions of deaths, to hundreds of thousands and now we are predicting about 60 thousand deaths <https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america>. This is with the likely over reporting of death. <https://amgreatness.com/2020/04/06/are-covid-19-deaths-being-overreported/> Dr. Birx admitted the attribution of death to COVID-19 has been liberal. If the death count were limited to deaths directly caused by COVID-19, it would likely be even lower than this. *[Click on the link for the figures.]* The most effective time for social distancing is early in a pandemic. <https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-flatten-the-curve.html> Lockdowns also slow the development of herd immunity, which helps a society move past the virus. We can still practice good hand hygiene, wear masks in public, and continue social distancing for the elderly and high risk, while we develop protective herd immunity for those most at risk. By the time the lockdowns began, COVID-19 had already been seeded in the US for months, limiting the effectiveness of the lockdowns in the first place as the virus was already widespread. Economic collapse and unemployment are destroying families Each day the shutdown continues, we are losing approximately one million jobs, as evidenced by 16.5 million initial weekly jobless claims in three weeks (since March 26). Many of these lost jobs will never return. If the lockdowns continue through April (essentially, a best-case scenario), we’ll be lucky if job losses are limited to 25 million. Many people see 6.6 million people as just a number , as Len Kieffer put it, <http://lenkiefer.com/2020/04/03/us-labor-market-update-april-2020/>it is the size of the state of Missouri. Twenty five million is almost the size of the state of Texas! *[Click on the link for the figures, and then the rest of the article.]* Each day the shutdown continues, we are losing approximately one million jobs, as evidenced by 16.5 million initial weekly jobless claims in three weeks (since March 26). Many of these lost jobs will never return. If the lockdowns continue through April (essentially, a best-case scenario), we’ll be lucky if job losses are limited to 25 million. Many people see 6.6 million people as just a number , as Len Kieffer put it, <http://lenkiefer.com/2020/04/03/us-labor-market-update-april-2020/> Social distancing works. We have gone from predictions of millions of deaths, to hundreds of thousands and now we are predicting about 60 thousand deaths <https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america>. This is with the likely over reporting of death. <https://amgreatness.com/2020/04/06/are-covid-19-deaths-being-overreported/> -- If you appreciate News From Underground, please consider making a donation — either a one-time gift or a monthly subscription: http://markcrispinmiller.com/support/ Thank you for your support. Ways to unsubscribe: 1) send a blank email to newsfromunderground+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com PLEASE NOTE: you must unsubscribe using the SAME email with which you subscribed 2) go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "News From Underground" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to newsfromunderground+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/newsfromunderground/CAGxB6W9YHNNnzXMGxDz_eoB_O2-AGf3yoW1byPZC%3DXZ8HUt2mw%40mail.gmail.com.
