More praise for Hot Drunken Hockey
In April of 2020 I wrote a letter to the editor of a local newspaper. In my letter I detailed how the data did not support the COVID narrative and I asked if we are now going to lockdown every cold and flu season. I was mocked for comparing COVID to influenzas. The editor stated that if I thought COVID was just the flu I was not paying attention. In one respect the editor was correct. I was not paying attention. I was watching the data and paying no heed to the fear porn disseminated by the media on behalf of the government.
COVID was nothing more than a new respiratory virus affecting people during cold and flu season. I knew that 4 years ago and now even the CDC has admitted it. The CDC now includes COVID among the list of respiratory viruses that all demand the same attention.
Each year, respiratory viruses are responsible for millions of illnesses and thousands of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States. In addition to the virus that causes COVID-19, there are many other types of respiratory viruses, including flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The good news is there are actions you can take to help protect yourself and others from health risks caused by respiratory viruses.
The CDC has made this admission just as a new paper has been published showing the few countries not stupid enough to follow the CDC guidance had remarkably good success.
Belarus’s beleaguered government remains unfazed by covid-19. President Aleksander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, has flatly denied the seriousness of the pandemic, refusing to impose a lockdown, close schools, or cancel mass events like the Belarusian football league or the Victory Day parade.
Yet the country’s death rate is among the lowest in Europe—just over 700 in a population of 9.5 million with over 73 000 confirmed cases.
The world ignored Belarus but I didn’t. I have mentioned Belarus and their remarkable success many times on this blog. Belarus rejected all of the stupid guidance from all of the various health agencies and decided to combat COVID with saunas, vodka, and hockey. Their choice to treat COVID as another normal seasonal virus saved thousands of lives lost in other countries to lockdowns.
Belarus did not prevent infections but then neither did the lockdowns. What Belarus prevented was deaths. They avoided excess deaths by avoiding lockdowns.
In reality Belarus did employ more than just hockey and vodka; they had a very robust COVID response.
Citizens began practising self-isolation early on. On 26 March a crowdfunding campaign “ByCovid19” was launched in order to buy safety equipment for hospitals across the country. The movement collected around $360 000 (£277 000; €304 000) in three months and, with the help of nearly 1500 volunteers, they purchased and distributed around 450 000 pieces of personal protective equipment, oxygen tanks, and other medical equipment.
Sick people stayed home and resources were provided to hospitals to treat critically ill. The resources were provided free of any strings. Doctors were allowed to use their own experience and judgment to treat patients as they saw fit. In the spring of 2020 this approach was radical when compared to other countries. But, at no time in history up until 2020 would this response have been seen as abnormal. The 4 years of COVID hysteria is what was not normal.
Lukashenko, who is often portrayed as a ruthless dictator by the media, chose not to kill his own people. That made him a notable outlier. Most Western leaders chose the opposite. They chose to kill in return for political and personal financial gain. It is way past time to acknowledge this and to act on this knowledge. These people need to be punished. COVID was not a dangerous pandemic it was murder for profit.
