We complied when they said to flatten the curve in Virginia. The numbers have never hit Virginia! Our hospitals have NEVER been overrun so our medical staff have been laid off due to insufficient patient census and cancelled procedures. People have gone without needed procedures because someone deemed them non-essential. ICUs have consistently hung around 25% capacity.
Virginia has remained shut down even though there has been no massive influx of covid. The service industry and small businesses have suffered while big box stores have remained fully operational. We have does rally's in Richmond pleading to reopen Virginia but our governor has ignored our pleas and continus to stifle the citizens of Virginia. Even though we have had a reduction in cases, the governor has recently adjusted the phased reopening to further delay citizens getting back to their regular lives because other parts of the country are having issues.
Now, looting and vandalism is overwhelming the state including our own capital. Our very successful districts are now victims of destruction while the government remains silent. Looters, rioters, and protestors are participating in events by the thousands with no issues with Covid 19. Now, citizens are encouraged to assemble to celebrate "freedom day," in blatant contradiction of the government's ban on assembled crowds. A ban which was unconstitutional from its onset.
Clearly the government is sending mixed messages to its citizens, the least of which concerns masks. By encouraging assembly, disregarding previous "suggestions" for safety, and the governor himself not following his own safety measures, Virginia citizens are implored to use their own judgment for personal safety, including wearing masks in public.
No mask on the market today, except the N95 when it is professionally fitted, offers protection from covid 19. By requiring its citizens to use masks which are proven ineffective and are so labeled on the box in which they come, Virginia is giving its citizens a false sense of security to those who chose to wear them. This directly results in the abandonment of other safety precautions they may entail, such as washing hands.
Masks are not necessary to reopen Virginia, its economy or its schools. Everything should be reopened at normal levels immediately. We are adults who can make our own health decisions. This illness is not even as bad as a regular flu season. The CDC has now said the death rate is .26% which is 1 quarter of 1%.
We need to get back to normal now before our entire state economy is destroyed.
