Baylie Hoffman, a West Virginia high school senior writes:

The fact that I am starting my senior year of high school on a laptop is absolutely mind boggling. Let me explain a few reasons why. This just scratches the surface.

There are 75 active cases in my county of approximately 56,450 people. READ. THAT. AGAIN!!!! Okay, maybe that didn’t sink in. Let me put it into perspective.

75 is .13% of 56,450. So a TENTH of a percent of the population of my county, has Covid right now. Yet, the people in charge have decided that it’s unsafe to attend school, sporting events, and social activities? WHAT?!

I agree.  Why are we not letting all West Virginia students get back to school?

Viruses spread, run their course and then decline.  No evidence shows that any of the interventions that have taken place, such as lockdowns, social distancing, or face masks are effective at containing the spread of the virus.  The fatality rate for those under age 44 is 0.01%, the same as the fatality rate for automobile accidents.  Children are not known to be a significant transmitter of COVID-19. For ages 45 to 54 the fatality rate is 0.14%.  For those up to age 55 to 64, there is a higher fatality rate of 0.48%.

So why all the hysteria.  Virologists understand that viruses can and will spread, and that after a period of time, many will have been infected, and then herd immunity will take effect.  So it is not the number of cases that we should be concerned about, but rather excess mortality.  That number for the United States appears to be declining, and will become more clear in the coming weeks. 

So yes, open all of the schools.  If any staff member is immune compromised, then they should be excused from coming to the school.  Teachers and staff would do well to turn off the main stream media and base their decisions on the facts mentioned here.

Consider also that only 6% of all the fatalities reported as COVID-19 fatalities involved only COVID-19.  All the rest involved comorbidities.  Some may be closely related to COVID-19 infection, so the diagnoses may be reasonable.  But others are not so clear, such as heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure   and “other medical conditions”.  (See a description here).

Also, let’s consider the real damage to the social and psychological well-being of our children by forcing them to distance themselves from one another, wear masks, or, in Baylie’s case, stay at home altogether. 

The West Virginia legislature should convene immediately and put an end to Governor Justice’s unjustified mandates.  It should fall to each individual and family, in the case of minors, to decide what actions are appropriate.  If those who deem themselves at high risk wish to wear a face mask, fine.  But it is not the role of the government to mandate “protective measures” based on dubious assumptions of effectiveness.  The numbers bandied about since the beginning of this “pandemic” have been highly inflated, and continue to be inaccurate.