Californians Ignored Lockdown Orders; Now Hospitals are Full
By: Manny Otiko
Tags: Covid-19, Coronavirus, Covid 19 Crisis, Politics

About a week ago, I got into a heated exchange on a Facebook page about Riverside County news. From reading some of the posts on the group, I was surprised to learn that some Californians are trying to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom. They’re mad at his lockdown rules.

I’ve known for a while there has been anger bubbling at Newsom’s rules. In Orange County, which has wealthy and conservative enclaves, residents staged protests over the lockdown. Apparently making money was more important than saving lives. I also watched an Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting where residents spouted COVID-19 conspiracy theories that sounded straight out of the mouth of Alex Jones.

I was also shocked when I read a white paper put out by the Orange County Board of Education that stated that children were practically immune from the coronavirus and masks didn’t work. The paper said: “Requiring children to wear masks during school is not only difficult — if not impossible to implement — but not based on science.”

Message from Sheriff Bianco 12–04–20 (YouTube)

Sheriff refuses to enforce the law

Things aren’t much better over here in Riverside County. County Sheriff Chad Bianco has also dismissed the lockdown rules. In a video, he stated that he would refuse to enforce the governor’s orders, which he called “dictatorial.” This stance has made him a hero on the right and he’s been interviewed by FOX News and One America News (OAN.) That’s not necessarily a good thing. FOX News cared so much about its audience it downplayed COVID-19 and sent people to their deaths. Meanwhile, FOX News owner Rupert Murdoch has isolated himself since March and network employees all work from home. And it’s never a good thing to be on the same side as a conspiracy network such as OAN that also employs a Russian propagandist.

Americans will choke on their own ignorance. The inability to think critically and process information led Americans to make an enemy of the United States president. And that same attitude is going to cause thousands of more Americans to die from the coronavirus.

During my exchange on the Facebook page, I pointed out that Newsom was doing his best in a bad situation. One of the other posters said I could wear a mask if I wanted to, but other people had the right not to wear one. Disgusted, I deleted the entire conversation. And people wonder why America leads the world in coronavirus infections and deaths?

No room at the hospital

Right now, things are really bad. According to the California Department of Health, hospitals in Los Angeles and San Joaquin counties are at 0 percent capacity. Los Angeles area hospitals are talking about rationing healthcare. So, if you get sick, don’t expect to be admitted. In many cases, they’ll tell you to stay home. Not the type of language you want to hear when you’re going through a medical emergency. My friend, who works retail in Temecula, told me one of her co-workers came down with COVID-19 and now has pneumonia. The hospital told her to stay home and ride it out. And every day she deals with angry customers who want to fight store employees over the right to go maskless.

I’m acutely aware of this situation. About four months ago, I went to the hospital in intense pain because I had a kidney stone. However, things weren’t as bad as they are now. I could still get an ambulance to take me to the local hospital, which is less than 10 minutes from my house. Now, I would have been ordered to stay home and grit my teeth.

A local gym that’s still open. (Photo by Manny Otiko)

People still don’t get it

And yet people still aren’t heeding the warnings and acting like the disease that’s killed 330,000 people isn’t a big deal. A few months ago, I deleted a Facebook friend because she said she “didn’t believe in the coronavirus.” On Christmas Day, I noticed that my apartment complex seemed to be buzzing as people held parties. And I also saw a local gym is still open. Several medical experts say the next month will be even worse. It’s just a matter of time before the COVID-19 death toll hits 400,000. Back in the early days of the pandemic, emergency medicine experts such as Dr. Irvwin Redlener, a public health activist, had predicted that number.

As I’ve said many times before, Americans will choke on their own ignorance. The inability to think critically and process information led Americans to make an enemy of the United States president. And that same attitude is going to cause thousands of more Americans to die from the coronavirus.