by Kerry Dougherty
Some folks will thank him. But I won’t. I refuse to express gratitude to Gov. Ralph Northam for not announcing more COVID-19 restrictions during yesterday’s press conference that would strip away even more of our liberties.
Like most Virginians, I am, however, relieved. Governors across the country — mostly Democrats — appear to be in an arms race to see just how arbitrary and oppressive their emergency orders can get before leading to an insurrection.
Reading slowly from his notes, as always, Northam warned that if numbers continue to spike “everything is on the table.”
Lucky us.
Numbers may be up, but Virginia still has plenty of hospital beds — 6,954 including surge beds. ICU’s are operating at 77 percent and no hospital in the commonwealth is reporting a shortage of supplies or PPE.
It’s worth remembering that of the 3,768 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Virginia, 1,997 or 52.9% were in nursing homes. Another 29 deaths in long-term-care facilities were reported yesterday.
We can’t get the vaccine to the elderly fast enough.
Southwest Virginia is essentially having its first wave of the virus and the governor warned that some folks there can’t go to hospitals near their homes because of a bed shortage.
That’s a shame but an unfortunate situation that didn’t start with COVID-19.
I’ve written about this before, but for those eating paste in the back of the room I’ll repeat it: In the fall of 2019 a friend of mine on the Outer Banks became critically ill. There were no beds for him in Elizabeth City and none in Chesapeake, Norfolk or Virginia Beach, either. He wound up in a Greenville hospital, far from his home.
Hospitals make no money on empty beds. Many operate at or near capacity.
For now, Northam is blaming Tennessee’s lack of a mask mandate for Virginia’s Southwest situation. Ridiculous.
Northam quote of the day: “It’s all about looking at the data.”
Good one, gov.
Now show us the data that put 5-year-olds in masks two weeks ago. Oh, and how about the data that reduced the number of spectators allowed at OUTDOOR sporting events to 250, even in stadiums that hold more than 60,000.
When a reporter asked about the Campbell County Board of Supervisor’s vote this week to become Virginia’s first “First Amendment Sanctuary” Northam replied, “I will remind everyone in Virginia that we’re not the enemy. The enemy is the virus. So we all need to work together to attack the virus, not each other.”
Campbell County officials voted unanimously to ignore the governor’s unconstitutional COVID emergency orders and directed law enforcement to do that as well. Appomattox County is poised to follow suit.
This could get interesting.
This column was republished with permission from Kerry: Unemployed & Unedited.
