Day 21: California Under Martial Law Lite (Fuck Armageddon, This Is Hell)

By the end of day 19, Humboldt county hit the half century mark of people testing positive for Covid-19, the little virus that could. 50. That's anniversary material. Unfortunately, not many are wanting to celebrate this milestone. An odd proclamation from Humboldt's Health Officer, Dr. Frankovich, came on the heels of the number reveal party. She stated we were just at the beginning of the pandemic. Obviously, this caused some questions.

We were at day 19 of the shelter in place order. The virus' incubation period is 14 days. I understand that not everyone follows the order to the letter, but . . . Humboldt's been pretty much like a ghost town since it went into effect because people have, for the most part, taken it very seriously. I'm not expecting the number of infected to go away, but logic dictates that there should not be any massive spikes or even a drastic increase over time. If anything, it should be pretty steady sailing from here on out, though the numbers will most likely increase before they decrease . . . unless the shelter in place order did not really mean much at all.

Some have surmised that Frankovich knew a shelter in place order would not make any difference at all, and that it was a power play, an end run around Constitutional rights. I believe, however, that it does matter and she just wants people to remain vigilant. She wants people to continue taking precautions. After all, she just got her position at the end of January 2020, and probably fears losing it if she makes a bad decision and instead of 50 cases we have 5,000. Saying we are just at the start of it, however, makes one wonder just how bad she thinks it will get.

California says, "You get to go out when I say so."

Humboldt enacted its shelter in place order right before the state enacted its order. Humboldt is usually pretty proactive in these things. It wasn't much before the state, though. Not that it matters either way because California acted early. While other states' leaders were busy jerking off the public, California decided to play the dominatrix who would not grant you sexual release. It was time to get serious. Time to act responsible. Time to hoard toilet paper. We acted early, and it is, by all counts, saving lives.

Some have said that Dr. Frankovich is power hungry. I've never met her, so I can't say. She does wield some power, and she has plenty to lose. If people violate the shelter in place and get sick, she still gets blamed. She is in one of those no-win situations. Damned if she does. Damned if she doesn't. Saying we are just at the beginning of the pandemic, though, causes the more rational among us to question her motives and her numbers. Obviously not all information is being released to the public, but is the behind-the-scenes action so bad that her proclamation will seem prophetic in the weeks to come? Is she positioning herself to take more control away from the people? These are the questions being asked, but the most obvious answer is that she is being cautious, and that is probably correct. But . . . this is also about control and an experiment in how easy it is to pull off.

With all that in mind, guess what happened on day 20, where Humboldt was just at the "beginning" of the pandemic. Nothing. No new cases. Still only three unfortunate souls hospitalized. An amended order about essential businesses did come out earlier in the day, however. Bookstores can't be open, but pot shops can. What does that tell you about the natural order of things? It tells me everything I need to know.

An educated public is dangerous. A stoned public is easily controlled. Actions speak louder than words.