No Holy Communion In Toronto

I think it's plain to just about anyone whose livelihood doesn't depend on adhering to the conventional wisdom that "reopening", with its associated phases, masks, social distancing, and scrupulous protocols on who may sell a drink to whom, if standing, seated the bar, seated and consuming food, or just outside, has been nothing but an elaborate face-saving exercise for the public health establishment, which has effectively destroyed its credibility in the COVID episode.

A very good example of the late phase of this movement can be found in Toronto's June 20, 2020 COVID-19 Guidance for Places of Worship:

Faith communities have continued their work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with the exception of inperson gatherings at their place of worship, since these were prohibited by provincial order as part of an unprecedented effort to contain the spread of the virus. In-person gatherings for prayer and worship are now permitted with certain conditions, as described in this guidance document.

This oozes condescension. "Faith communities" get a pat on the head for continuing their "work", which presumably was not much more than social services at a reduced scale, since the State had forbidden gatherings, sabbath observance, or sacraments. But now the State will allow limited gatherings for the sabbath, as long as sacraments aren't involved:

• Suspend all communion-related activities as advised by Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health.
• Suspend all social gatherings, including those that occur before or after the service, as advised by Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health.
• Suspend food services at this time.
• Participation of religious services is limited to no more than 30% of the capacity of your premises.

This, I think, is an indication of the residual English influence on Canadian culture, where the State clearly has primacy over religious activities and is specifying liturgical practice every bit as much as Parliament tried to do in passing legislation on vestments in the 19th century. Regulations by the State directed specifically at "houses of worship" have been more successfully challenged in the US.

The problem is that as the manufactured crisis persists, the basis for such continued restrictions is subject to ever-greater question, on the basis of "science" and consistency alone.

Up to now, for instance, the whole rationale behind masks, six-foot social distancing, and no singing in church has been that COVID is spread through droplets. But just a week ago, according to the link, "240 Scientists Say Coronavirus Can Be Spread Through the Air":

WHO guidance says the coronavirus is transmitted primarily between people through larger respiratory droplets and contact, and maintaining distance and sanitizing hands and surfaces are the ways to stop infections.

More experts are beginning to disagree, and they say more than hand-washing will be needed to prevent the virus from spreading.

"Hand-washing and social distancing are appropriate, but in our view, insufficient to provide protection from virus-carrying respiratory microdroplets released into the air by infected people. This problem is especially acute in indoor or enclosed environments, particularly those that are crowded and have inadequate ventilation," the letter said.

The story isn't clear on what we're supposed to do with this new information, but if it's true, all the masks and social distancing and don't-go-to-the-beach are just a big never mind. The problem for the conventional wisdom is that if the plebs begins to understand this, the whole rationale for the crisis restrictions will be seen to have been superstitious. The public health establishment doesn't put it quite that way:

He said there is also a concern people will stop doing other things they need to do to prevent transmission, such as washing hands, staying apart and cleaning surfaces, if they think the virus is airborne.

But again, if the virus spreads through the air and not through droplets, then masks and all the other stuff aren't effective. So what are we supposed to do instead? The establishment proposes no substitute.

The bottom line seems to be that the disease is infecting more and more people, 75%-80% with no or very mild symptoms, and 95%-99% of whom survive no matter what, especially as medications prove effective. The rationale for masks and everything else had been that they bent the curve. But on one hand, the curve isn't bending, and on the other, it seems to matter less and less anyhow.

The conundrum for public health authorities is that as "cases" increase so rapidly, the mortality rate decreases just as rapidly, to the point that the CDC is on the verge of declaring COVID is no longer an epidemic.

So naturally, public health authorities are renewing their efforts to micromanage everything. This is increasingly unenforceable, specially as political authorities tacitly encouraged thousands of people to disregard social distancing during the recent protests. My estimate is that as incubation periods end, there will be no increase in deaths as a result, and in fact during weeks following the protests, deaths continue to decline.

At some point, this will make social distancing measures, including liturgical micromanagement from State authorities, harder and harder to justify. But the State, often irrespective of the political alignment of governments, is clearly reluctant to surrender power the people thought they were surrendering on a voluntary, temporary basis during an unprecedented crisis. How this eventually ends is anyone's guess.