# Anyone else questioning the extent of "social isolation"? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 17, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671 "2020-03-17T18:26:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/481 "2020-03-31T13:57:47Z")
I forgot. The governments only purpose so to serve and help the people. Does anyone believe that? 😄 Their purpose is to Control. Fear helps with that. Do you know how many died from flu in Ohio in recent years? Lots more than this. You keep trusting the powers that be ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/482 "2020-03-31T14:05:50Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > I forgot. The governments only purpose so to serve and help the people. Does anyone believe that? 😄 Their purpose is to Control. Fear helps with that. Do you know how many died from flu in Ohio in recent years? Lots more than this. You keep trusting the powers that be When as many people catch covid in one year as typically catch the flu in one year you will see that covid is in fact more deadly. The only reason more people have died of flu is because so very many more people have caught the flu. But keep spreading disinformation, you can not only harm yourself but may some other people, too, as a bonus! ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/483 "2020-03-31T14:59:22Z")
Here’s a good video from Japan (NHK) that shows how coughing and sneezing spread viruses. You’ll probably change your definition of “social distancing” after watching it. I hope so. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vBvFkQizTT4/maxresdefault.jpg "SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus Micro-droplets - NHK World report") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBvFkQizTT4) ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/484 "2020-03-31T15:07:15Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > I forgot. The governments only purpose so to serve and help the people. Does anyone believe that? 😄 Their purpose is to Control. Fear helps with that. Do you know how many died from flu in Ohio in recent years? Lots more than this. You keep trusting the powers that be Who elects the people? Who gives them power? Your statement is essentially waving a white flag and conceding that you have no power or influence at all over anything, which of course is sheer nonsense. Government has power, but so do you. It’s up to you to decide what kind of people you want to have at the controls and in the cockpit. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/485 "2020-03-31T15:12:47Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > You may well be right, but the WHO says there have been 3310 deaths in China so far. Unless we have authoritative information to the contrary, I suppose this number stands. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the true Chinese death count was an order of magnitude above what is claimed. Even a count of 30K dead is surprisingly low for a billion-plus population living in dense conditions. That is why I think US death projections (200K+) are highly overrated. Since the WHO is under the thumb of the CCP (wont even recognize Taiwan even though the WHO is supposed to be an international agency), their participation in this pandemic is troublesome. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/486 "2020-03-31T15:14:27Z")
[quote=“asahi, post:483, topic:849671”] Here’s a good video from Japan (NHK) that shows how coughing and sneezing spread viruses. You’ll probably change your definition of “social distancing” after watching it. I hope so. [/QUOTE] Thank you for sharing this. That's a good, and important, video. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/487 "2020-03-31T15:26:16Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Since the WHO is under the thumb of the CCP (wont even recognize Taiwan even though the WHO is supposed to be an international agency), their participation in this pandemic is troublesome. Basically nobody officially recognizes Taiwan. Why single out the WHO as being under China’s thumb? ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/488 "2020-03-31T18:19:17Z")
Assign, if only the people utilized their power this shamm would be over. Instead we’re all huddled scared inside. It’s so easy to take away people’s rights. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/489 "2020-03-31T18:20:44Z")
What sham? You don’t believe there’s a pandemic going on? ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/490 "2020-03-31T18:21:07Z")
Sorry, spellchecker is messing my post of your username ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/491 "2020-03-31T18:34:03Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Assign, if only the people utilized their power this shamm would be over. Instead we’re all huddled scared inside. It’s so easy to take away people’s rights. Yeah, power to the people! Let’s have a massive _cough, cough_ demonstration in every major city! We’ll show _them_ we won’t be _cough, gasp_ buffaloed into believing this silly disease is _gasp, pant_ dangerous! You go first. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/492 "2020-03-31T18:40:25Z")
Narcs never get the look right and always over-play their hands. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/493 "2020-03-31T18:52:03Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Do you know how many died from flu in Ohio in recent years? Lots more than this. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/494 "2020-03-31T18:52:36Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Assign, if only the people utilized their power this shamm would be over. Instead we’re all huddled scared inside. It’s so easy to take away people’s rights. I don’t mean this as an attack or to sound condescending; it’s just an observation that by having such a jaundiced view of government’s scope, you are probably, ironically, making real authoritarianism more likely. We can’t look at the government as this evil machine that’s separate from the people who put them into power. We have - at least for now - a largely democratic society. We have institutions. We have to trust that institutions will do their job. That means putting an emphasis on having people in positions of power who can be good civil servants and do their jobs. A failed response creates like this one can create cynicism, which can deepen suspicion and distrust of the government. People aren’t good at stopping a pandemic on their own. We’ve seen that time and time again. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/495 "2020-03-31T19:42:35Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Basically nobody officially recognizes Taiwan. Why single out the WHO as being under China’s thumb? Nation States dont out of self interest. The WHO ia an international organization that is supposedly looking after the worlds health and safety. [https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/14/asia/coronavirus-who-china-intl-hnk/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/14/asia/coronavirus-who-china-intl-hnk/index.html) > [@](#): > > The WHO’s praise of China’s response have led critics to question the relationship between the two entities. The UN agency relied on funding and the cooperation of members to function, giving wealthy member states like China considerable influence. Perhaps one of the most overt examples of China’s sway over the WHO is its success in blocking Taiwan’s access to the body, a position that could have very real consequences for the Taiwanese people if the virus takes hold there. > The WHO’s position regarding China has also renewed a longstanding debate about whether the WHO, founded 72 years ago, is sufficiently independent to allow it to fulfill its purpose. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/496 "2020-03-31T19:54:18Z")
Read what you just quoted. The WHO is a UN agency. The UN doesn’t recognize Taiwan therefore neither can WHO. Yes, China has power in the UN just like Russia, and the US. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/497 "2020-03-31T19:59:19Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Read what you just quoted. The WHO is a UN agency. The UN doesn’t recognize Taiwan therefore neither can WHO. Yes, China has power in the UN just like Russia, and the US. This is a global pandemic and the WHO has a higher duty to every nation on the planet. The only reason Taiwan is being excluded is because China is acting petty and imperial. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-taiwan-who/taiwan-says-who-not-sharing-coronavirus-information-it-provides-pressing-complaints-idUSKBN21H1AU](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-taiwan-who/taiwan-says-who-not-sharing-coronavirus-information-it-provides-pressing-complaints-idUSKBN21H1AU) > [@](#): > > Taiwan’s lack of membership of the U.N. body, due to Chinese pressure which claims the island as its own with no right to the trappings of statehood, has infuriated the Taiwanese government during the outbreak of the virus. > > Taiwan’s government has said that keeping it out of the WHO during the outbreak amounts to playing politics with Taiwanese lives, even as the island has won plaudits for keeping its case toll so comparatively low thanks to early detection and control methods. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/498 "2020-03-31T20:32:26Z")
So what has the United States said about Taiwan’s exclusion from WHO? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/499 "2020-03-31T20:37:05Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > I forgot. The governments only purpose so to serve and help the people. Does anyone believe that? 😄 Their purpose is to Control. Fear helps with that. **Do you know how many died from flu in Ohio in recent years? Lots more than this.** You keep trusting the powers that be You have no way of knowing. [From here.](https://patch.com/ohio/cleveland/flu-spikes-again-ohio-scares-more-people-coronavirus) (Feb 23, 2020) > [@](#): > > There were 1,192 hospitalizations in Ohio last week related to the flu, according to the Ohio Department of Health. More than 6,600 Ohioans have been hospitalized because of influenza this flu season. > > Two children have died from influenza this flu season, an 11-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl. **Adult flu deaths are not reported to the state.** Flu-related hospitalization continue to spike statewide despite less people testing positive for influenza nationwide. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/500 "2020-03-31T23:52:49Z")
I asked a question upthread that I didn’t mean to be just rhetorical, but no one ever responded: is Joe Biden wrong (both personally and in terms of setting an example) to sit on his porch and talk to his grandkids who are standing out in the yard? I doubt they are any further away than **Manda Jo’s** 25 feet. > [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > If the laymen suggests that “How is it that a brief chat won’t infect anyone but a long one will”, then I’m going to take the advice of the expert and not the laymen who is “just asking questions” and hasn’t actually offered any advice. > > I think its been pointed out over and over again the failures to learn from Asian countries over this. And the failure of the US Administration has been criminal. But you don’t think we should be talking about that either, so lets just pretend that isn’t happening. Oh, FFS, I’m trying to follow the rules about what content belongs in this thread. In other threads, OTOH, I have posted plenty about that, which would be off topic here. Such as this post, for example, from way back in February: > [@A coronavirus pandemic provides a HUGE opportunity for Democrats](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/1): > > [Coronavirus in U.S.: Trump cut funding to CDC, other disease response efforts | Fortune](https://fortune.com/2020/02/26/coronavirus-covid-19-cdc-budget-cuts-us-trump/) > > > [@](#): > > > > The Trump administration recently requested $2.5 billion in emergency funds to prepare the U.S. for a possible widespread outbreak of coronavirus. Critics, though, are pointing out that money might not be necessary if the administration hadn’t spent the past two years largely dismantling government units that were designed to protect against pandemics. > > The cuts started in 2018, as the White House focused on eliminating funding to Obama-era disease security programs. In March of that year, Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer, whose job it was to lead the U.S. response in the event of a pandemic, abruptly left the administration and his global health security team was disbanded. > > That same year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was forced to slash its efforts to prevent global disease outbreak by 80% as its funding for the program began to run out. The agency, at the time, opted to focus on 10 priority countries and scale back in others, including China > > David Axelrod said you should never waste a crisis. Democrats need to make Trump and McConnell pay DEARLY for this. Just absolutely BURN them to the ground. And actually, I _have_ been offering advice: as noted above, I’ve been saying for a while now that the official advice not to wear masks was bullshit propaganda, and it is increasingly becoming clear with each passing day that I was right about that. I also passed on my exercise tips for getting good cardio and resistance exercise in the home without risking going outside. > [@MandaJo](#): > > I also think that inverse square law applies. If 2 meters has been determined to be “safe enough”, then 3 meters is going to be substantially safer–and 4 meters dramatically safer. This was my intuition too. But I just saw somewhere (I don’t recall exactly where, but I’m sure it was a trustworthy source) that it turns out not to be like EM radiation at all. Instead, 12 feet apart is not even twice as safe as 6 feet apart, much less four times as safe. > [@Helena330](#): > > I’m fortunate that I’ve been able to shelter-in-place since March 8th. So have a lot of others around here and the Seattle area is reporting a slowing. The people that aren’t doing their part really, really piss me off. I can’t tell you how heart-breaking it is that you’re one of them. What a weird, false, unfair, strawmannish allegation. :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671.md?page=26)