COVID Lockdowns: A Looking Glass Into Our ‘Science-Driven’ Future

In March, President Trump tweeted in reference to the coronavirus lockdowns, “WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF.” As usual, Trump’s plain-spoken, blunt messaging, despite its lack of nuance, was prophetic in more ways than one.

I write from Los Angeles County, California, where coronavirus restrictions are among the most stringent in the country. For all intents and purposes, LA County never fully reopened. Indoor dining, for instance, was never allowed. Yet despite the robust lockdown policy, we now appear to be the epicenter of the COVID surge in America. Earlier in the pandemic saga, surges were treated by experts and media alike as a symptom of Republican COVID-denial. Science-refuting laxness around mask wearing and reckless economic freedoms, typically embraced by Republican lawmakers, were being repaid, so the logic went, with higher COVID case rates. When Florida and Texas experienced a summer surge, their negligent COVID policies were deemed the culprit.