All posts tagged: Covid lockdowns

Lockdowns resulted in premature aging of teenage brains, study reports

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According to a study conducted by researchers from Stanford University, the COVID lockdowns prematurely aged teenage brains. The researchers stated that a teenager’s brain structure changes as they age and go through puberty. This includes both a thinning of the outer cortex, which helps with problem-solving and learning and the growth of the hippocampus and the amygdala which are responsible for memories and emotions. “We already know from global research that the pandemic has adversely affected mental health in youth, but we didn’t know what, if anything, it was doing physically to their brains,”, said the study’s lead author, Ian GotlibIn, in a news release announcing the findings. Prior to the pandemic, the researchers had scanned the brains of over 150 children as part of their research on teenage depression. However, the advent of the pandemic quickly changed the study’s parameters allowing them to examine the impact the COVID lockdowns had on the brain structure of teens. In its news release, Stanford University reported: “By comparing MRI scans from a cohort of 163 children taken …

Chinese people take to streets demanding an end to lockdowns

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People are taking to the streets across Communist China protesting the government’s heavy-handed approach to COVID lockdowns. The protests are being led by university students, the Daily Mail reports. The Chinese Communist Party, CCP, has instituted a zero tolerance policy, where one report case of COVID can result in oppressive lockdowns. As protests surge across the country, there were calls for ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ and as well calls for the resignation of CCP tyrant, Xi Jinping. The Daily Mail provides more details: Footage shared on social media appears to show police attacking anti-lockdown protesters who had been arrested and put on buses in Shanghai, on a third day of unrest in the world’s most populous nation. […] The witness also described students holding up blank pieces of paper, a symbolic protest against censorship. Demonstrations have erupted in at least seven cities – including Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou – with violence breaking out between local cops and furious protesters. Footage circulated on social media showed crowds tearing down metal fences and barricades as they grappled with security officers who deployed …

The failure of lockdowns

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A couple of stories suggest that the lockdowns may have done more damage to people, that the COVID pandemic they didn’t stop. From this study: Are Lockdowns Effective in Managing Pandemics?: The price tag of lockdowns in terms of public health is high: by using the known connection between health and wealth, we estimate that lockdowns may claim 20 times more life years than they save. It is suggested therefore that a thorough cost-benefit analysis should be performed before imposing any lockdown for either COVID-19 or any future pandemic. And from a British newspaper, The Telegraph: August seems a tad early for the NHS winter crisis but, apparently, it’s never too soon to start warning people not to use their health service. To be fair, we only spend £136 billion a year on it and they have got one of the world’s biggest bureaucracies to look after, fleets of luxury cars to subsidise for staff etc, so it would be entirely unreasonable to expect any treatment. You do have to marvel, though, at the brass …

Canadian pastor wins big in court

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Artur Pawlowski is the pastor from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, who refused to let police and a health inspector from the Alberta government into his church on Easter Sunday 2021, to ensure everyone was abiding by the government’s COVID regulations. He was subsequently charged with several COVID violations and as well for his his support of truck convoy protestors calling for an end of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s mandate. Well, Pawlowski had a big day in court, and it did not go well for the government, according to True North. Though the pastor lost in lower court cases, on appeal, the Alberta Court of Appeals basically found Pawlowski innocent on all charges. TNC explains: Now, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled that the injunction against him, his arrest, his jail time, the censorship order and fines against him were illegal. Justice Barbara Lea Veldhuis, Justice Michelle Crighton and Justice Jo’ Anne Strekaf ordered Alberta Health Services (AHS) to reimburse Pawlowski and his brother, Dawid, for the costs of their appeal and the return of any fines and penalties …

Survey: Over 80% of public schools say COVID had a negative impact on students

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A survey of 846 K-12 schools conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the second week of May, 2022, found that 80% of public schools reported that COVID and its related lockdowns had a negative impact on students, the Christian Post reports. According to NCES’s survey: 87% of schools stated that COVID negatively impacted their student’s emotional development. 83% said it impacted student’s behavioral development; 72% reported an increase in student absences in class; 56% reported an increase in student misconduct in class; 49% reported an increase in misconduct outside of class; and 48% reported an increase in disrespect for teachers. READ: Over 80% of public schools say COVID negatively impacted student behavior, study finds Many parents are blaming the educational system for these problems, and we are seeing a move to homeschooling and private education. READ: New Christian School Gets 2,500 Applications as Families Flee Public Ed in Droves: ‘Once in 100-Years Moment’ Possibly related: READ: Record-high number of suicidal children forces San Francisco to sue its own school district to …

Our other COVID fear: Do we still have rights?

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You have probably heard the news about people in Australia who are demonstrating in the streets. Their concern is something about COVID restrictions, and the way their government treats them. I am not Australian, and I’m not a medical specialist, but there seems to be a growing fear around the world. People are concerned about the loss of their rights, with restrictions for safety, in a health emergency. A few days ago, I was driving in a town close to where I live, and I saw some people holding signs. I saw only three people holding signs, near the courthouse. They were friendly, and they waved at the cars driving by. Probably they were demonstrating about civil rights and COVID restrictions. We all hope that COVID will dry up and go away soon. Eventually it will. Where I live, due to health-care restrictions, there is a debate about our rights. That includes the three friendly demonstrators that I saw, and the crowds can be much larger, and less friendly. We also get advertising from the …

Canada: How to manufacture a COVID crisis

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It is said the first casualty of war is ‘the truth.’ Along that vein if governments and health bureaucrats want people to trust them and their concerns about the COVID pandemic, let’s start with being transparent about what is really happening. In the Canadian province of Ontario, the government has just announced that if any suicide victim tests positive for COVID, they will now be included as a COVID casualty. True North writes about an email they received from Public Health Ontario: If someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 commits suicide, the Ontario Ministry of Health will record their cause of death as COVID-19.As of Sunday, December 13, Public Health Ontario counted 140,181 cumulative cases of COVID-19, and 3,949 deaths.“As a result of how data is recorded by health units into public health information databases, the ministry is not able to accurately separate how many people died directly because of COVID versus those who died with a COVID infection,” Ontario Ministry of Health Senior Communications Advisor Anna Miller said to True North in an email.“A death …

Lockdowns: Long-term mental health fallout

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Psychiatrists’ warnings about the long-term mental-health fallout from COVID-1984 lockdowns have been falling upon politically-deaf ears for months. The latest to raise concerns is Dr Adrian James, the president of Britain’s Royal College of Psychiatrists. James warned that the country will be paying a “profound” price for the lockdowns, long after they have ended.

The COVID ‘asymptomatic’ cover-up?

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Some governments and media seem intent on terrorizing people into submission by posting the latest updates on the number of new COVID cases. But deliberate or not, what is missing in those numbers is some very important data, like how many who tested positive are asymptomatic? This means they tested positive for COVID, but did not get sick.

Pathologist: ‘Utterly unfounded public hysteria driven by the media and politicians’

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Dr. Roger Hodkinson is a Cambridge-trained virologist working in Canada. He recently made a presentation to the Edmonton City Council, the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta, that was considering extending its COVID-1984 mask mandate. He described the reaction to COVID, the lockdowns and mask demands, as “utterly unfounded public hysteria driven by the media and politicians.”

500 academics say British COVID risk exaggerated?

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With Brits being threatened with fines if they are caught outside their homes without a legitimate reason under the country’s second wave lockdown, 500 academics have accused the British government of exaggerating the COVID risk in order to justify its actions. The Daily Mail explains: Official data is ‘exaggerating’ the risk of Covid-19 and talk of a second wave is ‘misleading’, nearly 500 academics told Boris Johnson in open letter attacking lockdown. The doctors and scientists said the Government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has become ‘disproportionate’ and that mass testing has distorted the risk of the virus. They said tests are likely to be producing high numbers of ‘false positive’ results and the Government must do more to put infection and death rates within the context of normal seasonal rates. The letter criticised the Government’s handling of coronavirus for ‘causing more harm than good’. READ: Official data is ‘exaggerating’ the risk of Covid and talk of a second wave is ‘misleading’, 500 academics tell Boris Johnson in open letter attacking lockdown Of course, this …

Officials complain fewer people getting tested for COVID?

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Health officials in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, are complaining that fewer people are volunteering to get tested for COVID after they spent millions of dollars setting up new testing facilities. The number of people getting tested at these facilities is down 25% in some cases from the end of September. What is equally disturbing is that health officials are increasing the number of people who can get tested at Ottawa facilities from 2,500 to 4,000 by November. Of course, less testing ultimately means fewer people testing positive for COVID. The CBC explains the problem this causes: Ottawa Public Health (OPH) officials are also concerned with what the drop in testing means when it comes to interpreting the daily case counts, which have been below 100 cases a day for almost a week, dipping to 52 on Monday.  The recent numbers buck the upward trend, which hit a record 142 cases on Oct. 2, and then 183 cases on Oct. 8.   The high case counts led to the decision for Ottawa to be included among the cities forced to return to …

2nd lockdown could have serious mental health fallout: Researchers warn

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It is more from the supposed cure is worse than the disease file. With governments around the world initiating second lockdowns because of another wave of Covid, mental health professionals are warning second lockdowns could have a devastating impact on society. The first lockdown impacted people’s mental health and a second one could potentially compound this, leading to a devastating increase in suicides and drug overdoses. Christian Post explains: A second wave of devastation stemming from the novel coronavirus pandemic including soaring suicides and drug overdoses is imminent with the declining mental health of communities, medical researchers warn and it is expected to disproportionately impact the poor, older adults, blacks and Hispanics. The warning came in Mental Health Disorders Related to COVID-19–Related Deaths published in The Journal of the American Medical Association on Monday. […] “While nations struggle to manage the initial waves of the death and disruption associated with the pandemic, accumulating evidence indicates another ‘second wave’ is building: rising rates of mental health and substance use disorders,” the doctors wrote. “This imminent mental …

Stillborn deaths surged during COVID lockdowns

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I have previously reported on how many are suggesting the lock downs have done more damage than the virus. Suicides are up. Depression is up. Drug abuse is up. Alcohol abuse is up. Unemployment up. There have been lots of “unintended consequences” as a result of the COVID lockdowns. Add one more to the list. Reports are coming in from around the world that the number of stillborn deaths surged during the pandemic as pregnant women, either hindered by lock down restrictions or fears of COVID, did not seek medical help. Some countries reported that stillborn deaths were up 50%. The Blaze reports: An array of studies show that stillbirths have surged globally following lockdowns imposed in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19, and researchers speculate the link could be from pregnant women avoiding hospitals and clinics out of fear of catching the virus while seeking prenatal care. Nature cited a slew of studies this week in reporting that stillbirth rates have risen “dramatically” since the pandemic began, and that “emerging data link disrupted …

Lockdowns lead to opioid crisis

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With many questioning if the lockdowns even worked in stemming the COVID pandemic, reports are coming in that opioid usage dramatically escalated during the Lock downs. The Daily Wire explains: County health departments across the country are measuring a significantly increased number of opioid deaths over last year’s data and over deaths tallied in the first few months of the year before widespread stay-at-home orders were put in place, according to The Wall Street Journal. The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have hit addicts and those struggling to stay sober particularly hard. Social distancing rules and fear of the virus have driven people to stay much more isolated from society and limited the typical tools for people struggling with addiction, such as sessions with therapists. One therapist added that isolation is one of the worst things for a person struggling with drug and even alcohol addiction. READ: A Major Crisis Deepened During The Covid Lockdowns: Opioids We are social creatures and the lock downs are resulting in an increase of suicides. READ: Lockdown-inspired suicides on course to …