This past Monday 04/20/2020 protesters (some strapped with semi-automatic weapons) took to the streets to demand Gov. Tom Wolf to reopen the Pennsylvania economy that was systematically closed due to the [COVID-19] pandemic in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.

Usually, I’m all for a peaceful protest, but this protest in particular was clearly motivated by more personal selfish reasons and not the health and benefit of the population.

Yes, we all want the shutdown to be over, and we all want to go back to work. But encouraging people to gather in large groups, when a highly contagious virus is literally killing thousands of people doesn’t seem too smart does it? In reality it is actually extremely counterproductive.. Especially considering the infection rate is practically on the downswing! Which means we are on the way to opening back up anyway, as long as the infection rate continues to level out.

With the the current confirmed cases at 855,525, and the death toll at 47,992 the COVID-19 Outbreak its nothing to joke about. Most people with common sense already know this fact, and are taking proper precautions to keep themselves and their family safe.

The call to shut down the economy was a sound decision to protect lives, there’s really was no way around it. Especially when there is no cure in sight for the corona-virus. The current numbers for PA are High. Pennsylvania currently has the 5th highest infection rate. According to current numbers:

With that said, the corona-virus is obviously real, people are dying ??‍♂️. New York has been hit the hardest. In fact, new York has been hit so hard officials have been forced to put bodies in refrigerated box trucks because the morgues just haven’t been able to keep up with the death rate (True Story).

Honestly, I couldn’t believe things where that bad so close to home until the news was trending. That is when I actually looked into it further. It was uncomfortably surreal to see the videos of bodies being piled into trucks. It resembled scenes from a sci fi horror movie.

Many other cities could have shared the same fate as New York, if it wasn’t for the containment practices that are now in effect. The same containment practices that are keeping our “Essential People” safe and healthy. Safety practices that the recent protestors mostly ignored, and when asked why, reporters where met with shotty excuses that only prove that they (the protestors) have failed to do their own due diligence on the corona-virus; putting everyone who is, and have been following containment practices since the beginning at risk in now, and in the future.

SO, With total disregard for public safety, and completely ignoring Federal and state guidelines set forth by the CDC to control the spread of infectious diseases, protesters can be seen huddled together in groups some with mask, some without masks. (More without masks than with.)

The most important evidence to why these protests are a step backwards comes from other states that are having similar protests.

Governor Andy Beshear announced on 04/19/2020 that their state had seen a record breaking increase directly following a week full of protesting. (They probably didn’t wear mask, or take proper precautions much like here in Pittsburgh recently.)
https://www.newsweek.com/kentucky-reports-highest-coronavirus-infection-increase-after-week-protests-reopen-state-1498835

Many commentators online claim that we are witnessing “Darwinism at its finest”. If you’re unfamiliar with the terms “Darwin” and “Natural selection”,

The Theory of Natural Selection is:

“The process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. The theory of its action was first fully expounded by Charles Darwin and is now believed to be the main process that brings about evolution.”

Lets put that into a little context before viewing the video below: With given scientific information on how the virus spreads, how many people are infected, how many people have died, and certainly the fact that some human beings can be ASYMPTOMATIC. [asymptomatic – Basically means someone can be sick, spread the virus, but show no signs of being sick (no cough, no fever)] Lets also not forget the possibility that it could take up to two weeks for symptoms to even show up, if they ever do.

The bottom line is: Even if YOU aren’t worried, You can still spread the virus to someone else, a friend or relative. Other peoples safety is in YOUR hands. Take some responsibility. Now, without further ado: Digital people watching,  courtesy of KDKA.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Pittsburgh-based infectious disease and critical care physician had this to say about the protestors:

“It’s completely understandable that people are upset about the consequences of the economic shutdown on their lives, but when they exercise their right to protest, however, I hope that they are still able to observe common-sense social distancing principles.”

Danny DeVito [(real name swear) Also not related to the Actor famous actor who has been promoting Social distancing during the pandemic] Devito, a Carnegie Republican running for a seat in the State House joined the protest as well. DeVito, the lead petitioner on a lawsuit against Wolf over the business closures had this to say:

“I think the governor is totally incompetent, Businesses did not have enough time to prepare for the closures.” He continued: “Pittsburgh should not have to reopen businesses on the same schedule as Philadelphia, where there have been more cases of covid-19.”

“I think President Trump has done an incredible job guiding our country through this,” DeVito continued.

Many protestors in Pittsburgh shared DeVito’s views. Many of whom wore MAGA gear and other Trump accessories. Even though President Trump himself said he disagrees with the reopening too early. See Here:

Trump says he ‘strongly’ disagreed with move to reopen Georgia — contradicting source who said he agreed with it

According to the Tribune Review, In advance of the protests, Pennsylvania’s Democratic legislative leaders and a University of Pennsylvania health policy expert hosted reporters on a conference call.

Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, said: “Protests in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg were part of a dangerous trend that’s ignoring facts, science and expert recommendations about how to handle the pandemic.”

“Unfortunately, people have started to embrace this,” Costa continued. “The state’s economy will be hurt worse if a move to reopen is rushed.”

Montgomery County state Rep. Matt Bradford, the Democratic chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, stated that: He knows the closures have hurt small business owners, but the state needs to move forward in a way that’s led by “science, not politics.” He continued: “We cannot put people’s lives at risk,” 

University of Pennsylvania health policy expert Alison Buttenheim said: “The state needs to do three to four times more testing than it has been doing. We just can’t be testing the very sickest people before restrictions are eased”, She continued: “There would ideally be a 14-day period where new cases continuously drop.”

The protests themselves present a problem of potentially increasing spread of the disease, those on the call said.