Quote:
Originally Posted by G.R.I.T.S.
I asked the "Google Assistant" for a comparison of 2019 total deaths vs 2020 total deaths and the current total is behind 2019. While it may exceed 2019, it appears we are on pace. Why were there no mask mandates last year? ������
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It's great that you were curious enough to check, but I am not sure what you mean by "it appears we are on pace".
The CDC reports on its website: "From late January 2020 to early October 2020, the U.S. had 299,000 more deaths than during the same period in previous years." These "excess deaths" prove that there is absolutely no question that COVID-19 is killing people who would not have died anyway, but your statement could be read to imply that it is not.
As to why we didn't wear masks in 2019, the obvious answer is that, although COVID-19 started in 2019, we didn't have it here until 2020. However, wearing masks in 2019 would, indeed, have saved the lives of some people who died of respiratory illnesses. In Japan and some other Asian countries, people with a cold have traditionally worn a mask in public as a matter of courtesy to others.