Do Adults Need COVID Restrictions Anymore?

Five years ago when I was moving, I'd have gone to California if money had been no object: the natural beauty, the climate, and family there made it one of my favorite places. But Indiana, being far cheaper, became my new home--and I'm glad money was an object. Part of the reason is their overregulation. But those executive orders California's governor has been writing with regard to COVID--over 50 of them!--have been voided in court. The governor ignored the state's separation of powers, a tenet of our system of government that keeps power from being concentrated and keeps our government from being tyrannical--or at least stops it in progress.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Denver, my hometown, issued a 10 PM curfew punishable by fine. The mayor said it's not a curfew and it's not a law enforcement order. It's obviously a curfew enforced by law, and useless, too, as I know of no evidence that the virus is more likely to spread at night. Most gatherings there were already limited to ten people and most schooling is remote, but protests are allowed and (so my sister-in-law who lives in the metro area tells me) riots have been ongoing and homeless encampments have sprung up around town. The mayor must think the virus spreads at schools and barbecues, but not protests or homeless camps. It used to be that nearby Boulder was known as 30 square miles surrounded by reality; Denver looks like it's trying to take the title from them.

Indiana's recently re-elected governor says he won't issue another lockdown, observing our neighbor Michigan is having a surge despite their restrictions, most of which their Supreme Court struck down a week ago. Most of our restrictions are gone--most businesses can operate at full capacity (50% here in Indy), but people are supposed to wear masks in public buildings and outdoors where social distancing isn't possible. The mask mandate isn't being enforced, although most people I see are abiding by it and measures like plastic barriers at stores and dots on the floor are still in place and lots of people are still working from home. Minor laws in general aren't very strictly enforced here, at least not in Indianapolis. The police have better things to do. And police all over the country expressed concerns last spring that the orders were unconstitutional. They were probably right.

Critics of restrictions who compare deaths from COVID versus deaths from lockdowns are stating half of the problem. The other half is being treated like the child of a capricious, mutable parent. Colorado has a lower death rate from COVID than Indiana. But I'd rather live as an adult in Indiana than as a child in Denver with a curfew.

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