Outdoors is safer than indoors
Occasionally, a politician would screw up and actually get something right, declaring, “Outdoors is safer than indoors.”
Outdoors is much safer than indoors, but this fact was largely swept under the rug until it couldn’t be ignored anymore. During the deadly flu outbreak of 1918-20, many events were moved from poorly ventilated buildings to outdoor areas—which greatly reduced the virus’s spread. It took a long time for this simple concept to catch on during COVID. In some places and institutions, it never has.
Some studies suggested that less than one percent of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurred outdoors. Another report said not a single infection by this virus was ever linked to casual outdoor interaction. More detailed studies also showed vastly reduced outdoor transmission. A Japanese study concluded that “the odds that a primary case transmitted COVID-19 in a closed environment was 18.7 times greater compared to an open-air environment.” The Irish Times reported that only one out of 1,000 cases resulted from outdoor transmission. In a study in China in early 2020, all outbreaks in the study with three or more cases occurred in an indoor environment.
When I was growing up, even when it rained and rained and rained, adults were always telling us to play outside instead of sitting in the den watching Bugs Bunny cartoons. But lockdowns meant children were trapped indoors—where COVID spread more easily. The rule for kids in our day was to spend some time outside instead of lounging around watching TV, but lockdowns turned this rule on its ear—which worsened the spread of this virus.
It also worsened childhood and adult obesity—a condition that itself seemed to increase the mortality risk from COVID. For decades before this pandemic, the media never hesitated to exploit the topic of obesity. They would endlessly shame those who suffered from it and try to micromanage their behavior. There was money to be made in it. There were some days when that was all they talked about, because investigating corruption scandals was too much for them. But they sure clammed up about obesity when it became clear lockdowns were causing it.
In June 2020, CTV reported that the number of Canadian children and teens meeting activity guidelines tumbled by a whopping 79 percent during lockdown. Only 2.7 percent got the recommended 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity.
Despite all the mounting evidence of how safe outdoor areas are, some jurisdictions and institutions never fully accepted this premise. Even indoor areas become much safer if they have improved ventilation—but precious little has been done in this regard too. It’s as if agencies are deliberately doing nothing just so they can justify continued restrictions. Four years is plenty of time. This is like how hospitals keep stewing about not having enough space after they had time to add more space.
Perhaps the greatest significance of all of this is that lockdowns forced people—under threat of punishment—to stay cooped up indoors where viruses spread more easily. Some places—such as Ohio—arrested lockdown violators and took them to jail, where viruses were surely transmitted. The Cincinnati Enquirer and WXIX-TV confirmed that lockdown violators in Ohio were charged. Furthermore, authorities in many areas kept digging in on mask mandates and toughening enforcement even outdoors—even when people were alone or spaced widely apart. The trend toward tighter mask enforcement lasted perhaps two years—over a year after vaccines came—and the circumstances behind it became increasingly ridiculous. In a few places, there’s still no goalpost—anywhere—as new mandates are still being issued.
It’s bad enough that we were lied to when we were told that vaccines would end restrictions. But—as shown by the fact that restrictions applied outdoors and discouraged even being outside at all—none of the rules ever had any logic to begin with. It started in the toilet and has stayed in the toilet.