What is a lockdown?

To know what a lockdown is, we should know what it isn’t.

This series covers lockdowns as well as the culture that stemmed from them—i.e., the “new normal.” Lockdown culture encompasses not just hard lockdowns but also authoritarian policies that followed or are associated with lockdowns. The definition of a lockdown is not always clear, and it’s not even clear what jurisdictions had what policies at what times, so no report on this topic can be precise.

You can argue that some measures seemed to be in order to stem the spread of COVID. However, some measures might not be true lockdowns, as they didn’t forbid assembly. These guidelines may have governed the place and manner of events—but did not prohibit them entirely. On the other hand, it’s also undeniable that some of these measures became too extreme. Such extreme policies will be discussed in this series because they went hand in hand with lockdowns.

Business closures will be discussed as part of lockdown culture. Strictly speaking, they might not be considered full lockdowns, but admittedly, this view is on very shaky ground. They are costly to employees and employers—and these restrictions went on so long that they wore on people and ruined small businesses. I firmly believe workers and small businesspeople are entitled to full compensation for economic losses—though, sadly, I no longer expect this to happen. These closures differ a bit from hard lockdowns—though they became increasingly associated with stay-at-home policies, and the severity and length of these closures made them similarly unethical. I was initially prepared to weather these closures—unlike stay-at-home orders, which I rejected all along—but I eventually saw that they were as economically and socially unsustainable as any other policy. It wasn’t faceless corporations that lost out from prolonged closures but entire communities. Plus, someone on Reddit pointed out that you can’t simply turn businesses off and on like a light switch—especially restaurants, which have to buy huge amounts of food, and then throw it out if they can’t serve it.

COVID was a test, and we failed. In fact, I failed. This was a learning experience, and the buck stops here. No excuses. I’m proud to say I never supported stay-at-home orders, bans on private gatherings, or mask mandates, as these rules are simply not compatible with a liberal democracy. Yet these policies seemed to be only the most extreme of a series that inflicted incalculable social and economic damage. They were so extreme that we had somewhat of a blind spot toward the closure of businesses. We labored under the false hope that business closures would be very short and that small businesses would be quickly compensated for economic losses. That was not to be. In North Carolina, for example, small business owners sued for compensation—and were turned down by a court. Small businesses were told that was just tough luck. The court essentially sneered and told them they were on their own. In addition, North Carolina was one of many places that unfairly favored large companies. In that state, stand-alone bars were closed much longer than bars that were in restaurants or hotels that were part of a large chain.

Similarly, the Philippines reportedly ordered restaurants closed even for takeout—but made exceptions for a few huge chains, which could open even for in-person customers.

During closures like these, workers were of course left holding the bag for most of the loss. Some workers lost their jobs, so some working families even lost their homes. The U.S. government did send stimulus checks, but this was not nearly enough to cover losses to workers.

Business closures like the above were wrong then and are wrong now. This is still lost on COVID catastrophists. Even today, they act as if no COVID restrictions were wrong. They’re not sorry. And they’d do it all over again.

Social distancing is not quite a lockdown, but it comes close. The frustration of walking on eggshells to avoid getting within six feet of strangers also wore on people, and became so extreme that it was socially damaging. Though not a full lockdown itself, this series of reports will touch on this practice.

Isolation of individuals infected with the virus is not a pure lockdown, though many deemed isolation rules too strict. Yet most lockdowns lasted much longer than the two weeks that isolation usually took. After the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, that city was placed under an unprecedented stay-at-home experiment for almost 11 weeks. Stay-at-home orders started in the U.S.—not counting its unincorporated territories—on March 16, 2020, and the last one I can find began on September 22, 2021, a span of over 79 weeks. That doesn’t even count college campuses that issued new orders later, reportedly being in effect as late as March 2022. Stay-at-home orders lasted much longer than many wars: The 1991 Gulf War lasted only six weeks. Probably no American locale was locked down for all of those 79 weeks, but in September 2021, a small blurb appeared saying Melbourne was approaching 34 weeks in which it was indeed locked down—surpassing Buenos Aires as the world’s most locked down major city. Melbourne suffered at least six national, statewide, or local lockdowns.

The WHO officially declared the COVID emergency was over on May 5, 2023—over three years after it began. That still wasn’t the end of lockdowns. Tokelau, a small island dependency of New Zealand, issued a new lockdown later that month because of one case.

Even a prohibition on huge gatherings—like sporting events—might not be a hard lockdown if you go by the strictest sense of the word. Again, this is highly debatable, considering the broad scope of these bans. Like the business closures, they became increasingly linked with lockdowns.

But, make no mistake, a ban on small private gatherings with friends and family is a lockdown—no ifs, ands, or buts.

A state of emergency is not necessarily a lockdown. In many U.S. states, it’s simply a declaration that allows access to federal emergency funds they may need.

I truly believe that many in the American media are too dumb to know the differences among these policies. They often discussed them as if they were one and the same. However, all these policies became woven into lockdown culture. And, trust me, entries on masks will also be found in this series of reports—and these entries may be big! In about 18 months, we went from honest news articles rejecting masks and citing years of studies to back this up to the U.S. government investigating parents because they wouldn’t let schools put masks on their four-year-old children. It truly became “masks or bust.”

A lockdown by its strictest definition means what it says. Society is locked down. These orders come in varying degrees and lengths, but it’s a bridge too far even in countries that have an authoritarian government even without lockdowns. Mitigation measures must be realistic, ethical, effective, and reasonably respectful of civil liberties.

Stay-at-home orders were also referred to as shelter-in-place orders—an even more menacing name that used to refer to a response to events like tornadoes and chemical leaks.

In the U.S.—again, not counting unincorporated territories—it appears that only eight states did not have a statewide stay-at-home order: Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Yet some try to rewrite history by claiming there were no lockdowns in America. Several of these states perhaps should not even count among the eight, because of their convoluted gathering limits. Utah reportedly had stay-at-home orders at the county level. Even in all the states without a statewide lockdown, COVID policies that would have seemed extreme before 2020 were enacted with ease by some public institutions. Out of all the states with an original lockdown, that of California probably lasted the longest: March 19 to June 15. It was the first with a lockdown, and probably the last to end lockdown. Parts of California locked down on March 16.

A map on Wikipedia indicated that Kentucky and Massachusetts never issued a stay-at-home order, though this information is incorrect. Both states did indeed enact hard lockdowns.

The U.S. unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico locked down even before the 50 states or D.C., as it locked down on March 15 under a decree by Republican Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced.

It appears as if two U.S. states—California and New Mexico—imposed a second stay-at-home order in the winter of 2020-21. Also that winter, a few other states—such as Massachusetts and Ohio—imposed a new months-long nighttime curfew that was nothing short of a stay-at-home order applying at certain times of the day. Miami Beach had an 8 PM curfew during spring break in 2021 that was enforced predominantly against Black tourists. Puerto Rico had a nighttime curfew at least as late as April 2021.

It was reported that the only Canadian province that did not have a stay-at-home order in the spring of 2020 was British Columbia, led by the New Democratic Party. Businesses however were closed. Plus, this province—like many others—seemed to become more extreme as time wore on. In fact, it did impose a stay-at-home order in November 2020. At that time, the province banned private gatherings of any size, and people who lived alone were not allowed to receive visitors. The November order came despite the fact that Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry had announced way back in April that the province had succeeded in reducing the number of cases and had accomplished the “flatten the curve” goal.

Henry is so incompetent that just this month, she unilaterally barked down a new mask mandate for healthcare facilities—for no apparent reason. This is despite the fact that the province ended its COVID state of emergency back in July 2021. This means mandates are still in force post-pandemic.

Also in Canada, Ontario enacted a new four-week stay-at-home order in April 2021—months after vaccines were released.

Chile reportedly had lockdowns in some areas as late as May 2021.

Oregon officials threatened a new stay-at-home decree for the winter of 2021-22, despite vaccines having been available for a year. This proves that those who promised that vaccines would end restrictions were dirty liars.

Even the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-20 did not feature hard lockdowns. The most severe measures were thought to be in St. Louis, which did not enact a stay-at-home order, and where a total closure of businesses lasted only two days. New York City and Chicago even kept schools open throughout. The deadly Ebola virus pandemic of 2014-15 resulted in three-day lockdowns in Sierra Leone, which experts said were much too strict. War restrictions were also generally less severe. Even during some of the worst bombings of Britain during World War II, civilians were often encouraged to simply go about their lives as normal.

The COVID lockdowns were far more than just an inconvenience. They ruined or snuffed out many lives. And there’s nothing to show for that except an increased death toll from the virus itself. This is particularly true in the U.S., where reminders of this crisis loomed large even after stay-at-home orders ended. The government could have made sure more tests for the virus were issued in March 2020 or earlier to slow its spread, but it opted not to. After making so many sacrifices during lockdowns, the public had a right to expect a real plan to be put in place, but in many regions and institutions, the response was to dig in on bad ideas.

From mid-March to mid-April 2020, American public officials did absolutely nothing to ease the horror. Zero. Zip. It was a whole month wasted on mind-boggling inaction, complaining, narcissism, and excuses from every level of government.

It’s hard to believe something so humiliating occurred in the first country that sent astronauts to the moon. Maybe countries that handled the pandemic better will come up with a plan to save America, much like how America instituted the Marshall Plan to save Europe after World War II.

Lockdown backers painted themselves as champions of science and ethics. That’s hogwash. Any scientific or ethical basis for stay-at-home orders has been completely discredited. They claimed lifting lockdowns would “kill Grandma”, but destroying social institutions via lockdowns not only failed to save COVID victims but also killed countless others. Lockdowns defied any understanding of ethics not only by increasing deaths but also by destroying our institutions.

While this sorry episode drew many comparisons to war, it’s pretty sad that authorities used war conditions as the standard we should aspire to. It proves they didn’t learn from history. War has resulted in death, disability, broken homes, and famine. Why try to mimic war? A virus cannot make judgments like a hostile foreign power can. Instead of fighting a hostile regime, our “leaders” declared war on their own people. During World War II, so many of our people—many only in their late teens—bravely put their lives at stake to go to battle. Yet during COVID, countless healthy young men and women were terrified to leave their home without wearing a mask and jumped into the street every time they walked past another pedestrian. World War II was a time in which President Franklin D. Roosevelt broadcast his fireside chats that explained the situation in a way that assured the American public. During COVID, by contrast, the public was often met with a scolding message of “too bad.” Elected officials even sued their own constituents. It’s like when an abuser yells, “Look what you made me do!”

The face of the failed pandemic response in the U.S. was Dr. Anthony Fauci, longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Many of his remarks may have seemed irrelevant, but he had a staggering amount of influence even as his credibility dwindled because of his contradictory and incorrect statements and the calamitous measures he helped promote. Fauci was also in the rare position of having released research money to the lab the virus appears to have leaked from.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper had reportedly planned on opening schools in-person in the fall of 2020 but changed his mind after a phone call with Fauci. Cooper let Fauci bully him. Who knows how many other governors did not open schools as normal because of Fauci’s bullying?

This report also wouldn’t be complete if it didn’t mention Dr. Deborah Birx, who served as White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator under President Trump and was despised across the political spectrum. In August 2020, Birx said she wished lockdowns in the U.S. had been like the even more draconian lockdown in Italy. “When Italy locked down, I mean, people weren’t allowed out of their houses,” she boasted. I wish we didn’t have to confront this insufferable grump, but unfortunately, she will be discussed more later.

Meanwhile, new COVID mandates have been enacted in some venues this month—October 2023—which again shows that mandates were never intended to be just temporary. And, as late as just two months ago, pundits in Britain were demanding new lockdowns because of a new COVID variant in other countries.