When Covid-19 struck in early 2020, we knew very little about it, but we (meaning the world) reacted on the basis of information we were fed by the “authorities”. We put our trust in the WHO, scientists, medics, analysts and politicians.
A year later, we know much more. The target has shifted. Yet “authorities” remain locked into the same panicked and debilitating policies put in place 12 months ago when the death rate seemed to be frightening. They’re shooting at the same spot in the same way with the same results (none) as they were 12 months ago.
And we the “sheeple” go along unquestioningly with the totalitarian decisions of the ruling elite who at best would seem to be ill informed and unable to keep up.
No wonder there are all manner of ridiculous conspiracy theories bouncing around all over the place. When something doesn’t make sense, we naturally look for answers to help make sense of it and, inevitably, some of the answers will be ridiculous conspiracy theories.
So here’s a theory (not a conspiracy one) for your consideration.
New Zealand’s main export earner pre-Covid was tourism. In 2019, we had 11.19 million visitors cross our borders. In January 2020 we had 410,778 international visitors, February 2020 saw the number at 372,745 and in March before the borders closed 175,521 came through. So in the period following the discovery of Covid-19, we had 959,044 tourists wending their way around our country.
How likely is it that, of those 959,044 tourists who visited in that period, not one had the virus? (Just asking for a friend). Look at it this way, 0.3% of that number is 2,877, yet until February 28, we had not recorded one single case. Could it be possible that Covid-19 was in fact already wandering our streets like any other flu does each year and our citizens (and visitors) were laid up for a few days feeling crook, got over it and then went on with their lives without knowing they even had the dreaded Covid?
It can realistically be argued that it’s a highly likely possibility – even a probability knowing what we know now.
Our first Covid case was reported on Friday 28 February when a man in his sixties who had returned to New Zealand from Iran via Bali tested positive having had two previous negative tests. Following the weekend in hospital, he was reported to be in an improving condition.
However, seven months later in September 2020, our health authorities reported that there was an historical earlier case which is believed to be our “real” first case, recorded in the Waikato.
The case came about after a person returned from Italy, before the country was identified as a coronavirus hotspot.
“This infection occurred in late February following exposure to an infected person from Italy,” the Ministry of Health said.
“At the time the family member was visiting New Zealand, they became ill with symptoms consistent with Covid-19, and the wider household then also became ill.
“At the time, they did not meet the case definition for testing for people with defined symptoms who had travelled from or transited through China. Italy had not at that point been identified as a country of concern. This meant the New Zealand household was not tested at the time.”
The diagnosis was discovered after a man recently developed a sore throat and sought testing. His weak positive result and serology test results and case history indicated an old infection of the virus.
So, because they didn’t meet the case definition for testing, they weren’t tested at the time and the NZ Herald reported in September: “Five other family members have been identified as historical probable cases of the virus.”
Clearly the virus was rampant in this Waikato family except because they didn’t know it, they rested, recovered, survived and got on with their lives. Because the “authorities” didn’t know about it, they didn’t get to lock the family away in isolation from February through to September when they did discover them and they didn’t get to create the “Italia/Waikato Cluster”.
The Waikato was not locked down. Auckland was not locked down. New Zealand did not go to Level 2. Nobody died. Nobody else appears to have caught it.
Seems this tricky little virus is so tricky that it is only a risk when we know or suspect it’s there.