Barbara Ferrer is Responsible for Every Suicide in Los Angeles County From July 15 On

July 16, 2021 It was only a matter of time, and not very much time, before the uptick in Covid-19 cases caused health officials to begin reimposing the restrictions they have used for 16 months now in order to deflect blame for public illnesses and deaths. On Thursday, county health officials issued a new order that will require the public to wear masks again when in indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status.

On June 15, the "reopening" of the state, there were 210 new coronavirus cases in LA County (and 6 deaths). On July 16, there were 1,537 cases (with 3 deaths). Undoubtedly, the number of cases has been rising over the last few weeks, possibly as a result of the more infectious Delta variant.

It is an inevitable truth that the rate of infections will continue to go up, regardless of a mask mandate. It will go up even if everyone actually does wear a mask when indoors with nonfamily members. And it will continue to rise after Ferrer inevitably cracks down with more of the area's recently lifted restrictions. Look for the closure of gyms and bars, then indoor dining, and so on and so forth.

Because none of the imposed restrictions work. We've been here before. We've already performed this experiment. In November of 2020, the county had been masked up for eight months, public gatherings had been banned, museums, concerts, churches - all closed. And yet, despite all this caution, the region experienced a large surge in Covid-19 cases over the next two months, with as many as 15,000 new cases per day.

The lockdown restrictions simply don't work. They are completely ineffective. The only thing they do is enable public health officials to clear themselves of any possible blame for the sickness and death.

There is only one person in all of the county who benefits from the newly reinstituted mask mandate (and all the rest that is guaranteed to follow). Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

Meanwhile, the public - badgered and harangued, scolded, and denigrated - is being ordered to retreat the territory they'd recently gained in restoring their lost freedoms.

To "Dr." Ferrer, and to the many people (one hundred percent of them vaccinated and in no danger whatsoever) who agree with her, putting on a mask is a simple thing. It should not bother a reasonable person to throw a piece of cloth to hide their face as they walk into a store or church.

But it is not a simple thing. Wearing a mask is one of the most anti-social acts one can do in our society. To hide one's face, and to be unable to see and read the faces of others, is deeply disturbing. Wearing a mask indicates deceit, emotional distance, even anger. In addition, those who are now being told to dig those masks out of the back of the closet know what's coming next: the closing of places to meet people, the banning of social gatherings, the reckless shuttering of businesses.

It is no simple thing. It is an utterly disheartening thing. Those with enormous power over the private aspects of our lives clearly have no care whatsoever for those lives, in reality. If Ferrer did, she would think about the horrendous emotional impact of reimposing social restrictions. But she doesn't have to.

While Covid-19 numbers are tracked daily by the LACDPH, suicide statistics haven't been aggregated since 2018. How convenient for Dr. Ferrer.