1/ This smart 2006 paper discusses the uselessness of lockdowns, masks, and school closings during epidemics.

More shocking: the lead authors are @T_Inglesby @JenniferNuzzo (two leading members of Team Apocalypse).

What's changed?

Not the science.

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.552.1109&rep=rep1&type=pdf

2/ The final paragraph begins:

"Experience has shown that communities faced with epidemics or other adverse events respond best and with the least anxiety when the normal social functioning of the community is least disrupted."

What's changed, @T_Inglesby? What's different now?

3/ On quarantines: "As experience shows, there is no basis for recommending quarantine either of groups or individuals. The problems in implementing such measures are formidable, and secondary effects of absenteeism and
community disruption [are severe]..."

What's different now?

4/ On schools: "Closing schools for [more than two weeks] in hopes of mitigating the epidemic by decreasing contacts among students is not warranted unless all
other likely points of assembly are closed (e.g., malls,
fast-food restaurants, churches, recreation centers, etc.)..."

4a/ "Such widespread closures, sustained throughout the pandemic, would almost certainly have serious adverse social and economic effects."

What's different now? What's changed? (Aside from the fact that #SARSCoV2 is less dangerous/transmissible to children than the flu.)

5/ On masks: "But studies have shown the ordinary surgical mask does little to prevent inhalation of small droplets bearing influenza virus. The pores in the mask become blocked by moisture from breathing, and the air stream simply diverts around the mask."

What's different now?

6/ On social distancing: "It has been recommended that individuals maintain a distance of 3 feet or more [Ed: NOT 6] during a pandemic so as to diminish the number of contacts with people who may be infected. The efficacy of this measure is unknown..."

6a/ "It is difficult to imagine how bus, rail, or air travelers could stay 3 feet apart from each other throughout an epidemic. And such a recommendation would greatly complicate normal daily tasks like grocery shopping, banking, and the like."

What's different now?

7/ On "Prohibition of Social Gatherings": "During [flu] epidemics, public events with an expected large attendance have sometimes been cancelled... There are, however, no certain indications these actions have had any definitive effect on the severity or duration of an epidemic."

7a/ " Were consideration to be given to doing this on a more extensive scale and for an extended period, questions immediately arise as to how many such events would be affected... Implementing such measures
would have seriously disruptive consequences for a community..."

7b/ "But a policy calling for communitywide cancellation of public events seems inadvisable."

What has changed, @T_Inglesby @JenniferNuzzo? Aside from the fact that #SARSCoV2 is so much LESS dangerous than the influenza strains that led you to make these recommendations?

8/ I mean, I know one thing has changed in 14 years.

But it's not the science.

Please, help me out here. This is a serious question. Why shouldn't we pay attention to you what you said THEN?