Many of us reacted to this with … well, let’s just say we were not feeling particularly gracious toward either Prof. Oster or this idea. Here’s her thesis:
These precautions were totally misguided. In April 2020, no one got the coronavirus from passing someone else hiking. Outdoor transmission was vanishingly rare. Our cloth masks made out of old bandanas wouldn’t have done anything, anyway. But the thing is: We didn’t know.
Has there ever been a more disingenuous statement? Many of us knew all along. We were hounded, banned from social media, and denigrated. I could rant on about this for thousands of words. Fortunately for you, gentle reader, others have taken this on for me. Here are comments by Jen Van Laar, Alexandria Brown, and Twitter user @awstar11 (Fusilli Spock). Warning: NSFW (language and attitude).
