At the inaugural BizNews Investment Conference held in March 2021, Nick Hudson – co-founder of PANDA (Pandemics – Data & Analytics) – gave a keynote address on the absurdity and harmfulness of Covid-19 lockdowns.
PANDA is known for its outspoken views on policy-makers’ reactions to Covid-19, lockdowns, and other approaches to stemming the spread of the virus. Understandably, the global organisation has ruffled a few feathers over the past year. Actuary Nick Hudson, in particular, has no qualms about telling the world why lockdowns are downright destructive.
“We have believed from the get-go that it was wrong, on a number of levels, to close society down and that it has ALWAYS been time to reopen society,” he says. “The reality is that there is a virus. It is having a meaningful impact in some regions of the world. Very few people are susceptible to generating severe disease. There are several available treatments. Healthy people are not drivers of the epidemic. Lockdowns and mask mandates have been ruled out by pre-Covid science for good reasons. Never recommended – they have been tried; they have not worked and they have caused great harm. Instead of protecting the vulnerable minority, we have hurt them.”
He went on to say that, instead of helping to slow the spread of the virus, lockdowns have led to infant mortality, poverty, starvation, joblessness, and a major upsurge of psychological disorders and self-harm amongst teens.
Hudson’s overriding message (published in a video on YouTube) was that we should stop panicking and get on with living alongside what is really just another disease – that is risky for some, but not particularly harmful to the majority.
Taking to social media, BizNews community members shared their views on Hudson’s powerful address, applauding him for his honesty and bravery. The video on YouTube alone has received over 60,000 views and over 388 comments.
Great video. Very interesting. Thanks a lot.
— TheSonofaSonofaSailor (@uK2ScOZ3Bi1KFSW) March 26, 2021
I hope there were many business leaders in attendance. We need big business to push back at government and say no to masks, and the other illogical restrictions. We ned Woolworths to say no! We need the banks to say no! We need VW to say no!
— Janine du Preez 🙂 (@Sterretjiedupr) March 27, 2021
This is a must watch!! Absolutely brilliant, worth 30 mins of everyone’s life!
— Mark Richards (@chuds67) March 27, 2021
Excellent take-down of lockdown, mask mandates, vaccine passports and the entire charade of the pandemic. Everyone needs to watch, listen, and take a deep breath because it’ll shake foundations and belief in official policies but ultimately it’s what we all need to do to be free.
— Chris M’Gra (@ChrisMGra) March 27, 2021
Correction: not by Covid-19, by politicians’ bad decisions and errors
— Nicolas de Cuse (@NickdeCusa) March 29, 2021
I am grateful to people like @NickHudsonCT who won’t just play along and make significant efforts to get facts out in the public.
— Billy Rugg (@billy_rugg) March 28, 2021
This one… everyone should watch.
It’s a great one to pass on also to your frightened friends https://t.co/cpe7KzZvpj— Liberty Helen 🙂 (@LibertyHel) March 28, 2021
Thanks to @NickHudsonCT for the courageous and important work he’s doing for all of us and thanks to @alechogg for giving Nick the opportunity to share this important message. As long as there are people like you guys there’s still hope. Thx.
— Andy Spirig (@AndySpirig) March 27, 2021
Read also: Prof. Whiteside’s views on the AstraZeneca vaccine decision – ‘short-sighted and stupid’
However, there are also those who feel that Hudson and his supporters are wrong.
Anyone with a smattering of intelligence knows that wearing masks saves lives ….why are certain segments of business against masking up🤮🤮🤮
— dillysdyllis (@dillysdyllis) March 28, 2021
I cannot believe the BizNews Investment conference gave space to this.
— Stephen Louw (@Stephen_Louw) March 28, 2021
Eye opening? Not really. Just regurgitating the same things that we all know were errors in judgment? Yes. Telling us that masks don’t work? Discredited to zero immediately.
— Werns (@CrowleySA) March 28, 2021
More than a year since South Africa entered its first hard lockdown, what is abundantly clear is that the country is still in turmoil.
To hear Nick Hudson’s keynote address for yourself, watch the video below:
