BBC: China pneumonia outbreak: COVID-19 Global Pandemic

[88Comrade2000]

Pathetic.  Pence is being interviewed by Blitzer on CNN. During the entire interview, Pence is mentioning over and over; how great a job Trump is doing.

[goskins10]

This is an interesting map that at least attempts to show what parts of the country are taking the Social Distancing guidance more serious. It's pretty cool as you can drill down to not just the state but also the country. They are using cell phone tracking to compare activity and distance traveled before the orders and now. Not sure how scientific it is. But it's probably within 10 % +/-.  

 

Anyway I thought at the very least it may give something to discuss: 

 

https://www.unacast.com/covid19/social-distancing-scoreboard

[The Sisko]

2 hours ago, twa said:

so you are saying he hopes to win NY?

Given his incompetence, I'd say he thinks shorting the state on desperately needed supplies and accusing the hospitals of hoarding or stealing supplies is the best way to do it. It definitely fits his M.O.

 

1 hour ago, TryTheBeal! said:

 

I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said here.

 

But, the article clearly implies that Florida is receiving assistance solely for political/nefarious reasons and offers up only an “anonymous” source as proof.

 

I just simply have no use for this right now.  Florida needs help...a lot of help and I’m glad they’re getting it.

 

My pitchfork remains at the ready come November, tho.  Trust.

To expect something like this to be sourced other than anonymously, is amazingly naive. For proof of such claims, the best you can do is compare the info with what you already know about someone and whether other info seems to fit. So, we've established that Tя☭mp is a self-serving ***** of the highest order. Check. Then there's the info in the article below with hard numbers where the supplies received clearly contradict the formulas they claimed they were using. Do the math. Now, I'd say all of that adds up to a pretty strong circumstantial case. It probably wouldn't stand up in a real court, but what we're talking about here is the court of public opinion. So, if you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, that's on you but you'd have to admit there's plenty of reason to believe the anonymous source's account.

 

 

Quote

 

Desperate for medical equipment, states encounter a beleaguered national stockpile

 

...The federal cache has been overwhelmed by urgent requests for masks, respirators, goggles, gloves and gowns in the two months since the first U.S. case of covid-19 was confirmed. Many state officials say they do not understand the standards that determine how much they will receive.

 

Anecdotally, there are wide differences, and they do not appear to follow discernible political or geographic lines. Democratic-leaning Massachusetts, which has had a serious outbreak in Boston, has received 17 percent of the protective gear it requested, according to state leaders. Maine requested a half-million N95 specialized protective masks and received 25,558 — about 5 percent of what it sought. The shipment delivered to Colorado — 49,000 N95 masks, 115,000 surgical masks and other supplies — would be “enough for only one full day of statewide operations,” Rep. Scott R. Tipton (R-Colo.) told the White House in a letter several days ago. (emphasis added)

 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency inherited control of the stockpile barely a week ago from HHS. Lizzie Litzow, a FEMA spokeswoman, acknowledged the agency maintains a spreadsheet tracking each state’s request and shipments. Litzow declined repeated requests to release the details, saying the numbers are in flux.

 

Florida has been an exception in its dealings with the stockpile: The state submitted a request on March 11 for 430,000 surgical masks, 180,000 N95 respirators, 82,000 face shields and 238,000 gloves, among other supplies — and received a shipment with everything three days later, according to figures from the state’s Division of Emergency Management. It received an identical shipment on March 23, according to the division, and is awaiting a third. (emphasis added)

 

...Gaynor told the homeland security committee during a conference call, according to Thompson’s letter, that states would be receiving protective gear based on each state’s population and that state needs would be factored in. The letter did not provide further detail.

 

While the stockpile was still under HHS as the virus began spreading in the United States, the department for the first time used a formula, according to individuals familiar with the system. Under that formula, 25 percent of a state’s requests were fulfilled based on its population and 25 percent on its number of covid-19 cases. The remaining supplies were held back so the stockpile would not be depleted. These individuals said that, even before FEMA took over, the formula had changed again to put more emphasis on need. (emphasis added)

 

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by The Sisko

[bcl05]

I mean, he's already demonstrated the willingness and enthusiasm to withhold life-saving military aid from an ally for purely political reasons.  And he got away with it.  Why would we expect his behavior to change now.

 

[Jumbo]

i'm hoping even some of the more likely candidates to do so are smart enough not to make some comment ala "oh, looky, see, the scientists are arguing" as some broad undermining "point"...iow, your typical "watch my ego make me do another dumbass overreach"

 

 

 

many a day there are grounds to channel darwin in service to our forums and our "mission statement"  (as to be gleaned from the rules/guidelines page) 

[PeterMP]

56 minutes ago, No Excuses said:

Your issue at the end of the day is with people who seem to be actually in charge of decision making. This seems to be a common issue with you, re: facemasks and the revised advisories coming from the CDC. It's worth considering that others know more than you. It's also probably a good idea to not pretend that "evidence doesn't exist" when it does and has been shown to you.

Look at what the article says, and then re-read your tweet.  The tweet is misleading.

 

Just to be clear, I've got no problem if the CDC changes their guidelines.  As I've already said:

 

On 3/30/2020 at 12:00 PM, PeterMP said:

3.  Yes, the CDC might change their guidelines, and as I said initially, this virus might be different.

 

You've missed/are missing the points (now in two conversations I guess).

[The Sisko]

34 minutes ago, Rdskns2000 said:

Pathetic.  Pence is being interviewed by Blitzer on CNN. During the entire interview, Pence is mentioning over and over; how great a job Trump is doing.

He has the amazing talent of being able to talk with something in his mouth all the time.

[FrFan]

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by FrFan

[PCS]

 

 

 

 

[The Evil Genius]

2 hours ago, TryTheBeal! said:

Very interesting article.

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-california-herd-immunity/

 

Quote

Did California’s Draconian shelter-in-place policies that antedated many of those in other states simply arrest (so far) what should have been by now a lethal epidemic?

 

All appearances are yes. 

 

As for Florida, how much extra help is needed due to not having state revenue (no income tax) to pay for those items and services? It's not like they have an uber dense NYC or LA driving the problem there. 

Edited April 1, 2020 by The Evil Genius

[mistertim]

31 minutes ago, PCS said:

 

 

It's amazing watching these assclowns try to jockey for position to where they can blame one another. Florida Governor says he's waiting on direction from the WH, WH says it's his call. All trying to cover their own asses. Meanwhile people are getting infected and dying by the busload. 

 

****ers.

[spjunkies]

Question, could you only develop one symptom if you got this thing? My breathing has been a little heavy for a few days now but I feel completely fine other than that.

[Dan T.]

How many lives will DeSantis have sacrificed with his inexplicable delay in issuing a stay-at-home order?

[China]

Internet trolls spew profanity, racial slurs during first virtual Kalamazoo city meeting

 

KALAMAZOO, MI — Trolls temporarily derailed the Kalamazoo City Commission’s first virtual meeting, shouting profanity and causing commissioners to limit public comment during a portion of the meeting.

 

The Kalamazoo City Commission met virtually for a special meeting on Tuesday, March 31, adhering to guidelines to limit gatherings to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The commission opened the public comment portion of the meeting on the Zoom internet platform, receiving comments filled with profanity, causing Mayor David Anderson to pause the meeting to talk about how to handle the issue.

 

“Unlike when you’re in the city commission chambers, you can be totally anonymous,” Anderson said. He called the comments “pretty profoundly inappropriate and unfriendly to say the least."

 

Commissioners asked the person or persons giving the comments to stop.

 

After more inappropriate comments, commissioners approved a measure to stop taking comments from the public on action items.

 

“I don’t have an answer quite frankly,” Robinson said, about how to deal with racist and sexist comments given.

 

Robinson outlined the issues between the Open Meetings Act, which requires the government to allow public participation, and the First Amendment.

 

There is no room for hate speech, he said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[gbear]

As usual, I think Gates gets it:

 

Gate's edditorial

 

One thing I haven't seen mentioned by others is planning for the production of a vaccine.  The demand will be huge, but most of the building up for the production is likely to not fill the needs as they arrive.  If we want to produce such a vaccine in the quantities needed quickly, we need to plan for success in developing ahttps://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bill-gates-heres-how-to-make-up-for-lost-time-on-covid-19/2020/03/31/ab5c3cf2-738c-11ea-85cb-8670579b863d_story.html?itid=pm_pop vaccine.  It is the first time I have seen somebody advocating for the implementation of plans for what to do if we get a vaccine.  In management terms, I would file this under "those who don't plan for success are planning to fail." 

 

The other two points about a federal response plan versus a states and the need for more testing with centralized results are good points too.  It's just the planning for what success could look like that I think has been missing from our national discussions.

Edited April 1, 2020 by gbear

[China]

This Pandemic Is Not Your Vacation

 

“Wealth is the vector.” That’s what sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom tweeted last week, in reference to the spread of COVID-19 across both the globe and the United States. Wealth is not the cause of every concentrated outbreak dotting the United States. But it’s the common denominator of so much of its spread outside of major urban areas. It’s the reason why so many of the coronavirus hot spots in the Mountain West — Sun Valley, Idaho; Gunnison County, Colorado; Summit County, Utah; Gallatin County, Montana — overlap with winter playgrounds for the wealthy. The virus travels via people, and the people who travel the most, both domestically and internationally, are rich people.

 

In Idaho’s Blaine County, home to Sun Valley, more than half of the residential properties are second homes or rental properties, and more than 30,000 people fly into the regional airport during ski season alone. As of March 31, 187 people in the county of 22,000 have tested positive, including local emergency room physician Brent Russell. Two people have died. The town’s small hospital has two ICU beds and a single ventilator.

 

All over the United States, people are fleeing urban areas with high infection rates for the perceived safety and natural beauty of rural areas. Some of them own second homes in those areas; others are paying upwards of $10,000 a month, depending on the area, for temporary housing. The common denominator among those populations is, again, wealth — either their own or their families’. They can flee the city because their jobs can be done remotely, or they don’t work at all. They either had a vacation house already, or they can afford to fork over what amounts to a second rent, or second mortgage.

 

From the coast of Maine to the North Shore of Lake Superior, hundreds of thousands of people have either already arrived or are scrambling to find vacant rentals. Some are taking precautions when they leave their primary dwellings, fully isolating themselves for 14 days or more in their new, temporary towns, as the White House has recommended for anyone leaving New York City. But many, presumably, are not.

 

For now, in the absence of any clear federal guidelines restricting domestic travel, residents in many small towns across the US are drafting their own ad hoc policies for outside visitors. In Skamania County, outside of Portland, there are signs spray-painted with “STAY OUT LOCALS ONLY” posted around town. One resident told me that community members will follow around any car they don’t recognize that enters the neighborhood. (The local hardware store is also offering free toilet paper with the purchase of a firearm.) At a small backwoods inn on the banks of the Rogue River in Oregon, 200 miles from the nearest hospital, the owner told me that even with a “NO VACANCY” sign up, and the restaurant closed down, she still had people knocking on the door, looking for a long-term place to stay.

 

In Dare County, North Carolina — the Outer Banks — police have set up a checkpoint to turn back anyone, even a second-home owner, who’s not a full-time resident. The tiny island of North Haven, Maine, has banned all visitors, including people who own property, while locals in Vinalhaven tried to forcibly quarantine three people by downing a tree across their street because their car had out-of-state plates. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[TradeTheBeal!]

1 hour ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

 

All appearances are yes. 

 

As for Florida, how much extra help is needed due to not having state revenue (no income tax) to pay for those items and services? It's not like they have an uber dense NYC or LA driving the problem there. 

 

Glad you made this point.  Florida tax revenue is gonna make Snyder’s 2019 gate receipts look good.

 

Total meltdown.

Edited April 1, 2020 by TryTheBeal!

[China]

Florida’s Tens Of Thousands Of Farmworkers Are Facing A Coronavirus “Time Bomb,” Advocates Say

 

With Florida's peak growing season underway, thousands of foreign guest workers are descending on farm fields to join a labor force that has endured the hardships of crowded boarding houses, law enforcement raids, and indentured servitude for generations.

 

But now the workers who are critical to the nation's food supply will face a nemesis they've never encountered.

 

The explosive growth of the novel coronavirus prompted one of the nation's oldest farm labor organizations on Monday to push for new safety standards for thousands of the workers and demand that growers provide medical care during outbreaks.

 

“If it reaches the agricultural community, it will devastate them,” said Baldemar Velasquez, founder of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee. “There won't be a safety net.”

 

The entry of the workers comes just days after the US State Department lifted restrictions on temporary work visas and allowed the laborers to enter during the busiest agriculture season in Florida, where the nation's largest supply of oranges, winter sweet corn, and other crops are harvested. Created decades ago, the guest worker program allows farmers to hire foreign laborers if they can show that no Americans are available to work the fields.

 

If the virus spreads among the workers — many of whom sleep in dilapidated trailers and cramped barracks — it could impact the spread of the illness among the laborers and the grower's ability to harvest the fields and stock American groceries.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[purbeast]

40 minutes ago, spjunkies said:

Question, could you only develop one symptom if you got this thing? My breathing has been a little heavy for a few days now but I feel completely fine other than that.

That's called anxiety.

[spjunkies]

Just now, purbeast said:

That's called anxiety.

 

Probably right 

[visionary]

 

 

 

Sounds like the Trump University of pillow companies. 

 

 

[visionary]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FanboyOf91]

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[FanboyOf91]

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