The CDC did recommend vulnerable people not travel by air or cruise as of yesterday due to COVId-19.
And Dr. Fauci made that rec on Sunday.
There are 4 US Virgin Islands. Total population is about 100,000. St Croix and St Thomas have hospitals that are still significantly damaged after the hurricane. How damaged? Let’s just say that my daughter’s health insurance includes medical flight evacuation.
https://stthomassource.com/content/2020/03/10/still-no-coronovirus-cases-in-territory-tourism-worries-about-cruise-traffic/
“…Asked during Monday’s Government House press briefing about the readiness of the territory’s two hospitals, Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion and Territorial Epidemiologist Dr. Esther Ellis said that St. Thomas currently has six to eight beds available, while St. Croix has one but anticipates having 12 more starting March 11 when the intensive care unit reopens.
The department is also providing both hospitals with one tent each. …”
One sick cruise ship could completely overwhelm the islands.
Seattle public schools will close for at least 14 days
Seattle public schools will close tomorrow and remain closed “for a minimum of 14 days,” according to a notice from the district to parents.
In a letter to students’ families, the district says, “Together, we are facing an unprecedented health crisis in our community.” The notice does not say if they will attempt to continue instruction remotely, although the district promises to have more details for parents on Thursday.
The school district says its first staff member tested positive for the novel coronavirus Tuesday, but they expect the number of cases tied to the district to increase. (CNN)
@Creekland , buying plants to grow food for others is a kind and brilliant idea. I am terrible at gardening and hate bugs, but we have some room to do that.
@BunsenBurner , Maine is one state with no cases (yet). We’re sparsely populated outside a few cities, which is probably why we don’t have any. However, that didn’t stop Hannaford from running out of Clorox wipes…
Denmark is to close all schools, universities and day care facilities in the coming days to curb the spread of coronavirus, the country’s prime minister has said. All employees in the public sector with non-critical jobs are to be sent home starting on Friday, Mette Frederiksen added.
Today, Denmark reported 180 new cases for a total of 442.
The US president, Donald Trump, has hinted that he may advise Americans not to travel to Europe and will discuss declaring a national emergency when he gives a televised address later on Wednesday. He is due to speak at 8pm EDT (midnight GMT). (Guardian)
U of M cancelled through rest of the week. Start online classes Monday.
I listened to Cuomo press conference. They decided to take testing in their own hands and contract directly with private labs. According to Cuomo, there have been only 5,000 tests admistered to date in the entire US.
@NYGovCuomo
NYS will start contracting with private labs in New York to increase our #Coronavirus testing capacity. I have spoken with 28 labs today.
We are quickly mobilizing to get these private labs online as soon as possible.
UPDATE: There are an additional 43 confirmed cases of #Coronavirus in NYS, bringing total to 216.
Westchester: 121
NYC: 52
Nassau: 28
Suffolk: 6
Rockland: 6
Saratoga: 2
Ulster: 1
We continue to expect these numbers to go up as we test.
Trump downplays need for economic stimulus due to coronavirus
From CNN
President Trump seemed to downplay the need for an economic stimulus due to the coronavirus during discussions with top executives from national banks today regarding the impact the virus is having on businesses.
"[I[f we get rid of the problem quickly, everything solves itself, we don’t need stimulus,” Trump said in a Cabinet Room meeting.
Trump said a payroll tax holiday would be great but Democrats don’t like it and he’s trying to figure out why. The President added that the administration will work with small businesses and give out a lot of small business loans, as the banks are too.
The bankers in the room also discussed the economic impacts. Citigroup’s Michael Corbat said it is not a financial crisis. Steven Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone, said the virus “requires a mobilization.”
The President said he will make both economic and health-related announcements at 8 p.m. ET. During the spray, Trump touted “tremendous strides from CDC and others.”
Delaware’s first presumptive coronavirus case is a University of Delaware professor
From CNN
Delaware’s first presumptive coronavirus case is a University of Delaware professor, the school confirmed.
University spokesman Peter Bothum would not identify or provide further information about the professor but said the people who have come into contact with him have been notified.
New York City mayor says it could take six months for things to feel normal again
Mayor Bill de Blasio said New York City could take at least six months to get back to some sense of normalcy because of coronavirus.
The mayor said New York City now has 53 confirmed cases of coronavirus. That number is up from the 48 previously reported by Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier today.
Two employees at CBS News have tested positive for coronavirus, according to an internal memo sent to CBS News employees obtained by CNN.
The employees work in two different buildings and employees in both locations are being asked to work from home, according to the memo by CBS News president Susan Zirinsky.
“We are asking that employees in both buildings work remotely for the next two days while the buildings are cleaned and disinfected. In addition, we have identified employees who may have been in direct contact with these individuals in question, and they will be asked to self-quarantine and work remotely for the next 14 days," Zirinsky wrote.
Zirinsky went on to say that the CBS News offices are expected to be open Monday.
All CNN>
Italy is ordering all shops closed except for grocery and pharmacy.
Neither the Democrats nor Republicans seem to be too enthusiastic about it, though not necessarily for the same reasons.
In practice, those hardest hit from the economic effects of COVID-19 are likely to be the ones who lose their jobs or have reduced hours or gig-jobs, and thus least likely to benefit from a payroll tax holiday.
US travel restrictions on Europe “is under discussion,” official says
From CNN
Acting Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli said that coronavirus travel restrictions for Europe are under discussion.
“The question is a live question, congressman, about how to treat Europe as a whole. You’ve seen Department of State and CDC warnings go up. That is not to the level of using legal authorities to block travel yet, but it is under discussion," he told lawmakers.
Cuccinelli pointed out that Europe presents a “unique problem,” because the Schengen zone — the European countries that do not have internal borders and allow people to move between them freely — creates a region “they don’t have border for the purposes of travel.”
He questioned whether it “even makes sense” to treat Italy as a unitary entity.
NCAA recommends that March Madness be played without spectators
From CNN
The National College Athletic Association (NCAA) has announced that the organization is recommending that upcoming sporting events should be held without spectators.
“We recommend against sporting events open to the public. We do believe sport events can take place with only essential personnel and limited family attendance,” the NCAA said.
The NCAA Division 1 Men’s and Women’s basketball tournaments will be played as planned. The first games to tip for March Madness will be on March 17.
Here’s the NCAA’s full statement:
The NCAA COVID-19 Advisory Panel recognizes the fluidity of COVID-19 and its impact on hosting events in a public space. COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in the United States, and behavioral risk mitigation strategies are the best option for slowing the spread of this disease. This is especially important because mildly symptomatic individuals can transmit COVID-19. Given these considerations, coupled with a more unfavorable outcome of COVID-19 in older adults – especially those with underlying chronic medical conditions – we recommend against sporting events open to the public. We do believe sport events can take place with only essential personnel and limited family attendance, and this protects our players, employees, and fans.
We will be Italy in 7 days. Will the world ban all our flights?
Austria to close schools because of coronavirus fears
From CNN
Schools in Austria will be closed until April because of the spread of coronavirus, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Wednesday.
For children in secondary school, classes will be canceled next Monday and taught online.
“There will be no more lessons in these schools. Lessons … will continue by digital means,” Kurz said in a joint news conference with officials including the education minister Heinz Fassmann, according to Austria’s state broadcaster ORF.
Primary schools will suspend classes next week. However, the government will provide childcare, if no other alternative is available for parents. Kurz said that the government does not want grandparents, who are considered high risk for coronavirus, to take over childcare duties. Children in kindergarten should also stay at home if possible.
Austria’s education ministry has launched an educational hotline. The hotline is "intended to support parents, pupils and teachers in accessing work materials and information on existing online learning platforms in the event of classroom cancellation,’’ according to the website.
[ Australia reported 64 new cases today for a total of 246.]
Trump is speaking at 9PM EST
Exclusive: White House told federal health agency to classify coronavirus deliberations - sources
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has ordered federal health officials to treat top-level coronavirus meetings as classified, an unusual step that has restricted information and hampered the U.S. government’s response to the contagion, according to four Trump administration officials.
The officials said that dozens of classified discussions about such topics as the scope of infections, quarantines and travel restrictions have been held since mid-January in a high-security meeting room at the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), a key player in the fight against the coronavirus.
Staffers without security clearances, including government experts, were excluded from the interagency meetings, which included video conference calls, the sources said.
“We had some very critical people who did not have security clearances who could not go,” one official said. “These should not be classified meetings. It was unnecessary.”
The sources said the National Security Council (NSC), which advises the president on security issues, ordered the classification.”This came directly from the White House,” one official said…
HHS oversees a broad range of health agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which among other things is responsible for tracking cases and providing guidance nationally on the outbreaks.
The administration officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said they could not describe the interactions in the meeting room because they were classified…
The meetings at HHS were held in a secure area called a “Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Facility,” or SCIF, according to the administration officials.
SCIFs are usually reserved for intelligence and military operations. Ordinary cell phones and computers can’t be brought into the chambers. HHS has SCIFs because theoretically it would play a major role in biowarfare or chemical attacks.
A high-level former official who helped address public health outbreaks in the George W. Bush administration said “it’s not normal to classify discussions about a response to a public health crisis.”
Attendees at the meetings included HHS Secretary Alex Azar and his chief of staff Brian Harrison, the officials said. Azar and Harrison resisted the classification of the meetings, the sources said…
One of the administration officials told Reuters that when complex issues about a quarantine came up, a high-ranking HHS lawyer with expertise on the issue was not admitted because he did not have the proper security clearance. His input was delayed and offered at an unclassified meeting, the official said.
A fifth source familiar with the meetings said HHS staffers often weren’t informed about coronavirus developments because they didn’t have adequate clearance. He said he was told that the matters were classified “because it had to do with China.”
More info in the article.
[/quote]
Neither the Democrats nor Republicans seem to be too enthusiastic about it, though not necessarily for the same reasons. In practice, those hardest hit from the economic effects of COVID-19 are likely to be the ones who lose their jobs or have reduced hours or gig-jobs, and thus least likely to benefit from a payroll tax holiday.
[/quote]
@ucbalumnus
Precisely. A payroll tax won’t help the staffers my husband will be laying off as result of this crisis. And it’s looking like it’s not a question of if, but when.