@doschicos I hope this aid will give the homeless some sort of permanent “home”. I wonder how far 150M get, but the homeless situation in CA is horrendous.
I am sorry but the term ‘essential worker’ is just horrifying for anyone who remembers a certain movie.
I don’t think there is much testing going on in Minnesota right now. Our numbers will never be known.
…in response to questions about limited supplies to adminster coronavirus tests in Minnesota, Walz said that a shift by the federal government to prioritize the worst hit locations has “completely dried up” Minnesota’s capacity to test. Walz said he is very concerned, an opposite response from the Minnesota Department of Health Infectious Disease Director earlier Wednesday.
Walz also noted that MDH has had to freeze 1,700 samples due to a backlog in testing…
Glad to hear they have swabs to spare!
@privatebanker, if people had started calling the virus the “Chinese Virus” back in January, that would have been somewhat understandable, but at this point it has a name, “Covid-19,” and calling it by the other name for what appear to be political purposes is unforgiveable. Anyone with an Asian kid in the US can feel how scary it is.
Probably not to far when you divide the sum by the number of homeless, but it’s a start.
2,762 according to covidtracking.com.
Per HUD estimates, there’s a little more than 150k homeless in CA, so that works out to $1k pp. So yeah, no far.
But it will give them shelter, I hope they are somewhat permanent shelter?
Not likely. Many have mental health and/or drug issues and don’t want to stay in a fixed public place, particularly if it has rules (no drugs, etc). The Gov will also use 100+ state-owned trailers for temporary housing. Finally, some facilities will undoubtedly be commandeered under emergency authority (avoiding local zoning laws) and when that authority expires…
Article on how much social distancing will be needed, and how society could change because of it:
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615370/coronavirus-pandemic-social-distancing-18-months/
Baltimore Maryland mayor, Jack Young, has asked the local criminals to assist with keeping needed hospital beds open for coronavirus patients.
"Baltimore Mayor Jack Young urged residents to put down their guns and heed orders to stay home after multiple people were shot Tuesday night amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Young said hospital beds are needed to treat positive COVID-19 patients and not for senseless violence. Seven people were shot Tuesday night in the Madison Park neighborhood, as Baltimore reported its fifth positive coronavirus case Wednesday."
The virus has replicated on the American soil many, many times. It is safe to say that the virus that spreads around is a native born American citizen. Duh.
I despise the term “Chinese virus”
While I absolutely agree with BB, I’m moving on after reading this:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/trumps-chinese-virus-tweet/608263/
Not that I don’t think it has potential to invite violence. Absolutely it will.
Just some observations… Around the world you just don’t hear about turmoil. Did the middle east just make up and stop fighting? Is Iran coming over for dinner?
Also if we can deploy the National Guard to build like tent city hospitals.
Why can’t we build a few of these for the homeless and have heat during the winters and maybe staff these with staff to help people to make transitions back to housing? We do this during dire times but when things were really great why can’t we help our most vulnerable?
I’m more upset about China trying to blame the US and our soldiers for staring this pandemic then the President calling it The “Chinese virus”.
Thanks for the joke, @BunsenBurner. We need a little levity.
CHINA - 34 new cases for a total of 80,928 and 8 new deaths - all Hubei - for a total of 3,245.
China on Thursday reported no new domestic cases of the coronavirus for the first time since it started recording them in January, but recorded a spike in infections from abroad.
The lack of domestic infections marks a major milestone in China’s containment efforts, but the rise in imported cases threatens to unravel its progress.
There were 34 cases that were brought in from abroad, the biggest daily increase in two weeks, with 189 in total now, according to the National Health Commission.
But the figures showed that the outbreak is under control in Wuhan, the central city where the virus first emerged in December, and the surrounding Hubei province.
Only 7,263 people remain sick with the Covid-19 disease.
However, strict disease control and prevention measures will still be needed to prevent a possible rebound, China Daily reported on Thursday, citing epidemiologist Li Lanjuan. Li is the director of China’s State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases.
“If no new case of the coronavirus has been reported for 14 consecutive days in Wuhan following the last reported case, we believe it will be the time when the lockdown can be gradually lifted,” Li told China Daily.
“We expect new cases will cease to appear in mid or late March.”
“After the lockdown is loosened, we still need to strictly carry out routine measures to prevent and control the virus to prevent a possible rebound of the outbreak.” (Guardian)
ITALY - 4,207 new cases totaling 35,713 and 475 new deaths totaling 2,978.
IRAN - 1,192 new cases totaling 17,361 and 147 new deaths totaling 1,135.
SPAIN - 2,943 new cases totaling 14,769 and 105 new deaths totaling 638.
GERMANY - 2,960 new cases totaling 12,327 and 2 new deaths totaling 28.
**USA - 2,954 new cases totaling 9,365 and 44 new deaths totaling 153.
FRANCE - 1,404 new cases totaling 9,134 and 89 new deaths totaling 266.
S. KOREA - 177 new cases totaling 8,413 and 9 new deaths totaling 84.
SWITZERLAND - 373 new cases totaling 3,115 and 6 new deaths totaling 33.
UK - 676 new cases totaling 2,626 and 33 new deaths totaling 104.
NETHERLANDS - 346 new cases totaling 2,051 and 15 new deaths totaling 58.
AUSTRIA - 314 new cases totaling 1,646.
BELGIUM - 243 new cases totaling 1,486 and 4 new deaths totaling 14.
MALAYSIA - 117 new cases totaling 790.
CANADA - 129 new cases totaling 727 and 1 new death totaling 9.
PORTUGAL - 194 new cases totaling 642 and 1 new death totaling 2.
AUSTRALIA - 141 new cases totaling 596 and 1 new death totaling 6.
BRAZIL - 183 new cases totaling 529 and 3 new deaths totaling 4.
CZECH REPUBLIC - 88 new cases totaling 522.
ISRAEL - 96 new cases totaling 433.
IRELAND - 74 new cases totaling 366.
SINGAPORE - 47 new cases totaling 313.
PAKISTAN - 60 new cases totaling 307. 2 new deaths.
POLAND - 49 new cases totaling 287.
ROMANIA - 43 new cases totaling 260.
ESTONIA - 33 new cases totaling 258.
SAUDI ARABIA - 67 new cases totaling 238.
CHILE - 37 new cases totaling 238.
INDONESIA - 55 new cases totaling 227 and 12 new deaths totaling 19.
LUXEMBOURG - 63 new cases totaling 140 and 1 new death totaling 2.
TURKEY - 93 new cases totaling 191 and 1 new death totaling 2.
INDIA - 26 new cases totaling 169.
ECUADOR - 57 new cases totaling 168.
RUSSIA - 33 new cases totaling 147.
PERU - 28 new cases totaling 145.
SAN MARINO - 21 new cases totaling 140 and 3 new deaths totaling 14.
SOUTH AFRICA - 31 new cases totaling 116.
ARMENIA - 32 new cases totaling 110.
PANAMA - 40 new cases totaling 109.
COLOMBIA - 28 new cases totaling 93.
URUGUAY - 29 new cases totaling 79.
FAROE ISLANDS - 11 new cases totaling 58.
ANDORRA - 14 new cases totaling 53.
1st cases confirmed - Kyrgyzstan (3), Mauritius (3), Bermuda (2), New Caledonia (2), Zambia (2), Djibouti, Montserrat, Sint Maarten
New Zealand’s prime minister has held a special press conference just for children, saying the young need extra help understanding the global coronavirus pandemic.
Sitting next to Jacinda Ardern was scientist Dr Michelle Dickinson – who specialises in science communication for kids – and Dr Siouxsie Wiles, who many New Zealanders have come to rely on for calm, practical advice during the crisis.
“Kids ask a lot of questions most of the time, and right now they understandably have plenty about Covid-19,” Ardern posted on Instagram.
“That’s why we put on a press conference just for children and their questions.”
“I hope it will be a useful resource to help answer some of the questions from the young people in your life.”
Hokkaido, Japan lifts state of emergency
Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido has lifted its state of emergency, less than three weeks after its governor, Naomichi Suzuki, asked residents to remain indoors after a spike in the number of local cases of the virus.
Suzuki said the risk of infection was “under a certain level of control,” but added he would urge residents to continue to stay home at weekends.
The number of cases in Hokkaido, one of Japan’s 47 prefectures, stands at 154 – the biggest cluster in the country. No new infections were recorded there on Wednesday, the first time in a month there have been no positive diagnoses.
“There was no surge of infected patients that led to the collapse of local medical services,” Suzuki said of the emergency measures, according to Kyodo news agency. “We got through it and avoided the worst-case scenario.”
Hokkaido, a popular ski resort, has seen the number of overseas visitors, many from China, plummet during the outbreak. Local companies warned that a similarly dramatic fall in domestic visitors had left some tourism-dependent businesses on the verge of bankruptcy.
Japan’s deputy prime minister has said that the Tokyo Olympics are “cursed”, as speculation mounts that the Games will have to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Taro Aso, who has a history of making gaffes, told a parliamentary committee that the Olympics appeared to be blighted by world events every 40 years.
Japan had planned to host the summer and winter Olympics in 1940, but the second world war forced the cancellation of both Games.
Forty years later, many countries, including the US, China and Japan, boycotted the Moscow Olympics in protest at the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
“It’s a problem that’s happened every 40 years - it’s the cursed Olympics - and that’s a fact,” Aso said.
While Japanese officials and International Olympic Committee have repeatedly insisted the Games will go ahead as scheduled, Aso, who doubles as finance minister, said holding them this summer would “not make sense” if other countries were unable to send their athletes.
“As the prime minister [Shinzo Abe] said, it’s desirable to hold the Olympics in an environment where everyone feels safe and happy. But that’s not something Japan alone can decide.”
Tokyo 2020 organisers said a little-known Japanese swimmer who competed in the 1996 Atlanta Games would receive the Olympic torch during a scaled-back handover ceremony in Athens later on Thursday.
Naoko Imoto, who works in Greece for Unicef, had been approached by organisers after virus-related travel restrictions prevented a Japanese delegation from flying to Athens to receive the symbolic flame, which is due to arrive in Japan on Friday.
“We decided yesterday that we felt it was necessary for a Japanese person to undertake this role,” the organising committee’s chief executive, Toshiro Muto, told reporters.
Guardian
Kevin Bacon is the latest celebrity to encourage people to practice social distancing. In a video posted to twitter he reminds followers that he is, after all, only six degrees of separation from each of us – and asking people to tag six friends in posts encouraging people to stay at home.
In the video the Footloose star says:
Hey everybody, now it’s so important to STAY HOME and keep our distance from others. Join me and post a video or photo with a sign like this, with #IStayHomeFor, telling who you are staying home for, & tag 6 friends. Let’s work together to stay home and keep each other safe.
“I’m staying home because it saves lives and it is the only way we’re going to slow down the spread of this coronavirus. Because the contact you make with someone who makes contact with someone else – that may be what makes somebody’s mom or grandpa or wife sick. Everyone has someone who’s worth staying home for.”
[ nice video - go watch ]