While I don’t disagree, this is what we have elected officials and appointed experts for. It’s reasonable to want people to understand how resources are being deployed, however, the average citizen does not have all the pertinent information that goes into these decisions - and in the end has very little recourse. Except perhaps to punish the officials they feel are failing them in the voting booth.
Number of #COVID19 cases in Wisconsin jumps by 100 in one day:
381 cases
4 deaths
6,230 negative tests
Although it must feel good emotionally to say that, a few moments of reflection should convince you that it is probably not a good idea to withhold care from someone who has already shown an unwillingness to limit her behavior. I doubt she will have a change of heart upon being denied care, especially if she believes that such denial will be an effective death sentence (which is almost how many seem to view even catching the virus). As they say, people with nothing to lose tend to “lose it,” and you probably do not want them walking around in the general population.
Of course, there is no way practically to figure out who didn’t help to #FlattenTheCurve upon arrival to a medical provider, so I understand that your suggestion was simply meant to vent.
I do like your idea of prioritizing care for those personnel on the front lines. Their valuable skills and experience will be needed and are not easily replicable.
Pentagon reports first death from the virus
The Pentagon confirmed that a contractor, who worked at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, passed away on March 21, after testing positive for the coronavirus.
This is the first death within the Department of Defense.
“Our condolences go out to his family, friends and co-workers and we thank the medical professionals who worked to save his life in the face of this virus,” the Pentagon wrote in a statement.
3M to provide New York, Seattle with 500,000 N95 respirators
3M Chairman and CEO Mike Roman said the company will supply New York and Seattle with a half-million N95 respirator masks to address the ongoing shortage of health-care equipment.
“As I write this, more than 500,000 respirators are on the way from our South Dakota plant to two of the more critically impacted areas, New York and Seattle, with arrivals expected starting tomorrow,” Roman posted on LinkedIn.
Since the initial coronavirus outbreak, 3M has increased production levels of N95 respirators to the maximum capacity. In the U.S., 35 million respirators are produced per month and more than 90% are now designated for essential employees, such as health-care workers, and other industries, including energy, food, and pharmaceutical companies, according to Roman.
“We are working with the U.S. and other governments, investigating alternate manufacturing scenarios, and exploring coalitions with other companies to increase capacity further,” Roman said.
New York state has more cases than France or South Korea as infections soar to 15,168
New York state now has more coronavirus cases than France or South Korea as the number of confirmed infections soared to 15,168, according to new data released by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The outbreak across the state is the worst in the United States. New York now has more COVID-19 cases than several countries struggling to manage their own caseloads, including France, South Korea, Switzerland, and the U.K., according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Within the U.S., Washington state has the next highest number of cases at 1,647 followed by California with 1,518, according to a chart Cuomo presented at a press conference in Albany.
Air pollution falls as outbreak slows travel, but scientists warn of longer-term threat
The coronavirus pandemic is shutting down entire countries across the world, causing a significant decline in air pollution in major cities as heads of state implement stricter quarantines and travel restrictions.
The unintended air pollution declines from the virus outbreak are just temporary, experts say.
But the pandemic’s unintended climate impact offers a glimpse into how countries and corporations are equipped to handle the slower-moving but destructive climate change crisis. So far, researchers warn that the world is ill-prepared.
“As for the environmental benefits we see from the slowdown of day-to-day life and economic activity in terms of improving air quality and other slight benefits, it’s a good sign that our ecosystems are somewhat resilient if we don’t completely destroy them,” said Peter Gleick, a climate scientist and founder of the Pacific Institute in Berkeley, California. “But it would be nice if we could improve our environment without having to cripple our economy,” he added.
CNBC
I want to emphasize this again. Everyone wants the hydroxychloroquine/azithromycin antiviral drug treatment to prove out. And it may well. I hope it does.
But even if it works, we have no evidence that it will work for people who already have severe respiratory distress. That is not what it was tested for. The provocative study jettisoned people who went into the ICU, one of whom then died. Those people did not count in the study.
Think of it this way: suppose you’re a medieval knight going into battle. You want armor, to protect you from someone hitting you with a sword. The armor here is the antivirals, and if the armor (antivirals) is good, it will protect you. But if you’re coming back from the battle with sword wounds, armor isn’t going to help. The armor (antivirals) doesn’t protect you against damage that has already happened. It’s not going to stop the bleeding (breakdown of lung tissue).
So, people like David Lat, people on ventilators, are getting this treatment, but we have no reason to believe it will help. Their current problems are not being caused by the virus any more.
NY Gov. Cuomo says state to start clinical drug trial, authorizes temporary hospitals
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he’s asked the federal government to nationalize the purchase of medical equipment and has signed off on several locations to build temporary hospitals to treat coronavirus patients across the state, which is the hardest hit in the U.S.
Cuomo said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will build temporary hospitals in Stony Brook, Westbury, Westchester, New York, and the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, which will contain four federal hospitals with 250 beds each.
New York state is also running a clinical trial beginning Tuesday of a treatment regimen of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, two drugs that doctors in Africa and elsewhere say they’ve seen good results in fighting the virus.
Cuomo said the federal government needs to nationalize the purchase of needed medical supplies, adding that the shortage of personal protective gear like masks and life-saving equipment like respirators is leading to price gouging. Masks that used to cost 85 cents are now $7, “why because I’m competing against other states,” he said.
Merck to supply NYC health-care and front-line workers with 500,000 surgical masks
Merck said it will supply New York City with a half-million masks to address the severe shortage of health-care supplies.
“In response to the urgent need for personal protective equipment for health-care workers and other front-line responders battling the COVID-19 pandemic,” the drugmaker will be providing 500,000 masks, a company spokesperson told CNBC.
Merck specified that the masks are surgical masks, not N95 respirators.
Companies should keep as many people employed as possible, Gary Cohn says
Companies should keep as many people employed and on payroll as possible amid the pandemic, former White House economic advisor Gary Cohn said. He said that the economy will eventually bounce back and people should be able to return to work immediately rather than having to go through the re-hiring process.
“It would be a shame if we let people go, terminated them, put them on unemployment and then had to try to rehire them once we restarted the economy,” Cohn said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
The coronavirus crisis will likely result in layoffs on a scale that the U.S. has never seen before, with Bank of America forecasting that as of next week a total of 3 million people will have filed for unemployment. The numbers are expected to be so bad that the Trump administration has asked state officials to delay releasing precise figures.
Financing packages to help the economy recover from the pandemic would be worth $4 trillion, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday. Part of that would include efforts between the Treasury and the Federal Reserve to provide liquidity to businesses.
CNBC
During the Senate GOP lunch today, Moran told colleagues that Rand was at the gym this morning, per two sources briefed on the lunch, and that he was swimming in the pool. Rand got his COVID-19 results back this morning.
Source: White House reporter for the Washington Post, on Twitter.
FEMA unclear about mask quantity and distribution
FEMA administrator Pete Gaynor did not offer a solid timeline for when the national stockpile of masks will be distributed or give a number for how many masks are currently being shipped.
“We are shipping all those supplies to all the demands, to all the asks from the governors every day,” Gaynor said on ABC News’ “This Week.”
He said that there are still masks in the national stockpile, but that FEMA is prepared to “go to zero” to meet demand. He cited New York, Washington state, and California as critical hotspots where masks are being sent.
Mnuchin working with Fed to provide $4 trillion in liquidity, trying to reach a deal today with Congress
Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin said the administration is working with the Federal Reserve to offer up to $4 trillion in liquidity financing that can be used to support the economy.
“We can lever up to $4 trillion to help everything from small businesses to big businesses to get through the next 90 to 120 days,” Mnuchin said on Fox News Sunday.
Mnuchin also said the administration is trying to reach a deal with Congress today regarding an economic relief package that could top $1.8 trillion. Highlights of the package include small business retention loans that would give businesses two weeks of cash flow, a direct deposit for Americans with the average deposit being $3,000 for a family of four and enhanced unemployment insurance for people laid off because of the coronavirus.
Hospitals would also receive approximately $110 billion in aid, according to Mnuchin.
Virus outbreak in NYC will worsen, de Blasio says
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the coronavirus pandemic will worsen in the next few months and urged the federal government to employ the U.S. military to help combat the outbreak.
“The president will not lift a finger to help his hometown. … I can’t be blunt enough: If the president does not act, people will die who could have lived otherwise,” the mayor said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
The mayor said that ventilators produced anywhere in the country should be sent to New York within the next 10 days. The state has become the most affected area in the country and is seeing a surge in cases every day.
A bulk of the cases are in New York City, which now accounts for about one-third of all cases in the country.
“Our federal government needs to be in this fight rather than on the sidelines,” de Blasio said.
CNBC
Airlines tell Congress they need cash coronavirus aid or thousands will be furloughed
U.S. airlines on Saturday warned they will have to furlough workers unless Congress approves a $58 billion aid package that includes grants, not only loans, as the industry reels from the impact of coronavirus.
Senate Republicans last week proposed legislation that included a $58 billion in aid for passenger and cargo carriers, but in the form of loans airlines would later have to repay.
“Time is running out,” wrote the CEOs of Southwest, Delta, Alaska, American, United, JetBlue, Hawaiian, UPS Airlines and FedEx, and their lobbying group, Airlines for America, to congressional leaders. It was one in a series of grim messages from airline chiefs and labor unions this week about the abrupt collapse in bookings that coronavirus caused and the potential toll on workers. “Unless worker payroll protection grants are passed immediately, many of us will be forced to take draconian measures such as furloughs.”
U.S. airlines employ close to 750,000 people and airlines are now shrinking their international networks to the smallest in decades, cutting thousands of domestic flights, parking hundreds of jets and urging employees to take unpaid leave, in a bid to save cash as demand crumbles.
Fed’s Bullard says shutdown is not a recession but an investment in survival
Olivia Michael | CNBC
In normal times massive unemployment and a collapse in economic output would be tragic.
This time, as the coronavirus cloisters millions of Americans and shuts down the U.S. economy, it should instead be saluted as an investment in public health that lays the groundwork for a rapid rebound.
That is the view of St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, who argues that a potential $2.5 trillion hit coming to the economy is both necessary and manageable if officials move fast and keep it simple. It may seem an unconventional view in a moment of global anxiety, but Bullard argues the shutdown measures now being rolled out are essential to shortening the course of the pandemic.
They must also be coupled with massive federal government support to sustain the population through its coming isolation and prime the economy to pick up where it left off.
To Bullard, that means: Match any lost wages. Match any lost business. No questions asked.
CNBC
I heard Homer Simpson tested positive and Marge is being under quarantine. Just kidding.
This behavior, with blatant disregard for the wellbeing of others, is outrageous (I’d like to use a stronger word, but it might get ***'d).
Louisiana governor issues executive order closing all non-essential businesses
From CNN’s Hollie Silverman
Gov. John Bel Edwards has issued an executive order closing all non-essential businesses in Louisiana on Sunday.
Edwards announced the order during a Sunday afternoon press conference.
These businesses include all outdoor and indoor entertainment venues; including, but not limited to, playgrounds, amusement parks, aquariums, zoos, pool halls, race tracks, adult entertainment venues, and carnivals
All personal care businesses will also be closed, including, but not limited to, beauty salons, barber shops, spas, massage parlors and tattoo parlors.
Mentioned earlier up thread:
GOP senators extremely concerned about Rand Paul contracting coronavirus
From CNN’s Phil Mattingly
Senate Republicans expressed their concern after emerging from a closed-door lunch where they received news that Sen. Rand Paul had tested positive for coronavirus.
Three different GOP senators told CNN that Paul was in the gym with colleagues this morning and several pointed out how close the Kentucky senator had sat to others during Senate lunches in recent days.
“This is a different ballgame now,” one Republican senator told CNN.
Senate Majority Whip John Thune, of South Dakota, said on the Senate floor that senators will be seeking medical advice.
“We’ll consult with the attending physician here at the capitol about appropriate measures for those of us who have been in contact with the senator, but this is the kind of situation that Americans across the country are dealing with right now and it underscores the importance of acting immediately to deliver more relief for the American people,” Thune said.
Sen. Mitt Romney, of Utah, echoed similar concerns to reporters.
“All the senators are going to seek medical advice as to what action we should take to make sure that we don’t in any way spread this virus ourselves,” Romney told reporters. “We had a lunch together with Rand, and hope he’s doing very well, but we have to determine whether any of us should self-quarantine as a result of being in the same room.”
“All the senators are going to seek medical advice” after Rand Paul tests positive for coronavirus, Romney says
From CNN’s Kristin Wilson
Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah, said all senators will be seeking medical advice on what action to take after their colleague, Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday.
“All the senators are going to seek medical advice as to what action we should take to make sure that we don’t in any way spread this virus ourselves,” Romney said. “We had a lunch together with Rand, and hope he’s doing very well, but we have to determine whether any of us should self-quarantine as a result of being in the same room."
Romney added: "Very, very unhappy to hear that Rand Paul has been diagnosed with Covid-19… wish him the very best he’s compromised given health conditions he’s had in the past and so we’ll be praying for him and thinking about it.”
Earlier Sunday: Paul confirmed his positive test on Twitter where his official account said, “He is feeling fine and is in quarantine. He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events. He was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.”
Ohio announces “stay at home” order due to Covid-19 concerns
From CNN’s Sarah Jorgensen
Ohio has issued a statewide “stay at home” order due to the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Mike DeWine announced at a press conference on Sunday.
The order, requiring all residents to stay at home except for “essential activities,” will go into effect on Monday night at 11:59 p.m., DeWine said, adding that order was signed by Dr. Amy Acton, the state’s Department of Health Director.
“Dr. Acton who has done such a phenomenal job has just signed an Ohio health director’s order. Dr. Acton just signed a stay at home order for all Ohioans. Other states have referred to this as shelter in place, we prefer stay at home. Either one, it’s pretty much the same thing,” DeWine said.
“Essential businesses” and restaurants for takeout will still be allowed to stay open. DeWine encouraged Ohioans to maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from others.
The “stay at home” order will remain in place until at least April 6, at which time state authorities would reassess the situation, DeWine said.
Please, Washington, ARE YOU LISTENING? I ask as someone who’s married to a business owner who’s seen his 20-year old business die in a matter of a month.
The International Olympic Committee is considering a postponement of Tokyo 2020, with four weeks until it has to make a decision.
The BBC reports the IOC saying that cancellation is “not on the agenda”, but a ‘scaled-down’ Games will be considered. (Guardian)
In his defense, perhaps it was before he got the results but why aren’t all these guys isolating? No lunches, no pool time.
Uh, shouldn’t someone who feels that they might have the virus, feels it strongly enough that they deserve to be tested, also be self-isolating?
Moron.
So senators are still going to the gym while the rest of us self-isolate? Great…
ETA:
[quote]
Mayor Muriel E. Bowser on Friday extended school and restaurant closures and a ban on large gatherings through the end of April, following the first known covid-19 death in the nation’s capital and a spike in coronavirus patients…
Bowser (D) also closed playgrounds and extended the city’s prohibition of on-site service at restaurants and bars and the closure of theaters, gyms and spas until April 25. The measures underscore a new reality for Washingtonians: No school, church, dining out or visits to the movie theater or gym for at least six weeks./quote
The reason that it is so difficult to achieve lockdowns in the USA is not independence, love of personal liberty, or the number of guns.
It’s because, in the USA, selfishness is taught as a virtue. It is dressed up as “self-reliance”, “liberty”, or whatever. Personal property is sacrosanct - wide swaths of the population consider it morally OK to hurt or kill somebody for the mere action of entering one’s property. Shooting unarmed, nonthreatening trespassers is considered to be perfectly OK by at least a large minority of Americans.
I like the metaphor, and it can, in fact, be extended.
It’s not the virus that kills a person. It’s the side effects after the infection. To use the knight metaphor - imagine that you don’t ever die from the wounds inflicted by the swords and flails, but only from the infections afterwards.
Imagine that we were living in a pre-antibiotic world. Any wound can be infected, and any infection can kill you. So the armor will reduce the chance that you will get a wound. But once you have been wounded, it will not help you prevent the wound from being infected.
Similar to how armor will both reduce the number and severity of wounds, but not eliminate the chances of a wound, or even a severe wound, antivirals can reduce the chance that coronavirus will cause any damage and reduce the severity of damage, but not eliminate those chances.
To further extend the metaphor - the absolute best way to keep from getting a sword wound is to avoid being around people who are hitting other people with swords. That is what social distancing does.
PS. Vaccinations are like making a person’s skin impervious to swords…
What seems really weird to me is – if Rand Paul (*drink) was concerned enough to get himself tested, why did he not isolate until he got the test results back? That seems totally irresponsible to me. He does know we are in the midst of a pandemic right? ugh.
We don’t really know that NY has the worst outbreak in the US, only that NY has had access to the most tests so has been able to quantify the number of infected it has. It also doesn’t hurt that most of the news organizations are also based in NY so report accordingly.
The entire state of West Virginia could be infected and we’d never know… because they’re not able to test due to lack of materials and systems. Half of Florida could be infected and we’d never know because Florida also lacks materials - like the swabs Italy so recently sent the US 500,000 of and Florida was given 3000 of that 500k of - to quantify its infection rate.
NY has a lot of infected people. Nobody should question that. But it’s reasonable to question the assertions that there are more infections or it’s the “worst” in the US, because so far, most of the US hasn’t had access to tests so there’s really know way to know how much of the others are infected as well.
Something to keep in mind as we as a nation continue to decide how to allocate resources, from PPE to ventilators to military medical supplies and personnel to $$$ to fight this thing.