Pennsylvania is considering re-opening the liquor stores.
The have a terrible scheme there wherein the liquor stores are state owned and run by unionized state employees, so it’s harder for a politician to justify keeping them opened. Maybe this will be the event that eventually causes the legislature to vote to get out of this business and let private companies run it.
Doctors complain of lack of equipment in hard-hit Spain
Sam Jones
Doctors in Spain have complained of a lack of basic protective equipment as 514 people died with the virus in the country in a single day and the latest figures revealed that Spanish healthcare workers account for more than 13% of the country’s 39,673 cases.
Spain, the second-most affected country in Europe after Italy, has been in lockdown since 14 March, but is struggling to slow the spread of the disease, which has so far claimed 2,696 lives.
The Madrid region has logged 12,352 cases – almost a third of the national total – and 1,535 deaths.
With hospitals, funeral homes and crematoriums in and around the capital struggling to keep pace, an ice rink in the city has been pressed into service as a makeshift morgue and Madrid’s cavernous Ifema conference centre has been converted into a field hospital with capacity for 5,500 beds.
Trump rejects argument for US lockdown
In the US, President Donald Tump has been cautioning against a prolonged shut down or issuing stay-at-home orders.
Trump, speaking a virtual ‘town hall’ meeting, said that a country could be destroyed by shutting it down and pointed to other causes of large numbers of death in an attempt to defend his administration’s approach to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Well you have to make the decision. I brought some numbers here. We lose thousands and thousands of people per year to the flu. We don’t turn the country off,” Trump said.
“We lose thousands of people a year to the flu. We never turn the country off. We lose thousands of people per year to automobile accidents.”
Guardian
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_b70d36c8-6d56-11ea-b4fc-3fe8563359bf.html
In a state that ranks near the top for the number of nursing facilities impacted by the new coronavirus, Louisiana officials on Monday identified a second cluster of cases at a home for the elderly, this one in Donaldsonvile.
The outbreak reported at Chateau D’Ville included five confirmed cases of the deadly pathogen. So far in Louisiana, nearly 1,200 people have tested positive for the virus, and 34 have died.
The first cluster to emerge in the state, at the Lambeth House retirement community in New Orleans, has exploded, with 42 positive cases and nine deaths. About 260 residents live in the complex, according to state authorities.
It will be interesting to see how the states enforce stay-at-home provisions.
Two of the big post-Ferguson initiatives were putting a stop to fining poor people, and to locking up poor people who couldn’t pay fines. And of course getting rid of cash bail and emptying the jails. Our county jail went from overcrowded to 40% capacity.
So what are we going to do with those that defy orders to stay home? Fine people who lost their jobs? Maybe they can use their Trump checks to pay the fine?
Really, I don’t envy law enforcement trying to keep us safe in these (or any) times.
Virginia nurse says her hospital is “exceptionally chaotic”
From CNN’s Ellie Kaufman
An emergency room nurse who works at a hospital in Virginia said the conditions at her hospital are “exceptionally chaotic.”
The nurse, who requested anonymity, said the rules about the personal protective equipment they are required to wear are changing “if not daily, hourly.”
She said that nurses and doctors in her hospital who have auto-immune disorders and underlying conditions are being asked to wear the same protective equipment – one n95 mask for the entirety of their shift – as healthy nurses and doctors. She feels this is putting workers with underlying conditions at higher risk of contracting coronavirus.
“I don’t think they are protecting their staff at all,” she said. “The staff that does have chronic illnesses are required to wear the same PPEs as those that are healthy.”
She said last week, hospital staff used N95 masks as they are supposed to be used, one time and then you throw them away. This week, they are using the N95 masks until they are soiled because they are running out of supplies.
She said they are seeing “60, 70, 80 patients” in one shift, “the majority of them have cough, fever, shortness of breath, and you are out there, and you have full garb and you have that one measly mask for all of those patients.”
She feels like the hospital and the government were not prepared for the outbreak and the needs it would impose on hospitals.
“They should have been preparing when this outbreak happened in China,” she added.
In her emergency room, patients who potentially have Covid-19 are waiting in the same waiting room as people coming into the emergency room for other unrelated issues. This is where she believes the highest risk is for patients.
“I think they put a lot of people at risk. You have an elderly couple that is having chest pain sitting right next to someone who has a cough and flu… I think that’s extremely reckless,” she said
She also said they are not testing patients in her emergency room. If you are suspected to have Covid-19, you are separated into a room with other people who potentially have it. She said people are not getting tested unless they meet strict criteria, simply because there are not enough tests to test everyone who has the symptoms.
“On my shift, I think we tested 10 people yesterday when we should have tested probably 50 to 60 just to identify community spread,” she added.
She said she’s also putting her family at risk by being exposed to patients who potentially have Covid-19 every day. Her 18-year-old daughter is home from college for the rest of the semester since classes have been suspended. She said she has not hugged her daughter since this started, for fear she may pass anything on to her.
[ I know some on CC are sewing masks out of fabric. I’m seeing the same in my community. Doctors and nurses from local hospitals are posting in facebook community groups with pleas for help in drumming up masks, plastic that can be used for face shields, gowns, etc. This is a state with less than 125 confirmed cases thus far, although they aren’t doing much testing either right now. ]
Trump rails against New York governor for “complaining” about ventilators
From CNN’s Betsy Klein
President Trump suggested negotiators working on a stimulus bill are “doing pretty well” Tuesday, going on to rail against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for “complaining” as his state faces critical shortages of ventilators.
“I hear just from a few minutes ago that they’re doing well. It’s for the workers, it’s for the people of the country, and I hear they’re doing pretty well so we’ll see how it comes out,” Trump said of the bill.
Trump then referenced a New York Post opinion piece from former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey, who wrote last week about public health officials in a 2015 task force: “In 2015, the state could have purchased the additional 16,000 needed ventilators for $36,000 apiece, or a total of $576 million.”
“I watched Gov. Cuomo and he was very nice, we’re building him hospitals, we’re building him medical centers, and he was complaining about – we’re doing probably more, definitely more than anybody else and he was talking about the ventilators,” Trump said of Cuomo.
He continued:
“I’m not blaming him or anything else, but he shouldn’t be talking about us. He’s supposed to be buying his own ventilators. We’re gonna help. But if you think about Gov. Cuomo, we’re building him four hospitals, we’re building him four medical centers, we’re working very hard for the people of New York. We’re working along with him and then I watch him on the show complaining, and he could’ve had 16,000 that he could’ve had at a great price and he didn’t buy them.”
Trump says that he and coronavirus task force doctor “get along very well”
From CNN’s Maegan Vazquez
President Trump said Tuesday that he still has a good relationship with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the coronavirus task force member who leads the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases.
“We get along very well,” Trump said during a Fox News virtual town hall.
“I think it’s very good,” he said of his relationship with Fauci. “You would have heard about it if it wasn’t.”
Asked why Fauci wasn’t at the town hall today, Trump said, “You know, they have other things to do. And yesterday we weren’t really talking about what he’s an expert on. We were talking about other things.”
The President complained that when a task force member isn’t seen at a briefing or meeting, the press is quick to ask why they aren’t there.
“I respect all of these people. These are great people,” Trump said. He called Dr. Deborah Birx and Fauci “extraordinary.”
Earlier in the town hall, Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams asserted that the President listens to his health experts, including Fauci, about the coronavirus.
I posted this on another thread.
Rogue Fitness in Ohio announced on Instagram that their production facilities will begin producing masks, gowns, shields, and ventilators.
Hiring 100 people.
This site linked below re-posted the RF IG announcement:
Oh geez! From Spain
The situation inside Spain’s senior homes, which have been hard hit by the coronavirus epidemic, is even more dramatic than previously thought.
On Monday, Defense Minister Margarita Robles revealed that the army’s Emergency Military Unit (UME), which is providing these centers with medical and cleanup assistance, has found “seniors in a state of complete abandonment, when not directly dead in their beds.”
Late on Monday, public prosecutors announced an investigation into allegations that there are “elderly people, some of them sick, living in extreme conditions and with poor hygiene” at senior residences. Reports of deceased residents will also be investigated, and prosecutors will determine whether there is any criminal liability.
“We are going to be absolutely implacable and forceful about the treatment that seniors are getting in those residences,” said Robles in statements on TV network Telecinco’s magazine show El Programa de Ana Rosa. After asserting that most centers are treating residents adequately, the minister added that “the weight of the law will fall on those who fail to meet their obligations.”
Overwhelmed
But workers at these centers complain that they are being forced to work in dangerous conditions, without proper equipment, that funerary services are showing up late to collect bodies and that protocols prohibit care home staff from touching them in order to prevent further contagion.
José Manuel Ramírez, president of the Association of Social Services Directors and Managers, called the minister’s statements “unfortunate” and “shameful.” “Workers are putting themselves on the line, without resources, without healthcare support, without protective gear,” he said, asking people not to “criminalize” employees who are acting “like heroes and heroines.”
Senior care homes have been at the center of numerous coronavirus outbreaks in Spain, and managers have long been complaining about a lack of human and material resources to deal with the situation.
Healthcare sources said that bodies of deceased residents are normally taken to a refrigerated room where they remain in storage until they are collected by funerary services. When the death is thought to be caused by Covid-19, however, protocols prohibit workers from touching the body until funerary personnel show up with protective gear.
But the current overwhelming demand at Madrid’s funerary services means that up to 24 hours are elapsing between the time of death and the time of collection.
Two workers at a residence in the Madrid district of Usera told EL PAÍS that the UME walked in on Sunday morning to disinfect the premises, and found the body of a man who had died the day before. The corpse was still lying in bed in the man’s room. “He was there from early afternoon [on Saturday]. I arrived at night, and at 8am the next morning he was still there,” said José Manuel Martín-Lopi, who works the front desk at the senior home.
A nursing assistant who spoke on condition of anonymity said the body was collected at around 11.30am on Sunday. “Normally the process takes two hours, what with the paperwork and informing the family. In this case it wasn’t so,” said Martín-Lopi. A center spokeswoman said that the body could not be moved because it was thought it could be a source of contagion, and that protocol establishes that they had to wait for the funerary services.
On Monday, the UME also began transferring coronavirus victims from Madrid hospitals to a makeshift morgue that’s been set up at the Palacio del Hielo ice rink, the Defense Ministry has confirmed.
Trump was asked how he’s doing dealing with the country’s governors through this crisis, especially the Democratic governors.
All is well, Trump said, citing California governor Gavin Newsom.
“Governor Newsom and I have been getting along,” Trump said. “We’re speaking to each other, whether it’s conference calls.”
But Trump added that it has to be a mutually friendly relationship.
“It’s a two way street. They have to treat us well also,” Trump said. Trump went on to point, once again, to New York governor Andrew Cuomo saying earlier today that the Trump administration had not provided the necessary amount of ventilators to his state. (Guardian)
The president is refraining on laying blame on himself or the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) in handling the coronoavirus epidemic. He said neither his administration or the CDC is to blame.
“We did not screw up. I don’t think CDC screwed up either,” Trump said. “I don’t think – in all fairness to CDC. Nobody ever expected a thing like this. Nobody expected that millions and millions of people would have to be tested.” (Guardian)
[ If one was following what was going on in China, it certainly isn’t a surprise. ]
Italians could be fined more than $3,000 if they don’t comply with coronavirus restrictions
From CNN’s Sharon Braithwaite and Livia Borghese
Italy will impose higher fines for people who defy coronavirus emergency regulations, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Tuesday.
People who violate the emergency measures will be slapped with fines ranging from 400 to 3,000 euros — or $435 to $3,225, Conte said.
The latest in Italy: In Codogno — the village in Lombardy where the first big cluster of Covid-19 was reported at the beginning of the epidemic in Italy — had no new cases on Tuesday, Giulio Gallera, Lombardy’s health assessor said in a news conference.
“We know there are hospitals completely full of patients, in particular in the area of Bergamo were two hospitals are at their maximum capacity: the Pope John XXII hospital has 417 Covid-19 patients and the other hospital has 424 Covid-19 patients,” Gallera said.
He thanked the Italian military for its assistance in building a field hospital in Crema.
Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks close during coronavirus outbreak
CNN
Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks will be closed to visitors until further notice during the coronavirus outbreak.
"The National Park Service listened to the concerns from our local partners and, based on current health guidance, temporarily closed the parks,” said Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly and Grand Teton Acting Superintendent Gopaul Noojibail said in a statement.
They added: “We are committed to continued close coordination with our state and local partners as we progress through this closure period and are prepared when the timing is right to reopen as quickly and safely as possible.”
France will launch financial aid package to stem spread of coronavirus to developing nations
From Ya Chun Wang in Paris, CNN
The French government will launch a new financial aid package in order to stem the spread of coronavirus to developing nations, with a particular focus on countries within Africa, France’s Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian said Tuesday.
“We will mobilize a financial package of assistance to prevent the epidemic from spreading to regions or subcontinents, which today are not contaminated but tomorrow could be a new risk for us,” Le Drian told lawmakers in the French National Assembly.
“International cooperation and support must absolutely be given to the most vulnerable of the third-world countries, because they are going to need it very quickly,” the Foreign Minister added, highlighting Africa as particular area of concern.
Sierra Leone declares 12-month state of “public health emergency”
From CNN’s Bukola Adebayo in Lagos
Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio declared a 12-month state of “public health emergency” starting Tuesday in the West African nation to prevent the spread of coronavirus. It has yet to report a case.
Bio, in a televised address to the nation, expressed concerns about the rapid spread of the virus, warning that it could send Sierra Leone into “a state of emergency.”
The country was at the center of the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak that ended with more than 28,000 cases and 11,000 deaths.
The President said the coronavirus pandemic poses “enormous” health and economic challenge to citizens and the country’s health facilities and it has become necessary for the government to take critical steps to protect its citizens. He offered no immediate details on what those steps would be during the address.
Bio did say the announcement is not a lockdown and warned against hoarding and hiking of goods and services in the country.
“This is not a lockdown and nobody must use this as an excuse to hoard goods, hike prices, or engage in acts of lawlessness. This public emergency is not meant to make the lives of Sierra Leoneans difficult or unbearable,” he said.
Bio said the government would deploy police and country’s security forces to ensure that citizens comply with public health directives in the country.
“We believe that the actions that we take as a government, will have an impact on the well-being of our beloved nation,” the President said.
Sierra Leone had banned overseas travel for public officials last week and prohibited gathering of more than 100 people as a precautionary measure against the virus.
Good to hear. And a bit contrary to what some media reports are trying to create as a talking point. They all need to work together. I hope this continues to be the case. Although there are many more issues in the table than just the epidemiology. And there’s still things happening in the world and threats. It doesn’t stop…
Fox business
By Andrew O’Reilly
“Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases and a member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, told WMAL on Tuesday that Trump has always heeded his recommendations.
“The president has listened to what I have said and to what the other people on the task force have said when I have made recommendations he has taken them.
He’s never countered or overridden me, the idea of just pitting one against the other is just not helpful,” Fauci said”
Are all the pressers going to be on Fox News from now on? If so, a huge number of folks will not be able to watch them.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/24/bill-gates-us-missed-its-chance-to-avoid-coronavirus-shutdown.html
The U.S. is past this opportunity to control (COVID-19) without shutdown,” Gates said during a TED Connects program broadcast online. “We did not act fast enough to have an ability to avoid the shutdown.”
“It’s January when everybody should’ve been on notice,” Gates added. The virus was first discovered in December in China.
Government officials across the country have advised or directed residents in the past days to stay home in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus that’s infected at least 46,500 people. Many locations, including California, New York City and Washington, D.C., have ordered all non-essential businesses to temporarily close. As a result, unemployment claims are surging and markets are hitting multiyear lows.
President Trump said Tuesday that he wants businesses to open by Easter, April 12, to soften the economic impact. Government officials and health experts have widely criticized these calls, warning that bringing people back to work will overwhelm the health care system and lead to more deaths.
Gates acknowledged Tuesday that self isolation will be “disastrous” to the economy, but “there really is no middle ground.” He suggested a shutdown of six to 10 weeks.
“It’s very tough to say to people, ’Hey keep going to restaurants, go buy new houses, ignore that pile of bodies over in the corner, we want you to keep spending because there’s some politician that thinks GDP growth is what counts,” Gates said. “It’s hard to tell people during an epidemic … that they should go about things knowing their activity is spreading this disease.”
Gates added Tuesday that the United States needs to ramp up its COVID-19 testing abilities and better navigate who actually needs to be tested.
“In terms of testing, we’re still not creating that capacity and applying it to people in need,” Gates said. “The testing thing has got to be organized, has got to be prioritized. That is super, super urgent.”
The President can say these statements now, but they have a very, very short shelf life. A month from now they will no longer be true.
@thumper1 No I don’t think so. It was a special town hall. They’ve been doing them for weeks like cnn. All of the candidates. Cnn also had Global warming. LGBTQ issues in America.
Major US and restaurant chains planning to slash or withold rent on April 1.
No surprises here.
Hell. That’s our income. We are not a REIT. Just individuals.
“Taiwan accuses WHO of cozying up to China, not listening to Coronavirus warnings. “
By Barnini Chakraborty
Fox News
“Taiwan is the latest country to accuse the World Health Organization of bending to Chinese pressure and says if the global body had listened to them, the novel coronavirus sweeping across the world could have been contained by now.
As of Tuesday morning, there have been 387,382 confirmed cases of COVID-19 – a 12 percent increase from the day before. The United States saw a 31.9 percent jump in cases to 46,450 and is on track to eclipse China’s number of 81,588.
Health officials in Taipei said they alerted the WHO at the end of December about the risk of human-to-human transmission but says its concerns and warnings were not passed on to other countries that could have benefited from it.
Taiwan claimed its doctors had heard from their mainland China colleagues that medical staff treating patients were getting sick – an obvious sign that person-to-person transmissions were taking place, the Financial Times reported. Taipei officials said they reported their fears to Chinese health authorities as well as to the International Health Regulations, a World Health Organization outfit that was created to allow countries to work together during health emergencies, but that their information fell on deaf ears.
While the IHR’s internal website provides a platform for all countries to share information on the epidemic and their response, none of the information shared by our country’s (Centers for Disease Control) is being put up there," Taiwan’s Vice President Chen Chien-ien said.
China only confirmed person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 on January 20, after the WHO said in mid-January that there might be “limited” cases of transmission.
Listening to Taiwan’s early warnings could have saved hundreds of thousands of people from getting the deadly disease.
The problem, some say, is the relationship between the WHO and China.
China has dictated and put pressure on the WHO to play down the numbers. Bizarrely, in return, China has been showered with accolades from the global organization for its efforts to contain and control the coronavirus - something that has critics seeing red.
Instead of wasting time praising China, critics say the WHO should have taken Taiwan’s warnings seriously.
Seventeen years ago, Taiwan learned some lessons during the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak. More than 800 of its citizens died and its economy took a hit. Since then, Taiwan has prepared itself in case anything similar were to happen again.”