https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/24/how-deal-with-people-carelessly-infecting-others/
may be possible to sue some spreading disease knowingly.
Sorry, unable to cut and paste from article
Vatican continues activity after 4 positive cases of coronavirus
From CNN’s Mia Alberti in Lisbon and Hada Messia and Nicola Ruotolo in Rome
The Vatican has confirmed the first coronavirus infections in the city state.
The cases include one office staffer "and two museum employees,” Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said at a news conference on Tuesday.
“The four people had been placed in isolation as a precaution before they tested positive to the test and their isolation has lasted beyond 14 days. At the moment, they are either in care in Italian hospitals or in home isolation,” he said.
Nevertheless, the Vatican has decided not to suspend its activities, instead limiting staff numbers and “encouraging remote work as much as possible,” according to their press office.
Canada’s Trudeau says he may impose further border restrictions with US
From CNN’s Paula Newton
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he and his officials will “shift our posture,” if necessary, when it comes to stricter border controls with the United States.
“We are braced for a broad range of scenarios, we have put contingency plans for next steps depending on what trajectory the virus takes in Canada or indeed around the world," said Trudeau during his daily news conference outside his Ottawa home where he remains in quarantine.
“We are looking at a broad range of things nothing is off the table but we will respond every step of the way with the necessary actions,” he said.
Border states including Washington and New York have become Covid-19 hotspots and Canadian officials are becoming more concerned about community spread as hundreds of thousands of Canadians return to the country from the US and beyond.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says it has tested more than 120,000 Canadians to date and there’s an almost equal mix of travel-related and community spread cases across the country. Canada now has at least 2,500 cases of the virus, with cases spiking by at least 25% Tuesday alone. Canada has reported 25 deaths.
New York City Fire Department says 51 members test positive for coronavirus
From CNN’s Sonia Moghe
Fifty-one members of the New York City Fire Department have tested positive for Covid-19 as of Tuesday, according to department spokesperson Jim Long.
The members include firefighters, as well as emergency medical service personnel and other workers.
Long said five people have been hospitalized.
We own rental properties. Around here electric, etc, can’t be shut off and both of the mortgage companies we use for the rentals have sent me emails saying to contact them if we’re having issues due to circumstances. They are very willing to work with us knowing what’s going on. I’m surprised that isn’t happening elsewhere.
We’ve personally decided if our tenants are having issues we’re going to give them a month or two free as our way of helping out. We can eat the loss better than they can. We also have good tenants who have been with us for years, so that colors our opinions I’m sure.
When the world is in trouble, pretty much everyone has to give a little IMO. How much depends upon how much one can or is willing to do.
“The United States was prepared for a pandemic more than any other country, Johns Hopkins Study found”
By Gregg Re. Fox
Gregg Re is a lawyer and editor based in Los Angeles.
The Global Health Security Index was was “developed with guidance from an international panel of experts from 13 countries, with research by the Economist Intelligence Unit” from 2018 to 2019, The Washington Post reported last year. "More than 100 researchers spent a year collecting and validating publicly available data
“The United States was ranked the best-prepared country in the world to handle a pandemic in late 2019 by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security (JHCHS) – an assessment seemingly at odds with claims by Democrats that the Trump administration left the country vulnerable to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Yikes. New cases in Michigan spiked overnight - up 473 cases since yesterday’s report.
Georgia is moving to expand mail-in balloting for its upcoming primary
The state will mail an absentee ballot request form to all of its 6.9 million registered voters for the state’s May 19 primary, Brad Raffensperger, the state’s top election official announced Tuesday.
The move comes amid a nationwide push to encourage Americans to vote by mail to avoid risk of transmitting covid-19. Georgia was originally scheduled to hold its primary on Tuesday, but delayed it until May 19. There is an aggressive push to get Congress to require states to offer voters a chance to vote by mail in the November presidential election.
Georgia does not require an excuse to vote by mail, but just 7% of voters took advantage of the process during the state’s closely watched 2018 gubernatorial election, the Atlanta Journal- Constitution reported. The state will also offer in-person voting on election day.
“I am acting today because the people of Georgia, from the earliest settlers to heroes like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Congressman John Lewis, have fought too long and too hard for their right to vote to have it curtailed,” Raffensperger said in a statement. “Georgia has faced challenges before and overcome them, and we can do so again through the grit and ingenuity that has made America a shining example for democracies around the world.”
Sending registered voters an absentee ballot request form could also refocus attention on the way Georgia removes people from the voter rolls. In December, the state removed around 100,000 people who hadn’t voted since the 2012 election and didn’t respond to mailings from the state asking them to confirm their address. Voting rights groups say this process removes eligible voters from the rolls.
A number of lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat, are cautioning against Donald Trump’s calls to ease restrictions on businesses to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. It’s a rare moment of bipartisan agreement.
Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney tweeted:
Liz Cheney
@Liz_Cheney
There will be no normally functioning economy if our hospitals are overwhelmed and thousands of Americans of all ages, including our doctors and nurses, lay dying because we have failed to do what’s necessary to stop the virus.
Scott Gottlieb, MD
@ScottGottliebMD
THREAD: There’s a strong and understandable desire to return to better times and a functioning economy. But it should not be lost on anyone that there’s no such thing as a functioning economy and society so long as covid-19 continues to spread uncontrolled in our biggest cities.
Lindsey Graham
@LindseyGrahamSC
When it comes to how to fight #CoronavirusPandemic, I’m making my decisions based on healthcare professionals like Dr. Fauci and others, not political punditry.
Guardian
@Creekland Our mortgage lenders (big national banks) are in lockdown mode. Not making any decisions, not refinancing, notta.
Our tenants are migratory. Very few stay more than two years. It’s not a long term relationship sort of environment. It’s more like running a dorm.
New Jersey reports 17 new coronavirus deaths for largest single day total
HO: National guard military coronavirus new jersey
An Army National Guardsmen puts on a protective mask at a COVID-19 Community-Based Testing Site at Bergen Community College in Paramus, N.J., March 20, 2020.
Spc. Michael Schwenk | U.S. Army National Guard
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said his state has seen an additional 17 deaths from the coronavirus, the largest death toll reported over a single day. The new numbers bring the state’s total number of coronavirus-related deaths to 44. New Jersey also reported 846 new cases, bringing the state total to 3,675 confirmed cases.
Former FDA chief says US lockdowns will last weeks
The U.S. has “several more weeks” to go before officials should consider lifting stringent coronavirus mitigation measures like stay-at-home orders, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNBC.
“This is going to be a long fight,” he said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “I think we need to keep this going for several more weeks, but there is an end to this and we know where it is.”
Trump, Pence held call on economy with investors
President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence held a call to discuss the coronavirus impact on the economy, according to people familiar with the call.
Investors on the call included Third Point’s Dan Loeb, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Vista Equity’s Robert Smith, Intercontinental Exchange’s Jeffrey Sprecher and Paul Tudor Jones, hedge fund manager and co-founder of JUST Capital.
The call with some of Wall Street’s top investors and hedge fund leaders was less focused on potential actions the administration could take to mitigate the impact of the novel coronavirus. Instead, it was more focused on how America’s top money managers are viewing markets and the U.S. economy, the people familiar with the matter said.
Trump requests supplies from South Korea to help combat coronavirus, report says
President Donald Trump asked South Korean President Moon Jae-in for medical equipment to help combat coronavirus during a phone call between the two leaders, according to a report published in a state-funded newspaper.
Moon said that the country will provide “maximum support” if it is available, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The South Korean leader also told Trump that the support could require approval from the FDA, and Trump responded that he would seek the approval within the day, according to the outlet. It was not immediately clear what type of medical equipment Trump was seeking.
CNBC
Folks - New York has by far the most cases because they are BY FAR THE BIGGEST TESTERS. Other populous states like Florida will catch up with the numbers when the testing ramps up to what NY is testing. I fear Florida will be an absolute nightmare because of the elderly community, which are generally the worst rule followers (speaking from experience with my own friends and family -all over the world).
Coca-Cola CEO says supply chain is ‘creaking around the world’ due to coronavirus
Coca-Cola is feeling the strain of the coronavirus pandemic on its supply chain.
“The supply chain is creaking around the world. There are flash points when it’s getting a little harder to get ingredients through, whether it’s delays at the borders, the big changes in channel mix,” CEO James Quincey said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”
In the United States, the beverage giant is seeing heightened demand from grocery stores and e-commerce channels for its drinks as consumers stockpile food and beverages in preparation for spending more time at home. As a result, the company is focusing on producing the products most important to its business, such as water, soda and sports drinks.
Mortgage closings at risk as coronavirus shutters title and recording offices
Not even a month ago, thousands of borrowers were rushing to take advantage of record-low mortgage rates. Refinance applications soared over 400% annually, and homebuyers were out early and in force.
But now some of those loans are stuck in limbo as the in-person closing process can no longer be held.
Across the nation, state, county and local governments, including recording offices, have shut down or are at least limiting the number of people who may enter the office.
That puts the whole system at risk, as title insurers are less able to conduct the title research that goes into issuing a policy. The ability to record documents is also getting tougher as county recording offices close.
CNBC
Exactly. As of a few days ago, NY had tested 10x more people than had Florida, even though Florida has more people than NY and many more tourists at this time of year.
But it was a very smart political move of NY to fight hard to get those tests because since we’ve determined this is a free-for-all-grab-what-you-can-step-on-your-neighbor’s-neck environment with every state pitted against the other, now NY can point to its number of confirmed cases and demand more federal support because it can (perhaps falsely) claim to be the epicenter of all US infections with more confirmed cases than anywhere else. So based on this faulty/lack of data, the fact that most media outlets have NY headquarters and its political pull, NY will receive disproportionate federal aid in the form of military support, temporary hospitals, PPE, and funds. Because people can’t look past a sound bite to understand the “data” supporting the demands is skewed.
Texas sees spike of more than 300 coronavirus cases today
From CNN’s Ashley Killough
Texas saw a spike of more than 300 positive coronavirus tests on Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott said at a news conference.
The state now has 715 people who have tested positive and 11 deaths.
Previously, the state was reporting 410 cases. They have added 305 cases today.
Pentagon says 174 service members have coronavirus
The Pentagon said 174 service members had the coronavirus, an increase of 41 cases from the day before.
In a daily update, the Pentagon added that 59 civilian employees, 61 dependents, and 27 contractors had also tested positive. (Al Jazeera)
Florida governor plans to expand order mandating self-isolation for travelers from New York City area
From CNN’s Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he plans to expand the executive order he issued for travelers from the New York City area.
During a news conference Tuesday, DeSantis said anyone who has traveled from the New York City area to Florida in the last three weeks will need to self-isolate and also provide a list of people they have been in close contact with in Florida. Travelers will also have to provide an address in Florida where they will self-isolate.
DeSantis said he will sign the expansion to the executive order Tuesday.
DeSantis said that members of the Florida National Guard were at Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, providing information to travelers from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in compliance with the executive order he issued Monday, which requires travelers from those states to self-isolate for 14 days. DeSantis added that the effort will be expanded to smaller airports as well.
The surgeon general of Florida will be issuing a health advisory that encourages anyone 65 or older to stay home for the next 14 days. Also anyone with chronic conditions —regardless of age —is encouraged to stay home.
DeSantis also announced an expansion of the group gathering guidance to no social or recreational groups of 10 people or more, even in private residences.
Al Jazeera
That was before the pandemic happened. In practice, nope.
US grocery chain wants its workers to have access to protective masks and gloves
National grocery chain Kroger said in a statement that its wants the government to help secure its workers masks and gloves.
“Our associates are on the frontlines, ensuring Americans have access to the food, services and products they need during this unprecedented pandemic. We are committed to protecting the health and safety of our associates,” a Kroger spokesperson said in a statement.
The statement continued:
“We’ve let our associates know they are permitted to wear protective masks and gloves. There is a national shortage of personal protective equipment like this, and we fully support America’s health care workers having first priority to obtain the equipment they need. We are advocating to government officials at all levels for help securing a priority place in line for all grocery workers — after health care workers — to have access to protective masks and gloves.”
[ I think it is a valid request. Too bad there is such a shortage. ]
@milee30
New York IS currently an epicenter. They did what they needed to to get testing ramped up… Florida is a very powerful and wealthy state and could have ramped up testing too and started shut down processes sooner. This is all on the Florida government - not NY. I agree Florida has LOTs more cases that are unconfirmed, but so does California, Illinois and others. All because of the lack of TESTING, which NY fixed first. Kudos to them. They have confirmed cases, lots of people in ICU and they need the ventilators. While NY was already shut down, WDW Florida was still filled with people.
Florida has the most high profile resident of all, I’m sure he won’t leave Florida in the dust once testing is ramped up and cases are confirmed.
I don’t want to get into a NY/Florida discussion again, since CC is not a debate society.
Medical NGO MSF surprised by Iran decision to cancel coronavirus mission
French medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said it did not understand a decision by Iranian authorities to cancel a mission it had prearranged to set up a facility to fight coronavirus in Isfahan.
“We are surprised to learn that the deployment of our treatment unity is cancelled”, Michel-Olivier Lacharite, who is in charge of MSF crisis response team, said in a statement.
Russia sends ship with military ambulances towards Syria
A cargo ship operated by the Russian Navy transited Turkey’s Bosphorus strait en route to Syria loaded with ambulances, a Reuters news agency reporter saw.
Syria reported its first case of coronavirus on Sunday after weeks of rejecting opposition allegations the disease had already reached a country with a wrecked health system and thousands of Iranian-backed militias and Shia pilgrims.
The Russian Dvinitsa-50 ship, part of Moscow’s auxiliary fleet, was carrying at least three military ambulances along with a shipping container on its deck.
Russia, which has provided military support for President Bashar al-Assad since 2015, operates a naval facility at Tartus in Syria and an airbase in Latakia.
Ryanair becomes latest airline to ground flights
Ryanair said it does not expect to operate flights in April or May and has offered its aircraft to European governments for rescue or the essential movement of medicines and personal protective equipment.
“The experience in China suggests a three-month period for the spread of the virus to be contained and reduced. We do not expect to operate flights during the months of April and May at this time, but this will clearly depend on government advice,” the budget airline said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Al Jazeera
In this and the other thread, people have posted in praise of panic buyers and hoarders of toilet paper, etc. as being smart and rational. Wouldn’t that same thing apply to states put in a similar situation?
No, it’s on the federal government first for directing states to fight it out amongst themselves rather than setting priorities on a national level in a way that most benefits all Americans, not just the ones with influence, power and money.
It’s then on the state governments for using political power and resident media outlets to take advantage of the vacuum of federal leadership. There is nothing stopping the states from working together but they’re choosing not to because it benefits the individual politicians personally. They’re being short sighted for their own personal benefit, though. Cuomo looks good to NYers and will probably personally gain from this grab, but long term not directing limited medical supplies where they’re needed rather than to the highest bidder or most connected will mean more US deaths and prolonging the pain since other areas of infection will just re-infect NY as there are no barriers to movement.
And lastly it’s on us as a population for supporting these petty tactics rather than demanding, urging, pushing our leaders to have a cohesive national strategy rather than hope our guy fights the hardest and gets a few more ventilators.
America as a whole loses with this approach and it’s not who we are. It’s not how we treat each other or how we act. It’s no different than individuals acting selfishly by hoarding or knowingly exposing others.
We should be demanding better of our leaders no matter which state we live in.
FYI-
I went to Costco earlier today. Hardly anyone there and fully stocked with pretty much all the standard Costco stuff. Except TP, Hand Santiizer, and Clorox products. They even had rotisserie chickens.
It was very quiet, carts were cleaned as I walked in, plexi-glass was installed between the register and the customer, counter was wiped down by someone as soon as I finished paying and loading my cart. Gloved Cashier won’t touch your Costco card- you have to flip it over for her to scan.
Don’t go on the weekends if you can avoid it- try to go during the week to get what you need.