Can we forgo the FL v. NY debate or take it PM?
@milee30 wrote:
New York and Florida saw their first coronavirus cases diagnosed on the same day, March 1st.
Florida saw its first deaths from the virus on March 5th. New York saw its first on March 13th.
On March 13 Cuomo put statewide restrictions on public gatherings. On the 15th he shut schools. New York’s stay at home order went into effect on March 22nd, at which point the state had 10,356 diagnosed cases and 53 deaths.
DeSantis declared a stay at home order beginning April 1st, 10 days after New York, at which point the state had 6987 case and 87 deaths, with cases doubling every 4 days.
Due to New York’s high density cases rose more quickly than in Florida, but Florida has had plenty of warning. The mayors of many Florida cities, including Miami, where the mayor was an early coronavirus case, closed down their cities while DeSantis was still welcoming spring breakers.
Should Cuomo have shut things down earlier? IMO, yes, but DeSantis has ignored cautionary tales from across the country and failed to act when her could and should have. IMO it’s not about whether Florida will have fewer deaths than NY but whether Florida’s governor has put his people at unnecessary risk.
ETA: Sorry, posted before @doschicos’s plea above. I agree and will refrain from further NY/FL posts.
South Korea has received requests from 121 countries for help with coronavirus testing, a foreign ministry official said on Wednesday, as authorities around the world come under intense pressure to curb the spread of the disease.
South Korea’s massive testing campaign, backed by intensive contact tracing, has been credited with helping slow the spread of coronavirus in the country, which once had the second largest outbreak after China.
“We’re getting so many requests from various countries as we have built experience from the early outbreak. The number, which is now 121 countries, is rising by the day,” the official said, asking not be named, citing diplomatic sensitivity.
South Korea has set up a taskforce to determine how it can offer assistance, either with exports of kits or other humanitarian aid, the ministry official said.
The official did not name the countries but South Korean test kit makers have contracts to supply US states and countries including Italy. (Guardian)
A bleak report from Reuters in Delhi, India’s capital, on the desperate plight of the homeless amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Some of us will die, some of us will live to suffer,” warns one local.
In a densely packed neighbourhood of Delhi, hundreds of homeless people queued up this week as volunteers doled out rice and peas from a vat in the back of a van.
Only a handful of the people in the crowd wore masks. There were no hand sanitizers or wash basins in sight and no social distancing.
“I need the food,” said a man in the queue, Shiv Kumar. “If I stand apart, someone else might come in between.”
Volunteers say such scenes are playing out daily across India, as labourers and waste pickers – most of them homeless or too poor to afford a meal – are among the hardest hit by prime minister Narendra Modi’s three-week nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of coronavirus.
Most of the estimated 4 million-plus homeless people in India have had no way of earning a living since the lockdown began on 25 March. With streets deserted, even begging is not an option.
Many wander aimlessly, some find refuge at homeless shelters where ranks of people sleep beside each other. While the plight of India’s migrant workers has garnered headlines, with thousands forced to walk miles to reach home since the lockdown began, many aid workers say the millions of homeless in India face a bigger risk.
Officials say the shutdown is necessary to stem the spread of the coronavirus. India has reported more than 1,500 cases and 38 deaths from the outbreak.
But rights groups have criticised the government over what they say has been inadequate planning ahead of the lockdown.
“You cannot impose such drastic measures on a population the size of India all of a sudden,” said Shivani Chaudhry, executive director of Housing and Land Rights Network, a non-profit group that works with the homeless. “In shelters, we face serious challenges such as the lack of adequate space and sanitation,” she said. “If one person in a shelter gets infected, it’s going to be very hard to control its spread.”
“Some of us will die, some of us will live to suffer,” said Zakir Hussain, a 45-year-old labourer, standing near a homeless shelter in Delhi. “We are poor. We’ve been left here to die. Our lives are of no value to anyone.”
The cruise ships can’t dock in Florida (sorry if this has already been posted).
Oh shxt, he tested positive! His wife (late 60’s) has also been working 5 days a week, as an RN and her job is in wound care and visiting hospitals, medical facilities, etc. No symptoms (yet?) but wouldn’t be surprised if she has it too or was the carrier? They are now self-isolating in Long Island (NY).
This is an interesting chart on social distancing as tracked by cellphone data. For those interested, you can see how FL compares vs states with official statewide lockdowns. It’s interesting to see how much local variance there is when you drill down to an individual state. For example if you click on CA, you can see really tight compliance in SF and LA, but poor compliance in other areas.
https://www.unacast.com/covid19/social-distancing-scoreboard
@socaldad2002 Ugh, I’m so sorry. I hope he’s able to recover quickly. Thinking good thoughts for your family.
That doesn’t appear to be a definitive answer, just the Coast Guard’s current call. They can be overruled. We’ll be hearing more on this.
@socaldad2002 Sorry to hear the bad news about your FIL. Sending healing vibes his way.
I’ve looked at this a couple times as it has been posted. I really don’t get the premise of the methodology. Maybe I’m not understanding it well and someone can explain it. I would think that more rural areas would be at a disadvantage.
PA joins the states with a state-wide Stay At Home order as of 8pm tonight. Previously it has only been in select counties.
It doesn’t change what we’re doing one iota (we’ve been staying at home except for food).
Responding to things as I see them (so some of these are many pages back):
Re: cruises. My aunt's father has been on one since January - before we really knew what was going on. It's a world cruise. It's entirely possible that either A- people were carriers and didn't know it or B- that people picked it up when they were in a port somewhere. (I haven't talked to her in the last few weeks so I'm not sure if there had been any cases on the ship, but just using it to point out why people might be on cruises.)
Re: rural places. It absolutely blows my mind that people are somehow less susceptible if they live in rural places. But let's assume that's true. Let's say it's only a handful of families that get it. Or one congregation or something like that. Rural hospitals are already incredibly stressed both through space and resources - FAR more than urban/suburban hospitals. Hell, many don't even HAVE inpatient hospitals for many, many miles. something to consider when talking about rural places.
I've lost track - are we supposed to believe or not believe US Intelligence this week?
It blows my mind that some people on here still think public health is an individual responsibility. By definition, it is not.
Yes, we all need to do what we need to do to stay safe BUT the idiots at the beach can absolutely affect us whether we want to or not. What if they’re healthcare people? What if they’re the ones packing/stocking/delivering groceries? What if they’re the delivery people for food? The list goes on.
Every time you’re an idiot and get together with a group of people you don’t live with, you are potentially spreading the virus. Not just to the handful of people you’re there with but to the next group of people they encounter, and then the ones they encounter, and so on.
So for example, even here in Michigan, I got the flu from India. I got it from an essential employee (my partner) who got it from someone (his client) who got it from someone (family member of client) from India. I diligently wash my hands, Mr R showers and gets rid of his clothes the moment he comes home, etc. I do not and cannot wear masks in my house because I don’t have masks in my house. But all it took was one minor exposure - and coronavirus is more infectious than the flu even.
Who’s going to give the definitive answer? I wonder how many people are on both of these ships?
I just saw this on our local newsgroup:
@anomander, I’ve noticed that compliance correlates pretty well with the rate of confirmed cases.
The German government has rejected calls for a country-wide mandatory use of masks while also calling on manufacturers to ramp up their production of protective facial gear.
Austria’s chancellor had on Monday announced his government would make it compulsory for shoppers to wear facial masks in supermarkets from this Wednesday, leading to calls on the German government to copy its southern neighbour.
Two cities in eastern Germany, Jena and Nordhausen, have already taken unilateral steps to follow down Austria’s path. But a shortage of effective facial masks are a problem in both German-speaking countries. The Austrian government on Wednesday announced it would postpone the mandatory use of masks in supermarkets until next Monday, because of a supply shortage.
On Tuesday, German finance minister Olaf Scholz said the government would financially support companies taking a gamble on switching their production to making facial masks.
Unlike in the US, however, German politicians have declined to force industry to retool to produce protective gear or respirators. “We cannot put ourselves into the position of the companies who will know which machinery, which capacities and which parts they will need or can currently get hold of”, interior minister Horst Seehofer told newspaper Bild.
The debate comes amidst a growing sense that the relatively stable situation in German hospitals could be about to become a lot more serious as the virus moves on to the elderly population.
A number of reports from up and down the country today about outbreaks in care homes for the elderly. Numerous regional newspapers up and down the country on Wednesday reported outbreaks of the Covid-19 virus in care homes for the elderly, including in Munich, Heilbronn, Wolfsburg and Tornesch.
The number of people on ventilators in German hospitals jumped up by around 20% on Tuesday, to 1,189. According to the Robert Koch Institute, 8,954 out of 16,319 intensive care beds registered with the government’s central health body are currently occupied. (Guardian
Massachusetts is reporting over 1,100 new coronavirus cases
Massachusetts is reporting 1,118 new cases of Covid-19, for a total of 7,738, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.
There have also been 33 new deaths in the state, bringing the death total to 122, according to the state’s website.
Louisiana received 150 ventilators from the national stockpile today, governor says
Gov. John Bel Edwards said Louisiana has received 150 ventilators from the national stockpile today.
In previous days, Edwards said Region 1 (which includes New Orleans) could run out of ventilators by this coming weekend.
Last week, the governor said the state needs an additional 1,000 ventilators just in the New Orleans area.
Louisiana has 6,424 coronavirus cases and 273 deaths, according to CNN’s tally.
New York’s Central Park field hospital is now open and has taken in its first patient
From CNN’s Elizabeth Stuart
The field hospital in Central Park is now open and has taken in its first patient, Melissa Nystrom, a spokesperson for Samaritan’s Purse told CNN.
Samaritan’s Purse is the group that is operating the 68 bed makeshift hospital.
New York has reported 83,712 coronavirus cases and 1,941 deaths, according to CNN’s tally.
[ That must be surreal - and chilly. ]
I’m willing to stop bringing up Florida if the constant updates on all NY minutia stop. I could care less about whatever the NY governor has to say every day, for example.
Pennsylvania reports nearly 1,000 new coronavirus cases
CNN
Pennsylvania has nearly 1,000 new coronavirus cases since yesterday, and the governor has extended his stay at home order until April 30.
“This virus is spreading rapidly. It’s in every corner of our state. It’s gotten into our nursing homes and our prisons and it’s filing up our hospital beds,” Gov. Tom Wolf announced today.
Wolf addressed the public in blunt terms Wednesday, saying residents must stop the spread of the coronavirus and comply with his stay at home order.
“Some of you might think a month is too long to go without seeing your friends or family but if we don’t do everything we can to slow the spread of Covid-19, there are some people who you will never see again.” Wolf said.
He added that “74 people in Pennsylvania have already lost their lives to Covid-19, and it’s up to us to decide if we’re going to let that number skyrocket."
Wolf said that residents should assume that “everyone has the virus, including yourself.”
“Avoid leaving your house like someone’s life depends on it, because ultimately, someone’s life does depend on it.”
Rent deferred for thousands in Chicago public housing
From CNN’s Melissa Alonso
The Chicago Housing Authority will defer rent “for thousands of tenants in public housing,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at briefing Wednesday.
Rent will be deferred through the end of the month, while the stay-at-home order remains in effect, she said.
Lightfoot said she is working with county and state officials to explore options for residents “who are in need.”
the housing authority serves more than 63,000 low-income families, according to its website.
**Florida’s emergency officials were not told stay-at-home order was coming
From CNN’s Paul Murphy
A Florida county emergency operations director told CNN they were not given a heads up that the Gov. Ron DeSantis was issuing the stay-at-home order today.
Even on today’s 11:15 a.m. ET state emergency operations center call, which involves all county-level emergency operations directors and staff, it was not discussed.
That call is held daily when the state emergency operations center is activated.
The director told CNN they are now scrambling to figure out what this order means or says.
Cuomo may have just officially shut down playgrounds, but all the playgrounds around here have been wrapped up in caution tape for quite a while.
They’re looking at the reduction in travel within states and counties over what it had been previously. The updated methodology takes into account how many miles you’re logging but also whether it’s to places deemed essential such as medical facilities, pharmacies and grocery stores.