I just picked heard the Dr. from the Harvard Global Health Initiative say the surge in numbers now is much more dangerous than it was in March because of quarantine fatigue and people just giving up. IOW, we are totally screwed.
It’s a no brainer to know if we had stayed closed even a month longer in most places, then slowly begun to reopen using the prescribed metrics and guidelines - we would not be where we are in huge swaths of the country.
Sigh.
‘As Florida coronavirus cases spike, Ron DeSantis says mask requirement won’t work’
Glacier National Park is not going to open the lodges this year on the East side of the Park, so there goes our vacation. Rats.
I read that the Blackfoot reservation has a lot of cases and the eastern entrances to Glacier are closed.
It is really not number of new cases that matters as much as rate of infection. NY is testing 60K+ people/day with ~800 people tested positive, which is around 1.3%. Back in Mar/April it was around 20%. NY is testing more and % positive is lower. It is not the case in FL or TX (I would say there are probably more cases out there because not enough testing is done). Telling people that the reason the numbers are up at those states is because there are more testing now is just not right.
Our internet has been spotty at best, but mostly non-existant the better part of the past two days. I am finally catching up with everyone’s posts. We have experienced slow internet during the pandemic, but this is the first time it has completely died on us, leaving us with more understanding of how our infrastructure isn’t pandemic-friendly (for lack of a better term). I am finally catching up with everyone’s posts. You folks are prolific!
IL went to Phase 4 today. Unfortunately that came with the announcement of a 853 new cases, although deaths are still relatively low and there is plenty of room in the hospitals. Mask compliance is high in my area, but traffic was heavy and there were lots of people out and about, even though it was pouring rain all day.
We have apparently ordered enough pizza during quarantine that tonight’s pizza is free (I can’t remember when that last happened). I guess it isn’t necessarily a good thing, but after two days of alternating between being on hold with and fighting with our supposed-to-be-internet-provider-to-whom-we-autopay-dearly-each-month, I needed that pick-me-up. Right now I am particularly grateful most places are open here. I made an appointment with another ISP to go in tomorrow and switch over. Having just spent the better part of two days on the phone, I don’t have enough trust to feel comfortable with handling this transaction remotely.
I can log into Guest Center on Open Table for the 2 restaurants and I can see we have reservations already!
First day of inside dining (with limits) here in Illinois AND looks to be a rainy night, so these will definitely be inside!
The reason the testing numbers are up in Texas, Florida, California and Arizona is because there are more infections.
Florida reported almost 9000 new cases today. That’s bad. Nevertheless, a 9000 case day from Florida today is not as bad as a 9000 case day from New York in April, because on that April day in New York, there were many more un-tested cases than there are un-tested cases in Florida now.
Yes, that’s another fine example of why localities should have more control to either open up or close down more based on local conditions.
The virus doesn’t recognize state borders, or any borders. Is our ideological, dogmatic belief getting in the way of dealing with this virus? Did inconsistent responses across the country facilitate the transmission of the virus?
And how many Texans and Floridians are still out there untested? I bet thousands and thousands and thousands more. We still are woefully inadequate in ability to test in this country.
I will take the head of the Harvard Global Health Initiative assessment on the situation. It’s completely out of control and little to get it under control unless all these states lock down now.
It’s also surging in many more states now than it was back in March/April.
The United States has set a record for new covid-19 cases for the third time in three days, passing the 40,000 mark for the first time, as 11 states set their own records for the average number of new cases reported over the past seven days.
Five states set new single-day highs, led by Florida with 8,942 cases, more than 60 percent higher than its previous high set on Wednesday. Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah also set new single-day records.
Florida also announced Friday morning that bars must close immediately, a move echoed by Texas, a state also dealing with a surge in cases and nearing its capacity to care for those suffering.
“The trajectory that we’re on right now has our hospitals being overwhelmed, probably about mid-July,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler (D) said during an appearance on CNN.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ® issued an executive order that revives restrictions on bars, restaurants and certain types of outdoor recreation, one day after suggesting he would not.
Here are some significant developments:
Vice President Pence said during a White House coronavirus task force news briefing that it is “very encouraging news” that half of the increasing cases in Florida and Texas are among Americans under 35, because younger people tend to have less-serious outcomes.
The Trump administration official coordinating tests for the novel coronavirus did a partial pivot Friday, announcing that the government would briefly extend its management of five testing sites in Texas, a state with a recent spike of cases and hospitalizations.
Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease doctor, urged Americans to see their role in taking safety precautions as a “societal responsibility.” He begged them not to let their guards down even if the risk to their own health is considered minimal, because they can still transport it.
In another sign that hopes of a swift economic recovery may be losing steam, the number of homeowners delaying their mortgage payments shot up by 79,000.
Portugal is reinstating lockdown measures for about 700,000 people in 19 civil parishes around Lisbon next week after a worrying rise in cases in communities in the capital’s outskirts.
(Washington Post)
@CTTC – yes 40 BMI.
Very powerful piece in the NY Times by an Arizona doctor, sorry if it was already posted. A bit long to post the text here.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/opinion/coronavirus-arizona-hospitals.html
The key is not whether the number of new cases in Florida, or Texas, or any other state is more than what NYS had during its peak there by some measure. It is the growth of infections. We know cases grow exponentially. Our collective actions determines the factor that controls the exponential. When the measures to control the virus are week as in some of these states, even a few cases can become an uncontrollable outbreak in a very short period of time.
Unfortunately PA appears like we might be going back to increasing. The last 5 days have showed that and now the two week average is also showing it. A county very near us is part of the numbers.
We’ll see what next week brings. From what I’ve seen looking at all sorts of numbers for a couple of months now, many places don’t count much on weekends, esp Sundays. I prefer looking at the trends on Fridays.
I have to admit I’m surprised at getting pushback on my statement about the situation in Florida, Texas and Arizona now not being as bad as what New York and New Jersey experienced a couple of months ago.
To me, “Well, right now it’s not as bad in Texas as the hell on earth of New York in April,” does not count as good news. For one thing, case counts in the hot southwest states are still increasing, so it’s getting worse every day. Hospitals are filling up, ICUs are filling up, people are dying. This is not a good thing and it’s nothing to be happy about or to take a victory lap about.
New York Times reports most Americans will be barred from the EU when it reopens for tourism on July 1. There goes my trip to Sicily this fall, sigh.
Seeing all of those young adults at bars, I just wonder if their parents are aware and are fine with it. My girls are not that young any more, but we are fairly aligned on how to stay safe.
There’s a good chance their parents are also engaging in risky behavior and not properly social distancing.