Coronavirus

[rubato]

People here are observing the quarantine pretty faithfully and many are volunteering time resources and money to help the elderly and others hurt by it.

The significance of the small number of public spaces which attracted too many people is grossly exaggerated. The local sheriff has begun 'light' enforcement just to remind people. As far as I can tell we are doing the same as china with less use of force.

The only major lapse has been when "food not bombs" drew a large crowd and failed to enforce "social distancing" for which they were condemned. (a homeless advocacy group)


yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

There were stories all over the news about how Californians were crowding the parks during shutdown, on top of one another in big groups so bad that they had to close the parks. Maybe your neighborhood is a little better or maybe you’re just not out there seeing it because you’re home like you should be.

Well, I've spoken with a number of friends who live throughout this nine county area, and they all tell me they have had similar experiences. There was certainly some stupid behavior going on in California in general earlier, (mostly at the beaches in Southern California) but you haven't seen much of that in this area (I believe Joe posted a pic that showed that while there were a number of folks out at a Northern California beach, they were observing social distancing)

I do stay home most of the time, but I have had occasion to need to visit two nearby supermarkets (a Safeway and a Luckys) as well as a Walgreens and a 7-11 (Our 7-11 has plenty of toilet paper; I guess people aren't thinking of convenience stores for wiping out the stocks) most recently I went to the Safeway on Friday.

Whenever I have gone out I see people really making an effort to observe social distancing. In the stores the staff helps out reminding people, and tape has been put down in the checkout lines indicating where you should stand while waiting to get to the register. Reminder signs are posted all over.

I've also had to go across town for medical appointments a couple of times; the traffic has been extremely sparse.

And beyond all this anecdotal evidence, as I showed with the link I posted, the relatively low virus death rates for this region support my hypothesis that for the most part, the shelter-in-place and social distancing are being observed. The collective population of these counties is nearly 8 million (roughly the same as NYC though obviously spread out over a much larger area geographically, and about 20 times the population of New Orleans) and as of 6 PM last night there had been 45 deaths from the virus total in these counties, with 25 of those occurring in Santa Clara County and the other 20 spread out over the other 8; San Francisco itself has had 4 deaths total.

(The City's population is about 740K. When making comparisons between how various states, regions or cities are doing relative to each other, I use the death rates which are pretty solid, rather than "confirmed cases" since those numbers are pretty meaningless for comparative purposes given the vast disparities in testing rates.)

Of course I realize that "correlation does not prove causation" but I am hard put to come up with an alternative explanation for the low rates in this region other than the theory that Shelter In Place and social distancing is being pretty well observed...

many are volunteering time resources and money to help the elderly and others hurt by it.

Same thing going on in my community:



We've got a lot of good folks out here...

[Lord Jim]

Meanwhile, the national picture continues to worsen at a dire rate:

March 28 (GMT)

19452 new cases and 525 new deaths in the United States

That death toll is up from 401 on the 27th, and 268 on the 26th:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

The total number of deaths in the US as of a few hours ago stood at 2,229; more than doubling in just two days...

It's a fairly safe bet that in the next few days we will surpass the highest of the Italian daily death tolls...

Gee whiz, I guess if the hysterical media would just stop reporting this stuff (and only give us up-beat happy talk) it would all go away...

[Gob]

A group of furious locals blocked a Range Rover driver after he travelled 115 miles from Sheffield to Snowdonia despite the coronavirus lockdown.



The man was spotted at around 10am on Saturday as he drove down country lanes near Bala in Gwynedd, Wales.

Aled Wyn Williams recorded the confrontation before police were eventually called to the scene.

Mr Williams stopped the vehicle, along with his friend Oswyn Roberts, after realising that the driver was not from the area.

He said he was angered by the lack of respect shown by the visitor when the pair stopped him on the road.



Mr Williams added: '[The driver] was heading away from Bala and the main road.

'I drove along the road and stopped him. My friend Oswyn Roberts came along behind, blocking him in.

'He told me he called the police because he felt threatened.

'I told him all we were doing was encouraging him to go home. If he hadn't called the police, I would have done.'

In the footage, a queue of vehicles can be seen in a standoff along a single-lane track surrounded by fields.

Sheep can be heard in the background as Mr Williams walks towards the driver's side of the black Range Rover, which has a trailer in tow.

He points the camera at the man behind the wheel who also has a phone in his hand to take pictures.

Mr Williams then gestures down the road and says: 'Your friends have just arrived...

'What the hell are you doing here anyway? What the hell are you doing here?

'Haven't you got a television or radio?'

The clip cuts to another angle of the confrontation recorded by an onlooker.

Mr Williams throws his arms into the air before storming back towards his vehicle, which is where the video ends.

The locals continued to block the route until police arrived at the scene.

A spokesperson for North Wales Police said: 'Police were called at 10.12am to a report of a man being blocked on a country lane in Bala.

'Officers attended and suitable words of advice were given.'

The driver of the Range Rover, who had driven 115 miles from Sheffield in an attempt to visit Snowdonia, was eventually asked to return home.

It comes after hundreds of people have continued to flout strict government advice about social distancing and staying indoors.

Those who defy the tough restrictions on movement could now be hit with a £60 fine initially and £120 for a second offence reaching £1,000-plus for repeat offenders, the Home Office warned.

[BoSoxGal]

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/25/c ... -covid-19/

[MajGenl.Meade]

Unlike Trump's rightist propaganda effort to promote an early relaxation of lock-downs, the UK is being prepared for the long-haul. I'm not sure that the "Blitz" we-are-all-in-this-together mood will prevail over six months. At some point, the cupboards will be bare and the economic need to relax restrictions becomes perhaps more imperative than disease prevention.

The problem (well, one) is that back-to-normal doesn't really work for so much of industry. If parts and components of widgets are no longer available from overseas, then widget makers cannot resume business. One of the effects of the global interdependent economy.

The coronavirus lockdown could last for six months or even long, the government's deputy chief medical officer warned today. Dr Jenny Harries told a Downing Street press conference that people should not be viewing the crisis as something that will blow over within weeks.

She said it will not be clear whether the 'social distancing' measures are working for another two or three weeks - with deaths set to rise further. But even if it does reverting to 'normal way of life' immediately would probably lead to a disastrous new peak in infections, she said.

Dr Harries said people had taken 'quite some time to get used to this new way of living', but there was evidence the country was getting better at social distancing. She added: 'The issue of the three weeks is for us to review where we are and see if we've had an impact jointly on the slope of that curve.

'But I think to make it clear to the public if we are successful we will have squashed the top of that curve, which is brilliant, but we must not then suddenly revert to our normal way of living that would be quite dangerous. If we stop then all of our efforts will be wasted and we could potentially see a second peak. So over time, probably over the next six months, we will have a three-week review.'

The comments came after Professor Neil Ferguson, the government's leading epidemiology adviser, said Britons would have to remain in their homes for nearly three months.

[BoSoxGal]

Aren’t Brits getting 80% of salary, with mortgages and evictions suspended?

I think a great many people will chill a few months in those circumstances, especially if it means preserving life and the healthcare system.

There is already a shortage of doctors and nurses in the NHS, as in America’s private health system. Just how many dozens do folks think we can sacrifice to coronavirus in order to get the economy rolling? They don’t get replaced overnight - it takes years of training. We need them all the time - not just in this pandemic.

[BoSoxGal]

A New Yorker is dying every 9 minutes from covid19.

[Econoline]

O.M.F.G.

If you're not watching Trump's nightly Coronavirus shitfest [and of COURSE I'm not; watching it would likely cause me more harm than throwing a corona party], here's the summary:

He started out by accusing nurses of hoarding or stealing face masks.

He then accused hospitals of "hoarding" ventilators.

Trump: "There is something going on. I don't know if it is hoarding. It is maybe worse than hoarding."

He does this several times throughout the briefing, Suggesting New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and medical personnel, specifically nurses, are conspiring to overinflate the number of ventilators and masks needed.

Again, he does this more than once.

Trump then admits there actually ARE shortages, but blames Obama. Saying that it's like how the military was out of bullets when he took over. None of this has any basis in reality whatsoever, but the toadies in the background are all nodding like this is fact.

This is beyond gaslighting.

This is a radioactive gas cloud.

This is like watching the Soviet government press briefings about Chernobyl, when the reactor was still burning and the Russians didn't realize we could actually SEE it from orbit and that radiation meters were sounding the alarm over half the planet.

Trump then talks about immigrants and how keeping them out of America probably prevented us from getting the plague and everybody behind him has this carefully practiced expressionless Soviet face on, and then bizarrely Trump randomly pivots to explaining how he didn't know until TODAY that 2.2 MILLION AMERICANS will likely die if we don't maintain social distancing -- even though that number was specifically briefed IN FRONT of him two weeks ago on national TV.

Naturally, now that Trump is suddenly aware of the probability of 2.2 MILLION DEATHS, he never said he was going to order America back to work by Easter. That was, uh, um, well, you see, um, just "aspirational."

The man who always speaks bluntly, is suddenly talking in metaphor and parable.

A QANN "reporter" asks Trump why his approval ratings are so high, is it because he's so awesome? Trump admits that he is.

Someone else asks about Americans facing eviction on April 1st. Trump says "I think landlords will take it easy."

Trump goes after reporter Yacmiche Alcindor for daring to ask about his repeated attacks on various governors. Trump angrily says, "We sent thousands of generators to New York ... the people in New York never distribute it the generators."

It takes a minute to figure out that when Trump says "generators" he probably means "ventilators." He does this repeatedly.

A reporter asks why Florida has 100% of their requests for supplies from the national strategic stockpile filled, but Massachusetts has not? Instead of answering, Trump says: "I was on the call yesterday with the governors and they were happy with the job we are doing."

The governors, who he noted the day before, he refuses to call. He was on the phone with them. They're happy he says, despite the fact that he was just this morning talking about how they're not happy and they should be.

Trump then segues into: "The biggest problem was the test didn't work. That was not from us. That has been there a long time" and suggests that the fault lies with Obama.

The tests in question were developed by the CDC, WITHIN THE LAST 3 MONTHS. Literally since the beginning of THIS year. Obama has been out of office for nearly 4 years now.

Then, bizarrely -- or not, given that this the new normal -- Trump says: "You will see drugs being used like nobody has ever used them before, and people are going to be dying all over the place."

I thought at first he was talking about his repeated claims about untested drugs as a cure for the coronavirus. You know, aquarium cleaner. But, instead, he was talking about drug ABUSE. Not sure by who, but you can probably guess. You know what happens when "those" people stay home with nothing to do.

A CNN reporter tries to get Trump back to his comments about the governors of blue states having to be more "appreciative." Trump screams at him, "YOUR STATEMENT IS A LIE!"

The reporter was LITERALLY quoting Trump's own statement.

Literally quoting Trump.

Trump called those words a lie. I mean, he's not wrong, but still...

As proof of this, Trump starts bragging about how his press briefings are getting better ratings than The Bachelor and Monday Night Football.

"The enemy is death," declares Trump.

And we're done. Thanks for coming everybody. Hope to see you all tomorrow for another exciting episode of "Reality TV President!"

(source)

Did this really happen? Or is Jim Wright just getting ahead of his scheduled consumption of Irish whiskey? (Maybe both?)

I'm so glad that in this time of tribulation I still don't own a television.)

[Guinevere]

The “went sent them but they weren’t distributed” is the exact same lie he used (and still uses) about vital supplies to Puerto Rico.

Gov. Baker has made it clear he believes Trump is a disaster, and Massachusetts isn’t getting supplies that have been requested. In California, the Governor reported that the feds sent 170 broken vents to LA County.

Trump is a dangerous, murderous, asshole.

[BoSoxGal]

I’ve been reading about that presser and I just can’t bring myself to dial up any clips - he is just a monstrously narcissistic imbecile who very likely does have a drug addiction (aderall with occasional coke is what people say he’s been on for years, it explains SO much about how he speaks and behaves) and he clearly is going off the skids in this time of epic global catastrophe and we are just fucked that we have this useless POS as a ‘leader’ while we also have a totally gutless Congress and Cabinet who won’t protect us from him.

Meanwhile as Wuhan wakes up, there is a story coming out of Radio Free Asia that residents of the province believe that the death toll was actually more like 40,000+, not the reported ~3000. This is based on the number of families receiving cremated remains every day. Makes more sense than the official communist party line considering they had no idea what they were dealing with at first and it’s a massively densely populated city where a virus would spread like wildfire. Probably the death toll was even higher than that and the world will just never know.


And now I’m sharing a song that I almost wore off the jukebox at my favorite bar in that shitty cowboy town because I listened to it so many times while playing in the winter pool league. I’m sharing it in tribute to John Prine, who is in very critical condition on a vent with covid, maybe even already gone by now.

[Joe Guy]

A New Yorker is dying every 9 minutes from covid19.

Which New Yorker?

[liberty]

I find it interesting that the countries that have done the best dealing the virus are the countries that have the least trust in China, South Korea, and Taiwan. If we had less travel to and from China we might be in better shape.

[Bicycle Bill]

A New Yorker is dying every 9 minutes from covid19.

Look at it this way.  As a BoSox fan, anything that reduces/eliminates Yankees supporters is probably a plus, right?

-"BB"-

[Lord Jim]

Oh geez Bill...really?

I’m sharing it in tribute to John Prine, who is in very critical condition on a vent with covid

Heard about this on Don Lemon's show earlier...

Very sorry to hear it; anyone who has been reading my posts over the years knows that Prine is one of my all time favorites, going back to high school...

I really hope he pulls through...He's a two time cancer survivor, so he's a tough old bird...

[BoSoxGal]

I have siblings, nieces and nephews, cousins, and numerous friends in NYC and the Hudson Valley. So no, not feeling good about the fact that a New Yorker is dying of covid every 9 minutes.

[Bicycle Bill]

I have siblings, nieces and nephews, cousins, and numerous friends in NYC and the Hudson Valley. So no, not feeling good about the fact that a New Yorker is dying of covid every 9 minutes.

Best wishes for your people in NYC and the Empire State.  Hope they're staying healthy.  Please understand I was just trying to be humorous, but this time it kinda fell flat.

-"BB"-

[Lord Jim]

Jim Wrong didn't mention what In my view was the most appalling thing Trump said...

Yes, even worse than all the things he does mention...

He claimed that if the total number of US deaths from this ultimately winds up being 100,000, that would somehow show what a great job he had done...

This no good bastard bought some time to prepare for this catastrophe with his ban on travel from China, and then DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WITH THAT TIME TO PREPARE...

He did nothing because he ignorantly saw the travel ban as the solution, rather than just a chance to try get ready for the coming deluge...

A casualty rate anywhere near that range was 100% avoidable and Donald Trump's blundering will be directly responsible if it isn't. Trump isn't responsible for every single US coronavirus death, but his inaction will leave the blood of tens of thousands on his hands if there are anything like 100,000 deaths from it in this country...

Far from being the occasion for some sort celebration or "victory lap" a casualty rate like that should be the trigger for his resignation, but of course Trump would never have the decency and honor to do that...

On the other hand, there were some bright spots in the briefing from a policy stand point. Gone is idiotic idea that you could open some counties within states while keeping others closed. He extended his 15 day guidelines to the end of April, and even though he wouldn't come out and say it, he seemed prepared to accept that the month of May will be lost to lock down as well and that the most hoped for date to start opening things up would be June 1st...

He also made clear that while he may be too petulant to talk with governors that publicly criticize his Administration's response, Pence and the other key members of the task force communicate and respond to them regularly, so they're not being frozen out of getting aid simply because they refuse to suck Trump butt...

[BoSoxGal]

In my opinion BB your humor often falls flat, but certainly this time.

For the record, having New York Yankees fans to hate is one of the great joys in the life of a BoSox fan. One of my fondest baseball memories was the time I went to a NYY v. BoSox game at Fenway with my Masshole cousins, and we ended up seated near a bunch of New Yorker Yankees fans - young guys - and one of them bought me a Sam Adams! (Because I don’t think we *really* hate each other.)

[TPFKA@W]

I haven’t been to work in a few weeks now due to the on the job injury that has sidelined me. I have an app on my phone that the company uses for communication. The latest message was fucking unreal and absolutely chilling: