A full moon American fever dream
June 22, 2020 1:18 PM Subscribe
CNN reports the coronavirus pandemic does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon in the United States, according Michael Osterholm, head of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and 23 states are reporting a rise in new cases compared to the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. NBC News reports more than 120,000 people have now died from coronavirus in the US, and over 2.2 million people have been infected across the country, while CNBC reports hospitalizations due to Covid-19 were growing in 14 states as of Sunday, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by the Covid Tracking Project. Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that Trump, who hosted a racist campaign-style rally in Oklahoma over the weekend, refuses to wear a mask in public, regularly contradicts health officials, and mischaracterizes the scientific landscape.
Previously: The coronavirus invades Trump country, Strange defeat, The Wørd: Truthiness In Action
Want to chat? The politics room of MeFi Chat and the Unofficial PoliticsFilter Slack are available. • Thanks to Tom Petty for helping create this post.
Previously: The coronavirus invades Trump country, Strange defeat, The Wørd: Truthiness In Action
Want to chat? The politics room of MeFi Chat and the Unofficial PoliticsFilter Slack are available. • Thanks to Tom Petty for helping create this post.
My mother retired from 30 years in a state public health department a couple of years ago. When I realized a few days ago that she was consistently expressing more anger on phone calls than I was for possibly the first time in my life, I was very glad I didn't follow her professional path.
My employer is sending people back to office desk jobs this week, for no reason anyone can articulate. Supposedly I'm going to be back by August, but my lead is sure signaling he thinks that's as ludicrous as I do.
It's going to be a dark winter.
posted by PMdixon at 1:28 PM on June 22, 2020 [30 favorites]
My employer is sending people back to office desk jobs this week, for no reason anyone can articulate. Supposedly I'm going to be back by August, but my lead is sure signaling he thinks that's as ludicrous as I do.
It's going to be a dark winter.
posted by PMdixon at 1:28 PM on June 22, 2020 [30 favorites]
Amid threats and political pushback, public health officials are leaving their posts (WaPo / MSN reprint)
Public health workers, already underfunded and understaffed, are confronting waves of protest at their homes and offices in addition to pressure from politicians who favor a faster reopening. [...] Although shutdown measures are broadly popular, a vocal minority opposes them vociferously. There have been attacks on officials’ race, gender, sexual orientation and appearance. [...] Georgia’s public health director said last month that she receives threats daily and now has an armed escort. [...] Theresa Anselmo, executive director of the Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials, said 80 percent of members had reported being threatened and more than that were at risk of termination or lost funding.posted by katra at 1:31 PM on June 22, 2020 [47 favorites]
“It’s exhausting to be contradicted and argued with and devalued and demoralized all the time, and I think that’s what you’re seeing around the country,” Anselmo said. “We’ve seen from the top down the federal government is pitting public health against freedom, and to set up that false dichotomy is really a disservice to the men and women who have dedicated their lives . . . to helping people.”
Will this ever get to a point where other countries start banning incoming travel from US citizens? I'm sure there are many holes in this idea that makes it a bad one, but would knee-jerk love to see something, anything, jolt the rest of our country into realizing we have become a failed state and to wake the fuck up here.
posted by windbox at 1:34 PM on June 22, 2020 [35 favorites]
posted by windbox at 1:34 PM on June 22, 2020 [35 favorites]
I for one hope Canada keeps our border with the U.S. closed, like, forever.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:37 PM on June 22, 2020 [50 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:37 PM on June 22, 2020 [50 favorites]
This shit makes me so angry. It's just so stupid and wrong. I'm more scared than ever. I've had to cut off my closest friend because they've gone down such a weird mental path of being so scared of what's happening that their brain put all their resources into trusting everything the government says at any cost to their sanity, throwing away any kind of humanity or care for others that they have ever had. Culminating in a post about how they think it's OK to drive cars into protestors. The fear being instilled in us by our government will ruin your mind.
posted by bleep at 1:40 PM on June 22, 2020 [80 favorites]
posted by bleep at 1:40 PM on June 22, 2020 [80 favorites]
Will this ever get to a point where other countries start banning incoming travel from US citizens?
They already have.
This is a shocking governmental failure. I knew this was coming. We all knew this was coming. But it's just, like... really? This is America? This is what we're doing now?
There was a video of a old white guy physically assaulting a store employee because he wasn't wearing a mask and the employee was trying to block him from entering the store. We are a nation of entitled children and in my darkest moments I think that this is probably what we deserve as a nation. Then I think about how this is disproportionally impacting marginalized communities and think, no, this is going just as intended.
Just sickening.
posted by Automocar at 1:50 PM on June 22, 2020 [100 favorites]
They already have.
This is a shocking governmental failure. I knew this was coming. We all knew this was coming. But it's just, like... really? This is America? This is what we're doing now?
There was a video of a old white guy physically assaulting a store employee because he wasn't wearing a mask and the employee was trying to block him from entering the store. We are a nation of entitled children and in my darkest moments I think that this is probably what we deserve as a nation. Then I think about how this is disproportionally impacting marginalized communities and think, no, this is going just as intended.
Just sickening.
posted by Automocar at 1:50 PM on June 22, 2020 [100 favorites]
A lot of people readied for the end of the world; and to a lot of them; "Flu" has entered the vernacular when anything about COVID is discussed.
Dead bodies in the streets; covered with flies and being picked at by birds might bring back an awareness. But probably not.
posted by Afghan Stan at 1:56 PM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Dead bodies in the streets; covered with flies and being picked at by birds might bring back an awareness. But probably not.
posted by Afghan Stan at 1:56 PM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Just wait until the fall, when primary and secondary schools across the nation are forced to return at "full capacity" to help "support the economy." This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
posted by gnutron at 1:57 PM on June 22, 2020 [18 favorites]
posted by gnutron at 1:57 PM on June 22, 2020 [18 favorites]
Then I think about how this is disproportionally impacting marginalized communities and think, no, this is going just as intended.
I'm fully convinced that the administration's response to the pandemic is, like so many other atrocious things it's done, premeditated sadism disguised as incompetence.
posted by treepour at 2:03 PM on June 22, 2020 [40 favorites]
I'm fully convinced that the administration's response to the pandemic is, like so many other atrocious things it's done, premeditated sadism disguised as incompetence.
posted by treepour at 2:03 PM on June 22, 2020 [40 favorites]
If you want to know why Trump and his supporters are so adamant about reopening the country, look at who the epidemic affects the most.
From the Trumpist PoV the more people that die the better, because mostly it's "Those People"
posted by happyroach at 2:03 PM on June 22, 2020 [7 favorites]
From the Trumpist PoV the more people that die the better, because mostly it's "Those People"
posted by happyroach at 2:03 PM on June 22, 2020 [7 favorites]
The Trumpists are racist pieces of shit, but to ascribe this to anything but their monumental incompetence is to give them way too much credit. They're certainly not looking at statistics about how COVID is disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. If they're looking at any numbers, it's numbers that purport to show "this is just like the flu!". Marginalized communities are completely invisible to them.
posted by mr_roboto at 2:08 PM on June 22, 2020 [48 favorites]
posted by mr_roboto at 2:08 PM on June 22, 2020 [48 favorites]
For a while there we had two 'main' Covid threads going. The one this replaced that had a US Politics bent, and a more technical/international one. I'm happy katra made this one, because much of the Covid problem in the US is political, but I miss the other one as well. Is there a consensus about a replacement for it?
posted by bcd at 2:09 PM on June 22, 2020 [10 favorites]
posted by bcd at 2:09 PM on June 22, 2020 [10 favorites]
Will this ever get to a point where other countries start banning incoming travel from US citizens?
My in-laws went back to Romania three weeks ago. They were required to self-quarantine for two weeks and got daily visits from the police to verify they were complying.
posted by Slothrup at 2:10 PM on June 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
My in-laws went back to Romania three weeks ago. They were required to self-quarantine for two weeks and got daily visits from the police to verify they were complying.
posted by Slothrup at 2:10 PM on June 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
there is no single approach to dealing with the pandemic that will work for everyone. the best thing to do now, for anyone looking for guidelines, is to follow the guidelines of california and other blue states that are lifting the lockdowns. masks at all times, but businesses can reopen. if i were in charge, i would have the feds inject massive bailouts to states so they can extend unemployment until a vaccine is developed for any worker who reasonably believes they cant safely work. and people in institutional settings like nursing homes need extra help and resources.
this whole thing was so epically bungled from the beginning. the callous evil from trump left blue states hanging and encouraged red states to ignore the virus. blue states imposed untenable lockdowns with inherently arbitrary end dates, since policymakers knew or shouldve known that full stay-home (no seeing family, no retail business, no nothing) could not possibly be enforced or demanded of everyone thru 2022 or whenever we get a vaccine. and now that lockdowns are being lifted, it leaves people wondering "why can i now do this but not that?" "why can i do things in june but couldnt in april?" "why could nevadans do things californians could not?" and so, trust in government, and the political feasibility of future lockdowns, is shot.
thankfully it appears masks really do help a lot, and at least people got supplemental unemployment thru july. but the next step must be to force the senate to extend aid to states.
posted by wibari at 2:13 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
this whole thing was so epically bungled from the beginning. the callous evil from trump left blue states hanging and encouraged red states to ignore the virus. blue states imposed untenable lockdowns with inherently arbitrary end dates, since policymakers knew or shouldve known that full stay-home (no seeing family, no retail business, no nothing) could not possibly be enforced or demanded of everyone thru 2022 or whenever we get a vaccine. and now that lockdowns are being lifted, it leaves people wondering "why can i now do this but not that?" "why can i do things in june but couldnt in april?" "why could nevadans do things californians could not?" and so, trust in government, and the political feasibility of future lockdowns, is shot.
thankfully it appears masks really do help a lot, and at least people got supplemental unemployment thru july. but the next step must be to force the senate to extend aid to states.
posted by wibari at 2:13 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
For a while there we had two 'main' Covid threads going. The one this replaced that had a US Politics bent, and a more technical/international one. I'm happy katra made this one, because much of the Covid problem in the US is political, but I miss the other one as well. Is there a consensus about a replacement for it?
I had wondered if We have saved millions of lives would develop into the new non-Trump covid-19 updates thread and it looks like it is?
posted by katra at 2:16 PM on June 22, 2020 [7 favorites]
I had wondered if We have saved millions of lives would develop into the new non-Trump covid-19 updates thread and it looks like it is?
posted by katra at 2:16 PM on June 22, 2020 [7 favorites]
the best thing to do now, for anyone looking for guidelines, is to follow the guidelines of california and other blue states that are lifting the lockdowns. masks at all times, but businesses can reopen.
Spike in coronavirus comes with economic reopening in California
Spike in coronavirus comes with economic reopening in California
California recorded two straight days of record-high new infections last weekend, and recently it sailed past the milestone of 5,000 people killed by the virus. The state has recorded 167,000 total infections, and it is now reporting the highest weekly average of new cases - about 2,785 - since the virus began.posted by Lexica at 2:22 PM on June 22, 2020 [15 favorites]
County by county, the numbers are more startling, especially in the Bay Area, where strict early March isolation policies kept infection rates relatively low for months.
Alameda, San Francisco and San Mateo counties are seeing infection rates bounce up and down. Doctors say increased testing only partially explains the jumps. Hospitals and ICUs have been filling up with new cases in many parts of the state. Infection rates in the Central Valley and along the southern border are also on the rise.
In Southern California, Los Angeles and Orange counties are in the process of opening their economies entirely, perhaps by the end of the month, despite recording some of their highest numbers of new cases in months. Los Angeles County reported 2,056 new cases and 48 deaths Saturday.
Not sure what people were expecting. Even in Northeast states where new case declines were most pronounced, new still cases are still happening at a rate of over 200-600 per day. The entire country of Italy, one of the hardest hit countries initially, has about the same case rate at present. Now cases are spiking across states that weren't hit as hard initially. Florida might be where New York was in March/April by the end of July, and I doubt they'll go through another lockdown to flatten their curve. Either way, we clearly haven't achieved containment to the extent of pretty much every other country we consider "developed", and we are quite a way behind several countries we consider "undeveloped" as well. That means we aren't ready to "reopen" to the extent of those other countries, where in some cases schools have resumed and soccer teams are planning to begin to allow fans in July.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The idea that we were going to reorient our entire healthcare system and somehow recruit entire and train an army of public health employees sufficient to do the job in the space of 2-3 months always was ludicrous. Considering even the most reformist elements of our political mainstream take it as a given that a nonzero number of Americans will die because of lack of access to adequate healthcare, I really shouldn't be surprised. Further considering that a large part of the discourse, effort, and resources aimed at creating channels to distribute aid to people affected by disaster and economic dislocation in this country has been concerned with separating "deserving" from "undeserving" recipients of that aid rather than ensuring the efficacy and scalability of those channels in times of crisis, I really, really, shouldn't be surprised.
I guess we'll just have to hope that mask-wearing, voluntary social distancing on behalf of white-collar companies that can telework, and strategic protections of vulnerable communities will have a large effect on new cases and deaths.
posted by eagles123 at 2:22 PM on June 22, 2020 [16 favorites]
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The idea that we were going to reorient our entire healthcare system and somehow recruit entire and train an army of public health employees sufficient to do the job in the space of 2-3 months always was ludicrous. Considering even the most reformist elements of our political mainstream take it as a given that a nonzero number of Americans will die because of lack of access to adequate healthcare, I really shouldn't be surprised. Further considering that a large part of the discourse, effort, and resources aimed at creating channels to distribute aid to people affected by disaster and economic dislocation in this country has been concerned with separating "deserving" from "undeserving" recipients of that aid rather than ensuring the efficacy and scalability of those channels in times of crisis, I really, really, shouldn't be surprised.
I guess we'll just have to hope that mask-wearing, voluntary social distancing on behalf of white-collar companies that can telework, and strategic protections of vulnerable communities will have a large effect on new cases and deaths.
posted by eagles123 at 2:22 PM on June 22, 2020 [16 favorites]
there is no single approach to dealing with the pandemic that will work for everyone. the best thing to do now, for anyone looking for guidelines, is to follow the guidelines of california and other blue states that are lifting the lockdowns.
I live in California and want to emphasize how we too are screwing up our state re-opening.
By emphasizing masks and sending clear message that Covid is a problem, we are obviously not as screwed up as some other states. But at this point our reopening scheduling seems to be driven by impatience levels rather than best behavior. Apparently we've made headway on test and trace in raw capability but I feel it's being insufficiently integrated into public activities.
I'm exceedingly frustrated because I feel with our early action we *could* be on a clear downward curve, instead, well look at the county trend lines. Ones in blue are not great. But we're still reopening.
posted by mark k at 2:22 PM on June 22, 2020 [33 favorites]
I live in California and want to emphasize how we too are screwing up our state re-opening.
By emphasizing masks and sending clear message that Covid is a problem, we are obviously not as screwed up as some other states. But at this point our reopening scheduling seems to be driven by impatience levels rather than best behavior. Apparently we've made headway on test and trace in raw capability but I feel it's being insufficiently integrated into public activities.
I'm exceedingly frustrated because I feel with our early action we *could* be on a clear downward curve, instead, well look at the county trend lines. Ones in blue are not great. But we're still reopening.
posted by mark k at 2:22 PM on June 22, 2020 [33 favorites]
Our state epidemiologist Dr. Dunn has been steadily ratcheting up the noise about our numbers going the wrong way. Today she sent out a memo using the harshest language yet. Hardly anyone here seems to be doing anything about it, as even a mask is too much of a burden for them. I'm pulling my hair out (without touching my face) feeling like I'm going insane wearing a mask to work and staying home otherwise. I wish Dunn was running the show in our state, but as usual, the Trump cultists are aghast at anything smelling of a restriction and so I'm sure the political will to move the state back is spent. Just like school shootings, climate change, poverty, and so many other issues, America can't be bothered to try. Thoughts and prayers for all.
posted by msbutah at 2:23 PM on June 22, 2020 [23 favorites]
posted by msbutah at 2:23 PM on June 22, 2020 [23 favorites]
Two Trump campaign staffers who attended Tulsa rally test positive for coronavirus (CNBC)
The number of people connected to the event who test positive is expected to rise, NBC News reported, citing campaign and and law enforcement officials.posted by katra at 2:23 PM on June 22, 2020 [12 favorites]
I don't see how we'll beat this unless there's a working vaccine soon. No matter how many people in the US talk about contact tracing and how important it is, I just don't see it happening effectively. The number of facebook posts I've seen about being outraged that the government / Verizon / Google-Facebook-Amazon are using Covid as an excuse to start tracking people, and how they're planning to opt out of whatever gets put on their phones to trace them... We've created such a distrust of government here (largely earned, especially now) - that it's going to kill us.
And I hate how many times I catch myself thinking about imminent deadly coronarevenge on people who are being willfully wrong about this - I don't want to be someone who (even mentally) dances on people's graves. But they're endangering people I love and they don't care. It's just maddening.
posted by Mchelly at 2:38 PM on June 22, 2020 [70 favorites]
And I hate how many times I catch myself thinking about imminent deadly coronarevenge on people who are being willfully wrong about this - I don't want to be someone who (even mentally) dances on people's graves. But they're endangering people I love and they don't care. It's just maddening.
posted by Mchelly at 2:38 PM on June 22, 2020 [70 favorites]
Spike in coronavirus comes with economic reopening in California
Yes, no doubt the blue state reopenings have led to increased infection. no question that allowing people out again will cause more disease than when we were all locked indoors for 3 months straight. that's not my point. i'm just saying that staying at april levels of lockdown was untenable to continue indefinitely. my point is that within the feasible parameters of what we can expect to ask of people, mask wearing and employee protections and state bailouts and investing in healthcare capacity are best practices. an open-ended lockdown is not.
posted by wibari at 2:39 PM on June 22, 2020 [5 favorites]
Yes, no doubt the blue state reopenings have led to increased infection. no question that allowing people out again will cause more disease than when we were all locked indoors for 3 months straight. that's not my point. i'm just saying that staying at april levels of lockdown was untenable to continue indefinitely. my point is that within the feasible parameters of what we can expect to ask of people, mask wearing and employee protections and state bailouts and investing in healthcare capacity are best practices. an open-ended lockdown is not.
posted by wibari at 2:39 PM on June 22, 2020 [5 favorites]
Why do people keep framing an ongoing stay-at-home policy as an indefinite stay-at-home policy? It's not indefinite at all, except that we don't know the literal calendar date when it could be lifted. But we definitely could have set parameters like "% of new positive test results has been below n for x days," as other countries did, and have a lockdown that was both effective and not in any way indefinite.
We didn't do that, of course. I think because this disease was turned into a political issue from day 1 and battle lines were drawn before we had time to establish simple rules. Then people got impatient while the political fight was playing out, so now the science has no way to get a foothold.
posted by penduluum at 2:49 PM on June 22, 2020 [80 favorites]
We didn't do that, of course. I think because this disease was turned into a political issue from day 1 and battle lines were drawn before we had time to establish simple rules. Then people got impatient while the political fight was playing out, so now the science has no way to get a foothold.
posted by penduluum at 2:49 PM on June 22, 2020 [80 favorites]
No one's in charge of Missouri. We have an unelected governor, two dark money funded R senators, The Lake (which is what the locals call it, national media), Branson, and 44 running directly to Tulsa. We threw the doors fully open on the 16th. I see us spiking soon. Great job, everyone!
posted by fluttering hellfire at 2:50 PM on June 22, 2020 [14 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 2:50 PM on June 22, 2020 [14 favorites]
I don't see how we'll beat this unless there's a working vaccine soon.
There is absolutely no guarantee that there will ever be a vaccine. There are tests, though, and there are workable quarantine protocols. We need to implement widespread testing and tracing. We cannot afford to act as if a vaccine is eventually going to come along and save us.
We had two months to put a full-press effort into deploying testing and tracing, and we wasted them. Testing and tracing efforts will eventually be deployed (probably on an ad-hoc state-by-state, city-by-city, or even employer-by-employer basis), but tens of thousands of people will have died because of the time we lost.
posted by mr_roboto at 2:58 PM on June 22, 2020 [59 favorites]
There is absolutely no guarantee that there will ever be a vaccine. There are tests, though, and there are workable quarantine protocols. We need to implement widespread testing and tracing. We cannot afford to act as if a vaccine is eventually going to come along and save us.
We had two months to put a full-press effort into deploying testing and tracing, and we wasted them. Testing and tracing efforts will eventually be deployed (probably on an ad-hoc state-by-state, city-by-city, or even employer-by-employer basis), but tens of thousands of people will have died because of the time we lost.
posted by mr_roboto at 2:58 PM on June 22, 2020 [59 favorites]
my point is that within the feasible parameters of what we can expect to ask of people, mask wearing and employee protections and state bailouts and investing in healthcare capacity are best practices. an open-ended lockdown is not.
Right. The ongoing argument among my social group has shifted over the last two weeks; first, it was conscientious folks trying to argue less-careful ones into appreciating the severity of the situation and observing better shelter-in-place practices, masks, etc.
Now everyone's been mostly at home and masking it up/hand sanitizing/best practicing for a couple months, and we're trying to persuade those first conscientious folks that actually, no, they are going to need to get comfortable with the idea of, say, going to a doctor at some point. Or leaving their apartments ever. Because we're worried about them, they're not doing well--they're neglecting severe health problems, etc.
We have to start working on the framework for living with this, because we blew our window for shutting it down. Like AIDS, it's just with us now. Safer, never safe.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 3:00 PM on June 22, 2020 [35 favorites]
Right. The ongoing argument among my social group has shifted over the last two weeks; first, it was conscientious folks trying to argue less-careful ones into appreciating the severity of the situation and observing better shelter-in-place practices, masks, etc.
Now everyone's been mostly at home and masking it up/hand sanitizing/best practicing for a couple months, and we're trying to persuade those first conscientious folks that actually, no, they are going to need to get comfortable with the idea of, say, going to a doctor at some point. Or leaving their apartments ever. Because we're worried about them, they're not doing well--they're neglecting severe health problems, etc.
We have to start working on the framework for living with this, because we blew our window for shutting it down. Like AIDS, it's just with us now. Safer, never safe.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 3:00 PM on June 22, 2020 [35 favorites]
Asked whether he meant to say the US should reduce testing Trump doubles down on his statement and then says "We’ve done too good of a job."
posted by Mitheral at 3:11 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Mitheral at 3:11 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
The number of facebook posts I've seen about being outraged that the government / Verizon / Google-Facebook-Amazon are using Covid as an excuse to start tracking people, and how they're planning to opt out of whatever gets put on their phones to trace them... We've created such a distrust of government here (largely earned, especially now) - that it's going to kill us.
Good (? Ymmv) news - Bluetooth contact tracing was never going to be sufficient, we were always going to need an army of contact tracers.
posted by PMdixon at 3:15 PM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Good (? Ymmv) news - Bluetooth contact tracing was never going to be sufficient, we were always going to need an army of contact tracers.
posted by PMdixon at 3:15 PM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Re: closing borders to Americans
American Tourists Fined
The notion is, if you have to get to Alaska, or have some pressing business in Canada, okay. But if you're just sight-seeing, you're busted!
Also perhaps of note: Cars with Alberta plates have been vandalized in BC. The provincial government has asked people to be kind.
posted by CCBC at 3:19 PM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
American Tourists Fined
The notion is, if you have to get to Alaska, or have some pressing business in Canada, okay. But if you're just sight-seeing, you're busted!
Also perhaps of note: Cars with Alberta plates have been vandalized in BC. The provincial government has asked people to be kind.
posted by CCBC at 3:19 PM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Bluetooth contact tracing was never going to be sufficient, we were always going to need an army of contact tracers.
I've been reading and thinking about this over recent days and I cannot figure out the answer to this question: why not use a hybrid approach? Certainly phone-based tracing could appreciably supplement human tracers. Is it just a matter of resource allocation? Can't the phone companies build the tech infrastructure for bluetooth/tower tracing? They certainly seem willing to.
posted by mr_roboto at 3:23 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
I've been reading and thinking about this over recent days and I cannot figure out the answer to this question: why not use a hybrid approach? Certainly phone-based tracing could appreciably supplement human tracers. Is it just a matter of resource allocation? Can't the phone companies build the tech infrastructure for bluetooth/tower tracing? They certainly seem willing to.
posted by mr_roboto at 3:23 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
We tried nothing, and it hasn't worked!
Don't be surprised by the results you didn't get from the work you didn't do.
posted by zardoz at 3:28 PM on June 22, 2020 [16 favorites]
Don't be surprised by the results you didn't get from the work you didn't do.
posted by zardoz at 3:28 PM on June 22, 2020 [16 favorites]
The basic protocol of how to handle this hasn't changed in generations but we seem unable to do those basic steps:
- Test
- Quarantine those who test positive
- Trace their contacts and quarantine them
- Rinse and repeat.
posted by octothorpe at 3:32 PM on June 22, 2020 [36 favorites]
- Test
- Quarantine those who test positive
- Trace their contacts and quarantine them
- Rinse and repeat.
posted by octothorpe at 3:32 PM on June 22, 2020 [36 favorites]
I went out this weekend and felt just completely disgusted by everyone. Refusing to wear a mask isn't a political statement. It is a statement that you 100% do not care about EVERYONE. That's it. It's not subtle racism, or classism, or sexism, or whatever the fuck you vote with, it's straight up saying "I don't care about ANYONE." Imagine having the mind that would wear that as a badge.
A friend of mine in his late 30s was distraught because he, quote, has "wasted his life playing music and making stuff that has amounted to nothing." He works, he pays taxes, he wears his mask, and he votes progressively. He doesn't own a home or anything fancy, and he believes that he's a loser because of that. I told him to look at this miserable country where people literally refuse to put on a piece of cloth to limit the spread of potential death or lifelong chronic illness to another person and decide who the real losers are.
Hint: It ain't someone who creates and attempts to harm no one.
posted by Young Kullervo at 3:36 PM on June 22, 2020 [101 favorites]
A friend of mine in his late 30s was distraught because he, quote, has "wasted his life playing music and making stuff that has amounted to nothing." He works, he pays taxes, he wears his mask, and he votes progressively. He doesn't own a home or anything fancy, and he believes that he's a loser because of that. I told him to look at this miserable country where people literally refuse to put on a piece of cloth to limit the spread of potential death or lifelong chronic illness to another person and decide who the real losers are.
Hint: It ain't someone who creates and attempts to harm no one.
posted by Young Kullervo at 3:36 PM on June 22, 2020 [101 favorites]
What's more, given the state of the average American, what the fuck is this bizarre vanity? Ya'll, we're ugly as fuck, no one cares if they can't see your face.
posted by Young Kullervo at 3:37 PM on June 22, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by Young Kullervo at 3:37 PM on June 22, 2020 [11 favorites]
The person I know who's lost their ever-loving mind has been saying things like we shouldn't do things like masks & quarantining because they are old methods. I'm absolutely speechless.
posted by bleep at 3:41 PM on June 22, 2020 [12 favorites]
posted by bleep at 3:41 PM on June 22, 2020 [12 favorites]
That’s even worse than "those who forget history must repeat it".
Vaccines are pretty old too.
posted by clew at 3:46 PM on June 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
Vaccines are pretty old too.
posted by clew at 3:46 PM on June 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
Will this ever get to a point where other countries start banning incoming travel from US citizens?
Americans probably won't be able to travel to Europe this summer
Europe is set to lift its border restrictions on international travelers in July. But only starting with countries with low infection levels, which rules out Americans and those arriving from the U.S.
OTOH
Nigel Farage granted exemption from US travel ban to attend Trump rally after visit deemed ‘in the national interest’
posted by Mrs Potato at 3:46 PM on June 22, 2020 [17 favorites]
Americans probably won't be able to travel to Europe this summer
Europe is set to lift its border restrictions on international travelers in July. But only starting with countries with low infection levels, which rules out Americans and those arriving from the U.S.
OTOH
Nigel Farage granted exemption from US travel ban to attend Trump rally after visit deemed ‘in the national interest’
posted by Mrs Potato at 3:46 PM on June 22, 2020 [17 favorites]
What's more, given the state of the average American, what the fuck is this bizarre vanity? Ya'll, we're ugly as fuck, no one cares if they can't see your face.
Arguments I have seen against masks:
-bullshit about FREEDOM
-claustrophobia/PTSD
-disbelief that they help/misguided belief that they harm
I have yet to see a single argument against masks that has any bearing in vanity; this seems like a really randomly cruel and shitty thing to say about strangers' faces when there are plenty of accurate things you can say about their souls.
I dunno. Just seems like there are enough assholes being cruel in the world, we don't have to pile it right the fuck on.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 3:52 PM on June 22, 2020 [17 favorites]
Arguments I have seen against masks:
-bullshit about FREEDOM
-claustrophobia/PTSD
-disbelief that they help/misguided belief that they harm
I have yet to see a single argument against masks that has any bearing in vanity; this seems like a really randomly cruel and shitty thing to say about strangers' faces when there are plenty of accurate things you can say about their souls.
I dunno. Just seems like there are enough assholes being cruel in the world, we don't have to pile it right the fuck on.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 3:52 PM on June 22, 2020 [17 favorites]
Ever since Trump got elected I've been joking "he's going to get us all killed". (Grim joke, I know.) I was thinking about North Korea policy, maybe, or stumbling into a war with China. I never realized that it wouldn't be War that was the horseman Trump would unleash, but instead Pestilence.
It's going to keep getting worse.
Here in rural California, I live in Grass Valley, CA. Our tiny little half of the county has about 70,000 people, 12 cases, and no new cases for two months. That changed June 13, and now we've jumped from 12 cases to 21. These are tiny numbers compared to bigger parts of the US, and I should find that reassuring. My hope is they're a small enough number we can properly contact trace, quarantine, and contain our mini-outbreak. Hard to say. And of course we're not that isolated, lots of folks commute for work, we have tourists.
Our neighboring town's mayor came out as a mask doubter yesterday. California has mandated everyone wear masks in public, an order I doubt many folks around here would follow. Now they've got their mayor telling them that's OK. It's madness.
Choosing whether to wear a mask or not is a kind of freedom, sure. But you know what's real freedom? Being able to walk around in a town and go shopping feeling somewhat safer because everyone is wearing masks.
posted by Nelson at 3:52 PM on June 22, 2020 [25 favorites]
It's going to keep getting worse.
Here in rural California, I live in Grass Valley, CA. Our tiny little half of the county has about 70,000 people, 12 cases, and no new cases for two months. That changed June 13, and now we've jumped from 12 cases to 21. These are tiny numbers compared to bigger parts of the US, and I should find that reassuring. My hope is they're a small enough number we can properly contact trace, quarantine, and contain our mini-outbreak. Hard to say. And of course we're not that isolated, lots of folks commute for work, we have tourists.
Our neighboring town's mayor came out as a mask doubter yesterday. California has mandated everyone wear masks in public, an order I doubt many folks around here would follow. Now they've got their mayor telling them that's OK. It's madness.
Choosing whether to wear a mask or not is a kind of freedom, sure. But you know what's real freedom? Being able to walk around in a town and go shopping feeling somewhat safer because everyone is wearing masks.
posted by Nelson at 3:52 PM on June 22, 2020 [25 favorites]
I started formal training as a Case Investigator/Contact Tracer this week. This NYT article is dispiriting: "N.Y.C. Hired 3,000 Workers for Contact Tracing. It’s Off to a Slow Start." I'm concerned that the work will be even harder than necessary because of the crazy attitudes that are already part of the American psyche and are now being supercharged by certain political leaders and media outlets.
posted by PhineasGage at 3:53 PM on June 22, 2020 [27 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 3:53 PM on June 22, 2020 [27 favorites]
since policymakers knew or shouldve known that full stay-home ... could not possibly be enforced or demanded of everyone thru 2022 or whenever we get a vaccine
Yeah, see, if it were actually enforced policy, it would be just the same two to three months that it has taken other countries around the world that have taken this seriously to get a handle on things, eliminate or at least significantly flatten their local epidemics, set up testing and contact tracing, and set up supports to assist people who have tested positive in adhering to the necessary quarantines. And that was working in a number of states in the US, in fact, with widespread support. From what I read, polls indicate that such policies still have majority support? Then for some(*) reason, those states that were instituting effective and popular policies let a quite small group of heavily armed people intimidate them into making far more ground-shifting policy changes that the weeks of massively supported and largely peaceful (on the part of demonstrators, at least) protests in the wake of George Floyd's murder have yet been able to accomplish.
(* We know the reason. It is the toxic combination of white supremacy and capitalism. Or, as bell hooks calls it, imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.)
posted by eviemath at 3:53 PM on June 22, 2020 [38 favorites]
Yeah, see, if it were actually enforced policy, it would be just the same two to three months that it has taken other countries around the world that have taken this seriously to get a handle on things, eliminate or at least significantly flatten their local epidemics, set up testing and contact tracing, and set up supports to assist people who have tested positive in adhering to the necessary quarantines. And that was working in a number of states in the US, in fact, with widespread support. From what I read, polls indicate that such policies still have majority support? Then for some(*) reason, those states that were instituting effective and popular policies let a quite small group of heavily armed people intimidate them into making far more ground-shifting policy changes that the weeks of massively supported and largely peaceful (on the part of demonstrators, at least) protests in the wake of George Floyd's murder have yet been able to accomplish.
(* We know the reason. It is the toxic combination of white supremacy and capitalism. Or, as bell hooks calls it, imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.)
posted by eviemath at 3:53 PM on June 22, 2020 [38 favorites]
I have yet to see a single argument against masks that has any bearing in vanity; this seems like a really randomly cruel and shitty thing to say about strangers' faces when there are plenty of accurate things you can say about their souls.
I mean, you do realize these are the same people who were screaming they deserve haircuts and manicures, right? It's not difficult to connect the dots.
posted by Young Kullervo at 3:54 PM on June 22, 2020 [9 favorites]
I mean, you do realize these are the same people who were screaming they deserve haircuts and manicures, right? It's not difficult to connect the dots.
posted by Young Kullervo at 3:54 PM on June 22, 2020 [9 favorites]
It's not vanity in the classic sense but Pence's maskless visit to the virus ward was because he felt the patients should be able to see his face.
posted by Mitheral at 3:55 PM on June 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 3:55 PM on June 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
I mean I guess I'm not going to get into a whole thing about the importance of faces to a species that are essentially monkeys in shoes? But I don't tend to think of that as vanity. I guess we can disagree and you are quite free to call me, a person you cannot see and have never met, ugly as fuck, whatever.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 3:58 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 3:58 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
I started formal training as a Case Investigator/Contact Tracer this week.
Bless you and thank you! Contact tracing is the solution out of this mess, or at least it will be if we ever get the number of new cases down that tracing every single one is feasible. If you have time I'd love to read more about what the process of learning to be a case investigator is like, what the job is like.
I fear you're right that American attitudes are going to make this job harder. All the normal shame and discomfort with talking to authorities and stuff. And then top of it the way this particular disease has been politicized. Are they teaching you explicit strategies to work around that?
(HIV/AIDS has been tackled, in part, with a lot of effort put into contact tracing. You can imagine how hard that is, particularly for closeted men, "tell me all the men you've had sex with so we can call them." My understanding is that they lean heavily on affinity and doing "the right thing" to get people to be honest.)
posted by Nelson at 4:00 PM on June 22, 2020 [11 favorites]
Bless you and thank you! Contact tracing is the solution out of this mess, or at least it will be if we ever get the number of new cases down that tracing every single one is feasible. If you have time I'd love to read more about what the process of learning to be a case investigator is like, what the job is like.
I fear you're right that American attitudes are going to make this job harder. All the normal shame and discomfort with talking to authorities and stuff. And then top of it the way this particular disease has been politicized. Are they teaching you explicit strategies to work around that?
(HIV/AIDS has been tackled, in part, with a lot of effort put into contact tracing. You can imagine how hard that is, particularly for closeted men, "tell me all the men you've had sex with so we can call them." My understanding is that they lean heavily on affinity and doing "the right thing" to get people to be honest.)
posted by Nelson at 4:00 PM on June 22, 2020 [11 favorites]
I have yet to see a single argument against masks that has any bearing in vanity
Trump. Trump's arguments about wearing a mask are based on appearance.
I mean, you do realize these are the same people who were screaming they deserved haircuts, right?
I actually think there's a little bit more to it than this. Of the things that covidiots complained about not being able to do, there was a common thread of things that involved other people waiting on and serving them. I suspect that haircuts becoming the most popular such thing in that category to appear on signs or get mentioned by anti-public health protesters was somewhat random (that is, it became a little bit of a thing through random chance, then there was a positive feedback loop that turned it into one of the main complaints, as generally happens with memes that gain popularity). I think that's very much tied in to the timing relating to data coming out that communities of color were hardest hit by covid-19.
posted by eviemath at 4:01 PM on June 22, 2020 [15 favorites]
Trump. Trump's arguments about wearing a mask are based on appearance.
I mean, you do realize these are the same people who were screaming they deserved haircuts, right?
I actually think there's a little bit more to it than this. Of the things that covidiots complained about not being able to do, there was a common thread of things that involved other people waiting on and serving them. I suspect that haircuts becoming the most popular such thing in that category to appear on signs or get mentioned by anti-public health protesters was somewhat random (that is, it became a little bit of a thing through random chance, then there was a positive feedback loop that turned it into one of the main complaints, as generally happens with memes that gain popularity). I think that's very much tied in to the timing relating to data coming out that communities of color were hardest hit by covid-19.
posted by eviemath at 4:01 PM on June 22, 2020 [15 favorites]
For anyone who is interested in a deep dive into contact tracing, Coursera is offering the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Contact Tracing course for free.
posted by PhineasGage at 4:04 PM on June 22, 2020 [34 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 4:04 PM on June 22, 2020 [34 favorites]
Will this ever get to a point where other countries start banning incoming travel from US citizens?
As everyone else has said, most are and will continue to. The US has become a dark joke and grim warning to the rest of the world. Here in NZ I was listening to the radio yesterday and US incompetence was the gag in an ad.
We are here on a tourist visa. If we can't extend we'll need to come back to the US because, unless things radically change by September, no one else will have us. NZ is safe but most of these decisions are passport-based from what I understand.
With regards to "everyone has given up and is running around without masks!" there is a LOT of confirmation bias at work there. Trump only got 6000 people to go to his rally in Tulsa, which is in the middle of Trump country. If most people believed the virus wasn't dangerous and masks weren't needed, he would have filled that venue. The reason it seems like everyone is giving up and running around without masks may be because, in your area, people who would be wearing masks see the unmasked and decide that staying home is safer. Also because TV news seems to be focusing on unmasked people.
posted by rednikki at 4:09 PM on June 22, 2020 [31 favorites]
As everyone else has said, most are and will continue to. The US has become a dark joke and grim warning to the rest of the world. Here in NZ I was listening to the radio yesterday and US incompetence was the gag in an ad.
We are here on a tourist visa. If we can't extend we'll need to come back to the US because, unless things radically change by September, no one else will have us. NZ is safe but most of these decisions are passport-based from what I understand.
With regards to "everyone has given up and is running around without masks!" there is a LOT of confirmation bias at work there. Trump only got 6000 people to go to his rally in Tulsa, which is in the middle of Trump country. If most people believed the virus wasn't dangerous and masks weren't needed, he would have filled that venue. The reason it seems like everyone is giving up and running around without masks may be because, in your area, people who would be wearing masks see the unmasked and decide that staying home is safer. Also because TV news seems to be focusing on unmasked people.
posted by rednikki at 4:09 PM on June 22, 2020 [31 favorites]
I mean of course we're vain, humans broadly are vain, we're a species that mates, even if currently mating is not, you know, the done thing.
Sorry. It was a silly hill to die on. As I said in my fine print, it's possible I've just had my fill of random cruelty. I had been on a Metafilter hiatus and should probably resume it, as I always leave here feeling a thousand times worse than I started.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 4:10 PM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Sorry. It was a silly hill to die on. As I said in my fine print, it's possible I've just had my fill of random cruelty. I had been on a Metafilter hiatus and should probably resume it, as I always leave here feeling a thousand times worse than I started.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 4:10 PM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Mod note: One deleted; let's please do this without the wholly unnecessary re-upping on "they're ugly"; we can talk about masks and virus news without making it about that.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 4:15 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 4:15 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
Erin Bromage on SARS-CoV-2 risk management and masks.
posted by j_curiouser at 4:17 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by j_curiouser at 4:17 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
I have yet to see a single argument against masks that has any bearing in vanity;
I got a good lesson in this yesterday. I'm kicking myself for not doing something sooner, but there was a woman at the grocery store yesterday who was pushing her cart around with a mask pulled down below her nose and mouth, FACETIMING IN PUBLIC which is already a peeve of mine. I gave her a dirty look as I walked by, but generally figured she was talking about what groceries to get.
Then, she is off the phone and shopping all around the store with no mask on. At all. My brain was burning with "I thought you were just a jackass, but it turns out you're a @!#$@&!." Up and down the aisle she went. No mask. She also had one of those RBF Tyne Daly faces that always looks mean.
I go to check out and I was going to say something to the checker people in order to catch them in the act, but the people in front of me had some trouble buying a gift card or something stupid like that, which took literally 15 minutes. I got up to check out and the woman was, hey, next in line behind me. I pay for my groceries and that's the moment I snitch. "She did all her shopping without a mask on." I leave and hang out in my car in the parking lot to see what happens, because the sign when you go in says they have to refuse service to people not wearing masks. She comes out with groceries, so I guess it's only if you don't have anything to service yet? They didn't see it? They could have checked a camera.
So, lesson learned: find someone to tell as soon as possible.
Whoops, forgot the vanity part: her mask, such as it was, was a paper one with the ear loops all stretched out and just hanging from her ears below her nose. This is where the vanity disconnect happens for me: you don't wear it because it's uncomfortable or inconvenient, but it really seems to be because you don't give a crap.
posted by rhizome at 4:17 PM on June 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
I got a good lesson in this yesterday. I'm kicking myself for not doing something sooner, but there was a woman at the grocery store yesterday who was pushing her cart around with a mask pulled down below her nose and mouth, FACETIMING IN PUBLIC which is already a peeve of mine. I gave her a dirty look as I walked by, but generally figured she was talking about what groceries to get.
Then, she is off the phone and shopping all around the store with no mask on. At all. My brain was burning with "I thought you were just a jackass, but it turns out you're a @!#$@&!." Up and down the aisle she went. No mask. She also had one of those RBF Tyne Daly faces that always looks mean.
I go to check out and I was going to say something to the checker people in order to catch them in the act, but the people in front of me had some trouble buying a gift card or something stupid like that, which took literally 15 minutes. I got up to check out and the woman was, hey, next in line behind me. I pay for my groceries and that's the moment I snitch. "She did all her shopping without a mask on." I leave and hang out in my car in the parking lot to see what happens, because the sign when you go in says they have to refuse service to people not wearing masks. She comes out with groceries, so I guess it's only if you don't have anything to service yet? They didn't see it? They could have checked a camera.
So, lesson learned: find someone to tell as soon as possible.
Whoops, forgot the vanity part: her mask, such as it was, was a paper one with the ear loops all stretched out and just hanging from her ears below her nose. This is where the vanity disconnect happens for me: you don't wear it because it's uncomfortable or inconvenient, but it really seems to be because you don't give a crap.
posted by rhizome at 4:17 PM on June 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
But we need haircuts and to buy lots of useless things!
posted by terrapin at 4:23 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by terrapin at 4:23 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
"No, I can live with it. Everybody has to live with it and I'm no exception. I do the most aggression against the virus by hunkering down. Which sounds like a paradox, because hunkering down is defensive. But we have to starve the fucker." -- Werner Herzog
posted by jim in austin at 4:29 PM on June 22, 2020 [58 favorites]
posted by jim in austin at 4:29 PM on June 22, 2020 [58 favorites]
Meanwhile Disney World is already completely booked for their reopening day in a couple of weeks, and so many people are trying to get tickets that it's jamming their reservation system.
posted by Mchelly at 4:33 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 4:33 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
At the other Disney park, via SF Chronicle, "Disneyland workers push back on July reopening: The Coalition of Resort Labor Unions, which represents roughly 17,000 Disneyland workers, wrote a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom last week saying they believe it is too soon for Disneyland to reopen safely. The Southern California park plans to reopen July 17, pending state and local approval. 'Unfortunately, despite intensive talks with the company, we are not yet convinced that it is safe to reopen the parks on Disney’s rapid timetable,' the letter reads. The workers said testing and other safety protocols are not yet in place."
posted by PhineasGage at 4:35 PM on June 22, 2020 [14 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 4:35 PM on June 22, 2020 [14 favorites]
If most people believed the virus wasn't dangerous and masks weren't needed, he would have filled that venue.
It is said that kpop fans and Tiktok teens worked hard to ensure the venue could never be filled.
As part of a coordinated effort, K-pop fans and teenage TikTok users scooped up tickets to President Trump’s Saturday rally in Tulsa, potentially leaving at least hundreds of empty seats, The New York Times reported.
posted by Mrs Potato at 4:36 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
It is said that kpop fans and Tiktok teens worked hard to ensure the venue could never be filled.
As part of a coordinated effort, K-pop fans and teenage TikTok users scooped up tickets to President Trump’s Saturday rally in Tulsa, potentially leaving at least hundreds of empty seats, The New York Times reported.
posted by Mrs Potato at 4:36 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
But SIP "can't" go on "forever." I honestly do not understand these people, people who seem to feel this boredom is intolerable, and for that reason the virus will stay away. They "have to" be able to "eat." I swear it's like that dog-talking-to-owner essay some time ago, "YOU NEVER FEED ME."
posted by rhizome at 4:36 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 4:36 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
In NYC, a reason people don't wear masks, I think, is because Mayor Di Blasio said you have to wear a mask outside ONLY if you can't maintain a 6-foot distance. So people walk without masks, or masks pulled down, because they figure, I'm walking here by myself, and if YOU (some YOU or other; for example, ME) want to stay safe then YOU have go AROUND me so that you stay six feet away from ME (ME ME ME ME ME).
I have posted somewhere else what it feels and looks like when I try to go for a walk in Manhattan: it's a video of the Alan Arkin character in the movie The Inlaws trying to dance around the bullets that are being shot at him, with the Peter Falk character yelling, 'SERPENTINE!!! SERPENTINE!!!"
And so many of my 65+ friends are so THRILLED right now because they've made appointments with their hairdressers! Ugh ugh ugh.
Here's what I sadly say to myself so often these days: "Even the smart people turned out to be stupid."
posted by DMelanogaster at 4:36 PM on June 22, 2020 [23 favorites]
I have posted somewhere else what it feels and looks like when I try to go for a walk in Manhattan: it's a video of the Alan Arkin character in the movie The Inlaws trying to dance around the bullets that are being shot at him, with the Peter Falk character yelling, 'SERPENTINE!!! SERPENTINE!!!"
And so many of my 65+ friends are so THRILLED right now because they've made appointments with their hairdressers! Ugh ugh ugh.
Here's what I sadly say to myself so often these days: "Even the smart people turned out to be stupid."
posted by DMelanogaster at 4:36 PM on June 22, 2020 [23 favorites]
As part of a coordinated effort, K-pop fans and teenage TikTok users scooped up tickets to President Trump’s Saturday rally in Tulsa, potentially leaving at least hundreds of empty seats, The New York Times reported.
I love that story, but frankly I'm liking the alternate explanation that people just didn't show up. There weren't any protesters, there weren't any lines, there weren't any clogged security gates, there weren't a million reserved tickets, there was just not very many people. Everything besides the crowd count was a lie to hide the fact that nobody wanted to go.
posted by rhizome at 4:39 PM on June 22, 2020 [42 favorites]
I love that story, but frankly I'm liking the alternate explanation that people just didn't show up. There weren't any protesters, there weren't any lines, there weren't any clogged security gates, there weren't a million reserved tickets, there was just not very many people. Everything besides the crowd count was a lie to hide the fact that nobody wanted to go.
posted by rhizome at 4:39 PM on June 22, 2020 [42 favorites]
Will this ever get to a point where other countries start banning incoming travel from US citizens?
Several Caribbean states already are. Grenada and the Dutch Antilles are both doing it.
posted by ocschwar at 4:41 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
from twitter "looks like we're going to have to retire the phrase "avoid it like the plague" because it turns out people don't do that."
posted by sexyrobot at 4:41 PM on June 22, 2020 [54 favorites]
posted by sexyrobot at 4:41 PM on June 22, 2020 [54 favorites]
But we need haircuts and to buy lots of useless things! This.
I really really think a lot of the reopen shit and what has resulted and what we are seeing now comes from consumerism. I think it's people who couldn't figure out how to be home taking care of their kids. Maybe a lot of this is informed by the QAnon Anonymous podcast I've been listening to (not that I need that, but it's really informative about what is going on in super crazy world), but really when those Qidiots start talking about sheep and waking up, I think it's denial or repression of what they really are. I think these people aren't real enough to be able to entertain themselves for months on end. They don't want to read books, they don't want to take on new hobbies, and they certainly don't want to figure out how to educate their children. They just want to fill the proletarian dream of wake up, send the kids to school, go to work, everyone comes home, and we watch some lowest common denominator reality TV until it's time to go to bed and repeat.
I don't think this is about being served/waited on, and I don't think this is about discomfort. They can buy everything they fucking want on Amazon and gap.com and food delivery apps. They want to browse, they want to be seen as consumers. There might be some paranoia involved in that being seen, as in being a part of the masses at the malls, but also being able to show off what they've purchased: their newest big TV or car or clothes. They want to be able to demonstrate that they have money to buy things.
And this goes into the classism and such of how this pandemic is affecting different groups of people, and the privilege (mentioned in the last thread) of who you are. I don't have to wear a mask, I don't have to stay home, and I don't have to entertain myself. I can buy all of that: the healthcare, the food and clothes, and the mindless entertainment that comes with capitalism and consumerism. These people can't even take on teaching their kids civic values or reading comprehension. That is for someone else, who is paid less, and shit on all the time, and has been defunded already.
posted by Snowishberlin at 4:44 PM on June 22, 2020 [18 favorites]
I really really think a lot of the reopen shit and what has resulted and what we are seeing now comes from consumerism. I think it's people who couldn't figure out how to be home taking care of their kids. Maybe a lot of this is informed by the QAnon Anonymous podcast I've been listening to (not that I need that, but it's really informative about what is going on in super crazy world), but really when those Qidiots start talking about sheep and waking up, I think it's denial or repression of what they really are. I think these people aren't real enough to be able to entertain themselves for months on end. They don't want to read books, they don't want to take on new hobbies, and they certainly don't want to figure out how to educate their children. They just want to fill the proletarian dream of wake up, send the kids to school, go to work, everyone comes home, and we watch some lowest common denominator reality TV until it's time to go to bed and repeat.
I don't think this is about being served/waited on, and I don't think this is about discomfort. They can buy everything they fucking want on Amazon and gap.com and food delivery apps. They want to browse, they want to be seen as consumers. There might be some paranoia involved in that being seen, as in being a part of the masses at the malls, but also being able to show off what they've purchased: their newest big TV or car or clothes. They want to be able to demonstrate that they have money to buy things.
And this goes into the classism and such of how this pandemic is affecting different groups of people, and the privilege (mentioned in the last thread) of who you are. I don't have to wear a mask, I don't have to stay home, and I don't have to entertain myself. I can buy all of that: the healthcare, the food and clothes, and the mindless entertainment that comes with capitalism and consumerism. These people can't even take on teaching their kids civic values or reading comprehension. That is for someone else, who is paid less, and shit on all the time, and has been defunded already.
posted by Snowishberlin at 4:44 PM on June 22, 2020 [18 favorites]
But we need haircuts and to buy lots of useless things!
I really have been surprised by how many people in my life seem basically, spoiled. It’s an alienating feeling. Different from the covid rage of “you’re endangering people I love!” These are people I love who would rather endanger others than make some changes in their lives.
posted by sallybrown at 4:52 PM on June 22, 2020 [38 favorites]
I really have been surprised by how many people in my life seem basically, spoiled. It’s an alienating feeling. Different from the covid rage of “you’re endangering people I love!” These are people I love who would rather endanger others than make some changes in their lives.
posted by sallybrown at 4:52 PM on June 22, 2020 [38 favorites]
Called my family for Father’s Day. Mom was so excited to tell me how they went to this fish fry place that just reopened and “It was booming! They were absolutely packed! They were very efficient and got us seated quickly, though.” They also went shopping around town for Father’s Day presents all day, and stopped by a wine/ice cream/coffee shop. Also, they had my grandfather over for dinner.
All I can think about is those poor workers. My grandpa going back to his senior living home. My brother going to work retail. Maybe you don’t care about getting COVID, but you’re exposing so many other fucking people and FOR WHAT.
posted by brook horse at 4:52 PM on June 22, 2020 [54 favorites]
All I can think about is those poor workers. My grandpa going back to his senior living home. My brother going to work retail. Maybe you don’t care about getting COVID, but you’re exposing so many other fucking people and FOR WHAT.
posted by brook horse at 4:52 PM on June 22, 2020 [54 favorites]
It's not realistic to expect that retail store employees are going to confront angry people about wearing a mask, or have police stationed at every sidewalk making sure people stay six feet apart. It's similar to how some people wanted to arm teachers to thwart school shootings. By the time you need someone to enforce it, it's too late.
This pandemic, and the actions of the current administration, have convinced me of something that I've suspected all my life: we actually live on the honor system, not the rule of law. Our society functions because people collectively want it to function, not because of law enforcement.
And right now, there are a lot of people in this nation who think in terms of 'us' versus 'them'. Even people who want to see it completely burn down under the misguided notion that they'll be the 'winners'. This does not bode well.
posted by meowzilla at 4:59 PM on June 22, 2020 [55 favorites]
This pandemic, and the actions of the current administration, have convinced me of something that I've suspected all my life: we actually live on the honor system, not the rule of law. Our society functions because people collectively want it to function, not because of law enforcement.
And right now, there are a lot of people in this nation who think in terms of 'us' versus 'them'. Even people who want to see it completely burn down under the misguided notion that they'll be the 'winners'. This does not bode well.
posted by meowzilla at 4:59 PM on June 22, 2020 [55 favorites]
Three types of non-mask wearers I know:
1. Bad things happen to other people.
2. The government said it's fine and why would they lie about this?
3. I work at a job where I'm exposed to people all day anyway.
posted by tofu_crouton at 5:02 PM on June 22, 2020 [12 favorites]
1. Bad things happen to other people.
2. The government said it's fine and why would they lie about this?
3. I work at a job where I'm exposed to people all day anyway.
posted by tofu_crouton at 5:02 PM on June 22, 2020 [12 favorites]
I really really think a lot of the reopen shit and what has resulted and what we are seeing now comes from consumerism. I think it's people who couldn't figure out how to be home taking care of their kids.
These two things are really, really, really not the same thing.
The vast majority of folks who have young kids at home who would normally be in school or daycare are on of:
- Essential workers who have had to get some kind of childcare situation cobbled together, and are deathly afraid of passing on COVID
- People who are out of work, and are deathly afraid of what will happen to their families because they're going to run out of money
- The lucky people who can work from home -- which means they have jobs. And are somehow supposed to take care of kids simultaneously?
posted by feckless at 5:03 PM on June 22, 2020 [39 favorites]
These two things are really, really, really not the same thing.
The vast majority of folks who have young kids at home who would normally be in school or daycare are on of:
- Essential workers who have had to get some kind of childcare situation cobbled together, and are deathly afraid of passing on COVID
- People who are out of work, and are deathly afraid of what will happen to their families because they're going to run out of money
- The lucky people who can work from home -- which means they have jobs. And are somehow supposed to take care of kids simultaneously?
posted by feckless at 5:03 PM on June 22, 2020 [39 favorites]
Our state epidemiologist Dr. Dunn has been steadily ratcheting up the noise about our numbers going the wrong way.
After seeing the recent progression in Utah’s messaging - noticeably when they took the ridiculous “It’s working, Utah!” banner off the taskforce website main page, I watched the update livestream last week - where Dr Dunn got relegated to the final few minutes after a bunch of randoms and the Governor whacked on about road funding and anything other than Covid, gave shoutouts to almost everyone in the State Building, and generally tried to plant an undeserved victory flag.
Dr Dunn is really good - direct to the point, blunt in her assessment - yet engaged and approachable, and knows when to stop and take questions and how to answer them. Also doesn’t hurt that Dr Dunn appeared to be noticeably taller than anyone else who spoke - both literally and figuratively the adult in the room. I’m guessing she’s getting media training - but either way she is schooling Utah’s politicians.
But I really do wish she was given more opportunity to speak freely - I get the sense she really wants to tell some pretty hard home truths to the State but is being held back.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 5:03 PM on June 22, 2020 [10 favorites]
After seeing the recent progression in Utah’s messaging - noticeably when they took the ridiculous “It’s working, Utah!” banner off the taskforce website main page, I watched the update livestream last week - where Dr Dunn got relegated to the final few minutes after a bunch of randoms and the Governor whacked on about road funding and anything other than Covid, gave shoutouts to almost everyone in the State Building, and generally tried to plant an undeserved victory flag.
Dr Dunn is really good - direct to the point, blunt in her assessment - yet engaged and approachable, and knows when to stop and take questions and how to answer them. Also doesn’t hurt that Dr Dunn appeared to be noticeably taller than anyone else who spoke - both literally and figuratively the adult in the room. I’m guessing she’s getting media training - but either way she is schooling Utah’s politicians.
But I really do wish she was given more opportunity to speak freely - I get the sense she really wants to tell some pretty hard home truths to the State but is being held back.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 5:03 PM on June 22, 2020 [10 favorites]
I've been saying for months that anybody who makes under like $20 (or some number) per hour and has clocked any hours since, oh, March 1, should receive a fat bonus, like $20,000+ (if not more), or something equivalent but monthly. These are the essential workers and they should be rewarded for the risks they're taking. For some reason there just was no debate about whether McDonald's would be open, you know?
I really really think a lot of the reopen shit and what has resulted and what we are seeing now comes from consumerism. I think it's people who couldn't figure out how to be home taking care of their kids.
I have been thinking a variation on this. I blame:
- Extroverts who can't be alone with themselves
- People with thin internal lives who can't be alone with themselves
- People who can't cook and are sick of frozen stuff and GrubHub
- People who, y'know, don't really like their families
And so on. Some people are subject more to cabin fever than others, but that's not a reason to open up! [sunglasses slide down] DEAL WITH IT
And there are a lot of people who have had to shape their lives around a world shaped by the needs of the people listed above (which is also a list of traits common to executives and salespeople, to varying degrees), and who are largely doing fine within the constraints (raw money and resource needs aside).
posted by rhizome at 5:04 PM on June 22, 2020 [18 favorites]
I really really think a lot of the reopen shit and what has resulted and what we are seeing now comes from consumerism. I think it's people who couldn't figure out how to be home taking care of their kids.
I have been thinking a variation on this. I blame:
- Extroverts who can't be alone with themselves
- People with thin internal lives who can't be alone with themselves
- People who can't cook and are sick of frozen stuff and GrubHub
- People who, y'know, don't really like their families
And so on. Some people are subject more to cabin fever than others, but that's not a reason to open up! [sunglasses slide down] DEAL WITH IT
And there are a lot of people who have had to shape their lives around a world shaped by the needs of the people listed above (which is also a list of traits common to executives and salespeople, to varying degrees), and who are largely doing fine within the constraints (raw money and resource needs aside).
posted by rhizome at 5:04 PM on June 22, 2020 [18 favorites]
I am not American, but living in Canada, I am America-adjacent. This weekend I saw a response to a Toronto Star article about the ethics of mandating masks from an American who declared he cannot wear a mask because in his state it is a felony to wear a mask while armed.
I briefly considered a response about This One Weird Trick before deciding it was best not to get into it.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:04 PM on June 22, 2020 [41 favorites]
I briefly considered a response about This One Weird Trick before deciding it was best not to get into it.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:04 PM on June 22, 2020 [41 favorites]
I really have been surprised by how many people in my life seem basically, spoiled. It’s an alienating feeling
Similar, maybe related. I'm a USian who lived in Germany from 2004 -2010. When I came back to the US I somehow thought that all of the cars with Obama stickers would be good drivers and all of the McCain stickers would be assholes. Nope. Totally alienated by the assholes and regulars on both sides, on the road. I'm glad that my friends and family are in masks, not at restaurants or malls, and being safe. But we still protest, at the fringes of the groups super distanced. Is that cheating?
posted by Snowishberlin at 5:04 PM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Similar, maybe related. I'm a USian who lived in Germany from 2004 -2010. When I came back to the US I somehow thought that all of the cars with Obama stickers would be good drivers and all of the McCain stickers would be assholes. Nope. Totally alienated by the assholes and regulars on both sides, on the road. I'm glad that my friends and family are in masks, not at restaurants or malls, and being safe. But we still protest, at the fringes of the groups super distanced. Is that cheating?
posted by Snowishberlin at 5:04 PM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Thank you, feckless. Just how should I figure out how to be home taking care of my kids while I am desperately trying to hold down a full-time job? I'm not defending selfish people not wearing masks, and I'm definitely not advocating "re-opening" the economy so that the rentiers can extract their portion before I die. But please acknowledge the real, often material difficulties of not being able to socialize any of the costs of sheltering in place.
posted by Il etait une fois at 5:07 PM on June 22, 2020 [25 favorites]
posted by Il etait une fois at 5:07 PM on June 22, 2020 [25 favorites]
These two things are really, really, really not the same thing.
No, totally agree! I really meant the people who are refusing to: wear masks, stay away from the mall, stay away from restaurants as diners, and say that teachers did a good job.
In no way was I referring to workers, essential or not, who can't work from home. There is a lot of double edged sword in the US with people who can't get unemployment, who have to work in a dangerous environment, or who are essential. And there are the people who are trying to support LOCAL businesses and doing what we can and staying as safe a possible while we do. I really only meant the people endangering so many vulnerable and mistreated people.
posted by Snowishberlin at 5:11 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
No, totally agree! I really meant the people who are refusing to: wear masks, stay away from the mall, stay away from restaurants as diners, and say that teachers did a good job.
In no way was I referring to workers, essential or not, who can't work from home. There is a lot of double edged sword in the US with people who can't get unemployment, who have to work in a dangerous environment, or who are essential. And there are the people who are trying to support LOCAL businesses and doing what we can and staying as safe a possible while we do. I really only meant the people endangering so many vulnerable and mistreated people.
posted by Snowishberlin at 5:11 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
The whole point of sheltering-in-place for this was to give government, hospitals, and industry time to spin up production and prepare resources. All of that time we bought has been squandered and so many more are going to die needlessly as a result.
I remember saying to a coworker as this started in the US, "We could be South Korea or we could be Italy, it's our choice." At this point I expect US tourists will be barred from most countries in the not-too-distant future.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 5:13 PM on June 22, 2020 [21 favorites]
I remember saying to a coworker as this started in the US, "We could be South Korea or we could be Italy, it's our choice." At this point I expect US tourists will be barred from most countries in the not-too-distant future.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 5:13 PM on June 22, 2020 [21 favorites]
College towns (at least) are going to be a shitshow this fall.
My 19 year-old nephew working in his Iowa university town this summer went to a party with his roommates a week ago. A group came in late who all tested positive a few days later ; everyone still there after the group came in were then tested = all positive (including my nephew and all his roommates) ; no one who left before the late group came in tested positive. Masks?? Hahahaha!!
posted by ClingClang at 5:13 PM on June 22, 2020 [28 favorites]
My 19 year-old nephew working in his Iowa university town this summer went to a party with his roommates a week ago. A group came in late who all tested positive a few days later ; everyone still there after the group came in were then tested = all positive (including my nephew and all his roommates) ; no one who left before the late group came in tested positive. Masks?? Hahahaha!!
posted by ClingClang at 5:13 PM on June 22, 2020 [28 favorites]
Testing and tracing efforts will eventually be deployed (probably on an ad-hoc state-by-state, city-by-city, or even employer-by-employer basis
Already did it. The hard way, no fancy app. Since we started jumping on "potential exposure" incidents, we haven't had a case since mid-April in 14,000 people.
posted by ctmf at 5:19 PM on June 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
Already did it. The hard way, no fancy app. Since we started jumping on "potential exposure" incidents, we haven't had a case since mid-April in 14,000 people.
posted by ctmf at 5:19 PM on June 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
Interesting side observation on retail and mask wearing. By far and way the highest percentage of mask compliance I’ve seen in Utah is at the State Liquor Store (probably second would be Wholefoods and ignoring my local pharmacy where they do the whole temperature check, hand sanitizer, and compulsory mask before they even let you in). Not sure if it’s because its a State owned business so people feel more pressure to comply, or if booze drinkers as a population tend to believe in the science on this more, or just don’t want any chance of not getting booze in the odd hours the place has been opened. But it was really noticeable. Like 100% compliance the few times I’ve been in - and that’s with no one at the door enforcing it.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 5:21 PM on June 22, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by inflatablekiwi at 5:21 PM on June 22, 2020 [7 favorites]
Also, masks on our property are mandatory, hand washing and cleaning several times a shift have become the culture. Work sites have been rearranged to support distancing whenever possible, barriers as a second choice. We're spending money on this. I should say all those things together seem to be working.
And it's all for nothing if the yahoos outside the gates infect us all.
posted by ctmf at 5:22 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
And it's all for nothing if the yahoos outside the gates infect us all.
posted by ctmf at 5:22 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
I get your point witchen and that you’re directing your anger at people who don’t wear masks AND refuse to socially distance, but I want to point out that some people really can’t wear masks because of autism or anxiety or other sensory or mental health reasons. I have a friend who lost their job because they discovered quite abruptly that they have claustrophobia and were having panic attacks every 30 minutes at work from wearing a mask. This friend does not go out of the house at all because they’re unable to wear a mask. People who can’t/won’t wear masks and go out when they don’t absolutely need to? Assholes. But some people legitimately can’t wear masks because of mental health reasons and many of them respond to that by just not going out at all, which is another toll on their mental health. Just, I dunno, a little sympathy and some good thoughts for those folks.
posted by brook horse at 5:22 PM on June 22, 2020 [21 favorites]
posted by brook horse at 5:22 PM on June 22, 2020 [21 favorites]
Choosing whether to wear a mask or not is a kind of freedom, sure.
I also have the freedom not to wear safety glasses when I use a power saw. Guess what, I do.
posted by ctmf at 5:28 PM on June 22, 2020 [9 favorites]
I also have the freedom not to wear safety glasses when I use a power saw. Guess what, I do.
posted by ctmf at 5:28 PM on June 22, 2020 [9 favorites]
Yeah, people with COPD should not be leaving the house. Insane.
i'm just saying that staying at april levels of lockdown was untenable to continue indefinitely. my point is that within the feasible parameters of what we can expect to ask of people, mask wearing and employee protections and state bailouts and investing in healthcare capacity are best practices. an open-ended lockdown is not.
This is the thing: "untenable?" According to what, "common sense?" I'm not attacking you, just commenting on what I've seen elsewhere that overlaps with your words (that's supposed to sound friendly). "Feasable?" "Expect?" I don't have a problem with the ideas per se, but where are the standards coming from?
I'd really encourage reading about polio. Did you know that before the polio vaccine, swimming pools and movie theaters closed or restricted attendance during "polio season," and that polio season was during the summer? My understanding was that this was the state of affairs for 40 years. So yeah, it kind of can be open-ended.
posted by rhizome at 5:28 PM on June 22, 2020 [44 favorites]
i'm just saying that staying at april levels of lockdown was untenable to continue indefinitely. my point is that within the feasible parameters of what we can expect to ask of people, mask wearing and employee protections and state bailouts and investing in healthcare capacity are best practices. an open-ended lockdown is not.
This is the thing: "untenable?" According to what, "common sense?" I'm not attacking you, just commenting on what I've seen elsewhere that overlaps with your words (that's supposed to sound friendly). "Feasable?" "Expect?" I don't have a problem with the ideas per se, but where are the standards coming from?
I'd really encourage reading about polio. Did you know that before the polio vaccine, swimming pools and movie theaters closed or restricted attendance during "polio season," and that polio season was during the summer? My understanding was that this was the state of affairs for 40 years. So yeah, it kind of can be open-ended.
posted by rhizome at 5:28 PM on June 22, 2020 [44 favorites]
I have very little sympathy for people who won't wear masks because it gives them "anxiety."
The combination of having anxiety, autism, and claustrophobia makes wearing a mask a panic-inducing thing for me. Fortunately, my job allows me to isolate myself from people. I just don't go anywhere other than work, and I don't allow visitors. I have what I need delivered by people who just leave it at my door.
posted by LindsayIrene at 5:30 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
The combination of having anxiety, autism, and claustrophobia makes wearing a mask a panic-inducing thing for me. Fortunately, my job allows me to isolate myself from people. I just don't go anywhere other than work, and I don't allow visitors. I have what I need delivered by people who just leave it at my door.
posted by LindsayIrene at 5:30 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
i'm finding wearing a mask somewhat nice from a feminist perspective. no one has yelled at me to smile.
posted by Clowder of bats at 6:05 PM on June 22, 2020 [94 favorites]
posted by Clowder of bats at 6:05 PM on June 22, 2020 [94 favorites]
Yeah, the frustrating thing is people deciding to simply “opt-out” of suffering. This all sucks. We’re all suffering. If you (that’s a general ‘you’, not directed at anyone in this thread) decide that you’re the special snowflake that just isn’t willing to suffer along with the rest of us, I get the urge but you’re still being a dick.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 6:06 PM on June 22, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 6:06 PM on June 22, 2020 [11 favorites]
I enjoy the masks, as an unattractive person with a not so great personality. It’s honestly therapeutic.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:10 PM on June 22, 2020 [37 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:10 PM on June 22, 2020 [37 favorites]
I think the 'spoiled' argument has some merit and not just for the young. The United States, because it has been a major economic and military power for so long, hasn't really been threatened in any serious way or even had national crises in many generations. We've had recessions but as a nation we all didn't collectively take pay cuts. People have short memories and bad history knowledge.
Remember that we call them 'boomers' because they grew up in the unprecedented post-WW2 economic boom that followed the Great Depression and the war. Many countries have massive physical and mental scars from this time period. Others did not even exist. It's not surprising that in the US, many people yearn for a return to these days without understanding why it happened.
They also don't remember that we sent huge numbers of people to die overseas, and introduced rationing in the US. We haven't collectively known sacrifice or hardship in a very, very long time. It's not that surprising that people who have never been asked to give up or do anything are rebelling against it.
posted by meowzilla at 6:18 PM on June 22, 2020 [44 favorites]
Remember that we call them 'boomers' because they grew up in the unprecedented post-WW2 economic boom that followed the Great Depression and the war. Many countries have massive physical and mental scars from this time period. Others did not even exist. It's not surprising that in the US, many people yearn for a return to these days without understanding why it happened.
They also don't remember that we sent huge numbers of people to die overseas, and introduced rationing in the US. We haven't collectively known sacrifice or hardship in a very, very long time. It's not that surprising that people who have never been asked to give up or do anything are rebelling against it.
posted by meowzilla at 6:18 PM on June 22, 2020 [44 favorites]
I don't think haircuts need to be a problem if they and their customers wear masks.
We also need to be careful about just replying on case numbers because testing is increasing, too. If you compare CA and AZ, both have steadily rising case numbers, but in AZ the death rate is also rising, and in CA it's flat or slightly down.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:19 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
We also need to be careful about just replying on case numbers because testing is increasing, too. If you compare CA and AZ, both have steadily rising case numbers, but in AZ the death rate is also rising, and in CA it's flat or slightly down.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:19 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
Then I think about how this is disproportionally impacting marginalized communities and think, no, this is going just as intended.
I don't doubt that this is a big part of their thinking. But here's the real kicker. They are wrong. The virus isn't racist. It's indiscriminate (though perhaps ageist I suppose). They think they are at lower risk because it hasn't affected them yet. The thing is this virus has fooled everyone who thought this way every step of the way. At first it was just a China problem, then just China-Italy problem. Then Europe got added. Then Washington State. Then the big American cities. Then the Midwest. And now the Southern and Western US where they thought they had it under control are getting hit hard. Meanwhile it is slowly making its way into rural America. The numbers are not scary though...but only because the population numbers in rural America are not big. They will get hammered hard and it will be even worse than the cities because they can't isolate as effectively as at least part of an urban population can. They also can't treat any number of serious covid-19 cases at all.
Covid-19 infiltrated the White House. Covid-19 infiltrated the Tulsa rally even though they had every incentive to try their hardest keep in clean.
The only thing that works are the major behavioral public health measures we were doing - without the reopening. The numbers show it was effective everywhere it was done and that we were very close to being able to get down to containment levels. Then the bullies, idiots and bosses won and now here we are getting back on the upswing everywhere.
So those jerks who think it will stick to just marginalized groups? It's coming for them the moment they drop their guard. And they have dropped their guard.
posted by srboisvert at 6:20 PM on June 22, 2020 [15 favorites]
I don't doubt that this is a big part of their thinking. But here's the real kicker. They are wrong. The virus isn't racist. It's indiscriminate (though perhaps ageist I suppose). They think they are at lower risk because it hasn't affected them yet. The thing is this virus has fooled everyone who thought this way every step of the way. At first it was just a China problem, then just China-Italy problem. Then Europe got added. Then Washington State. Then the big American cities. Then the Midwest. And now the Southern and Western US where they thought they had it under control are getting hit hard. Meanwhile it is slowly making its way into rural America. The numbers are not scary though...but only because the population numbers in rural America are not big. They will get hammered hard and it will be even worse than the cities because they can't isolate as effectively as at least part of an urban population can. They also can't treat any number of serious covid-19 cases at all.
Covid-19 infiltrated the White House. Covid-19 infiltrated the Tulsa rally even though they had every incentive to try their hardest keep in clean.
The only thing that works are the major behavioral public health measures we were doing - without the reopening. The numbers show it was effective everywhere it was done and that we were very close to being able to get down to containment levels. Then the bullies, idiots and bosses won and now here we are getting back on the upswing everywhere.
So those jerks who think it will stick to just marginalized groups? It's coming for them the moment they drop their guard. And they have dropped their guard.
posted by srboisvert at 6:20 PM on June 22, 2020 [15 favorites]
Clowder of bats, I'd always suspected even before the pandemic that was a sizeable fraction of the people wearing them in Japan. Once it's normalized, it's kind of nice sometimes. Some days you're just tired of being looked at all the time.
posted by ctmf at 6:21 PM on June 22, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by ctmf at 6:21 PM on June 22, 2020 [7 favorites]
It's not vanity in the classic sense but Pence's maskless visit to the virus ward was because he felt the patients should be able to see his face.
You misremembered. It was actually much, much dumber than that. Pence said he didn't want to wear a mask because he wanted to "look health workers in the eye and say 'thank you.'"
But we all know it really had nothing to do with either of those. It was simply the fact that his master Lord Trump had said he shouldn't appear in public with a mask in defiance of Trump. And the milksop sycophant Pence said "yes, sir!"
posted by JackFlash at 6:36 PM on June 22, 2020 [20 favorites]
You misremembered. It was actually much, much dumber than that. Pence said he didn't want to wear a mask because he wanted to "look health workers in the eye and say 'thank you.'"
But we all know it really had nothing to do with either of those. It was simply the fact that his master Lord Trump had said he shouldn't appear in public with a mask in defiance of Trump. And the milksop sycophant Pence said "yes, sir!"
posted by JackFlash at 6:36 PM on June 22, 2020 [20 favorites]
Surging US virus cases raise fear that progress is slipping (AP)
Alarming surges in coronavirus cases across the U.S. South and West raised fears Monday that the outbreak is spiraling out of control and that hard-won progress against the scourge is slipping away because of resistance among many Americans to wearing masks and keeping their distance from others. Confirming predictions that the easing of state lockdowns over the past month and a half would lead to a comeback by the virus, cases surpassed 100,000 in Florida, hospitalizations are rising dramatically in Houston and Georgia, and a startling 1 in 5 of those tested in Arizona are proving to be infected.Top Democrats say Trump is sitting on $14B for coronavirus testing, contact tracing (NBC News)
[...] At Maryland’s Fort Washington Medical Center on the outskirts of the nation’s capital, workers described a scramble to find new beds, heartbreaking encounters with family members of critically ill patients and frustration with Americans who do not believe the coronavirus threat is real. “Everybody is out lounging on the beaches. Just thinking that it’s over. And it’s not,” respiratory therapist Kevin Cole said. “It’s far from being over. And unfortunately, it’s those people that will keep this pandemic going.”
The Trump administration has been sitting on nearly $14 billion in funding that Congress passed for coronavirus testing and contact tracing, according to Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Patty Murray of Washington. The top Democrats said in a letter Sunday to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar that the Trump administration has "still failed" to distribute more than $8 billion out of $25 billion appropriated by Congress to expand testing and contact tracing. The letter indicated that Congress passed these funds as part of a coronavirus relief bill in April. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also hasn’t awarded nearly $4 billion for surveillance and contact tracing at the state and local levels and tribal territories, they said, and little of $2 billion set aside for free testing for uninsured people has been disbursed.posted by katra at 6:43 PM on June 22, 2020 [18 favorites]
Indefinite lockdowns are catastrophic for public health, for preventative health, for mental health, for persons at risk of abuse. It is increasingly clear that the virus is fairly difficult to spread if a few simple critical steps are taken (masking) and certain settings are avoided (extended indoor contact without masks). Medical clinics have zero difficulty controlling infections by simply mandating some basic behavioral changes. That said, without proper leadership we will never get a movement toward widespread adoption. It may happen if there is a concerted focus on public health. But locking down society is just another way of saying that our livelihoods are hostage to a cadre of selfish toddlers. Costco has proven easily that you can train people to wear a mask if it's what stands between them and their vape refills and smoker pellets.
posted by docpops at 6:44 PM on June 22, 2020 [16 favorites]
posted by docpops at 6:44 PM on June 22, 2020 [16 favorites]
It's weird how many people think the only reason for precautions is to protect themselves.
Our school district sent out a survey to parents about fall reopening, and whether we thought safety procedures, technology, etc were adequate. There was no option to say "my family will be ok but I'm worried about the community." Literally every question could only be answered in one of two ways: "This is inconvenient for my family, and therefore bad" or "This is ok for my family, and therefore good."
posted by selfmedicating at 6:47 PM on June 22, 2020 [48 favorites]
Our school district sent out a survey to parents about fall reopening, and whether we thought safety procedures, technology, etc were adequate. There was no option to say "my family will be ok but I'm worried about the community." Literally every question could only be answered in one of two ways: "This is inconvenient for my family, and therefore bad" or "This is ok for my family, and therefore good."
posted by selfmedicating at 6:47 PM on June 22, 2020 [48 favorites]
I've been getting more accustomed to being in public lately. I always wear a mask unless I'm in a car or running and not around anyone else. Walks to get food have gone from being panic-inducing marches of horror to just regular walks around the neighborhood. We've had distanced hang-outs with friends that were terrific and fulfilling. Normalcy, with some caveats! I can dig it.
Then today I had to run to the corner store to pick up a bunch of stuff. It is a tiny place. I managed to get everything I needed without getting close to anyone and then had to wait in line. I couldn't take it - every second I was in that little virus incubator of a store ratcheted up my anxiety by like 25%. So eventually I just put everything I was planning to buy back where I found it and literally ran out of the store and up the street. Right as I was getting to my house there was a smiling, maskless couple on their way towards me. I yelled at them to wear a @&^%@# mask and went inside, where I proceeded to curse very loudly for about a minute.
I guess I'm glad I still have a very healthy fear of the virus? But man. I can not wait for this nightmare to be the fuck over.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:51 PM on June 22, 2020 [26 favorites]
Then today I had to run to the corner store to pick up a bunch of stuff. It is a tiny place. I managed to get everything I needed without getting close to anyone and then had to wait in line. I couldn't take it - every second I was in that little virus incubator of a store ratcheted up my anxiety by like 25%. So eventually I just put everything I was planning to buy back where I found it and literally ran out of the store and up the street. Right as I was getting to my house there was a smiling, maskless couple on their way towards me. I yelled at them to wear a @&^%@# mask and went inside, where I proceeded to curse very loudly for about a minute.
I guess I'm glad I still have a very healthy fear of the virus? But man. I can not wait for this nightmare to be the fuck over.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:51 PM on June 22, 2020 [26 favorites]
but I have very little sympathy for people who won't wear masks because it gives them "anxiety." Grow up. You think nobody working twelve-hour shifts in the ER ever has anxiety?? Yet somehow they manage to keep their masks on.
posted by witchen a
Wanting to say that while a lot of people may abusing this, there are some people who probably feel intense anxiety while wearing a mask. A blanket "grow up" statement is pretty harsh.
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:55 PM on June 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by witchen a
Wanting to say that while a lot of people may abusing this, there are some people who probably feel intense anxiety while wearing a mask. A blanket "grow up" statement is pretty harsh.
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:55 PM on June 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
But locking down society is just another way of saying that our livelihoods are hostage to a cadre of selfish toddlers
They are tho. What would be possible if we had basic competency at the white house is beside the point in terms of what the response should be given that we don't. I don't like the federal chaos any more than you do and I'm extremely angry these people have been allowed to cause such harm but my plans have to take that chaos as a given to the extent it's beyond my power to change.
posted by PMdixon at 7:13 PM on June 22, 2020 [7 favorites]
They are tho. What would be possible if we had basic competency at the white house is beside the point in terms of what the response should be given that we don't. I don't like the federal chaos any more than you do and I'm extremely angry these people have been allowed to cause such harm but my plans have to take that chaos as a given to the extent it's beyond my power to change.
posted by PMdixon at 7:13 PM on June 22, 2020 [7 favorites]
blue states imposed untenable lockdowns with inherently arbitrary end dates, since policymakers knew or shouldve known that full stay-home (no seeing family, no retail business, no nothing) could not possibly be enforced or demanded of everyone thru 2022 or whenever we get a vaccine
C'mon, this was never the idea. The whole point was that very strict lockdowns for ~ 6 weeks if followed will starve a virus with a replication cycle of 1-2 weeks. Unfortunately, Trump et al. are incapable even of stealing good ideas and claiming them as their own -- we should have had community food runners doing no-contact deliveries to neighborhoods like they did in China to prevent any smoldering embers from flying around to CostCo for grocery runs. Because we left the infections smoldering along here and there, no surprise that the lockdowns were extended again and again. A lockdown is not some binary state; how you do the lockdown is really fucking important. These are all OCD details best left in the hands of scientists and experts, not politicians and their idiot son-in-laws. Then after the initial "fire" has died down you stamp out the embers with increased testing, contact tracing, and mandatory quarantine enforced via public healh laws. Increased testing has happened, but it's not mandatory or proactive (go get tested once you've got a fever and have been spreading it for 5 days!). Contact tracing is just now being ramped up. Quarantine still seems to be voluntary (at least in CA).
Countries that had been exposed to SARS before mostly "got it" because they had seen how contagious coronavirus droplets could be and did not underestimate the transmissibility.
posted by benzenedream at 7:19 PM on June 22, 2020 [74 favorites]
C'mon, this was never the idea. The whole point was that very strict lockdowns for ~ 6 weeks if followed will starve a virus with a replication cycle of 1-2 weeks. Unfortunately, Trump et al. are incapable even of stealing good ideas and claiming them as their own -- we should have had community food runners doing no-contact deliveries to neighborhoods like they did in China to prevent any smoldering embers from flying around to CostCo for grocery runs. Because we left the infections smoldering along here and there, no surprise that the lockdowns were extended again and again. A lockdown is not some binary state; how you do the lockdown is really fucking important. These are all OCD details best left in the hands of scientists and experts, not politicians and their idiot son-in-laws. Then after the initial "fire" has died down you stamp out the embers with increased testing, contact tracing, and mandatory quarantine enforced via public healh laws. Increased testing has happened, but it's not mandatory or proactive (go get tested once you've got a fever and have been spreading it for 5 days!). Contact tracing is just now being ramped up. Quarantine still seems to be voluntary (at least in CA).
Countries that had been exposed to SARS before mostly "got it" because they had seen how contagious coronavirus droplets could be and did not underestimate the transmissibility.
posted by benzenedream at 7:19 PM on June 22, 2020 [74 favorites]
Arizona church hosting Trump rally claims air system kills ’99.9 percent of covid within 10 minutes' (WaPo live blog)
President Trump will hold a rally Tuesday at an Arizona megachurch that claims its air purification system kills “99.9 percent of covid within 10 minutes" — despite no scientific evidence that is the case. In a video posted by Dream City Church, senior pastor Luke Barnett and chief operations officer Brendon Zastrow touted an ionization system by CleanAir EXP that, Zastrow said, “takes particles out and covid cannot live in that environment.”posted by katra at 7:31 PM on June 22, 2020 [13 favorites]
Barnett said, “You can know when you come here you will be safe and protected. Thank God for great technology and thank God for being proactive.” Air purifiers can help reduce airborne contaminants but, on their own, cannot kill the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency said.
I have been doing all the Costco shopping my family, my parents and my in-laws. N95 mask and gloves. I do know someone who thinks they got sick shopping at another Costco, they were just wearing a bandana over their face. I'Ve seen the costco door person yell at people to pull up their face covering
.
I've made a few trips to home depot for esstential electrical and semi estential garden stuff. There were people who were browsing curtians and things, but the only person who i saw without a mask was a sterotypical Karen who was in the face of an employee demanding to know when they would have a certian type of rose in stock.
posted by CostcoCultist at 8:00 PM on June 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
.
I've made a few trips to home depot for esstential electrical and semi estential garden stuff. There were people who were browsing curtians and things, but the only person who i saw without a mask was a sterotypical Karen who was in the face of an employee demanding to know when they would have a certian type of rose in stock.
posted by CostcoCultist at 8:00 PM on June 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
New York Allows Offices to Open; White House Eases on Temperature Checks (WSJ)
[Texas Gov. Greg] Abbott emphasized that he doesn’t want to backtrack on his opening of Texas and said residents need to take it upon themselves to wear masks and practice social distancing. Public-health experts say wearing masks in public places is one of the most effective ways to slow the spread of the coronavirus. [...]posted by katra at 8:04 PM on June 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
[California Gov. Gavin] Newsom maintained the state had the hospital capacity to manage increased cases and hospitalizations. He said the surge in cases could force the state to implement stricter measures on businesses and social gatherings once again. “We don’t intend to do that or want to do that, but we are prepared to do that if we must,” Mr. Newsom said at a news conference Monday. He urged Californians to follow social-distancing measures and report any violations of public health measures as counties across the state continue reopening plans. Last week, Mr. Newsom required all residents to wear face-coverings in high-risk settings.
[...] The White House said Monday that officials would no longer conduct temperature checks for every person entering the White House grounds. Staffers or visitors who come into contact with the president will still be tested for the coronavirus and receive a temperature check, and regular deep cleaning of workspaces will continue. Wearing masks is voluntary.
Lalalalala, I can't hear you. You can't make me hear you.
posted by theora55 at 8:16 PM on June 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 8:16 PM on June 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
" Disneyland workers, wrote a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom last week saying they believe it is too soon for Disneyland to reopen safely. "
I remember early in the pandemic Seanan McGuire (huge Disney fan) saying that she'd go back when Disney reopened because she'd trust them to be safe. Sadly, she was wrong.
we're trying to persuade those first conscientious folks that actually, no, they are going to need to get comfortable with the idea of, say, going to a doctor at some point. Or leaving their apartments ever. Because we're worried about them, they're not doing well--they're neglecting severe health problems, etc.
As one of those people, I'd be more comfortable leaving ever if other people were bothering to follow safety protocols. I only leave every two weeks and yesterday I saw four masks on (again, I'm in California, where YOU SHOULD HAVE THEM ON), which is three more than I've seen any other time I was out in the last two months. I probably saw about eight people close enough to check total, half of them were masked. When I went to my HMO, I saw six people not masking up at all or properly. Now from what I hear, hospitals are still better at wearing masks/protective gear better than everyone else is doing, and there was an Ask Metafilter thread about that as I recall. So if you absolutely must, you can probably do your medical stuff if you can't avoid it. But the way things are going, I still don't think people should be leaving if they don't have to. It's gotten even worse, you know? I got the heebie-jeebies reading grumpybear's tiny store panic.
I know I'm mentally ill and all that because I don't want to have ANY contact at all with anyone, and I'm starting to piss people off now for saying no, but there's nothing going on now that's making me think I'm going to be okay if go out.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:22 PM on June 22, 2020 [21 favorites]
I remember early in the pandemic Seanan McGuire (huge Disney fan) saying that she'd go back when Disney reopened because she'd trust them to be safe. Sadly, she was wrong.
we're trying to persuade those first conscientious folks that actually, no, they are going to need to get comfortable with the idea of, say, going to a doctor at some point. Or leaving their apartments ever. Because we're worried about them, they're not doing well--they're neglecting severe health problems, etc.
As one of those people, I'd be more comfortable leaving ever if other people were bothering to follow safety protocols. I only leave every two weeks and yesterday I saw four masks on (again, I'm in California, where YOU SHOULD HAVE THEM ON), which is three more than I've seen any other time I was out in the last two months. I probably saw about eight people close enough to check total, half of them were masked. When I went to my HMO, I saw six people not masking up at all or properly. Now from what I hear, hospitals are still better at wearing masks/protective gear better than everyone else is doing, and there was an Ask Metafilter thread about that as I recall. So if you absolutely must, you can probably do your medical stuff if you can't avoid it. But the way things are going, I still don't think people should be leaving if they don't have to. It's gotten even worse, you know? I got the heebie-jeebies reading grumpybear's tiny store panic.
I know I'm mentally ill and all that because I don't want to have ANY contact at all with anyone, and I'm starting to piss people off now for saying no, but there's nothing going on now that's making me think I'm going to be okay if go out.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:22 PM on June 22, 2020 [21 favorites]
Here in New Mexico, I am glad mask wearing is the norm. When I go to the store, I usually see one or two people whose face are not covered. We even can get free masks from the government.
I am lucky that we are one of about half a dozen states rated green in this map for How We Reopen Safely. We actually had zero new deaths reported today.
But I work at a university that is planning to reopen in the fall, although with some "hybrid" model.
posted by NotLost at 8:36 PM on June 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
I am lucky that we are one of about half a dozen states rated green in this map for How We Reopen Safely. We actually had zero new deaths reported today.
But I work at a university that is planning to reopen in the fall, although with some "hybrid" model.
posted by NotLost at 8:36 PM on June 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
Just this afternoon, the City of Miami enacted a requirement for people to wear a mask when in public. Not just in businesses, but on the street. I'm fine with that, of course, but what I find gobsmacking is the stubborn refusal to close restaurant dining rooms again.
It's pretty clear that a large fraction of new cases are associated with dine-in, but there seems to be no chance of us going back to takeout only.
That said, there has been some progress at cracking down on illegal party houses that the kids are going to since the clubs are all still closed, so maybe that will help.
posted by wierdo at 8:48 PM on June 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
It's pretty clear that a large fraction of new cases are associated with dine-in, but there seems to be no chance of us going back to takeout only.
That said, there has been some progress at cracking down on illegal party houses that the kids are going to since the clubs are all still closed, so maybe that will help.
posted by wierdo at 8:48 PM on June 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
It's weird how many people think the only reason for precautions is to protect themselves.
Our school district sent out a survey to parents about fall reopening, and whether we thought safety procedures, technology, etc were adequate. There was no option to say "my family will be ok but I'm worried about the community." Literally every question could only be answered in one of two ways: "This is inconvenient for my family, and therefore bad" or "This is ok for my family, and therefore good."
Yes, this! My workplace had a similarly deficient survey. :(
posted by eviemath at 8:55 PM on June 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
Our school district sent out a survey to parents about fall reopening, and whether we thought safety procedures, technology, etc were adequate. There was no option to say "my family will be ok but I'm worried about the community." Literally every question could only be answered in one of two ways: "This is inconvenient for my family, and therefore bad" or "This is ok for my family, and therefore good."
Yes, this! My workplace had a similarly deficient survey. :(
posted by eviemath at 8:55 PM on June 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
“99.9 percent of covid within 10 minutes"
A minimum of six complete air changes per hour and realistically at least twice that.
Going to be breezy..
posted by Mitheral at 9:00 PM on June 22, 2020 [17 favorites]
A minimum of six complete air changes per hour and realistically at least twice that.
Going to be breezy..
posted by Mitheral at 9:00 PM on June 22, 2020 [17 favorites]
At this point I expect US tourists will be barred from most countries in the not-too-distant future.
It's sadly far down on the list of things I'm angry/scared/resentful about regarding Trump, the pandemic, and x% of Americans being fucking morons. But I do expect some pretty severe damage to the formerly-broad acceptance of the US passport, and travel is pretty much the only luxury I afford myself.
It's probably been remarked, but the most fitting end to the Trump administration really would be for this horrid man to succumb to the virus his incompetence has allowed to thrive.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:04 PM on June 22, 2020 [13 favorites]
It's sadly far down on the list of things I'm angry/scared/resentful about regarding Trump, the pandemic, and x% of Americans being fucking morons. But I do expect some pretty severe damage to the formerly-broad acceptance of the US passport, and travel is pretty much the only luxury I afford myself.
It's probably been remarked, but the most fitting end to the Trump administration really would be for this horrid man to succumb to the virus his incompetence has allowed to thrive.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:04 PM on June 22, 2020 [13 favorites]
I wonder if the partisan nature of the lockdowns/mask-wearing is more damaging to mental health than the actions themselves.
If we had police locking everyone inside and throwing unauthorized people in jail, you could blame the government for all these problems. Or trust that they're doing the right thing.
If everyone actually abided by the lockdown, you may feel some comfort in knowing that everyone else is in the same situation as you, and collectively it sucks, but we're all doing our best.
But right now I can look outside and I see people who just don't care at all, unmasked and talking to other people in close proximity. I can see people playing football in the park and having picnics. I get invited to birthday celebrations with kids and the elderly. I can limit my time outside my house and only go to the store for essential items, but there's going to be someone there who intentionally isn't wearing their mask and ignoring any physical distancing.
I can turn on the news and they'll tell me, at the same time, that the infection rate is going up, scientists are doubtful about immunity, and even more people died today; but also we're opening all the stores and there will be sales so please come out. I can go online and see in a single discussion about how the pandemic killed someone's relative and completely real and serious but also that the virus is a hoax and that people who wear masks are sheep. That we'll have vaccines soon, but also vaccines are going to give you autism and part of some global conspiracy.
I can see my government leaders say that everything is going great and the scientists saying the exact opposite.
posted by meowzilla at 9:06 PM on June 22, 2020 [30 favorites]
If we had police locking everyone inside and throwing unauthorized people in jail, you could blame the government for all these problems. Or trust that they're doing the right thing.
If everyone actually abided by the lockdown, you may feel some comfort in knowing that everyone else is in the same situation as you, and collectively it sucks, but we're all doing our best.
But right now I can look outside and I see people who just don't care at all, unmasked and talking to other people in close proximity. I can see people playing football in the park and having picnics. I get invited to birthday celebrations with kids and the elderly. I can limit my time outside my house and only go to the store for essential items, but there's going to be someone there who intentionally isn't wearing their mask and ignoring any physical distancing.
I can turn on the news and they'll tell me, at the same time, that the infection rate is going up, scientists are doubtful about immunity, and even more people died today; but also we're opening all the stores and there will be sales so please come out. I can go online and see in a single discussion about how the pandemic killed someone's relative and completely real and serious but also that the virus is a hoax and that people who wear masks are sheep. That we'll have vaccines soon, but also vaccines are going to give you autism and part of some global conspiracy.
I can see my government leaders say that everything is going great and the scientists saying the exact opposite.
posted by meowzilla at 9:06 PM on June 22, 2020 [30 favorites]
I remember saying to a coworker as this started in the US, "We could be South Korea or we could be Italy, it's our choice." At this point I expect US tourists will be barred from most countries in the not-too-distant future.
We'd be lucky to be Italy at this point. They started reopening on May 4th at around 1700 cases averaged over 7 days. By all accounts social distancing is pretty relaxed at this point, and they are down to 262 cases averaged over 7 days as of yesterday. That is for the entire country.
Link to Italy Cases
This chart shows the US coronavirus rate compared to the entire EU. The divergence is clear. Despite opening of schools in some countries and resumption of events like professional sports leagues (without crowds, although the French football league is letting a limited number of fans in starting in July), EU countries are keeping their case rates under control.
EU versus US corona cases
To me, that indicates they did a better job of contract tracing and quarantining. Adherence to protocols such as wearing masks also may play a role, as well as stronger social distancing measures across countries. However, against that last point, US coronavirus cases were above the EU even before cases started spiking in Texas/Florida/Arizona.
I'm honestly not sure where we go from here at this point. Given the level of aide the federal government appears willing to provide, as well as the ability of our dilapidated safety net to disperse said aid, we simply are unable to withstand another lockdown. Moreover, we have substantial populations of students in this country for whom distance learning does not work. We simply can't tolerate losing what amounts to a year's worth of instruction.
From where I sit, we have to hope that (a) people start to wear masks and that wearing masks actually works in preventing spread and (b) we can protect vulnerable populations so that the outbreak burns itself out to manageable levels before reaching them. Basically, we are Sweden at this point, for better or worse. Given prolonged austerity at the state level for much of the 00s and the way our healthcare system is set up, I don't think we were ever truly capable of anything else.
posted by eagles123 at 9:13 PM on June 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
We'd be lucky to be Italy at this point. They started reopening on May 4th at around 1700 cases averaged over 7 days. By all accounts social distancing is pretty relaxed at this point, and they are down to 262 cases averaged over 7 days as of yesterday. That is for the entire country.
Link to Italy Cases
This chart shows the US coronavirus rate compared to the entire EU. The divergence is clear. Despite opening of schools in some countries and resumption of events like professional sports leagues (without crowds, although the French football league is letting a limited number of fans in starting in July), EU countries are keeping their case rates under control.
EU versus US corona cases
To me, that indicates they did a better job of contract tracing and quarantining. Adherence to protocols such as wearing masks also may play a role, as well as stronger social distancing measures across countries. However, against that last point, US coronavirus cases were above the EU even before cases started spiking in Texas/Florida/Arizona.
I'm honestly not sure where we go from here at this point. Given the level of aide the federal government appears willing to provide, as well as the ability of our dilapidated safety net to disperse said aid, we simply are unable to withstand another lockdown. Moreover, we have substantial populations of students in this country for whom distance learning does not work. We simply can't tolerate losing what amounts to a year's worth of instruction.
From where I sit, we have to hope that (a) people start to wear masks and that wearing masks actually works in preventing spread and (b) we can protect vulnerable populations so that the outbreak burns itself out to manageable levels before reaching them. Basically, we are Sweden at this point, for better or worse. Given prolonged austerity at the state level for much of the 00s and the way our healthcare system is set up, I don't think we were ever truly capable of anything else.
posted by eagles123 at 9:13 PM on June 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
One of my friends (whom I admittedly haven't seen in person for a few decades) reposted a claim that someone's daughter had gotten sick from wearing a mask 8 hours a day due to breathing in her own bacteria and carbon dioxide. (Which doesn't explain why surgeons and other folks who wear masks for extended periods of time weren't keeling over long before now). When someone remarked how it didn't pass the smell test and that not everything posted on Twitter/FB is necessarily 100% truth, she replied (a little ramblingly) about how, after studying the relevant topics for years and curing herself of many infections via herbs, it seemed legit to her (she threw in a bunch of bible notations and invoked the Holy Spirit as well). Another of her friends remarked how this "rang true in (her) heart" so she shared it as well.
I sincerely mean no snark whatsoever when I ask if there is any way of getting through to someone like this. (Also worth noting that, while not a Trumpster, she's definitely into the Bundy folks and other "Liberty"/End Times movements)
posted by gtrwolf at 9:14 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
I sincerely mean no snark whatsoever when I ask if there is any way of getting through to someone like this. (Also worth noting that, while not a Trumpster, she's definitely into the Bundy folks and other "Liberty"/End Times movements)
posted by gtrwolf at 9:14 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
katra: [Texas Gov. Greg] Abbott emphasized that he doesn’t want to backtrack on his opening of Texas and said residents need to take it upon themselves to wear masks and practice social distancing.
Yeah, because every other state or city that opened up is full of dummies, where Texas is not. See: Las Vegas (photos of the strip re-opened, few masks seen, compared to the publicity photos seen on USA Today; and even there, you'll see a number of unmasked faces, less than 6 feet apart).
Echoing NotLost, I'm so happy with New Mexico's response to COVID-19. Our governor was holding updates weekly, if not more frequently, televised updates with Departments of Health and Human Services up until recently when she let New Mexico Human Services Department Secretary Dr. David Scrase provide a COVID-19 modeling and reopening webinar update on his own. We're still requiring anyone flies into New Mexico self-quarantine for 14 days before traveling on. And all testing and treatment is free, and has been since March 13.
And I'm happy to hear that Balloon Fiesta is off for 2020, meaning a big hit for tourism in the fall, but also we won't have throngs of people mingling for over a week.
From Dr. Scrace's most recent update, I learned that in some locations, the ICU beds are full, but not due to COVID patients. There are also at-risk individuals who had put off getting seen for fear of getting COVID, only to have their medical issues get so advanced that they went into ICU.
Be safe, be well, and take care of yourself and others as best you can.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:17 PM on June 22, 2020 [12 favorites]
Yeah, because every other state or city that opened up is full of dummies, where Texas is not. See: Las Vegas (photos of the strip re-opened, few masks seen, compared to the publicity photos seen on USA Today; and even there, you'll see a number of unmasked faces, less than 6 feet apart).
Echoing NotLost, I'm so happy with New Mexico's response to COVID-19. Our governor was holding updates weekly, if not more frequently, televised updates with Departments of Health and Human Services up until recently when she let New Mexico Human Services Department Secretary Dr. David Scrase provide a COVID-19 modeling and reopening webinar update on his own. We're still requiring anyone flies into New Mexico self-quarantine for 14 days before traveling on. And all testing and treatment is free, and has been since March 13.
And I'm happy to hear that Balloon Fiesta is off for 2020, meaning a big hit for tourism in the fall, but also we won't have throngs of people mingling for over a week.
From Dr. Scrace's most recent update, I learned that in some locations, the ICU beds are full, but not due to COVID patients. There are also at-risk individuals who had put off getting seen for fear of getting COVID, only to have their medical issues get so advanced that they went into ICU.
Be safe, be well, and take care of yourself and others as best you can.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:17 PM on June 22, 2020 [12 favorites]
“99.9 percent of covid within 10 minutes"
A minimum of six complete air changes per hour and realistically at least twice that.
Going to be breezy..
The way this device is claimed to work is not by filtering the air but by dispersing negative ions into the air that are supposed to deactivate viruses. So their claim is that all of the air in the building is already full of ions ready to attack coronavirus. Sort of like an aerosol disinfectant but using ions. Let's just say that this is not scientifically evaluated. Negative ion generators have been a voodoo thing going back at least to the 1970s.
One of the side effects of negative ion generators is the production of ozone which is very irritating to the lungs and an EPA designated pollutant. They claim they filter out the ozone from their generator but that claim is dubious. It's all snake oil. It may do more harm than good.
posted by JackFlash at 9:19 PM on June 22, 2020 [15 favorites]
A minimum of six complete air changes per hour and realistically at least twice that.
Going to be breezy..
The way this device is claimed to work is not by filtering the air but by dispersing negative ions into the air that are supposed to deactivate viruses. So their claim is that all of the air in the building is already full of ions ready to attack coronavirus. Sort of like an aerosol disinfectant but using ions. Let's just say that this is not scientifically evaluated. Negative ion generators have been a voodoo thing going back at least to the 1970s.
One of the side effects of negative ion generators is the production of ozone which is very irritating to the lungs and an EPA designated pollutant. They claim they filter out the ozone from their generator but that claim is dubious. It's all snake oil. It may do more harm than good.
posted by JackFlash at 9:19 PM on June 22, 2020 [15 favorites]
If you've ever worked food service before, you are probably terrified of the idea of a back of the house right now. Distancing is simply not possible. Masks are going to constantly be taken off accidentally or "just for a second". There isn't enough hand san or gloves in the world to make handling dinnerware acceptable.
Forcing people to choose between losing unemployment and going to work in a manifestly dangerous environment is unspeakably evil. Especially since the government could pay for it if they wanted. All that aside, even with the new bohemian street cafe style of dining (how quickly that sparkly little bauble got the attention of American liberals), you couldn't pay me to eat at a restaurant right now. Both for my own safety, and for knowing that my food would be served on the back of human misery at a collosal scale. And now my lovely little liberal state is moving to "Phase 2". Jesus Christ... people barely follow the rules sober in a grocery store, just wait till you give bar owners an incentive to pack 50 of them into a rowhouse sized pub.
posted by codacorolla at 9:36 PM on June 22, 2020 [52 favorites]
Forcing people to choose between losing unemployment and going to work in a manifestly dangerous environment is unspeakably evil. Especially since the government could pay for it if they wanted. All that aside, even with the new bohemian street cafe style of dining (how quickly that sparkly little bauble got the attention of American liberals), you couldn't pay me to eat at a restaurant right now. Both for my own safety, and for knowing that my food would be served on the back of human misery at a collosal scale. And now my lovely little liberal state is moving to "Phase 2". Jesus Christ... people barely follow the rules sober in a grocery store, just wait till you give bar owners an incentive to pack 50 of them into a rowhouse sized pub.
posted by codacorolla at 9:36 PM on June 22, 2020 [52 favorites]
It's probably been remarked, but the most fitting end to the Trump administration really would be for this horrid man to succumb to the virus his incompetence has allowed to thrive.
Karma Houdini. Trump will literally outlive the rest of us. Last Man On Earth.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:01 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
Karma Houdini. Trump will literally outlive the rest of us. Last Man On Earth.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:01 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
To complain about my own state again, California had more deaths--and more per capita deaths--in the last seven days than New York. This is scandalous. New York was hit earlier and bungled the early response. But they felt the pain and horror and took the necessary action. There is no way someone *higher* on the curve should end up with lower absolute numbers later on (short of approaching herd immunity.) This is of course the US writ large as well, if you overlay our curves with all these other countries that are having real declines.
But California basically decided slowing down Covid was worth so much effort, but not more, and when we found that was only enough to establish a plateau rather than rapidly reduce, we decided to give up and do less.
For people saying we couldn't handle this, South Korea has a larger population than California, got hit earlier, and is currently worried about a spike of 67 cases. We had around 6000 yesterday here.
The basic protocol of how to handle this hasn't changed in generations but we seem unable to do those basic steps:
- Test
- Quarantine those who test positive
- Trace their contacts and quarantine them
- Rinse and repeat.
This deserved more favorites. People can't focus if it's not about bluetooth anonymized blockchain peer-to-peer tracking or a novel RNA platform technology for a vaccine. Just put in the effort and get it done, even if you need index cards and rotary phones. We don't lack the workforce. We've got millions and millions of newly unemployed!
posted by mark k at 10:12 PM on June 22, 2020 [36 favorites]
But California basically decided slowing down Covid was worth so much effort, but not more, and when we found that was only enough to establish a plateau rather than rapidly reduce, we decided to give up and do less.
For people saying we couldn't handle this, South Korea has a larger population than California, got hit earlier, and is currently worried about a spike of 67 cases. We had around 6000 yesterday here.
The basic protocol of how to handle this hasn't changed in generations but we seem unable to do those basic steps:
- Test
- Quarantine those who test positive
- Trace their contacts and quarantine them
- Rinse and repeat.
This deserved more favorites. People can't focus if it's not about bluetooth anonymized blockchain peer-to-peer tracking or a novel RNA platform technology for a vaccine. Just put in the effort and get it done, even if you need index cards and rotary phones. We don't lack the workforce. We've got millions and millions of newly unemployed!
posted by mark k at 10:12 PM on June 22, 2020 [36 favorites]
What a Negative COVID-19 Test Really Means (Sarah Zhang, Atlantic, Jun. 21, 2020)
Understanding false negatives from COVID-19 tests is especially important because people who do not yet know that they’re sick play a major role in the spread of COVID-19. A study based on data in and around China suggests that 44 percent of transmission comes from presymptomatic cases. The United States has not isolated people who say they feel sick as aggressively as China has, so it likely has a higher proportion of symptomatic transmission, Benjamin Cowling, an epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong, who co-authored the study, says. But China’s experience makes clear that simply isolating people once they are sick is not enough. “We can’t ignore presymptomatic transmission,” Cowling says. “Even if you manage to stop some of the transmission from going on by doing isolation cases, you still will have this presymptomatic transmission, which keeps the epidemic going.”posted by katra at 10:25 PM on June 22, 2020 [7 favorites]
[...] For individuals, however, the FDA cautions that negative results do not rule out infection. It asks that asymptomatic tests include this statement: “Negative results must be considered in the context of an individual’s recent exposures, history, presence of clinical signs and symptoms consistent with COVID-19.” And this, in the face of imperfect COVID-19 tests, is key to interpreting a negative result. It depends on your probability of having COVID-19 in the first place. [...] So even with widespread testing, social distancing and masks will continue to be important for controlling the spread of COVID-19.
But we definitely could have set parameters like "% of new positive test results has been below n for x days," as other countries did —penduluumpenduluum, here are the Key Public Health Indicators on Containing COVID-19 in San Francisco. They "are not an on/off switch for the reopening. Instead, public health experts will use indicators to consider various policy changes and make recommendations during each stage of the City’s reopening plan." ORANGE and RED seem to indicate a high chance of increasing restrictions. They lack a dashboard view that shows the state of all indicators in one screen, so I'll summarize. Most of these are 7-day rolling averages; click through for more details.
Status Target Actual GREEN <10% ‒5 Change in COVID+ Hospitalizations GREEN ≥15% 26 Acute Care Beds Available GREEN ≥20% 37 ICU Beds Available YELLOW <1.8 2.5 New Cases per Day per 100,000 Residents GREEN ≥1800 2468 Tests Collected per Day YELLOW ≥90% 87 Cases Reached for Contact Tracing YELLOW ≥90% 85 Named Contacts Reached for Contact Tracing YELLOW n/a 89 Essential PPE Categories with at least a 30-day SupplyThese seem to be a bit fluid: last time I checked I remember seeing a PPE metric about how many health care centers thought they had 30-day supply, including reliable but pending orders. And growth in hospitalization of up to 9% per week equals green? Really?
It seems like the most important indicator would be Rₑ < 1, and I have seen some Rₑ graphs out there, but perhaps the error range is too broad to directly inform public policy?
On the bright side, last week they didn't even have the indicators compared to the benchmarks, so you had to comb the text and then compare the numbers in your head, and this week they color-code all of the charts red/yellow/green, so maybe next week I won't have to manually build a summary table. Let us also hope that the data itself will improve.
posted by PresidentOfDinosaurs at 10:37 PM on June 22, 2020 [8 favorites]
I mean I guess I'm not going to get into a whole thing about the importance of faces to a species that are essentially monkeys in shoes?
(CW: tap dancing around something that may be obvious to you.)
It's funny. Since this whole thing started, I've taken the liberty to stop completely with eye contact. And nobody minds. I've not had to worry about how my facial expressions look, because they're literally masked. All the social niceties that we rely on, it turns out I can express them with a slight bow of the head, so no worries about proper intonation. Ursula the Sea Witch was right to remind Ariel about the significance of body language.
I started this because on web sites for kindred spirits of mine, many say these issues are a source of fatigue for them, so I gave this change a go. It's been utterly surreal. And I think it's helped, which is good because I can use all the morale boosts I can get.
On the other hand, one of those kindred spirits is my four year old son, and his access to professional help to prepare him for life so he can survive me, well, that's been interrupted along with hair cuts and manicures. And will continue to be interrupted precisely because of the vile assholes who insist on haircuts and manicures instead of doing the right thing and supporting UBI for hair dressers and manicurists. These are the times that condemn men's souls.
posted by ocschwar at 10:47 PM on June 22, 2020 [26 favorites]
Sources: U-M to withdraw from hosting October presidential debate (Detroit Free Press)
The University of Michigan is withdrawing from hosting a presidential debate between Republican incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, sources told the Detroit Free Press. The official announcement is expected to come Tuesday. U-M is making the move because of concerns of bringing the campaigns, media and supporters of both candidates to Ann Arbor and campus during a pandemic, two sources with direct knowledge of the move told the Free Press.Fauci to testify at a fraught time for US pandemic response (AP)
With coronavirus cases rising in about half the states and political polarization competing for attention with public health recommendations, Dr. Anthony Fauci returns to Capitol Hill on Tuesday at a fraught moment in the nation’s pandemic response. The government’s top infectious disease expert will testify before a House committee, along with the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and a top official at the Department of Health and Human Services. [...] Fauci has recently warned that the U.S. is still in the first wave of the pandemic and has continued to urge the American public to practice social distancing.No, more testing doesn’t explain the rise of covid-19 cases in the U.S. (WaPo live blog)
In seeking to reassure the public about rising covid-19 case numbers in several states, President Trump continues to attribute the new cases to the result of improved testing in the United States. [...] But a closer look at the state of testing in the United States shows that this theory is dangerously wrong. To understand why, we have to look not just at the number of tests each state is doing, but at the positivity rate of those tests. In combination, those two metrics give a sense of whether infections are rising, declining or holding steady. And in too many states, the dispiriting answer is that the virus is racing ahead of public health measures to contain it. Read more here.posted by katra at 11:57 PM on June 22, 2020 [7 favorites]
There isn't enough hand san or gloves in the world to make handling dinnerware acceptable.
Muliti-quat, the sanitizer used across the board in most restaurants, doesn’t kill viruses. SO THATS COOL.
I work in a restaurant, in a state very excited to return to normal. We have bleach buckets next to the sani buckets, but at the end of the day our business depends upon tourist dollars in a low population density state. We went from from “phase one” (50% dine in capacity) to phase two (75% capacity) while watching cases in our county rise due to phase one.
Do I quit my job or what?
posted by Grandysaur at 12:35 AM on June 23, 2020 [6 favorites]
Muliti-quat, the sanitizer used across the board in most restaurants, doesn’t kill viruses. SO THATS COOL.
I work in a restaurant, in a state very excited to return to normal. We have bleach buckets next to the sani buckets, but at the end of the day our business depends upon tourist dollars in a low population density state. We went from from “phase one” (50% dine in capacity) to phase two (75% capacity) while watching cases in our county rise due to phase one.
Do I quit my job or what?
posted by Grandysaur at 12:35 AM on June 23, 2020 [6 favorites]
Muliti-quat, the sanitizer used across the board in most restaurants, doesn’t kill viruses. SO THATS COOL.
It does inactivate enveloped viruses like SARS-CoV-2, I don't think quaternary ammonia compounds inactivate non-enveloped viruses which may be why they are not labeled that way. This is because they work by disrupting cell membranes which bacteria and enveloped viruses have but non-enveloped viruses do not.
Anyway, soapy water does so as well so the first step in a three-sink system will do the trick.
The risk in a restaurant is going to come from all the people packed into a small space, not the dishes.
posted by atrazine at 1:50 AM on June 23, 2020 [30 favorites]
It does inactivate enveloped viruses like SARS-CoV-2, I don't think quaternary ammonia compounds inactivate non-enveloped viruses which may be why they are not labeled that way. This is because they work by disrupting cell membranes which bacteria and enveloped viruses have but non-enveloped viruses do not.
Anyway, soapy water does so as well so the first step in a three-sink system will do the trick.
The risk in a restaurant is going to come from all the people packed into a small space, not the dishes.
posted by atrazine at 1:50 AM on June 23, 2020 [30 favorites]
A neighbor lady with two kids in two, one coughing viciously, scolded the kid in my household for wearing a mask en route to the apartment office. It's a placebo*, she said.
The kid, who is not sick, said anyway, "The mask is to protect you, not me."
The lady went bug-eyed and scurried away.
*what the actual fuck
posted by angrycat at 4:47 AM on June 23, 2020 [80 favorites]
The kid, who is not sick, said anyway, "The mask is to protect you, not me."
The lady went bug-eyed and scurried away.
*what the actual fuck
posted by angrycat at 4:47 AM on June 23, 2020 [80 favorites]
Virginia seems to be on slight downward trend, at least (depending on where you look, I guess) but I know my employer still wants to keep its offices closed through Labor Day at the earliest, and I've heard that it might extend through the end of the year. My wife has already had to go back to her office a few times, mostly to pick up supplies, but also for a recent team meeting that they didn't want to hold remotely for some reason.
I had to take my dad to urgent care on Father's Day for some stitches, which gave him an excuse to use one of the masks I got him, made by a local shirtmaker.
posted by emelenjr at 5:06 AM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
I had to take my dad to urgent care on Father's Day for some stitches, which gave him an excuse to use one of the masks I got him, made by a local shirtmaker.
posted by emelenjr at 5:06 AM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
I'm in Canada and differences between our cultures, even here in Ontario under a Conservative populist Premier, are so stark right now. Our new case count nation-wide is 300 for yesterday.
We will be paying, literally, for Canada's response for a long time in our taxes and I anticipate our economy will be in deep shit for a long time. But the Feds handed over cash and the provinces shut things down. We're going into Stage 2 in Toronto tomorrow, with 37 new cases yesterday for a city of 2.5 million. It's nerve wracking and the rules have been wonky, but I do believe in general our governments have been following the best public health advice available. I don't demand perfection or consistency of rules during this level of crisis, but what I have looked for is for politicians to try to care for the citizens of our country.
I can't be smug because we've done a middling job, and also it's not over, and also this situation has dramatically shown large cracks in our social safety net. But oh my god, USA, what the hell? My sister and almost all the rest of my bio-family is there as well as my girlfriend and her family.
That said, in Toronto people are equally being idiots about masks and gatherings. We may get away with it in the summer but I fear greatly for the fall and winter.
It's been interesting; my local very working-class grocery store (across from public housing and next to the beer store) has a manager who should lead all social distancing efforts in the country, like this store is brilliantly marked and the staff walk around reminding you - it's in the chain that created this wild social distancing ad (SLYT) - and for a while it was like 80-90% people in masks there, but yesterday it was more like 65-75% and there were people clearly shopping recreationally (it was also really hot and sticky.)
If I could change one thing right now it would be the messaging on masking. I do blame the US for politicizing it (which gets picked up on here) but it was also a slow response. I think partly that was rooted in anti-Asian and even anti-Muslim sentiment. The idea that "monkeys show their faces" is - I dunno. Here in Canada we wear scarves in the winter and it's okay.
posted by warriorqueen at 5:15 AM on June 23, 2020 [29 favorites]
We will be paying, literally, for Canada's response for a long time in our taxes and I anticipate our economy will be in deep shit for a long time. But the Feds handed over cash and the provinces shut things down. We're going into Stage 2 in Toronto tomorrow, with 37 new cases yesterday for a city of 2.5 million. It's nerve wracking and the rules have been wonky, but I do believe in general our governments have been following the best public health advice available. I don't demand perfection or consistency of rules during this level of crisis, but what I have looked for is for politicians to try to care for the citizens of our country.
I can't be smug because we've done a middling job, and also it's not over, and also this situation has dramatically shown large cracks in our social safety net. But oh my god, USA, what the hell? My sister and almost all the rest of my bio-family is there as well as my girlfriend and her family.
That said, in Toronto people are equally being idiots about masks and gatherings. We may get away with it in the summer but I fear greatly for the fall and winter.
It's been interesting; my local very working-class grocery store (across from public housing and next to the beer store) has a manager who should lead all social distancing efforts in the country, like this store is brilliantly marked and the staff walk around reminding you - it's in the chain that created this wild social distancing ad (SLYT) - and for a while it was like 80-90% people in masks there, but yesterday it was more like 65-75% and there were people clearly shopping recreationally (it was also really hot and sticky.)
If I could change one thing right now it would be the messaging on masking. I do blame the US for politicizing it (which gets picked up on here) but it was also a slow response. I think partly that was rooted in anti-Asian and even anti-Muslim sentiment. The idea that "monkeys show their faces" is - I dunno. Here in Canada we wear scarves in the winter and it's okay.
posted by warriorqueen at 5:15 AM on June 23, 2020 [29 favorites]
I yelled at them to wear a @&^%@# mask and went inside, where I proceeded to curse very loudly for about a minute.
posted by grumpybear69 at 9:51 PM on June 22 [13 favorites +] [!]
Eponysterical!
posted by LizBoBiz at 5:23 AM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 9:51 PM on June 22 [13 favorites +] [!]
Eponysterical!
posted by LizBoBiz at 5:23 AM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
angrycat, what the actual fuck indeed. Your mask-wearing companion had the perfect response. Yay!
posted by Bella Donna at 5:49 AM on June 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 5:49 AM on June 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
At this point I expect US tourists will be barred from most countries in the not-too-distant future.
I have three 2020 graduates living upstairs as sort-of refugees.
My oldest has lived apart from her French husband for two years so they could both graduate without debt. Now it's iffy whether she can go to him at all now because they are scared of Americans bringing in disease.
Another grad is here on a student visa that will run out soon. Even if he could afford a ticket home, they don't want to accept travel from America. He applied for a work permit, but Trump said something about ending the student-work-visa program, so his two-week wait has turned into three months so far. I don't know what will happen to him.
My youngest will be able to go on with her life. She is going to grad school ...in Alabama.
The pandemic is ruining lives in a lot of ways.
posted by Miss Cellania at 5:51 AM on June 23, 2020 [12 favorites]
I have three 2020 graduates living upstairs as sort-of refugees.
My oldest has lived apart from her French husband for two years so they could both graduate without debt. Now it's iffy whether she can go to him at all now because they are scared of Americans bringing in disease.
Another grad is here on a student visa that will run out soon. Even if he could afford a ticket home, they don't want to accept travel from America. He applied for a work permit, but Trump said something about ending the student-work-visa program, so his two-week wait has turned into three months so far. I don't know what will happen to him.
My youngest will be able to go on with her life. She is going to grad school ...in Alabama.
The pandemic is ruining lives in a lot of ways.
posted by Miss Cellania at 5:51 AM on June 23, 2020 [12 favorites]
It seems like the most important indicator would be Rₑ < 1, and I have seen some Rₑ graphs out there, but perhaps the error range is too broad to directly inform public policy?
I think it's more that if we used that as a metric the politicians would have to openly admit they're not willing to risk pissing enough people off to effectively suppress spread. I don't believe it's actually ever dropped below 1 in IL, for example, and we're nonetheless going ahead with Phase fucking 4.
posted by PMdixon at 6:10 AM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
I think it's more that if we used that as a metric the politicians would have to openly admit they're not willing to risk pissing enough people off to effectively suppress spread. I don't believe it's actually ever dropped below 1 in IL, for example, and we're nonetheless going ahead with Phase fucking 4.
posted by PMdixon at 6:10 AM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
The kid, who is not sick, said anyway, "The mask is to protect you, not me."
I used this line on a neighbour who trundled over to chat while I was out for a walk, and he just explained that aliens abducted him in the 80s and they really liked his blood, so he has nothing to worry about because they're protecting him. Which is still a better justification than most of the other people out there insisting that mask-wearing is a Communist plot or whatever.
posted by tobascodagama at 6:30 AM on June 23, 2020 [52 favorites]
I used this line on a neighbour who trundled over to chat while I was out for a walk, and he just explained that aliens abducted him in the 80s and they really liked his blood, so he has nothing to worry about because they're protecting him. Which is still a better justification than most of the other people out there insisting that mask-wearing is a Communist plot or whatever.
posted by tobascodagama at 6:30 AM on June 23, 2020 [52 favorites]
The problem with Re as a metric is that a flat line of it on a graph can indicate an ongoing disaster, or an ongoing success. Just look at the political fodder made of comparing death counts in populations of different sizes, rather than per-capita numbers.
Only 16% of Americans have ever been exposed to derivatives.
posted by joeyh at 7:14 AM on June 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
Only 16% of Americans have ever been exposed to derivatives.
posted by joeyh at 7:14 AM on June 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
I can see my government leaders say that everything is going great and the scientists saying the exact opposite.
I could say the same about my government's response to health care, to racism, to economic inequality, to political corruption, to guns, to climate change, to the quality of our food and water, and to dozens of other things in my lifetime.
America is, at its core, not the best place to be.
The kid, who is not sick, said anyway, "The mask is to protect you, not me."
If I am ever asked why I am wearing a mask, I have a fun variety of responses stored up. "Oh, it's not just for COVID; it's so that I don't pass on my airborne hepatitis" is next in line, followed by "tuberculosis," "scabies" and "communicable herpes" as needed.
posted by delfin at 7:17 AM on June 23, 2020 [8 favorites]
I could say the same about my government's response to health care, to racism, to economic inequality, to political corruption, to guns, to climate change, to the quality of our food and water, and to dozens of other things in my lifetime.
America is, at its core, not the best place to be.
The kid, who is not sick, said anyway, "The mask is to protect you, not me."
If I am ever asked why I am wearing a mask, I have a fun variety of responses stored up. "Oh, it's not just for COVID; it's so that I don't pass on my airborne hepatitis" is next in line, followed by "tuberculosis," "scabies" and "communicable herpes" as needed.
posted by delfin at 7:17 AM on June 23, 2020 [8 favorites]
I don't think haircuts need to be a problem if they and their customers wear masks.
My salon is insisting on this, and on a whole list of other requirements they are imposing on their customers as a condition of them re-opening:
1. The staff will be in masks and PPE.
2. The customers must also be masked.
3. Customers must also take their own temperature the morning of their appointment. If they are running a fever, they must cancel their appointment, no questions asked.
4. The salon will still also take customer's temperatures when they arrive for an appointment, and if they are running a fever they will be sent home immediately.
5. If you're there for a cut, your hair must be cut dry; they will not shampoo or style it. You need to turn up with clean, dry hair, having washed your hair within the 12-hour window before your appointment.
6. Each hairdresser has a 20 minute window between customers during which they will clean and sanitize their workstation and all their tools.
7. No cash payments. Pay with a credit card, and tip your hairdresser via Venmo. Period.
NYC reopened salons yesterday, but they chose to wait an extra week. They also reached out to all of us regulars a few weeks ago to see about pre-booking appointments on a "based on when we re-open" basis - they didn't have an exact date for when they would open, and asked us each if we wanted to book something, would we want something during the first, second, or third week they were back to work.
I did sign up for something - I was already due for a cut, and actually had an appointment scheduled right when the city went into lockdown, plus they're a smaller salon that I want to help out and make sure they stay afloat. But I signed up for something three weeks after they reopened on the assumption that we'd know how well their system was working by then, and I am going to very cheerfully comply with those conditions because seriously, it's for their safety as well as mine.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:19 AM on June 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
My salon is insisting on this, and on a whole list of other requirements they are imposing on their customers as a condition of them re-opening:
1. The staff will be in masks and PPE.
2. The customers must also be masked.
3. Customers must also take their own temperature the morning of their appointment. If they are running a fever, they must cancel their appointment, no questions asked.
4. The salon will still also take customer's temperatures when they arrive for an appointment, and if they are running a fever they will be sent home immediately.
5. If you're there for a cut, your hair must be cut dry; they will not shampoo or style it. You need to turn up with clean, dry hair, having washed your hair within the 12-hour window before your appointment.
6. Each hairdresser has a 20 minute window between customers during which they will clean and sanitize their workstation and all their tools.
7. No cash payments. Pay with a credit card, and tip your hairdresser via Venmo. Period.
NYC reopened salons yesterday, but they chose to wait an extra week. They also reached out to all of us regulars a few weeks ago to see about pre-booking appointments on a "based on when we re-open" basis - they didn't have an exact date for when they would open, and asked us each if we wanted to book something, would we want something during the first, second, or third week they were back to work.
I did sign up for something - I was already due for a cut, and actually had an appointment scheduled right when the city went into lockdown, plus they're a smaller salon that I want to help out and make sure they stay afloat. But I signed up for something three weeks after they reopened on the assumption that we'd know how well their system was working by then, and I am going to very cheerfully comply with those conditions because seriously, it's for their safety as well as mine.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:19 AM on June 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
and then there's the risk from dodgy hand sanitizer...
posted by Clowder of bats at 7:26 AM on June 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Clowder of bats at 7:26 AM on June 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
I don't see how we'll beat this unless there's a working vaccine soon.
My growing fear is that while most sensible people say they want a vaccine *stat*, there will be serious and divisive pushback on its deployment. A person who refuses a mask does not seem like a person who will line up for their dose of something that goes *inside their body*.
posted by Caxton1476 at 7:42 AM on June 23, 2020 [11 favorites]
My growing fear is that while most sensible people say they want a vaccine *stat*, there will be serious and divisive pushback on its deployment. A person who refuses a mask does not seem like a person who will line up for their dose of something that goes *inside their body*.
posted by Caxton1476 at 7:42 AM on June 23, 2020 [11 favorites]
Negative ion generators have been a voodoo thing going back at least to the 1970s.
A quick note -- Vodú/ Vudú/ Vodou/ Voodoo are religions (Wikipedia), and probably shouldn't be used to imply nonsense or unfounded hype. We dropped the disparaging "sky person" talk from MetaFilter in years (decades?) past.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:56 AM on June 23, 2020 [22 favorites]
A quick note -- Vodú/ Vudú/ Vodou/ Voodoo are religions (Wikipedia), and probably shouldn't be used to imply nonsense or unfounded hype. We dropped the disparaging "sky person" talk from MetaFilter in years (decades?) past.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:56 AM on June 23, 2020 [22 favorites]
Mod note: Couple comments deleted. Folks, It's important to acknowledge there are people who genuinely have a hard time with masks and also, that people who say masks are important during this time aren’t doing that to hassle you personally.
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 8:08 AM on June 23, 2020 [13 favorites]
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 8:08 AM on June 23, 2020 [13 favorites]
A person who refuses a mask does not seem like a person who will line up for their dose of something that goes *inside their body*.
And too, this person who is wearing a mask despite false assurance from the government that it is not necessary is not a person who is going to be quick to line up for a dose of something going inside my body where the only real assurance I have of the safety and efficacy of that something is the same government that's fucked everything else up so far. I love me some efficacious vaccines. I also know that the immune system is mysterious and contains multitudes and there's only so much you can safely rush negotiations with it, and that the reasons I would normally trust the judgment of the people doing that negotiation are not as in effect right now as they normally are.
posted by PMdixon at 8:22 AM on June 23, 2020 [14 favorites]
And too, this person who is wearing a mask despite false assurance from the government that it is not necessary is not a person who is going to be quick to line up for a dose of something going inside my body where the only real assurance I have of the safety and efficacy of that something is the same government that's fucked everything else up so far. I love me some efficacious vaccines. I also know that the immune system is mysterious and contains multitudes and there's only so much you can safely rush negotiations with it, and that the reasons I would normally trust the judgment of the people doing that negotiation are not as in effect right now as they normally are.
posted by PMdixon at 8:22 AM on June 23, 2020 [14 favorites]
Boston has been letting restaurants in the North End, which is the most restaurant-heavy neighborhood in the city, add patio seating in parking spaces out front - and is giving out permits for this right away, rather than going through the normal process, which can take several months. But tomorrow, the city licensing board is holding an emergency hearing to discuss "numerous complaints" it's gotten about violations of state and city Covid-19 regulations for facial covering, social distancing and sanitizing (as well as complaints about letting patrons smoke and bring their dogs). Managers of every single restaurant in the neighborhood are required to attend, or have their patio permits revoked immediately or worse (like having a hearing to consider canceling their food-serving and liquor licenses altogether).
posted by adamg at 8:22 AM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by adamg at 8:22 AM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
I discovered that wetting my *cloth* mask on hot day makes wearing it actually comfortable. For me it is so cooling that wearing it is preferable not having it on. Hope this is helpful.
posted by haiku warrior at 8:55 AM on June 23, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by haiku warrior at 8:55 AM on June 23, 2020 [9 favorites]
I'm single and have been sheltering in place with my two teenagers. Touch is really important to me and my mental health. Prior to lockdown, I would meet this need in good consensual ways: hug my friends, go partner dancing, get regular massages, stuff like that.
My kids are not huggy people. I respect their boundaries. I get the occasional side hug, maybe a few times a week and am happy to share that.
Mostly, I'm fine. It is what it is. Very many of the other big pieces of my life are doing just fine and I am grateful for that. I have it good.
Last Friday night one of my girl squad hosted a socially distanced backyard barbecue. My besties and their husbands sat paired up, I sat by myself, we all were ringed at a reasonable distance from the fire pit. It was unbelievably nice to socialize with them in person, instead of over Zoom or by group chat.
In other times I would have hugged everyone when we all arrived, and again on the way out. Everyone was being responsible and waving and air hugging as we parted. I said how much I missed hugging them and blurted out that I felt like crying like a big ol baby.
One of my friends said, that's it, I'm hugging her, and came over and put her arms around me.
I ugly-cried for about ten minutes. Ragged breathing, snot everywhere, the whole scene, clinging to her like a baby opossum to its mom. I could. not. stop. crying. She was steady like a rock and just held me. Real friends, believe me.
I am mostly fine, but wow, did my body let me know what's really going on.
Of course I mindfucked it all the way home. A consent violation against her husband. Should I tell my kids.
She and her husband were so worried about me that they drove way out of their way to my house to make sure I got home safely. I apologized to him and he was gracious. I didn't tell my kids.
Today I watched a talk by a respected scientific leader who pointed out that the way we are living and working today is the way we're going to be living and working in June 2021, because there is no real way that a vaccine or a drug is going to be discovered/tested/approved/manufactured/distributed widely within the next year.
I have no idea what the hell I'm going to do, but gutting out another couple of years like this... Not OK.
posted by Sublimity at 8:58 AM on June 23, 2020 [42 favorites]
My kids are not huggy people. I respect their boundaries. I get the occasional side hug, maybe a few times a week and am happy to share that.
Mostly, I'm fine. It is what it is. Very many of the other big pieces of my life are doing just fine and I am grateful for that. I have it good.
Last Friday night one of my girl squad hosted a socially distanced backyard barbecue. My besties and their husbands sat paired up, I sat by myself, we all were ringed at a reasonable distance from the fire pit. It was unbelievably nice to socialize with them in person, instead of over Zoom or by group chat.
In other times I would have hugged everyone when we all arrived, and again on the way out. Everyone was being responsible and waving and air hugging as we parted. I said how much I missed hugging them and blurted out that I felt like crying like a big ol baby.
One of my friends said, that's it, I'm hugging her, and came over and put her arms around me.
I ugly-cried for about ten minutes. Ragged breathing, snot everywhere, the whole scene, clinging to her like a baby opossum to its mom. I could. not. stop. crying. She was steady like a rock and just held me. Real friends, believe me.
I am mostly fine, but wow, did my body let me know what's really going on.
Of course I mindfucked it all the way home. A consent violation against her husband. Should I tell my kids.
She and her husband were so worried about me that they drove way out of their way to my house to make sure I got home safely. I apologized to him and he was gracious. I didn't tell my kids.
Today I watched a talk by a respected scientific leader who pointed out that the way we are living and working today is the way we're going to be living and working in June 2021, because there is no real way that a vaccine or a drug is going to be discovered/tested/approved/manufactured/distributed widely within the next year.
I have no idea what the hell I'm going to do, but gutting out another couple of years like this... Not OK.
posted by Sublimity at 8:58 AM on June 23, 2020 [42 favorites]
There’s a Reason Trump Is Fighting Hard for Arizona (NYT)
Joe Biden’s path to the White House could be through fed-up suburbanites and young Latinos.
Joe Biden’s path to the White House could be through fed-up suburbanites and young Latinos.
Democratic officials believe that frustrations over Mr. Trump’s immigration policies and his handling of the pandemic, as well as polling trends, indicate that Joseph R. Biden Jr. has the best shot of any Democratic presidential candidate to win Arizona since Bill Clinton carried the state in 1996.‘So much worse than I ever thought it would be’: Virus cases skyrocketing among Latinos (Politico, Jun. 18, 2020)
Latinos make up a disproportionate share of the cases in nearly every state, and are more than four times higher than their share of the population in some states. That’s raising alarms for doctors and public health officials as they see hospitalizations on the rise. [...] “How do we understand that a uniform order will not play out uniformly by class and race?” said John Kim, executive director of Advancement Project California. “We need to have much better testing and contact tracing framework in communities of color.”posted by katra at 9:30 AM on June 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
One of my company's Texas offices and our OKC office each announced a positive case yesterday. Three weeks out from Memorial Day, makes sense. Some of leadership definitely been twitchy about work from home, even though it works perfectly well for 80% of employees. All our offices are in the states that are opening up soonest, I fully expect there to be more. I'll be damned if I pressure anyone to go in.
posted by emjaybee at 10:09 AM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 10:09 AM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
Sublimity, that sounds really challenging. I feel for you. When I move in a few months I will be moving away from my quarantine buddy/friendly hugs partner and that is going to suck soooo much. The loss of non-sexual body contact is really hard and I get very little of that as it is. Hang in there!
posted by Bella Donna at 10:37 AM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 10:37 AM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
Today I watched a talk by a respected scientific leader who pointed out that the way we are living and working today is the way we're going to be living and working in June 2021, because there is no real way that a vaccine or a drug is going to be discovered/tested/approved/manufactured/distributed widely within the next year.This isn't really true though. Once the spread of the virus is contained enough there will be restrictions on our interactions with strangers in public but it will be pretty safe to have a bubble of close friends who live normal lives together. The risk is shared and going outside your bubble will become the violation of consent. If you trust each other it will be safe enough.
posted by fullerine at 10:42 AM on June 23, 2020 [6 favorites]
I work at a facility that has a family medicine clinic on the first floor. Our CEO is a doctor, and has told us we must wear masks in common areas. We STILL have some people who don't always wear their masks. Clinic staff! I think they ought to get written up and fired on the 3rd occasion, but apparently I'm a hardass.
I've said it before, I'll say it again: I HATE this timeline.
posted by corvikate at 10:53 AM on June 23, 2020 [20 favorites]
I've said it before, I'll say it again: I HATE this timeline.
posted by corvikate at 10:53 AM on June 23, 2020 [20 favorites]
I sincerely mean no snark whatsoever when I ask if there is any way of getting through to someone like this. (Also worth noting that, while not a Trumpster, she's definitely into the Bundy folks and other "Liberty"/End Times movements)
posted by gtrwolf at 9:14 PM on June 22
gtrwolf, I know I posted something about this upthread, but I would point you towards the folks at the QAnon Anonymous podcast. I know your person isn't talking about this specifically, but they talk a lot about "doing research on your own" and "ringing true" and stuff like that. They are there to debunk the conspiracies that pop up, and might give you some arguments and points, and of course your person, too.
posted by Snowishberlin at 10:54 AM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by gtrwolf at 9:14 PM on June 22
gtrwolf, I know I posted something about this upthread, but I would point you towards the folks at the QAnon Anonymous podcast. I know your person isn't talking about this specifically, but they talk a lot about "doing research on your own" and "ringing true" and stuff like that. They are there to debunk the conspiracies that pop up, and might give you some arguments and points, and of course your person, too.
posted by Snowishberlin at 10:54 AM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
Finally had to go back to work this week. My employer (large Federal agency) has generally been supportive of work from home and seemed to have a very sensible, cautious plan to reopen. Unfortunately, that seems to have gone out the window as of two weeks ago - in its place is a rush by leadership to move through re-opening phases as fast as possible and get people back (not stated as such, but that's definitely the vibe I'm getting). Fortunately I'm in an area that has not seen a recent increase (Northern Virginia) but it just feels forced and a bit premature. Doubly so considering there is literally no reason for me to be in the building other than to be a warm body - I've been more productive in the last three months than I ever was in the office. I would keep working from home indefinitely if I could find a way to do so.
On the upside, most of my coworkers have been pretty diligent about wearing masks. I guess that's something?
posted by photo guy at 11:04 AM on June 23, 2020
On the upside, most of my coworkers have been pretty diligent about wearing masks. I guess that's something?
posted by photo guy at 11:04 AM on June 23, 2020
haiku warrior, a wet mask is not an effective virus barrier. it reduces airflow through the fabric, meaning more air will flow through edge gaps.
posted by Clowder of bats at 11:11 AM on June 23, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by Clowder of bats at 11:11 AM on June 23, 2020 [11 favorites]
Yeah, the more comfortable and breathable your mask the worse it is working.
posted by Justinian at 11:16 AM on June 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 11:16 AM on June 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
"Dr. Soe-Lin said she had used cloth masks for three weeks and washed and dried them regularly. Someone with only one mask can hand wash at night and let it air dry. If a mask gets wet or damp while you are wearing it, it’s less effective, she said." (NYT)
My mothers' nursing training said cloth was only proof against infection while dry -- dampness makes a continuous bridge between the outside and inside that infectious particles travel in.
posted by clew at 11:19 AM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
My mothers' nursing training said cloth was only proof against infection while dry -- dampness makes a continuous bridge between the outside and inside that infectious particles travel in.
posted by clew at 11:19 AM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
I can be seen as a hard-assed, farm raised, strong immune system braggart. I'm also not stupid.
About 10 years ago I was visiting the farm drinking some Fiji water. My sister laid into me saying,
"Why aren't you drinking American water?"
Quickly recovering from the shock of what she said and the realization that my family had taken this turn. I replied back, "Viruses and chemical warfare doesn't stop at borders"
Grandysaur, I left my job at a high-end butcher shop two weeks ago. The customer service protocols the shop utilized was wreaking havoc on my body and mental health. It was hell to leave the men and women I work with. It's also a non-union shop, the work has doubled in intensity and most of the employees are now facing burnout and injury. I don't care to be a hero in this environment where there is minimal thought of my friends physical condition, financial needs and morale. While I will be getting disability or UI, I am hoping that my UI will fall under COVID related guidelines.
posted by goalyeehah at 11:58 AM on June 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
About 10 years ago I was visiting the farm drinking some Fiji water. My sister laid into me saying,
"Why aren't you drinking American water?"
Quickly recovering from the shock of what she said and the realization that my family had taken this turn. I replied back, "Viruses and chemical warfare doesn't stop at borders"
Grandysaur, I left my job at a high-end butcher shop two weeks ago. The customer service protocols the shop utilized was wreaking havoc on my body and mental health. It was hell to leave the men and women I work with. It's also a non-union shop, the work has doubled in intensity and most of the employees are now facing burnout and injury. I don't care to be a hero in this environment where there is minimal thought of my friends physical condition, financial needs and morale. While I will be getting disability or UI, I am hoping that my UI will fall under COVID related guidelines.
posted by goalyeehah at 11:58 AM on June 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
Revealed: millions of Americans can’t afford water as bills rise 80% in a decade (Guardian)
America’s growing water affordability crisis comes as the Covid-19 pandemic underlines the importance of access to clean water. The research shows that rising bills are not just hurting the poorest but also, increasingly, working Americans. “More people are in trouble, and the poorest of the poor are in big trouble,” said Roger Colton, a leading utilities analyst, who was commissioned by the Guardian to analyse water poverty. “The data shows that we’ve got an affordability problem in an overwhelming number of cities nationwide that didn’t exist a decade ago, or even two or three years ago in some cities.” [...] Colton’s 88-page report is published today at the launch of a major project on America’s water emergency by the Guardian, Consumer Reports and other partners.posted by katra at 12:51 PM on June 23, 2020 [9 favorites]
[...] The US is the only country in the industrialized world without a regulatory system – like Ofwat in the UK – responsible for monitoring rates and performance, according to Stephen Gasteyer, professor of sociology at Michigan State University. He said: “Water rates have gone up dramatically – mostly in places where people are also struggling with food, housing and other basic services. It’s a symptom of the inequalities and segregation problems we have in the US, where poor people are agglomerated in particular places and local governments are shouldered with the responsibility for raising revenue for services.” [...] There’s no national watchdog and most census questions about water access and poverty have been eliminated since the 1980s. [...] Nationwide, nobody knows how many Americans were without water at the start of the pandemic – nor how many were disconnected during. What is known is that financial aid to help families and utilities keep taps running was excluded from federal rescue packages.
Thanks for the warning about wet or damp masks being less effective, Clowder of bats and clew. Likely still better than nothing, but now I know it’s riskier.
posted by haiku warrior at 12:52 PM on June 23, 2020
posted by haiku warrior at 12:52 PM on June 23, 2020
this person who is wearing a mask despite false assurance from the government that it is not necessary is not a person who is going to be quick to line up for a dose of something going inside my body where the only real assurance I have of the safety and efficacy of that something is the same government that's fucked everything else up so far.
I've been bleakly joking that I refuse to consider any vaccine that's available before November 6 or is made in America but it's definitely kidding on the square.
At our department staff meeting earlier today my boss said that while nothing's been announced, we should expect to be on WFH status through the end of the calendar year. I think I'm still wrapping my brain around that and what it means.
posted by Lexica at 1:13 PM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
I've been bleakly joking that I refuse to consider any vaccine that's available before November 6 or is made in America but it's definitely kidding on the square.
At our department staff meeting earlier today my boss said that while nothing's been announced, we should expect to be on WFH status through the end of the calendar year. I think I'm still wrapping my brain around that and what it means.
posted by Lexica at 1:13 PM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
Guardian: EU considering blocking Americans from entering - report
The European Union is looking to soon reopen its borders, and it is reportedly considering denying entry to Americans because of how the US has handled the coronavirus pandemic.posted by katra at 1:18 PM on June 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
The New York Times reports:
That prospect, which would lump American visitors in with Russians and Brazilians as unwelcome, is a stinging blow to American prestige in the world and a repudiation of President Trump’s handling of the virus in the United States, which has more than 2.3 million cases and upward of 120,000 deaths, more than any other country. [...] Travelers from the United States and the rest of the world have been excluded from visiting the European Union — with few exceptions mostly for repatriations or ‘essential travel’ —- since mid-March. But a final decision on reopening the borders is expected early next week, before the bloc reopens on July 1.
Fauci said today that he is cautiously optimistic that we will have a vaccine ready by end of year or early 2021. I can’t understand how to square that with....everything else we have been told about how hard it is to discover / manufacture / distribute vaccines.
posted by lazaruslong at 1:33 PM on June 23, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by lazaruslong at 1:33 PM on June 23, 2020 [9 favorites]
I can't see it either, lazaruslong. The medical teaching university near me put out a press release this week that said they're in the human trial testing phase and are recruiting people, and that the study would go for two years. Which is standard.
posted by cooker girl at 1:45 PM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by cooker girl at 1:45 PM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
I'm another person feeling this tension between "I love vaccines! Vaccines are great!" and "I 100% do not trust the American healthcare and governmental system to deliver a safe, effective vaccine for this thing." So. Yeah. That's a thing.
Whichever drug company gets something to market first is going to make so. much. money. Which doesn't inspire any additional confidence.
I can't even tell what parts of this are crazy any more.
posted by athenasbanquet at 1:47 PM on June 23, 2020 [13 favorites]
Whichever drug company gets something to market first is going to make so. much. money. Which doesn't inspire any additional confidence.
I can't even tell what parts of this are crazy any more.
posted by athenasbanquet at 1:47 PM on June 23, 2020 [13 favorites]
I can't even tell what parts of this are crazy any more.
I think the parts where the future is said to be reliably predictable are easy calls tho. I am reassessing from the ground up how I conceive of authority and expertise.
posted by PMdixon at 1:54 PM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
I think the parts where the future is said to be reliably predictable are easy calls tho. I am reassessing from the ground up how I conceive of authority and expertise.
posted by PMdixon at 1:54 PM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
my brother the ID doc (who has worked on this crisis, and also has worked in vaccine development) says don't expect anything safe for at least a year. Not early 2121, but at best a year from now.
And even then I'm waiting until he gives me the go-ahead...
... jesus. A YEAR. I need a hobby.
posted by suelac at 2:06 PM on June 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
And even then I'm waiting until he gives me the go-ahead...
... jesus. A YEAR. I need a hobby.
posted by suelac at 2:06 PM on June 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
Fauci says US will increase Covid-19 testing despite Trump's claims of slowing down (Guardian)
His press secretary had later said the remarks were “in jest” but the president stood by them on Tuesday, telling reporters that the comments weren’t a joke. [...] After administration figures including White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany suggested the comments weren’t serious or were a joke, Trump on Tuesday said: “I never kid.”posted by katra at 2:23 PM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
[...] Since Fauci last testified, hospital physicians have become more skilled in treating coronavirus patients with the techniques and medications at their disposal. The US continues to ramp up testing, with some 27.5 million Americans, or more than 8% of the population, tested thus far. But most communities still lack enough health workers trained in doing contact tracing, the work of identifying people who have had interactions with an infected person. That could make it more difficult to tamp down emerging outbreaks. Fauci remains optimistic that a vaccine will be found, noting that patients develop antibodies to the virus – a sign that the human immune system is able to battle back. However, he shies away from promising results by the end of the year, as Trump has done.
Whichever drug company gets something to market first is going to make so. much. money.
And it won't be as efficacious as they say. And they'll be criminally and civilly indemnified against deaths and side effects.
posted by j_curiouser at 2:55 PM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
And it won't be as efficacious as they say. And they'll be criminally and civilly indemnified against deaths and side effects.
posted by j_curiouser at 2:55 PM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
lazaruslong: Fauci said today that he is cautiously optimistic that we will have a vaccine ready by end of year or early 2021. I can’t understand how to square that with....everything else we have been told about how hard it is to discover / manufacture / distribute vaccines.
Fauci says more widespread lockdowns probably won't be needed in virus fight (CBS News, June 19, 2020)
But doesn't science show that significantly reduce exposure is the best thing to stop a pandemic? It kind of sounds like he's trying to play two sides at once. At least he supports increased testing.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:56 PM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
Fauci says more widespread lockdowns probably won't be needed in virus fight (CBS News, June 19, 2020)
The United States doesn't need more widespread lockdowns to bring its COVID-19 outbreak under control, despite the fact that the national daily infection rate has stayed flat, leading government expert Anthony Fauci said Thursday.Meanwhile, Fauci says Americans are ignoring science amid coronavirus pandemic. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), told CBS News Radio he’s frustrated Americans aren’t following public health recommendations to prevent the spread of coronavirus. (The Hill, June 19, 2020)
Speaking to AFP, the physician-scientist added he was optimistic the world would soon have a vaccine that would end the pandemic, calling early trial results "encouraging."
"I don't think we're going to be talking about going back to lockdown," he said when asked whether places like California and Texas that are seeing a surge in their caseload should reissue stay-at-home orders.
But doesn't science show that significantly reduce exposure is the best thing to stop a pandemic? It kind of sounds like he's trying to play two sides at once. At least he supports increased testing.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:56 PM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
Quote from Fauci on Washington Post liveblog:
"“Although you can never guarantee at all the safety and efficacy of a vaccine until you test in the field, we feel cautiously optimistic based on the concerted effort and the fact that we are taking financial risks to be able to be ahead of the game so that when … we get favorable candidates with good results, we will be able to make them available to the American public” within a year of when officials began researching a vaccine in mid-January, Fauci said."
So, basically, he feels optimistic because of the money being thrown at the problem. Or as a friend of mine said, if it affects rich white men, we WILL get a vaccine.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:57 PM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
"“Although you can never guarantee at all the safety and efficacy of a vaccine until you test in the field, we feel cautiously optimistic based on the concerted effort and the fact that we are taking financial risks to be able to be ahead of the game so that when … we get favorable candidates with good results, we will be able to make them available to the American public” within a year of when officials began researching a vaccine in mid-January, Fauci said."
So, basically, he feels optimistic because of the money being thrown at the problem. Or as a friend of mine said, if it affects rich white men, we WILL get a vaccine.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:57 PM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
Meanwhile, Fauci says Americans are ignoring science amid coronavirus pandemic.
I've just come back from the next universe over, and Fauci-2 is being dismissed by Fox News as a puppet of President Clinton-2, despite nearly 18,000 American deaths from COVID-19.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:08 PM on June 23, 2020 [26 favorites]
I've just come back from the next universe over, and Fauci-2 is being dismissed by Fox News as a puppet of President Clinton-2, despite nearly 18,000 American deaths from COVID-19.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:08 PM on June 23, 2020 [26 favorites]
So, basically, he feels optimistic because of the money being thrown at the problem.
I would love to hear someone in the industry talk about this. How much of the delay is because of the time you have to spend begging and scraping for funding?
posted by brook horse at 3:09 PM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
I would love to hear someone in the industry talk about this. How much of the delay is because of the time you have to spend begging and scraping for funding?
posted by brook horse at 3:09 PM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
The funding thing is probably more because of the massive parallelization that is happening in both development and manufacturing capabilities and the knowledge that we might have to throw out several factories that are being built because the vaccine they were built to produce doesn't pan out. IE people are preparing to produce millions of doses of vaccines before they are tested so they have the doses on hand as soon as possible. Even though we know some of the doses will never get used.
posted by Mitheral at 3:22 PM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 3:22 PM on June 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
So, basically, he feels optimistic because of the money being thrown at the problem. Or as a friend of mine said, if it affects rich white men, we WILL get a vaccine.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:57 PM on June 23 [+] [!]
That's a rather odd interpretation of a fairly anodyne statement. I mean the pandemic is literally wiping out people's lives, welfare and livelihoods the world over. If there was ever a reason to galvanize the scientific infrastructure for a vaccine creation this may be a good candidate.
ALS is pretty male centric but there is not much progress in that realm so maybe for once it isn't all about the wealthy white patriarchy?
posted by docpops at 3:23 PM on June 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:57 PM on June 23 [+] [!]
That's a rather odd interpretation of a fairly anodyne statement. I mean the pandemic is literally wiping out people's lives, welfare and livelihoods the world over. If there was ever a reason to galvanize the scientific infrastructure for a vaccine creation this may be a good candidate.
ALS is pretty male centric but there is not much progress in that realm so maybe for once it isn't all about the wealthy white patriarchy?
posted by docpops at 3:23 PM on June 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
I would love to hear someone in the industry talk about this. How much of the delay is because of the time you have to spend begging and scraping for funding?
Once you have a clear path to profit (e.g. inhibiting process X will cure this type of cancer and make us $1B/year), funding is not the problem. The research that led to Gardasil (the HPV multi-strain vaccine) was started in 1991. The vaccine came out in 2006. It had Merck's money behind it (unsure how many years it was fully supported by Merck rather than a skunkworks project though).
Money can solve engineering problems fairly quickly. It cannot solve knowledge problems quickly because it may take years of intensive training to become an expert at all the techniques you need to investigate a particular virus strain productively. So you can throw money at the research but it usually ends up with a bunch of bad research because inexperienced researchers grab the cash and end up doing badly informed experiments. You have to ramp up expertise years beforehand if you want to have a hope of doing things quickly, especially when there are fundamental questions to be solved (which cells are the key virus particle producers, what type of immune response is responsible for clearance, etc.).
ALS is more of a phenotype (motor neurons dying) than a single cause, which has complicated development of cures. Many of the things we think of as "a disease" are actually phenotypes with multiple molecular causes. Type II diabetes is similar in that there are probably 6 (+?) subtypes at the molecular level with the shared phenotype of "high blood sugar".
posted by benzenedream at 3:34 PM on June 23, 2020 [14 favorites]
Once you have a clear path to profit (e.g. inhibiting process X will cure this type of cancer and make us $1B/year), funding is not the problem. The research that led to Gardasil (the HPV multi-strain vaccine) was started in 1991. The vaccine came out in 2006. It had Merck's money behind it (unsure how many years it was fully supported by Merck rather than a skunkworks project though).
Money can solve engineering problems fairly quickly. It cannot solve knowledge problems quickly because it may take years of intensive training to become an expert at all the techniques you need to investigate a particular virus strain productively. So you can throw money at the research but it usually ends up with a bunch of bad research because inexperienced researchers grab the cash and end up doing badly informed experiments. You have to ramp up expertise years beforehand if you want to have a hope of doing things quickly, especially when there are fundamental questions to be solved (which cells are the key virus particle producers, what type of immune response is responsible for clearance, etc.).
ALS is more of a phenotype (motor neurons dying) than a single cause, which has complicated development of cures. Many of the things we think of as "a disease" are actually phenotypes with multiple molecular causes. Type II diabetes is similar in that there are probably 6 (+?) subtypes at the molecular level with the shared phenotype of "high blood sugar".
posted by benzenedream at 3:34 PM on June 23, 2020 [14 favorites]
So my dad, an epidemiologist who received a lifetime achievement award from his professional organization, said an interesting thing once.
At my middle school's career day, he was a guest speaker, to my enormous embarrassment. When asked (we were prepped with questions by the teachers) what skills or knowledge were most important for people in his field, he said...not microbiology, not virology, not statistics, not organic chemistry, not anything you'd think of right away...he said: POLITICS.
See, he was a hospital epidemiologist. He had to get everyone from the candy-striper to the CNA to the RN to the residents to the chief of neurosurgery to the in-house paint crew to comply with gold-standard practices. Or, to use his favorite example, not wiping off one's debrider on the linens. From a third party, I heard that a doc once challenged him on whether stethoscopes need regular cleaning. His reply: Then go ahead and put it in your mouth.
On walks about the neighborhood, we sometimes ventured through cemeteries, where he'd explain things like the clusters of deaths around 1918. And how entrenched medical professionals used to campaign against instrument sterilization. And how maps and data point to vectors like community-adjacent wells, and the impact of socioeconomic class on prevention. In eighth grade, my Model UN application project was about Creutzfeld-Jakob disease.
Honestly, I don't know how I wound up studying Medieval & Renaissance literature in grad school. But it seems oddly fitting, lately...
What I am trying to say is that a pandemic has uncountable moving parts, and its resolution has factors well beyond any discipline's purview. We are not remotely ready for how this gets fixed, if it can be. Maybe we get lucky. A vaccine is not luck, it's hard work. Its use across a country as wildly complex as ours is not luck. It's no exaggeration to say that the science behind developing a vaccine is no more difficult than the social science of how it's used, at this point.
Whatever the next pandemic is frightens me so much I push it away with effort.
posted by Caxton1476 at 5:36 PM on June 23, 2020 [52 favorites]
At my middle school's career day, he was a guest speaker, to my enormous embarrassment. When asked (we were prepped with questions by the teachers) what skills or knowledge were most important for people in his field, he said...not microbiology, not virology, not statistics, not organic chemistry, not anything you'd think of right away...he said: POLITICS.
See, he was a hospital epidemiologist. He had to get everyone from the candy-striper to the CNA to the RN to the residents to the chief of neurosurgery to the in-house paint crew to comply with gold-standard practices. Or, to use his favorite example, not wiping off one's debrider on the linens. From a third party, I heard that a doc once challenged him on whether stethoscopes need regular cleaning. His reply: Then go ahead and put it in your mouth.
On walks about the neighborhood, we sometimes ventured through cemeteries, where he'd explain things like the clusters of deaths around 1918. And how entrenched medical professionals used to campaign against instrument sterilization. And how maps and data point to vectors like community-adjacent wells, and the impact of socioeconomic class on prevention. In eighth grade, my Model UN application project was about Creutzfeld-Jakob disease.
Honestly, I don't know how I wound up studying Medieval & Renaissance literature in grad school. But it seems oddly fitting, lately...
What I am trying to say is that a pandemic has uncountable moving parts, and its resolution has factors well beyond any discipline's purview. We are not remotely ready for how this gets fixed, if it can be. Maybe we get lucky. A vaccine is not luck, it's hard work. Its use across a country as wildly complex as ours is not luck. It's no exaggeration to say that the science behind developing a vaccine is no more difficult than the social science of how it's used, at this point.
Whatever the next pandemic is frightens me so much I push it away with effort.
posted by Caxton1476 at 5:36 PM on June 23, 2020 [52 favorites]
Yeah, the more comfortable and breathable your mask the worse it is working.
And the more you actually want it to work the more it will fog your glasses into obtuseness. Hi from the humid south.
No, don't tell me that wiping soap and polishing will help. Yes, I still wear it and realize this is small potatoes. It's still shitty.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:50 PM on June 23, 2020 [10 favorites]
And the more you actually want it to work the more it will fog your glasses into obtuseness. Hi from the humid south.
No, don't tell me that wiping soap and polishing will help. Yes, I still wear it and realize this is small potatoes. It's still shitty.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:50 PM on June 23, 2020 [10 favorites]
Yeah my glasses fog up like nobody's business. All of the tips about soap etc might as well be spitting into a hurricane for all the good they do.
posted by Justinian at 7:56 PM on June 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 7:56 PM on June 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
The best solution I've found for fogged glasses is putting a piece of tape over the bridge of your nose and the top edge of the mask. I've been using washi tape, but I probably should get something intended for human skin.
Wearing a mask with a nose wire helps, too, and counterintuitively if you wear it as high up on your face as you can it fogs your glasses less.
also, I find that masks with ties rather than earloops, and side channels to thread the ties through, make for a much better fit.
posted by nonasuch at 8:02 PM on June 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
Wearing a mask with a nose wire helps, too, and counterintuitively if you wear it as high up on your face as you can it fogs your glasses less.
also, I find that masks with ties rather than earloops, and side channels to thread the ties through, make for a much better fit.
posted by nonasuch at 8:02 PM on June 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
I hate that my mask makes my glasses fog up, as it makes it hard to shop or pretty much do anything. I still wear it because I'm not an asshole. Because of this, I'm not sympathetic to people that don't wear a mask if they don't have a legitimate health reason for not wearing one.
posted by mollweide at 8:02 PM on June 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by mollweide at 8:02 PM on June 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
I don't find that the nosewire helps, tried it. Ok, stepping back a tiny bit. It may help very, very slightly. Ditto positioning. It's just still a pain 85% of the time. I haven't tried the tape but maybe that's something...
And I'm with y'all: anyone A) not having a good medical reason as people above have pointed out (and I appreicate that context) and doubly so B) without glasses who doesn't wear one and dares to complain about comfort issues can get well and truly fucked. Our 6 year old manages one 99+% of the time and 3 year old wears one pretty damn well for what it's worth. They have whiskers printed on them, it's cute. Thanks for letting me vent.
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:26 PM on June 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
And I'm with y'all: anyone A) not having a good medical reason as people above have pointed out (and I appreicate that context) and doubly so B) without glasses who doesn't wear one and dares to complain about comfort issues can get well and truly fucked. Our 6 year old manages one 99+% of the time and 3 year old wears one pretty damn well for what it's worth. They have whiskers printed on them, it's cute. Thanks for letting me vent.
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:26 PM on June 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
I've been wearing a mask for at least 8 hours a day for a few months now. I also have to wear a 95 when dealing with respiratory samples. The same 95 over and over. The staff on our covid floor wear full respirators all shift. It's hard to have sympathy for people who won't wear them for the 20 minutes they're in a store. Especially when I hear the codes being called to our covid floor.
posted by MaritaCov at 9:13 PM on June 23, 2020 [49 favorites]
posted by MaritaCov at 9:13 PM on June 23, 2020 [49 favorites]
Venting here too; I've reached the point where we're socializing with our grown son on our stoop -- 8 feet apart from left bottom to top right of stoop, both wearing masks, obviously outside. But my husband and I don't feel comfortable with our son coming in to use the bathroom and I feel terrible about this. There is just no ventilation in either of our two bathrooms. And our son (late twenties) is much more "in the world" than we (ages 69 and 74) are. I keep doing research trying to find out the actual risk of any tiny aerosols sticking around for more than a few hours, but solid numbers are elusive. Also our son has been going to protests with thousands of people. I'd tell him to take a test before coming over but I hear they can yield up to 40% or more false negatives. This has given me much much anxiety over the past weeks. I can tell him that, if he needs to use the bathroom he can go to a nearby restaurant, but then that feels like putting him in danger. He is very cautious (the protests were a necessary exception, and I support his activity in them), but still. Even the 45-minute trip to our place from the next borough involves a taxi or public transportation. I hate all this. Gee, how unique, but really. We are lucky enough to have a small backyard and I am seriously considering buying a little "privacy tent" and then a small portable toilet that "empties" into a bag to put inside the tent in the backyard. Am I crazy? I don't know. Everyone seems crazy to me now. Most people I know (and they're all OLD) are pretty careful but still standing in line at Trader Joe's every week, having haircuts, taking buses to go to necessary doctors' appointments. I've arranged things so that I barely leave the house (I can work by Skype etc.). But really it's the damned BATHROOM that's the hole in my COVID PREVENTION MASTER PLAN and I am determined to FILL THAT HOLE, hell or swamp water. So yeah, people now are so thrilled that they are going to outside restaurants -- and i want to ask them -- WHERE THE HELL DID YOU PEE? Some TINY unventilated bathroom that dozens of other people peed in within the hour that you were there? Nothing makes sense. Any comments about safe eiliminatory practices more welcome than you know.
posted by DMelanogaster at 9:26 PM on June 23, 2020 [14 favorites]
posted by DMelanogaster at 9:26 PM on June 23, 2020 [14 favorites]
Long overdue update from Dukes County MA and a restaurant, and restaurant guy, that have been going flat out curbside since March 16th. I'll start with the stories I'm on the verge of forgetting.
Some friends of ours (one of them the actual guy from this story) closed on their first house in mid April and inherited an a sweet 80's stero system with a cd player but no tuner, and put out an urgent call for cd's so they could blast music while they made the fixxer-upper livable. We brought them a box of 30 or more cd's, everything from musicals to punk to rock to regge to John Zorn.
My curbside catchphrase STAY FROSTY has caught on, I get kids in the backseat who want to shout it to me. I feel like spider-man swingign away from some webbed up muggers every time it happens.
We fired up the outdoor shower in....early May. Always a plus. And my work life is such that I jump in there to get ready for work the sun is directly overhead, so I get more tan every day and the sunlight through the falling water creates a rainbow that follows my eyes ans shoulders around.
All of this is going to change in the next few weeks. As we move into phase 2 here in MA my place is setting up some outdoor dining. 58 seats. All mine, I'll be leaving my role as Capt Curbside and taking charge of the new area (part of our gravel parking lot) so my days are going to get longer and the pressure is going to ramp up. I love what I'm doing now. A curbside customer who works at the hospital brought me a gift today, a mask with filter pocket that looks like the shark mouth from Jaws. I started bringing food to cars humming the jaws music and hitting the DUN DUN DAH note just as I put the food through the car window. I'm gonna miss the unique street culture we've developed and I fear for the quality of that operation as I move to take control of this new to us outside seating area.
We have no plans to open the inside bistro and bar, not for months.
Summer is here, the island is getting busier, and some people are not taking masks and distance seriously. Most are.I intend to very publicly and visibly do just a little more than is mandated or encouraged as I essentially open a new straunt under the strangest of conditions.
I agonize over this work shit and then realize how lucky I am and get sad. Then I pull my shit together and try to help someone else, even if that means just putting food in cars.
I won't stop.
posted by vrakatar at 9:31 PM on June 23, 2020 [28 favorites]
Some friends of ours (one of them the actual guy from this story) closed on their first house in mid April and inherited an a sweet 80's stero system with a cd player but no tuner, and put out an urgent call for cd's so they could blast music while they made the fixxer-upper livable. We brought them a box of 30 or more cd's, everything from musicals to punk to rock to regge to John Zorn.
My curbside catchphrase STAY FROSTY has caught on, I get kids in the backseat who want to shout it to me. I feel like spider-man swingign away from some webbed up muggers every time it happens.
We fired up the outdoor shower in....early May. Always a plus. And my work life is such that I jump in there to get ready for work the sun is directly overhead, so I get more tan every day and the sunlight through the falling water creates a rainbow that follows my eyes ans shoulders around.
All of this is going to change in the next few weeks. As we move into phase 2 here in MA my place is setting up some outdoor dining. 58 seats. All mine, I'll be leaving my role as Capt Curbside and taking charge of the new area (part of our gravel parking lot) so my days are going to get longer and the pressure is going to ramp up. I love what I'm doing now. A curbside customer who works at the hospital brought me a gift today, a mask with filter pocket that looks like the shark mouth from Jaws. I started bringing food to cars humming the jaws music and hitting the DUN DUN DAH note just as I put the food through the car window. I'm gonna miss the unique street culture we've developed and I fear for the quality of that operation as I move to take control of this new to us outside seating area.
We have no plans to open the inside bistro and bar, not for months.
Summer is here, the island is getting busier, and some people are not taking masks and distance seriously. Most are.I intend to very publicly and visibly do just a little more than is mandated or encouraged as I essentially open a new straunt under the strangest of conditions.
I agonize over this work shit and then realize how lucky I am and get sad. Then I pull my shit together and try to help someone else, even if that means just putting food in cars.
I won't stop.
posted by vrakatar at 9:31 PM on June 23, 2020 [28 favorites]
WHERE THE HELL DID YOU PEE?
Men can use a jar. Sounds like you are in a city, but if you have a back yard, well here we call that using the "large" bathroom.
posted by vrakatar at 9:35 PM on June 23, 2020 [9 favorites]
Men can use a jar. Sounds like you are in a city, but if you have a back yard, well here we call that using the "large" bathroom.
posted by vrakatar at 9:35 PM on June 23, 2020 [9 favorites]
My town I’m Massachusetts has used Jersey barriers to create areas for outdoor seating that extend into parking lots and streats for outdoor dining. Mask use use not what it should be outside, but people are good about social distancing. For supermarkets and drug stores, mask use compliance seems to be 100%, but some feel that popping into a coffee shop for a few minutes without a mask is okay. Unfortunately, staff are often young people who are reluctant to insist on “no mask, no service.”
There number of confirmed cases COVID-19 so far is just over 1% of the population of the town, of which about 13% died. About two-thirds of the fatalities occurred in a single nursing home where over seventy of the nearly ninety residents tested positive and fifteen died.
My mother’s friend of about 85(!) years was one of those infected nursing home residents and survived. However the lack of visits by family and reduced social interaction as ordinary activities For mental stimulation have ceased led to a marked deterioration in her cognitive condition. That is very sad.
posted by haiku warrior at 10:19 PM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
There number of confirmed cases COVID-19 so far is just over 1% of the population of the town, of which about 13% died. About two-thirds of the fatalities occurred in a single nursing home where over seventy of the nearly ninety residents tested positive and fifteen died.
My mother’s friend of about 85(!) years was one of those infected nursing home residents and survived. However the lack of visits by family and reduced social interaction as ordinary activities For mental stimulation have ceased led to a marked deterioration in her cognitive condition. That is very sad.
posted by haiku warrior at 10:19 PM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
US nurses at for-profit hospital chain to strike over cuts and PPE shortages (Guardian)
Nurses and support staff at HCA Healthcare, the largest for-profit hospital chain in the US, are planning to strike this Friday in protest over cuts and concessions the corporation is pushing on frontline healthcare workers as coronavirus continues to spread. [...] Erin McIntosh, a nurse in the code blue/rapid response department at the HCA-owned Riverside Community Hospital in Riverside, California, for six years, is one of around 1,000 nurses represented by SEIU Local 121RN who are going on strike starting 26 June in protest of hospital understaffing during the pandemic, which they say violates California’s nurse-to-patient ratio laws. [...] Hospital staff reusing masks and gowns has been common throughout the pandemic, McIntosh explained, creating another layer of stress for healthcare workers. [...] Around the US, nurses and hospital workers at HCA have reported understaffing and a lack of resources through the coronavirus pandemic.In Arizona, Trump has a redo of his Oklahoma rally (Politico)
Images from the event showed a large crowd tightly packed together, with almost no one wearing protective masks. There were no temperature checks for the estimated 3,000 cheering attendees who, like many of Trump’s staunchest fans, ignored a new local ordinance requiring them to wear a mask, despite a public-health plea from the Democratic mayor on Monday. [...] Trump declared the students in the audience as the cultural defenders of not only his movement but also of American values as a whole, portraying Democrats as intolerant and “totalitarian.” [...] When he mentioned what he called “the plague,” the president dismissed it: “It’s going away,” he said. [...] Later in the speech he made fun of the disease and its various names to rousing applause, including referring to it with his new xenophobic moniker [...] The ebullient scene in the church obscures what many see as an uphill battle for the president to hold on to a state that is seen as critical to his reelection.posted by katra at 10:34 PM on June 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
‘You should care’: Fauci rebuts Trump (indirectly) on young coronavirus patients (WaPo Analysis)
While asking the question, [GOP Rep. Pete Olson (Tex.)] noted that his area of the country — the Houston area — is dealing with a particularly pronounced outbreak. Olson had strong words for young adults who have flouted social distancing guidelines while reemerging in society. “This is because of their attitude,” Olson said of rising numbers among young adults. “My former boss, [former senator] Phil Gramm [R-Tex.] said it best about these people — how they view this crisis. Bending the covid vaccine curve and ending the pandemic ‘is like going to heaven. Everyone wants to go there, but fewer and fewer want to do the hard work to make it happen.’ I call this the ‘Bad Attitude Curve.’” Olson then asked Fauci how, if he were “king for a day,” he would change that Bad Attitude Curve “and make these people address this issue for the threat it truly is.” Fauci’s comments in response bore almost no resemblance to what Trump had said a day earlier. [...] ["] You should care not only for yourself, but for the impact you might have on the dynamics of the outbreak.["]EXCLUSIVE: Feds About To Bail On Supporting COVID Testing Sites In Texas And Other States (TPM)
The Trump administration is ending funding and support for local COVID-19 testing sites around the country this month, as cases and hospitalizations are skyrocketing in many states. The federal government will stop providing money and support for 13 sites across five states which were originally set up in the first months of the pandemic to speed up testing at the local level. Local officials and public health experts expressed a mixture of frustration, resignation, and horror at the decision to let federal support lapse. Texas will be particularly hard hit by the decision.posted by katra at 11:17 PM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
America out, China in as EU looks to reopen external borders (Politico, reported amply in the thread)
On the subject of border closures, as someone who, in the beforetimes, existed on a tourist visa between 4-5 different countries, I have a few things to say.
First, Trump's travel ban decisions have been monstrous and executed with a heretofore unseen level of incompetence, except for one thing - US travel bans have NOT been passport-based. Chinese people, for example, can still come to the US on any visa if they haven't been in China (or another country on the "ban" list") for the past 14 days. They ban people who have BEEN TO banned places in the past 14 days. It's a slight but important distinction, in that it doesn't de jure ban entrants by nationality. It would be stupid to ban a Brazilian coming from Taiwan, for example. That person is not an infection risk. I strongly hope Europe makes a similar decision.
Second, I'm in Indonesia at the moment, and while Indonesia isn't granting tourism visas or other short-term visas at the moment, they are granting visas to most nationalities, assuming you can provide a negative test result and will quarantine for 14 days. They have also granted automatic "Emergency Stay Permits" to anyone who entered before a certain date, valid for the duration of the declared national emergency. Despite Indonesia's sluggish and bungled response to the virus, they did right by those of us stuck here. I came in late January, and haven't left since, because #staythefuckhome. This is the longest I've been in one country in years. I can't describe how grateful I am for the fact that they aren't making me worry about this.
Third, Indonesia hasn't shut down citizen services for Indonesians abroad...while the US has done exactly that. My passport expires next May, which, in the beforetimes, was about time to get it renewed, given all the countries that demand 6 months validity. If the world decides to resume business around September-October, I'll have no choice but to fly back to the US and take my chances with a raging epidemic. The US recalled its "non-essential" diplomatic staff to avoid the virus...and then...????? wtf ????? at home.
I don't know that I agree with "lasting damage to the prestige of the US passport". I assume that's already done, but diplomatic and foreign affairs people aren't usually insane or terribly dogmatic. If you look around the world, most countries abandoned the idea of passport-determined entry bans quickly after the epidemic spread beyond China, and simply sealed their borders to all comers.
And that brings us to four, China. Their answer to a sealed border puts the US and Europe in perspective: on March 28, they declared all existing visas invalid. ALL. Overnight. Got a work visa? No. Got a spouse visa? No. Any travel document but a mainland Chinese passport ain't getting in without approval from the top. A 14-day quarantine, a negative test result, no tourist & short-term visas, OK, I can see that, that makes sense. I don't think you could find me a diplomat to argue with that right now. But...foreigners? All of them? Just...all of them?
Five - China has been re-establishing so-called "fast-track procedures" with countries that have the virus under control. And, true, given China's near total lack of long-term visas, I understand that suspending every short-term visa may have been the most expedient way to do this, but they were ALREADY enforcing a nearly airtight 14-day quarantine in government facilities, and they certainly haven't locked out their own citizens. To date, they have not opened the border to non-Chinese with previously valid visas, and they have not announced entry procedures or even plans to create them. They have also not granted people trapped in China indefinite stays for the duration of the crisis. On the contrary, there was the whole evicting and harassing black people in Guangzhou, carte blanche (nay, encouragement) for local governments to ban foreigners from public establishments, and charging people full visa application fees every 30 days for stay permit renewals.
Contrast China's response with the US's, and then compare with Indonesia's. In this contest, no one shines, but I guarantee you, only one of them stinks of blatant, brutal, ruthless, and systemic bigotry. By comparison, the US comes out seeming like it actually is - we have a psychopath in charge. The rest of the world knows that and gives us some leverage. I look at Brazil and don't see a nation of brutes, I see one brute and a system mounting an epic fight against him. In a decade or two, that's how the rest of the planet will describe the US.
Take some solace in that. Trump is crazy, we're not, and that's what everyone on the sidelines sees too.
posted by saysthis at 11:28 PM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
On the subject of border closures, as someone who, in the beforetimes, existed on a tourist visa between 4-5 different countries, I have a few things to say.
First, Trump's travel ban decisions have been monstrous and executed with a heretofore unseen level of incompetence, except for one thing - US travel bans have NOT been passport-based. Chinese people, for example, can still come to the US on any visa if they haven't been in China (or another country on the "ban" list") for the past 14 days. They ban people who have BEEN TO banned places in the past 14 days. It's a slight but important distinction, in that it doesn't de jure ban entrants by nationality. It would be stupid to ban a Brazilian coming from Taiwan, for example. That person is not an infection risk. I strongly hope Europe makes a similar decision.
Second, I'm in Indonesia at the moment, and while Indonesia isn't granting tourism visas or other short-term visas at the moment, they are granting visas to most nationalities, assuming you can provide a negative test result and will quarantine for 14 days. They have also granted automatic "Emergency Stay Permits" to anyone who entered before a certain date, valid for the duration of the declared national emergency. Despite Indonesia's sluggish and bungled response to the virus, they did right by those of us stuck here. I came in late January, and haven't left since, because #staythefuckhome. This is the longest I've been in one country in years. I can't describe how grateful I am for the fact that they aren't making me worry about this.
Third, Indonesia hasn't shut down citizen services for Indonesians abroad...while the US has done exactly that. My passport expires next May, which, in the beforetimes, was about time to get it renewed, given all the countries that demand 6 months validity. If the world decides to resume business around September-October, I'll have no choice but to fly back to the US and take my chances with a raging epidemic. The US recalled its "non-essential" diplomatic staff to avoid the virus...and then...????? wtf ????? at home.
I don't know that I agree with "lasting damage to the prestige of the US passport". I assume that's already done, but diplomatic and foreign affairs people aren't usually insane or terribly dogmatic. If you look around the world, most countries abandoned the idea of passport-determined entry bans quickly after the epidemic spread beyond China, and simply sealed their borders to all comers.
And that brings us to four, China. Their answer to a sealed border puts the US and Europe in perspective: on March 28, they declared all existing visas invalid. ALL. Overnight. Got a work visa? No. Got a spouse visa? No. Any travel document but a mainland Chinese passport ain't getting in without approval from the top. A 14-day quarantine, a negative test result, no tourist & short-term visas, OK, I can see that, that makes sense. I don't think you could find me a diplomat to argue with that right now. But...foreigners? All of them? Just...all of them?
Five - China has been re-establishing so-called "fast-track procedures" with countries that have the virus under control. And, true, given China's near total lack of long-term visas, I understand that suspending every short-term visa may have been the most expedient way to do this, but they were ALREADY enforcing a nearly airtight 14-day quarantine in government facilities, and they certainly haven't locked out their own citizens. To date, they have not opened the border to non-Chinese with previously valid visas, and they have not announced entry procedures or even plans to create them. They have also not granted people trapped in China indefinite stays for the duration of the crisis. On the contrary, there was the whole evicting and harassing black people in Guangzhou, carte blanche (nay, encouragement) for local governments to ban foreigners from public establishments, and charging people full visa application fees every 30 days for stay permit renewals.
Contrast China's response with the US's, and then compare with Indonesia's. In this contest, no one shines, but I guarantee you, only one of them stinks of blatant, brutal, ruthless, and systemic bigotry. By comparison, the US comes out seeming like it actually is - we have a psychopath in charge. The rest of the world knows that and gives us some leverage. I look at Brazil and don't see a nation of brutes, I see one brute and a system mounting an epic fight against him. In a decade or two, that's how the rest of the planet will describe the US.
Take some solace in that. Trump is crazy, we're not, and that's what everyone on the sidelines sees too.
posted by saysthis at 11:28 PM on June 23, 2020 [4 favorites]
EXCLUSIVE: Feds About To Bail On Supporting COVID Testing Sites In Texas And Other States
"I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down, please."
posted by amarynth at 3:33 AM on June 24, 2020 [6 favorites]
"I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down, please."
posted by amarynth at 3:33 AM on June 24, 2020 [6 favorites]
The privacy tent in the backyard, much as I hate to say it, is an excellent idea. Get a portable/compost toilet.
As for where people pee, I saw an article on Vice(?) that said people either pee in public or straight up pee their pants. Another reason not to leave anywhere...
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:53 AM on June 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
As for where people pee, I saw an article on Vice(?) that said people either pee in public or straight up pee their pants. Another reason not to leave anywhere...
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:53 AM on June 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
A short bathroom trip while wearing a mask inside should be pretty safe. Sterilizing all touch surfaces afterwards will probably make it even safer. Remember, covid requires LENGTH of exposure too. I am hoping it's not insane to let a masked person use our bathroom quickly because we already let one friend do it after he stayed too long chatting in our yard. But I hesitate to let my parents in their 70s do the same so I don't know. It's so hard to know if we're being cautious, too cautious, or downright nuts in our cautiousness. Or if we're not taking the right precautions at all.
posted by tiny frying pan at 5:44 AM on June 24, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by tiny frying pan at 5:44 AM on June 24, 2020 [5 favorites]
If I had a PAC and an advertising budget, I would shoot a 30-second spot that was just fifteen diverse people saying "Hey, Trump, why don't you do something?" And end it with the tagline #stopcovid. And play it on Fox News exclusively.
posted by valkane at 5:52 AM on June 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by valkane at 5:52 AM on June 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
So yeah, people now are so thrilled that they are going to outside restaurants -- and i want to ask them -- WHERE THE HELL DID YOU PEE? Some TINY unventilated bathroom that dozens of other people peed in within the hour that you were there?
Here in Europe where people are sane, you are required to wear a mask any time you are not at your dining table (also no more just walking in and finding a table, you have to be sat by staff, and no more sharing tables with strangers). If you think about it, the bathroom should be the safest inside place if everyone follows proper hygiene: you're wearing a mask, you're not yelling or singing, you don't touch much and as soon as you're done you wash your hands.
The dining itself is probably more dangerous: no mask on anyone, if you're with people you're probably talking (possibly loudly) and laughing, lots of face touching during eating.
posted by LizBoBiz at 6:16 AM on June 24, 2020 [4 favorites]
Here in Europe where people are sane, you are required to wear a mask any time you are not at your dining table (also no more just walking in and finding a table, you have to be sat by staff, and no more sharing tables with strangers). If you think about it, the bathroom should be the safest inside place if everyone follows proper hygiene: you're wearing a mask, you're not yelling or singing, you don't touch much and as soon as you're done you wash your hands.
The dining itself is probably more dangerous: no mask on anyone, if you're with people you're probably talking (possibly loudly) and laughing, lots of face touching during eating.
posted by LizBoBiz at 6:16 AM on June 24, 2020 [4 favorites]
On another note, where masks are required over there in the US, are they also required outside? Based on the results of European mask rules, it doesn't seem like it should be necessary to wear one outside. In theory, it makes sense to wear a mask even outside when you're with a group of strangers, but most people don't. Though compliance is 100% in shops and on public transport. So based on that and the fact that Europe really did flatten it's curves, I don't think a mask outside is necessary, but I'm not a doctor anyways.
posted by LizBoBiz at 6:19 AM on June 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by LizBoBiz at 6:19 AM on June 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
So those jerks who think it will stick to just marginalized groups? It's coming for them the moment they drop their guard. And they have dropped their guard
The moral void in a fright wig currently calling itself our Prime Minister literally put himself in ICU by flagrantly disregarding the rules we were being told to follow. It's changed nothing.
There's no way to make them believe it, but just like climate change, engineered economic meltdown and the rest, it will kill us first, but it will kill them next.
It'll be too late by the time they realise that, though.
posted by BlueNorther at 7:05 AM on June 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
The moral void in a fright wig currently calling itself our Prime Minister literally put himself in ICU by flagrantly disregarding the rules we were being told to follow. It's changed nothing.
There's no way to make them believe it, but just like climate change, engineered economic meltdown and the rest, it will kill us first, but it will kill them next.
It'll be too late by the time they realise that, though.
posted by BlueNorther at 7:05 AM on June 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
On another note, where masks are required over there in the US, are they also required outside?
Whether masks are required at all in the US is highly variable. CNN article on the topic.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:15 AM on June 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Whether masks are required at all in the US is highly variable. CNN article on the topic.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:15 AM on June 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Here in Denmark, almost no one wears a mask except health care workers. All the other rules common everywhere during reopening apply.
The thing is, I can't see it makes much of a difference. The infection rate is very low and now the health care system has learnt to mange the disease without putting the staff in danger. A lot of people are being tested every day, and every time someone with the virus is found, the authorities help them track down everyone they may have infected. If that isn't possible, like after the BLM demonstrations, a general warning is sent out.
posted by mumimor at 7:25 AM on June 24, 2020
The thing is, I can't see it makes much of a difference. The infection rate is very low and now the health care system has learnt to mange the disease without putting the staff in danger. A lot of people are being tested every day, and every time someone with the virus is found, the authorities help them track down everyone they may have infected. If that isn't possible, like after the BLM demonstrations, a general warning is sent out.
posted by mumimor at 7:25 AM on June 24, 2020
The moral void in a fright wig currently calling itself our Prime Minister literally put himself in ICU by flagrantly disregarding the rules we were being told to follow. It's changed nothing.
Didn't it? He got much more cautious after his ICU stay. See how the backbench of the party and the rightwing tabloids eventually dragged him to re-open things, if they'd had their way things would have opened both earlier and more aggressively. I think
posted by atrazine at 7:44 AM on June 24, 2020
Didn't it? He got much more cautious after his ICU stay. See how the backbench of the party and the rightwing tabloids eventually dragged him to re-open things, if they'd had their way things would have opened both earlier and more aggressively. I think
posted by atrazine at 7:44 AM on June 24, 2020
It probably doesn't make much of a difference where you are, mumimor, because it sounds like your government is taking better care of you than the US's does. Here, we need to wear masks.
posted by cooker girl at 7:47 AM on June 24, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by cooker girl at 7:47 AM on June 24, 2020 [11 favorites]
Pretty much any time someone mentions {here in not-USA}, the assumptions are that there is a functional health-care system, widespread testing, contact tracing, a somewhat sane populace, and a leadership that is interested in minimizing illness and death. None of those things are true in this country.
posted by kokaku at 7:56 AM on June 24, 2020 [21 favorites]
posted by kokaku at 7:56 AM on June 24, 2020 [21 favorites]
because it sounds like your government is taking better care of you than the US's does. Here, we need to wear masks.
I totally agree, and I thought of including it in the comment: here, no one is forced to go to work with a light fever or a cough because there is an economic safety net for all, and it is not socially acceptable to go out if you are ill. And while things look almost normal, there is a lot of control going on everywhere, in all workplaces, at the stores and at restaurants and bars.
Finally, we obviously have universal healthcare, so it is in the government's own interest to keep us well.
posted by mumimor at 7:59 AM on June 24, 2020 [8 favorites]
I totally agree, and I thought of including it in the comment: here, no one is forced to go to work with a light fever or a cough because there is an economic safety net for all, and it is not socially acceptable to go out if you are ill. And while things look almost normal, there is a lot of control going on everywhere, in all workplaces, at the stores and at restaurants and bars.
Finally, we obviously have universal healthcare, so it is in the government's own interest to keep us well.
posted by mumimor at 7:59 AM on June 24, 2020 [8 favorites]
We (and yeah, I guess I do mean everyone, not just those of us in the U.S.) need to also keep in mind that the U.S. population in general has a VERY pronounced individualistic bent. It's kind of baked into our societal DNA (whether or not that's good is a subject for another day; I happen to think it's not great). So yeah, there tends to be a LOT of pushback against being told what to do. Clearly, in cases of a pandemic, that shit doesn't fly. The U.S. needs to work out when it's good to be individualistic and when it's not, and we don't do a good job of that right now.
posted by cooker girl at 9:30 AM on June 24, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by cooker girl at 9:30 AM on June 24, 2020 [4 favorites]
Mumimor, case in point: I'm in Texas. My best friend has a unionized job unloading planes at an international airport. She's allowed 3 paid sick days per year, after working that job for 30-ish years now. Because she's used up all 3 paid sick days this year, and started running a fever on Saturday, her supervisor told her to come in and work today, regardless, or she'd be written up.
3 write ups, and she gets fired (meaning, no unemployment benefits or health insurance afterwards). So, she elected to go to work unloading planes overnight, running a fever, and hasn't had time or money to get a Covid test. Why? Because the test is $150 and she'd need to take a day off to go get tested.
This is the reality of most USians right now: Go to work in essential jobs while ill and not even knowing whether you have Covid, or lose your job and have nothing at all because our safety nets are non-existent.
By the way, her husband lost his job in the entertainment industry back in March so she is the sole provider for their family. If she loses her job too, they have nothing.
Lastly, you should know this unionized global shipping company does NOT require workers to wear masks while unloading planes at this international airport. They have had multiple outbreaks at the airport and amongst their coworkers for this reason. They only have to wear masks if they go inside to use the restrooms or take meal breaks. Some workers do wear the masks regardless, but it gets above 100F (38C) regularly inside the planes during summertime, so.... *screams internally*
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 10:39 AM on June 24, 2020 [47 favorites]
3 write ups, and she gets fired (meaning, no unemployment benefits or health insurance afterwards). So, she elected to go to work unloading planes overnight, running a fever, and hasn't had time or money to get a Covid test. Why? Because the test is $150 and she'd need to take a day off to go get tested.
This is the reality of most USians right now: Go to work in essential jobs while ill and not even knowing whether you have Covid, or lose your job and have nothing at all because our safety nets are non-existent.
By the way, her husband lost his job in the entertainment industry back in March so she is the sole provider for their family. If she loses her job too, they have nothing.
Lastly, you should know this unionized global shipping company does NOT require workers to wear masks while unloading planes at this international airport. They have had multiple outbreaks at the airport and amongst their coworkers for this reason. They only have to wear masks if they go inside to use the restrooms or take meal breaks. Some workers do wear the masks regardless, but it gets above 100F (38C) regularly inside the planes during summertime, so.... *screams internally*
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 10:39 AM on June 24, 2020 [47 favorites]
the U.S. population in general has a VERY pronounced individualistic bent. It's kind of baked into our societal DNA
Maybe a derail, but I want to push back on this a bit, because I do see this narrative a lot, and I think that it leads to people giving up on trying to change this situation too often. The US has a pronounced individualistic bent relative to other countries, it's true. But there has been a noticeable change in this over my 40-ish year lifetime.
When I was younger, some states (eg. Maine) still had caucuses instead of primaries. Now, there are issues with caucuses and there were some good reasons for switching to primaries, but this was part of the New England town meeting tradition that was still at least somewhat active earlier in my lifetime. A fair number of people saw themselves as part of a polity, and came together to make local group decisions. Again, there were significant issues with how this happened and which sub-groups of people got left out of the decision-making. But there was a balance between valuing self-sufficiency and valuing community care.
I also lived in the upper Midwest for part of my youth. In the small city that we lived in, every neighborhood had a neighborhood park, and there was a large parks and rec department that hired young adults to organize activities for the neighborhood kids, including putting together a float representing their park for an annual late summer parade. There were all sorts of volunteer community groups. I have fond memories of peeling vegetables in a kitchen full of people (mostly women - again, a lot about the situation was imperfect) preparing communal meals (for just secular community events, so my memories don't even include the church dinners or events that also happened frequently!), stuffing envelopes for mailing out newsletters for community groups that my parents were involved in, or standing around a rural intersection with my parents because the local ham radio club did communications for the local triathlon. The running club was large, and put on monthly fun runs. And there were many other volunteer clubs and organizations for stuff that my parents weren't interested in, so I didn't participate in directly.
My parents have more recently moved back and forth between the two places, and much of that community activity seems to have tailed off in both areas. In my observations, the culprit seems to be capitalism.
On the one hand, capitalism incentivizes self-interest. Adam Smith's original idea was that common good would emerge out of the individual self-interested actions of individuals, with culture keeping some of the worst excesses in check. But the incentive systems that we live under change our culture. The '80s were known as the "Me Decade", but from what I can see, the '80s don't hold a candle to the sort of extreme self-interested behavior from people at the top of the economic ladder that is accepted or even lauded nowadays.
Related but different is the phenomenon of alienation. Very briefly, the constant competition with each other that we're required to engage in under capitalism eats away at any natural sense of community or solidarity we may feel with others. (Narrated by Gillian Anderson!)
Both of these affect people in the US more strongly than in other countries because the US is the center or "pinnacle" of modern capitalism. Other countries have social safety nets that help moderate the capitalist pressures that contribute to these two phenomena. Many words have been written by others on why the US doesn't have effective social safety nets anymore. Racism seems to be a significant contributing factor. But it's important to remember that the US used to have safety net programs and policies that, well, were effective for white working class people, at least. And the US used to have a citizenry with a (racist, but still) sense of community to temper the individualism. Yes, there are perhaps more stories of the (white, male) individual making their own way in the world that come out of (white) American culture than out of other cultures; but in many cases the protagonists in those stories don't eschew community entirely - they build a different, chosen community rather than rely on heritage and tradition for their community, but often the community element is still there. Ayn Rand and her acolytes form an important counter thread to this, and likely bear some responsibility for the current culture of hyper individualism in the US, but they have historically been more of a cultural minority (albeit one that gained sufficient economic and political power to influence the culture).
McCarthyism and its long term effects on unionism and more communalist philosophies in the US shares a piece of the blame, as well, from what I read.
Even today, however, I find that I can draw on this history in talking to people in the US about the importance of being more communally oriented, in a way that I can't when talking to people where I currently live in Atlantic Canada. People in my current province are more communally oriented in a broad, general sense; but it feels harder to get people involved in small, local volunteer efforts here. And many of my current neighbours, even ones older than me, don't have the same experiences of secular community (church breakfasts are still a thing, at least - again, some inclusion issues there) that I have from growing up in different parts of the US.
So it's not baked in to the "societal DNA" of the US or inevitable. And I encourage all of you to also push back on that idea when you do hear it.
posted by eviemath at 10:51 AM on June 24, 2020 [22 favorites]
Maybe a derail, but I want to push back on this a bit, because I do see this narrative a lot, and I think that it leads to people giving up on trying to change this situation too often. The US has a pronounced individualistic bent relative to other countries, it's true. But there has been a noticeable change in this over my 40-ish year lifetime.
When I was younger, some states (eg. Maine) still had caucuses instead of primaries. Now, there are issues with caucuses and there were some good reasons for switching to primaries, but this was part of the New England town meeting tradition that was still at least somewhat active earlier in my lifetime. A fair number of people saw themselves as part of a polity, and came together to make local group decisions. Again, there were significant issues with how this happened and which sub-groups of people got left out of the decision-making. But there was a balance between valuing self-sufficiency and valuing community care.
I also lived in the upper Midwest for part of my youth. In the small city that we lived in, every neighborhood had a neighborhood park, and there was a large parks and rec department that hired young adults to organize activities for the neighborhood kids, including putting together a float representing their park for an annual late summer parade. There were all sorts of volunteer community groups. I have fond memories of peeling vegetables in a kitchen full of people (mostly women - again, a lot about the situation was imperfect) preparing communal meals (for just secular community events, so my memories don't even include the church dinners or events that also happened frequently!), stuffing envelopes for mailing out newsletters for community groups that my parents were involved in, or standing around a rural intersection with my parents because the local ham radio club did communications for the local triathlon. The running club was large, and put on monthly fun runs. And there were many other volunteer clubs and organizations for stuff that my parents weren't interested in, so I didn't participate in directly.
My parents have more recently moved back and forth between the two places, and much of that community activity seems to have tailed off in both areas. In my observations, the culprit seems to be capitalism.
On the one hand, capitalism incentivizes self-interest. Adam Smith's original idea was that common good would emerge out of the individual self-interested actions of individuals, with culture keeping some of the worst excesses in check. But the incentive systems that we live under change our culture. The '80s were known as the "Me Decade", but from what I can see, the '80s don't hold a candle to the sort of extreme self-interested behavior from people at the top of the economic ladder that is accepted or even lauded nowadays.
Related but different is the phenomenon of alienation. Very briefly, the constant competition with each other that we're required to engage in under capitalism eats away at any natural sense of community or solidarity we may feel with others. (Narrated by Gillian Anderson!)
Both of these affect people in the US more strongly than in other countries because the US is the center or "pinnacle" of modern capitalism. Other countries have social safety nets that help moderate the capitalist pressures that contribute to these two phenomena. Many words have been written by others on why the US doesn't have effective social safety nets anymore. Racism seems to be a significant contributing factor. But it's important to remember that the US used to have safety net programs and policies that, well, were effective for white working class people, at least. And the US used to have a citizenry with a (racist, but still) sense of community to temper the individualism. Yes, there are perhaps more stories of the (white, male) individual making their own way in the world that come out of (white) American culture than out of other cultures; but in many cases the protagonists in those stories don't eschew community entirely - they build a different, chosen community rather than rely on heritage and tradition for their community, but often the community element is still there. Ayn Rand and her acolytes form an important counter thread to this, and likely bear some responsibility for the current culture of hyper individualism in the US, but they have historically been more of a cultural minority (albeit one that gained sufficient economic and political power to influence the culture).
McCarthyism and its long term effects on unionism and more communalist philosophies in the US shares a piece of the blame, as well, from what I read.
Even today, however, I find that I can draw on this history in talking to people in the US about the importance of being more communally oriented, in a way that I can't when talking to people where I currently live in Atlantic Canada. People in my current province are more communally oriented in a broad, general sense; but it feels harder to get people involved in small, local volunteer efforts here. And many of my current neighbours, even ones older than me, don't have the same experiences of secular community (church breakfasts are still a thing, at least - again, some inclusion issues there) that I have from growing up in different parts of the US.
So it's not baked in to the "societal DNA" of the US or inevitable. And I encourage all of you to also push back on that idea when you do hear it.
posted by eviemath at 10:51 AM on June 24, 2020 [22 favorites]
In my observations of US life in various states, those kind of things mostly happen in insular groups for the benefit of their own and in place of things a more community-oriented government would provide. See also Mormon relief societies. I stand by this country being pathologically individualistic.
posted by Flannery Culp at 11:02 AM on June 24, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by Flannery Culp at 11:02 AM on June 24, 2020 [7 favorites]
Maybe a derail, but I want to push back on this a bit, because I do see this narrative a lot, and I think that it leads to people giving up on trying to change this situation too often. The US has a pronounced individualistic bent relative to other countries, it's true. But there has been a noticeable change in this over my 40-ish year lifetime.
1. Never said to give up trying to change it. It should change.
2. You've seen a noticeable change, I have not. I'll be 50 this year, so we're contemporaries. What I have seen is the US going deeper and deeper into an "all for me and me for all" mentality, especially on the Right. The examples you gave all speak to neighborhood and sub-group interests. I'm not talking about the community garden or local charity runs. I'm talking about globalization vs. nationalism and it's my fault for not specifying that. The US population is great when it comes to organizing for communities. But "we" don't really see beyond our neighborhoods or our cities or our states, let alone our nation. That's all I was saying, and again, sorry for not being more clear.
And also, I'm speaking very generally here. Of course #notallamericans. But for the most part, generally, we're terrible at looking past our borders. This pandemic affects the entire world. And we can't even get our own people to care about people down the street, let alone people across the world.
posted by cooker girl at 11:04 AM on June 24, 2020 [6 favorites]
1. Never said to give up trying to change it. It should change.
2. You've seen a noticeable change, I have not. I'll be 50 this year, so we're contemporaries. What I have seen is the US going deeper and deeper into an "all for me and me for all" mentality, especially on the Right. The examples you gave all speak to neighborhood and sub-group interests. I'm not talking about the community garden or local charity runs. I'm talking about globalization vs. nationalism and it's my fault for not specifying that. The US population is great when it comes to organizing for communities. But "we" don't really see beyond our neighborhoods or our cities or our states, let alone our nation. That's all I was saying, and again, sorry for not being more clear.
And also, I'm speaking very generally here. Of course #notallamericans. But for the most part, generally, we're terrible at looking past our borders. This pandemic affects the entire world. And we can't even get our own people to care about people down the street, let alone people across the world.
posted by cooker girl at 11:04 AM on June 24, 2020 [6 favorites]
Oh, and yeah: capitalism does not help. At all.
posted by cooker girl at 11:17 AM on June 24, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by cooker girl at 11:17 AM on June 24, 2020 [4 favorites]
I'm talking about globalization vs. nationalism
That's usually described as "tribalism" rather than individualism?
posted by eviemath at 11:22 AM on June 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
That's usually described as "tribalism" rather than individualism?
posted by eviemath at 11:22 AM on June 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
Good point! This is why I shouldn't try to follow along on a MeFi thread while also trying to edit spreadsheets.
Carry on!
:)
posted by cooker girl at 11:33 AM on June 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
Carry on!
:)
posted by cooker girl at 11:33 AM on June 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
So I'm really, really curious how this is going to be enforced:
New York, Connecticut and New Jersey will require visitors from states with high coronavirus infection rates to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, beginning Thursday, the three governors said.posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:45 AM on June 24, 2020 [7 favorites]
New York City Marathon Canceled Because of Pandemic (NYT)
City officials and New York Road Runners, which owns and organizes the event, decided holding the race would be too risky. Public health experts have said mass events, especially those that bring people together from across the globe, will remain a danger until a treatment or a vaccine for Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, is widely available.Washington state to require face masks after county runs out of hospital beds (CBS News)
A county in Washington state has run out of hospital beds because of a recent spike in coronavirus cases — and now, Washington Governor Jay Inslee says the entire state is going to take a more aggressive approach to handling the pandemic. Everyone in the state, minus a few exceptions, will now have to wear a face mask, and will be charged with a misdemeanor crime if they fail to do so.NY, NJ, and CT order quarantine for visitors from states with high infection numbers (Fox5NY)
Cuomo says police will be stopping cars with out of state plates in New York. He says violators may face a judicial order and mandatory quarantine along with fines. He also said hotel employees should be questioning guests about their quarantine.posted by katra at 12:04 PM on June 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
A mask requirement is good. Making it a misdemeanor crime rather than a violation like a traffic ticket and possibly a fine for the most stubborn, I'm much less comfortable with.
posted by wierdo at 1:52 PM on June 24, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by wierdo at 1:52 PM on June 24, 2020 [4 favorites]
So it's not baked in to the "societal DNA" of the US or inevitable. And I encourage all of you to also push back on that idea when you do hear it.
de Tocqueville wrote about how American society was highly individualistic but also that Americans loved a club, committee, or society.
Anyone living in the United States learns from birth that he must rely on himself to combat the ills and obstacles of life; he looks across at the authority of society with mistrust and anxiety, calling upon such authority only when he cannot do without it. This begins to become apparent when school starts and children, even in their games, submit to the rules they have established and punish offenses following their own definitions. The same spirit prevails in all the affairs of social life. Should an obstacle appear on the public highway and the passage of traffic is halted, neighbors at once form a group to consider the matter; from this improvised assembly an executive authority appears to remedy the inconvenience before anyone has though of the possibility of some other authority already in existence before the one they have just formed.... [In America] there is nothing the human will despairs of attaining through the free action of the combined powers of individuals.
That tradition, such as it was, (and always stronger in New England and parts of the upper Midwest than in other parts of the country) of simultaneously distrusting external authority while trusting to and spontaneously forming local groups is still alive in things like the caucus.
It is a simplification to think of that as purely "individualistic" and I suspect that the relationship between the state, neighbours, local groups, and individuals is very different in rural New Hampshire than it is in Kentucky despite both of those places being known for suspicion of state power.
posted by atrazine at 2:00 PM on June 24, 2020 [5 favorites]
de Tocqueville wrote about how American society was highly individualistic but also that Americans loved a club, committee, or society.
Anyone living in the United States learns from birth that he must rely on himself to combat the ills and obstacles of life; he looks across at the authority of society with mistrust and anxiety, calling upon such authority only when he cannot do without it. This begins to become apparent when school starts and children, even in their games, submit to the rules they have established and punish offenses following their own definitions. The same spirit prevails in all the affairs of social life. Should an obstacle appear on the public highway and the passage of traffic is halted, neighbors at once form a group to consider the matter; from this improvised assembly an executive authority appears to remedy the inconvenience before anyone has though of the possibility of some other authority already in existence before the one they have just formed.... [In America] there is nothing the human will despairs of attaining through the free action of the combined powers of individuals.
That tradition, such as it was, (and always stronger in New England and parts of the upper Midwest than in other parts of the country) of simultaneously distrusting external authority while trusting to and spontaneously forming local groups is still alive in things like the caucus.
It is a simplification to think of that as purely "individualistic" and I suspect that the relationship between the state, neighbours, local groups, and individuals is very different in rural New Hampshire than it is in Kentucky despite both of those places being known for suspicion of state power.
posted by atrazine at 2:00 PM on June 24, 2020 [5 favorites]
A mask requirement is good. Making it a misdemeanor crime rather than a violation like a traffic ticket and possibly a fine for the most stubborn, I'm much less comfortable with.
I would also prefer it to be an infraction than a crime. I would also be more okay with it if the enforcers of this requirement (probably the cops, unfortunately) were given a supply of nondescript, clean masks and given the following instructions:
1. If you see a person in public without a mask, say "You seem to have forgotten your mask. Here, take this one for free."
2. Verify that they put the mask on (or provide one of the limited excuses).
3. If they insist on remaining in public but also refuse to wear a mask, then point out that the alternative is a fine and offer the mask again.
4. If they still refuse, then write them up.
And have explicit safeguards written in to the law and policy:
1. A mask will always be offered, every time, even for willful repeat offenders.
2. The same modest fine is the only penalty, even for willful repeat offenders.
3. By itself, not wearing a mask or refusing one is never grounds for an arrest, search, further questioning, etc.
4. If a family is in public together without masks then they are all to be offered masks but only one fine should be issued regardless of the size of the group.
posted by jedicus at 2:17 PM on June 24, 2020 [20 favorites]
I would also prefer it to be an infraction than a crime. I would also be more okay with it if the enforcers of this requirement (probably the cops, unfortunately) were given a supply of nondescript, clean masks and given the following instructions:
1. If you see a person in public without a mask, say "You seem to have forgotten your mask. Here, take this one for free."
2. Verify that they put the mask on (or provide one of the limited excuses).
3. If they insist on remaining in public but also refuse to wear a mask, then point out that the alternative is a fine and offer the mask again.
4. If they still refuse, then write them up.
And have explicit safeguards written in to the law and policy:
1. A mask will always be offered, every time, even for willful repeat offenders.
2. The same modest fine is the only penalty, even for willful repeat offenders.
3. By itself, not wearing a mask or refusing one is never grounds for an arrest, search, further questioning, etc.
4. If a family is in public together without masks then they are all to be offered masks but only one fine should be issued regardless of the size of the group.
posted by jedicus at 2:17 PM on June 24, 2020 [20 favorites]
So I'm really, really curious how this is going to be enforced
Honour system. Plus a certain amount of social shaming. And at least some companies will prevent their employees from returning to work if they know it applies which will impact how many people travel for business in the first place.
posted by Mitheral at 2:39 PM on June 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Honour system. Plus a certain amount of social shaming. And at least some companies will prevent their employees from returning to work if they know it applies which will impact how many people travel for business in the first place.
posted by Mitheral at 2:39 PM on June 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Dan Magan, CNBC: Trump will not follow New Jersey coronavirus quarantine order, ‘he’s not a civilian,’ White House says
posted by jedicus at 3:07 PM on June 24, 2020 [41 favorites]
“The president of the United States is not a civilian,” said a White House spokesman when asked about Trump’s compliance with the quarantine order given his travel Tuesday to ArizonaThat is both objectively false and an extremely dangerous idea.
posted by jedicus at 3:07 PM on June 24, 2020 [41 favorites]
Oh he's not a civilian okay okay okay okay okay this is where we are now cool cool cool cool cool but tomorrow it'll turn out that was just a joke and we'll forget about it this is not at all rage inducing or terrifying or anything like that
posted by bleep at 3:17 PM on June 24, 2020 [15 favorites]
posted by bleep at 3:17 PM on June 24, 2020 [15 favorites]
Virus cases surge among the young, endangering older adults (AP)
Elected officials such as Florida’s governor have argued against reimposing restrictions, saying many of the newly infected are young and otherwise healthy. But younger people, too, face the possibility of severe infection and death. In the past week, two 17-year-olds in Florida died of the virus. And authorities worry that older, more vulnerable people are next. “People between the ages 18 and 50 don’t live in some sort of a bubble,” Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said. “They are the children and grandchildren of vulnerable people. They may be standing next to you at a wedding. They might be serving you a meal in a restaurant.”‘Coming back and biting us’: US sees virus resurgence (AP)
A coronavirus resurgence is wiping out two months of progress in the U.S. and sending infections to dire new levels across the South and West, with administrators and health experts warning Wednesday that politicians and a tired-of-being-cooped-up public are letting a disaster unfold. [...] “People got complacent,” said Dr. Marc Boom, CEO of the Houston Methodist hospital system. “And it’s coming back and biting us, quite frankly.” Stocks slid on Wall Street as the news dampened hopes for a quick economic turnaround.From China To Germany, the World Learns to Live With the Coronavirus (NYT)
While the details differ, the strategies call for giving governments flexibility to tighten or ease as needed. They require some mix of intensive testing and monitoring, lightning-fast response times by the authorities, tight border management and constant reminders to their citizens of the dangers of frequent human contact. [...] The shifting strategies are an acknowledgment that even the most successful countries cannot declare victory until a vaccine is found. They also show the challenge presented by countries like the United States, Brazil and India, where the authorities never fully contained initial outbreaks and from where the coronavirus will continue to threaten to spread.posted by katra at 4:20 PM on June 24, 2020 [6 favorites]
Today's top 10 states for new cases
1) Texas >5000
2) Florida >5000
3) California >4000
4) North Carolina >2000
5) Arizona > 1700
6) Georgia > 1700
7) South Carolina > 1000
8) Alabama approx 900
9) Tennessee approx 900
10) Louisiana approx 900
See any pattern here?
posted by Windopaene at 4:30 PM on June 24, 2020
1) Texas >5000
2) Florida >5000
3) California >4000
4) North Carolina >2000
5) Arizona > 1700
6) Georgia > 1700
7) South Carolina > 1000
8) Alabama approx 900
9) Tennessee approx 900
10) Louisiana approx 900
See any pattern here?
posted by Windopaene at 4:30 PM on June 24, 2020
Thank heavens that Covid can’t survive the summer heat...
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 4:40 PM on June 24, 2020 [12 favorites]
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 4:40 PM on June 24, 2020 [12 favorites]
See any pattern here?
North Carolina has a Democratic governor?
posted by Snowishberlin at 5:01 PM on June 24, 2020
North Carolina has a Democratic governor?
posted by Snowishberlin at 5:01 PM on June 24, 2020
Or, North Carolina reopened too early? I do think that is the case.
posted by Snowishberlin at 5:04 PM on June 24, 2020
posted by Snowishberlin at 5:04 PM on June 24, 2020
An interacting mix of total state population, public policy, citizen compliance (or lack thereof) with public policy, and the overall dynamics of spread of SARS-CoV2 across regions of the country?
They are all states in the southern half of the US. Not sure that's a causal relationship, however.
posted by eviemath at 5:31 PM on June 24, 2020
They are all states in the southern half of the US. Not sure that's a causal relationship, however.
posted by eviemath at 5:31 PM on June 24, 2020
7 or 8 of these states opened up too early.
And 7 or 8 have Republican Govenors, and a couple others have GOP dominated state legislatures.
Probably just a coincedence though, right?
posted by Windopaene at 5:32 PM on June 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
And 7 or 8 have Republican Govenors, and a couple others have GOP dominated state legislatures.
Probably just a coincedence though, right?
posted by Windopaene at 5:32 PM on June 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
California is really 3 states: Northern, Southern, and Inland. The stats are quite different in each.
posted by PhineasGage at 5:58 PM on June 24, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 5:58 PM on June 24, 2020 [7 favorites]
So I'm really, really curious how [quarantine for inter-state visitors] is going to be enforced
Hawaii, the state most dependent on tourism, has been enforcing this rather strictly, and also flying people back to the mainland. There have been cases of residents being arrested for breaking quarantine after returning.
posted by meowzilla at 6:46 PM on June 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Hawaii, the state most dependent on tourism, has been enforcing this rather strictly, and also flying people back to the mainland. There have been cases of residents being arrested for breaking quarantine after returning.
posted by meowzilla at 6:46 PM on June 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Of course Trump is a civilian, that's the whole premise of "Commander in Chief," civilian control of the military.
posted by rhizome at 7:07 PM on June 24, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 7:07 PM on June 24, 2020 [9 favorites]
DMelanogaster: I keep doing research trying to find out the actual risk of any tiny aerosols sticking around for more than a few hours, but solid numbers are elusive. Also our son has been going to protests with thousands of people. I'd tell him to take a test before coming over but I hear they can yield up to 40% or more false negatives.
On both topics, from the recent AskMe request for best recent overview of COVID, mcgsa shared this Fresh Air interview: Amid Confusion About Reopening, An Expert Explains How To Assess COVID-19 Risk, where epidemiologist Michael Osterholm discusses a range of related items, including:
amarynth: "I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down, please."
Seen on Facebook: "You know why summer's so hot? Too many thermometers. If we didn't check the temperature so often, we wouldn't have many days over 80 degrees [Fahrenheit]" (or something like that).
wierdo: A mask requirement is good. Making it a misdemeanor crime rather than a violation like a traffic ticket and possibly a fine for the most stubborn, I'm much less comfortable with.
Then we're back in racist policing territory, with the excessive burden falling on already disadvantaged populations.
Police should be handing out masks, not fines.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:39 PM on June 24, 2020 [25 favorites]
On both topics, from the recent AskMe request for best recent overview of COVID, mcgsa shared this Fresh Air interview: Amid Confusion About Reopening, An Expert Explains How To Assess COVID-19 Risk, where epidemiologist Michael Osterholm discusses a range of related items, including:
- "I think the one factor that we must keep in mind at all times is that, to date, we have about 5 to 7% of the U.S. population has been infected with this virus. That's it. All the pain, suffering, death and economic disruption have occurred with 5 to 7%. But this virus is not going to slow down transmission overall. It may come and go, but it will keep transmitting until we get at least 60 or 70% of the population infected and hopefully develop immunity — or if we get a vaccine, that can get us there too."
- "Now, when we looked at [the risk of transmission from the outdoor Black Lives Matter protests], we realized that it was outdoors largely, which in that case, the virus dissipates quite quickly into the air. If there's any air movements around, it literally blows the cloud away and, in a sense, disintegrates it. And so that would mean a lot less exposure to someone breathing the air near someone else who might be infected. On the other hand, there were risk factors that we were concerned about, such as people who were exposed to tear gas and smoke that were coughing substantially. People yelling, shouting, whether they had a mask on or not, which we know can aerosolize the virus, getting it in terms of the air coming out of that voice. And then on top of that, we had individuals who were arrested, put in holding vehicles, sometimes for several hours before they were transported to the local jails, and they are then processed and put in a jail cell overnight. All of that would have likely increased cases. But as I said, we just haven't seen it yet. I think we're probably one to two weeks away from having more definitive answers, whether there was really an increase or not. And I think right now we are hopeful that we won't see a big increase in many of the cities that experienced these large crowds coming together."
- "One of the projects that we're working on right now with a group of international experts is really attempting to measure the exposure that someone likely will have in a public setting, meaning exposure in terms of time and dose. I think people often think of transmission with this virus almost like tag: I get close to somebody who's infected — "Tag! You're now it." It's not at all. It is time related. We're working on this, and it may be that you need many minutes to be in an environment where this virus is in the air and you need to inhale it in, and the amount of breathing that you do at a certain level before you get infected, it's not just a yes or no. It's a threshold. So one of the things we're trying to do over the course of the next month is put out a series of documents that will actually give people just that kind of quantification you're asking for: If I open a car window, do I reduce my risk by fivefold? Tenfold? What is my risk at that point? What's my risk if I'm with 50 people versus 10 people? What are the chances of me actually coming in contact with the virus? We need this information badly."
- "What we have largely is the Wild, Wild West of testing. The FDA has, I think, done a miserable job of overseeing the regulation and the authorization of antibody tests. Today, there's over 100 [tests] in the United States where somebody has just filed with the FDA that they are going to offer this, and that's all they had to do to be able to do it. We have seen a number of these tests that provide very, very poor results. ... If I were to test a large segment of the population today, half of all the test results that came back positive would actually be false positive — meaning they didn't really have the antibody. ... I would not use it at this point as a way of telling an individual patient that they did or didn't have COVID. The final piece is, of course, we don't know what antibody really means in terms of your own protection. We're worried that we're gonna start seeing people take different approaches to how they protect themselves if they think they're antibody positive."
amarynth: "I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down, please."
Seen on Facebook: "You know why summer's so hot? Too many thermometers. If we didn't check the temperature so often, we wouldn't have many days over 80 degrees [Fahrenheit]" (or something like that).
wierdo: A mask requirement is good. Making it a misdemeanor crime rather than a violation like a traffic ticket and possibly a fine for the most stubborn, I'm much less comfortable with.
Then we're back in racist policing territory, with the excessive burden falling on already disadvantaged populations.
Police should be handing out masks, not fines.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:39 PM on June 24, 2020 [25 favorites]
Seems like some scientist/medical folks should get an asymtomatic person, put them in a room, either just sitting for a couple of hours, with some collection sensors around, or walking around said collectors, and actually see what viral load the infected person puts out. Would seem like a good baseline for public health information. All I ever see is number of droplets ejected by coughs/sneezes.
posted by Windopaene at 8:06 PM on June 24, 2020
posted by Windopaene at 8:06 PM on June 24, 2020
California reported an additional 7,149 Covid-19 cases since Tuesday, a 69% increase in two days, bringing the state’s total to 190,222 cases, according to the state’s health department. The previous highest day jump was reported on Tuesday when the state recorded 5,019 additional new cases. (CNBC, June 24, 2020) The state’s seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases increased nearly 46% compared with a week ago, according to Hopkins data.
Fauci [...] told CBS News Radio he’s frustrated Americans aren’t following public health recommendations to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
I'm all ears, Doc.
Fauci to California: Good work so far, but state needs public buy-in for safe reopening (CalMatters.org, June 24, 2020) Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading public health voice in the coronavirus pandemic, gave California a pat on the back Wednesday, complimenting the state’s handling of its reopening — even amidst some public pushback. [...] “Plan A is don’t congregate. Plan B is that if you do congregate wear a mask and keep the mask on all the time,” he said. And to those who view masks as a political statement, Fauci said: “Forget the politics. Look at the data.”
An Illustrated History of Government Agencies Twisting the Truth to Align With White House Misinformation (Pro Publica, June 22, 2020)
posted by Iris Gambol at 8:14 PM on June 24, 2020 [4 favorites]
Fauci [...] told CBS News Radio he’s frustrated Americans aren’t following public health recommendations to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
I'm all ears, Doc.
Fauci to California: Good work so far, but state needs public buy-in for safe reopening (CalMatters.org, June 24, 2020) Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading public health voice in the coronavirus pandemic, gave California a pat on the back Wednesday, complimenting the state’s handling of its reopening — even amidst some public pushback. [...] “Plan A is don’t congregate. Plan B is that if you do congregate wear a mask and keep the mask on all the time,” he said. And to those who view masks as a political statement, Fauci said: “Forget the politics. Look at the data.”
An Illustrated History of Government Agencies Twisting the Truth to Align With White House Misinformation (Pro Publica, June 22, 2020)
posted by Iris Gambol at 8:14 PM on June 24, 2020 [4 favorites]
Further to Filthy_Light_Thief's great summary of the epidemiologist's comments on Fresh Air: as part of the current training protocol for contact tracers, the key factor in determining whether somebody is at risk of having been infected (and therefore should self-quarantine) is whether they have been within 6 feet of a known infected person for at least 10 or 15 minutes.
posted by PhineasGage at 8:32 PM on June 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 8:32 PM on June 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
For anyone who is interested in a deep dive into contact tracing, Coursera is offering the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Contact Tracing course for free.
Hey, I took this! I got a certificate and everything.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:03 PM on June 24, 2020 [5 favorites]
Hey, I took this! I got a certificate and everything.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:03 PM on June 24, 2020 [5 favorites]
Dozens of Secret Service officers and agents told to self-quarantine after Trump’s Tulsa rally (WaPo / reprint)
The Secret Service instructed employees who worked the Tulsa event to stay at home for 14 days when they returned from the weekend trip, according to two people familiar with the agency’s decision. [...] The move by the Secret Service to try to limit the spread of the infection shows how Trump’s decision to go forward with the rally increased the health risks and burden on the people who protect the president, former agents said. [...] White House spokesman Judd Deere did not directly answer questions about whether the president regretted the trip or if it increased the exposure risks for the agency, White House staff or himself. [...] The Trump campaign hoped the Tulsa trip would rally supporters in the heavily red state of Oklahoma amid polls showing an increasing number of voters concerned about the president’s handling of the pandemic, a stall in the economy and racial unrest over police violence against black Americans.Trump is headlining fireworks at Mount Rushmore. Experts worry two things could spread: virus and wildfire. (WaPo)
Neither federal nor state officials have imposed social distancing requirements as part of the gathering. The state tourism department, which is distributing 7,500 tickets for the event, has estimated that it has had requests for at least 125,000. One senior Interior official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the department is following state health guidelines and is taking steps to reflect recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes signs throughout the park urging visitors to wear a cloth face covering when it is impossible to keep six feet away from others, and providing face coverings for all of its employees.posted by katra at 10:10 PM on June 24, 2020 [9 favorites]
[...] Agency analyses, including a December 2017 presentation obtained by The Post, suggest that resuming fireworks could pollute local drinking water supplies, pose possible safety risks and potentially damage the monument itself. The 2017 presentation noted that the memorial is accessed by a single two-lane road, constraining entrance and access to the grounds. [Cheryl Schreier, who served as the superintendent at Mount Rushmore National Park between September 2010 and May 2019] said she was particularly concerned whether visitors would be able to leave quickly enough in an emergency, especially because so many people without entrance passes might end up parking on the side of the road to watch the display. “These are winding roadways, and if people are not familiar with Black Hills of South Dakota, it can be very challenging,” she said.
There is right now a new fire in that state park working its way up Rushmore way. I worked and lived in that park at a theatre for a few summers and it is my favorite place on the planet. Mount Rushmore itself is already a desecration and a nasty thing, and I say this as a native South Dakotan. 45 should not go there on a normal day, because it is true that the roads are treacherous and not built for crowds. He should absolutely not go there when a pandemic is trying to kill my friends and a fire is doing the same and to imagine doing a fireworks display invokes the most visceral protective fight-y feelings in me. Sodak has a really shit governor right now who already has selfish malevolent people feeling free to roam. The whole state is having to operate town by town and mayor by mayor, and a few of the mayors seem happy to watch people die. The governor's spending her time fighting Tribal governments, who are trying to restrict callous open travel through their space. My home state is burning and also now literally burning to meet the place that 45 wants to make a racist show. Aristocrats!
(I'm far away from there now. But if you have access to a tiny stick-shift car, drive that Needles Highway sometime. It's one of the greatest things in life. Windows open. Song loud or music off. It's such a beautiful place. Not even to mention Jewel Cave, which will take a zillion more years to explore.)
My friends and family are all still being careful, being apart, taking care. If you happen to be from a place where callousness is suddenly patriotic, I have found that writing messages on other social sites about holding the line and about taking care of other people and thanking people who are doing that is useful-ish. A lot of people who are surrounded by shitheadery can get a bit of comfort out of confirmation that they are right and they haven't understood the science wrong. Social pressure is powerful and if you can back them to calmly push back, it gives courage to people they know.
Anyway, this all sucks. Hang in there, everyone.
posted by lauranesson at 10:42 PM on June 24, 2020 [29 favorites]
(I'm far away from there now. But if you have access to a tiny stick-shift car, drive that Needles Highway sometime. It's one of the greatest things in life. Windows open. Song loud or music off. It's such a beautiful place. Not even to mention Jewel Cave, which will take a zillion more years to explore.)
My friends and family are all still being careful, being apart, taking care. If you happen to be from a place where callousness is suddenly patriotic, I have found that writing messages on other social sites about holding the line and about taking care of other people and thanking people who are doing that is useful-ish. A lot of people who are surrounded by shitheadery can get a bit of comfort out of confirmation that they are right and they haven't understood the science wrong. Social pressure is powerful and if you can back them to calmly push back, it gives courage to people they know.
Anyway, this all sucks. Hang in there, everyone.
posted by lauranesson at 10:42 PM on June 24, 2020 [29 favorites]
Rapid City Journal link about that fire. Info seems thin at the moment and I'm sorry that the whole park is named after a loser hopeful genocidaire, but it's a holy place for a reason.
posted by lauranesson at 10:53 PM on June 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by lauranesson at 10:53 PM on June 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
With regards to the pandemic, I believe that the U.S. has not yet achieved Peak Stupid. With the Spanish Flu, the second wave of the disease caused the worst behavior, but we're not even past the first wave with COVID-19.
Right now, stupid sounds like this:
"Good work, folks! We stopped the fire from spreading in two or three places. Time to pack up our hoses and get this fire truck back to the station."
I don't think we have any idea of how stupid people are going to be when COVID-19 resurges in the fall and winter and even tougher restrictions need to be implemented than any we've seen so far. People are going to lose their damn minds with frustration and impatience and worry.
STAY STRONG.
STAY HOME.
WEAR A MASK.
WASH YOUR HANDS.
IGNORE SOCIAL PRESSURE TO DO THE WRONG THING.
SUPPORT EACH OTHER.
The worst is yet to come, but we can beat this. It will be slow. Pace yourself for a long fight. Ask for help when you need it, and offer help when you don't. We're all on the buddy system now.
posted by springo at 6:16 AM on June 25, 2020 [21 favorites]
Right now, stupid sounds like this:
"Good work, folks! We stopped the fire from spreading in two or three places. Time to pack up our hoses and get this fire truck back to the station."
I don't think we have any idea of how stupid people are going to be when COVID-19 resurges in the fall and winter and even tougher restrictions need to be implemented than any we've seen so far. People are going to lose their damn minds with frustration and impatience and worry.
STAY STRONG.
STAY HOME.
WEAR A MASK.
WASH YOUR HANDS.
IGNORE SOCIAL PRESSURE TO DO THE WRONG THING.
SUPPORT EACH OTHER.
The worst is yet to come, but we can beat this. It will be slow. Pace yourself for a long fight. Ask for help when you need it, and offer help when you don't. We're all on the buddy system now.
posted by springo at 6:16 AM on June 25, 2020 [21 favorites]
I agree the worst is yet to come. But we can't beat this in America, and we won't. Either we'll get to the 60%+ infection rate that means we have herd immunity. Or we get absolutely lucky and a vaccine not only is developed, but is then distributed in enough quantity to matter. Outside chance that some therapy will be developed for sick people too so that the disease continues to spread but isn't so terrible.
The federal government is completely AWOL and has decided to just ignore the problem. State governments are trying but even the states that mean well and are mostly competently run (say, California) are failing. And then you have the American individualistic mindset, with its "fuck you I got mine" attitude stopping people from wearing masks and its contempt for healthcare as a social good.
We are witnessing a significant failure of the American system. No one is coming to save us and we sure as hell aren't capable of saving ourselves.
posted by Nelson at 6:57 AM on June 25, 2020 [6 favorites]
The federal government is completely AWOL and has decided to just ignore the problem. State governments are trying but even the states that mean well and are mostly competently run (say, California) are failing. And then you have the American individualistic mindset, with its "fuck you I got mine" attitude stopping people from wearing masks and its contempt for healthcare as a social good.
We are witnessing a significant failure of the American system. No one is coming to save us and we sure as hell aren't capable of saving ourselves.
posted by Nelson at 6:57 AM on June 25, 2020 [6 favorites]
With regards to the pandemic, I believe that the U.S. has not yet achieved Peak Stupid... Right now, stupid sounds like this:
"Good work, folks! We stopped the fire from spreading in two or three places. Time to pack up our hoses and get this fire truck back to the station."
I think you're actually being too generous. I realize that point-and-grar isn't the best use of discourse here, so mods feel free to delete, but I just watched this clip of people fighting the mask ordinance in Palm Beach and I don't think some fire trucks have any intention of leaving the station in the first place.
posted by Mchelly at 8:30 AM on June 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
"Good work, folks! We stopped the fire from spreading in two or three places. Time to pack up our hoses and get this fire truck back to the station."
I think you're actually being too generous. I realize that point-and-grar isn't the best use of discourse here, so mods feel free to delete, but I just watched this clip of people fighting the mask ordinance in Palm Beach and I don't think some fire trucks have any intention of leaving the station in the first place.
posted by Mchelly at 8:30 AM on June 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
Some of these dumb people think fire trucks set the fires because they saw it on the Internet.
posted by Nelson at 8:37 AM on June 25, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 8:37 AM on June 25, 2020 [8 favorites]
I'm not convinced herd immunity is even an option for anyone at this point. Recent studies show that antibodies rapidly fall to undetectable levels in formerly Covid-positive patients -- anywhere from a few weeks to 2-3 months, at most.
There's a Dallas woman who was very ill with Covid in February, then cleared it and donated plasma with antibodies twice to help others hospitalized with the virus.
Then about 10 days ago, she was admitted to Southwestern and tested positive for Covid again, now four months after her initial infection. And I feel like I've read that she's not the only one? Maybe there was a case in the UK, or similar?
The 1918 flu pandemic killed my great-grandfather in 1920, just a few months after my grandfather was born. It's awful to see we didn't learn anything then and the parallel arguments people are making now about masking, distancing, etc. And yet, here I am, turning down offers for road trips with friends visiting from out of state for 4th of July... 🤦♀️
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 8:38 AM on June 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
There's a Dallas woman who was very ill with Covid in February, then cleared it and donated plasma with antibodies twice to help others hospitalized with the virus.
Then about 10 days ago, she was admitted to Southwestern and tested positive for Covid again, now four months after her initial infection. And I feel like I've read that she's not the only one? Maybe there was a case in the UK, or similar?
The 1918 flu pandemic killed my great-grandfather in 1920, just a few months after my grandfather was born. It's awful to see we didn't learn anything then and the parallel arguments people are making now about masking, distancing, etc. And yet, here I am, turning down offers for road trips with friends visiting from out of state for 4th of July... 🤦♀️
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 8:38 AM on June 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
A CS professor at my University who is a respected smart person:
Everything you’ve read about contact tracing apps is wrong
The simple math in here seems to check out. Kind of confirms what I suspected, that we need people more than apps when it comes to contact tracing, and we need public buy-in for either to really work.
posted by lazaruslong at 8:55 AM on June 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
Everything you’ve read about contact tracing apps is wrong
The simple math in here seems to check out. Kind of confirms what I suspected, that we need people more than apps when it comes to contact tracing, and we need public buy-in for either to really work.
posted by lazaruslong at 8:55 AM on June 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
I live in Palm Beach County and those wackos are not representative of the population as a whole, thank goodness. From what I've seen when I go to the grocery store or Target, people here are pretty good about wearing masks in those places. I have a musician friend who's played some outdoor gigs in the past few weeks and he says that mask compliance tends to go down as alcohol consumption goes up, which I suppose is only to be expected, but is why I'm staying well away from bars for now.
posted by Daily Alice at 9:01 AM on June 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by Daily Alice at 9:01 AM on June 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
...aaaand just got the email from Penn, my University for work and school. They are doing hybrid until Thanksgiving, all online after that. Huge mistake. I hope they change their minds as the virus continues to trend upwards.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:12 AM on June 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by lazaruslong at 9:12 AM on June 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
COVID-19 Broke the Economy. What If We Don't Fix It?
"Whenever there's a crisis, everybody says we have to work more. Actually no, at the moment you want to save the world, work less," said David Graeber, an American anthropologist and the author of Bullshit Jobs, a book that argues that many jobs that we currently work are meaningless.posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 9:18 AM on June 25, 2020 [22 favorites]
As a society, we place moral value on working. "We really do believe that if you're not out working hard you don't deserve anything. You're a bad person," Graeber said. "But that morality is perversely destroying the planet."
I'm not convinced herd immunity is even an option for anyone at this point. Recent studies show that antibodies rapidly fall to undetectable levels in formerly Covid-positive patients -- anywhere from a few weeks to 2-3 months, at most.
I posted this in the other thread, but I think it bears repeating because its important:
On Antibody persistence and immunity
So my advice is not to panic, but not to be complacent, either. The complexities of the immune system mean that we have a whole range of possible situations in how this pandemic is unfolding. At the most optimistic end, it is possible that a larger percentage of the population than we realize might already be protected (to some degree) from the coronavirus. Unfortunately, it’s also possible that almost everyone is, in fact, still vulnerable and that we just haven’t seen the virus run through most of the population yet. Everyone will have seen the various population surveys with antibody testing that have suggested, in most cases, that a rather small percentage of people have been exposed. Think of the various ways you could get such a result: (1) it’s just what it looks like, and most people are unprotected because they have so far been unexposed. (2) the antibody results are what they look like – low exposure – but people’s T-cell responses mean that there are actually more people protected than we realize. (3) the antibody results are deceiving, because (as this latest paper seems to show) the antibody response fades over time, meaning that more people have been exposed than it looks like. And that means you can split that into (3a) the antibody response fades, but the T-cell response is still protective and (3b) the antibody response fades and so does the T-cell response. That last one is not a happy possibility.
About the woman in Dallas:
There's a Dallas woman who was very ill with Covid in February, then cleared it and donated plasma with antibodies twice to help others hospitalized with the virus.
Reading the linked article, it seems as though her doctors believe it more likely she never cleared the virus in the first place. As the article explains, early reports of re-infections in South Korea turned out to be non-infectious viral RNA or issues with test sensitivity.
posted by eagles123 at 9:25 AM on June 25, 2020 [11 favorites]
I posted this in the other thread, but I think it bears repeating because its important:
On Antibody persistence and immunity
So my advice is not to panic, but not to be complacent, either. The complexities of the immune system mean that we have a whole range of possible situations in how this pandemic is unfolding. At the most optimistic end, it is possible that a larger percentage of the population than we realize might already be protected (to some degree) from the coronavirus. Unfortunately, it’s also possible that almost everyone is, in fact, still vulnerable and that we just haven’t seen the virus run through most of the population yet. Everyone will have seen the various population surveys with antibody testing that have suggested, in most cases, that a rather small percentage of people have been exposed. Think of the various ways you could get such a result: (1) it’s just what it looks like, and most people are unprotected because they have so far been unexposed. (2) the antibody results are what they look like – low exposure – but people’s T-cell responses mean that there are actually more people protected than we realize. (3) the antibody results are deceiving, because (as this latest paper seems to show) the antibody response fades over time, meaning that more people have been exposed than it looks like. And that means you can split that into (3a) the antibody response fades, but the T-cell response is still protective and (3b) the antibody response fades and so does the T-cell response. That last one is not a happy possibility.
About the woman in Dallas:
There's a Dallas woman who was very ill with Covid in February, then cleared it and donated plasma with antibodies twice to help others hospitalized with the virus.
Reading the linked article, it seems as though her doctors believe it more likely she never cleared the virus in the first place. As the article explains, early reports of re-infections in South Korea turned out to be non-infectious viral RNA or issues with test sensitivity.
posted by eagles123 at 9:25 AM on June 25, 2020 [11 favorites]
Trump elicits backlash over racist language, rallying cry for supporters (SFGate / WaPo)
Trump's appearance before a crowd of several thousand enthusiastic young people at the Dream City Church in Phoenix on Tuesday showed how his casual use of a demeaning phrase - one that even some White House aides rejected three months ago - has swiftly morphed into a staple of his reelection message amid tumbling poll numbers. [...] "The fact that he got the crowd so riled up was just chilling," said Chris Lu, a Chinese American who served as cabinet secretary in the Obama administration. "In that really primal desire to get a rise out of the crowd and get that affirmation he wants, he went to this place that has such bad consequences for Asian Americans broadly and for Asian American kids in particular. It's a joke to him but not to us."posted by katra at 10:13 AM on June 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
[...] In the 2016 election, Democrat Hillary Clinton won 65% of the Asian American vote to Trump's 27%, according to exit polls, but Trump's rhetoric and policies could be further eroding his standing with the small but fast-growing voting bloc. In the 2018 midterms, 77% of Asian Americans backed Democratic candidates in the House elections, up from 49% in the 2014 midterms. This week, Trump signed an executive order to extend restrictions on foreign workers and some family members of U.S. citizens during the coronavirus, a policy that restricts a popular program used by many Asian immigrants. John Yang, president of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, said his organization has registered a spike in reports of violence against Asian Americans since the outbreak began, having tracked 2,300 incidents since late March. He said Trump was seeking to distract the public "from his own abysmal record" in overseeing the federal response to the virus.
Tesla gave workers permission to stay home rather than risk getting covid-19. Then it sent termination notices.[Washington Post]
When he defiantly reopened the company’s plant in Fremont, Calif., against county orders last month, Elon Musk promised Tesla employees they could stay home if they felt uneasy. They would not be penalized.posted by Mitheral at 10:44 AM on June 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
[...]
Nonetheless, two Tesla workers say they received termination notices alleging a “failure to return to work” after they opted to take unpaid leave to protect themselves and their family members when the factory restarted production the second week of May.
... infection and mortality rates are higher in places where one pundit who initially downplayed the severity of the pandemic — Fox News’ Sean Hannity — reaches the largest audiences. [Washington Post]
a 10 percent increase in Fox News viewership within a Zip code reduced its residents’ propensity to stay home, in compliance with public health guidelines, by about 1.3 percentage points.posted by Mitheral at 10:51 AM on June 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
Jeff Sharlet in Vanity Fair
Inside the Cult of Trump
A bizarre mishmash of numerology, tweetology, and white supremacy—are the rituals by which he stamps his name on the American dream.
posted by adamvasco at 1:49 PM on June 25, 2020 [15 favorites]
Inside the Cult of Trump
A bizarre mishmash of numerology, tweetology, and white supremacy—are the rituals by which he stamps his name on the American dream.
posted by adamvasco at 1:49 PM on June 25, 2020 [15 favorites]
Reopenings and full hospitals: America’s dissonant response to the pandemic (WaPo)
Americans are living through a split-screen pandemic: Their leaders are relaxing restrictions while their states set records for new coronavirus infections. Churches, beaches and bars are filling up, and so are hospital beds. [...] Experts note a troubling lack of consistent, unified messaging from Trump and Vice President Pence, who have downplayed the danger and denigrated effective disease defenses such as mask-wearing, testing and social distancing — even as the administration’s own health officials contradict them. [...] The push to reopen quickly even as cases climb sends a dangerous and inaccurate message, said Andrew T. Pavia, the chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at University of Utah Health. “On the one hand, you get messages from politicians and the business community that we have to go, go, go and open up,” he said. “On the other hand, you’re seeing epidemiological indicators that we still have to be very careful.” “It’s cognitive dissonance,” he added.posted by katra at 2:27 PM on June 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
[...] Some governors have followed the administration’s lead, blaming rising case loads on more testing. In many states, positive test rates have been rising all month, according to an analysis by Covid Act Now, a consortium of doctors and researchers. If the spikes were solely due to increased testing, and not the actual spread of disease, positive rates would plateau or decline. [...] “The reality is: Words matter,” [Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins (D), the jurisdiction’s top elected official] said. “And when you tell people, ‘You can wear a mask, but it’s up to you. Do whatever you want to do, you’re Texans,’ when that’s your message, it leads to less compliance and it leads to this damage to public health and the economy.” [...] “The message of opening up has been that it’s low risk,” [Pavia] said, “and that message has backfired on us.”
The Indian Health Service Wants to Return 1 Million KN95 Masks It Bought From a Former White House Official (Pro Publica, June 25, 2020) The former official, Zach Fuentes, is refusing to take back the masks even though IHS said they did not meet FDA standards. His company’s lawyer says the IHS is trying to cancel the order for “political reasons.” [...] ProPublica reported last month that [former WH deputy chief of staff] Fuentes received a contract to provide 1 million KN95 respirator masks just 11 days after he created his company, Zach Fuentes LLC. The IHS later told ProPublica that the masks it bought from Fuentes do not meet Food and Drug Administration standards for use in health care settings.
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State Coronavirus Data Doesn’t Support Trump’s Misleading Testing Claims (Pro Publica, June 25, 2020) The Trump administration has doubled down on its claims that coronavirus case counts are up because the U.S. has increased testing. However, a closer look at graphs of testing numbers and positive cases shows that this isn’t the case for many states.
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April 27 (NPR) - CDC adds six new symptoms to its list of known COVID-19 symptoms; the original list had fever, cough, and shortness of breath. New additions: Chills; Repeated shaking with chills; Muscle pain; Headache; Sore throat; New loss of smell or taste. June 25 (CDC.gov) - CDC adds three new symptoms to COVID-19 list: Congestion or runny nose; Nausea or vomiting; Diarrhea. However, the CDC's current list is 11 symptoms long, with chills, repeated shaking with chills collapsed into 'fever and chills' (& like everything SARS-CoV-2 related, 'fatigue' crept in at some point): Fever or chills; Cough; Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; Fatigue; Muscle or body aches; Headache; New loss of taste or smell; Sore throat; Congestion or runny nose; Nausea or vomiting; Diarrhea. (The WHO lists conjunctivitis and chillblain-like "COVID toe" as less common symptoms.) The US has 4% of the world population, and a quarter of the confirmed cases; symptom lists are sometimes briefer, elsewhere.
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:45 PM on June 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
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State Coronavirus Data Doesn’t Support Trump’s Misleading Testing Claims (Pro Publica, June 25, 2020) The Trump administration has doubled down on its claims that coronavirus case counts are up because the U.S. has increased testing. However, a closer look at graphs of testing numbers and positive cases shows that this isn’t the case for many states.
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April 27 (NPR) - CDC adds six new symptoms to its list of known COVID-19 symptoms; the original list had fever, cough, and shortness of breath. New additions: Chills; Repeated shaking with chills; Muscle pain; Headache; Sore throat; New loss of smell or taste. June 25 (CDC.gov) - CDC adds three new symptoms to COVID-19 list: Congestion or runny nose; Nausea or vomiting; Diarrhea. However, the CDC's current list is 11 symptoms long, with chills, repeated shaking with chills collapsed into 'fever and chills' (& like everything SARS-CoV-2 related, 'fatigue' crept in at some point): Fever or chills; Cough; Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; Fatigue; Muscle or body aches; Headache; New loss of taste or smell; Sore throat; Congestion or runny nose; Nausea or vomiting; Diarrhea. (The WHO lists conjunctivitis and chillblain-like "COVID toe" as less common symptoms.) The US has 4% of the world population, and a quarter of the confirmed cases; symptom lists are sometimes briefer, elsewhere.
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:45 PM on June 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
I posted this in the other thread, but I think it bears repeating because its important:
There was a paper reviewed in This Week in Virology (which is now running at 3-4 shows a week) showing T cell but not antibody responses in a substantial number of close contacts of mild cases in Italy. n was small since T cell assays are hard but still very promising news that people who are seronegative may still have substantial adaptive immune responses.
Here it is.
So the fraction of the population who has been exposed may be >> seropositive population.
posted by atrazine at 3:04 PM on June 25, 2020
There was a paper reviewed in This Week in Virology (which is now running at 3-4 shows a week) showing T cell but not antibody responses in a substantial number of close contacts of mild cases in Italy. n was small since T cell assays are hard but still very promising news that people who are seronegative may still have substantial adaptive immune responses.
Here it is.
So the fraction of the population who has been exposed may be >> seropositive population.
posted by atrazine at 3:04 PM on June 25, 2020
atrazine, your "Here it is" links to "Intrafamilial Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 Induces Cellular Immune Response without Seroconversion" at medrxiv.org, with "This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review [...] It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice"
&
Here we investigated the humoral and cellular immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 in seven families, including nine index patients and eight contacts, who had evidence of serological discordances within the households. Ten unexposed healthy donors were enrolled as controls.
Is that the paper you intended to link?
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:27 PM on June 25, 2020
&
Here we investigated the humoral and cellular immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 in seven families, including nine index patients and eight contacts, who had evidence of serological discordances within the households. Ten unexposed healthy donors were enrolled as controls.
Is that the paper you intended to link?
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:27 PM on June 25, 2020
I'm a viral immunologist. Here's what antibody tests for Covid-19 tell us (Zania Stamataki, Guardian Opinion)
The duration of any potentially protective immunity remains to be determined. As with so much related to this pandemic, we will know more as the months pass, and people who have recovered either remain well, or succumb to the virus again. Perhaps of more practical importance right now is a study that followed up 37 asymptomatic people who had positive PCR tests. This showed they had detectable levels of the virus for longer that those who had symptoms. Asymptomatic people are therefore likely to be more contagious. We also know that pre-symptomatic people, those in the early days following infection with Sars-CoV-2, are also highly contagious. Because we are often not aware that we are infected, measures to ensure social distancing and face covering are crucial when it comes to protecting others.posted by katra at 6:29 PM on June 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
There is some good news on the horizon, though. The first data emerging from vaccine studies show that animals can be protected from Sars-CoV-2 infection, and people do develop hallmarks of protective immunity. This hints that immunological memory is possible. The only way to know for sure, though, is to measure what happens when vaccination volunteers become infected.
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act. (AP, June 25, 2020)
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:48 PM on June 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:48 PM on June 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
So, winning re-election by killing off the populace, eh? So they can't vote against you, I guess?
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:27 PM on June 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:27 PM on June 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
Is that the paper you intended to link?
It is indeed.
Obviously nine index patients and eight contacts is a tiny sample size but it does fit into the picture we have already of at least some cases where people are confirmed PCR +ve but then don't go on to develop measurable antibody titres.
Results
All index patients recovered from mild Covid-19. All developed anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and a significant T cell response detectable up to 69 days after symptom onset.
Six of the eight contacts reported COVID-19 symptoms within 1 to 7 days after the index patients but all were SARS-CoV-2 seronegative. Six out of eight contacts developed a SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell response against structural and/or accessory proteins that lasts up to 80 days post symptom onset suggesting a past SARS-CoV-2 infection.
I would have liked to see PCRs (or even, because I have to dream, plaque assays) from the contacts but it's still interesting to see what looks like people developing cellular immunity but not antibodies.
Earlier papers have shown that most but not all clinically diagnosed infections to go on to develop antibodies so I wonder if there is a link between very mild illness and antibody production.
Doing these T cell assays against epitope pools is hard work so there's no way of doing population level serosurveys but I would like to see this work repeated on a medium sized group of 100 or so. That would let us extrapolate from serosurvey data we do have.
posted by atrazine at 12:55 AM on June 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
It is indeed.
Obviously nine index patients and eight contacts is a tiny sample size but it does fit into the picture we have already of at least some cases where people are confirmed PCR +ve but then don't go on to develop measurable antibody titres.
Results
All index patients recovered from mild Covid-19. All developed anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and a significant T cell response detectable up to 69 days after symptom onset.
Six of the eight contacts reported COVID-19 symptoms within 1 to 7 days after the index patients but all were SARS-CoV-2 seronegative. Six out of eight contacts developed a SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell response against structural and/or accessory proteins that lasts up to 80 days post symptom onset suggesting a past SARS-CoV-2 infection.
I would have liked to see PCRs (or even, because I have to dream, plaque assays) from the contacts but it's still interesting to see what looks like people developing cellular immunity but not antibodies.
Earlier papers have shown that most but not all clinically diagnosed infections to go on to develop antibodies so I wonder if there is a link between very mild illness and antibody production.
Doing these T cell assays against epitope pools is hard work so there's no way of doing population level serosurveys but I would like to see this work repeated on a medium sized group of 100 or so. That would let us extrapolate from serosurvey data we do have.
posted by atrazine at 12:55 AM on June 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
Another four years of the Trump administration isn't affordable.
The Trump administration doesn't care.
The Trump administration doesn't act.
The ad writes itself.
posted by emelenjr at 6:15 AM on June 26, 2020 [10 favorites]
The Trump administration doesn't care.
The Trump administration doesn't act.
The ad writes itself.
posted by emelenjr at 6:15 AM on June 26, 2020 [10 favorites]
A reminder to watch out for various Republicans claiming to the media -- unchallenged, of course -- that they "care about" people with pre-existing conditions, as they did in 2018.
Caring is irrelevant when they support a policy that takes away their health care.
That line didn't seem to work very well for them in 2018, so hopefully it'll fall flat again. But it's a good opportunity to remind voters that caring or not, Republicans support taking your insurance away, and Democrats want to see that everyone has it. It's simple as that.
posted by Gelatin at 6:30 AM on June 26, 2020 [6 favorites]
Caring is irrelevant when they support a policy that takes away their health care.
That line didn't seem to work very well for them in 2018, so hopefully it'll fall flat again. But it's a good opportunity to remind voters that caring or not, Republicans support taking your insurance away, and Democrats want to see that everyone has it. It's simple as that.
posted by Gelatin at 6:30 AM on June 26, 2020 [6 favorites]
A reminder to watch out for various Republicans claiming to the media -- unchallenged, of course -- that they "care about" people with pre-existing conditions, as they did in 2018.
Trump team looks to prevent a Tulsa-style debacle in Jacksonville (Politico, Jun. 25, 2020)
Trump team looks to prevent a Tulsa-style debacle in Jacksonville (Politico, Jun. 25, 2020)
The sudden spike in confirmed cases has heightened the concerns among residents of Florida’s most populous city about hosting convention activities that could draw in thousands of people from outside the state. Seventy-one percent of voters in Duval County said they are very or somewhat worried about Covid-19 transmissions occurring at the GOP convention, according to a University of North Florida-Public Opinion Research Lab poll released Wednesday. [...] Before the president rallied in Tulsa last weekend, local health officials warned residents who are more vulnerable to health complications if they contract the novel coronavirus to stay home. [...] One Trump campaign official expressed relief that the Republican National Committee — as well as a nonpartisan host committee in Jacksonville — is handling most logistics for the convention so that the president’s reelection team will be “spared” if the event does not go as planned, or if it fails to quench Trump’s craving for a gigantic crowd of adoring supporters.Trump Ignores Virus Spike as U.S. Cases Surge to Record Level (Bloomberg / MSN)
President Donald Trump has paid little heed to a resurgence in U.S. coronavirus cases -- which on Thursday hit a record level -- announcing no new steps to curb the outbreak and continuing with a normal schedule of meetings and travel as hospitals fill with sick patients. [...] “I don’t even like to talk about that, because it’s fading away,” Trump said of the virus last week in a Fox News interview. “It’s going to fade away, but having a vaccine would be really nice and that’s going to happen.”posted by katra at 9:22 AM on June 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
Dan Mangan & Kevin Breuninger, CNBC: Trump cancels [golfing] trip to [his golf club in Bedminster,] New Jersey, but White House says it’s not related to coronavirus quarantine rule
[Democratic] Gov. Phil Murphy told CNBC his quarantine order would not have applied to Trump, because “by any definition the president of the United States is an essential worker.”posted by jedicus at 10:44 AM on June 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
Florida reports nearly 9,000 new coronavirus cases, blowing past previous single-day record (WaPo live blog)
Coronavirus cases continued to skyrocket in Florida, where health officials Friday reported 8,942 new infections, eclipsing a previous single-day record of 5,511 set just two days ago. Fatalities in the state also appeared to be trending upward, with 39 new deaths announced Friday. The state has ramped up diagnostic testing recently, but the rate of positive cases has climbed significantly over the past two weeks — a clear sign that the spread of the virus is accelerating. More than 13 percent of the most recent tests came back positive, according to Florida health officials, up from about 5 to 7 percent earlier in the month. Hospitalizations have also increased. [...] Faced with the alarming numbers, state officials Friday abruptly suspended alcohol consumption at bars statewide.Pence: It’s ‘a good thing’ new cases are among younger Americans (WaPo live blog)
Critics immediately noted that most countries are seeing total positive cases going down regardless of age. Others pointed out that while people under 35 may not be as vulnerable, the people they come in contact with could be — something Pence later acknowledged as well.Pence says all 50 states ‘opening up safely and responsibly’ (WaPo live blog)
Pence acknowledged that cases have been rising “precipitously” in some states, largely in the South, and announced that he and other task force officials would travel to Texas, Arizona and Florida in the coming days for on-the-ground reports. But in his opening remarks, the vice president praised the work of the administration more broadly, crediting President Trump’s leadership in addressing the virus.posted by katra at 10:48 AM on June 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
Almost one-third of black Americans know someone who died of covid-19, survey shows (WaPo / Inquirer reprint)
Nearly 1 in 3 black Americans know someone personally who has died of covid-19, far exceeding their white counterparts, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll that underscores the coronavirus pandemic’s profoundly disparate impact. The nationwide survey finds that 31 percent of black adults say they know someone firsthand who has been killed by the virus, compared with 17 percent of adults who are Hispanic and 9 percent who are white.posted by katra at 11:40 AM on June 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
[...] The differing close-up exposure to the virus’s ravaging effects is accompanied by divergent attitudes about the best way for the country to recover. Asked whether it is more important to try to control the spread of the coronavirus or to try to restart the economy, even if one hurts the other, 83 percent of black Americans say trying to control the virus is a higher priority. By contrast, when the same question was asked in a Washington Post-ABC News poll last month, just about half of white Americans said trying to control the virus is more important. [...] It is the proximity to death that is stark. Among black Americans, the percentage knowing someone who died increases steadily with age. Nearly 1 in 4 adults younger than 35 say they know someone, compared with more than 4 in 10 people 65 and older.
> Critics immediately noted that most countries are seeing total positive cases going down regardless of age. Others pointed out that while people under 35 may not be as vulnerable, the people they come in contact with could be — something Pence later acknowledged as well.
Also, just because they're not immediately dying doesn't mean it won't have serious long-term consequences, which we're starting to see evidence of already.
But good luck with that "GOP to Millennials: Drop Dead" approach to young voter turnout in an election year.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:26 PM on June 26, 2020 [9 favorites]
Also, just because they're not immediately dying doesn't mean it won't have serious long-term consequences, which we're starting to see evidence of already.
But good luck with that "GOP to Millennials: Drop Dead" approach to young voter turnout in an election year.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:26 PM on June 26, 2020 [9 favorites]
Guardian: "As the White House coronavirus task force holds its first briefing in nearly two months, the president is busy tweeting about protecting statues."
posted by katra at 1:29 PM on June 26, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by katra at 1:29 PM on June 26, 2020 [5 favorites]
If you know someone who is refusing to wear a mask but is open to rational persuasion (perhaps a small intersection in the current Venn diagram of civic life in the United States), "Here’s the Science Behind How Face Masks Prevent Coronavirus," from experts at UC San Francisco Medical Center.
posted by PhineasGage at 3:12 PM on June 26, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 3:12 PM on June 26, 2020 [6 favorites]
Will this ever get to a point where other countries start banning incoming travel from US citizens?
E.U. Plans to Bar Most U.S. Travelers When Bloc Reopens
E.U. Plans to Bar Most U.S. Travelers When Bloc Reopens
The European Union is ready to bar most travelers from the United States, Russia, and dozens of other countries considered too risky because they have not controlled the coronavirus outbreak, E.U. officials said Friday. [...] Countries that made the safe list, which include Canada and Australia, were judged on a mix of scientific criteria that included their infection rates and the credibility of their public health reporting data.posted by Homeboy Trouble at 3:21 PM on June 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
The full list finalized on Friday includes Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay, Andorra, San Marino, Monaco and the Vatican. China will be included if it also opens its borders to European Union travelers, as reciprocal reopening is one of the criteria used to make the final selection for the safe list.
Who knew Pence so despised American youth? “As we know so far, younger Americans are less susceptible to serious outcomes of the coronavirus,” he said. “The fact that we’re finding more younger Americans who have contracted the coronavirus, is a good thing.” Coronavirus linked to stroke in otherwise healthy young people (ScienceDaily, June 4, 2020)
- The emerging long-term complications of Covid-19, explained (Vox.com, June 12, 2020) Exciting subheads: Lung scarring; Stroke, embolisms, and blood clotting; Heart damage; Neurocognitive and mental health impacts. Also Childhood inflammation, male infertility, and other possible lasting effects: An April 20 paper published in Nature went so far as to suggest, “After recovery from COVID-19, young men who are interested in having children should receive a consultation regarding their fertility.” [The paper: The need for urogenital tract monitoring in COVID-19.]
-- Tens of thousands of people will need to be recalled to hospital after a serious Covid-19 infection to check if they have been left with permanent lung damage (BBC, June 23, 2020) Experts are concerned a significant proportion could be left with lung scarring, known as pulmonary fibrosis. [...] NHS England said it was opening specialist rehabilitation centres.
--- How Covid-19 can damage the brain (BBC Future, June 22, 2020) [CW: mentions of suicide, depression, post-1918 pandemic encephalitis lethargica] “We are facing a secondary pandemic of neurological disease. [...] “If you had asked me a month ago if there was any published evidence that Sars-CoV-2 could cross the blood-brain barrier, I would have said no – but there are now many reports showing that it absolutely can,” says Dr. Robert Stevens, associate professor of anaesthesiology and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins.
Oh, and: Mounting clues suggest the coronavirus might trigger diabetes (Nature, June 24, 2020) Evidence from tissue studies and some people with COVID-19 shows that the virus damages insulin-producing cells.
TL;DR Pence envies broken clocks.
A Company Run by a White House “Volunteer” With No Experience in Medical Supplies Got $2.4 Million From the Feds for Medical Supplies (Pro Publica, June 26, 2020) The contract supplies the Bureau of Prisons with surgical gowns for its facilities. Mathew J. Konkler worked in the DoD under George W. Bush; in the current administration, he was a volunteer travel coordinator for Pence. From the article: Government ethics experts said that conflict of interest rules do apply to volunteers but depend on the kind of work being done. “I’m worried about conflicts of interest but also about someone who isn’t a government employee knowing the [vice president’s] travel plans,” said Scott Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:23 PM on June 26, 2020 [13 favorites]
- The emerging long-term complications of Covid-19, explained (Vox.com, June 12, 2020) Exciting subheads: Lung scarring; Stroke, embolisms, and blood clotting; Heart damage; Neurocognitive and mental health impacts. Also Childhood inflammation, male infertility, and other possible lasting effects: An April 20 paper published in Nature went so far as to suggest, “After recovery from COVID-19, young men who are interested in having children should receive a consultation regarding their fertility.” [The paper: The need for urogenital tract monitoring in COVID-19.]
-- Tens of thousands of people will need to be recalled to hospital after a serious Covid-19 infection to check if they have been left with permanent lung damage (BBC, June 23, 2020) Experts are concerned a significant proportion could be left with lung scarring, known as pulmonary fibrosis. [...] NHS England said it was opening specialist rehabilitation centres.
--- How Covid-19 can damage the brain (BBC Future, June 22, 2020) [CW: mentions of suicide, depression, post-1918 pandemic encephalitis lethargica] “We are facing a secondary pandemic of neurological disease. [...] “If you had asked me a month ago if there was any published evidence that Sars-CoV-2 could cross the blood-brain barrier, I would have said no – but there are now many reports showing that it absolutely can,” says Dr. Robert Stevens, associate professor of anaesthesiology and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins.
Oh, and: Mounting clues suggest the coronavirus might trigger diabetes (Nature, June 24, 2020) Evidence from tissue studies and some people with COVID-19 shows that the virus damages insulin-producing cells.
TL;DR Pence envies broken clocks.
A Company Run by a White House “Volunteer” With No Experience in Medical Supplies Got $2.4 Million From the Feds for Medical Supplies (Pro Publica, June 26, 2020) The contract supplies the Bureau of Prisons with surgical gowns for its facilities. Mathew J. Konkler worked in the DoD under George W. Bush; in the current administration, he was a volunteer travel coordinator for Pence. From the article: Government ethics experts said that conflict of interest rules do apply to volunteers but depend on the kind of work being done. “I’m worried about conflicts of interest but also about someone who isn’t a government employee knowing the [vice president’s] travel plans,” said Scott Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:23 PM on June 26, 2020 [13 favorites]
A Devastating New Stage of the Pandemic (Robinson Meyer, Alexis C. Madrigal, Atlantic [free access], Jun. 25, 2020)
The U.S. has seen more cases in the past week than in any week since the pandemic began.
The U.S. has seen more cases in the past week than in any week since the pandemic began.
The South and West meet all of Fauci’s criteria: Cases, hospitalizations, and the test-positivity rate are spiking in both regions. A month ago, health-care workers in Arizona had to test about 11 people to find a new COVID-19 case; today, one in five people they test has the virus. In Florida, the number of tests per day has actually fallen in the past week while the number of new cases has spiked. The Sun Belt surge, in other words, is not a by-product of increased testing. In the South and West, finding people sick with COVID-19 is simply getting easier.posted by katra at 4:09 PM on June 26, 2020 [8 favorites]
[...] The virus remains the virus. It can take up to 14 days for someone to show symptoms; it can take another two weeks for that person to appear in the data as a confirmed case. This means that, as the Northeast learned in the spring, virus statistics tell you what was happening in a community two to three weeks ago. The South, in other words, may have tens of thousands of COVID-19 infections that it cannot yet see.
[...] The spring surge resulted from a widespread failure of American governance. Yet a first coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. may have been unavoidable, and Americans eased its agony by choosing to act together: Our collective decision to stay at home averted an estimated 4.8 million additional COVID-19 cases.
Supreme Court denies request from Texas Democrats to expand mail-in voting • CNN; Ariane de Vogue; June 26, 2020 •
State regulations allow vote by mail to those who are 65 and older, voters who have a sickness or physical condition from appearing at the polls, and others who are absent from the county.posted by ZeusHumms at 5:40 PM on June 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
Texas Democrats and Democratic voters under age 65 brought the case and argued that the law discriminates against younger voters afraid of going to the polling place because of the pandemic.
[...] The court rejected the petition with no noted dissents.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote separately to say she agreed with the court's decision at this stage in the case, but that she thought the challengers' "weighty but seemingly novel" questions in the case touching upon the 26th Amendment should be considered in the lower courts "well in advance" of the November election.
[Democratic] Gov. Phil Murphy told CNBC his quarantine order would not have applied to Trump, because “by any definition the president of the United States is an essential worker.”
That's sound reasoning, when the president of the United States is doing his essential work. Golfing, not so much.
posted by ctmf at 7:16 PM on June 26, 2020 [9 favorites]
That's sound reasoning, when the president of the United States is doing his essential work. Golfing, not so much.
posted by ctmf at 7:16 PM on June 26, 2020 [9 favorites]
Oh, and: Mounting clues suggest the coronavirus might trigger diabetes (Nature, June 24, 2020) Evidence from tissue studies and some people with COVID-19 shows that the virus damages insulin-producing cells.
This connection is interesting—we know diabetes seems to be a risk factor for developing more severe effects of the virus, but preliminary findings also suggest that a common diabetes drug (Metformin) shows some ability to protect women who are sick with a severe case of the virus against death. (And Metformin is a much safer drug than hydroxycloroquine.)
posted by sallybrown at 7:33 PM on June 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
This connection is interesting—we know diabetes seems to be a risk factor for developing more severe effects of the virus, but preliminary findings also suggest that a common diabetes drug (Metformin) shows some ability to protect women who are sick with a severe case of the virus against death. (And Metformin is a much safer drug than hydroxycloroquine.)
posted by sallybrown at 7:33 PM on June 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
It is interesting seeing science doing its thing, and finding treatments that are helping, and showing those that are not helping.
posted by Windopaene at 8:23 PM on June 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Windopaene at 8:23 PM on June 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
Trump cancels [golfing] trip to [his golf club in Bedminster,] New Jersey, but White House says it’s not related to coronavirus quarantine rule
[Democratic] Gov. Phil Murphy told CNBC his quarantine order would not have applied to Trump, because “by any definition the president of the United States is an essential worker.”
You know the real reason Trump cancelled his trip to his golf club. The only reason Trump goes to his properties is so that his toady semi-rich admirers can fondle his ego. While Trump might be classified "essential", his admirers are not and don't want to be stuck in a quarantine. So Trump decided that if he can't get his ego stroked, why bother going.
posted by JackFlash at 9:08 PM on June 26, 2020 [8 favorites]
[Democratic] Gov. Phil Murphy told CNBC his quarantine order would not have applied to Trump, because “by any definition the president of the United States is an essential worker.”
You know the real reason Trump cancelled his trip to his golf club. The only reason Trump goes to his properties is so that his toady semi-rich admirers can fondle his ego. While Trump might be classified "essential", his admirers are not and don't want to be stuck in a quarantine. So Trump decided that if he can't get his ego stroked, why bother going.
posted by JackFlash at 9:08 PM on June 26, 2020 [8 favorites]
Co-founder of ReOpen Maryland says he has tested positive for coronavirus (WaPo / Chron reprint)
A Maryland man who organized rallies to pressure Gov. Larry Hogan (R) to lift the state’s stay-home order says he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and does not plan to provide names of people with whom he had contact to public health officials for contact tracing. Tim Walters, a co-founder of ReOpen Maryland, said on social media this week that he has had a dry cough for months but it recently worsened. He then began to experience an excruciating headache, a fever and the inability to focus with one of his eyes, which led to vertigo. Walters, 53, a diabetic who has had mini-strokes, said he went to a hospital emergency room Monday and was diagnosed with the virus.Some states revert to restrictions as virus cases surge (AP)
“Here I am months after not wearing a mask at rallies, churches and so on, and so it’s funny how capricious this thing is,” he said in a Facebook video. [...] Walters said he had long suspected he might have the virus but was surprised by the toll it was taking on him this week. “It was nothing like what I thought,” he said. “The challenge with this is all the symptoms for everybody are completely different.”
Texas and Florida reversed course and clamped down on bars again Friday in the nation’s biggest retreat yet as the daily number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the U.S. surged to an all-time high of 40,000. [...] Health experts have said a disturbingly large number of cases are being seen among young people who are going out again, often without wearing masks or observing other social-distancing rules. [...] Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street again over the surging case numbers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 730 points, or nearly 3%.posted by katra at 9:19 PM on June 26, 2020 [12 favorites]
[...] At the task force briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, urged people to mind their responsibility to others: “A risk for you is not just isolated to you.”
“Here I am months after not wearing a mask at rallies, churches and so on, and so it’s funny how capricious this thing is,”
That I do not have the power to smite is a thing which I regret.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:28 PM on June 26, 2020 [22 favorites]
That I do not have the power to smite is a thing which I regret.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:28 PM on June 26, 2020 [22 favorites]
Texas and Florida reversed course and clamped down on bars again Friday in the nation’s biggest retreat yet as the daily number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the U.S. surged to an all-time high of 40,000
This framing from the AP highlights a particular way of thinking about disease in general ("battle with cancer") and this pandemic in particular that sucks. "Retreat" here implies that there exists something from which one is retreating. In a sane world, it isn't COVID. Re-implementing safety protocols due to a flair up, regardless of shitty precedent a la Florida, is an attack on COVID transmission rates.
The retreat referred to here is a political one.
Officials in Texas and Florida joined Trump and the GOP in staking out a public health position that is both anti-science and criminally anti-everyone-who-doesn't-agree-with-them, and as a result are murdering citizens in the name of (ironically) party solidarity and individual liberty. Political leaders in Texas and Florida are (reluctantly) retreating from the political position they had taken, which in their minds is a battlefront against liberals, and which (because the GOP are cartoonishly evil) is the opposite of the sensible thing to do against the virus.
So we are told in a single sentence: two states are taking baby steps in the right direction to attacking the spread of the a deadly virus, and that this is the nation's biggest retreat.
posted by lazaruslong at 10:45 PM on June 26, 2020 [21 favorites]
This framing from the AP highlights a particular way of thinking about disease in general ("battle with cancer") and this pandemic in particular that sucks. "Retreat" here implies that there exists something from which one is retreating. In a sane world, it isn't COVID. Re-implementing safety protocols due to a flair up, regardless of shitty precedent a la Florida, is an attack on COVID transmission rates.
The retreat referred to here is a political one.
Officials in Texas and Florida joined Trump and the GOP in staking out a public health position that is both anti-science and criminally anti-everyone-who-doesn't-agree-with-them, and as a result are murdering citizens in the name of (ironically) party solidarity and individual liberty. Political leaders in Texas and Florida are (reluctantly) retreating from the political position they had taken, which in their minds is a battlefront against liberals, and which (because the GOP are cartoonishly evil) is the opposite of the sensible thing to do against the virus.
So we are told in a single sentence: two states are taking baby steps in the right direction to attacking the spread of the a deadly virus, and that this is the nation's biggest retreat.
posted by lazaruslong at 10:45 PM on June 26, 2020 [21 favorites]
> this clip of people fighting the mask ordinance in Palm Beach
Palm Beach community meeting on masks meets Parks and Rec.
also btw...
Coronavirus mask mandates differ across the country as hot spots multiply and states play politics
posted by kliuless at 10:56 PM on June 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
Palm Beach community meeting on masks meets Parks and Rec.
also btw...
Coronavirus mask mandates differ across the country as hot spots multiply and states play politics
posted by kliuless at 10:56 PM on June 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
Virus Fatality Picture Is Obscured by Ultimate Lagging Indicator (Bloomberg Law, Jun. 26, 2020)
[...] there can be a weeks-long lag in many states between when someone dies and when that’s included in the daily reports. [...] It’s not just the fatality statistics that can’t be relied on completely: Basic information such as daily new Covid-19 related hospitalizations isn’t reported by many states, among other key data points that could help scientists predict which direction the death tolls are heading. [...] “This particular part of the epidemic is just taking off, and we’re still on the runway,” said Thomas Giordano, chief of infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “The last thing to happen is the death. We just aren’t that far along with this one yet.”'We opened too quickly': Texas becomes a model for inadequate Covid-19 response (Guardian)
Deaths are the ultimate lagging indicator, especially with Covid-19. It takes several weeks after a diagnosis for a patient to die. Then it takes more time, sometimes weeks, for doctors to fill out death certificates and health officials to adjudicate the deaths. Only then are they finally added to the official state tally. “You can’t look at deaths as an indicator of where the outbreak is at this particular period of time,” said Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
When Donald Trump welcomed Texas governor Greg Abbott to the White House in May, the US president hailed his fellow Republican as “one of the great governors” and lauded the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and predicted boom times ahead. “When you look at the job he’s done in Texas, I rely on his judgment,” Trump said. Seven weeks later, as the state once again closes businesses with virus cases skyrocketing and hospitals running out of intensive-care beds, Texas indeed appears to be a model: for how to squander a hopeful position through premature reopening, ignoring inconvenient data and fighting party-political turf wars.posted by katra at 10:51 AM on June 27, 2020 [4 favorites]
[...] Harris County, which includes Houston, moved to its highest Covid-19 threat level, signalling a “severe and uncontrolled” outbreak. “The harsh truth is that our current infection rate is on pace to overwhelm our hospitals in the very near future,” Lina Hidalgo, the county judge, said at a press conference on Friday. “We opened too quickly.” [...] Greg Casar, an Austin city council member, said that Abbott placed appeasing his core voters ahead of the health of urban communities of color.
Trump sidesteps grim coronavirus surge to sell a happier message (Politico, Jun. 25, 2020)
Aides insisted there would be no change in White House strategy to fight the pandemic, and no additional money or new resources given to states dealing with spikes in cases. [...] the influence of top health officials around the president has waned inside the West Wing, with Dr. Anthony Fauci seen as an object of much derision among some aides who frame the latest concerns as fearmongering. Trump aides are clear that the president does not want to bring the coronavirus response under greater federal control, preferring to leave key decisions — and the political fallout — to state and local leaders as he travels across the country campaigning for reelection for the next four months. [...] When [Trump] did speak about Covid-19, he touted what he viewed as his administration’s stellar response and for the second time in a week invoked a racist nickname for the virus [...]California governor grants clemency to 21 prisoners as thousands infected with Covid-19 (Guardian)
The pardons have also been inadequate given how many people are vulnerable to deportation, but have not been protected by Newsom, said Sarah Lee, an advocate with the Asian Law Caucus (ALC). Although California is a sanctuary state meant to limit collaboration with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), the state has continued to transfer dozens of people from the prisons to Ice custody, where there are also major Covid-19 outbreaks. [...] “The power of clemency is one of the governor’s most important responsibilities,” said Lee. “If he really cares about Black Lives Matter, he needs to free people.”posted by katra at 12:03 PM on June 27, 2020 [4 favorites]
WaPo live blog: "Facing a surge of new coronavirus cases, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed regret for allowing bars to reopen so early, saying Friday that he did not realize how fast the virus would spread."
Workers removed thousands of social distancing stickers before Trump’s Tulsa rally, according to video and a person familiar with the set-up (WaPo)
Workers removed thousands of social distancing stickers before Trump’s Tulsa rally, according to video and a person familiar with the set-up (WaPo)
In the hours before his rally in Tulsa, President Trump’s campaign directed the removal of thousands of “Do Not Sit Here, Please!” stickers from seats in the arena that were intended to establish social distance between rallygoers, according to video and photos obtained by The Washington Post and a person familiar with the event. The removal contradicted instructions from the management of the BOK Center, the 19,000-seat arena in downtown Tulsa where Trump held his rally on June 20. [...] As part of its safety plan, arena management had purchased 12,000 do-not-sit stickers for Trump’s rally, intended to keep people apart by leaving open seats between attendees. On the day of the rally, event staff had already affixed them on nearly every other seat in the arena when Trump’s campaign told event management to stop and then began removing the stickers, hours before the president’s arrival, according to a person familiar with the event who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters. [...] The actions by Trump’s campaign were first reported Friday by Billboard Magazine.US 'likely' to see shortage of pharmaceutical drugs if coronavirus outbreak continues, intelligence report finds (ABC News)
Dr. Jay Bhatt, former medical chief at the American Hospital Association, called the report "extremely concerning" -- especially in the middle of a pandemic. "Accessing affordable generic medications for vulnerable populations can mean the difference between a good outcome and a bad outcome," said Bhatt, an ABC News contributor. "As infections and hospitalizations rise, our patients can't endure shortages from lifesaving medications. We have to apply our lessons from several months ago so we don't end up in dire straits."posted by katra at 12:37 PM on June 27, 2020 [6 favorites]
removal of thousands of “Do Not Sit Here, Please!” stickers
<Nelson> Ha-Ha! </Nelson> Leaving the stickers would allowed them to truthfully say they sold out the arena.
posted by Mitheral at 12:49 PM on June 27, 2020 [16 favorites]
<Nelson> Ha-Ha! </Nelson> Leaving the stickers would allowed them to truthfully say they sold out the arena.
posted by Mitheral at 12:49 PM on June 27, 2020 [16 favorites]
The reason Trump didn't go to New Jersey was the possibility of rain, and that would keep him off the links.
Meanwhile the first wave still hasn't stopped, July looks bad, millions are unemployed, and it looks like Congress is content to do nothing as people need help with incoming rent, bills, and groceries.
This is an amazing amount of winning we're doing.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 2:20 PM on June 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
Meanwhile the first wave still hasn't stopped, July looks bad, millions are unemployed, and it looks like Congress is content to do nothing as people need help with incoming rent, bills, and groceries.
This is an amazing amount of winning we're doing.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 2:20 PM on June 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
Guardian: Pence calls off Florida tour as cases surge in state
As reopening plans went into a dramatic reverse or stalled across the US in the face of a resurgent virus, Mike Pence called off a planned campaign bus tour in Florida amid a surge in confirmed coronavirus cases. The vice-president had been set to appear in Lake Wales at an event next week organized by pro-Trump group America First Policies billed as the “Great American Comeback tour.”The group announced: “Out of an abundance of caution at this time, we are postponing the Great American Comeback tour stop in Florida. We look forward to rescheduling soon.” Pence was still traveling to the state, the White House confirmed, saying he would meet with Governor Ron DeSantis and his healthcare teams.Measures to protect Trump from coronavirus scale up even as he seeks to move on (CNN, Jun. 26, 2020)
And CNN has learned a third White House staffer who was recently in Trump's vicinity also tested positive. According to two sources familiar with the matter, the staffer is a senior economic official who was in the Rose Garden with Trump during an event this month. Because of privacy concerns, CNN is not naming the individual.As cases surge in US, rural areas seeing increases as well (AP)
Many rural counties in states including California, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Texas and Florida have seen their confirmed cases more than double in a week, from June 19 to Friday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. [...] Missouri itself is seeing a worrying trend, and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas ordered employees and patrons of businesses to wear masks, when 6 feet (about 2 meters) of separation isn’t possible.posted by katra at 2:36 PM on June 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
“Case numbers in Kansas City continue to rise, and we are taking all steps we can to ensure public health and safety,” the Democrat said Friday. Across the state line, Kansas City, Kansas, and the county it’s in also decided to order masks be worn in public starting Tuesday. But many politicians, even those in place with spiking cases, have been hesitant to issue such orders, as subject has become a political lightning rod, with Democrats more likely than Republicans to use them.
It is remarkable that the corona virus has not infected Trump. While the staff are taking precautions, these rallies are would seem to be very risky for him. How long can his luck last?
posted by haiku warrior at 3:01 PM on June 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by haiku warrior at 3:01 PM on June 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
How long can his luck last?
...as a data point, Henry Kissinger is still alive.
posted by bonobothegreat at 3:12 PM on June 27, 2020 [25 favorites]
...as a data point, Henry Kissinger is still alive.
posted by bonobothegreat at 3:12 PM on June 27, 2020 [25 favorites]
... it looks like Congress is content to do nothing as people need help with incoming rent, bills, and groceries.
You should not say "Congress" when you mean "Republicans." Democrats in the House already passed the HEROES Act over a month ago, which provides an even bigger boost than the previous CARES Act. It is still sitting dead on Mitch McConnell's desk.
posted by JackFlash at 3:27 PM on June 27, 2020 [45 favorites]
You should not say "Congress" when you mean "Republicans." Democrats in the House already passed the HEROES Act over a month ago, which provides an even bigger boost than the previous CARES Act. It is still sitting dead on Mitch McConnell's desk.
posted by JackFlash at 3:27 PM on June 27, 2020 [45 favorites]
Trump will certainly not disclose a positive test unless forced to, but a Boris Johnson level of severity will force them to do so. He can't vanish into a hospital for days and say it's a routine procedure. The control over information isn't that solid, especially as the rats will be questioning the seaworthiness of the ship at that point. If he dies the cause will be known. Similarly conspiracy theories won't allow alternate causes of death if it's Covid.
OTOH I would 100% expect claims that he was "deliberately infected" if he gets ill--he's already muttered about reporters trying to get him sick.
posted by mark k at 3:49 PM on June 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
OTOH I would 100% expect claims that he was "deliberately infected" if he gets ill--he's already muttered about reporters trying to get him sick.
posted by mark k at 3:49 PM on June 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
as a data point, Henry Kissinger is still alive.
I believe the proper term is "undead".
posted by notsnot at 4:20 PM on June 27, 2020 [35 favorites]
I believe the proper term is "undead".
posted by notsnot at 4:20 PM on June 27, 2020 [35 favorites]
How long can his luck last?
74 years, so far.
posted by dirigibleman at 5:08 PM on June 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
74 years, so far.
posted by dirigibleman at 5:08 PM on June 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
It is remarkable that the corona virus has not infected Trump. While the staff are taking precautions, these rallies are would seem to be very risky for him.
It's not like he's out there shaking hands. He's up on stage dozens of get from the plebes.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:19 PM on June 27, 2020
It's not like he's out there shaking hands. He's up on stage dozens of get from the plebes.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:19 PM on June 27, 2020
Don't forget too, he's the healthiest person to ever assume the office of the presidency. As a 6'8 extremely fit man with gigantic hands and no previous or current health problems, he's probably fine if he catches it. In fact, if there's some concern, he'll probably just go to Walter Reed unannounced in the middle of the night, so as not to worry anyone.
Hamburger.
posted by mrgoat at 6:43 PM on June 27, 2020 [7 favorites]
Hamburger.
posted by mrgoat at 6:43 PM on June 27, 2020 [7 favorites]
U.S. sets single-day record for new coronavirus cases for fifth straight day (WaPo live blog)
Across the United States, health departments reported 44,782 new coronavirus infections on Saturday — surpassing the previous single-day record of 43,715, which was set on Friday. It is the fifth straight day the country has hit a new single-day record. Florida, Georgia, Nevada and South Carolina all hit new highs in daily cases reported, with 41 states logging a higher seven-day new case average than a week ago, according to data tracked by The Washington Post. [...] Saturday’s U.S. record of new single-day cases did not include numbers from Louisiana and Rhode Island, which did not report their daily cases.With Trump leading the way, America’s coronavirus failures exposed by record surge in new infections (WaPo / MSN reprint)
While public health experts urge caution and preventive measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing, Trump, Pence and other top aides repeatedly flout their advice, leaving confused Americans struggling to determine who to believe. “They’re creating a cognitive dissonance in the country,” one former senior administration official said. “It’s more than them being asleep at the wheel. They’re confusing people at this point when we need to be united.”posted by katra at 6:45 PM on June 27, 2020 [4 favorites]
This portrait of a nation in crisis — and its failure to contain an epic pandemic — is based on interviews with 47 administration officials, lawmakers at the national and state level, congressional staff, federal and local health officials, public health experts and other current and former officials involved in the bungled and confused response. [...] Trump’s actions, and his position in the Oval Office, make him a central figure in any assessment of the country’s handling of the outbreak.
Florida's numbers are crazy. Texas, right behind. Look at the Worldometers graphs, and we were doing pretty good a few weeks ago. Now the graphs are all back to exponential growth. Fucking republican assholes.
The curves are not flattening. So another 3 months of this shit. Well done, Republican Govenors and right-wing shitheads claiming we need to re-open. Ugh.
posted by Windopaene at 9:49 PM on June 27, 2020 [6 favorites]
The curves are not flattening. So another 3 months of this shit. Well done, Republican Govenors and right-wing shitheads claiming we need to re-open. Ugh.
posted by Windopaene at 9:49 PM on June 27, 2020 [6 favorites]
The whole New York is now making Florida people quarantine seems silly to me and an obvious "you did it first, so now how do you like it?" posturing. But I can't say I blame them. DeSantis is an idiot blowhard and non-idiot blowhard Cuomo can't help himself.
posted by valkane at 9:58 PM on June 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by valkane at 9:58 PM on June 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Domestic travel restrictions could be a really good public health tool during a pandemic. Other countries have used them with some success. But I can’t see it working out great in the US, if the federal government isn’t interested in helping implement and enforce any policy.
posted by mbrubeck at 10:14 PM on June 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by mbrubeck at 10:14 PM on June 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
Trump admits it: He's losing (Politico)
posted by katra at 11:06 PM on June 27, 2020 [17 favorites]
The president has privately come to that grim realization in recent days, multiple people close to him told POLITICO, amid a mountain of bad polling and warnings from some of his staunchest allies that he's on course to be a one-term president. Trump has endured what aides describe as the worst stretch of his presidency, marred by widespread criticism over his response to the coronavirus pandemic and nationwide racial unrest. His rally in Oklahoma last weekend, his first since March, turned out to be an embarrassment when he failed to fill the arena.TTTCS
What should have been an easy interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday horrified advisers when Trump offered a rambling, non-responsive answer to a simple question about his goals for a second term. In the same appearance, the normally self-assured president offered a tacit acknowledgment that he might lose when he said that Joe Biden is “gonna be your president because some people don't love me, maybe." [...] “Under the current trajectory, President Trump is on the precipice of one the of the worst electoral defeats in modern presidential elections and the worst historically for an incumbent president,” said former Trump political adviser Sam Nunberg, who remains a supporter.
posted by katra at 11:06 PM on June 27, 2020 [17 favorites]
Global Coronavirus Death Toll Nears 500,000 (NPR, June 27, 2020) As of Saturday afternoon, global deaths totaled 496,075, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. That includes more than 125,000 deaths in the United States, which has lost more people to COVID-19 than any other country, and has seen more than twice the deaths as Brazil, the next most-stricken country with about 56,000 dead.
The planet will also soon see another significant mark: 10 million cases of the virus. As of Saturday evening, there were more than 9.89 million confirmed infections. And experts say there are likely far more cases out there that haven't been confirmed. This week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that for every reported case, there were 10 other infections. That could mean more than 20 million infections in the U.S. alone.
Justice Department Issues Warning About Fake Mask Exempt Cards (NPR, June 27, 2020) A recently issued alert by the department is urging the public not to heed information printed on the fraudulent cards, which purport to carry the authority of the "Freedom to Breathe Agency," which is neither a federal nor a state agency. The fake card states that wearing a mask will incur mental or physical risk for the holder. The card also posits that the Americans with Disabilities Act forbids raising questions about the health condition aggravated by mask usage. Penalties are threatened if a business owner does not act accordingly.
"If found in violation of the ADA you could face steep penalties. Organizations and businesses can be fined up to $75,000 for your first violation and $150,000 for any subsequent violations. Denying access to your business/organization will be also reported to FTBA for further actions," the card reads, according to images that have been posted online.
Why Changing COVID-19 Demographics in the US Make Death Trends Harder to Understand (June 26, 2020) COVID-19 death data lags behind testing data in ways we mostly understand. What we only partly understand is how an infection rate that seems to be skewing younger will affect the death toll in surging regional outbreaks.
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:40 AM on June 28, 2020 [6 favorites]
The planet will also soon see another significant mark: 10 million cases of the virus. As of Saturday evening, there were more than 9.89 million confirmed infections. And experts say there are likely far more cases out there that haven't been confirmed. This week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that for every reported case, there were 10 other infections. That could mean more than 20 million infections in the U.S. alone.
Justice Department Issues Warning About Fake Mask Exempt Cards (NPR, June 27, 2020) A recently issued alert by the department is urging the public not to heed information printed on the fraudulent cards, which purport to carry the authority of the "Freedom to Breathe Agency," which is neither a federal nor a state agency. The fake card states that wearing a mask will incur mental or physical risk for the holder. The card also posits that the Americans with Disabilities Act forbids raising questions about the health condition aggravated by mask usage. Penalties are threatened if a business owner does not act accordingly.
"If found in violation of the ADA you could face steep penalties. Organizations and businesses can be fined up to $75,000 for your first violation and $150,000 for any subsequent violations. Denying access to your business/organization will be also reported to FTBA for further actions," the card reads, according to images that have been posted online.
Why Changing COVID-19 Demographics in the US Make Death Trends Harder to Understand (June 26, 2020) COVID-19 death data lags behind testing data in ways we mostly understand. What we only partly understand is how an infection rate that seems to be skewing younger will affect the death toll in surging regional outbreaks.
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:40 AM on June 28, 2020 [6 favorites]
Justice Department Issues Warning About Fake Mask Exempt Cards
The fact that the most popular one says "posses"in the first sentence and people still think it's real, may be the dumbest thing about these.
It goes back to the joke a few weeks ago - The spread of coronavirus is based on two factors – 1) How dense the population is, and 2) How dense the population is
posted by Mchelly at 5:10 AM on June 28, 2020 [15 favorites]
The fact that the most popular one says "posses"in the first sentence and people still think it's real, may be the dumbest thing about these.
It goes back to the joke a few weeks ago - The spread of coronavirus is based on two factors – 1) How dense the population is, and 2) How dense the population is
posted by Mchelly at 5:10 AM on June 28, 2020 [15 favorites]
\begin[level=high]{obtuse}
Posses are still real things, though. AFAIK nowadays they're sort of an unholy hybrid of the Shriners, except on horses, and a police benevolent association.
\end{obtuse}
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:19 AM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Posses are still real things, though. AFAIK nowadays they're sort of an unholy hybrid of the Shriners, except on horses, and a police benevolent association.
\end{obtuse}
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:19 AM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Claiming that *not* admitting the mask-less card carrier is a violation of the ADA, with the possibility of substantial penalties, is claiming the backing of federal authority.
Isn't a fraudulent claim to federal authority a crime? Not saying that it is (I don't know), but it seems that is should be. It seems akin to 'stolen valor' — a false pretense (although if I recall correctly, a law needed to be passed to prosecute those cases).
posted by rochrobbb at 7:27 AM on June 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Isn't a fraudulent claim to federal authority a crime? Not saying that it is (I don't know), but it seems that is should be. It seems akin to 'stolen valor' — a false pretense (although if I recall correctly, a law needed to be passed to prosecute those cases).
posted by rochrobbb at 7:27 AM on June 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
As stories of Americans refusing to wear masks -- not even on an airplane in at least one case -- and not practicing social distancing surface, Friesen's skepticism may be justifiable. CNN puts it realistically. One factor unfavourable to American travel and/or bubble creation with Europe is the infection rates. the other is the fear that Americans are disinclined to follow public health guidelines in public of the sort that helped keep infection rates down. The article tries hard to put a positive spin on it but it doesn't look good. Pompey's pushing hard for it, but reversing the challenge to put the exceptional spin on it by saying the US wants to open travel to Europeans as soon as possible
posted by Mrs Potato at 8:09 AM on June 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Mrs Potato at 8:09 AM on June 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
It goes back to the joke a few weeks ago - The spread of coronavirus is based on two factors – 1) How dense the population is, and 2) How dense the population is
I know this is a joke but individual characteristics of the population aren’t the biggest problem here. There’s a saying that there’s no such thing as a natural disaster. These are political problems with political solutions—calling people dense is useless when they are simply doing what their political leaders are encouraging them to do.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 8:24 AM on June 28, 2020 [11 favorites]
In other words, if the response to 125,000 deaths is, “wow those people sure are dumb” and not “wow the US is a failed state”, then you’re missing the point.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 8:26 AM on June 28, 2020 [14 favorites]
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 8:26 AM on June 28, 2020 [14 favorites]
See also:
"looks like we're going to have to retire the phrase "avoid it like the plague" because it turns out people don't do that."
"People" in fact do do that: most countries are doing it, most people are doing it, and even most Americans are doing it. The problem isn't people, it's specifically conservative Americans. I wouldn't even say it's all Republicans or all Republican leaders, but once again that insane 25% of Americans and their insane leader who are persuading the rest of Republicans to be more insane and drag us all down into their hellhole.
posted by chortly at 9:50 AM on June 28, 2020 [13 favorites]
"looks like we're going to have to retire the phrase "avoid it like the plague" because it turns out people don't do that."
"People" in fact do do that: most countries are doing it, most people are doing it, and even most Americans are doing it. The problem isn't people, it's specifically conservative Americans. I wouldn't even say it's all Republicans or all Republican leaders, but once again that insane 25% of Americans and their insane leader who are persuading the rest of Republicans to be more insane and drag us all down into their hellhole.
posted by chortly at 9:50 AM on June 28, 2020 [13 favorites]
Reluctance to wear masks is not solely a U.S. phenomenon. The chart here shows that the U.S. isn't even the most reluctant country: "Masks Could Help Stop Coronavirus. So Why Are They Still Controversial?" (WSJ - no paywall)
posted by PhineasGage at 10:34 AM on June 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 10:34 AM on June 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
‘A travesty’: North Carolina faces calls to continue reopening even as Covid-19 cases surge (Guardian)
On Wednesday, a day after the state hit a new high in Covid-19 hospitalizations, the Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, announced North Carolina would remain in the second phase of its three-phase reopening plan, a decision that was swiftly condemned as anti-business by many in the state’s Republican-dominated legislature. Phase two was scheduled to end Friday, but Cooper, who also announced a mandate requiring individuals wear masks in public despite fierce opposition in some quarters, said he was “concerned” about the direction the state is trending. [...]posted by katra at 10:47 AM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
The announcement was met with furor from industry groups. “The governor’s decision is effectively signing a death warrant for 1,063 bars across North Carolina while offering zero relief to the small-business owners or their employees,” Zack Medford, president of the North Carolina Bar and Tavern Association (NCBATA), said in a release. [...] for the past several weeks, the state has failed to hit its self-imposed benchmarks for reopening. In addition to a steady increase in hospitalizations – culminating in the record high 915 on Tuesday – North Carolina saw 1,721 new cases Wednesday, its second-highest daily total since the pandemic began. [...] The Republican-controlled state general assembly has generally fought Cooper’s reluctance to reopen, passing a handful of bills that would relax restrictions on bars, gyms, bowling alleys and amusement parks. Cooper vetoed at least two of these bills.
Many of North Carolina’s first hotspots were focused near its population centers, such as Charlotte, Raleigh and Durham. But in recent weeks the spread has moved into less populated areas and heavily impacted Hispanic, Black and indigenous communities, particularly those working in food processing facilities and on farms.
I know this is a joke but individual characteristics of the population aren’t the biggest problem here.
1) People listening to science
2) People listening to Trump/DeSantis/their "leader" who's conveniently repeating what they want to hear anyway
3) You can't tell me what to do! people.
Wouldn't it be awesome if 1 and 2 were the same thing? And the third group CAN be influenced by role modeling and people they respect doing the right thing.
Even worse than giving wrong information is the downplaying, making it seem like it doesn't matter what you do. That's why the third group can stick to whatever crazy theory they have, the second group can feel like tribal signalling is worth doing, the confused don't research more, and the depressed just throw up their hands and do nothing. Doesn't matter anyway.
It does matter. Wear your mask. That's all everyone should be hearing, through every communication channel and method. Peer pressure is a channel. Shame those Karens (and whatever the shorthand is for dudes). Normally I'm not crazy about public shaming as a method, but this message is too important to water down.
posted by ctmf at 10:47 AM on June 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
1) People listening to science
2) People listening to Trump/DeSantis/their "leader" who's conveniently repeating what they want to hear anyway
3) You can't tell me what to do! people.
Wouldn't it be awesome if 1 and 2 were the same thing? And the third group CAN be influenced by role modeling and people they respect doing the right thing.
Even worse than giving wrong information is the downplaying, making it seem like it doesn't matter what you do. That's why the third group can stick to whatever crazy theory they have, the second group can feel like tribal signalling is worth doing, the confused don't research more, and the depressed just throw up their hands and do nothing. Doesn't matter anyway.
It does matter. Wear your mask. That's all everyone should be hearing, through every communication channel and method. Peer pressure is a channel. Shame those Karens (and whatever the shorthand is for dudes). Normally I'm not crazy about public shaming as a method, but this message is too important to water down.
posted by ctmf at 10:47 AM on June 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
A new dilemma for Trump’s team: Preventing super-spreader churches (Politico)
An outbreak at a Pentecostal church in Oregon, where hundreds of worshipers resumed gathering over Memorial Day weekend, forced an entire county to return to phase one of its reopening after local officials traced 258 cases of Covid-19 back to the facility. In West Virginia, six health departments across the state have reported coronavirus outbreaks linked to churches. One of them, a Baptist church in Greenbrier County, had 34 congregants test positive for the virus. And in Texas, which hit an all-time high of new cases last week, health officials have received numerous reports of church-related exposures.posted by katra at 11:19 AM on June 28, 2020 [5 favorites]
[...] Polls conducted since the coronavirus pandemic began have shown a steady decline in [Trump's] favorability rating among white Catholics and white evangelicals, demographics that helped carry him to victory in 2016 and whose backing he will need to defeat Joe Biden, his expected Democratic challenger, this fall.
U.S. testing sites in the West and South see long lines and sometimes unruly crowds. (NYT live blog)
Coronavirus testing sites in Arizona, Florida and Texas have become a source of tension and risk, with numerous residents waiting in long lines, and others being turned away as sites reached capacity. Crowding is raising the risk of infection as people rush to the front of the line at some centers. [...] Nationwide, coronavirus cases have risen 65 percent over the past two weeks.Outbreaks from restaurants grow as more U.S. states permit indoor dining. (NYT live blog)
As more restaurants and bars open for indoor dining, hard-to-trace outbreaks are prompting warnings from public health officials in several states. [...] Many times, restaurant outbreaks are contained to a handful of known cases. But in recent weeks, they have also been the sites of more widespread infections.Texas Medical Center quietly removes ICU data from website after reporting beds were full (WaPo live blog)
The abrupt removal, which happened without public explanation, came days after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered Houston hospitals to stop performing lucrative elective surgeries as the state faced record numbers of hospitalizations, raising questions about whether the information had been scrubbed for political reasons. [...] Officials sparred over the information after it was reported by news outlets and shared by public health experts on social media. “We’re at the edge of a cliff,” tweeted state Rep. Gene Wu (D-Houston). Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) responded by noting that 27 percent of people in the ICU beds were coronavirus patients. “Quit trying to scare people,” he wrote.Health secretary: ‘Window is closing’ to stop coronavirus as US cases pass 2.5m (Guardian)
“This is a very serious situation,” Azar said, adding that “the window is closing” to stop virus spread. “We have to act, and people as individuals have to act responsibly. We need to social distance, we need to wear our face coverings.”posted by katra at 11:45 AM on June 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) responded by noting that 27 percent of people in the ICU beds were coronavirus patients. “Quit trying to scare people,” he wrote.
It doesn't matter if NONE of the ICU beds were coronavirus patients, John. The point is, there are no beds left for the *next* coronavirus patient. Every additional person who needs one now is just going to die instead. Quit trying to make people think everything is ok.
posted by ctmf at 12:08 PM on June 28, 2020 [26 favorites]
It doesn't matter if NONE of the ICU beds were coronavirus patients, John. The point is, there are no beds left for the *next* coronavirus patient. Every additional person who needs one now is just going to die instead. Quit trying to make people think everything is ok.
posted by ctmf at 12:08 PM on June 28, 2020 [26 favorites]
The Latest: US official defends Trump going without mask (AP)
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says President Donald Trump’s “unique” circumstances are why he doesn’t wear a mask even as the government is urging people to do so. [...] Azar declined to say whether he’s ever asked Trump to wear a mask. He told CNN and NBC that his own message to the people is to take precautions for “public health.”The White House is right about one thing on covid-19: We need young people’s help (Leana S. Wen, WaPo Opinion, Jun. 27, 2020)
Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee says Trump should spend more time tweeting about wearing masks instead of monuments. Inslee tells CBS: “We need a president who will care more about living Americans and less about dead Confederates.”
Please enjoy life — just do it safely. Let’s talk about seeing friends: Whenever possible, do it outdoors. Numerous outbreaks have been linked to what some health officials dub the “serious seven”: bars, gyms, weddings, funerals, faith-based activities, house gatherings, and other small events. There’s a case in Florida of 16 friends who went to a bar; within days, all 16 tested positive. One study, not yet peer-reviewed, suggests indoor gatherings may carry a transmission risk nearly 19 times greater than those outdoors.posted by katra at 12:16 PM on June 28, 2020 [6 favorites]
[...] What if your friends don’t want to go along? Remind them that the more precautions we take now, the sooner we can resume the things we really want to do. [...] And for those who are passionate about fighting racial injustice, point out that everything we do helps to reduce rampant disparities, as it is black Americans and people of color who are bearing the brunt of covid-19.
I saw a scene yesterday. I went to the Petco. They're (in this one store at least) doing a great job with the precautions. I mean, ideally they would be closed, but I get the economy thing too. It's not either/or at this point, it's been going on long enough and isn't going to be over soon, so we need to start figuring out how to have both safety and reasonable operation if possible.
Petco has a big highbay like a Home Depot, wide aisles, distancing markers everywhere, barriers for the cashiers, and people actively out there cleaning *everything*. I mean taking things off the shelves and wiping things down before putting them back. Continuously the whole time I was there. Everyone was wearing a mask. People were politely waiting their turn when they had to see something someone else was near as a matter of course, not an annoyance. Staff was friendly and in good spirits.
Then, a 20-something guy and girl come in with no masks. Instant ice-cold. Dagger glares. All eyes on them. Nobody said a word or caused a big scene, but those two were actively shunned, brutally. They said hi to a staff member - no response, cold shoulder. And I could see in their body language they were feeling it. They left without buying anything. Without creating the big confrontation, I bet they wear a mask next time.
posted by ctmf at 12:28 PM on June 28, 2020 [28 favorites]
Petco has a big highbay like a Home Depot, wide aisles, distancing markers everywhere, barriers for the cashiers, and people actively out there cleaning *everything*. I mean taking things off the shelves and wiping things down before putting them back. Continuously the whole time I was there. Everyone was wearing a mask. People were politely waiting their turn when they had to see something someone else was near as a matter of course, not an annoyance. Staff was friendly and in good spirits.
Then, a 20-something guy and girl come in with no masks. Instant ice-cold. Dagger glares. All eyes on them. Nobody said a word or caused a big scene, but those two were actively shunned, brutally. They said hi to a staff member - no response, cold shoulder. And I could see in their body language they were feeling it. They left without buying anything. Without creating the big confrontation, I bet they wear a mask next time.
posted by ctmf at 12:28 PM on June 28, 2020 [28 favorites]
In fact probably more effective against Trader Joe's woman would have been to just loudly follow her around asking every other customer in the store to clear a path for her. "Special person here! She doesn't want to wear a mask! Please stand aside! 25 feet please!" Then of course have no cashier willing to get close enough to her to check out. Don't kick her out, treat her like the contagious idiot she is.
Hey, I'm not stopping you, I'm just taking safety precautions. If the other customers are pissed at you, shrug, not in my control.
posted by ctmf at 12:59 PM on June 28, 2020 [5 favorites]
Hey, I'm not stopping you, I'm just taking safety precautions. If the other customers are pissed at you, shrug, not in my control.
posted by ctmf at 12:59 PM on June 28, 2020 [5 favorites]
Mask shaming on the rise as public adjusts to new normal (CBS46, May 27, 2020)
A video out of Staten Island, New York from the Memorial Day weekend is getting a lot of attention online.‘Mask Shaming' Becomes New Topic of Discussion During Fight Against COVID-19 (NBC Bay Area, May 7, 2020)
In it a crowd of angry shoppers can be seen ganging up on a woman who did not wear a mask inside a grocery store. They were yelling profanities at the woman and screaming at her to get out.
On the other extreme, in Flint, Michigan, a store security guard was allegedly killed by a family apparently irate that the guard told one of them to put a mask on. Psychologist Jonathan Horowitz, PhD, says mask shaming may be well intentioned in some cases, but it’s generally ineffective.posted by katra at 1:29 PM on June 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Jamie Ehrlich, CNN: Choir of more than 100 people perform without masks at Pence event at a church in Dallas today.
posted by mbrubeck at 1:46 PM on June 28, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by mbrubeck at 1:46 PM on June 28, 2020 [5 favorites]
my household just recently podded up with the house where a bunch of our closest friends live, and although both households are relentlessly diligent about avoiding risky behavior — aside from the potentially risky behavior of going to protests, but we hard-quarantine for two weeks after each time we go — we’re still scared about how we now present a somewhat larger surface for the virus to attack. i think we podded up at the last moment where pod formation seems sane, given that infection rates are skyrocketing again.
having a group is going to be wonderful for our sanity, though, since the actions of the fools are going to ensure maybe a year or more of soft quarantine punctuated by periods of hard quarantine. the people i really feel for are single people who live alone, most of whom are going some level of bonkers right now.
that’s why, although in most cases i urge everyone to be so cautious as to seem unreasonable — as we’ve all known since the start, the way to stop or slow the spread is to take measures before it seems reasonable — i urge all y’all singles out there to find another live-alone best friend (with or without benefits) or other covid comrade to pair up with. being able to visit and in-person talk with and hug another person makes all the difference. but wait until after the current wave crests to do it. feel free to spend your alone time until then extravagantly cursing the idiots, buffoons, and selfish monsters who are going out of their way to make your life harder as a means of political signaling.
(and, if you have the means and can find one that’s in-stock online, consider buying a vr headset. even if you haven’t classically thought of yourself as a games person — i haven’t for a long time — being able to step out of your apartment and into the matrix for a little while is a very, very nice escape from the hard reality of quarantine.)
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 1:48 PM on June 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
having a group is going to be wonderful for our sanity, though, since the actions of the fools are going to ensure maybe a year or more of soft quarantine punctuated by periods of hard quarantine. the people i really feel for are single people who live alone, most of whom are going some level of bonkers right now.
that’s why, although in most cases i urge everyone to be so cautious as to seem unreasonable — as we’ve all known since the start, the way to stop or slow the spread is to take measures before it seems reasonable — i urge all y’all singles out there to find another live-alone best friend (with or without benefits) or other covid comrade to pair up with. being able to visit and in-person talk with and hug another person makes all the difference. but wait until after the current wave crests to do it. feel free to spend your alone time until then extravagantly cursing the idiots, buffoons, and selfish monsters who are going out of their way to make your life harder as a means of political signaling.
(and, if you have the means and can find one that’s in-stock online, consider buying a vr headset. even if you haven’t classically thought of yourself as a games person — i haven’t for a long time — being able to step out of your apartment and into the matrix for a little while is a very, very nice escape from the hard reality of quarantine.)
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 1:48 PM on June 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
GOP committee chair: 'It would help' if Trump would wear a mask occasionally (The Hill)
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said Sunday that “it would help” if President Trump would wear a mask occasionally during the coronavirus pandemic. "If wearing masks is important and all the health experts tell us that it is in containing the disease in 2020, it would help if from time to time the president would wear one to help us get rid of this political debate that says if you're for Trump, you don't wear a mask, if you're against Trump, you do," Alexander, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, told CNN’s “Inside Politics.”posted by katra at 1:50 PM on June 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
Mod note: Friendly mod update, carried over from another thread and relevant here also: tossing the word "insane" around has ableist implications that, while maybe not implied, can easily be inferred. Please be a little more creative/compassionate with word choice moving forward. Thanks.]
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:56 PM on June 28, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:56 PM on June 28, 2020 [6 favorites]
A friend named Karen just posted on FB a cute meme suggesting we instead refer to those clueless, entitled, dangerous types as Ivankas...
posted by PhineasGage at 2:15 PM on June 28, 2020 [14 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 2:15 PM on June 28, 2020 [14 favorites]
I think it's bullshit to say shaming is ineffective. None of the positive types of persuasion mean anything if the non mask wearers imagine that they're part of some club, and that sense is reinforced for hours a day online. If they go out in public and get yelled at enough times and realize that just about EVERYBODY is against their choice, I would bet that 90% of them buckle.
I really feels like there's some heavy psyops underway and yelling is the only clear defence.
posted by bonobothegreat at 2:18 PM on June 28, 2020 [6 favorites]
I really feels like there's some heavy psyops underway and yelling is the only clear defence.
posted by bonobothegreat at 2:18 PM on June 28, 2020 [6 favorites]
How do you deal with people who refuse to wear a mask? (Barbara Krasnoff, The Verge, Jun. 25, 2020)
Julia Marcus, an epidemiologist and professor at Harvard Medical School, says in her article in The Atlantic that shaming people for not wearing masks is counterproductive. [...] In the SF Chronicle, writer Tony Bravo talks to etiquette experts about how — or rather, whether — to confront people who are not wearing masks in stores and other public spaces. It is generally agreed upon among these courtesy mavens that confrontation (besides being possibly dangerous) doesn’t work.posted by katra at 2:28 PM on June 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
[...] And don’t assume you know why they’re not wearing masks, points out Aziza Ahmed, a professor who specializes in health law at Northeastern University. There are people with legitimate health reasons for not wearing a mask. Sometimes it’s best to simply ask them to step back if they get too close for comfort.
There are people with legitimate health reasons for not wearing a mask.
Please explain these health reasons that prevent people from wearing a mask, and also prevent them from making alternate arrangements that don't risk everyone else's safety.
At work, I will negotiate a reasonable accomodation for people who can't wear a mask. They just need to bring me a note from a physician or other professional. It doesn't have to tell me what condition they have, just a positive statement that they cannot wear a mask.
I have had zero people take me up on that.
posted by ctmf at 2:37 PM on June 28, 2020 [12 favorites]
Please explain these health reasons that prevent people from wearing a mask, and also prevent them from making alternate arrangements that don't risk everyone else's safety.
At work, I will negotiate a reasonable accomodation for people who can't wear a mask. They just need to bring me a note from a physician or other professional. It doesn't have to tell me what condition they have, just a positive statement that they cannot wear a mask.
I have had zero people take me up on that.
posted by ctmf at 2:37 PM on June 28, 2020 [12 favorites]
The pricey grocery store near me will open an hour early or stay open an hour late and give one or a few people the whole store to themselves to accommodate that. If arranged in advance for resource planning purposes, and with a letter from a professional, like I ask for. They're willing to spend that much in labor/overhead, if that's what it takes, at no additional cost to the customer. Nobody takes them up on that, either. It's just people who want to be allowed to pretend nobody else matters.
I bet they'd even be sympathetic if someone claimed not to be able to afford the doctor's visit to get the letter.
posted by ctmf at 2:58 PM on June 28, 2020 [7 favorites]
I bet they'd even be sympathetic if someone claimed not to be able to afford the doctor's visit to get the letter.
posted by ctmf at 2:58 PM on June 28, 2020 [7 favorites]
Thinking of the people I know, their reasons involve pulmonary health conditions like asthma, COPD, and a history of lung cancer. However, they've all been able to make "alternate arrangements" because they have flexible employers and/or supportive social networks.
Mainly, they aren't poor.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:01 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Mainly, they aren't poor.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:01 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
CDC: "Cloth face coverings should NOT be worn by children under the age of 2 or anyone who has trouble breathing, is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance."
But I think the ultimate point is about what works from the perspective of public health experts, and whether encouraging hostile, intimidating displays of "shaming" is actually a) effective in increasing compliance, b) safe for the people doing the 'shaming,' and c) not risking unfair discrimination and unlawful harassment against people with disabilities and other limitations, including but not limited to poverty.
posted by katra at 3:07 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
But I think the ultimate point is about what works from the perspective of public health experts, and whether encouraging hostile, intimidating displays of "shaming" is actually a) effective in increasing compliance, b) safe for the people doing the 'shaming,' and c) not risking unfair discrimination and unlawful harassment against people with disabilities and other limitations, including but not limited to poverty.
posted by katra at 3:07 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I think it's bullshit to say shaming is ineffective.
I understand your strong emotional response to this topic. Believe me, I do. However, just as there is empirical evidence that allows public health specialists to make recommendations like "wear masks to prevent virus transmission" based on data rather than feelings, there is also empirical evidence that allows public health specialists to make recommendations like, "actually, shaming tends to be more counterproductive than helpful, on the whole; please use alternate methods" based on data rather than feelings.
posted by eviemath at 3:14 PM on June 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
I understand your strong emotional response to this topic. Believe me, I do. However, just as there is empirical evidence that allows public health specialists to make recommendations like "wear masks to prevent virus transmission" based on data rather than feelings, there is also empirical evidence that allows public health specialists to make recommendations like, "actually, shaming tends to be more counterproductive than helpful, on the whole; please use alternate methods" based on data rather than feelings.
posted by eviemath at 3:14 PM on June 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
Let's say I'm Trader Joe's. I could imagine having a conversation with someone that could result in allowing them to shop without a mask. Ultimately, this is about getting the risk as low as reasonably achievable, there's no such thing as completely safe. I think it would be ok if one person, who has no reason to believe they're infected, goes without a mask among the many others who are. The point though, is, individuals don't get to just show up and force their "solution" to their problem on me. I'll work with them, but I get a vote too, and wandering around without a mask during prime hours is... not my first choice of solutions.
It would be a problem though, if I was somehow convinced, and then all the other customers behaved badly to them. Some kind of "management authorized exception" badge or something? So then everyone could direct their displeasure to me.
posted by ctmf at 3:18 PM on June 28, 2020
It would be a problem though, if I was somehow convinced, and then all the other customers behaved badly to them. Some kind of "management authorized exception" badge or something? So then everyone could direct their displeasure to me.
posted by ctmf at 3:18 PM on June 28, 2020
It's just really disheartening to think that yelling at strangers is really the only tool in our toolbox for every situation, especially a situation that got managed in other countries by supporting each other and communicating. I very much would prefer to live in that society to the one I'm in.
posted by bleep at 3:24 PM on June 28, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by bleep at 3:24 PM on June 28, 2020 [7 favorites]
via TIME Magazine, Apr. 13, 2020:
Studies on disaster preparedness have found that one of the best ways to get other people to adopt new habits is to model them. “The literature shows that people will change their behavior if there are three conditions in place: they know what to do, why to do it and they see other people like themselves also doing it,” says Monica Schoch-Spana, a medical anthropologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. A crucial part of this, she says, is that authority figures, from political leaders to pastors, are all repeating the same message, to the point that people are “swimming in a sea” of it.States scramble to contain Covid spikes without enough workers to track outbreaks (Politico)
Those waters are murky in the United States, where the response to the pandemic has been politically polarized and messages have been mixed. [...] President Donald Trump has said he won’t be wearing a mask because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended it, not ordered it, and “I just don’t want to.”
Critics say the failing stems from a lack of direction from the Trump administration, which has left reopening decisions to states and released guidance on contact tracing weeks after state efforts were launched. That’s left sizable state-to-state disparities in readiness. “President Trump’s refusal to focus on testing and contact tracing and the general absence of any leadership led to disastrous failures in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement to POLITICO.posted by katra at 3:47 PM on June 28, 2020 [8 favorites]
Democratic lawmakers are pushing the Trump administration to quickly distribute $8 billion Congress approved weeks ago to fortify contact tracing programs. While the administration has already released $11 billion for state testing and tracing, Democrats say further delay on the remaining funds has left states inadequately prepared to deal with new spikes in infections.
The Dudes Who Won't Wear Masks talks about how shaming may not be effective. By analogy to the AIDS crisis, where trying to shame gay men into wearing condoms for anal sex didn't really work. Instead safe sex educators had to build bridges to condom usage in other ways.
It's worth a read but I'm not sure I really agree with this article, nor its conclusion we should coddle folks. In particular not wearing a mask is, by definition, a public behavior. Public shaming works in a way that pressure on sexual behavior does not. Also there's just simply having the law. No one in France was wearing masks in public until they started enforcing a serious fine. AFAIK nowhere in the US is actively enforcing mask requirements. (And doing so is problematic given the danger the police here pose to the citizens.)
posted by Nelson at 3:51 PM on June 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
It's worth a read but I'm not sure I really agree with this article, nor its conclusion we should coddle folks. In particular not wearing a mask is, by definition, a public behavior. Public shaming works in a way that pressure on sexual behavior does not. Also there's just simply having the law. No one in France was wearing masks in public until they started enforcing a serious fine. AFAIK nowhere in the US is actively enforcing mask requirements. (And doing so is problematic given the danger the police here pose to the citizens.)
posted by Nelson at 3:51 PM on June 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Yes, we are social creatures. For months I have been adamant about wearing a mask whenever I step outside, even just walking alone through my neighborhood and much more than 6 feet away from anyone else the entire time. It's always worthwhile to be sending the right signals via our own behavior.
posted by PhineasGage at 3:52 PM on June 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 3:52 PM on June 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
Maybe I missed it, but haven't seen any discussion of the NBA re-opening using Oura rings to diagnose Covid. The whole thing sounds like more fraud, but what do I know?
posted by CCBC at 3:55 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by CCBC at 3:55 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
^What the NBA’S $300 COVID-Detecting Rings Can Actually Accomplish (Slate, June 22, 2020) However, there’s no substantial proof that wearables like the Oura Ring are useful for early detection and plenty of reason to be skeptical. [...] Simply put, wearable devices are not by themselves an adequate coronavirus-prevention measure as of now.
[Also, there are privacy concerns, though "The league has said that it will delete the data within four weeks after the end of the season."]
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:50 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
[Also, there are privacy concerns, though "The league has said that it will delete the data within four weeks after the end of the season."]
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:50 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I mean, I totally agree that someone who promotes or attempts to use a method that has been empirically verified to not work in order to promote evidence-based public policy should probably feel a little bit ashamed or at least foolish! But my attempts at inducing such a feeling among people engaging in such behavior in this thread don't seem to have been very effective so far. As predicted by evidence-based studies on the matter. So, shrug, there's that.
posted by eviemath at 5:07 PM on June 28, 2020
posted by eviemath at 5:07 PM on June 28, 2020
AFAIK nowhere in the US is actively enforcing mask requirements.
'Incomprehensible': Confrontations over masks erupt amid COVID-19 crisis (ABC News, May 7, 2020)
'Incomprehensible': Confrontations over masks erupt amid COVID-19 crisis (ABC News, May 7, 2020)
On April 21, a 20-year-old woman in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania, was arrested for creating what police described as an “extreme disturbance” by allegedly attacking a store manager who barred her from entering for not wearing the mask she had dangling around her neck. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of obstructing justice, disorderly conduct, providing false identification, and violating health department orders to wear a mask, Wilkes-Barre Township police said in a statement.Law enforcement to encourage voluntary compliance, not citations for face mask mandate (WFMY2 News, Jun. 25, 2020)
Starting Friday night Governor Roy Cooper's face mask mandate takes effect throughout the state of North Carolina. [...] While law enforcement cannot arrest individuals for not wearing a mask, they can issue citations to businesses that fail to enforce the wearing of masks.posted by katra at 5:18 PM on June 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
[...] The Rockingham County Sheriff's office added that deputies will respond to trespassing calls if a person not wearing a mask refuses to leave a business. "The Rockingham County Sheriff's Office will not be citing/arresting any individuals for violation of the facemask mandate. If businesses call we will respond and assess the situation. Any business can ask a patron to leave and if they refuse that could be a violation. That's for any reason. As for individual enforcement for not wearing masks, no we will not be doing that," said Sgt Kevin Suthard of the Rockingham County Sheriff's office in an email to WFMY News 2. Not everyone is in favor of the order. The group Re-Open NC has planned a protest in Raleigh on Friday.
The idea that shaming doesn't work flies in the face of vast amounts of evidence all of us have experienced throughout our lives, as well as a huge amount of social science. It will take a lot more than a few one-off studies to conclude that in this of all human domains somehow social shaming and stigma doesn't work. Heck, I was (gently) shamed just a few hours ago in this very forum and will not soon repeat the infraction. That doesn't mean shaming is the ethical thing to do, but is sure as heck works.
And regarding other countries that have high mask compliance, they often engage in quite aggressive public shaming. For instance, here's a good interview on NPR, The Coronavirus Guilt Trip. And for the flip side, how do we think the right comes to be so uniformly against masks? It's not just following Trump, a lot of it is peer-to-peer shaming against masks:
And regarding other countries that have high mask compliance, they often engage in quite aggressive public shaming. For instance, here's a good interview on NPR, The Coronavirus Guilt Trip. And for the flip side, how do we think the right comes to be so uniformly against masks? It's not just following Trump, a lot of it is peer-to-peer shaming against masks:
“In the West, I think we need to overcome—I wouldn’t call it a fear of the mask, but [the] stigma with a mask,” Christos Lynteris, a medical anthropologist at the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, told me. “I’ve heard people say, ‘I was carrying a mask in the airplane but I was too ashamed to wear it.’"posted by chortly at 5:24 PM on June 28, 2020 [6 favorites]
I just don't see how fighting fear, shame, confusion, and not knowing who to trust with more more fear, shame, and not knowing who to trust is actually solving anyone's problem.
posted by bleep at 5:39 PM on June 28, 2020
posted by bleep at 5:39 PM on June 28, 2020
Police seek a California woman they say coughed on a baby in a social distancing dispute (CNN, June 27, 2020) Police are investigating video of an alleged assault that occurred at a Yogurtland in California where a woman is seen coughing in the face of a baby, allegedly because the mother was not maintaining proper social distance. The incident took place June 12 when a White woman described as being in her 60s was standing in line for frozen yogurt in front of another woman and her child in a stroller, the San Jose Police Department said.
"The preliminary investigation revealed the suspect was upset the female was not maintaining proper social distancing so the suspect removed her face mask, got close to the baby's face, and coughed two to three times," said police Sgt. Enrique Garcia. [...] After video of the coughing incident went viral online, Oak Grove School District in San Jose confirmed the suspect who coughed on the baby may be one of their employees.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:47 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
"The preliminary investigation revealed the suspect was upset the female was not maintaining proper social distancing so the suspect removed her face mask, got close to the baby's face, and coughed two to three times," said police Sgt. Enrique Garcia. [...] After video of the coughing incident went viral online, Oak Grove School District in San Jose confirmed the suspect who coughed on the baby may be one of their employees.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:47 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
As for individual enforcement for not wearing masks, no we will not be doing that
So that's the kind of shit that's not helping cut down on the peer-to-peer shaming. If nobody in authority has the spine to enforce it, people have to take matters into their own hands.
the suspect removed her face mask, got close to the baby's face, and coughed two to three times
Now there's a person for whom living with themselves is probably punishment enough. I don't know how you look in the mirror after you've let yourself get so carried away you act that shamefully.
posted by ctmf at 6:02 PM on June 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
So that's the kind of shit that's not helping cut down on the peer-to-peer shaming. If nobody in authority has the spine to enforce it, people have to take matters into their own hands.
the suspect removed her face mask, got close to the baby's face, and coughed two to three times
Now there's a person for whom living with themselves is probably punishment enough. I don't know how you look in the mirror after you've let yourself get so carried away you act that shamefully.
posted by ctmf at 6:02 PM on June 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
I just don't see how fighting fear, shame, confusion, and not knowing who to trust with more more fear, shame, and not knowing who to trust is actually solving anyone's problem.
I guess the idea is that we've spent years, decades, or centuries trying to solve the problem of right-wing aggression and misinformation. That's not likely to be solved in the next few months, and in the short term we need to slow a disease that, unslowed, will soon cause literally hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths. Antagonizing the right a bit more via shaming and arrests seems like a worthwhile price to pay for the short-term benefits, even at the cost of pushing them farther into their ideological holes. It worked for the n-word and many other acts of overt racism -- they never changed their minds, they got angry at the PC police, but they stopped using the words. And it can work here, as one of the tools in a toolkit of exclusively terrible options, when the lives of all of our parents and grandparents are on the line.
Like any other social policy, that doesn't mean that anything goes though -- the Petco story above was a good example, the San Jose story is a very bad example. But it's a powerful, unpleasant tool that our real-life trolley problem requires considering. I don't see any other realistic mechanism apart from legal enforcement that is going to stop these people in the next few months. Cajoling and persuading by example, though, is pure wishful thinking, and I say that as someone who deeply believes in the power of persuasion. But it just doesn't work in the time that we have, absent all the leaders getting together to present a unified message. And that's not going to happen any time soon.
posted by chortly at 6:03 PM on June 28, 2020 [7 favorites]
I guess the idea is that we've spent years, decades, or centuries trying to solve the problem of right-wing aggression and misinformation. That's not likely to be solved in the next few months, and in the short term we need to slow a disease that, unslowed, will soon cause literally hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths. Antagonizing the right a bit more via shaming and arrests seems like a worthwhile price to pay for the short-term benefits, even at the cost of pushing them farther into their ideological holes. It worked for the n-word and many other acts of overt racism -- they never changed their minds, they got angry at the PC police, but they stopped using the words. And it can work here, as one of the tools in a toolkit of exclusively terrible options, when the lives of all of our parents and grandparents are on the line.
Like any other social policy, that doesn't mean that anything goes though -- the Petco story above was a good example, the San Jose story is a very bad example. But it's a powerful, unpleasant tool that our real-life trolley problem requires considering. I don't see any other realistic mechanism apart from legal enforcement that is going to stop these people in the next few months. Cajoling and persuading by example, though, is pure wishful thinking, and I say that as someone who deeply believes in the power of persuasion. But it just doesn't work in the time that we have, absent all the leaders getting together to present a unified message. And that's not going to happen any time soon.
posted by chortly at 6:03 PM on June 28, 2020 [7 favorites]
I mean, seriously. I'm imagining telling the story to my friends now. And then SHE said... and then I said... and then I took my mask off and coughed on the baby!
My friends would not laugh.
posted by ctmf at 6:04 PM on June 28, 2020
My friends would not laugh.
posted by ctmf at 6:04 PM on June 28, 2020
That's true, I guess there's a lot of degrees of variance in what we're talking about, off the top of my head I can think of: getting aggressive with strangers who aren't wearing a mask (not going to help, I think), being clear with friends and family what the stakes are and what we need to do and employing shaming if necessary (yes, completely), expressing nonverbal disapproval towards strangers with body language etc. (perfectly fine), being aggressive with someone who's harassing or bothering an innocent stranger (extremely necessary).
But none of this should even be on our shoulders to us as individuals; if we weren't completely failed by almost all levels of government none of this would be happening. It should be easy to get a mask and there should be no reason to feel weird about wearing it.
posted by bleep at 6:13 PM on June 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
But none of this should even be on our shoulders to us as individuals; if we weren't completely failed by almost all levels of government none of this would be happening. It should be easy to get a mask and there should be no reason to feel weird about wearing it.
posted by bleep at 6:13 PM on June 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
You know the old saw, "You can't reason a man out of a position that he didn't reason himself into"? The refusal to wear a mask is not a rational act. It is an emotional act - whether that emotion is "own the libs" spite, "masks are for plebs" ego-stroking, or "you're not my mommy!" childishness.
No amount of logic is going to change their minds, and the powers that be are either too beholden to the white-hot-ball-of-misplaced-rage or too cowardly to even mandate mask wearing, much less enforce it.
So, what are are regular people supposed to do, to protect themselves? Our arsenal is rather sparse. Public shaming is one of the few tools left at our disposal. It also happens to work.
posted by notsnot at 6:36 PM on June 28, 2020 [8 favorites]
No amount of logic is going to change their minds, and the powers that be are either too beholden to the white-hot-ball-of-misplaced-rage or too cowardly to even mandate mask wearing, much less enforce it.
So, what are are regular people supposed to do, to protect themselves? Our arsenal is rather sparse. Public shaming is one of the few tools left at our disposal. It also happens to work.
posted by notsnot at 6:36 PM on June 28, 2020 [8 favorites]
Is ‘social shaming’ a good way to encourage wearing face masks? (Providence Journal, May 6, 2020)
Cranston Police Chief Michael Winquist advised against confrontation. [...] “It is not recommended that any citizen take matters in his or her own hands to include engaging in ‘public shaming.’ The reaction of the target of your comments cannot be predicted and could be detrimental to your safety and the safety of those in your company,” Winquist said.Who’s enforcing mask rules? Often retail workers, and they’re getting hurt. (NYT reprint, May 19, 2020)
As more parts of the country reopen businesses, many retail workers have reluctantly turned into de facto enforcers of public health guidelines, confronting customers who refuse to wear masks or to maintain a wide distance from others. The risk of a violent reaction now hangs over jobs already fraught with health perils.posted by katra at 6:43 PM on June 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
I'll need to see data that public shaming works. The science I remember reading is that the more you argue with people, the more they entrench their positions.
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:45 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:45 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I think some of us, when picturing ‘shaming’ in our minds, are picturing something closer to “the majority of people in your vicinity are giving you a wearisome dirty look that makes clear that they believe you really are a bit of an asshole, and a childish one at that” than what some of you are imagining.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 6:54 PM on June 28, 2020 [14 favorites]
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 6:54 PM on June 28, 2020 [14 favorites]
Public shaming is not arguing. It's not debating a set of facts, it's saying "this type of behavior is unacceptable here" with an implicit monkey brain threat of violence (not implying violence follows, but I'm guessing that's what our primate brain is attempting to prevent).
posted by benzenedream at 6:54 PM on June 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 6:54 PM on June 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
The San Jose story isn't the worst example of matters going wrong; for that, see the site katra linked upthread: People Keep Shooting Each Other Over Coronavirus Restrictions (TheTrace.org, May 20, 2020) Tracking gun violence tied to face masks, store closures, and social distancing rules.
Man Refused Service for Not Wearing Mask Assaults Store Clerk (NBC, May 14, 2020)
Toronto store owners say they were assaulted after forcibly removing customer for not wearing mask (CBC, May 29, 2020)
Man shoots at MetroBus after he was refused for not wearing a face mask (KDSK St. Louis, May 31, 2020)
Customer violently shoves employee over mask policy in Dallas-area business, police say (Star Telegram, June 15, 2020)
Man attacks Asian employee, shouts racist remarks when asked to wear mask in Albany store (WRGB, June 15, 2020)
Restaurant Employees Become the Unexpected Enforcers of Mask Policies; Some employees report having to confront “super-aggravated customers” several times a week (Eater Detroit, June 18, 2020)
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:59 PM on June 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
Man Refused Service for Not Wearing Mask Assaults Store Clerk (NBC, May 14, 2020)
Toronto store owners say they were assaulted after forcibly removing customer for not wearing mask (CBC, May 29, 2020)
Man shoots at MetroBus after he was refused for not wearing a face mask (KDSK St. Louis, May 31, 2020)
Customer violently shoves employee over mask policy in Dallas-area business, police say (Star Telegram, June 15, 2020)
Man attacks Asian employee, shouts racist remarks when asked to wear mask in Albany store (WRGB, June 15, 2020)
Restaurant Employees Become the Unexpected Enforcers of Mask Policies; Some employees report having to confront “super-aggravated customers” several times a week (Eater Detroit, June 18, 2020)
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:59 PM on June 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
As U.S. soars past 2.5 million coronavirus cases, Pence urges Americans to wear masks, social distance (WaPo)
At an event in Dallas, Pence commended Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for his “decisive action” in reopening the state’s economy in early May. [...] “It’s a good time to steer clear of senior citizens and to practice the kind of measures that will keep our most vulnerable safe,” Pence said at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he was joined by Abbott, White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.Choir at Pence event in Texas did not wear masks while singing (WaPo live blog)
All four were wearing face masks as they entered and left the briefing room, a striking contrast with the image Trump administration officials have presented in recent months. Members of the White House coronavirus task force have typically not worn masks and have stood in proximity to each other at media briefings, and President Trump has frequently ridiculed reporters and others who have worn face coverings during the pandemic.
Dozens of members of a choir performed without masks Sunday at an event where Vice President Pence spoke, despite warnings from public-health officials that singing in groups can spread the novel coronavirus. Although the choir members wore masks during the speeches, they removed them to sing, according to a pool report from the event in Dallas. An NBC News reporter in attendance said there was space between the choir members, but probably not six feet.posted by katra at 7:02 PM on June 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Yeah, the definition of shaming here is too broad as to be meaningless. And we will not be able to see data about this either.
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:04 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:04 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Iris Gambol's links are full of people who aren't getting the shaming hint.
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:05 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:05 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
North Carolina does NOT prohibit mask wearing and ‘concealed carry’ (AP Fact Check, June 24, 2020) The posts online warn that those who decide to concealed carry and wear a mask can be charged with a felony.
“Once you have a felony you can no longer carry,” stated one post with more than 5,000 shares on Facebook. The posts online referenced “NC Gen. Statute 14-12” as the reason state residents with “concealed carry” permits could not carry their gun and wear a mask at the same time. The state statute 14-12.8 says: “No person or persons shall in this State, while wearing any mask, hood or device whereby the person face or voice is disguised so as to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter, or appear upon or within the public property of any municipality or county of the State, or of the State of North Carolina.”
In May, as part of its Covid-19 Recovery Act, the North Carolina state legislature made a temporary exception to the state’s mask law due to public health concerns. The bill also stipulates that a person wearing a mask shall remove the mask upon request of a law enforcement officer.
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:07 PM on June 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
“Once you have a felony you can no longer carry,” stated one post with more than 5,000 shares on Facebook. The posts online referenced “NC Gen. Statute 14-12” as the reason state residents with “concealed carry” permits could not carry their gun and wear a mask at the same time. The state statute 14-12.8 says: “No person or persons shall in this State, while wearing any mask, hood or device whereby the person face or voice is disguised so as to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter, or appear upon or within the public property of any municipality or county of the State, or of the State of North Carolina.”
In May, as part of its Covid-19 Recovery Act, the North Carolina state legislature made a temporary exception to the state’s mask law due to public health concerns. The bill also stipulates that a person wearing a mask shall remove the mask upon request of a law enforcement officer.
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:07 PM on June 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
... so, uh, are all of katra's links about public health experts talking about what does and does not work in the area of public health promotion based on actual data studied by actual public health professionals only visible to me or something?
posted by eviemath at 9:20 PM on June 28, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by eviemath at 9:20 PM on June 28, 2020 [5 favorites]
Here's Richard "I'm not a lawyer, I'm a law professor" Epstein three weeks ago:
"Anyone who takes a close look at the death tolls from coronavirus cannot fail to be struck by the following anomaly. The states that have the highest death rates, concentrated in the northeast, have adopted the most interventionist policies. Those that have had the lowest death rates, usually by local decision, opened up their economies at a more rapid rate."
Recall that Epstein is the guy who back in March projected no more than 500 deaths, which he then said he really meant 5,000 deaths, and then lied and said he meant 50,000 all along, and then ....
You would think that a guy who fancies himself such a public intellectual would get a clue and just hang it up. But he just keeps plugging along, wrong as ever.
posted by JackFlash at 10:07 PM on June 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
"Anyone who takes a close look at the death tolls from coronavirus cannot fail to be struck by the following anomaly. The states that have the highest death rates, concentrated in the northeast, have adopted the most interventionist policies. Those that have had the lowest death rates, usually by local decision, opened up their economies at a more rapid rate."
Recall that Epstein is the guy who back in March projected no more than 500 deaths, which he then said he really meant 5,000 deaths, and then lied and said he meant 50,000 all along, and then ....
You would think that a guy who fancies himself such a public intellectual would get a clue and just hang it up. But he just keeps plugging along, wrong as ever.
posted by JackFlash at 10:07 PM on June 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
I can see those great links by the OP, too, eviemath; I think we're in a bit of a parallel thread situation.
As U.S. soars past 2.5 million coronavirus cases, Pence urges Americans to wear masks, social distance (Washington Post, June 28, 2020). “It’s a good time to steer clear of senior citizens and to practice the kind of measures that will keep our most vulnerable safe,” Pence said at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he was joined by Abbott, White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. All four were wearing face masks as they entered and left the briefing room, a striking contrast with the image Trump administration officials have presented in recent months. [...]
But earlier Sunday, a “Celebrate Freedom” rally Pence attended at First Baptist Church in Dallas featured a large choir that did not wear masks while singing, despite evidence that some choir practices have served as “superspreader” events. Members of the choir put on their masks after they finished singing, and about two-thirds of attendees were wearing masks during the event, although many were sitting side by side in the pews. Face coverings and social distancing were strongly recommended but not required.
--
Well, baby steps, I guess. Pence has only led the White House Coronavirus Task Force since it formed in February.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:16 PM on June 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
As U.S. soars past 2.5 million coronavirus cases, Pence urges Americans to wear masks, social distance (Washington Post, June 28, 2020). “It’s a good time to steer clear of senior citizens and to practice the kind of measures that will keep our most vulnerable safe,” Pence said at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he was joined by Abbott, White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. All four were wearing face masks as they entered and left the briefing room, a striking contrast with the image Trump administration officials have presented in recent months. [...]
But earlier Sunday, a “Celebrate Freedom” rally Pence attended at First Baptist Church in Dallas featured a large choir that did not wear masks while singing, despite evidence that some choir practices have served as “superspreader” events. Members of the choir put on their masks after they finished singing, and about two-thirds of attendees were wearing masks during the event, although many were sitting side by side in the pews. Face coverings and social distancing were strongly recommended but not required.
--
Well, baby steps, I guess. Pence has only led the White House Coronavirus Task Force since it formed in February.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:16 PM on June 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
... so, uh, are all of katra's links about public health experts talking about what does and does not work in the area of public health promotion based on actual data studied by actual public health professionals only visible to me or something?
Can you provide one a data heavy one? I'm having trouble finding one. There are many links so I could have missed one.
The ones I saw by public health experts were not based on data or studies as to whether shaming is actually effective. Julia Marcus in the Atlantic, for example, is basically arguing to "be kind" and her supporting link is an earlier article she wrote.
I kind of feel, like all other aspects of this plague, this is going to be hard to find data on because this is new. The large scale behavior change we're trying to achieve rapidly seems outside the scope of most public health experts and probably goes into sociology. I'm thinking of wartime behavior with rationing, for example, and how you wouldn't want to be seen hoarding. (Though my father has some stories that make me think that may be overblown.)
And wearing a mask is an inherently public and visible act, so outcomes might be quite different than shaming over other behaviors. I mean, if you mock me eating Twinkies I might still do it, just not when anyone's looking. OTOH if I only wear a mask when someone is looking the problem is solved, you don't care about my secret private behavior in that respect.
So I'm very curious as to what is known. Shame is AFAIK a strong control mechanism, though shaming is a somewhat different thing and could certainly be counterproductive (probably depending on the larger environment.)
posted by mark k at 10:44 PM on June 28, 2020 [5 favorites]
Can you provide one a data heavy one? I'm having trouble finding one. There are many links so I could have missed one.
The ones I saw by public health experts were not based on data or studies as to whether shaming is actually effective. Julia Marcus in the Atlantic, for example, is basically arguing to "be kind" and her supporting link is an earlier article she wrote.
I kind of feel, like all other aspects of this plague, this is going to be hard to find data on because this is new. The large scale behavior change we're trying to achieve rapidly seems outside the scope of most public health experts and probably goes into sociology. I'm thinking of wartime behavior with rationing, for example, and how you wouldn't want to be seen hoarding. (Though my father has some stories that make me think that may be overblown.)
And wearing a mask is an inherently public and visible act, so outcomes might be quite different than shaming over other behaviors. I mean, if you mock me eating Twinkies I might still do it, just not when anyone's looking. OTOH if I only wear a mask when someone is looking the problem is solved, you don't care about my secret private behavior in that respect.
So I'm very curious as to what is known. Shame is AFAIK a strong control mechanism, though shaming is a somewhat different thing and could certainly be counterproductive (probably depending on the larger environment.)
posted by mark k at 10:44 PM on June 28, 2020 [5 favorites]
U.S. Officials Press President Trump to Wear Mask in Coronavirus Fight (WSJ)
President Trump is coming under growing pressure from Republicans and Democrats to set an example for the country by wearing a face mask as the number of U.S. coronavirus cases hits new highs. [...] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said Sunday a federal mandate to wear masks in public was “long overdue” and faulted Mr. Trump for not setting an example by wearing one in public himself. [...] Polls have shown that Democrats are more likely to regularly wear masks in public than Republicans are.posted by katra at 10:46 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
[...] Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, also said it would help if Mr. Trump would encourage Americans to wear a mask, even if he doesn’t do so himself. “A consistent national message supporting the importance of wearing a mask and social distancing is very important to making sure everybody understands the importance of it,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Nothing beats leadership.”
Can you provide one a data heavy one?
Monica Schoch-Spana, a medical anthropologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security made recommendations based on studies on disaster preparedness about the importance of authority figures, "from political leaders to pastors," all repeating the same message. There's also data in the Atlantic article, The Dudes Who Won't Wear Masks, including in this paragraph:
Aziza Ahmed, a professor who specializes in health law at Northeastern University, made a point that I think is important and implicitly data-heavy, about how important it can be to avoid assuming that you know why someone is not wearing masks, due to the legitimate health reasons that can exist. I don't have exact data to offer about how many people may fit within CDC or local exemptions, but it seems important to keep this data point in mind.
There is also the data being collected in this thread about the possible dangers related to confrontation. Like I said above, I think the question is not just about whether a particular tactic is effective, but also whether it is safe to engage in and whether it will result in unfair discrimination or unlawful harassment.
posted by katra at 11:13 PM on June 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
Monica Schoch-Spana, a medical anthropologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security made recommendations based on studies on disaster preparedness about the importance of authority figures, "from political leaders to pastors," all repeating the same message. There's also data in the Atlantic article, The Dudes Who Won't Wear Masks, including in this paragraph:
When the president mocks mask wearers for appearing weak and sees face coverings as a political statement against him, it’s no surprise that some Americans are loudly declining to wear them. Mask refusers are more likely to be politically conservative, an ominous trend when new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are increasing steeply in some red states—the very states where mask mandates are least likely to be adopted. As one research team noted, men are especially likely to opt out of wearing masks, believing them to be “shameful,” “a sign of weakness,” and “not cool”—even though men are at higher risk than women of dying from coronavirus infection.Why more men aren't wearing masks — and how to change that (Adam Tschorn, LAT, Jun. 22, 2020) reports on the same study about gender differences in attitudes towards masks, “The Effect of Messaging and Gender on Intentions to Wear a Face Covering to Slow Down COVID-19 Transmission," and the finding that "the biggest motivator of all is a mandatory mask order."
Aziza Ahmed, a professor who specializes in health law at Northeastern University, made a point that I think is important and implicitly data-heavy, about how important it can be to avoid assuming that you know why someone is not wearing masks, due to the legitimate health reasons that can exist. I don't have exact data to offer about how many people may fit within CDC or local exemptions, but it seems important to keep this data point in mind.
There is also the data being collected in this thread about the possible dangers related to confrontation. Like I said above, I think the question is not just about whether a particular tactic is effective, but also whether it is safe to engage in and whether it will result in unfair discrimination or unlawful harassment.
posted by katra at 11:13 PM on June 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
Trump will never wear a mask because he'll get his clown makeup all over it.
If thousands of people have to die because of his vanity, he's just fine with that.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 11:16 PM on June 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
If thousands of people have to die because of his vanity, he's just fine with that.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 11:16 PM on June 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
President Trump is coming under growing pressure from Republicans
Yeah because he needs to stop being obviously on the wrong side of this. He's getting slaughtered in the polls, and they're having to choose between being next, and going against him.
posted by ctmf at 11:29 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yeah because he needs to stop being obviously on the wrong side of this. He's getting slaughtered in the polls, and they're having to choose between being next, and going against him.
posted by ctmf at 11:29 PM on June 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
What units are data about public shaming measured in, anyway?
posted by thelonius at 12:06 AM on June 29, 2020
posted by thelonius at 12:06 AM on June 29, 2020
millichides
posted by rifflesby at 12:08 AM on June 29, 2020 [42 favorites]
posted by rifflesby at 12:08 AM on June 29, 2020 [42 favorites]
Illustrating what we're up against, a friend of my SO's relayed an unfortunate story about some of his 20-30 year old friends. A bit less than two weeks ago, one of them decided to have nine others over to his house for a party. Being both young and swimming in red pill-adjacent bullshit, of course there was no attempt whatsoever to account for the pandemic. Of the ten, nine have now tested positive for COVID. The sole remaining person is not showing symptoms and has so far refused to be tested despite the public testing sites being available to anyone regardless of symptoms or potential contact.
Adding to the terribleness of the situation is the realization I had just now that any kind of even marginally useful contact tracing/public health system, which Miami-Dade county ought to have if anyone in the US does given that they've supposedly hired a bunch of their own contact tracers to supplement those the state has hired, it wouldn't be up to his friends to convince the lone holdout to get tested. By now, he should have been given a choice between getting a test and a forced quarantine, as state law has provided for since at least the 1930s.
posted by wierdo at 2:00 AM on June 29, 2020 [12 favorites]
Adding to the terribleness of the situation is the realization I had just now that any kind of even marginally useful contact tracing/public health system, which Miami-Dade county ought to have if anyone in the US does given that they've supposedly hired a bunch of their own contact tracers to supplement those the state has hired, it wouldn't be up to his friends to convince the lone holdout to get tested. By now, he should have been given a choice between getting a test and a forced quarantine, as state law has provided for since at least the 1930s.
posted by wierdo at 2:00 AM on June 29, 2020 [12 favorites]
Hello from the land of the immunocompromised. I am a thirty something and in the prime of my career. I am not old and besides my immuno condition am really fucking healthy including metabolically otherwise. I cannot just “fucking stay home”.
However, I have barely left my house since March because even though I live in a very blue state, masks still are nothing worn. This sucks. Because I cannot just “fucking stay home”, I have to make further sacrifices because healthy people can’t be bothered to think of who else might be at risk besides grandma.
This is what my looks like: Get up at 3AM
Mask up, glove up, get fresh air on a walk
Be home by 4:30am when all the maskless mouthspreaders take to the streets for another day of entitlement
7am - start work two hours early because I’m up.
4pm - stop work
Rinse, repeat.
Because precovid I was never home due to extracurriculars and volunteering, all of that is gone.
Also, my employer thinks I need to be back in the office but that is a different rant about different ego anxieties of powerful men as applied to the same situation.
This all boils down to this terrible feeling that despite being a really fucking good person and being really involved in my community the world thinks I need to drop dead.
Thanks for the message.
posted by floweredfish at 2:27 AM on June 29, 2020 [21 favorites]
However, I have barely left my house since March because even though I live in a very blue state, masks still are nothing worn. This sucks. Because I cannot just “fucking stay home”, I have to make further sacrifices because healthy people can’t be bothered to think of who else might be at risk besides grandma.
This is what my looks like: Get up at 3AM
Mask up, glove up, get fresh air on a walk
Be home by 4:30am when all the maskless mouthspreaders take to the streets for another day of entitlement
7am - start work two hours early because I’m up.
4pm - stop work
Rinse, repeat.
Because precovid I was never home due to extracurriculars and volunteering, all of that is gone.
Also, my employer thinks I need to be back in the office but that is a different rant about different ego anxieties of powerful men as applied to the same situation.
This all boils down to this terrible feeling that despite being a really fucking good person and being really involved in my community the world thinks I need to drop dead.
Thanks for the message.
posted by floweredfish at 2:27 AM on June 29, 2020 [21 favorites]
Reluctance to wear masks is not solely a U.S. phenomenon. The chart here shows that the U.S. isn't even the most reluctant country: "Masks Could Help Stop Coronavirus. So Why Are They Still Controversial?" (WSJ - no paywall)
Sorry, I have to call bullshit on whoever did this survey. They seriously want to tell me that a smaller proportion of Germans wear masks than USians? No way. I have been out and about as well as traveling around the country-side here in Germany and it's 100% full compliance. Some random people have their nose out, sometimes there's a couple teenagers that aren't wearing one, but literally everyone else has a mask on in every indoor public space and on public transportation. There is no mask requirement to wear one outside, and it's still not common to wear one outside, even on a busy street.
posted by LizBoBiz at 5:31 AM on June 29, 2020 [6 favorites]
Sorry, I have to call bullshit on whoever did this survey. They seriously want to tell me that a smaller proportion of Germans wear masks than USians? No way. I have been out and about as well as traveling around the country-side here in Germany and it's 100% full compliance. Some random people have their nose out, sometimes there's a couple teenagers that aren't wearing one, but literally everyone else has a mask on in every indoor public space and on public transportation. There is no mask requirement to wear one outside, and it's still not common to wear one outside, even on a busy street.
posted by LizBoBiz at 5:31 AM on June 29, 2020 [6 favorites]
‘Exhausted’ by customers’ rage over wearing masks, California taco chain shuts down (SacBee)
Diners at two Los Angeles taco stands have screamed, cursed and thrown drinks on employees trying to enforce a “no mask, no service” policy, the Los Angeles Times reports. It’s become so exhausting that Hugo’s Tacos has closed down both shops to give workers a break, owners wrote in a post on Twitter. “All because of a simple question: Can we ask you to put on a mask? Can we offer you a mask?” said part-owner Bill Kohne, according to the Los Angeles Times. [...] Incidents, often captured on video, of people refusing to wear masks or trying to force their way into businesses without masks have been reported in recent weeks across the United States. California is one of several states that have implemented mandatory mask orders in public to try to contain a resurgence in coronavirus cases.Trump retweets video of white St Louis couple pointing guns at protesters (Guardian)
[...] Workers, who are mostly Latino, also have been called racial epithets by customers who have demanded refunds and thrown drinks through drive-up windows, the Los Angeles Times says. “It’s just gotten more difficult to open every day in an environment where you’re treated with hostility and venom,” Kohne said, KTTV reported.
The president’s action came a day after he retweeted footage of protesters clashing in Florida in which a Trump supporter could be heard to say “White power! White power!” That retweet was deleted from the president’s account after a few hours, a White House spokesman saying Trump had not heard the inflammatory words before sending the footage on to his supporters. [...] On Monday, White House press secretary told Fox News Trump’s “point in tweeting out that video was to stand with his supporters, who are oftentimes demonized” [explaining why Trump tweeted out a video of a supporter at The Villages yelling "white power."]posted by katra at 8:35 AM on June 29, 2020 [6 favorites]
So, what are are regular people supposed to do, to protect themselves? Our arsenal is rather sparse. Public shaming is one of the few tools left at our disposal. It also happens to work.
Here's the rub, we just need things that work at this point. This is the challenge, I think:
I guess I'm just feeling exasperated because the U.S. is now at the point where we must, to meet the needs of basic public safety and survival, require and compel people to behave in ways that many have so far resisted and outright fought to avoid. How is public health and safety compliance enforced, when it actually must be enforced? At some point, when the mouth sounds don't work and clearly will not work, some other kind of effective action is needed. I don't want to publicly shame anybody, and I certainly do not want to be in any fights, but I am reaching my limit for having my health put at risk by some Trump-worshipping asshole who can't bother to put a piece of fabric over their face for 45 minutes at Target.
posted by LooseFilter at 9:16 AM on June 29, 2020 [7 favorites]
Here's the rub, we just need things that work at this point. This is the challenge, I think:
- it's clearly safer and more prudent not to publicly shame strangers, because people will react in all kinds of unpredictable ways to shame;
- any public health or safety expert will only give responsible, prudent advice, like 'public shaming is dangerous and has unpredictable, often negative, results';
- rationally, it's best to persuade one another and build positive consensus about our collective health problem(s).
- calm, rational arguments and modeling take some time to gradually change people's behavior collectively, and we have no more time to spare;
- people not wearing a mask are dangerous to me (and thus my family) in my immediate space, right now;
- since rational argument and modeling has proven dangerously ineffective to a large portion of our population, their dangerous behavior must be curtailed be some means, to protect the rest of us.
I guess I'm just feeling exasperated because the U.S. is now at the point where we must, to meet the needs of basic public safety and survival, require and compel people to behave in ways that many have so far resisted and outright fought to avoid. How is public health and safety compliance enforced, when it actually must be enforced? At some point, when the mouth sounds don't work and clearly will not work, some other kind of effective action is needed. I don't want to publicly shame anybody, and I certainly do not want to be in any fights, but I am reaching my limit for having my health put at risk by some Trump-worshipping asshole who can't bother to put a piece of fabric over their face for 45 minutes at Target.
posted by LooseFilter at 9:16 AM on June 29, 2020 [7 favorites]
Anecdotally: I started wearing a mask several weeks after someone gave one to me, but a couple of weeks before my county required it. By late March, I noticed other people starting to wear them (at the time, CDC still was recommending against masks) and followed suit. It felt very silly for the first week. By the second week, I'd figured out the glasses fog issue and didn't mind so much. By the third week...our county finally started requiring masks, and it felt long overdue! I was never explicitly pressured to wear a mask, but seeing other people wear them convinced me it was a good idea. I don't know how you convince a bunch of people to wear masks where no one is wearing them, and when official medical advice recently spoke against it.
(and I can't begin to explain what is wrong with greater LA, where coronavirus is really spiking right now, and plenty of people are surely wearing masks already)
posted by grandiloquiet at 9:35 AM on June 29, 2020
(and I can't begin to explain what is wrong with greater LA, where coronavirus is really spiking right now, and plenty of people are surely wearing masks already)
posted by grandiloquiet at 9:35 AM on June 29, 2020
The standard way to encourage compliance with laws that cannot reasonably be enforced society-wide is to pick a few noncompliers and make high profile examples of them, with large fines. Have reporters at the ready and scare the shit out of people. Even the Trumpiest QAnon idiot fears a $7000 fine. It's not like we haven't done this already for drunk driving and cigarette smoking FFS. This is not rocket science.
(Having masks at the ready to give out for people who "forgot theirs" would be a good move as well, then you only fine the real assholes.)
posted by benzenedream at 10:14 AM on June 29, 2020 [6 favorites]
(Having masks at the ready to give out for people who "forgot theirs" would be a good move as well, then you only fine the real assholes.)
posted by benzenedream at 10:14 AM on June 29, 2020 [6 favorites]
Yes, peer pressure from seeing everyone else do something is different from more direct peer pressure of the "you should do this" variety is different from general or campaigns not targetted at specific individuals but giving the message that not doing the thing is uncool is different from dirty looks is different from direct, active shaming. A lot of what is recommended by public health professionals, from the bits I've read, does indeed rely on peer pressure/public pressure. Also it's not that negative consequences for failing to do the thing can't or shouldn't be part of a more comprehensive campaign (eg. fines for businesses that don't enforce mask requirements). It's that direct confrontation trying to directly shame specific individual people (strangers or acquaintances) doesn't tend to be as effective, and actually backfires an unhelpfully significant proportion of the time.
posted by eviemath at 10:18 AM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by eviemath at 10:18 AM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
Allegheny County to halt on-premises alcohol consumption, enforce mask wearing in businesses, restaurants
Only three weeks after re-opening them, the county shuts down all bars after huge spike in cases among young people.
Only three weeks after re-opening them, the county shuts down all bars after huge spike in cases among young people.
[Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen] said there has been community-spread of the virus among people who have congregated at bars in Pittsburgh’s South Side and Oakland neighborhoods and have traveled to out-of-state hotspots like Florida, Texas and the beaches along the Carolina coast.posted by octothorpe at 10:32 AM on June 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
Jacksonville, host of August RNC, orders mask-wearing (WaPo live blog)
City spokeswoman Nikki Kimbleton told The Washington Post that whether the mandate applies to the convention will be addressed “as we get closer to the event,” noting that it “is still two months away.” The mask order, which goes into effect Monday evening, is a turn for Mayor Lenny Curry. The former Republican Party of Florida chairman has been “ideologically resistant to passing government mandates,” Politico reported. He said a week ago that he did not plan to issue a mask requirement, according to News4Jax, although he encouraged mask-wearing as “the responsible thing.”Schumer, Pelosi to McConnell: Move on coronavirus relief (Politico)
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the GOP “missing in action,” noting that the House passed its own massive relief package 45 days ago. [...] House Democrats passed their sprawling coronavirus aid package in mid-May, which included over $3 trillion in aid for states and local governments, hospitals and frontline workers. That package, however, has languished on the other side of the Capitol. [...] Now, Democrats argue that Republicans in the Senate need to move forward immediately on coronavirus aid, warning that state and local governments don’t have enough money for essential services. Most states are set to begin new fiscal years on July 1 with dire projections amid steep declines in revenue.posted by katra at 10:36 AM on June 29, 2020 [7 favorites]
Adding to the pressure, Democrats said, is the expiration of boosted unemployment benefits and provisions providing eviction relief at the end of July. The unemployment benefits, alone, have pumped hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S. economy to keep it on life support amid the worst financial crisis in decades. “It is unacceptable that the Senate would recess without addressing this urgent issue,” Schumer and Pelosi wrote. “On behalf of the millions of American families who desperately need Congressional action, we demand you change your mind and decide to work with us for the good of the country.”
The standard way to encourage compliance with laws that cannot reasonably be enforced society-wide is to pick a few noncompliers and make high profile examples of them, with large fines.
I worry the few noncompliers chosen for this would be POC.
posted by one for the books at 11:08 AM on June 29, 2020 [6 favorites]
I worry the few noncompliers chosen for this would be POC.
posted by one for the books at 11:08 AM on June 29, 2020 [6 favorites]
I worry the few noncompliers chosen for this would be POC.
Which would do little by way of serving as a cautionary example for many white people, in addition to the more immediate racism-in-policing issue. :/
posted by eviemath at 11:30 AM on June 29, 2020
Which would do little by way of serving as a cautionary example for many white people, in addition to the more immediate racism-in-policing issue. :/
posted by eviemath at 11:30 AM on June 29, 2020
I do as well, in general. On the other hand, if they're truly egregious non-compliers, as in throw-a-tantrum-when-politely-reminded drama seekers and not "Haha, you lifted your mask for 5 seconds to spit out your gum, I saw you" bullshit cases, then I don't think I care what color they are.
Racially-motivated uneven policing is a problem, but it's a separate problem from "should this be enforced at all"
posted by ctmf at 11:34 AM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
Racially-motivated uneven policing is a problem, but it's a separate problem from "should this be enforced at all"
posted by ctmf at 11:34 AM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
if they're truly egregious non-compliers
Turns out I don't see nearly as many POC doing that.
posted by ctmf at 11:35 AM on June 29, 2020 [8 favorites]
Turns out I don't see nearly as many POC doing that.
posted by ctmf at 11:35 AM on June 29, 2020 [8 favorites]
We tried the "selective public enforcement" thing with businesses, including imposing fines. Businesses still opened up because the profits outweighed the fine, and if their customers were predominantly Republican, the enforcement counted as free advertising.
Turns out I don't see nearly as many POC doing that.
If cops start enforcing this, they will be looking for offenders in neighborhoods where primarily POC live, because that's where cops patrol. They don't patrol white suburbia nearly as much. So yes, enforcement will be racist and unequal.
posted by tofu_crouton at 12:33 PM on June 29, 2020 [11 favorites]
Turns out I don't see nearly as many POC doing that.
If cops start enforcing this, they will be looking for offenders in neighborhoods where primarily POC live, because that's where cops patrol. They don't patrol white suburbia nearly as much. So yes, enforcement will be racist and unequal.
posted by tofu_crouton at 12:33 PM on June 29, 2020 [11 favorites]
Oregon County Reverses Mask Exemption for People of Color After Backlash (Newsweek, Jun. 25, 2020)
After Lincoln County saw a spike in coronavirus cases, health officials declared face coverings would be required in public settings. The directive came with several exemptions including "people of color who have heightened concerns about racial profiling and harassment due to wearing face coverings in public." However, county officials issued a statement Wednesday revising the policy a week after it was passed to address public concerns from both sides. "We are shocked and appalled at the volume of horrifically racist commentary we have received regarding this policy exception," they said.posted by katra at 12:41 PM on June 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
"We included the last protection for those within our communities of color who historically, and often personally, found themselves the victims of harassment and violence. After last month's protests, the national attention given to issue of racism, police tactics and inequity, we felt this last exception would be embraced and understood as a small effort to start addressing the realities some of our neighbors deal with on a daily basis." Officials said threats and racist commentary against the exception, which was originally meant to protect communities of color in the county, has made these individuals "a target for further discrimination and harassment."
So yes, enforcement will be racist and unequal.
I don't dispute that one bit. The problem is, ok now what? Does that mean we can't have any enforceable rules if there's a chance (or certainty) they will be enforced selectively? That's pretty much everything.
posted by ctmf at 12:43 PM on June 29, 2020 [3 favorites]
I don't dispute that one bit. The problem is, ok now what? Does that mean we can't have any enforceable rules if there's a chance (or certainty) they will be enforced selectively? That's pretty much everything.
posted by ctmf at 12:43 PM on June 29, 2020 [3 favorites]
Neurological and neuropsychiatric complications of COVID-19 in 153 patients: a UK-wide surveillance study (The Lancet, June 25, 2020)
"G" mutation in virus may be making it more contagious (WaPo, June 29, 2020)
The novel coronavirus – SARS-CoV-2 – may have been in Europe for longer than previously thought. (Science Alert, June 29, 2020) Recent studies have suggested that it was circulating in Italy as early as December 2019. More surprisingly, researchers at the University of Barcelona found traces of the virus when testing untreated wastewater samples dated 12 March 2019. [Not peer-reviewed, & see other caveats in SA article]
Jacksonville, the new site for Donald Trump’s convention speech, will require masks in public, indoors (USA Today, June 29, 2020) [YES! Wait --] City officials said they haven’t decided whether to mandate masks during the convention, which is scheduled for Aug. 24 to Aug. 27. [...] The state announced 8,530 new coronavirus cases Sunday, marking the third straight day of more than 8,000 cases in the state. Donald Trump may drop out of the 2020 presidential race if he believes he has no chance of winning, a Republican Party operative reportedly told Fox News. (The Independent, June 29, 2020)
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:56 PM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
"G" mutation in virus may be making it more contagious (WaPo, June 29, 2020)
The novel coronavirus – SARS-CoV-2 – may have been in Europe for longer than previously thought. (Science Alert, June 29, 2020) Recent studies have suggested that it was circulating in Italy as early as December 2019. More surprisingly, researchers at the University of Barcelona found traces of the virus when testing untreated wastewater samples dated 12 March 2019. [Not peer-reviewed, & see other caveats in SA article]
Jacksonville, the new site for Donald Trump’s convention speech, will require masks in public, indoors (USA Today, June 29, 2020) [YES! Wait --] City officials said they haven’t decided whether to mandate masks during the convention, which is scheduled for Aug. 24 to Aug. 27. [...] The state announced 8,530 new coronavirus cases Sunday, marking the third straight day of more than 8,000 cases in the state. Donald Trump may drop out of the 2020 presidential race if he believes he has no chance of winning, a Republican Party operative reportedly told Fox News. (The Independent, June 29, 2020)
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:56 PM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
We tried the "selective public enforcement" thing with businesses, including imposing fines. Businesses still opened up because the profits outweighed the fine, and if their customers were predominantly Republican, the enforcement counted as free advertising.
Individuals are not businesses and not many people think $1000 fines are pocket money. I dissuaded a lot of dumb relatives (who couldn't care less about transmission) from crossing county lines "just to pick up something from Uncle Fred" by sending the $7k fine story to them.
posted by benzenedream at 1:21 PM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
Individuals are not businesses and not many people think $1000 fines are pocket money. I dissuaded a lot of dumb relatives (who couldn't care less about transmission) from crossing county lines "just to pick up something from Uncle Fred" by sending the $7k fine story to them.
posted by benzenedream at 1:21 PM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
Donald Trump may drop out of the 2020 presidential race if he believes he has no chance of winning, a Republican Party operative reportedly told Fox News.
One sign of this might be Pence increasingly putting daylight between himself and Trump policies -- like wearing a mask.
posted by JackFlash at 1:35 PM on June 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
One sign of this might be Pence increasingly putting daylight between himself and Trump policies -- like wearing a mask.
posted by JackFlash at 1:35 PM on June 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
Donald Trump may drop out of the 2020 presidential race if he believes he has no chance of winning, a Republican Party operative reportedly told Fox News.
No chance. If Trump sees the writing on the wall, he'll claim he won and voter fraud stole it away from him. He was all but telegraphing doing this in 2016 when it was predicted he would lose.
posted by PenDevil at 2:24 PM on June 29, 2020 [14 favorites]
No chance. If Trump sees the writing on the wall, he'll claim he won and voter fraud stole it away from him. He was all but telegraphing doing this in 2016 when it was predicted he would lose.
posted by PenDevil at 2:24 PM on June 29, 2020 [14 favorites]
‘Recipe for disaster’: Fauci urges Americans to buckle down on coronavirus preventative measures (Politico)
posted by katra at 2:28 PM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
Asked Monday about the administration’s advice to states seeing spikes in cases, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany appeared to press governors to plow ahead with their plans for reopening, telling “Fox & Friends” that “this country can’t afford to stay closed.” McEnany also argued the U.S. has “entered a different phase of this disease” and is now “catching people in the community, not in the hospitals at late stages” of sickness. “We’re at a place where we can handle the cases that we’re seeing,” she said.Tracking coronavirus cases proves difficult amid new surge (AP)
Contact tracing — tracking people who test positive and anyone they’ve come in contact with — was challenging even when stay-at-home orders were in place. Tracers say it’s exponentially more difficult now that many restaurants, bars and gyms are full, and people are gathering with family and friends. [...] Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said Friday that contact tracing simply isn’t working in the U.S. Some who test positive don’t cooperate because they don’t feel sick. Others refuse testing even after being exposed. Some never call back contact tracers. And still others simply object to sharing any information.Guardian: California governor continues rollback of reopening plans
Particularly hard hit is Southern California’s Imperial County, where an outbreak is taxing the region’s hospital system. In recent weeks, health officials have had to move roughly 500 patients into neighboring regions, taxing their hospital systems, too.WaPo live blog: "Arizona, among the latest epicenters of the novel coronavirus in the United States, saw another record high in hospitalizations as the World Health Organization warned that the outbreak is far from over."
posted by katra at 2:28 PM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
No chance. If Trump sees the writing on the wall, he'll claim he won and voter fraud stole it away from him. He was all but telegraphing doing this in 2016 when it was predicted he would lose.
And the evidence that the Republicans didn't know whether the Russian interference was going to actually work is that Trump was making noise about a corrupted election up to November 2nd, if not on the day of the election itself.
posted by rhizome at 2:31 PM on June 29, 2020
And the evidence that the Republicans didn't know whether the Russian interference was going to actually work is that Trump was making noise about a corrupted election up to November 2nd, if not on the day of the election itself.
posted by rhizome at 2:31 PM on June 29, 2020
Trump ignores Covid-19 risk in renewed attack on 'corrupt' mail-in voting (Guardian)
Donald Trump has continued to suggest that fear of contracting Covid-19 is not a good enough excuse not to appear at the polls, and that Americans should only be able to vote by mail under limited circumstances. [...] The president’s statement comes amid a roiling debate across the country about how easy it should be to vote by mail amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which the president has repeatedly downplayed. Sixteen states require an excuse to vote by mail, and there is a push to make concern over contracting Covid-19 an acceptable excuse.McConnell urges Americans to continue to wear masks (Politico)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reiterated Monday that Americans should continue to wear masks, emphasizing that there is “no stigma” associated with them. [...] “We must have no stigma — none — about wearing masks when we leave our homes and come near other people,” McConnell said. “Wearing simple face coverings is not about protecting ourselves. It is about protecting everyone we encounter.” [...] McConnell added that it’s the responsibility of individuals, small businesses, employers and “all levels of government” to take the necessary public health precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. [...] In their efforts to address the virus, some Republican senators, including Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, have also urged Trump to wear a mask.posted by katra at 2:57 PM on June 29, 2020 [3 favorites]
Please explain these health reasons that prevent people from wearing a mask
My husband uses an oxygen tank. The mask pinches the feed lines and also just makes it harder to breathe. He wears a mask anyway. But he's also not going to pass out if his breathing is a bit restricted for an hour or two running necessary errands. Some people will. (Husband's O2 levels run at about 85% without the tank.)
My father, who recently passed away (non-COVID-related), had Parkinson's. He couldn't put the mask on by himself, and wouldn't have been able to take it off in case of an emergency - which, in my area, is a legal exception from the mask laws.
As mentioned, there are people with claustrophobia or PTSD who are traumatized by having their faces covered. There are conditions that can be exacerbated by masks: Asthma, COPD, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, EDS... the list is long. There is no shortage of conditions that cause breathing problems, where "add a filter over your mouth and nose" is a serious health risk.
Of course, the majority of people with conditions like those, are frantically trying to figure out how to use masks or get the same protection level from other actions, because they don't want to get worse. They're not saying "I'm exempt from wearing a mask and I don't need any extra distancing and I have a right to stand here in this crowd waiting to get into this store/ office/ restaurant/ whatever."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 3:46 PM on June 29, 2020 [23 favorites]
My husband uses an oxygen tank. The mask pinches the feed lines and also just makes it harder to breathe. He wears a mask anyway. But he's also not going to pass out if his breathing is a bit restricted for an hour or two running necessary errands. Some people will. (Husband's O2 levels run at about 85% without the tank.)
My father, who recently passed away (non-COVID-related), had Parkinson's. He couldn't put the mask on by himself, and wouldn't have been able to take it off in case of an emergency - which, in my area, is a legal exception from the mask laws.
As mentioned, there are people with claustrophobia or PTSD who are traumatized by having their faces covered. There are conditions that can be exacerbated by masks: Asthma, COPD, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, EDS... the list is long. There is no shortage of conditions that cause breathing problems, where "add a filter over your mouth and nose" is a serious health risk.
Of course, the majority of people with conditions like those, are frantically trying to figure out how to use masks or get the same protection level from other actions, because they don't want to get worse. They're not saying "I'm exempt from wearing a mask and I don't need any extra distancing and I have a right to stand here in this crowd waiting to get into this store/ office/ restaurant/ whatever."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 3:46 PM on June 29, 2020 [23 favorites]
I would wager that nearly 100% of those with a legitimate medical reason to not wear a mask would not be aggressively shouting about it and would indeed be quite happy if everyone who can wears masks.
When everyone else wears masks, it significantly reduces the number and density of virus-carrying droplets hanging in the air. Probably enough that the people who can't wear masks can safely be in public, with strict adherence to the 6 foot rule and other basic precautions. It's analogous to herd immunity in that way.
posted by wierdo at 4:12 PM on June 29, 2020 [18 favorites]
When everyone else wears masks, it significantly reduces the number and density of virus-carrying droplets hanging in the air. Probably enough that the people who can't wear masks can safely be in public, with strict adherence to the 6 foot rule and other basic precautions. It's analogous to herd immunity in that way.
posted by wierdo at 4:12 PM on June 29, 2020 [18 favorites]
Republicans told to wear masks in House panel or be barred from speaking (Guardian)
After every single Republican on the coronavirus subcommittee turned up to a Friday meeting without wearing a mask, the Democratic chair has threatened to stop them from speaking at future meetings if they fail to do so again. Not wearing a mask in a confined space such as a committee hearing room violates rules written by Congress’s attending physician, if attendees intend to be in the space for more than 15 minutes. Representative Jim Clyburn who chairs the coronavirus subcommittee meetings released a letter on Monday morning, expressing his “profound disappointment” at this rule being flouted at a time when the “United States reached the highest number of new coronavirus cases on record, and after the disease has already killed more people in the United States than in any other nation on Earth”.posted by katra at 4:46 PM on June 29, 2020 [13 favorites]
Clyburn said he reminded attendees in person of that requirement and that posters outside the committee room also flagged the issue. The refusal to wear face coverings has raged across America. The president himself refuses to wear a mask. Meanwhile, a small number of Americans have objected to official guidance on wearing face coverings in enclosed spaces, arguing that it impinges on their constitutional freedoms. According to the Poynter institute, there is no constitutional right that allows people not to wear a mask. “My Republican colleagues’ refusal to wear masks is perplexing because you have asked repeatedly to hold in-person hearings, and you assured me that this could be done safely,” Clyburn wrote in a letter addressed to Steve Scalise, the ranking Republican on the committee. [...] Clyburn said that members who do not want to wear masks to meetings could also participate virtually in future meetings, in which case, he would be willing to let them speak.
NHL: League says 26 players test positive for COVID-19 (Reuters, June 29, 2020) The National Hockey League (NHL) said on Monday that 26 players have tested positive for COVID-19, including 15 who reported to team facilities for “Phase 2 activities.” [...] The NHL said that more than 250 players reported to club facilities as of Monday and had been tested more than 1,450 times for COVID-19. The league said 11 other players “outside of the Phase 2 protocol” also tested positive.
Diamondbacks’ Leake becomes first player to opt out in 2020 (AP, June 29, 2020) Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Mike Leake has become the first known player to opt out of the 2020 season due to concerns about the coronavirus.
FEMA Ordered $10.2 Million in COVID-19 Testing Kits It’s Now Warning States Not to Use (Pro Publica, June 26, 2020) The faulty lab equipment sold by a company whose owner has faced fraud allegations is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general. [Pro Publica broke the story on Fillakit, in "The Trump Administration Paid Millions for Test Tubes — and Got Unusable Mini Soda Bottles," on June 18] FEMA signed its first deal with Fillakit on May 7, just six days after the company was formed by an ex-telemarketer repeatedly accused of fraudulent practices over the past two decades. Fillakit has supplied a total of more than 3 million tubes, which FEMA then approved and sent to all 50 states.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:02 PM on June 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
Diamondbacks’ Leake becomes first player to opt out in 2020 (AP, June 29, 2020) Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Mike Leake has become the first known player to opt out of the 2020 season due to concerns about the coronavirus.
FEMA Ordered $10.2 Million in COVID-19 Testing Kits It’s Now Warning States Not to Use (Pro Publica, June 26, 2020) The faulty lab equipment sold by a company whose owner has faced fraud allegations is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general. [Pro Publica broke the story on Fillakit, in "The Trump Administration Paid Millions for Test Tubes — and Got Unusable Mini Soda Bottles," on June 18] FEMA signed its first deal with Fillakit on May 7, just six days after the company was formed by an ex-telemarketer repeatedly accused of fraudulent practices over the past two decades. Fillakit has supplied a total of more than 3 million tubes, which FEMA then approved and sent to all 50 states.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:02 PM on June 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
Meanwhile, a small number of Americans have objected to official guidance on wearing face coverings in enclosed spaces
On my college campus, 90% of employees are refusing to mask. I've been round and round with HR and the college president and the emergency response person and our union rep but after more than a month of that, I feel like my job (as well as my life) is at risk and there's still 9 out of 10 employees just going about their day as if nothing is happening. They have apparently complained to the union that being required to mask violates their rights. And the only way the college will even consider doing anything about noncompliance is if you fill out a form saying exactly who is not masking, when and where. When you're the only one masked.... it's kind of obvious who complained. So there's also increasing harassment from the unmasked. It's horrifying and I can't even imagine what it's going to be like when the students come back in a few weeks.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 6:57 PM on June 29, 2020 [29 favorites]
On my college campus, 90% of employees are refusing to mask. I've been round and round with HR and the college president and the emergency response person and our union rep but after more than a month of that, I feel like my job (as well as my life) is at risk and there's still 9 out of 10 employees just going about their day as if nothing is happening. They have apparently complained to the union that being required to mask violates their rights. And the only way the college will even consider doing anything about noncompliance is if you fill out a form saying exactly who is not masking, when and where. When you're the only one masked.... it's kind of obvious who complained. So there's also increasing harassment from the unmasked. It's horrifying and I can't even imagine what it's going to be like when the students come back in a few weeks.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 6:57 PM on June 29, 2020 [29 favorites]
When the students come back in a few weeks... that is going to be an unmitigated shitshow across the whole country. I don't see how you can possibly run a school with a fixed number of square feet, and reduce density. They could run smaller sections around the clock to maximize real estate usage? But that's just lectures, I don't know what you do about housing and dining.
posted by ctmf at 7:29 PM on June 29, 2020
posted by ctmf at 7:29 PM on June 29, 2020
This Is Trump’s Plague Now (David Frum, Atlantic)
The disease is spiking in places precisely where state governments hastened to reopen bars, casinos, restaurants, shopping malls, and other indoor places of entertainment. Phoenix, Houston, and other southern cities are suddenly reporting caseloads that look like New York City at its worst. Florida reported nearly 9,000 new infections on June 26, nearly equaling some of New York’s worst days. Texas recorded almost 6,000 new cases that day. Arizona reported nearly 3,400 new cases on June 26 and now suffers more cases per capita than Brazil or any country in Europe.Arizona orders bars and gyms to close, joining other states in reversing reopening (Guardian)
[...] what has happened in the U.S. in June, and what will happen in July, is entirely Trump’s fault. The president’s approach to the virus has been guided by his lifelong beliefs: It’s just as real to say you have done a good job as to do a good job. Denying you failed is just as real as actually succeeding. This time, though, reality will not be blustered away. Tens of thousands are dead, and millions are out of work, all because Trump could not and would not do the job of disease control—a job that includes setting a positive example to those Americans who trust and follow his leadership.
The governor of Arizona has ordered bars, movie theaters, gyms and water parks to shut down, in a dramatic move that echoed similar efforts by states around the country to roll back plans for reopening. The order from the Republican governor, Doug Ducey, came on Monday and went into effect immediately, and will last for at least 30 days. Ducey also also ordered public schools to delay the start of the classes at least until 17 August.posted by katra at 8:44 PM on June 29, 2020 [9 favorites]
[...] The state is not alone in its reversal. Places such as Texas, Florida and California are backtracking, closing beaches and bars in some cases amid a resurgence of the virus. Oregon and Kansas, meanwhile, announced Monday that everyone would be required to wear masks in public. [...] While Ducey has urged Arizonans to keep their distance from one another in public, he refused to issue a statewide order to wear masks and until recently resisted calls by some cities to allow them to require masks.
This Is Trump’s Plague Now
He had help. The Republicans are going to turn on Trump in hopes cutting off the foot will save the body. But the rot IS the whole body. They're all accomplices, not people who are going to get the party back on track.
I mean I know you all know this, but be careful not to play into the one-man shitshow theory for the people starting to be broken away from voting R. He's not capable enough to do all this without plenty of intentional aiding and abetting.
posted by ctmf at 9:01 PM on June 29, 2020 [23 favorites]
He had help. The Republicans are going to turn on Trump in hopes cutting off the foot will save the body. But the rot IS the whole body. They're all accomplices, not people who are going to get the party back on track.
I mean I know you all know this, but be careful not to play into the one-man shitshow theory for the people starting to be broken away from voting R. He's not capable enough to do all this without plenty of intentional aiding and abetting.
posted by ctmf at 9:01 PM on June 29, 2020 [23 favorites]
Behind the Trump team’s U-turn, mounting fears about a mission-accomplished message (Politico)
Top White House officials remain divided over the best course of action as the rate of new infections spikes in states across the U.S. Some officials, including health aides, believe the government needs to offer Americans more information on a regular basis about the best practices to keep Americans safe in the age of Covid-19 as well as continuing updates on new infections. Other aides firmly believe the White House should charge ahead with its economic message, regardless of the virus. That faction inside the White House does not want regular briefings on the state of Covid-19 or too many public appearances from officials like Fauci that could sour the nation’s mood in the coming months.posted by katra at 9:38 PM on June 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
[...] During Pence’s call with governors on Monday, Abbott cited festivities over Memorial Day weekend, as well as his decision to permit bars to reopen, as two reasons Texas has witnessed skyrocketing cases and hospitalizations in the past three weeks. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey similarly said coronavirus cases in his state had slowed to a crawl before the latest surge, which began after restaurants, gyms and non-essential industries were given the greenlight to resume business in May and early June. The surges in the south are leading other states, such as New Jersey, to halt their plans to open indoor dining at restaurants — a sign of mounting worries hitting state leaders across the nation just as they hoped to be putting the crisis behind them. [...] Task force members were also noncommittal about taking a stronger stand on mask-wearing, in response to Utah Gov. Gary Herbert’s request on the call for Trump to join his vice president in publicly urging Americans to wear face masks.
So, once again, Pence headed the response to a public health crisis (HIV, coronavirus), and ignored the most effective solution (needle exchanges, lockdown) because it was politically problematic for him, until the the crisis had turned into a full blown disaster.
posted by Reverend John at 11:22 AM on June 30, 2020 [13 favorites]
posted by Reverend John at 11:22 AM on June 30, 2020 [13 favorites]
Fauci warns U.S. could see 100,000 new coronavirus cases per day (Axios)
Anthony Fauci testified to a Senate committee Tuesday that he would "not be surprised" if the U.S. begins reporting as many as 100,000 new coronavirus cases per day, adding, "I'm very concerned and not satisfied with what's going on because we're going in the wrong direction." [...] The country is currently seeing about 40,000 new cases daily, but that number will rise rapidly "if this does not turn around," Fauci said. He added that the outbreaks in various parts of the country put "the entire country at risk" and "clearly we don't have this under control."posted by katra at 11:24 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
[...] "I can't make an accurate prediction, but it is going to be very disturbing, I will guarantee you that, because when you have an outbreak in one part of the country even though in other parts of the country they're doing well, they are vulnerable. I made that point very clearly last week at a press conference. We can't just focus on those areas that are having the surge. It puts the entire country at risk."
If more Americans wore masks the pandemic would slow, experts say (Guardian)
A cultural shift among Americans to adopt mass mask wearing would be one of the simplest and most effective ways to curb further devastation from the coronavirus pandemic, according to public health experts. [...] The true figure of infection is probably much higher, at around 20 million, with Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), warning on Monday that “we have way too much virus across the country for that right now” and that it was “wishful thinking” to expect the pandemic to peter out over the summer.Guardian: Fauci warns against "jumping over" health guidelines
[...] More than 30,000 deaths could be avoided by October if 95% of Americans wear face masks in public, according to research by the University of Washington. [...] A third of Americans say they only sometimes or never wear a mask when in stores or other businesses, with strong partisan and racial divides: white people and Republicans are far less likely to wear masks than Democrats and black, Latino and Asian people. [...] Mass adoption of mask wearing has been undermined, however, by Donald Trump’s insistence on not wearing one in public, even removing a mask during a factory tour so the media wouldn’t picture him in it. On Tuesday, the Fox & Friends host Steve Doocey sought to convince the Republican National Committee chair, Ronna McDaniel, and House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, that Trump should cover up, and thereby show supporters “Masks are Great Again”. Neither seemed convinced.
He warned states that if they continued “jumping over the guidelines we have carefully put out, you are going to be in trouble.” Senator Elizabeth Warren said: “If we don’t get our act together, more and more communities are going to see these dangerous surges” in cases.Guardian: Fauci: 'We need to do whatever we can to get our children back to school'
So when Senator Rand Paul, the first member of that chamber to test positive for coronavirus earlier this year, raises his voice, shakes his curls and waves his arms around and says: “We should not assume that a group of experts knows what’s best for everyone”, Fauci just smiles.posted by katra at 11:41 AM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
Paul said that Fauci is always very busy being negative. “Every day we hear from you what we cannot do,” Paul said... “you cannot do this, you cannot do that, you need to not be so presumptive that you know everything.”
This brings to mind Fauci’s do’s. Do wear a mask, do keep six feet from others in public, etc, etc, as he tries to save lives and get the government to take seriously the fact that coronavirus is out of control in the US.
Republicans are practically begging Trump to tell people to wear a mask. He still won’t listen. (Aaron Blake, WaPo Analysis)
posted by katra at 1:21 PM on June 30, 2020 [7 favorites]
One of the long-standing quirks of Donald Trump’s presidency is how often his allies feel the need to broadcast their pleas to him publicly. Rather than consult with the president or the White House, they’ll often try to guide policy or the president by taking to Fox News or tweeting things that, in any other administration, would be handled privately and quietly. Which is what appears to be happening now with masks and the coronavirus.@ezraklein Jun. 29, 2020: This is a governance failure, not an inevitability of the disease. [image: New confirmed cases per million residents, previous seven days, US / Europe / Canada / Japan, Source: Johns Hopkins University / New York Times]
[...] Fox News host Sean Hannity offered just such a message Monday night. [...] House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.): “I do not want to shut the economy back down. … Wearing the mask is the best opportunity for us to keep this economy open, keep us working, keep us safe and help us as we build toward that vaccine where we’re in a much stronger position than any country before.” [...]
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was asked at Monday’s news briefing about Trump’s stance and made it clear there was no change.
posted by katra at 1:21 PM on June 30, 2020 [7 favorites]
I mean I know you all know this, but be careful not to play into the one-man shitshow theory for the people starting to be broken away from voting R. He's not capable enough to do all this without plenty of intentional aiding and abetting.
The GOP is an illegitimate party working toward one-party rule and corruption of the judiciary, not to mention possibly having put a traitor in charge of the country.
And you can't get the stink off you by claiming Never Trumper status. I have to tread lightly here, mentally, because it's a slippery slope to reactionary counterfascism, but this should affect the future of the Republican Party way more than the weak-Dem Carter stereotype did for decades after 1980. I'll say it again: illegitimate.
posted by rhizome at 1:28 PM on June 30, 2020 [19 favorites]
The GOP is an illegitimate party working toward one-party rule and corruption of the judiciary, not to mention possibly having put a traitor in charge of the country.
And you can't get the stink off you by claiming Never Trumper status. I have to tread lightly here, mentally, because it's a slippery slope to reactionary counterfascism, but this should affect the future of the Republican Party way more than the weak-Dem Carter stereotype did for decades after 1980. I'll say it again: illegitimate.
posted by rhizome at 1:28 PM on June 30, 2020 [19 favorites]
Las Vegas Workers Sue Casinos Over Covid-19 Safety (WSJ)
Las Vegas Strip hospitality workers filed a lawsuit against casino operators on Monday, accusing the companies of failing to protect employees from Covid-19, one of the first efforts to hold employers legally responsible for infections as cases in the U.S. surge. [...] Sixto Zermeno, a bellman at the Signature at MGM Grand for 10 years who is part of the lawsuit, said that when he was called back to work, the hotel was short-staffed, and guests weren’t social-distancing or wearing masks. On June 10, he was tested for Covid-19 after getting a fever and headache, and the next day learned that he was positive. He said management was difficult to reach to report his case, and after alerting the MGM Resorts corporate office, the company didn’t immediately close down the bell desk and valet booth where he worked. Bellmen and valets who worked shifts with him continued to interact with guests, according to the lawsuit. “We’re not just numbers,” Mr. Zermeno said at a news conference Monday. “We’re families also. We’re human. I just want them to care, honestly.”Housekeepers and custodians, fearful as campuses reopen, demand more protection from their schools (WaPo)
Officials at U-Md., like other campuses, say they will find ways to keep people physically distant and encourage students to wear masks. But union leaders worry that the new rules governing campus life — especially social distancing and mask usage — will be difficult to enforce. Health experts agree. Jean E. Chin, an associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of Georgia, chairs a covid-19 task force for the American College Health Association. She said she expects students to lapse into old habits. “That really, truly, is the wild card because students are going to be good for a while. And then slowly, gradually, they will just get tired of physically distancing or wearing a mask out in public,” Chin said. “Faculty and staff are anxious about it. They believe that students aren’t going to be able to keep up good public health practices.”posted by katra at 3:06 PM on June 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
Housekeepers have called on the university to provide coronavirus tests to employees as they return to work. Their union wants the university to implement temperature checks and screening protocols used in Maryland state buildings, including a list of questions about symptoms and interactions with others. Staff also want more supplies: N95 or KN95 masks, goggles, face shields, gowns, booties and extra cleaning agents. In a letter to the campus community, U-Md. President Wallace D. Loh, who is retiring at the end of the month, said extensive procedures are being put in place to protect housekeeping and residential facilities staff. Faculty, staff and students will be asked to report their temperatures daily, and officials say they want to make testing available to employees who want it. Staff who want more equipment, such as N95 masks or disposable gowns, will be addressed on a case-by-case basis, Perillo said. “For housekeepers, that’s not necessary,” she said. “But for some of them, there might be a legitimate reason because of fear or uncertainty.”
[...] For Shernette Lyons, who makes $12.50 an hour as a housekeeper, it may just not be worth it.
Bars in Virginia, Delaware cannot reopen as planned; Colorado bars shut down again (WaPo live blog)
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced Wednesday that bar seating inside restaurants and taverns will not be included in the state’s next phase of reopening, which begins Wednesday. [...] Northam’s office said people will not be allowed to congregate in bar areas in restaurants unless they are eating at high-top tables that are at least six feet apart. Officials have cited bars as sources of coronavirus outbreaks in other states.Texas sets new daily records (WaPo live blog)
[...] In Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis (D) closed bars and nightclubs again as cases in the state spike, the Denver Post reported. Bars that serve food may stay open and function as restaurants, the governor said, as long as they keep groups of patrons at least six feet apart.
Still surging as one of the nation’s top hot spots, Texas hit statewide records for new single-day cases as well as current hospitalizations related to covid-19. [...] Overall, the Lone Star State’s average of covid-19 patients over the past seven days (5,128) has increased 54 percent from the average from a week ago, and the average number of inpatient hospitalizations has risen 61.5 percent from June 23.Most People With Coronavirus Won’t Spread It. Why Do a Few Infect Many? (NYT)
Demonstrators from Texas Bars Fight Back rallied in front of the state capitol as well as the governor’s mansion. [...] According to Fox 7 in Austin, several bar owners pledged to reopen Wednesday.
Dr. [Kristin Nelson, an assistant professor at Emory University,] suspects the biological differences between people are less significant. “I think the circumstances are a lot more important,” she said. Dr. [James Lloyd-Smith, a U.C.L.A. disease ecologist,] agreed. “I think it’s more centered on the events.” A lot of transmission seems to happen in a narrow window of time starting a couple days after infection, even before symptoms emerge. If people aren’t around a lot of people during that window, they can’t pass it along. And certain places seem to lend themselves to superspreading. A busy bar, for example, is full of people talking loudly. Any one of them could spew out viruses without ever coughing. And without good ventilation, the viruses can linger in the air for hours. A study from Japan this month found clusters of coronavirus cases in health care facilities, nursing homes, day care centers, restaurants, bars, workplaces, and musical events such as live concerts and karaoke parties.posted by katra at 4:38 PM on June 30, 2020 [10 favorites]
I’m Not Ready to Go Back to Restaurants. Is Anyone?
On Sunday, Hugo’s Tacos announced that it was closing both of its Los Angeles locations. Too many customers, refusing to wear masks, had threatened and harassed employees, throwing things at them, getting close to their faces, yelling.
“A mask isn’t symbolic of anything, other than our desire to keep our staff healthy,” the restaurant’s statement read. But wearing a mask has been widely positioned as a political move rather than a basic health precaution, making every shift more dangerous for workers, who continue to put themselves at risk to make us dinner.
This is America. This is who we are.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 6:09 PM on June 30, 2020 [15 favorites]
On Sunday, Hugo’s Tacos announced that it was closing both of its Los Angeles locations. Too many customers, refusing to wear masks, had threatened and harassed employees, throwing things at them, getting close to their faces, yelling.
“A mask isn’t symbolic of anything, other than our desire to keep our staff healthy,” the restaurant’s statement read. But wearing a mask has been widely positioned as a political move rather than a basic health precaution, making every shift more dangerous for workers, who continue to put themselves at risk to make us dinner.
This is America. This is who we are.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 6:09 PM on June 30, 2020 [15 favorites]
Congress should pass a law making it a Federal crime to threaten, harass, or assault an employee that insists that patrons wear a mask. At this point, I think such a bill would pass both the House and Senate with veto proof majorities. In the interim, states could do the same.
posted by haiku warrior at 6:26 PM on June 30, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by haiku warrior at 6:26 PM on June 30, 2020 [9 favorites]
California bill would shield health officer addresses as death threats rise (Politico)
California would shield public health officers' home addresses under new legislation that emerged Tuesday after the long-unknown officials faced death threats this year for imposing coronavirus requirements. [...] Health officials struggling to contain the coronavirus have at times faced an intense backlash in California, including death threats and protests outside their homes for imposing or keeping restrictions. Most recently, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer went public last week with a series of physical threats she has received for maintaining a stay-at-home order for 10 million residents.‘It would just set a good example’: Trump’s allies push him to embrace masks (Politico)
Others have resigned in the face of public pressure, as Orange County's Nichole Quick did this month after facing personal threats for imposing a face covering order. County officials subsequently withdrew the mask requirement but Gov. Gavin Newsom later imposed the same rule statewide in most public settings.
The abrupt shift in conservative thought, which coincides with a surge of Covid-19 cases nationwide, reflects both overwhelming popular opinion and the undisputed counsel of health experts on the subject of masks. [...] Even Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, appeared to come around Tuesday [...] “I think we’re going to make sure that everything is done in a safe and appropriate manner,” Trump Jr. told Fox Business. “You know, I don’t think that it’s too complicated to wear a mask or wash your hands and follow basic hygiene protocols.”posted by katra at 6:43 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
Considered at the county level, the pandemic’s resurgence is even more concerning (WaPo)
President Trump retweeted a tweet Tuesday suggesting that the rate of positive coronavirus tests was actually decreasing — a claim that’s not true. His administration has repeatedly pointed to the relatively small geographic representation of emerging coronavirus hot spots, identifying no more than 4 percent of U.S. counties as places experiencing new outbreaks. On Monday, the Associated Press made an important point about that claim: The 4 percent of counties identified by the administration contain more than a fifth of the country’s population.NYT live blog:
The increase in infections came as the leaders of the most populous counties in Texas pleaded with Gov. Greg Abbott to allow them to issue stay-at-home orders. “We are having an experiment, a gamble, in the hopes that we can be the first community that suddenly flattens the curve without a stay-at-home order,” said Lina Hidalgo, the executive in Harris County, which includes Houston, the hardest-hit area of the state.In parts of the Midwest, the numbers are rising again. (NYT live blog)
Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said the Ohio increases were not the result of more testing, contradicting the messaging from the White House and some other Republican governors. “If the spread of this virus remained at a low level, more testing should show a lower positivity — there simply wouldn’t be as many cases to pick up with testing,” said Mr. DeWine, who asked for federal help responding to upticks in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas. “Instead, the creeping up of our positivity rate even as we are doing more testing means that we are likely picking up signs of broader community spread.”Coronavirus’ spread in GOP territory, explained in 6 charts (AP)
States that President Donald Trump won in the 2016 election account for about 75% of the new cases, a trend that has accelerated since the end of May. [...] New cases in states with Republican governors, regardless of how those states voted in 2016, now considerably outpace those in states run by Democrats. [...] GOP governors generally have leaned more heavily in favor of lighter government restrictions on social gatherings and business operations. Democratic governors, on average, have embraced stricter restrictions and more forcefully advocated for caution.posted by katra at 9:40 PM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
US buys up world stock of key Covid-19 drug (Guardian)
Remdesivir, the first drug approved by licensing authorities in the US to treat Covid-19, is made by Gilead and has been shown to help people recover faster from the disease. The first 140,000 doses, supplied to drug trials around the world, have been used up. The Trump administration has now bought more than 500,000 doses, which is all of Gilead’s production for July and 90% of August and September.posted by Cheerwell Maker at 2:16 AM on July 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
“President Trump has struck an amazing deal to ensure Americans have access to the first authorised therapeutic for Covid-19,” said the US health and human services secretary, Alex Azar. “To the extent possible, we want to ensure that any American patient who needs remdesivir can get it. The Trump administration is doing everything in our power to learn more about life-saving therapeutics for Covid-19 and secure access to these options for the American people.”
i hope some intrepid journalist is tracking where those doses end up... did we ever find out what happened to all the PPE confiscated by the federal government?
posted by kokaku at 2:49 AM on July 1, 2020 [16 favorites]
posted by kokaku at 2:49 AM on July 1, 2020 [16 favorites]
People are still waiting to find out exactly where the $500 billion small business relief money went. The administration about-faced on transparency.
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:39 AM on July 1, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:39 AM on July 1, 2020 [7 favorites]
The administration about-faced on transparency.
Does it count as an about-face when the face on the side of transparency was a cutout cardboard mask and we could hear the Small Business Administrator laughing out of her actual mouth the entire time?
posted by Etrigan at 7:17 AM on July 1, 2020 [7 favorites]
Does it count as an about-face when the face on the side of transparency was a cutout cardboard mask and we could hear the Small Business Administrator laughing out of her actual mouth the entire time?
posted by Etrigan at 7:17 AM on July 1, 2020 [7 favorites]
A note about that NYTimes opinion piece, title quoted above:
I’m Not Ready to Go Back to Restaurants. Is Anyone?
I think that the very great many protests nationwide from people who want to "open up the economy" and such show that there is a not-insignificant number of people who do indeed feel ready to go back to restaurants, and have been chomping at the bit for some time now to do exactly that.
And these people probably fall into at least two camps - the people who lack the knowledge, the energy, or the support to cook for themselves and have been living on grocery store ramen all this time, and the people who treat going to restaurants as a sort of Lifestyle, and have been bored out of their minds.
I kind of get what the author means by phrasing the headline that way ("I think we've all kind of lost some kind of sense of normal life and need to spend some more time figuring out how this is going to work"), but it sort of comes across as blinkered and self-centered ("Goodness, I know it's not safe and I wouldn't dare go back to a restaurant right now, why would anyone in their right mind want to even do that").
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:17 AM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I’m Not Ready to Go Back to Restaurants. Is Anyone?
I think that the very great many protests nationwide from people who want to "open up the economy" and such show that there is a not-insignificant number of people who do indeed feel ready to go back to restaurants, and have been chomping at the bit for some time now to do exactly that.
And these people probably fall into at least two camps - the people who lack the knowledge, the energy, or the support to cook for themselves and have been living on grocery store ramen all this time, and the people who treat going to restaurants as a sort of Lifestyle, and have been bored out of their minds.
I kind of get what the author means by phrasing the headline that way ("I think we've all kind of lost some kind of sense of normal life and need to spend some more time figuring out how this is going to work"), but it sort of comes across as blinkered and self-centered ("Goodness, I know it's not safe and I wouldn't dare go back to a restaurant right now, why would anyone in their right mind want to even do that").
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:17 AM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
There have been large protests about opening back up? I haven't really heard about that beyond a few small groups.
posted by tiny frying pan at 8:32 AM on July 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by tiny frying pan at 8:32 AM on July 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
US buys up world stock of key Covid-19 drug
$3,100 per treatment for a drug whose research was largely paid for by taxpayers -- but Gilead owns it all. And U.S. patent laws enforced around the world prevent anyone else from making it.
posted by JackFlash at 8:37 AM on July 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
$3,100 per treatment for a drug whose research was largely paid for by taxpayers -- but Gilead owns it all. And U.S. patent laws enforced around the world prevent anyone else from making it.
posted by JackFlash at 8:37 AM on July 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
the people who lack the knowledge, the energy, or the support to cook for themselves and have been living on grocery store ramen all this time
Is there any reason those people haven't been able to access takeout or delivery options?
posted by Etrigan at 8:40 AM on July 1, 2020 [5 favorites]
Is there any reason those people haven't been able to access takeout or delivery options?
posted by Etrigan at 8:40 AM on July 1, 2020 [5 favorites]
De Blasio calls off New York indoor dining plans amid national surge in coronavirus (Politico)
Indoor dining was set to be allowed starting Monday, when the city was planning to enter the third phase of its reopening. But Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that the city will postpone the reopening of indoor restaurants. “It is not the time to forge ahead with indoor dining,” de Blasio told reporters. “Indoors is the problem. More and more, the science is showing it.” [...] Experts believe that indoor, enclosed spaces with many people are the riskiest settings for the spread of the coronavirus, with chances of transmission heightened if people are not wearing masks, talking loudly, and staying put for an extended period of time. All those conditions are present at restaurants, raising concerns that indoor dining would be impossible to pull off safely even if tables are kept six feet apart — itself a difficult task in many of the city’s cramped restaurants.Health experts slam US hoarding of only licensed virus drug (AP)
Health experts on Wednesday slammed the U.S. decision to hog nearly the entire global supply of remdesivir, the only drug licensed so far to treat COVID-19, warning that type of selfish behavior sets a dangerous precedent for attempts to share scarce treatments amid the pandemic.posted by katra at 8:48 AM on July 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
U.S. patent laws enforced around the world prevent anyone else from making it.
Patent laws are national in scope. A US patent has no effect on a company or government that wants to make and sell remdisivir outside the US.
What is true is that there are patents on remdisivir and related compounds in other countries.
posted by jedicus at 8:49 AM on July 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Patent laws are national in scope. A US patent has no effect on a company or government that wants to make and sell remdisivir outside the US.
What is true is that there are patents on remdisivir and related compounds in other countries.
posted by jedicus at 8:49 AM on July 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Delivery and take out are less Instagramable? I imagine.
posted by tiny frying pan at 8:51 AM on July 1, 2020
posted by tiny frying pan at 8:51 AM on July 1, 2020
What is true is that there are patents on remdisivir and related compounds in other countries.
Those foreign patents laws were largely written and negotiated by the U.S. in trade laws. For example, we will give you a break on protections for labor unions if in exchange you give us 20 years on patent protection.
posted by JackFlash at 8:52 AM on July 1, 2020
Those foreign patents laws were largely written and negotiated by the U.S. in trade laws. For example, we will give you a break on protections for labor unions if in exchange you give us 20 years on patent protection.
posted by JackFlash at 8:52 AM on July 1, 2020
I don't understand anyone who thinks there are more than these two options:
1. Keep the economy largely closed
or
2. Have everyone wear a mask
Oh, wait, there's one more:
3. Let a pandemic rage out of control and let a lot of people die
During the 3 month shutdown we did not develop & distribute a vaccine nor persuade everyone to wear a mask. The current reality was entirely predictable and predicted.
posted by PhineasGage at 9:06 AM on July 1, 2020 [11 favorites]
1. Keep the economy largely closed
or
2. Have everyone wear a mask
Oh, wait, there's one more:
3. Let a pandemic rage out of control and let a lot of people die
During the 3 month shutdown we did not develop & distribute a vaccine nor persuade everyone to wear a mask. The current reality was entirely predictable and predicted.
posted by PhineasGage at 9:06 AM on July 1, 2020 [11 favorites]
A Dire Warning From COVID-19 Test Providers (Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer, Atlantic [free access], Jun. 30, 2020)
The United States is once again at risk of outstripping its COVID-19 testing capacity, an ominous development that would deny the country a crucial tool to understand its pandemic in real time. The American testing supply chain is stretched to the limit, and the ongoing outbreak in the South and West could overwhelm it, according to epidemiologists and testing-company executives. While the country’s laboratories have added tremendous capacity in the past few months—the U.S. now tests about 550,000 people each day, a fivefold increase from early April—demand for viral tests is again outpacing supply. [...] The delays have already started. Yesterday, Quest Diagnostics, one of the country’s largest medical-testing companies, said that its systems were overwhelmed and that it would now be able to deliver COVID-19 test results in one day only for hospitalized patients, patients facing emergency surgery, and symptomatic health-care workers. Everyone else now must wait three to five days for a test result.posted by katra at 9:23 AM on July 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
[...] “This is very bad,” Michael Mina, an epidemiology professor at Harvard, told us. Rapid test-turnaround times are the only way to control the coronavirus without forcing every potentially contagious person—everyone who’s had contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19—into quarantine, he said: “Our modeling efforts more or less show that if you don’t get results back in a day or so, outbreaks really can’t be stopped without isolating and quarantining all contacts preemptively.” [...] Only in the past two weeks has the U.S. succeeded in testing more than 500,000 people a day, which the Harvard Global Health Institute once said would be a good goal for mid-May. The institute said today that the U.S. must test at least 1.2 million people a day to control the outbreak and at least 4.3 million people a day to eliminate it.
Texas Lt. Gov. blasts Fauci as state coronavirus cases rise: ‘I don’t need his advice’ (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram)
Speaking as a guest on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” Patrick said Anthony Fauci “has been wrong every time on every issue.” “Fauci said today that he’s concerned about states like Texas that skipped over certain things,” Patrick told Laura Ingraham, a frequent critic of Fauci, on her June 30 show. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. We haven’t skipped over anything. The only thing I’m skipping over is listening to him.”Galveston, Tex., beaches expected to draw big crowds, even as cases skyrocket (WaPo live blog)
Authorities in Galveston, Tex., say they are bracing for big Fourth of July crowds at local beaches, even as coronavirus infections in the area soar and officials in other hard-hit states close public attractions for the holiday weekend. “We’re going to see several hundred thousand people come down here regardless of the recommendations that have come out,” Galveston Beach Patrol Chief Peter Davis told KHOU this week.More than 800,000 infections were reported in the U.S. in June (WaPo live blog)
[...] Myrtle Beach, S.C., is also expected to see a crush of vacationers this weekend. A rapid push to reopen the local economy has turned the area into a coronavirus petri dish, with cases spiking in recent weeks. But beaches and boardwalks are welcoming business, and the city is planning to hold its annual fireworks display. [...] The American Medical Association urged people to limit their Independence Day gatherings to their close contacts. “A typical Fourth of July celebration could further spread the virus, endanger lives, overwhelm our health system and undo the progress made toward reopening sectors of our economy,” the AMA said. “It is incumbent upon us to learn from the past in dealing with this virus."
States that took an aggressive approach to reopening, such as Florida, Arizona and Texas, led the country in infection spikes — along with California, the nation’s most populous state, where leaders have been more cautious. Florida averaged more than 6,000 new infections per day in June — the highest in the country — followed by Texas and California, which averaged nearly 4,400 and more than 3,000 new cases per day, respectively.posted by katra at 9:47 AM on July 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Anecdotally, Covid-19 testing seems to be taking a long time in the US. I know three people in California who recently got tests; all waited 6+ days for results. Reports of similar waits in New York. As a public health measure this is nearly useless, the point of testing is to figure out if folks are positive quickly so as to trace and quarantine them. A week is too late.
America has failed. We've given up containing this virus. Nothing is stopping us on the path of just getting everyone exposed to the disease and hoping for the best. Maybe there's still some value in trying to slow it down so the hospitals are less overwhelmed. Our outcome will likely be as bad as Brazil or India. Way worse than even Sweden, because we don't have healthcare.
2020 may well be the end of the American century.
posted by Nelson at 10:08 AM on July 1, 2020 [7 favorites]
America has failed. We've given up containing this virus. Nothing is stopping us on the path of just getting everyone exposed to the disease and hoping for the best. Maybe there's still some value in trying to slow it down so the hospitals are less overwhelmed. Our outcome will likely be as bad as Brazil or India. Way worse than even Sweden, because we don't have healthcare.
2020 may well be the end of the American century.
posted by Nelson at 10:08 AM on July 1, 2020 [7 favorites]
Test Iowa has been a complete $26 million disaster. And it's so shady.
That probably doesn't even cover the recent stuff on how almost all the tests seem to end up "unusable".
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 10:15 AM on July 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
That probably doesn't even cover the recent stuff on how almost all the tests seem to end up "unusable".
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 10:15 AM on July 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should (Julie Beck, Atlantic, Jun. 30, 2020)
It would feel so good to give up. To hug our friends, to visit our grandparents. To eat one meal, just one, at a restaurant table instead of on the couch, maybe even without the kids in tow. Even a mundane day of running errands—shopping, getting a haircut, going to the gym—would be glorious. There’s no reward for abstaining from these things—just, hopefully, the absence of consequences. And lately, fewer rules are left to stop anyone, even as coronavirus case numbers in the United States surge. That means it’s on each of us to stop ourselves from doing unnecessary things that we know will put others at risk, even if those things are technically allowed. The fight to contain the coronavirus is far from over; it’s just entering a new phase in which individual choice matters more than ever. [...] Although what we can do has changed rapidly, what we should do hasn’t changed much. Public-health experts had warned that states were likely reopening too soon for safety. When my colleague Joe Pinsker asked experts in May what they deemed safe to do as economies reopen, they stressed the risks of indoor gatherings of any kind; meanwhile, some states had already allowed retail stores and restaurants to reopen at limited capacity.posted by katra at 10:47 AM on July 1, 2020 [21 favorites]
[...] Saying no to the ones you love is hard. No, let’s not hang out inside your house. No, I won’t see you at church this week. No, I won’t come to your wedding. No, we’re not having the family reunion this year. It’s harder when there isn’t a policy to blame, when there’s nothing legally stopping you. When other people are doing it, and look how happy they seem! It hurts to see smiling faces inside a restaurant as you walk by alone, breathing in your own hot breath under your mask. [...] These are difficult times to live in. It isn’t fair that so many Americans have to navigate this crisis without clear leadership, with no end in sight. Knowing that life and death hang in the balance of seemingly mundane choices is a heavy weight to bear. It would be easy to give up. It would feel so good to give up. There is no reward for not giving up.
Don’t give up.
U.S. patent laws enforced around the world prevent anyone else from making it.
Gilead licensed it to five manufacturers in Egypt, India, and Pakistan for sale into 127 low and middle income countries sometime in May. I imagine they will swiftly be preparing licensing agreements for manufacture in other countries because if they don't they'll face compulsory licensing which they will prefer to avoid.
posted by atrazine at 11:06 AM on July 1, 2020
Gilead licensed it to five manufacturers in Egypt, India, and Pakistan for sale into 127 low and middle income countries sometime in May. I imagine they will swiftly be preparing licensing agreements for manufacture in other countries because if they don't they'll face compulsory licensing which they will prefer to avoid.
posted by atrazine at 11:06 AM on July 1, 2020
Gilead licensed it to five manufacturers in Egypt, India, and Pakistan for sale into 127 low and middle income countries sometime in May.
With what terms? What is the license fee? If I buy remdesivir in India and bring it to the U.S., will I go to jail?
posted by JackFlash at 11:15 AM on July 1, 2020
With what terms? What is the license fee? If I buy remdesivir in India and bring it to the U.S., will I go to jail?
posted by JackFlash at 11:15 AM on July 1, 2020
With what terms? What is the license fee?
There is no license fee, and the price will be set by the generic manufacturers, not Gilead:
If I buy remdesivir in India and bring it to the U.S., will I go to jail?
I assume you mean commercial or bulk importation, not bringing in a personal supply, since it would be extremely unusual (by nature of the drug and current travel restrictions) for someone to be traveling with a personal supply of a drug that is most useful when given to early-stage Covid patients, who are generally still contagious.
Criminal liability would be between you and the FDA for bringing in a drug not manufactured under FDA approval.
posted by jedicus at 12:04 PM on July 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
There is no license fee, and the price will be set by the generic manufacturers, not Gilead:
The licensees also set their own prices for the generic product they produce. The licenses are royalty-free until the World Health Organization declares the end of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern regarding COVID-19, or until a pharmaceutical product other than remdesivir or a vaccine is approved to treat or prevent COVID-19, whichever is earlier.(source)
If I buy remdesivir in India and bring it to the U.S., will I go to jail?
I assume you mean commercial or bulk importation, not bringing in a personal supply, since it would be extremely unusual (by nature of the drug and current travel restrictions) for someone to be traveling with a personal supply of a drug that is most useful when given to early-stage Covid patients, who are generally still contagious.
Criminal liability would be between you and the FDA for bringing in a drug not manufactured under FDA approval.
posted by jedicus at 12:04 PM on July 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Criminal liability would be between you and the FDA for bringing in a drug not manufactured under FDA approval.
Well, that is exactly the point. I could be put in jail for bringing it in from Canada as well. Why wouldn't the FDA approve? It is approved for sale in the U.S. Billions of dollars of drugs are manufactured in India and exported to the U.S every year. Why not remdesivir? Why does remdesivir get a $3,100 price tag in the U.S, a large portion of which is likely to be paid by taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid?
posted by JackFlash at 1:23 PM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Well, that is exactly the point. I could be put in jail for bringing it in from Canada as well. Why wouldn't the FDA approve? It is approved for sale in the U.S. Billions of dollars of drugs are manufactured in India and exported to the U.S every year. Why not remdesivir? Why does remdesivir get a $3,100 price tag in the U.S, a large portion of which is likely to be paid by taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid?
posted by JackFlash at 1:23 PM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Galveston and Myrtle Beach may be "bracing" themselves for the Fourth, but the counties in South Florida have done what the state refuses to do: Closed the beaches and cancelled most of the public fireworks displays. The latter are not banned, so individual cities can still do their own fireworks, but there is a rule requiring that any fireworks displays that do take place be viewed only from inside a vehicle or from one's home.
So yeah, visitors can come here, but it ain't gonna be business as usual. In public, you must wear a mask, hotel pools are open only to current guests and with limited capacity, no open beaches, etc.
posted by wierdo at 1:56 PM on July 1, 2020
So yeah, visitors can come here, but it ain't gonna be business as usual. In public, you must wear a mask, hotel pools are open only to current guests and with limited capacity, no open beaches, etc.
posted by wierdo at 1:56 PM on July 1, 2020
Billions of dollars of drugs are manufactured in India and exported to the U.S every year. Why not remdesivir?
Because the facilities and manufacturing process for that specific drug have to be approved in order to ensure GMP. Why would the companies that licensed remdisivir for sale in countries other than the US bother getting FDA approval, which would take time and resources away from producing the drug for use in those other countries?
Let me put it another way: if it were legal for people and companies in the US to import remdesivir made in non-FDA-approved facilities, do you think that would result in better health outcomes in the US? Or do you think it might lead to a lot of impure or outright fraudulent drugs in the US, similar to what's happened with low quality and fraudulent test supplies and PPE?
Do you think it would lead to a more equitable distribution of the drug? Or do you think it might result in the US buying up the world's supply in a poorly managed way, similar to the way the US government has badly managed testing supplies and PPE?
I think it's more likely that the licensing split will help ensure that non-US countries are able to access the drug.
Why does remdesivir get a $3,100 price tag in the U.S, a large portion of which is likely to be paid by taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid?
Because the US healthcare system sucks.
posted by jedicus at 2:11 PM on July 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Because the facilities and manufacturing process for that specific drug have to be approved in order to ensure GMP. Why would the companies that licensed remdisivir for sale in countries other than the US bother getting FDA approval, which would take time and resources away from producing the drug for use in those other countries?
Let me put it another way: if it were legal for people and companies in the US to import remdesivir made in non-FDA-approved facilities, do you think that would result in better health outcomes in the US? Or do you think it might lead to a lot of impure or outright fraudulent drugs in the US, similar to what's happened with low quality and fraudulent test supplies and PPE?
Do you think it would lead to a more equitable distribution of the drug? Or do you think it might result in the US buying up the world's supply in a poorly managed way, similar to the way the US government has badly managed testing supplies and PPE?
I think it's more likely that the licensing split will help ensure that non-US countries are able to access the drug.
Why does remdesivir get a $3,100 price tag in the U.S, a large portion of which is likely to be paid by taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid?
Because the US healthcare system sucks.
posted by jedicus at 2:11 PM on July 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Let me put it another way: if it were legal for people and companies in the US to import remdesivir made in non-FDA-approved facilities, do you think that would result in better health outcomes in the US?
Why wouldn't the FDA approve? They already do so for billions of dollars of drugs made in the same foreign facilities. It's not FDA approval that is the stumbling block. It is the patents that guarantee Gilead to have a government enforced monopoly in the U.S.
Why does remdesivir get a $3,100 price tag in the U.S, a large portion of which is likely to be paid by taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid?
Because the US healthcare system sucks.
No because the U.S. patent system provides a government enforced monopoly so that Gilead can charge whatever price they like.
Aspirin is non-patent. It's pretty darn cheap. Recall that Gilead charged $84,000 for its hepatitis C drug Sovaldi, manufactured for $100. Sovaldi wasn't even developed by Gilead. Gilead simply bought the patent from another company and then charged monopoly prices.
posted by JackFlash at 2:26 PM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Why wouldn't the FDA approve? They already do so for billions of dollars of drugs made in the same foreign facilities. It's not FDA approval that is the stumbling block. It is the patents that guarantee Gilead to have a government enforced monopoly in the U.S.
Why does remdesivir get a $3,100 price tag in the U.S, a large portion of which is likely to be paid by taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid?
Because the US healthcare system sucks.
No because the U.S. patent system provides a government enforced monopoly so that Gilead can charge whatever price they like.
Aspirin is non-patent. It's pretty darn cheap. Recall that Gilead charged $84,000 for its hepatitis C drug Sovaldi, manufactured for $100. Sovaldi wasn't even developed by Gilead. Gilead simply bought the patent from another company and then charged monopoly prices.
posted by JackFlash at 2:26 PM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
The hamlet of North Brookfield, MA was planing to go ahead with its annual July Fourth celebrations and to host an evening outdoor laser show despite the state ban on gatherings of more than 10 people. The (elected) board of health told the (elected) board of selectmen this was a bad idea and the selectmen told them to butt out and stop spreading "COVID hysteria." Then a regional news site wrote about it and news reached all the way to Boston and things went downhill from there, but bottom line: No July Fourth festivities.
posted by adamg at 3:37 PM on July 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by adamg at 3:37 PM on July 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
Why wouldn't the FDA approve? They already do so for billions of dollars of drugs made in the same foreign facilities.
Do you know for a fact that remdesivir will be made in those facilities? But moreover, FDA approval isn't a facility-wide approval. It applies to the specific manufacturing line. The only way your logic would even apply is if the same manufacturing line was making remdesivir for US use and for non-US use. And even then you seem to be arguing for the US to be able to buy up the entire supply of a drug during a global pandemic.
Remdesivir is a very complex and expensive substance to make. The free market will not magically create a globally sufficient supply of the drug, especially during a global pandemic. But that's what you seem to be relying on in order to avoid the US buying up the entire supply.
I understand neither your faith in the unregulated free market (free importation of unapproved and untested drugs!), for-profit companies (surely Gilead or some other manufacturer will sell the drug equitably rather than to the highest bidder!), or the US government's ability to manage the supply of this drug (it fucked up testing, PPE, and hydroxychloroquine, but this will be different!). If the US government ties up the US supply and doles it out to Trump-friendly states then at least it won't be screwing the rest of the world along with it.
No because the U.S. patent system provides a government enforced monopoly so that Gilead can charge whatever price they like.
The patent system is not what prevents the government from negotiating cheaper drug prices for Medicare. Or for a single payer system doing the same for all Americans.
Aspirin is non-patent. It's pretty darn cheap
Patents aren't the only reason a drug can be expensive. Biologics are expensive pretty much no matter what. Small molecules can also be expensive to make. The best estimate I've seen is that remdesivir costs somewhere in the hundreds of dollars per course of treatment to manufacture. It is not an easy substance to make in bulk.
posted by jedicus at 3:57 PM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Do you know for a fact that remdesivir will be made in those facilities? But moreover, FDA approval isn't a facility-wide approval. It applies to the specific manufacturing line. The only way your logic would even apply is if the same manufacturing line was making remdesivir for US use and for non-US use. And even then you seem to be arguing for the US to be able to buy up the entire supply of a drug during a global pandemic.
Remdesivir is a very complex and expensive substance to make. The free market will not magically create a globally sufficient supply of the drug, especially during a global pandemic. But that's what you seem to be relying on in order to avoid the US buying up the entire supply.
I understand neither your faith in the unregulated free market (free importation of unapproved and untested drugs!), for-profit companies (surely Gilead or some other manufacturer will sell the drug equitably rather than to the highest bidder!), or the US government's ability to manage the supply of this drug (it fucked up testing, PPE, and hydroxychloroquine, but this will be different!). If the US government ties up the US supply and doles it out to Trump-friendly states then at least it won't be screwing the rest of the world along with it.
No because the U.S. patent system provides a government enforced monopoly so that Gilead can charge whatever price they like.
The patent system is not what prevents the government from negotiating cheaper drug prices for Medicare. Or for a single payer system doing the same for all Americans.
Aspirin is non-patent. It's pretty darn cheap
Patents aren't the only reason a drug can be expensive. Biologics are expensive pretty much no matter what. Small molecules can also be expensive to make. The best estimate I've seen is that remdesivir costs somewhere in the hundreds of dollars per course of treatment to manufacture. It is not an easy substance to make in bulk.
posted by jedicus at 3:57 PM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
But we need haircuts and to buy lots of useless things!
"The Economy" "needs" the velocity of money. And rather than take the time to figure out if there needs to be a change to the systems of production and consumption and then change them to become more resiliant we are just going to point to the past and say "That's where we want to be again" VS deciding the system needs changing due to the changes in actual resource avaibility.
$5 a barrel of oil drives a different type of world than $50 or $100 as an example.
posted by rough ashlar at 4:00 PM on July 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
"The Economy" "needs" the velocity of money. And rather than take the time to figure out if there needs to be a change to the systems of production and consumption and then change them to become more resiliant we are just going to point to the past and say "That's where we want to be again" VS deciding the system needs changing due to the changes in actual resource avaibility.
$5 a barrel of oil drives a different type of world than $50 or $100 as an example.
posted by rough ashlar at 4:00 PM on July 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
> I am not American, but living in Canada, I am America-adjacent. This weekend I saw a response to a Toronto Star article about the ethics of mandating masks from an American who declared he cannot wear a mask because in his state it is a felony to wear a mask while armed.
Well, if the mask messes with your peripheral vision or just lulls you into a false sense of security the virus could sneak up and get you before you have a chance to shoot it, so I can see where this guy is coming from.
posted by The Card Cheat at 4:23 PM on July 1, 2020 [9 favorites]
Well, if the mask messes with your peripheral vision or just lulls you into a false sense of security the virus could sneak up and get you before you have a chance to shoot it, so I can see where this guy is coming from.
posted by The Card Cheat at 4:23 PM on July 1, 2020 [9 favorites]
Galveston and Myrtle Beach may be "bracing" themselves for the Fourth, but the counties in South Florida have done what the state refuses to do: Closed the beaches
This is breaking news (and it's really fucking amazing news, as well as fantastic news), so weirdo had the information correct when they posted.
Galveston city, Galveston island, Galveston county are closing all of the beaches this weekend. (Houston Chronicle, KFDM.
While there is definitely overlap, Galveston city/county/island are generally autonomous from each other. All three shutting down is huge and is awesome. City/island really depend on tourism and this is one of the biggest weekends for them. Especially with the 4th falling on the weekend. City of Galveston went 100% mask on in public last week, as well.
I am a little surprised, but this is exactly the right thing for the area right now.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 5:11 PM on July 1, 2020 [14 favorites]
This is breaking news (and it's really fucking amazing news, as well as fantastic news), so weirdo had the information correct when they posted.
Galveston city, Galveston island, Galveston county are closing all of the beaches this weekend. (Houston Chronicle, KFDM.
While there is definitely overlap, Galveston city/county/island are generally autonomous from each other. All three shutting down is huge and is awesome. City/island really depend on tourism and this is one of the biggest weekends for them. Especially with the 4th falling on the weekend. City of Galveston went 100% mask on in public last week, as well.
I am a little surprised, but this is exactly the right thing for the area right now.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 5:11 PM on July 1, 2020 [14 favorites]
Upton Sinclair: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it."
posted by JackFlash at 5:39 PM on July 1, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by JackFlash at 5:39 PM on July 1, 2020 [7 favorites]
Hollowed out public health system faces more cuts amid virus (AP)
KHN, also known as Kaiser Health News, and AP interviewed more than 150 public health workers, policymakers and experts, analyzed spending records from hundreds of state and local health departments, and surveyed statehouses. On every level, the investigation found, the system is underfunded and under threat, unable to protect the nation’s health. [...] So when this outbreak arrived — and when, according to public health experts, the federal government bungled its response — hollowed-out state and local health departments were ill-equipped to step into the breach. Over time, their work had received so little support that they found themselves without direction, disrespected, ignored, even vilified. The desperate struggle against COVID-19 became increasingly politicized and grew more difficult. States, cities and counties in dire straits have begun laying off and furloughing their limited staff, and even more devastation looms, as states reopen and cases surge.posted by katra at 5:46 PM on July 1, 2020 [5 favorites]
Maybe rescind a few tax breaks for the wealthy to fund our beleaguered public health systems?
posted by haiku warrior at 6:11 PM on July 1, 2020 [14 favorites]
posted by haiku warrior at 6:11 PM on July 1, 2020 [14 favorites]
Meanwhile over in Longview, WA the organizer of an unpermitted unofficial 4th of July celebration at which Lee Greenwood is scheduled to play is “ready to die” for his right to put it on.
posted by skycrashesdown at 7:04 PM on July 1, 2020
posted by skycrashesdown at 7:04 PM on July 1, 2020
‘Cries for help’: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic (WaPo / Chron reprint)
Even before the pandemic, experts note, the nation’s infrastructure for helping people with substance use disorders was underfunded and inadequate. Without government intervention, local officials and drug policy experts warn, overdoses and deaths will continue to climb during the pandemic and the existing system will be inundated. [...] President Trump and conservatives have repeatedly cited the possible rise of overdoses and suicides when calling for states and businesses to hurry their economic reopening. Yet, of the nearly $2.5 trillion approved for emergency relief, Congress and the Trump administration have designated only $425 million — barely more than a hundredth of 1 percent — for mental health and substance use treatment. [...] Hollingsworth and other economists, including Case, who spearheaded much of the research on “deaths of despair,” point out that their findings are based on previous recessions that were wildly different from this one. One big difference is how suddenly this downturn occurred — causing tens of millions of Americans to lose their jobs almost overnight. [...]Internal Messages Reveal Crisis at Houston Hospitals as Coronavirus Cases Surge (ProPublica)
But the biggest objection to such arguments — that tie the declining economy to an inevitable increase in overdoses — is the implied assumption that nothing can be done to avert it. The focus, many economists and health experts agree, should be on finding safe and sustainable ways to reopen the economy, while increasing access and funding for mental health and substance use care. “We need to multitask as a society,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a federal research agency. The problem is a lack of political will, said Alex H. Kral, an epidemiologist at the nonprofit research institute RTI International.
What’s happening in Houston draws eerie parallels to New York City in late March, when every day brought steep increases in the number of patients seeking care at overburdened hospitals — though, so far, with far fewer deaths. But as coronavirus cases surge in Texas, state officials here have not reimplemented the same lockdown measures that experts say helped bring New York’s outbreak under control, raising concern among public health officials that Houston won’t be able to flatten the curve.posted by katra at 7:06 PM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
“The time to act and time to be alarmed is not when you’ve hit capacity, but it’s much earlier when you start to see hospitalizations increase at a very fast rate,” said Lauren Ancel Meyers, a professor of integrative biology who leads the University of Texas at Austin COVID-19 Modeling Consortium. “It is definitely time to take some kind of action. It is time to be alarmed.”
The hamlet of North Brookfield, MA
Key lines from the article you linked:
posted by ctmf at 7:34 PM on July 1, 2020 [9 favorites]
Key lines from the article you linked:
While Kiley said those who felt uncomfortable shouldn’t attend, Melad asked about individuals who will have to work the event or work with the people who attended the event.127,000 more Americans today than yesterday would disagree. If they could, but they can't because you know, they're dead now. From the virus.
“Getting the virus is not a death sentence,” Kiley said.
posted by ctmf at 7:34 PM on July 1, 2020 [9 favorites]
I remain baffled at people's belief that if you don't die from COVID-19 that everything is hunky dory. Around 10% of those who get it are having health issues continue for (at least) several weeks after the virus is cleared from their body.
posted by wierdo at 7:44 PM on July 1, 2020 [13 favorites]
posted by wierdo at 7:44 PM on July 1, 2020 [13 favorites]
Young Americans Are Partying Hard and Spreading Covid-19 Quickly (Bloomberg)
In Houston, where hospitals have been strained by the influx of patients, many young people are in intensive care, David Persse, the city’s director of emergency medical services, said during a media briefing Monday. “They are extremely ill,” Persse said. “If they’re thinking, ‘I’ll get sick and then I’ll get over it,’ recognize that 15% of the people in ICUs now are in their 20s and 30s.”Alabama students throwing 'COVID parties' to see who gets infected: Officials (ABC News)
Arrol Sheehan, spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Public Health, said the state's "Safer at Home Order" explicitly states that people who test positive "shall be quarantined to their place of residence for a period of 14 days." Sheehan stressed that violation of the heath order is a misdemeanor and fines for each violation can be up to $500. "Suspected violations of the home quarantine order should be reported to law enforcement and the local health department," she said in a statement to ABC News.Trump says Covid-19 will 'disappear' after US reports record one-day increase (Guardian)
“We’re headed back in a very strong fashion ... And I think we’re going to be very good with the coronavirus,” he added. “I think that at some point that’s going to sort of just disappear. I hope.” Trump has faced fierce criticism for downplaying the risks of the virus, and for his refusal to promote simple safety measures such as wearing a mask. Asked about this on Wednesday, he said he “thinks masks are good” but said he does not believe making masks mandatory across the country was necessary.posted by katra at 7:58 PM on July 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
Officials in Alaska, Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas announced single-day-high case numbers for Tuesday. The Covid Tracking Project said that the US’s seven-day average for new daily cases has doubled since 13 June, and that hospitalizations jumped by the highest number since 21 April.
Europeans' trust in US as world leader collapses during pandemic
Many citizens appalled by Donald Trump’s handling of coronavirus crisis, study finds
Katherine Butler / The Guardian
Many citizens appalled by Donald Trump’s handling of coronavirus crisis, study finds
Katherine Butler / The Guardian
“Europeans have digested the fact that the US is no longer necessarily a friend for Europe in times of need,” Dennison said.posted by mumimor at 5:55 AM on July 2, 2020 [6 favorites]
The ECFR’s analysis suggests the shift in European attitudes transcends hostility to Donald Trump or his administration’s poor handling of the virus outbreak in the US.
Its authors believe there is now a more profound uncertainty about America as a force for good, America’s commitment to multilateralism and the US’s ability to lead the world.
Trump has 'gone awol' as president amid coronavirus pandemic, says ex-CIA director (Guardian)
Donald Trump has “essentially gone awol from the job of leadership that he should be providing a country in trouble” during the coronavirus pandemic, a former defence secretary and CIA director said on Wednesday. Leon Panetta, who served in various capacities under nine US presidents, became the latest prominent public figure to accuse Trump of effectively surrendering to the virus and abandoning Americans to their fate, using the military jargon awol, meaning absent without leave. “This is a major crisis,” Panetta told Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN, noting that top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci has warned that America may hit 100,000 new cases a day, twice the current rate.Asian and Black Americans report heightened discrimination amid coronavirus outbreak, poll finds (Politico, Jul. 1, 2020)
“But the president, rather than bringing together some kind of national strategy to confront this crisis, simply resorts to tweeting about vandalism and other things to kind of divert attention from the crisis that’s there.” He added: “We have a president that is not willing to stand up and do what is necessary in order to lead this country during time of major crisis. I have never experienced a president who has avoided that responsibility.”
In the study, conducted by the Pew Research Center, 40 percent of Black and Asian American adults said they have been treated differently or subjected to slurs or jokes as a result of the pandemic. A plurality of both groups also expressed anxiety about wearing a mask in public out of fears that they would be viewed as a threat or physically attacked. Pew’s findings come as the White House has increasingly used anti-Asian talking points about the outbreak of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. [...] People of Asian descent have reported incidents of racism in larger numbers since the outbreak began. The Asian hate crime watchdog Stop AAPI Hate has reported a steep rise in reported incidents since March, with nearly 1,000 cases over the past 12 weeks.posted by katra at 7:44 AM on July 2, 2020 [4 favorites]
Its authors believe there is now a more profound uncertainty about America as a force for good, America’s commitment to multilateralism and the US’s ability to lead the world.
Yes. As a Canadian I am most immediately worried for my two nephews. If the Democrats get left to deal with another fucking mess and look forward-not-back so nobody actually goes to jail... I think of the Nixon, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Reagan, Bush I, Bush II, Trump continuum and try not to imagine the exact shape of whatever horror the GOP is festering under it's crinoline.
posted by bonobothegreat at 7:48 AM on July 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
Yes. As a Canadian I am most immediately worried for my two nephews. If the Democrats get left to deal with another fucking mess and look forward-not-back so nobody actually goes to jail... I think of the Nixon, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Reagan, Bush I, Bush II, Trump continuum and try not to imagine the exact shape of whatever horror the GOP is festering under it's crinoline.
posted by bonobothegreat at 7:48 AM on July 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
WBUR: Why COVID-19 Contact Tracers In Mass. Will Send You Milk
It’s a familiar moment. The kids want their cereal and the coffee’s brewing, but you’re out of milk. No problem, you think - the corner store is just a couple of minutes away. But if you have COVID-19 or have been exposed to the virus, you’re supposed to stay put. Even that quick errand could continue the chain of transmission.posted by adamg at 8:25 AM on July 2, 2020 [4 favorites]
Luisa Schaeffer’s first call of the day is to a woman poised at the door to her apartment in Brockton, debating whether to take that quick walk. Schaeffer’s job is to help the woman make the best choice for the public’s health.
Politico, July 1, 2020:
“We need to prioritize — schools, child care, economic development,” said Natalie Dean, a biostatistician and public health expert at the University of Florida — a state that’s having one of the biggest surges right now. “But bars?”Closing bars to stop coronavirus spread is backed by science (AP)
Crowded indoor spaces filled with people yelling, leaning close to hear one another and touching the same sticky surfaces are “the opposite of social distancing,” said Dr. David Hamer of the Boston University School of Medicine. [...] The rapid spread of a bar outbreak can swamp public health workers. In East Lansing, Michigan, an outbreak tied to a large brewpub near Michigan State University has spread to nearly 140 people in 12 counties, causing authorities to recruit nursing students and retirees to help with contact tracing. “In 12 days, we went from two identified cases to 128, and, honestly, I don’t have today’s numbers yet,” Ingham County health officer Linda Vail said Wednesday before cases shot up again. She described her outlook as “shocked and overwhelmed.”The Fourth of July can be a virus reset. Here’s exactly what we need to do. (Leana Wen, WaPo Opinion, Jul. 1, 2020)
But just closing bars will drive people to congregate in other locations. Officials need to restrict all indoor gatherings, including at restaurants, theaters and private parties. But this time they should impose a different type of population-wide order — not a lockdown, but rather a mandate not to get together indoors. In high-virus areas, even relatives who don’t live together should avoid visiting inside each other’s homes, and choose instead to see one another in a backyard or a park. I don’t think people will comply with another shelter-in-place order, but they might be willing to modify how they socialize.posted by katra at 8:43 AM on July 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
Similarly, I’m concerned that re-closing such lower-risk outdoor recreational sites as parks and beaches would backfire and simply drive people indoors. Instead of prohibitions, policymakers should consider creative approaches to make shared spaces safer. For example, an alternative to closing beaches altogether is to allow beaches for walking and swimming only. Ask people to stay for a maximum of, say, an hour or two, so that others can also enjoy the shared public space. Issue explicit instructions for people to stay six feet away from anyone not part of their home group, and use “social distancing circles” when possible.
[...] For states that are holding steady in infection rates: Be warned that it may not last. The New York City area is one place where covid-19 appears to be under control, but the virus that ravaged the region three months ago could well take hold there again. As we are seeing, even states, such as California and Oregon, that reopened cautiously are now experiencing rapid spread.
Fauci says more lenient lockdown measures in U.S. ‘allowed perpetuation of the outbreak’ (WaPo live blog)
“If you look at the different curves between the European Union, the U.K. and others, how they’ve handled the outbreak, they’ve had big spikes and then they’ve brought it down almost or even to baseline in some countries,” Fauci said in an interview the BBC released Thursday. “The situation in the United States has been more problematic.”Fauci: Avoid gatherings like Trump's Rushmore fireworks show (Politico, Jul. 1, 2020)
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said while some countries in Europe locked down around 97 percent of activity to control the virus, even the strictest U.S. lockdowns only shut down about 50 percent. “That allowed the perpetuation of the outbreak that we never did get under very good control,” he said.
After being asked Wednesday by @jessicayellin on Instagram for his message regarding the July 3 event, the nation’s top infectious disease expert said: "You should avoid whenever possible gathering in crowds where people cannot maintain physical distance."Guardian: "Arizona congressman Andy Biggs wants to see the White House’s coronavirus task force disbanded.
"Avoid crowds, wear a mask, keep physical distance," Fauci continued. "It doesn't matter what the reason for the congregation, whether it's a celebration here, the demonstration there. It doesn't make any difference — wear a mask."
Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) JUST IN: GOP @RepAndyBiggsAZ calls on the White House coronavirus task force to be disbanded “so that President Trump’s message is not mitigated or distorted” and says Dr. Fauci & Dr. Birx “continue to contradict” Trump’s goal of reopening the economy.posted by katra at 9:30 AM on July 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
July 2, 2020
Alabama students throwing 'COVID parties' to see who gets infected: Officials (ABC News)
Yeah I'm gonna have to be skeptical about this one. Are they butt-chugging bath salts too?
posted by rhizome at 9:37 AM on July 2, 2020 [8 favorites]
Yeah I'm gonna have to be skeptical about this one. Are they butt-chugging bath salts too?
posted by rhizome at 9:37 AM on July 2, 2020 [8 favorites]
The data is in: Fox News may have kept millions from taking the coronavirus threat seriously
WaPo
posted by mumimor at 9:54 AM on July 2, 2020 [5 favorites]
WaPo
posted by mumimor at 9:54 AM on July 2, 2020 [5 favorites]
Yeah I'm gonna have to be skeptical about this one.
> Tuscaloosa Fire Chief Randy Smith told the City Council on Tuesday that he has confirmed the students' careless behavior. In a briefing to the City Council, Smith expressed concern that in recent weeks there have been parties held throughout the city and surrounding Tuscaloosa County, "where students, or kids, would come in with known positive," according to a video recording of the meeting obtained by ABC affiliate station WBMA in Birmingham.posted by katra at 9:59 AM on July 2, 2020
"We thought that was kind of a rumor at first," Smith told the council members. "We did some research. Not only do the doctors' offices confirm it but the state confirmed they also had the same information."
"We thought that was kind of a rumor at first," Smith told the council members. "We did some research. Not only do the doctors' offices confirm it but the state confirmed they also had the same information."
That sounds more like they didn't care than that they held an ersatz contest. The first story has a city councilmember telling the "contest" story as received wisdom with zero support, and the follow-up from the fire department says simply that people who have tested positive are going to parties. Note that the FD cites doctors, not anybody who received party announcements or flyers mentioning a contest.
I think we're still in vodka-eyeballing territory.
posted by rhizome at 10:22 AM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
That sounds more like they didn't care than that they held an ersatz contest. The first story has a city councilmember telling the "contest" story as received wisdom with zero support, and the follow-up from the fire department says simply that people who have tested positive are going to parties. Note that the FD cites doctors, not anybody who received party announcements or flyers mentioning a contest.
I think we're still in vodka-eyeballing territory.
posted by rhizome at 10:22 AM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
> "It's nonsense," [Tuscaloosa City Councilor Sonya] McKinstry added. "But I think when you're dealing with the mind frame of people who are intentionally doing stuff like that and they're spreading it intentionally, how can you truly fight something that people are constantly trying to promote?"
posted by katra at 10:26 AM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by katra at 10:26 AM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
‘You can easily kill someone you love’: Cooper speaks out against those attending Triad ‘COVID-19 parties’ (WXII12, May 18, 2020, via NY Post)
posted by katra at 11:10 AM on July 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
"Over the last few days, we have heard from a lot of patients and the community that they’re unafraid of getting the virus," said Yolanda Enrich, a Novant nurse practitioner. "People are actually out and about trying to get the virus, so attending gatherings, parties trying to maximize their chances of exposure." Enrich said patients say they are trying to develop an immunity to the virus, speeding up their ability to go about their day-to-day lives without having to take precautions against COVID-19. [But health experts have not yet determined whether coronavirus antibodies actually deliver immunity.] [...] [North Carolina Gov. Roy] Cooper said the gatherings are "completely irresponsible and absolutely unacceptable" during a media briefing from the Joint Force Headquarters. "You can easily kill someone you love," he said.Previously: Somebody Was Infected With The Coronavirus After Attending A "Coronavirus Party" In Kentucky (Buzzfeed, Mar. 24, 2020), Twitter Blocks The Federalist for Promoting Coronavirus Parties (NYT, Mar. 25, 2020), People Are Throwing Coronavirus Parties, Prompting Arrests And Citations (HuffPost, Mar. 29, 2020), Coronavirus parties: NY bar owner arrested as some ignore social distancing rules (MSN, Mar. 30, 2020)
posted by katra at 11:10 AM on July 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
I think I can simultaneously believe two things:
1) If you name a stupid thing, there is probably someone who has done it, because fucking people, man.
2) Just because there was a case of a stupid thing being done, doesn't make that A Thing that is "being done" generally, that we need to spend much effort Doing Something About.
"COVID parties" seems like this.
posted by ctmf at 11:26 AM on July 2, 2020 [10 favorites]
1) If you name a stupid thing, there is probably someone who has done it, because fucking people, man.
2) Just because there was a case of a stupid thing being done, doesn't make that A Thing that is "being done" generally, that we need to spend much effort Doing Something About.
"COVID parties" seems like this.
posted by ctmf at 11:26 AM on July 2, 2020 [10 favorites]
"In the United States, chickenpox parties were popular before the introduction of the varicella vaccine in 1995" (also apparently still a thing among anti-vaxers).
posted by nobody at 11:31 AM on July 2, 2020
posted by nobody at 11:31 AM on July 2, 2020
The Covid lottery parties thing is complete bullshit. Walla Walla already retracted the story. Note how there are no primary sources at all of this happening. No primary details like # in attendance, neighbourhood (all over the city and county), ticket price, report of anyone who won, etc. A story like this of supposedly wide spread behavior and ABC (the originator) couldn't find one student to go on the record claiming they participated or were even invited?
Link to twitter thread (threadreader) that lays it out much better than me about how this is a moral panic like rainbow parties.
Note this is much different than childhood deasese parties pre-vaccine. There was some perceived value in getting things like chicken pox because the symptoms are so much worse in adults. Rubella being the most obvious where contracting while pregnant causes horrible, horrible birth defects.
posted by Mitheral at 11:48 AM on July 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
Link to twitter thread (threadreader) that lays it out much better than me about how this is a moral panic like rainbow parties.
Note this is much different than childhood deasese parties pre-vaccine. There was some perceived value in getting things like chicken pox because the symptoms are so much worse in adults. Rubella being the most obvious where contracting while pregnant causes horrible, horrible birth defects.
posted by Mitheral at 11:48 AM on July 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
The last from me on this point. From two months ago: Are People Really Having 'Coronavirus Parties'?
posted by rhizome at 11:56 AM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 11:56 AM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Coronavirus cases are rising in 40 of 50 US states (AP)
The surge has been blamed in part on Americans not wearing masks or following other social distancing rules as states lifted their lockdowns over the past few weeks. The U.S. recorded 50,700 new cases, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. That represents a doubling of the daily total over the past month and is higher even than what the country witnessed during the deadliest phase of the crisis in April and May.'We don't live in a communist country!': battle over masks rages in Texas (Guardian)
The science of wearing masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus seems to be largely settled, but the politics around it is still raging, especially in conservative strongholds like Texas. Stores, churches, small businesses, government offices and other institutions across the state are grappling with how to enforce public health rules without alienating those who disagree. [...] [Texas Governor] Greg Abbott has refused to order a statewide requirement to wear masks to protect individuals’ liberty and avoid alienating his core base, but has pleaded with citizens to do so anyway.'It's very troubling': alarm grows over Covid-19 spike among young Americans (Guardian)
Until recently, the majority of coronavirus cases that Dr Quinn Snyder, an emergency doctor at one of Arizona’s largest emergency departments, saw were older people. But since mid-May, when the state’s stay-at-home order was lifted, and particularly after the Memorial Day holiday, the demographic has shifted. Snyder says he has seen an “explosion” in cases among 20-44-year-olds. Some of those, he said, are coming in severely ill – requiring oxygen, intubation and ventilators. “We even had people in that age group die, unfortunately. So it’s very troubling and it’s very difficult to watch young people die from this disease. It’s horrible.” [...] Factors thought to have contributed to the surge in cases among younger people include graduation parties, mixed public messaging, higher risk tolerance and bars.posted by katra at 11:56 AM on July 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
[...] On Tuesday there were 152,434 total cases in Florida – a rise of 6,012 on the previous day – and 3,505 deaths. [Mary Jo Trepka, professor and chair of the department of epidemiology at Florida International University] said the true number of cases was likely to be even higher because data undercounts younger people who are more likely to be asymptomatic or only have mild symptoms. “The message early on, probably so people didn’t completely panic, was that ‘OK, this is a lot like the flu, the very elderly are most at risk, but the young people are much less risk’. And while that’s still true, of course, once you start getting a lot of young people that are infected, some of those people will be hospitalized and some may die.” [...] After stay-at-home orders were lifted, [Dr Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease doctor and a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security] said many people wrongly took it as a “green light that things were safe”.
Just because there was a case of a stupid thing being done, doesn't make that A Thing that is "being done" generally, that we need to spend much effort Doing Something About.
I've been thinking that the key point is about the potential impact of misinformation, including on people who are younger, perceive themselves to be at lower risk, think they can obtain immunity, etc. There appear to be multiple reports of these events happening, but medical privacy also exists, so it doesn't seem that surprising that some details are missing. I thought it was worth posting because public officials are saying it appears to be more than a rumor, and there is a connection made between the recent reports of the parties and misinformation about coronavirus risks and immunity.
posted by katra at 12:07 PM on July 2, 2020 [5 favorites]
I've been thinking that the key point is about the potential impact of misinformation, including on people who are younger, perceive themselves to be at lower risk, think they can obtain immunity, etc. There appear to be multiple reports of these events happening, but medical privacy also exists, so it doesn't seem that surprising that some details are missing. I thought it was worth posting because public officials are saying it appears to be more than a rumor, and there is a connection made between the recent reports of the parties and misinformation about coronavirus risks and immunity.
posted by katra at 12:07 PM on July 2, 2020 [5 favorites]
Former Republican Presidential Candidate, Trump Tulsa Rally attendee and mask denier Herman Cain seems to have contracted C19. (Twitter)
posted by HyperBlue at 1:10 PM on July 2, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by HyperBlue at 1:10 PM on July 2, 2020 [7 favorites]
Breaking: Governor Greg Abbott (tweet links to image of executive order) now requires wearing face masks in any Texas county with more than 20 confirmed Covid cases. This order goes into effect after noon on July 4, 2020.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 2:28 PM on July 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 2:28 PM on July 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
Even the horrible Republican Govenors will turn communist it appears, when the shit hits the fan...
Too bad they couldn't have paid attention when the people smarter than them brought this up 6 weeks ago. When will DeSantis go communist? 10,000+ new cases today.
posted by Windopaene at 3:36 PM on July 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
Too bad they couldn't have paid attention when the people smarter than them brought this up 6 weeks ago. When will DeSantis go communist? 10,000+ new cases today.
posted by Windopaene at 3:36 PM on July 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
The order is effective as of 12:01 p.m. Friday, local time.(CNBC)
So, that would actually be the 3rd which is so much better. I can totally see people going on vac and when the deadline passes, "Sorry, not out town. We couldn't find them anywhere. I guess you will just have to deal with our unmasked faces."
I'm shocked, and very pleasantly surprised this is occurring. There are grocery stores here where, even through last weekend, maybe 25% of the people were masked. This is going to do wonders for my anxiety.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 3:43 PM on July 2, 2020 [4 favorites]
So, that would actually be the 3rd which is so much better. I can totally see people going on vac and when the deadline passes, "Sorry, not out town. We couldn't find them anywhere. I guess you will just have to deal with our unmasked faces."
I'm shocked, and very pleasantly surprised this is occurring. There are grocery stores here where, even through last weekend, maybe 25% of the people were masked. This is going to do wonders for my anxiety.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 3:43 PM on July 2, 2020 [4 favorites]
No mask, no service: Washington businesses must turn away customers without face masks starting next week
posted by ctmf at 4:19 PM on July 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
Gov. Inslee says starting Tuesday businesses in Washington will not be allowed to serve customers who are not wearing a mask.So I guess this might kind of help with the "selective enforcement" problem and alleviate the need for individual vigilante shaming. On the other hand, it puts the burden on low-paid service workers to take the abuse for enforcing it. At least Inslee is providing top cover - they can say "hey, it's not my decision, we just don't want to lose our license or get fined."
posted by ctmf at 4:19 PM on July 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
As a Washington resident, Seattle, haven't seen a maskless person in the grocery for months. Sometimes at Fred Meyer. But, Seattle is not Yakima or the Tri-Cities, where COVID is exploding. Good for Gov. Inslee. They should send in the police to arrest the fuckers planning a Lee Greenwood concert/gathering in Longview this weekend. Much as I hate the police, these right-wing evangelical fuckers are just ruining any chance of stopping the virus. Start enforcing the state health orders. Wear a mask or go to jail. Selfish fuckers are killing people. Ugh.
posted by Windopaene at 4:30 PM on July 2, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 4:30 PM on July 2, 2020 [7 favorites]
[Tulsa Health Department Director says] Too Early to Tie Trump Rally to Tulsa Virus Cases (USNews & World Report, July 2, 2020) The county has reported more than 1,300 confirmed cases of the virus in the 11 days since the rally drew about 6,200 people to the BOK Center in Tulsa, including a record 259 cases on June 23. [I know, what's too early, tell that to 74-year-old, Stage IV colon cancer survivor, Black Voices for Trump co-chair Herman Cain, or Oklahoma Watch journalist Paul Monies, or the 8 administration staffers who tested positive, or the dozens of Secret Service agents currently in quarantine, or... ]
Trump Campaign Cancels Rally in Alabama as Coronavirus Cases Rise (USNews & World Report, June 30, 2020) A campaign staffer said the rally was canceled over concerns of a mass gathering as coronavirus cases in the U.S. increase.
No social distancing planned for Trump's Mt. Rushmore fireworks event, governor says (CNN, June 30, 2020) [Masks optional; un-American fraidy-cats can stay the hell home] "We told those folks that have concerns that they can stay home, but those who want to come and join us, we'll be giving out free face masks if they choose to wear one," [South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem] said. "But we won't be social distancing, we're asking them to come, be ready to celebrate, to enjoy the freedoms and the liberties that we have in this country."
US Democrat Joe Biden has said he will not hold presidential campaign rallies during the coronavirus pandemic. (BBC, July 1, 2020)
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:35 PM on July 2, 2020 [8 favorites]
Trump Campaign Cancels Rally in Alabama as Coronavirus Cases Rise (USNews & World Report, June 30, 2020) A campaign staffer said the rally was canceled over concerns of a mass gathering as coronavirus cases in the U.S. increase.
No social distancing planned for Trump's Mt. Rushmore fireworks event, governor says (CNN, June 30, 2020) [Masks optional; un-American fraidy-cats can stay the hell home] "We told those folks that have concerns that they can stay home, but those who want to come and join us, we'll be giving out free face masks if they choose to wear one," [South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem] said. "But we won't be social distancing, we're asking them to come, be ready to celebrate, to enjoy the freedoms and the liberties that we have in this country."
US Democrat Joe Biden has said he will not hold presidential campaign rallies during the coronavirus pandemic. (BBC, July 1, 2020)
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:35 PM on July 2, 2020 [8 favorites]
Instead of prohibitions, policymakers should consider creative approaches to make shared spaces safer. For example, an alternative to closing beaches altogether is to allow beaches for walking and swimming only. Ask people to stay for a maximum of, say, an hour or two, so that others can also enjoy the shared public space. Issue explicit instructions for people to stay six feet away from anyone not part of their home group, and use “social distancing circles” when possible.
We tried that. It went about as well as a pessimistic person might expect. That is why the Republican mayor of Miami-Dade County ordered beaches in the county closed this weekend.
posted by wierdo at 4:53 PM on July 2, 2020 [7 favorites]
We tried that. It went about as well as a pessimistic person might expect. That is why the Republican mayor of Miami-Dade County ordered beaches in the county closed this weekend.
posted by wierdo at 4:53 PM on July 2, 2020 [7 favorites]
we'll be giving out free face masks
Where is the betting site on what the masks are going to say?
bunch of public officials claiming infection parties
Now, perhaps these officials are correct and 'did some research' is not "I googled and got some forwarded emails".
But if this twitter thread is right about what's going on public officials bullshitting the public is how conspiracy theories gain traction. I do so hope the locals keep tabs on the people listed and if it turns out they made 'false and misleading' statements the locals work to remove those people from office.
posted by rough ashlar at 5:07 PM on July 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
Where is the betting site on what the masks are going to say?
bunch of public officials claiming infection parties
Now, perhaps these officials are correct and 'did some research' is not "I googled and got some forwarded emails".
But if this twitter thread is right about what's going on public officials bullshitting the public is how conspiracy theories gain traction. I do so hope the locals keep tabs on the people listed and if it turns out they made 'false and misleading' statements the locals work to remove those people from office.
posted by rough ashlar at 5:07 PM on July 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
Breaking: Governor Greg Abbott (tweet links to image of executive order) now requires wearing face masks in any Texas county with more than 20 confirmed Covid cases.
Recall that just a few weeks ago Abbott signed an executive order forbidding any city or county governments from requiring face masks.
posted by JackFlash at 6:31 PM on July 2, 2020 [14 favorites]
Recall that just a few weeks ago Abbott signed an executive order forbidding any city or county governments from requiring face masks.
posted by JackFlash at 6:31 PM on July 2, 2020 [14 favorites]
That’s quite an about face for Abbott. I do really do wonder if the voters will hold him to account. The intelligence of Texas voters as a whole has not impressed me in the last 30 years.
posted by haiku warrior at 6:56 PM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by haiku warrior at 6:56 PM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
They will forget, because they will still be alive and the TV won't be shouting MASK MASK at them all the time. I figure we have 4-6 weeks until some Trumper gets violent at someone for not wearing a mask.
posted by rhizome at 7:20 PM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 7:20 PM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Despite warnings, the US wasn’t prepared with masks for coronavirus. Now it’s too late (USA Today, Jul 1, 2020, updated Jul. 2, 2020)
Things have improved since the severe shortages in March. Major mask manufacturers increased production. Federal officials eased some rules for masks and other personal protective equipment, commonly known as PPE, allowing reuse and cleaning. But those efforts haven’t matched, much less gotten ahead of, the demand. The USA TODAY Network analyzed dozens of government reports and interviewed more than 50 experts – including health care administrators, traders and lawmakers – about the PPE shortages, especially the disposable masks that cost a few pennies to a dollar.Testing czar says coronavirus surge is straining testing capacity (Politico)
“It is absolutely correct that some labs across the country are reaching or near capacity,” [Brett Giroir, the coronavirus testing czar,] said. “Recent data from several states indicate rising infections and now an uptick in hospitalizations and death, even as other states and the great majority of counties are maintaining a low infection burden." The percentage of people testing positive has spiked in recent days in several states — including Arizona, Florida and Texas. That's a sign that the virus is spreading rapidly. [...] “A blitz of testing over a few days could help to identify a lot of the under 35-year-old asymptomatics that may be spreading the virus,” Giroir said. “When you have a lot of younger people who are asymptomatic, particularly in an outbreak situation, it is much harder, not impossible, but much harder to contact trace.”Secret Service agents preparing for Pence Arizona trip contracted coronavirus (WaPo / reprint)
Pence was scheduled to go to Phoenix on Tuesday but went on Wednesday instead so that healthy agents could be deployed for his visit, according to two senior administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private details of the trip. [...] The official said the Secret Service estimated that a total of eight to 10 agents and other officers from sister agencies — all of whom were helping prepare for Pence’s visit to Arizona — had fallen ill.posted by katra at 8:17 PM on July 2, 2020 [5 favorites]
This is the second time in recent weeks that Secret Service agents preparing for a White House or Trump campaign event outside Washington have contracted the virus. At least three Secret Service personnel working on the advance team for President Trump’s Tulsa rally on June 20 tested positive for the coronavirus. [...] Pence has faced criticism over his recent travels as he has sought to get out of Washington and visit areas hit hard by the coronavirus that are also key swing states in the upcoming election, such as Arizona and Florida. [...] Many of the activities that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn can increase the chance of infection are similar to what advance agents are required to do to plan the major events the White House and campaign have chosen to host. The agents must travel significant distances away from home, meet with strangers, and spend many hours indoors with other teams to coordinate security planning. [...] Despite the illnesses that were found among advance team members at the president’s June 20 rally in Tulsa, Pence’s office soldiered forward to try to hold events in Arizona.
I do really do wonder if the voters will hold him to account.
They will forget, because they will still be alive and the TV won't be shouting MASK MASK at them all the time.
fwiw...
Democratic ad makers think they've discovered Trump's soft spot - "While Trump may not be vulnerable on issues of character alone, as he demonstrated in 2016, he is vulnerable when character is tied to his policy record on the economy and health care... For the negative ad industry, the coronavirus has been a bonanza because it inextricably linked both the economy and health care."
posted by kliuless at 10:30 PM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
They will forget, because they will still be alive and the TV won't be shouting MASK MASK at them all the time.
fwiw...
Democratic ad makers think they've discovered Trump's soft spot - "While Trump may not be vulnerable on issues of character alone, as he demonstrated in 2016, he is vulnerable when character is tied to his policy record on the economy and health care... For the negative ad industry, the coronavirus has been a bonanza because it inextricably linked both the economy and health care."
posted by kliuless at 10:30 PM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Blaming infection parties is just a way for GOP boomers in red states to shift blame onto kids to deflect from the fact that they were protesting for the right to go maskless into packed restaurants two months ago and their governors opened things up with few restrictions.
posted by PenDevil at 12:22 AM on July 3, 2020 [25 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 12:22 AM on July 3, 2020 [25 favorites]
Fourth of July celebrations increase risk of 'superspreader' events, experts warn (Guardian)
“It’s set up a perfect storm,” Joshua Barocas, an infectious disease physician at Boston Medical Center, said during a briefing by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. “The combination of travel, the combination of reopening – perhaps in some cases too early – and the combination of people not necessarily following some of these preventive guidelines.”Virus concerns grow — as do crowds flocking to Jersey Shore (AP)
[...] “Asymptomatic spread of Covid-19 is a major risk factor. These ‘superspreaders’ do not know they are carrying the disease,” the [Alabama] health department said. “It is estimated one in four infected people are ‘superspreaders’. For this reason, we strongly recommend wearing masks in public gatherings.”
Large crowds are expected at the shore for the holiday weekend: New Jersey’s casinos have reopened, along with amusement rides and water parks. Beaches are open, though at reduced occupancy levels. Restaurants can offer limited outdoor dining, and stores and shopping malls have reopened.posted by katra at 6:32 AM on July 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
But not everyone is following rules designed to prevent the spread of the virus, including wearing masks and keeping 6 feet (2 meters) apart. In late June, large crowds swarmed D’Jais, a popular oceanfront nightclub in Belmar in scenes reminiscent of pre-pandemic days. Few patrons wore face coverings, and fewer still kept their distance from others on a packed dance floor.
What we're learning about coronavirus as cases surge after US states reopen (Guardian)
[David Rubin, director of PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a professor of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania]: What’s really concerning is that this week, after all the hard work that the north-east and the midwest did – they waited the longest to reopen – their risk of transmission is going up. That includes New York.Northeast governors were ready to reopen. The coronavirus had other plans. (Politico)
People are talking about Florida, Texas and Arizona, but we’re also seeing elevated activity across the I-90 corridor in upstate New York. The Chicago area is also heating up again. These areas we had touted as successes might get engulfed and consumed by surrounding risk and travel from high-risk areas. What this shows is that we needed a national response to meet this challenge.
“Storm clouds on the horizon,” [New York Gov. Andrew] Cuomo told reporters from his 38th floor office in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, as thunder and lighting crashed outside. He, along with [New Jersey Gov. Phil] Murphy and Connecticut’s Gov. Ned Lamont, instituted mandatory quarantines for travelers coming from 16 states experiencing major spikes in new cases. “Chances are, whatever we do, people from those 16 states are going to make their way here and that’s how we got infected the first time.”posted by katra at 7:49 AM on July 3, 2020 [2 favorites]
[...] Another alarming data point was a JPMorgan analysis of credit card data that found in-restaurant transactions were “particularly predictive” of future outbreaks when charted against Johns Hopkins University’s case tracker.
The Week America Lost Control of the Pandemic (Robinson Meyer, Atlantic, Jul. 2, 2020)
What should concern all Americans is that, as more and more states see their outbreaks intensify, the country will lose its ability to understand what is happening. [...] But now the country is divided: The South is burning with infection at the same time other regions are trying to reopen. This feat—opening one region while suppressing the pandemic in another—has never been done before, and there is no guarantee that it can be done. Many public-health leaders signaled this week that they do not think it is possible.Tracking The Pandemic: Are Coronavirus Cases Rising Or Falling In Your State? (NPR, "This page is updated regularly")
In the graphics below, explore the trend in new cases in your state to see whether cases are rising, falling or staying level. You can view the data via a heat map (immediately below), a curve chart and a table with details on each state's case trends over the last three weeks. Or to see states' total cases and deaths on a map, click here.posted by katra at 8:14 AM on July 3, 2020 [2 favorites]
Meanwhile, in Massachusetts outside of Boston, movie theaters, outdoor performance venues, museums and health clubs got the OK yesterday to re-open, with limits, on Monday (Boston is delayed a week). Restaurants were already allowed to serve some meals indoors. But bars and nightclubs, which were closed in March, will remain shut until the release of either an effective vaccine or treatments.
The governor is officially puzzled why Maine is letting people from four of the other New England states, NY and NJ in without a quarantine requirement (or proof of a negative test) but not from MA.
posted by adamg at 8:19 AM on July 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
The governor is officially puzzled why Maine is letting people from four of the other New England states, NY and NJ in without a quarantine requirement (or proof of a negative test) but not from MA.
posted by adamg at 8:19 AM on July 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
Coronavirus detectives couldn’t get partygoers to answer the phone. So they issued subpoenas. (WaPo / SFGate reprint)
After a woman in Rockland County, N.Y., admitted to throwing her daughter a party while showing coronavirus symptoms, contact tracers sprung into action. They phoned dozens of guests, hoping to get the partygoers tested and isolated and stop an emerging coronavirus cluster in its tracks. But many of the attendees hung up, handed the calls to their parents or flat-out lied, saying they never made it to the event on June 17. Others never picked up at all. So this week, county health officials tried a much more drastic approach. They issued subpoenas to eight of the partygoers, ordering them to speak up to the disease detectives or face a fine of up to $2,000 a day — and it worked.posted by katra at 9:30 AM on July 3, 2020 [7 favorites]
[...] After people across the country rose up against lockdown measures, ignored social distancing requirements and declared war on face masks, Rockland County’s unapologetic legal strategy shows just how difficult it may be to get the country to comply with another crucial piece of the government’s response to a pandemic that has surged in recent weeks. [...] But this kind of detective work comes with a heavy logistical burden. State and local governments have to hire and train tens of thousands of tracers, act fast to keep up with the highly contagious virus, overcome government mistrust and privacy concerns and find money in their already cash-strapped budgets to fund it all.
The Altantic article closes with the thing that's been troubling me
We've fully lost the battle. All that time we've spent in lockdown was wasted; the disease is now fully out of control and our government (both federal and state) will not do the things necessary to control it. So what's the point of even trying to socially isolate? The virus is going to infect the whole country anyway, why be one of the few reeds trying to stop the flood?
posted by Nelson at 9:54 AM on July 3, 2020 [4 favorites]
For months this spring, Americans clawed back ground from the coronavirus. ... We are now losing that work, watching weeks of pandemic suppression vanish in days. It took the country acting in concert to subdue the virus in the spring. We may need to do the same, again, to avoid the worst now.First of all.. "we may need to do the same again?" Lol, we needed to switch back to a stricter lockdown than we had in early April, and we needed to start doing it two weeks ago. But there's no way that happens.
We've fully lost the battle. All that time we've spent in lockdown was wasted; the disease is now fully out of control and our government (both federal and state) will not do the things necessary to control it. So what's the point of even trying to socially isolate? The virus is going to infect the whole country anyway, why be one of the few reeds trying to stop the flood?
posted by Nelson at 9:54 AM on July 3, 2020 [4 favorites]
Because I do not want to get sick and face lifelong consequences. I will continue to be as safe as possible, for me, and my family. Why give up?
posted by tiny frying pan at 10:09 AM on July 3, 2020 [29 favorites]
posted by tiny frying pan at 10:09 AM on July 3, 2020 [29 favorites]
If bars and restaurants are one of the major avenues of disease spread, then I hope we can shift the conversation from yelling at young people who flock to them to the economic circumstances that is compelling many of these bars and restaurants to re-open in the first place - and the reasons behind why state governments are tacitly encouraging this (because they can't print their own money and the federal government sure isn't coming to the rescue with supporting state budgets).
Much like those studies that show how Medicare For All would actually decrease healthcare costs in the long run, I keep thinking about how if we had universal basic income and expansion of relief for small businesses, it would have been much easier to keep these venues shut down because there would have not been the threat of bartenders losing any income, and it would have enabled them to refuse to show up for being called back to work by bar and restaurant owners.
Instead we keep going through this open and maybe-close-maybe-not bullshit. From talking with a friend who is a bartender in one of my city's hot spots, she's basically hoping for bars to be closed down again so she can claim unemployment again. I really feel for service workers right now.
Pre-pandemic I had been a skeptic of UBI but I don't know how we get out of this economic mess without it.
posted by mostly vowels at 10:09 AM on July 3, 2020 [18 favorites]
Much like those studies that show how Medicare For All would actually decrease healthcare costs in the long run, I keep thinking about how if we had universal basic income and expansion of relief for small businesses, it would have been much easier to keep these venues shut down because there would have not been the threat of bartenders losing any income, and it would have enabled them to refuse to show up for being called back to work by bar and restaurant owners.
Instead we keep going through this open and maybe-close-maybe-not bullshit. From talking with a friend who is a bartender in one of my city's hot spots, she's basically hoping for bars to be closed down again so she can claim unemployment again. I really feel for service workers right now.
Pre-pandemic I had been a skeptic of UBI but I don't know how we get out of this economic mess without it.
posted by mostly vowels at 10:09 AM on July 3, 2020 [18 favorites]
Alongside the paralysing fear of Covid-19, something else is bubbling up: hope (Maeve Higgins, Guardian Opinion, Jul. 3, 2020)
Fear can make us paralysed or it can make us reckless. This fear is legitimate, of course; any one of us could sicken and die from coronavirus, or give it to others who are even more likely to sicken and die than we are. [...] The world is in chaos, divisions are multiplying daily, and I’m seriously considering … hope? Here’s how I’ve got there: we are living in fear of this virus, but we are also seeing how much we need each other. We fight coronavirus collectively or we lose. That’s where hope comes in, because when you think something is impossible, you can’t hope for it, and if you think something is certain, then you expect it.posted by katra at 10:11 AM on July 3, 2020 [3 favorites]
[...] Hope is more than a shallow optimism. It’s not a saccharine wish or a political slogan. Hope can come only from deep within because it’s impossible to take hopeful actions without courage. [...] Hope is not simply positive thinking. It’s not the naive instinct of the privileged that says things will surely just get better. [...] Like fear, hope is not something that you can make yourself feel. Unbidden, it finds you. But unlike fear, which rises easily, hope is quieter, and far too easy to talk yourself out of. Don’t do that – instead welcome that small breeze you’re feeling and push the window up a little more. Eventually it just might pick up into a mighty wind.
Pre-pandemic I had been a skeptic of UBI but I don't know how we get out of this economic mess without it.
Support Grows for Guaranteed Income Among America's Mayors - "More city leaders are committing to explore universal basic income experiments that are grounded in civil rights ideals."
posted by kliuless at 10:26 AM on July 3, 2020 [7 favorites]
Support Grows for Guaranteed Income Among America's Mayors - "More city leaders are committing to explore universal basic income experiments that are grounded in civil rights ideals."
posted by kliuless at 10:26 AM on July 3, 2020 [7 favorites]
Because I do not want to get sick and face lifelong consequences. I will continue to be as safe as possible, for me, and my family. Why give up?
I wish you health. My fear is as the disease spreads and intensifies in our communities the only way to not get sick is full extreme isolation. I don't know about you, but I've been trying really hard to stay safe and not get sick. But I'm still taking risks of theoretical exposure. I go to the grocery store once a week. Once or twice I've picked up takeout, although last time I left the restaurant the moment I walked in and saw 9 folks without masks, including the clerk. But I still breathed that air briefly, touched that door handle.
Right now that's not too risky because, what, only 0.1% of Americans are infected at the moment? But when that gets to 1%, or 10% in your local community, anything short of total isolation may not keep you safe.
posted by Nelson at 10:56 AM on July 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
I wish you health. My fear is as the disease spreads and intensifies in our communities the only way to not get sick is full extreme isolation. I don't know about you, but I've been trying really hard to stay safe and not get sick. But I'm still taking risks of theoretical exposure. I go to the grocery store once a week. Once or twice I've picked up takeout, although last time I left the restaurant the moment I walked in and saw 9 folks without masks, including the clerk. But I still breathed that air briefly, touched that door handle.
Right now that's not too risky because, what, only 0.1% of Americans are infected at the moment? But when that gets to 1%, or 10% in your local community, anything short of total isolation may not keep you safe.
posted by Nelson at 10:56 AM on July 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
Well, yes, we know we're not safe, thanks. Aware every minute of every day. But again, that is not a reason to give up, as your comments were suggesting. I find that notion more disheartening than anything and shockingly unhelpful.
posted by tiny frying pan at 11:10 AM on July 3, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by tiny frying pan at 11:10 AM on July 3, 2020 [9 favorites]
Risk mitigation still mitigates risk, is I think the thing to keep in mind. Like, I feel you Nelson on the sense of how to deal with it seeming to be prone to just get worse, but at the same time it's getting worse from people failing to take precautions. We can still take precautions for ourselves, and still avoid dangerous situations, and make it possible to manage with a good amount of success despite bad overall trends.
It's a weird balancing act. I feel you on the looming sense of worry. I also am reminding myself to not despair and to not generalize bad trends and poor choices generally to a revocation of my personal agency and ability to manage and reduce harm locally without totally going into hiding.
posted by cortex at 11:11 AM on July 3, 2020 [7 favorites]
It's a weird balancing act. I feel you on the looming sense of worry. I also am reminding myself to not despair and to not generalize bad trends and poor choices generally to a revocation of my personal agency and ability to manage and reduce harm locally without totally going into hiding.
posted by cortex at 11:11 AM on July 3, 2020 [7 favorites]
My despair and fatalism comes from watching events of the last two weeks, watching the disease get out of control in America and no one in power doing the things necessary to stop it. It's horrifying.
I no longer believe my personal actions will make a big difference in keeping me safe in America. I don't believe they will help stop the spreading epidemic in my community either. The country has defaulted to a path where we are all going to be exposed in the next few months. I'm sorry if it's "shockingly unhelpful" to say that. It is shocking; it's taken me 3 days to get used to the idea.
My personal reason for continuing to isolate is purely moral. I don't want to be responsible for getting others sick. I feel a moral obligation to avoid that, so I'm continuing to hide at home, and wear a mask when I go out, and avoid social activity and travel and enjoying civic life. But that's a difficult choice, one of deprivation.
And more than half the country apparently doesn't feel that obligation themselves. They're refusing to wear masks and going out to the bar at the beach and watching Trump's Fourth of July show in South Dakota where the Governor says "we won't be social distancing". And then they're coming back to where I live and infecting my community. It's incredibly de-moral-izing.
And all the while, so many other countries have a totally different experience now. They've got 0-10 new cases a day, we have 50,000. There wearing a mask and getting tested really does make a difference. Here we have failed.
posted by Nelson at 11:31 AM on July 3, 2020 [3 favorites]
I no longer believe my personal actions will make a big difference in keeping me safe in America. I don't believe they will help stop the spreading epidemic in my community either. The country has defaulted to a path where we are all going to be exposed in the next few months. I'm sorry if it's "shockingly unhelpful" to say that. It is shocking; it's taken me 3 days to get used to the idea.
My personal reason for continuing to isolate is purely moral. I don't want to be responsible for getting others sick. I feel a moral obligation to avoid that, so I'm continuing to hide at home, and wear a mask when I go out, and avoid social activity and travel and enjoying civic life. But that's a difficult choice, one of deprivation.
And more than half the country apparently doesn't feel that obligation themselves. They're refusing to wear masks and going out to the bar at the beach and watching Trump's Fourth of July show in South Dakota where the Governor says "we won't be social distancing". And then they're coming back to where I live and infecting my community. It's incredibly de-moral-izing.
And all the while, so many other countries have a totally different experience now. They've got 0-10 new cases a day, we have 50,000. There wearing a mask and getting tested really does make a difference. Here we have failed.
posted by Nelson at 11:31 AM on July 3, 2020 [3 favorites]
I no longer believe my personal actions will make a big difference in keeping me safe in America.
Well, that's simply not true. Risk mitigation is PROVEN to help. This isn't fantasy. We have data.
All the people who got us here, gave up on trying to mitigate risk. Don't join them.
posted by tiny frying pan at 11:34 AM on July 3, 2020 [18 favorites]
Well, that's simply not true. Risk mitigation is PROVEN to help. This isn't fantasy. We have data.
All the people who got us here, gave up on trying to mitigate risk. Don't join them.
posted by tiny frying pan at 11:34 AM on July 3, 2020 [18 favorites]
Being demoralized is exactly what the bastards want. Don't let them get you down, and certainly don't let them take you down with them.
Even if everyone else is being as stupid as a bag of rocks, you can still significantly reduce your own risk and, by extension, the risk to those you come in contact with. You needn't hole up at home, even, unless leaving your home involves long periods of time indoors surrounded by people who refuse to wear a mask.
Mask compliance in public indoor spaces where I am was already fairly decent, and has improved slightly since our mask order was extended to cover outdoor spaces as well. Test results still look dire, but the numbers reported today are the result of what people were doing two weeks ago and the spike in hospitalizations reflects behavior even farther in the past.
We may have frittered away most (but not all! The PPE situation is much less dire now!) of the benefit that we got from the initial stay-at-home orders, but that doesn't mean that all hope is lost.
posted by wierdo at 11:49 AM on July 3, 2020 [6 favorites]
Even if everyone else is being as stupid as a bag of rocks, you can still significantly reduce your own risk and, by extension, the risk to those you come in contact with. You needn't hole up at home, even, unless leaving your home involves long periods of time indoors surrounded by people who refuse to wear a mask.
Mask compliance in public indoor spaces where I am was already fairly decent, and has improved slightly since our mask order was extended to cover outdoor spaces as well. Test results still look dire, but the numbers reported today are the result of what people were doing two weeks ago and the spike in hospitalizations reflects behavior even farther in the past.
We may have frittered away most (but not all! The PPE situation is much less dire now!) of the benefit that we got from the initial stay-at-home orders, but that doesn't mean that all hope is lost.
posted by wierdo at 11:49 AM on July 3, 2020 [6 favorites]
Make a stop at your local Walgreens or whatever you have, and get some nitrile gloves. Fear the door handles and keypads no more.
posted by Windopaene at 12:35 PM on July 3, 2020
posted by Windopaene at 12:35 PM on July 3, 2020
Honest question, not a criticism in disguise: Is there anything stopping individual cities from trying UBI on the municipal scale? Assuming some malevolent governor doesn't pass some kind of spiteful pre-emption rule (cough, Texas and the mask-wearing), would it even work? I guess what I'm asking is, is this one of those "everyone has to do it, or nobody can" things?
posted by ctmf at 12:38 PM on July 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by ctmf at 12:38 PM on July 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
Right now that's not too risky because, what, only 0.1% of Americans are infected at the moment? But when that gets to 1%, or 10% in your local community, anything short of total isolation may not keep you safe.
Most estimates I've seen put it more like 0.5%, which doesn't seem like a big difference, but that's of course 5 times 0.1%, and a lot closer to 1%. It also varies a lot by state right now: it's 0.5% in MA which has things more under control, but is 1% in CA and nearly 3% in AZ right now. Masks, outdoors, and distancing, will still keep you pretty safe, but it's basically a disaster right now.
And that's just baseline rates. The changes are bad even in places like MA. That Are New Cases Still Growing In Your State? chart on the NPR page is really misleading, particularly due to an egregious use of log scale for changes over time. It makes it look like every state is doing great apart from a few like AZ, but if you look at the raw numbers at the bottom of that page, you can see that almost every state is doing worse this week than last week. Even the derivative of the disaster is a disaster.
posted by chortly at 12:39 PM on July 3, 2020 [3 favorites]
Most estimates I've seen put it more like 0.5%, which doesn't seem like a big difference, but that's of course 5 times 0.1%, and a lot closer to 1%. It also varies a lot by state right now: it's 0.5% in MA which has things more under control, but is 1% in CA and nearly 3% in AZ right now. Masks, outdoors, and distancing, will still keep you pretty safe, but it's basically a disaster right now.
And that's just baseline rates. The changes are bad even in places like MA. That Are New Cases Still Growing In Your State? chart on the NPR page is really misleading, particularly due to an egregious use of log scale for changes over time. It makes it look like every state is doing great apart from a few like AZ, but if you look at the raw numbers at the bottom of that page, you can see that almost every state is doing worse this week than last week. Even the derivative of the disaster is a disaster.
posted by chortly at 12:39 PM on July 3, 2020 [3 favorites]
Honest question, not a criticism in disguise: Is there anything stopping individual cities from trying UBI on the municipal scale?
They don't have the money. My city's total budget is $1.3 billion for this year, which is a lot of money, but is less than $2000 per person total for the year. The county also has its own budget, but they spend it on schools and county things.
Cities are also limited in their revenue sources, as they typically come from things like sales taxes and property taxes, with limited opportunities (very state-dependent) for income taxes or other sources.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 1:31 PM on July 3, 2020 [5 favorites]
They don't have the money. My city's total budget is $1.3 billion for this year, which is a lot of money, but is less than $2000 per person total for the year. The county also has its own budget, but they spend it on schools and county things.
Cities are also limited in their revenue sources, as they typically come from things like sales taxes and property taxes, with limited opportunities (very state-dependent) for income taxes or other sources.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 1:31 PM on July 3, 2020 [5 favorites]
Ontairo's pilot program was launched by the province but was done only in Hamilton (a city of 500K)
Ontario Basic Income Pilot Project
It was unfortunately completely alien to our current Premier who killed it fairly immediately. From everything I've read it could have been an amazing success. "People kept working, became healthier while on basic income: report"
posted by cirhosis at 1:36 PM on July 3, 2020 [2 favorites]
Ontario Basic Income Pilot Project
It was unfortunately completely alien to our current Premier who killed it fairly immediately. From everything I've read it could have been an amazing success. "People kept working, became healthier while on basic income: report"
posted by cirhosis at 1:36 PM on July 3, 2020 [2 favorites]
On lack of preview Huffy Puffy's point is correct... UBI likely works at the city level but cities themselves rarely have the funds to finance such a project.
posted by cirhosis at 1:38 PM on July 3, 2020
posted by cirhosis at 1:38 PM on July 3, 2020
At coronavirus crossroads, U.S. weighs ‘one more chance’ to quell escalating outbreak (WaPo)
Leaders who once ordered residents indoors reached instead for ultimatums, signaling that more painful measures were on the horizon. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) cautioned students and parents this week that their “actions will determine, frankly, whether we can open schools in the fall.” She joined governors of both parties, many of them reluctant to take more sweeping actions, in “urging” and “asking” residents to stay home and to practice social distancing.105 University of Washington students in frat houses test positive for coronavirus (CBS News)
More than 100 students living in fraternity houses near the University of Washington campus have reported testing positive for COVID-19, with hundreds of results pending. [...] Experts say the outbreak, along with cases among student athletes, is a troubling sign of what may be in store if colleges reopen in the fall. University of Washington leadership said this week they hope to reopen in-person, with larger classes held virtually, but that plans could change based on the virus's spread.Unable to afford coronavirus testing, some colleges are canceling football season (WaPo / reprint)
Rising caseloads in some parts of the country are straining the supply of coronavirus testing materials, raising the possibility that even some schools that can afford weekly testing won’t be able to acquire enough tests. [...] At UT-Chattanooga, [Athletic Director Mark] Wharton said, all returning athletes were tested for the coronavirus when they returned to campus, then told to self-quarantine for up to two days, until results came back. About a dozen football players ignored the quarantine request and held an informal practice together, running routes and some offensive plays. When the results came back, one of the players tested positive. All of them are now in mandatory quarantine, awaiting the results of another round of tests.posted by katra at 1:40 PM on July 3, 2020 [2 favorites]
At coronavirus crossroads, U.S. weighs ‘one more chance’ to quell escalating outbreak (WaPo)
Ah yes, the Lloyd Dobler strategy. Such a classic.
Grand gestures are a hallmark of narcissism, so of course Trump pulls one out of his back pocket, perhaps thinking it will stack like a coupon code with his Mt. Rushmore fireworks party.
posted by rhizome at 2:00 PM on July 3, 2020 [4 favorites]
Ah yes, the Lloyd Dobler strategy. Such a classic.
Grand gestures are a hallmark of narcissism, so of course Trump pulls one out of his back pocket, perhaps thinking it will stack like a coupon code with his Mt. Rushmore fireworks party.
posted by rhizome at 2:00 PM on July 3, 2020 [4 favorites]
Georgia coronavirus cases continue steep climb (AP)
The state has seen a sharp increase in confirmed cases as well as people hospitalized in recent weeks after a short period of decline that followed a since-lifted stay-at-home order from Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. [...] Georgia isn’t alone in seeing rising numbers. The pandemic is resurgent around the country, and health authorities warn that the holiday weekend could make it worse if Americans don’t take precautions. Some states, such as Florida, Arizona, Texas and California, have paused reopening plans or implemented additional restrictions. But Kemp has so far declined to do so, saying the restrictions already in place are enough.Coronavirus: US reports world's biggest daily increase in cases with 55,000 (Guardian)
Patients with serious cases of Covid-19 are flooding into hospitals across the southern and western states. Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, Nevada and Arizona set records for hospitalizations on Thursday. [...] The US’s neighbor to the north, Canada, has so far flattened its coronavirus curve with early and widespread testing, extensive mask-wearing and social distancing and slow reopening. The US is currently reporting more than 10 times more positive cases per capita than Canada, CNN reported. [...] Jonathan Reiner, an adviser to the White House medical team under President George W Bush, said the president was “clearly flirting with disaster” by holding election rallies without social distancing or mask-wearing among the crowds and attending events mask-free. “Just because he’s tested frequently, [that] isn’t a Superman cape,” he told CNN. “He can get the virus. The more he flirts with this, the higher the likelihood that he’ll get it.”posted by katra at 3:44 PM on July 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
COVID-19 deaths aren't nearly an adequate metric of this crisis, says a patient:
"Hey, so, I got #Covid19 in March. I’ve been sick for over 3 months w/ severe respiratory, cardiovascular & neurological symptoms. I still have a fever. I’ve been incapacitated for nearly a season of my life. It's not enough to not die. You don’t want to live thru this, either. 1/" [full thread]posted by PhineasGage at 3:53 PM on July 3, 2020 [10 favorites]
There are a lot of experiences, including news reports, collected here: Blogs or journals from people who have COVID-19? (AskMe), e.g.
COVID-19 Can Last for Several Months (Ed Yong, Atlantic [free access], Jun. 4, 2020)
The disease’s “long-haulers” have endured relentless waves of debilitating symptoms—and disbelief from doctors and friends.
posted by katra at 4:12 PM on July 3, 2020 [7 favorites]
COVID-19 Can Last for Several Months (Ed Yong, Atlantic [free access], Jun. 4, 2020)
The disease’s “long-haulers” have endured relentless waves of debilitating symptoms—and disbelief from doctors and friends.
posted by katra at 4:12 PM on July 3, 2020 [7 favorites]
Carol E. Lee, Kristen Welker and Monica Alba, NBC: 'We need to live with it': White House readies new message for the nation on coronavirus
posted by jedicus at 5:40 PM on July 3, 2020 [10 favorites]
After several months of mixed messages on the coronavirus pandemic, the White House is settling on a new one: Learn to live with it. ... At the crux of the message, officials said, is a recognition by the White House that the virus is not going away any time soon — and will be around through the November election.Capitulation and abdication of responsibility. One can only hope that it ends in Trump declaring victory and going home. And then to prison.
posted by jedicus at 5:40 PM on July 3, 2020 [10 favorites]
I wanted to LOL when the chancellor of my alma mater was trying to be all, "please behave this weekend, or else we won't be able to come back in person in the fall. Y'all want to come back in person, right? No backsliding?" GOOD LUCK WITH THAT.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:54 PM on July 3, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:54 PM on July 3, 2020 [2 favorites]
Next week administration officials plan to promote a new study they say shows promising results on therapeutics, the officials said. They wouldn't describe the study in any further detail because, they said, its disclosure would be "market-moving."Translation: Releasing this information today would reduce the amount of insider trading we can do.
posted by Mitheral at 6:20 PM on July 3, 2020 [12 favorites]
They wouldn't describe the study in any further detail because, they said, its disclosure would be "market-moving."
And guess who has cornered the market on hydroxychloroquine.
posted by JackFlash at 6:56 PM on July 3, 2020
And guess who has cornered the market on hydroxychloroquine.
posted by JackFlash at 6:56 PM on July 3, 2020
White House 'free marketeers' raised concerns over coronavirus price-gouging crackdown (Politico)
The resistance from White House staffers materialized shortly after the rollout of the task force, according to the people familiar with the situation. It came from staffers whom one source described as “free-marketeers,” who felt the massive influx of people wheeling and dealing for PPE was a sign that the free market was working efficiently to move materials where they needed to go. One free market tenet is that market forces act as an invisible hand, moving goods and services when and where they need to be in the most efficient way possible and unlocking supplies that may previously have gone untapped. If prices of, say, N95 masks seem exorbitantly high—well, that’s what market conditions dictate. Government intervention, in this view, only gums things up—at best.A coronavirus vaccine rooted in a government partnership is fueling financial rewards for company executives (WaPo / reprint, Jul. 2, 2020)
As shares of biotech firm Moderna soared in May to record highs on news that its novel coronavirus vaccine showed promise in a clinical trial, the nation’s senior securities regulator was asked on CNBC about news reports that top executives had been selling their stock in the company. Jay Clayton, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, responded that companies should avoid even the appearance of impropriety. “Why would you want to even raise the question that you were doing something that was inappropriate?” he said. Notwithstanding Clayton’s statement, there is little public evidence that company leaders slowed their stock selling.Trump ambassadors sold stocks as president downplayed pandemic and virus was spreading (CNBC, Jul. 2, 2020)
Democrats are already pouncing on the actions by the Trump diplomats, including Democratic super PAC American Bridge, which initially flagged some of the stock sales and purchases to CNBC. “Any official who dumped millions in stocks while the administration downplayed the threat has no business in a position of public trust and their actions warrant thorough investigation in order to prevent further abuses of power,” Max Steele, a spokesman for the group, said in a statement.posted by katra at 7:06 PM on July 3, 2020 [5 favorites]
Little Donny Junior has been ridiculing people wearing masks. Today his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle tested positive. Why was she tested? Because she is participating in Trump's rally at Mt. Rushmore and anyone who gets within 20 feet of Trump has to be tested. The same guy who doesn't want anyone else in the country to be tested.
Guilfoyle was also at Trump's events in Tulsa and Phoenix last week.
posted by JackFlash at 9:41 PM on July 3, 2020 [5 favorites]
Guilfoyle was also at Trump's events in Tulsa and Phoenix last week.
posted by JackFlash at 9:41 PM on July 3, 2020 [5 favorites]
Politico: "Last weekend, Guilfoyle and Trump Jr. were spotted without a mask at a crowded party in the Hamptons, the New York Post reported."
Trump Delivers Divisive Culture War Message at Mount Rushmore (NYT)
Trump Delivers Divisive Culture War Message at Mount Rushmore (NYT)
With the coronavirus pandemic raging and his campaign faltering in the polls, his appearance amounted to a fiery reboot of his re-election effort, using the holiday and an official presidential address to mount a full-on culture war against a straw-man version of the left that he portrayed as inciting mayhem and moving the country toward totalitarianism. [...] Mr. Trump barely mentioned the pandemic, even as the country surpassed 53,000 new cases of the coronavirus [today] and health officials across the country urged Americans to scale back their Fourth of July plans as the pandemic made a frightening resurgence. [...] On Thursday, [Trump] lauded his administration’s response, referred to the surge in new cases as “temporary hot spots” and focused instead on what he said was evidence of the economy bouncing back.posted by katra at 9:48 PM on July 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
Do Americans Understand How Badly They’re Doing? by Thomas Chatterton Williams (The link is to Medium, but it is an Atlantic article)
We didn’t stay long in the city. Although the chance of contagion in Paris is minimal, the thought of unnecessary risk unnerved me, and so we left again for another round of self-imposed confinement. But this was a choice. I think of my mother and father trapped in New Jersey, in their 70s and 80s, respectively, and at the mercy of a society that is failing extravagantly to protect them. And it is failing to protect them not from some omnipotent enemy — as we believed in March and perhaps even as late as April — but from a tough and dangerous foe that many other societies have wrestled into submission.posted by mumimor at 1:55 AM on July 4, 2020 [5 favorites]
at this point, i have to figure everything is part of a plan by the administration to capitialize on crises, create chaos, keep people destabilized and isolated, run their grift, and undermine the election (Biden isn't holding rallies, mail-in voting is being rejected, polling places are being closed 'because of the virus')
this isn't incompetence
this is intentional
posted by kokaku at 5:52 AM on July 4, 2020 [13 favorites]
this isn't incompetence
this is intentional
posted by kokaku at 5:52 AM on July 4, 2020 [13 favorites]
Guardian: "Michael McFaul, who served as US ambassador to Russia during the Obama administration, has called Donald Trump’s speech on Friday night un-American.
[...] “Trump obviously has no idea what words like facism and totalitarianism mean,” wrote McFaul on Twitter. “To those who wrote that speech, shame on you. To those that cleared on this speech, shame on you. Perhaps the most un- American speech ever delivered by an American president, on the eve of July 4th.”Guardian: Trump speech sparks media storm
The former Republican speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, meanwhile said the speech was definitely American.
The Washington Post’s Robin Givhan said the president “peddled his fiction” on Friday night as he appealed to his base. [...] Givhan also noted that few of those in attendance wore masks as Covid-19 cases rise across the US. “And just to add to the upside-down, inside-out madness of the mass gathering, Ivanka Trump, presidential adviser and daughter, tweeted a reminder to be safe over the holiday weekend by social distancing and wearing a mask. Her nearest and dearest did not listen to the plea,” she wrote. [...] The Associated Press noted the speech appeared made to stoke divisions [...] There was praise elsewhere for Trump. [...] Sean Davis, co-founder of the Federalist, said: “Trump’s Independence Day defense of America was far and away the greatest speech of his presidency.”Guardian: "While the number of Covid-19 cases surge across the United States, CNN reports that key public health figures such as Dr Anthony Fauci have not been given permission by the White House administration to appear on American television."
One source told CNN that high-profile officials, including Fauci, have been unable to gain permission to appear on television. “Now is the time to be sending a strong public health message,” the official told CNN, noting that the cases of the virus are rising across large part of the country. The source added that Fauci is thought to be too blunt about the dangers of Covid-19 during his appearances, or too “doom and gloom.” [...] Fauci, meanwhile, has been getting his message across on other platforms. He has appeared on media that may not be used by the White House administration, such as podcasts and foreign broadcasts.posted by katra at 9:46 AM on July 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
Via Memeorandum I buckled in and read some of the right-wing media's praise for Trump's speech and their derision for the mainstream media's negative reaction (as summarized in the Guardian article Katra linked above). It was terrifying to see how those right-wing sites take small kernels of accuracy (some non-Confederate statues were torn down, some Twitter frenzies have been intemperate), and construct a world that isn't even adjacent to reality.
posted by PhineasGage at 9:55 AM on July 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 9:55 AM on July 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
Surge in state COVID-19 cases driven by eastern Washington (AP)
It’s no coincidence that Gov. Jay Inslee has visited Yakima, Spokane and the Tri-Cities of Richland, Kennewick and Pasco in the past two weeks to urge citizens to take greater precautions. The numbers are stark. In the past week, more than 40% of the state’s 2,957 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus occurred within those three metro areas, which make up less than 15% of the state’s population, according to the state Department of Health. [...] “Spokane is on the verge of a very dire situation because of this pandemic,″ Inslee said. The Democratic governor has emphasized wearing masks during his visits to the three communities. [...] Health experts contend that 80% of the population must wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in public spaces. But many communities don’t appear to be reaching that level. In Yakima County, which Inslee has called the new epicenter of the disease, surveys have found mask wearing has climbed from about 35% of people in public to about 65% in recent weeks, [Dr. Kathy Lofy, the state health officer] said.Trump’s push to amplify racism unnerves Republicans who have long enabled him (WaPo / Chron reprint)
[...] Inslee recently ordered that all residents of the state must wear masks when out in public, or face penalties. It was not well received by everyone. “I can’t wear a mask because I’m a patriot,”″ said Janice Tollett of suburban Airway Heights, who showed up at Inslee’s Spokane meeting to protest the mask order. “The First Amendment right is why I don’t wear a mask,″ Tollett said. “I just want our country back.″ In the Tri-Cities, Inslee was heckled off the podium Tuesday by protesters who yelled “you can’t face the truth″ and “Lies, lies.″ [...] The protesters were apparently unswayed by local public service announcements filmed by former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who grew up in the Tri-Cities. [...] The state Department of Health noted that Hispanic residents have been particularly hard-hit by the virus. While Hispanics are 13% of the state population, they make up 58% of COVID-19 cases since May in which race and ethnicity is known, the agency said. Hispanics make up a large portion of the population in Yakima and the Tri-Cities.
On Capitol Hill, some Republicans fret — mostly privately, to avoid his wrath — that Trump’s fixation on racial and other cultural issues leaves their party running against the currents of change. Coupled with the coronavirus pandemic and related economic crisis, these Republicans fear he is not only seriously impairing his reelection chances but also jeopardizing the GOP Senate majority and its strength in the House. [...] The difference now, four years later, [Patrick Gaspard, a former Obama White House political director who is now president of the Open Society Foundations] argued, is that the sentiments of many Americans about justice and disparity appear to have evolved.posted by katra at 10:40 AM on July 4, 2020 [5 favorites]
'We don't want things to get out of hand again': as New York reopens, dangers lie ahead (Ed Pilkington, Guardian)
31 MLB players, 7 staff test positive for COVID-19, or 1.2% (AP, Jul. 2, 2020) "The positive tests occurred among 19 of the 30 teams, according to results of the samples sent to the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory in South Jordan, Utah."
Trump claims 'victory' as US sees 50,000 new Covid-19 cases for third straight day (Guardian)
According to a group of epidemiologists and public health experts, Covid Act Now, all but four states are failing to get ahead of the disease, while 30 states are at risk or already facing alarming surges of infection. [...] Much as it likes to see itself as its own sovereign entity, detached from the rest of America, New York, as a major travel destination, is profoundly exposed to the rest of the US. [...] “We can’t assume we are unconnected to what we are seeing in the south and west. It would be naive of us to think we are insulated from the increases and spread of the virus,” said Mark Levine, chair of New York City council’s health committee.Guardian: "Covid-19 continues to affect the sports world. In Major League Baseball, 38 of the 3,185 samples collected from players and staff were positive for the virus. [...] Elsewhere, Major League Soccer has had to postpone [...] games in its upcoming tournament after 10 members of FC Dallas tested positive. [...] seven-time Nascar champion Jimmie Johnson has tested positive for Covid-19, and will miss this weekend’s event at Indianapolis Speedway."
As a warning sign, Covid Act Now changed its designation of New York state on Thursday from being on track to contain the virus to the more at-risk category, “controlled disease growth”. The slip in status could be a portent of further trouble to come. [...] For an expert like [Wan Yang, an epidemiologist at Columbia University who has been preparing projections on the virus for the city’s health department since March,] at the heart of the storm, there is no room for complacency. “There’s still a lot of work to be done. You can never be too careful to reduce transmission, especially after what happened to this city.”
31 MLB players, 7 staff test positive for COVID-19, or 1.2% (AP, Jul. 2, 2020) "The positive tests occurred among 19 of the 30 teams, according to results of the samples sent to the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory in South Jordan, Utah."
Trump claims 'victory' as US sees 50,000 new Covid-19 cases for third straight day (Guardian)
On the Fourth of July national holiday, a day after the US reported a third straight day with a more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases and as Florida reported another record rise in cases there, Donald Trump claimed “a tremendous victory” was at hand.posted by katra at 12:07 PM on July 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
he does seems to be the only one who is winning right now
posted by kokaku at 12:28 PM on July 4, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by kokaku at 12:28 PM on July 4, 2020 [5 favorites]
Guardian: "News from Montana, where the Republican Greg Gianforte is ceasing in-person campaign activities in his run for governor after his wife spent time with Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr’s girlfriend who has tested positive for the coronavirus. [...] Gianforte, you’ll remember, is the politician who physically assaulted then-Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs at a campaign event in 2017."
Hard-hit industries clamor for regulations during pandemic (Paul Kane, WaPo Analysis)
Hard-hit industries clamor for regulations during pandemic (Paul Kane, WaPo Analysis)
As Congress begins to negotiate another rescue package this month, these interest groups have some familiar business-friendly requests that their lobbyists will push. First and foremost are liability protections against coronavirus-related lawsuits as companies try to reopen. Democrats have opposed such protections, complaining that workers and customers could be put at great risk by companies made reckless by the legal shield. House Democrats included stronger worker protections in their legislation. [...] [Michelle Russo, chief communications officer for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,] said industry is also pushing for federal help in two areas that don’t regularly appear on U.S. Chamber of Commerce wish lists: child care and mass transit. They’re two of the biggest obstacles to workers being able to return to their places of employment.posted by katra at 12:55 PM on July 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
Even with these measures, the economic comeback cannot really begin until enough consumers are satisfied that nearly all other consumers are playing by the same rules. “We really do think the only way to restart the economy is restart travel,” [Tori Barnes, executive vice president for public affairs and policy at the U.S. Travel Association,] said. “The only way we’re going to do that is through health and safety.”
Trump was right about one thing, I'm definitely tired of all his winning.
posted by chaz at 2:12 PM on July 4, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by chaz at 2:12 PM on July 4, 2020 [6 favorites]
31 MLB players, 7 staff test positive for COVID-19, or 1.2% (AP, Jul. 2, 2020) "The positive tests occurred among 19 of the 30 teams, according to results of the samples sent to the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory in South Jordan, Utah."
If any of the American major league sports actually starts and finishes a season without a major Covid related catastrophe, I'll be really surprised.
posted by octothorpe at 5:26 PM on July 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
If any of the American major league sports actually starts and finishes a season without a major Covid related catastrophe, I'll be really surprised.
posted by octothorpe at 5:26 PM on July 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
I will be surprised if any league actually holds ONE GAME. Literally people are coming down with it just for showing up for practice as far as I can tell.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:32 PM on July 4, 2020 [10 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:32 PM on July 4, 2020 [10 favorites]
It’s weird, because that baseball entry test rate is actually way lower than expected. But on the other hand, Freddie Freeman and Charlie Blackmon and a bunch of nameless Phillies.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 5:43 PM on July 4, 2020
posted by Huffy Puffy at 5:43 PM on July 4, 2020
And I am amazed and skeptical about colleges and universities saying they will be able to welcome students back on campus this Fall. Between professors who are afraid to go back to campus and colleges' legal responsibility to keep students safe, even keeping dorms and lecture halls at half capacity seems inadequate.
posted by PhineasGage at 5:44 PM on July 4, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 5:44 PM on July 4, 2020 [5 favorites]
Trump targets 'Marxists' in July 4th speech, boasts of coronavirus response despite record case numbers (USA Today)
As for the virus, Trump claimed progress is being made – "we've learned how to put out the flame" – even though new U.S. cases are on a record pace, including more than 50,000 in the last three days. [...] Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine at George Washington University, said a vaccine is unlikely by the end of the year, "at least not one released for widespread use.""Most unnecessary situation": Surging coronavirus cases frustrate health experts (CBS News)
[...] Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, who canceled the traditional Fourth of July parade in the nation's capital, said her office had informed Trump's Interior Department that the event it is planning violates the health guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We are giving D.C. residents the same message about any of their outings for the holiday weekend," Bowser told reporters. "Ask yourself, 'Do you need to be there?'"
Dr. Aileen Marty, an infectious disease specialist, said the U.S. is "heading a million miles an hour in the wrong direction." Record numbers for new U.S. cases in a single day were set on Wednesday, Thursday and again Friday, when more than 57,000 new cases were reported — showing that the pandemic is so far winning in the country's battle against it. "It's absolutely the saddest thing, the most unnecessary situation that we're finding ourselves in and it's behaviorally driven," Marty said.‘People aren’t stupid’: Pence’s virus spin tests credibility (AP, Jul. 3, 2020)
“Make no mistake about it, what you see today is that America is going back to work and the American people are finding a way every day to put this coronavirus farther in the past,” [Pence] told CNBC the same day the country reported more than 55,000 new virus cases, a daily record.posted by katra at 5:59 PM on July 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
For public health experts, the optimism has been unmoored from reality. “It’s almost laughable because it doesn’t pass any test of credibility when we’re seeing spikes in cases, spikes in hospitalizations,” said Larry Gostin, who specializes in public health at Georgetown University Law School. “The American people aren’t stupid. They can see spin when there is spin.” The most important thing Pence can do, Gostin said, “is to be honest with the American public. ... They need to be told the truth and then they need to be told what America is going to do to turn this around.”
I don't understand how the players of professional sports would be up for competing - it's a pandemic, they might not be able to isolate with their family, the disease is not only acute but can also cause ongoing health/ performance impairment.
I guess its similar to a team getting hit by seasonal flu at an inopportune time of the season, but teams with more ill players will definitely be at a larger disadvantage. Doesn't feel very sporting to me, and pandemic time statistics are going to get a big fat asterisk tagged on them.
Not to mention, in the NHL, there will be 4 months of downtime after the tail end of the season to let players rest/ heal up before the physical attrition of the playoffs.
At least in the NHL, players don't get paid in the playoffs (outside of milestones that trigger bonus payments).
posted by porpoise at 6:06 PM on July 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
I guess its similar to a team getting hit by seasonal flu at an inopportune time of the season, but teams with more ill players will definitely be at a larger disadvantage. Doesn't feel very sporting to me, and pandemic time statistics are going to get a big fat asterisk tagged on them.
Not to mention, in the NHL, there will be 4 months of downtime after the tail end of the season to let players rest/ heal up before the physical attrition of the playoffs.
At least in the NHL, players don't get paid in the playoffs (outside of milestones that trigger bonus payments).
posted by porpoise at 6:06 PM on July 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
'How the hell are we going to do this?' The panic over reopening schools (Politico)
The CDC issued additional guidance this week on safely reopening schools, with infections spiking in the South and West. Some education leaders fear the guidelines are being disregarded, casting doubt anew on how the new school year will even be able to launch. [...] From social distancing to health checks, the list of concerns is seemingly endless as school districts draft their plans, many of which are still in the development stages. Those concerns are only intensifying as Covid-19 cases begin to skyrocket.Trump claims 99% of US Covid-19 cases are 'totally harmless' as infections surge (Guardian)
"There are no plans for most of these places,” said Lily Eskelsen García, president of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest union. “People are panicked and parents should be panicked.” Teachers increasingly are on edge and leaning on unions for help. “I'm being bombarded with, ‘How the hell are we going to do this?’” said Eskelsen García. “We're worried that school districts will give in to a politician or some business that wants their workers freed up to come back and work in a factory somewhere, and that then they will be forced to open unsafe schools.”
It was unclear how the president arrived at the “99%” harmless figure.At Mt. Rushmore and the White House, Trump Updates ‘American Carnage’ Message for 2020 (NYT)
The president repeated his false claim that an abundance of testing made the country’s cases look worse than they were because they “show cases, 99 percent of which are totally harmless.” And he raised expectations for a vaccine “long before the end of the year.” It was his latest attempt to dismiss widespread criticism of his administration’s slow and ineffective response to the virus.posted by katra at 7:16 PM on July 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
Coronavirus update: Trump says U.S. has ‘made a lot of progress’ controlling the pandemic as the country logs 26th straight day of record average case totals (WaPo live blog)
Some California cities defied requests to clamp down on public gatherings that could spread the virus. Lancaster ignored a ban on fireworks from Los Angeles County health officials and signed a last-minute contract for a show Saturday evening, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. In the San Diego area, several municipalities kept their beach parking lots open, despite the state urging them to close, according to KPBS. [...] Beaches were closed in Los Angeles, South Florida and in other states, but Myrtle Beach, S.C., remained open to the public, even as cases in the city and state continued to rise sharply. The tourist hot spot passed a last-minute mask ordinance as thousands of vacationers arrived for the holiday.Trump's July Fourth 'Salute to America' in D.C. promises fireworks, flyovers — and coronavirus risk (NBC News / Yahoo)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions that mass gatherings like the one scheduled for Washington present a high risk for spread of the virus.Scientists say WHO ignores the risk that coronavirus floats in air as aerosol (LA Times / Yahoo)
They say multiple studies demonstrate that particles known as aerosols — microscopic versions of standard respiratory droplets — can hang in the air for long periods and float dozens of feet, making poorly ventilated rooms, buses and other confined spaces dangerous, even when people stay six feet from one another. [...] A total of 239 researchers from 32 countries signed the letter, which is set to be published next week in a scientific journal. In interviews, experts said that aerosol transmission appears to be the only way to explain several “super-spreading” events, including the infection of diners at a restaurant in China who sat at separate tables and of choir members in Washington state who took precautions during a rehearsal. [...] The proponents of aerosol transmission said masks worn correctly would help prevent the escape of exhaled aerosols as well as inhalation of the microscopic particles. But they said the spread could also be reduced by improving ventilation and zapping indoor air with ultraviolet light in ceiling units. Jose Jimenez, a University of Colorado chemist who signed the letter, said the idea of aerosol transmission should not frighten people. [...] "We think the virus has been transmitted this way all along, and knowing about it helps protect us."posted by katra at 8:52 PM on July 4, 2020 [3 favorites]
Unfortunately, the anti-mask fools are using the possibility of the aerosol vector as an excuse for not wearing masks. Never mind that the known aerosol events are far outnumbered by those where droplets are the likely transmission vector and that masks still reduce the amount of virus in the air.
Of course, they latch on to literally any bullshit excuse they can find, hence the crap about carbon dioxide buildup, oxygen depletion and on and on.
Scientists need to investigate this stuff, but it would be a great help if the media would stop reporting breathlessly on every unconfirmed result.
posted by wierdo at 12:28 AM on July 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
Of course, they latch on to literally any bullshit excuse they can find, hence the crap about carbon dioxide buildup, oxygen depletion and on and on.
Scientists need to investigate this stuff, but it would be a great help if the media would stop reporting breathlessly on every unconfirmed result.
posted by wierdo at 12:28 AM on July 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
I'd love to see a whole MeFi post about this shift in science, where suddenly everyone's rushing to publish and discuss preprints.
Some scientists are just as guilty of hyping unbaked results as the press they talk to; thinking of that bullshit Stanford / Santa Clara antibody study. Although ironically it's the peer reviewed journals responsible for publishing one of the highest profile mistakes so far with Covid, the fake Surgisphere data about hydroxychloroquine.
But the real concern I have is that the ordinary public is not well equipped to understand and evaluate raw early science. Also the messaging gets super confused when there's conflicting advice or understandings. About, say, persistent immunity or fatality rates or, well, even whether people should wear masks. The whole apparatus works a lot better when science can speak with authority, but moving this fast no one knows what's true yet.
posted by Nelson at 6:24 AM on July 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
Some scientists are just as guilty of hyping unbaked results as the press they talk to; thinking of that bullshit Stanford / Santa Clara antibody study. Although ironically it's the peer reviewed journals responsible for publishing one of the highest profile mistakes so far with Covid, the fake Surgisphere data about hydroxychloroquine.
But the real concern I have is that the ordinary public is not well equipped to understand and evaluate raw early science. Also the messaging gets super confused when there's conflicting advice or understandings. About, say, persistent immunity or fatality rates or, well, even whether people should wear masks. The whole apparatus works a lot better when science can speak with authority, but moving this fast no one knows what's true yet.
posted by Nelson at 6:24 AM on July 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
Unfortunately, the anti-mask fools are using the possibility of the aerosol vector as an excuse for not wearing masks.
Wha... how?? Do they not understand that those videos showing mask use reducing aerosols are showing mask use reducing aerosols, not just droplets? Or are they outright ignoring this? Or is it the whole thing with the perfect being the opposite of the good / black and white thinking, where because masks only reduce aerosols (by whatever significantly over 50% amount) and don't stop 100% of them entirely? Are they just not thinking, at all, period?
posted by eviemath at 6:53 AM on July 5, 2020
Wha... how?? Do they not understand that those videos showing mask use reducing aerosols are showing mask use reducing aerosols, not just droplets? Or are they outright ignoring this? Or is it the whole thing with the perfect being the opposite of the good / black and white thinking, where because masks only reduce aerosols (by whatever significantly over 50% amount) and don't stop 100% of them entirely? Are they just not thinking, at all, period?
posted by eviemath at 6:53 AM on July 5, 2020
Wha... how?? Do they not understand that those videos showing mask use reducing aerosols are showing mask use reducing aerosols, not just droplets? Or are they outright ignoring this? Or is it the whole thing with the perfect being the opposite of the good / black and white thinking, where because masks only reduce aerosols (by whatever significantly over 50% amount) and don't stop 100% of them entirely? Are they just not thinking, at all, period?
It's not that they don't understand mask use reducing aerosols, or that they're ignoring it. The questions about "perfect being the opposite of the good" and "Are they just not thinking" are predicated on people acting honestly and in good-faith.
Make no mistake. Asshole Trump fans are neither honest, nor acting in good-faith.
Masks are yet another item in the long list of things asshole Trump fans use to "hate-signal" to other asshole Trump fans that (1) They are asshole Trump fans, and (2) They hate the approved thing to hate to "own the libs".
And that's why, from a rational POV it doesn't make sense. Their actions appear irrational, until you realize an asshole Trump fan's goal is "own the libs at any cost".
posted by mikelieman at 7:34 AM on July 5, 2020 [12 favorites]
It's not that they don't understand mask use reducing aerosols, or that they're ignoring it. The questions about "perfect being the opposite of the good" and "Are they just not thinking" are predicated on people acting honestly and in good-faith.
Make no mistake. Asshole Trump fans are neither honest, nor acting in good-faith.
Masks are yet another item in the long list of things asshole Trump fans use to "hate-signal" to other asshole Trump fans that (1) They are asshole Trump fans, and (2) They hate the approved thing to hate to "own the libs".
And that's why, from a rational POV it doesn't make sense. Their actions appear irrational, until you realize an asshole Trump fan's goal is "own the libs at any cost".
posted by mikelieman at 7:34 AM on July 5, 2020 [12 favorites]
Are they just not thinking, at all, period?
eviemath, where I live, the masks are a grievance. Bars hold mask-burning parties. Businesses proudly announce themselves as mask-free zones. Local politicians refuse to enforce emergency orders and make appearances at public health-defying locations. Calculations about anger are being made.
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:36 AM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
eviemath, where I live, the masks are a grievance. Bars hold mask-burning parties. Businesses proudly announce themselves as mask-free zones. Local politicians refuse to enforce emergency orders and make appearances at public health-defying locations. Calculations about anger are being made.
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:36 AM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
"The Coming Fall Crisis" (blog post by John Kroger of Inside Higher Ed)
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 7:57 AM on July 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
Most college and university presidents are declaring that their institutions will be open for on-campus education this fall because they face financial disaster if they do not. [...] Perhaps seventy-five institutions have sufficient cash reserves and endowments to weather a year with substantially reduced revenue, and some commuter and public schools can probably stay online without catastrophic financial impacts, but all the other institutions do not have that option. Very few boards of trustees will authorize a president to shut down if it means the school may never reopen.
Unfortunately, this is likely to lead to a public health disaster.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 7:57 AM on July 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
The possibility of airborne transmission isn't a new issue, e.g.
> We cannot keep ignoring the possibility of airborne transmission. Here’s how to address it. (Joseph Allen, WaPo Opinion, May 26, 2020)
> Experts tell White House coronavirus can spread through talking or even just breathing (CNN, Apr. 2, 2020)
and based on the recent LA Times report, it sounds like the concern is increasingly supported by scientists and scientific evidence, and it is being reported as support for both mask-wearing and the resdesign of buildings to make them safer. While science moves slowly by design, it can give us additional information about possible risks, and in this instance, it appears to suggest a focus on "poorly ventilated rooms, buses and other confined spaces" as places with a need for additional attention from policymakers and the general public.
posted by katra at 8:06 AM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
> We cannot keep ignoring the possibility of airborne transmission. Here’s how to address it. (Joseph Allen, WaPo Opinion, May 26, 2020)
> Experts tell White House coronavirus can spread through talking or even just breathing (CNN, Apr. 2, 2020)
and based on the recent LA Times report, it sounds like the concern is increasingly supported by scientists and scientific evidence, and it is being reported as support for both mask-wearing and the resdesign of buildings to make them safer. While science moves slowly by design, it can give us additional information about possible risks, and in this instance, it appears to suggest a focus on "poorly ventilated rooms, buses and other confined spaces" as places with a need for additional attention from policymakers and the general public.
posted by katra at 8:06 AM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Debates turn emotional as schools decide how and if to open (AP)
School districts across America are in the midst of making wrenching decisions over how to resume classes in settings radically altered by the coronavirus pandemic, with school buses running below capacity, virtual learning, outdoor classrooms and quarantine protocols for infected children the new norm. The plans for the upcoming school year are taking shape by the day, and vary district to district, state to state. The debates have been highly emotional, with tempers flaring among parents and administrators, and have been made all the more vexing by record numbers of COVID-19 cases being reported each day.How to Re-Design the world for coronavirus and beyond (Politico Magazine, Jul. 3, 2020)
POLITICO Magazine surveyed designers, architects, doctors, psychologists, logisticians and more, asking them what they would do to redesign the world for the Covid-19 era and beyond. Some imagined ways to make physical spaces—apartments, offices, airports, parks—more spacious and less risky to our health. Some envisioned new, more efficient models for delivering health care, medical supplies, social services or ballots. And some came up with ideas to ensure that human interactions still feel meaningful across physical and social distances—a modern challenge that Covid is exacerbating but didn’t create.posted by katra at 9:03 AM on July 5, 2020
'Trump is in a dreamland': what the US should do now on Covid-19 (Ed Pilkington and Oliver Milman, Guardian)
The Guardian invited six of America’s top public health experts to address the crisis. How bad is the current threat? And were the White House committed to science and data, as opposed to disappearing tricks, what would it do right now to fend off the disaster?posted by katra at 9:37 AM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
[...] Uché Blackstock, urgent care physician and CEO of Advancing Health Equity
In a matter of just a few months, one in 1,500 black Americans have died from coronavirus. Every single American should be horrified. This pandemic has laid bare the appalling racial inequities that have left black Americans more likely to be infected, hospitalized and to die from Covid-19. What we see in the magnitude of deaths in black communities is the legacy of slavery, Black Codes, the Jim Crow era combined with the current status quo in this country that has devalued black lives and black bodies. If it wasn’t clear before, now it is. Black communities were already sick from racism before coronavirus arrived here, and now they have become even sicker. [...] Ultimately, the United States must reckon with the destructive force of racism embedded in its history and within every aspect of society. At this inflection point, the country has a chance to make a long overdue statement – that black lives really do matter.
Irwin Redlener, professor of clinical public health and director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University
Messaging in particular from the president and vice-president has been inaccurate, dishonest and flawed. We could see from that so-called Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that you don’t need someone wearing a Maga hat to know where they stand politically; all you need to do is see if they are wearing a mask and following public health advice. [...] The White House is living in a dreamland that everything is under control but you don’t have to follow that lead.
How to Re-Design the world for coronavirus and beyond (Politico Magazine, Jul. 3, 2020)
Yes, we need to redesign the world around the inevitability of coronavirus, despite almost every other nation on Earth managing to contain the virus. Every bus in North Dakota's winter needs to be open air!
The problem in the US is Trump and politicization of basic public health measures, not the existence of enclosed public spaces.
posted by benzenedream at 10:53 AM on July 5, 2020 [7 favorites]
Yes, we need to redesign the world around the inevitability of coronavirus, despite almost every other nation on Earth managing to contain the virus. Every bus in North Dakota's winter needs to be open air!
The problem in the US is Trump and politicization of basic public health measures, not the existence of enclosed public spaces.
posted by benzenedream at 10:53 AM on July 5, 2020 [7 favorites]
The problem in the US is Trump and politicization of basic public health measures, not the existence of enclosed public spaces.
Instead of mischaracterizing the scientific research so it is something to be dismissed and laughed at (Every bus in North Dakota's winter needs to be open air!), we could embrace the idea that we must stop treating vulnerable and disproportionately impacted people as disposable, and recognize that there is increasing scientific support for correcting inequity and injustice that has existed long before the coronavirus, and it would benefit everyone by saving lives and supporting the economy, e.g. Indoor spread of COVID-19 can be lessened, experts say (CIDRAP News, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, May 28, 2020)
Instead of mischaracterizing the scientific research so it is something to be dismissed and laughed at (Every bus in North Dakota's winter needs to be open air!), we could embrace the idea that we must stop treating vulnerable and disproportionately impacted people as disposable, and recognize that there is increasing scientific support for correcting inequity and injustice that has existed long before the coronavirus, and it would benefit everyone by saving lives and supporting the economy, e.g. Indoor spread of COVID-19 can be lessened, experts say (CIDRAP News, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, May 28, 2020)
The spread of aerosolized SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, inside public buildings could be suppressed using engineering controls such as effective ventilation, possibly with air filtration and disinfection and avoidance of air recirculation and overcrowding, according to a research letter published yesterday in Environment International. The international group of researchers said the evidence is sufficiently strong for aerosols as an important mode of coronavirus transmission, most of which occurs indoors, and that indoor measures to slow the spread are often easily implemented at relatively low cost.posted by katra at 11:12 AM on July 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
[...] Engineering controls should ensure adequate air supply and exhaust vents and, in the case of partitions or curtains, secondary measures to maximize ventilation effectiveness, such as opening windows and doors. This is particularly important in congregate care settings such as converted exhibition centers, which may not have adequate ventilation for infection control, the authors said. And while most hospitals likely have good ventilation, this may not be the case in other public buildings, such as retail shops, offices, schools, restaurants, cruise ships, and public transport.
I like to say at work, when someone is fighting you on something and it seems to make no sense, it's usually one of three things: they know something you don't know, you know something they don't know, of they have different goals.
The insistence on reopening at all costs isn't the second thing, and we keep acting like it is, trying to convince them of the danger. We're assuming it's the third thing - they just want to get reelected and so are making it an ignorance pride thing to rally around.
But what if it's the first thing? Maybe the US is in such shit financial precariousness that we're about to go under, Soviet style? While every other country can afford to do the right thing for the virus, for some reason we just can't.
It also explains the "loot like there's no tomorrow" behavior. Or it's the third thing, and that's the goal.
posted by ctmf at 11:14 AM on July 5, 2020 [13 favorites]
The insistence on reopening at all costs isn't the second thing, and we keep acting like it is, trying to convince them of the danger. We're assuming it's the third thing - they just want to get reelected and so are making it an ignorance pride thing to rally around.
But what if it's the first thing? Maybe the US is in such shit financial precariousness that we're about to go under, Soviet style? While every other country can afford to do the right thing for the virus, for some reason we just can't.
It also explains the "loot like there's no tomorrow" behavior. Or it's the third thing, and that's the goal.
posted by ctmf at 11:14 AM on July 5, 2020 [13 favorites]
Maybe the US is in such shit financial precariousness that we're about to go under, Soviet style?
The Neoliberal Looting of America (Mehrsa Baradaran, NYT Opinion, Jul. 2, 2020)
Ms. Baradaran is the author of “The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap.”
The Neoliberal Looting of America (Mehrsa Baradaran, NYT Opinion, Jul. 2, 2020)
Ms. Baradaran is the author of “The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap.”
Amid the outbreak of street protests in June, a satirical headline in The Onion put it best: “Protesters Criticized For Looting Businesses Without Forming Private Equity Firm First.” Yet the private equity takeover is not technically looting because it has been made perfectly legal, and even encouraged, by policymakers. [...] Faith in market magic was so entrenched that even the 2008 financial crisis did not fully expose the myth: We witnessed the federal government pick up all the risks that markets could not manage and Congress and the Federal Reserve save the banking sector ostensibly on behalf of the people. Neoliberal deregulation was premised on the theory that the invisible hand of the market would discipline risky banks without the need for government oversight. Even a former Fed chairman, Alan Greenspan, the most committed free market fundamentalist of the era, admitted in the understatement of the century, that “I made a mistake.”posted by katra at 11:42 AM on July 5, 2020 [13 favorites]
We can start fixing the big flaws propagated over the last half century by taxing the largest fortunes, breaking up large banks and imposing market rules that prohibit the predatory behaviors of private equity firms. Public markets can take over the places that private markets have failed to adequately serve. Federal or state agencies can provide essential services like banking, health care, internet access, transportation and housing at cost through a public option. Historically, road maintenance, mail delivery, police and other services are not left to the market, but provided directly by the government. Private markets can still compete, but basic services are guaranteed to everyone. And we can move beyond the myths of neoliberalism that have led us here. We can have competitive and prosperous markets, but our focus should be on ensuring human dignity, thriving families and healthy communities. When those are in conflict, we should choose flourishing communities over profits.
At least we're not in end stages as long as the rich are letting each other loot. Ironically, when you start seeing prosecutions, that won't be a good sign. It will mean some are using the power of the state against others to fight over the last piece of pizza.
posted by ctmf at 11:47 AM on July 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by ctmf at 11:47 AM on July 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
> Bars hold mask-burning parties. Businesses proudly announce themselves as mask-free zones.
It’s like a bunch of boat owners getting together to burn their life preservers and dinghies. On their boats, at sea.
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:03 PM on July 5, 2020 [14 favorites]
It’s like a bunch of boat owners getting together to burn their life preservers and dinghies. On their boats, at sea.
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:03 PM on July 5, 2020 [14 favorites]
Instead of mischaracterizing the scientific research so it is something to be dismissed and laughed at
I was dismissing the premise of the original Politico article. We can't do basic public health measures like test and trace, but will be able to do reengineer closed spaces?
Much of our society has been built around the premise of packing as many (poor) people as possible into small spaces; we are not going to be able to undo that within decades. The CIDRAP studies are good mitigation strategies but still would require a universal overhaul of these spaces. This would cost more than the most aggressive test and trace program imaginable. There is also no guarantee that the next pandemic will spread in exactly the same way (e.g. mutant measles would require different mitigation strategies).
Of that Politico list, only two items seem really useful:
- Replace prisons
- Let the military handle the supply chain (which restates that the problem is a political one)
posted by benzenedream at 12:04 PM on July 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
I was dismissing the premise of the original Politico article. We can't do basic public health measures like test and trace, but will be able to do reengineer closed spaces?
Much of our society has been built around the premise of packing as many (poor) people as possible into small spaces; we are not going to be able to undo that within decades. The CIDRAP studies are good mitigation strategies but still would require a universal overhaul of these spaces. This would cost more than the most aggressive test and trace program imaginable. There is also no guarantee that the next pandemic will spread in exactly the same way (e.g. mutant measles would require different mitigation strategies).
Of that Politico list, only two items seem really useful:
- Replace prisons
- Let the military handle the supply chain (which restates that the problem is a political one)
posted by benzenedream at 12:04 PM on July 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
Why the U.S. still hasn't solved its testing crisis (Politico)
The nation has conducted more than 4 million tests in the past week, more than ever before. But [...] [t]he supply chain problems that hampered testing early on never entirely went away and still threaten the ability of labs to conduct testing for everyone asking. [...] even as the U.S. scales up testing to record levels, the country is woefully behind on contact tracing. [...]Contact tracing is a race. But few U.S. states say how fast they’re running. (WaPo / MSN reprint)
More than 20 million people in the United States live in coronavirus “testing deserts” — and people of color are disproportionately represented in those counties without testing sites, the Surgo Foundation reported this week. “If you’re a Black person living in rural America, you’re nearly three times as likely to be living in a testing desert where deaths are rising, compared to any average rural American,” said Dr. Sema Sgaier, the group’s executive director. [...] “The administration failed to plan in a comprehensive way for nationwide challenges like scaling up testing and contact tracing, and ignored — and exacerbated — existing health disparities that left Black, Latino, and Tribal communities to face the worst of this crisis,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.)
“Just the nature of this virus means you have a really small window to catch that next round of infection events before they, in turn, go on to infect other people,” said Adam Kucharski, a professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine who wrote “The Rules of Contagion,” a book scheduled for release this week. In a modeling study recently published in the journal Lancet, Kucharski and his co-authors concluded that contact tracing alone is not likely to contain the virus. “We found that, even with quite rapid detection of cases, even with quite extensive tracing, it’s likely that you’d need some additional measures alongside that,” Kucharski said, including social distancing and restrictions on gatherings.Coronavirus updates: Texas, Florida and Arizona officials say early reopenings fueled explosion of cases (WaPo live blog)
Public health experts have stressed that the recent surge in cases is not the result of expanded testing capacity alone. “When the virus is under control, testing doesn’t uncover more cases. It’s a tool for keeping the epidemic at bay,” said former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who served under Trump. Gottlieb voiced doubts about the country’s ability to slow the pandemic, saying waves of infection would probably persist through the rest of the year. [...] “We’re not going to really be able to crush this virus at this point because there’s just so much infection around,” he told CBS News’s “Face the Nation.” “We really don’t seem to have the political will to do it.”posted by katra at 12:08 PM on July 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
I started today as a part-time, volunteer case investigator/contact tracer. On average, a full investigation and tracing effort takes one person a full shift. In this one county alone, today there were four times as many new cases as there were investigators available. We're training and adding new investigators at a linear pace, while cases are growing exponentially.
posted by PhineasGage at 2:53 PM on July 5, 2020 [16 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 2:53 PM on July 5, 2020 [16 favorites]
Virus, Floyd death merge in brutal blow to Black well-being (AP)
In a matter of months and nearly 8 minutes, it became clear that institutions designed to ensure the two most important things in life — health and safety — had converged to turn against one segment of the population in stark, horrific ways. [...] “We are exhausted and we are not OK,” said Dr. Patrice Harris, a psychiatrist who just ended her yearlong term as president of the American Medical Association. She was speaking not so much for herself as for her community.posted by katra at 3:40 PM on July 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
Police violence is always an injustice, “but its harm is elevated amid the remarkable stress people are facing amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” Harris and AMA Trustee Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld said in a recent online opinion article. [...] Terrence Nichols has recovered physically from a relatively mild case of COVID-19, diagnosed in March. But as a Black man in Chicago, knowing its impact in his community has left Nichols feeling fearful, vulnerable and angry over the president’s push to reopen. [...] “He’s ready to reopen because of the economy and rich people are losing money,” Nichols said of Trump. If the virus was disproportionately killing rich white people, ’’he would think twice,” said Nichols, 44.
As anti-Asian hate incidents explode, climbing past 800, activists push for aid (LA Times / Yahoo)
Hate incidents directed at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are exploding this year, according to advocates pushing for California Gov. Gavin Newsom to boost funding for programs fighting bias and add a cultural representative to his new COVID-19 task force. Supporters and organizers of Stop AAPI Hate have documented 832 incidents across the Golden State in the last three months, with assaults and verbal tirades "becoming the norm" since the pandemic started, instigated by people following the inflammatory rhetoric of the nation's highest-profile leader, they say. [...] "We seem to have a president that has given the green light to the racists to come out of the woodwork and start attacking Asians," said state Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Rolling Hills Estates), who represents Torrance, the scene of some the most widely viewed hate episodes recorded on video. [...] Counted in the 800-plus incidents taking place at retail stores, work, school and online are 81 incidents of assault and 64 potential civil rights violations, according to Stop AAPI Hate.The Fullest Look Yet at the Racial Inequity of Coronavirus (NYT / ChiTrib reprint)
“Systemic racism doesn’t just evidence itself in the criminal justice system,” said Quinton Lucas, who is the third Black mayor of Kansas City, Mo., which is in a state where 40 percent of those infected are Black or Latino even though those groups make up just 16 percent of the state’s population. [...] The risks are borne out by demographic data. Across the country, 43 percent of Black and Latino workers are employed in service or production jobs that for the most part cannot be done remotely, census data from 2018 shows. Only about one in four white workers held such jobs. [...]posted by katra at 7:09 PM on July 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
The focus on comorbidities “makes me angry, because this really is about who still has to leave their home to work, who has to leave a crowded apartment, get on crowded transport, and go to a crowded workplace, and we just haven’t acknowledged that those of us who have the privilege of continuing to work from our homes aren’t facing those risks,” said Dr. Mary Bassett, the Director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University. Dr. Bassett, a former New York City health commissioner, said there is no question that underlying health problems — often caused by factors that people cannot control, such as lack of access to healthy food options and health care — play a major role in Covid-19 deaths. But she also said a big determinant of who dies is who gets sick in the first place, and that infections have been far more prevalent among people who can’t work from home. “Many of us also have problems with obesity and diabetes, but we’re not getting exposed, so we’re not getting sick,” she said. The differences in infection case rates are striking, said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist and professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Some people have kind of waved away the disparities by saying, ‘Oh, that’s just underlying health conditions,’” Dr. Nuzzo said. “That’s much harder to do with the case data.”
No wonder the Trump administration doesn’t want Anthony Fauci on TV (James Downie, WaPo Opinion)
[...] this Sunday, the administration dispatched Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, to represent the White House. It was a telling choice: Hahn can point to decades of experience as an oncologist and cancer researcher — and many donations to GOP causes — but unlike other recent FDA heads, Hahn has no background in health policy. Yet the politically savvy Hahn no doubt understood that his job Sunday was to deal with the president’s claim on Saturday that “99 percent” of coronavirus cases are “totally harmless.” Not surprisingly, Hahn dealt with such a gobsmacking claim by dodging it entirely. [...] When CNN’s Dana Bash pointed out that the CDC estimates that “only about a third of coronavirus cases are asymptomatic” and the World Health Organization estimates that 20 percent need hospital care or oxygen, Hahn said, “I totally support the CDC and the information that they’re putting out with respect to this pandemic.” And when Bash directly asked whether the president was wrong, Hahn said, “I’m not going to get into who is right and who is wrong.”Health experts push back on Trump’s false claim that 99 percent of U.S. infections are ‘totally harmless.’ (NYT live blog)
“It’s always tricky to do this in the midst of a pandemic,” Dr. [Dr. Ashish Jha, the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute,] said. “There are a lot of factors that go into it. But let’s say you took 1,000 Americans at random who were all infected. Our best guess is that between six and 10 would likely die of the virus.” And the death rate does not capture all of the harm caused by the disease. As many as 15 to 20 percent of known Covid-19 patients may require hospitalization, and of the group admitted, 15 to 20 percent are transferred into intensive care, according to some estimates. And many who have recovered are still struggling to regain their pre-disease lives, and may face long-term health issues.Facebook groups pivot to attacks on Black Lives Matter (AP)
A loose network of Facebook groups that took root across the country in April to organize protests over coronavirus stay-at-home orders [...], which now boast a collective audience of more than 1 million members, are still thriving [...]. An Associated Press review of the most recent posts in 40 of these Facebook groups — most of which were launched by conservative groups or pro-gun activists — found the conversations largely shifted last month to attacking the nationwide protests over the killing of Black men and women after Floyd’s death. [...] Shortly after the groups were formed, they were rife with coronavirus misinformation and conspiracy theories, including assertions that masks are “useless,” the U.S. government intends to forcibly vaccinate people and that COVID-19 is a hoax intended to hurt President Donald Trump’s re-election chances this fall.posted by katra at 9:25 PM on July 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
Quoting Dr. Ashish Jha:
“There are a lot of factors that go into it. But let’s say you took 1,000 Americans at random who were all infected. Our best guess is that between six and 10 would likely die of the virus.”
Currently in the U.S. we have recorded 2,982,928 cases - people who are or were infected.
At 10 deaths per thousand that would be would be 2,982 deaths.
Currently we have recorded 132,569 deaths which is closer to 44 deaths per thousand.
Perhaps somebody more math literate could check my calculations?
www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
posted by speug at 1:38 AM on July 6, 2020
“There are a lot of factors that go into it. But let’s say you took 1,000 Americans at random who were all infected. Our best guess is that between six and 10 would likely die of the virus.”
Currently in the U.S. we have recorded 2,982,928 cases - people who are or were infected.
At 10 deaths per thousand that would be would be 2,982 deaths.
Currently we have recorded 132,569 deaths which is closer to 44 deaths per thousand.
Perhaps somebody more math literate could check my calculations?
www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
posted by speug at 1:38 AM on July 6, 2020
Currently in the U.S. we have recorded 2,982,928 cases - people who are or were infected.
At 10 deaths per thousand that would be would be 2,982 deaths.
Currently we have recorded 132,569 deaths which is closer to 44 deaths per thousand.
I wondered about that too, but I think the idea is that there are a lot of people without symptoms who haven't been tested. In countries where more people are tested (so more of the symptom-less people are recorded) I think the death rate is lower. It certainly is here.
posted by mumimor at 1:51 AM on July 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
At 10 deaths per thousand that would be would be 2,982 deaths.
Currently we have recorded 132,569 deaths which is closer to 44 deaths per thousand.
I wondered about that too, but I think the idea is that there are a lot of people without symptoms who haven't been tested. In countries where more people are tested (so more of the symptom-less people are recorded) I think the death rate is lower. It certainly is here.
posted by mumimor at 1:51 AM on July 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
They don't have to be without symptoms. Lots of people are or were sick as dogs without ever getting tested. In the early days (and presumably again now that cases are outstripping testing capacity), lots were told to just assume it was covid and not to get a test.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 4:17 AM on July 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 4:17 AM on July 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
There are a few possible explanations:
1) The majority of deaths are being recorded (although some will not be caught and will only show up later in the excess deaths figure) but many people with mild symptoms are sitting it out at home and never get a test and formal diagnosis. This % varies between places and over time.
2) A significant difference in demographic composition / co-morbidities which drives a genuinely different underlying death rate.
3) Differences in medical care
Epidemiologists in many places are using death rates from places like South Korea which have had very good testing throughout or even from places like the UK where the early testing was poor but there is now a very comprehensive set of national level serosurveys. This lets them calculate the number of real infections from the death rates and demographic data. The death rates which are quoted as being typical for the disease are usually the South Korean data as it is the most reliable.
This is also how we know that something... odd... is going on in a few countries such as Russia which have really high infection numbers but very few deaths. Considering the advanced age and poor average health of the Russian population and the quality of medical care outside major cities, we basically know for sure that for some reason deaths are being vastly under-counted there.
Note that you do have to compensate for demography though. Countries like India with young populations will have much lower death rates overall.
posted by atrazine at 6:44 AM on July 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
1) The majority of deaths are being recorded (although some will not be caught and will only show up later in the excess deaths figure) but many people with mild symptoms are sitting it out at home and never get a test and formal diagnosis. This % varies between places and over time.
2) A significant difference in demographic composition / co-morbidities which drives a genuinely different underlying death rate.
3) Differences in medical care
Epidemiologists in many places are using death rates from places like South Korea which have had very good testing throughout or even from places like the UK where the early testing was poor but there is now a very comprehensive set of national level serosurveys. This lets them calculate the number of real infections from the death rates and demographic data. The death rates which are quoted as being typical for the disease are usually the South Korean data as it is the most reliable.
This is also how we know that something... odd... is going on in a few countries such as Russia which have really high infection numbers but very few deaths. Considering the advanced age and poor average health of the Russian population and the quality of medical care outside major cities, we basically know for sure that for some reason deaths are being vastly under-counted there.
Note that you do have to compensate for demography though. Countries like India with young populations will have much lower death rates overall.
posted by atrazine at 6:44 AM on July 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
> Currently in the U.S. we have recorded 2,982,928 cases - people who are or were infected. At 10 deaths per thousand that would be would be 2,982 deaths.
Math correction: It would be 29,829 deaths.
posted by mbrubeck at 7:18 AM on July 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
Math correction: It would be 29,829 deaths.
posted by mbrubeck at 7:18 AM on July 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
White House chief of staff says ‘vast majority of people’ safe from coronavirus (WaPo live blog)
During an appearance on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends,” [White House Chief of Staff Mark] Meadows was asked where Trump got that statistic [(the unsubstantiated assertion over the weekend that 99 percent of coronavirus cases in the United States are “totally harmless”)] — cited during a speech at the White House marking Independence Day celebrations on Saturday — and whether it was a “generalization.”Think a 'mild' case of Covid-19 doesn’t sound so bad? Think again (Adrienne Matei, Guardian Opinion)
“I don’t even know that it’s a generalization,” Meadows said. “When you start to look at the stats and look at all the numbers that we have, all the testing that we have, the vast majority of people are safe from this. When you look at the deaths that we have, if you’re over 80 years of age or if you have what they call co-morbidities — diabetes, hypertension, heart issues — then you need to be very, very careful. Outside of that, the risks are extremely low, the president’s right with that, and the facts and the statistics back us up there.”
As virologists race to understand the biomechanics of Sars-CoV-2, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: even “mild” cases can be more complicated, dangerous and harder to shake than many first thought. Throughout the pandemic, a notion has persevered that people who have “mild” cases of Covid-19 and do not require an ICU stay or the use of a ventilator are spared from serious health repercussions. Just last week, Mike Pence, the US vice-president, claimed it’s “a good thing” that nearly half of the new Covid-19 cases surging in 16 states are young Americans, who are at less risk of becoming severely ill than their older counterparts. This kind of rhetoric would lead you to believe that the ordeal of “mildly infected” patients ends within two weeks of becoming ill, at which point they recover and everything goes back to normal.posted by katra at 7:56 AM on July 6, 2020 [3 favorites]
[...] According to Dr Christopher Kellner, a professor of neurosurgery at Mount Sinai hospital in New York, “mild” cases of Covid-19 in which the patient was not hospitalized for the virus have been linked to blood clotting and severe strokes in people as young as 30. [...] Doctors now know that Covid-19 not only affects the lungs and blood, but kidneys, liver and brain – the last potentially resulting in chronic fatigue and depression, among other symptoms. Although the virus is not yet old enough for long-term effects on those organs to be well understood, they may manifest regardless of whether a patient ever required hospitalization, hindering their recovery process. Another troubling phenomenon now coming into focus is that of “long-haul” Covid-19 sufferers – people whose experience of the illness has lasted months. For a Dutch report published earlier this month (an excerpt is translated here) researchers surveyed 1,622 Covid-19 patients with an average age of 53, who reported a number of enduring symptoms, including intense fatigue (88%) persistent shortness of breath (75%) and chest pressure (45%). Ninety-one per cent of the patients weren’t hospitalized, suggesting they suffered these side-effects despite their cases of Covid-19 qualifying as “mild”. While 85% of the surveyed patients considered themselves generally healthy before having Covid-19, only 6% still did so one month or more after getting the virus.
As I understand it the definition of a severe case of covid runs something like...
One was a study from the UK , which collected information from the general public in relation to COVID-19 via a symptom tracker app, called COVID RADAR, while the other study included participants from a community facility designated for isolation of patients. Mild or moderate cases were generally defined based on less severe clinical symptoms (low grade fever, cough, discomfort) with no evidence of pneumonia and not requiring admission to ICU. However, some studies included people with pneumonia or respiratory tract infections as mild cases as long as they did not develop ARDS, organ failure or have an ICU admission.
So no admission to the ICU or maybe no organ failure and you'll be classified as having a mild or moderate case of covid. Mark Meadows is of course lying but there's a chance he'll quote some statistics and dismiss all the severe or extreme cases implying that mild or moderate cases are inconsequential.
posted by rdr at 8:39 AM on July 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
One was a study from the UK , which collected information from the general public in relation to COVID-19 via a symptom tracker app, called COVID RADAR, while the other study included participants from a community facility designated for isolation of patients. Mild or moderate cases were generally defined based on less severe clinical symptoms (low grade fever, cough, discomfort) with no evidence of pneumonia and not requiring admission to ICU. However, some studies included people with pneumonia or respiratory tract infections as mild cases as long as they did not develop ARDS, organ failure or have an ICU admission.
So no admission to the ICU or maybe no organ failure and you'll be classified as having a mild or moderate case of covid. Mark Meadows is of course lying but there's a chance he'll quote some statistics and dismiss all the severe or extreme cases implying that mild or moderate cases are inconsequential.
posted by rdr at 8:39 AM on July 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
Trump-connected lobbyists reap windfall in federal virus aid (AP)
The lobbyists identified Monday by the watchdog group Public Citizen either worked in the Trump executive branch, served on his campaign, were part of the committee that raised money for inaugural festivities or were part of his presidential transition. [...] Trump pledged to clamp down on Washington’s influence peddling with a “drain the swamp” campaign mantra. But during his administration, the lobbying industry has flourished, a trend that intensified once Congress passed more than $3.6 trillion in coronavirus stimulus.White House defiant as Covid-19 deaths approach 130,000 (Politico)
[...] Shortly after Trump took office, he issued an executive order prohibiting former administration officials from lobbying the agency or office where they were formerly employed, for a period of five years. Another section of the order forbids lobbying the administration by former political appointees for the remainder of Trump’s time in office. [...] Public Citizen’s Craig Holman, who himself is a registered lobbyist, said the group intends to file ethics complaints with the White House. But he’s not optimistic that they will lead to anything. Last year, he filed more than 30 complaints, all of which were either ignored or rejected. “There does not appear to be anyone who is enforcing the executive order,” Holman said.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Monday also highlighted lower mortality rates as a sign of success in the administration's coronavirus response. "This president takes Covid seriously, but we should note the mortality rate and how well we're doing vis-à-vis to the rest of the world," McEnany told Fox News. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Monday said there were no plans to shut the economy down again.Medical groups urge Americans to ‘resist confusing reopening with returning to normalcy.’ (NYT live blog)
Three leading health organizations urged Americans to wear masks when they leave their homes in an open letter published Monday. “Covid-19 is not behind us and we must resist confusing reopening with returning to normalcy,” officials from the American Health, Medical and Nurses associations warned. “Doing so will escalate this crisis and result in more suffering and death.”posted by katra at 8:41 AM on July 6, 2020 [3 favorites]
'We'll be living with masks for years': COVID-19 through the eyes of a pandemic expert (CNET)
Eric Toner has been planning for a pandemic for years. He's briefed world leaders on outbreaks and how to best prepare entire nations for mass casualties. He's simulated epidemics in real time and studied the world's response to major global health emergencies like SARS and the 1918 influenza pandemic. [...] Toner is a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and a world leader in pandemic preparedness.As the virus surges in Florida, the parties roll on. (NYT live blog)
[...] "The US response has been extraordinarily disappointing and wrongheaded," he told me via Zoom, at the end of June. "Whenever there's been an opportunity to do the right thing, we seem to have done the wrong thing. The US has to recognize that it is competing for first or second position of the worst affected country in the world." [...] For many of us, this long timeline can lead to a feeling of hopelessness. But Toner says there's a way to control our future, and it's not all that different from the advice he's given in simulations, advice that dates back more than a century. "It's actually pretty straightforward. If we cover our faces, and both you and anyone you're interacting with are wearing a mask, the risk of transmission goes way down. Being outside, having distance between you and other people reduces the risk of transmission dramatically.
The state’s contact tracers, already overwhelmed, have found that some infected people refused to divulge who they went out with or had over to their homes. “We are starting to encounter a fair amount of pushback from younger folks when you call them up and say, ‘We want to know everyone who was at your party,’” said Dr. J. Glenn Morris Jr., director of the Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida in Gainesville, a college town where local officials have begged students to stop partying. “There’s very much a sense of, ‘That’s none of your business.’” [...] “We have hundreds of people coming onto [Belle Meade Island],” said Jeri Klemme-Zaiac, a nurse practitioner who has lived in the neighborhood for 25 years. “This is how this is spreading: People have no regard for anyone else.”Trump’s Support Is Withering in Areas Where Virus Cases Are Rising (Bloomberg)
The slide in support for Trump occurred as the president stopped talking about the virus and masks to focus instead almost entirely on reopening, a risky gamble that so far appears to be backfiring. Pew Research Center polls show Trump’s approval is slipping fastest in the 500 counties where the number of cases have been more than 28 coronavirus deaths per 100,000 people.posted by katra at 9:14 AM on July 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
..and Miami-Dade county is returning many of the previous restrictions now that ICUs are becoming stressed. Probably too late to avoid having to leave at least some people to die, though.
posted by wierdo at 9:52 AM on July 6, 2020
posted by wierdo at 9:52 AM on July 6, 2020
Nationals cancel Monday morning workout due to testing concerns (WaPo)
“Per MLB’s protocol, all players and staff were tested for Covid-19 on Friday, July 3rd. Seventy-two hours later, we have yet to receive the results of those tests,” [General Manager Mike Rizzo] said in his statement. “We cannot have our players and staff work at risk. Therefore, we have canceled our team workout scheduled for this morning. We will not sacrifice the health and safety of our players, staff and their families. “Without accurate and timely testing it is simply not safe for us to continue with Summer Camp. Major League Baseball needs to work quickly to resolve issues with their process and their lab. Otherwise, Summer Camp and the 2020 season are at risk.”Trump's Job Approval Rating Steady at Lower Level (Gallup)
[...] Summer training only began last Friday, once the first wave of players passed intake screening for the novel coronavirus. But ever since, there have been widespread doubts about baseball’s testing model, which were raised by Nationals closer Sean Doolittle in Washington on Sunday. [...] The return plan hinges on frequent results to mitigate possible spread of coronavirus. But there is skepticism about whether a decentralized lab, and one lab to process so many samples, can work. Washington’s canceled workout is one example of the model’s fragility. The Nationals had two players test positive for coronavirus during intake screening last week. They were never at the team facility, according to Manager Dave Martinez, but others who came into contact with them have been unable to join workouts, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
President Donald Trump's approval rating is holding steady at a lower level after a sharp drop in late May and early June, with 38% of Americans currently approving of the job he is doing. [...] The latest results are based on a June 8-30 Gallup poll. While Trump's overall job approval rating is essentially unchanged from the prior May 28-June 4 poll, it does show some improvement among Republicans, from 85% to 91%. However, the current poll also indicates the president's approval rating has dropped among independents, from 39% to 33%, as well as among Democrats, from 5% to 2%. The current 89-point difference between Republicans' and Democrats' ratings of Trump is the largest partisan gap Gallup has ever measured for a presidential approval rating in a single survey.posted by katra at 10:14 AM on July 6, 2020 [3 favorites]
"Under Kennedy we went to the moon. Under Trump we can't even go to Europe."
posted by JackFlash at 10:34 AM on July 6, 2020 [42 favorites]
posted by JackFlash at 10:34 AM on July 6, 2020 [42 favorites]
it does show some improvement among Republicans, from 85% to 91%.
The only way this could make sense to me is if people who formerly identified as Republican are now identifying as Independent and saying that they disapprove of Trump. Ie the GOP is shrinking but the remainder have doubled down on Trump. How would it be possible to look at Trump now as opposed to May and think he's doing a better job?
I mean other than the obvious caveats... but that would make me depressed rather than angry.
Does anyone know how to find the raw numbers of the Gallop poll to check this out?
posted by cirhosis at 10:59 AM on July 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
The only way this could make sense to me is if people who formerly identified as Republican are now identifying as Independent and saying that they disapprove of Trump. Ie the GOP is shrinking but the remainder have doubled down on Trump. How would it be possible to look at Trump now as opposed to May and think he's doing a better job?
I mean other than the obvious caveats... but that would make me depressed rather than angry.
Does anyone know how to find the raw numbers of the Gallop poll to check this out?
posted by cirhosis at 10:59 AM on July 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
It makes sense to me even if the denominator isn't shrinking. People tend to dig in deeper on their beliefs when they are challenged. And there's been a whole lot of challenge to the belief that Trump is doing a good job lately that even the FoxNews sealed voters can't ignore vis a vi COVID and protests.
posted by lazaruslong at 11:20 AM on July 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by lazaruslong at 11:20 AM on July 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
Guardian: US coronavirus death toll surpasses 130,000
Guardian: McEnany claims US is 'a leader' in coronavirus fight despite rise in many states
The overall rate of increase in US deaths has continued to trend downward despite case numbers surging to record levels in recent days, but health experts warn that fatalities are a lagging indicator, showing up weeks or even months after cases rise. At least five states have already bucked the downward trend in the death rate, according to a Reuters analysis. Arizona had 449 deaths in the last two weeks of June, up from 259 deaths in the first two weeks of the month. The state posted a 300% rise in cases over the full month, the most in the country. [...] Sixteen states have posted record daily increases in new cases since the start of July including Florida, which confirmed more than 11,000 in a single day. As well as the state’s largest one-day rise so far, that was more than any European country reported in a single day at the height of the crisis there.Guardian: "The Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has turned down a White House invitation to celebrate the new regional free trade agreement in Washington with US president Donald Trump and Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador."
Guardian: McEnany claims US is 'a leader' in coronavirus fight despite rise in many states
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany shockingly claimed that foreign leaders consider America to be a leader in the fight against coronavirus. “I think the world is looking at us as a leader in Covid-19,” McEnany said during the White House briefing.Mississippi governor was in contact with infected lawmaker and is awaiting test results (WaPo live blog)
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) announced Monday that he is awaiting the results of a covid-19 test after having brief interaction with a person who tested positive. “It appears numerous members of the Mississippi House are confirmed to have contracted the virus last week — only one of whom I was briefly in contact with,” he said. A Mississippi State Department of Health spokesperson confirmed over the weekend that there were several positive cases in the state’s House of Representatives, the Clarion Ledger reported.posted by katra at 12:06 PM on July 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
lazaruslong while I do agree that people do have a tenancy to dig in when challenged and I can use that to explain the fact that Trump (against all reason) has this hard floor to his overall approval rating I just can't really wrap my head around an increase.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx
The overall party affiliation does seem to be down for the GOP. There could be a pile of reasons and I definitely wasn't an ace at Stats in University so I'm not drawing any real conclusions and I'm not going to worry at this any more.
posted by cirhosis at 12:19 PM on July 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx
The overall party affiliation does seem to be down for the GOP. There could be a pile of reasons and I definitely wasn't an ace at Stats in University so I'm not drawing any real conclusions and I'm not going to worry at this any more.
posted by cirhosis at 12:19 PM on July 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
“I think the world is looking at us as a leader in Covid-19,”
Perhaps she was referring to number of cases.
We're number one!
posted by MtDewd at 12:25 PM on July 6, 2020 [6 favorites]
Perhaps she was referring to number of cases.
We're number one!
posted by MtDewd at 12:25 PM on July 6, 2020 [6 favorites]
Well it is interesting that 91% of Republicans is only 38% total. Easily beatable if everyone else votes. And they know it, which is why voter suppression is strategy #1.
posted by ctmf at 12:27 PM on July 6, 2020 [18 favorites]
posted by ctmf at 12:27 PM on July 6, 2020 [18 favorites]
“I think the world is looking at us as a leader in Covid-19,” McEnany said during the White House briefing.
See this is where it would be handy if all the world leaders were as keen on Twitter as Trump. There would be an immediate avalanche of "no we're not".
posted by ctmf at 12:30 PM on July 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
See this is where it would be handy if all the world leaders were as keen on Twitter as Trump. There would be an immediate avalanche of "no we're not".
posted by ctmf at 12:30 PM on July 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
Engineering controls should ensure adequate air supply and exhaust vents and, in the case of partitions or curtains, secondary measures to maximize ventilation effectiveness, such as opening windows and doors. This is particularly important in congregate care settings such as converted exhibition centers, which may not have adequate ventilation for infection control, the authors said. And while most hospitals likely have good ventilation, this may not be the case in other public buildings, such as retail shops, offices, schools, restaurants, cruise ships, and public transport.
It seems like a great idea until you learn a bit about U.S. infrastructure spending. Last year Chicago still had many public schools without A/C. Some schools only just recently switched from heating using shovel loaded coal burning furnaces. And those are just the really obvious problems.
Expecting local governments to update public schools in the face of the pandemic ignores that those same governments have resisted obviously necessary upgrades for several decades. Chicago schools were estimated to have more than $3 billion in deferred maintenance even pre-covid.
posted by srboisvert at 1:55 PM on July 6, 2020 [11 favorites]
It seems like a great idea until you learn a bit about U.S. infrastructure spending. Last year Chicago still had many public schools without A/C. Some schools only just recently switched from heating using shovel loaded coal burning furnaces. And those are just the really obvious problems.
Expecting local governments to update public schools in the face of the pandemic ignores that those same governments have resisted obviously necessary upgrades for several decades. Chicago schools were estimated to have more than $3 billion in deferred maintenance even pre-covid.
posted by srboisvert at 1:55 PM on July 6, 2020 [11 favorites]
CNN: At least 1,335 people have tested positive from child care facilities in Texas, the state's Department of Health and Human Services reported Monday, citing figures from Friday.
So much for the notion that we can just send all the kids back to school.
posted by JackFlash at 2:10 PM on July 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
So much for the notion that we can just send all the kids back to school.
posted by JackFlash at 2:10 PM on July 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
Fauci says U.S. is ‘knee-deep in first wave’ of outbreak (WaPo live blog)
Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Monday that the United States is “still knee deep in the first wave” of the pandemic, calling it a “serious situation” that needs to be addressed immediately. Fauci’s comments came in a wide-ranging interview conducted on Twitter and Facebook by his boss, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins. Fauci noted that while Europe managed to drive infections down — and now is dealing with little blips as it reopens — “we never came down to baseline and now are surging back up.” Both scientists, while imploring Americans to take steps like wearing masks and practicing social distancing, also said they understand the importance of getting the economy back on its feet and insisted public health measures would accelerate that.A ‘wave’? A ‘surge’? Whichever it is, just keep distancing, Fauci urges. (NYT live blog)
Dr. Fauci’s comments came in a conversation with Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, that was streamed on N.I.H.’s Twitter and Facebook pages.Guardian: Atlanta mayor tests postive for COVID-19
Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) Keisha Lance Bottoms on testing positive for COVID: "It leaves me for a loss of words, because I think it really speaks to how contagious this virus is. And we've taken all of the precautions that you can possibly take ... I have no idea where and when we were exposed." @MSNBC July 6, 2020Changing course, the Trump campaign will ‘strongly’ encourage rally-goers to wear masks. (NYT live blog)
The campaign is not making the masks mandatory for the new rally, but Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, told Fox News on Monday that they would be distributed as “a factor of precaution.”posted by katra at 3:33 PM on July 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
Our Minds Aren’t Equipped for This Kind of Reopening (Tess Wilkinson-Ryan, Atlantic / MSN reprint)
Individuals are being asked to decide for themselves what chances they should take, but a century of research on human cognition shows that people are bad at assessing risk in complex situations. During a disease outbreak, vague guidance and ambivalent behavioral norms will lead to thoroughly flawed thinking. If a business is open but you would be foolish to visit it, that is a failure of leadership. [...]posted by katra at 7:30 PM on July 6, 2020 [15 favorites]
Even when shamers have the risk calculus right, social-distancing shaming is still useless or even harmful to society. Each judgment is a chance not just to get the math wrong, but to let indignation outstrip empathy. [...] Even within academic psychology, scholars are prone to focusing on individuals who make suboptimal choices—workers who do not save, or employees who choose bad retirement investments. In the pandemic, this urge is a red herring; it is too easy to focus on people making bad choices rather than on people having bad choices. [...] For social-distancing shaming to be a valuable public-health tool, average citizens should reserve it for overt defiance of clear official directives—failure to wear a mask when one is required—rather than mere cases of flawed judgment. [...] The bad judgments that really deserve shaming include the failure to facilitate testing, failure to protect essential workers, failure to release larger numbers of prisoners from facilities that have become COVID-19 hot spots, and failure to create the material conditions that permit strict isolation. America’s half-hearted reopening is a psychological morass, a setup for defeat that will be easy to blame on irresponsible individuals while culpable institutions evade scrutiny.
More bad news from Florida: Trump tweets that schools must be open in the fall, and hours later DeSantis' administration issues an order requiring all districts statewide to go back to in-person school full time. This after earlier arguing that they don't have the authority to dictate to individual districts whether or not they closed schools in the first place.
posted by wierdo at 9:23 PM on July 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by wierdo at 9:23 PM on July 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
How America Lost the War on Covid-19
Krugman/NYTimes
Krugman/NYTimes
Those anti-lockdown demonstrations weren’t spontaneous, grass-roots affairs. Many were organized and coordinated by conservative political activists, some with close ties to the Trump campaign, and financed in part by right-wing billionaires.posted by mumimor at 4:31 AM on July 7, 2020 [11 favorites]
And the rush to reopen in Sunbelt states was less a response to popular demand than a case of Republican governors following Trump’s lead.
The main driving force behind reopening, as far as I can tell, was the administration’s desire to have big job gains leading into November, so that it could do what it knew how to do — boast about economic success. Actually dealing with the pandemic just wasn’t Trump’s kind of thing.
In that case, however, why has Trump refused to wear a face mask or encourage others to do so? After all, wider use of masks would be one way to limit infections without shutting down the economy.
Well, Trump’s vanity — his belief that wearing a mask would make him look silly, or mess up his makeup, or something — has surely played a role. But it’s also true that masks remind people that we haven’t controlled the coronavirus — and Trump wants people to forget that awkward fact.
I am seeing so many teachers just screamingly upset about schools being forced open. Maybe the kids don't get severe cases usually, but what about all the adults in the schools who have to teach them?! Ordering teachers and admins to dig their own graves and just stand next to them and hope they don't fall in. One could think it was a coy plan to make sure the next generation of Americans is even less well educated.
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:50 AM on July 7, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:50 AM on July 7, 2020 [11 favorites]
A high-risk Florida teen who died from covid-19 attended a huge church party, then was given hydroxychloroquine by her parents, report says (WaPo)
WTF??????
The headline basically says it all, but the details are so extremely stupid and sad, it's hard to read.
posted by mumimor at 5:27 AM on July 7, 2020 [11 favorites]
WTF??????
The headline basically says it all, but the details are so extremely stupid and sad, it's hard to read.
posted by mumimor at 5:27 AM on July 7, 2020 [11 favorites]
How the White House can build public trust and end the coronavirus crisis (Politico)
“National leaders, including the vice president and president and governors, should not only be talking about and encouraging people to follow public health guidance — they should be modeling it themselves wherever they can,” said Tom Inglesby, director of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Health Security. “No more of this kind of strange commentary about ‘personal choice.’ The point is to protect your neighbor, so the idea of it being a personal choice is illogical.” [...] Marc Lipsitch, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, says the first step the Trump administration should take is unmuzzling its scientists. [...] “The CDC and the other public health experts within the government need to be on the front lines talking to the country every day,” Lipsitch said. “People without scientific qualifications … do not need to be stealing the show in terms of public communication.” [...] “The president has a unique ability to derail good policy,” Lipsitch said.Hundreds of health groups petition against Trump (Politico)
[...] Going forward, the government needs to do a better job of managing expectations, said Jeffrey Shaman, an infectious disease researcher at the Columbia University School of Public Health. [...] White House messengers need to express more humility and explain how much we still don’t know, said Lori Freeman, CEO for the National Association of County and City Health Officials. “That part of the messaging has been missing,” she said. “If you don’t say those words, each time the advice changes, as we have seen happen, it is a moment of a potential loss of trust.” Giving the CDC a more prominent voice and promoting administration scientists as respected sources of information would also enhance public trust, Freeman said. “If that were visible to the public, we’d be in a different place — but we don’t have that,” she said.
The nearly 350 public health organizations, advocacy groups and local health departments are urging Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar — who has fallen in lockstep with the White House on key markers of the coronavirus response — to play a more prominent role in shielding the CDC from political interference. “CDC continues to be the world’s premiere public health institution and should be treated as such during this pandemic,” the groups wrote in a letter on Tuesday. “We must amplify the unfettered voice of CDC, not stifle it.”posted by katra at 7:08 AM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
The missive comes amid growing alarm within the public health community over the damage done by Trump’s dismissals of the pandemic threat, including his refusal to endorse basic measures like mask-wearing and his insistence that the coronavirus will vanish even as cases continue to surge. At the same time, the administration has largely relegated the CDC to the background, clamped down on health officials’ public appearances and overruled key guidance for safely reopening parts of the economy. [...] “We are deeply concerned about increasing reports of resistance to evidence-based public health messages and threats to public health leaders and agencies,” the groups wrote, warning that such sentiments “undermine the health and wellbeing of America’s residents at a critical juncture when cases of COVID-19 are rising.”
Protective gear for medical workers begins to run low again (AP)
“We’re five months into this and there are still shortages of gowns, hair covers, shoe covers, masks, N95 masks,” said Deborah Burger, president of National Nurses United, who cited results from a survey of the union’s members. “They’re being doled out, and we’re still being told to reuse them.” [...] Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat, released a memo last week ahead of a congressional committee hearing that raised concerns about looming problems in the supply chain. [...] Rear Adm. John Polowczyk, who is in charge of coronavirus-related supplies for the White House, told Congress last week that more than than one-fourth of the states have less than a 30-day supply. “It would seem like in less than 30 days, we’re going to have a real crisis,” said Rep. Bill Foster, an Illinois Democrat.Hawaii sees clusters of new cases among those ignoring health advice (WaPo live blog)
Seven people caught the virus after visiting a gym that failed to enforce a statewide mask mandate, had poor ventilation and was not large enough to keep customers properly separated, health department officials said in a statement. “All of the recent clusters have been associated with people not wearing masks and not practicing social distancing,” Health Director Bruce Anderson said Monday at a news briefing. “They have occurred in workplaces, gyms and during social gatherings both inside and outdoors.”The Pandemic Experts Are Not Okay (Ed Yong, Atlantic)
America isn’t just facing a shortfall of testing kits, masks, or health-care workers. It is also looking at a drought of expertise, as the very people whose skills are sorely needed to handle the pandemic are on the verge of burning out.posted by katra at 8:32 AM on July 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
Brazilian President Bolsanaro has coronavirus. Since I have nothing nice to say, I won't say anything more.
posted by wierdo at 8:44 AM on July 7, 2020 [26 favorites]
posted by wierdo at 8:44 AM on July 7, 2020 [26 favorites]
From NYT: Two trending hashtags on Twitter Tuesday morning were #ForçaBolsonaro and #ForçaCorona, the first sending the president strength and the other effectively expressing hope that the president falls ill.
posted by theodolite at 8:52 AM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 8:52 AM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
but what about all the adults in the schools who have to teach them?!
How about all the class-action lawsuits soon to appear, suing states and county districts for forcing employees into unsafe, potentially life-threatening work situations? Or are we going to have thousands of teachers soon on strike, refusing to show up to a personally dangerous work environment? (I know that if my school or state were trying to force me to show up to teach in-person in a few weeks, especially with no safety protocols at all, I would be seeking legal action right now, today. My heart is with my fellow teachers in Florida.)
If Harvard University, with some of the best available public health experts on its own faculty, has already decided that all of the 2020-21 academic year will be online only, then the best information available says that this pandemic is far from over, and that any new normal won't start happening until maybe summer/fall 2021. DeSantis is (especially) insane with his order to open schools in a few weeks, and I expect that it will not move forward without very serious resistance.
posted by LooseFilter at 8:53 AM on July 7, 2020 [8 favorites]
How about all the class-action lawsuits soon to appear, suing states and county districts for forcing employees into unsafe, potentially life-threatening work situations? Or are we going to have thousands of teachers soon on strike, refusing to show up to a personally dangerous work environment? (I know that if my school or state were trying to force me to show up to teach in-person in a few weeks, especially with no safety protocols at all, I would be seeking legal action right now, today. My heart is with my fellow teachers in Florida.)
If Harvard University, with some of the best available public health experts on its own faculty, has already decided that all of the 2020-21 academic year will be online only, then the best information available says that this pandemic is far from over, and that any new normal won't start happening until maybe summer/fall 2021. DeSantis is (especially) insane with his order to open schools in a few weeks, and I expect that it will not move forward without very serious resistance.
posted by LooseFilter at 8:53 AM on July 7, 2020 [8 favorites]
Andy Slavitt has a thread on the possible shape of the pandemic over the next 3 years.
Threader
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:37 AM on July 7, 2020 [10 favorites]
Threader
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:37 AM on July 7, 2020 [10 favorites]
ICE has announced new rules regarding student visa holders.
Basically, as I understand it, you can't stay in the US as a student if your classes go online full-time. Which is going to influence a lot of universities and colleges to bring back in-person classes or lose their international students.
posted by MrVisible at 11:35 AM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
Basically, as I understand it, you can't stay in the US as a student if your classes go online full-time. Which is going to influence a lot of universities and colleges to bring back in-person classes or lose their international students.
posted by MrVisible at 11:35 AM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
It's not like the vaccine is approved and suddenly everyone is better. It needs to be manufactured on a vast scale and as far as I know we don't have that kind of capability right now. And then some large percentage of the 300+ million americans need to be inoculated and that's going to a nightmare of people screaming about Bill Gates implanting microchips and refusing to take it.
It's going to be years before there's anything like normal life again.
posted by octothorpe at 12:16 PM on July 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
It's going to be years before there's anything like normal life again.
posted by octothorpe at 12:16 PM on July 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
It's going to be years before there's anything like normal life again.
Not to pick on you in particular, but we really need to stop trying to get "back" to a "normal" life, we need to go forward to a sustainable and humane and maybe even relatively safe one. Putting "normal" anywhere near the table is how we get university administrators deciding to roll the dice they're rolling. We need to step back and ask what do we want to guarantee to who, and we're going to get different answers if we prioritize normal than if we prioritize safe.
posted by PMdixon at 12:33 PM on July 7, 2020 [33 favorites]
Not to pick on you in particular, but we really need to stop trying to get "back" to a "normal" life, we need to go forward to a sustainable and humane and maybe even relatively safe one. Putting "normal" anywhere near the table is how we get university administrators deciding to roll the dice they're rolling. We need to step back and ask what do we want to guarantee to who, and we're going to get different answers if we prioritize normal than if we prioritize safe.
posted by PMdixon at 12:33 PM on July 7, 2020 [33 favorites]
Azar, nation’s top health official, falsely says health-care workers don’t get covid-19 (WaPo live blog)
Health-care workers “don’t get infected because they take appropriate precautions. They engage in social distancing, they wear facial covering, they use good personal hygiene,” Azar said during a White House event about safely reopening schools. “This can work. You can do all of this. There’s no reason schools have to be in any way any different from the rest of what we need to do in opening ourselves up.”‘Nobody should hide behind CDC’s guidance’ to avoid reopening schools, Azar says (WaPo live blog)
About 85,000 health-care workers have been infected with the coronavirus, and 500 have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC numbers are considered a dramatic undercount because health-care profession status was available only for about 25 percent of people in the agency’s sample.
“Our CDC guidance is guidance,” Azar said at a White House event on “Safely Reopening America’s Schools,” referring to the federal social distancing guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “When it comes to reopening our schools, nobody should hide behind CDC’s guidance as a way to not reopen schools. Our guidance is to enable and empower the reopening of schools and physical attendance by our kids.”posted by katra at 3:02 PM on July 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
Alex Azar, if you don't know, is a loyal Trump toady. He is not a health scientist. He is a lawyer. He worked for Ken Starr in the Whitewater investigation against the Clintons. He served as a law clerk for Antonin Scalia. He worked as a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry. He became president of Eli Lilly. Under his leadership, Lilly was sued for collusion in price fixing for insulin.
He's not a health scientist. He should not be giving medical advice. He is a political operative working for Trump's re-election. Any advice he gives should be considered politically motivated.
posted by JackFlash at 3:15 PM on July 7, 2020 [34 favorites]
He's not a health scientist. He should not be giving medical advice. He is a political operative working for Trump's re-election. Any advice he gives should be considered politically motivated.
posted by JackFlash at 3:15 PM on July 7, 2020 [34 favorites]
Trump says he will pressure states to reopen schools in fall (AP)
Trump did not immediately explain how he would pressure governors, but he repeated an earlier claim that Democrats want to keep schools closed for political reasons and not health reasons. He made the same claim Monday on Twitter, saying, “They think it will help them in November. Wrong, the people get it!” [...]Prominent model predicts more than 200,000 virus deaths in U.S. by November without strict mask-wearing (WaPo live blog)
But some are calling for greater caution as schools plan for the fall. Arne Duncan, who served as Education Secretary under former President Barack Obama, has said the focus should be on making sure students can return safely. “We all want children to go back to school,” Duncan said on Twitter. “The question is whether we care enough about our children to ALLOW them to go to school safely. Our behavior, our commitment to shared sacrifice — or our selfishness — will determine what happens this fall for kids.”
The projection from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is based on a number of assumptions, including that most schools will reopen in the fall and that state leaders will resume social distancing mandates once their local death tolls reach a certain threshold. The model expects that many states will see “significant increases in cases and deaths in September and October,” said its creator Christopher Murray, director of the IHME.posted by katra at 3:18 PM on July 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
[...] But the model also projected what an alternate future could look like, one in which at least 95 percent of people wear masks in public. The results underscore what health experts have been repeating relentlessly about the importance of wearing masks: If nearly everyone sports face coverings, it could reduce the death toll by more than 45,000 by Nov. 1. “Those who refuse masks are putting their lives, their families, their friends and their communities at risk,” Murray said.
Trump did not immediately explain how he would pressure governors, but he repeated an earlier claim that Democrats want to keep schools closed for political reasons and not health reasons. He made the same claim Monday on Twitter, saying, “They think it will help them in November. Wrong, the people get it!”
He doesn't have to explain how he would pressure them, this is the pressure. He only suggests what he's going to do, and if people fall into line then he gets louder about it, or doubles down and asks for even more ("and the teachers shall use stilts!"). But if people ignore him or attention trickles away, he never presses it. He is a stupid and resentful man whose rage interferes with any long game he might employ. He says he's going to do something, then cowers away if there's any pushback. He'd MUCH rather fade away into his tacit shame than wage a battle that could result in a public and decisive victory for not-him, the ultimate humiliation. And this is the ethic of the criminal: just fade into the shadows, but if you can get a leg up, keep taking.
posted by rhizome at 4:44 PM on July 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
He doesn't have to explain how he would pressure them, this is the pressure. He only suggests what he's going to do, and if people fall into line then he gets louder about it, or doubles down and asks for even more ("and the teachers shall use stilts!"). But if people ignore him or attention trickles away, he never presses it. He is a stupid and resentful man whose rage interferes with any long game he might employ. He says he's going to do something, then cowers away if there's any pushback. He'd MUCH rather fade away into his tacit shame than wage a battle that could result in a public and decisive victory for not-him, the ultimate humiliation. And this is the ethic of the criminal: just fade into the shadows, but if you can get a leg up, keep taking.
posted by rhizome at 4:44 PM on July 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
Birx says U.S. underestimated levels of community spread spurred by young people (WaPo live blog)
On a video conference hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank, Deborah Birx, the physician who oversees the White House pandemic response, said leaders in states that were not hard-hit early on “thought they would be forever spared through this,” and when they reopened their economies, they didn’t expect a surge in cases spurred by a cohort of mostly millennials. “None of us really anticipated the amount of community spread that began in, really, our 18-to-35-year-old age group,” Birx said. [...]DeVos blasts school districts that hesitate at reopening (Politico)
Earlier Tuesday, Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, said the country’s declining mortality rate is due in part to rising infections in young people, who aren’t as likely to die from the virus as the elderly. But, Fauci warned, that doesn’t mean the consequences aren’t serious. Indeed, younger patients have accounted for a widening share of all coronavirus hospitalizations. Those aged 18 to 49 made up about 27 percent of hospitalizations in early March, but that number grew to 35 percent by late June, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures show. “It’s a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death,” Fauci said [during a news conference].
But the result was intensifying tensions with teachers unions and leading school groups, including the PTA, who charged that the Trump administration in a "vacuum of leadership" has "zero credibility in the minds of educators and parents when it comes to this major decision." [...] "Throughout this pandemic, the administration has failed to address the needs of students, especially those students who need the most support. They have failed to listen to families and public school educators who have been on the frontlines serving their communities," [a statement Tuesday night from teachers unions, the PTA, special education administrators and secondary school principals] said. "Public school educators, students and parents must have a voice in critical conversations and decisions on reopening schools. The president should not be brazenly making these decisions."posted by katra at 5:18 PM on July 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
[...] Lily Eskelsen García, National Education Association president, said that "the reality is no one should listen to Donald Trump or Betsy DeVos when it comes to what is best for students." After Trump tweeted, “SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!,” García fired back on Monday, “You forgot to add the word ‘SAFELY.’”
Florida invited the nation to its reopening — then it became a new coronavirus epicenter (WaPo)
Nearly 1 out of every 100 residents is infected with the virus, hospital intensive care units are full or filling up, and big-name visitors who chose Florida for their first post-isolation events are now mired in questions and controversies about safety. Amid escalating infections, Florida, once held up by President Trump as a model for how to manage the novel coronavirus, is faring poorly. [...] Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran late Monday ordered that the state’s schools open for in-person instruction next month, igniting fears that a new round of classroom interactions would lead to a new round of infections. “We want to proceed with caution, but unfortunately the governor continues to deny the science,” said Fedrick Ingram, president of the Florida Education Association. “The trend over the last 30 days has been astronomical. We’re in regression, we’re going backward. In terms of the amount of cases, we are literally going backward as a state.” [...]posted by katra at 7:10 PM on July 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
“You certainly can’t wave Mickey’s magic wand and say that Florida isn’t a central hot spot right now,” said Kate Shindle, the [The Actors’ Equity Association] union’s president. “Personally, as the president of the organization that is fighting for the safety of these performers, I’m mystified by the fact that Disney is attempting to open the park right now.” [...] Testing sites across the state are seeing shortages, and the wait time for results is now as long as 10 days, said U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, a Democrat representing a swath of the coast stretching from Broward County to Palm Beach County. [...] There were also acute shortages of the antiviral drug remdesivir in parts of the state, causing Democratic members of Florida’s congressional delegation to send a letter Tuesday to [HHS] Secretary Alex Azar asking him to speed the shipment of emergency supplies.
Katra, I love you and I hate you for all these comprehensive posts, but I am mostly worried about you. What can we do to support your mental health amid this flood of horrifying news you are wading through?
posted by PhineasGage at 7:17 PM on July 7, 2020 [25 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 7:17 PM on July 7, 2020 [25 favorites]
Testing sites across the state are seeing shortages, and the wait time for results is now as long as 10 days
This is just outrageous. We are six months into this and the Trump administration still cannot manage to get testing down to a one-day turnaround. Ten days does absolutely nothing for contact tracing. All of your hundreds of contacts are ancient history by the time you get your test results. Ten days is two full generations of infections later.
posted by JackFlash at 7:28 PM on July 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
This is just outrageous. We are six months into this and the Trump administration still cannot manage to get testing down to a one-day turnaround. Ten days does absolutely nothing for contact tracing. All of your hundreds of contacts are ancient history by the time you get your test results. Ten days is two full generations of infections later.
posted by JackFlash at 7:28 PM on July 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
The county where I volunteer as a contact tracer is seeing a jump in new cases, so our case investigation instructions on July 4th were just to give up on calls to anyone whose positive test results were reported more than even a day earlier. The public health official leading the morning's all-hands meeting ended it quickly and said "We have to try to reach all of these new cases before noon, and hope we can prevent them from going out to any holiday celebrations. Let's go!"
Wear a mask, wear a mask, wear a mask. Maintain social distancing. And please answer your phone if it's a call from the local health department.
posted by PhineasGage at 8:29 PM on July 7, 2020 [8 favorites]
Wear a mask, wear a mask, wear a mask. Maintain social distancing. And please answer your phone if it's a call from the local health department.
posted by PhineasGage at 8:29 PM on July 7, 2020 [8 favorites]
Katra, I love you and I hate you for all these comprehensive posts, but I am mostly worried about you. What can we do to support your mental health amid this flood of horrifying news you are wading through?
I would ask that you keep an open mind about the broad range of ways that people participate here, and the various perspectives and backgrounds that people bring to the discussion. This thread is a solace for me in many ways, and I am happy to read people talking about the news clips I post, and to find news that riffs on what people are talking about. For example, rhizome recently talked about what happens when Trump gets pushback, so I tailored my recent clips with a focus on the pushback, which also happens to be an ongoing theme in this thread.
But reading the news is what I have always done, since I was a kid. I'm a former legal aid lawyer and a former college instructor, but now recovering from a frontal lobe injury, so reading and editing the news is a habit but also a rehabilitation exercise. I have visual tracking issues, and I've had to relearn how to read and type and process information, so some of what you see is my adaptation of occupational therapy. I often don't include commentary because it can be more difficult for me to draft, including because I also experience fatigue and take some fairly heavy blood pressure and anti-seizure medications. My hope is that when I am reading something anyway, and post a clip here, it saves people time and helps them stay informed without having to wade through all of the static and noise that might make it harder to find information from public health experts and data, as well as the opposition to the Trump administration and their allies.
I do appreciate your concern, which is much kinder than some of the feedback I've received elsewhere on Metafilter, because at least here I can try to reassure you that I experience a positive feedback loop from my work here, and it is a thread I created to track the news about Trump and the coronavirus. This is a time without precedent in our history, and I think there is so much potential for real and transformative change that casts out the systemic racism embodied by Trump that has directly influenced how badly the pandemic has impacted the US and the world. Keeping track of the news and how people are collectively working together to fight the systemic injustices that have manifested in a runaway pandemic is something that stokes my sense of hope, and I will try to do better about keeping focused on news that highlights the ongoing work that is being done to fight for a future that is equitable and just.
posted by katra at 10:06 PM on July 7, 2020 [87 favorites]
I would ask that you keep an open mind about the broad range of ways that people participate here, and the various perspectives and backgrounds that people bring to the discussion. This thread is a solace for me in many ways, and I am happy to read people talking about the news clips I post, and to find news that riffs on what people are talking about. For example, rhizome recently talked about what happens when Trump gets pushback, so I tailored my recent clips with a focus on the pushback, which also happens to be an ongoing theme in this thread.
But reading the news is what I have always done, since I was a kid. I'm a former legal aid lawyer and a former college instructor, but now recovering from a frontal lobe injury, so reading and editing the news is a habit but also a rehabilitation exercise. I have visual tracking issues, and I've had to relearn how to read and type and process information, so some of what you see is my adaptation of occupational therapy. I often don't include commentary because it can be more difficult for me to draft, including because I also experience fatigue and take some fairly heavy blood pressure and anti-seizure medications. My hope is that when I am reading something anyway, and post a clip here, it saves people time and helps them stay informed without having to wade through all of the static and noise that might make it harder to find information from public health experts and data, as well as the opposition to the Trump administration and their allies.
I do appreciate your concern, which is much kinder than some of the feedback I've received elsewhere on Metafilter, because at least here I can try to reassure you that I experience a positive feedback loop from my work here, and it is a thread I created to track the news about Trump and the coronavirus. This is a time without precedent in our history, and I think there is so much potential for real and transformative change that casts out the systemic racism embodied by Trump that has directly influenced how badly the pandemic has impacted the US and the world. Keeping track of the news and how people are collectively working together to fight the systemic injustices that have manifested in a runaway pandemic is something that stokes my sense of hope, and I will try to do better about keeping focused on news that highlights the ongoing work that is being done to fight for a future that is equitable and just.
posted by katra at 10:06 PM on July 7, 2020 [87 favorites]
Hey, katra! Your posts absolutely do save me time and help me stay informed, and I get to pass on a great number of them that are specific to the needs of my friends in the lands still relatively unhit by covid. It seems lately like a great number of them need posts that are encouraging about holding the line and wearing masks and keeping distance. I'm spreading stuff you've found around and it's helping people. They're spreading that forward. Thank you so much.
(And as someone with a super dodgy brain, I am genuinely impressed with your recovery that I hadn't even thought to guess was happening. You're amazing and I hope things keep getting better for you, too.)
posted by lauranesson at 10:20 PM on July 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
(And as someone with a super dodgy brain, I am genuinely impressed with your recovery that I hadn't even thought to guess was happening. You're amazing and I hope things keep getting better for you, too.)
posted by lauranesson at 10:20 PM on July 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
We all appreciate your comprehensive posts katra. Good to hear it is therapy for you. Let us all hope this historic event leads to a better world...
posted by Windopaene at 10:20 PM on July 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 10:20 PM on July 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
Yes, katra what you do is amazing. Thank you so much.
posted by mumimor at 12:24 AM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 12:24 AM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
I don't comment much in these threads because I'm not American, but I also wanted to thank katra for her news roundups. Thank you for keeping us informed.
posted by sukeban at 12:30 AM on July 8, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by sukeban at 12:30 AM on July 8, 2020 [6 favorites]
US officially notifies World Health Organization of its withdrawal
posted by mumimor at 12:35 AM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by mumimor at 12:35 AM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
What are the substantive effects of our withdrawal from the WHO? It's obviously an enormous hit to our international prestige (part and parcel of the self-inflicted damage to our international standing caused by our stepping back from multiple international institutions we originally led), but what specific changes to the way we do science and medicine are going to result? It's my understanding that we can and will continue to engage in international research collaboration, but are there now resources we don't have access to?
posted by jackbishop at 3:22 AM on July 8, 2020
posted by jackbishop at 3:22 AM on July 8, 2020
The withdrawal isn't effective until next July so if Biden wins, he could reverse that in January.
posted by octothorpe at 4:41 AM on July 8, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 4:41 AM on July 8, 2020 [6 favorites]
US officially notifies World Health Organization of its withdrawal
If and when Joe Biden takes office in January 2021 (TTTCS), he will need to already have a stack of executive orders taller than a person to undo as much of Trump's damage as possible. They can't afford to start drafting those orders on Day One; they need to be ready to go. (Biden could campaign on the myriad gleeful harms Trump imposed that he plans to undo, so the message that Trump's defeat (TTTCS) is truly a repudiation is loud and clear, and the election is always framed s a referendum on Trump, which is not favorable to him.)
Telling the WHO "We take it back; it was just Trump being a dick, you understand, right?" needs to be in that stack.
katra, my hat is off to you, sir. Your posts are always concise and informative.
posted by Gelatin at 4:46 AM on July 8, 2020 [9 favorites]
If and when Joe Biden takes office in January 2021 (TTTCS), he will need to already have a stack of executive orders taller than a person to undo as much of Trump's damage as possible. They can't afford to start drafting those orders on Day One; they need to be ready to go. (Biden could campaign on the myriad gleeful harms Trump imposed that he plans to undo, so the message that Trump's defeat (TTTCS) is truly a repudiation is loud and clear, and the election is always framed s a referendum on Trump, which is not favorable to him.)
Telling the WHO "We take it back; it was just Trump being a dick, you understand, right?" needs to be in that stack.
katra, my hat is off to you, sir. Your posts are always concise and informative.
posted by Gelatin at 4:46 AM on July 8, 2020 [9 favorites]
MIT, Harvard sue over new ICE regulation that would require foreign students to choose between trying to find a new school that will teach them in person or getting kicked out of the country.
posted by adamg at 7:20 AM on July 8, 2020 [13 favorites]
By all appearances, ICE's decision reflects an effort by the federal government to force universities to reopen in-person classes, which would require housing students in densely packed residential halls, notwithstanding the universities' judgment that it is neither safe nor educationally advisable to do so, and to force such a reopening when neither the students nor the universities have sufficient time to react to or address the additional risks to the health and safety of their communities. The effect—and perhaps even the goal—is to create as much chaos for universities and international students as possible.Also see MIT president's letter to students and staff.
posted by adamg at 7:20 AM on July 8, 2020 [13 favorites]
Three cheers for Katra!
Thanks from me as well.
posted by haiku warrior at 7:54 AM on July 8, 2020 [9 favorites]
Thanks from me as well.
posted by haiku warrior at 7:54 AM on July 8, 2020 [9 favorites]
chiming in to appreciate katra.
posted by 20 year lurk at 8:04 AM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by 20 year lurk at 8:04 AM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Thank you all for your kindness and encouragement, and I very much appreciate all of you. And now back to our regularly scheduled programming:
Fauci: US is ‘still knee-deep in first wave’ of pandemic as it passes 130,000 deaths (Guardian)
Fauci: US is ‘still knee-deep in first wave’ of pandemic as it passes 130,000 deaths (Guardian)
The public health expert, a leading physician on Trump’s coronavirus taskforce, cautioned that the surge was linked to certain cities and states that had reopened too quickly. “A series of circumstances associated with various states and cities trying to open up in the sense of getting back to some form of normality has led to a situation where we now have record-breaking cases,” Fauci said.Months into crisis, Americans face frustrating test delays (AP)
In an especially alarming indicator, the percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus is on the rise across nearly the entire country, hitting almost 27% in Arizona, 19% in Florida and 17% in South Carolina. As more people are tested, an increase in the raw number of positive tests is to be expected. But if the virus is being brought under control, then the percentage of positive results relative to the total number of tests should be coming down. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this week said it will open free testing sites in three cities that are seeing significant increases in cases and hospitalizations — Jacksonville, Florida; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Edinburg, Texas.Stop saying Trump is ‘in denial.’ The truth is much worse. (Greg Sargent, WaPo Opinion)
Trump is lost in “magical thinking,” proclaims one health expert. Trump is “basically in denial,” insists one Democratic governor. Trump is “incapable of grasping that people are dying,” frets one advocate for educators. [...]posted by katra at 8:42 AM on July 8, 2020 [13 favorites]
Trump has been widely and repeatedly informed by his own and other experts for many months that his failure to take coronavirus more seriously could have utterly catastrophic consequences, that it could result in widespread suffering and needless deaths. It isn’t enough to point out that Trump repeatedly ignored that advice. What’s more important is that Trump has repeatedly seen the predicted consequences of those failures come to pass, and is seeing that right now. [...] The press critic Jay Rosen has repeatedly suggested that the effort to obscure Trump’s role in this ongoing fiasco is producing one of the biggest propaganda and disinformation campaigns in modern history. Central to getting this right is dispensing with the idea that Trump is a hapless, clueless actor rather than a deliberate and malevolent one.
"Central to getting this right is dispensing with the idea that Trump is a hapless, clueless actor rather than a deliberate and malevolent one."
This is a false dilemma, really, as Trump's narcissism is so profound that it transcends the notion of truth.
One of the notable things I've read about Mary Trump's book is that Trump has never had to survive in the real-world and has, in her words, always been "institutionalized". I take this to mean that the particulars of Trump's familial wealth and relationships have placed him in a very artificial world, far removed from the cause-and-effect that governs most people's lives — he is a malignant narcissist because of this environment and he maintains this environment because he is a malignant narcissist.
Josh Marshall uses the metaphor of being trapped in a family with an abuser, and how this now describes the whole of American society. Speaking as someone who survived a childhood with an abusive narcissistic father, I can indeed assert that there is a "post-truth" aspect to this. One of the reasons why such people are often so successful at gaslighting is the intensity with which they opportunistically believe and assert any available self-serving "truth" — they are able to maintain this indefinitely yet able to pivot to something more advantageous without any cognitive dissonance or shame: "The past was alterable. The past never had been altered. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia."
Donald Trump is not Moriarty, he is not a malign mastermind playing 11-dimensional chess. He is an overgrown child with a toddler's ephemeral relationship to truth. What is true is whatever is convenient to him in the moment — he can accurately be said to believe these things because there is little to no distinction in his mind between his desires and his beliefs.
Trump's presidency, particularly his administration's response to COVID-19, truly reveals a profound structural flaw in American democracy — it should not be possible for a US president to maintain this narcissistic bubble and subsequently subsume US governance within it.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 9:53 AM on July 8, 2020 [40 favorites]
This is a false dilemma, really, as Trump's narcissism is so profound that it transcends the notion of truth.
One of the notable things I've read about Mary Trump's book is that Trump has never had to survive in the real-world and has, in her words, always been "institutionalized". I take this to mean that the particulars of Trump's familial wealth and relationships have placed him in a very artificial world, far removed from the cause-and-effect that governs most people's lives — he is a malignant narcissist because of this environment and he maintains this environment because he is a malignant narcissist.
Josh Marshall uses the metaphor of being trapped in a family with an abuser, and how this now describes the whole of American society. Speaking as someone who survived a childhood with an abusive narcissistic father, I can indeed assert that there is a "post-truth" aspect to this. One of the reasons why such people are often so successful at gaslighting is the intensity with which they opportunistically believe and assert any available self-serving "truth" — they are able to maintain this indefinitely yet able to pivot to something more advantageous without any cognitive dissonance or shame: "The past was alterable. The past never had been altered. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia."
Donald Trump is not Moriarty, he is not a malign mastermind playing 11-dimensional chess. He is an overgrown child with a toddler's ephemeral relationship to truth. What is true is whatever is convenient to him in the moment — he can accurately be said to believe these things because there is little to no distinction in his mind between his desires and his beliefs.
Trump's presidency, particularly his administration's response to COVID-19, truly reveals a profound structural flaw in American democracy — it should not be possible for a US president to maintain this narcissistic bubble and subsequently subsume US governance within it.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 9:53 AM on July 8, 2020 [40 favorites]
the mit/harvard lawsuit against the ice attempt to expel international students is a start, as are the guerrilla attempts by students and faculty at many schools to set up in-person outdoor socially distant one-credit in-person classes for international students.
but to this i want to add that on top of all the attempts to use the legal system against nativist attacks, and on top of all attempts to skirt the spirit of the new nativist laws while nominally following the letter of those laws, we must also consider nakedly illegal acts against these new illegitimate nativist laws — helping international students, especially but not exclusively international students who would face threats in their countries of orgin, to get and stay undercover until the end of trump and/or the end of ice.
there are a lot of academics here on metafilter. we need to protect our students. this means direct action.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 10:07 AM on July 8, 2020 [20 favorites]
but to this i want to add that on top of all the attempts to use the legal system against nativist attacks, and on top of all attempts to skirt the spirit of the new nativist laws while nominally following the letter of those laws, we must also consider nakedly illegal acts against these new illegitimate nativist laws — helping international students, especially but not exclusively international students who would face threats in their countries of orgin, to get and stay undercover until the end of trump and/or the end of ice.
there are a lot of academics here on metafilter. we need to protect our students. this means direct action.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 10:07 AM on July 8, 2020 [20 favorites]
it should not be possible for a US president to maintain this narcissistic bubble and subsequently subsume US governance within it
I don't think it is possible for the president to do that on his own. Certainly in this case it has involved active support from a Senate majority to enable it.
posted by bcd at 11:46 AM on July 8, 2020 [13 favorites]
I don't think it is possible for the president to do that on his own. Certainly in this case it has involved active support from a Senate majority to enable it.
posted by bcd at 11:46 AM on July 8, 2020 [13 favorites]
Trump disavows his own administration’s guidance for reopening schools (Politico)
posted by katra at 12:39 PM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
“I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!” The president’s discordant messaging came minutes after he threatened in a tweet Wednesday morning to slash federal funding to schools that do not physically reopen. [...] Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos issued the same warning Tuesday night, telling Fox News’ Tucker Carlson she was “very seriously” considering withholding taxpayer dollars from schools that refuse to open their doors this fall.Churches Were Eager to Reopen. Now They Are a Major Source of Coronavirus Cases. (NYT / Yahoo reprint)
The virus has infiltrated Sunday sermons, meetings of ministers and Christian youth camps in Colorado and Missouri. It has struck churches that reopened cautiously with face masks and social distancing in the pews, as well as some that defied lockdowns and refused to heed new limits on numbers of worshipers. [...] More than 650 coronavirus cases have been linked to nearly 40 churches and religious events across the United States since the beginning of the pandemic, with many of them erupting over the last month as Americans resumed their pre-pandemic activities, according to a New York Times database. [...] “It’s an ideal setting for transmission,” said Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease expert at Emory University, referring to church gatherings. “You have a lot of people in a closed space. And they’re speaking loudly, they’re singing. All those things are exactly what you don’t want.”Guardian: "The National Governors Association is calling on the White House to renew the public health emergency declaration for the coronavirus pandemic, which is currently set to expire on July 25. [...] The group, which represents the governors of all 55 states and territories, said the PHE declaration was needed to ensure states continue to have access to critical resources and funding for testing. “Without these options, governors’ ability to protect the health and safety of their residents will be reduced at a critical time,” the NGA statement said."
posted by katra at 12:39 PM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
The C.D.C. announces it will issue new guidelines for reopening schools, hours after Trump assailed its recommendations
posted by chortly at 1:47 PM on July 8, 2020 [11 favorites]
Hours after President Trump assailed guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for reopening schools, Vice President Mike Pence, appearing with the White House coronavirus task force, announced the agency would issue new recommendations next week, saying administration officials don’t want the guidance to be a reason schools don’t open.What are we going to do when our workplaces, school districts, and other institutions justify reopening unsafely by pointing to increasingly politicized CDC guidelines?
“Well, the president said today, we just don’t want the guidance to be too tough,” Mr. Pence said. “That’s the reason why next week, the C.D.C. is going to be issuing a new set of tools, five different documents that will be giving even more clarity on the guidance going forward.”...
Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the C.D.C. director, said Wednesday that the agency’s guidance should not be used to justify keeping schools closed. It was the most clarifying statement the director has made in months as schools try to make sense of conflicting messaging on how they can safely welcome students back to class.
Dr. Redfield said that the guidelines were not meant to be used “as a rationale to keep schools closed.”
posted by chortly at 1:47 PM on July 8, 2020 [11 favorites]
New York City schools will have in-person classes only two to three days a week, mayor says (WaPo live blog)
The mayor said the hybrid approach is the best that can be implemented in the city under current circumstances and hopes the scientific community will be able to offer more options in the future. “What we WON’T do is ignore the science and recklessly charge ahead like our president,” de Blasio tweeted. “We will do it the right way. We will keep everyone safe.”N.Y.C. Schools, Nation’s Largest District, Will Not Fully Reopen in Fall (NYT)
The governor did not contradict Mr. de Blasio’s plan on Wednesday. Instead, he reiterated that he has the ultimate decision about whether to reopen schools at all, and that his office will make those decisions in the first week of August. [...] Many of the city’s school buildings are over a century old, with poor air ventilation and cramped classrooms and hallways. Drastic budget cuts have left many schools with less money to hire teachers and staff — all while the city estimates that about one in five current teachers will receive medical exemptions to work remotely.posted by katra at 1:58 PM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Individuals are being asked to decide for themselves what chances they should take, but a century of research on human cognition shows that people are bad at assessing risk in complex situations. During a disease outbreak, vague guidance and ambivalent behavioral norms will lead to thoroughly flawed thinking. If a business is open but you would be foolish to visit it, that is a failure of leadership.
As someone with a social and cognitive psychology grad school background I find it amazing how poorly the messaging is playing out on this and yet at the same time somewhat encouraged by how resistant some people are to the lousy messaging.
I've been lockdown since March 10 or 11. I've been out to get groceries and for running or evening walks in the park off the path and on the grass well away from people and have seen no friends in person and that is not changing anytime soon. My mask only comes off if there is nobody within about a hundred feet of me.
Other people that I see are not following the same rules as me and it seems so discouraging. But here is the thing: The people you see outside are a very biased sample. Google and Apple mobility data is showing that something like 25% of people are not even leaving their homes at all! Then there are some cautious people like me who are only leaving the house for carefully considered limited reasons and frankly not for very long. By far the majority of people you will see when you are out are the most reckless. Probably something like 10-15% who are acting as if nothing at all is happening. They are always going to be out and about and you are always going to see them. They will be way more represented in your experiential sampling. Now why does this matter in this discussion? Because in your mind you will be building an implicit social consensus model of reality whether you want to or not. When your experience is biased heavily to a sample of reckless behavior you'll start thinking that behavior is normal and reasonable. I feel it and I know what and why it is happening. Knowing why it is happening doesn't reverse the visceral tug of that social gravity. Thinking it through helps a bit. But it still leaves you wondering and doubting yourself.
posted by srboisvert at 2:05 PM on July 8, 2020 [29 favorites]
As someone with a social and cognitive psychology grad school background I find it amazing how poorly the messaging is playing out on this and yet at the same time somewhat encouraged by how resistant some people are to the lousy messaging.
I've been lockdown since March 10 or 11. I've been out to get groceries and for running or evening walks in the park off the path and on the grass well away from people and have seen no friends in person and that is not changing anytime soon. My mask only comes off if there is nobody within about a hundred feet of me.
Other people that I see are not following the same rules as me and it seems so discouraging. But here is the thing: The people you see outside are a very biased sample. Google and Apple mobility data is showing that something like 25% of people are not even leaving their homes at all! Then there are some cautious people like me who are only leaving the house for carefully considered limited reasons and frankly not for very long. By far the majority of people you will see when you are out are the most reckless. Probably something like 10-15% who are acting as if nothing at all is happening. They are always going to be out and about and you are always going to see them. They will be way more represented in your experiential sampling. Now why does this matter in this discussion? Because in your mind you will be building an implicit social consensus model of reality whether you want to or not. When your experience is biased heavily to a sample of reckless behavior you'll start thinking that behavior is normal and reasonable. I feel it and I know what and why it is happening. Knowing why it is happening doesn't reverse the visceral tug of that social gravity. Thinking it through helps a bit. But it still leaves you wondering and doubting yourself.
posted by srboisvert at 2:05 PM on July 8, 2020 [29 favorites]
I've been lockdown since March 10 or 11. I've been out to get groceries and for running or evening walks in the park off the path and on the grass well away from people and have seen no friends in person and that is not changing anytime soon. My mask only comes off if there is nobody within about a hundred feet of me.
makes me feel like i'm not insane to read this. same situation.
posted by lazaruslong at 2:09 PM on July 8, 2020 [17 favorites]
makes me feel like i'm not insane to read this. same situation.
posted by lazaruslong at 2:09 PM on July 8, 2020 [17 favorites]
From what I've seen in a Toronto, officially calling for mandatory mask wearing indoors has made a difference. Shop staff enforcing it because “it's the law” means the shopper doesn’t really have any reason to take offence with that particular store. It also creates a level playing field, so that one business owner is less concerned about driving business to a competitor who's more relaxed about mask wearing.
Since it went into effect I've been out twice: I saw a couple people in my local variety store apologizing when reminded (though not refused service), promising to bring one next time. The big shock was walking into my usual grocery store and seeing 100% compliance (when it seemed to be about 75% previously).
posted by bonobothegreat at 2:27 PM on July 8, 2020 [12 favorites]
Since it went into effect I've been out twice: I saw a couple people in my local variety store apologizing when reminded (though not refused service), promising to bring one next time. The big shock was walking into my usual grocery store and seeing 100% compliance (when it seemed to be about 75% previously).
posted by bonobothegreat at 2:27 PM on July 8, 2020 [12 favorites]
Prominent model predicts more than 200,000 virus deaths in U.S. by November without strict mask-wearing (WaPo live blog)
The projection from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is based on a number of assumptions, including that most schools will reopen in the fall and that state leaders will resume social distancing mandates once their local death tolls reach a certain threshold. The model expects that many states will see “significant increases in cases and deaths in September and October,” said its creator Christopher Murray, director of the IHME.
I long since stopped following the IHME model but weren't they notorious for continuous underestimates for at least the first few months of the American pandemic? I remember the cases and deaths blowing past their estimates so fast that their models were obviously wrong before they could update on their one week cycle.
posted by srboisvert at 2:28 PM on July 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
The projection from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is based on a number of assumptions, including that most schools will reopen in the fall and that state leaders will resume social distancing mandates once their local death tolls reach a certain threshold. The model expects that many states will see “significant increases in cases and deaths in September and October,” said its creator Christopher Murray, director of the IHME.
I long since stopped following the IHME model but weren't they notorious for continuous underestimates for at least the first few months of the American pandemic? I remember the cases and deaths blowing past their estimates so fast that their models were obviously wrong before they could update on their one week cycle.
posted by srboisvert at 2:28 PM on July 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Yeah and their director said that it was fine that the model predictions were wrong because at least they were actionable unlike models based on actual epidemiology which reflected the underlying uncertainty accurately. Fucker.
posted by PMdixon at 2:40 PM on July 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by PMdixon at 2:40 PM on July 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
Trump Friends and Family Cleared for Millions in Small Business Bailout (ProPublica, July 6, 2020) Beneficiaries of the PPP included a lettuce farming venture backed by Trump’s son, Kushner companies, and a dentist who golfs with the president. The figures were released after a lawsuit by several news organizations, including ProPublica.
The Airline Bailout Loophole: Companies Laid Off Workers, Then Got Money Meant to Prevent Layoffs (ProPublica, July 7, 2020) Three airline industry companies slated to receive $338 million in public money designed to preserve jobs in the hard-hit industry have laid off thousands of workers anyway, according to Treasury disclosure filings and public layoff data. ProPublica's tracking project; FPP
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:43 PM on July 8, 2020 [5 favorites]
The Airline Bailout Loophole: Companies Laid Off Workers, Then Got Money Meant to Prevent Layoffs (ProPublica, July 7, 2020) Three airline industry companies slated to receive $338 million in public money designed to preserve jobs in the hard-hit industry have laid off thousands of workers anyway, according to Treasury disclosure filings and public layoff data. ProPublica's tracking project; FPP
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:43 PM on July 8, 2020 [5 favorites]
I watch the models at 538's Where The Latest COVID-19 Models Think We're Headed — And Why They Disagree. They only show 4 or 5 weeks out though. It's been interesting to watch the shapes of the projections over time i.e. the derivatives of more and more of them going from negative to positive in the last month.
posted by achrise at 2:50 PM on July 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by achrise at 2:50 PM on July 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
A Spike in People Dying at Home Suggests Coronavirus Deaths in Houston May Be Higher Than Reported (ProPublica, July 8, 2020) In Houston, one of the nation’s fastest-growing coronavirus hot spots, more residents are dying before they can make it to a hospital. Medical examiner data shows that an increasing number of these deaths are the result of COVID-19 Déjà vu: Staggering Surge Of NYers Dying In Their Homes Suggests City Is Undercounting Coronavirus Fatalities (Gothamist, April 7, 2020) (The next day: Death Count Expected To Soar As NYC Says It Will Begin Reporting Probable COVID Deaths In Addition To Confirmed Ones.) Collection and Submission of Postmortem Specimens from Deceased Persons with Known or Suspected COVID-19 (CDC. gov): "Criteria for fixed autopsy tissue specimen submission to CDC’s Infectious Diseases Pathology Branch (IDPB) for COVID-19 testing" updated June 15, 2020; all COVID-19 testing in the US has been hampered by nasopharyngeal swab shortages.
Provisional death counts, at CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, COVID-19 Death Data and Resources: Note: Provisional death counts are based on death certificate data received and coded by the National Center for Health Statistics as of July 8, 2020. Death counts are delayed and may differ from other published sources (see Technical Notes)
- Death certificates take time to be completed. There are many steps to filling out and submitting a death certificate. Waiting for test results can create additional delays.
- States report at different rates. Currently, 63% of all U.S. deaths are reported within 10 days of the date of death, but there is significant variation between states.
- It takes extra time to code COVID-19 deaths. While 80% of deaths are electronically processed and coded by NCHS within minutes, most deaths from COVID-19 must be coded by a person, which takes an average of 7 days.
- Other reporting systems use different definitions or methods for counting deaths.
As of July 8, NCHS provisional figure, all US deaths involving COVID-19: 114,741
Worldometer US coronavirus death figure: 134,686
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:54 PM on July 8, 2020 [9 favorites]
Provisional death counts, at CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, COVID-19 Death Data and Resources: Note: Provisional death counts are based on death certificate data received and coded by the National Center for Health Statistics as of July 8, 2020. Death counts are delayed and may differ from other published sources (see Technical Notes)
- Death certificates take time to be completed. There are many steps to filling out and submitting a death certificate. Waiting for test results can create additional delays.
- States report at different rates. Currently, 63% of all U.S. deaths are reported within 10 days of the date of death, but there is significant variation between states.
- It takes extra time to code COVID-19 deaths. While 80% of deaths are electronically processed and coded by NCHS within minutes, most deaths from COVID-19 must be coded by a person, which takes an average of 7 days.
- Other reporting systems use different definitions or methods for counting deaths.
As of July 8, NCHS provisional figure, all US deaths involving COVID-19: 114,741
Worldometer US coronavirus death figure: 134,686
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:54 PM on July 8, 2020 [9 favorites]
Can I please jump in and say that I love Iris Gambol's posts, too? Between you and katra I pretty much never have to go to a news site to keep up with what is going on because your posts are so up-to-date and helpful. Thank you, both of you!
Carry on :)
posted by Snowishberlin at 3:36 PM on July 8, 2020 [21 favorites]
Carry on :)
posted by Snowishberlin at 3:36 PM on July 8, 2020 [21 favorites]
>> I've been lockdown since March 10 or 11. I've been out to get groceries and for running or evening walks in the park off the path and on the grass well away from people and have seen no friends in person and that is not changing anytime soon. My mask only comes off if there is nobody within about a hundred feet of me.
> makes me feel like i'm not insane to read this. same situation.
we're following the same protocol as srboisvert and lazaruslong over here. if people need further verification that being safe is not insane.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 3:56 PM on July 8, 2020 [13 favorites]
> makes me feel like i'm not insane to read this. same situation.
we're following the same protocol as srboisvert and lazaruslong over here. if people need further verification that being safe is not insane.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 3:56 PM on July 8, 2020 [13 favorites]
What are we going to do when our workplaces, school districts, and other institutions justify reopening unsafely by pointing to increasingly politicized CDC guidelines?
Both Birx and Redfield are lifelong evangelicals and Trump loyalists. That's how they got the jobs.
posted by JackFlash at 4:01 PM on July 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Both Birx and Redfield are lifelong evangelicals and Trump loyalists. That's how they got the jobs.
posted by JackFlash at 4:01 PM on July 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Top pediatrician says states with high case numbers must be cautious about opening schools (WaPo live blog)
The American Academy of Pediatrics has said it strongly recommends that students return to classrooms in the fall, but the organization’s president added Wednesday that states should not force schools to reopen in areas where the novel coronavirus is spreading rapidly. Sally Goza told NPR that officials deciding how and when to let students back into schools need to consider the virus’s prevalence in their communities. She said she was concerned by the numbers in Florida, where the state’s education commissioner ordered schools to reopen in the fall. “The level of the virus is really high,” she told NPR. “And so a statewide mandate to reopen [schools] without consideration of community spread really goes against our recommendations.”U.S. reports record single-day spike of 60,000 new coronavirus cases (CNBC)
The record spike comes after daily new cases fell below 50,000 over the past few days, though some public health officials warned there could be a backlog of reporting due to the July Fourth holiday weekend. The U.S. has reported about 51,383 new cases on average over the past seven days, a record high seven-day average, up nearly 24.5% compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data collected by Johns Hopkins.In new guidance, CDC recommends alternatives in addition to in-person voting to avoid spreading coronavirus (WaPo, Jul. 7, 2020)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that voters consider alternatives to casting their ballots in person during upcoming elections, as states expand absentee and early voting options for November amid fears of spreading the coronavirus. The guidance was issued with little fanfare on June 22 and suggested that state and local election officials take steps to minimize crowds at voting locations, including offering “alternative voting methods.” [...] The guidance is now being circulated by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), an independent federal agency, and congressional leaders. Senate Democrats on Tuesday drew attention to the guidelines, noting that they had been requesting such a resource since May. [...] “In the midst of this pandemic, voters should not need to choose between their health and casting their ballots,” [Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.)] said. “This guidance from the CDC makes it clear that the government must take steps to protect voters.”posted by katra at 4:16 PM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
With pressure and threats, Trump pushes to fully reopen schools. Schools say: Not so fast. (WaPo)
Trump did appear to get help this week from Florida, where the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) ordered all schools to open five days a week. But even there, some superintendents quickly pushed back. Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said that he does not see a realistic path to reopening five days a week and that he “will never compromise the health” of students, teachers and staffers. Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said his district would not reopen until coronavirus rates have been reduced.Trump Threatens to Cut Funding if Schools Do Not Fully Reopen (NYT)
The chief public health officer in Los Angeles County told school officials on Tuesday to be prepared to continue learning entirely from home given the surge of infections in California. [...] “Trump has no legal authority to withhold funds,” Arne Duncan, the secretary of education under President Barack Obama, said during a briefing with reporters on Wednesday. “Threatening people, bullying them, lying doesn’t stop the virus from spreading.” He added: “It’s ludicrous. It’d be funny if it wasn’t so sad.”posted by katra at 7:57 PM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
The School Superintendents Association objected to Washington dictating such decisions, citing Mr. Trump’s past support for local control of schools. “You don’t support local decision making if it’s conditional on only making choices you support,” the organization said in a statement.
America is running short on masks, gowns and gloves. Again. (WaPo / MSN reprint)
posted by katra at 10:14 PM on July 8, 2020 [6 favorites]
“A lot people thought once the alarm was sounded back in March surely the federal government would fix this, but that hasn’t happened,” said Deborah Burger, a California nurse and president of National Nurses United, a union representing registered nurses. Like many health-care workers, Burger blamed the Trump administration for the lack of equipment, noting the administration has insisted the responsibility falls to state and local officials, with the federal government playing only a supporting role.Surge in virus hospitalizations strains hospitals in several states (WaPo / MSN reprint)
In pandemic hotspot states such as Florida, Arizona, California and Texas, hospitals are adding new intensive care unit beds and special air-flow systems to treat the growing demand as virus hospitalizations set records almost daily. To cope with the wave of patients, hospitals are canceling elective surgeries to free up space for those sick with the virus. Medical staff warn they could become overwhelmed.Austin doctor issues dire warning: Texas is like the Titanic, ‘on a collision course with a viral iceberg’ (WaPo live blog)
The video amounts to a blaring alarm bell sounded by the head of a group that represents more than 4,000 physicians in and around the Texas capital, where cases have surged to record highs in recent days. The state has become a new hot spot — largely, experts say, because its leaders rushed to lift social distancing guidelines — and its death rate has been rising steadily since late June. “In Texas, if the pandemic continues unabated, our death count will start to look like New York’s body count of over 31,000,” [John Abikhaled, president of the Travis County Medical Society] said. [...] The only way to slow things down, Abikhaled said, is to stick to the basics: wear masks in public, practice social distancing and stay away from large gatherings. “We’ll have to do this for a while,” he said. “No one knows for how long, but we can do it. We must do it.”COVID-19 Urgent Message for our Community (YouTube, Jul. 8, 2020)
posted by katra at 10:14 PM on July 8, 2020 [6 favorites]
Special Report: Bolsonaro bets 'miraculous cure' for COVID-19 can save Brazil - and his life. Inspired by his idol, Trump, Bolsonaro has been leading the Brazillian government to buy, produce, and distribute hydroxychloroquine.
posted by polecat at 11:21 PM on July 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Mandetta, the Health Minister fired by Bolsonaro in April, said the president’s drumbeat of support for the drugs had hampered efforts to impose stay-at-home measures and slow the spread of the virus in Brazil.The article contains lots of details about a real shitshow. The stinger at the end: in a couple of weeks we can expect Bolsonaro to be crowing about how hydroxychloroquine saved his life.
“That made many people believe that the cure was ready, that it already existed, that you didn’t need to worry, that you could just take this medicine, that would solve the problem,” Mandetta told Reuters.
posted by polecat at 11:21 PM on July 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
[ta, Snowishberlin]
Here's a recent hydroxychloroquine-related horror story: A Medically Vulnerable 17-Year-Old Attended A Church Event With 100 People — Then Died Of The Coronavirus (Buzzfeed, July 7, 2020) According to the medical examiner's report, Carsyn Leigh Davis's mother gave her daughter hydroxychloroquine before seeking medical attention when the girl became sick. [...] According to the report, on the day of the church event [June 10], Davis's mother and stepfather began treating her with the antibiotic azithromycin.
[Her mother's a nurse; her stepfather is a physician's assistant. Davis, who had Opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome, a rare, inflammatory, neurological autoimmune disorder, showed signs of COVID-19 on June 13. Her parents say they believed she had a sinus infection. The teen, who was also a survivor of childhood cancer, was taken to the hospital on June 19 after at-home testing showed her oxygen saturation was in the 40s. Her mother went against medical advice and initially refused intubation; by the time the procedure was performed, on June 22, Davis had to be airlifted to a pediatric hospital for emergency treatment. She died there on June 23, two days after her 17th birthday, of "complications of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia."]
The circumstances surrounding Davis's death were first reported Sunday by geographer and former Florida Department of Health coronavirus database manager Rebekah Jones on her website FloridaCOVIDVictims.com. In the post, Jones cited a medical examiner investigation report into the teenager's death that she had obtained. She later uploaded the document to the website on Monday night.
The Davis family's church, First Assembly of God, has refuted allegations that it was a "COVID party," though masks were not mandatory and social distancing was not enforced (ABC, July 7, 2020). (Various social media posts, describing the event as a "Release Party," were set to private or deleted.) Data scientist Rebekah Jones said her May firing stemmed from her refusal to manipulate coronavirus data to support Florida's re-opening plan, if you'll recall; Jones launched her own site in June (NPR, 2x).
Previously, on April 24: The Food and Drug Administration warned that doctors should not use the malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 patients outside a hospital or a clinical trial, citing reports of “serious heart rhythm problems.” [...] Many of the reported side effects occurred in covid-19 patients treated with a combination of the malaria drugs and azithromycin, also known as Z-Pak, the FDA said. (Washington Post, April 24, 2020)
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:41 AM on July 9, 2020 [8 favorites]
Here's a recent hydroxychloroquine-related horror story: A Medically Vulnerable 17-Year-Old Attended A Church Event With 100 People — Then Died Of The Coronavirus (Buzzfeed, July 7, 2020) According to the medical examiner's report, Carsyn Leigh Davis's mother gave her daughter hydroxychloroquine before seeking medical attention when the girl became sick. [...] According to the report, on the day of the church event [June 10], Davis's mother and stepfather began treating her with the antibiotic azithromycin.
[Her mother's a nurse; her stepfather is a physician's assistant. Davis, who had Opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome, a rare, inflammatory, neurological autoimmune disorder, showed signs of COVID-19 on June 13. Her parents say they believed she had a sinus infection. The teen, who was also a survivor of childhood cancer, was taken to the hospital on June 19 after at-home testing showed her oxygen saturation was in the 40s. Her mother went against medical advice and initially refused intubation; by the time the procedure was performed, on June 22, Davis had to be airlifted to a pediatric hospital for emergency treatment. She died there on June 23, two days after her 17th birthday, of "complications of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia."]
The circumstances surrounding Davis's death were first reported Sunday by geographer and former Florida Department of Health coronavirus database manager Rebekah Jones on her website FloridaCOVIDVictims.com. In the post, Jones cited a medical examiner investigation report into the teenager's death that she had obtained. She later uploaded the document to the website on Monday night.
The Davis family's church, First Assembly of God, has refuted allegations that it was a "COVID party," though masks were not mandatory and social distancing was not enforced (ABC, July 7, 2020). (Various social media posts, describing the event as a "Release Party," were set to private or deleted.) Data scientist Rebekah Jones said her May firing stemmed from her refusal to manipulate coronavirus data to support Florida's re-opening plan, if you'll recall; Jones launched her own site in June (NPR, 2x).
Previously, on April 24: The Food and Drug Administration warned that doctors should not use the malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 patients outside a hospital or a clinical trial, citing reports of “serious heart rhythm problems.” [...] Many of the reported side effects occurred in covid-19 patients treated with a combination of the malaria drugs and azithromycin, also known as Z-Pak, the FDA said. (Washington Post, April 24, 2020)
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:41 AM on July 9, 2020 [8 favorites]
Tulsa, Oklahoma health official glances off definitive statement: Trump rally 'likely' source of virus surge (AP, July 8, 2020)
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:42 AM on July 9, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:42 AM on July 9, 2020 [6 favorites]
Meanwhile, in New York City: Some neighborhoods, like Corona in Queens, were so hard-hit during the peak of the coronavirus epidemic that they might now have herd immunity. But now, as the city braces for a possible second wave of the virus, some of those vulnerabilities may flip, with the affluent neighborhoods becoming most at risk of a surge.
posted by rambling wanderlust at 4:45 AM on July 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by rambling wanderlust at 4:45 AM on July 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
'It's like night and day': Trudeau's and Trump's Covid-19 responses fuel wildly different outcomes • Leyland Cecco; 9 Jul 2020; Guardian •
The US president stokes division as the virus rages, while the prime minister of Canada – where the outbreak appears to be stabilizing – has fostered a shared sense of dutyposted by ZeusHumms at 6:46 AM on July 9, 2020 [6 favorites]
Boston Globe: Contact tracing for coronavirus in Mass. significantly downscaled as leaders report chronic problems.
Part of the reason is that local boards of health have been stepping up their own contact tracing, but in some cases that's because the state-funded effort was doing so poorly.
posted by adamg at 8:20 AM on July 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
Part of the reason is that local boards of health have been stepping up their own contact tracing, but in some cases that's because the state-funded effort was doing so poorly.
posted by adamg at 8:20 AM on July 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
More than 10,600 religious organizations have taken at least $3bn in coronavirus financial aid from the US government, according to an analysis by the Guardian, raising concerns about the separation of church and state.
posted by adamvasco at 8:23 AM on July 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 8:23 AM on July 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
Fauci: States with severe coronavirus outbreaks "should seriously look at shutting down" (Axios)
Anthony Fauci on Wednesday told a Wall Street Journal podcast that states experiencing a significant uptick in new coronavirus cases "should seriously look at shutting down." [...] He blamed a "let it rip" mentality on the surge in cases, saying, "We are all in this together. ... I've been trying to stress that by getting infected or not really caring if you're getting infected, you will inadvertently infect someone. ... So to say that it's benign is not true."How Trump's push to reopen schools could backfire (Axios)
“They’re sort of asking schools to do the undoable — ‘just make it work, get all the kids back, and get them in five days a week, and keep their distance and do all the hygiene…but if you can’t do it, that’s not our fault, that’s up to the locals,’” said Anita Cicero, deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. [...] there’s no scientific consensus yet on how much children contribute to the spread of the coronavirus. In a worst-case scenario, schools could become one of the most effective ways the virus travels from family to family. [...] There’s no dispute that schools are incredibly important to children. “But the idea of sending kids back to indoor public places with large numbers of [people]... when the outbreak is raging at the level it was in April in New York and New Jersey — I feel like there is a disconnect there,” Cicero said.Schools or bars? Opening classrooms may mean hard choices (AP)
Hundreds of children and staff have been infected in COVID-19 outbreaks tied to graduation ceremonies and summer camps, including in Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, New York and Florida. Organizers of at least one of the camps said they were following guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s why it’s so important, experts say, to consider the wider community and not think of schools as closed systems, unaffected by what the virus is doing outside their walls. [...]posted by katra at 10:56 AM on July 9, 2020 [4 favorites]
In a call with governors Tuesday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said the nation’s schools must “fully reopen and fully operate.” A recording of the call was obtained by The Associated Press. But school leaders and teachers’ groups said that message is not helpful without thoughtful reopening plans and federal support, including additional money to pay for extra cleaning, masks and social spacing. So far, schools are not getting what they need, said Dan Domenech, executive director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association.
Under pressure from scientists globally, the W.H.O. acknowledges that the virus can linger in the air indoors. (NYT live blog)
The World Health Organization on Thursday formally acknowledged that droplets carrying the coronavirus may be airborne indoors and that people who spend long periods in crowded settings with inadequate ventilation may be at risk of becoming infected, a reversal that many scientists said was long overdue. The agency also acknowledged unequivocally that the virus can be transmitted by people who do not have symptoms.Pelosi rejects White House's $1 trillion price tag for pandemic relief (Politico)
Apoorva Mandavilli reports on the admission, which came after a push by more than 200 experts prompted the agency to update its description of how the virus is spread. The agency now says transmission of the virus by aerosols, or tiny droplets, may have been responsible for “outbreaks of Covid-19 reported in some closed settings, such as restaurants, nightclubs, places of worship or places of work where people may be shouting, talking, or singing.”
“Oh, it can only be a trillion dollars,” Pelosi said Thursday, scoffing at the GOP’s proposed price tag and laying out her own demands. “No, we need a trillion dollars for state and local. We need another trillion dollars for unemployment insurance, and direct payments.” The Democrats’ package — which was approved before the latest surge in cases across the South — would bolster U.S. testing and treatment efforts, shore up cash-strapped state and local governments and deliver relief checks to millions of Americans.McConnell says ‘we’ll have to wait and see’ whether it’s safe to hold large-scale GOP convention (WaPo live blog)
“Well, I think the convention is a challenging situation, and a number of my colleagues have announced that they’re not going to attend,” McConnell said at an event in Kentucky, in a video posted by the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Chris Mayhew. “And we’ll have to wait and see how things look in late August to determine whether or not you can safely convene that many people.” [...] Several Republican senators have said that they will not attend the convention, citing the demands of the campaign trail or concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.posted by katra at 11:41 AM on July 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
‘People can’t ignore it anymore’: Across the country, minorities hit hardest by pandemic (Politico)
As the disease caused by the novel coronavirus has moved from coastal big cities to conservative states, political pundits and analysts have declared that “Trump country” is under siege. But the politicization of the pandemic hides an enduring reality: It’s Black, Latino and Native American populations that are bearing the brunt of the disease. [...] Instead, over the July 4 holiday President Donald Trump again downplayed the virus’ danger, saying almost all cases were “totally harmless.”In addition to a national record, at least five states reported single-day records for infections Wednesday. (NYT live blog)
They aren’t. From New York and California to Texas and Arizona — in urban and rural areas alike — people of color are suffering at greater rates, according to county data, state analyses provided to POLITICO by public health researchers, and interviews with more than a dozen experts. [...] In interviews, local doctors, officials and community advocates across Republican-led states said the mixed or diluted messages on masks and social distancing from state and federal leaders have made the crisis worse. They also noted that the virus has disproportionately slammed communities of color in red states that have not expanded Medicaid under Obamacare — leading many to delay seeking out health care until they're seriously ill. [...] “All Covid did was accelerate the inequities that we already know,” said Martha Moore-Monroy, a public health lecturer at the University of Arizona, whose work focuses on improving health in underserved communities. “People can’t ignore it anymore.”
The country reached a total of three million cases on Tuesday as the virus continued its resurgence in the South and West. At least five states — Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia — set single-day records for new infections on Wednesday. As of Tuesday, the country’s daily number of new cases had increased by 72 percent over the past two weeks. And by Wednesday, 24 states had reported more cases over the past week than in any other seven-day stretch of the pandemic. [...] According to Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the Trump administration’s virus response coordinator, [Texas]’s rate of positive tests was hovering around 20 percent at the beginning of July, double what it was a month before.posted by katra at 12:15 PM on July 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
Schools or bars? Opening classrooms may mean hard choices (AP)
It doesn't have to be hard, I'm sick of this party line imposed by authorities. Implement a supplemental income program and pour money into a moonshot for distance learning. Free tablets to whoever wants them, or chromebooks or whatever. Free licensed childcare across the board.
Tax dollars for taxpayers, the military can wait.
posted by rhizome at 1:01 PM on July 9, 2020 [23 favorites]
It doesn't have to be hard, I'm sick of this party line imposed by authorities. Implement a supplemental income program and pour money into a moonshot for distance learning. Free tablets to whoever wants them, or chromebooks or whatever. Free licensed childcare across the board.
Tax dollars for taxpayers, the military can wait.
posted by rhizome at 1:01 PM on July 9, 2020 [23 favorites]
Trump administration’s approach to testing is chaotic and unhelpful, states say (WaPo / SFGate reprint)
The Trump administration’s erratic approach to testing for the novel coronavirus has left state leaders and commercial laboratories confused, frustrated and unprepared for the fall, Democrats on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions found in a report released Thursday. Labs and state officials said they were unsure who in the federal government to contact about supply issues, including whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Department of Health and Human Services was in charge.US economy may be stalling out as viral outbreak worsens (AP)
“It is increasingly unlikely the nation will be prepared with sufficient testing capacity to meet the health and economic needs of the country by late summer or even into the fall,” write the authors, led by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). “Disturbingly, several interviewees, including large clinical labs, reported that despite the Administration’s assurances, they did not see how the United States would reach even a million tests per day by the fall.” [...] A mid-April forecast of lab capacity from the White House was “laughable” and “just ridiculous,” one state official told the senators, because it was inaccurate and outdated. “The lack of clarity and accuracy has made it nearly impossible for states and labs to rely on the Administration to help them accurately estimate their own capacity and supply needs,” the report concludes.
Administration officials have expressed support for additional stimulus. But Senate Republicans have opposed extending the $600 a week in unemployment benefits, mainly on the ground that it discourages laid-off people from returning to work. House Democrats have pushed to extend the $600 a week through January. In an interview Thursday on CNBC, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested that the administration might support an extension of supplemental unemployment aid but at a reduced level. “We’re going to make sure people are (incentivized) to go back to jobs,” Mnuchin said.Hospitals across the U.S. are straining under a flood of new patients. (NYT live blog)
Even as regular wards are being converted into intensive care units and long-term care facilities are opened for patients too sick to go home, doctors say they are barely managing.posted by katra at 5:44 PM on July 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
CDC feels pressure from Trump as rift grows over coronavirus response (WaPo / MSN reprint)
The June 28 email to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was ominous: A senior adviser to a top Health and Human Services Department official accused the CDC of “undermining the President” by putting out a report about the potential risks of the coronavirus to pregnant women. The adviser, Paul Alexander, criticized the agency’s methods and said its warning to pregnant women “reads in a way to frighten women . . . as if the President and his administration can’t fix this and it is getting worse.” [...] In a White House guided by the president’s instincts, rather than by evidence-based policy, the CDC finds itself forced constantly to backtrack or sidelined from pivotal decisions. [...] Scientists at the CDC and former colleagues speak of deep frustration and low morale over its inability to fully share and explain scientific and medical information. Researchers are fearful for their jobs and want to protect the integrity of the data they release. “If you want to say something, you’re thinking, ‘what’s the White House going to say and how are they going to use it,’ ” said one longtime scientist who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.Time to shut down again? As coronavirus cases surge, a growing chorus makes the case (WaPo, See also Guardian)
[On] Thursday, Fauci dialed back his remarks, saying [...] at an event hosted by the Hill newspaper. “[...] rather than think in terms of reverting back down to a complete shutdown, I would think we need to get the states pausing in their opening process.” But other public health specialists insist a pause is not enough, and that the United States won’t be able to reopen to the extent that many other countries have until it learns how to do so safely. “We see the hurricane coming. In some places, it’s already here,” said Thomas Tsai, a Harvard health policy researcher and surgeon. “The question is whether you’re going to evacuate your citizens from the path.”posted by katra at 6:48 PM on July 9, 2020 [6 favorites]
[...] At the Harvard Global Health Institute, with which Tsai is affiliated, researchers recently put together a national tracker to assess the severity of the outbreak in all 50 states. As of Thursday, 15 of them were in a state of “accelerated spread,” meaning that stay-at-home orders should at least be considered, along with aggressive testing and tracing programs. Another five — Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Georgia — were flashing red. In those states, the outbreaks are so advanced that researchers say stay-at-home measures are no longer optional. They should be mandatory. In all five, however, governors have waved off suggestions that people should be again told to stay at home, citing the economic costs of keeping people out of work.
“We’re going to make sure people are (incentivized) to go back to jobs,” Mnuchin said.
So they can go to work and die? The whole point of enhanced unemployment was to allow people not to go to work when it was unsafe and to prevent further spread of the epidemic.
You want incentives? We will cut enhanced employment when Trump provides adequate testing, adequate case tracing, an adequate mask policy and cases fall below a predetermined level. There's an incentive for you. Until Trump can meet those goals, you don't want people going back to work.
posted by JackFlash at 6:58 PM on July 9, 2020 [17 favorites]
So they can go to work and die? The whole point of enhanced unemployment was to allow people not to go to work when it was unsafe and to prevent further spread of the epidemic.
You want incentives? We will cut enhanced employment when Trump provides adequate testing, adequate case tracing, an adequate mask policy and cases fall below a predetermined level. There's an incentive for you. Until Trump can meet those goals, you don't want people going back to work.
posted by JackFlash at 6:58 PM on July 9, 2020 [17 favorites]
Fauci says states with surging Covid-19 cases should pause reopening efforts (Guardian)
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, told NBC: “Those of us who have spent our lives teaching kids are not going to take a risk with kids or with our members’ lives [but] if [teachers] had the proper safeguards, they want to be in classrooms.” If schools reopen without necessary safeguards, Weingarten said, “we’re going to have a lot of [teachers] retire early, quit, take a leave. So, at the very same time that kids need these experienced teachers … we’re going to see a huge brain drain in the next few weeks.”If Walmart is open, schools should be, too, DeSantis says (Politico)
Ron Meyer, a Tallahassee attorney who has represented the state’s teacher union, accused the administration of overreach and said the order wasn’t supported by the governor’s emergency powers or the Florida constitution. School districts in South Florida — which remain under phase one of the state’s reopening — have said they will stick to reopening plans already under way that rely heavily on online learning. “We do not see a realistic path” to every school being open five days a week, Broward School Superintendent Robert Runcie told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.Trump’s health officials find ways to contradict his message downplaying virus risks (Politico)
Outside experts say the apparent contradictions underscore how the White House’s political aims are taking precedence over the public health realities. “The best thing is when the boss has your back and the public knows what the position of the administration is — and then have the scientists give the details,” [Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association,] said. CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat sought to do that late last month, laying out in stark terms the challenge still facing the country. “There was a lot of wishful thinking around the country that, hey it’s summer — everything’s going to be fine,” Schuchat, a longtime senior CDC official, said in an interview. “We are not even beginning to be over this.” Eleven days later, the interview, a YouTube livestream with the Journal of the American Medical Association, had only received about 30,000 views.posted by katra at 7:39 PM on July 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
Trump to critics of reopening schools: ‘Stop this nonsense’ (WaPo live blog)
”We have to open our schools," Trump said to scattered applause. “Open our schools. Stop this nonsense.” He added that “so many countries right now” have reopened their schools, “and they’re doing just fine.” Trump listed several European countries, including Germany, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Officials and educators from several of those countries have challenged the president’s remarks, noting that the U.S. pandemic response has differed sharply from their own.‘We are begging’: Mississippi health officials warn of untenable hospital conditions (WaPo live blog)
Mississippi health experts on Thursday put out a dire warning, local news reported: The state’s five largest medical institutions have run out of space in their intensive care units, and as cases of the novel coronavirus continue to rise, state health officer Thomas Dobbs laid things out bluntly — “Mississippi hospitals cannot take care of Mississippi patients.” Dobbs was one of several experts who issued a plea to anyone who would listen Thursday morning, the Mississippi Free Press and other outlets wrote. Dobbs added that hospitals are “stretched thin” and said the state is on pace to mirror New York City, which emerged as an early pandemic hot spot.Alabama GOP lawmaker says he wants to see more people get covid-19 (WaPo live blog)
Alabama Sen. Del Marsh (R), dismissing concerns Thursday about the state reporting 2,100 coronavirus cases, its highest single-day count, advocated for more people to be infected as a way to increase public immunity. “I’m not concerned, so much, [about] the number of cases,” Marsh told reporters. “Quite honestly, I want to see more people because we start reaching an immunity if more people have it and get through it.” [...] Doctors continue to study the disease, and the long-term effects on the heart and brain of those who survive are unknown, even if people suffered few symptoms or were completely asymptomatic. [...] The idea of widespread immunity for those who have survived is also not certain, according to experts. [...] The presence of coronavirus antibodies may not lead to immunity.posted by katra at 8:06 PM on July 9, 2020 [6 favorites]
Trump added that “so many countries right now” have reopened their schools, “and they’re doing just fine.” Trump listed several European countries, including Germany, Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
Coincidentally, all of those countries "doing just fine" have barred entry to Americans because Trump has done such a shitty job on containing the epidemic.
posted by JackFlash at 8:17 PM on July 9, 2020 [14 favorites]
Coincidentally, all of those countries "doing just fine" have barred entry to Americans because Trump has done such a shitty job on containing the epidemic.
posted by JackFlash at 8:17 PM on July 9, 2020 [14 favorites]
Right, many countries have done what they need to do to open schools. You have not, Donald.
posted by ctmf at 8:22 PM on July 9, 2020 [14 favorites]
posted by ctmf at 8:22 PM on July 9, 2020 [14 favorites]
Worker advocates file meat plants discrimination complaint (AP)
Several worker advocacy organizations have filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture alleging that meat processing companies Tyson and JBS have engaged in racial discrimination during the coronavirus pandemic. [...] “When they took that money, they knew at that point that they would be held accountable to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but they continued to violate that act,” said Joe Henry, director of Forward Latino, one of the groups filing the complaint. [...] Coronavirus infections were first reported in meatpacking plants in March and since then at least 32,151 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed among workers in 291 plants and at least 122 meatpacking workers have died, the complaint said. A CDC report released Tuesday found 87% of those coronavirus cases occurred among racial and ethnic minorities even though they make up 61% of the worker population.posted by katra at 9:30 PM on July 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
After the outbreaks were uncovered, meatpacking plants began providing workers with face coverings, installed shields between work stations and implemented new procedures for distancing during breaks, but they declined to adopt other U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for keeping people at least 6 feet apart. The companies also declined to initiate slower speeds on production lines or add shifts to enable social distancing, the complaint said. The complaint alleges the operating procedures have a disparate impact on Black, Latino, and Asian workers, who make up a large share of production workers at the companies’ plants, representing a pattern or practice of racial discrimination.
I. Puerto Rico residents go without water every 24 hours in drought during pandemic (NBC, July 9, 2020). For hard-hit Puerto Rico, the pandemic is the 5th dire emergency in 3 years (NYT, July 8, 2020) [T]he governor has announced that because of a severe drought, parts of the island will have running water only every other day for the foreseeable future. [...] At least 300,000 Puerto Ricans — out of a civilian labor force of 1.05 million — have filed unemployment claims linked to the pandemic, and many others are ineligible for aid because they are part of the island’s large informal economy. In mid-June, the island had the highest insured unemployment rate in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
--
Around one in five island residents are over 65, and in 2017, two-thirds of the population qualified for Medicare or Medicaid for health insurance (compared with one-third of the mainland population). "In the 50 states, Washington funnels money into each individual Medicaid program based on the state’s median income, paying anywhere between 50 and 83 percent of the annual bill. For the territories, however, the original 1965 Medicaid legislation stipulates that the federal government pay a set, low rate—only 55 percent—forcing cash-strapped territorial governments to front nearly half the costs. [...] On Puerto Rico, the average Medicaid enrollee receives less than $2,200 in benefits per year—lower than any state—while the median state’s enrollees average more than $6,700." (Colonialism Made Puerto Rico Vulnerable to Coronavirus Catastrophe, The Nation, April 9, 2020).
"The funding problems have also weakened hospital infrastructure. As Jaime Plá Cortes, executive president of the Puerto Rico Hospital Association, explained to Congress last May, the sporadic short-term payments to the territory’s Medicaid program have made banks hesitant to finance much-needed physical improvements. Many hospitals on Puerto Rico, for instance, haven’t been modernized since they were built in the 1940s, according to a 2017 study by the Urban Institute."
This ongoing lack of funding helped drive healthcare professionals away; today, about 9,000 physicians provide care for approx. 3.2 million people. There's a nurse shortage, too. An estimated 473,959 (17.22%) adults in Puerto Rico reported during 2017 being told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that they have diabetes; in 2018, there were 33 endocrinologists on the island.
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:30 PM on July 9, 2020 [7 favorites]
--
Around one in five island residents are over 65, and in 2017, two-thirds of the population qualified for Medicare or Medicaid for health insurance (compared with one-third of the mainland population). "In the 50 states, Washington funnels money into each individual Medicaid program based on the state’s median income, paying anywhere between 50 and 83 percent of the annual bill. For the territories, however, the original 1965 Medicaid legislation stipulates that the federal government pay a set, low rate—only 55 percent—forcing cash-strapped territorial governments to front nearly half the costs. [...] On Puerto Rico, the average Medicaid enrollee receives less than $2,200 in benefits per year—lower than any state—while the median state’s enrollees average more than $6,700." (Colonialism Made Puerto Rico Vulnerable to Coronavirus Catastrophe, The Nation, April 9, 2020).
"The funding problems have also weakened hospital infrastructure. As Jaime Plá Cortes, executive president of the Puerto Rico Hospital Association, explained to Congress last May, the sporadic short-term payments to the territory’s Medicaid program have made banks hesitant to finance much-needed physical improvements. Many hospitals on Puerto Rico, for instance, haven’t been modernized since they were built in the 1940s, according to a 2017 study by the Urban Institute."
This ongoing lack of funding helped drive healthcare professionals away; today, about 9,000 physicians provide care for approx. 3.2 million people. There's a nurse shortage, too. An estimated 473,959 (17.22%) adults in Puerto Rico reported during 2017 being told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that they have diabetes; in 2018, there were 33 endocrinologists on the island.
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:30 PM on July 9, 2020 [7 favorites]
II. Puerto Rico to demand COVID-19 test results from passengers (WaPo, June 30, 2020) Starting July 15, all passengers have to wear a mask and must take a molecular test 72 hours prior to their arrival and submit the results to officials at the airport. Those who refuse to do so, or tested positive, or do not have the test results available, will be forced into a two-week quarantine. [...] Most molecular tests involve a nose or throat swab and are used to diagnose an active infection. Puerto Rico’s government will not accept any other test, including antibody ones that require a finger stick or blood drawn.
Several weeks ago, [Gov. Wanda] Vázquez asked the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily ban commercial flights from cities in the U.S. mainland that are considered coronavirus hotspots. The FAA did not respond to that request. Puerto Rico expects to receive up to 9,000 passengers a day in upcoming months, compared with the roughly 4,500 daily current arrivals, said Carla Campos, executive director of Puerto Rico’s Tourism Company.
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Puerto Rico has 8,862 cases of coronavirus (Worldometer).
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:32 PM on July 9, 2020 [9 favorites]
Several weeks ago, [Gov. Wanda] Vázquez asked the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily ban commercial flights from cities in the U.S. mainland that are considered coronavirus hotspots. The FAA did not respond to that request. Puerto Rico expects to receive up to 9,000 passengers a day in upcoming months, compared with the roughly 4,500 daily current arrivals, said Carla Campos, executive director of Puerto Rico’s Tourism Company.
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Puerto Rico has 8,862 cases of coronavirus (Worldometer).
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:32 PM on July 9, 2020 [9 favorites]
So they can go to work and die? The whole point of enhanced unemployment was to allow people not to go to work when it was unsafe and to prevent further spread of the epidemic.
The talking point is somehow even more stupid than this. A person who was furloughed and refuses to return to work becomes ineligible for UI benefits under federal guidelines, enhanced or not. People receiving benefits are not afforded the agency these liars are claiming they have.
There is no "stay on unemployment instead of going back to work" option. It's a bald faced lie and I'm really tired of the news media repeating it uncritically.
posted by wierdo at 1:46 AM on July 10, 2020 [24 favorites]
The talking point is somehow even more stupid than this. A person who was furloughed and refuses to return to work becomes ineligible for UI benefits under federal guidelines, enhanced or not. People receiving benefits are not afforded the agency these liars are claiming they have.
There is no "stay on unemployment instead of going back to work" option. It's a bald faced lie and I'm really tired of the news media repeating it uncritically.
posted by wierdo at 1:46 AM on July 10, 2020 [24 favorites]
New Hampshire (site of tomorrow's rally) and South Dakota (site of Trump's previous rally) are the states with the two lowest rates of COVID-19 testing (50th and 51st, with DC included in the count).
Furthermore, they are among the few states that decreased testing by at least 10% the past week.
State New Tests
------ % decline
Indiana_____ -12.70%
NHampshire_ -18.01%
N. Dakota___ -18.50%
Ohio_______ -15.45%
S. Dakota___ -12.90%
Wyoming___ -15.90%
Those states with at least a 10% decline in testing from the week ending June 27 to the week ending July 4.
States New Cases
------- % change
Indiana____ +22.80%
NHampshire_ -19.60%
N. Dakota_ +55.10%
Ohio_____ +29.56
S. Dakota__ -0.50%
Wyoming__ +0.50%
Change, positive or negative, for new cases over the same time period for the same states. (Sorry, I don't know how to format tables here and puttered around using preview.)
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:29 AM on July 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
Furthermore, they are among the few states that decreased testing by at least 10% the past week.
State New Tests
------ % decline
Indiana_____ -12.70%
NHampshire_ -18.01%
N. Dakota___ -18.50%
Ohio_______ -15.45%
S. Dakota___ -12.90%
Wyoming___ -15.90%
Those states with at least a 10% decline in testing from the week ending June 27 to the week ending July 4.
States New Cases
------- % change
Indiana____ +22.80%
NHampshire_ -19.60%
N. Dakota_ +55.10%
Ohio_____ +29.56
S. Dakota__ -0.50%
Wyoming__ +0.50%
Change, positive or negative, for new cases over the same time period for the same states. (Sorry, I don't know how to format tables here and puttered around using preview.)
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:29 AM on July 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
There is no "stay on unemployment instead of going back to work" option.
There is for companies that have gone out of business and are not calling workers their back from furlough. Or for workers that were simply laid off instead of furloughed. Depending on the state, requirements for "seeking work" can be simple or difficult.
posted by JackFlash at 8:14 AM on July 10, 2020
There is for companies that have gone out of business and are not calling workers their back from furlough. Or for workers that were simply laid off instead of furloughed. Depending on the state, requirements for "seeking work" can be simple or difficult.
posted by JackFlash at 8:14 AM on July 10, 2020
If you put stuff in a [pre] [/pre] environment, it dumps to a fixed-width font which makes formatting easier. At least by default.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 8:47 AM on July 10, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 8:47 AM on July 10, 2020 [4 favorites]
Literally every state requires that people on unemployment be actively seeking work. Some have waived their usual verification processes since they are having trouble timely processing claims even without that extra effort, but the legal requirement remains even if it isn't being actively enforced.
The only exception is for people eligible for one of the three CARES Act UI expansions, but even that only applies to people who wouldn't be eligible for unemployment under the normal rules anyway and requires that you be unable to work as a direct result of COVID-19 and only lasts while that condition exists. To get that, you or a family member has to have COVID-19, you are unable to work because you can't get to your job because of COVID-19 (for example, if transit is shut down in your community), or you have newly become head of household because someone died of COVID-19, or a few other exceptions that, again, only apply to those eligible for PUA, which explicitly excludes those eligible for "normal" unemployment.
posted by wierdo at 9:22 AM on July 10, 2020
The only exception is for people eligible for one of the three CARES Act UI expansions, but even that only applies to people who wouldn't be eligible for unemployment under the normal rules anyway and requires that you be unable to work as a direct result of COVID-19 and only lasts while that condition exists. To get that, you or a family member has to have COVID-19, you are unable to work because you can't get to your job because of COVID-19 (for example, if transit is shut down in your community), or you have newly become head of household because someone died of COVID-19, or a few other exceptions that, again, only apply to those eligible for PUA, which explicitly excludes those eligible for "normal" unemployment.
posted by wierdo at 9:22 AM on July 10, 2020
Some have waived their usual verification processes since they are having trouble timely processing claims even without that extra effort, but the legal requirement remains even if it isn't being actively enforced.
I feel like this is too broad a statement - Ohio flat out eliminated the "looking for work" requirement (albeit technically temporarily - I believe it's tied to Governor DeWine's declaration of emergency, which remains open-ended) back in the middle of March, specifically stating that it was due to the looming lack of jobs, not about processing lags.
Although the first couple of weeks I filed at the end of March still had the related questions and check boxes in the online forms. The instructions were to just ignore these. They're now simply gone from the filing form.
Which my point is not to nitpick, but as evidence that this crisis has really emphasized how badly we need a more nationally coherent and organized set of unemployment policies, with far less leeway for states to monkey with cut outs and exemptions and requirements and means tests.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:51 AM on July 10, 2020 [2 favorites]
I feel like this is too broad a statement - Ohio flat out eliminated the "looking for work" requirement (albeit technically temporarily - I believe it's tied to Governor DeWine's declaration of emergency, which remains open-ended) back in the middle of March, specifically stating that it was due to the looming lack of jobs, not about processing lags.
Although the first couple of weeks I filed at the end of March still had the related questions and check boxes in the online forms. The instructions were to just ignore these. They're now simply gone from the filing form.
Which my point is not to nitpick, but as evidence that this crisis has really emphasized how badly we need a more nationally coherent and organized set of unemployment policies, with far less leeway for states to monkey with cut outs and exemptions and requirements and means tests.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:51 AM on July 10, 2020 [2 favorites]
It's a bald faced lie and I'm really tired of the news media repeating it uncritically.
Evergreen comment from me for the entirety of this century so far and years before.
posted by Gelatin at 9:52 AM on July 10, 2020 [16 favorites]
Evergreen comment from me for the entirety of this century so far and years before.
posted by Gelatin at 9:52 AM on July 10, 2020 [16 favorites]
Dan Sinker has an article in Esquire about the folly of opening up right now.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:02 AM on July 10, 2020 [34 favorites]
If 22 NBA teams and 30 MLB teams can’t keep COVID out of their reopenings despite careful, elaborate processes that reflect their need to protect the investment of millions of dollars in their players (not to mention billions of dollars in TV and advertising deals) then how in the fuck are we supposed to safely reopen 130,000 K-12 schools that always have tissues on their supplies list because they can’t afford to buy them on their own?Teachers are extremely underpaid and buy a lot of supplies out of their own pocket. But none of them can fund the infrastructure needed since the federal, state, and local governments seem to be unwilling to do anything useful.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:02 AM on July 10, 2020 [34 favorites]
California:
Due to the impact of COVID-19, we made the following temporary exceptions for all Unemployment Insurance claims until further notice:posted by one for the books at 11:05 AM on July 10, 2020 [4 favorites]
Waiting Period – The 7-day waiting period is waived for claims beginning on or after January 19, 2020. After you submit your first two-week continued certification, you will be paid for the first week of your claim.
Work Search – You are not required to look for work each week to be eligible for benefits.
Los Angeles teachers union says students should stay home when classes start (WaPo live blog)
posted by katra at 11:59 AM on July 10, 2020 [5 favorites]
The district should “refocus on robust distance learning practices” in the fall, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) said in a statement. “It is time to take a stand against Trump’s dangerous, anti-science agenda that puts the lives of our members, our students, and our families at risk,” union President Cecily Myart-Cruz said. “We all want to physically open schools and be back with our students, but lives hang in the balance.” [...] UTLA says it is polling its members to “find out where they stand on reopening campuses” and will share results Friday night. But with its statement, it joined a chorus of concern from educator groups that schools will reopen too quickly or without the proper precautions — even as teachers, parents and politicians agree that keeping students home carries a high price.Medical group cited by Trump denounces school funding threat (AP)
In a joint statement with national education unions and a superintendents group, the American Academy of Pediatrics on Friday said decisions should be made by health experts and local leaders. The groups argued that schools will need more money to reopen safely during the coronavirus pandemic and that cuts could ultimately harm students. [...] “Public health agencies must make recommendations based on evidence, not politics,” the groups wrote in the statement. “Withholding funding from schools that do not open in person full-time would be a misguided approach, putting already financially strapped schools in an impossible position that would threaten the health of students and teachers.”Fauci says he hasn't briefed Trump on COVID-19 in 2 months (The Week)
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke to the Financial Times in an interview published Friday, in which he revealed that it's been more than a month since he actually saw the president in person at the White House; that last happened on June 2, he said. Additionally, Fauci said that it's been at least two months since he briefed Trump, though he's "sure" his messages are being relayed to the president. If that's the case, "Trump is evidently not listening," the Financial Times writes.Also, information about Unemployment Insurance is linked at the MeFi Wiki Get a Lawyer page, in the Employment/Unemployment section.
posted by katra at 11:59 AM on July 10, 2020 [5 favorites]
‘Worse Than New York’: How Coronavirus Exploded in South Carolina (Daily Beast)
One of the earliest states to loosen coronavirus restrictions amid the pandemic, South Carolina is now struggling to address its brewing COVID-19 crisis. But while the growth rate of infected residents has exploded over the last week—making the state one of the newest hot spots for the deadly disease—many residents continue to ignore the problem. Last week, thousands of boaters gathered at Lake Murray to declare their support for President Trump, while organizers of a motorcycle event in Myrtle Beach next week say they have no intention of modifying or canceling the annual tradition. “Who is staying home? If you look at the roads here, nobody is staying home,” Sonny Copeland, the founder of Myrtle Beach Bike Week, which typically attracts thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts, told The Daily Beast. “Here in South Carolina, we’ve been acting normal since Day 1. We live in real life—this ain’t something politicians want us to do though.”Trump the victim: President complains in private about the pandemic hurting him (WaPo / LMT reprint)
[...] Overnight, the state experienced a 20 percent increase in the number of new cases, with about 2,300 positive tests, while the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control on Thursday announced that more than 75 percent of its total hospital beds are occupied. [...] South Carolina’s majority-Black communities have been hit the hardest, according to media reports and statistics from the state health agency DHEC.
Callers on President Trump in recent weeks have come to expect what several allies and advisers describe as a “woe-is-me” preamble. [...] Trump often launches into a monologue placing himself at the center of the nation’s turmoil. The president has cast himself in the starring role of the blameless victim — of a deadly pandemic, of a stalled economy, of deep-seated racial unrest, all of which happened to him rather than the country.posted by katra at 12:54 PM on July 10, 2020 [6 favorites]
[...] Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a history professor at New York University and author of the forthcoming book, “Strongmen,” a history of authoritarian leaders, said Trump’s victimization complex fits a pattern of authoritarian leaders past and present. “They have no empathy, and they only see the world through how things affect them personally,” Ben-Ghiat said. [...] Despite his bouts of moroseness, Trump can also exhibit optimism not entirely grounded in reality. He has continued to tell advisers, for instance, that he is certain the virus will go away by October and that there will be a “cure” by then — a word he favors over “vaccine.” Then, he adds in these tellings, the economy will rebound overnight and he will win a second term.
A wonderful, heartbreaking short thread on Twitter:
posted by PhineasGage at 1:17 PM on July 10, 2020 [23 favorites]
@davepellIf only, if only...
1/
Fuck it, I’ll be president:
My fellow Americans:
We’re in a fight for our lives. We need to flatten the curve, we need schools open, we need to save our economy.
For the next four weeks, everyone who can stay home must. Anyone who must leave their house, must wear a mask.
2/
I know you’re frustrated. I know our health workers and first responders are exhausted. I know our grandparents feel trapped and scared.
But if we can take in this challenge together, we can awaken to a new reality a month from now. It won’t be over, but it will be better.
3/
I know you’re worried about your finances. I know you want to get back to your normal life. I know you want to spend time with friends and be able to embrace your parents.
If we can embrace this challenge together, those things will happen much sooner.
4/ This won’t be easy. We’ve made attempts to slow the virus and we’ve failed.
But this is not an optional fight.
It’s not a fight that we can lose.
America has faced tougher fights and weathered worse storms.
And we did it together. Let’s lock virtual arms and get this done.
posted by PhineasGage at 1:17 PM on July 10, 2020 [23 favorites]
Hey, if we can end the quarantine and shelter-in-place and everything else because everybody's sick of it and "it can't go on forever," can we do the same thing for wars? That regardless of goals and requirements, reality can be subsumed under preference.
posted by rhizome at 4:37 PM on July 10, 2020 [22 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 4:37 PM on July 10, 2020 [22 favorites]
Texas border county had 'model' Covid-19 response – then the governor stepped in (Guardian)
Meanwhile, the virus is spreading like wildfire in a community woefully underequipped to handle an outbreak. About 20 members of a single family contracted Covid-19 after a get-together, as did 30 or 40 attendees at a 500-person wedding, said Jose Vazquez, the county’s health authority. A local nursing home system has faced a barrage of cases, and altogether, 936 Starr county residents tested positive for the disease by 4 July. “Basically, you have no chance to be admitted in a hospital here in the Valley,” said Vazquez. As the situation grows dire, people are starting to realize that “if you were to get sick, nobody can guarantee you any longer that you are going to be doing fine”. Vazquez has also tested positive.Over 40 Florida hospitals max out ICU capacity as Covid-19 cases surge across US (Guardian)
“We’re putting ourselves at risk and other people aren’t willing to do anything and in fact go the other way and be aggressive to promote the disease,” Dr Andrew Pastewski, intensive care unit medical director at Jackson South medical center in Miami, told Reuters. Pastewski himself was diagnosed with Covid-19. “It’s just disheartening,” he said.After months of decline, America’s coronavirus death rate begins to rise (WaPo)
The public has grown increasingly critical of the government’s pandemic response. Two-thirds of Americans now disapprove of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, his worst numbers to date, according to an ABC News-Ipsos poll released Friday. The poll found that 67 percent disapprove of Trump’s handling of the pandemic, while 33 percent approve. Trump’s disapproval number has risen nine points since mid-June.posted by katra at 6:56 PM on July 10, 2020 [4 favorites]
Trump's campaign to open schools provokes mounting backlash even from GOP (Politico)
“Threats are not helpful,” Joy Hofmeister, the Republican state superintendent of public instruction in Oklahoma, told POLITICO on Friday. “We do not need to be schooled on why it’s important to reopen.” [...] Higher education also has also been roiled [...] by the Trump administration’s effort to oust international students from U.S. campuses unless colleges agree to physically hold classes this fall. The proposed policy — which a top official said is meant to prod campuses to reopen — marks an abrupt reversal for the Trump administration, which set out different standards just a few months ago during the pandemic’s springtime peak. [...] The U.S. Chamber of Commerce blasted the plan as “ill-conceived” and harmful to businesses. On Friday, a coalition of Christian groups, including the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, the National Association of Evangelicals and Bethany Christian Services, said that international students shouldn’t be expelled from U.S. campuses during the pandemic.The Pandemic Proved That Cash Payments Work (Annie Lowrey, Atlantic)
In more human terms, the helicopter money and UI boost kept families in their home, with food on the table, gas in the car, and the electric bill paid. [...] The UI payments have also helped workers transition from one part of the labor market to another. [...] In addition, the UI bump has allowed workers to stay at home when finding a job might be dangerous or otherwise untenable. Many workers I interviewed said that the fear of falling ill outweighed the trauma of unemployment. Others indicated that the UI bump had helped them negotiate the loss of their child care, another daunting barrier to finding a new gig. [...] The boost has given workers some purchase, some bargaining power. “It has definitely made me realize that I don’t want to be underpaid and underappreciated and potentially contracting a disease for a job that’s only $15 an hour,” Fatora told me.posted by katra at 8:29 PM on July 10, 2020 [7 favorites]
More money has also given recipients space—emotional, financial, and psychological, assuaging their feelings of precarity during a time of death, disease, and civil strife. “I’ve lived my entire adult life without having any sort of safety net,” said Rachael Cottle, a laid-off bartender in Phoenix, now the site of a massive coronavirus spike. “Just having a little bit of security takes a lot of the burden off. I know that I’ll be able to pay for everything I need. It’s improved my quality of life quite a bit, in terms of stress and not worrying about being homeless or not having enough to eat.”
[...] The bonus payment surely does create some disincentive for the jobless to look for work and take the first thing that comes along. But the main things preventing workers from getting a job right now are the raging pandemic, the massive recession, and the necessity for extended public-health shutdowns caused by the federal government’s incompetent response to the virus. Businesses are dying; jobless workers outnumber open positions by four to one; many open positions are too dangerous for workers who are elderly, have preexisting medical conditions, or live with someone with health problems; millions of workers do not have adequate child care, with schools and daycare centers still closed; and demand for goods and services is weak across the economy. These, not the bonus payments, are the real sticking points.
Mod note: Several deleted: Covid thread, not POTUS thread. You can make a new thread about the Stone pardoning if it seems warranted.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 8:36 PM on July 10, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 8:36 PM on July 10, 2020 [6 favorites]
‘You get made fun of’: Trump campaign office shuns masks, social distancing (Politico, Jul. 10, 2020)
The decision to conduct the cleaning came after two months of flouting the Trump administration’s own public health guidance: There are no face coverings or temporary barriers between desks at headquarters, and leaders have limited efforts to implement social distancing. The campaign’s lack of safety protections were visible during Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to the office last month, during which he posed for a photo with more than 70 campaign staff, closely packed together and without wearing face coverings — an image that infuriated local officials, who called on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to take action and enforce state public health orders on universal masking indoors and social distancing. But Northam, a Democrat, ultimately declined to do so. [...] Facing no threat of enforcement, the Trump campaign has continued to make its own rules on coronavirus protections, said the individuals, who requested anonymity to speak freely.Miami-Dade mayor demands masks in public. But not for Trump (Miami Herald / MSN)
[...] That attitude spilled into public view when Pence posted his picture with campaign staff last month. The photo was immediately condemned by Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), who represents Arlington, and other Democrats who said that the gathering violated Virginia public health orders. Pence promptly deleted the photo.
When he arrived at 12:15 p.m., Trump walked down the plane’s stairs and spoke briefly with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who is running for Congress with Trump’s endorsement and imposed the mask-wearing rule as COVID-19 cases have soared. [...] Trump, who was followed down the stairs by a half-dozen other people, none of whom wore a mask, also spoke with County Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz and County Commissioner Esteban “Steve” Bovo, who is running for Gimenez’s mayoral seat. Gimenez, Diaz and Bovo — all Republicans — were initially wearing masks and did not shake hands with the president, though Bovo later took off his mask to speak with Trump shortly before the president departed.posted by katra at 9:21 AM on July 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
[...] Mask wearing has become a divisive issue for Florida Republicans. Gimenez and Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, whose city will host the GOP convention next month, have mandated masks in their communities. In late June, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said “everyone should wear a damn mask” while fellow Sen. Rick Scott railed against mask-wearing mandates in a Fox News interview last week.
Will Republicans ditch Trump to save the Senate as support nosedives? (Guardian)
Trump is in trouble. The coronavirus has killed more than 130,000 Americans, tens of millions of people have lost their jobs and there has been a tectonic cultural shift for racial justice. Opinion polls suggest he is the worst-placed incumbent since Jimmy Carter was hammered by Ronald Reagan in 1980, leaving his Republican party somewhere between anxiety and panic about November’s elections for the White House and Congress.Guardian: A top health expert has warned that failing to curb the spread of Covid-19 risks plunging the US into instability.
“We will have hospitals overwhelmed and not only in terms of ICU beds and hospitals – and that’s bad – but exhausted hospital staff and hospital staff that [are] getting ill themselves,” Dr Peter Hotez, the dean of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN on Friday night. “So, we won’t have enough manpower, human power, to manage all of this.” Hotez added that if the virus is not brought under control the US could see “one of the most unstable times in the history of our country.”Officials in Texas and Georgia warn reopenings could reverse amid record U.S. caseloads and rising deaths. (NYT live blog)
Covid infections were rising in 41 US states as of Friday, and more isolated areas are now seeing an uptick in numbers - previously the virus had mainly been restricted to urban regions. The 66,627 new cases on Friday were a new record for the US.
Mr. Abbott, a Republican, predicted in a televised interview that “things will get worse” and said that he might take steps even more drastic than a statewide face-mask requirement that has angered members of his party. [...] Georgia’s growing concerns were also underscored when Gov. Brian Kemp said that the state was again transforming a convention center in Atlanta into a makeshift medical center as hospitals were filling with patients.posted by katra at 10:32 AM on July 11, 2020 [4 favorites]
Every one of these Republican governors who opposed face masks and are now having to deal with the consequences (or rather, their citizens are), should be subject to a Nuremberg-style tribunal.
posted by PhineasGage at 11:27 AM on July 11, 2020 [20 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 11:27 AM on July 11, 2020 [20 favorites]
Don't forget. Abbott signed an executive order forbidding local governments from instituting mask policies. That is pure malevolence, in service of his Dear Leader Trump.
posted by JackFlash at 1:07 PM on July 11, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by JackFlash at 1:07 PM on July 11, 2020 [9 favorites]
As death toll rises, pressure mounts on governors to pass mask requirements (WaPo)
Governors across the country are facing increasing pressure to pass statewide mask requirements and mount a more coherent pandemic response as coronavirus cases soar to record levels, daily deaths rise and hospitals in the South and West face a crush of patients.posted by PhineasGage at 1:30 PM on July 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
A growing chorus of local officials and health experts have warned that infections could continue to spiral out of control unless governors issue public health measures that apply to everyone.
One thing that never seems to get mentioned when talk shifts to full ICUs is the impact that'll have on non-COVID cases. I expect a a lot of outrage when say non-COVID automobile accident victims die in a hallway somewhere when they can't get an ICU bed or ventilator. The quotes are all about how many COVID cases can be accommodated without mention of how that that affects other readiness.
Initially with the ventilator shortage it was put forward but essentially nothing now.
posted by Mitheral at 1:36 PM on July 11, 2020 [8 favorites]
Initially with the ventilator shortage it was put forward but essentially nothing now.
posted by Mitheral at 1:36 PM on July 11, 2020 [8 favorites]
The Pessimists Archive Twitter account and podcast are sharing lots of examples of similar insanity from 1918. A few recent posts of particular relevance:
- We can learn a lot from the 1918 flu pandemic.
- 1918: So many people disobeyed laws to wear flu masks courts had to wipe docket clean to cope.
- Anti-flu mask freakout, 1918 style.
I wish I could consider these historical parallels even mildly reassuring -- i.e. we got through that, we'll get through this -- but the needless loss of life is heartbreaking, and it's even more sad to realize that science has advanced enormously in a century, but human nature has not.
posted by PhineasGage at 1:38 PM on July 11, 2020 [10 favorites]
- We can learn a lot from the 1918 flu pandemic.
- 1918: So many people disobeyed laws to wear flu masks courts had to wipe docket clean to cope.
- Anti-flu mask freakout, 1918 style.
I wish I could consider these historical parallels even mildly reassuring -- i.e. we got through that, we'll get through this -- but the needless loss of life is heartbreaking, and it's even more sad to realize that science has advanced enormously in a century, but human nature has not.
posted by PhineasGage at 1:38 PM on July 11, 2020 [10 favorites]
In Texas Beach City, Out-of-Towners Drove In an Outbreak (NYT)
Word spread that Corpus Christi, always a popular beachfront vacation spot for Texans from around the state, was a safe place to go. They didn’t even require masks indoors. It was an oasis from the virus. [...] It turned out that no place was safe. [...] The city’s two dozen contact tracers are so overwhelmed that they are no longer able to seek detailed information about each new infection. Hospital beds have filled at an alarming rate, prompting pleas for additional staffing. [...]'All the hospitals are full': In Houston, overwhelmed ICUs leave COVID-19 patients waiting in ER (NBC News)
The reason for the rapid spread in Corpus Christi is not certain. Data gathered from cellphones indicated that movement around the city returned to pre-pandemic levels by early June, especially at restaurants. [...] Many pointed at the visitors from big cities. [...] But some locals said they had no one but themselves to blame. People went to bars. They partied. They did not social distance or wear masks. The city did not require masks in most retail stores until last week, days before a statewide order. [...] dealing with the outbreak has strained medical resources in a city where officials said nearly one in five residents does not have health insurance. Hospitals have stopped performing elective surgeries and are paying overtime to keep up.
Houston hospitals have been forced to treat hundreds of COVID-19 patients in their emergency rooms — sometimes for several hours or multiple days — as they scramble to open additional intensive care beds for the wave of seriously ill people streaming through their doors, according to internal numbers shared with NBC News and ProPublica. [...] At the same time, since Texas officials have not issued another stay-at-home order to slow the virus’s spread, hospitals are also still seeing a steady flow of patients in need of care as a result of car accidents, violent crime and heat-related medical emergencies. Officials in Houston are warning that the situation could become a replay of what happened in New York City in March and April, when thousands of people died as hospitals struggled to keep up with the surge of patients, but without the same level of government intervention to stem the tide. [...] Earlier coronavirus outbreaks inundated emergency rooms in New York City and Detroit, but lockdown orders in those cities led to fewer car accidents and a reduction in violent crime, freeing more space in ERs for COVID patients.posted by katra at 3:51 PM on July 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
[...] Despite these challenges, [Dr. Jamie McCarthy, an executive vice president at Memorial Hermann Health System and an emergency room physician], said it’s essential that people continue to come to the hospital for medical emergencies. [...] “If a patient believes they have a serious medical issue, they still need to come to the emergency department,” McCarthy said. “We will make the capacity to take care of them. Delaying care for time-sensitive emergencies is time we don’t get back. If they wait to call for help when they are having a heart attack, it will be worse than if they come in early."
‘Blood on his hands’: In scathing obituary, woman blames governor for her father’s covid-19 death (WaPo / Boston reprint)
Mark Urquiza, 65, should still be alive, his daughter wrote in a scathing obituary, published Wednesday in the Arizona Republic. “His death is due to the carelessness of the politicians who continue to jeopardize the health of brown bodies through a clear lack of leadership, refusal to acknowledge the severity of this crisis, and inability and unwillingness to give clear and decisive direction on how to minimize risk,” she wrote.posted by katra at 6:07 PM on July 11, 2020 [11 favorites]
[...] Among the leaders whom Kristin Urquiza feels failed her father, a Mexican American resident of Phoenix who worked in manufacturing, are Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) and the Trump administration. Ducey, she said, “has blood on his hands” for beginning to reopen the state in early May, roughly three weeks before new infections started to rise quickly. [...] Inspired by the famous AIDS quilt meant to humanize victims, Kristin Urquiza wrote to Ducey, asking him to attend her father’s funeral to see a result of what she called his “inaction and active denial” of the pandemic’s effects. Ducey’s office, she said, did not reply.
[...] When it was time to write his obituary, Kristin Urquiza said, “there was no question in my mind that I wouldn’t just say the truth.” She has also channeled her rage into a social media campaign called “Marked by Covid,” which uses a play on her father’s name to spread information about covid-19 in hopes of sparing other families similar suffering. She said the Trump administration should create an enforceable federal mask requirement and stop minimizing the advice of its health experts. The nation’s leaders, Kristin Urquiza said, have failed to lead.
One thing that never seems to get mentioned when talk shifts to full ICUs is the impact that'll have on non-COVID cases
As somebody who lives in a state that got hit hard and early by Covid-19 (here in Boston, I'm sure I'm not the only one who now watches all the scenes of overloaded ICUs in Texas with a sense of deja vu), one of the things that happens is people simply stop going to the ER with non-Covid issues.
On April 23, Gov. Baker was joined at his daily press conference by officials from hospitals in Boston, Worcester and Springfield, who reported an increase in leg amputations - among patients with leg ulcers and vascular problems, who decided to try to wait things out, only to watch their conditions worsen so much that their legs could no longer be saved. Also, according to the CEO of Tufts Medical Center:
As somebody who lives in a state that got hit hard and early by Covid-19 (here in Boston, I'm sure I'm not the only one who now watches all the scenes of overloaded ICUs in Texas with a sense of deja vu), one of the things that happens is people simply stop going to the ER with non-Covid issues.
On April 23, Gov. Baker was joined at his daily press conference by officials from hospitals in Boston, Worcester and Springfield, who reported an increase in leg amputations - among patients with leg ulcers and vascular problems, who decided to try to wait things out, only to watch their conditions worsen so much that their legs could no longer be saved. Also, according to the CEO of Tufts Medical Center:
We've seen children coming to the hospital after having several days of abdominal pain, coming with a ruptured appendix. We've seen patients with symptoms of stroke staying at home long beyond the point at which medications that would markedly improve their outcome could safely be delivered.posted by adamg at 7:03 PM on July 11, 2020 [5 favorites]
Yeah, we're totally out of ICU beds here. Good job, reopeners!
American health care has always been a gamble for a lot of people. You know damn well you can't afford a $10k bill for getting your cut stitched up, or whatever it is, so you wait it out in hopes that it won't be so bad so you won't bankrupt yourself because you hit your head on the curb when you fell off your bike and "got it looked at." Now add having lost your job and health insurance and the likelihood of going to a place where sick people are....
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:24 PM on July 11, 2020 [3 favorites]
American health care has always been a gamble for a lot of people. You know damn well you can't afford a $10k bill for getting your cut stitched up, or whatever it is, so you wait it out in hopes that it won't be so bad so you won't bankrupt yourself because you hit your head on the curb when you fell off your bike and "got it looked at." Now add having lost your job and health insurance and the likelihood of going to a place where sick people are....
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:24 PM on July 11, 2020 [3 favorites]
Fauci is sidelined by the White House as he steps up blunt talk on pandemic (WaPo / Chron reprint)
Fauci has argued that parts of the country experiencing surges should shut down, “but there is no buy-in for that,” said an official with direct knowledge of the conversation who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Four months ahead of Election Day, Trump wants to “reopen and move on,” said another senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal deliberations. Those who disagree with that approach are out of favor, the official said. [...] Trump is also galled by Fauci’s approval ratings. A recent New York Times/Siena College poll showed that 67 percent of voters trusted Fauci for information on the coronavirus, compared with 26 percent who trusted Trump. [...]posted by katra at 7:39 PM on July 11, 2020 [5 favorites]
People who are close to Fauci say the public undermining of scientists and public health experts has frustrated and saddened him because it adds to the chaos the country is already experiencing from the pandemic. Despite the repeated pushback from Trump and the White House, however, Fauci has told those close to him that has no plans to do anything differently. [...] Amid fear of the virus and the stigma associated with having the infection, Fauci learned the importance of communicating with the public about new diseases that were little understood. He found out it was critical to speak honestly about the risks, and help people differentiate between valid concerns and unfounded fears, according to several people who have worked with him.
Texas is a state that refused Medicaid expansion. That means that over 4 million of the poorest people have no health insurance at all. Texas' uninsured rate is the highest in the U.S.
Likewise Florida refused Medicaid expansion. There are 3 million people with no health insurance.
These people are not going to go to the hospital unless they are already on their deathbed.
posted by JackFlash at 7:43 PM on July 11, 2020 [10 favorites]
Likewise Florida refused Medicaid expansion. There are 3 million people with no health insurance.
These people are not going to go to the hospital unless they are already on their deathbed.
posted by JackFlash at 7:43 PM on July 11, 2020 [10 favorites]
am i the only one bothered by the fact that a leading national newspaper determines that "speak[ing] honestly about...risks" and "help[ing] people differentiate between valid concerns and unfounded fears" are the important distinguishing features of this public health official, doctor and scientist?
posted by 20 year lurk at 7:47 PM on July 11, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by 20 year lurk at 7:47 PM on July 11, 2020 [4 favorites]
“I think the world is looking at us as a leader in Covid-19,” McEnany said during the White House briefing.
Okinawa governor wants tougher action as 61 Marines infected (AP)
posted by ctmf at 11:20 PM on July 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
Okinawa governor wants tougher action as 61 Marines infected (AP)
posted by ctmf at 11:20 PM on July 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
Whoever gave that number to AP is... well that has been considered classified National Security Information lately.
posted by ctmf at 10:27 AM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by ctmf at 10:27 AM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
Military’s COVID-19 cases growing at twice the nationwide rate (Military Times, Jul. 11, 2020)
More than 4,100 service members have tested positive for coronavirus since the July 1, according to the Defense Department’s latest statistics, a rise of about 33 percent in the last 10 days. That is more than twice the rate of growth nationwide during the same period, 16 percent, as the U.S. more than once broke its daily records for new cases.South and west drive record-breaking surge in coronavirus cases across US (Guardian, Jul. 11, 2020)
[...] While service members are required to socially distance and wear a face covering while on military property, their behavior out in town ― including localities where masks aren’t required and bars, restaurants and beaches have been packed ― has not been universally regulated. The Navy, for its part, has banned a number of public places, via order from Fleet Forces Command. Those include beaches, swimming pools, tattoo shops, theaters, salons/spas, restaurants, bars and a long list of others. The National Guard, which has activated troops in response to COVID-19, nationwide protests and natural disasters this year, has seen lower rates of infection overall. So far 2,395 Guardsmen have tested positive, with a 16-percent increase since July 1.
[Governor Greg] Abbott said on Friday that he would be forced to further reverse reopenings if people do not comply with his mask order. But his order comes with a caveat: in the state, counties with a high number of active Covid-19 cases must implement mask mandates, while counties with lower numbers can opt out, as many have decided to.posted by katra at 10:29 AM on July 12, 2020 [4 favorites]
[...] Georgia saw its highest increase in new cases on Friday with 4,484 new infections in a 24-hour period. Response to the increase in cases has led to a turf war between the Democratic mayor of the state’s largest city, Atlanta, and its Republican governor, with Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms saying on Friday that the city will roll back its reopening and Governor Brian Kemp saying state rules override that and the reopening cannot be undone. In Florida, the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, has received criticism from Democratic leaders in the state for not taking more proactive measures to contain the virus, like issuing a statewide mask mandate and closing beaches.
Mod note: One comment removed; this thread's fairly specifically focused on US and Trump admin COVID stuff, we don't need to inject "here's a horrible thing that happened elsewhere" stuff in as well.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:03 AM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:03 AM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
Recent U.S. military coronavirus articles at Task & Purpose:
posted by cenoxo at 11:53 AM on July 12, 2020 [3 favorites]
- Army denies making soldiers with coronavirus 'quarantine' behind a strip of tape in the field, 7/10/2020
- Hundreds of Marine recruits have now tested positive for COVID-19 at boot camp, 7/9/2020
- After six months of sickness, death, and turmoil, the USS Theodore Roosevelt’s cruise is ending*, 7/8/2020
posted by cenoxo at 11:53 AM on July 12, 2020 [3 favorites]
Trump wears mask in public for first time during pandemic (AP)
As he left the White House, he told reporters: “When you’re in a hospital, especially ... I think it’s a great thing to wear a mask.” [...] Trump, however, has declined to wear a mask at news conferences, coronavirus task force updates, rallies and other public events. People close to him have told The Associated Press that the president feared a mask would make him look weak and was concerned that it shifted focus to the public health crisis rather than the economic recovery. They spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private matters. [...]posted by katra at 12:09 PM on July 12, 2020 [2 favorites]
Questions remain whether Trump will wear a mask with any regularity. [...] On its website, Walter Reed carries this recommendation: “Whenever you’re out in public, like at your local grocery store or pharmacy, where it’s difficult to maintain 6 feet of social distance, you should wear a cloth face covering.” The facility also notes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the coronavirus.”
It's noteworthy that Trump only stooped to wearing a mask when he could put on one custom embroidered with the presidential gold seal. It's laughable how addicted Trump is to tinpot dictator gilded fluffery.
No telling how much the contract to produce these custom masks cost the taxpayer. Likely the no-bid contract went to a friend of Jared.
posted by JackFlash at 1:16 PM on July 12, 2020 [9 favorites]
No telling how much the contract to produce these custom masks cost the taxpayer. Likely the no-bid contract went to a friend of Jared.
posted by JackFlash at 1:16 PM on July 12, 2020 [9 favorites]
Trump was at the military hospital to meet with "wounded soldiers and front-line healthcare workers." (Al Jazeera). Requirements for patients and visitors, at Walter Reed's site: Patients and visitors are expected to wear a cloth face covering over their nose and mouth upon entering and while moving about the facility or waiting rooms and when not able to maintain 6 feet of social distancing. (But also: Visitors over the age of 65 are strongly discouraged due to the increased risk of severe COVID-19 infection.) (Countdown to a delusion related as an anecdote wherein this young soldier, a big, tough guy, with tears in his eyes/weeping outright, addresses him as sir several times while thanking him for wearing a mask...)
Today's Trump Campaign Virtual Event is "Military Families for Trump: Connecting with Caregivers." Join members of Military Families for Trump for a conversation to hear about the victories and changes for caregivers under President Trump. This discussion will be facilitated over zoom. Instructions to join the zoom call will be sent one hour prior to the call.
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:17 PM on July 12, 2020 [2 favorites]
Today's Trump Campaign Virtual Event is "Military Families for Trump: Connecting with Caregivers." Join members of Military Families for Trump for a conversation to hear about the victories and changes for caregivers under President Trump. This discussion will be facilitated over zoom. Instructions to join the zoom call will be sent one hour prior to the call.
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:17 PM on July 12, 2020 [2 favorites]
Here's a picture of the Stable Genius demonstrating how to wear a mask.
posted by JackFlash at 1:22 PM on July 12, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by JackFlash at 1:22 PM on July 12, 2020 [4 favorites]
WTH, when he was clomping down the hall he managed to keep it in place.
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:33 PM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:33 PM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
Guardian: "The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 3,236,130 cases of coronavirus on Sunday, an increase of 62,918 from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 906 to 134,572."
Guardian: "Donald Trump’s presidential motorcade departed Trump National Golf Club at 2.22pm, passing by an anti-Trump protest that swelled from a handful to around two dozen, according to a White House pool report."
Guardian: "Three weeks after TikTok users were credited with spoiling Donald Trump’s comeback rally in Oklahoma through a coordinated effort that helped to leave hundreds of seats empty in a 19,000-capacity venue, it appears the Zoomers are back in the fray. Thousands of users have flooded Apple’s App Store over the past few days to slam Trump’s official campaign app with negative feedback. As of Sunday afternoon, the vast majority of the nearly 260,000 reviews for the Official Trump 2020 App included the lowest possible rating. [...] The scheme appears to stem from this week’s news that Trump’s administration is considering a ban of the popular video-sharing app over security concerns. [...]
Guardian: "Donald Trump’s presidential motorcade departed Trump National Golf Club at 2.22pm, passing by an anti-Trump protest that swelled from a handful to around two dozen, according to a White House pool report."
Guardian: "Three weeks after TikTok users were credited with spoiling Donald Trump’s comeback rally in Oklahoma through a coordinated effort that helped to leave hundreds of seats empty in a 19,000-capacity venue, it appears the Zoomers are back in the fray. Thousands of users have flooded Apple’s App Store over the past few days to slam Trump’s official campaign app with negative feedback. As of Sunday afternoon, the vast majority of the nearly 260,000 reviews for the Official Trump 2020 App included the lowest possible rating. [...] The scheme appears to stem from this week’s news that Trump’s administration is considering a ban of the popular video-sharing app over security concerns. [...]
𝙜𝙞𝙖⁷ (@FL0WERH0YA) omg guys.. it would be so bad if we got the app store to delete trumps app definitely do NOT leave a one star review that would be so bad could u imagine pic.twitter.com/kHcidOR1H8posted by katra at 2:16 PM on July 12, 2020 [2 favorites]
July 9, 2020
Trump’s Health Officials Warn More Will Die as Covid Cases Rise (NYT)
Two of the Trump administration’s top health officials acknowledged Sunday that the country is facing a very serious situation with the onslaught of rising coronavirus cases in several states, striking a far more sober tone than President Trump at this stage of the pandemic in the United States. Adm. Brett Giroir, an assistant secretary with the Health and Human Services department, and Dr. Jerome Adams, the surgeon general, both emphasized their concern about surging outbreaks, many of them in areas where people have not followed recommended public health guidelines to contain the spread of the virus.Cases are reaching alarming levels in the Midwest. (NYT live blog)
[...] “It’s really essential to wear masks,” Admiral Giroir said. “We have to have like 90 percent of people wearing the masks in public in the hot spot areas. If we don’t have that, we will not get control of the virus.” [...] Dr. Adams wore a mask during his entire interview on the CBS program “Face the Nation” even though he was being interviewed remotely from Indiana. He said measures like wearing face coverings were “critically important.” [...] Appearing on “Face the Nation,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration in the Trump administration, said, “I think things are going to get worse before they get better.” Dr. Gottlieb pointed to some reassuring signals — in data on mobility and restaurant reservations — that people in some states with rising cases are beginning to take social distancing guidelines seriously. Still, he predicted that “in the South, you’re likely to see an extended plateau” of cases.
Across the Midwest, state and local officials are locked in contentious, partisan debates about reopening and masking ordinances that eerily echo those that occurred in the South and West just weeks before some emergency rooms began to fill to capacity and businesses were forced to close again. [...] “The goal is really to lean on common sense,” Wichita’s mayor, Brandon Whipple, said in a Facebook Live video Sunday. Face mask ordinances have been contentious in Kansas where just days after Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, issued a mask order, a Republican county chairman posted a cartoon on his newspaper’s Facebook page comparing it to the Holocaust. Mr. Whipple, a Democrat, also said that testing is a slow, arduous process in the area, despite President Trump’s repeated claims that testing is readily available nationwide.posted by katra at 3:18 PM on July 12, 2020 [2 favorites]
It’s Trump’s call on what the GOP convention will look like (AP)
Ultimately, the decision on whether to move forward will be Trump’s alone. [...] Trump and his aides had pinned their hopes on creating the pageantry of a formal acceptance speech in Jacksonville, envisioning an arena of packed with supporters, without face masks. Outwardly, the White House and the RNC have said they’re full-steam ahead [...] But privately, concerns are mounting, and plans are being drawn up to further scale back the event or even shift it to entirely virtual.Pittsburgh Seemed Like a Virus Success Story. Now Cases Are Surging. (NYT / MSN reprint)
[...] Jacksonville, whose mayor is a former Florida Republican Party chairman, issued a public mask order two weeks ago as virus cases in the area surged. That mandate is unlikely to be lifted before the convention. Also, Florida has limited facilities statewide to operating at 50% of capacity. [...] A Saturday rally in New Hampshire that was meant to be the president’s second attempt at a return to campaign travel was called off on Friday, ostensibly because of weather concerns from then-Tropical Storm Fay. But aides acknowledged they also were worried about attracting enough of a crowd to fill the Portsmouth aircraft hangar. [...] The challenge in Jacksonville may be more daunting. The administration’s top health officials have demurred when pressed on whether the convention could be held safely.
From March 23, when the governor ordered everyone to stay at home, until June 5, when Allegheny County was allowed to lift the more stringent restrictions, the city had hunkered down. But it was not long after that limited reopening in June, as people flocked to bars for the first time in months, that the seeds of the current surge were planted.posted by katra at 6:09 PM on July 12, 2020 [4 favorites]
“You have to realize: The virus isn’t going to go anywhere until there is a vaccine,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Pittsburgh-based physician and a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security. “You are going to see these flare-ups in any city, because wherever there are people, there is this virus.” [...] Through contact tracing, county officials found that bars and restaurants were the most common denominator of new cases and once again shut down indoor dining.
New York City health officials reported zero deaths related to the novel coronavirus four months after the state's first official death was recorded on March 11. (NBC News, July 12, 2020) According to initial data reported by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, no one died from the virus in New York City on July 11. [...] Each sign of progress in New York has come in the shadow of an ever-growing national spike that continues to plague the U.S. crisis. On Sunday, Florida reported more than 15,000 positive cases of the virus. It's the highest single-day number for any state and cleared the record previously set in New York back in April.
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:43 PM on July 12, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:43 PM on July 12, 2020 [3 favorites]
American Horror, Starring Donald Trump (Charles Bump, NYT Opinion)
Part of the issue is that the virus is not only being politicized, its effects are also racialized: Black and brown people are having worse outcomes. Some of the states now seeing the greatest surges in cases are those in the South and West with large Black or Hispanic populations. The effects of the disease are also ageist: Older people are more likely to die from it. Florida not only has a large Hispanic population, it also has a large population of retirees.'What happens if I get sick again?': Essential workers seek expanded protections (NBC News)
I believe that these variances add to the political callousness America is seeing: If the disease is seen as disproportionately hurting others — a Boomer killer, or a Black “Brotha” killer, or an abuela killer — then some younger, healthier white people might believe that the threat to themselves is lower and the restrictions on them should be looser.
Hope Gilmore, a call center worker on Staten Island, New York, hasn't forgotten those bewildering early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic when colleagues were getting sick, her employer didn't provide any masks or gloves and people used the elevator one at a time to socially distance. [...] Labor rights groups and worker advocates have supported proposals for an essential workers' "bill of rights," variations of which have been floated over the past few months, including on the federal level by Democrats Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Ro Khanna of California. Employees, including grocery store workers, nurses, doctors and those in food service, would be granted health and safety protections, higher compensation, child care support and guaranteed sick pay.posted by katra at 6:49 PM on July 12, 2020 [6 favorites]
[...] Some workers' rights advocates want Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, to issue an executive order supporting guidelines they dub the New York Health & Essential Rights Order, or NY HERO, which would create "enforceable standards and protocols that must be followed by businesses to protect all workers." [...] The need for a government-backed order or legislation in the thick of the pandemic is necessary, given the impact the coronavirus has already had on places like meatpacking plants and farms, where low-wage, immigrant and Black and brown workers are most at risk of falling ill, said Daisy Chung, the deputy director of ALIGN, an alliance of labor and community organizations in New York.
Long delays in getting test results hobble coronavirus response (WaPo / StarTribune reprint)
Test results for the novel coronavirus are taking so long to come back that experts say the results across the United States are often proving useless in the campaign to control the deadly disease. Some testing sites are struggling to provide results in five to seven days. Others are taking even longer. Outbreaks across the Sun Belt have strained labs beyond capacity. That rising demand, in turn, has caused shortages of swabs, chemical reagents and equipment as far away as New York. The long testing turnaround times are making it impossible for the United States to replicate the central strategy used by other countries to effectively contain the virus — test, trace and isolate.Trump isn't secretly winking at QAnon. He's retweeting its followers. (Politico)
[...] “Instead of building that out, our federal response was to do the very least possible. So each time the system is stretched now, it breaks down all over again,” said Ashish K. Jha, who directs the Harvard Global Health Institute. “It’s frustrating because . . . it’s not like, ‘Oh my god, we just figured out we need to do testing.’ We’ve literally been talking about this for months.” [...] As demand has surged, it has created backlogs and choke points at almost every step of the testing chain. “It’s not shortages of any one thing. It’s now spot shortages of all of them,” said Scott Becker, chief executive of the Association of Public Health Laboratories. “Clinical labs need more swabs, chemical reagents, viral transport media, test kits, machines to process the tests, staffing to run the machines.” [...] “Instead, we’re all still competing against each other like the Hunger Games for critical supplies,” said David Grenache, president-elect of the association and chief scientific officer of a lab in New Mexico.
Over the destabilizing crises of the past several months — Covid-19, mass protests over racial injustice and a divisive conversation over removing symbols honoring Confederate leaders — QAnon’s influence in Washington has tracked upward. At least two GOP congressional candidates with histories of promoting QAnon-related claims on social media are likely headed for a seat in Congress.posted by katra at 9:11 PM on July 12, 2020 [5 favorites]
[...] And when several House Republicans withdrew their endorsements of QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene, who beat her nearest primary opponent in Georgia's heavily Republican 14th congressional race by over 20 points and is headed towards a runoff, they cited her racist attacks on Muslims and Black activists, as well as her anti-Semitic remarks — but not her belief that QAnon is a real person. Other Trump defenders in the House GOP caucus, like Jim Jordan of Ohio and Andy Biggs of Arizona, did not pull their endorsements after her racist comments surfaced.
One thing that never seems to get mentioned when talk shifts to full ICUs is the impact that'll have on non-COVID cases
High school classmate of mine cashed in this week; I hadn’t seen him in years but I hear from mutual friends he was suffering from a liver ailment and had had to cancel a lot of tests and treatments in the last few months. He leaves behind four children.
As if to inject some gallows humour into the situation, he died the day before his birthday. Facebook of course sends out automated reminders to one’s entire friends list to “Wish _________ a happy birthday!” Looking at his wall this week, about 20% of the messages were shocked cries of distress , along with condolences to his family, while 80% was oblivious, “hey buddy have a good one😝!!!!”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:16 PM on July 12, 2020 [6 favorites]
High school classmate of mine cashed in this week; I hadn’t seen him in years but I hear from mutual friends he was suffering from a liver ailment and had had to cancel a lot of tests and treatments in the last few months. He leaves behind four children.
As if to inject some gallows humour into the situation, he died the day before his birthday. Facebook of course sends out automated reminders to one’s entire friends list to “Wish _________ a happy birthday!” Looking at his wall this week, about 20% of the messages were shocked cries of distress , along with condolences to his family, while 80% was oblivious, “hey buddy have a good one😝!!!!”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:16 PM on July 12, 2020 [6 favorites]
Ouch.
posted by Windopaene at 10:21 PM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Windopaene at 10:21 PM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's almost certain that the originator of the QAnon persona is not the same person currently writing as QAnon. My baseless suspicion is that it's one of Trump's failsons.
For a long while I was laughing at people's gullibility, but the recent spate of people publicly taking an oath to QAnon has gotten me a bit disturbed. Even if the person(s) behind it is "just" a monumental troll, the people they have hornswoggled don't seem likely to take the news very well if Q does turn out to just be a troll.
I'm getting real tired of living in interesting times, that's for sure. I grew up in a place that was a hotbed of New World Order conspiracy thinking and was very happy to get away from what seemed like a critical mass of those fools. Now they're everywhere. :(
posted by wierdo at 2:54 AM on July 13, 2020 [4 favorites]
For a long while I was laughing at people's gullibility, but the recent spate of people publicly taking an oath to QAnon has gotten me a bit disturbed. Even if the person(s) behind it is "just" a monumental troll, the people they have hornswoggled don't seem likely to take the news very well if Q does turn out to just be a troll.
I'm getting real tired of living in interesting times, that's for sure. I grew up in a place that was a hotbed of New World Order conspiracy thinking and was very happy to get away from what seemed like a critical mass of those fools. Now they're everywhere. :(
posted by wierdo at 2:54 AM on July 13, 2020 [4 favorites]
Man, 30, Dies After Attending a ‘Covid Party,’ Texas Hospital Says
posted by mumimor at 5:53 AM on July 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 5:53 AM on July 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
High school classmate of mine cashed in this week; I hadn’t seen him in years but I hear from mutual friends he was suffering from a liver ailment and had had to cancel a lot of tests and treatments in the last few months. He leaves behind four children.
I just lost a college friend the same way.
Colon cancer. Metastatic. He had to make some tradeoffs between how much time he wanted to have left versus how much of it he had to spend hooked to an IV. Then Covid came and interrupted his access to the building complex where he was treated. So that decision was effectively made for him, for the sake of other patients. Covid didn't infect him, and triage did not cause his death, but it did hasten it.
posted by ocschwar at 6:06 AM on July 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
I just lost a college friend the same way.
Colon cancer. Metastatic. He had to make some tradeoffs between how much time he wanted to have left versus how much of it he had to spend hooked to an IV. Then Covid came and interrupted his access to the building complex where he was treated. So that decision was effectively made for him, for the sake of other patients. Covid didn't infect him, and triage did not cause his death, but it did hasten it.
posted by ocschwar at 6:06 AM on July 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
Man, 30, Dies After Attending a ‘Covid Party,’ Texas Hospital Says
This was a particularly egregious case, but in America all parties are Covid parties.
posted by jedicus at 8:46 AM on July 13, 2020 [19 favorites]
This was a particularly egregious case, but in America all parties are Covid parties.
posted by jedicus at 8:46 AM on July 13, 2020 [19 favorites]
Guardian: "The World Health Organization is holding its daily briefing on the coronavirus outbreak."
Guardian: "While he has not named specific countries, some will hear a message for Donald Trump in his warning.
Guardian: "Dr Michael Ryan, executive director, says there is an issue around how schools can be reopened safely but the best way is to do so in a situation of low community transmission. He adds: “we can’t turn schools into yet another political football in this game... we have to look at this carefully in the light of transmission in any given setting.”"
Guardian: "Tedros has now left the press conference, leaving Ryan and Van Kerkhove to answer the large question of what’s gone wrong in the Americas.
Guardian: "While he has not named specific countries, some will hear a message for Donald Trump in his warning.
“There will be no return to the old normal for the foreseeable future. But there is a roadmap to a situation where we can control the virus and get on with our lives,” he says. But it will require a focus on reducing transmission, an empowered community, and strong government leadership.Guardian: "Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead, [...] On the question of immune response to the virus, she says that it is still not know how strong or long the protection from antibodies is. Some early data shows antibody levels “may wane over time”, she says, but adds that more information is needed."
Guardian: "Dr Michael Ryan, executive director, says there is an issue around how schools can be reopened safely but the best way is to do so in a situation of low community transmission. He adds: “we can’t turn schools into yet another political football in this game... we have to look at this carefully in the light of transmission in any given setting.”"
Guardian: "Tedros has now left the press conference, leaving Ryan and Van Kerkhove to answer the large question of what’s gone wrong in the Americas.
Ryan [...] calls on governments and individuals not to carry on as normal, saying: “This is the issue, turn and face the fire, turn and face the problem. It’s going to require a huge commitment on behalf of government and individuals.” [...] And he says that “believing that magically we will get a perfect vaccine that everyone has access to is not realistic” and questions whether even if a vaccine becomes available it will be fairly available to all.Trump Tweets Claim That CDC, Media, Democrats and Doctors Are All ‘Lying’ About Coronavirus (Mediaite)
President Donald Trump retweeted a former game show host who claimed “Everyone is lying” about the coronavirus in order to hurt Trump’s reelection chances and stifle the U.S. economy. Here are the tweets Trump picked up from former Love Connection host turned online Trump-supporter Chuck Woolery.posted by katra at 9:16 AM on July 13, 2020 [6 favorites]
Re: those WHO comments
posted by PhineasGage at 10:28 AM on July 13, 2020 [9 favorites]
“There will be no return to the old normal for the foreseeable future. But there is a roadmap to a situation where we can control the virus and get on with our lives,” he says.Yes, this can be done. New Zealand lifts all Covid restrictions, declaring the nation virus-free.
posted by PhineasGage at 10:28 AM on July 13, 2020 [9 favorites]
Imagine living in a competently governed country.
posted by Nelson at 10:43 AM on July 13, 2020 [27 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 10:43 AM on July 13, 2020 [27 favorites]
But there still is no such thing as "old normal," though, e.g. New Zealand police to patrol quarantine hotels after breakouts (Guardian, Jul. 8, 2020), The Latest: WHO official watching for rise in virus deaths (AP, Jul. 7, 2020) ("New Zealand’s national carrier has put a temporary hold on new bookings for flights into the country while the government tries to find enough quarantined hotel rooms for people returning home. [...] Housing Minister Megan Woods says the government is currently housing nearly 6,000 people in 28 quarantine facilities and is seeing rapid growth in the number of returning residents as the pandemic worsens globally."), New Zealand reports fresh coronavirus case as more quarantine breaches emerge (Guardian, Jun. 17, 2020).
posted by katra at 11:16 AM on July 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by katra at 11:16 AM on July 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
'This is a war': the coronavirus disaster in California's hardest-hit – and poorest – county (Guardian)
Adolphe Edward, the CEO for El Centro regional medical center, one of only two hospitals in the county, is reminded of medical operations he has overseen in Turkey, Oman and United Arab Emirates. More than 500 patients have already been transported out of the county to other medical facilities, and still the cases keep coming. “People are asking, ‘What’s going on? Is there a war?’” said Edward. “Yes, there is. This is a war on Covid.”posted by katra at 12:19 PM on July 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
[...] Meanwhile, the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties has pushed county supervisors to collect and publish additional information on those who have been infected – data on gender, primary language, health insurance coverage and whether they are “essential workers” – with the hopes of gathering knowledge that can help the county fight back. “If we’re going to be serious about tackling this pandemic, we have to have as much information as possible,” said David Trujillo, advocacy director for the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties. “We want to make sure that we meet the needs of the most vulnerable residents. If we do that, then we meet the needs for everyone.”
This is not a war, it is a pandemic. We have to do pandemic things, not war things.
posted by thelonius at 12:20 PM on July 13, 2020 [21 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 12:20 PM on July 13, 2020 [21 favorites]
This is not a war, it is a pandemic. We have to do pandemic things, not war things.
J.G. Ballard writes in Empire of the Sun, "In a real war there were no enemies," and from my view, if we're in this kind of 'war,' it is that much more reason to listen to the civil-rights-protecting ACLU for ideas about how to get through it.
WHO chief: ‘The virus remains public enemy No. 1’ (Yahoo News)
J.G. Ballard writes in Empire of the Sun, "In a real war there were no enemies," and from my view, if we're in this kind of 'war,' it is that much more reason to listen to the civil-rights-protecting ACLU for ideas about how to get through it.
WHO chief: ‘The virus remains public enemy No. 1’ (Yahoo News)
TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS: Let me be blunt. Too many countries are headed in the wrong direction. The virus remains public enemy number one, but the actions of many governments and people do not reflect of this.posted by katra at 12:59 PM on July 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
The only aim of the virus is to find people to infect. Mixed messages from leaders are undermining the most critical ingredient of any response-- trust. If governments do not clearly communicate with their citizens and roll out a comprehensive strategy focused on suppressing transmission and saving lives, if populations do not follow the basic public health principles of physical distancing, handwashing, wearing masks, coughing etiquette, and staying at home when sick, if the basics aren't followed, there is only one way this pandemic is going to go. It's going to get worse and worse and worse.
But it does not have to be this way. Every single leader, every single government, and every single person can do their bit to break off chains of transmission and end the collective suffering.
We have all kinds of requirements here (CA) but no reinforcement of messaging or enforcement. "Mouth only mask" wearers are all over the place with nobody educating them, shouting them down, or fining them. There are no standards for masks or fitting so people just fling any old thing on and call it a mask. The US has been setting toothless standards so that businesses can ignore them for so long, they're still doing it for a pandemic -- and this is in the states that are run by sane people rather than Trumpists.
posted by benzenedream at 1:28 PM on July 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 1:28 PM on July 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
I honestly believe part of the reason for mouth-only masking is because the masks available FUCKING SUCK and are too loose and not adjustable. I'm an average-sized white guy by any measure, and they fall down for me, too. Trump of course does not have this problem, so another big part of the reason for mouth-only masking is the existence of selfish assholes.
I keep harping (elsewhere) on how Soviet the US is right now. There is nothing negative happening that I can't trace back to some propaganda image from the 70s-80s about how horrible and deprived life in the Soviet Union was. Now it's us. Now we don't get even basic wellness supplies. After about the second week of no papergoods was when I started thinking we're fucked and that this chaos is going to be imposed on us for a long time.
posted by rhizome at 1:48 PM on July 13, 2020 [8 favorites]
I keep harping (elsewhere) on how Soviet the US is right now. There is nothing negative happening that I can't trace back to some propaganda image from the 70s-80s about how horrible and deprived life in the Soviet Union was. Now it's us. Now we don't get even basic wellness supplies. After about the second week of no papergoods was when I started thinking we're fucked and that this chaos is going to be imposed on us for a long time.
posted by rhizome at 1:48 PM on July 13, 2020 [8 favorites]
The US Needs a Global Coalition to Defeat COVID, Defense One; Joseph Votel, Former Commander, US Central Command [WP bio] and Samuel J. Locklear III, Former Commander, US Pacific Command [WP bio]:
If Trump's America is always first, all other countries — especially any he regards as shitholes — must always be last. If he can't provide united leadership for fifty states, there won't be any for other countries. The Imperial Donald wants supreme authority, but he cannot submit to anyone else's authority, even temporarily.
posted by cenoxo at 2:51 PM on July 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
...As our nation adapts to the challenge of the coronavirus at home, we must urgently confront the disruptive impacts of the pandemic around the world and the serious risks to our safety and national security. This will require forward thinking and U.S. leadership to mobilize our allies and partners around a comprehensive global health security response to a disease that does not recognize borders. Such an effort will save lives at home and around the world, protect and defend our national interests, and ultimately guarantee our way of life....According to a report by the International Rescue Committee, 34 conflict-affected and fragile countries could see up to 1 billion COVID-19 infections, leading to between 1.7 million and 3.2 million deaths. The virus’ destabilizing effects can quickly turn fragile states into even graver humanitarian crises in places where we have long-standing national security interests.
We cannot isolate ourselves from the impacts of this pandemic in a globally connected world. If America doesn’t lead, others will step into the void who bring a different vision for the world and one that does not reflect our values or our interests. Confronting COVID-19 and strengthening our global health security is critical for our national security because what happens in other countries will undoubtedly echo back into our own....
If Trump's America is always first, all other countries — especially any he regards as shitholes — must always be last. If he can't provide united leadership for fifty states, there won't be any for other countries. The Imperial Donald wants supreme authority, but he cannot submit to anyone else's authority, even temporarily.
posted by cenoxo at 2:51 PM on July 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
It's not so much a war against COVID. COVID isn't the enemy, it's the weapon. The enemy is stupidity, complacency, and apathy. What are our weapons?
posted by ctmf at 5:11 PM on July 13, 2020
posted by ctmf at 5:11 PM on July 13, 2020
Judge declines to block rulings on COVID-19 restrictions (AP)
Having lost another round in legal fights over some of his coronavirus-related actions, Kentucky’s governor signaled Monday that he’s ready for the state’s highest court to settle the disputes. Gov. Andy Beshear’s comments came after a state appeals court judge kept in place lower court rulings blocking some of his executive orders dealing with crowd sizes amid the pandemic. [...] On Monday, Court of Appeals Judge Glenn Acree declined to overturn rulings that blocked Beshear’s orders restricting crowd sizes at Florence Speedway and at agritourism businesses as well as class sizes at day care centers. [...] The judge acknowledged that COVID-19 can cause severe respiratory illness and, in some cases, leads to death. He credited the “commonsense” of Kentuckians in combating the virus. “This court does not believe that, for the very short duration of the restraining orders, Kentuckians will suffer to a greater degree than without them,” Acree said. “With or without them, Kentuckians remain capable of doing the wise and commonsense things necessary to keep each other safe in the coming days, just as they have until now.”California orders closure of bars and indoor operations of restaurants and theaters (Guardian)
In addition to the statewide closures, the 30 counties on the state’s monitoring list must also shut down indoor operations at places of worship, fitness centers, hair salons, barbershops and malls. [...] The state has seen an average of 8,211 daily cases over the past week, an uptick from the 7,876 average from the week before. The positivity rate has increased to 7.4%, up from 6.1% a few weeks prior. “It’s incumbent on all of us to recognize, soberly, that Covid-19 is not going away anytime soon,” said Gavin Newsom, California’s governor.Fauci: Recent surge in coronavirus cases was spurred by states reopening (WaPo live blog)
Fauci made the remarks in an interview with Stanford University School of Medicine Dean Lloyd Minor. “We did not shut down entirely,” Fauci said. “And that’s the reason why — when we went up, we started to come down, and then we plateaued at a level that was really quite high, about 20,000 infections a day. Then, as we started to reopen, we’re seeing the surges that we’re seeing today as we speak.” Fauci’s comments come after 20 states and Puerto Rico reported a record-high average of new infections over the past week.posted by katra at 5:15 PM on July 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
the masks available FUCKING SUCK and are too loose and not adjustable
Everyone I've seen with that problem is trying to use the ear loops ones. The ones with laces on each corner so you can tie the top two on your head and the bottom two behind your neck are easy to get a good fit on. Plus they're comfortable for wearing longer and don't steam your glasses up as much.
posted by ctmf at 5:16 PM on July 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
Everyone I've seen with that problem is trying to use the ear loops ones. The ones with laces on each corner so you can tie the top two on your head and the bottom two behind your neck are easy to get a good fit on. Plus they're comfortable for wearing longer and don't steam your glasses up as much.
posted by ctmf at 5:16 PM on July 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
Everyone I've seen with that problem is trying to use the ear loops ones. The ones with laces on each corner so you can tie the top two on your head and the bottom two behind your neck are easy to get a good fit on. Plus they're comfortable for wearing longer and don't steam your glasses up as much.
Having spent a bunch of time pattern-testing for a mask design I can comfortably wear at work all day, can confirm. Best of all are ties that are threaded through channels, rather than sewn in place -- they don't gap at the sides nearly as much, and you can use one long tie for the whole thing.
posted by nonasuch at 5:25 PM on July 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
Having spent a bunch of time pattern-testing for a mask design I can comfortably wear at work all day, can confirm. Best of all are ties that are threaded through channels, rather than sewn in place -- they don't gap at the sides nearly as much, and you can use one long tie for the whole thing.
posted by nonasuch at 5:25 PM on July 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
Two D.C.-area restaurant employees were assaulted after enforcing mask rules. Others worry they will be next. (WaPo / Eater alt-print)
posted by katra at 5:57 PM on July 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
“I see you’re open. That takes a lot of courage,” said Mark Lewis, the first customer of the day, who ordered an almond croissant that filled the room with an aroma of butter and sugar. [...] Local business owners say the majority of patrons gladly adhere to public health guidelines, but the minority who refuse are leaving retail and service workers frustrated and scared as coronavirus cases show signs of rebounding in the region.Previously: Retail workers are being pulled into the latest culture war: Getting customers to wear masks (WaPo / Chron reprint, Jul. 8, 2020)
[...] “This is not what we come to work for, or what anyone should have to endure while working to provide for themselves and their families.” The Greek Spot declined to discuss the incident further, citing respect for the employee involved.
posted by katra at 5:57 PM on July 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
People who wear bog standard surgical masks under their nose aren't doing it because of an actual problem with the mask itself, they're doing it because they aren't willing to deal with the minor discomfort of having a small part of each breath containing their hot and humid previous exhalation.
I know it isn't a problem with the mask simply falling down, either, because literally every person I've seen wearing a mask in that way outside a store has actively put it there upon walking out the door.
Unfortunately, there has been precious little messaging from city and county officials in my area about how to wear masks in a way that doesn't risk cross contamination.
posted by wierdo at 6:27 PM on July 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
I know it isn't a problem with the mask simply falling down, either, because literally every person I've seen wearing a mask in that way outside a store has actively put it there upon walking out the door.
Unfortunately, there has been precious little messaging from city and county officials in my area about how to wear masks in a way that doesn't risk cross contamination.
posted by wierdo at 6:27 PM on July 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
Share images like these around! How to wear a mask properly
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:32 PM on July 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:32 PM on July 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
I find this image to be pretty helpful re proper mask wearage. (NSFW)
posted by prefpara at 6:35 PM on July 13, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by prefpara at 6:35 PM on July 13, 2020 [6 favorites]
Everyone I've seen with that problem is trying to use the ear loops ones.
Sure, and I eventually relented to spend $50+ on a variety of Etsy masks that fit who-knows how well (some of them truly suck), but the blue earloop is The Basic Mask and The Basic Mask should fit. This "one size fits none" is for the birds and is a national failure.
Problematic people aren't going to go to Etsy. Unemployed people aren't going to pay $10 for a mask in April that, honestly, probably wouldn't fit. I waited to use Etsy because I wanted to hold out to just go to Target or Home Depot or corner drugstore and get a fistful of yes, the blue earloop masks (the ones Jared has been selling to everybody except US ppl). These are what's cheap and what's common, or so the story goes, and yes, they suck despite the US being the richest most awesome and horny nation on earth. We'd all love gingham masks with the discrete strings (a la M*A*S*H), but that's not even close to practical.
I mean, come on. And don't get me started on weak nose wires.
posted by rhizome at 6:38 PM on July 13, 2020
Sure, and I eventually relented to spend $50+ on a variety of Etsy masks that fit who-knows how well (some of them truly suck), but the blue earloop is The Basic Mask and The Basic Mask should fit. This "one size fits none" is for the birds and is a national failure.
Problematic people aren't going to go to Etsy. Unemployed people aren't going to pay $10 for a mask in April that, honestly, probably wouldn't fit. I waited to use Etsy because I wanted to hold out to just go to Target or Home Depot or corner drugstore and get a fistful of yes, the blue earloop masks (the ones Jared has been selling to everybody except US ppl). These are what's cheap and what's common, or so the story goes, and yes, they suck despite the US being the richest most awesome and horny nation on earth. We'd all love gingham masks with the discrete strings (a la M*A*S*H), but that's not even close to practical.
I mean, come on. And don't get me started on weak nose wires.
posted by rhizome at 6:38 PM on July 13, 2020
I was excited for the good mask intel but your link goes to a webinar, PhineasGage?
posted by brook horse at 7:18 PM on July 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by brook horse at 7:18 PM on July 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
Same, but the other link! Medical tape? I don't know this trick.
posted by ctmf at 7:24 PM on July 13, 2020
posted by ctmf at 7:24 PM on July 13, 2020
Mask-wire people, maybe consider these: Smead Self-Adhesive Fasteners 68220, 2" Capacity, Brown because they stick to the top of the mask, they bend easily, and can help form a seal. I also cut both of the flat sides with a scissors so it's just a straight line, fyi.
posted by katra at 7:45 PM on July 13, 2020
posted by katra at 7:45 PM on July 13, 2020
Whoa - sorry - corrected links: I have found these masks work just fine. And because I wear glasses, I use a strip of this medical tape, which works great to stop any fogging. Entire cultures in other countries (Hong Kong, Japan) do this nearly universally. The problem isn't the specifics of the masks, it's the lack of consistent, universal messaging and behavior modeling by our civic leaders.
posted by PhineasGage at 7:45 PM on July 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 7:45 PM on July 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
So far, I've had a handful of customers whose masks weren't covering their noses, and most of them were either wearing the wrong size mask for their face (usually too big) or had the ties too loose to keep it in place, or both. Only a couple seemed to be of the 'don't want to wear it correctly' variety. Luckily, everyone has taken my "oh no! it appears your mask has fallen off your nose, totally by accident!" in the spirit in which it was intended, and did their best to fix the problem. I'm in the DC area, and thankfully have not run into any of the people from the above WaPo article.
The woman whose mask really just would not stay on her face did buy a couple of the ones I made, and hopefully she's wearing them correctly, because they should stay put if so.
I can't stand the feeling of air escaping through the top of my mask , even when it's not enough to fog my glasses, so sometimes I will use a piece of washi tape to seal it. Medical tape would probably be a better idea, though.
(also, Mefites in need of masks, hmu and I will happily make you masks for cost of materials/shipping. Please help me justify my recent fabric purchases.)
posted by nonasuch at 9:39 PM on July 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
The woman whose mask really just would not stay on her face did buy a couple of the ones I made, and hopefully she's wearing them correctly, because they should stay put if so.
I can't stand the feeling of air escaping through the top of my mask , even when it's not enough to fog my glasses, so sometimes I will use a piece of washi tape to seal it. Medical tape would probably be a better idea, though.
(also, Mefites in need of masks, hmu and I will happily make you masks for cost of materials/shipping. Please help me justify my recent fabric purchases.)
posted by nonasuch at 9:39 PM on July 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
Today's rant seems particulaly unhinged...
DONALD TRUMP: Well, you know that we have one of the lowest mortality rates anywhere. If you know Biden and Obama stopped their testing-- they just stopped it. You probably know that. I'm sure you don't want to report it.
But they stopped testing. Right in the middle, they just want, no more testing, and on a much lesser problem than the problem that we have, obviously, with respect to-- this is the worst thing that's happened since probably 1917. This is a very bad-- all over the world. It's 188 countries right now.
But now we are-- we test more than anybody by far. And when you test, you create cases. So we've created cases...
posted by rdr at 7:35 AM on July 14, 2020 [7 favorites]
DONALD TRUMP: Well, you know that we have one of the lowest mortality rates anywhere. If you know Biden and Obama stopped their testing-- they just stopped it. You probably know that. I'm sure you don't want to report it.
But they stopped testing. Right in the middle, they just want, no more testing, and on a much lesser problem than the problem that we have, obviously, with respect to-- this is the worst thing that's happened since probably 1917. This is a very bad-- all over the world. It's 188 countries right now.
But now we are-- we test more than anybody by far. And when you test, you create cases. So we've created cases...
posted by rdr at 7:35 AM on July 14, 2020 [7 favorites]
Former CDC chiefs rebuke Trump for ‘undermining’ agency’s guidelines (Politico)
In an op-ed published in The Washington Post, former CDC Directors Tom Frieden, Jeffrey Koplan and David Satcher, as well as former acting CDC Director Richard Besser, fiercely criticized “political leaders and others attempting to undermine” the agency as it works to issue recommendations for schools seeking to reopen their doors for the fall semester. “As the debate last week around reopening schools more safely showed, these repeated efforts to subvert sound public health guidelines introduce chaos and uncertainty while unnecessarily putting lives at risk,” the op-ed’s authors wrote, adding that while “[i]t is not unusual for CDC guidelines to be changed or amended” during a multi-agency clearance process, “it is extraordinary for guidelines to be undermined after their release.” [...] The op-ed’s authors also lamented that the “sound science” offered by the CDC’s thousands of public health experts “is being challenged with partisan potshots, sowing confusion and mistrust at a time when the American people need leadership, expertise and clarity.”Did Dr. Fauci Say There Was ‘Nothing to Worry About’ in Regards to COVID-19? (Snopes, Apr. 14, 2020)
On Feb. 29, Fauci gave an interview on the NBC morning talk show “Today,” during which he stated that at that moment in time, “the risk is still low, but this could change.” “I’ve said that many times even on this program,” Fauci stated in that interview. “You’ve got to watch out because although the risk is low now, you don’t need to change anything you’re doing. When you start to see community spread, this could change and force you to become much more attentive to doing things that would protect you from spread.”New York Confronts Second-Wave Risk: Visitors From Florida and Texas (NYT)
Officials and public health experts are especially concerned that infected travelers from any of the nearly 40 states where the outbreak is spiking could set off new clusters in New York. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday imposed more restrictions on travelers from states with high infection rates, but it is not all clear that they will be followed — or are even enforceable. [...] “New York’s problem is we have the infection coming from other states back to New York,” Mr. Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, said on Monday, noting the state is not “a hermetically sealed bubble.”posted by katra at 8:12 AM on July 14, 2020 [4 favorites]
'A slap in the face': how racial bias dogs US coronavirus response at every level (Guardian)
Not only are Black and Latino Americans more likely to lack health insurance or live in areas without quality facilities, unconscious racial bias among medical professionals can also contribute to unequal health outcomes, with patients of color more likely to have their symptoms overlooked or pain disbelieved. Some experts point to people of color who later died of Covid-19 who were previously turned away as evidence of bias playing out in the pandemic.posted by katra at 8:33 AM on July 14, 2020 [5 favorites]
[Jennifer] Esteen[, a nurse and advocate for healthcare workers in California’s Bay Area,] argued “it’s no coincidence” that state priorities, pushed by the rhetoric of Donald Trump and his allies, pivoted to reopening after data confirmed these disparities. “It’s telling our communities that they don’t matter and that their healthcare isn’t important enough to prioritize or invest in until the rich, or White people are affected,” she said. Dr Mary T Bassett, director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University and former commissioner for New York state’s department of health, contends that policy and political rhetoric can reinforce racist tropes. [...] “When people see themselves as less connected to affected demographics, it influences how they respond to healthcare guidance,” Bassett said. “That ability to dismiss calls to wear a mask or maintain a social distance as ‘other people’s problem’ is steeped in privilege.”
Rep. H. Morgan Griffith tests positive for coronavirus after urging schools to reopen (WaPo)
Rep. H. Morgan Griffith, a Virginia Republican and Freedom Caucus member who days ago urged schools to reopen in the fall, announced Tuesday that he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. [...] On Thursday, Griffith stood in the middle of a group of fellow Freedom Caucus members at a news conference outside the Capitol as they called for schools to reopen. Griffith, standing shoulder to shoulder with the others, wore a pink mask but removed it while speaking. Others in the group were maskless.Warren, Pressley demand action from HHS on coronavirus' impact on minority communities (Politico)
The letter, which highlights the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on communities of color, represents another push from Democrats for President Donald Trump to take action to alleviate the damage of the virus on minorities. Warren and Pressley assert missing reports on racial disparities, legally required under the Affordable Care Act, have contributed to a poor federal coronavirus response. [...] “The unjust reality that Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities have been disproportionately infected and killed by COVID-19 underscores that racism, discrimination, and bias are public health problems that the federal government must prioritize,” the lawmakers wrote, in a letter first provided to POLITICO. “Without successfully addressing these racial disparities in health outcomes and health care access, we will not be able to mitigate and fully control the COVID-19 pandemic. You have, to date, failed to do so, with tragic consequences.”New York City sees uptick in coronavirus cases among young adults (Politico, Jul. 13, 2020)
The city also announced ten new coronavirus testing sites, but acknowledged its testing effort has been hampered by a spike in the time it takes for results to come back. Many New Yorkers are now waiting a week or more for results, undermining the push to get people into isolation if they test positive. The delays are attributed to national labs overwhelmed by test demand from around the country.posted by katra at 12:03 PM on July 14, 2020 [4 favorites]
ICE has backed down and agreed not to boot foreign college students whose schools were only going to offer classes online during the current emergency. Harvard and MIT sued over the new policy last week and, according to the docket for the case in US District Court in Boston today:
The Court was informed by the parties that they have come to a resolution to the combined temporary restraining order/preliminary injunction motions. The Government has agreed to rescind the July 6, 2020 Policy Directive and the July 7, 2020 FAQ, and has also agreed to rescind their implementation. The Government will return to the March 9, 2020 and March 13, 2020 policy. This moots the temporary restraining order/preliminary injunction motions, ... and will preclude enforcement of the July 6, 2020 policy directive and July 7, 2020 FAQ, which are being rescinded on nationwide basis.posted by adamg at 12:58 PM on July 14, 2020 [16 favorites]
Despite pressure from Trump, major districts say schools will stay closed in fall (WaPo / Chron reprint, Jul. 13, 2020)
Iowa sits out study showing minorities affected more by coronavirus in meatpacking plants (Des Moines Register, Jul. 8, 2020)
Asked Monday about an Arizona teacher who died of covid-19, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany focused on the benefits to children and compared teachers to other essential workers. “There’s a way for essential workers to go back to work, just as our meatpacking facilities did. Just as you all in the media are essential workers, we believe our teachers are as well,” she said.How coronavirus spread through JBS’s Greeley beef plant (Denver Post, Jul. 12, 2020)
Iowa sits out study showing minorities affected more by coronavirus in meatpacking plants (Des Moines Register, Jul. 8, 2020)
As the nation's largest pork producer, Iowa has experienced some of the nation's severest coronavirus infection rates in towns and cities with large meatpacking plants.Coronavirus Spread: Report Reveals How Widespread Virus Is At Meatpacking Plants (IBT, Jul. 7, 2020)
Meatpacking plants have become major epicenters for COVID-19 as businesses and workers have been pressured to keep up with food demand. [...] The spread of the disease at these plants is attributed in the reported to their specific working conditions. Meatpacking plants require workers to stand in close proximity for hours on end, preventing any sort of social distancing. Many plant workers also utilize shared transportation, further increasing the risk of transmission.posted by katra at 1:15 PM on July 14, 2020 [9 favorites]
There is some unsneaky editorializing in these links, katra, and I am here for it. In my hometown, white people were the first to bring Covid to town and of course the minorities who work at the meatpacking plants have then been hit the hardest.
posted by lauranesson at 1:22 PM on July 14, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by lauranesson at 1:22 PM on July 14, 2020 [3 favorites]
Trump administration reverses course on international student ban
posted by haiku warrior at 4:09 PM on July 14, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by haiku warrior at 4:09 PM on July 14, 2020 [4 favorites]
Moderna to start Phase 3 vaccine trial July 27
posted by haiku warrior at 4:14 PM on July 14, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by haiku warrior at 4:14 PM on July 14, 2020 [2 favorites]
ICE has backed down on the international students, but is still planning its first "Citizens Academy" training course (6 sessions over 6 weeks) for Chicago starting in mid-September. Plan for Chicago ICE Citizens Academy Causes Uproar (NBC, July 10, 2020); ICE Citizens Trainings May Be A 'Vigilante Academy,' Chicago Alderman Warns (NPR, July 10, 2020); Stop ICE’s “Citizens Academy” petition at Change.org
CDC Employees Call Out Agency's 'Toxic Culture Of Racial Aggressions' (NPR, July 13, 2020) More than 1,200 current employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have signed a letter calling for the federal agency to address "ongoing and recurring acts of racism and discrimination" against Black employees, NPR has learned. In the letter, addressed to CDC Director Robert Redfield and dated June 30, the authors put their call for change in the context of the coronavirus pandemic's disproportionate impact on Black people and the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks. NPR obtained a copy of the letter, which is published below.
"Obtained," okay. The authors asked for a response, in writing, in seven business days; the agency had the letter two weeks ago. The CDC's got around 11K employees, so more than 10% of the workforce signed it and "and the number of signatories is growing," per a previous employee quoted in the article. The letter is seven pages long, and details "seven key demands and tangible actions" for the CDC; number one is, "Declare racism a public health crisis in the United States." Number seven is resolve pending EEO cases of racial discrimination; "Black CDC employees have filed hundreds of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission grievances and complaints over the past decade only to be met by inaction, or worse, retaliation.”
In another Covid-19 disparity, Black and Hispanic Americans are dying at younger ages than white Americans (STATNews, July 10, 2020) Long after calls for more data on the disproportionate number of Covid-19 infections and deaths among Black Americans and Hispanic Americans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released limited additional information, which revealed non-white and Hispanic Americans under age 65 are dying in greater numbers than white people in that age group.
The agency reported that more than a third of deaths among Hispanic Americans (34.9%) and almost a third of deaths among non-white Americans (29.5%) were in people younger than 65. That compares to 13.2% among white people under that age.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:25 PM on July 14, 2020 [5 favorites]
CDC Employees Call Out Agency's 'Toxic Culture Of Racial Aggressions' (NPR, July 13, 2020) More than 1,200 current employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have signed a letter calling for the federal agency to address "ongoing and recurring acts of racism and discrimination" against Black employees, NPR has learned. In the letter, addressed to CDC Director Robert Redfield and dated June 30, the authors put their call for change in the context of the coronavirus pandemic's disproportionate impact on Black people and the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks. NPR obtained a copy of the letter, which is published below.
"Obtained," okay. The authors asked for a response, in writing, in seven business days; the agency had the letter two weeks ago. The CDC's got around 11K employees, so more than 10% of the workforce signed it and "and the number of signatories is growing," per a previous employee quoted in the article. The letter is seven pages long, and details "seven key demands and tangible actions" for the CDC; number one is, "Declare racism a public health crisis in the United States." Number seven is resolve pending EEO cases of racial discrimination; "Black CDC employees have filed hundreds of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission grievances and complaints over the past decade only to be met by inaction, or worse, retaliation.”
In another Covid-19 disparity, Black and Hispanic Americans are dying at younger ages than white Americans (STATNews, July 10, 2020) Long after calls for more data on the disproportionate number of Covid-19 infections and deaths among Black Americans and Hispanic Americans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released limited additional information, which revealed non-white and Hispanic Americans under age 65 are dying in greater numbers than white people in that age group.
The agency reported that more than a third of deaths among Hispanic Americans (34.9%) and almost a third of deaths among non-white Americans (29.5%) were in people younger than 65. That compares to 13.2% among white people under that age.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:25 PM on July 14, 2020 [5 favorites]
Need some good news about covid-19? Here are six reasons for optimism. (Joseph G. Allen, WaPo Opinion)
To help get through this storm, we must keep track of positive developments, too. Here are six positive developments to remind us that there is hope in this crisis:posted by katra at 4:52 PM on July 14, 2020 [22 favorites]
Therapeutic treatments (in addition to what we already have for the most sick patients) will arrive before vaccines. [...] Rapid, low-cost saliva tests are also coming, and, as my colleague Michael Mina and Laurence J. Kotlikoff recently pointed out, they are a game-changer. [...] The debate is finally over: Masks work. [...] Consensus has finally emerged that airborne spread is happening. [...] There is some science showing that past exposure to common-cold coronaviruses might be playing a protective role for some people. This is a big claim — and I should caution that it is not fully resolved — but several studies are now showing that 20 to 50 percent of people who had never been exposed to the novel coronavirus have immune cells — known as memory T cells — in their body that react to this new virus. [...] Vaccine trials seem to be working, and drug manufacturers have already said they might be able to deliver doses by October. Remember, it was not a given that vaccines would work, so the fact that the early-stage clinical trials are showing positive signs is encouraging. [...]
For the first time in history, nearly every scientist in the world is focused on the same problem. This is starting to pay real dividends.
— but several studies are now showing that 20 to 50 percent of people who had never been exposed to the novel coronavirus have immune cells — known as memory T cells — in their body that react to this new virus
The thing about this is, if it's true, then it's not good news. Those immune responses may not be protective. If that immune response is protective and If, say, half of population had working immunity to the virus AND we've gone from one to at least 13 million confirmed cases in six months, then it means that the virus spreads much faster than we thought among the unprotected half of the population.
posted by rdr at 5:17 PM on July 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
The thing about this is, if it's true, then it's not good news. Those immune responses may not be protective. If that immune response is protective and If, say, half of population had working immunity to the virus AND we've gone from one to at least 13 million confirmed cases in six months, then it means that the virus spreads much faster than we thought among the unprotected half of the population.
posted by rdr at 5:17 PM on July 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
...then it means that the virus spreads much faster than we thought among the unprotected half of the population.
Maybe, but I feel like overall this would still be good news? If aerosol transmission plays a much larger role than first thought, that could explain a lot of the infections--and if a significant percent of people have protective T cells, maybe that could explain why large numbers of people who do get infected are either asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic, if I understand right? It might mean that we are undercounting the number of infections by much more than we thought, and that even the antibody studies showing 5% of the population having antibodies don't actually mean that 95% of the population is still vulnerable. So even if the virus is more virulent in terms of spread, a lower percentage of vulnerable people would still be a good thing on balance?
posted by Emera Gratia at 5:43 PM on July 14, 2020
Maybe, but I feel like overall this would still be good news? If aerosol transmission plays a much larger role than first thought, that could explain a lot of the infections--and if a significant percent of people have protective T cells, maybe that could explain why large numbers of people who do get infected are either asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic, if I understand right? It might mean that we are undercounting the number of infections by much more than we thought, and that even the antibody studies showing 5% of the population having antibodies don't actually mean that 95% of the population is still vulnerable. So even if the virus is more virulent in terms of spread, a lower percentage of vulnerable people would still be a good thing on balance?
posted by Emera Gratia at 5:43 PM on July 14, 2020
I am comforted by how science and medicine overall are making large strides, including in the documentation of disproportionate impacts, because this also helps defend us against the kinds of jaw-dropping ideas expressed by White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
And in related news: Fauci is ‘cautiously optimistic’ about vaccines, encourages public to listen to experts (WaPo live blog)
And in related news: Fauci is ‘cautiously optimistic’ about vaccines, encourages public to listen to experts (WaPo live blog)
Appearing via Zoom at the Georgetown University event, Fauci said he is “cautiously optimistic” about the state of vaccine development, citing positive early reports from one drug’s trials and other promising candidates. “I think we’re in a pretty good place when it comes to vaccines,” Fauci said. [...] His most animated moment came when he was asked about what young people can do to help control the pandemic. “I don’t want to sound preachy about it,” he began. Increases in infections and hospitalizations among younger Americans shows that some have adopted a blasé attitude, he said: “‘It doesn’t matter to me, I’d rather be there sipping my margarita at a bar in a crowd.’” But, he added, “Everybody has a place and a role in getting this outbreak under control, and your not caring whether you get infected or not is not a good way to get the outbreak under control. … They don’t mean to be part of the problem, but, inadvertently, they are part of the problem.”posted by katra at 6:21 PM on July 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yes, we are social creatures. For months I have been adamant about wearing a mask whenever I step outside, even just walking alone through my neighborhood and much more than 6 feet away from anyone else the entire time. It's always worthwhile to be sending the right signals via our own behavior.
I've restarted going for evening walks with my wife and while the streets are more crowded than they have ever been in 8 years of evening walks I feel like things have started hitting a critical mass. Mask wearing is way up in the last week or so. I'd estimate about 80% mask use and the no-mask folk are looking really nervous and sheepish like they are feeling the social pressure.
So huzzah!
BEGIN RANT
However, runners are still garbage people at almost 100% no mask use even when running on crowded sidewalks. I run almost everyday very early in the morning and mask up every time someone is anywhere near me and simply don't understand these people who won't protect themselves or other people while they are running. If you're a runner you are more able to wear a mask than anyone, it is slightly more suffering but you are already deliberately imposing suffering on yourself. There are no races so your performance doesn't matter right now. Your exhalations are huge and moist. You're aersolizing more than anyone short of coughers, sneezers and spitters (and some of you are spitting!). Your legalism and armchair epidemiology/motivated cognition is no protection for you or anyone against a virus with largely undetermined transmission vectors (the absence of evidence of outdoor transmission is not evidence of absence- think for a moment how impossible it is to determine outdoor infection via contact tracing. Indoor infection can be easily traced because time indoors is bounded and quantifiable in a way that time outdoors is not). If you are running and not wearing a mask and coming within 15 feet of other people you are being a simply unforgivable asshole and you may not realize it but you are probably terrorizing a lot of people right off the streets. I'm not sure I can ever return to community running events even once the pandemic is over because I am so disheartened by the behavior of my fellow runners.
END RANT
posted by srboisvert at 5:12 AM on July 15, 2020 [18 favorites]
I've restarted going for evening walks with my wife and while the streets are more crowded than they have ever been in 8 years of evening walks I feel like things have started hitting a critical mass. Mask wearing is way up in the last week or so. I'd estimate about 80% mask use and the no-mask folk are looking really nervous and sheepish like they are feeling the social pressure.
So huzzah!
BEGIN RANT
However, runners are still garbage people at almost 100% no mask use even when running on crowded sidewalks. I run almost everyday very early in the morning and mask up every time someone is anywhere near me and simply don't understand these people who won't protect themselves or other people while they are running. If you're a runner you are more able to wear a mask than anyone, it is slightly more suffering but you are already deliberately imposing suffering on yourself. There are no races so your performance doesn't matter right now. Your exhalations are huge and moist. You're aersolizing more than anyone short of coughers, sneezers and spitters (and some of you are spitting!). Your legalism and armchair epidemiology/motivated cognition is no protection for you or anyone against a virus with largely undetermined transmission vectors (the absence of evidence of outdoor transmission is not evidence of absence- think for a moment how impossible it is to determine outdoor infection via contact tracing. Indoor infection can be easily traced because time indoors is bounded and quantifiable in a way that time outdoors is not). If you are running and not wearing a mask and coming within 15 feet of other people you are being a simply unforgivable asshole and you may not realize it but you are probably terrorizing a lot of people right off the streets. I'm not sure I can ever return to community running events even once the pandemic is over because I am so disheartened by the behavior of my fellow runners.
END RANT
posted by srboisvert at 5:12 AM on July 15, 2020 [18 favorites]
Trump Administration Strips C.D.C. of Control of Coronavirus Data — Hospitals have been ordered to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and send all patient information to a central database in Washington, raising questions about transparency., New York Times, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, 7/14/2020:
posted by cenoxo at 8:02 AM on July 15, 2020 [8 favorites]
...The move has alarmed health experts who fear the data will be politicized or withheld from the public. The new instructions were posted recently in a little-noticed document [PDF] on the Department of Health and Human Services website. From now on, the department — not the C.D.C. — will collect daily reports about the patients that each hospital is treating, the number of available beds and ventilators, and other information vital to tracking the pandemic.If the Trump administration had their druthers, “C.D.C.” would stand for “Central Data Control” (a simpler concept for The Donald to grasp than “Ministry of Truth”).
Officials say the change will streamline data gathering and assist the White House coronavirus task force in allocating scarce supplies like personal protective gear and remdesivir, the first drug shown to be effective against the virus. But the Health and Human Services database that will receive new information is not open to the public, which could affect the work of scores of researchers, modelers and health officials who rely on C.D.C. data to make projections and crucial decisions...
posted by cenoxo at 8:02 AM on July 15, 2020 [8 favorites]
I assume there will be multiple lawsuits about this new rule by state attorneys general in the coming days.
Can this administration be any more self-defeating and stupid? (A rhetorical question, but I believe the answer is “yes.”)
posted by haiku warrior at 8:43 AM on July 15, 2020 [8 favorites]
Can this administration be any more self-defeating and stupid? (A rhetorical question, but I believe the answer is “yes.”)
posted by haiku warrior at 8:43 AM on July 15, 2020 [8 favorites]
Enjoying his Freedoms: (CNN)Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who has aggressively pushed to reopen his state and flouted experts' health recommendations, announced Wednesday that he is the first governor to test positive for coronavirus....
Following news of Stitt's positive diagnosis, the state health department announced a record high of 1,075 new positive Covid cases in a single day. The last record high was Tuesday, when 993 new cases were reported. There are currently 561 people hospitalized in the state due to the virus.
posted by HyperBlue at 11:38 AM on July 15, 2020 [2 favorites]
Following news of Stitt's positive diagnosis, the state health department announced a record high of 1,075 new positive Covid cases in a single day. The last record high was Tuesday, when 993 new cases were reported. There are currently 561 people hospitalized in the state due to the virus.
posted by HyperBlue at 11:38 AM on July 15, 2020 [2 favorites]
^ Probably under the remit of the nazi Gorka and the National Security Education Board
posted by adamvasco at 12:14 PM on July 15, 2020
posted by adamvasco at 12:14 PM on July 15, 2020
Probably under the remit of the nazi Gorka and the National Security Education Board
The NSEB by my read is the/a marketing department for national security. More appearance tweaks to hide vicious and vacuous policies, Gork is perfect for it, in Trump terms. Kind of a "thought he wouldn't?" but it makes ya wonder...what has been lost that Gorka is suddenly employable again? Is it desperation for the Turmp campaign to include more offensive language? He doesn't have that many other skills.
Hospitals have been ordered to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and send all patient information to a central database in Washington
They should just start publishing it to the public, sending the White House and CDC an RSS link or https://health.ca.gov/coronavirus/data/latest.zip URL. But most importantly publishing it to the public.
posted by rhizome at 12:44 PM on July 15, 2020 [9 favorites]
The NSEB by my read is the/a marketing department for national security. More appearance tweaks to hide vicious and vacuous policies, Gork is perfect for it, in Trump terms. Kind of a "thought he wouldn't?" but it makes ya wonder...what has been lost that Gorka is suddenly employable again? Is it desperation for the Turmp campaign to include more offensive language? He doesn't have that many other skills.
Hospitals have been ordered to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and send all patient information to a central database in Washington
They should just start publishing it to the public, sending the White House and CDC an RSS link or https://health.ca.gov/coronavirus/data/latest.zip URL. But most importantly publishing it to the public.
posted by rhizome at 12:44 PM on July 15, 2020 [9 favorites]
As per the NYT link, In its new guidance, Health and Human Services said that going forward, hospitals should report detailed information on a daily basis directly to the new centralized system, which is managed by TeleTracking, a health data firm with headquarters in Pittsburgh. However, if hospitals were already reporting such information to their states, they could continue to do so if they received a written release saying the state would handle reporting.
Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate health committee, has raised questions about the TeleTracking contract, calling it a “noncompetitive, multimillion-dollar contract” for a “duplicative health data system.” Both the C.D.C. network and the TeleTracking system set up by Health and Human Services rely on so-called push data, meaning hospital employees must manually enter data, rather than the government tapping into an electronic system to obtain the information.
Not in that NYT story, but at the Post: Trump administration recommends the National Guard as an option to help hospitals report coronavirus data (WaPo, July 14, 2020). The Trump administration is asking governors to consider sending the National Guard to hospitals to help improve data collection about novel coronavirus patients, supplies and capacity, according to a letter, internal emails and officials familiar with the plans. The move is part of a new data reporting protocol for hospitals that eliminates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a recipient of that information — a decision that is sparking controversy about whether or not the data is reliable.
This recommendation appears in a letter, and internal emails, and some officials are in the know, but it's not a part of the HHS document. Also, the TeleTracking company received the $10.2 million federal contract on April 6, for "COVID-19 Rapid Deployment Plan for Real-Time Healthcare System Capacity Reporting," and then received $5-10 million in PPP bailout funds on April 8 (to retain 376 employees).
Millions, and months, later, and TeleTracking (subsidiary: RadarFind), pioneers of a "NASA-like operational command center for healthcare" offers a "push data system" with the same delays as the existing CDC system -- only separate, and more expensive, and it's recommended the National Guard be on hand to do the data collection and inputting. And, as noted earlier in this thread, the Military’s COVID-19 cases growing at twice the nationwide rate (The Military Times, July 10, 2020).
The new protocol is in place as of TODAY: As of July 15, 2020, hospitals should no longer report the Covid-19 information in this document to the National Healthcare Safety Network site. Please select one of the above methods to use instead." Submit data to TeleTracking™ [https://teletracking.protect.hhs.gov]. All instructions on the data submission are on that site. To become a user in the portal: (This portal is will have the new and updated fields ready as of July 15, 2020)
- Respond to the validation email sent to your administrator.
- Visit https://teletracking.protect.hhs.gov and follow the specific instructions on how to become users.
- Each facility is allowed to have up to 4 users for both data entry and visual access to aggregated data in the platform.
- Users will be validated by the platform.
(The "is will have" is reassuring.) Four users (once validated), to input all information on COVID-related patient care (visits, supplies, bed capacity, staffing, testing...) by 5pm daily. I've got a feeling that our numbers are going to go down -- bet the summer heat is going to make a difference.
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:48 PM on July 15, 2020 [12 favorites]
Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate health committee, has raised questions about the TeleTracking contract, calling it a “noncompetitive, multimillion-dollar contract” for a “duplicative health data system.” Both the C.D.C. network and the TeleTracking system set up by Health and Human Services rely on so-called push data, meaning hospital employees must manually enter data, rather than the government tapping into an electronic system to obtain the information.
Not in that NYT story, but at the Post: Trump administration recommends the National Guard as an option to help hospitals report coronavirus data (WaPo, July 14, 2020). The Trump administration is asking governors to consider sending the National Guard to hospitals to help improve data collection about novel coronavirus patients, supplies and capacity, according to a letter, internal emails and officials familiar with the plans. The move is part of a new data reporting protocol for hospitals that eliminates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a recipient of that information — a decision that is sparking controversy about whether or not the data is reliable.
This recommendation appears in a letter, and internal emails, and some officials are in the know, but it's not a part of the HHS document. Also, the TeleTracking company received the $10.2 million federal contract on April 6, for "COVID-19 Rapid Deployment Plan for Real-Time Healthcare System Capacity Reporting," and then received $5-10 million in PPP bailout funds on April 8 (to retain 376 employees).
Millions, and months, later, and TeleTracking (subsidiary: RadarFind), pioneers of a "NASA-like operational command center for healthcare" offers a "push data system" with the same delays as the existing CDC system -- only separate, and more expensive, and it's recommended the National Guard be on hand to do the data collection and inputting. And, as noted earlier in this thread, the Military’s COVID-19 cases growing at twice the nationwide rate (The Military Times, July 10, 2020).
The new protocol is in place as of TODAY: As of July 15, 2020, hospitals should no longer report the Covid-19 information in this document to the National Healthcare Safety Network site. Please select one of the above methods to use instead." Submit data to TeleTracking™ [https://teletracking.protect.hhs.gov]. All instructions on the data submission are on that site. To become a user in the portal: (This portal is will have the new and updated fields ready as of July 15, 2020)
- Respond to the validation email sent to your administrator.
- Visit https://teletracking.protect.hhs.gov and follow the specific instructions on how to become users.
- Each facility is allowed to have up to 4 users for both data entry and visual access to aggregated data in the platform.
- Users will be validated by the platform.
(The "is will have" is reassuring.) Four users (once validated), to input all information on COVID-related patient care (visits, supplies, bed capacity, staffing, testing...) by 5pm daily. I've got a feeling that our numbers are going to go down -- bet the summer heat is going to make a difference.
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:48 PM on July 15, 2020 [12 favorites]
The Trump administration is asking governors to consider sending the National Guard to hospitals to help improve data collection about novel coronavirus patients, supplies and capacity, according to a letter, internal emails and officials familiar with the plans.
Unclear whether they will be issued bayonets.
posted by JackFlash at 1:16 PM on July 15, 2020 [10 favorites]
Unclear whether they will be issued bayonets.
posted by JackFlash at 1:16 PM on July 15, 2020 [10 favorites]
‘Let’s stop this nonsense,’ Fauci says of federal coronavirus response after attacks on him escalate (WaPo live blog)
White House tells 18 million unemployed workers to ‘Find Something New’ in ad campaign (WaPo, Jul. 14, 2020)
The initiative — complete with a virtual roundtable featuring Apple CEO Tim Cook — was swiftly derided as “tone-deaf” on social media.
posted by katra at 1:52 PM on July 15, 2020 [5 favorites]
Sidelined by the White House and harshly criticized in an extraordinary op-ed by a top adviser to the administration, Anthony S. Fauci — the nation’s top infectious-disease expert — said in an interview with the Atlantic published Wednesday that the country needs to focus on a surging virus “rather than these games people are playing.”As the coronavirus crisis spins out of control, Trump issues directives — but still no clear plan (WaPo)
“We’ve got to almost reset this and say, ‘Okay, let’s stop this nonsense,’” he said after being asked to state “the truth about the federal response to the pandemic” in the United States. “We’ve got to figure out: How can we get our control over this now, and, looking forward, how can we make sure that next month we don’t have another example of California, Texas, Florida and Arizona?”
There is no cohesive national strategy, apart from unenforced federal health guidelines. Instead, the administration is offering a patchwork of solutions, often in reaction to outbreaks after they occur. Although Trump and his team declare sweeping objectives, such as reopening schools, they have largely shirked responsibility for developing and executing plans to achieve them, putting the onus instead on state and local authorities.Trump says Navarro was wrong to write op-ed criticizing Fauci (WaPo)
White House tells 18 million unemployed workers to ‘Find Something New’ in ad campaign (WaPo, Jul. 14, 2020)
The initiative — complete with a virtual roundtable featuring Apple CEO Tim Cook — was swiftly derided as “tone-deaf” on social media.
posted by katra at 1:52 PM on July 15, 2020 [5 favorites]
The round table answers the rhetorical question of my last comment in the affirmative.
posted by haiku warrior at 3:43 PM on July 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by haiku warrior at 3:43 PM on July 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
Ruth Bader Ginsburg released from hospital. I don't know about the rest of you, but sometimes I feel our entire democracy is hinging on one person's life.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:29 PM on July 15, 2020 [20 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:29 PM on July 15, 2020 [20 favorites]
2 stylists had coronavirus but wore masks, and 139 clients didn’t get sick
Both stylists fell ill in mid-May. But they continued to work with clients for about a week after they started to feel symptoms, ...
...the pair had come into close contact with 139 clients seeking haircuts, facial hair trimmings and perms — appointments that bring people within inches of each other for 15 to 45 minutes at a time, more than enough time for the virus to travel through the air from person to person.
In the days after, health officials contact-traced all 139 people exposed to the stylists and asked them to self-quarantine for two weeks. None reported feeling sick during the 14 days that followed their salon appointments. The researchers also offered the clients free diagnostic tests for the coronavirus. Sixty-seven of them accepted; the rest declined. Of those tested, all turned up negative.
posted by polecat at 5:50 PM on July 15, 2020 [9 favorites]
Both stylists fell ill in mid-May. But they continued to work with clients for about a week after they started to feel symptoms, ...
...the pair had come into close contact with 139 clients seeking haircuts, facial hair trimmings and perms — appointments that bring people within inches of each other for 15 to 45 minutes at a time, more than enough time for the virus to travel through the air from person to person.
In the days after, health officials contact-traced all 139 people exposed to the stylists and asked them to self-quarantine for two weeks. None reported feeling sick during the 14 days that followed their salon appointments. The researchers also offered the clients free diagnostic tests for the coronavirus. Sixty-seven of them accepted; the rest declined. Of those tested, all turned up negative.
posted by polecat at 5:50 PM on July 15, 2020 [9 favorites]
Me, too, dances_with_sneetches; that person changes up, though.
More details on the hairstylists story: Absence of Apparent Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from Two Stylists After Exposure at a Hair Salon with a Universal Face Covering Policy — Springfield, Missouri, May 2020 (CDC, July 14, 2020)
Trump Is Donating [Nearly 8,000] Ventilators to Countries That Don’t Need or Can’t Use Them (Pro Publica, July 15, 2020) White House officials have pushed the U.S. Agency for International Development to purchase thousands of the expensive devices from U.S. companies and donate them abroad, according to internal documents, emails seen by or described to ProPublica and interviews with officials. [...] But the effort has been marked by dysfunction, with little clarity on how countries are chosen or how the ventilators are allocated. A USAID memo seen by ProPublica shows equipment donated to wealthy nations that typically do not get foreign aid, such as NATO countries, and to a few locations ill-equipped to use devices that require round-the-clock staffing and regular maintenance.
The administration’s decisions on ventilator distribution appear to have little correlation to the number of coronavirus deaths or infections in a country. Honduras, which is receiving 100 ventilators, had about 72 confirmed cases per 100,000 people on June 11, the day the plan was approved by a senior State Department official, according to World Health Organization data. Neighboring El Salvador, which is set to receive 600 ventilators, had about 51 cases per 100,000 people at that point. And Vietnam is set to receive 100 ventilators, though the country has had just a few hundred cases in all and no deaths. “These numbers are too round,” said Richard Sullivan, co-director of the Conflict and Health Research Group at King’s College London, noting that the numbers of ventilators listed in the document are, with just one exception, multiples of 5. “No one has done a proper needs assessment.”
--
The ventilators are being made by three companies (ZOLL Medical Corporation, Vyaire and Medtronic), "through an existing multibillion-dollar agency contract with a consortium led by Chemonics, a Washington, D.C.-based development consulting firm;" the manufacturers, the consulting firm, and the White House declined to answer questions about the donations. Ventilators require teams of trained staff for successful operation, and patients need sedatives (and analgesics, paralytics and vasopressors) during treatment.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:55 PM on July 15, 2020 [6 favorites]
More details on the hairstylists story: Absence of Apparent Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from Two Stylists After Exposure at a Hair Salon with a Universal Face Covering Policy — Springfield, Missouri, May 2020 (CDC, July 14, 2020)
Trump Is Donating [Nearly 8,000] Ventilators to Countries That Don’t Need or Can’t Use Them (Pro Publica, July 15, 2020) White House officials have pushed the U.S. Agency for International Development to purchase thousands of the expensive devices from U.S. companies and donate them abroad, according to internal documents, emails seen by or described to ProPublica and interviews with officials. [...] But the effort has been marked by dysfunction, with little clarity on how countries are chosen or how the ventilators are allocated. A USAID memo seen by ProPublica shows equipment donated to wealthy nations that typically do not get foreign aid, such as NATO countries, and to a few locations ill-equipped to use devices that require round-the-clock staffing and regular maintenance.
The administration’s decisions on ventilator distribution appear to have little correlation to the number of coronavirus deaths or infections in a country. Honduras, which is receiving 100 ventilators, had about 72 confirmed cases per 100,000 people on June 11, the day the plan was approved by a senior State Department official, according to World Health Organization data. Neighboring El Salvador, which is set to receive 600 ventilators, had about 51 cases per 100,000 people at that point. And Vietnam is set to receive 100 ventilators, though the country has had just a few hundred cases in all and no deaths. “These numbers are too round,” said Richard Sullivan, co-director of the Conflict and Health Research Group at King’s College London, noting that the numbers of ventilators listed in the document are, with just one exception, multiples of 5. “No one has done a proper needs assessment.”
--
The ventilators are being made by three companies (ZOLL Medical Corporation, Vyaire and Medtronic), "through an existing multibillion-dollar agency contract with a consortium led by Chemonics, a Washington, D.C.-based development consulting firm;" the manufacturers, the consulting firm, and the White House declined to answer questions about the donations. Ventilators require teams of trained staff for successful operation, and patients need sedatives (and analgesics, paralytics and vasopressors) during treatment.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:55 PM on July 15, 2020 [6 favorites]
Eye-opening (esp. w/r/t the Department of Veterans Affairs, which wound up with medical supplies at "austerity levels" at some hospitals): How McKinsey Is Making $100 Million (and Counting) Advising on the Government’s Bumbling Coronavirus Response (Pro Publica. July 15, 2020) For the world’s best-known corporate-management consultants, helping tackle the pandemic has been a bonanza. It’s not clear what the government has gotten in return.
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:11 PM on July 15, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:11 PM on July 15, 2020 [3 favorites]
If I can't the trust the data (and if it goes through Trump's hands, I can't), I have no choice but to assume the highest risk and stay home. Also, I have to assume a large number of people ARE believing Trumps data (which not coincidentally confirms what they want to hear) and being careless out there, so double reason for me to stay home. So much for your reopening goals, Trump, hope your economy doesn't to shit.
It's like they're evil, but also so incompetent even the evil plan isn't workable to achieve the evil goal.
posted by ctmf at 7:16 PM on July 15, 2020 [8 favorites]
It's like they're evil, but also so incompetent even the evil plan isn't workable to achieve the evil goal.
posted by ctmf at 7:16 PM on July 15, 2020 [8 favorites]
The Trump administration is asking governors to consider sending the National Guard to hospitals to help improve data collection about novel coronavirus patients, supplies and capacity
Anyone writing about how the National Guard shouldn’t get to be deployed at his every random whim? I have a friend in the guard. She’s trying to get her PhD and it’s being seriously disrupted by deployment. It’s one thing to deploy her for actual testing. But this shit? Why should Trump get to continually drag out the guard for whatever random shit he pleases? That’s not what they’re for.
posted by brook horse at 7:31 PM on July 15, 2020 [8 favorites]
Anyone writing about how the National Guard shouldn’t get to be deployed at his every random whim? I have a friend in the guard. She’s trying to get her PhD and it’s being seriously disrupted by deployment. It’s one thing to deploy her for actual testing. But this shit? Why should Trump get to continually drag out the guard for whatever random shit he pleases? That’s not what they’re for.
posted by brook horse at 7:31 PM on July 15, 2020 [8 favorites]
Or is anyone writing about how Trump only ever tries to tell other people what to do and does nothing himself? He literally just sits around all day, thinking of things that he doesn't have the power to make happen, then makes a lot of noise and browbeating and badgering about it as if he did. This, from a President who says he has ultimate power!
He's such a "let's you and him fight" weasel, but at the end of the day/week/month, what has he done besides bother people who are actually doing their jobs?
posted by rhizome at 7:45 PM on July 15, 2020 [8 favorites]
He's such a "let's you and him fight" weasel, but at the end of the day/week/month, what has he done besides bother people who are actually doing their jobs?
posted by rhizome at 7:45 PM on July 15, 2020 [8 favorites]
It's like they're evil, but also so incompetent even the evil plan isn't workable to achieve the evil goal.
It's not like they even have the fig leaf of an unknown outcome. Florida serves as a great example of how ineffective hiding data and downplaying risk is in practice. DeSantis and the rest of the Republicans that run much of Florida tried Trump's plan and got their wish of a premature reopening. Business was unsustainably slow, tourism was still in the toilet despite the happy face everyone was trying to project, and now we are teetering on the brink of overwhelming our hospitals.
It might have helped if the people who did visit during the intermission were the sort who would take basic precautions, but as should have been obvious to everyone, the only people willing to take the risk on a beach vacation in the middle of a worldwide pandemic were the ones who insist it's all a hoax and ended up seeding clusters of infection more widely than had previously been seen before the original stay-at-home order.
That's what you get when you have a substantial fraction of the populace who are completely convinced that reality isn't actually real, but instead is some leftist conspiracy against the orange jeebus.
posted by wierdo at 8:15 PM on July 15, 2020 [6 favorites]
It's not like they even have the fig leaf of an unknown outcome. Florida serves as a great example of how ineffective hiding data and downplaying risk is in practice. DeSantis and the rest of the Republicans that run much of Florida tried Trump's plan and got their wish of a premature reopening. Business was unsustainably slow, tourism was still in the toilet despite the happy face everyone was trying to project, and now we are teetering on the brink of overwhelming our hospitals.
It might have helped if the people who did visit during the intermission were the sort who would take basic precautions, but as should have been obvious to everyone, the only people willing to take the risk on a beach vacation in the middle of a worldwide pandemic were the ones who insist it's all a hoax and ended up seeding clusters of infection more widely than had previously been seen before the original stay-at-home order.
That's what you get when you have a substantial fraction of the populace who are completely convinced that reality isn't actually real, but instead is some leftist conspiracy against the orange jeebus.
posted by wierdo at 8:15 PM on July 15, 2020 [6 favorites]
Ruth Bader Ginsburg released from hospital. I don't know about the rest of you, but sometimes I feel our entire democracy is hinging on one person's life.
5 Supremes wrote their own articles of impeachment in their decision on the Wisconsin election.
Then 5 wrote them in the Texas election decision.
posted by ocschwar at 8:37 PM on July 15, 2020
5 Supremes wrote their own articles of impeachment in their decision on the Wisconsin election.
Then 5 wrote them in the Texas election decision.
posted by ocschwar at 8:37 PM on July 15, 2020
Each facility is allowed to have up to 4 users for both data entry and visual access to aggregated data in the platform.
This seems like maybe a small number of data entry people for larger hospitals?
posted by eviemath at 9:39 PM on July 15, 2020
This seems like maybe a small number of data entry people for larger hospitals?
posted by eviemath at 9:39 PM on July 15, 2020
This, from a President who says he has ultimate power!
Trump always denies, lies, blames, and threatens others to avoid any responsibility that lands in his lap. He can only survive in a web of confusion, contradiction, conflict, indecision, and shifting priorities that he spins around himself. Unlike his private businesses where he wields simplistic yes/no authority, the Presidency is far more complex and political beyond his shallow capabilities.
To protect himself during the few months left before the election, Trump’s trying to dig in deeper with the only skillset he’s comfortable with, but his failure to handle the uncooperative Covid-19 pandemic is throwing a wrench into his plans: Trump Replaces Brad Parscale as Campaign Manager, Elevating Bill Stepien, NYT, Maggie Haberman, 7/15/2020.
posted by cenoxo at 10:09 PM on July 15, 2020 [4 favorites]
Trump always denies, lies, blames, and threatens others to avoid any responsibility that lands in his lap. He can only survive in a web of confusion, contradiction, conflict, indecision, and shifting priorities that he spins around himself. Unlike his private businesses where he wields simplistic yes/no authority, the Presidency is far more complex and political beyond his shallow capabilities.
To protect himself during the few months left before the election, Trump’s trying to dig in deeper with the only skillset he’s comfortable with, but his failure to handle the uncooperative Covid-19 pandemic is throwing a wrench into his plans: Trump Replaces Brad Parscale as Campaign Manager, Elevating Bill Stepien, NYT, Maggie Haberman, 7/15/2020.
posted by cenoxo at 10:09 PM on July 15, 2020 [4 favorites]
Bill Stepien was involved in the New Jersey and Chris Christie Bridgegate scandal, invoking the Fifth Amendment in refusing to testify. Trump just can't help himself. He's irresistibly attracted to criminals to help his campaign.
posted by JackFlash at 10:31 PM on July 15, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by JackFlash at 10:31 PM on July 15, 2020 [5 favorites]
Coronavirus Latest: Gov. Hogan Discourages Marylanders From Traveling Out-Of-State (CBS Baltimore)
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is discouraging Marylanders from traveling out-of-state after other states are seeing spikes in coronavirus cases. Hogan made the announcement Wednesday during a press conference where he said a recent increase in COVID-19 cases has been linked to bars. “We’re also advising that Marylanders refrain from traveling to areas that are experiencing rapidly escalating numbers,” Hogan said. “Any Marylander who is traveling to or is returning from travel out-of-state, especially from those states that are experiencing spiking numbers, should get tested.”Trump team relaxed training rules for nursing home staff just as pandemic hit (Politico)
Shortly after the first coronavirus outbreak ravaged a nursing home in Kirkland, Wash., the Trump administration moved to fulfill a longstanding industry goal — waiving the requirement that nurse’s aides receive 75 hours of training and allowing people who study only eight hours online to become caregivers during the pandemic. The industry had been fighting for years to reduce training requirements, saying they make it harder to recruit staff. The day after the administration announced the change, the industry rolled out a free online training program for certifying the new role — called a "temporary nurse aide" — that has since been adopted by at least 19 states. Now, after more than 55,000 nursing home residents and workers across the country have died from the coronavirus, advocates for older adults and families of residents say they fear the change was premature, and contributed to the spread of the disease. [...] Asked about the waiver for nurse’s aide training, a spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services downplayed the change, saying workers still will need to complete the 75-hour training to become a certified nursing assistant after the pandemic is over.Biden Widens Lead Over Trump To 15 Points In Presidential Race, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Trump Job Approval Rating Drops To 36 Percent (Quinnipac)
"Yes, there's still 16 weeks until Election Day, but this is a very unpleasant real time look at what the future could be for President Trump. There is no upside, no silver lining, no encouraging trend hidden somewhere in this survey for the president," said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy. [...] Voters give the president a negative 35 - 62 percent approval rating for his handling of the coronavirus response, his lowest mark since the question was first asked in March. A clear majority of voters, 62 - 31 percent, say they think President Trump is hurting rather than helping efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus.posted by katra at 11:17 PM on July 15, 2020 [5 favorites]
So, I got tested for antibodies yesterday and it came out negative. The reason was that one of my best friends has been tested and has likely had the coronavirus. She had very weak symptoms (hardly any fever, a little discomfort, not sure about the lack of taste or smell) then, and I had similar symptoms, which is why I went at got the test. But she suffers from really uncomfortable long-term effects. I could see she walked much slower than usual. Her appetite is gone, and while she is already very slender, she has lost weight.
Then today, this was in my newsfeed: Coronavirus warning from Italy: Effects of COVID-19 could be worse than first thought
Then today, this was in my newsfeed: Coronavirus warning from Italy: Effects of COVID-19 could be worse than first thought
The long-term effects of COVID-19, even on people who suffered a mild infection, could be far worse than was originally anticipated, according to researchers and doctors in northern Italy.It gets worse, but I won't put in the whole article. It ends like this:
Psychosis, insomnia, kidney disease, spinal infections, strokes, chronic tiredness and mobility issues are being identified in former coronavirus patients in Lombardy, the worst-affected region in the country.
The doctors warn that some victims may never recover from the illness and that all age groups are vulnerable.
The advice from Italy is simple: Don't get infected.posted by mumimor at 11:24 PM on July 15, 2020 [23 favorites]
CDC Director Warns Fall, Winter Will Likely Be ‘One of the Most Difficult Times We’ve Experienced in American Public Health’ (Mediaite)
In the interview with Howard Bauchner (editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association), Redfield started out by emphasizing the importance of people wearing masks and repeating that if all Americans embraced masking more rigorously in the next few weeks they could get things more “under control.” [...] He said it’s sad to see “some of these public health issues become politicized.”Officials across the U.S. increase restrictions, though Georgia’s governor forbids local face-mask mandates. (NYT live blog)
Bauchner asked what the next few weeks are going to look like for the United States. Redfield admitted he initially thought the nation would “get a little break in July and August” but that’s not the case now. He again said “we could bring this outbreak to its knees” with sustained mask-wearing and social distancing.
As the U.S. outbreak increased in 41 states over the past two weeks and reached 3.5 million total infections on Wednesday, according to a New York Times database, governors and mayors across the nation have scrambled to respond, issuing new mask orders, limiting the size of gatherings and preparing for things to get much worse in the coming weeks. But in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, on Wednesday specifically forbade local officials to require people to wear face coverings in public even as he extended his executive order limiting the size of public gatherings to 50. The order, which was set to expire at midnight, will now last until July 31. It says people are “strongly encouraged” to wear face coverings outside their homes. [...] Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, a Republican, gave an evening address on the virus in which he warned Ohioans that if they did not act to curb the recent uptick in cases, “Florida and Arizona will be our future.”Weighing the risks as cases spike, more major school districts go online. (NYT live blog)
In a cautionary effort, several large school districts said on Wednesday that they would open the year with online classes, bucking pressure from President Trump and his administration to get students back into classrooms as quickly as possible.posted by katra at 11:53 PM on July 15, 2020 [5 favorites]
Immunity to Covid-19 could be lost in months, UK study suggests — Exclusive: King’s College London team found steep drops in patients’ antibody levels three months after infection, The Guardian; Ian Sample, Science Editor; 7/12/2020:
posted by cenoxo at 3:45 AM on July 16, 2020 [7 favorites]
...according to research suggesting the virus could reinfect people year after year, like common colds. In the first longitudinal study [*] of its kind, scientists analysed the immune response of more than 90 patients and healthcare workers at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust and found levels of antibodies that can destroy the virus peaked about three weeks after the onset of symptoms then swiftly declined.*Longitudinal evaluation and decline of antibody responses in SARS-CoV-2 infection, medRxiv, July 11, 2020 (PDF download, not peer-reviewed: note comments).
Blood tests revealed that while 60% of people marshalled a “potent” antibody response at the height of their battle with the virus, only 17% retained the same potency three months later. Antibody levels fell as much as 23-fold over the period. In some cases, they became undetectable....
posted by cenoxo at 3:45 AM on July 16, 2020 [7 favorites]
Both stylists fell ill in mid-May. But they continued to work with clients for about a week after they started to feel symptoms
Note that this outcome is a feature, not a bug, of our current economic system, in which sick leave is miserly if it exists at all -- one lovely innovation has been to roll sick leave and vacation time into the same pool -- and health insurance is tied to employment. Workers constantly, and obviously, are forced to go to work when showing symptoms of infectious diseases.
.
posted by Gelatin at 4:26 AM on July 16, 2020 [11 favorites]
Note that this outcome is a feature, not a bug, of our current economic system, in which sick leave is miserly if it exists at all -- one lovely innovation has been to roll sick leave and vacation time into the same pool -- and health insurance is tied to employment. Workers constantly, and obviously, are forced to go to work when showing symptoms of infectious diseases.
.
posted by Gelatin at 4:26 AM on July 16, 2020 [11 favorites]
Georgia Governor Kemp prohibiting local mask-wearing requirements goes completely into sociopathy in the wake of the Texas experiment with this several weeks earlier.
posted by PhineasGage at 6:08 AM on July 16, 2020 [16 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 6:08 AM on July 16, 2020 [16 favorites]
I don't understand Kemp's goal here. I'm sure it's not just to kill more people. So what is it? What has he been promised? Georgia is going to collapse if its cases skyrocket, and they will because voluntary mask-wearing got them to the point they're at now. Incompetence isn't a good enough excuse, there has to be a profit somewhere, doesn't there? What's he getting out of it?
posted by mittens at 6:16 AM on July 16, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by mittens at 6:16 AM on July 16, 2020 [4 favorites]
It is easy to forget the epistemic bubble that so many of these people live in. Although even Fox News has started to show a few tiny cracks in their anti-science, anti-mask thinking.
posted by PhineasGage at 6:41 AM on July 16, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by PhineasGage at 6:41 AM on July 16, 2020 [1 favorite]
What Kemp gets is keeping his MAGAhat base from revolting against him because of an "unconstitutional" mask mandate. Yes, the idiots believe that public health measures are unconstitutional despite the fact that the Supreme Court has ruled time and again that similar measures are not in fact unconstitutional.
It's kinda like how they believe that the ADA requires a business to allow them to wander around maskless if they claim to have a disability. It's law as cargo cult religion, as with all the sovereign citizen bullshit that most of the MAGAhats somehow believe.
posted by wierdo at 6:48 AM on July 16, 2020 [17 favorites]
It's kinda like how they believe that the ADA requires a business to allow them to wander around maskless if they claim to have a disability. It's law as cargo cult religion, as with all the sovereign citizen bullshit that most of the MAGAhats somehow believe.
posted by wierdo at 6:48 AM on July 16, 2020 [17 favorites]
I don't understand Kemp's goal here. I'm sure it's not just to kill more people.
I dunno, it's the simplest explanation. The Republicans are a death cult.
posted by Nelson at 6:55 AM on July 16, 2020 [7 favorites]
I dunno, it's the simplest explanation. The Republicans are a death cult.
posted by Nelson at 6:55 AM on July 16, 2020 [7 favorites]
TBH, I wouldn't be surprised if Kemp himself actually believes that shit. The Tea Party revolt ran out most Republicans who maintained a connection with reality and replaced them with people prone to this kind of magical thinking. It really is magical thinking. If you want to have your mind blown by stupidity, look into their claims about driver's licenses and courts that display gold fringed flags.
The worst part is that there are a few completely unhinged attorneys who believe this shit, too. How they managed to pass the bar exam, I'll never figure out. My all time favorite is Oscar Stilley, who eventually went so far down the rabbit hole he ended up in federal prison.
posted by wierdo at 7:00 AM on July 16, 2020 [1 favorite]
The worst part is that there are a few completely unhinged attorneys who believe this shit, too. How they managed to pass the bar exam, I'll never figure out. My all time favorite is Oscar Stilley, who eventually went so far down the rabbit hole he ended up in federal prison.
posted by wierdo at 7:00 AM on July 16, 2020 [1 favorite]
Tulsa poised to mandate mask-wearing after recent surge (WaPo live blog, Jul. 15, 2020)
Local public health officials linked the surge in new cases to President Trump’s June 20 rally in the Oklahoma city, where attendees crowded into an arena and mostly disregarded advice to wear masks. The city council voted 7-2 to implement a mandatory mask policy to tamp down the city’s growing outbreak.Virginia adopts first coronavirus safety rules for workplaces in the country after labor groups decry White House inaction (WaPo live blog, Jul. 15, 2020)
The state’s safety and health codes board voted 9-2 to adopt what is called an “emergency temporary standard,” which will require businesses to implement a raft of safety measures to protect workers from the coronavirus. Companies could face steep financial penalties if they are found to have violated the policies. The policies prohibit workers suspected of having the coronavirus from showing up to work, require companies to notify workers of possible exposure to infected co-workers within 24 hours, and include mandates about physical distancing, protective gear, sanitation, disinfecting and hand-washing.At least 36 students test positive for virus after camps (AP, Jul. 15, 2020)
At least three dozen high school students in northern Illinois have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus after some attending summer sports camps showed symptoms of the disease. [...] Health officials said health screenings were conducted at the start of the camps on July 6 and some students who showed symptoms were turned away. But other students experienced symptoms during the camps and were sent home. Health and school district officials met the next day and decided to close the camps. [...] “Our lives are very interconnected and this virus spreads very easily from person to person,” said Dr. Sana Ahmed, a medical epidemiologist at the health department. “Even if you personally aren’t at a high risk of severe illness, you need to consider that every person you interact with may have someone close to them who is vulnerable.”posted by katra at 9:20 AM on July 16, 2020 [4 favorites]
Something that is being discussed in theater circles right now -
There is a dinner theater in Indianapolis, the Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre, that is coming back. They recently released a video announcing this, and discussing their efforts to keep audiences safe.
You'll notice that the video doesn't say all that much about what they're doing to keep actors safe; the only hints are some shots of actors wearing full face plastic masks as part of all their costumes (better view in the pictures on this tweet). And that's because - the actors' and stage managers' union, Actors Equity, actually put them on a "do not work" black list because they didn't trust that Beef and Boards could sufficiently keep actors safe; and, in response, Beef and Boards decided to become a non-Equity-compliant house.
The sad truth is that they'll still be able to fill casts (there are enough people desperate to perform), but...will they be safe backstage? Probably not. But who cares, as long as the Saturday matinee buffet crowd is catered to.
(HOO boy are my theater friends talking about this one)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:31 AM on July 16, 2020 [9 favorites]
There is a dinner theater in Indianapolis, the Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre, that is coming back. They recently released a video announcing this, and discussing their efforts to keep audiences safe.
You'll notice that the video doesn't say all that much about what they're doing to keep actors safe; the only hints are some shots of actors wearing full face plastic masks as part of all their costumes (better view in the pictures on this tweet). And that's because - the actors' and stage managers' union, Actors Equity, actually put them on a "do not work" black list because they didn't trust that Beef and Boards could sufficiently keep actors safe; and, in response, Beef and Boards decided to become a non-Equity-compliant house.
The sad truth is that they'll still be able to fill casts (there are enough people desperate to perform), but...will they be safe backstage? Probably not. But who cares, as long as the Saturday matinee buffet crowd is catered to.
(HOO boy are my theater friends talking about this one)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:31 AM on July 16, 2020 [9 favorites]
Oh, forgot to mention in my comment that someone online recently described the Beef and Boards "we're coming back" video as being "like a Jordan Peele film". And yeah.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:36 AM on July 16, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:36 AM on July 16, 2020 [7 favorites]
U.S., Britain and Canada say Russian cyberspies are trying to steal coronavirus vaccine research (WaPo, July 16, 2020) Britain’s cybersecurity agency [National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)], alongside the National Security Agency in the United States, said that a group named APT29, also known as “the Dukes” or “Cozy Bear,” has targeted British, American and Canadian vaccine research and development organizations. [...] British officials said there was 95 percent certainty that APT29 was part of the Russian intelligence services. U.S. and Canadian experts concurred. [...] The Russian hackers in APT29 are well known to cyber experts. The group was one of the two Russian intelligence actors that hacked Democratic National Committee servers during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.
--
That's not even the weirdest bit (though courtship displays, when Russia's bought the cow by now, is up there): A picture of AG Barr accompanies the story, captioned Attorney General William P. Barr on July 16 accused hackers linked to the Chinese government of trying to steal information related to covid-19. The Post's lead-in sentence, and then his quote from a public speech earlier today: U.S. officials say a desire for geopolitical influence is also driving nations’ actions. “Having been caught covering up the coronavirus outbreak, Beijing is desperate for a public relations coup, and may hope that it will be able to claim credit for any medical breakthroughs,” Attorney General William P. Barr said Thursday in a speech in Michigan.
In Grand Rapids, Barr decries China's 'predatory' trade practices (Detroit News, July 16, 2020) U.S. Attorney General William Barr decried China's "predatory" trade policies during a 30-minute speech in Grand Rapids on Thursday, accusing the country of manipulating American businesses, stealing trade secrets and attempting to hack U.S. efforts to develop COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. China's ultimate goal since the 1980s, "isn't to trade with the United States, it is to raid the United States," Barr said from the podium at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.
--
NCSC advisory: UK and allies expose Russian attacks on coronavirus vaccine development. Joint advisory details APT29’s ongoing campaign to target organisations involved in COVID-19 vaccine development. [...] Download the full Advisory below [links to .pdf]
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:33 AM on July 16, 2020 [2 favorites]
--
That's not even the weirdest bit (though courtship displays, when Russia's bought the cow by now, is up there): A picture of AG Barr accompanies the story, captioned Attorney General William P. Barr on July 16 accused hackers linked to the Chinese government of trying to steal information related to covid-19. The Post's lead-in sentence, and then his quote from a public speech earlier today: U.S. officials say a desire for geopolitical influence is also driving nations’ actions. “Having been caught covering up the coronavirus outbreak, Beijing is desperate for a public relations coup, and may hope that it will be able to claim credit for any medical breakthroughs,” Attorney General William P. Barr said Thursday in a speech in Michigan.
In Grand Rapids, Barr decries China's 'predatory' trade practices (Detroit News, July 16, 2020) U.S. Attorney General William Barr decried China's "predatory" trade policies during a 30-minute speech in Grand Rapids on Thursday, accusing the country of manipulating American businesses, stealing trade secrets and attempting to hack U.S. efforts to develop COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. China's ultimate goal since the 1980s, "isn't to trade with the United States, it is to raid the United States," Barr said from the podium at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.
--
NCSC advisory: UK and allies expose Russian attacks on coronavirus vaccine development. Joint advisory details APT29’s ongoing campaign to target organisations involved in COVID-19 vaccine development. [...] Download the full Advisory below [links to .pdf]
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:33 AM on July 16, 2020 [2 favorites]
I put together a table with the states that have had the greatest rise and the greatest decline in weekly new COVID-19 virus cases (adjusted for state population).
Sixteen out of the top twenty increases were states that voted for Trump (California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Oregon being the exceptions). Ten of the top ten states improving voted for Clinton.
This is not directed as a post-election zinger to Trump. It is a reflection that red states are among those who most aggressively advocated reopening and those who have most flaunted safety rules.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:09 PM on July 16, 2020 [6 favorites]
Sixteen out of the top twenty increases were states that voted for Trump (California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Oregon being the exceptions). Ten of the top ten states improving voted for Clinton.
This is not directed as a post-election zinger to Trump. It is a reflection that red states are among those who most aggressively advocated reopening and those who have most flaunted safety rules.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:09 PM on July 16, 2020 [6 favorites]
shots of actors wearing full face plastic masks
Guardian: "Reuters is reporting that the top doctor in the Swiss mountain region that includes St Moritz and Davos told restaurants yesterday not to rely on plastic visors to protect their employees from Covid-19 infections, saying they “create a false sense of security”. [...]
Guardian: "Reuters is reporting that the top doctor in the Swiss mountain region that includes St Moritz and Davos told restaurants yesterday not to rely on plastic visors to protect their employees from Covid-19 infections, saying they “create a false sense of security”. [...]
The Grisons cantonal doctor, Marina Jamnicki, said face masks for restaurant staff who cannot keep a 1.5-metre (4.9 ft) distance from others were a better solution than transparent plastic shields secured by a headband. “An analysis of the cases and the path in which the disease spread shows plastic visors being used in gastronomy don’t offer sufficient protection,” her office said. “People who wore visors got infected.” [...] Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for public health said masks are better because they “slow the speed of breath or the dispersion of spit and slime drops” while visors “just capture drops that land on the screen”.posted by katra at 4:10 PM on July 16, 2020 [9 favorites]
Metafilter: slow the speed of breath or the dispersion of spit and slime drops
posted by benzenedream at 4:18 PM on July 16, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 4:18 PM on July 16, 2020 [6 favorites]
Georgia governor sues to block Atlanta from enforcing mask mandate (WaPo live blog)
The lawsuit alleges that Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) lacked the authority to implement a mask requirement and that she must obey Kemp’s executive orders, including one that explicitly bans municipalities from enacting their own mask ordinances.Unpublished White House report suggests harsher restrictions for hot spots (WaPo live blog)
[...] Before Kemp filed his lawsuit Thursday, Bottoms said in an online news conference that the governor’s new order would not stop Atlanta from enforcing its mask ordinance. “I am not afraid of the city being sued and I’ll put our policies up against anyone’s, any day of the week,” she said. Kemp’s lawsuit also asks the court to bat down Bottoms’s July 10 order that the city return to Phase 1 of reopening, which requires that people return to sheltering at home and that restaurants go back to offering just takeout and delivery.
A 359-page unpublished report by the White House Coronavirus Task Force dated Tuesday suggests that at least 18 states enact stricter public health measures — including mandating masks, limiting gatherings to less than 10 people and ramping up testing in areas where coronavirus cases have spiked. The document, published by the Center for Public Integrity on Thursday, recommends that states — including California, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas — toughen rules in hot spots and increase “community-led testing.” The task force also advises that several counties should shut down bars, nightclubs and gyms.posted by katra at 5:07 PM on July 16, 2020 [6 favorites]
Guardian: "Following White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany’s suggestion that “The science should not stand in the way” of schools reopening, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) issued a scathing statement criticizing the administration’s response to the coronavirus crisis.
Guardian: "White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended the president’s standing with the American people, as multiple polls show his approval rating dropping. “We believe this president has great approval in this country,” McEnany said. “His historic Covid response speaks for itself.”"
Guardian: "White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany pushed back against a question on why Trump has been holding many events unrelated to coronavirus in recent weeks. [...] Asked whether he has recently met with the White House coronavirus task force, McEnany deflected, saying, “The president is briefed on coronavirus each and every day.”"
Guardian: "Bill Sternberg, USA Today’s editorial page editor, added a note to the top of [Peter Navarro’s op-ed on Dr Anthony Fauci,] saying the editors chose to publish the op-ed because it was “newsworthy,” considering the White House’s recent attacks on Fauci’s credibility.” But Sternberg added, “However, several of Navarro’s criticisms of Fauci — on the China travel restrictions, the risk from the coronavirus and falling mortality rates — were misleading or lacked context. As such, Navarro’s op-ed did not meet USA TODAY’s fact-checking standards.”
posted by katra at 5:51 PM on July 16, 2020 [5 favorites]
“Now the Trump administration wants to further risk the lives of teachers, children, staff, and their families just to soothe the president’s ego,” said Lily Adams, a DNC spokesperson. “This president would rather accept conspiracy theories and reject science than listen to public health experts. He can’t be trusted to make decisions about the lives of America’s children and their families.”Guardian: “The science should not stand in the way of this,” McEnany said, adding moments later, “The science is on our side here.”
Guardian: "White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended the president’s standing with the American people, as multiple polls show his approval rating dropping. “We believe this president has great approval in this country,” McEnany said. “His historic Covid response speaks for itself.”"
Guardian: "White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany pushed back against a question on why Trump has been holding many events unrelated to coronavirus in recent weeks. [...] Asked whether he has recently met with the White House coronavirus task force, McEnany deflected, saying, “The president is briefed on coronavirus each and every day.”"
Guardian: "Bill Sternberg, USA Today’s editorial page editor, added a note to the top of [Peter Navarro’s op-ed on Dr Anthony Fauci,] saying the editors chose to publish the op-ed because it was “newsworthy,” considering the White House’s recent attacks on Fauci’s credibility.” But Sternberg added, “However, several of Navarro’s criticisms of Fauci — on the China travel restrictions, the risk from the coronavirus and falling mortality rates — were misleading or lacked context. As such, Navarro’s op-ed did not meet USA TODAY’s fact-checking standards.”
posted by katra at 5:51 PM on July 16, 2020 [5 favorites]
Most air conditioning systems don't protect against the coronavirus. In some cases, they can actually facilitate spread (USA Today, Jul. 15, 2020)
Though some public health experts expected coronavirus transmission to wane in the summer as temperatures rise and the air becomes more humid, cases have actually skyrocketed in some of the hottest and stickiest parts of the country. Engineers and ventilation experts said this may be in part because residents escape the heat by retreating indoors where heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems could exacerbate airborne transmission with unplanned air currents. [...] Even in bars and restaurants where social distancing is observed, air ventilation can carry respiratory droplets or aerosols that contain virus, said Len Horovitz, pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. [...]The U.S. shatters its single-day record for new cases, with more than 75,000. (NYT live blog)
“Even if you try to increase the ventilation rate, HVAC systems have not been designed to prevent transmission of these infectious airborne diseases,” said Dilip Goswami, president, co-founder and CTO of Molekule, an indoor air purification company. [...] “Most air conditioning systems won’t filter (virus) out, and if it did filter it out, it probably went right by and right into your face first,” said Wendell Porter, senior lecturer at the University of Florida. [...] Which brings us back to air currents. Goswami said it’s possible to manipulate air currents to make it safer for people indoors, but most establishments don’t think that far ahead.
[...] more than 75,000 with some numbers still to be announced, according to a New York Times database.Four countries account for two-thirds of the world’s new cases. (NYT live blog)
[...] More than half the 50 states have issued mask requirements, including Arkansas, where Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, announced a face covering requirement on Thursday, after previously taking a more hands-off approach. Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, a Democrat, also issued a mask order on Thursday, after questioning whether such a mandate would be enforceable. But there remains firm resistance in many circles, including from some Republican leaders who view mask requirements as a threat to personal liberty.
As the pandemic continues to quicken worldwide for a third consecutive month, many countries are seeing resurgences of the virus — or never succeeded in containing it at all. [...] Two-thirds of the 230,000 new cases that were reported worldwide on Wednesday came from just four countries — the United States, Brazil, India and South Africa — which are all failing to contain enormous, fast-moving epidemics.posted by katra at 9:42 PM on July 16, 2020 [4 favorites]
> Imagine living in a competently governed country.
And the Littlest State Shall Lead the Way on Covid-19 - "Governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island shows how effective competence during a crisis can be."
And the Littlest State Shall Lead the Way on Covid-19 - "Governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island shows how effective competence during a crisis can be."
...she studied countries such as South Korea and New Zealand, which had early successes against the coronavirus, and adopted their strategies as her own. If she had been in charge of a national effort, the country would already have a much better testing system...posted by kliuless at 11:19 PM on July 16, 2020 [33 favorites]
She persuaded CVS, the state’s largest employer, to partner with Rhode Island in making tests widely available. She employed the National Guard to set up drive-through test sites across the state. (Rhode Island has tested 25% of its population.)
Then she did something else that showed her willingness to come up with bold solutions to combat the pandemic. She reached out to Marc Benioff, the chief executive officer of Salesforce.com Inc., a man she’d never met before. Raimondo realized that Salesforce’s bread and butter — customer relationship management software — could be adapted easily to conduct significant contact tracing. One Friday night in April, she cold-called Benioff...
“So she helped design the contact tracing tool?” I asked him. “No,” he replied with a laugh. “She designed it.” Salesforce has since commercialized the technology and launched Work.com, a platform designed to help companies and other institutions mitigate the spread of the virus when offices begin to reopen...
Disappearance of covid-19 data from CDC website spurs outcry (WaPo, July 16, 2020) On the eve of a new coronavirus reporting system this week, data disappeared from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website as hospitals began filing information to a private contractor or their states instead. A day later, an outcry — including from other federal health officials — prompted the Trump administration to reinstate that dashboard and another daily CDC report on the pandemic. And on Thursday, the nation’s governors joined the chorus of objections over the abruptness of the change to the reporting protocols for hospitals, asking the administration to delay the shift for 30 days. In a statement, the National Governors Association said hospitals need the time to learn a new system, as they continue to deal with this pandemic.[...]
At least some state health departments that have been collecting data for their hospitals and sending it to Washington have already said the switch will make it impossible for them to continue, at least for now. The changed protocol includes a requirement that hospitals send several additional types of data that some state systems are not equipped to handle, state health officials said.
U.S. sets new single-day record with more than 70,000 new [identified] coronavirus cases (WaPo, July 17, 2020) There was a time when the U.S. surpassing 50,000 coronavirus cases in a day seemed like an alarming milestone. That was just a little over two weeks ago. Now, the number of new cases being reported each day is reaching dizzying new heights — and topped 70,000 for the first time on Thursday, according to data tracked by The Washington Post. Nebraska, Utah and Oregon each shattered their previous single-day records, pushing the total number of infections detected nationwide past 3.5 million.
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:39 PM on July 16, 2020 [4 favorites]
At least some state health departments that have been collecting data for their hospitals and sending it to Washington have already said the switch will make it impossible for them to continue, at least for now. The changed protocol includes a requirement that hospitals send several additional types of data that some state systems are not equipped to handle, state health officials said.
U.S. sets new single-day record with more than 70,000 new [identified] coronavirus cases (WaPo, July 17, 2020) There was a time when the U.S. surpassing 50,000 coronavirus cases in a day seemed like an alarming milestone. That was just a little over two weeks ago. Now, the number of new cases being reported each day is reaching dizzying new heights — and topped 70,000 for the first time on Thursday, according to data tracked by The Washington Post. Nebraska, Utah and Oregon each shattered their previous single-day records, pushing the total number of infections detected nationwide past 3.5 million.
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:39 PM on July 16, 2020 [4 favorites]
Grocery shopped today in Tempe AZ. Since our governor allowed municipalities to put in mask mandates (I guess Ducey is better than Kemp? Ugh. ) many cities, including Tempe, have put in mask requirements. When I was last out 3 weeks ago I definitely saw a bunch of people without masks. But today, 100% of grocery customers and workers were wearing a mask, all but one correctly (the failure was one older dude wearing his as a chin strap; his wife seemed to have it figured out though).
It was comforting to see such good compliance. I hope it continues. I told the grocery store clerk ( who thanked me for social distancing) that I really appreciated them enforcing the masks, and that it makes me feel safer shopping there.
On the other hand I still haven’t figured out the grocery bagging situation. You can only bring your own bags if you do the bagging, which is fine except I am not fast enough. There isn’t room at the bagging end for both an employee bagging and me to stand, so it’s either or. If they do it I somehow get approximately the same number of plastic bags as I have items.
That having been said I am really glad that was my biggest stress with this grocery trip. Plenty of canned goods, flour, toilet paper; no families of the unmasked going the wrong way down one way aisles.
Masks help. The public behavior is improving. But it won’t be enough unless we can get testing back up in rate and speed combined with contact tracing; and that’s something the public can’t do on its own.
posted by nat at 2:39 AM on July 17, 2020 [5 favorites]
It was comforting to see such good compliance. I hope it continues. I told the grocery store clerk ( who thanked me for social distancing) that I really appreciated them enforcing the masks, and that it makes me feel safer shopping there.
On the other hand I still haven’t figured out the grocery bagging situation. You can only bring your own bags if you do the bagging, which is fine except I am not fast enough. There isn’t room at the bagging end for both an employee bagging and me to stand, so it’s either or. If they do it I somehow get approximately the same number of plastic bags as I have items.
That having been said I am really glad that was my biggest stress with this grocery trip. Plenty of canned goods, flour, toilet paper; no families of the unmasked going the wrong way down one way aisles.
Masks help. The public behavior is improving. But it won’t be enough unless we can get testing back up in rate and speed combined with contact tracing; and that’s something the public can’t do on its own.
posted by nat at 2:39 AM on July 17, 2020 [5 favorites]
katra > Trump Tweets Claim That CDC, Media, Democrats and Doctors Are All ‘Lying’ About Coronavirus (Mediaite, 7/13/2020) — President Donald Trump retweeted a former game show host who claimed “Everyone is lying” about the coronavirus in order to hurt Trump’s reelection chances and stifle the U.S. economy. Here are the tweets Trump picked up from former Love Connection host turned online Trump-supporter Chuck .
Update: reality strikes again. From Snopes, Dan Evon, 7/15/2020: CLAIM — Did Chuck Woolery Say His Son Tested Positive for COVID-19? The former game show host had previously said [on July 12, 2020] that the CDC, doctors, Democrats, and the media were lying about COVID-19:
posted by cenoxo at 8:10 AM on July 17, 2020 [6 favorites]
Update: reality strikes again. From Snopes, Dan Evon, 7/15/2020: CLAIM — Did Chuck Woolery Say His Son Tested Positive for COVID-19? The former game show host had previously said [on July 12, 2020] that the CDC, doctors, Democrats, and the media were lying about COVID-19:
TRUECurrent Google News articles.
[Twitter image]
This was a genuine tweet [on July 13, 2020] from Woolery, whose account, unfortunately, was deleted without explanation two days later on July 15. An archived version of that tweet is available here. Woolery has not provided any additional information about the condition of his son.
posted by cenoxo at 8:10 AM on July 17, 2020 [6 favorites]
No one I know who has tested positive in Georgia has been contacted by a contact tracer, including a doctor who works at a hospital. I am a state employee. When we asked the university if there would be any on campus contact tracing, they told us the state Department of Public Health would handle all contact tracing. As far as any of us can tell, DPH is not actually doing any contact tracing.
I think it's time for us to ask for intervention. We need someone like Partners in Health or Doctors without Borders to come in and save Georgia, since neither the state nor federal government will. Things here are getting terrifying. And public schools start opening on Aug 1.
posted by hydropsyche at 9:27 AM on July 17, 2020 [10 favorites]
I think it's time for us to ask for intervention. We need someone like Partners in Health or Doctors without Borders to come in and save Georgia, since neither the state nor federal government will. Things here are getting terrifying. And public schools start opening on Aug 1.
posted by hydropsyche at 9:27 AM on July 17, 2020 [10 favorites]
> On the other hand I still haven’t figured out the grocery bagging situation. You can only bring your own bags if you do the bagging, which is fine except I am not fast enough. There isn’t room at the bagging end for both an employee bagging and me to stand, so it’s either or. If they do it I somehow get approximately the same number of plastic bags as I have items.
i feel uncomfortable letting the grocery store workers bag stuff for me — in pre-disaster times i was super judgmental about people who wouldn't help with bagging — but also these days my job when i'm out grocery shopping is to stay the hell away from the workers so as not to expose them to additional risk. i think the solution to the dilemma you're experiencing is to feel okay about getting approximately the same number of plastic bags as you have items.
like, assume that the workers know what they're doing and that the decisions they make while bagging are sound, because they're at more risk than you are and are better equipped to assess what's appropriate in this context.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 9:29 AM on July 17, 2020 [2 favorites]
i feel uncomfortable letting the grocery store workers bag stuff for me — in pre-disaster times i was super judgmental about people who wouldn't help with bagging — but also these days my job when i'm out grocery shopping is to stay the hell away from the workers so as not to expose them to additional risk. i think the solution to the dilemma you're experiencing is to feel okay about getting approximately the same number of plastic bags as you have items.
like, assume that the workers know what they're doing and that the decisions they make while bagging are sound, because they're at more risk than you are and are better equipped to assess what's appropriate in this context.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 9:29 AM on July 17, 2020 [2 favorites]
I don't know if Rhode Island came first, but the contact tracing database software we're using in many counties in California is also a Salesforce system, being implemented by Accenture. It's big, complicated, and imperfect, but it works. (Now if only we had a few thousand more volunteers. Or if everyone wore masks so we could diminish the skyrocketing need for case investigators and contact tracers.)
posted by PhineasGage at 9:36 AM on July 17, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 9:36 AM on July 17, 2020 [2 favorites]
I wish we had any sort of statistics on how well contact tracing is working. It's not clear even the state of California knows how much contact tracing it is doing. This article yesterday is definitely discouraging.
posted by Nelson at 9:48 AM on July 17, 2020
posted by Nelson at 9:48 AM on July 17, 2020
All of this "Democrats and scientists are making up the COVID numbers to make the president look bad" talk is an act of utter political desperation, because it conceded in advance that the COVID numbers do make the president look bad.
posted by Gelatin at 9:50 AM on July 17, 2020 [10 favorites]
posted by Gelatin at 9:50 AM on July 17, 2020 [10 favorites]
Yes, at the 30,000 foot level, contact tracing is being overwhelmed. The core reasons are not enough public masking and the premature reopening of indoor social spaces (bars, restaurants) where masks are impractical. We're adding more case investigators and contact tracers each week at a linear pace, but the number of cases and contacts is growing exponentially.
We had an intense shift a few weeks ago when not enough staff were on duty to adequately handle the jump in new cases reported that day. After a frantic, all-hands-on-deck, triage-and-call-only-the-most-recent-cases day, the public health leadership ran the numbers later in the week and estimated the team may have saved 10 human lives that day. Which is heartening and rewarding, but it's a number that pales in comparison to the many more that will be lost in the next month or two.
posted by PhineasGage at 9:58 AM on July 17, 2020 [9 favorites]
We had an intense shift a few weeks ago when not enough staff were on duty to adequately handle the jump in new cases reported that day. After a frantic, all-hands-on-deck, triage-and-call-only-the-most-recent-cases day, the public health leadership ran the numbers later in the week and estimated the team may have saved 10 human lives that day. Which is heartening and rewarding, but it's a number that pales in comparison to the many more that will be lost in the next month or two.
posted by PhineasGage at 9:58 AM on July 17, 2020 [9 favorites]
I'm sorry I didn't mean to discourage you PhineasGage. Even if contact tracing can't fully stop the spread of the disease like it has in other countries, each individual case you contact will still help save lives. I'm grateful you are doing this work and appreciate all the sharing of your experience you can do here for us.
Part of what bummed me out about that article is the giant gulf between the 10,000 tracers we've hired in California and the number we really need. Even back in April we knew we needed 20,000+. Now that the disease is spreading out of control there's just no hope of getting enough tracers to stay on top of it. Which was an entirely foreseeable failure, and why back in April we were saying don't reopen until the numbers are lower and the tracers are ready.
posted by Nelson at 10:06 AM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
Part of what bummed me out about that article is the giant gulf between the 10,000 tracers we've hired in California and the number we really need. Even back in April we knew we needed 20,000+. Now that the disease is spreading out of control there's just no hope of getting enough tracers to stay on top of it. Which was an entirely foreseeable failure, and why back in April we were saying don't reopen until the numbers are lower and the tracers are ready.
posted by Nelson at 10:06 AM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
The Boston Globe recently reported that Massachusetts's state-of-the-art contact tracing program isn't doing all that well.
The city of Somerville announced today that partly because of the problems with the state system and partly because of a "modest" increase in daily Covid-19 numbers in greater Boston, it's postponing plans to let gyms and entertainment venues open and to relax outdoor gathering limits until at least Aug. 3, saying that while it's set up its own contact-tracing system because of those problems, it doesn't have enough people to handle a second wave by itself.
Most of the rest of the state moved to the "Phase 3" re-opening last week; Boston this week (although Boston's 24-hour bowling alley for now is only open until midnight, 1 a.m. on weekends).
posted by adamg at 10:13 AM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
The city of Somerville announced today that partly because of the problems with the state system and partly because of a "modest" increase in daily Covid-19 numbers in greater Boston, it's postponing plans to let gyms and entertainment venues open and to relax outdoor gathering limits until at least Aug. 3, saying that while it's set up its own contact-tracing system because of those problems, it doesn't have enough people to handle a second wave by itself.
Most of the rest of the state moved to the "Phase 3" re-opening last week; Boston this week (although Boston's 24-hour bowling alley for now is only open until midnight, 1 a.m. on weekends).
posted by adamg at 10:13 AM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
Thanks, Nelson, no offense taken. Despite the churlish "sh*tshow" comment by that anonymous contact tracer in that Mercury News article, I have been impressed with how well this program has been spun up in such a short time. Apparently 700-800 or so new CI/CTs are being trained each week in the UCSF/UCLA course, and on-boarding people takes time, as does developing a cohort of experienced Team Leaders to manage and coach and support them.
Although I hate overuse of the metaphor, this really is the equivalent of wartime. And anyone who has read fine-grained accounts of WWII (or who was there at the time), will know that all the heroic narratives of well-organized efforts are simply myths. I was just given what a friend jokingly called a "battlefield commission" to become a Team Leader after only a few weeks. No way I'm ready or able, but what's the alternative, especially when Trump and certain Republican governors and anyone arguing against masks or demanding premature "opening" are essentially engaging in biological warfare against the U.S. population.
It basically comes down to this: "If everyone wore a mask, Covid-19 could be brought under control, CDC director urges."
posted by PhineasGage at 10:20 AM on July 17, 2020 [9 favorites]
Although I hate overuse of the metaphor, this really is the equivalent of wartime. And anyone who has read fine-grained accounts of WWII (or who was there at the time), will know that all the heroic narratives of well-organized efforts are simply myths. I was just given what a friend jokingly called a "battlefield commission" to become a Team Leader after only a few weeks. No way I'm ready or able, but what's the alternative, especially when Trump and certain Republican governors and anyone arguing against masks or demanding premature "opening" are essentially engaging in biological warfare against the U.S. population.
It basically comes down to this: "If everyone wore a mask, Covid-19 could be brought under control, CDC director urges."
posted by PhineasGage at 10:20 AM on July 17, 2020 [9 favorites]
Trump Tweets Claim That CDC, Media, Democrats and Doctors Are All ‘Lying’ About Coronavirus
I saw this the other day and all I could think of is to wonder what it will take, when Trump is saying that 90% of everybody and everything is a lie? That's a good story right there. Also, what is the lie?
posted by rhizome at 10:28 AM on July 17, 2020
I saw this the other day and all I could think of is to wonder what it will take, when Trump is saying that 90% of everybody and everything is a lie? That's a good story right there. Also, what is the lie?
posted by rhizome at 10:28 AM on July 17, 2020
I saw this the other day and all I could think of is to wonder what it will take, when Trump is saying that 90% of everybody and everything is a lie?
No one is meant to believe it rationally or in good faith; it's just an excuse for faithful cult members to reject objective reality so they can still support him.
posted by Gelatin at 10:40 AM on July 17, 2020 [2 favorites]
No one is meant to believe it rationally or in good faith; it's just an excuse for faithful cult members to reject objective reality so they can still support him.
posted by Gelatin at 10:40 AM on July 17, 2020 [2 favorites]
But that's the thing: he's saying he doesn't have very many supporters if the VAST MAJORITY of everything is the enemy.
Now, one of the consequences of this I was imagining was that, OK, he's talking to his hardcore fans, who I'm willing to believe is less than 20% of his polled support, so maybe the idea is that he speaks to his kernel of support and then he'll expand his concepts to rope in less strident dumbfucks and work his way to the middle? :shrug: It could also be random viciousness.
posted by rhizome at 10:53 AM on July 17, 2020
Now, one of the consequences of this I was imagining was that, OK, he's talking to his hardcore fans, who I'm willing to believe is less than 20% of his polled support, so maybe the idea is that he speaks to his kernel of support and then he'll expand his concepts to rope in less strident dumbfucks and work his way to the middle? :shrug: It could also be random viciousness.
posted by rhizome at 10:53 AM on July 17, 2020
Trump Tweets Claim That CDC, Media, Democrats and Doctors Are All ‘Lying’ About Coronavirus
I saw this the other day and all I could think of is to wonder what it will take, when Trump is saying that 90% of everybody and everything is a lie? That's a good story right there. Also, what is the lie?
My family member who still thinks this all a hoax believes he's the only person on the planet smart enough to see through the hype that this disease isn't particularly dangerous, contagious, or different than the other diseases we already knew about. He claims to not be a Trump fan or one of those MAGA people, he just thinks everything we're seeing on the news is just plain incorrect.
posted by bleep at 10:53 AM on July 17, 2020
I saw this the other day and all I could think of is to wonder what it will take, when Trump is saying that 90% of everybody and everything is a lie? That's a good story right there. Also, what is the lie?
My family member who still thinks this all a hoax believes he's the only person on the planet smart enough to see through the hype that this disease isn't particularly dangerous, contagious, or different than the other diseases we already knew about. He claims to not be a Trump fan or one of those MAGA people, he just thinks everything we're seeing on the news is just plain incorrect.
posted by bleep at 10:53 AM on July 17, 2020
It's like, the "real" data says this disease is nothing, but we're all looking at flawed data and/or drawing incorrect or unrealistic conclusions from the "real" data & no one is smart enough to understand that.
posted by bleep at 11:21 AM on July 17, 2020
posted by bleep at 11:21 AM on July 17, 2020
While University of California has launched UCLA/UCSF Pandemic Workforce Training Academies, I have yet to find applications.
This is what is said on the State of California website
The initial phase of California Connected, the state’s contact tracing program, will utilize existing resources and redirect state employees to begin contact tracing efforts. Offers of additional support from the private sector and qualified members of the public are appreciated, but contact tracers from outside state government may not be needed until a future phase. Thank you for wanting to share your expertise and resources with your fellow Californians.
I have taking my training through Johns Hopkins University. At this moment, I do not know if this is acceptable to the State.
I am also not finding on-line applications for CT work in City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County.
WTF???
posted by goalyeehah at 11:23 AM on July 17, 2020 [3 favorites]
This is what is said on the State of California website
The initial phase of California Connected, the state’s contact tracing program, will utilize existing resources and redirect state employees to begin contact tracing efforts. Offers of additional support from the private sector and qualified members of the public are appreciated, but contact tracers from outside state government may not be needed until a future phase. Thank you for wanting to share your expertise and resources with your fellow Californians.
I have taking my training through Johns Hopkins University. At this moment, I do not know if this is acceptable to the State.
I am also not finding on-line applications for CT work in City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County.
WTF???
posted by goalyeehah at 11:23 AM on July 17, 2020 [3 favorites]
For anyone who would like to volunteer as a CICT, here is info for Santa Clara County.
posted by PhineasGage at 11:32 AM on July 17, 2020
posted by PhineasGage at 11:32 AM on July 17, 2020
Military medics deploy in California, Texas as virus surges (AP)
Teams of military medics were deployed in Texas and California to help hospitals deluged by coronavirus patients, as Miami area authorities began stepping up enforcement Friday of a mask requirement — echoing efforts in many parts of the world to contain surging infections. [...] Several states have been reporting record numbers this week, contributing to a surge in the national death rate. The seven-day rolling average for daily new deaths has risen 34% from two weeks ago, while the case count in that period shot up 43%.Florida’s ‘mini-Trump’ Ron DeSantis under growing pressure as Covid-19 cases surge (Guardian)
Mayors of the worst-hit areas of the state met DeSantis this week, thanking him for coronavirus aid but also urging him to issue a statewide mask mandate and to show leadership. [...] The Orlando Sentinel editorial board wrote this week: “If coronavirus were a hurricane, it seemed to reach category 5 status over the weekend. More than ever, Florida needs decisive, resolute guidance to get through this storm. “Instead, Ron DeSantis continues to muddle and spin his way through. For every good move, there have been too many missteps.” [...] Yet DeSantis this week claimed the media had fueled complacency among residents, and described the mounting cases as “a blip” while acknowledging: “We’re now at a higher blip than where we were in May and the beginning of June.”Covid-19 Infections on the Rise in Kids and Teens With School Approaching (Bloomberg, Jul. 16, 2020)
While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has long maintained on its website that those younger than 18 make up only 2% of cases, state data paints a much less rosy picture. California and Mississippi, for instance, are recording rates nearing 10% of overall cases. Florida has found that about a third of all children tested there are infected. In response to questions from Bloomberg, the CDC cited a chart, updated today, with data from the states showing children make up 6.4% of those infected, though information isn’t included on almost 1 million cases. The numbers are rising, epidemiologists say, as testing has become more available to those with mild or no symptoms, encompassing many of the pediatric cases, and as those under 18 are increasingly involved in social activities.posted by katra at 12:04 PM on July 17, 2020 [2 favorites]
Shortly before his 2016 election, Trump said: "In this journey, I will never lie to you. I will never tell you something I do not believe."
It’s now shortly before the 2020 election, and he’s doubling down on his personal beliefs. Anything he says at any moment that helps him win is the truth, and anything said by anyone else that makes him lose is a lie.
posted by cenoxo at 12:07 PM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
It’s now shortly before the 2020 election, and he’s doubling down on his personal beliefs. Anything he says at any moment that helps him win is the truth, and anything said by anyone else that makes him lose is a lie.
posted by cenoxo at 12:07 PM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's like, the "real" data says this disease is nothing, but we're all looking at flawed data and/or drawing incorrect or unrealistic conclusions from the "real" data & no one is smart enough to understand that.
This is basically saying that Trump is the smartest person in the world, not to mention: where is Trump getting his info so as to make these contrary determinations? Like, who's left after "everybody else," the garbageman and Joel Osteen? Not to disparage garbagemen, it just scanned well.
posted by rhizome at 12:15 PM on July 17, 2020
This is basically saying that Trump is the smartest person in the world, not to mention: where is Trump getting his info so as to make these contrary determinations? Like, who's left after "everybody else," the garbageman and Joel Osteen? Not to disparage garbagemen, it just scanned well.
posted by rhizome at 12:15 PM on July 17, 2020
Well, as has been explained to me, I'm being an ideologue write Trump off just because he's on the opposite of our political beliefs!
posted by bleep at 12:16 PM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by bleep at 12:16 PM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's completely untethered from reality and extremely frightening.
posted by bleep at 12:17 PM on July 17, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by bleep at 12:17 PM on July 17, 2020 [7 favorites]
I can totally understand the impulse to believe that the virus isn't as dangerous as the media is leading us to believe. There are, after all, many deadly things that we all ignore every single day.
What I can't understand is maintaining that stance not only in the face of scientific consensus, but the simple fact on the ground that ICUs in particular and hospitals more generally are being overwhelmed despite the cancellation of elective procedures and the public's general aversion to seeking medical care during the pandemic. Especially when the people saying such things claim not to be motivated by the political fallout like the hardcore MAGAhats are.
posted by wierdo at 12:54 PM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
What I can't understand is maintaining that stance not only in the face of scientific consensus, but the simple fact on the ground that ICUs in particular and hospitals more generally are being overwhelmed despite the cancellation of elective procedures and the public's general aversion to seeking medical care during the pandemic. Especially when the people saying such things claim not to be motivated by the political fallout like the hardcore MAGAhats are.
posted by wierdo at 12:54 PM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
We are so far beyond the realms of rational thought by now. Today from The Hill:
posted by PhineasGage at 12:59 PM on July 17, 2020 [11 favorites]
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp slams Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms' mask mandate. 'I refuse to sit back and watch as disastrous policies threaten the lives and livelihoods of our citizens.'"As even Cesar Conda, former Chief of Staff to Marco Rubio and Domestic Policy Advisor to VP Dick Cheney, says, "How the hell does wearing a mask threaten the “lives and livelihoods” of Georgians? Isn’t it the opposite?"
posted by PhineasGage at 12:59 PM on July 17, 2020 [11 favorites]
Yeah the ICU thing is because doctors are exaggerating and are the *real* monsters for not treating other medical conditions (and by implication have all suddenly turned evil en masse I guess???)
posted by bleep at 1:05 PM on July 17, 2020
posted by bleep at 1:05 PM on July 17, 2020
The beds are full of mannequins, I guess?
posted by wierdo at 1:28 PM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by wierdo at 1:28 PM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
I guess the implied answer is that yes, anyone who isn't me & mine is a mannequin. I'm learning so much in the last few months!
posted by bleep at 1:42 PM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by bleep at 1:42 PM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
I guess the implied answer is that yes, anyone who isn't me & mine is a mannequin.
This is, basically, the idea behind the NPC meme. It's overt, literal political dehumanization.
posted by jedicus at 3:05 PM on July 17, 2020 [3 favorites]
This is, basically, the idea behind the NPC meme. It's overt, literal political dehumanization.
posted by jedicus at 3:05 PM on July 17, 2020 [3 favorites]
A Second Coronavirus Death Surge Is Coming — There was always a logical explanation for why cases rose through the end of June while deaths did not., The Atlantic, Alexis C. Madrigal, 7/15/2020:
posted by cenoxo at 3:07 PM on July 17, 2020 [13 favorites]
Illustration: Coronavirus deaths are rising right on cue.Data and charts in the article.
Shutterstock; Paul Spella / The Atlantic
...Many people who don’t want COVID-19 to be the terrible crisis that it is have clung to the idea that more cases won’t mean more deaths. Some Americans have been perplexed by a downward trend of national deaths, even as cases exploded in the Sun Belt region. But given the policy choices that state and federal officials have made, the virus has done exactly what public-health experts expected. When states reopened in late April and May with plenty of infected people within their borders, cases began to grow. COVID-19 is highly transmissible, makes a large subset of people who catch it seriously ill, and kills many more people than the flu or any other infectious disease [PDF] circulating in the country.
The likelihood that more cases of COVID-19 would mean that more people would die from the disease has always been very high. Even at the low point for deaths in the U.S., roughly 500 people died each day, on average. Now, with the national death numbers rising once again, there’s simply no argument that America can sustain coronavirus outbreaks while somehow escaping fatalities. America’s deadly summer coronavirus surge is undeniable. And it was predictable this whole time by looking honestly at the data....
posted by cenoxo at 3:07 PM on July 17, 2020 [13 favorites]
'The virus doesn't care about excuses': US faces terrifying autumn as Covid-19 surges (Guardian)
Public health experts emphasize that the United States does not have to accept as its fate a cascade of tens of millions of new cases, and tens of thousands of deaths, in the months ahead. Focused leadership and individual resolve could yet help the country follow in the footsteps of other nations that have successfully faced serious outbreaks – and brought them under control. But it is clear that the most vulnerable Americans, including the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions, face grave danger. [...] “If we don’t do anything to stop the virus, it’s going to be very difficult to prevent it from getting to people who will die,” said [Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security]. [...] It is as if the country is “treading water in the middle of the ocean”, [William Hanage, a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health] said.The new normal: Overwhelmed morgues, crowded hospitals, older Americans stuck at home (Politico)
“People tend to be shuffling very quickly between denial and fatalism,” he said. “That’s really not helpful. There are a number of things that can be done. “What I would hope is that this marks a point when the United States finally wakes up and realizes that this is a pandemic and starts taking it seriously. “Folks tend to look at what has happened elsewhere and then they make up some kind of magical reason why it’s not going to happen to them. “People keep making these excuses, and the virus doesn’t care about the excuses. The virus just keeps going. If you give it the opportunity, it will take it.”
There is some cause for optimism. Doctors are far better at treating the virus than they were in the spring and the country, as a whole, is doing a better job at protecting older and other vulnerable populations. Businesses like Walmart and Kroger this week mandated masks in their stores — and even conservative governors in Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas are mandating mask use and reimposing restrictions on businesses in an effort to flatten the curve. “The public health community isn’t ready to give up and say this is the new normal,” said Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.posted by katra at 10:31 PM on July 17, 2020 [3 favorites]
Hospitals Are Suddenly Short of Young Doctors — Because of Trump’s Visa Ban (ProPublica, July 17, 2020) Doctors treating coronavirus patients were supposed to be allowed into the U.S. But hundreds of young doctors have their visas put on hold indefinitely.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:46 PM on July 17, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:46 PM on July 17, 2020 [8 favorites]
Photos: The Influenza Masks of 1918, The Atlantic, 7/16/2020. A collection of images from a century ago of people doing their best to keep others and themselves safe.
posted by cenoxo at 5:06 AM on July 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by cenoxo at 5:06 AM on July 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
As virus surges in some US states, emergency rooms swamped (AP)
In Texas, Dr. Alison Haddock of the Baylor College of Medicine said the current situation is worse than after Hurricane Harvey, which swamped Houston with floodwaters in 2017. The state reported a new daily record for virus deaths Friday and more than 10,000 confirmed cases for the fourth consecutive day. [...] Around Seattle, which was the nation’s first hot spot for the virus that causes COVID-19, a new wave of patients is showing up at emergency departments, said nurse Mike Hastings. “What’s really frustrating from my side of it is when a patient comes into the emergency department, and is not really having symptoms of COVID, but they feel like they need that testing,” said Hastings, who works at an area hospital and is president of the Emergency Nurses Association. “Sometimes we’re not able to test them because we don’t have enough test supplies, so we’re only testing a certain set of patients.”More than half the country has issued mask requirements. See if there's a mandate in your state. (NBC News)
In Florida, another state that is seeing surging case numbers, hospitals say they are in desperate need of remdesivir — a medication that has been shown to shorten average hospitalization times — to treat the coronavirus patients who are filling up beds. On Saturday, the state reported more than 10,000 new confirmed cases of the virus and 90 additional deaths. [...] But it’s difficult to get a complete picture of how emergency rooms are faring in many places. In Arizona, one of the few states that reports data on visits to the emergency room by people with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 symptoms, numbers started to spike in early June and peaked earlier this month. More than 2,000 people went to an ER with coronavirus symptoms on a single day, July 7.
Here’s a look at where masks are now mandated by state governments, according to NBC News’ reporting. We’ll update this page in the days ahead.White anti-mask protesters jeered a black pastor demanding Tulsa race massacre reparations (WaPo / SFGate reprint)
The confrontation took place Wednesday as the Rev. Robert Turner delivered his weekly message about the need for reparations for one of the worst episodes of racial violence in U.S. history. A group of white people protesting Tulsa’s new mask ordinance swarmed him, poured water on him and grabbed at his bullhorn. A video shows the group shouting, “USA! USA! USA!” as Turner began his sermon explaining the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which left as many as 300 black people dead and leveled a 40-square block area of the all-black community of Greenwood. [...] As the group jeered, Turner shouted: “You care more about a face mask than you do justice, than you do for people whose bodies are still in mass graves.”posted by katra at 10:59 AM on July 18, 2020 [5 favorites]
‘We really need help’: Coronavirus overwhelms rural Oregon (AP)
The coronavirus has torn through the small Oregon community where farmers grow crops such as potatoes, onions and grains. In Umatilla County, where Pendleton is located, the rate of people testing positive for COVID-19 is about 16%. That’s a measure of how widespread the disease is in the community, and the World Health Organization recommends it stay below 5%. In the county with a population of 77,000, the virus has infected more than a thousand people and killed nine, overwhelming its limited resources and employees.Trump reportedly seeks to block testing funds as Covid-19 surges across south and west (Guardian)
[...] The pandemic sweeping through major U.S. cities is now wreaking havoc on rural communities, with some recording the nation’s most new confirmed cases per capita in the past two weeks. The virus is infecting thousands of often impoverished rural residents every day, swamping struggling health care systems and piling responsibility on government workers who often perform multiple jobs they never signed up for. Officials attribute much of the spread in rural America to outbreaks in workplaces, living facilities and social gatherings. Food processing plants and farms, where people typically work in cramped quarters, have proven to be hot spots.
In Washington, Congress is gearing up to pass another economic stimulus package. Optimistic economists once thought such a package could be unnecessary, but Covid-19 is now expected to continue to hurt the economy. The White House is reportedly trying to hurt any resultant bill. According to the Washington Post, the Trump administration is pushing to block billions of dollars for state-run testing and tracing, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and attempts to combat the pandemic at the Pentagon and state department.posted by katra at 2:47 PM on July 18, 2020 [5 favorites]
[...] “People continue to regard the virus as a political scheme or conspiracy theory,” Dr Chad Dowell, a doctor in Indianola, Mississippi, said in a Facebook post released by South Sunflower county hospital. “People continue to ignore recommended guidelines on how to help slow the virus’ spread. People continue to complain about wearing a mask. We’ve got to do better as a community.”
Midnight Order Bars Texas Republicans From Convention Hall (Bloomberg)
After a last-minute legal victory Friday in a battle with Houston’s Democratic mayor, the GOP was ready to move thousands of delegates into the city’s convention center for a weekend gathering to choose its presidential electors, even as the coronavirus surges in the state. Now, with a bar on the move from a federal appeals court posted shortly after midnight, the Republicans are stuck holding an online convention that has been beset by technical problems. The party will have almost no chance of access to the hall until the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans fully reviews the dispute.‘Superspreading’ events, triggered by people who may not even know they are infected, propel coronavirus pandemic (WaPo / Stars & Stripes reprint)
[...] Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner canceled the event last week after the city’s top medical officer testified that such a large indoor meeting could become a “super-spreader.” Deaths from Covid-19 in Texas broke records for a third consecutive day on Friday, at 174, pushing the grim tally to 3,735, according to state health department figures. The Republicans sued, claiming Turner had improperly invoked an escape clause in the convention contract to quash the free speech and assembly rights of a rival party.
It wasn’t until Day 7 of her team’s coronavirus investigation when it dawned on Linda Vail, the health officer for Michigan’s Ingham County, that this was going to be a big one. It had started with just two infections at the college bar on June 18, not long after the state began reopening. But the numbers quickly jumped to 12, then 18, then 34. As of Friday, she was staring at a spreadsheet with 187 infected at Harper’s Restaurant and Brew Pub. “The tables were six feet apart, but no one stayed there,” she said. “The DJ was playing music so people were shouting, the dance floor started to get crowded. We had flattened the curve and then boom.”posted by katra at 4:10 PM on July 18, 2020 [8 favorites]
The East Lansing case is what’s known as a superspreading event — possibly the largest so far in the United States among the general public. Many scientists say such infection bursts — probably sparked by a single, highly infectious individual who may show no signs of illness and unwittingly share an enclosed space with many others — are driving the pandemic. They worry these cases, rather than routine transmission between one infected person and, say, two or three close contacts, are propelling case counts out of control. More than 1,000 suspected clusters — ranging from the single digits to thousands — have been logged in a database compiled by a coder in the Netherlands. A megachurch in South Korea. A political rally in Madrid. An engagement party in Rio de Janeiro. Nearly all took place indoors, or in indoor-outdoor spaces. [...] Donald Milton, a professor of environmental health at the University of Maryland, and other experts have wondered if superspreading events could be the “Achilles’ heel” of the virus. If we could pinpoint the conditions under which these clusters occur, Milton argued, we could lower the transmission rate enough to extinguish the spread. “If you could stop these events, you could stop the pandemic,” Milton said. “You would crush the curve.”
Inside Trump’s Failure: The Rush to Abandon Leadership Role on the Virus
The roots of the nation’s current inability to control the pandemic can be traced to mid-April, when the White House embraced overly rosy projections to proclaim victory and move on.
Older Children Spread the Coronavirus Just as Much as Adults, Large Study Finds
The study of nearly 65,000 people in South Korea suggests that school reopenings will trigger more outbreaks.
posted by Comrade_robot at 4:36 PM on July 18, 2020 [9 favorites]
The roots of the nation’s current inability to control the pandemic can be traced to mid-April, when the White House embraced overly rosy projections to proclaim victory and move on.
Older Children Spread the Coronavirus Just as Much as Adults, Large Study Finds
The study of nearly 65,000 people in South Korea suggests that school reopenings will trigger more outbreaks.
posted by Comrade_robot at 4:36 PM on July 18, 2020 [9 favorites]
A med-school staffer dived into online groups to debunk coronavirus conspiracy theories. Would anyone listen? (WaPo / Stars & Stripes reprint)
He’s a 36-year-old research coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine — department of biostatistics, epidemiology and informatics — who’s made a stay-at-home hobby out of defending states’ pandemic-era restrictions and combating coronavirus misinformation on social media. Posting resources for his friends and diving into the online communities where misinformation thrives, he’s part of an everyday line of defense against the deluge that’s overwhelmed even professional fact-checkers — comments from family, friends or total strangers on the lookout. The efforts can feel futile, even as research suggests that average citizens of the Internet are a real force in correcting misperceptions.posted by katra at 6:31 PM on July 18, 2020 [5 favorites]
[...] Lots of people have been using social media during the pandemic to provide “observational correction,” where others are watching and potentially benefiting, said Emily Vraga, an associate professor in health communication at the University of Minnesota. She co-led a March survey in which more than 1 in 5 Americans reported having told someone during the previous week that they shared misinformation on the coronavirus. That’s slightly higher than other research has found for corrections in general, according to Vraga — maybe because there’s simply so much to debunk with covid-19, or maybe because “any decision you make is inherently about your community.”
“Any choice you make has implications for everyone you might come into contact with,” Vraga said. “And so that could be motivating people to engage in more correction than they might on other issues or topics.” Those kinds of fact checks have an impact, she said — along with social media platforms’ efforts to debunk and remove falsehoods — and are usually most effective when people point to a credible expert.
i really love that they are doing that. i also am a PSOM staffer @ UPenn. research coordinators are underpaid, undervalued, and are entirely dependent on sponsored programs funding which makes their contracts stressful and generally 1 year max. good on them for spending internal resources on trying to fight misinformation.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:52 PM on July 18, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by lazaruslong at 6:52 PM on July 18, 2020 [5 favorites]
Donald Trump has unified America – against him (Robert Reich, Guardian Opinion)
In a poll released last week, 62% said Trump was “hurting rather than helping” efforts to combat Covid-19. Fully 78% of those who supported him in 2016 but won’t vote for him again disapprove of his handling of the pandemic. Voters in swing states like Texas, Florida and Arizona – now feeling the brunt of the virus – are telling pollsters they won’t vote for Trump.Twitter disables video retweeted by Donald Trump over copyright complaint (Guardian)
Twitter has disabled a campaign-style video retweeted by Donald Trump, citing a copyright complaint. The video, which included music from the group Linkin Park, disappeared from the president’s Twitter feed late Saturday with the notification: “This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner.” [...] Twitter began challenging Trump’s tweets in May and has repeatedly clashed with him since. [...] The company also put a tweet from the president behind a warning label in late May, saying that he had violated its rules against “glorifying violence” when he advocated that Minneapolis authorities be tough in responding to protests over the death of George Floyd.Trump's Fox News Sunday interview will include Biden battleground ads (Guardian)
Joe Biden will run campaign ads during Donald Trump’s eagerly awaited interview with Fox News Sunday. [...] Without mentioning Trump, it aims to present its candidate as a leader capable of handling the coronavirus pandemic. “I’m thinking of all of you today,” Biden says, mentioning “rising case numbers causing fear and apprehension”. “This virus is tough but we can stop the spread. It’s up to all of us to do it.”posted by katra at 11:40 PM on July 18, 2020 [5 favorites]
Hospitals are running out of staff, supplies, and beds for Covid-19 patients — and this time could be worse • If hospitalizations continue to rise, health care workers in Arizona, Texas, and California fear they’ll be completely overwhelmed. - (Eliza Barclay and Dylan Scott; Vox; July 16)
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:57 AM on July 19, 2020 [4 favorites]
And most worrying for the states now battling major outbreaks is that, unlike in April, when most of the country was in lockdown, there’s no clear sense of when the current outbreaks will peak or decline. With only partial social distancing measures in place and inconsistent mask use, the virus may continue to spread, leading to an unabated wave of severe illness requiring hospitalization, more deaths, and more long-term complications requiring medical care.Protocols have improved, but that can't help with community support and attitudes toward masks and COVID-19 in general.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:57 AM on July 19, 2020 [4 favorites]
this seems like a new low of shamelessness:
In addition to being sued over a mask mandate and voluntary advisory guidelines on COVID-19,
@GovKemp
has asked for an emergency injunction to “restrain” me [ed: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms]
from issuing press statements and speaking to the press. Far more have sacrificed too much more for me to be silent.
posted by thelonius at 8:23 AM on July 19, 2020 [12 favorites]
In addition to being sued over a mask mandate and voluntary advisory guidelines on COVID-19,
@GovKemp
has asked for an emergency injunction to “restrain” me [ed: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms]
from issuing press statements and speaking to the press. Far more have sacrificed too much more for me to be silent.
posted by thelonius at 8:23 AM on July 19, 2020 [12 favorites]
Erica Werner and Jeff Stein in the Washington Post: Trump administration pushing to block new money for testing, tracing and CDC in upcoming coronavirus relief bill
posted by jedicus at 8:29 AM on July 19, 2020 [4 favorites]
The Trump administration is trying to block billions of dollars for states to conduct testing and contact tracing in the upcoming coronavirus relief bill...First: what the heck. Second: it seems more than a little unwise to anger Republican senators less than 4 months before an election Trump is likely to lose and might even take the Republican Senate majority with him. It's unclear who in the administration is pushing for this (Mulvaney? Mnuchin? Miller? Trump himself?), but as long as the money ends up in the bill in the end, I'm happy to see the administration at odds with Republicans in the Senate.
The administration is also trying to block billions of dollars that GOP senators want to allocate for the [CDC], and billions more for the Pentagon and State Department...
The administration’s posture has angered some GOP senators, the officials said, and some lawmakers are trying to push back and ensure that the money stays in the bill.
posted by jedicus at 8:29 AM on July 19, 2020 [4 favorites]
Okay, this may be more of a strategy than a fantasy. First, if the Democrats take hold of the Senate and House of Republicans and Trump loses the election, the Congress is sworn it at the beginning of the year and Trump leaves January 20th. There is a couple of weeks window for an impeachment.
I believe Trump will be trying to inflict maximum damage on his way out and this would stop him.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:57 AM on July 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
I believe Trump will be trying to inflict maximum damage on his way out and this would stop him.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:57 AM on July 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
Your Ancestors Knew Death in Ways You Never Will (Donald G. McNeil Jr., NYT News Analysis / MSN reprint, Jul. 15, 2020)
Some say we’re doomed. But science and public spending have saved us from pandemics worse than this one.
posted by katra at 10:33 AM on July 19, 2020
Some say we’re doomed. But science and public spending have saved us from pandemics worse than this one.
“You know the five stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance?” asked Dr. Emily Landon, a coronavirus expert at the University of Chicago medical school. “I think the American people are in all five of them — but different parts of the country are in different stages.”Tame Impala - Lost in Yesterday (Official Video)
posted by katra at 10:33 AM on July 19, 2020
has asked for an emergency injunction to “restrain” me [ed: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms] from issuing press statements and speaking to the press.
That's an exaggeration. It would restrain her from issuing statements claiming to have the power to implement her own pandemic control measures. Not from speaking to the press, generally.
I mean, that's bad enough, but not quite what the outrage bait on Twitter is seeming to imply. I'm equally disappointed when "our side" misrepresents facts to the public to stir up outrage as I am when "they" do it.
posted by ctmf at 11:47 AM on July 19, 2020 [3 favorites]
That's an exaggeration. It would restrain her from issuing statements claiming to have the power to implement her own pandemic control measures. Not from speaking to the press, generally.
I mean, that's bad enough, but not quite what the outrage bait on Twitter is seeming to imply. I'm equally disappointed when "our side" misrepresents facts to the public to stir up outrage as I am when "they" do it.
posted by ctmf at 11:47 AM on July 19, 2020 [3 favorites]
“I think the American people are in all five of them — but different parts of the country are in different stages.”
And I'm reaching the "acceptance" stage that nothing will be done on a collective level. Not for lack of trying, but the heckler's veto wins this one. It's on each of us to protect ourselves as best we can and cross our fingers.
posted by ctmf at 11:51 AM on July 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
And I'm reaching the "acceptance" stage that nothing will be done on a collective level. Not for lack of trying, but the heckler's veto wins this one. It's on each of us to protect ourselves as best we can and cross our fingers.
posted by ctmf at 11:51 AM on July 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
Mod note: Comment removed - let's try to re-rail this away from worst-case scenario prognosticating please? Thank you.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:25 PM on July 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:25 PM on July 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
I mean, that's bad enough, but not quite what the outrage bait on Twitter is seeming to imply. I'm equally disappointed when "our side" misrepresents facts to the public to stir up outrage as I am when "they" do it.
I agree, but, in fairness, the exact text of the Governor's motion was posted right below that.
posted by thelonius at 12:47 PM on July 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
I agree, but, in fairness, the exact text of the Governor's motion was posted right below that.
posted by thelonius at 12:47 PM on July 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
There is a couple of weeks window for an impeachment.
Trump can be impeached after he leaves office. One point is just to get "impeached" in front of their name (completed), but also because one of the remedies/punishments for impeachment is a prohibition on holding public office in the future. So, the idea is to prevent your Roy Moores and your Joe Arpaios from going, "I'm a criminal and I'm back!"
posted by rhizome at 12:55 PM on July 19, 2020 [3 favorites]
Trump can be impeached after he leaves office. One point is just to get "impeached" in front of their name (completed), but also because one of the remedies/punishments for impeachment is a prohibition on holding public office in the future. So, the idea is to prevent your Roy Moores and your Joe Arpaios from going, "I'm a criminal and I'm back!"
posted by rhizome at 12:55 PM on July 19, 2020 [3 favorites]
Erica Werner and Jeff Stein in the Washington Post: Trump administration pushing to block new money for testing, tracing and CDC in upcoming coronavirus relief bill
It's part of his campaign strategy - there's no coronavirus problem if you can't see one.
Alt article link on MSN
posted by ZeusHumms at 1:19 PM on July 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
It's part of his campaign strategy - there's no coronavirus problem if you can't see one.
Alt article link on MSN
posted by ZeusHumms at 1:19 PM on July 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
It's part of his campaign strategy - there's no coronavirus problem if you can't see one.
I am forever intrigued by the ability of white middle aged (and older) men to believe they are immortal. I've worked with design for healthcare for decades and one of the most consistent problems is that the boards who approve the designs are almost all wealthy males who imagine how they would prefer their care.
Article 1 is: I will never die and my body is a well-oiled machine that can be adjusted during one day at the shop. Regardless of wether that body is morbidly obese and has never moved itself.
In the case of the Trump campaign, their so-called base is extremely vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus. How do they imagine they can hide it? The way they are going right now, there will be thousands of Trump voters struggling or dying from now till November. What are they going to say about that? And in 2016, Trump only won the electoral college with thousands in a few states, they can't afford to loose them.
posted by mumimor at 1:50 PM on July 19, 2020 [5 favorites]
I am forever intrigued by the ability of white middle aged (and older) men to believe they are immortal. I've worked with design for healthcare for decades and one of the most consistent problems is that the boards who approve the designs are almost all wealthy males who imagine how they would prefer their care.
Article 1 is: I will never die and my body is a well-oiled machine that can be adjusted during one day at the shop. Regardless of wether that body is morbidly obese and has never moved itself.
In the case of the Trump campaign, their so-called base is extremely vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus. How do they imagine they can hide it? The way they are going right now, there will be thousands of Trump voters struggling or dying from now till November. What are they going to say about that? And in 2016, Trump only won the electoral college with thousands in a few states, they can't afford to loose them.
posted by mumimor at 1:50 PM on July 19, 2020 [5 favorites]
For the next stimulus bill Trump is insisting on a payroll tax cut and an unemployment insurance benefit cut. That's perverse. So he wants to give more more to the people who have jobs and less money to people who don't have jobs.
But it makes sense for Trump's re-election. Pissed off unemployed people aren't likely to vote for Trump, so screw them. And the fortunate employed will be grateful for a Trump payroll tax handout. The employed vastly outnumber the unemployed, so it makes political sense, for a sociopath.
posted by JackFlash at 1:50 PM on July 19, 2020 [4 favorites]
But it makes sense for Trump's re-election. Pissed off unemployed people aren't likely to vote for Trump, so screw them. And the fortunate employed will be grateful for a Trump payroll tax handout. The employed vastly outnumber the unemployed, so it makes political sense, for a sociopath.
posted by JackFlash at 1:50 PM on July 19, 2020 [4 favorites]
The payroll tax cut is to defund Social Security and Medicare, to create a funding crisis and justify slashing those programs next time the Democrats are in office and deficits are suddenly an existential crisis again.
posted by thelonius at 2:56 PM on July 19, 2020 [12 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 2:56 PM on July 19, 2020 [12 favorites]
'I'll be right eventually': Donald Trump defends his handling of COVID-19 and the presidency (USA Today, July 19, 2020) Under siege over his response to COVID-19 and protests against systemic racism and facing bad polls in his reelection bid against Joe Biden, President Donald Trump defended his performance in an interview broadcast Sunday – including his claims that the coronavirus will simply "disappear."
"I'll be right eventually," Trump told Chris Wallace, the host of "Fox News Sunday," in the interview taped Friday. "You know, I said, 'It's going to disappear.' I'll say it again."
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:05 PM on July 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
"I'll be right eventually," Trump told Chris Wallace, the host of "Fox News Sunday," in the interview taped Friday. "You know, I said, 'It's going to disappear.' I'll say it again."
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:05 PM on July 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
And the fortunate employed will be grateful for a Trump payroll tax handout.
I got some serious doubts about 1) how much this will actually affect workers' takehome pay and 2) how much folks will actually make a connection between "Trump payroll tax reduction" and "I have more money in my paycheck" and 3) whether this will really do much to combat the perception of Trump as unable to handle COVID and civil unrest.
As thelonius says, this is a standard Republican ploy to destabilize SS & Medicare, and somebody managed to get this idea stuck in his tiny addled brain. It's not like he actually has strong feelings about it.
If it's aimed at anybody it's aimed at business owners looking to bump profits.
Considering how easily this could be pumped as "TRUMP IS TRYING TO DESTROY SOCIAL SECURITY" in attack ads aimed at the 45-65-year-old crowd, I'm doubting this is all that great of a hill to die on. Not least because Republican Congresspeople are not all that enthusiastic about it.
posted by soundguy99 at 3:46 PM on July 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
I got some serious doubts about 1) how much this will actually affect workers' takehome pay and 2) how much folks will actually make a connection between "Trump payroll tax reduction" and "I have more money in my paycheck" and 3) whether this will really do much to combat the perception of Trump as unable to handle COVID and civil unrest.
As thelonius says, this is a standard Republican ploy to destabilize SS & Medicare, and somebody managed to get this idea stuck in his tiny addled brain. It's not like he actually has strong feelings about it.
If it's aimed at anybody it's aimed at business owners looking to bump profits.
Considering how easily this could be pumped as "TRUMP IS TRYING TO DESTROY SOCIAL SECURITY" in attack ads aimed at the 45-65-year-old crowd, I'm doubting this is all that great of a hill to die on. Not least because Republican Congresspeople are not all that enthusiastic about it.
posted by soundguy99 at 3:46 PM on July 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
The payroll tax cut is to defund Social Security and Medicare, to create a funding crisis and justify slashing those programs next time the Democrats are in office and deficits are suddenly an existential crisis again.
In the past, the payroll tax cut is always offset by transfers from the general fund to the Social Security and Medicare funds, so no real effect on Social Security and Medicare. A payroll tax cut is bad on the merits, but I seriously doubt Democrats would allow defunding to occur. It would be poison for Republicans running for re-election.
I just hope Democrats can stop the payroll tax cut entirely. It's stupid to be giving more money to the people who need it least while cutting off the unemployed -- well, stupid unless you are Donald Trump running for re-election.
posted by JackFlash at 3:50 PM on July 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
In the past, the payroll tax cut is always offset by transfers from the general fund to the Social Security and Medicare funds, so no real effect on Social Security and Medicare. A payroll tax cut is bad on the merits, but I seriously doubt Democrats would allow defunding to occur. It would be poison for Republicans running for re-election.
I just hope Democrats can stop the payroll tax cut entirely. It's stupid to be giving more money to the people who need it least while cutting off the unemployed -- well, stupid unless you are Donald Trump running for re-election.
posted by JackFlash at 3:50 PM on July 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
I got some serious doubts about 1) how much this will actually affect workers' takehome pay and 2) how much folks will actually make a connection between "Trump payroll tax reduction" and "I have more money in my paycheck"
We have data on that. When Obama passed the 2011 and 2012 payroll tax cuts, the effect on peoples' paychecks was subtle enough that Republicans convinced many that their taxes had been raised! But part of that is the lack of political marketing.
Trump won't make that mistake. He is sure to insert a Trump flyer into every paycheck envelope pointing out the gift he has bestowed, just like he did with the $1,200 stimulus checks.
The other perverse feature of the payroll tax cut is that it is regressive. The higher your income, the bigger the pay boost you get, which again plays to Trump's base.
posted by JackFlash at 4:00 PM on July 19, 2020
We have data on that. When Obama passed the 2011 and 2012 payroll tax cuts, the effect on peoples' paychecks was subtle enough that Republicans convinced many that their taxes had been raised! But part of that is the lack of political marketing.
Trump won't make that mistake. He is sure to insert a Trump flyer into every paycheck envelope pointing out the gift he has bestowed, just like he did with the $1,200 stimulus checks.
The other perverse feature of the payroll tax cut is that it is regressive. The higher your income, the bigger the pay boost you get, which again plays to Trump's base.
posted by JackFlash at 4:00 PM on July 19, 2020
mumimor > In the case of the Trump campaign, their so-called base is extremely vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus. How do they imagine they can hide it? The way they are going right now, there will be thousands of Trump voters struggling or dying from now till November. What are they going to say about that?
Perhaps they will blame it on a dolchstoßlegende (stab-in-the-back) by an evil combine of unrepentant Democrats, radical left terrorists, and turncoat never-Trumpers, all driven by lies and hoaxes created by the fake news media and funded by America’s foreign enemies. Neither the Prophet Donald, his high priests, nor any remnant of his loyal Base — having borne faithful witness to the Truth — will bear any responsibility.
posted by cenoxo at 7:31 PM on July 19, 2020 [5 favorites]
Perhaps they will blame it on a dolchstoßlegende (stab-in-the-back) by an evil combine of unrepentant Democrats, radical left terrorists, and turncoat never-Trumpers, all driven by lies and hoaxes created by the fake news media and funded by America’s foreign enemies. Neither the Prophet Donald, his high priests, nor any remnant of his loyal Base — having borne faithful witness to the Truth — will bear any responsibility.
posted by cenoxo at 7:31 PM on July 19, 2020 [5 favorites]
cenoxo, that's why they keep saying the virus is China's fault. Trump was saying it again today; "they never should have let it out". Stupid motherfucker. Which country respects science, took serious measures, and suppressed the virus and has essentially no cases? And which country ignored science, half-assed the response, and now has the disease running rampant uncontrolled?
posted by Nelson at 7:34 PM on July 19, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 7:34 PM on July 19, 2020 [6 favorites]
> ‘Superspreading’ events, triggered by people who may not even know they are infected, propel coronavirus pandemic (WaPo / Stars & Stripes reprint)
Kanye West holds first event as candidate (Politico)
Kanye West holds first event as candidate (Politico)
Several hundred people gathered in a venue, where gospel music played before West's appearance.God, abortion and better acoustics: Kanye West launches campaign with chaotic rally (Guardian)
Without a mic, he proceeded to address a rowdy audience of a few hundred people, asking for complete silence before asserting that future events “will be in rooms where the acoustics will be incredible because I will be involved with the design”. [...] West’s remarks [...] were mostly yelled in order to be heard by the crowd [...] Struggling to be heard, West repeatedly told audience members to be quiet at the same time as assuring them that he was “not trying to quiet their voices”. The event ended after West was substantially drowned out by the shouting crowd.posted by katra at 10:31 PM on July 19, 2020 [4 favorites]
Trump defends bungled handling of coronavirus with falsehoods and dubious claims (WaPo / The Hour reprint)
Making one of his biggest media appearances in months — an hour-long, sit-down interview with “Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace — Trump was visibly rattled and at times hostile as he struggled to answer for his administration’s failure to contain the coronavirus, which has claimed more than 137,000 lives in the United States. [...] In a season of remarkable public appearances by a politically wounded president, the Wallace interview was still extraordinary, in part because of the volley of false claims by Trump and aggressive, real-time fact-checking by his questioner.posted by katra at 11:00 PM on July 19, 2020 [3 favorites]
[...] In the Fox interview, Trump falsely asserted, “I think we have one of the lowest mortality rates in the world.” “It’s not true, sir,” Wallace replied. “We had 900 deaths on a single day just this week.” Trump shouted to aides hovering nearby: “Can you please get the mortality rates?” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany quickly presented Trump with data she said was from Deborah Birx, a physician and the White House coronavirus response coordinator, backing up his claim. “Number one low mortality fatality rates,” Trump claimed.
At that point, Fox interrupted the taped interview for Wallace to explain to his viewers that according to data from Johns Hopkins University, the United States ranked seventh among 20 countries in mortality rate, worse than Brazil and Russia. The White House relied on European data showing Italy and Spain doing worse than the United States but Brazil and South Korea doing better. The White House chart did not include Russia and other countries doing better, according to Wallace.
As Trump Ignores Virus Crisis, Republicans Start to Break Ranks (Alexander Burns, Jonathan Martin, Maggie Haberman, NYT / MSN reprint, Jul. 19, 2020)
President Trump’s failure to contain the coronavirus outbreak and his refusal to promote clear public-health guidelines have left many senior Republicans despairing that he will ever play a constructive role in addressing the crisis, with some concluding they must work around Mr. Trump and ignore or even contradict his pronouncements. In recent days, some of the most prominent figures in the G.O.P. outside the White House have broken with Mr. Trump over issues like the value of wearing a mask in public and heeding the advice of health experts like Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, whom the president and other hard-right figures within the administration have subjected to caustic personal criticism.posted by katra at 12:16 AM on July 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
They appear to be spurred by several overlapping forces, including deteriorating conditions in their own states, Mr. Trump’s seeming indifference to the problem and the approach of a presidential election in which Mr. Trump is badly lagging his Democratic challenger, Joseph R. Biden Jr., in the polls. [...] The result is a quiet but widening breach between Mr. Trump and leading figures in his party, as the virus burns through major political battlegrounds in the South and the West, like in the states of Arizona, Texas and Georgia. Amid mounting alarm in a huge portion of the country, Mr. Trump has at times appeared to inhabit a different universe, incorrectly predicting the outbreak would quickly dissipate and falsely claiming the spread of the virus was simply a function of increased testing. With his impatient demands and decrees, Mr. Trump has disrupted efforts to mitigate the crisis while effectively sidelining himself from participating in those efforts.
Frustrated GOP Guvs Privately Vent About Trump’s Blasé Response To COVID-19 Spikes • Christina Cabrera, TalkingPointsMemo; July 20, 2020
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:40 AM on July 20, 2020 [9 favorites]
According to the New York Times, these GOP governors have been having these often late-night calls for months without their staff present.This is desperation.
Some of the governors have also given up on trying to speak to Trump directly about COVID-19 and have begun reaching out to Vice President Mike Pence instead, believing him to be more reliable with handling the pandemic.
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:40 AM on July 20, 2020 [9 favorites]
Mayor in Miami-Dade: ‘It’s a breaking point’ (WaPo live blog)
The mayor of one of the largest cities in Florida said Monday that his community is at a “critical stage” in the pandemic and called for more of a unified statewide strategy, saying a patchwork of rules is rendering the restrictions in his area largely ineffective. “It’s a breaking point,” Hialeah, Fla., Mayor Carlos Hernández said on CNN’s “New Day,” recounting late-night conversations with officials at hospitals in his city. [...] Hernández said that with fewer restrictions in neighboring Broward County, people in Miami-Dade can just head over there when curfew sets in. “What’s happening is, instead of people not going to restaurants, they’re just going across the border,” he said. “As long as we don’t work together, and I’m talking counties and the state, we’re going to find ourselves in this problem right now — you can’t fix this by pieces,” he added.Previously: Inside the Trump administration's rush to abandon leadership role on the virus (NYT / StarTribune reprint / MSN reprint, Jul. 18, 2020, updated Jul. 20, 2020)
It was the end of March and his initial, 15-day effort to slow the spread of the virus by essentially shutting down the country was expiring in days. [...] Days earlier, Mr. Trump had said he envisioned the country being “opened up and raring to go” by Easter, but now he was on the verge of announcing that he would keep the country shut down for another 30 days. “Do you really think we need to do this?” the president asked Dr. Fauci. “Yeah, we really do need to do it,” Dr. Fauci replied, explaining again the federal government’s role in making sure the virus did not explode across the country. Mr. Trump’s willingness to go along [...] was a concession that federal responsibility was crucial to defeating a virus that did not respect state boundaries.The crisis that shocked the world: America’s response to the coronavirus (WaPo / MSN reprint, Jul. 19, 2020)
In the United States, coronavirus transmission is out of control. The national response is fragmented, shot through with political rancor and culture-war divisiveness. Testing shortcomings that revealed themselves in March have become acute in July, with week-long waits for results leaving the country blind to real-time virus spread and rendering contact tracing nearly irrelevant. [...] The fumbling of the virus was not a fluke: The American coronavirus fiasco has exposed the country’s incoherent leadership, self-defeating political polarization, a lack of investment in public health, and persistent socioeconomic and racial inequities that have left millions of people vulnerable to disease and death. In this big, sprawling, demographically and culturally diverse nation, the decentralized political structures gave birth to patchwork policies that don’t make sense when applied to a virus that ignores state boundaries and city limits.posted by katra at 9:28 AM on July 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
The national response is fragmented, shot through with political rancor and culture-war divisiveness.
Shame on the WaPo for misspelling "Republican intransigence."
The response to COVID never had to be partisan, nor should it have been, but Trump's insecurities -- about confessing how inadequate his response had been, about wearing a mask, about admitting his failures -- made it so.
posted by Gelatin at 9:47 AM on July 20, 2020 [31 favorites]
Shame on the WaPo for misspelling "Republican intransigence."
The response to COVID never had to be partisan, nor should it have been, but Trump's insecurities -- about confessing how inadequate his response had been, about wearing a mask, about admitting his failures -- made it so.
posted by Gelatin at 9:47 AM on July 20, 2020 [31 favorites]
Some of the governors have also given up on trying to speak to Trump directly about COVID-19 and have begun reaching out to Vice President Mike Pence instead, believing him to be more reliable with handling the pandemic.
I think this is business as usual, because trying to talk to Trump is like trying to navigate someone else's acid trip:
Trump says he told Pence not to call governors who aren’t ‘appreciative’ of White House coronavirus efforts (CNBC, March 27, 2020) Trump said that Pence “calls all the governors. And I tell him, I’m a different type of person, and I say, ’Mike, don’t call the governor of Washington. You’re wasting your time with him.”
Pence Tells Governors Money for Coronavirus Costs Is Coming (US News & World Reports, March 2, 2020)
Governors dealing with protests ask Pence for help keeping people home, access to testing gear (ABC, April 20, 2020)
However, since Pence is reliably incompetent w/r/t health crises and a toady to boot:
Pence encouraged governors to downplay new community spread of coronavirus: report (The Hill, June 16, 2020) Vice President Pence encouraged governors to downplay new community spread of the coronavirus and attribute spikes to increases in testing, The New York Times reported Monday. Pence urged the state leaders to take on the Trump administration’s explanation for rises in cases — that more testing has led to more positive cases — during a phone call with governors Monday, according to audio obtained by the Times. The newspaper notes, however, that data show his explanation is misleading.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:09 AM on July 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
I think this is business as usual, because trying to talk to Trump is like trying to navigate someone else's acid trip:
Trump says he told Pence not to call governors who aren’t ‘appreciative’ of White House coronavirus efforts (CNBC, March 27, 2020) Trump said that Pence “calls all the governors. And I tell him, I’m a different type of person, and I say, ’Mike, don’t call the governor of Washington. You’re wasting your time with him.”
Pence Tells Governors Money for Coronavirus Costs Is Coming (US News & World Reports, March 2, 2020)
Governors dealing with protests ask Pence for help keeping people home, access to testing gear (ABC, April 20, 2020)
However, since Pence is reliably incompetent w/r/t health crises and a toady to boot:
Pence encouraged governors to downplay new community spread of coronavirus: report (The Hill, June 16, 2020) Vice President Pence encouraged governors to downplay new community spread of the coronavirus and attribute spikes to increases in testing, The New York Times reported Monday. Pence urged the state leaders to take on the Trump administration’s explanation for rises in cases — that more testing has led to more positive cases — during a phone call with governors Monday, according to audio obtained by the Times. The newspaper notes, however, that data show his explanation is misleading.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:09 AM on July 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
I just want to offer my thanks for those providing alternate links for NY Times / Washington Post articles -- it's really helpful!
posted by janewman at 10:19 AM on July 20, 2020 [25 favorites]
posted by janewman at 10:19 AM on July 20, 2020 [25 favorites]
Tens of thousands of Americans set to strike in protest over racial inequality (Guardian)
Organisers of the Strike For Black Lives said tens of thousands of Americans were set to walk out of work in more than two dozen cities at noon on Monday, to protest against systemic racism and economic inequality. At noon in each time zone, workers were expected to take a knee for just short of nine minutes, the amount of time prosecutors say white police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on George Floyd’s neck before Floyd died in Minneapolis on 25 May. Labour unions and social and racial justice organizations from New York to Los Angeles were set to participate. Where work stoppages were not possible for a full day, participants would either picket during a lunch break or observe moments of silence to honour black lives lost to police violence, organisers said.posted by katra at 11:09 AM on July 20, 2020 [5 favorites]
[...] Strikers are demanding sweeping action by corporations and government to confront systemic racism and economic inequality that limits mobility and career advancement for many black and Hispanic workers, who make up a disproportionate number of those earning less than a living wage. Specifically, they are calling on corporate leaders and elected officials to use executive and legislative power to guarantee people of all races can thrive. That demand includes raising wages and allowing workers to unionise to negotiate better healthcare, sick leave and childcare support. In Manhattan, essential workers will gather outside the Trump International Hotel to demand the Senate and Donald Trump pass and sign the Heroes Act. The House-passed legislation would provide protective equipment, essential pay and extended unemployment benefits to workers who have not had the option of working from home during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hernández said that with fewer restrictions in neighboring Broward County, people in Miami-Dade can just head over there when curfew sets in. “What’s happening is, instead of people not going to restaurants, they’re just going across the border,” he said. “As long as we don’t work together, and I’m talking counties and the state, we’re going to find ourselves in this problem right now — you can’t fix this by pieces,” he added.
He's not wrong about the need for statewide coordination that has been almost entirely absent thanks to Governor DeSantis deciding that aping Trump (both in the sense of denial and in the sense of ignoring laws on the books) is his best shot at avoiding political doom and legislative Republicans repeatedly rebuffing efforts to convene the state Legislature to deal with the crisis.
Blaming the situation in Miami-Dade on looser restrictions in Broward County is nothing more than deflection, however. He calls out curfew non-compliance as an issue, but fails to note that Broward does in fact have a curfew of its own that runs from 11pm-5am nightly. The difference is an hour. Otherwise, restrictions are nearly identical. The idea that the extra hour is making much of a difference at all is ludicrous on its face, especially given the travel time involved.
posted by wierdo at 11:09 AM on July 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
He's not wrong about the need for statewide coordination that has been almost entirely absent thanks to Governor DeSantis deciding that aping Trump (both in the sense of denial and in the sense of ignoring laws on the books) is his best shot at avoiding political doom and legislative Republicans repeatedly rebuffing efforts to convene the state Legislature to deal with the crisis.
Blaming the situation in Miami-Dade on looser restrictions in Broward County is nothing more than deflection, however. He calls out curfew non-compliance as an issue, but fails to note that Broward does in fact have a curfew of its own that runs from 11pm-5am nightly. The difference is an hour. Otherwise, restrictions are nearly identical. The idea that the extra hour is making much of a difference at all is ludicrous on its face, especially given the travel time involved.
posted by wierdo at 11:09 AM on July 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
Trump says regular coronavirus briefings will resume (WaPo live blog)
posted by katra at 1:31 PM on July 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
President Trump said Monday that he is resurrecting the regular late-afternoon public briefings of the White House coronavirus task force — probably starting with one on Tuesday — after a long hiatus. Trump, who held court at the briefings, often for more than an hour, shared the news with reporters during a morning event in the Oval Office. [...] Trump stopped appearing at White House coronavirus task force briefings after an April session at which he suggested that scientists test whether disinfectants, such as bleach, could be injected inside the human body to fight the coronavirus [Sarah Cooper alt link, YouTube].'We can't pull it off': Florida sheriff says he can't muster security for GOP convention (Politico)
“As we're talking today, we are still not close to having some kind of plan that we can work with that makes me comfortable that we're going to keep that event and the community safe,” Duval County Sheriff Mike Williams told POLITICO.Guardian: "Teachers are suing the state of Florida over a mandate to return to in-person classes. Florida Education Association President Fedrick Ingram said Republican Governor Ron DeSantis needs “a reality check” about the state of Covid-19 in his state.
“The governor needs to accept the reality of the situation here in Florida, where the virus is surging out of control. He needs to accept the evolving science. It now appears that kids 10 and older may pass along the coronavirus as easily as adults,” Ingram said. “Everyone wants schools to reopen, but we don’t want to begin in-person teaching, face an explosion of cases and sickness, then be forced to return to distance learning. Florida’s Constitution demands that public schools be safe. Teachers and parents want our schools to meet that basic standard.”Politico: Florida teachers sue as DeSantis distances himself from school openings [The complaint]
posted by katra at 1:31 PM on July 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
Remember John Yoo who found a leagl excuse for torture?
The Trump administration has been consulting the former government lawyer who wrote the legal justification for waterboarding on how the president might try to rule by decree.
posted by adamvasco at 2:45 PM on July 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
The Trump administration has been consulting the former government lawyer who wrote the legal justification for waterboarding on how the president might try to rule by decree.
posted by adamvasco at 2:45 PM on July 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
What I find horrifyingly fascinating about Yoo, Barr, and their ilk is that they are basically royalists, and yet consider themselves truly devoted to the U.S. Constitution. I'll bet they have all even enjoyed "Hamilton," too.
posted by PhineasGage at 2:49 PM on July 20, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 2:49 PM on July 20, 2020 [9 favorites]
The problem with Yoo's use of the DACA decision as justification for Trump just doing whatever the fuck he wants is that the text of immigration law gives the executive broad powers of discretion that are not present in most other areas of law.
It's not surprising though, since he reads laws and opinions much like the sovereign citizen assholes do, taking clauses out of context or applying definitions of words limited to "this section" to completely unrelated areas of law, ignoring every rule of statutory construction in the process.
posted by wierdo at 3:25 PM on July 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
It's not surprising though, since he reads laws and opinions much like the sovereign citizen assholes do, taking clauses out of context or applying definitions of words limited to "this section" to completely unrelated areas of law, ignoring every rule of statutory construction in the process.
posted by wierdo at 3:25 PM on July 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
Mod note: Friendly reminder that this is, generally speaking, a US-ish COVID thread and not just "everyone complain generally about Trump" thread
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:48 PM on July 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:48 PM on July 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
GOP coronavirus bill likely to include payroll tax cut and tie school money to reopening plans (WaPo / SFGate reprint)
posted by katra at 5:01 PM on July 20, 2020 [11 favorites]
The emerging GOP coronavirus relief bill appears likely to embrace some of President Trump’s key priorities, despite opposition from within his own party, including a payroll tax cut, very little aid to state and local governments, and measures tying school funding to the reopening of classrooms.Trump, Congress square off over virus aid as crisis worsens (AP)
GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas was among several Republicans saying he’s “not a fan” of a payroll tax holiday. Easing the payroll tax is dividing Trump’s party because that tax is used to finance Social Security and Medicare. Cutting it adds to the nation’s rising debt load at a time when conservatives are wary of any new spending, and the break does little for out-of-work Americans.‘A very dark feeling’: Hundreds camp out in Oklahoma unemployment lines (WaPo*)
In the four months since the pandemic began, nearly 50 million workers have filed unemployment claims nationwide, a flood that’s overwhelmed some states, freezing antiquated computer systems and jamming websites and phone lines for days. State benefit agencies in some parts of the country have evoked memories of Great Depression bread lines. Many have been struggling to get their regular unemployment benefits as well as the $600-a-week federal pandemic unemployment assistance passed in March that begins running out for millions of Americans later this week. Congress returned Monday to begin hammering out the details of another massive coronavirus package, with Republicans assembling a $1 trillion package that probably will extend but reduce the size of that benefit. Democrats are backing a more wide-ranging $3 trillion relief bill passed by the House in May.* a reprint doesn't appear to be available yet, but I usually find them by searching for the title of the article and looking for a link to a legit news source
In Oklahoma, one of the poorest states, unemployment — which reached a record 14.7 percent in April — has pushed many to the point of desperation, with savings depleted, cars repossessed and homes being sold for cash. [...] At 4:30 a.m., several OESC staffers emerged from the convention center to hand out the appointment numbers. The process quickly degenerated into a free-for-all, the crowd growing restive, pushing and shoving to get the limited supply of appointment tickets. Jolley moved to the front of the line, trying to protect his new friend, La, by reaching down and plucking two tickets — number 69 for her and number 64 for him.
posted by katra at 5:01 PM on July 20, 2020 [11 favorites]
Coronavirus taking off in rural US state of Idaho (AFP / Yahoo)
Since last week, the small, rural northwestern US state of Idaho has been racking up 500 new coronavirus cases a day -- a sign of the exponential spread of the disease across the country. [...] Before June 15, Idaho was reporting fewer than 50 new cases a day. On Sunday, it reported 550, and more than 700 cases last Thursday. Measured by size of population, Idaho's infection rate over the past seven days has put it in eighth place nationally, right after big southern and western states like Florida, Louisiana and Texas, according to data from The New York Times.Trump’s health officials are trying to speed up testing. Here’s why their plan won’t work. (Politico)
[...] Idaho's governor, Republican Brad Little, has on several occasions postponed a complete reopening of the economy, originally scheduled for the end of June. But all shops and services, including nightclubs, are open -- with social distancing requirements. Idaho's largest city Boise, the epicenter of the state's infections, on July 4 made wearing a mask in outdoor and enclosed public spaces obligatory. But in other parts of the state, the idea of enforcing face mask usage has run into stiff resistance from locals, prompting health officials in the north of the state to back down, according to The Spokesman-Review newspaper. [...] President Donald Trump insisted in an interview aired Sunday that he did not intend to issue a national mandate on mask-wearing, instead leaving that call to individual states.
Officials are desperate to find new ways to ramp up testing capacity as Americans in some states wait more than a week to get test results. HHS testing czar Brett Giroir has argued that pooled testing in low prevalence areas could help increase U.S. testing from about 20 million in the past month to 100 million a month by September. [...] But the U.S. outbreak is now so out of control that health experts and testing labs say it won’t work here. In areas where the virus is widespread, many pools would test positive — requiring additional tests of each person in those pools. “I think we’d be in pool testing hell because you would have so many positives showing up,” said Kathleen Sebelius, Barack Obama’s HHS secretary. “Pool testing I think is not going to be helpful until we get to the point where the virus load is way down.” She argues that the U.S. lost its window of opportunity to implement pooled testing effectively months ago, because the virus is now spreading “pretty unchecked in many places.”posted by katra at 10:50 PM on July 20, 2020 [4 favorites]
Fauci will throw out the first pitch for the Washington Nationals season opener.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:47 AM on July 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:47 AM on July 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
Reality Winner tests positive for Covid-19 (The Guardian). She has some respiratory issues, which is definitely not going to make it easier for her to recover.
It is sad to see that Glenn Greenwald's least favorite NSA whistleblower is paying an additional price for mistakenly trusting him and The Intercept... Let's see how much he tweets about her current predicament.
posted by rambling wanderlust at 7:58 AM on July 21, 2020 [12 favorites]
It is sad to see that Glenn Greenwald's least favorite NSA whistleblower is paying an additional price for mistakenly trusting him and The Intercept... Let's see how much he tweets about her current predicament.
posted by rambling wanderlust at 7:58 AM on July 21, 2020 [12 favorites]
A slightly more hopeful take on the possibility of a lasting immune response, from the Atlantic, following those doom-laden headlines from last week.
posted by merriment at 10:25 AM on July 21, 2020
posted by merriment at 10:25 AM on July 21, 2020
merriment, that Atlantic article does appear commonsense sane. If they didn't look at T-cell immunity, they didn't answer the question of long term immunity.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:27 AM on July 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:27 AM on July 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
White House, GOP in disarray over coronavirus spending plan as deadline nears on expiring emergency aid (WaPo)
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday that the goal was to keep the spending bill around $1 trillion, but by Tuesday he had abandoned that mantra. White House officials also backed away from demands for cuts to testing and health funds, and they retreated after a barrage of criticism of President Trump’s tax cut demand. “I think we’re going to spend what we need to spend, and we’re going to make sure we don’t spend more than that,” Mnuchin said. Democrats pointed fingers at the Republican infighting and said the White House and GOP leaders were unprepared to handle the country’s mounting economic and health care challenges. [...] “Republicans are in complete disarray,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. “Totally incompetent. Totally in disarray. Totally at war with one another.”Most people in the United States are still highly susceptible to the coronavirus, CDC study finds (WaPo / Houston Chron reprint)
“Most of us are likely still very vulnerable to this virus and we have a long way to go to control it,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the John Hopkins Center for Health Security. “This study should put to bed any further argument that we should allow this virus to rip through our communities in order to achieve herd immunity.” [...] “The study rebukes the idea that current population-wide levels of acquired immunity (so-called herd immunity) will pose any substantial impediment to the continued propagation” of the virus, at least for now, wrote Tyler S. Brown and Rochelle Walensky, infectious-disease specialists at Massachusetts General Hospital, in an accompanying editorial. “These data should also quickly dispel myths that dangerous practices like ‘COVID parties’ are either a sound or safe way to promote herd immunity.”posted by katra at 2:46 PM on July 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic (WaPo, July 1, 2020; attempt at cached copy) Because of how slowly the government collects data, it could be five to six months before definitive numbers exist on the change in overdoses during the pandemic. But data obtained by The Washington Post from a real-time tracker of drug-related emergency calls and interviews with coroners suggest that overdoses have not just increased since the pandemic began but are accelerating as it persists. Suspected overdoses nationally — not all of them fatal — jumped 18 percent in March compared with last year, 29 percent in April and 42 percent in May, according to the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, a federal initiative that collects data from ambulance teams, hospitals and police.
In some jurisdictions, such as Milwaukee County, dispatch calls for overdoses have increased more than 50 percent. When the pandemic hit, some authorities hoped it might lead to a decrease in overdoses by disrupting drug traffic as borders closed and cities shut down. The opposite seems to be happening. As traditional supply lines are disrupted, people who use drugs appear to be seeking out new suppliers and substances they are less familiar with, increasing the risk of overdose and death. Synthetic drugs and less common substances are increasingly showing up in autopsies and toxicology reports, medical examiners say. [...] Making matters worse, many treatment centers, drug courts and recovery programs have been forced to close or significantly scale back during shutdowns.
New peak of 71K US overdose deaths in 2019 dashes hopes (AP News, July 15, 2020) Nearly 71,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, a new record that predates the COVID-19 crisis, which the White House and many experts believe will drive such deaths even higher. Preliminary numbers released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the trend is driven by fentanyl and similar synthetic opioids, which accounted for 36,500 overdose deaths. Deaths involving cocaine and methamphetamine also are rising. With billions of dollars devoted to ending the opioid epidemic, policymakers had hoped overdose deaths would continue to decline, or at least plateau, after 2018 showed a dip for the first time in three decades.[...]
Initially driven by prescription opioid painkillers, the U.S. overdose crisis “has been shape-shifting,” said Brendan Saloner, an addiction researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Users migrated first to heroin and then to fentanyl, a cheaper, stronger drug that displaced heroin in many drug markets. With more than 30 states showing rising overdose deaths in the new data, Saloner said, “I see a map of despair.”
AMA report finds nearly 40% decline in opioid prescriptions, but overdose deaths continue to climb (Fierce Healthcare, July 21, 2020) There has been a nearly 40% decline in opioid prescriptions in the last five years, but overdose deaths have continued to increase thanks to spiraling use of illicit drugs such as synthetic fentanyl, a new report finds. The report, released Tuesday by the American Medical Association (AMA), calls for greater access to the opioid antagonist naloxone and to remove barriers such as prior authorization that stymie access to addiction treatments.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:42 PM on July 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
In some jurisdictions, such as Milwaukee County, dispatch calls for overdoses have increased more than 50 percent. When the pandemic hit, some authorities hoped it might lead to a decrease in overdoses by disrupting drug traffic as borders closed and cities shut down. The opposite seems to be happening. As traditional supply lines are disrupted, people who use drugs appear to be seeking out new suppliers and substances they are less familiar with, increasing the risk of overdose and death. Synthetic drugs and less common substances are increasingly showing up in autopsies and toxicology reports, medical examiners say. [...] Making matters worse, many treatment centers, drug courts and recovery programs have been forced to close or significantly scale back during shutdowns.
New peak of 71K US overdose deaths in 2019 dashes hopes (AP News, July 15, 2020) Nearly 71,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, a new record that predates the COVID-19 crisis, which the White House and many experts believe will drive such deaths even higher. Preliminary numbers released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the trend is driven by fentanyl and similar synthetic opioids, which accounted for 36,500 overdose deaths. Deaths involving cocaine and methamphetamine also are rising. With billions of dollars devoted to ending the opioid epidemic, policymakers had hoped overdose deaths would continue to decline, or at least plateau, after 2018 showed a dip for the first time in three decades.[...]
Initially driven by prescription opioid painkillers, the U.S. overdose crisis “has been shape-shifting,” said Brendan Saloner, an addiction researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Users migrated first to heroin and then to fentanyl, a cheaper, stronger drug that displaced heroin in many drug markets. With more than 30 states showing rising overdose deaths in the new data, Saloner said, “I see a map of despair.”
AMA report finds nearly 40% decline in opioid prescriptions, but overdose deaths continue to climb (Fierce Healthcare, July 21, 2020) There has been a nearly 40% decline in opioid prescriptions in the last five years, but overdose deaths have continued to increase thanks to spiraling use of illicit drugs such as synthetic fentanyl, a new report finds. The report, released Tuesday by the American Medical Association (AMA), calls for greater access to the opioid antagonist naloxone and to remove barriers such as prior authorization that stymie access to addiction treatments.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:42 PM on July 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
New CDC recommendation; article: How long should you isolate if you test positive for the coronavirus? At least 10 days after symptom onset (WaPo, July 21, 2020) The CDC had previously recommended people who test positive isolate until they had two negative swabs for the coronavirus — but that turned out to be impractical given the shortage of tests. It now advises most people with active cases of covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, to isolate for 10 days after symptoms begin and 24 hours after their fever has broken. After that, they are free to leave isolation. [...] The CDC noted that a “limited number of persons with severe illness” may continue to produce the virus longer and may warrant extending the isolation period to as much as 20 days. [...] The World Health Organization updated its guidance in June to recommend 10 days of isolation for those who do not have symptoms and at least 13 days for people with symptoms. For those who have a positive test but are asymptomatic, the public health agency as of Friday recommended isolating 10 days from the testing date.
Former CDC chief: Most states fail to report data key to controlling the coronavirus pandemic Not a single state reports on the turnaround time of diagnostic covid-19 tests (WaPo, July 21, 2020; Anchorage Daily News reprint) The analysis is the first comprehensive review of covid-19 data that all 50 states and Washington, D.C., are using to make decisions about policies on mask-wearing and opening schools and businesses. In the absence of a national strategy to fight the pandemic, states have had to develop their own metrics for tracking and controlling covid-19. But with few common standards, the data are inconsistent and incomplete, according to the report released by Resolve to Save Lives, a New York nonprofit led by former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Tom Frieden and part of the global health organization Vital Strategies.
Some essential information that would show response effectiveness is not being reported at all. Only two states report data on how quickly contact tracers were able to interview people who test positive to learn about potential contacts. Not a single state reports on the turnaround time of diagnostic tests, the analysis found. Week-long waits for results hobble efforts to track real-time virus spread and make contact tracing almost irrelevant.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:44 PM on July 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
Former CDC chief: Most states fail to report data key to controlling the coronavirus pandemic Not a single state reports on the turnaround time of diagnostic covid-19 tests (WaPo, July 21, 2020; Anchorage Daily News reprint) The analysis is the first comprehensive review of covid-19 data that all 50 states and Washington, D.C., are using to make decisions about policies on mask-wearing and opening schools and businesses. In the absence of a national strategy to fight the pandemic, states have had to develop their own metrics for tracking and controlling covid-19. But with few common standards, the data are inconsistent and incomplete, according to the report released by Resolve to Save Lives, a New York nonprofit led by former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Tom Frieden and part of the global health organization Vital Strategies.
Some essential information that would show response effectiveness is not being reported at all. Only two states report data on how quickly contact tracers were able to interview people who test positive to learn about potential contacts. Not a single state reports on the turnaround time of diagnostic tests, the analysis found. Week-long waits for results hobble efforts to track real-time virus spread and make contact tracing almost irrelevant.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:44 PM on July 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
U.S. records more than 1,000 daily deaths, first time in nearly 50 days (WaPo live blog)
The United States recorded more than 1,000 deaths Tuesday, the first time the country has topped that mark in nearly 50 days. It’s the highest single-day death total since June 2, when 1,052 fatalities were reported, and the milestone undercuts Trump’s claims of a fast-falling coronavirus mortality rate. Tuesday’s death toll was lower than in the pandemic’s darkest days in April, when the virus regularly claimed upward of 2,000 lives in 24 hours. But the average number of daily deaths has been rising for most of July, according to data compiled and analyzed by The Washington Post. [...] On Tuesday, states that reopened quickly — Florida, Arizona and Texas — led the nation in reported deaths, each posting more than 130. Georgia, where the governor has taken an unorthodox approach to the pandemic response, reported 78. In California, where state leaders have been comparably cautious, 61 people died.Travelers from more than half of America’s states must quarantine when visiting New York (WaPo live blog)
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) has added 10 more states to his quarantine list, increasing the total to 31 as he tries to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus to his constituents. Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia and Washington state all meet the metrics to qualify as hot-spot zones, according to Cuomo’s office.Former CDC chief: Most states fail to report data key to controlling the coronavirus pandemic (WaPo / ADN reprint)
In the absence of a national strategy to fight the pandemic, states have had to develop their own metrics for tracking and controlling covid-19. But with few common standards, the data are inconsistent and incomplete, according to the report [pdf] released by Resolve to Save Lives, a New York nonprofit led by former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Tom Frieden and part of the global health organization Vital Strategies.posted by katra at 3:47 PM on July 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
Trump acknowledges that pandemic in U.S. will probably ‘get worse before it gets better’ (WaPo live blog)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says a second wave in New York is inevitable -- it's just a matter of how hard it hits
“It will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better,” Trump said in prepared remarks. “Something I don’t like saying about things, but that’s the way it is.” [...] In a reversal of past comments, Trump advocated for Americans to wear masks.More Than 1/2 of America Is Now on NY Quarantine List; 10 New States Added Tuesday (NBC4)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says a second wave in New York is inevitable -- it's just a matter of how hard it hits
Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont jointly implemented the restricted travel list last month in an effort to ward off local COVID resurgence. It applies to states that exceed 10 percent daily test positivity rates or 10 new cases per 100,000 residents over a seven-day rolling period. [...] At the same time, Cuomo says a second wave of the virus in New York is inevitable. It's just a matter of how hard it hits. "It's only a matter of time in my book until you see the New York infection rate go up because people from the other states are coming to New York and they're now bringing the infection rate," he said Tuesday. "The virus will travel. It's not a maybe or a possibly -- it will." [...] Cuomo acknowledged Tuesday that the quarantine is itself imperfect; he called for improved community action to better control the spread. [...] “This virus, it preys upon the weak and the vulnerable,” Cuomo said. “It’s the weak body that has trouble resolving the virus. The American body is in many ways, weak, right now. The body politic is weakened.”posted by katra at 4:05 PM on July 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
[...] Cuomo said Tuesday he was "repulsed" by the lack of a federal mask order; he cited research that suggests up to 40,000 U.S. lives could have been saved with one. Both he and Murphy have emphasized the importance of masks, which studies increasingly show to be an effective virus-fighting tool, in their own states. "One state can only do so much to protect itself from COVID," Cuomo tweeted Tuesday. "The virus can and will cross state lines. There must be a national plan to get this virus under control. Five months later, we’re still waiting."
Trump, at the newly-reinstated daily coronavirus task force briefing (he'd called the briefings 'a waste of time' back in April), flying solo: Trump encourages Americans to wear masks, and warns pandemic may "get worse before it gets better" (CBS News) Still, he painted a mostly positive picture of the response to the pandemic, saying that the U.S. had produced "thousands" of ventilators per day and arguing that the American response had been "better than most." He also claimed that none of the 50 governors in the country "need anything right now" to address new outbreaks.v"We are stocked up and ready to go," Mr. Trump said. He also reiterated his belief that "the virus will disappear" and said "we're all responsible" when asked if he takes responsibility for the death toll from the virus. The president also said he would be doing these briefings more often.
Mr. Trump was not accompanied by other members of the White House coronavirus task force, such as Dr. Deborah Birx, the coronavirus response coordinator, or Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. [...] There have now been more than 3.8 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States, and more than 140,000 people have died due to the virus, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.
CNN coverage: In bringing the news conferences back, Trump and his aides are hoping to avoid the angry outbursts and meandering tangents that became a hallmark of their first go-around earlier in the pandemic. They weren't able to completely avoid unfortunate distractions on Tuesday; asked about Ghislaine Maxwell -- who faces charges of recruiting, grooming and ultimately sexually abusing minors -- Trump said he "wished her well" and recalled meeting her and her partner Jeffrey Epstein in Palm Beach.
Trump also contradicted his press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who told reporters during her own briefing earlier in the day that Trump is sometimes tested for coronavirus multiple times per day. "I don't know about more than one," Trump said. "I do probably on average a test every two days, three days, and I don't know of any time I've taken two in one day, but I could see that happening." [...] Some aides have reminded others how hard they fought to convince Trump to end the briefings in April when he suggested sunlight and ingesting disinfectants could help cure coronavirus.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:07 PM on July 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
Mr. Trump was not accompanied by other members of the White House coronavirus task force, such as Dr. Deborah Birx, the coronavirus response coordinator, or Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. [...] There have now been more than 3.8 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States, and more than 140,000 people have died due to the virus, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.
CNN coverage: In bringing the news conferences back, Trump and his aides are hoping to avoid the angry outbursts and meandering tangents that became a hallmark of their first go-around earlier in the pandemic. They weren't able to completely avoid unfortunate distractions on Tuesday; asked about Ghislaine Maxwell -- who faces charges of recruiting, grooming and ultimately sexually abusing minors -- Trump said he "wished her well" and recalled meeting her and her partner Jeffrey Epstein in Palm Beach.
Trump also contradicted his press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who told reporters during her own briefing earlier in the day that Trump is sometimes tested for coronavirus multiple times per day. "I don't know about more than one," Trump said. "I do probably on average a test every two days, three days, and I don't know of any time I've taken two in one day, but I could see that happening." [...] Some aides have reminded others how hard they fought to convince Trump to end the briefings in April when he suggested sunlight and ingesting disinfectants could help cure coronavirus.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:07 PM on July 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
"... to isolate for 10 days after symptoms begin and 24 hours after their fever has broken..."
If anyone's confused, just append "whichever is longer".
"Nearly 71,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year..."
Checking this, that's for all drugs and not just opiods. However, from the article, synthetic opioids alone account for a bit more than half that 71k, at 36,500 in 2019. Any opioid involvement accounted for about 70% of overdoses in 2018.
Note that these numbers are complicated because by drug they sum to more than 71k — that is to say, when an overdose involves multiple drugs, no one drug is singled out as the sole cause of death. They all are included.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 5:24 PM on July 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
If anyone's confused, just append "whichever is longer".
"Nearly 71,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year..."
Checking this, that's for all drugs and not just opiods. However, from the article, synthetic opioids alone account for a bit more than half that 71k, at 36,500 in 2019. Any opioid involvement accounted for about 70% of overdoses in 2018.
Note that these numbers are complicated because by drug they sum to more than 71k — that is to say, when an overdose involves multiple drugs, no one drug is singled out as the sole cause of death. They all are included.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 5:24 PM on July 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
President Trump Holds Coronavirus Briefing [full 26:41 video with closed captions and transcript]; C-SPAN, 7/21/2020. Trump was the only speaker, no one else — including any members* of the Coronavirus Task Force or the White House administration — spoke or appeared on stage with him.
*Dr. Anthony Fauci says he wasn’t invited to Tuesday’s White House coronavirus briefing, CNBC, 7/21/2020: “I was not invited up to this point and I’m assuming I’m not going to be there,” Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a CNN interview less than an hour before the 5 p.m. briefing was scheduled to start.
Fact check: At his first coronavirus briefing since April, Trump repeats a handful of classic false claims: Daniel Dale, Tara Subramaniam, Marshall Cohen, David Wright; CNN, 7/21/2020.
Thus, Trump’s ‘new look’ news conference was pretty much the same as his old news conference(s), but with the added censorship (by their controlled absence) of government scientists who know the facts. If you can’t control the message, control the messengers.
posted by cenoxo at 5:25 PM on July 21, 2020 [11 favorites]
*Dr. Anthony Fauci says he wasn’t invited to Tuesday’s White House coronavirus briefing, CNBC, 7/21/2020: “I was not invited up to this point and I’m assuming I’m not going to be there,” Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a CNN interview less than an hour before the 5 p.m. briefing was scheduled to start.
Fact check: At his first coronavirus briefing since April, Trump repeats a handful of classic false claims: Daniel Dale, Tara Subramaniam, Marshall Cohen, David Wright; CNN, 7/21/2020.
Thus, Trump’s ‘new look’ news conference was pretty much the same as his old news conference(s), but with the added censorship (by their controlled absence) of government scientists who know the facts. If you can’t control the message, control the messengers.
posted by cenoxo at 5:25 PM on July 21, 2020 [11 favorites]
Trump Held A Fundraiser Mask-Free Hours After Praising Himself For Finally Wearing A Mask ( Cristina Cabrera, TPM; 07/22/2020 )
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:54 AM on July 22, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:54 AM on July 22, 2020 [5 favorites]
I believe this thread is expiring today. (One month old). Should somebody be making a new one?
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:35 AM on July 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:35 AM on July 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
I believe this thread is expiring today. (One month old). Should somebody be making a new one?
Yes. (Sweet)
I'll work on it.
posted by katra at 8:06 AM on July 22, 2020 [12 favorites]
Yes. (Sweet)
I'll work on it.
posted by katra at 8:06 AM on July 22, 2020 [12 favorites]
California woman allegedly pees on floor of Verizon store after being asked to wear a mask
Can you imagine risking your life for a little over minimum wage and having to put with this stuff?
posted by rdr at 10:09 AM on July 22, 2020 [16 favorites]
Can you imagine risking your life for a little over minimum wage and having to put with this stuff?
posted by rdr at 10:09 AM on July 22, 2020 [16 favorites]
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
New FPP: The COVID-45 Summer
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
posted by katra at 11:36 AM on July 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
New FPP: The COVID-45 Summer
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
posted by katra at 11:36 AM on July 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
California woman allegedly pees on floor
posted by ctmf at 11:55 AM on July 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
the woman was arrested after officers found stolen items from a nearby Dick's Sporting Goods store in her car.Why are we searching people's cars for peeing on the floor?
posted by ctmf at 11:55 AM on July 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Might be more pee in there.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 12:37 PM on July 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 12:37 PM on July 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
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