Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #33

[Trino]

Government not practicing social distancing in updates. All camera crowding. Kinda like, "Do as I say, not as I do."
Is there much our government is doing right ?

 

[cass523]

A new website might be able to help determine how many rolls of toilet paper is enough for you.

On howmuchtoiletpaper.com, users can enter how many rolls of toilet paper they have and how many times they visit the bathroom.

The simple calculator will tell you how much toilet paper you need to get through these uncertain times.


If you have 10 rolls, visit the bathroom 3 times a day, and you're the only person in your home, you have enough to last 53 days, according to the site.
The calculator has advanced options

Toilet paper website helps you determine how many rolls you really need

 

[Trudie]

My understanding is a lot of tests are sent to non state labs. Results are not included in the official count. KY only includes their tests and as I linked last evening, our lab can only test max 37 daily. Not cool! Spreads false info. How can the population take this seriously if they are on,y told part of the story? Moo

Is there a rural/urban thing going on? Or is it lack of test distribution? Here in California, some counties aren't even trying to use their tests, other counties are using them in an indiscriminate manner (mostly dreamt up by low level political functionaries and bureaucrats).

Every cold should be treated as a positive case, IMO, until tests show otherwise, but of course that's not how it's working.

 

[Henry2326]

.@ScottGottliebMD warns that major U.S. cities with mass transit systems are most at risk of spreading #coronavirus. WATCH → Face The Nation on Twitter

Face The Nation on Twitter

 

[Trudie]

Some friends from a nearby barn just drove down and road on the beach. I think I’m going to ask to go along next time. Sunshine, fresh air and sweaty horses sounds like a really good time.

Sounds much better than standing in a WMT line with public sneezers & coughers.......

 

[gregjrichards]

Coronavirus: Two NHS medics on ventilators after treating Covid-19 patients

A pair of NHS consultants are on ventilators having been infected with coronavirus by their patients.

The two ear, nose and throat consultants are receiving critical care, most likely having contracted the respiratory infection in the course of their daily work from people who did not show symptoms.

Consultant otolaryngologist Professor Nirmal Kumar told Sky News : "We sadly have two consultants who are on ventilators in this country and most likely having acquired the infection from passive (asymptomatic) carriers in the course of their daily clinical work.

"We are in strong support of the prime minister's request for social distancing and also recommend that full personal protective equipment is made available for those clinicians dealing with such work and in close contact with patients."

Two NHS medics on ventilators in critical care after treating Covid-19 patients

It is absolutely horrendous these two consultants have contracted the virus whilst working to save lives and have ended up on ventilators themselves. I just hope and pray they survive and this does not continue happening as I suspect it will.

#StayHomeSaveLives

 

[Henry2326]

GEORGIA.....Carlos is the Executive Associate Dean for Emory at Grady....yea, he knows what he's talking about!

We need ⁦@GovKemp⁩ to act now, the point of “no return” for GA is rapidly closing. To prevent a catastrophe in the healthcare system due to #COVID19 we need for him to shut down GA now. ⁦@drmt⁩ ⁦⁦@Armstrws⁩ ⁦@colleenkraftmd⁩ This model predicts the last day each state can act before the point of no return
Carlos del Rio on Twitter

 

[Starry Night]

Jeff Bezos tells Amazon workers they'll have to wait for face masks
"Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said "things are going to get worse before they get better" but "people are depending on us" in a weekend message to employees amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Bezos' message comes after the ecommerce giant confirmed an employee at a small New York warehouse tested positive for the virus."

 

[ilovewings]

NEW YORK -- Extremist groups, including neo-Nazis and other white supremacist groups, have encouraged members to spread COVID-19 to police officers and Jews, according to an FBI report obtained by ABC News.

"Members of extremist groups are encouraging one another to spread the virus, if contracted, through bodily fluids and personal interactions," according to the alert issued by the FBI's New York office Thursday.


Intercepted messages from these groups show members were asked to use spray bottles filled with body fluids to attack police. Others were directed to spread to Jews by going to "any place they may be congregated, to include markets, political offices, businesses and places of worship."

Extremist groups encourage members to spread coronavirus to police, Jews: FBI alert

OMG-- it is mind numbing to think anyone would even think that at this time of crisis- glad they were intercepted though.

 

[Henry2326]

GEORGIA.....4 clusters including Atlanta....


Breaking: 11 cases of #COVID19 tied to 1 gathering in town of Carrollton - because of this City Council just called emergency meeting & passed ordinances banning gatherings of more than 10 people & closings restaurants to all by takeout. I’m live at noon with more Justin Gray on Twitter
Justin Gray on Twitter

 

[Picklebot]

Coronavirus live updates: Governor calls on New York City to open streets to public
Gov. Cuomo gave NYC officials 24 hours for a solution to halt people gathering.

Coronavirus live updates: Governor calls on New York City to open streets to public

I wasn't sure what that meant so I searched a bit.

Cuomo calls for coronavirus ban on cars from some NYC streets

“You have much less traffic in New York City because non-essential workers aren’t going to work,” said Cuomo. “Get creative: Open streets to reduce the density. You want to go for a walk? God bless you. You want to go for a run? God bless you."

“But let’s open streets, let’s open spaces. That’s where people should be," Cuomo added.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

FEMA Rumor Control
The purpose of this FEMA page is to help the public distinguish between rumors and facts regarding the response to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Rumors can easily circulate within communities during a crisis, stay informed with our updated myth vs. facts related to the federal (COVID-19) response.

Coronavirus Rumor Control | FEMA.gov

This is great. Thank you.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

DH and I were wondering if Fincantieri shipyard in Italy where many cruise ships are built was still operating. We sail frequently on Princess which was supposed to debut a new ship, Enchanted Princess, in June of this year. The shipyard that also builds government vessels is closed.

Fincantieri suspends operations amid coronavirus crisis

As Italy’s coronavirus crisis worsens, state shipbuilder Fincantieri has suspended operations for two weeks at its Italian facilities...

Fincantieri said that following a request from unions, it would suspend production in Italy from March 16 to March 29...

 

[Henry2326]

IOWA

x100. We had the largest jump in cases in Iowa yesterday and this was driven by increased testing. This is reinforcing physical/social distancing. #COVID19
on Twitter

 

[Trino]

NEW YORK -- Extremist groups, including neo-Nazis and other white supremacist groups, have encouraged members to spread COVID-19 to police officers and Jews, according to an FBI report obtained by ABC News.

"Members of extremist groups are encouraging one another to spread the virus, if contracted, through bodily fluids and personal interactions," according to the alert issued by the FBI's New York office Thursday.

Intercepted messages from these groups show members were asked to use spray bottles filled with body fluids to attack police. Others were directed to spread to Jews by going to "any place they may be congregated, to include markets, political offices, businesses and places of worship."

Extremist groups encourage members to spread coronavirus to police, Jews: FBI alert

There is no civilized response available for this.

 

[Henry2326]

ICELAND

Iceland currently has the highest per capita coronavirus infection rate in the world. But that’s not a bad thing. Because of its small population it is testing everybody, revealing a lot about the virus. Eg, half of all carriers exhibit no symptoms at all. Everyone In Iceland Can Get Tested For The Coronavirus. Here's How The Results Could Help All Of Us.
Liz Sly on Twitter

 

[Henry2326]

“You cannot fight a fire blindfolded. And we cannot stop this pandemic if we don’t know who is infected.”
— WHO director general @DrTedros

Samantha Power on Twitter

 

[book-thinker]

****** I hope everyone's stay safe.************


Dispatch
“Normal Is Not in Our Game Plan”: Seattle’s Fight to Survive the Spread of the Coronavirus
By James Ross Gardner

March 21, 2020

As Washington State takes measures to slow the coronavirus outbreak, the toll to Seattle’s service industry is apparent in boarded-up restaurants and a surge in unemployment claims.Photograph by Chona Kasinger
For days, Anu Apte-Elford, who owns or co-owns four of Seattle’s most celebrated bars, including the James Beard-nominated No Anchor, agonized overwhether to shutter her businesses or keep them open. When it came to covid-19, the region was already the most deadly in the U.S. Thirty-seven people in the county had died as a result of the coronavirus. The number of confirmed cases sometimes jumped more than sixty in a single day. Heeding advice from public-health officials to avoid crowds, Seattleites had increasingly stopped going out. In the span of two weeks, the Seattle Times reported, at least fifty restaurants closed shop. The establishments that didn’t close severely cut back employees’ hours. As of this past Sunday, Apte-Elford’s bars, most of which she co-owns with her spouse and business partner, Chris Elford, remained in business, though weeknight sales were down fifty per cent and weekend sales were down seventy-five per cent. She thought of her customers’ safety. She thought of her forty employees and their livelihoods. She thought of her need to make rent. The next morning, she thought, she’d make the call. “Of course, the government made that decision for us,” she said.


Back in February, the Washington State Department of Public Health distributed to officials its new “Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPI) Implementation Guide.” By the time the New York Times reported on it, on March 13th, the sixty-two-page manual had guided public policy for half a month.The document organizes its measures into thirteen steps, each more austere than the one before it, from the first rung (practicing exemplary hygiene) to the top (barricading entire portions of the population). We had been climbing a ladder and most of us didn’t know it; we quickly scaled rungs five through nine, concerning isolation and quarantine of those who felt sick or had contact with those who felt sick. No. 10, issued on March 11th, banned gatherings of two hundred and fifty people or more. Our elected leaders had issued the escalating measures depending on the severity of the pandemic, but to many of us the correlation wasn’t clear.

The New Yorker’s coronavirus news coverage and analysis are free for all readers.


We were higher on the ladder now. On Sunday, at 7:21 p.m., Governor Jay Inslee tweeted, “Tomorrow, we will temporarily shut down restaurants, bars and entertainment/recreational facilities statewide.” The next morning, in a nearly empty briefing room in the King County Chinook Building, before a skeleton crew of camera operators, the bespectacled former Presidential candidate made the case for the proclamation he was about to sign: ordering the statewide closure of not only bars but also theatres and dance, fitness, and health clubs. Restaurants had to cease dining-room service but could still provide takeout. Additionally, gatherings of fifty or more were prohibited. This would be the status for at least the next two weeks. He called on every Washingtonian to do their part, to consider the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors, namely the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. If you go about life as usual, he let us know, you are negligent. “Normal,” he said, “is not in our game plan.”

It was the most extreme measure yet, and would spell, at least for a time, the demise of tens of thousands of jobs. It would also let more light through the cracks in the city, the fissures that have long divided service workers and those who relied on them. Inequality in Seattle is well documented (in 2016, a Seattle Times analysis found that fifty-three per cent of the city’s earned income went to about twenty per cent of its households), and in the first weeks of the coronavirus outbreak the gulf was harder to ignore than ever. On one side, you had new, work-from-home avatars and virtual, after-work happy hours. On the other, people were still hustling for tips. For every cat photo with a joke caption that chirped “My new officemate is the worst,” there was someone else who had no such luxury, who had to show up, clock in, expose themselves and others to potential contamination.

This new clampdown would exacerbate all that and more. Now the hourly workers didn’t even have hours. Iconic businesses would be boarded up, as if bulwarked against some invading army. Streets emptied out even more. “I do think it is in the greatest interest for public health that we close,” Apte-Elford told me. Even at the cost of the business she had spent the past decade building.


Jessica Tousignant thought she might have the virus. A fever—one of covid-19’s key symptoms—had her calling in sick to the steak house where she worked as a server, in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. It was a big blow to someone already losing work hours due to customers not showing up, even before the governor’s closure proclamation. In self-quarantine, Tousignant, a cancer survivor who relied on her restaurant job for health insurance, had plenty of time alone to worry about how she and her colleagues—everyone in the industry, really—would be able to survive. She and a friend, Candace Whitney-Morris, eventually hatched a plan. They launched a campaign, the Seattle Hospitality Emergency Fund, with the initial goal of raising sixty thousand dollars to be distributed among the hardest-hit bar and restaurant workers. The campaign went live Sunday afternoon, and garnered modest attention. After Inslee’s closure tweet that night, it soared. Soon, Tousignant and Whitney-Morris raised the goal to a hundred thousand dollars, and then fifty thousand more.

Tousignant, who eventually tested negative for covid-19 (she had the flu), poured herself into the campaign’s second phase: determining who, specifically, the funds should go to. The priority was the most vulnerable. “We’re looking at indigenous folks, people of color, transgender folks,” she told me, “everybody else in that rainbow—the L.G.B.T.Q.I.-plus spectrum—immunocompromised folks.” In the hundreds of applications she received, Tousignant bore witness to the economic struggles caused by the coronavirus. There was the single mother who had lost both her jobs and said that she and her kids could get by on beans and rice but needed fifty dollars for medicine; the two restaurant workers who said that their employer was withholding their final paychecks; the countless stories of people who had applied for unemployment but, owing to one loophole or another, had yet to qualify. Mostly, Tousignant was struck by the applicants’ humility. “Everybody’s being so vulnerable and humble in their asks,” she said.


One of those applicants was Jose Contreras, the sous chef at Steelhead Diner, one of Pike Place Market’s most storied seafood restaurants, which closed because of the coronavirus, a week before the governor’s tweet. He’d struggled in the days since Steelhead shuttered. Unemployment hadn’t come through and rent on the apartment that he shared with his girlfriend, who is also in the industry, loomed. “It’s very surreal,” he told me over the phone, late one night. “It’s apocalyptic without the apocalypse.” In the background, I could hear the bus he’d just boarded, as it pushed through the city. He rode home from a teriyaki takeout place where he had recently landed a temporary cooking gig. “Just through luck,” he said. “I had a friend.” He hasn’t received his first paycheck yet. “When that day comes, it’ll be great.”

On Tuesday, March 17th, the first official day of the closure mandate, Capitol Hill, the city’s densest neighborhood and home to its highest concentration of bars and restaurants, looked prepared for a natural disaster. Plywood covered the windows of Linda’s Tavern, reportedly the last place Kurt Cobain was ever seen in public. Up and down Pine and Pike Streets, the neighborhood’s thoroughfares, were identical scenes of bars and restaurants boarded up. Nearly every door brandished a new sign, often handwritten: “We are closed until April 1st. Sorry for the inconvenience.” Those businesses that could pivot to the new reality tried: “Pick up and to go only.”

The toll was clear. And not just just among bar and restaurant employees. This week, the state’s Employment Security Department reported a hundred-and-fifty-per-cent increase in unemployment claims. In a single day, the agency received more than nineteen thousand calls, an eight-hundred-and-twenty-seven-per-cent increase over the previous week. While there has been some economic response from elected officials—Inslee ordered more flexible unemployment rules for companies and their workers, and Seattle’s mayor, Jenny Durkan, announced a million dollars in spending for small-business stabilization—most measures have remained focussed on containing the spread of the virus.

Down the hill, in Belltown, Apte-Elford, whose four bars were closed, was brainstorming ways to keep at least some money coming in. One idea: pre-batched cocktails, sans booze, sold for pickup or delivery. She spent the morning pleading with the landlord of Rob Roy, the classic-cocktail lounge she’s owned for the past decade, not to evict. “There was no answer at the end of the two-hour phone call,” she said. “We’ll just hope.”

On the ladder, we were at rung eleven. There was no telling when we would climb higher. The number of confirmed covid-19 deaths in the county is sixty-seven, thirty more than when Inslee announced his closure proclamation. The next rung: the residents of an entire city confined to their homes. Not in the polite way we’re all self-confining now, but a mandatory order. The final step, thirteen, means cordoning off portions of the state and allowing no one in or out. As of this writing, Inslee says we’re not there yet.


Meanwhile, the plywood keeps going up. Around noon on that first day of the closures, two men pulled planks from a U-Haul parked near the intersection of Pike Street and Tenth Avenue. They lifted the big, pale rectangles overhead and walked a few yards toward the pub on the corner. They gently leaned the wood against its outer walls. They’d soon cover all the pub’s windows. When a passerby asked why, one of the men looked around and gestured with his chin toward the whole neighborhood. “I don’t know when we’ll be back down here,” he said.

 

[Henry2326]

HOSPITALS AT EXTREME RISK: @ScottGottliebMD says within the next two weeks, hospitals in New York are going to be on the brink of being overwhelmed.
"I think the scenes out of New York are going to be shocking" Face The Nation on Twitter
Face The Nation on Twitter

 

[Henry2326]

BREAKING: Italy reports 5,560 new cases of coronavirus and 651 new deaths, raising total to 59,138 cases and 5,476 dead Tracking coronavirus: Map, data and timeline
BNO Newsroom on Twitter