Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #42

[Gardenista]

Some Americans could wait 20 weeks to receive stimulus checks, IRS tells House Democrats - CNNPolitics
Washington (CNN)Americans likely won't begin to see direct payments from the coronavirus stimulus bill until at least April 13 and it could take 20 weeks for all the checks to be mailed, Trump administration officials told lawmakers, according to a House Democratic memo obtained by CNN.

The timeline means tens of millions of Americans will have to wait to get badly needed assistance, despite repeated suggestions from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that the money would go out as soon as April 6. He said this past Sunday after passage of the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill that payments would not go out until mid-April.
CNN reported in March that former IRS officials said the wait would likely be weeks or months.
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So the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing re using SS 1099s? The government already has the bank routing info for most SS recipients, as we all discussed last night.
So as recently as, er, today, no one knows what's going on.

I remember similar problems in 2009. You'd think they would have all this ironed out by now.

 

[Tillicum]

Coronavirus Pandemic: Stay-at-home order extended; Ohio now with 2,902 cases, 81 deaths

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday that the state will extend the stay-at-home order to May 1.

There are now at least 2,902 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Ohio with 81 deaths, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Eight of the confirmed deaths are from Miami County. A new death was reported in Montgomery County. In Ohio, 802 people suffering from COVID-19 have been admitted to hospitals, with 260 of those in ICU.

The state has a population of 11.6 million.

While the state is tracking confirmed cases, it’s important to note that due to the limited amount of testing available the number of confirmed cases is not a true reflection of actual cases in the state.

A projected curve of new cases from Ohio State University predicted Ohio would have 635 new coronavirus cases Thursday. The state reported 355 new cases, putting Ohio below the Ohio State projection curve for four days in a row.

 

[SkylarSid]

I think this idea was formulated a month ago when the people leading the US "response" was the economic team that viewed this as a temporary economic crisis instead of a public health crisis. They just looked to what they did in 2008 when they sent stimulus checks to make people feel better about the billions that went to the banks. If everyone has extra cash, they will spend it, hopefully propping up consumer-facing businesses.

Now the US has thankfully seemed to pivot to realizing this is a public health disaster and not a stock market issue. But once you say you're giving everyone free money no one is going to take it back.

To your point, the stimulus bill also gives $600 a week on top of a state's usual unemployment payments to anyone who applies for unemployment. There are also billions allocated to SBA (Small Business Administration) loans that are FORGIVABLE if spent on payroll. Small businesses can take out loans based on 2.5x their monthly payroll expense and if they keep the workers, the loans don't have to be paid back. So it is a massive handout to small businesses if you know how to navigate the loan system (which granted is not the small businesses who most need this money).

JMO!

There are two sides to the extra money in the unemployment payments. In VA, the unemployment payment is quite low and usually less that what people had made working. 600 a week seems like a lot, but there are people who were making much more than the unemployment check and extra money combined.

 

[Trudie]

Sadly, little kids are a huge threat to me right now. I really wish people would leave them home during shopping. Little kids, bless their hearts, can’t control their coughing and sneezing. They don’t understand. I mean teens aren’t much better but they can be made to understand.

My biggest threats are families with small kids, teens and homeless people. When I bike ride or walk my dog I try to stay far away from all at this moment. Much farther than six feet. I’m paranoid due to my condition, so I fear that the wind can blow something onto my face from a distance. I don’t think that’s scientifically sound but I’m paranoid!

We have had extremely high winds lately, 40mph sustained, I worry desperately that germs are blowing onto me. So much is unknown, how can we not be concerned.
More & more restaurant drive ins are reporting cases, I think there is no safe place other than my home and the great outdoors, far, far away from humans. I’d be petrified if I lived in a high rise, the halls, elevators & common areas would freak me out.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Indiana won't be going back to school this school term. Remote learning completely.

 

[SkylarSid]

Folks, this is coming to a city near you. We have a mask making thread. I suggest y’all figure out ahead of time how you are going to get a mask for you and the people you love.

I was surprised at a package from Express Scripts yesterday as I had not ordered anything. They sent me 4 masks!

 

[gitana1]

Ebola is much more deadly but only becomes infectious after person develops symptoms. Covid becomes infectious even before person develops symptoms and some people never develop symptoms but still spread it around. Ebola was much easier to contain.

Yes. That’s true. But if you think about polio and compare to ebola, polio is primarily spread via feces. And it ran rampant through our population of kids in the 50’s. Ebola could’ve spread like polio did.

Also, we have to consider that people who actually do have symptoms of COVID weren’t staying home and were going places. Traveling. Etc. they thought it was just a cold or didn’t care. So sad.

I want to add that the way asymptomatic people spread the virus is the same way any cold or flu is spread- sharing utensils, kissing, sneezing, lets say, from allergies, or touching their mucus membranes and then touching a shared surface.

You can’t get it from just breathing the same air unless you’re doing something like singing (which causes water droplets to forcefully enter the air) close to someone, in an enclosed space.

The big problem, like I said earlier, is that people touch their faces even without knowing it after coming into contact with a surface that could be contaminated. It’s almost automatic. And they don’t realize their touching something dirty. I see it quite a bit. It’s kind of hard for many to remember.

But the measles is far more contagious.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(17)30307-9/fulltext

If we can all learn to be diligent we can improve our outcomes.

 

[bluedivergirl]

The governor of Ohio took a lot of heat for canceling a large sporting event the same week as Mardi Gras. People were complaining that Mardi Gras hadn’t been canceled so why was this event in Ohio canceled?

But now compare the stats between Louisiana and Ohio. Ohio governor has been proactive and it shows.

So many parallels to 1918:

. . . Philadelphia’s response was too little, too late. Dr. Wilmer Krusen, director of Public Health and Charities for the city, insisted mounting fatalities were not the “Spanish flu,” but rather just the normal flu. So on September 18, the city went forward with a Liberty Loan parade attended by tens of thousands of Philadelphians, spreading the disease like wildfire. In just 10 days, over 1,000 Philadelphians were dead, with another 200,000 sick. Only then did the city close saloons and theaters. By March 1919, over 15,000 citizens of Philadelphia had lost their lives.

St. Louis, Missouri, was different: Schools and movie theaters closed and public gatherings were banned. Consequently, the peak mortality rate in St. Louis was just one-eighth of Philadelphia’s death rate during the peak of the pandemic. . . .

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/1918-flu-pandemic

 

[jjenny]

I was surprised at a package from Express Scripts yesterday as I had not ordered anything. They sent me 4 masks!

Nice. What kind?

 

[Trudie]

While the state is tracking confirmed cases, it’s important to note that due to the limited amount of testing available the number of confirmed cases is not a true reflection of actual cases in the state.

once the factual data are released, maybe more people will follow directives. I think that is one issue KY had. Too few cases, so the severity appeared a moot point, Jmo. the first case is not the first case, the second case is not the second case.....

 

[IceIce9]

some cruise lines were refusing to let people cancel and would not issue credit or refunds... so, $8,000; $10,000 x 2..... a lot to lose for some who might have planned
a honeymoon or anniversary...

True but IMO loss of life is so much more important right now. So many of us have lost huge amounts on our 401Ks, etc. but this just pales in comparison to the people who are sick or who have lost loved ones.

 

[NuttMegg]

I remember similar problems in 2009. You'd think they would have all this ironed out by now.

Caution: cynical POV ... I think that the stimulus checks to lower income people were included in the huge stimulus bill to offset, in the minds of the public, the really gross amount of what, 500 billion destined for large corporations including per the president, making cruise ship companies "vibrant" because "it isn't their fault."

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

New Orleans Mardi Gras should have been canceled.

Yes and NY should have shut down their state way before they did. It’s easy to criticize from the comfort of 20/20 hindsight. It does no good. IMO

 

[mickey2942]

It is really tough to have kids now, especially young ones. Because you can't get a babysitter, or even have Grandparents babysit them.

 

[jjenny]

Ebola is definitely not airborne. Covid might be.
"Since early reports revealed that a new coronavirus was spreading rapidly between people, researchers have been trying to pin down whether it can travel through the air. Health officials say the virus is transported only through droplets that are coughed or sneezed out — either directly, or on objects. But some scientists say there is preliminary evidence that airborne transmission — in which the disease spreads in the much smaller particles from exhaled air, known as aerosols — is occurring, and that precautions, such as increasing ventilation indoors, should be recommended to reduce the risk of infection."
Is the coronavirus airborne? Experts can’t agree

 

[Trudie]

@gitana1 this was released late last night

Coronavirus can spread through talking or breathing, prestigious panel tells White House - CNN

 

[gitana1]

I remember similar problems in 2009. You'd think they would have all this ironed out by now.

Yes. But sooner than than the checks in 2008. And a big issue was it was in the form of less tax withholding, for most, rather than checks.

But the 2008 stimulus didn’t have much of an effect either.

Stimulus Checks: 2020 Compared to 2009 and 2008

 

[Kensie]

We have had extremely high winds lately, 40mph sustained, I worry desperately that germs are blowing onto me. So much is unknown, how can we not be concerned.
More & more restaurant drive ins are reporting cases, I think there is no safe place other than my home and the great outdoors, far, far away from humans. I’d be petrified if I lived in a high rise, the halls, elevators & common areas would freak me out.

Exactly why I prefer my neighbors that are deer. I have about 30 acres I can walk the pups on and they take their daily swim in the creek. I don't have any humans near me. I just love nature. I am terrified of elevators anyway, way too claustrophobic. I would hike 20 flights of stairs to avoid an elevator.

 

[Trudie]

It is really tough to have kids now, especially young ones. Because you can't get a babysitter, or even have Grandparents babysit them.

I’m sure it is and idk if there is an answer as to what a parent can do. I don’t find it appropriate to allow them to potentially expose everyone in a store, yet keep them from their own grandparents. Blood is thicker than water. But if kids spread it, someone else’s grands will get it. Moo

 

[CSIDreamer]

A Facebook group matches RVs that are sitting idle with health care workers who need a place to isolate after long hospital shifts

RVs 4 MDs: Facebook group matches health care workers to RVs so they can self-isolate near home - CNN