Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #67

[tresir2012]

Grover (from Sesame Street) was just on an evening current affairs TV show here. He skyped in. He said he is good at technology, learned how to tweet from Big Bird.

"It's all going to be okay. It might be scary, but it will be okay. Stay home, stay healthy, and don't forget to Grover-cise!!"


(Might be the smartest thing we have all heard this week )

Here he is from April with some tips.

Grover Self-Care During Coronavirus Video

 

[CeeCeeCat]

Coronavirus report: global cases pass 12m as US daily tally breaks world record — the guardian (UK)

Oh, so depressing. There must be light at the end of tunnel at some point...

 

[CeeCeeCat]

Warning of serious brain disorders in people with mild coronavirus symptoms

This is scary.

 

[CSIDreamer]

We have done that and were locked down for nearly 4 months. No half measures is exactly correct. The problem with the states is the sheer size and the fact that some states are past the peak while others are not yet over it. There should be more support between states. Are the states like NY now helping Texas for example?

If I remember right, the governor of NY said he would help states that helped them? I remember a lot of healthcare from TX went to NY. Surely, relief has been sent. Jmo

 

[tresir2012]

Melbourne begins second shutdown after cases spike

Australia's second-largest city has begun a second lockdown in response to a spike in new coronavirus infections.

Melbourne's five million residents will be barred from leaving home for six weeks, except for essential reasons.

Police say they are setting up a "ring of steel" around the city, with "checkpoints anytime and anywhere" to enforce the measures.

Borders between Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, and neighbouring states closed on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison paid tribute to Melburnians' resilience on Wednesday.

"The rest of the country knows that the sacrifice that you're going through right now is not just for you and your own family, but it's for the broader Australian community," he said during a news conference.

Victoria State Premier Daniel Andrews announced the Melbourne lockdown on Tuesday after the state saw 191 new infections, its highest daily number since the pandemic began.

Victoria's daily case increase

Source: Victoria State Government
Wednesday's figure was down to 134, but still much higher than numbers in the rest of the country.

"I think people are definitely more scared this time. People are acting more erratic - you can see that on the roads, at the shops," one resident, Gael Baek, told the BBC.

Australia has recorded almost 9,000 cases and 106 deaths from the virus.

More at link.

 

[CharlestonGal]

Colorado city to mandate coronavirus face coverings, threatening up to a year in jail for violators

The city of Englewood, Colo. located just south of Denver, will require all citizens to wear face masks Friday as coronavirus cases are on the rise. Violators will have the right to a trial but could face up to a year in prison or a $2,600 fine.

The emergency order was issued by City Manager J. Shawn Lewis and approved by the city council Monday, detailing that everyone over the age of 6-years old will be required to wear a mask when outside of their homes.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

We have done that and were locked down for nearly 4 months. No half measures is exactly correct. The problem with the states is the sheer size and the fact that some states are past the peak while others are not yet over it. There should be more support between states. Are the states like NY now helping Texas for example?

If I remember right, the governor of NY said he would help states that helped them? I remember a lot of healthcare from TX went to NY. Surely, relief has been sent. Jmo

Yes, of course. Why wouldn't we help? This was June 26th.

Cuomo offers aid to Texas, Florida, Arizona as southern coronavirus cases spike

“We had numerous states who came to our assistance when we needed it and I was very appreciative — Massachusetts, Oregon, etc. — and that collegiality is very important and New Yorkers were very grateful for the help that we received," Cuomo said. "We will never forget that graciousness and we will repay it any way we can.

“Our offer is open ended, however we can help," the governor said. "We are in a position to provide any of the above, equipment, staff, knowledge, ventilators, national guard assistance, whatever they need. And yes, we have all of the above.”

 

[tresir2012]

"Eat out to help out" it is called. Our Chancellor is being called the BOGOF chancellor after this unusual scheme for August is announced. There is also the reduction of VAT for hospitality businesses. Down from 20% to 5%.

This could be breakfast, lunch and dinner too with 50% off each meal.


Chancellor gives diners 50% off on eating out

Diners will get a 50% discount off their restaurant bill during August under government plans to bolster the embattled hospitality sector.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled the "eat out to help out" discount as part of a series of measures to restart the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The deal means people can get up to £10 off per head if they eat out from Monday to Wednesday.

Mr Sunak also said VAT on hospitality and tourism would drop to 5%.

The reduction, from 20%, will be in place for the next six months.

As he announced the discount, the chancellor said the UK was facing a "unique moment" because of Covid-19, adding: "We need to be creative."

• What the summer economic plan means for your money

Pubs and restaurants reopened on Saturday after more than three months in lockdown, withsafety measures in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Mr Sunak sought to reassure the public that it was safe to dine out. "I know people are cautious about going out. But we wouldn't have lifted the restrictions if we didn't think we could do so, safely," he said.

The discount will not apply to alcohol, but to food and soft drinks up to £10 per person.

The Treasury said the 50% discount can be used unlimited times during August and applies to participating restaurants, cafés, and pubs across the UK.



Rishi Sunak
@RishiSunak
·
19h

Great to pop down to
@wagamama_uk
after the statement today. They’ve already bought more than 2,000 staff back from furlough and will be one of the many restaurants to benefit from the VAT cut and ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ vouchers.




1.5K

1.6K

11.6K

Rishi Sunak Retweeted



Report
End of Twitter post by @hmtreasury

 

[JerseyGirl]

Reopen News: NYC Mayor, chancellor outline NYC Schools reopening plan for fall

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo said that the final decision on school reopenings rests with the state. "We will open the schools if it's safe to open the schools," he said.

He said that he expects final guidance by July 13, is asking for districts to have plans by July 31, and that he will make a final decision sometime August 1-7.

The NYC mayor noted that most schools will not be able to have all of their kids in school at the same time. Classrooms will be limited to about nine to 12 students, with a dozen being the maximum. That's instead of the average class size of 30 students.

More information on New York City's plan can be found at: www.schools.nyc.gov/returntoschool2020

 

[margarita25]

Tulsa sees Covid-19 surge in the wake of Trump's June rally - CNN

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Trump criticizes Fauci and says US in a 'good place' as Covid-19 cases top 3m

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'We Were Treated Worse Than Animals': Disaster Recovery Workers Confront COVID-19

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Air conditioning units could be spreading COVID-19 in Florida, according to Harvard epidemiologist

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Florida Department of Health denies broad COVID-19 data access to medical school researchers

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Texas sets new COVID-19 records Wednesday in key metrics

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Texas struggles with COVID-19 testing demands

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COVID-19: Houston GOP convention; Atlanta masks; California deaths

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Texas county threatens to arrest positive COVID-19 residents who don't quarantine

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North Texas father and son survive COVID-19 together

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An increase in people dying at home suggests coronavirus deaths in Houston may be higher than reported

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Stanford expert says 80-85 percent of Texas hospital patients 'have nothing to do with COVID-19'

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University of Texas staff member dies from COVID-19 complications, campus’ first fatality | KXAN Austin

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9 days since Gov. Ducey's last briefing as Arizona's COVID-19 spike draws national attention

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Arizona could be the new COVID-19 capital of the world

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Nearly 130 staff at Arizona ICE facility tested positive for COVID-19

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AZ coronavirus update: ER visits, hospitalizations hit new records

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Epidemiologist speaks out as Arizona surpasses New York's all-time peak in daily COVID-19 cases per capita

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Arizona’s COVID-19 epidemic now worst in the nation, possibly the world

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Mike Pence sees COVID-19 improvement in Arizona. Who is he kidding?

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Florida coronavirus: Nearly 10K COVID-19 cases Wednesday

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Florida hit with 9,989 new coronavirus cases as the death toll nears 4,000

 

[Reasonable & Just]

As a business owner (restaurant) here in California, I thought I'd share with you our daily business experience...
Absolutely, depending on what our Governor Gavin Newsome says, or, does NOT say our sales go up or they go down.
ALL sales. Dine in, to go, curbside, you name it.
*Where we operate, out of over 50 thousand residents, we have had -0- deaths.
Doesn't matter. Although we have over 39 million people living in California, the same rules are applied to all of us.
So, last Thursday, after Gavin Newsome gave one of his speeches, we had exactly 1 (one) customer.
All of our overhead remains the same. Rent, electric, insurance, telephone, gas, payroll and taxes.
Somewhat of a solution would be for our govenor to monitor where the problems are in this huge state, and where they are not.
Instead of treating us all the same.
So, yeah, I'm sure, some will disagree...
It's 2020. He's got the tech and the man power to do this.
Sweeping declarations are going to destroy businesses that shouldn't be destroyed.
California has a negative 54 Billion budget as of two months ago.
The next tally? Huge increase to her deficit.
Moo a hundred times.

I wish our federal government would innovate and find ways to give our tax dollars back while we support small businesses. But they'd like to keep it all for themselves, and offer threats along with zero solutions.

Anyway, I love this kind of smart thinking, and I hope it is a success and runs smoothly!

Chancellor gives diners 50% off on eating out (posted previously by others)

Businesses that want to take part in the scheme will have to register through a website that opens on Monday 13 July.

Mr Sunak said: "Each week in August, businesses can then claim the money back, with the funds in their bank account within five working days."

He added that the cut in VAT, from 20% to 5%, would apply to "eat-in or hot takeaway food from restaurants, cafes and pubs; accommodation in hotels, B&Bs, campsites and caravan sites [and] attractions like cinemas, theme parks and zoos".

The lower tax rate will be implemented next Wednesday, 15 July, and will remain in place until 12 January 2021.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Yes, of course. Why wouldn't we? This was June 26th.

Cuomo offers aid to Texas, Florida, Arizona as southern coronavirus cases spike

“We had numerous states who came to our assistance when we needed it and I was very appreciative — Massachusetts, Oregon, etc. — and that collegiality is very important and New Yorkers were very grateful for the help that we received," Cuomo said. "We will never forget that graciousness and we will repay it any way we can.

“Our offer is open ended, however we can help," the governor said. "We are in a position to provide any of the above, equipment, staff, knowledge, ventilators, national guard assistance, whatever they need. And yes, we have all of the above.”

I wonder if any states have taken them up on the offer.

VP Pence mentioned sending workers. Maybe they're coming from NY?

 

[JerseyGirl]

Good news!
Hospital at heart of Italy's Covid-19 outbreak has first day with no positive cases

The main hospital in the city of Bergamo, which was at the heart of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Italy, has had the first day without any Covid-19 patients since February 23, a spokesperson for the Papa Giovanni XXIII said.

Italy was one of the first countries in Europe to report coronavirus cases and became one of the hardest hit, with its current death toll standing at almost 35,000.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

I wonder if any states have taken them up on the offer.

Up to them. I sure hope they do. I also wonder if there'd be as much media coverage of it as there was in the beginning of the pandemic, when it was all new, and also when it was NY in trouble.

 

[JerseyGirl]

CDC will not revise guidelines for schools reopening, director says

Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the guidelines for reopening schools will not be revised, but additional reference documents will be provided.

Redfield described the guidelines as “intentionally non-prescriptive,” and said that the range of guidelines given were to offer schools the option of what will work best for them.

Redfield said the CDC would work with any local jurisdiction on how best to use the guidelines to reopen their schools in the safest way, and that it would “personally sadden” him if people were to use the guidelines and concerns about them as a reason to stay closed.

“It’s a critical public health initiative right now to get these schools reopened and to do it safely,” Redfield said.

Redfield's comments come a day after President Trump tweeted Wednesday that he disagreed with CDC guidelines for safely reopening schools because they are "very tough" and "expensive."

During a press briefing a few hours later, Vice President Mike Pence said the CDC would issue new guidance on reopening schools next week. Both he and the CDC's director said the agency's recommendations should not be viewed as a barrier to returning children to classrooms.

 

[JerseyGirl]

I wonder if any states have taken them up on the offer.

VP Pence mentioned sending workers. Maybe they're coming from NY?

I can't find any other source but Cuomo has been very vocal in helping other States. He just yesterday offered help to Florida (and how very kind of Cuomo, thinking back to when Florida's Governor said very unkind things about those of us in the NY/NJ area during our peak and Florida did not offer any help at all):

Truce? New York to help Florida in COVID-19 fight

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said his state was going to send resources to hard-hit Florida to help fight coronavirus in a press briefing on Wednesday.

“You’re seeing a tremendous spike. Some hospitals are running out of ICUS, which is a really frightening situation to be in,” Cuomo said. “Whatever they need, Florida has said they might need assistance from us, whatever they need, we’ll provide.”

 

[tresir2012]

Strange because this report says cases went up before the Tulsa rally.

Oklahoma records highest spike in coronavirus cases in US days before Trump indoor rally

It is probably best to look at the state dashboards rather than just go by MSM. Oklahoma's dashboard clearly shows a peak in deaths and cases before the rally.

Weekly Epidemiology and Surveillance Report | COVID-19 | Oklahoma State Department of Health

 

[SouthAussie]

I wish our federal government would innovate and find ways (posted previously by other posters) to give our tax dollars back through the process of supporting small businesses. But they'd like to keep it all for themselves, and offer threats along with zero solutions.

Anyway, I love this kind of smart thinking, and I hope it is a success and runs smoothly!

Chancellor gives diners 50% off on eating out

Businesses that want to take part in the scheme will have to register through a website that opens on Monday 13 July.

Mr Sunak said: "Each week in August, businesses can then claim the money back, with the funds in their bank account within five working days."

He added that the cut in VAT, from 20% to 5%, would apply to "eat-in or hot takeaway food from restaurants, cafes and pubs; accommodation in hotels, B&Bs, campsites and caravan sites [and] attractions like cinemas, theme parks and zoos".

The lower tax rate will be implemented next Wednesday, 15 July, and will remain in place until 12 January 2021.

The Aussie govt is paying businesses to keep their employees.

They upped unemployment payments to $750 a week. And at the same time they offered businesses $750 a week per employee to retain them. One small business I work for (I work for several, not as an employee but as a contractor) gets $45,000 a month and is keeping its employees. It helps offset the weekly payroll. Another small business I work for gets $9,000 a month.

This isn't endless. Could finish in September, or could be extended. It is up in the air at the moment.

 

[margarita25]

Hospital at heart of Italy's Covid-19 outbreak has first day with no positive cases

The main hospital in the city of Bergamo, which was at the heart of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Italy, has had the first day without any Covid-19 patients since February 23, a spokesperson for the Papa Giovanni XXIII said.

Italy was one of the first countries in Europe to report coronavirus cases and became one of the hardest hit, with its current death toll standing at almost 35,000.

Awesome!

 

[musicaljoke]

With talk of theme parks opening up (gasp!), here's what Japan is telling their people:

Many people might find it tricky keeping quiet through an entire roller coaster ride, but one Japanese theme park wants you to do that - and more.
Fuji-Q Highland near Tokyo re-opened last month after its virus shutdown.
It asked riders to avoid screaming when they go on its rollercoasters, to minimise spreading droplets, and instead "scream inside your heart".
And to encourage people to play along, it's getting riders to put on their most "serious face" for the ride photo.




Be serious, theme park tells rollercoaster riders