Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #79

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  • #761
tresir2012 said:
Here's a link to the Florida dashboard which is really comprehensive. It has a section that compares states to countries worldwide. For example NY (32,713 deaths) has more deaths than France (31,700 deaths). It also has all the counties in Florida individually listed for comparisons.

Experience
Click to expand...

Thank you: that is helpful. how do i find one for Michigan?
 
  • #762
  • #763
Exposed: COVID-19 was spreading in Houston before the rodeo, records show — Houston Chronicle

“In the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, the public messaging from the federal level down to local was consistent: Risk to the public was low. More than 850,000 people passed through the NRG gates as officials insisted there was no evidence the virus was spreading unchecked. But a Houston Chronicle investigation based on thousands of pages of emails, texts and documents and more than 50 interviews shows that a cascade of failures starting at the federal level left local officials ill-equipped to confront the biggest public health threat in generations.”
——-
Interesting article.
JMO
 
  • #764
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-...r-handling-of-virus-outbreak-at-veterans-home

2 Charged Over Handling of Virus Outbreak at Veterans Home [70 deaths]

BOSTON (AP) — Two former administrators of a Massachusetts veterans home where nearly 80 people sickened by the coronavirus died have been charged over their handling of the outbreak, the state attorney general said Friday.
holyoke-home-gty-ps-200925_1601046144119_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg


This May 2018 file photo ,shows an aerial view of the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, Mass. Former Superintendent Bennett Walsh and medical director David Clinton were indicted Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, on charges of mishandling the coronavirus outbreak at the home for aging veterans where more than 70 died from COVID-19. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

It's believed to be the first criminal case in the country brought against nursing home officials for actions during the pandemic, Attorney General Maura Healey said.

Former Holyoke Soldiers' Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh and former Medical Director Dr. David Clinton were indicted by a grand jury on charges stemming from their decision in March to combine two dementia units, packing residents who were positive for the coronavirus into the same space as those with no symptoms, Healey said.


The veterans "risked their lives from the beaches of Normandy, to some the jungles of Vietnam, and to know that they died under the most horrific circumstances is truly shocking," Healey told reporters.

A phone message was left Friday with a lawyer for Walsh. An email was sent to attorneys for Clinton. They could each face prison time if convicted of causing or permitting serious bodily injury or neglect of an elder, Healey said.
 
  • #765
  • #766
katydid23 said:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-...r-handling-of-virus-outbreak-at-veterans-home

2 Charged Over Handling of Virus Outbreak at Veterans Home [70 deaths]

BOSTON (AP) — Two former administrators of a Massachusetts veterans home where nearly 80 people sickened by the coronavirus died have been charged over their handling of the outbreak, the state attorney general said Friday.
holyoke-home-gty-ps-200925_1601046144119_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg


This May 2018 file photo ,shows an aerial view of the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, Mass. Former Superintendent Bennett Walsh and medical director David Clinton were indicted Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, on charges of mishandling the coronavirus outbreak at the home for aging veterans where more than 70 died from COVID-19. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

It's believed to be the first criminal case in the country brought against nursing home officials for actions during the pandemic, Attorney General Maura Healey said.

Former Holyoke Soldiers' Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh and former Medical Director Dr. David Clinton were indicted by a grand jury on charges stemming from their decision in March to combine two dementia units, packing residents who were positive for the coronavirus into the same space as those with no symptoms, Healey said.


The veterans "risked their lives from the beaches of Normandy, to some the jungles of Vietnam, and to know that they died under the most horrific circumstances is truly shocking," Healey told reporters.

A phone message was left Friday with a lawyer for Walsh. An email was sent to attorneys for Clinton. They could each face prison time if convicted of causing or permitting serious bodily injury or neglect of an elder, Healey said.
Click to expand...
Not sure how I feel about this- depends on when they combined the dementia units & what type of pandemic plans were required by law at the time. This one should have its own thread imo. Tragic situation, but interesting case. Jmo
 
  • #767
JudgeJoe said:
Not sure how I feel about this- depends on when they combined the dementia units & what type of pandemic plans were required by law at the time. This one should have its own thread imo. Tragic situation, but interesting case. Jmo
Click to expand...

The charges come three months after a scathing independent report said “utterly baffling” decisions made by Walsh and other administrators allowed the virus to spread unchecked. The “worst decision” was to combine the two locked dementia units, both of which already housed some residents with the virus, said investigators led by former federal prosecutor Mark Pearlstein.

Healey said Walsh and Clinton were the ones ultimately responsible for the decision to combine the two units, which she said led to “tragic and deadly results.” More than 40 veterans were packed into a single unit that usually had 25 beds, and space was so limited that nine veterans — some with symptoms and some without — were sleeping in the dining room, Healey said.

“This never should have happened. It never should have happened from an infection controls standpoint," Healey said.


Since March 1, 76 veterans who contracted the coronavirus at the home have died, officials said. The first veteran tested positive March 17. Even though he had shown symptoms for weeks, staff “did nothing to isolate” him until his test came back positive, allowing him to remain with three roommates, wander the unit and spend time in a common room, investigators found.

When a social worker raised concerns about combining the two dementia units, the chief nursing officer said that “it didn’t matter because (the veterans) were all exposed anyway and there was not enough staff to cover both units,” investigators said.

One staffer who helped move the dementia patients told investigators she felt like she was “walking (the veterans) to their death.” A nurse said the packed dementia unit looked “like a battlefield tent where the cots are all next to each other.”

As the virus took hold, leadership shifted from trying to prevent its spread “to preparing for the deaths of scores of residents,” the report said. On the day the veterans were moved, more than a dozen additional body bags were sent to the combined dementia unit, investigators said.

The next day, a refrigerated truck to hold bodies that wouldn’t fit in the home’s morgue arrived, the report said.

Walsh has defended his response, saying state officials initially refused in March to send National Guard aid even as the home was dealing with dire staffing shortages.

He was placed on administrative leave March 30, and the CEO of Western Massachusetts Hospital, Val Liptak, took over operations. Walsh was fired after the release of the report, but a judge invalidated his termination this week after his lawyer argued that only the board of trustees could hire and fire the superintendent.



Sounds horrid, the way they made those decisions. But they also were understaffed and tried to get help from the state. So at least they made an effort.

But they should have put all the people with Covid in one place, and those without symptoms, in another. JMO
 
  • #768
katydid23 said:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-...r-handling-of-virus-outbreak-at-veterans-home

2 Charged Over Handling of Virus Outbreak at Veterans Home [70 deaths]

BOSTON (AP) — Two former administrators of a Massachusetts veterans home where nearly 80 people sickened by the coronavirus died have been charged over their handling of the outbreak, the state attorney general said Friday.
holyoke-home-gty-ps-200925_1601046144119_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg


This May 2018 file photo ,shows an aerial view of the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, Mass. Former Superintendent Bennett Walsh and medical director David Clinton were indicted Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, on charges of mishandling the coronavirus outbreak at the home for aging veterans where more than 70 died from COVID-19. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

It's believed to be the first criminal case in the country brought against nursing home officials for actions during the pandemic, Attorney General Maura Healey said.

Former Holyoke Soldiers' Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh and former Medical Director Dr. David Clinton were indicted by a grand jury on charges stemming from their decision in March to combine two dementia units, packing residents who were positive for the coronavirus into the same space as those with no symptoms, Healey said.


The veterans "risked their lives from the beaches of Normandy, to some the jungles of Vietnam, and to know that they died under the most horrific circumstances is truly shocking," Healey told reporters.

A phone message was left Friday with a lawyer for Walsh. An email was sent to attorneys for Clinton. They could each face prison time if convicted of causing or permitting serious bodily injury or neglect of an elder, Healey said.
Click to expand...

I wonder if we will see charges filed in other states against those who mishandled COVID in nursing homes which led to so many deaths of the elderly. It has now started in Massachusetts. There needs to be accountability on this. Did someone post that the DOJ is investigating several states regarding issues such as this? I don't remember the states, of course it includes New York, but don't recall the others.
 
  • #769
katydid23 said:
The charges come three months after a scathing independent report said “utterly baffling” decisions made by Walsh and other administrators allowed the virus to spread unchecked. The “worst decision” was to combine the two locked dementia units, both of which already housed some residents with the virus, said investigators led by former federal prosecutor Mark Pearlstein.

Healey said Walsh and Clinton were the ones ultimately responsible for the decision to combine the two units, which she said led to “tragic and deadly results.” More than 40 veterans were packed into a single unit that usually had 25 beds, and space was so limited that nine veterans — some with symptoms and some without — were sleeping in the dining room, Healey said.

“This never should have happened. It never should have happened from an infection controls standpoint," Healey said.


Since March 1, 76 veterans who contracted the coronavirus at the home have died, officials said. The first veteran tested positive March 17. Even though he had shown symptoms for weeks, staff “did nothing to isolate” him until his test came back positive, allowing him to remain with three roommates, wander the unit and spend time in a common room, investigators found.

When a social worker raised concerns about combining the two dementia units, the chief nursing officer said that “it didn’t matter because (the veterans) were all exposed anyway and there was not enough staff to cover both units,” investigators said.

One staffer who helped move the dementia patients told investigators she felt like she was “walking (the veterans) to their death.” A nurse said the packed dementia unit looked “like a battlefield tent where the cots are all next to each other.”

As the virus took hold, leadership shifted from trying to prevent its spread “to preparing for the deaths of scores of residents,” the report said. On the day the veterans were moved, more than a dozen additional body bags were sent to the combined dementia unit, investigators said.

The next day, a refrigerated truck to hold bodies that wouldn’t fit in the home’s morgue arrived, the report said.

Walsh has defended his response, saying state officials initially refused in March to send National Guard aid even as the home was dealing with dire staffing shortages.

He was placed on administrative leave March 30, and the CEO of Western Massachusetts Hospital, Val Liptak, took over operations. Walsh was fired after the release of the report, but a judge invalidated his termination this week after his lawyer argued that only the board of trustees could hire and fire the superintendent.



Sounds horrid, the way they made those decisions. But they also were understaffed and tried to get help from the state. So at least they made an effort.

But they should have put all the people with Covid in one place, and those without symptoms, in another. JMO
Click to expand...
Ita- horrible consequences for these vets & their families. Still uncharted waters legally though. Many details not known. If that severely understaffed, not sure what other options they had? Transfer- but where? Keep separate- but still risk negligent care? Seems between a rock & a hard place. Idk. Needs its own thread!
 
  • #770
'We should not pretend everybody is suffering equally': Covid hits Australia's poor the hardest

If the slogan of 2020 is “We’re all in this together”, perhaps it should come with an asterisk: *except for those with less, who are hurting more.

Covid-19 hasn’t torn through Australia as it has the United States, Brazil, India and much of Europe, but the economic impact has exposed gaping inequities in almost every facet of our lives.

While some people simply packed up their desks and took work home, more than 1 million others are jobless and others only technically still “employed” because they are receiving federal government wage subsidies.

Another large cohort – including migrants denied government support – had no choice but to keep working insecure jobs. In the manufacturing, food processing, warehousing and care industries they were left exposed and the virus spread among them.
 
  • #771
katydid23 said:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-...r-handling-of-virus-outbreak-at-veterans-home

2 Charged Over Handling of Virus Outbreak at Veterans Home [70 deaths]

BOSTON (AP) — Two former administrators of a Massachusetts veterans home where nearly 80 people sickened by the coronavirus died have been charged over their handling of the outbreak, the state attorney general said Friday.
holyoke-home-gty-ps-200925_1601046144119_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg


This May 2018 file photo ,shows an aerial view of the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, Mass. Former Superintendent Bennett Walsh and medical director David Clinton were indicted Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, on charges of mishandling the coronavirus outbreak at the home for aging veterans where more than 70 died from COVID-19. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

It's believed to be the first criminal case in the country brought against nursing home officials for actions during the pandemic, Attorney General Maura Healey said.

Former Holyoke Soldiers' Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh and former Medical Director Dr. David Clinton were indicted by a grand jury on charges stemming from their decision in March to combine two dementia units, packing residents who were positive for the coronavirus into the same space as those with no symptoms, Healey said.


The veterans "risked their lives from the beaches of Normandy, to some the jungles of Vietnam, and to know that they died under the most horrific circumstances is truly shocking," Healey told reporters.

A phone message was left Friday with a lawyer for Walsh. An email was sent to attorneys for Clinton. They could each face prison time if convicted of causing or permitting serious bodily injury or neglect of an elder, Healey said.
Click to expand...


This is terrible. I am not surprised at the criminal charges. I think Massachusets is one of the 4 states being investigated by the FBI.

JudgeJoe said:
Not sure how I feel about this- depends on when they combined the dementia units & what type of pandemic plans were required by law at the time. This one should have its own thread imo. Tragic situation, but interesting case. Jmo
Click to expand...

I think there will be more to come. I think for now it should remain part of the MT. After all they died of Covid, like the other 84,000 in care homes across the states. This will be the biggest tragedy of this pandemic and has been repeated by country after country. 80% of Canadian deaths, 45% of US deaths plus the European and Australian situations.
 
  • #772
MimosaMornings said:
Exposed: COVID-19 was spreading in Houston before the rodeo, records show — Houston Chronicle

“In the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, the public messaging from the federal level down to local was consistent: Risk to the public was low. More than 850,000 people passed through the NRG gates as officials insisted there was no evidence the virus was spreading unchecked. But a Houston Chronicle investigation based on thousands of pages of emails, texts and documents and more than 50 interviews shows that a cascade of failures starting at the federal level left local officials ill-equipped to confront the biggest public health threat in generations.”
——-
Interesting article.
JMO
Click to expand...

This is so eye opening to me. It’s some of the behind-the-scenes info that we as Websleuths members are always eager to learn about - how our public officials gather info and make decisions. I remember when the Houston Rodeo shut down. It was a huge decision, and impacted countless organizations and the people who worked for and were served by them.

I spoke to one of the Harris County officials in Lina Hidalgo’s office at a funeral the weekend after the rodeo was abruptly closed. I was thanking him for the job his boss was doing to keep us safe. He did not accept any accolades, and somberly told me we should buckle up, it was going to be a very rough ride. Now I realize that they were facing a hurricane they finally saw coming with no meaningful preparation or assistance. By the following weekend, the hurricane called Coronavirus had closed everything, except the stores that were desperately trying to provide the essentials people thought they needed. Unlike a hurricane, nobody knew how long this would last. Nobody knows still.
 
  • #773
  • #774
Sundog said:
'We should not pretend everybody is suffering equally': Covid hits Australia's poor the hardest

If the slogan of 2020 is “We’re all in this together”, perhaps it should come with an asterisk: *except for those with less, who are hurting more.

Covid-19 hasn’t torn through Australia as it has the United States, Brazil, India and much of Europe, but the economic impact has exposed gaping inequities in almost every facet of our lives.

While some people simply packed up their desks and took work home, more than 1 million others are jobless and others only technically still “employed” because they are receiving federal government wage subsidies.

Another large cohort – including migrants denied government support – had no choice but to keep working insecure jobs. In the manufacturing, food processing, warehousing and care industries they were left exposed and the virus spread among them.
Click to expand...

It reminds me of a saying i read about these times:
We are all in the same storm
We are not all in the same boat
 
  • #775
  • #776
Last edited:
  • #777
  • #778
  • #779
Something seems to have changed. My wife went shopping yesterday morning and said no one was wearing mask. I went out last night and saw same thing. I guess some lady, at the restaurant, over lunch started yelling at people for not wearing masks. They figure she'll contact the State, but she came across like a lunatic, so they won't listen. May be time to go back to N95 with a valve since it appears that everyone is on their own.
 
  • #780
MrX said:
Something seems to have changed. My wife went shopping yesterday morning and said no one was wearing mask. I went out last night and saw same thing. I guess some lady, at the restaurant, over lunch started yelling at people for not wearing masks. They figure she'll contact the State, but she came across like a lunatic, so they won't listen. May be time to go back to N95 with a valve since it appears that everyone is on their own.
Click to expand...

Even though my state is more or less open, we still have a mask mandate. Your state didn't keep a mandate? I can't remember if you had one or not. Jmo
 
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