COVID-19 (f/k/a "the Coronavirus")

[Jockey]

Numerous public health leaders have called for more leadership — if not funding and staff — from the federal government to support state and local health departments' contact tracing efforts.

"We have needed a federal response on this from Day 1 and we haven't had one," says El-Sayed. "We need federal funding for contact tracers and we need it now."

Yup. CDC, you there?

I doubt that the CDC has the means (cash) to do this. I think the money would have to come from the Federal gov't.

[GooooMarquette]

I doubt that the CDC has the means (cash) to do this. I think the money would have to come from the Federal gov't.

True. They have the expertise, but they would need the green light from POTUS. Still, Redfield ought to be screaming for the resources. And maybe that would get him fired, but at least he’d go down doing the right thing.

[Jockey]

True. They have the expertise, but they would need the green light from POTUS. Still, Redfield ought to be screaming for the resources. And maybe that would get him fired, but at least he’d go down doing the right thing.

Well, POTUS has neutered the CDC so I don’t see any hope there. No need for the CDC anyway since Covid barely exists anymore.

[shoothoops]

Tennessee:

https://twitter.com/natalie_allison/status/1273886137443127296?s=19

[shoothoops]

AMC movies:

https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1273763757592735746?s=19

(Cinemark and Regal also not requiring masks)

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Somethings going to happen this summer.  Either I’m wrong and caution is stupid or the medical community is generally right.   

In either case I’m glad I am an observer from New England. 

PS: and by caution I don't mean something extreme like shut-downs or other.  I just mean limited contact, masks, outdoor activities, etc...

[shoothoops]

Tennessee:

https://twitter.com/natalie_allison/status/1273886137443127296?s=19

11 minutes later update:

https://twitter.com/natalie_allison/status/1273888436819308546?s=19

[GooooMarquette]

Somethings going to happen this summer.  Either I’m wrong and caution is stupid or the medical community is generally right.   

In either case I’m glad I am an observer from New England. 

PS: and by caution I don't mean something extreme like shut-downs or other.  I just mean limited contact, masks, outdoor activities, etc...

IMHO, we are already starting to see it happen. Unfortunately, it's a tale to two nations. In one, there will be enforcement of masks, limited contact, perhaps closing of certain 'close-contact' venues like movie theaters and such. In the other, there will be continued talk of a media-inspired overreaction, the 'right' to go without a mask, and rapidly escalating death rates.

Given the split, I think the only way we will see any organized sports will be without fans and in 'bubble' scenarios like the NBA. And even that may prove impossible.

[shoothoops]

Possible mask solution for some:

https://twitter.com/TheDailyShow/status/1273776360595611649?s=19

[Warriors4ever]

Reading those tweets about the Tennessee legislature -just wow! And if you google Tennessee news this morning, it’s all about the abortion bill or the seven companies making the masks that everyone refuses to wear,  so I did not find out if they ever made the Bible the official state book of Tennessee, or officially designate CNN and the Washington Post as fake news.....
Honestly I don’t want to hear a word anymore about the Illinois legislature after reading those threads.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Beijing airline departures down 70% over the past three days.

[forgetful]

Who would have thought that giving a multi-million dollar contract to a company that didn't exist before, for sterile testing supplies could go poorly.

https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2020/06/07/how-a-st-petersburg-company-with-no-history-in-medical-supplies-won-a-10-million-coronavirus-contract/

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-trump-administration-paid-millions-for-test-tubes-and-got-unusable-mini-soda-bottles

[JWags85]

IMHO, we are already starting to see it happen. Unfortunately, it's a tale to two nations. In one, there will be enforcement of masks, limited contact, perhaps closing of certain 'close-contact' venues like movie theaters and such. In the other, there will be continued talk of a media-inspired overreaction, the 'right' to go without a mask, and rapidly escalating death rates.

Given the split, I think the only way we will see any organized sports will be without fans and in 'bubble' scenarios like the NBA. And even that may prove impossible.

The only way it proves impossible is if players refuse to agree to it for some reason. Most major European soccer leagues have restarted just fine and without issue.

[forgetful]

The only way it proves impossible is if players refuse to agree to it for some reason. Most major European soccer leagues have restarted just fine and without issue.

To be fair, the situation in Europe is far better than it is in the US. We are still in the midst of our first wave. They have largely returned to baseline.

[Jockey]

Who would have thought that giving a multi-million dollar contract to a company that didn't exist before, for sterile testing supplies could go poorly.

https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2020/06/07/how-a-st-petersburg-company-with-no-history-in-medical-supplies-won-a-10-million-coronavirus-contract/

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-trump-administration-paid-millions-for-test-tubes-and-got-unusable-mini-soda-bottles

Disgusting.

But not unexpected.

[GooooMarquette]

To be fair, the situation in Europe is far better than it is in the US. We are still in the midst of our first wave. They have largely returned to baseline.

Affirmative. The UK and France have been steadily declining, and even Spain and Italy have leveled off.

Here in the US, the northeast and parts of the midwest are seeing a nice downward trend, but most everywhere west of the Mississippi and south of the Mason-Dixon Line are increasing.

[tower912]

Stay safe, citizens of Florida.     

[MU82]

Disgusting.

But not unexpected.

The Art of the Deal on display.

[GooooMarquette]

Is the Coronavirus Death Tally Inflated? Here’s Why Experts Say No

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/19/us/us-coronavirus-covid-death-toll.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

On Sunday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo became the latest in a string of elected officials, including President Trump, to question the death toll from the coronavirus, calling the process of assigning cause of death “fairly random.”

In May, the governor also questioned the use of “probable” deaths in public tallies, noting that New York would continue to keep these deaths from its total counts, even though many states and New York City post them publicly.

But public health experts say the method used to count deaths from a disease like Covid-19 is decades-old and some amount of uncertainty is simply part of the process.

“Everything is so politically charged, people are looking for excuses to question the data,” said Robert Anderson, who runs the mortality statistics branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

...

The president and conservative news media have accused states of inflating their counts, even as public health experts have said that undercounting is more likely. Limited awareness and testing during the initial months of the pandemic mean an unknown number of early Covid-19 deaths will never be counted.

[MarquetteDano]

“Everything is so politically charged, people are looking for excuses to question the data,” said Robert Anderson, who runs the mortality statistics branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

Politics 101:  Throw as much uncertainly as possible against facts uncovered by people do who a thing for a living,  knowing full well the truth will be found out at a later date.  However, those truths do not get fully uncovered until said politicians are out of that particular office or they can just shrug it off as the public is focused on the next thing.

In 2-3 years the full truth of this will be well documented.  I fear that the truth will not look good on the politicians.  Good for them they will be onto obfuscating the next set of facts. Sad.

[JWags85]

To be fair, the situation in Europe is far better than it is in the US. We are still in the midst of our first wave. They have largely returned to baseline.

That’s fine, but I was largely speaking to the sequestered nature of soccer restarting. It’s not like they are just playing without fans but otherwise life is normal.

[shoothoops]

"Florida governor blames Covid-19 spike on overwhelmingly Hispanic laborers..."  . ..........(By the way average age of COVID-19 patients in Florida is now 37)


https://nypost.com/2020/06/19/desantis-blames-covid-spike-on-overwhelmingly-hispanic-laborers/amp/?utm_source=twitter_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons&__twitter_impression=true

[shoothoops]

https://twitter.com/latimes/status/1274066668390502400?s=19

UCLA football players demanding third party health official at all football related activities to make sure all COVID-19 protocols are followed because they do not trust their coach. They also demand anonymous whistleblower protections.

[Pakuni]

@NumbersMuncher: Over 20% of Arizona's tests for COVID-19 came back positive today.

In Florida, the number was 10% - they were under 3% a few weeks ago.

New York is down to about 1% and Illinois is down to 3%.

Distancing helps. Masks help. Medical experts know better than politicians.

[Pakuni]

"Florida governor blames Covid-19 spike on overwhelmingly Hispanic laborers..."  . ..........(By the way average age of COVID-19 patients in Florida is now 37)


https://nypost.com/2020/06/19/desantis-blames-covid-spike-on-overwhelmingly-hispanic-laborers/amp/?utm_source=twitter_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons&__twitter_impression=true

At least he's not blaming the fully Hispanic laborers.