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

[Hards Alumni]

BTW, I should also say that after feeling fairly optimistic last week, I have done a 180 this week.  There is no coordinated plan.  More and more people are losing their jobs.  There are mini outbreaks all over where people are working in close contact with one another.  Conspiracy theories are being tossed around on social media undermining any sense of unity in this effort.  Government disfunction seems at an all time high. 

We seem to be pinning all of our hopes on hitting a home run with a limited use in September.

Not to go full JB here, but it seems like things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

They will get worse.  Keep your food stocks up, because the thing I've been worried about for some time is starting to happen.  There are cracks in the food chain.

We have an absolute VOID of leadership at the top, and frankly, I don't know how we can make it to November like this.

Trump and Pence not wearing masks just tells their followers that they don't take this seriously.  So why should the followers?  Mixed messaging from the top is costing lives, and time.  Every day these jokers don't take this seriously and don't lead by example, people will die. 

[GooooMarquette]

This partially answers goooooo's question about where the CDC has been.

Wanting - trying - to do their job...but muzzled by the #alternativefacts administration.

[MU82]

They will get worse.  Keep your food stocks up, because the thing I've been worried about for some time is starting to happen.  There are cracks in the food chain.

We have an absolute VOID of leadership at the top, and frankly, I don't know how we can make it to November like this.

Trump and Pence not wearing masks just tells their followers that they don't take this seriously.  So why should the followers?  Mixed messaging from the top is costing lives, and time.  Every day these jokers don't take this seriously and don't lead by example, people will die.

Pence at least apologized and said he should have worn the mask at the Mayo Clinic, which leads me to believe that next time he will.

A couple days after the Vice Hypocrite's apology, though, President Pandemic didn't wear one -- at an effen mask factory, while the Guns N Roses version of "Live and Let Die" blared in the background during his tour.

I mean, an award-winning screenwriter couldn't make this shyte up.

[GooooMarquette]

https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-is-coming-for-the-red-states-too-164317490.html

Don't worry, It'll be a big deal in the weeks ahead when small towns have to deal with it.  We will hear all about the 'left behind' America, because NOW its affecting them.  Just like my idiot cousin who was at the protests in Madison a couple of weeks back, it isn't real for them until it actually affects them on a personal level.  The only thing she is missing out on now is going to work, going to church, going to the store, and her kids are out of school.  Those things personally affect her.  Not the virus.  To her, it still isn't real.  Just another one of the hopeless, until it is in her house.

Yep. Every time I see a "Trump supporter" interviewed, I hear talk of a hoax, an overreaction, "inflated" numbers, just the "flu."

But as the numbers in rural states continue to grow amid outbreaks around meatpacking plants in rural places like Southwestern Minnesota, South Dakota, Indiana and Iowa, people will have their "come to Jesus" moment. And those numbers will grow dramatically, as plants that were recently shut down due to outbreaks are already reopening....

https://www.twincities.com/2020/05/04/coronavirus-in-minnesota-worthington-pork-plant-to-partially-reopen-this-week/

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

The last two are exactly what I have been saying for weeks:

As @davidfrum told me, it’s impossible to get an A in managing a pandemic. There are no silver bullets. But it’s really not hard to get a B. Listen to experts. Create a plan. Show empathy. Stick with it. It’s the best you can be expected to do.

Our expectations are simple.

The truth, no matter how hard.
To know that our safety matters.
A plan which uses all our tools & best thinking that we stick with.
Candor in discussing the tough trade offs.

We’re not getting that.

We're only getting this from a number of governors but we really need someone to connect the regional partnership dots many of the govs have put in place.

[GooooMarquette]

We're only getting this from a number of governors but we really need someone to connect the regional partnership dots many of the govs have put in place.

Regrettably, some of the regional "partnerships" disappeared as quickly as they were formed. There was a midwest partnership including WI, MN, IL, IN and MI...but we have already seen governors ease restrictions on a state-by-state basis. And we are starting to see the effects. MN had the lowest infection rate in the country a few weeks back, and Walz started reopening things while Evers kept things closed in WI. Now MN's per capita rate is essentially the same as WI's...and with the daily rates in MN now double those in WI, I suspect we will pass them today.

And the article below shows very real examples of the effects of reopening....

States moving forward with reopening are seeing increases in new coronavirus cases

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/05/05/states-moving-forward-with-reopening-are-seeing-increases-new-coronavirus-cases/

States that expect to keep restrictions in place aimed at encouraging social distancing — including most of the seven states above — have seen drops in the number of new daily cases relative to a month ago. States that have already begun to scale back those measures have seen a rapid increase in daily case totals relative to one month ago.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

There are going to be more cases as more are tested and things open back up.

Somewhere along the way, the narrative change from flatten the curve to any new cases are the worst thing ever and we need to stay closed until there are no new cases.  The latter is not sustainable.

[MU82]

There are going to be more cases as more are tested and things open back up.

Somewhere along the way, the narrative change from flatten the curve to any new cases are the worst thing ever and we need to stay closed until there are no new cases.  The latter is not sustainable.

We agree. I don't even like the talk about cases. There is more and more testing. Naturally, there will be more and more cases.

Now, if we get to hospitalizations and, especially, deaths increasing significantly, then that's a whole 'nother can of worms. Then it's a matter of how much death can we justify to keep the economy open -- and frankly I'd be surprised if we as an American people don't end up justifying a shyte-ton of it.

Once the economy is mostly open, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to return to a lockdown mind-set. Months before an election, we know national leadership will resist it at all costs. And as we grow more "used to" deaths, the majority of the populace probably will resist it, too.

[warriorchick]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/06/ny-gov-cuomo-says-its-shocking-most-new-coronavirus-hospitalizations-are-people-staying-home.html

66% of new patients were "staying home."  Brutal.

It's concerning, but to be fair, I wouldn't be surprised if the level of honesty in answering that question is probably similar to when the doctor is taking your medical history and asks you how many alcoholic beverages per week you drink.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Trump says doing too much coronavirus testing makes the US 'look bad' as he pushes for the country to reopen
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-says-doing-too-much-151141414.html

*President Donald Trump thinks that too much coronavirus testing makes the US "look bad."

*"The media likes to say we have the most cases, but we do, by far, the most testing. If we did very little testing, we wouldn't have the most cases. So, in a way, by doing all of this testing, we make ourselves look bad," Trump said on Wednesday.

*The US still lags behind other countries in terms of the share of the population tested for coronavirus.

*Public health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have warned against reopening the country and easing coronavirus restrictions without a robust testing system in place.

This unnatural carnal knowledgeer makes my head hurt.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Let's bookmark this prediction to see if it plays out. Yesterday, I think, Trump had the chance to publicly make this argument when asked about the dearth count and he didn't (I think he said "they are what they are"). So we'll see.

Trump and some top aides question accuracy of virus death toll
https://www.axios.com/trump-coronavirus-death-toll-d8ba60a4-316b-4d1e-8595-74970c15fb34.html

"President Trump has complained to advisers about the way coronavirus deaths are being calculated, suggesting the real numbers are actually lower — and a number of his senior aides share this view, according to sources with direct knowledge.

What's next: A senior administration official said he expects the president to begin publicly questioning the death toll as it closes in on his predictions for the final death count and damages him politically."

[MU82]

Let's bookmark this prediction to see if it plays out. Yesterday, I think, Trump had the chance to publicly make this argument when asked about the dearth count and he didn't (I think he said "they are what they are"). So we'll see.

Trump and some top aides question accuracy of virus death toll
https://www.axios.com/trump-coronavirus-death-toll-d8ba60a4-316b-4d1e-8595-74970c15fb34.html

"President Trump has complained to advisers about the way coronavirus deaths are being calculated, suggesting the real numbers are actually lower — and a number of his senior aides share this view, according to sources with direct knowledge.

What's next: A senior administration official said he expects the president to begin publicly questioning the death toll as it closes in on his predictions for the final death count and damages him politically."

And yet doctors, infectious disease experts and epidemiologists think we actually are significantly under-counting COVID-19 deaths.

Hmmm ... who to believe ... highly trained professionals who have studied these things for decades and have made them their lives' work ... or a reality TV host who is desperate to win an election? It's a difficult choice, for sure.

[MarquetteDano]

I see we have hit page #200 for this thread.

I really hope to have this less than 400 pages when it is all said and done.

And if this thread surpasses the recruiting thread # of pages,  JayBee's  #LastDays  may be the correct hashtag for all of us.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

I see we have hit page #200 for this thread.

I really hope to have this less than 400 pages when it is all said and done.

And if this thread surpasses the recruiting thread # of pages,  JayBee's  #LastDays  may be the correct hashtag for all of us.

Bump your posts per page up, kin.  I'm only on page 100.

[MarquetteDano]

Bump your posts per page up, kin.  I'm only on page 100.

Fair.  Let's call it number of posts then...

If  # of posts in COVID thread > # of posts in Recruting thread,  THEN  = #LASTDAYS

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Hmmm ... who to believe ... highly trained professionals who have studied these things for decades and have made them their lives' work ... or a reality TV host who is desperate to win an election? It's a difficult choice, for sure.

To reiterate, Trump had the chance to introduce this yesterday when asked about the death count and he didn't. So we'll see if this (gaslighting the body count) becomes a thing or not.

[pbiflyer]

There are going to be more cases as more are tested and things open back up.

Somewhere along the way, the narrative change from flatten the curve to any new cases are the worst thing ever and we need to stay closed until there are no new cases.  The latter is not sustainable.

No, flattening the curve  doesn't mean it is flat to reopen, it means that it should be going down (14 days by the white house's own guidance)
But feel free to keep posting things that are completely false, it helps so much!

[pbiflyer]

It's concerning, but to be fair, I wouldn't be surprised if the level of honesty in answering that question is probably similar to when the doctor is taking your medical history and asks you how many alcoholic beverages per week you drink.

 

There is this meme going around about the Tiger King that says "Seeing people shocked by the Tiger King reminds me that not everyone grew up in Florida."

Could be "Doctors shocked by the number of alcoholic beverages you drink reminds me that not everyone went to Marquette."

[GooooMarquette]

It's concerning, but to be fair, I wouldn't be surprised if the level of honesty in answering that question is probably similar to when the doctor is taking your medical history and asks you how many alcoholic beverages per week you drink.

And for most people living in NYC proper, even "staying at home" might include riding up and down an elevator used by 1,000 other people every day to get the mail.

[GooooMarquette]

Parts of Asia that relaxed restrictions without a resurgence in coronavirus cases did these three things

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/07/coronavirus-lessons-learned-in-asia-show-us-is-at-risk-of-a-resurge-in-cases-as-states-reopen-businesses.html

"South Korea and Hong Kong successfully relaxed pandemic restrictions without having another rise in cases by data sharing, using targeted testing and contact tracing.

The varying results of efforts across Asia to contain the virus and reopen society present policy options and perhaps lessons for countries behind on the outbreak’s timeline.

Public health specialists who spoke with CNBC said they’re not confident U.S. officials are taking note of what’s working and not working in Asia."

[GooooMarquette]

Hydroxychloroquine fails to help hospitalized coronavirus patients in US funded study

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/07/hydroxychloroquine-fails-to-help-hospitalized-coronavirus-patients-in-us-government-funded-study.html

Hydroxychloroquine, a decades-old malaria drug touted by President Donald Trump, didn’t appear to help hospitalized patients with Covid-19, according to a new observational study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

No, flattening the curve  doesn't mean it is flat to reopen, it means that it should be going down (14 days by the white house's own guidance)
But feel free to keep posting things that are completely false, it helps so much!

What did i state that was false?  I think you misunderstood my comment.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Let's bookmark this prediction to see if it plays out. Yesterday, I think, Trump had the chance to publicly make this argument when asked about the dearth count and he didn't (I think he said "they are what they are"). So we'll see.

Close: "It is what it is."

[WarriorDad]

There are going to be more cases as more are tested and things open back up.

Somewhere along the way, the narrative change from flatten the curve to any new cases are the worst thing ever and we need to stay closed until there are no new cases.  The latter is not sustainable.

100% correct in my opinion.  It is also why I am convinced it doesn't matter who is in charge, we get to the same outcome in a country like ours. With our freedoms, our economy reliance, no other outcome.  Now, there was an article in the Times earlier this week that we are paying for our freedoms right now, almost implying that we have too much freedom.  No doubt there are some that feel this way, but that is also going to be a tough sell in this country to turn those over. 

[pbiflyer]

What did i state that was false?  I think you misunderstood my comment.

There are going to be more cases as more are tested and things open back up.

Somewhere along the way, the narrative change from flatten the curve to any new cases are the worst thing ever and we need to stay closed until there are no new cases.  The latter is not sustainable.

No one is saying we need NO new cases. That is an out and out falsehood. People that are saying it is too soon to open are saying that the original guidance of 14 days with DECREASING new cases is what needs to happen.

Show me one government official or heck even a post here that says we need NO new cases. That was a flat out thing you made up.