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

[rocky_warrior]

Well, I think I've identified one downside of "safer memorial day at home"...

[MU82]

It would be irresponsible and very disappointing if either party held its convention this year, at least in a large-scale, in-person format. The conventions were created to nominate the respective parties' candidates and to adopt a party platform. We already know that it will be Trump and Pence vs Biden and whomever he chooses. The rest is just a high school pep rally with people in suits.

Have Trump and a few supporters give televised speeches before a small gathering, have Biden and his supporters do the same, and get on with the election.

Biden already has said that for the safety of his fellow American citizens, the Dem convention probably either will have to be altered significantly or changed to a virtual event.

President Pandemic, who has complained 100 times about being deprived of his rallies, could give a rat’s rump about the health of his fellow Americans. He just wants to hear 50K people screaming his name and see them bowing to their emperor.

Character revealed. Again.

[Lennys Tap]

I figured the difference would be significant, but that is just mind-boggling. Trump spends almost 9x as much per year?!? Wow...

Obama took 3.2 million in salary as president. Trump has taken nothing.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Obama took 1.6 million in salary as president. Trump has taken nothing.

Great.  We are getting a steal

[Pakuni]

Obama took 1.6 million in salary as president. Trump has taken nothing.

Correct.
I mean, the $1.2 million (at least) in federal money (and counting) he's directed into his companies isn't technically salary.

[Lennys Tap]

Correct.
I mean, the $1.2 million (at least) in federal money (and counting) he's directed into his companies isn't technically salary.

Math error on my part. President Obama made 3.2 million in salary.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Obama took 3.2 million in salary as president. Trump has taken nothing.

Well that certainly makes up for the millions upon millions he has pocketed from golf alone.

[Pakuni]

Math error on my part. President Obama made 3.2 million in salary.

Fascinating and very on topic.

[wadesworld]

Give me competent leadership and you can pay him whatever salaries and spend whatever amount of money on golfing as the guy wants.

[GooooMarquette]

Obama took 3.2 million in salary as president. Trump has taken nothing.

And that is supposed to make up for a $252 million difference in golf spending?

[Lennys Tap]

Fascinating and very on topic.

I concede it’s stupid. But if Smitty is keeping score he should include everything.

[WarriorDad]

Math error on my part. President Obama made 3.2 million in salary.

Trump can afford to give up his salary.  Honestly, I could not care one bit about how much someone makes prior to becoming a public servant, but how so many of these people become millionaires after they are public servants is where the real investigations should be. The level of corruption in both political parties and our system is grotesque. 

[GooooMarquette]

Trump can afford to give up his salary.  Honestly, I could not care one bit about how much someone makes prior to becoming a public servant, but how so many of these people become millionaires after they are public servants is where the real investigations should be. The level of corruption in both political parties and our system is grotesque.

Amen.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

I wouldn't care if Trump took a salary.  I would prefer that than retweeting conspiracy theories about former U.S. respresentatives murdering their staff members.  But I guess my standards are too high.

[mu03eng]

Situation must be improving if all we have left to is debate whether Trump is an idiot.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

I thought this was a good article.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-doesnt-have-to-be-so-deadly-just-look-at-hong-kong-and-singapore-11590491418?mod=e2fb

[mu03eng]

I thought this was a good article.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-doesnt-have-to-be-so-deadly-just-look-at-hong-kong-and-singapore-11590491418?mod=e2fb

The concept is correct but it is not something that would work in western society. Authoritarian regimes are always going to have an advantage in pandemics because they can dictate to the citizenry how to behave. Under no reasonable scenario could we get to something on the order of 150 Million tests conducted a day and "locking folks up" who test positive for 14 days. It works but it just isn't practical for the US.

Side note, we also could have reduced our death toll if we just hadn't put infected patients back into nursing/assisted living facilities. If we had locked down sooner we would have seen better results, and if we had pushed masks/spacing consistently from the start we would have been better off as well.

This isn't a conspiracy theory per se, but I think 5 years from now we're going to look back on the Imperial College modeling from the early days as A) a tipping point that got us into a lockdown (good) and B) and a wild overreaction that killed people because governments assumed catastrophic hospitalization needs that created choices that ultimately killed more than saved (ie NY saving the Jaffit Center and Comfort for net new patients that never showed versus putting at-risk patients there for recovery instead of nursing homes)

[Uncle Rico]

The concept is correct but it is not something that would work in western society. Authoritarian regimes are always going to have an advantage in pandemics because they can dictate to the citizenry how to behave. Under no reasonable scenario could we get to something on the order of 150 Million tests conducted a day and "locking folks up" who test positive for 14 days. It works but it just isn't practical for the US.

Side note, we also could have reduced our death toll if we just hadn't put infected patients back into nursing/assisted living facilities. If we had locked down sooner we would have seen better results, and if we had pushed masks/spacing consistently from the start we would have been better off as well.

This isn't a conspiracy theory per se, but I think 5 years from now we're going to look back on the Imperial College modeling from the early days as A) a tipping point that got us into a lockdown (good) and B) and a wild overreaction that killed people because governments assumed catastrophic hospitalization needs that created choices that ultimately killed more than saved (ie NY saving the Jaffit Center and Comfort for net new patients that never showed versus putting at-risk patients there for recovery instead of nursing homes)

This is entirely possible.  We should also be cautious in assuming we’re anywhere near the end.  This thing can still mutate and resurface.  That doesn’t mean keeping a lockdown but aggressive reaction to outbreaks and tracing contacts. 

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

The concept is correct but it is not something that would work in western society. Authoritarian regimes are always going to have an advantage in pandemics because they can dictate to the citizenry how to behave.

Man, Brazil is not only authoritarian, but they are terrible authoritarians.

[forgetful]

NY saving the Jaffit Center and Comfort for net new patients that never showed versus putting at-risk patients there for recovery instead of nursing homes.

This inaccurately reports on why there weren't patients at the Jaffit and Comfort hospitals. At first, the federal government forbid any Covid patients, saying they were not equipped to handle them.

They then allowed recovering patients, but with a bizarre and lengthy 25-point checklist to get them admitted. Essentially no-one fit the feds 25-point admission checklist. So very few patients could be sent there.

[GooooMarquette]

This is entirely possible.  We should also be cautious in assuming we’re anywhere near the end.  This thing can still mutate and resurface.  That doesn’t mean keeping a lockdown but aggressive reaction to outbreaks and tracing contacts.

Yep.

https://apnews.com/86b061844589b6e3f218007544d0de80

“Right now, we’re not in the second wave. We’re right in the middle of the first wave globally,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, the World Health Organization’s executive director.

———————-

This will still be a big deal in 2021. As other areas of the world (some that we know about and some we may not) experience first waves long after we are done with ours, travel will eventually bring cases back here when our guard is down.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

The concept is correct but it is not something that would work in western society. Authoritarian regimes are always going to have an advantage in pandemics because they can dictate to the citizenry how to behave. Under no reasonable scenario could we get to something on the order of 150 Million tests conducted a day and "locking folks up" who test positive for 14 days. It works but it just isn't practical for the US.

Mostly I was interested in the concept to reduce deaths - not physical deployment in a city-state.

We should be able to and be open to self-quarantine for 14 days on a positive test.  Personally, I would do it to avoid the blunt edge or economic carnage of broad 'shut downs'. 

I think the bigger issue though is having the means/safety net to do it.  I am sure for some it is mindset/selfishness or willingness to pull together, but I would like to think it is more the economic.

[Uncle Rico]

Yep.

https://apnews.com/86b061844589b6e3f218007544d0de80

“Right now, we’re not in the second wave. We’re right in the middle of the first wave globally,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, the World Health Organization’s executive director.

———————-

This will still be a big deal in 2021. As other areas of the world (some that we know about and some we may not) experience first waves long after we are done with ours, travel will eventually bring cases back here when our guard is down.

My hope is, since we’ve identified that this is a pandemic, the people tackling it in labs are given all the resources necessary to help us mitigate it moving forward.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

For everyone that has an opinion about the field hospital that was setup in NYC, they may want to get the name right.

https://javitscenter.com/about/

And the man behind the name.

https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/08/obituaries/jacob-javits-dies-in-florida-at-81-4-term-senator-from-new-york.html

[GooooMarquette]

My hope is, since we’ve identified that this is a pandemic, the people tackling it in labs are given all the resources necessary to help us mitigate it moving forward.

I am certain that plenty of resources are being put toward finding effective treatments or even cures. However, the same was true of HIV back in the 80s, and it took a few years to really be able to treat the illness successfully.

Yes, I know these are two very different diseases (both in terms of contagiousness and demographics), but it shows the difficulty in finding effective treatments for viral illnesses.