🤮 Coronavirus (Community Thread)

Windthin · March 27, 2020, 7:16pm

First a personal update: My wife’s co-worker tested negative for flu, but has a case of bronchitis, & the day before she called out my wife had told her about what was going on and she might have freaked. Still not definitive, & not the actual Covid-19 test, but much less likely she has it now. This is probably the best I am going to get for confirmation.

In other news:

This won’t backfire horribly.

EPA suspends enforcement of environmental laws, telling companies they would not need to meet environmental standards during the coronavirus outbreak so long as they claim any failures were ‘caused’ by the virus pandemic.

EPA suspends enforcement of environmental laws amid coronavirus

Trump Is Now Openly Trying to Censor His Critics. He May Succeed.

His campaign’s cease-and-desist letter to broadcast stations is a frightening assault on free speech.

Note: MSNBC has laughed this attempt off and is airing the ads.

After Considering $1 Billion Price Tag for Ventilators, White House Has Second Thoughts

A deal with General Motors and Ventec Life Systems to produce tens of thousands of the critical lifesaving devices seemed imminent. Then the announcement was pulled back.

Trump Shuns War Powers to Speed Virus Goods After Chamber Balks

U.S. Chamber lobbied against using Defense Production Act
More than 100 former national security officials push for DPA
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-26/trump-shuns-war-powers-to-ramp-up-virus-supplies-after-lobbying
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-27/trump-threatens-to-force-gm-to-move-faster-on-ventilators?utm_campaign=pol&utm_medium=bd&utm_source=applenews

Andy Slavitt on the coming need in New Orleans, where Mardi Gras may have resulted in a COVID19 explosion.

“The cruelty is the point” meets #WhereAreTheMasks as the CBP priorities harassing immigrants over saving lives:
https://twitter.com/NickMiroff/status/1243289313313533952
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/coronavirus-government-mask-stockpile/2020/03/26/89d729c8-6f5b-11ea-96a0-df4c5d9284af_story.html

Windthin · March 27, 2020, 6:49pm

Don’t Worry, America, Jared Kushner Is Going to Save You From COVID-19

WHEW!

Having conquered Middle East peace and innovated America to within an inch of its life, the Trump son-in-law is now taming COVID-19. Oh—Ivanka too!

Experts: Trump’s Touting of an Untested “Game Changer” Coronavirus Drug Is Dangerous

Rep. Joe Cunningham has tested positive for the virus.

dragonfly9 · March 27, 2020, 8:39pm

Ok…some actions towards getting the ventilators - President authorized GM to make them, despite that T questioned the need for more than 2 ventilators per hospital.

President Trump authorized the use of the Defense Production Act on Friday to direct General Motors to prioritize building ventilators for patients affected by the novel coronavirus.

Why it matters: America’s hospitals, doctors and nurses have urged Trump since last week to use the DPA to ramp up the country’s domestic production of medical supplies crucial for health care workers, saying “there will not be enough medical supplies” without it.

What they’re saying: “Ventec, GM and our supply base have been working around the clock for over a week to meet this urgent need. Our commitment to build Ventec’s high-quality critical care ventilator, VOCSN, has never wavered,” General Motors said in a statement on Friday.

“The partnership between Ventec and GM combines global expertise in manufacturing quality and a joint commitment to safety to give medical professionals and patients access to life-saving technology as rapidly as possible. The entire GM team is proud to support this initiative.”

Flashback: " As usual with ‘this’ General Motors, things just never seem to work out. They said they were going to give us 40,000 much needed Ventilators, ‘very quickly’. Now they are saying it will only be 6000, in late April, and they want top dollar. Always a mess with Mary B. Invoke ‘P,’ Trump tweeted earlier on Friday, previewing his decision to invoke the act.

The White House deal with General Motors and Ventec Life Systems was originally planned to be announced on Wednesday, but was called off to buy more time for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assess whether the estimated cost of more than $1 billion was too expensive.

Go deeper: Defense Production Act: What you need to know

This revelation comes on the heal of other waverings concerning the government’s procurement of the ventilators…reported earlier today.

WASHINGTON — The White House had been preparing to reveal on Wednesday a joint venture between General Motors and Ventec Life Systems that would allow for the production of as many as 80,000 desperately needed ventilators to respond to an escalating pandemic when word suddenly came down that the announcement was off.

The decision to cancel the announcement, government officials say, came after the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it needed more time to assess whether the estimated cost was prohibitive. That price tag was more than $1 billion, with several hundred million dollars to be paid upfront to General Motors to retool a car parts plant in Kokomo, Ind., where the ventilators would be made with Ventec’s technology.

Government officials said that the deal might still happen but that they are examining at least a dozen other proposals. And they contend that an initial promise that the joint venture could turn out 20,000 ventilators in short order had shrunk to 7,500, with even that number in doubt. Longtime emergency managers at FEMA are working with military officials to sort through the competing offers and federal procurement rules while under pressure to give President Trump something to announce.

And confirmation that GM is making ventilators

General Motors and Ventec Life Systems said Friday they have agreed to build critical-care ventilators at one of the automaker’s components plants in Indiana.

The deal, which includes FDA-cleared ventilators shipping as soon as next month, was announced shortly after President Donald Trump criticized the automaker and CEO Mary Barra for not moving quickly enough to produce life-saving ventilators wanting “top dollar” for doing so.

Trump suggested he would invoke the Defense Production Act to force the companies to produce needed equipment like ventilators.

dragonfly9 · March 27, 2020, 9:03pm

Historic stimulus bill passes House and signed off in Oval Office.

President Donald Trump signed into law Friday afternoon a historic $2 trillion stimulus package as the American public and the US economy fight the devastating spread of Covid-19.

The far-reaching legislation stands as the largest emergency aid package in US history. It represents a massive financial injection into a struggling economy with provisions aimed at helping American workers, small businesses and industries grappling with the economic disruption.

The House of Representatives earlier in the day approved the bill that passed the Senate earlier this week, overcoming last-minute drama by using an unusual procedural move to thwart a demand by a conservative Republican to force members to vote in person.

dragonfly9 · March 27, 2020, 9:11pm

Some Covid-19 updates…deaths due to drinking methanol in Iran is perhaps the strangest.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus in Britain , where firefighters have been tapped to deliver food and collect bodies.

Italy reported 919 new deaths — the largest one-day toll anywhere.

Nearly 300 people in Iran died after drinking methanol, falsely believing it would help them ward off the disease.

And the virus has been found in a cat in the Belgian city of Liège, adding to evidence that sick people may be able to infect their pets.

dragonfly9 · March 28, 2020, 3:28am

Clear as day…the longer you quarantine, the better off you are…

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/03/how-cities-flattened-curve-1918-spanish-flu-pandemic-coronavirus/

Dramatic demographic shifts in the past century have made containing a pandemic increasingly hard. The rise of globalization, urbanization, and larger, more densely populated cities can facilitate a virus’ spread across a continent in a few hours—while the tools available to respond have remained nearly the same. Now as then, public health interventions are the first line of defense against an epidemic in the absence of a vaccine. These measures include closing schools, shops, and restaurants; placing restrictions on transportation; mandating social distancing, and banning public gatherings. (This is how small groups can save lives during a pandemic.)

Of course, getting citizens to comply with such orders is another story: In 1918, a San Francisco health officer shot three people when one refused to wear a mandatory face mask. In Arizona, police handed out $10 fines for those caught without the protective gear. But eventually, the most drastic and sweeping measures paid off. After implementing a multitude of strict closures and controls on public gatherings, St. Louis, San Francisco, Milwaukee, and Kansas City responded fastest and most effectively: Interventions there were credited with cutting transmission rates by 30 to 50 percent. New York City, which reacted earliest to the crisis with mandatory quarantines and staggered business hours, experienced the lowest death rate on the Eastern seaboard.

@MissJava @Pet_Proletariat - Might you move this over to Coronavirus plz? Big thanks.

Windthin · March 28, 2020, 5:00am

I got angry and made a short video today.
https://twitter.com/windthin/status/1243753579602677760

Whitmer: Feds told vendors not to send medical supplies to Michigan

Keaton_James · March 28, 2020, 5:37am

Trump promised scores of big-box retailers would offer parking lots for covid-19 testing. There are only five of them.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/trump-promised-scores-of-big-box-retailers-would-offer-parking-lots-for-covid-19-testing-there-are-only-five-of-them/2020/03/27/ece8ab06-703a-11ea-aa80-c2470c6b2034_story.html

Epic fail. More empty promises. Zero credibility.

Two weeks ago, President Trump promised a network of drive-through covid-19 testing sites across the country where people could be tested “very safely, quickly and conveniently.” In a Rose Garden news conference, chief executives of Target, Walgreens, Walmart and CVS said they would work with the government to provide space in store parking lots.

While the four retailers have a combined 26,400 U.S. stores, this vision of a proliferation of coronavirus testing sites has yet to materialize. Walgreens and CVS have opened one site each, while Walmart last weekend opened two drive-through testing locations near Chicago. Target hasn’t opened any. Rite Aid, which joined the effort later, has opened one drive-through facility in Philadelphia. …

elaphe · March 28, 2020, 5:40am

I really think we need a re-naming of this virus…I think the most fitting is “trump virus”. I’m pretty sure that all who manage to survive it will forever be thinking about “trump” anyway…

Windthin · March 28, 2020, 7:19am

Trumpvirus is what I label all of my graphics about this, so it fits.

Huddy · March 28, 2020, 12:50pm

I’ve labeled it the Trump Pandemic. It befits how his idiocy has promoted and continues to promote the spread.

Windthin · March 28, 2020, 2:57pm

Trump: If New York Wants Ventilators Cuomo Better Start Kissing the Ring

Trump says he told Pence not to call governors who aren’t ‘appreciative’ of White House coronavirus efforts

Trump ties coronavirus decisions to personal grievances

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/27/trump-suggests-personal-grievances-factor-into-his-coronavirus-decisions/

Senator says White House turned down emergency coronavirus funding in early February

https://news.yahoo.com/senator-says-white-house-turned-down-emergency-coronavirus-funding-in-early-february-003319950.html?soc_src=hl-viewer&soc_trk=tw

Pet_Proletariat · March 28, 2020, 3:26pm

The Problem With China’s Victory Lap

With combatting the virus the most immediate concern, the U.S. has not figured out how to compel China to own up to its shortcomings in managing this crisis—ham-handed attempts to brand the disease the “Chinese virus” notwithstanding. Xi is now maneuvering for a propaganda and diplomatic victory, offering aid and advice around the world.

The U.S., meanwhile, is entering what’s perhaps the darkest phase of its own crisis—its domestic problems hobbling it from providing significant international aid or coordinating a comprehensive response. (The U.S. announced on Thursday that it had made available $274 million in emergency aid to 64 countries.)

“On the global stage, [China is] hoping to fill the void of U.S. leadership,” Rush Doshi, the director of the China Strategy Initiative at the Brookings Institution, told me. “They have a long way to go, but they’re trying."

As America retreats from the world stage China rises and it seems Trump is using their playbook.

Pet_Proletariat · March 28, 2020, 8:22pm

University of Washington’s independent Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) has come up with some predictions as to when this crisis will peak in America. Use the drop menu to select your state to see more data.

April 13th is the projected median peak for Coronavirus deaths in the US.

Windthin · March 28, 2020, 5:59pm

Trump considering ‘enforceable quarantine’ for N.Y., parts of N. J. and Connecticut

"I don’t know how that could be legally enforceable,” New York Gov. Cuomo said, adding, “I don’t even like the sound of it.”

elaphe · March 28, 2020, 6:47pm

Or, “how can we kill off a bigly number of Democrats before the 2020 election…just withholding the ventilators might not be enough…?”

dragonfly9 · March 29, 2020, 5:25am

T is wanting to quarantine 3 states NY,CT and NJ but he can not do that…he is pulling back on it.

As Trump invokes presidential powers to fight the coronavirus, he sows confusion along the way - The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-quarantine-defense-production-act-confusion/2020/03/28/

Coronavirus-related deaths spike in U.S.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/03/29/coronavirus-latest-news/

Here are some significant developments:

Hours after announcing Saturday that he was considering a federally enforced quarantine on New York and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut, Trump backed off the idea but said he had asked for a “strong Travel Advisory.” Later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged residents of the three states to “refrain from non-essential domestic travel” for 14 days starting immediately.

The CDC issued a health advisory on Saturday warning against use of non-pharmaceutical chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine.

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) anticipates the coronavirus outbreak in New York state will reach its apex in “14 to 21 days,” based on health and science data projections, he said during a news conference Saturday. New York is the hardest-hit state in the United States so far, with more than 52,000 confirmed cases and at least 728 deaths.

01:12 AM: U.S. coronavirus-related deaths double in two days; Trump says he won’t order quarantine for New York area
Coronavirus-related deaths in the United States soared over the weekend, doubling to more than 2,000 in two days, according to data from state health departments.

It took about a month for the United States to record 1,000 deaths after the country’s first death in the pandemic was announced in Washington state on Feb. 29.

dragonfly9 · March 29, 2020, 5:58pm

Pelosi rips into T…CNN interview with House Speaker Pelosi

dragonfly9 · March 29, 2020, 6:16pm

I agree…WTF WTF. WTF

Well deserved rant from former Obama speechwriter, Jon Favreau.

https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/1244329947025428480?s=19

Windthin · March 29, 2020, 11:56pm

Trump asserts power to decide what info inspector general gives Congress about stimulus package

“A Dem. aide told Bloomberg … lawmakers …anticipated the president’s move & …pushed for multiple forms of accountability, such as a congressional panel, to provide proper oversight…”

Liberty University brings back students, and coronavirus, too

http://a.msn.com/01/en-us/BB11Svap?ocid=st2

The US sent tons of medical supplies to China even as senators warned of virus threat here

Now the Trump regime is begging other countries to send us masks and respirators.

U.S. sent 17.8 tons of masks, respirators, other PPE to China in February

The Nordic Way to Economic Rescue

In the face of the pandemic, Denmark is effectively nationalizing private payrolls, in contrast to the patchwork American system.

Trump opens the door to calling up former active service members for coronavirus fight

Reporter ENDS fiery interview with Trump official as it goes off the rails

Trump sycophant Peter Navarro lies about Obama and Biden rather than speaking about what they’re doing now. This reporter calls him on it all.

https://youtu.be/-JRhEfOvFkg