COVID-19 Megathread 4: Grandma Got Run Over by the Dow Jones

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Updated cumulative European new case and death graphs (all figures are five-day weighted averages).

[Badger]

On the subject of garlic: fresh garlic, which I like to cook with, has been impossible to find for the past several weeks.  What I've heard is that most of it for sale in the US comes from China, as opposed to years ago when most of it came from the area around Gilroy, California.  I've been using a jar of minced garlic instead.

I never thought about that aspect. Interesting.

I heard a story on NPR about a month or more ago that the civic outbreak in China was severely shortening the supply of garlic since most that we consume is indeed produced there.

[Badger]

LMAO!!!!!

Imagine declaring that Dr. Fauci might not be an expert, but posting it in a tone that bssically demands that everybody take you seriously.

Worse yet, he directly implies that, instead, we should take the counter-vailing view from TRUMP as "expert", or in any way relatex to "experts". LOL

Fuzzy, you silly old fool. Don't you think there's just a TINY bit of difference in relying on expertise between the sociological impications of war versus the far more quantifiable analysis of infectious disease spread? Why should we not take Dr. Fauci at his word based on 40 years of experience as opposed to one of the two dumbest people in Florida plus his sycophants?

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

https://mobile.twitter.com/EconomicTimes/status/1247463924884070400

According to MCO Michael Gove (via the Guardian) -- himself self-quarantining as a result of a family member showing symptoms, the Prime Minister is not on a ventilator.  

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/apr/07/boris-johnson-not-on-a-ventilator-in-intensive-care-says-gove?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

[BigSerg]

https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1247374971850145792?s=19

[ON Progressive]

Florida and DeSantis have been raked over the coals on here and in much of the media.

At what point do facts enter the conversation?  We've been hearing for a month now that Florida is about to explode and DeSantis committed mass murder by not closing beaches (lol).  Florida has less deaths than Illinois despite having millions more residents, and at the same time has tested about 20K more and has a similar number of infected.  Somehow JB has been praised on here for his strong response.

Anyone willing to admit they were just making stuff up when the said beaches were going to cause mass murder?

It's very likely still the inebriated undergrads who they allowed to keep partying there went home and seeded outbreaks all over the place. Even if we kept most of America open and running, it's the sort of thing you'd need to ban real fast if you want to get coronavirus under control.

Something that you can't really prove, and aside from that, it wasn't the narrative we were pushed.  I heard many times that DeSantis needs to be impeached for killing his own residents.  Spring Break was very much over when people were still calling the beaches a place of great danger.

Histronics aside, you're going to have a hard time acting in a crisis if you only do things based on what you can absolutely prove. Heck, you couldn't do my engineering job if that was your standard either. You sometimes have to estimate to make calculated risks. This was a risk that should not have been taken.

When the question is whether or not to restrict the rights of Americans, you're going to need a little more evidence that people walking around on empty beaches is a risk.  Miami and most other major cities had already closed their own beaches on their own accord.  I'm talking about the whole state.

Presumably they'd run into the same problems we've had everywhere with this thing. In Oregon for instance, the first weekend after the shutdowns began, seemingly everyone tried to all go to the beach and parks. So after no one followed the social distancing requests, they shut down the beaches and parks too, which really sucks. If people were walking around alone on empty beaches, they probably wouldn't have needed to close them. It's a shame people won't behave so we can't have nice things.

My rights to leave my house (and in Chicago, go in a park) should not revolve around other people's good or bad behavior.  Your thought process seems flawed.

I'm not really sure what to tell you besides that life isn't fair. Clearly what we're allowed to do in a situation like this is going to be dependent on how other people respond. The government can't have two separate sets of laws, one for Green Line and one of the rest of us.

I hope you can keep that attitude when it comes to something else like the Church.  No more communion hosts or Blood of Christ because the Govt. says its unsanitary.  Life isn't fair.

If we all took that attitude, nothing would ever change.

One main difference is that religious practice has an explicit constitutional protection that going to the beach does not.

That being said, for better or worse, the Church chose to comply with authorities who shut her down. My Archbishop has forbidden the laity from receiving communion even privately (presumably to prevent favortism from creeping in with the most pushy parishioners). I do think the government was too quick to shut down Churches when we still (at least here in Oregon) had gyms and tanning salons still open. It will be interesting to watch if the authorities allow Churches to reopen freely after this or if the public health crisis "lasts" longer with churches than it does with businesses. As our government's priorities indicate, they clearly believe churches to be recreational facilities.

As an aside, I'm not sure what the government in Illinois has done, but Oregon is still allowing people to go outside alone without asking questions. So this means I can still go for a run or take a walk. I'm thankful for that, since otherwise this would be much more difficult than it already is.

Beaches is just an example.  You could replace it with any activitiy that requires going outdoors and it would remain the same.  I've heard dozens of people in the past month argue that you don't actually need to go to the Church to practice your faith.  An online stream is sufficient to meet the requirements of the 1st Amendment according to many.  Personally, that's not a "life isn't fair" issue for me.  I will speak out.  The Church is willing to comply with a lot, but some things are not negotiable for more than a short period of a few weeks, such as Holy Communion.

Just ask South Korea what happens when you keep churches open is all I’m going to say.

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/coronavirus-us-cases-deaths/

Data as of Apr. 7 at 3:04 a.m.


Cases:

Deaths:


Deaths, per state, raw:

Deaths, per state, per capita:





Totally 10,908 deaths.
NY + NJ = 4,758 + 1,003 = 5761 or 53% of all deaths.

New deaths yesterday 1,164:
NY + NJ = 599 + 86 = 685 or 59% of all deaths yesterday.


NY + NJ will peak sooner, but it's still possible, if not likely, that they will account for 50% of all cases in US.

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

Re: NYC vs SF


https://twitter.com/germanrlopez/status/1247210000155643904

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

Just to respond to a PM that I received:

If Boris Johnson has not required the usage of a ventilator up to the present (during his time in the ICU), that's generally a positive sign.  

Of course, there is likely a great deal of discretion surrounding the disclosure of his condition, but it is encouraging that he is reportedly breathing on his own.  

As I said yesterday, putting someone on a ventilator is a pretty invasive procedure and not one that is administered loosely. 

[Sbane]

Re: NYC vs SF


https://twitter.com/germanrlopez/status/1247210000155643904

My sister lives in the Bay Area and in her circle people were already sheltering in place even before the authorities made it official.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1247462323666800640

This is concerning on several fronts. Firstly for the good people of Tokyo, but also given that the virus seemed to be contained in Japan for the most part.

Makes me worry that the hard hit countries are destined for a second wave of infections after lockdown ends.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1247509431367208962

[Omega21]

Let's lighten the mood a bit.

[Sir Mohamed]

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1247509431367208962

That's beyond ridiculous. It should be vise versa. Mr. Trump should not contradict them. If he's unable to do so, he better just stays silent and does what experts tell him to do, like using the Defense Production Act to a higher degree. We badly need more medical equipment produced in the US. We can do it and even produce enough to export these goods.

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1247292616519147522
https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1247295225850142722
https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1247299333512454144
https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1247302362361999360

[Badger]

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1247509431367208962

"I'd give him at least a C for his efforts containing the virus!:)"

[Nyvin]

Trump has direct money interests in promoting Hydroxychloroquine.   Surprising no one.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-stake-company-hydroxychloroquine_n_5e8c41d7c5b6e1d10a696280

President Donald Trump reportedly owns a stake in a company that produces hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug he has repeatedly touted as a coronavirus treatment even though his experts say there’s no strong evidence it works.

Trump “has a small personal financial interest” in Sanofi, the French drugmaker that makes Plaquenil, the brand-name version of hydroxychloroquine, The New York Times reported Monday.

[Vaccinated Russian Bear]

That's beyond ridiculous. It should be vise versa. Mr. Trump should not contradict them. If he's unable to do so, he better just stays silent and does what experts tell him to do, like using the Defense Production Act to a higher degree. We badly need more medical equipment produced in the US. We can do it and even produce enough to export these goods.

What experts say that  you should use DPA to a higher degree?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-3m-masks.html

But in this case, the administration is invoking the law to compel 3M to send to the United States masks made in factories overseas and to stop exporting masks the company manufactures in the United States. Those moves, some trade and legal experts fear, could backfire and prompt foreign governments to clamp down on desperately needed medical necessities destined for the United States.

But some administration officials worry that the Defense Production Act is now being weaponized against specific companies and that it could undermine incentives for other companies to offer help. Others warned that using the act to control a company’s overseas production would put that company in the difficult position of being forced to violate its previous obligations to foreign customers to comply with the demands of the American government.

“It’s D.P.A. by impulse,” said Jeffrey Bialos, a former under secretary of defense for industrial affairs for the Clinton administration.

He said the administration should instead use the law as leverage.

“You have the carrot and the stick,” Mr. Bialos said. “If you were a sophisticated person or group doing this you would use the carrot and the stick to get more from the industry today to facilitate production for the future.”

Previous administrations have also been hesitant to invoke the law for nonmilitary matters.

If the federal government used the law to make itself the priority, other clients that had worked through the company’s procurement process could have their orders delayed, though under the law, the vendor is protected from lawsuits.

“My general experience is when you’re in the midst of a national crisis, contractors generally speaking want to help,” said Ernest B. Abbott, who was the general counsel of FEMA during the Clinton administration. “They want to participate. They want to be able to keep their people employed to build what’s needed for the nation.”

[Badger]

Trump has direct money interests in promoting Hydroxychloroquine.   Surprising no one.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-stake-company-hydroxychloroquine_n_5e8c41d7c5b6e1d10a696280

President Donald Trump reportedly owns a stake in a company that produces hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug he has repeatedly touted as a coronavirus treatment even though his experts say there’s no strong evidence it works.

Trump “has a small personal financial interest” in Sanofi, the French drugmaker that makes Plaquenil, the brand-name version of hydroxychloroquine, The New York Times reported Monday.

Can anyone discern how supposedly small this small personal financial interest is? I can't read the Times article due to the pay wall. The link Huntington Post article says that the three Trump family trusts each have Holdings in a mutual fund, the largest investor in which is Sanofi. That leaves a lot of interpretation.

But even if the investment is in fact very small, first, Trump has shown that he will do anything to squeeze and milk the office of the presidency to get even a few hundred thousand dollars more into his business organization. This is exhibit 2719 as to why Trump absolutely needed to, and still should but of course never will, the best of self of his interest in create blind trusts for Asset Management while he was president.

It's all a graft, and if you still support him, you're culpable.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

I've never seen such cold inhumanity by our politicians.

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1247509431367208962

Snake oil from the king of the snakes, being given priority over the exploration of real potentially beneficial treatments. But hey, Dr. Oz, Hannity, & Giuliani all think it's a solution, so it's all worth it!!!

[Person Man]

Trump has direct money interests in promoting Hydroxychloroquine.   Surprising no one.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-stake-company-hydroxychloroquine_n_5e8c41d7c5b6e1d10a696280

President Donald Trump reportedly owns a stake in a company that produces hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug he has repeatedly touted as a coronavirus treatment even though his experts say there’s no strong evidence it works.

Trump “has a small personal financial interest” in Sanofi, the French drugmaker that makes Plaquenil, the brand-name version of hydroxychloroquine, The New York Times reported Monday.

Can anyone discern how supposedly small this small personal financial interest is? I can't read the Times article due to the pay wall. The link Huntington Post article says that the three Trump family trusts each have Holdings in a mutual fund, the largest investor in which is Sanofi. That leaves a lot of interpretation.

But even if the investment is in fact very small, first, Trump has shown that he will do anything to squeeze and milk the office of the presidency to get even a few hundred thousand dollars more into his business organization. This is exhibit 2719 as to why Trump absolutely needed to, and still should but of course never will, the best of self of his interest in create blind trusts for Asset Management while he was president.

It's all a graft, and if you still support him, you're culpable.

His supporters say "he can't be bought" when in reality he is the one buying.

[The Dowager Mod]

I for one am absolutely shocked that he has a financial stake in the company making the snake oil he's peddling!!
(not really)

[GP270watch]

 You can't blame Governor Tony Evers if Wisconsin sees a Covid-19 spike in a few weeks. The election photos coming in so far look like a recipe for disaster.

[MasterJedi]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/politics/trump-sidelines-pentagon-watchdog-coronavirus-funds/index.html

Trump grifting further now, disgusting.