COVID-19 Megathread 5: The Trumps catch COVID-19

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/AnaCabrera/status/1284203797934419968

I'm not going to wish the virus on anyone, but DeSantis (and Brian Kemp) is really pushing that resolve.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Retail CEOs: Enough is enough. It's time for all US governors to require masks in stores (written by 21 CEOs of major US retailers)

[GeorgiaModerate]

The Republican party is a death cult.

https://twitter.com/stltoday/status/1285199041417158663

How is this not genocide?!
I am so damn tired of people such as Del Tachi and the other GOPers implying my health and life are expendable as a high school student.

If you're in high school, you're much much likelier to die of the flu or a car accident than COVID-19.  Colorado has less than 1 death per million people under age 35, and the odds of dying for those aged >75 are 100 times greater than those <55. 

And what are the chances of his developing some long-term negative effects from the virus?  He did say "health" as well as "life".  Death isn't the only risk. 

And what are his chances of passing the virus on to some other more at-risk person(s)?  This is not just an issue of individual risk; if it was, I'd have much less problem with people choosing to accept that risk for themselves.  But they're putting other people at risk as well, and as such this is a matter of public safety.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/JordanStrack/status/1286001015213428737

[GeorgiaModerate]

Please let this come true:

Fauci: 'We could start talking about real normality again' in 2021

This works on several levels.

[GeorgiaModerate]

COVID-19 patients will be ‘sent home to die’ if deemed too sick, Texas county says

In April, its aggressive and successful approach to beating the coronavirus was spotlighted by NBC News.
...
But after Gov. Greg Abbott issued orders for the reopening of the state, overriding local control and decision-making, COVID-19 cases surged.

Now Starr County is at a dangerous “tipping point,” reporting an alarming number of new cases each day, data show. Starr County Memorial Hospital — the county’s only hospital — is overflowing with COVID-19 patients.

The county has been forced to form what is being compared to a so-called “death panel.” A county health board – which governs Starr Memorial – is set to authorize critical care guidelines Thursday that will help medical workers determine ways to allocate scarce medical resources on patients with the best chance to survive.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/tlrd/status/1286808820979834880

Karma seems to be a force just as powerful as the coronavirus.

The karma ran over his dogma.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Google extends work-from-home until at least July 2021.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/ericjackson/status/1287750533638430723

Tonight's Marlins-Orioles and Yankees-Phillies games have been canceled.

[GeorgiaModerate]

If they have 14 players who have to self-isolate I'm not sure how they're going to have much of a team for the next 2 weeks. I mean it depends who's infected and they can probably still put up 9 capable players but they're probably going to suck.

What I think this shows us is that resuming sports inside an isolated "bubble" like the NBA's in Orlando is workable.  But resuming outside a bubble probably isn't.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/JohnJHarwood/status/1287817568896667649

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/dandrezner/status/1287847323993858048

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/EvanFeigenbaum/status/1288151831282057217

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1288477193933381633

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1288597256363483137

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/NYinLA2121/status/1288618347022540800

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/amymaxmen/status/1289241882388652032

[GeorgiaModerate]

This is only peripherally related, but it's interesting:

https://twitter.com/patrickcsisson/status/1288939125148532736
https://twitter.com/patrickcsisson/status/1288939128181096451

[GeorgiaModerate]

From the article linked in the tweet above:

Because he had been at a hearing on Tuesday with Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, who tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, "out of precaution, Grijalva went into self-isolation on Wednesday until he got a test," Nolan said.

In a statement Saturday, Grijalva slammed Republicans who don't wear masks in the building, citing the events of the week.

"While I cannot blame anyone directly for this, this week has shown that there are some Members of Congress who fail to take this crisis seriously," he said. "Numerous Republican members routinely strut around the Capitol without a mask to selfishly make a political statement at the expense of their colleagues, staff, and their families."

[GeorgiaModerate]

By Trump's logic, if there were fewer pregnancy tests, there would be fewer pregnancies.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Cherokee County, Georgia, a few miles to my west, is opening schools today.  Some highlights:

Out of 43K students, 23% will be starting remotely.  Whichever option parents decided (home or remote), they have to stay committed to that for the first nine weeks for elementary schools, and the entire fall semester for middle and high school.

Face masks are mandatory for teachers and staff, but only recommended for students.

Due to space constraints, they will not be able to consistently maintain six feet of distance between students.

The district is not doing temperature checks. They ask parents to check their child’s temperature before coming to school and getting on the bus daily, and the same goes for school staff.

I expect this to be a disaster.

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/this-1st-day-school-cherokee-county-will-look-very-different-than-other-years/SXIPJOW2JJG3VPJTMFBT3OJQEU/

[GeorgiaModerate]

Cherokee County, Georgia, a few miles to my west, is opening schools today.  Some highlights:

Out of 43K students, 23% will be starting remotely.  Whichever option parents decided (home or remote), they have to stay committed to that for the first nine weeks for elementary schools, and the entire fall semester for middle and high school.

Face masks are mandatory for teachers and staff, but only recommended for students.

Due to space constraints, they will not be able to consistently maintain six feet of distance between students.

The district is not doing temperature checks. They ask parents to check their child’s temperature before coming to school and getting on the bus daily, and the same goes for school staff.

I expect this to be a disaster.

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/this-1st-day-school-cherokee-county-will-look-very-different-than-other-years/SXIPJOW2JJG3VPJTMFBT3OJQEU/

Aug. 3 is much too early even in a normal year. Other than that, I don't think there'll be any problems. I guess somebody had to go back early just to prove school is doable.

A lot of people have already been interacting like normal this summer, so school probably doesn't pose any new risks.

Cherokee always seems to start a little earlier than anyone else in metro Atlanta, although in general I agree that GA schools do start way too early.  My county (Forsyth) was scheduled to start this Thursday (the 6th) but has delayed it by a week.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Cherokee County, Georgia, a few miles to my west, is opening schools today.  Some highlights:

Out of 43K students, 23% will be starting remotely.  Whichever option parents decided (home or remote), they have to stay committed to that for the first nine weeks for elementary schools, and the entire fall semester for middle and high school.

Face masks are mandatory for teachers and staff, but only recommended for students.

Due to space constraints, they will not be able to consistently maintain six feet of distance between students.

The district is not doing temperature checks. They ask parents to check their child’s temperature before coming to school and getting on the bus daily, and the same goes for school staff.

I expect this to be a disaster.

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/this-1st-day-school-cherokee-county-will-look-very-different-than-other-years/SXIPJOW2JJG3VPJTMFBT3OJQEU/

Aug. 3 is much too early even in a normal year. Other than that, I don't think there'll be any problems. I guess somebody had to go back early just to prove school is doable.

A lot of people have already been interacting like normal this summer, so school probably doesn't pose any new risks.

Cherokee always seems to start a little earlier than anyone else in metro Atlanta, although in general I agree that GA schools do start way too early.  My county (Forsyth) was scheduled to start this Thursday (the 6th) but has delayed it by a week.

The early start in the South has to do with farming (at least ancestrally), no? (Or at least that's the way it was explained to us in Texas). 

I think that was the original reason for starting in August, as opposed to after Labor Day, as some parts of the country use.  But it used to be late August, and only in fairly recent times has it moved to early August (or even July 31 in Cherokee one year!)  AIUI, there were a couple of reasons for this:

1. They wanted to end the first semester before Christmas, so as not to have exams hanging over students' heads over the holidays.

2. Some districts wanted a more balanced schedule, with a shorter summer vacation and more breaks during the school year.