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

[Grassroots]

Even though we are months removed, and the weather is now warm, in my head it still feels like it’s March. Anyone else?

Kinda feel that, but for me it's more like the days are moving so fast that I always think the actual date is days or weeks ago.

I keep thinking we're well into June, because this nonsense has gone on for so long.

Two months went by FAST imo.

[Beet]

The linked article is very interesting, not that long, and worth a read.

https://twitter.com/mims/status/1264503963518468098

As a working hypothesis, I'd conjecture that low transmission rates on airplanes might be related to how dry the air is aboard airplanes.

Most airplanes are fitted with high-efficiency particle filters (HEPA) that take small particles out of the air. And while the virus at 0.1 microns is too small for most HEPA filters, it could get caught in a side effect of these filters whereby the air particles are "slung" across bends repeatedly in a process called diffusion. Ironically, the smaller a gas particle is, the more likely it is to be caught by this process since it takes less energy to send it into "Brownian" motion. That at least, is the claim of the HEPA vendors.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Even though we are months removed, and the weather is now warm, in my head it still feels like it’s March. Anyone else?

Yeah people have wasted two months of their lives on this; fortunately, that’s starting to change now as lockdowns are being relaxed. 

The sad reality is that, for the vast majority of people, the percentage of their life that they miss out on due to fear of the coronavirus (including after lockdowns are formally over) will probably be greater than their percentage chance of dying, even if they contracted the coronavirus.

[Brittain33]

Even though we are months removed, and the weather is now warm, in my head it still feels like it’s March. Anyone else?

Yeah people have wasted two months of their lives on this; fortunately, that’s starting to change now as lockdowns are being relaxed. 

The sad reality is that, for the vast majority of people, the percentage of their life that they miss out on due to fear of the coronavirus (including after lockdowns are formally over) will probably be greater than their percentage chance of dying, even if they contracted the coronavirus.

Don't you think it's a little early to be taking a victory lap here, given that we had hot spots because we weren't social distancing, and it will be a few weeks before we know if our eager friends at the Lake of the Ozarks are safe in what they're doing or are going to be spreading this like the cold?

[President Johnson]

The linked article is very interesting, not that long, and worth a read.

https://twitter.com/mims/status/1264503963518468098

Beaches and pools can be added to safe places as well, at least if you keep enough distance. The virus doesn't like water. Especially chlorine in pools kills any virus pretty effectively.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Anyone else remember back around May 4 when some government model was leaked to the media that predicted a ridiculously high number of new cases by mid-May because of all the states like Montana that were ending their lockdowns?

A lot of crow is being feasted on right now.

More science, less panic.

Models Project Sharp Rise in Deaths as States Reopen (May 4, 2020)

As President Trump presses for states to reopen their economies, his administration is privately projecting a steady rise in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths over the next several weeks. The daily death toll will reach about 3,000 on June 1, according to an internal document obtained by The New York Times, a 70 percent increase from the current number of about 1,750.

The projections, based on government modeling pulled together by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, forecast about 200,000 new cases each day by the end of the month, up from about 25,000 cases a day currently.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington is now estimating that there will be nearly 135,000 deaths in the United States through the beginning of August — more than double what it forecast on April 17, when it estimated 60,308 deaths by Aug. 4. (The country has already had more than 68,000 deaths.)

Also note:
White House reportedly trying to lower coronavirus death rates by changing counting method (May 13)

And also,
New York City Has Seen More Than 24,000 Excess Deaths During COVID-19 (May 11)

THE OFFICIAL coronavirus death toll doesn't capture the full scope of its destruction in New York City, the hardest-hit city in the U.S., a new analysis suggests.

The report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention measured how many people died above what would normally be expected as the coronavirus burned through New York City between March 11 – when the city saw its first virus-linked death, and when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic – and May 2, when the city had 18,879 confirmed and probable COVID-19-associated deaths. As of Sunday, there were about 20,000 deaths in the city, and nearly 80,000 nationwide as of Monday.

And,

Coronavirus may have caused hundreds of additional deaths in Florida (May 20)

The analysis suggests the epidemic’s true toll may be between 17 percent and 58 percent higher than published death figures. Health experts say that likely includes some people who died of coronavirus but were never diagnosed as well as others who might have lived had the pandemic not kept them from getting care.

[gerritcole]

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/499388-crowds-flock-to-missouris-lake-of-the-ozarks-over-memorial-day-weekend#

Maybe the chlorinated water protects against the virus?

[emailking]

You're not likely to catch it from chlorinated pool water (or ocean/lake water since it will be diffuse). But could still catch it just from everyone gathering there.

[Koharu]

Even though we are months removed, and the weather is now warm, in my head it still feels like it’s March. Anyone else?

Yeah people have wasted two months of their lives on this; fortunately, that’s starting to change now as lockdowns are being relaxed. 

"Wasted?"

I really don't get why people are acting like not being able to go to group events is "wasting" one's life. I've been carrying on with life pretty much as normal, though obviously not making impulse shopping trips. I can go to the park, I can read (libraries being closed is tough, but at least here they're open for curbside service), I can still talk to to people on the phone or even video chat, I can order delicious food from local restaurants, I can do crafts, I can train my pets, I can play video games, etc etc etc. Why is social distancing "wasting" life?

The mental health impacts of this are real and we must be aware of making sure we get the interaction we need, even if it's different than normal. But anyone who is "wasting" their life cannot blame the virus for it: there's plenty to do that doesn't require being in close proximity to others.

I can't help but compare people complaining about this to a spoiled child who has way more toys than they can ever play with complaining when some of the toys are taken away, even though there are still dozens in reach.

[It’s so Joever]

Even though we are months removed, and the weather is now warm, in my head it still feels like it’s March. Anyone else?

Yeah people have wasted two months of their lives on this; fortunately, that’s starting to change now as lockdowns are being relaxed. 

"Wasted?"

I really don't get why people are acting like not being able to go to group events is "wasting" one's life. I've been carrying on with life pretty much as normal, though obviously not making impulse shopping trips. I can go to the park, I can read (libraries being closed is tough, but at least here they're open for curbside service), I can still talk to to people on the phone or even video chat, I can order delicious food from local restaurants, I can do crafts, I can train my pets, I can play video games, etc etc etc. Why is social distancing "wasting" life?

The mental health impacts of this are real and we must be aware of making sure we get the interaction we need, even if it's different than normal. But anyone who is "wasting" their life cannot blame the virus for it: there's plenty to do that doesn't require being in close proximity to others.

I can't help but compare people complaining about this to a spoiled child who has way more toys than they can ever play with complaining when some of the toys are taken away, even though there are still dozens in reach.

If I can’t go and hug every third person in the street while breathing heavily into their eyes, nose and mouth, my day is wasted.

[It’s so Joever]

Even though we are months removed, and the weather is now warm, in my head it still feels like it’s March. Anyone else?

Yeah people have wasted two months of their lives on this; fortunately, that’s starting to change now as lockdowns are being relaxed.  

The sad reality is that, for the vast majority of people, the percentage of their life that they miss out on due to fear of the coronavirus (including after lockdowns are formally over) will probably be greater than their percentage chance of dying, even if they contracted the coronavirus.

You know who else had their life “wasted”?










I guess being pro-life only matters when it’s to own the liberals on a political issue.
It appears the protestors against “baby-killers” want to kill the babies to keep the stock market running.

[Landslide Lyndon]

The prospect of Trump losing due to his criminal incompetence is making Bernie-or-Busters so sad.

https://twitter.com/MattBruenig/status/1264350286174355464

[It’s so Joever]

And by the way, just because you are young doesn’t mean you won’t get severely sick and require medical care. Younger people in developing countries are dying at alarming rates which proves that without proper medical care, you can die if you are younger. Good thing the hospital systems in the US have never been overwhelmed!
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.businessinsider.com/washington-post-coronavirus-young-people-developing-world-2020-5%3famp

[Grassroots]

Lowest deaths today since March 30th.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Even though we are months removed, and the weather is now warm, in my head it still feels like it’s March. Anyone else?

Yeah people have wasted two months of their lives on this; fortunately, that’s starting to change now as lockdowns are being relaxed.  

"Wasted?"

I really don't get why people are acting like not being able to go to group events is "wasting" one's life. I've been carrying on with life pretty much as normal, though obviously not making impulse shopping trips. I can go to the park, I can read (libraries being closed is tough, but at least here they're open for curbside service), I can still talk to to people on the phone or even video chat, I can order delicious food from local restaurants, I can do crafts, I can train my pets, I can play video games, etc etc etc. Why is social distancing "wasting" life?

The mental health impacts of this are real and we must be aware of making sure we get the interaction we need, even if it's different than normal. But anyone who is "wasting" their life cannot blame the virus for it: there's plenty to do that doesn't require being in close proximity to others.

I can't help but compare people complaining about this to a spoiled child who has way more toys than they can ever play with complaining when some of the toys are taken away, even though there are still dozens in reach.

Umm, no, most of what living life is requires being around other people.  Basically all you can do alone is distract yourself from the fact that you are alone with entertainment and stuff.  If you actually support social distancing (which has been a stupid concept from day 1), you could make every single one of those same arguments for seasonal flu.

Fortunately, I live in a place where people have brains and have largely given up on social distancing out of fear for a virus that is basically the flu in terms of death rate.

In fact, I've come to believe that the proper policy would have been literally the opposite of social distancing, where we encouraged everyone young and healthy to have even greater social contact than usual to try to hit herd immunity within a couple weeks or so while sparing the tiny minority of people for whom the coronavirus is actually a concern from the virus.

[It’s so Joever]

Even though we are months removed, and the weather is now warm, in my head it still feels like it’s March. Anyone else?

Yeah people have wasted two months of their lives on this; fortunately, that’s starting to change now as lockdowns are being relaxed.  

"Wasted?"

I really don't get why people are acting like not being able to go to group events is "wasting" one's life. I've been carrying on with life pretty much as normal, though obviously not making impulse shopping trips. I can go to the park, I can read (libraries being closed is tough, but at least here they're open for curbside service), I can still talk to to people on the phone or even video chat, I can order delicious food from local restaurants, I can do crafts, I can train my pets, I can play video games, etc etc etc. Why is social distancing "wasting" life?

The mental health impacts of this are real and we must be aware of making sure we get the interaction we need, even if it's different than normal. But anyone who is "wasting" their life cannot blame the virus for it: there's plenty to do that doesn't require being in close proximity to others.

I can't help but compare people complaining about this to a spoiled child who has way more toys than they can ever play with complaining when some of the toys are taken away, even though there are still dozens in reach.

Umm, no, most of what living life is requires being around other people.  Basically all you can do alone is distract yourself from the fact that you are alone with entertainment and stuff.  If you actually support social distancing (which has been a stupid concept from day 1), you could make every single one of those same arguments for seasonal flu.

Fortunately, I live in a place where people have brains and have largely given up on social distancing out of fear for a virus that is basically the flu in terms of death rate.

In fact, I've come to believe that the proper policy would have been literally the opposite of social distancing, where we encouraged everyone young and healthy to have even greater social contact than usual to try to hit herd immunity within a couple weeks or so while sparing the tiny minority of people for whom the coronavirus is actually a concern from the virus.

Yep, expose as many little kids as possible to a new virus with recorded long term health effects on even the asymptomatic. A virus that also causes a Kawasaki like disease and lung scarring (which is permanent)
That’s the smart way to approach this virus.

And by the way, the flu kills 60k people each year.
This virus killed 100k people in two and a half months and has devastated healthcare systems.

[Calthrina950]

Even though we are months removed, and the weather is now warm, in my head it still feels like it’s March. Anyone else?

Yeah people have wasted two months of their lives on this; fortunately, that’s starting to change now as lockdowns are being relaxed.  

"Wasted?"

I really don't get why people are acting like not being able to go to group events is "wasting" one's life. I've been carrying on with life pretty much as normal, though obviously not making impulse shopping trips. I can go to the park, I can read (libraries being closed is tough, but at least here they're open for curbside service), I can still talk to to people on the phone or even video chat, I can order delicious food from local restaurants, I can do crafts, I can train my pets, I can play video games, etc etc etc. Why is social distancing "wasting" life?

The mental health impacts of this are real and we must be aware of making sure we get the interaction we need, even if it's different than normal. But anyone who is "wasting" their life cannot blame the virus for it: there's plenty to do that doesn't require being in close proximity to others.

I can't help but compare people complaining about this to a spoiled child who has way more toys than they can ever play with complaining when some of the toys are taken away, even though there are still dozens in reach.

Umm, no, most of what living life is requires being around other people.  Basically all you can do alone is distract yourself from the fact that you are alone with entertainment and stuff.  If you actually support social distancing (which has been a stupid concept from day 1), you could make every single one of those same arguments for seasonal flu.

Fortunately, I live in a place where people have brains and have largely given up on social distancing out of fear for a virus that is basically the flu in terms of death rate.

In fact, I've come to believe that the proper policy would have been literally the opposite of social distancing, where we encouraged everyone young and healthy to have even greater social contact than usual to try to hit herd immunity within a couple weeks or so while sparing the tiny minority of people for whom the coronavirus is actually a concern from the virus.

While I don't want to devalue the lives or experiences of those who have suffered (and died from) coronavirus, I will state that posting pictures of various younger to middle-aged victims of the virus is in some respects, disingenuous. I've read and heard many stories reported by the media about senior citizens-octogenerians, nonangerians, and yes, centenarians (including a few World War II veterans)-who have contracted and beat the virus. And of course, we know that mortality rates among the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions are much higher than for the remainder of the population. The point I'm trying to make is that statistical outliers don't tell the full story of what's happening with this virus. Anyone can die from this, but there are many factors which determine how a person will fare with it.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Even though we are months removed, and the weather is now warm, in my head it still feels like it’s March. Anyone else?

Yeah people have wasted two months of their lives on this; fortunately, that’s starting to change now as lockdowns are being relaxed.  

"Wasted?"

I really don't get why people are acting like not being able to go to group events is "wasting" one's life. I've been carrying on with life pretty much as normal, though obviously not making impulse shopping trips. I can go to the park, I can read (libraries being closed is tough, but at least here they're open for curbside service), I can still talk to to people on the phone or even video chat, I can order delicious food from local restaurants, I can do crafts, I can train my pets, I can play video games, etc etc etc. Why is social distancing "wasting" life?

The mental health impacts of this are real and we must be aware of making sure we get the interaction we need, even if it's different than normal. But anyone who is "wasting" their life cannot blame the virus for it: there's plenty to do that doesn't require being in close proximity to others.

I can't help but compare people complaining about this to a spoiled child who has way more toys than they can ever play with complaining when some of the toys are taken away, even though there are still dozens in reach.

Umm, no, most of what living life is requires being around other people.  Basically all you can do alone is distract yourself from the fact that you are alone with entertainment and stuff.  If you actually support social distancing (which has been a stupid concept from day 1), you could make every single one of those same arguments for seasonal flu.

Fortunately, I live in a place where people have brains and have largely given up on social distancing out of fear for a virus that is basically the flu in terms of death rate.

In fact, I've come to believe that the proper policy would have been literally the opposite of social distancing, where we encouraged everyone young and healthy to have even greater social contact than usual to try to hit herd immunity within a couple weeks or so while sparing the tiny minority of people for whom the coronavirus is actually a concern from the virus.

Even in the strictest lockdowns, most people aren’t alone, they are with their families.   I’d have to think you believe this is meaningful.   And you can still interact with everyone else online if you want, which is what most of our regular interactions are now anyway outside of family and work.

My daily life didn’t really change much as a result of the lockdowns, since I was already on leave from my job to be with my newborn daughter.  Honestly, the thing I’m missing most is the opportunity to be alone in my office (to get a break from the family for a while).

[T'Chenka]

Right wing anti-lockdown Americans, please watch or listen to this video.

We could end coronavirus pandemic by July 4th

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/ScottGottliebMD/status/1264674549431447556

[Grassroots]

Right wing anti-lockdown Americans, please watch or listen to this video.

We could end coronavirus pandemic by July 4th

We can't "end" the pandemic, we may reduce it's numbers, but it will resurge in the winter no matter what. We should be fast forwarding to herd immunity.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Referring to today's numbers:

https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1264662321495932928

[ilikeverin]

Even though we are months removed, and the weather is now warm, in my head it still feels like it’s March. Anyone else?

Yeah people have wasted two months of their lives on this; fortunately, that’s starting to change now as lockdowns are being relaxed. 

"Wasted?"

I really don't get why people are acting like not being able to go to group events is "wasting" one's life. I've been carrying on with life pretty much as normal, though obviously not making impulse shopping trips. I can go to the park, I can read (libraries being closed is tough, but at least here they're open for curbside service), I can still talk to to people on the phone or even video chat, I can order delicious food from local restaurants, I can do crafts, I can train my pets, I can play video games, etc etc etc. Why is social distancing "wasting" life?

The mental health impacts of this are real and we must be aware of making sure we get the interaction we need, even if it's different than normal. But anyone who is "wasting" their life cannot blame the virus for it: there's plenty to do that doesn't require being in close proximity to others.

I can't help but compare people complaining about this to a spoiled child who has way more toys than they can ever play with complaining when some of the toys are taken away, even though there are still dozens in reach.

Umm, no, most of what living life is requires being around other people.  Basically all you can do alone is distract yourself from the fact that you are alone with entertainment and stuff.  If you actually support social distancing (which has been a stupid concept from day 1), you could make every single one of those same arguments for seasonal flu.

Fortunately, I live in a place where people have brains and have largely given up on social distancing out of fear for a virus that is basically the flu in terms of death rate.

In fact, I've come to believe that the proper policy would have been literally the opposite of social distancing, where we encouraged everyone young and healthy to have even greater social contact than usual to try to hit herd immunity within a couple weeks or so while sparing the tiny minority of people for whom the coronavirus is actually a concern from the virus.

Even in the strictest lockdowns, most people aren’t alone, they are with their families.   I’d have to think you believe this is meaningful.   And you can still interact with everyone else online if you want, which is what most of our regular interactions are now anyway outside of family and work.

My daily life didn’t really change much as a result of the lockdowns, since I was already on leave from my job to be with my newborn daughter.  Honestly, the thing I’m missing most is the opportunity to be alone in my office (to get a break from the family for a while).

I'd imagine it's pretty nice to be an introvert who lives with a family right now. I'm a single extrovert who lives alone. I designed my life to be constantly out and about with other people. This is hell for me. The last time I touched another human (except when I needed bloodwork done in April) was March 14th. My hobbies and interests all involve being around other people, even the ones I can do on my own. I bake for others. I watch shows so I can talk about them when I'm with others. I go to church to form community with others. And suddenly those have all been ripped away from me. If one of my parents were to be wasting away, dying in a hospital from this disease, I would be breaking CDC recommendations if I so much as got a hug from a friend.

Look, I'm not one of the #ReopenEverything crazies. I am trying to diligently stick to the instructions of the state of Connecticut. I do not think life should go back to how it was until we have a vaccine. But to dismiss the feelings of folks who miss being around people out of hand—not just to say "this is hard, and scary, and I can understand how hard this must be in your life, but it's a part of the shared sacrifice we have to make", but instead to compare being an extrovert to being a "spoiled child" and blithely insist that "most of our regular interactions are [online] now"—will just entrench those attitudes further. I am miserable being on my own. The ways that structure my life and bring me joy are illegal right now.

So of course this feels like wasted time to me. I am not anxious every day like I was at first, but I haven't felt real joy for months, now, because the most joyous days of my life are ones where I feel surrounded by people. The analogy for me is not to a "spoiled child"; it's to a street urchin, being directed to the dumpster of social comfort found on Zoom or online while forbidding them from the restaurant that the dumpster belongs to. If you want to tell the urchins why they can't enter the restaurant, you need to start by acknowledging that you're feeding them a crappy meal, not by bragging about the home garden you have.

[Tekken_Guy]

Right wing anti-lockdown Americans, please watch or listen to this video.

We could end coronavirus pandemic by July 4th

We can't "end" the pandemic, we may reduce it's numbers, but it will resurge in the winter no matter what. We should be fast forwarding to herd immunity.

We could at least have more measures to keep the pandemic under control by then.

[💥💥 brandon bro (he/him/his)]

Fortunately, I live in a place where people have brains and have largely given up on social distancing out of fear for a virus that is basically the flu in terms of death rate.

lmao this is false jesus christ

No offense but it honestly infuriates me that people can be this innumerate.