Government Response to Coronavirus 2: It's Not A Hoax

[smittykins]

17 hours ago, thoughtful said:

Penny Marshall? Garry Marshall? Peter Marshall? Did he just have the Marshall plan stuck in his head from some high school history lesson long ago?

It's "martial," Marcie -- er, Marco.

Marshall Marshall Marshall!

[clueliss]

I'm thinking of a specific finger related to Yertle the Turtle (McConnell)

Edited March 17, 2020 by clueliss

[elliha]

I am not saying racism stopped here but for every day of this pandemic the idiots in SD (Sweden Democrats aka nazis in a suit party) have gotten quieter and quieter. One could hope that they have seen the error of their ways but I am fearing they are just indoors jerking off thinking of all the chaos, death and closed borders that must go far beyond their wildest dreams for the world. But it is nice on the ears to not have to listen to them. I know they will crawl out as soon as they see an opportunity. 

[clueliss]

UAW is calling for a 2 week shutdown of the big 3 automakers

Disney pushed back Black Widow release from May 1

FB is giving $1k bonuses to employees 

Kansas is up to 16 (1 of which is in Ford County is not being counted as a KS statistic because it is not a KS resident - alllllllllllllllllllrighty then) 10 in Johnson County 3 in Wyandotte County (both metro KC) 1 Butler, 1 Franklin

Missouri is up to 9 (3 in St Louis County 1 in St Louis City, 3 in Greene County (Springfield MO) 1 in Henry, and one presently listed as TBA that I suspect is actually Cass County because the health department there released that they had a presumptive positive (that hit my radar screen last night due to an article shared by the DIL of one of my cousins - small town papers for the win)

Quote

1 hr 20 min ago

Fauci says we won't know if the curve if flattening "for several weeks or maybe longer"

From CNN's Betsy Klein

The National Institutes of Health's Dr. Anthony Fauci provided an explanation for why we might not know whether we’re actually flattening the curve for several weeks of containment and mitigation measures. 

Fauci said that because the curve of those who have the virus will certainly continue to go up, it will be hard to tell immediately whether those measure are having an effect.

“It probably would be several weeks or maybe longer before we know whether we had an effect. And maybe, at the end of the day, we’ll see a curve that would’ve been way, way up. But I wouldn’t, like, put us to task every few days. ‘Well wait a minute, it’s going up, is it working or not?’ That would be really misleading if we do that,” he said.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

The treasonous cowpoke is trying to walk back his idiotic comments. Yeah, good luck with that. "Devin Nunes’s bad clean-up effort on his coronavirus comments"

Spoiler

President Trump on Monday changed his rhetoric on coronavirus while straining hard not to admit he had undersold the threat. Asked about his past comments that the situation was under “control,” Trump tried to maintain he meant the response was under control, not the virus itself.

But he’s not the only one refusing to admit he gave people dodgy advice.

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) on Sunday morning urged people to go to bars and restaurants, even while Dr. Anthony S. Fauci was on other shows urging the opposite. Trump then on Monday echoed Fauci, saying the administration was urging people to “avoid discretionary travel, and avoid eating and drinking at bars, restaurants and public food courts."

That left Nunes with some cleanup work to do. So he took to the friendly confines of Sean Hannity’s Fox News show, where he tried to suggest he was talking about takeout — not actually eating at the restaurant.

“So what I was saying is you have empty restaurants, you can go through the drive-through, you can do takeout. It’s a great place to go,” Nunes said. “The media freaks can do what they want, but they’re endangering lives here by continuing this panic when we have no food shortage in this country.”

It’s a clarification that might have been nice in the 36 hours between his initial comments and his Hannity interview, but Nunes’s office didn’t respond to multiple requests from The Washington Post for further comment.

It’s also a clarification that doesn’t really hold water.

In his comments on Fox News on Sunday morning, Nunes had this to say: “If you’re healthy — you and your family — it’s a great time to go out and go to a local restaurant. Likely you can get in easy. … Go to your local pub.”

At no point in the interview did Nunes say that he was talking about takeout or drive-through. In fact, he said, “Likely you can get in easy” — which suggests there would be no wait for seating. (One also wonders how many people are ordering takeout from a “pub,” though admittedly I’m not familiar with the establishments in Nunes’s district.)

Nunes, though, wasn’t the only on dealing with the fallout from his bars-and-restaurants advice and refusing to back down. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) drew criticism over the weekend for posting a picture of him and his family eating at a restaurant that said, “Eating with my kids and all my fellow Oklahomans at the @CollectiveOKC. It’s packed tonight!”

Stitt later deleted the tweet and on Sunday declared a state of emergency. But then his office again went against the advice of Fauci and health officials, telling CNN on Monday, “The governor will continue to take his family out to dinner and to the grocery store without living in fear and encourages Oklahomans to do the same.” (The comments came before Trump weighed in but well after Fauci’s comments.)

As I noted Monday, this attitude has permeated the GOP, with a poll this weekend showing just 12 percent of Republicans had stopped or planned to stop going to restaurants and bars. A Marist College/NPR/PBS NewsHour poll on Monday also showed just 40 percent of Republicans viewed coronavirus as a “real threat,” versus 54 percent who said it was being “blown out of proportion.”

It’s a time in which officials would do well to choose their words carefully to make sure they comply with the guidance from health officials — and now even with the guidance we’re getting from Trump. Trump was asked Monday about the advice Nunes and Stitt had given, which Trump said he was unfamiliar with. After it was (accurately) summarized for him, he noted that Oklahoma isn’t yet hard hit but added, “I would disagree with it” and “It’s adverse to what the professionals are saying."

It is, and no amount of attempted cleanup is changing that.

 

[Dandruff]

2 hours ago, apple1 said:

I am an Ohioan.

The governor canceled it. Primary off.

A judged overruled the governor. Primary back on.

The head of the Ohio Department of Health declared it off as a medical/public health emergency. No election.

I already feel like my primary vote doesn't matter, because it seems the outcome is determined before our primary even happens. Now they say June 2.

All that said - I kind of agree that from a health viewpoint, it was probably a bad idea. I do wonder what kind of precedent has been set with regard to delaying an election.

I recently received my Census form, which has an ID# for me to use online, plus instructions to call a toll-free number if I need help completing the questionnaire.  I wonder if something like this could be set up for voting.

[GreyhoundFan]

Something nice in the middle of the pain: "Two budding cellists, 9 and 6, serenade an elderly neighbor — and a locked-down world"

Spoiler

The operatic voices and accordions played from the balconies of quarantined Italians into the otherwise silent neighborhoods reverberated this week in Columbus, Ohio where Rebecca Tien and her two young children were among the millions listening.

In a family of musicians, both kids were cello players. They didn’t have a balcony but they and their neighbors had a porch. And Tien, inspired by the Italian serenades, had an idea.

She called her next-door neighbor, Helena Schlam. The 78-year-old lived alone. She was self-quarantining amid the coronavirus pandemic and had not left her home in five days. “I said, ‘Would you like the kids to come play [a concert] on your porch?’” Tien recalled in an interview with The Washington Post. “'You can listen through your living-room window.'”

Schlam came out on the porch instead.

On Monday afternoon, Tien’s children, 9-year-old Taran and 6-year-old Calliope, became the latest musicians to bring a little joy to those who might be needing some in this troubled time.

They set up their music stands on the far end of the porch, playing songs from Suzuki Book One for cello in unison. The pair bowed after each song, Taran in a suit and Calliope in a pink party dress, as Schlam applauded from the other end of the porch, at least a safe six feet away. She looped in her grandchildren in Israel, who were self-quarantining too, and told Taran and Calliope they just gave “their first international concert," Schlam said.

Later, Tien said, Schlam told her: “Music is how we’re going to get through this.”

That much has proved true for everyone from professional musicians to casual listeners — even as the coronavirus pandemic is changing the way we consume music.

In Italy over the weekend, tenor Maurizio Marchini roared Giacomo Puccini’s “Nessun dorma” from his balcony to his quarantined town. Countless others have taken to their rooftops and windows to belt out the Italian national anthem at 6 p.m. every evening.

Elsewhere, dozens of performers and thousands of fans have turned to the live stream — the pandemic’s living-room-friendly alternative to packed, sweaty venues.

Orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic and those at the Royal Opera of Versailles and Metropolitan Opera have delivered masterful performances to eerily empty concert halls, as audiences watched online. Artists including Neil Young, John Legend, Coldplay and Yo-Yo Ma have turned to the live stream or social media videos to offer consolation and entertainment.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma — whose die-hard fans include Taran and Calliope — called his social media performances the “#SongsOfComfort” series.

“In these days of anxiety, I wanted to find a way to continue to share some of the music that gives me comfort,” he wrote Friday on Twitter, posting his first performance of Dvořák’s “Going Home." He dedicated his second performance to “the healthcare workers on the frontlines.”

For others under the drearier government-imposed quarantine, writing music has been the only escape.

Michelle Heckert, who is currently quarantined at Travis Air Force Base in Solano County, Calif., took her ukulele aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship last month thinking it would fit in nicely in Hawaii, where she was headed with her grandparents.

It ended up helping her keep her sanity.

She and the thousands of others aboard were ordered to quarantine in their rooms due to fears of coronavirus spreading throughout the ship as they approached the California coastline. “I called my parents and was kind of freaking out. I was crying to them about not knowing what to do, how I’m going to get through this,” she said in an interview Monday night. “And by the next day I had figured out a way to channel that into something more positive.”

She pulled out the tiny instrument, writing songs about cabin fever to sunny ukulele melodies that seemed to belie the anxiety of the situation. From her balcony, she recorded the songs on her phone, with a natural fuzz from the rolling ocean waves in the background, and posted the clips to Twitter.

“Stuck in our rooms/may think we’re doomed,” she sang in one, “but we’re all fine."

In another, on the day the passengers were allowed to disembark and go to military bases, she sang: “If I want to keep the world safe/I gotta keep myself away."

Heckert, who recently got her master’s in songwriting, said at first she was just “trying to lighten my own spirits.” She had no idea her music would attract such attention.

“Music is one of those things we turn to in times of crisis and times of uncertainty,” she said, “and so it’s been really cool to see that manifest across the globe.”

 

[clueliss]

Wait make that 10 in Missouri.  They just added one in Jackson County, MO (Kansas City, MO and suburban KC )

And I saw this - which is encouraging.

 

And this:

 

[JMarie]

https://gooddaysacramento.cbslocal.com/2020/03/16/coronavirus-protection-oregon-distillery-making-hand-sanitizer-with-in-house-alcohol-giving-it-out-for-free/

[47of74]

4 minutes ago, JMarie said:

https://gooddaysacramento.cbslocal.com/2020/03/16/coronavirus-protection-oregon-distillery-making-hand-sanitizer-with-in-house-alcohol-giving-it-out-for-free/

Glad they're stepping up to the plate.  If any small businesses do survive it will be those who get creative in their responses to this crisis, like breweries did back in the 18th Amendment days. 

 

[CTRLZero]

Just an observation:  We drove past our local elementary school and there was a big sign that said "Lunch."  We saw several people standing outside at tables with sacks of food.  It looked like it was set up for drive through or walk up service.  They made it look rather festive with some bright decorations on an adjacent fence.  I'm glad kids and/or their families are able to obtain food that I'm sure they desperately need.  Has anyone else noticed this in their communities? 

[WiseGirl]

6 minutes ago, CTRLZero said:

Just an observation:  We drove past our local elementary school and there was a big sign that said "Lunch."  We saw several people standing outside at tables with sacks of food.  It looked like it was set up for drive through or walk up service.  They made it look rather festive with some bright decorations on an adjacent fence.  I'm glad kids and/or their families are able to obtain food that I'm sure they desperately need.  Has anyone else noticed this in their communities? 

We have it in ours. They can get breakfast and lunch along with work packets. It is at multiple schools as we are a large district. 

[GreyhoundFan]

22 minutes ago, CTRLZero said:

Just an observation:  We drove past our local elementary school and there was a big sign that said "Lunch."  We saw several people standing outside at tables with sacks of food.  It looked like it was set up for drive through or walk up service.  They made it look rather festive with some bright decorations on an adjacent fence.  I'm glad kids and/or their families are able to obtain food that I'm sure they desperately need.  Has anyone else noticed this in their communities? 

My county, which is the largest in Virginia, has grab and go breakfast and lunch for students at 29 locations.

[GreyhoundFan]

"Hello from Italy. Your future is grimmer than you think."

Spoiler

My family lives in the Veneto, in Northern Italy, one of the regions worst hit by the novel coronavirus. We are on lockdown. It’s scary. It’s lonely. It’s uncomfortable. And did I mention scary?

I’ll spare you the statistics and the sermons; both are already abundant. But I do want to make one thing clear: If you think that by stocking up your pantries you have absolved yourself from the responsibility of preparing for this virus, you are mistaken. This is a crisis like none before. Be skeptical of both naysayers and doomsayers; there’s no way of knowing how this will end.

The restrictions came upon us slowly but steadily. Within two weeks, our old lives were gone. First the schools closed, then came social distancing. Then the government locked down the hardest-hit areas: no more going in and out of certain provinces; limited movements within the “red zones.” Then the whole country shut down. Most stores closed their doors. People who could were asked to telework; those who could not, and did not have a job related to the continuation of essential services, were placed on part-time schedules or unpaid leave. When we went out, we had to carry a pass explaining our reasons for being outside to show to the law enforcement officers patrolling the streets. The priority became keeping everyone inside, at all times.

For some people, the gradual rollout made these measures hard to accept: Skeptical observers questioned the seriousness of the disease, given that the restrictions were not draconian from the start. And yet without time to adjust to a progressive loss of freedom, we wouldn’t have accepted it. We might have rebelled. Instead, we rallied, coming together as one — protecting each other’s health, even as we could no longer socialize.

Living under these conditions is difficult to describe. We can only leave the house out of medical necessity or to get food. We can go on short walks but not in groups. We can’t hug, kiss or shake hands with anyone outside of our family. We must stay at least four feet from everyone else, at all times.

My family tries to maintain a routine: In the mornings, I home-school our four children, who range from kindergarten to eighth grade, while my husband teleworks. My eldest son’s school was the best prepared for distance learning and began remote lessons from the first week of the lockdown. He gets live lessons, homework, regular interaction with his teachers — and just as importantly, regular interaction with friends, which lessens his sense of isolation. It’s great, really, but it also requires a dedicated laptop and bandwidth from 8:10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. daily, limiting what everyone else can do online. My other children’s schools, which shut down at the same time, have only started distance learning this week.

In the afternoon, my husband and I both work as best we can, while the children keep themselves busy. With guitars we had on hand and a drum set they built from scratch, they’re putting together a garage band. (Literally — they have to stay in the garage and can’t practice or perform anywhere else.) For the first time in my life, I’ve come to think that having four children sometimes can be less work than having one or two: They can entertain each other.

Counterintuitively, the days somehow end incredibly fast. We are always doing something: organizing lessons, fighting with a malfunctioning printer or about our overloaded WiFi, tutoring each child one-on-one, getting the kids outside, feeding them, drinking coffee, repeat. When, after two or three days, we can’t take the confinement anymore, one of us makes a run to the grocery store to buy fruits and vegetables and whatever else we need. (The stores, at least, are well stocked.) We go out by bike to get some exercise. That, too, is a challenge, because we are always tired.

My mother and sisters, my little niece, my aunt, and cousins live in Lombardy, the region worst affected by the pandemic. If my mother, who is 81 (or almost 81, as she would point out) catches this virus, she will probably die. I speak to and text them frequently, but I don’t know when, or if, I will be able to see them. It’s bizarre: Everyone is going through the same emotions — fear, anger, exhaustion — no matter where we live or what we do. We don’t need many words to know how the other person feels. We end every call with “Forza!” We must keep going.

Yes, most people who become ill will survive. Yes, people younger than 45 will probably be fine. But right now, doctors across Northern Italy have to choose between who gets the respirator and lives, and who does not and dies. Italy’s health system, for all its shortcomings — the long waits for certain tests, some aging buildings, the sometimes crowded hospital wards — is among the best-performing in the Western world. A 2017 report by the World Health Organization, for example, reported that Italian health care has among the lowest mortality rates in Europe and a strong acute-care sector. And yet this virus has overwhelmed the health system of one of the richest areas of the European Union.

Statistics change daily, as the hospitals scramble to build capacity. On Thursday, there were only 737 intensive-care beds open for new coronavirus patients in Lombardy; the region is home to 10 million people, and as of this writing, 16,220 people have tested positive for the disease there. Depending on how many coronavirus patients go into or out of the hospitals each day, if you have a chronic condition or a heart attack or are in a car crash, you might not be able to access care.

Writing this from Italy, I am also writing to you from your own future. From our state of emergency, we have been watching the crisis unfold in the United States with a terrible sense of foreboding. Please stop waiting for others to tell you what to do; stop blaming the government for doing too much or too little. We all have actions we can take to slow the spread of the disease — and ensuring that your own household has enough canned goods and cleaning supplies is not enough. You can do a lot more. You should do a lot more. Stay away from restaurants, gyms, libraries, movie theaters, bars and cafes, yes. But also: Don’t invite people over for dinner, don’t let your kids go on playdates, don’t take them to the playground, don’t let your teenagers out of your sight. They will sneak out with their friends, they will hold hands, they will share their drinks and food. If this seems too much, consider the following: We are not allowed to hold weddings or funerals. We can’t gather to bury our dead.

For us, it might be too late to avoid an incredible loss of life. But if you decide against taking actions because it seems inconvenient, or because you don’t want to look silly, you can’t say you weren’t warned.

 

[Carol]

Now Trump is saying he wants to give a $1,000.00 within the next two weeks to every American adult.  This has to be passed by the House and Senate but there does seem to be bipartisan approval for it .

I am not clear if this is a one-time payment or whether it will be done monthly for the next several months.  No one scoffs at a single $1,000.00 payout but in the big picture it's not going to do much good if this isn't done monthly, especially if this goes on into the summer as it's widely reported to. 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

10 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"Hello from Italy. Your future is grimmer than you think."

  Hide contents

My family lives in the Veneto, in Northern Italy, one of the regions worst hit by the novel coronavirus. We are on lockdown. It’s scary. It’s lonely. It’s uncomfortable. And did I mention scary?

I’ll spare you the statistics and the sermons; both are already abundant. But I do want to make one thing clear: If you think that by stocking up your pantries you have absolved yourself from the responsibility of preparing for this virus, you are mistaken. This is a crisis like none before. Be skeptical of both naysayers and doomsayers; there’s no way of knowing how this will end.

The restrictions came upon us slowly but steadily. Within two weeks, our old lives were gone. First the schools closed, then came social distancing. Then the government locked down the hardest-hit areas: no more going in and out of certain provinces; limited movements within the “red zones.” Then the whole country shut down. Most stores closed their doors. People who could were asked to telework; those who could not, and did not have a job related to the continuation of essential services, were placed on part-time schedules or unpaid leave. When we went out, we had to carry a pass explaining our reasons for being outside to show to the law enforcement officers patrolling the streets. The priority became keeping everyone inside, at all times.

For some people, the gradual rollout made these measures hard to accept: Skeptical observers questioned the seriousness of the disease, given that the restrictions were not draconian from the start. And yet without time to adjust to a progressive loss of freedom, we wouldn’t have accepted it. We might have rebelled. Instead, we rallied, coming together as one — protecting each other’s health, even as we could no longer socialize.

Living under these conditions is difficult to describe. We can only leave the house out of medical necessity or to get food. We can go on short walks but not in groups. We can’t hug, kiss or shake hands with anyone outside of our family. We must stay at least four feet from everyone else, at all times.

My family tries to maintain a routine: In the mornings, I home-school our four children, who range from kindergarten to eighth grade, while my husband teleworks. My eldest son’s school was the best prepared for distance learning and began remote lessons from the first week of the lockdown. He gets live lessons, homework, regular interaction with his teachers — and just as importantly, regular interaction with friends, which lessens his sense of isolation. It’s great, really, but it also requires a dedicated laptop and bandwidth from 8:10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. daily, limiting what everyone else can do online. My other children’s schools, which shut down at the same time, have only started distance learning this week.

In the afternoon, my husband and I both work as best we can, while the children keep themselves busy. With guitars we had on hand and a drum set they built from scratch, they’re putting together a garage band. (Literally — they have to stay in the garage and can’t practice or perform anywhere else.) For the first time in my life, I’ve come to think that having four children sometimes can be less work than having one or two: They can entertain each other.

Counterintuitively, the days somehow end incredibly fast. We are always doing something: organizing lessons, fighting with a malfunctioning printer or about our overloaded WiFi, tutoring each child one-on-one, getting the kids outside, feeding them, drinking coffee, repeat. When, after two or three days, we can’t take the confinement anymore, one of us makes a run to the grocery store to buy fruits and vegetables and whatever else we need. (The stores, at least, are well stocked.) We go out by bike to get some exercise. That, too, is a challenge, because we are always tired.

My mother and sisters, my little niece, my aunt, and cousins live in Lombardy, the region worst affected by the pandemic. If my mother, who is 81 (or almost 81, as she would point out) catches this virus, she will probably die. I speak to and text them frequently, but I don’t know when, or if, I will be able to see them. It’s bizarre: Everyone is going through the same emotions — fear, anger, exhaustion — no matter where we live or what we do. We don’t need many words to know how the other person feels. We end every call with “Forza!” We must keep going.

Yes, most people who become ill will survive. Yes, people younger than 45 will probably be fine. But right now, doctors across Northern Italy have to choose between who gets the respirator and lives, and who does not and dies. Italy’s health system, for all its shortcomings — the long waits for certain tests, some aging buildings, the sometimes crowded hospital wards — is among the best-performing in the Western world. A 2017 report by the World Health Organization, for example, reported that Italian health care has among the lowest mortality rates in Europe and a strong acute-care sector. And yet this virus has overwhelmed the health system of one of the richest areas of the European Union.

Statistics change daily, as the hospitals scramble to build capacity. On Thursday, there were only 737 intensive-care beds open for new coronavirus patients in Lombardy; the region is home to 10 million people, and as of this writing, 16,220 people have tested positive for the disease there. Depending on how many coronavirus patients go into or out of the hospitals each day, if you have a chronic condition or a heart attack or are in a car crash, you might not be able to access care.

Writing this from Italy, I am also writing to you from your own future. From our state of emergency, we have been watching the crisis unfold in the United States with a terrible sense of foreboding. Please stop waiting for others to tell you what to do; stop blaming the government for doing too much or too little. We all have actions we can take to slow the spread of the disease — and ensuring that your own household has enough canned goods and cleaning supplies is not enough. You can do a lot more. You should do a lot more. Stay away from restaurants, gyms, libraries, movie theaters, bars and cafes, yes. But also: Don’t invite people over for dinner, don’t let your kids go on playdates, don’t take them to the playground, don’t let your teenagers out of your sight. They will sneak out with their friends, they will hold hands, they will share their drinks and food. If this seems too much, consider the following: We are not allowed to hold weddings or funerals. We can’t gather to bury our dead.

For us, it might be too late to avoid an incredible loss of life. But if you decide against taking actions because it seems inconvenient, or because you don’t want to look silly, you can’t say you weren’t warned.

 

I was just getting dressed to go out and vote.  My son and I spoke about hand sanitizer, leaving if crowded, etc.

I will make sure I do early voting for the general.  But for the primary...I don't know after reading this.  I don't know if my Biden by default vote is worth venturing out.  

My first day working from home didn't go as well as I'd planned.  I was thinking of scrapping and going in as usual tomorrow...I have my own office and can sequester.  But then I spoke to @Destiny who, nicely, reminded me not to be foolish and gave me some tips about being productive working from home.

My son works in a nursing home, I'd never forgive myself if I brought the virus home and he carried it to work.  I just made up my mind about voting....Joe is going to have to take this one without me.

[Cartmann99]

44 minutes ago, CTRLZero said:

Just an observation:  We drove past our local elementary school and there was a big sign that said "Lunch."  We saw several people standing outside at tables with sacks of food.  It looked like it was set up for drive through or walk up service.  They made it look rather festive with some bright decorations on an adjacent fence.  I'm glad kids and/or their families are able to obtain food that I'm sure they desperately need.  Has anyone else noticed this in their communities? 

Our school district is doing this too. If you have children under 18 in your household, you can stop by any school campus and get free food for them. (Under 21 if your child is special needs.)

[GreyhoundFan]

Jerry had to give in. Of course, he's blaming the Democratic governor: "Liberty University now says most classes will move to online-only"

Spoiler

Liberty University abruptly reversed course Monday afternoon and told students that most in-person classes would be moved online because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The decision takes effect March 23 when students were expected to return to class after spring break.

The evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Va., had faced increasing calls to end in-person classes from students and faculty upset with Liberty President Jerry Falwell Jr., who said Friday that people were over­reacting to the disease outbreak and that it was a manufactured frenzy to make President Trump look bad.

On Monday, however, the university released a statement from Falwell saying that Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s emergency ban on gatherings of 100 people made it necessary to move to online-only classes.

“We originally believed it was safest to return our students following their spring break instead of having them return following greater exposure opportunities from leaving them in different parts of the country for longer periods,” Falwell said in the statement. “But, the Governor’s recent decision to limit certain gatherings has left us no practical choice because we have so many classes of more than 100 students. We want to provide for the continuity of our students’ education while doing what makes sense to help slow the spread of the coronavirus to our university family and local community.”

Scott Lamb, a spokesman for Falwell, did not respond to a request to interview Falwell for this report.

Liberty’s original decision to have students return for ­in-person classes roiled faculty, staff and the school’s 16,000 students who use the Lynchburg campus.

Falwell took to Twitter on Sunday to reiterate his reasons for having students return.

Falwell tweeted that the school was developing a plan to keep at-risk individuals isolated and to move classes to larger rooms and even outside so “students won’t be sitting elbow to elbow.” Falwell said the school “will become the model for others to follow in the future.”

Jeff Brittain, the father of three Liberty students, questioned Falwell’s decision-making, tweeting, “I’m as right wing as they get, bud. But as a parent of three of your students, I think this is crazy, irresponsible and seems like a money grab.”

Falwell responded by calling Brittain a “dummy.”

In response to questions from a Washington Post reporter, Brittain said he contacted Liberty staff via email to talk further but hadn’t heard back from anyone Monday. He declined to answer additional questions.

At a school where dissent from leadership decrees is rarely heard, students and professors were beginning to make public their objections. They said they thought the decision ignored guidance from health professionals and was at odds with most of the region’s other major colleges and universities, which have opted to move to online-only classes.

David Baggett, a longtime professor in the university’s divinity school, took aim at the school’s administration on Facebook, writing, “You guys don’t have permission to risk people’s lives. Do the right thing. Take off your bureaucratic hat and think for yourself.”

In an interview Monday morning, Baggett said he felt free to speak up because he and his wife, Marybeth Baggett, an English professor, are leaving the school at the end of the year. Between them, they have 31 years of teaching at Liberty.

Falwell “is entitled to his crazy views, but making it a policy is another matter,” Baggett said.

Esther Candari, who is finishing a master’s in studio art, was relieved after Falwell made the decision to go with online instruction. She said that like a lot of students, she thought the spread of the coronavirus would be contained, but once other major schools shut down, she knew it was becoming serious.

“There’s a strong culture at Liberty of wanting to be different,” she said. “They take great pride in being not the typical ‘liberal’ higher education. If Yale’s doing it, we shouldn’t be doing it.”

She said no amount of dissent from students was going to make a difference without intervention from government for Falwell to change his mind.

“It went from him endangering our careers to him endangering people’s lives,” she said. “It was a new level of crazy.”

An online petition begun by a Liberty student calling on Falwell and the university to commit to online-only classes after spring break was signed by more than 11,000 people by Monday afternoon, although it was unclear how many of those who signed were Liberty students.

The student who started the petition spoke on the condition of anonymity because she said she feared Falwell could retaliate against her and damage the rest of her educational opportunities, including an upcoming internship and possible enrollment in graduate school.

She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer two years ago and is in remission but also has asthma issues. While she is concerned about her own health, she is especially worried about what a spread of the coronavirus could mean for the Lynchburg community.

Students are on spring break, at home all over the country and even around the world. Next week, she said, students are supposed to descend on campus.

“I’m a conservative, and I’m a Christian,” she said. “People are going to die if he doesn’t do something.”

Alexis Valle, an 18-year-old freshman from the Blue Ridge area of Virginia who lives in Lynchburg, said she signed the petition because she has relatives with cancer, and she’s worried that if she returns home, she could spread the virus to them.

“It shows where his priorities really lie,” she said. “I get that he wants to put his faith in God, but at the same time, he could take precautions to make sure nothing does happen.”

Lauren Lynch, a Lynchburg resident and graduate student at Liberty, said she was happy about the online-only decision but angry that Falwell treated the issue the way he did.

“I’m honestly ashamed to call him the president of my university,” she said.

I love that people are actually speaking up against him. Normally, they are removed for speaking out.

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[nvmbr02]

1 hour ago, CTRLZero said:

Just an observation:  We drove past our local elementary school and there was a big sign that said "Lunch."  We saw several people standing outside at tables with sacks of food.  It looked like it was set up for drive through or walk up service.  They made it look rather festive with some bright decorations on an adjacent fence.  I'm glad kids and/or their families are able to obtain food that I'm sure they desperately need.  Has anyone else noticed this in their communities? 

Our district is doing breakfast and lunch to all kids under the age of 18 between the hours of 8 am and 12pm. You have to pick up with the kids with you (or kids on their own) at 2 of the high schools but they are trying to expand it to other pickup locations as well. It is for all kids who show up, even those not registered for school or registered in another district (we are an open enrollment state).  But you only have to show up once and you are given the breakfast and lunch sacks to bring home to eat. 

Our district is on spring break until the 24th (started Spring break on the 9th, before schools closed in the state). Now schools are closed until at least March 30th so there have been some planning meetings about making some classes online or sending home work packets to students. We will see what happens in the coming weeks. 

Edited March 17, 2020 by nvmbr02

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

This is a good video:

 

[47of74]

1 hour ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

I was just getting dressed to go out and vote.  My son and I spoke about hand sanitizer, leaving if crowded, etc.

I will make sure I do early voting for the general.  But for the primary...I don't know after reading this.  I don't know if my Biden by default vote is worth venturing out.  

My first day working from home didn't go as well as I'd planned.  I was thinking of scrapping and going in as usual tomorrow...I have my own office and can sequester.  But then I spoke to @Destiny who, nicely, reminded me not to be foolish and gave me some tips about being productive working from home.

My son works in a nursing home, I'd never forgive myself if I brought the virus home and he carried it to work.  I just made up my mind about voting....Joe is going to have to take this one without me.

I told both hospitals here that if it got so bad and something happens to me to not bother with me and save their resources for someone else.  I'm not expecting anything to happen since I'm young and in decent health.  I even asked if having my doctor do a DNR order would be possible even though I don't have a terminal diagnosis.  I'm going to see about updating my living will though so that people understand if they have to make a choice between me and someone else go with someone else. 

[GreyhoundFan]

Some updates

• There are now cases in all 50 states.
• North Carolina’s Outer Banks will begin restricting tourists and visitors in an effort to reduce travel and limit permanent residents’ exposure to the coronavirus, officials in Dare County announced Tuesday.
• The New York mayor said city officials are “absolutely considering” a shelter-in-place order similar to the one that took effect Monday in the San Francisco Bay area, where six counties are almost completely shut down.
• Health departments in the United States reported the largest number of coronavirus-related deaths Monday on any one day since the onset of the outbreak: 22, bringing the nationwide total to 89.
• Calls have intensified for social distancing as one of the only measures that could prevent the United States from facing a situation as dire as Italy’s, where more than 2,000 people have been killed by the coronavirus. President Trump and his coronavirus task force suggested that tax deferments and possibly cash payments could be on the way for individual Americans and businesses.
• China’s Foreign Ministry hit back at Trump’s description of the pandemic as a “Chinese virus,” accusing him of insulting China and saying the United States “should first take care of its own business.”

• Chicago’s Midway airport issues ground stop after air traffic control technicians test positive

• Trump’s Bedminster Club will close indefinitely

More on Twitler's properties:

Quote

President Trump’s company has closed down its Bedminster golf club, the club told its members on Tuesday. That appeared to make Bedminster — the New Jersey club Trump visits often and calls his “Summer White House”— the first Trump property to close because of the novel coronavirus.

In an email to members of Trump Bedminster, obtained by The Washington Post, General Manager David Schutzenhofer said that the clubhouse, fitness center and restaurants are all closed. Schutzenhofer cited guidance on Monday from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D), which limited gatherings to 50 people and required restaurants to close at 8 p.m. The only part of the club that will remain open, Schutzenhofer said, was one of the club’s two golf courses — but golfers would have to play it without caddies or motorized carts.

“Accounting and administrative offices will remain open, but we are staggering schedules and practicing social distancing,” Schutzenhofer said. “If staff members are able to work from home, we have encouraged them to do so.”

His email concluded with the admonition: “Wash your hands!”

Other Trump clubs have reduced services in recent days, according to messages to their members obtained by The Post. The Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida closed for a day of cleaning, and canceled the seafood buffet. Trump’s Northern Virginia golf club has closed its locker room, canceled the valet service, shut the steam room, and offered meals to go, according to an email sent to members last night. At Trump Doral, the spa has been closed.

The Trump Organization did not respond to questions about whether other clubs or Trump hotels would follow Bedminster and close, or whether employees at Trump Bedminster will be paid during the closure. Schutzenhofer’s email did not say when the club was expected to reopen.

 

[47of74]

My school just cancelled commencement.  I told both the President and dean of students through voice and email that they had better goddamn well plan on letting any student who wants to walk do so at a time of their choosing as they said they fucking would. 

I understand the need to do so but if the school thinks after the cameras go away and COVID-19 gets replaced with something else that they're going to walk that one back they're in for a rather unpleasant surprise.  The last thing they want are a bunch of new attorneys with axes to grind.