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

[Quiver Full of Kittens]

CDC Considerations on School Closures

I found this to be quite interesting when looking at school closures and how they seem to vary wildly from place to place. 

 

[Becky]

57 minutes ago, Quiver Full of Kittens said:

CDC Considerations on School Closures

I found this to be quite interesting when looking at school closures and how they seem to vary wildly from place to place. 

 

Now that IS very interesting, and surprising.  Once again, it would appear some decisions are being made without regard for actual science and expert advice.  

[clueliss]

I got a chuckle out of this one given Trump's travel bans this week (personally - that was one to two weeks overdue and the horse was already way the hell out of the barn at this point)

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-2-03-15-20-intl-hnk/h_0f776a84248f62fb290fe2bb967d723f

Quote

9 min ago

UK advises against all but essential travel to the US

From Samantha Tapfumaneyi in London

A view of the near empty departure area at London's Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 departure, Thursday March 12, 2020. Photo: Steve Parsons/PA via AP

The UK Foreign Office said Sunday that it was advising against “all but essential travel to the USA” in light of the travel restrictions placed by the US government on visitors from the UK.

“The FCO advise against all but essential travel to the USA, due to restrictions put in place by the US government with effect from 03:59 GMT 17 March in response to the outbreak of coronavirus,” the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said on its website.

 

[elliha]

1 hour ago, Quiver Full of Kittens said:

CDC Considerations on School Closures

I found this to be quite interesting when looking at school closures and how they seem to vary wildly from place to place. 

 

Sweden has not closed schools, not even in Stockholm which is the most afflicted area. The reason is increased risk for grandparents who may choose to babysit and risk of disruption in society. Schools can be closed on case to case basis and this decision can change but for now they are open. They emphasize keeping kids at home at any sign of a cold as with any place in society. 

Sweden is now 6 cases from 1000 so we will reach that number today for sure. My region got 13 cases today but still no sign of spread in the wider society. While spread in society exist in the more afflicted regions they say that the majority of cases are still connected to people who have been abroad to more affected regions or those who have had direct contact with them. This of course do not take into consideration those who have not been in contact with hospitals because they are following the rules of staying at home and managing on their own as is ordered. 

My cold is pretty much the same as yesterday so my daughter went to church with a friend. The mother told me (over the phone of course) that hardly any people went there and this is good since so many parishoners are elderly. For example, one of the men celebrated his 90th birthday just a couple weeks ago. I hope he stayed at home even though he almost always come. 

[Workingmom]

America first:

 

https://amp.welt.de/wirtschaft/article206555143/Corona-USA-will-Zugriff-auf-deutsche-Impfstoff-Firma.html?__twitter_impression=true

Edited March 15, 2020 by Workingmom
Typo

[onekidanddone]

On 3/13/2020 at 5:14 PM, CatFriend said:

Pennsylvania closed all of its schools through March 30th, too. 

My sister lives in PA and is driving to Pitt this morning as my niece has to vacate her dorm. 

We live in Maryland and Governor Hogan ordered all the schools closed this past Thursday. My kids biggest worry is if she can still take the AP gov test in May.

 

[47of74]

Just saw this too 

 I think she makes some good points. Just because you can work from home and have a good internet connection doesn’t mean everyone does. 

[fraurosena]

We now have 1135 confirmed cases. 162 of them are hospitalised. Experts are estimating that in reality there are around 6000 cases, as  people with mild symptoms aren't tested and are sent home to self-quarantine. There are now 20 virus related deaths. All of them range between 59 and 94. Most of them had underlying health issues.

This morning I read about a 16 year old boy who fell ill, went to the doctor, got sent home because "It is probably a stomach bug", got worse, went to the GP station, got sent home again, worsened even more, went to the ER, got chest pains and difficulty breathing, and only when his dad got really angry was a test finally taken. He tested positive, was hospitalised, got even worse and was transported to a specialty care ICU, where he is now intubated and put in an induced coma, fighting for his life. His parents are pleading with people to take this seriously as this virus does not only affect the elderly and patients with underlying health issues. Their son was healthy and hardly ever ill before this. They couldn't even remember the last time he had a fever, and now he is so ill he needs to be cared for in an ICU. They are also pointing out people should only go to the doctor in case of serious symptoms and not for every little cough or sniffle; the reason their son wasn't tested sooner was because the system is flooded with people coming in for every little thing.

Meanwhile...

Trump tests negative for coronavirus as questions mount over his personal risks in face of pandemic

Quote

After President Trump attended a conservative conference where a man tested positive for coronavirus, he said he was unconcerned.

After he came into contact with congressmen who were exposed to the virus, he said it was no big deal.

And after a Brazilian official with whom he posed for a photograph at his Mar-a-Lago estate contracted the disease, Trump shrugged it off, saying at a Friday news conference that he did not need to be tested. Then, a few minutes later, he said he probably would get tested. Hours after that, however, the White House emailed out a statement from Trump’s physician that said the president was fine and did not need a test.

But on Saturday, Trump said he was tested Friday night, apparently as a precaution, and he told reporters his body temperature was “totally normal.” Hours later, the White House physician announced Trump tested negative for the virus.

Trump’s announcement and test results capped days of evasiveness by the White House and Trump’s own refusal to submit to the same rules and standards his administration is asking the rest of the nation to adopt to slow the spread of the pandemic.

His reluctance to get tested also fed into criticism that Trump was not taking the virus outbreak seriously enough, even as he praised the job he and his administration have done.

“The results are very, very good, and when you compare this with what is happening around the world, we are very proud of our people,” he said Saturday.

Trump’s testing announcement appeared to catch some aides off guard, including Vice President Pence, especially given that the president’s physician released a memo hours earlier stating that the risk for Trump was “low.”

The abrupt pivot came as the White House appeared to be enacting new screening measures, announcing that anyone in proximity to Trump or Pence would have their temperatures taken. White House correspondents were screened ahead of the briefing, and one was turned away after aides said the journalist had a fever reading of above 100.4 degrees on three successive measurements from a noncontact thermometer.

Whether the moves were taken to demonstrate additional seriousness in the face of the global pandemic or over fears for Trump’s health, they came after weeks in which the president sought to play down the risks and touted the nation’s relatively low, although quickly growing, number of confirmed cases and deaths. Experts said they expect the cases to grow exponentially, even as the administration has implemented new travel restrictions and other measures.

In recent weeks, as cities and states began banning large gatherings, airlines and cruises were grounded, professional sports leagues canceled their seasons, and schools shut down, Trump appeared determined to carry on with business as usual, in an apparent effort to bolster public confidence. He has continued to shake hands with supporters and aides, met with more than 1,000 donors at his private Mar-a-Lago resort the previous weekend, and has interacted with several congressmen who later self-quarantined, as well as the Brazilian delegation that has multiple officials who have tested positive for coronavirus.

Experts have called Trump’s behavior a risky and irresponsible example for a nation in the midst of a burgeoning health crisis and amid the exhortations of medical experts that all Americans should practice social distancing to help slow the spread of the virus.

Asked Saturday if his shift to more prudent personal conduct aimed to demonstrate greater urgency, Trump insisted that “this was urgent for me right from the beginning,” citing his early decision to ban travel from China, where the illness originated.

He said he agreed it would be wise not to shake hands and that he had long viewed the practice as unsanitary, but he explained that it was difficult for him to break the habit since becoming president.

“Political people, they walk up to me and want to shake my hand,” Trump said. “It’s sort of a natural reflex. We’re all getting out of it. All of us have that problem.”

The president spent the previous weekend at his private resort in Palm Beach, Fla., that was teeming with an eclectic mix of visitors: donors attending the annual Republican National Committee retreat, a delegation led by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and family and friends celebrating the birthday of Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former Fox News host who is dating Donald Trump Jr.

Among the guests were Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, as well as Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who both self-quarantined last week — Gaetz after flying home to Washington with Trump aboard Air Force One.

“It was louder and wilder than usual,” said one person who was there and spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private scene.

Graham said there were up to 500 people at the birthday celebration alone.

“It’s hard to tell who you’ve met and who you didn’t,” he said in an interview, as guests assess their potential exposure risk after the fact.

At his resort that evening, Trump told the donors that “nobody is blaming us” for the virus, according to an account from another guest who asked for anonymity to quote the president’s private remarks. Despite big drops in the stock markets, the president seemed eager to spin the potential upside — that the closing of borders around the world would promote his “America First” agenda.

“Certain industries are going to be hit very hard — cruise ships and airlines and certain industries,” the president said, according to the guest. “But at the same time, I’ve been saying for a long time people should stay in our country and travel in our country, and that’s going to happen.”

Observers said Trump appeared to be in a good mood and exhibited no personal concerns about the virus, despite the large number of people in the facility.

Since the weekend, however, at least four people who were at the resort have tested positive for the coronavirus. That includes three Brazilians who interacted with Trump — Bolsonora’s communications secretary Fabio Wajngarten, who took a photo with him, and two who attended the dinner, including acting Brazilian ambassador Nestor Forster Jr.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who led the donors conference at the resort, confirmed to The Washington Post on Saturday that she has been tested for the virus and is awaiting the results while in self-quarantine in Michigan after exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

To national security experts, the scene at Mar-a-Lago raised flags about the ad hoc nature of Trump’s interactions at his private venues and the relatively unregulated access that guests have to him.

“That’s how Trump does business among friends, and he considers Bolsonaro and his delegation as a group of friends,” said Fernando Cutz, who served as Western Hemisphere director at the National Security Council before leaving in 2018. “Bolsonaro’s son was there. Trump likes that. He feels connected to the thought of the children of the president being involved. That plays a role in it. He was acting in a very unguarded, friendly, Mar-a-Lago-type way.”

In a photo posted to Wajngarten’s social media, Trump and Pence are seen posing with the Bolsonaro aide and a Brazilian businessman, with the president clutching a “Make Brazil Great Again” hat.

Wajngarten initially dismissed Brazilian news reports that he tested positive, but the government acknowledged that he had. Bolsonaro’s office said the Brazilian president tested negative.

“There was somebody who they say has it. I have no idea who he is,” Trump said at a White House news conference Friday. “I haven’t seen the pictures. I take hundreds of pictures a day. That night I was taking hundreds of pictures so I don’t know.”

Brazilian officials and other guests said the White House asked basic screening questions of at least some who were in proximity to the president, including where they had traveled recently and whether they felt ill. But it does not appear that guests had their temperatures taken. Experts have said that those infected with coronavirus can be asymptomatic and still pass the illness to others.

After the dinner, some in the Brazilian delegation joined Trump and other U.S. officials at Guilfoyle’s birthday party. Trump offered a toast to the group for their “energy.” Ivanka Trump and Kushner also gave toasts, according to one of the people who was at the resort, and Graham gave a speech lauding Guilfoyle for being the political opposite of liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

In all, Trump attended at least four fundraisers throughout the weekend, said a person familiar with his schedule, and he introduced some donors to Bolsonaro.

On Friday, Trump’s campaign sent an email to donors alerting them that more than one guest had tested positive for coronavirus and urging them to consult doctors if they show symptoms.

The day after the dinner with Bolsonaro, Trump again addressed the GOP donors.

“We’ve done good,” he said of the administration’s coronavirus response, according to the guest who relayed his remarks to The Post. “But no matter what we do, it will never be good for the press. Because they’re using this to try and win an election.”

The president did not yet know that the virus had penetrated the confines of his oceanfront resort as he continued: “They’re trying to scare everybody, from meetings, cancel the meetings, close the schools — you know, destroy the country. And that’s ok, as long as we can win the election. But I really believe that if they see that the Trump administration is handling this virus in a professional, competent way, I don’t believe that’s going to hurt us.”

Mar-a-Lago will likely be hosting fewer events as efforts to thwart the spread of the virus ramp up.

The Republican Party of Palm Beach County was scheduled to have its annual Lincoln Day Dinner at the club on Friday but had to postpone it. They have held it there the past couple of years, and last year, 700 people attended.

“In light of the national emergency, and also concern of folks who don’t want to be around large crowds, we decided to postpone it,” said Michael Barnett, chairman of the county party. “We’re going to schedule it for sometime in late April or May.”

It will still be at Mar-a-Lago, he said.

“We wouldn’t want to have it anywhere else.”

 

[fundiefan]

15 hours ago, Audrey2 said:

PSA for anyone else who has been furloughed for a while... Many libraries have online resources that you can borrow. I have the Libby app on my phone, and then connected my library card to Libby so I can get on my library card catalog and check out their electronic resources. I've got a pretty good size stock checked out right now and 20 more items on hold (maxed out). I realize this might not work for everyone, but I'm sure I'm not the only one here who has a milk instead of a Kindle so doesn't participate in Amazon's one rate for multiple downloads each month. overdrive is another app that a lot of libraries use to check out their materials.

I have Overdrive and Libby. Both work great and are wonderful options for library reading. You don't always get first release books and usually have to place a hold on more popular books and get it whenever it shows up. But, there are thousands upon thousands of other options to fill the time between putting a book on hold and receiving it. I've read some great books because of that - lots of books I wouldn't have read otherwise. i don't have a Kindle. I have both apps on my tablet and phone. I've gotten into some, shall we say interesting reading phases just because the books are there and I wouldn't normally think to check them out. I read all of Judy Blume's books - it was like reliving my pre-teen years. A whole bunch of early Stephen King books that I may or may not have read, but if I had it was so many years ago I'd forgotten everything about them. Anyway, using an app and digital books has taken me out of my normal reading patterns, which has opened up a whole new world of reading. I get into habits & stick with them until I burn them out, and this way of reading has totally broken that pattern.

[clueliss]

 

[CTRLZero]

1 hour ago, fundiefan said:

i don't have a Kindle. I have both apps on my tablet and phone. I've gotten into some, shall we say interesting reading phases just because the books are there and I wouldn't normally think to check them out.

I have Libby and Overdrive, too, and browse for hours on my phone and laptop courtesy of my public library.  Sometimes I think it's more interesting to explore the titles and descriptions than to actually select a book to listen to or read!  (I may be weird this way.)

I have a Kindle, and do like to read books on it (purchased from Amazon), but haven't figured out how to read library books on it (even though the library says it can be done).  

I like the experience of going to the library to select a book from the stacks or pick up a hold, but it's so great to have these options when housebound.

[clueliss]

Caribbean cruise ship issue, this one isn’t princess

 

Man acts like asshole, leads to 8 hr delay

 

[fundiefan]

12 minutes ago, CTRLZero said:

I have Libby and Overdrive, too, and browse for hours on my phone and laptop courtesy of my public library.  Sometimes I think it's more interesting to explore the titles and descriptions than to actually select a book to listen to or read!  (I may be weird this way.)

I have a Kindle, and do like to read books on it (purchased from Amazon), but haven't figured out how to read library books on it (even though the library says it can be done).  

I like the experience of going to the library to select a book from the stacks or pick up a hold, but it's so great to have these options when housebound.

I like going to the library too, and I do that. But, the ereading offers a different experience and options. 

As for library books on your Kindle, I believe you download them directly from your libraries website versus in app as it's done using Overdrive or Libby. I remember my sister trying to figure it out. 

[fraurosena]

Trump, eat your heart out. Here is a female politician, president of the European Commission, speaking to the public about the pandemic in a language that is not her mother-tongue, in a comprehensive, desicive and yet calming and uplifting manner.

 

 

[Destiny]

I like going to the library too, and I do that. But, the ereading offers a different experience and options.  As for library books on your Kindle, I believe you download them directly from your libraries website versus in app as it's done using Overdrive or Libby. I remember my sister trying to figure it out. 

 

You need to set up an account on your local library’s website, and follow their process for checking out the book. Then, it will be available in Libby and you can port it to kindle with the send to kindle button. You can also set up the Libby app and check out books via that app with your library account and read in that app or send to kindle. Source: checked out a book 20 min ago.

 

Relevant: https://help.libbyapp.com/6017.htm

 

Books are important in these ... interesting times.

[fraurosena]

Juxtaposition between idiot and immunologist.

 

[AmazonGrace]

I have found many great free e-books via Freebooksy and Bookbub (although you have to comb through some rubbish to find them)

[GreyhoundFan]

"Ohio schools may remain closed for the rest of the academic year, governor warns"

Quote

Schools may remain closed for the rest of the academic year, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine warned Sunday, as parents and children across the country prepared for closings that are set to begin this week.

DeWine (R) told CNN that health experts have advised him the spread of the novel coronavirus may not peak until late April or May.

“So we’ve informed superintendents that while we’ve closed schools for three weeks, the odds are this is going to be a lot longer. And it would not surprise me at all if schools did not open again this year,” he said.

DeWine was the first governor to order schools closed statewide — in Ohio’s case, for three weeks — and many others quickly followed. On Sunday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz joined about a dozen states in ordering closures. In his case, Walz ordered public schools closed for eight days starting Wednesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published guidance on Friday for schools on responding to the coronavirus pandemic. The CDC advised widespread closings only in the case of “substantial community transmission.”

The statewide school closures that have been ordered are typically for two or three weeks. The CDC advised that closures for two to four weeks are appropriate in the case of significant absenteeism among staff or students. But it said longer shutdowns — four to eight weeks — are needed to affect the course of the disease’s spread.

That’s one of the reasons New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is resisting closing schools in the city, he told CNN.

“My blunt fear is, if the school shut down, they will be done for the year, done for the school year, maybe even for the calendar year,” he said. De Blasio said he is also concerned about the ramifications of such a closure, including the effect on parents who need to be at work and on those children who rely on schools for meals.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

[JMarie]

33 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

Juxtaposition between idiot and immunologist.

 

Hey, we're not stopping Nunes from going out. Go out, lick all the door handles, get uncomfortably close to other people just so you can breathe in all their exhaled air. Do what you say, already.

[GreyhoundFan]

Once again, Jose Andres is doing it right:

[Audrey2]

As a big fan of Top Chef, the kindness and generosity of those established restraunteers who serve as guest judges overwhelms me every time I hear about it. I hear that Emeril LeGasse took care of his workers during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. 

[GreyhoundFan]

Bravo:

 

[Ali]

If you want to support local restaurants, buy gift cards online through their websites and use them when the pandemic ends.

[clueliss]

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-2-03-15-20-intl-hnk/h_2826fb1113d67d00d69b21c4a5f27f6e
 

you guessed it, 2 princess ships.  I believe in Brazil.  Under quarantine.