Government Response to Coronavirus 5: We're On Our Own

[Cartmann99]

Multiple tweets below the spoilers about Governor Greg Abbott's attempts to shut out the press from his coronavirus briefings.

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

 

 

Edited June 22, 2020 by Cartmann99
added stuff

[GreyhoundFan]

This is no surprise. When you don't award contracts based on normal contracting standards, but on the president's relationship with the owners, you get crap:

 

[GreyhoundFan]

What a moron:

 

[Cartmann99]

Governor urges masks but no new steps as cases rise in Texas

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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ surging coronavirus numbers will not slow the state’s reopening as Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday instead prescribed an emphasis on face coverings and social distancing to curtail sobering trends, including hospitalization rates that have doubled since Memorial Day.

Abbott did not announce any new measures to reverse what he called “unacceptable” trends on the heels of Texas hitting a 10th consecutive day of record COVID-19 hospitalizations. And while he didn’t rule out reimposing lockdown orders in Texas — describing it as a last resort — he said the virus did not require choosing “between jobs and health.” He instead emphasized long-established voluntary measures, such as staying at home if possible.

Wearing a mask has become a political statement during the pandemic throughout the U.S., and Abbott is not requiring them in public, even as big cities last week began racing to impose mask mandates on businesses.

But Abbott nodded to the resistance that has flared particularly from within his party. Ahead of next month’s Texas GOP Convention in Houston, party leaders have said masks won’t be required.

“I know that some people feel that wearing a mask is inconvenient or that it is like an infringement of freedom,” Abbott said in a televised briefing outside his office in the Texas Capitol. “But I also know that wearing a mask will help us to keep Texas open.”

House Democrats quickly blasted Abbott’s reaction to surging cases as insufficient.

“He set the stage to finally take much-needed strong and decisive action — and then, predictably, backed away without doing anything,” Democratic state Rep. Chris Turner said in a statement.

Texas reported more than 3,400 hospitalizations on Sunday and a daily high of more than 4,400 new cases on Saturday. Abbott acknowledged the grim trends that continued over the weekend, saying the virus was spreading at “an unacceptable rate in Texas and must be corralled.”

Pressed on at what point he would consider putting restrictions back in place, Abbott said another doubling of new cases, hospitalizations and infection rates over the next month would create an “urgent situation” that would require action but did not offer specifics.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he was particularly disappointed after “all of the good work we did” in shutting down businesses and slowing the virus’ spread earlier this year. The number of COVID-positive hospital patients in Harris County, which encompasses Houston, has nearly tripled since May 31.

“We’re wiping away the success that we collectively achieved and the sacrifices that people made in March, April, and in May,” Turner said.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the highly contagious virus can cause severe illness, including pneumonia, and be fatal.

In local news, the doubling rate in my county is now 18 days. Our mayor was supposed to let us know today if he plans to issue a mask order, but there's nothing new on any of the local media websites.

Edited June 22, 2020 by Cartmann99

[JMarie]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/5-past-present-governors-release-psa-urging-californians-to-wear-face-masks/ar-BB15Qg3n?ocid=spartanntp

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California’s current and past governors put politics aside to appear in a public service announcement, urging people to wear masks to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Masks are now required in all of California’s public spaces and outdoors when a distance of six feet cannot be maintained. But face masks have become politicized, especially among the supporters of President Trump, who has refused to appear in public wearing a mask despite CDC recommendations.

But masks have apparently united governors Gavin Newsom, Jerry Brown, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gray Davis and Pete Wilson.

At the beginning of the video, Schwarzenegger — a Republican — acknowledges, “Hey, maybe you didn’t vote for me.” The governor he succeeded in a recall election, Democrat Gray Davis, then says, “Arnold, news flash — I voted for Gray Davis.”

Newsom appears next and says that no matter who they voted for, or whether they voted at all, it doesn’t change the fact that Californians look out for each other.

Brown, also a Democrat, appears next in a mask, acknowledging that no one likes to wear masks. Wilson — a Republican — points out that masks have come a long way from when they were worn almost like a cone around just the nose.

“This is not about being weak,” Schwarzenegger — who became famous as a body builder, says.

The ad then goes on to say that wearing face masks are about fighting coronavirus, keeping people safe, and getting Californians back to work.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/local-officials-across-california-balk-at-newsom-face-mask-order-say-they-wont-enforce-it/ar-BB15QaKm?ocid=spartanntp

Quote

 Local governments and police departments in California have said in recent days that they will not enforce a mandate from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom that people in the state wear face masks in most public places, including outdoor areas where social distancing is not possible -- despite emphasis from the governor about the importance of following the order. 

Local governments and police departments in California have said in recent days that they will not enforce a mandate from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom that people in the state wear face masks in most public places, including outdoor areas where social distancing is not possible -- despite emphasis from the governor about the importance of following the order. 

The order comes as California faces a spike in coronavirus hospitalizations as it opens up its economy.

Local politicians and law enforcement officials throughout the state are saying that they won't use the force of law to ensure people wear the masks, with varying degrees of outright resistance to the governor. Reinette Senum, the mayor of tiny Nevada City, for example, tore into Newsom in a Facebook post saying that "[o]ur Governor does NOT have the unilateral power to make such orders." The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, on the other hand, said it recommends that people wear face masks and would work in "an educational capacity" to encourage mask-wearing, while not actually enforcing the mandate. 

Spoiler

https://www.facebook.com/reinettesenum

Senum's Facebook page is open.  Most of the commenters are pro-mask.

 

[47of74]

Here in Iowa Kimmy's done another corruption

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Most of the members of a newly created COVID-19 economic recovery board are heavy donors to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ campaign.

At Governor Reynolds’ last coronavirus press conference, on Thursday, she announced a new executive order creating an Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

Reynolds said the new board will help set the foundation for her legislative agenda in 2021 and serve as the “tip of the spear” to assess the economic effects of COVID-19 and to identify potential recovery and growth opportunities for the state.

However, a majority of the 13 member board has donated large amounts of money to Governor Reynolds campaign within the last five years, according to data from the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board. The average donation from those board members was more than $10,000.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

The ostrich approach -- bury your head in the sand until it goes away:

 

[GreyhoundFan]

A brutal new ad from the Lincoln Project. It's the truth.

 

[JMarie]

What will it be tomorrow?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-administration-has-considered-ending-coronavirus-emergency-even-as-cases-surge/ar-BB15SX8D?ocid=spartan-ntp-feeds

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The Trump administration, eager to claim victory over coronavirus, has been considering scaling back the national emergency declared earlier this year to control the pandemic, according to healthcare industry officials who have spoken with the administration.

The prospect has stoked alarm among public health leaders, physicians, hospital officials and others who are trying to control the outbreak and fear that such a move would make it more difficult for state and local governments and health systems to keep the coronavirus in check.

Pressed on the issue Tuesday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told the Los Angeles Times that no such move was imminent.

“I just spoke with the president," she said, "and he said we are not looking at lifting the national emergency declarations.”

But White House officials have a history of contradicting themselves, most recently on Monday when McEnany claimed President Trump was joking over the weekend when he said he’d directed aides to slow coronavirus testing. Trump said Tuesday it wasn’t a joke.

Several industry officials interviewed by The Times said they’d received indications over the last week from the Trump administration that lifting emergency declarations was being considered.

“It was very much under discussion,” said one industry official, who asked not to be identified to avoid jeopardizing relationships with the administration.

Bing COVID-19 tracker: Latest numbers by country and state

The discussions have taken place as hospitalizations and caseloads have begun to climb rapidly in several large states that moved early to lift restrictions on businesses, an increase that could make it more difficult for the administration to end the emergency declarations.

Healthcare leaders said they’d been mystified by the administration’s unwillingness to publicly commit to an extension of the emergency declarations, one of which is scheduled to expire next month.

“It’s the silence that worries us,” said Meg Murray, chief executive of the Assn. for Community Affiliated Plans, which represents nonprofit health insurers, many of whose customers are overwhelmingly low-income. “If they were seeing the world the way we are, we’d expect them to be more clear.”

“I know the administration is trying to pretend that this is over, but it’s clearly not,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, the longtime head of the American Public Health Assn. “Many governors are still struggling to figure out what they need to do, particularly in those states where they are beginning to realize they have emergencies. … We need the flexibility that emergency declarations provide.”

The emergency declarations the administration has issued since the beginning of the year have loosened or waived rules and regulations on hospitals and other medical providers and helped route badly needed money to states.

A dramatic expansion of tele-health, for example, has been smoothed by an emergency declaration allowing Medicare and commercial health plans to reimburse clinics and hospitals for telephone and internet visits. That's made it possible for patients to see their doctors without going to an office.

Similarly, hospitals have been able to quickly hire more staff, sometimes from other states, and to add beds without going through a lengthy permitting process.

Emergency declarations also have freed additional Medicaid money for states and made it easier to ensure that people who rely on Medicaid won’t lose coverage during the economic downturn.

California received a waiver from the federal government to allow patients on its Medicaid program to more quickly receive mental health and substance abuse treatment via tele-health.

“People may be unaware of how important these declarations are to the ability of the healthcare system to address coronavirus,” said Carmela Coyle, president of the California Hospital Assn., many of whose members have been scrambling to keep California’s outbreak in check.

California is among more than two dozen states where the number of coronavirus cases is now rising, according to data assembled by the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.

Increases in some states may largely reflect more testing, which health officials say they believe is the case in California. Many states, however, including Texas and Florida, are also recording a surge in hospitalizations, indicating that serious cases are on the rise.

Now, public health experts fear that deaths may soon begin to rise again after a months-long decline. COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, has killed more than 120,000 Americans.

Despite the worrying numbers, Trump has been downplaying the threat for weeks as the cost of the economic slowdown has become increasingly acute.

The president dramatically scaled back the work schedule of the White House coronavirus task force and ended daily briefings by the group, including its leading scientists. He has urged a swift return to normal, celebrating moves by states to relax restrictions.

Trump also continues to argue that the increasing number of cases is being driven entirely by more testing, an idea widely dismissed by public health experts.

Declaring an end to the national emergency may bolster the president’s claim that the country is returning to normal.

One of the declarations — a public health emergency issued by the Department of Health and Human Services in January and renewed in April — is set to expire in late July unless the agency renews it.

A spokesperson for the health agency wouldn’t discuss the declaration on the record but in a statement said: “At this time, HHS expects to renew the Public Health Emergency due to COVID-19 before it expires. We have already renewed this PHE once.”

Hospital, health plan and public health officials say that renewal is important. But they caution that it is equally important to ensure the president does not end related national emergency declarations that he made in March.

These additional declarations — one called a national emergency declaration and one called a Stafford Act declaration — are also critical to sustaining the health system response, they say.

“The key waivers and increased access to many critical supplies depend on these declarations being in force,” said Chip Kahn, head of the Federation of American Hospitals. “It’s unfathomable to me that they would drop any of them.”

Trump was reluctant to issue the additional national emergency declarations in March, as he worked at the time to downplay the severity of the coronavirus outbreak.

The delay prevented states from fully leveraging their Medicaid programs, stoking rising cries from state leaders for White House action.

 

[CTRLZero]

Re: coronavirus emergency declaration article above. 

That's an interesting article, especially since just today I received an alert on my phone (after which I  did some research on the official sites):

From the Washington [State] Emergency Management Division:

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Starting June 26, face coverings (masks) will be required statewide.

Of course, the announcement contains more language, including exemptions, etc., but I thought we were already required to wear masks.  I'm wondering if this means businesses can't allow people inside without masks?  Most people are very good about wearing masks indoors, but there are some who don't or can't, so I'm not sure what this announcement means.  It does mention wearing masks outdoors if you are unable to keep the 6-foot distance requirement.

We've had an increase in our county, plus Yakima county just over the mountain range has a huge number of new cases, so maybe it's in response to that.  It's nice to have a governor who is more concerned about our health than our idiot president and his confusing messages.

I think I need a few more masks anyway.  Does anyone have a good source for cloth masks? 

[PreciousPantsofDoom]

12 hours ago, CTRLZero said:

think I need a few more masks anyway.  Does anyone have a good source for cloth masks? 

I got a bunch off Etsy (I wanted to support Canadian small businesses since I'm in Canada, but you could do similar in the US.) A friend got hers from a local swimwear company that decided to make some masks. I'm sure you can find a local business turning them out (anything that usually produces things made of fabric that has sewing machines is probably making them right now.) 

Bigger companies are also getting in on the act. I keep seeing some surprisingly reasonably priced ones that Nordstroms is advertising, and some of the sports wear companies like Under Armour are making some cool looking ones.

Therè are also displays of packaged cloth masks available at our local Whole Foods (but I only went once a while back, so don't know if they have continued to stock them) and at two local pharmacies if you don't want to wait for an order to come in 

Lastly, I just ordered a few from eShakti, but I don't expect them to arrive for a while, so I can't say how they will turn out yet.

(All the sewing people out there are laughing at me, but they haven't seen me attempt to sew, so there's that. )

[CTRLZero]

59 minutes ago, PreciousPantsofDoom said:

(All the sewing people out there are laughing at me, but they haven't seen me attempt to sew, so there's that. )

❤️  I ended up with my mother-in-law's sewing machine, which is currently gathering dust.  I've been so tempted to give mask-making a try, but just can't seem to gather the courage or energy after so many non-sewing decades.  Maybe soon.

When the pandemic started, we had some masks given to us by friends, but we're getting to the point we need extras scattered about since we sometimes forget to have them with us, or are between wash cycles.  I'll try looking around at your recommendations.  Thanks!

[Cartmann99]

2 hours ago, CTRLZero said:

❤️  I ended up with my mother-in-law's sewing machine, which is currently gathering dust.  I've been so tempted to give mask-making a try, but just can't seem to gather the courage or energy after so many non-sewing decades.  Maybe soon.

When the pandemic started, we had some masks given to us by friends, but we're getting to the point we need extras scattered about since we sometimes forget to have them with us, or are between wash cycles.  I'll try looking around at your recommendations.  Thanks!

I've made a few face masks over the last few weeks, and this is the one I'm planning to try next:

Spoiler

I like how she gives you several options for the nose and ear part based on what materials are available to you.

Here's her blog post where you download the templates for various sizes:

 https://www.prettyhandygirl.com/best-fit-facemask

 

[Cartmann99]

The six testing sites located outside of Texas are in Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

9 minutes ago, Cartmann99 said:

The six testing sites located outside of Texas are in Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

 

I was going to post this earlier then couldn't find the text based article.

We need those sites.  And who is overseeing the 14 billion they are saving with this.  

[Ozlsn]

50 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

I was going to post this earlier then couldn't find the text based article.

We need those sites.  And who is overseeing the 14 billion they are saving with this.  

You know every time I think this administration cannot get more incompetent and corrupt they start excavating. There is not enough WTF in the world.

[JMarie]

We should just admit that Trump and his associates WILL NEVER GET HOW SERIOUS COVID IS!!!!!!!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-eschews-face-covering-ignoring-rubio-urging-that-everyone-wear-a-damn-mask/ar-BB15YpIE?ocid=spartan-ntp-feeds

Quote

President Donald Trump continued this week to eschew wearing face coverings even as he traveled to states where the coronavirus was spreading apace and as a Republican senator and GOP governors joined health experts in pushing for their use as the crisis worsened.

His continued opposition to wearing a mask came as an ABC News/Ipsos poll found an overwhelming majority of Americans said they had worn a face mask in public in the last week.

The president taped a town hall-style interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday afternoon at an airplane hangar in Green Bay, Wisconsin, at which the network required all attendees to wear masks and have their temperature checked upon arrival.

Trump was not wearing a mask in a short clip from the town hall that aired Thursday afternoon on Fox News, which hosted the event scheduled to air later in the day.

Earlier Thursday, the president visited the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of that war. He and first lady Melania Trump stood relatively close to elderly veterans and other dignitaries, none wearing a mask, although a White House spokesman told ABC News the veterans had been tested for COVID-19.

The mask requirement at the Wisconsin town hall, instituted by Fox News, stood in marked contrast to the two large-scale events the president attended over the past week, both of which featured large, indoor crowds not required to wear face coverings or practice social distancing.

At a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday, a tiny percentage of the over 6,000 attendees wore masks as they sat and stood packed together inside an arena.

In Phoenix on Tuesday, Trump similarly spoke to thousands of young supporters who largely went without masks as they sat and cheered shoulder to shoulder inside a church. One Arizona public health expert told ABC News the event "could lead to a super-spreader event."

All three states hosting Trump have over the past two weeks seen increasing numbers of coronavirus cases, as well as higher rates of people testing positive. Oklahoma on Wednesday reported its highest single-day increase in cases, and over the last week, Arizona has experienced a record number of hospitalizations.

While Trump has never worn a mask in public, Vice President Mike Pence has -- albeit just on occasion and depending on the circumstances.

On Thursday in Ohio, he donned one when talking with community members at a police station, but he did not wear one at a presentation of an electric pickup truck just before. He had drawn flack for not putting one on when visiting the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in April -- the facility required them for visitors -- and has since been spotted wearing one after a top aide tested positive.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, there were signs top Republicans had started to increasingly embrace face coverings. In some states represented in the Senate by the GOP, the virus's spread has picked up in recent weeks as state and local authorities relax social distancing requirements.

"Everyone should just wear a damn mask, like you guys are, like I am right now," Sen. Marco Rubio, from hot-spot Florida, said he had told his Republican colleagues and Pence on Wednesday.

Echoing some Republican governors who have increasingly encouraged -- but stopped short of mandating -- face coverings to stem upticks in their states, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday would not say that he thought masks should be required, but that he thought people "ought to" wear them.

"That's what we're doing in the Senate and what I'm counseling other people to do," he said.

Across the country, more Americans have started wearing masks in public, according to the ABC News/Ipsos poll published Thursday.

Nearly 9 in 10 Americans (89%) who left their home in the last week said they wore a face mask or a face covering -- up 20% since the last time the question was asked in mid-April.

Polls have shown Republicans wear masks at a lower rate than Democrats do. The latest ABC News/Ipsos poll found that, among those who have left their home in the last week, 99% of Democrats chose to wear a covering in public, compared to 79% of Republicans and 87% of independents.

There's an error in the article.  Today isn't the anniversary of the end of the war; it's the anniversary of the start of the war. Why would anyone memorialize the beginning of a war???

[Ozlsn]

US sent relief funds to dead people.

I know this happens a bit, but this is why you need transparency and good accounting!!

[Ozlsn]

6 hours ago, JMarie said:

He and first lady Melania Trump stood relatively close to elderly veterans and other dignitaries, none wearing a mask, although a White House spokesman told ABC News the veterans had been tested for COVID-19.

Seriously?? Seriously?? Frankly I hope one of the tests was a false negative and Trump (,but none of the other people present) was infected. 

[JMarie]

Pence just finished talking at the press briefing.  He offered thoughts and prayer to affected families. Birx is discussing hard-to-follow slides and "increased testing and increased test positivity."

Neither Pence or Birx were wearing a mask, not even around pulled down around their necks.  Even they both discussed the need for a mask.

[clueliss]

Birx needs to have the difference between Millennials and Gen Z defined for her.

[onekidanddone]

Just gonna leave this here

The leader of an anti mask/pro reopening group has COVID. He blames Satan 
 

https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/ac-cn-tim-walters-coronavirus-20200626-5l3epvbptng4dn4ys5btb5zika-story.html
 

Edited June 26, 2020 by onekidanddone

[Cartmann99]

2 hours ago, onekidanddone said:

Just gonna leave this here

The leader of an anti mask/pro reopening group has COVID. He blames Satan 
 

https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/ac-cn-tim-walters-coronavirus-20200626-5l3epvbptng4dn4ys5btb5zika-story.html
 

 

[Ozlsn]

5 hours ago, clueliss said:

Birx needs to have the difference between Millennials and Gen Z defined for her.

To be honest so do a lot of media. I've heard "millenial" used to mean "The generation after gen X", "The generation who were turning 18 in 2000" and "The generation born from 2000 onwards". So basically "not boomer, not X".

[onekidanddone]

1 hour ago, Cartmann99 said:

 

Well isn’t that special