Coronavirus ~ COVID-19

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Originally Posted by Kätzchen

Say, do either of you guys know what has become of the SDNY's case progress against 45 and his corrupt family (concerning Tax Evasion, et al)?

I keep looking for any progress on that front, hoping that the current Covid19 crisis has not prevented the SDNY from working on that front (I guess it's a behind-the-scenes investigation still).

Unfortunately, I think it was settled out of court.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Originally Posted by ~ocean

in tonight's WHO briefing TRUMP thanked Russia and Saudi Arabia ? why ? he didn't explain why ~ unless I missed it . I smell something trumpish ops fishy ~~ no I mean trumpish ~

I think he was probably thanking them for finally agreeing on a schedule for pumping oil, thus regulating the price of oil.

[Jedi]

I start feeling ok and like I can handle this staying in until June thing then I read things like this...... https://www.npr.org/sections/coronav...06PfHdtUfwspWg

[~ocean]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

I think he was probably thanking them for finally agreeing on a schedule for pumping oil, thus regulating the price of oil.

ty Georgia I didn't see that part

[easygoingfemme]

Sometimes I think it's crazy how we have acclimated to so many huge changes and are just like... here is the new normal... and go.

We got our thermal gun thermometers in at work yesterday. We will now use them on individuals coming into shelter, including children. I have to point this gun like thing at their head to take their temperature after giving them a face mask. I wish there was a better way but we have to keep some distance and have a way to have a thermometer that we can use on countless people in the coming months. I think with the kids I'll take my temperature with it first so they see it's not going to hurt. This is a very far cry from how I usually bring children in. The little ones especially that need snuggles get carried around by me, if they want, fed yummy snacks, read stories. None of that now. Yesterday I lined up four siblings to the bathroom to scrub before being able to pass them a box of apples and crackers.

[Kelt]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

I know that whether or not to get take-out has been discussed several times in this thread. I had decided not to risk it (although I fell off the wagon once). But last night I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Science Vs (versus). They fact-check various rumors, and cover what Science has to say about it. They also include documented sources on their web page for every episode.

-snip-

I have been trying to work out my own takeout dilemma as I have three restaurants in town that I absolutely love, miss like crazy, and really want to support. These are places that just have two or three outlets and they’re not part of any chain. They need local support.

In the last month I have only been out twice to buy groceries and didn’t think that getting takeout was a good idea especially since these places do fresh whole mostly raw foods. I ventured out yesterday mostly just to get out of the house and drive around and check on various spots around town and some of the access for beaches and trails. I swung by my favorite eateries and I found two of them to be closed (I hope not forever), and the third, my absolute favorite was open for takeout. I decided to go in and see how they were handling all of the fresh ingredients. They have always worn gloves for everything and now have face coverings as well. When I was there was a gigantic order was being assembled on some of the tables and a van pulled up to start loading it out, when I asked the owner how they were doing she said that they weren’t profitable but they were staying afloat thanks to some of the locals and this new very large patron. It turns out that two of the good size hospital organizations, including Scripps, are getting food from them to feed their staff.

The way I see it avoiding some of the freshest most healthy food because of mis-trust and spotty supply at the grocery is doing me more harm than the very tiny risk I would take having it very carefully and cleanly prepared at this place that the hospitals are trusting with their own people.

I ordered takeout lunch and dinner there yesterday, and I’m about to go get my dinner for tonight. My body is thanking me and my mind just feels better supporting a local business that I care about.

I feel safe and healthy and best of all got to speak face-to-face, although covered, with an actual human being!!

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Trump is trying to avoid blame for not jumping on the COVID-19 pandemic fast enough.

He's stopped sending funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) because he says they didn't do their job in getting involved in China fast enough when the pandemic first broke out. "Had the WHO done its job to get medical experts into China to objectively assess the situation on the ground and to call out China's lack of transparency, the outbreak could have been contained at its source with very little death," said Trump at today's daily briefing.

In light of China's lack of transparency, how exactly was the WHO to know what was going on? Also, Trump is no statistician - how did he arrive at this idea? Trump is just trying to foist his clear irresponsibility off on someone else (the WHO).

[~ocean]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

Trump is trying to avoid blame for not jumping on the COVID-19 pandemic fast enough.

He's stopped sending funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) because he says they didn't do their job in getting involved in China fast enough when the pandemic first broke out. "Had the WHO done its job to get medical experts into China to objectively assess the situation on the ground and to call out China's lack of transparency, the outbreak could have been contained at its source with very little death," said Trump at today's daily briefing.

In light of China's lack of transparency, how exactly was the WHO to know what was going on? Also, Trump is no statistician - how did he arrive at this idea? Trump is just trying to foist his clear irresponsibility off on someone else (the WHO).

^ 5 Georgia I totally agree w/ u ~ trump was told back in 2019 about the virus ~ what he did today was so typical for a narcissus when caught in a lie. blame others. then taking credit for planning to stock pile venilator's ~ Biden & Obama already had a program in place and detailed for PPE ~

[charley]

I just checked totals for Canada of Covid-19 on the John Hopkins site that I had already mentioned earlier:

Total number of cases: 27,063
Deaths: 903

[To get a perspective of this for my neighbour down south, the population of Canada is 37.59 million, while the population of the state of New York is about 19.45 million.]

The gruesome facts are that "More than half of COVID-19 deaths in Canada have been seniors' home residents".

There is a dreadful scandal (particularly) going on in Quebec and in Ontario. (BC also had a smaller version of this.)

Doug Ford, the Ontario Premier (a fiscal Conservative), had stopped inspections in such homes going all the way back to 2017. So, most of these people who run these places have hired only part-time people (at a minimum wage, with no benefits) and such people have had to work in more than one place just to get by, and god only knows what was really going on in these places.

A similar situation has existed in Quebec. In one place run by a company called Maison Herron (who has, if I remember correctly, about 6 or 7 (?) other places), seniors had died and Herron had not let anyone know, and most of the staff had not even shown up for a long time, leaving seniors suffering and dying in their beds without any care whatsoever. (I won't go into the details, which were horrific.) The premier of Quebec, François Legault, expressed "shock" at what was going on in them, and said that the govt had requested access to info and entry into places and Herron had refused, so police had to get a court order to go in and find out what was going on. So, there is now a criminal investigation going on there. Legault's "shock" sounded "sincere"; but, the same situation of part-time low-paid employees working several places was standard practice that his govt was/should have known about. Moreover, Herron had a history of negligence, which had been ignored to begin with. There is now pressure to make these care employees only work in one place, and all of these employees must now wear masks. I don't know exactly where all that will lead.

All these places take most (if not all) of the Old Age Pensions (OAS) of these seniors as the price for the "privilege" of living in such hell holes.

Like cruise ships, these places are what I will do everything to avoid. But then again, , I know someone connected with the "Health Authority" where I live and he said, laughing, that I wasn't the kind of person who would end up in such a place.

It's 7:00 here, bells are ringing, people applauding (me too), cars honking their horns, various noise makers... shift change for hospital workers.

[FireSignFemme]

Coronavirus Misinformation Tracking Center
https://www.newsguardtech.com/corona...acking-center/

Sources for COVID-19 Info
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroo...onavirus-info/


World Health Organization -
https://www.who.int/emergencies/dise...ronavirus-2019

https://www.who.int/emergencies/dise...c/myth-busters


Our World in Data - daily updated research and data on the coronavirus pandemic
https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus

[GeorgiaMa'am]

According to the BBC, the worldwide number of confirmed coronavirus cases has passed 2 million.

Meanwhile, Bill Gates, who contributes substantially to the WHO, is totally p.o.ed at Trump over his defunding of the WHO.

[nycfem]

NYC is still off the charts high with COVID, now over 200K tested positive in NY with 11K deaths. NJ right by us has 69K positive, and to give perspective, every other state has less than 30K tested positive. We haven't left our apartment building in a month, and even inside here we utilize gloves, masks, wipes, etc. Everything takes extra long because we do it so carefully. And yet... people in NYC who we know who are being careful are still getting sick which I think points to how prevalent it is here as well as how easy it is to get in an area with such a high prevalence of the virus. Every day without getting sick feels like a success!

Our hospitals are a mess. If you google "nurse Elmhurst hospital video" you can get a sense of what the hospital scene is like here. Collectively in NYC everyone is avoiding hospitals unless they are at the point of almost dying. A few blocks from me in Central Park there is a huge makeshift tent "hospital" that takes spillover since all the hospitals are full. Many nurses and doctors are not skilled in the areas that they are working in out of the desperation for anybody to help. And lack of protective gear is a huge issue.

Over 50 people from my school system have died. Thanks Cuomo and Diblasio for pushing to keep schools open for an extra two weeks when we all already had active positive cases in our school buildings. My friend who works for the subway / MTA had 80 of her colleagues die. Lack of space for bodies is leading to temporary park burial, which is very unsettling. I had my friend in Ohio send me toilet paper because there is often no way to get the basics of things locally- online and deliveries to this area are just depleted. Groceries are just whatever one can get delivered, with several weeks wait, and often are not even available. Amazon cup of noodle soups work well for us.

We are still busy working remotely though it's hard to focus when we keep learning people around us are sick. My student population is especially hard hit (East Harlem) because so many are living in small spaces with many people and in shelters. NYC living, in general, is not ideal for such an easily contagious virus. Still, BB and I are grateful to have jobs that allow us to work remotely and to have our small, cozy apartment with our three cats to love up.

[RockOn]

Oh, oh, oh ... it is so HEARTBREAKING what people are experiencing in NYC and other extreme hot spots.

nycfem & BB... continue with every precaution just like you are doing and if you can think of more, do them! I am certain everyone here agrees with me when I say we all want you two to continue to be here with us.

Thanks for posting. NYC is one place I think of every day!

[nycfem]

Originally Posted by RockOn

Oh, oh, oh ... it is so HEARTBREAKING what people are experiencing in NYC and other extreme hot spots.

nycfem & BB... continue with every precaution just like you are doing and if you can think of more, do them! I am certain everyone here agrees with me when I say we all want you two to continue to be here with us.

Thanks for posting. NYC is one place I think of every day!

Thank you. I'm very grateful for the community on this site. It's my "Cheers" .

[FireSignFemme]

Today I received a notice informing Harvard School of Public Health has found air pollution is making it harder for people to recover from COVID-19. Health officials are reminding citizens who live where burn bans are already in place to of course not burn things against the law. They're also asking those living in areas where burn bans are not in effect to find other means of disposal whenever possible.

[A. Spectre]

What Do Countries With The Best Coronavirus Responses Have In Common? Women Leaders


Looking for examples of true leadership in a crisis? From Iceland to Taiwan and from Germany to New Zealand, women are stepping up to show the world how to manage a messy patch for our human family. Add in Finland, Iceland and Denmark, and this pandemic is revealing that women have what it takes when the heat rises in our Houses of State. Many will say these are small countries, or islands, or other exceptions. But Germany is large and leading, and the UK is an island with very different outcomes. These leaders are gifting us an attractive alternative way of wielding power. What are they teaching us?

Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, stood up early and calmly told her countrymen that this was a serious bug that would infect up to 70% of the population. “It’s serious,” she said, “take it seriously.” She did, so they did too. Testing began right from the get-go. Germany jumped right over the phases of denial, anger and disingenuousness we’ve seen elsewhere. The country’s numbers are far below its European neighbors, and there are signs it may be able to start loosening restrictions relatively soon.

List of Countries with Female Leaders and Coronavirus death rates
Data from the European Centre for Disease Control as of April 12, 2020 20-FIRST
Among the first and the fastest responses was from Tsai Ing-wen in Taiwan. Back in January, at the first sign of a new illness, she introduced 124 measures to block the spread without having to resort to the lockdowns that have become common elsewhere. She is now sending 10 million face masks to the U.S. and Europe. Tsai managed what CNN has called “among the world’s best” responses, keeping the epidemic under control, still reporting only six deaths.

Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand was early to lockdown and crystal clear on the maximum level of alert she was putting the country under – and why. She imposed self-isolation on people entering New Zealand astonishingly early, when there were just 6 cases in the whole country, and banned foreigners entirely from entering soon after. Clarity and decisiveness are saving New Zealand from the storm. As of mid-April they have suffered only four deaths, and where other countries talk of lifting restrictions, Ardern is adding to them, making all returning New Zealanders quarantine in designated locations for 14 days.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/avivahw.../#1a5ed0963dec

[FireSignFemme]

Oh my head, I looked for toilet paper for hours. I know there are many ways of doing without it. I've done it before and if I have to, we'll you've got to do what you've got to do, but if there's any way possible I can avoid it, I'm prepared to work very, very hard to scrounge up toilet paper for sale at a reasonable price. I haven't shopped for it in quite awhile.

My son hit a sale at an office supply store back in December and brought me cases of it. The last lot I bought myself, it was so long ago I have no idea how much I paid for it. I'm wondering what the situation is around the country, if others are having as much difficulty as I am, first even finding it in stock, and then at an affordable price?

Well I finally found some and after all the work it took I don't think warning people not to hoard is working at all. I wonder if we'll ever see ration cards again or if that only happens when there's a depression going on or to aid in a war effort. I won't hoard now but when this thing ends boy am I ever going to stockpile and stockpile and stockpile.

[Kätzchen]

I think it's incredibly stressful, the crushing stress, people face in NYC. Just reading Nycfem's personal account of what is transpiring in her NYC neighborhood and the loss of life, the ongoing crisis of not being able to find food or the basic necessities one needs for life everyday? It crushes my heart.


I think it is difficult for people to wrap their arms around the magnitude and consequences that comes with a medical crisis, like this. I know, right here at home in my own metro area, which is no where near as big as other mega-metropolitan areas in the US, people seem to know how serious this is, but I see other signs in the environment that tell me otherwise: People not really staying 6 feet away in distance from others, people not wearing any gloves or homemade mask out in public or at the grocery store or post office, etc. Before our metro area got on board with the severity of this crisis, I was using gloves and my scarf to protect myself while on the job. I can't help but think of how people don't practice good hygiene etiquette. For example, people who won't cover their mouth when they cough or carry tissues to cover their nose when they sneeze, much less go wash their hands after coughing or sneezing. I was in the ladies restroom, weeks ago, when I watched another woman leave the toilet and not wash her hands and touched surfaces with her hands after using the restroom. How many times have we seen that, in day to day life examples? I'm betting it's common place to see people not practice cleanliness. I think the COVID pandemic crisis not only provides people with a crystal clear picture of what needs to change dramatically, as far as taking ownership of their own hygiene practices, but it is also a gigantic wakeup call to reexamine the flawed ways that our country addresses critical issues in day to day life, at every level of any institution, as we go forward in using this situation to rectify issues that have never really been rectified suitably for the well being for everybody who lives in America.

Sending wellness wishes to all,
~K.

[charley]

Originally Posted by FireSignFemme

Oh my head, I looked for toilet paper for hours. I know there are many ways of doing without it. I've done it before and if I have to, we'll you've got to do what you've got to do, but if there's any way possible I can avoid it, I'm prepared to work very, very hard to scrounge up toilet paper for sale at a reasonable price. I haven't shopped for it in quite awhile.

My son hit a sale at an office supply store back in December and brought me cases of it. The last lot I bought myself, it was so long ago I have no idea how much I paid for it. I'm wondering what the situation is around the country, if others are having as much difficulty as I am, first even finding it in stock, and then at an affordable price?

Well I finally found some and after all the work it took I don't think warning people not to hoard is working at all. I wonder if we'll ever see ration cards again or if that only happens when there's a depression going on or to aid in a war effort. I won't hoard now but when this thing ends boy am I ever going to stockpile and stockpile and stockpile.

I couldn't take not having some of my fav things (food), so I took the bus to my fav large supermarket.

Toilet Paper: only one per customer, I have stockpiled, so didn't get any.

The bus: only 2 people going, 3 people on the bus returning!

It is the first time in a month that I have used the bus (which is now free), and I had to get on using the back door. I wore gloves and my bandanna. I had taken my buggy and they wouldn't let me bring my buggy into the store. So I left it at the entry (no one touched it, lol) and used their own cart, which they were cleaning one at a time. Btw, I was looked at suspiciously and treated like garbage (for the first time ever in that store!) - since I ain't rich and look gay... butch, and I guess it showed! Covid-19 is making all prejudices and fears and hatreds come out. Canada has systemic racism, and oh yeah ... homophobia!!! I got everything I wanted and left the store with a full load. I tried to talk with someone waiting for the bus (more than 20' apart) and said lucky you... surgical mask; she was wearing a surgical mask and I only had my bandanna. She said sorry and turned her head away from me. So now I have to deal with prejudices of those who were lucky enough to get surgical masks and the fact that I only have a bandanna! Coming home, I talked with the bus driver. Apparently, quite a few of the bus drivers are staying home (underlying medical conditions/fear), and some have come down with Covid-19. I was seated in the middle of the bus, and the other two were sitting way in the back. Also, the bus driver said that besides regular ridership being down, she hadn't seen the usual mentally disabled riders on for weeks - apparently - and I didn't know this, but she told me that many of these peeps would just get on the bus and would just go for rides and wouldn't usually get off. Won't be going back to this supermarket until this is mainly over, whatever & whenever that means. So, I am now stuck with the local yuppie supermarket, and paying exorbitant prices for groceries, etc.

Depression: Economically speaking - and I know very little about such matters, but CBC News Network in Canada has used the phrase 'double depression' yesterday.

The whole situation sucks and I blame all the men in power, globally.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

For fans of Dr. Anthony Fauci (and I know there are some here) - NPR's Fresh Air podcast today was about him. They interviewed a reporter who has followed him for many years, not Dr. Fauci himself. It was very interesting. Not only did they discuss COVID-19 and Dr. Fauci's talent for getting along with people in power while telling them the truth, they went back to the early days of HIV and how Dr. Fauci was an advocate for HIV positive gay men. Apparently, he's been offered the job as head of NIH three times, and he's turned it down every time, for various reasons.

Available wherever you find your podcasts.