What are your thoughts on how government is handling COVID-19

[AGBF]

While we are on the subject of hubris, let us not forget he who would cleanse the lungs with bleach.

"WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday criticized congressional testimony delivered a day earlier by Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, who had warned against reopening the country too quickly and stressed the unknown effects the coronavirus could have on children returning to school.

'I was surprised by his answer,' Mr. Trump told reporters who had gathered in the Cabinet Room for the president’s meeting with the governors of Colorado and North Dakota. 'To me it’s not an acceptable answer, especially when it comes to schools.'

The president’s desire to reopen schools and businesses in order to bring back the economy has often led to public clashes over the guidance provided by Dr. Fauci, who has warned that taking a cavalier attitude toward reopening the country could invite unnecessary suffering caused by a virus scientists are still struggling to understand. He reiterated that position on Tuesday in testimony before a Senate committee.

'He wants to play all sides of the equation,' Mr. Trump said on Wednesday, before bragging that the economy next year would be 'phenomenal.'

Dr. Fauci also told the Senate panel that a vaccine for the coronavirus would almost certainly not be ready in time for the new school year, and warned of the dangers of the virus to children. 'I think we better be careful, if we are not cavalier, in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects' Dr. Fauci said. 'You’re right in the numbers that children in general do much, much better than adults and the elderly and particularly those with underlying conditions. But I am very careful, and hopefully humble in knowing that I don’t know everything about this disease. And that’s why I’m very reserved in making broad predictions.'

Dr. Fauci has increasingly become a target of critics who see him as undermining the president’s efforts to open up the country and restore the economy and as exaggerating the effects of the pandemic. A month ago, Mr. Trump made headlines for sharing a tweet with the hashtag '#FireFauci' after a series of reports detailed the president’s slow response to the threat of the virus.

The president’s comments on Wednesday were an even more direct show of disapproval. And they came as health officials in New York were investigating more than 100 cases of a rare and dangerous inflammatory syndrome that afflicts children and appears to be connected to the virus".

 

[House Cat]

The CDC is about to issue a warning regarding the coronavirus and children.

CDC will alert doctors to look out for syndrome in children that could be related to coronavirus | CNN

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing to release an alert warning doctors to be on the lookout for a dangerous inflammatory syndrome in children that could be linked to coronavirus infection, a CDC spokesman told CNN Tuesday.

www.cnn.com

This has been seen in 17 states so far. Three have died, including someone who was 18 years old.

I believe people have been real cocky about this virus because they believe it isn’t deadly to their children.

I wonder if this new facet of the virus will change the deadly trajectory we’re on. I wonder if policy will be written in less haste because our children are involved. I wonder if people’s minds will change regarding the seriousness of this issue. If this doesn’t influence any of these things, nothing will.

 

[Demon]

The White House is testing daily and using contact tracing. The Fox News COO issued a memo extending their WFH initiative for all staff through at least June 15, even as hosts are parroting Trump on air and calling for an end to sheltering in place without adequate testing and contact tracing.

It’s beyond me why anybody thinks we should all do as they say and not as they do.

Apparently the Abbott tests the white house is using gives false negative about half of the time. So who knows how many people there have been infected.

 

[JPie]

Apparently the Abbott tests the white house is using gives false negative about half of the time. So who knows how many people there have been infected.

Oh boy.

 

[Calliecake]

I watched Dr Richard Bright testifying this morning

Dr. Richard Bright sent dozens of early warnings. We knew the supply chain was low on PPE early on. Each time he was met with indifference. He received only excuses, never any actions regarding masks and PPE. Dr. Bright was told his warnings caused commotion.

 

[missy]

The CDC is about to issue a warning regarding the coronavirus and children.

CDC will alert doctors to look out for syndrome in children that could be related to coronavirus | CNN

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing to release an alert warning doctors to be on the lookout for a dangerous inflammatory syndrome in children that could be linked to coronavirus infection, a CDC spokesman told CNN Tuesday.

www.cnn.com

This has been seen in 17 states so far. Three have died, including someone who was 18 years old.

I believe people have been real cocky about this virus because they believe it isn’t deadly to their children.

I wonder if this new facet of the virus will change the deadly trajectory we’re on. I wonder if policy will be written in less haste because our children are involved. I wonder if people’s minds will change regarding the seriousness of this issue. If this doesn’t influence any of these things, nothing will.

There are 82 cases now in NYC.

Coronavirus News: NYC launches ad campaign about COVID-19 related syndrome in children

New York City is launching a public service campaign to inform parents about a rare syndrome that is thought to be linked to COVID-19 and has been diagnosed in more than 80 children in the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.

abc7ny.com

"Of the 82 children diagnosed with pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome in the city, 53 have tested positive either for COVID-19 or for antibodies for the disease, de Blasio said."

I thought the same as you @House Cat that maybe this will be the tipping point into more cautious behavior re getting back to "normal". And if not, well, then nothing would change people's minds and what will be will be.

 

[cmd2014]

There are 82 cases now in NYC.

Coronavirus News: NYC launches ad campaign about COVID-19 related syndrome in children

New York City is launching a public service campaign to inform parents about a rare syndrome that is thought to be linked to COVID-19 and has been diagnosed in more than 80 children in the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.

abc7ny.com

"Of the 82 children diagnosed with pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome in the city, 53 have tested positive either for COVID-19 or for antibodies for the disease, de Blasio said."

I thought the same as you @House Cat that maybe this will be the tipping point into more cautious behavior re getting back to "normal". And if not, well, then nothing would change people's minds and what will be will be.

We are seeing this here too, mainly in Quebec. It seems insane that they are opening schools...

 

[missy]

We are seeing this here too, mainly in Quebec. It seems insane that they are opening schools...

NYC has over 100 cases now.

CDC Issues Alert as Cases of NYC Kids With Severe COVID Syndrome Spike, Spread in US

A 9-year-old boy in an upstate New York region with relatively few cases of coronavirus is recovering from a rare inflammatory syndrome thought to be related to the virus

www.nbcnewyork.com

 

[Matata]

The president has prioritized economic viability (and his re-election) over human life. He is between a rock and a hard place because the pandemic has pushed us into a lose-lose situation. Open too soon -- people die. Stay closed -- peoples' lives are devastated in other ways. Slow reopen and re-close depending on infection numbers, some people die, some circumstances improve, other circumstances don't improve. We're going to be living in limbo for a long time no matter the chosen path. If he wasn't such an odious person and if his motives weren't totally self-serving, I might have some sympathy for him.

Top health officials vanish from national TV interviews as White House refocuses messaging

The nation's top physicians have stopped appearing on national television for interviews as the White House exerts increased control over communications during the coronavirus pandemic and refocuses its message toward reopening the economy.

www.cnn.com

 

[Demon]

Surprisingly, McConnell had to admit that Obama DID leave a pandemic plan.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1261075362362032128

 

[FL_Sol]

This is so interesting. My son had a severe nasal issue that lasted FOREVER (not really, but about 2 months which is long for any of us in this home) late winter and I took him in to the doc who tested for a bacterial infection and it came back negative. It wasn't severe, just never ending. He also, shortly after, developed a largish rash on his flank area. It didn't bother him so I let it go, he seemed fine other than the rash which was mild compared to the photos I see online for Covid Rash, but so weird for him. It makes me wonder....I think we need to get the antibody test in our home, soon.

 

[Demon]

This is so interesting. My son had a severe nasal issue that lasted FOREVER (not really, but about 2 months which is long for any of us in this home) late winter and I took him in to the doc who tested for a bacterial infection and it came back negative. It wasn't severe, just never ending. He also, shortly after, developed a largish rash on his flank area. It didn't bother him so I let it go, he seemed fine other than the rash which was mild compared to the photos I see online for Covid Rash, but so weird for him. It makes me wonder....I think we need to get the antibody test in our home, soon.

We have a hospital testing for antibodies, but it's way across town, and I'm not even sure if the tests are accurate yet. I hope you can get it done.

 

[FL_Sol]

We have a hospital testing for antibodies, but it's way across town, and I'm not even sure if the tests are accurate yet. I hope you can get it done.

Thank you, I hope we do, too. I would be happy to know we may have some immunity but to think it could have been in our home is kind of creepy.

 

[FL_Sol]

We have a hospital testing for antibodies, but it's way across town, and I'm not even sure if the tests are accurate yet. I hope you can get it done.

OH, Labcorp is testing, too. Do you have one near you?

 

[Demon]

Yep. I'm not convinced I didn't have it a while ago. Fever of 101, chills. No shortness of breath, but I was very, very congested and my chest and upper left back hurt. I'd love to know.

 

[Demon]

OH, Labcorp is testing, too. Do you have one near you?

I do have labcorp and quest. I may look into those and see if I can find out the accuracy. Because no point testing until they're right.

 

[OboeGal]

Then don't go to the grocery store. Remember, it is up to each individual how much risk he/she are willing to take.

So how do those of us at severe risk eat? How do we deal with the fact that we still need to go out for medical care for non-COVID reasons? How do those of us with pets see that they get the medical care they need without risking our lives? What do we do when a critical appliance breaks down in the house? Trust me - I would like nothing more than to not come anywhere near any other being than my DH, cat, and dog, or anywhere any other being has been in the last several hours, and am doing everything conceivably possible to do so, but it's impossible to completely avoid others. I get that many people need to get back to work - although not nearly as many as are being forced into doing so, as that is only because multimillionaires and billionaires are so unbelievably, sociopathically greedy that they're unwilling to share an extra penny to help their own starving employees or anyone else during a global catastrophe. No, they need the expendable hamsters back at the wheel making them even more profits to hoard. And the US has created a system that allows it. But if these people are going to go back to work and go shop and go eat out, they have a f*cking ethical obligation to put a damn mask on and not go out more than they have to for a while to not kill the rest of us and our skilled healthcare workers and not bring down our entire healthcare system.

 

[OboeGal]

Trump administration cuts funding for coronavirus researcher, jeopardizing possible COVID-19 cure

An American scientist who collaborates with the Wuhan Institute of Virology had his grant terminated in the wake of unsubstantiated claims that COVID-19 is either manmade or leaked out of a Chinese government lab.

www.cbsnews.com

Summary: The White House stopped funding to well established covid research group because they were doing the research in China in collaboration. And presumably this goes against Trumps stance on blaming China for everything.

Politicizing science is so dangerous. I can’t even.

I feel bad for the scientists and researchers that just got all their funding pulled for no good reason. I can’t imagine their rage right now.

It justs amazing how he outdoes himself over and over in the depths of malignancy, isn't it?

 

[OboeGal]

A friend sent this to me a few days ago and it hit home with me. Nothing political, just from the heart,

We'll be ready to re-open when bus drivers can tell riders to wear a mask and not get spit upon.
We'll be ready to re-open when McDonalds workers can say the dining room is closed without being screamed at and threatened.
We'll be ready to reopen when park rangers can ask people to social distance without being shoved into a lake.
We'll be ready to re-open when store employees can ask people to wear a mask before entering without being screamed at and threatened.
We'll be ready to re-open when we can show that we can listen and follow safety guidelines.
I don't know when the virus will be ready for us to re-open, but clearly we are not ready. Freedom is a responsibility, not just an unearned privilege to do as we please.
We are acting like a bunch of spoiled, whiny brats who are more than willing to hurt others and put others at risk.
We'll be ready to open when we treat each other with love and respect.
We are not ready.

Author unknown.


I am seeing more and more spoiled and whiny brats out in public who feel that their freedom is simply a right that comes without responsibility. Freedom is an earned privilege and the attitude of many that I am witnessing out in the public frightens me.

Again, this is not a political post - just a post that I put out there from my heart. I wish all of you well, black or white, brown or yellow, large or small, rich or poor; young or old; mean or kind.....................

Take Care - Q

Thank you so much for sharing this; this is exactly what's in my heart as well.

 

[OboeGal]

@MakingTheGrade We absolutely would!!! C'mon over! And now, if you'll allow a few lighthearted memes possibly at the expense of your country...

Can I come, too? Pretty please? Like I said in another post - I make pretty good fudge......

 

[Matata]

Then don't go to the grocery store. Remember, it is up to each individual how much risk he/she are willing to take.

You're correct that "it is up to each individual how much risk he/she are willing to take" and where the logic fails is that those same individuals don't have the freedom/right to put others at risk which is what happens when they fail to wear masks and limit social interaction. Individuals exercising their right to take risks deny those they come near the right not to take the same risks. Stalemate.

 

[OboeGal]

I was at the grocery store last night and someone asked the cashier how many people come in without a mask. He answered 1%.
We’ve had less than 50 cases in a county of 100,000 with higher daytime population. We’ve had no community spread. Over half of our cases are recovered and we’ve had 1 new case in 2 weeks.

People everywhere are not being inconsiderate. Many people here are being more compliant than needed given we are in really really good shape. It’s a huge country, OS does not FA. It is unfortunate that some bad actors get all the attention.

I'm really glad to hear that is the case where you live! I hope it continues that way, and you and yours continue to stay safe.

I wish it was the same where I am. Everything in Ohio is opening up this month, even though cases are still on the rise. There are requirements for employees to wear masks, but no requirements for customers to do so. DeWine originally was going to require them for customers, but backed off at the slightest pushback and left it up business owners if they will require it of customers. In my local area, absolutely everyone refuses to wear one anywhere at all except for at work when they are required to. I'm literally the only person I've seen wear one in my town AT ALL. Period. I've been harassed for wearing it when walking my dog and gotten hostility for asking for others completely blocking the street to give me some room to pass through at a safe distance. Nobody in my neighborhood reduced their outings or stopped having people over all the way through. My Facebook feed is full of local people ranting about "the hoax" and "people are scared stupid" and "my rights" blah blah blah. Several Facebook friends - people who I went to high school with and never spent time with, but who nevertheless wanted to be friends on there - are active in these groups protesting EVERY aspect of the shutdown and trying to get Gov. DeWine and our public health director stripped of their powers to shut ANYTHING down in a public health emergency, and one after another, they keep sending me invitations to these groups. I of course decline and unfriend each and every one of them, but they keep coming. Meanwhile, cases are rising rapidly in my county, and the county health department is freaking out because there is nothing they can do - the government is giving permission for all this, and they can't get hardly anyone to comply with the simplest request for behavior change.

I'll be honest - I'm terrified.

 

[OboeGal]

So true..i.e. Chris Cuomo whom was tested positive for the virus and was out roaming the town.He was lying about being under quarantine in his basement...

I saw that - and he had the nerve to physically threaten a man in his neighborhood who saw him outside with his wife, kids, and another woman, not wearing masks and not keeping distance, during the time he was sick, and who called him on it. Then he publically was all, "I'm so devastated blah blah blah" when his wife was diagnosed, and then his son. What a jerk. And don't get me started on his wife publically advocating homeopathy and bleach baths for treatment. I mean, she can do whatever fool thing she wants, but publically advocating for it is a whole 'nother kettle of fish.

 

[OboeGal]

And stupidity wins in a city in Oklahoma.

Citing Violent Threats Against Business Employees, Oklahoma Mayor Ends Mandatory Face Mask Order

“To the people who resort to threats and intimidation when asked to take a simple step to protect your community: shame on you"

time.com

"
as Oklahoma began easing restrictions set in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, one city abruptly ended an order that business patrons wear face coverings, citing threats against employees.

As of Friday, Oklahoma joined other states in beginning to permit some places, including restaurants and gyms, to reopen, although people continue to be diagnosed with COVID-19 in the state. Just hours after implementing the face covering emergency order on May 1, Stillwater, Okla., Mayor Will Joyce announced that the order was amended to ask businesses to “encourage, but not require, patrons to cover their faces” to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Stillwater City Manager Norman McNickle said in statement that soon after the city started requiring patrons to put on masks before entering spaces like restaurants and stores, “store employees have been threatened with physical violence and showered with verbal abuse. In addition, there has been one threat of violence using a firearm.”

“This has occurred in three short hours and in the face of clear medical evidence that face coverings helps contain the spread of COVID-19,” McNickle said.

Mayor Joyce, who had previously voiced concern that it might be too soon to open businesses in Stillwater, wrote on Twitter that although he was prepared for some people to object to the order, he did not anticipate that there would be “physical confrontations with employees and threatening phone calls to city hall.”

“I hate that our businesses and their employees had to deal with abuse today, and I apologize for putting them in that position,” said Joyce. “I am not the kind of person who backs down from bullies, but I also will not send someone else to fight the battle for me. I issued a revised order this afternoon to correct this problem, and we will continue to reevaluate our approach to face coverings.”

He also criticized people who had responded aggressively to the rule, noting, “We should all get used to the idea of wearing a face covering to protect one another.”

“To the people who resort to threats and intimidation when asked to take a simple step to protect your community: shame on you. Our freedom as Americans comes with responsibilities, too,” Joyce wrote.

In the city’s statement, McNickle criticized people with the “mistaken belief” that requiring face masks is unconstitutional, saying, “No law or court supports this view.” He noted that a lawsuit against Guthrie, Oklahoma’s order was dismissed by the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
“It is further distressing that these people, while exercising their believed rights, put others at risk,” said McNickle. “As mentioned, there is clear medical evidence the face coverings prevent COVID-19 spread; they are recommended by both the CDC and the Oklahoma State Department of Health. The wearing of face coverings is little inconvenience to protect both the wearer and anyone with whom they have contact. And, an unprotected person who contracts the virus can infect their own loved ones and others.”


Mask shaming. We are our own worst enemy. No question about it.

Mask shaming erupts as latest public battle over coronavirus restrictions

Many Southern California residents view facial coverings as an essential part of the plan to combat the spread of COVID-19, but others see them as an unnecessary affront to their personal liberty.

www.ocregister.com

More violence erupting over wearing masks and other restrictions.

In Michigan, mandatory masks a flash point for violence amid coronavirus | Bridge Michigan

Three incidents, including a murder, highlight tensions betweeen retailers trying to enforce Michigan’s mask order and customers. One retail group is calling on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to dump the mask rule because it puts clerks in a ‘horrendous position,’ one official says.

www.bridgemi.com

'Incomprehensible': Confrontations over masks erupt amid COVID-19 crisis

A security guard's slaying is among several confrontations over face coverings.

abcnews.go.com

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/13/protest-violence-coronavirus/

As the poet John Donne wrote: "Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee".

See, these are times I wish I was a young, healthy retail owner. I would SO require masks for anyone to set foot in, and I would be the one at the front door telling them so, with my mask on and pepper spray in hand. No way would they harass my employees, and no way would I let them learn that this kind of intimidation will get them their way. I would also hire private security for the place.

Where are the police in these towns?

 

[OboeGal]

The CDC is about to issue a warning regarding the coronavirus and children.

CDC will alert doctors to look out for syndrome in children that could be related to coronavirus | CNN

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing to release an alert warning doctors to be on the lookout for a dangerous inflammatory syndrome in children that could be linked to coronavirus infection, a CDC spokesman told CNN Tuesday.

www.cnn.com

This has been seen in 17 states so far. Three have died, including someone who was 18 years old.

I believe people have been real cocky about this virus because they believe it isn’t deadly to their children.

I wonder if this new facet of the virus will change the deadly trajectory we’re on. I wonder if policy will be written in less haste because our children are involved. I wonder if people’s minds will change regarding the seriousness of this issue. If this doesn’t influence any of these things, nothing will.

Yes. It's unfortunate that it has to come to this. I frankly have no faith that it will make a bit of difference to the policy-makers and the wealthy, but I can imagine that it will make a difference to many of the average people who haven't been taking this seriously. Maybe people will start thinking more about wearing a mask and not going out any more than is absolutely necessary.

ETA: I've seen on the medical COVID subs on Reddit that this has been seen now in some European cities as well. So far the incidence is a low percentage of children, but it is still very concerning.

 

[Dancing Fire]

So how do those of us at severe risk eat? How do we deal with the fact that we still need to go out for medical care for non-COVID reasons?

I put on a mask and went to the Dr. yesterday had my colonoscopy done . Life goes on. You can chose to stay home for as long as you like.

 

[missy]

See, these are times I wish I was a young, healthy retail owner. I would SO require masks for anyone to set foot in, and I would be the one at the front door telling them so, with my mask on and pepper spray in hand. No way would they harass my employees, and no way would I let them learn that this kind of intimidation will get them their way. I would also hire private security for the place.

Where are the police in these towns?

It is frustrating. Cuomo states that he cannot enforce people wearing masks nor can he enforce people staying at home. And it is also terrifying to see the violence that has occurred in some areas of the USA when security guards and others attempt to enforce wearing masks in stores. Where are the police indeed. To say we are living in some Dystopian society would not be (IMO) an exaggeration.

 

[missy]

I saw that - and he had the nerve to physically threaten a man in his neighborhood who saw him outside with his wife, kids, and another woman, not wearing masks and not keeping distance, during the time he was sick, and who called him on it. Then he publically was all, "I'm so devastated blah blah blah" when his wife was diagnosed, and then his son. What a jerk. And don't get me started on his wife publically advocating homeopathy and bleach baths for treatment. I mean, she can do whatever fool thing she wants, but publically advocating for it is a whole 'nother kettle of fish.

I saw that too. Chris Cuomo *is* a jerk IMO. And his wife too. Greg and I dislike both of them very much. In fact one of our friends said something humorous about him the other week. Let me see if I can find what she wrote to us. BRB. Darn I cannot find it. OK suffice to say yes Chris Cuomo and his wife are real tools.

 

[telephone89]

Can I come, too? Pretty please? Like I said in another post - I make pretty good fudge......

Let me know which border crossing youre sneaking past, I'll meet you on the other side!

 

[AGBF]

"A scientific journal published an editorial to its website endorsing anybody for president other than President Donald Trump, citing his funding cuts to the World Health Organization and the "erosion" of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

'Americans must put a president in the White House come January, 2021, who will understand that public health should not be guided by partisan politics,' The Lancet editorial board stated on its website in an article slated for the May 16 issue of the journal.

'The Trump administration's further erosion of the CDC will harm global cooperation in science and public health, as it is trying to do by defunding WHO. A strong CDC is needed to respond to public health threats, both domestic and international, and to help prevent the next inevitable pandemic,' the editorial stated.


The Lancet editorial board blamed the 'conservative politics' it believes have 'eroded the agency's ability to mount effective, evidence-based public health responses.' It called out the administrations of President Ronald Reagan and President George W. Bush for their actions in the past.

'More recently, the Trump administration has questioned guidelines that the CDC has provided. These actions have undermined the CDC's leadership and its work during the COVID-19 pandemic' The Lancet stated."

Scientific Journal Publishes Editorial Endorsing Anyone Other Than Trump

The Lancet editorial board blamed conservative administrations through the years for the lack of funding to the CDC.

www.newsweek.com