Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / PANDEMIC declared

Reader Interactions

166Comments

  1. 1.

    Scout211

    I just read that.  And I also read on cnn.com that the Democrats are now urging the president to declare a national emergency.  What, only the Democrats think this is an emergency?

  2. 2.

    bluehill

    @Scout211: Fox news says its not, so you know. That said, Hannity had Fauci and apparently didn’t try to muzzle him and Fauci has been more visible and vocal about the consequences of ignoring this.

  3. 3.

    different-church-lady

    So, basically ALL the freelance work I had booked for March and April has now been cancelled due to the fact that it involves gatherings of human beings in single rooms.

    Fuck it, I might as well just go touch a bunch of shopping carts and then rub my hands all over my face, I’m looking at no income for months ahead now.

  4. 4.

    dmsilev

    I think we all knew this was coming, just a question of when.

    “Social distancing” is going to be the phrase of the year.

  5. 5.

    dmsilev

    @bluehill: There was a compendium assembled a day or two ago showing that Trump administration officials had spent more time talking about the virus on Fox than on all other networks put together.

  7. 7.

    MattF

    My understanding is that this means the official baseline recommendation is ‘mitigation’ rather than ‘containment’.

  8. 8.

    C Stars

    @different-church-lady: I’m so sorry. That sounds terrifying. I hope there is some way that BJ can help out in these situations. Maybe a gofundme?

    I had been counting on a job to start at the end of this month that is now looking iffy and I am incredibly disappointed about it.

  9. 9.

    dmsilev

    Sanders is speaking now, if anyone cares. Right now, he’s talking about health care.

  10. 10.

    bluehill

    @dmsilev: Yeah, no doubt. I don’t ever watch, but did see a clip of Fauci explaining how this isn’t like a flu and is at least 10x as deadly. AFAIK that was a first for Fox and on Hannity. Fauci has been making more statements in the last day or so warning how bad this will be, so that seems like a change in messaging from some parts of the admin.

  11. 11.

    Fleeting Expletive

    I’m sure everyone has seen that “flatten the curve” graph showing the need to slow down the brushfire of contagious infection by the mitigating measures. I thought of an analogy that makes sense to me, Electric usage in peak hours is charged at a higher rate per KWH to deter people from running clothes dryers and 72 degree AC during the heat of the day when generating power is most stressed. You do what you can to defer the higher cost and power load. You stay away from the occasions of exposure in crowded settings to lower the rate of infection.

  12. 12.

    ChrisS

    I’m really surprised why this is breaking down along political lines.

    I mean, everything apparently does, but it’s weird. This seems like a pretty straightforward emerging virus and the response is usually fairly medical in nature. But the Trumpers are really doubling down on this being no big deal and less of a concern than the seasonal flu despite evidence to the contrary as well as professional assessments. But The Supreme Leader said as much therefore, it must be.

  14. 14.

    dmsilev

    “Joe Biden is winning the olds. I’m winning the youngs.”

    “We are losing the debate over electability.”

    This does sound like he’s easing himself out.

  15. 15.

    Elizabelle

    @dmsilev:   He’s lecturing.

    “We are losing the debate over electability.”

    So he’s gonna be out?

    And he sure has co-opted a lot of standard Democratic platform.  That is not all St. Bernie’s doing.

    He’s gonna debate Sunday.

  16. 16.

    Elizabelle

    The debate will be his swan song?  And he’ll take credit for schooling Biden on problems facing the American people, which establishment Democrats are studiously ignoring?  But for St. Bernie?

    And all old voters.  We are LOSING THE YOUNGS.

  17. 17.

    dmsilev

    Onward to the debate on Sunday. Now asking a bunch of rhetorical questions towards Biden.

  18. 18.

    Elizabelle

    @dmsilev:   He’s gonna be out (ETA: on his calendar.  But it’s inevitable).  He just wants to take credit for anything that Joe and Democrats accomplish.

    Cuz it’s all Bernie.

    Is that first mention of billionaires?

  19. 19.

    MisterForkbeard

    @dmsilev: Going after healthcare is a good idea for both Dem candidates. Basically:

    • We’ve been trying to expand coverage, fund more hospitals, get everyone to a better position for both general health and for acute emergencies like we’re seeing now
    • Trump and his administration have been trying to destroy your healthcare and has no plan to replace it.
    • Trump dissolved the CDC unit that would have directly addressed our current situation and is STILL trying to defund them
    • Democrats can offer a competent, fact-based approach to ALL emergencies, not just the one we’re seeing now. If someone like this happens again, you want a Democrat in charge, just like we had in 2009 with Obama and Swine Flu.
  20. 20.

    Elizabelle

    “Which candidate is best positioned to accomplish that goal.”

    You old fool.  The voters HAVE figured that one out.

  21. 21.

    dmsilev

    @Elizabelle: He’s going on to the debate, and presumably through next Tuesday, but this didn’t sound like someone who was getting set to go all scorched-earth.

    Edit: Doing a one-on-one debate and then (most likely) getting pulverized in Florida etc. next week does give him a moderately graceful exit path. He can say that he’s shifted the debate blah blah blah, but that the voters have spoken and he’s going to respect that.

  23. 23.

    Aleta

    Social distancing from Sanders supporters is happening  in my town but media isn’t covering that …

     

    Also I resent Sanders using this attention to harangue Biden.

  25. 25.

    Elizabelle

    This drives me nuts.  Bernie, challenging other candidates (Joe alone at this point) on how they’re gonna get it done.

    When his style is shout and hope for a revolution.  And then — magic!

    It’s an incredible lack of self-awareness.  And his issues are not solely “his issues.”  The Democrats have been working on the vast majority of them for ages.

  26. 26.

    MattF

    @ChrisS: Because Trump must get all the credit for something, something, something, somehow. And if he doesn’t, it’s fake news and a libtard hoax.

  27. 27.

    Martin

    Trump still hasn’t declared a state of emergency. This means that states can’t get exceptions to federal rules for things like extending Medicaid services to people outside of normal Medicaid guidelines and allowing doctors to cross state borders and practice on Medicaid/Medicare patients.

    Washington would like to do both, and have asked the feds for a declaration, but there’s no indication it’s coming. We have one to build the wall, mind you.

  28. 28.

    Mnemosyne

    @ChrisS:

    It’s because of the right-wing propaganda machine. It’s just not set up to process reality. And the Russians have a major incentive to keep it that way if we’re in a crisis.

  29. 29.

    C Stars

    I’ve got allergies right now and it’s driving me nuts because while I 99% know that it’s not a virus, or even a flu, a little part of me is second guessing and wondering if I should be self-isolating from my family, etc. (which in any case would be impossible at this time).

    Opinions welcome: I live in a dense and populated urban area. We currently have enough food in the house to last two weeks or more, if we really started eating into our canned food supplies, etc. No elderly people live with us. I’m going to go to the grocery store tomorrow because we’re out of some small things like bread and cheese (but pretty well stocked up on other things). Do I need to overshop at this time, anticipating some kind of quarantine? Or just a normal shopping trip? My kids’ school is still open and it’s hard for me to envision a scenario in which we can’t even leave our house for groceries, but then I guess these things always are hard to envision…

    If so, what should I stock up on? The last couple of times I’ve been to the shops (once at Costco, once at our small neighborhood grocery) the TP was sold out. We’ve got a pretty good supply of TP and tissues if that runs out, so I’m not too worried…. I can’t really think of anything else that would be handy to have around other than canned fruit & veg & boxed milk I guess. Don’t want to submit to panic buying if it’s not really necessary.

  32. 32.

    different-church-lady

    @Elizabelle:

    “Which candidate is best positioned to accomplish that goal.”

    If you can figure out how to do it from your place in the Senate, then it’s you, Bernie. But otherwise your GPS ain’t putting the spike in the right place.

  33. 33.

    La Nonna

    Not sure that the US has really come to terms with the hard triage decisions coming down the line for the medical community, and the many families of elderly or vulnerable people.  We have seen the cost of ignoring social distancing, and subsequent unrestrained viral infection here in Italy, and the reality here is that if you are sick with covid-19, and are over 65, your chances of spending weeks in ICU with ventilator and oxygen therapy are pretty much nil.  Resources like personnel, ICU beds, ventilators, supplies are limited, though on a per capita basis perhaps more available here than in the States, we oldsters are self isolating, shopping for each other, doing phone, skype, whatsapp checks on our friends and family, not much more we can do.  A somewhat fatalistic attitude about our life expectancy now, but doing everything to avoid spreading the infection.  Worried more about our extended family in the US.

  35. 35.

    dmsilev

    @Martin: Via TPM,

    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Gary Peters (D-MI) will demand President Trump issue a national emergency declaration over the coronavirus outbreak, a Senate Democratic aide confirmed to TPM Wednesday.

    The Democratic senators are preparing to send Trump a letter urging the national emergency declaration, Politico Playbook and CNN first reported Wednesday morning.

    Politico noted that an emergency declaration for the coronavirus would permit FEMA to allocate $40 billion in the Disaster Relief Fund to state and local governments in their efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

  37. 37.

    Mnemosyne

    @dmsilev:

    I really, really want the debate to happen. If it gets canceled, it only fuels the Russian-sowed claims that Biden has some kind of dementia that the DNC is covering up.

    If Bernie cancels, I want Biden to go on alone and have a virtual town hall. It would really play to his strengths as a candidate.

  38. 38.

    gene108

    @Fleeting Expletive:

    You stay away from the occasions of exposure in crowded settings to lower the rate of infection.

    Going to be brutal for organizations, which derive revenue from events.

    Lots of businesses are going to go under.

  39. 39.

    gvg

    @ChrisS: I remember being puzzled by by the USSR and communist China covering up earthquakes and such…as if natural disasters reflected badly on them.  The coverup reflected badly on them, but they never got that.  There is something in a certain type of cultish group that leads to this. Regular religions as also prone to thinking they are required to be perfect. I don’t get it.

  40. 40.

    Bruce K

    Even if Republicans in power do think it’s an emergency, they can’t gainsay Trump, because the demented narcissistic sociopathic vengeful schoolyard bully in the Oval Office can’t handle being told he’s wrong about anything, and the Trump famiglia apparently now has control of the national GOP fundraising apparatus, which means that the Republicans currently in power have their gonads clamped in a vise.

    So, yeah, the Democrats are the only ones who have the political leeway to even consider that this is an emergency, because they’re the only political entity remaining in America that’s both politically viable and at least somewhat sane.

  41. 41.

    Elizabelle

    @Poe Larity:   They will show up for Joe.  In numbers that will surprise you.

    There is not a lot of Trump love in that contingent.  There may be other reasons they did not show up in the primaries.

    Like knowing “I am voting for the Democrat.  Period.”

  42. 42.

    MattF

    @C Stars: I’ve stocked up a bit. Pasta, frozen vegetables, rice. Generally buy a bit extra, but I suspect that some fraction of that will be wasted. Can’t stock up on medications because insurance doesn’t cover early refills.

  43. 43.

    Immanentize

    @dmsilev:

    Demand!  Paragraph one

    Urge.  Paragraph two.

    One of those things is not like the other. Or each of those things is different than the rest?
    I hate the use of inaccurate adjectives.

  44. 44.

    Mnemosyne

    @Poe Larity:

    Pro-tip: Taking your ball and going home never turns out as well for you as you think it will. Everyone always remembers you as that petty dick who refused to be a team player just because he didn’t get his way about everything.

  46. 46.

    Aleta

    @Elizabelle:  It’s an incredible lack of self-awareness. And his issues are not solely “his issues.”

    Lack of humility too, which is especially incredible for a guy who’s campaigning on us not me.  Then there’s the hypocrisy of any of his actual supporters (not bots) who use that as a slogan but also attacked Warren.

  47. 47.

    Mnemosyne

    @La Nonna:

    My one comfort with my mom — who is at very high risk because she has COPD — is that she’s already a clean freak and a hermit who rarely goes anywhere. She lives with my brother, who does work with the public but says that he’s been showering in a different part of the house the instant he gets home every day. So I’m hoping that we can weather this with her. ?

  48. 48.

    FlyingToaster

    @Poe Larity:

    They didn’t turn up for Bernie… but they’ll show up for Joe!

    amirite?

    They showed up for Biden a week ago Tuesday (sob, from a Warren supporter), and they did yesterday.

    Please join us over here in reality, bub.

  50. 50.

    Ohio Mom

    Just got home from a funeral for a thirty-four year old fellow who had kidney disease. He was managing until he got the plain old regular flu a week ago.

    I know his mom from a nonprofit board I serve on, and it’s heartbreaking to see her so devastated.

    Which makes me think about the emotional wreckage COVID-19 is leaving behind, will leave behind. It won’t be measurable in a scientific sense but it will be staggering.

  52. 52.

    Redshift

    @C Stars:

    I’ve got allergies right now and it’s driving me nuts because while I 99% know that it’s not a virus, or even a flu, a little part of me is second guessing and wondering if I should be self-isolating from my family, etc. 

    My spring allergies have started ramping up, so I checked to make sure, and allergy symptoms are pretty distinct from covid-19. Unless you have a fever and a dry cough, the not sick with it. (Any of us could be infected and not have symptoms yet, but those allergy symptoms don’t mean that’s all more likely.)

    So practice social distancing as much as possible to be a good citizen and help shoe the spread, but I don’t think you need to isolate from your family.

  53. 53.

    Ruckus

    @dmsilev:

    There is only so much anyone can do.
    Most everyone has to work, and many can not work remotely. I can not, unless I can fit and finance and operate a functional machine shop in my apartment within the next week or so. Millions of us are in similar situations. And many have to work to eat. We all know this. The person in charge has zero understanding of any of this, has zero desire or ability to learn or understand or agree with any of this. So while the world is pretty screwed, we are, how does it go? Fucked is I believe, the correct answer.

  55. 55.

    C Stars

    @La Nonna: Thank you for report. We need to look very closely at what is happening in Italy right now because it will probably be similar or worse in many parts of the US in a week or so. Wishing you continued good health.

  56. 56.

    different-church-lady

    @Poe Larity:

    FlyingToaster: “Please join us over here in reality, bub.”

    Or don’t. Stay far, fay away from us. Whatever you do, don’t keep hovering around the edges.

  57. 57.

    Mnemosyne

    @C Stars:

    One thing I can think of is that you may want to stock up on a few non-perishables, but not necessarily things that don’t need to be cooked like you would need to prepare for an earthquake or hurricane.

    So, like, canned tomatoes and canned beans so you can make chili, not necessarily canned chili. Jarred tomato sauce and dried pasta rather than Spaghetti-Os. Etc.

  58. 58.

    Kent

    @Scout211:I just read that.  And I also read on cnn.com that the Democrats are now urging the president to declare a national emergency.  What, only the Democrats think this is an emergency?

    Inslee in WA has been pleading with the White House to declare a national emergency because it triggers certain funding and emergency powers that they desperately need in WA RIGHT NOW with the clock ticking.  He has been pleading for this for a week or more.

  60. 60.

    Aleta

    No surprise that Sanders will use a primary defeat as a power play;  he did it to Clinton and  he isn’t going to change.

  63. 63.

    FlyingToaster

    @C Stars: The usual prep for Hurricanes tends to work:  a couple weeks of non-perishables, fill the chest freezer, see if your insurance will let you run a month ahead on scrips.

    Soap!  (I did a quick inventory to make sure we had enough for a month, and we do.)  Shampoo, deodorant, all the personal care stuff.  Make sure your first aid stuff is stocked.

    I would not go all hoard mode on TP or hand sanitizer or anything like that.  And just keep buying fresh veggies/protein as needed, unless you want to make a big stew thing and freeze it in portions.

    The disruptions we might see are supply chain (can’t truck fresh veggies from FLA/CA if the truckers are quarantined) and store personnel (can’t open a store whose staff have been sent home feverish).  If there are shipping/USPS disruptions, I suspect those will go front-n-center on MSM, so you’ll know they’re coming.

  65. 65.

    gvg

    @different-church-lady: Can you remind me what kind of work you do and what the organizations that were going to hire you do? So we can brainstorm, maybe.

    I am thinking a lot of organizations are having to figure out how to change their business model. they all still need to make profits.

    Stores are looking at changing employees to do curbside pickups. I have been googling how target and walmart and such work for my mom. I ignored it before because it didn’t interest me.  In someways the waiting to see what will really happen is hindering actual action.

  66. 66.

    dmsilev

    @Ruckus: Very true. And on a college campus, we have additional challenges. We can’t realistically close up shop and send all of our students away; many of them don’t have a plausible “away” to go to on short notice. So, we have to keep at least some of the dorms open. Which means we have to keep the dining halls at least somewhat open. And custodial. And student health. Etc. etc.

  67. 67.

    Aleta

    It would be great if officials and universities, etc.  would mention intent to protect maintenance and cleaning people.  And ask people in offices or still in school to help lessen their exposure.   Even (extreme!) securely bag their own trash.

  68. 68.

    dmsilev

    Must-miss TV:

    The White House is discussing having President Trump address the nation as soon as Wednesday night about the spreading coronavirus and the administration’s response to the outbreak, according to two administration officials.

  69. 69.

    MattF

    Via Kevin Drum:

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House has ordered federal health officials to treat top-level coronavirus meetings as classified, an unusual step that has restricted information and hampered the U.S. government’s response to the contagion, according to four Trump administration officials.

  70. 70.

    Redshift

    @Poe Larity:

    They didn’t turn up for Bernie… but they’ll show up for Joe!

    amirite?

    Only one candidate claimed he was going to beat Trump through a massive turnout of young voters, so no, we’re not assuming they’ll show up for Joe in great numbers. We’re counting on reliable Dem voters and people who are so horrified by Trump that they’ve turned out in record numbers in midterm elections to vote out Republicans.

    Young people are turning out in similar numbers as they have for a couple of generations, which means it’s not because we failed to nominate Bernie or because “both parties have failed me”, it’s just because it’s harder to get them to vote. It would be great if someone could figure out how to solve that, because we’d get better policies quicker, but don’t look to Bernie for how to do it, because he bet the farm on it and it didn’t work.

  71. 71.

    Kent

    @Martin:

    Trump still hasn’t declared a state of emergency. This means that states can’t get exceptions to federal rules for things like extending Medicaid services to people outside of normal Medicaid guidelines and allowing doctors to cross state borders and practice on Medicaid/Medicare patients.

    Washington would like to do both, and have asked the feds for a declaration, but there’s no indication it’s coming. We have one to build the wall, mind you.

    Inslee should just fucking do it and dare the Feds to stop him.  I don’t know how that would play out.  But seriously.

  72. 72.

    Mike J

    All events >250 people cancelled in King (Seattle) and Pierce (Tacoma) County.  Events <250 people need to have plans to minimize transmission risk.

    Schools need to prep to close, possibly in the next few days.  Figure out how kids get fed and what to do for working parents.

  74. 74.

    Patricia Kayden

    Scary times.

    When a top expert says the best option we've got is for universities & lab companies to initiate a plan for test rationing, it means Trump's Coronavirus "policy" is an abject failure. That's what happens when you have a president who cares more about reelection than people. t.co/NNa9RkWDTZ— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) March 11, 2020

  75. 75.

    Spanky

    @MattF: Yeah, my wife’s phone was blowing up about this. She’s still a contractor at State. (We need to do something about that – like retire.)

    This will result, of course, in making the whole shit show a shit show on steroids. With shit on top.

  76. 76.

    Martin

    @Kent: That’s what WA and CA have been doing thus far. But we also have the reality of having a president who will call you a snake on TV in the middle of an emergency, and then hold that grudge forever.

    What a fucking shitshow.

  79. 79.

    Poe Larity

    The kids are alright:

    Police from multiple departments responded to the University of Dayton campus on Lowes Street after a report of a crowd of more than 1,000 people gathered late Tuesday and would not disperse when ordered to do so.

    Police eventually cleared the crowds on Lowes Street, and students went back into their housing around 2:15 a.m

    What happens when they don’t have housing?

  80. 80.

    Immanentize

    @MattF: @Spanky:

    I want to shout, “Unbelievable! They are classifying covid info.?!”
    But sadly, it is all too believable. When will they try to shut down independent reporting sites in States?

  81. 81.

    Marcopolo

    This WA state press briefer I am streaming is WOW! A great example of what the federal government should be doing. Kudos to Inslee & everyone around him. And, yes, he was one of the folks I supported early on for Prez.

  82. 82.

    Kent

    Latest CDC news?

    Trump is actually trying to strip $9.5 billion from the CDC budget today.  Right now.  I have no words:

    thehill.com/policy/finance/486817-trump-budget-chief-holds-firm-on-cdc-cuts-amid-virus-outbreak

    Russ Vought, the acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, on Tuesday doubled down on proposed cuts to health services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), despite the coronavirus outbreak.

    Vought came under intense questioning from Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) at a hearing about President Trump’s 2021 budget request. It proposed cutting Health and Human Services funding by $9.5 billion, including a 15 percent cut of $1.2 billion to the CDC and a $35 million decrease to the Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Reserve Fund’s annual contribution.

  83. 83.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I was just downstairs getting the doorman’s help opening a gelato container, and I overheard one of my neighbors telling another, “And then she said, it’s just like the flu, so then I felt better.” I walked on by with my gelato. No good will come of trying to make that lady feel worse.

  84. 84.

    Luciamia

    The count is 115,000 cases worldwide Worldwide! That still seems like a small number.

  86. 86.

    Martin

    @Patricia Kayden: Mitigation should do this automatically, if the feds would actually lay out what that means, and how it should bee implemented. In mitigation, you don’t test everyone, or even everyone suspected to be sick. If you’re sick, and think you have it, go home, don’t spread it. Don’t get tested, just assume you have it.

    Save the tests for those whose symptoms get worse and need to go to the ER. You have to tell the public that most of us will get this  (difficult because the president keeps assuring otherwise), that not everyone who wants a test will get one (difficult because the president keeps assuring otherwise), and that we need to start preparing for large number of people requiring hospitalization and reserve resources for that because this isn’t like the flu (difficult because the president keeps assuring otherwise).

    So yeah, Trump backed himself into a corner and now we’re extra fucked.

  88. 88.

    Punchy

    The White House has ordered federal health officials to treat top-level coronavirus meetings as classified, an unusual step

    “unusual” doing a lot of work there.  More like “batshit”, “nearly-criminal”, or “are-you-fucking-kidding-me”.  Hiding updates behind a classified wall is unthinkable.

  89. 89.

    Ohio Mom

    Sigh. Inslee was my first choice for President. I had to give that idea up obviously, and while I went on to have other loves (Harris and Warren particularly), and am developing a thing for Biden, seeing Inslee step up makes me nostalgic.

    Also cant help but notice there is a sign language interpreter, which is something missing when Pence and his entourage get in front of the cameras to disinformation.

  91. 91.

    cckids

    @different-church-lady: I’m so sorry.

    My husband, after 18 months unemployed, was in the final stages of getting a new job, it was just put on hold due to the business downturn here (Seattle). He’s devastated and depressed.

  92. 92.

    Marcopolo

    @Martin: While this is correct, in S Korea where social isolation & other mitigation strategies seem to have worked, I think they’d reached the stage where anyone who wanted to get tested could at no cost & very easily–see the drive thru testing locations. If someone else has knowledge that they were still placing restrictions on testing please feel free to correct me.

  93. 93.

    Martin

    @Poe Larity: They are alright. but the refusal to disperse portends much bigger problems coming.

    Dewine has been surprisingly not disastrous so far, but governors are going to have to seriously step up and fill this leadership vacuum.

  94. 94.

    Roger Moore

    @gvg:

    I remember being puzzled by by the USSR and communist China covering up earthquakes and such…as if natural disasters reflected badly on them. The coverup reflected badly on them, but they never got that.

    A natural disaster may not reflect badly on the government, but failure to prepare adequately or respond well afterward can.  People don’t talk about Hurricane Katrina because they think W should have stopped it from hitting New Orleans; they talk about it because our response was so badly bungled.

  97. 97.

    Immanentize

    @Martin: Merkel just told the German people that probably 70% will get the virus.  That is the way to create a climate for mitigation.  Expect it, take care of yourselves and others, only go to the hospital if you are quite ill.

  98. 98.

    Immanentize

    @The Moar You Know: I don’t know about 50%.  There are still things to be made and sold etc.  But today’s downturn sure makes it more likely that Trump will only care about the Dow during his next presser or speech or breath exercises or whatever.

  100. 100.

    Cheryl Rofer

    Welp, three cases in New Mexico. Two in Socorro County, who have recently been on a Nile cruise, and one in Albuquerque, who has recently been to New York. No indication of community spread. Yet.

  101. 101.

    Kelly

    @C Stars:

    I’ve got allergies right now and it’s driving me nuts because while I 99% know that it’s not a virus, or even a flu, a little part of me is second guessing

    Same. We’ve had a long stretch of sunny weather with plenty of tree pollen. This will be bothering me until Juneish while the pandemic is hot.

    My first purchase out shopping yesterday was disposable gloves from the paint department. Pharmacy is sold out. Painting gloves will be fine for protecting my hands and they remind me not to touch my face. Nobody else was shopping with gloves on. No one commented on my gloves but several folks had a hmm look when they noticed.

    My 83 year old Mom made what she plans to be her last shopping trip for a while yesterday. My brother or I will do her future shopping.

  102. 102.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @ChrisS:

     

    I’m really surprised why this is breaking down along political lines.

    I mean, everything apparently does, but it’s weird.

    That is 100% the result of the Mango Moron deciding that the number of known infected people in the US is THE number and that the lower the number, the more HE personally is “winning.” He completely personalized the absolute dumbest metric to tie his ego to and so here we are.

    Oh, and FUCK EVERY TRUMP VOTER EVERYWHERE. YOU CAUSED THIS, YOU FUCKING SHIT STAINS.

  103. 103.

    Martin

    @Marcopolo: Right, but South Korea is a much smaller country, and they acted much faster, and they’re still on a containment footing. We almost certainly have many more cases than S. Korea do. And mass testing when you have a fragmented and in many cases missing health care system is nearly impossible. You have no coordinated infrastructure to do what S Korea did. Maybe you could do it if you mobilized the national guard nationally  to set up testing sites?  But we’re doing an ‘industry-led response’ instead.

    So yeah,  maybe you can get 75% of the population, but the remaining 25% are then uncontainable and they’ll just infect the other 75%. It’s slower, sure, but it also becomes really obvious that you’re  just condemning the poor (which we’re doing anyway, but we try to be less obvious about it). The whole point of containment is that you can get a sufficiently close to 100% accurate measure, and then maintain that through screening, restrictions on movement, etc. There’s realistically no way to do that in the US without a very heavy federal response.

    I mean, in theory a lot of things were possible. But the reason they didn’t happen (a thoroughly incompetent federal leadership) is why a South Korea like action now is similarly impossible. And governors can’t close airports, ports, interstates, which precludes even trying a whole host of measure because the federally controlled points of entry are so unbelievably porous that it just becomes wasted effort.

  104. 104.

    Martin

    @TaMara (HFG): Is the university closing or just moving classes online? We’ve moved classes online but we’re fully operational in every other way.

  105. 105.

    Gravenstone

    Just learned that UW-Milwaukee is going distance learning for the remainder of this term (and likely going forward). Apparently they have a professor in quarantine at present. Shit is spinning pretty quickly now, as predicted by any number of folks around here.

  107. 107.

    Roger Moore

    @Immanentize:

    I don’t know about 50%. There are still things to be made and sold etc.

    Remember, there’s no guarantee that the market is rational.  If people panic, the stock market may drop well below the level that is rationally justified by the fundamentals.  Of course if that happens, it will probably bounce back reasonably quickly once people stop panicking, but it will be really scary to have money in the market during the dip.

  108. 108.

    TaMara (HFG)

    @Martin: I just got the update, they are moving online. Campus will remain open. My client is still going to take a huge hit financially and that means I probably will to. But if they reopen in May as expected, I think I can survive that long. Dorms are freaking petri dishes, so you can’t blame them.

  111. 111.

    Martin

    @TaMara (HFG): Our dorms are staying open. We have no idea how many students will be in them, but we’ve got at least 1000 international students, most of whom can’t go home, and an unknown number of students that would be homeless if not for the dorms. Most publics are doing this. I think the only schools kicking students out of the dorms are Ivies.

  112. 112.

    TheWesson

    @C Stars: Coronavirus primarily attacks lower respiratory system. Dry cough deep in lungs indicates coronavirus (or flu.) Upper respiratory viruses (or allergies) would be red eyes, sniffly nose, sore throat.

  113. 113.

    Marcopolo

    @L85NJGT: So proud of these governors stepping up. I’d throw Cuomo & Newsom in there as well. Are any Republican governors doing this?

  117. 117.

    dmsilev

    @Martin:

    I think the only schools kicking students out of the dorms are Ivies.

    I read this morning that Harvard is kicking everyone out. Lovely.

    We’re encouraging students to leave, but for those for whom that’s not a good/viable option, the dorms will be kept open. Along with dining halls, student health services, etc. etc.

  118. 118.

    Kent

    Anyone here starting to get a little bit more into prepping?  Or at least preparedness?

    I live in a subdivision here in rainy WA that has a very robust public water system as well as a lake above our house and a stream in the back yard that never runs dry.  So I don’t see the need to stockpile water like one might do in say Vegas or Phoenix.  I have backpacking filters so I can gather and treat water.  Plus I live 1/2 mile from the Columbia River.

    Food is a bit different.  We have a big house and a well stocked pantry.  But I’m thinking of swinging buy Home Depot today to buy a dozen or so food grade 5 gallon buckets to start filling with Costco bags of rice, beans, canned goods, etc.  All stuff that we will eventually use anyway.  But just putting more of it in storage.  If I just put bags of rice and beans in the basement the mice will get to them so sealed plastic buckets is the way to go.

    If our power and natural gas goes out we have a big gas grill on the deck and about 6 extra propane tanks because I have them for several deck heaters and a fire ring.  So we can probably cook meals on the grill for at least 6 months with as much propane as we have.

    I kind of think about these things all the time.  But shit is starting to get a little more real.  I’m wondering if anyone else is thinking this way and what you are doing?

  119. 119.

    dmsilev

    Huh.

    Senate GOP chairman abruptly shifts course on subpoena targeting Bidens

    A top Senate Republican abruptly canceled plans to subpoena records and testimony from a Ukrainian official connected to a Ukrainian firm that once employed the son of former vice president Joe Biden as a board member.

    The decision by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, comes as Democrats have attacked the probe as being politically motivated, especially as Joe Biden surges in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination and the chance to face President Trump. Some have warned it could play into Russian efforts to spread disinformation ahead of the presidential election in November.

    In a message Wednesday to members of the panel, sent roughly an hour before a planned vote, Johnson said he would indefinitely postpone the subpoena for documents and testimony from Andrii Telizhenko, who worked for a U.S. lobbying firm that acted on behalf of Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that employed Hunter Biden.

  120. 120.

    Barbara

    @dmsilev: UVA is keeping dorms and modified dining services open but is requiring students to have a compelling justification for not going home.  It is providing financial assistance if that is an issue.

  121. 121.

    cckids

    @Elizabelle: It’s an incredible lack of self-awareness.  And his issues are not solely “his issues.”  The Democrats have been working on the vast majority of them for ages.

     

    This. In more sane hands, the debate (Sunday?) could be two old liberal/progressive dudes, the Sunshine Boys, good-spiritedly talking issues, giving America a view of how positive messaging, enthusiasm and competence – working together – can fundamentally change government in this country.

    Joe would be great at this. From many accounts, Bernie could certainly do it (his appeal escapes me, but it is a very real thing). The question is, can Bernie put aside his ego, and can Joe not get defensive and irritable about Bernie’s past BS.

  122. 122.

    TaMara (HFG)

    @Martin: I’m assuming they are staying  open here, too. So I’m not sure how remote learning will help stem an outbreak. Not to mention everyone is going on spring break in two weeks and will bring back heaven knows how may germs.

  125. 125.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    @C Stars: I have the same issue as allergies — stuffy nose since Friday although it clears up with antihistamines.  I’ve been told by a nurse at my husband’s dialysis clinic and by my physical therapist that as long as I don’t run a fever (and I check at least twice a day), I’m good to go but to minimize leaving home.

  126. 126.

    MattF

    @dmsilev: Hmm, indeed. There’s an undercurrent of uneasiness among the Rs these days, as it becomes clearer that their future is getting hazy.

  128. 128.

    E.

    Yeah. I own a small restaurant/bakery in a small town that swings heavily toward retired folks and older. We’re coming off a very slow winter. We rely on summer tourism and lose money the rest of the year but I stay open to keep my (excellent) employees. I am pretty sure my business is doomed.

  129. 129.

    C Stars

    @TheWesson: @Kelly: Yep, I think most of us know allergies when we have them. When I first started feeling sniffly a week or so ago it scared me, then I recognized that sneezy feeling that lives in between my eyes whenever I am having allergies.

     

    And thanks all, for the shopping suggestions.

  130. 130.

    geg6

    Well, just got the word that students will not be coming back from spring break and all classes will be online.  No word yet on staff.  I expect that they want us to come in tomorrow and Friday so that we can organize what we need to take home with us.  For me, that’s a flashdrive with all my most important stuff from our shared drive, my second factor token and my laptop.  Don’t think I will need anything else, but I’ll have a few days to figure it out.  Glad that the administration didn’t, in usual PSU fashion, wait until the last minute.

  131. 131.

    Marcopolo

    @E.: Well, I don’t know where you live or who your Senators or Congressperson are but call them & tell them what is going on & that you hope they are looking out for folks like you.

    I know that Pelosi has already laid down her markers, which emphasize helping average Americans over corporations, but she can use all the back up help she can get.

  133. 133.

    Scout211

    @dmsilev:

    Didn’t Bloomberg’s campaign guy threaten to do a “scorched earth” television campaign against Ivanka, Eric and Don, jr if the Republicans continued to “investigate” Hunter Biden?

    Could that be related?

  135. 135.

    Martin

    @TaMara (HFG): So, the thinking is that we’re just trying to slow it. We have no illusions it can be stopped.

    Overall, this virus spreads to about 3 people from every infected person.  You need  to get that down to 1 or lower for the exponential spread to stop. Flu is around 1.

    In a 400 seat lecture hall with no time between classes for cleaning, and  a virus that can stay on surfaces for >24 hours (I’m assuming we can clean overnight) then you don’t have a spread  rate of 3, it’s around 30. As soon as you get about 10 students on campus with it, everyone will have it in about 3 cycles – 18 days.

    It’s a large gathering of over 100 people, and very crowded. It’s even worse than a theater because you have backpacks and books and laptops crowding the space, and you have tablet arms that get used heavily.

    Distance learning slows all of that way down, even if they’re staying in the dorms, though dorms are problematic due to shared spaces, shared bathrooms, etc. But it’s better, and we’re expecting enough students to go home that the dorms aren’t so bad with only a fraction of their normal population.

  136. 136.

    Marcopolo

    @Baud: I honestly do not know if Biden (and Ds) can pull this off, but if we wind up in another wrecked economy situation ala 2008 I have a slender hope that if Ds win the White House, hold the House, and win the Senate, that they will turn the “Shock Doctrine” on its head and use the crisis to champion progressive policies that do as much as is possible to level the playing field for everyone in the US.

    FDR & the New Deal would be the model for this.

    Of course, we need to work our butts off to make sure this happens.

  137. 137.

    Kelly

    @Kent:

    Anyone here starting to get a little bit more into prepping?

    Get threaded bucket lids, $7~8. Much easier to use than snap on. I use them on white water river trips to keep stuff dry and uncrushed. They won’t keep bears out but keeps food secure from all the smaller critters.

  138. 138.

    Mnemosyne

    @Kent:

    I’m doing things I should have been doing anyway since I live in earthquake country. I got a flameless food heater (like they use for MREs) because if there’s an earthquake, we won’t be able to turn on the gas. I also need to clean and re-fill our emergency water canisters.

  139. 139.

    Martin

    @Scout211: Doubt it. More likely has to do with who was on the board after Biden – Eric Prince, bunch of other Trump allies. They’re trying thread a needle of showing corruption by Biden but not by any of his successors. If they get a single ‘actually, that was Prince, not Biden’ answer, they’re fucked.

  140. 140.

    Spanky

    @Baud: The Dow has to go down about 3000 more to wipe out all the gains since Trump was elected.

    Oh well! Friday is my one-year retirement anniversary. At least I got a good 11 10 months out of it.

  142. 142.

    Mnemosyne

    @Scout211:

    I suspect it’s more that the Republicans dimly sense that trying to push Burisma in the middle of a pandemic that has their guy wetting his pants in public is a really, really bad look.

  143. 143.

    Barbara

    @WhatMyNym: Mice can chew through soft plastic but not hard plastic or glass or metal.  We are dealing with a mouse problem right now and it’s driving me crazy.

  144. 144.

    Barbara

    @Scout211: If I were Joe Biden (or any Democrat) who was asked about Hunter Biden, here is what I would say:

    Look at the energy, the resourcefulness of the president when it comes to making up stuff about a private citizen if he thinks it will help with his reelection — he even went so far as to threaten an ally — Now, look at how lazy and inept he is when the American people face an unprecedented threat like the coronavirus.  Of course these allegations about my son are nonsense, but I can promise you this, whenever there is a real threat, I will not be thinking about my reelection, or the stock market, or my billionaire friends’ lost fortune, etc., but the welfare of ordinary people.

    Yes, of course the Trump kids and their worthless spouses are corrupt AF, but there is no point for Biden himself to engage on that level.

  145. 145.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @MattF:

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House has ordered federal health officials to treat top-level coronavirus meetings as classified, an unusual step that has restricted information and hampered the U.S. government’s response to the contagion, according to four Trump administration officials.

    There’s only one plausible reason for this: So Cheeto Benito can lie his flabby arse off to the American people without fear of being contradicted.

    To this Misadministration it’s all a PR problem. Cretins.

  146. 146.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Kent: Anyone here starting to get a little bit more into prepping? Or at least preparedness?

    Not “breakdown of civilization” prepping, but “minimizing outside errands” prepping I guess. Our trip to the big produce store normally lasts us about 3 weeks. We bought a little extra, probably good for more like 5 now. But will eventually have to go get more, and the refrigerator and freezer have finite space.

    Also have a supply of pet food for about the same period.

    So if there’s nothing wandering around out there mid- to late-April but zombies and Fox viewers (but I repeat myself), I guess I’m going to have to risk it to reprovision.

    We’re also good for entertainment as I’ve got shelves of books I never got around to reading, plus the internet. But if they cut off the internet, the electricity or the water supply, I guess we’re screwed.

  148. 148.

    different-church-lady

    Kinda weird: I decided to risk all the Godzilla germs and go out for coffee, and what do you know there’s a bunch of people out here acting like the world isn’t coming to an end.

  149. 149.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @different-church-lady: Went to the local cafe this morning, a place that’s always full of a mix of students and local olds, including myself.

    The people there were indeed acting like it’s not the end of the world, and represented both communities, but there were about half as many as I’d normally expect to see that time of morning.

  151. 151.

    Ruckus

    @dmsilev:

    You don’t really expect him to be in any way grateful do you? If I’m not mistaken that would be the first time.

  152. 152.

    Mnemosyne

    @different-church-lady:

    As I said, I’m using it as motivation to do the earthquake prep I should have been doing all along, so it’s not all bad.

    I’m also going to make my own hand sanitizer, but I’m kind of a DIYer anyway and it seems fairly idiot-proof as long as you use 90 percent isopropyl alcohol in the correct proportions.

  153. 153.

    Ruckus

    @gvg:

    Companies do not need to make a profit. Breaking even is good enough in an emergency. If they are flush then they can even stand to go in the red for a bit.  This concept that a profit is mandatory is bullshit and is what republicans sell. A profit allows growth and rebuilding but business will have to suffer in this time of all of us surviving.

  155. 155.

    Mnemosyne

    @cckids:

    I was going to soak them in some of the alcohol first and let them dry. Is there a better way to do it? I’m going to keep it as simple as possible and just use 91% alcohol, aloe vera gel, and a few drops of essential oil to make it smell nicer.

  156. 156.

    Ruckus

    @TaMara (HFG):

    I am building some parts for a major medical products company that we do work for. I’m eating lunch wondering when the work stops coming in the door from any of our vendors. And when the republican recession will start. And turn into a depression.
    And those are my happy thoughts. Because the survival curve starts going worse till it gets to, can’t get any worse, starting at my age. And numbnuts, who’s one and only skill is to make any situation far worse is after it and pissed that he isn’t making money from it, and/or that it hasn’t been named after him.

  158. 158.

    Roger Moore

    @Mnemosyne:

    I was going to soak them in some of the alcohol first and let them dry. Is there a better way to do it?

    Run them through the dishwasher on the “sanitize” cycle.  That should kill just about anything you’re worried about getting into your hand sanitizer.

  159. 159.

    J R in WV

    I’m prepping to the best of my ability. I’ve put by a big stack of 30 lb sacks of dog kibble, which I’ve already dipped into a little. 20 pound sack of rice,10 or 12 pounds of dried beans, pasta, a case of tomatoes, a case of peppers, a case of canned chicken breast, 6 pounds of ham. It seemed like a lot buying it and carrying it into the house, listing it, not so much. So will be doing at least one more big trip. Replenish the dog and cat kibble, for sure.

    I’ll be buying some prescriptions, regardless of insurance BS, I have a discount card and the most important meds I take aren’t really expensive. Generic common stuff. Some are regulatory limited, so I’ll just have to do without if it gets that bad. Bourbon can help…   ;-)   … snake bite, so works for Trump!

    Sorry to hear about people having financial issues already. We have small pensions, Social security, the savings are currently diminishing rapidly, in part to Trump and the his pandemic.

  161. 161.

    Elizabelle

    WaPost updates:

    NCAA tournament basketball will be played without fans.

    National Cathedral and all other Episcopal churches/buildings will shut down completely until March 25.  First time that has happened since the Spanish Flu of 1918.

  162. 162.

    Elizabelle

    @Elizabelle:   The National Cathedral/other Episcopal buildings refers to Washington DC.  Don’t want to leave the impression that it is nationwide.

  163. 163.

    J R in WV

    @Elizabelle:

    Part of my stocking up is cases of beer, bottles of wine, bourbon, favorite foods, etc. Neighbor yesterday remarked “The secret to stocking up like this is to buy stuff you like to eat!” and he is as usual, completely correct! Will do more of that tomorrow.

    I want to die with plenty of booze for the wake !!! That’s a joke …

    ;-)

  165. 165.

    joel hanes

    @Chief Oshkosh:

    That is 100% the result of the Mango Moron deciding that the number of known infected people in the US is THE number and that the lower the number, the more HE personally is “winning.” He completely personalized the absolute dumbest metric to tie his ego to and so here we are.

     

    Exactly.   The President at this moment in history is the worst possible person for the job.

Comments are closed.