Corona Virus: It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint

[LawBeefaroni]

All 400 employees will have to be tested or re-tested before the store is able to reopen, he said.

The reality is that to be effective, they will need to be tested daily and be managed (contact tracing, etc) for it matter. If you don't have symptoms, single tests are minimal value. You could give a negative sample and 3 hours latter be positive. Yes, there are asymptomatic cases that will show up in tests but there will also be what are effectively false negatives as someone is cleared to work and is positive the next day.

[Paingod]

Not just Maryland...

https://twitter.com/JesseAPaul/status/1 ... 31552?s=19

So I just read that the reason states are hiding supplies is because FEMA wants to distribute them "industrially" - IE, they hijack the shipments, hand them over to one of five resellers, and the resellers offer them to the highest bidder. So if a state is getting supplies anywhere except FEMA or these five resellers, there's a good chance FEMA will yoink those supplies if they find them.

Just take a look at FEMA's website and the page outlining the plan. Pay very close attention to the title of the plan. That title is "Industry Enabled Stabilization of the Supply Chain" ... not "Government Enabled" - "Industry" ... this is the result of privatizing an aspect of federal responsibility.


Shipment from South Korea, bought and paid for? Not part of the "official supply chain" - yoink. Shipment from Alaska to New York? Not part of the "official supply chain" - yoink. Shipment from China through a different reseller? Yoink.

Note, also, that these distributors are not subject to lawsuits based on price gouging.

Conduct by federal agencies is not subject to scrutiny under the antitrust laws. Courts have extended this immunity to conduct by private parties acting individually or together when (i) the collaboration is compelled by an agreement with a federal agency or a clearly defined federal government policy and (ii) a federal agency supervises the conduct. The Department will not challenge conduct that satisfies this standard in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.

This legal document also outlines the five distributors.

This letter responds to your request on behalf of McKesson Corporation, Owens & Minor, Inc., Cardinal Health, Inc., Medline Industries, Ind., and Henry Schein, Inc. (together the “Requesting Parties”) for the issuance of a business review letter under the Department of Justice’s (the “Department”) Business Review Procedure

See also, another federal document discussing authorized seizure of goods for "redistribution"

We will also work closely with the Administrator of FEMA in exercising his authority under the Stafford Act to seize necessary healthcare and medical items, where appropriate, and to redeploy them to the people who need them most.

FEMA isn't sending these goods where they're needed the most. They're sending them where they're most profitable for their friends. This isn't just "the swamp" in action. This is creating an ocean of blood in sacrifice to the gods of profit.

*Note: Originally seen on Reddit, here, but the documents involved are all from the *.gov domain. This isn't fake news. This is the real government in action.

We need some real light being shed on this shit. Does Popehat feel like reviewing it for validity and posting? It's a lot of legal docs, right?

[Smoove_B]

I know it is not ideal but what do you think happens in industries where the labor is not trackable? They aren't going to be on anyone's radar but they are working through this crisis and getting very sick.

I haven't heard anything yet, but my guess is that there's going to need to be a formal understanding between private businesses and public health agencies (local, county) here in NJ. This understanding would mean that the businesses are going to voluntarily be reporting daily information to local health partners if their workforce is sick, calling out or not showing up. Basically what's known as syndromic surveillance. We already do this in schools and major corporations for annual influenza, so a system exists. The difficulty will be in extending it to companies / organizations that hadn't been doing it before.

This (of course) is going to set the tinfoil hat wingnuts off the deep end as BIG GOVERNMENT will be watching. It's extra funny to me because we're already watching (and have been). We're just doing enhanced monitoring now, focused on a specific disease.

The reality is that to be effective, they will need to be tested daily and be managed (contact tracing, etc) for it matter. If you don't have symptoms, single tests are minimal value. You could give a negative sample and 3 hours latter be positive. Yes, there are asymptomatic cases that will show up in tests but there will also be what are effectively false negatives as someone is cleared to work and is positive the next day.

This type of action (testing of all 400 employees) is about controlling a localized outbreak (at the store). What they're doing is trying to actively disrupt a "hot spot" that was seemingly located at this store, originating around a series of cases that occurred at a specific point in time. So they know when it started (based on the surge in cases over 7 days) and would be testing to see if anyone is in that "wave" of illness. Shutting down the store in conjunction with tests helps to "break" that chain of infection. Add in better PPE compliance and likely inspections from local officials when they open and it's a textbook execution of what should be happening on a smaller scale. As everything starts to slowly open, I truly believe this is what we can expect to see. It absolutely hinges on local/county/state ability to proactively monitor and then "swoop in" to stop a problem from escalating - which is the goal.

[Jeff V]

Summer is canceled.

[malchior]

I know it is not ideal but what do you think happens in industries where the labor is not trackable? They aren't going to be on anyone's radar but they are working through this crisis and getting very sick.

I haven't heard anything yet, but my guess is that there's going to need to be a formal understanding between private businesses and public health agencies (local, county) here in NJ. This understanding would mean that the businesses are going to voluntarily be reporting daily information to local health partners if their workforce is sick, calling out or not showing up. Basically what's known as syndromic surveillance. We already do this in schools and major corporations for annual influenza, so a system exists. The difficulty will be in extending it to companies / organizations that hadn't been doing it before.

I also don't see it working because the people aren't reporting it. They just vanish. We are hearing second hand that they got it, were afraid, or had relatives die and then had to stay home to care for kids/family. I suspect the death toll is higher than expected in the undocumented community. My wife is hearing the same from the labs and other coordinated businesses in the manufacturing sector her in NJ. On top these folks also have rock bottom trust in the government. It is a total mess. Ugh.

[malchior]

Shipment from South Korea, bought and paid for? Not part of the "official supply chain" - yoink. Shipment from Alaska to New York? Not part of the "official supply chain" - yoink. Shipment from China through a different reseller? Yoink.

Note, also, that these distributors are not subject to lawsuits based on price gouging.

I have little doubt this is all what is really happening. This is pretty close to the legitimate way to handle it but also tempting targets for immoral oligarchs. That is why trust and transparency are a must in a crisis. And what we have are guys who are openly villainous and have erected walls of secrecy around the whole thing. We need to demand investigations when this is done but at the end of the day it might all be *legal* because either through negligence or intention this was likely all 'legal looting' like 2008. If true and people understood what was happening, I think the streets would be running with blood.

[AWS260]

Multiple armed gunmen storm Michigan’s State House, State police are protecting @GovWhitmer and blocking the gunmen from gaining access to the house floor.

This is America in the age of Trump.

For White People Who Have Considered Genocide When Coronavirus Wasn't Enough. A strong blog post by Michael Harriott, although I am motivated to post in it part because that title is brilliant.

Only white people could do this. It’s not just that the cops would shoot the first black person in the head as soon as they crossed the threshold. It’s not just that the armed invaders are so willing to offer other people’s bodies up for sacrifice in exchange for dining in at Applebees and checking out at Walmart. It’s that they are so unabashedly angry about it that they brought killing machines with them! Only someone with an abundance of entitled privilege would even release such a large amount of white-hot hate for such arbitrary and frivolous reasons.

These people hate America.

Oh, they love flags and guns and the idea of a Constitution. But they do not love America—not even the fantasyland of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that only exists in their dreams.

No, these motherfuckers would never show up to protest for that America.

Edit to add another observation:

if you don’t think this kind of paramilitary cosplay has consequences consider that the reconstruction-era ku klux klan began as paramilitary cosplay that became the real thing once it was clear there were no consequences for violent action.

[El Guapo]

Shipment from South Korea, bought and paid for? Not part of the "official supply chain" - yoink. Shipment from Alaska to New York? Not part of the "official supply chain" - yoink. Shipment from China through a different reseller? Yoink.

Note, also, that these distributors are not subject to lawsuits based on price gouging.

I have little doubt this is all what is really happening. This is pretty close to the legitimate way to handle it but also tempting targets for immoral oligarchs. That is why trust and transparency are a must in a crisis. And what we have are guys who are openly villainous and have erected walls of secrecy around the whole thing. We need to demand investigations when this is done but at the end of the day it might all be *legal* because either through negligence or intention this was likely all 'legal looting' like 2008. If true and people understood what was happening, I think the streets would be running with blood.

The other angle is that it seems like this is also at least in part because Trump wants to control supplies so that he can reward states that support him and punish states that don't.

[Paingod]

Shipment from South Korea, bought and paid for? Not part of the "official supply chain" - yoink. Shipment from Alaska to New York? Not part of the "official supply chain" - yoink. Shipment from China through a different reseller? Yoink.

Note, also, that these distributors are not subject to lawsuits based on price gouging.

I have little doubt this is all what is really happening. This is pretty close to the legitimate way to handle it but also tempting targets for immoral oligarchs. That is why trust and transparency are a must in a crisis. And what we have are guys who are openly villainous and have erected walls of secrecy around the whole thing. We need to demand investigations when this is done but at the end of the day it might all be *legal* because either through negligence or intention this was likely all 'legal looting' like 2008. If true and people understood what was happening, I think the streets would be running with blood.

The other angle is that it seems like this is also at least in part because Trump wants to control supplies so that he can reward states that support him and punish states that don't.

So far we've heard him mentioning the nebulous "aid" as a whip, but I just don't see him operating below the layers that sit at the table with him. I sincerely doubt he even knows how FEMA is running this. Someone may have slipped a memo to him at one point, but he's not well known for giving a shit about what's actually happening in the agencies he's responsible for as long as no one is contradicting him.

[malchior]

Shipment from South Korea, bought and paid for? Not part of the "official supply chain" - yoink. Shipment from Alaska to New York? Not part of the "official supply chain" - yoink. Shipment from China through a different reseller? Yoink.

Note, also, that these distributors are not subject to lawsuits based on price gouging.

I have little doubt this is all what is really happening. This is pretty close to the legitimate way to handle it but also tempting targets for immoral oligarchs. That is why trust and transparency are a must in a crisis. And what we have are guys who are openly villainous and have erected walls of secrecy around the whole thing. We need to demand investigations when this is done but at the end of the day it might all be *legal* because either through negligence or intention this was likely all 'legal looting' like 2008. If true and people understood what was happening, I think the streets would be running with blood.

The other angle is that it seems like this is also at least in part because Trump wants to control supplies so that he can reward states that support him and punish states that don't.

So far we've heard him mentioning the nebulous "aid" as a whip, but I just don't see him operating below the layers that sit at the table with him. I sincerely doubt he even knows how FEMA is running this. Someone may have slipped a memo to him at one point, but he's not well known for giving a shit about what's actually happening in the agencies he's responsible for as long as no one is contradicting him.

It isn't Trump directly. He has an army of low-rent, immoral apparatchiks all clamoring for his favor. And they have even lower-rent flunkies spread out all over this government. The guy at the head of the corona taskforce in HHS was a labradoodle groomer. They punish the blue states and then tell everyone who'll listen that they did blue dirty. In any case, it's not a bad guess to think they were punishing blue states. However, blue states needed supplies more...so were they just the target of convenience? It's all possible and I don't care. I just want them all gone. And if they were pouring money in their pockets we should know that.

[coopasonic]

The guy at the head of the corona taskforce in HHS was a labradoodle groomer breeder.

Minor correction there. Not sure it matters.

[malchior]

The guy at the head of the corona taskforce in HHS was a labradoodle groomer breeder.

Minor correction there. Not sure it matters.

LOL!

[Holman]

https://twitter.com/ericawerner/status/ ... 72736?s=20

The White House is blocking Anthony S. Fauci from testifying before a House committee investigating the coronavirus outbreak and response, the panel’s spokesman said Friday.

Evan Hollander, spokesman for the House Appropriations Committee, said the panel had sought Fauci’s testimony for a hearing next week but that Trump administration officials denied the request. The committee was told by an administration official that the denial came from the White House.

This is because the WH response to the virus has been perfect, the best in the world, everybody says it's hard to believe how good it is.

[NickAragua]

https://twitter.com/ericawerner/status/ ... 72736?s=20

The White House is blocking Anthony S. Fauci from testifying before a House committee investigating the coronavirus outbreak and response, the panel’s spokesman said Friday.

Evan Hollander, spokesman for the House Appropriations Committee, said the panel had sought Fauci’s testimony for a hearing next week but that Trump administration officials denied the request. The committee was told by an administration official that the denial came from the White House.

This is because the WH response to the virus has been perfect, the best in the world, everybody says it's hard to believe how good it is.

Although, this way, it'll prevent him from having to say something that'll get him "resigned", so maybe it's just a very roundabout means of personnel retention.

[malchior]

Trump back to 49% approval rating according to Gallup. Trump's support spiked amongst "independents" and 50% approved of his performance. So people heard that things would go back to normal and are happy. Giving credit to him is an odd call but let's see how this all works out in a month.

President Trump’s job approval soared to 49 percent in a new Gallup poll released Thursday, making up a 6-point loss from a similar survey released just two weeks ago.

The new approval number is tied for Trump’s personal best in Gallup’s polling data. A survey conducted by Gallup in mid-March similarly found his approval ticking up to 49 percent before it took a 6-point dive in the first half of April.

The poll released on Thursday marked a rare instance in Gallup’s polling history in which Trump’s overall approval is above water. Only 47 percent of respondents said they disapprove of the job he’s doing in the White House.

The rise in approval comes as Americans remain divided on the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Fifty percent said they approve of his handling of the crisis, while nearly as many — 48 percent — disapprove, according to Gallup.

The 6-point jump in Trump’s overall approval rating owes primarily to a bump in support among independents, according to Gallup. Forty-seven percent of independents said they approve of the president’s handling of his job compared to only 39 percent in the previous April survey.

[Max Peck]

NIH abruptly cuts coronavirus research funding, alarming scientists

Researchers expressed alarm this week after the National Institutes of Health abruptly cancelled funding for a long-standing research project by US and Chinese scientists to examine how coronaviruses leap from bats to humans, potentially causing devastating pandemics—such as the one we are currently experiencing by a coronavirus genetically linked to those found in bats.

The funding cut could set back critical research into preventing such disease spread, scientists say. They also expressed dismay that the decision was prompted by unfounded conspiracy theories and what some see as a wider attempt by the Trump administration to deflect criticism of its handling of the pandemic by blaming China for unleashing the disease.

The NIH has not provided a clear explanation for its move to cancel the funds, which occurred April 24 and was first reported by Politico Monday, April 27. However, in emails exchanges published April 30 by Science magazine, it is clear that the NIH was motivated by conspiracy theories that allege—without evidence—that the virus was somehow released by Chinese researchers in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the pandemic began.

[Alefroth]

Today is looking like it could rival all time high for new cases. Glad we're getting back to normal.

edit: 36,007

[YellowKing]

If you think Trump's doing a good job, you've never watched one of his press briefings. I don't see how anyone who can actually dress themselves in the morning could look at that bumbling idiot and go, "You know, I'm glad he's in charge."

[LawBeefaroni]

We've plateaued here but it hasn't been going down.

Tomorrow we'll have 70 degree weather and open beaches. Yay! Nothing gonna stop us now!

[Max Peck]

Locally, Ottawa Public Health believes that we just passed the peak for community transmission (assuming people don't start slacking off on distancing).

Ottawa enters 'post-peak period,' Etches says

Ottawa is officially in the "post-peak period" in terms of community transmission of COVID-19, the city's medical officer of health said on Friday.

"I do believe we are in the post-peak period, as it's being called, in Ottawa as well as the province when it comes to community-based infection," Vera Etches said during Friday's teleconference.

That conclusion is based on a declining number of people being hospitalized for COVID-19 infection, she said.

Etches added the recent rise in the number of hospitalizations is linked to outbreaks in long-term care homes, not the virus spreading in the wider community.

Ottawa Public Health has also updated its recommendations for testing, making the swabs for COVID-19 available to more people. Now anyone 60 or older who is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 — like a fever or cough — can get tested at a COVID-19 care clinic or the Brewer Arena assessment centre.

Etches said the change will help health officials assess how widely the virus is spreading in the community. Until now, only "priority groups" including health-care workers, recent travellers or people who had close contact with a confirmed case were eligible for testing.

At the provincial level, the first baby step in re-opening businesses has been announced.

Ontario allowing small list of businesses to reopen with 'strict safety guidelines'

The province says the following businesses will be able to begin operating on May 4 at 12:01 a.m.:

• Garden centres and nurseries with curbside pickup and delivery only.
• Lawn care and landscaping.
• Additional essential construction projects that include shipping and logistics; broadband, telecommunications, and digital infrastructure; any other project that supports the improved delivery of goods and services; municipal projects; colleges and universities; child care centres; schools; and site preparation, excavation, and servicing for institutional, commercial, industrial and residential development.
• Automatic and self-serve car washes.
• Auto dealerships, open by appointment only.
• Golf courses may prepare their courses for the upcoming season, but not open to the public.
• Marinas may also begin preparations for the recreational boating season by servicing boats and other watercraft and placing boats in the water, but not open to the public. Boats and watercraft must be secured to a dock in the marina until public access is allowed.

[RunningMn9]

If you think Trump's doing a good job, you've never watched one of his press briefings. I don't see how anyone who can actually dress themselves in the morning could look at that bumbling idiot and go, "You know, I'm glad he's in charge."

Literally every day reinforces that abandoning this party was the right thing to do. However, I need to hear from an Independent on how Trump is handling this well.

[Smoove_B]

Submitted without comment

https://twitter.com/meganranney/status/ ... 5259582465

This needs no words.

[Skinypupy]

https://twitter.com/ericawerner/status/ ... 72736?s=20

The White House is blocking Anthony S. Fauci from testifying before a House committee investigating the coronavirus outbreak and response, the panel’s spokesman said Friday.

Evan Hollander, spokesman for the House Appropriations Committee, said the panel had sought Fauci’s testimony for a hearing next week but that Trump administration officials denied the request. The committee was told by an administration official that the denial came from the White House.

This is because the WH response to the virus has been perfect, the best in the world, everybody says it's hard to believe how good it is.

Testifying in the Senate is totes cool though. They’re not big meanie poopy-heads like the House.

[Smoove_B]

Between the CDC dysfunction right now (lack of collection, reporting) and the White House blocking Dr. Fauci (has blocking anyone from testifying ever been for a positive reason?), we are absolutely in the darkest of dark timelines.

EDIT: As part of the VP Pence not wearing a mask evaluation, it became rather apparent (through his comments) that he, his staffers and members of the WH administration are being frequently tested for the presence of the virus. To phrase it another way, they know that the only way to operate safely is to offer frequent, repeated testing to people at risk and yet the administration isn't helping to make that happen here in the U.S. for every American citizen that needs it. THAT alone should tell you they're evil. This isn't incompetence; they know what needs to be done but refuse to help make it happen.

[malchior]

Trump removes another IG on a Friday night. Her sin? She did her job and reported the truth about medical shortages.

Here is why this matters in context.

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/12 ... 4885526528

[malchior]

Cool, cool, cool Stillwater, Oklahoma

An emergency proclamation requiring face masks in stores and restaurants in Stillwater, Oklahoma, was nixed after store and restaurant owners received threats.

The proclamation was issued Thursday. Among other things, the order made businesses require patrons to cover their faces to combat the spread of coronavirus.
But on Friday, Mayor Will Joyce softened the rule to encourage, not require, face coverings, after several reports emerged of employees being verbally abused and being threatened with physical violence while trying to enforce the order -- all in just three hours of the rule going into effect.
"Many of those with objections cite the mistaken belief the requirement is unconstitutional, and under their theory, one cannot be forced to wear a mask. No law or court supports this view," said City Manager Norman McNickle in a statement. "It is further distressing that these people, while exercising their believed rights, put others at risk."
McNickle went on to explain the importance of face coverings in preventing the spread of coronavirus. The masks have been recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
"It is unfortunate and distressing that those who refuse and threaten violence are so self-absorbed as to not follow what is a simple show of respect and kindness to others," he said.
Still, the city is changing the rule, as officials "cannot, in clear conscience, put our local business community in harm's way, nor can the police be everywhere," McNickle said.

[Smoove_B]

That really is depressing. Similar to the "tip your mask" story out of Illinois a few days ago (I thought I saw this last week?):

All Illinois shoppers out and about during the pandemic are asked to tip their masks in order to avoid confusion and anxiety between the public and business owners.

The "Tip Your Mask" initiative is a coordinated effort involving multiple Illinois police departments. With store owners concerned about people hiding their faces and potential crimes being committed, people are asked to slightly lower their mask and briefly show their faces when they enter a store to let employees know they are simply there to shop.

[malchior]

Want more depressing - shelter-in-place ending by popular decree...of the mob. It is going to be a looooong summer. Yesterday was one the highest tallies of new confirmed cases *since this began*. It's still linear growth but it perhaps just a transition from declining cases in the 'hot zone' to increasing cases in the 'rural areas'.

Apple’s Mobility Trends report shows that traffic in the US and other countries like Germany has pretty much doubled in the past three weeks. It had been down up to 72%. And location data provider Foursquare says that gas and fast food visits are back to pre-COVID-19 levels in the American Midwest.

“Gas station traffic has returned to pre-COVID-19 levels in the Midwest, and in rural areas throughout the country,” Foursquare said yesterday in a blog post. “Foot traffic to quick service restaurants (QSRs) has risen over the past several weeks.”

Whether governments, medical professionals, and scientists want it to or not, people seem tired of the shutdown and eager to get back to some semblance of normal life.

[Smoove_B]

https://twitter.com/SEDLAW15/status/1256730344964980738

Quote of the year: “If you expect elementary school children to endure the trauma of active shooter drills for your freedoms, you can wear a mask to Costco.”

[Blackhawk]

Whether governments, medical professionals, and scientists want it to or not, people seem tired of the shutdown and eager to get back to some semblance of normal life.

[/quote]

Weeks.

We, including much of the poor, live in what would have been considered luxury for most of history and still is in many parts of the world. The ability of modern Americans to inconvenience themselves by resting in luxury for the survival of thousands of their neighbors is measured in weeks.

Then we get bored and need a cheeseburger.

[LawBeefaroni]

I was in the hinterlands today, near the Illinois/Wisconsin border. Not a lot of mask wearing of people out and about but Walmart had a pretty good saturation from what I could see in the parking lot.

We wore masks into the woods, they came off as we spread out and everyone was keeping good distance.

There were a lot of accidents on my 2 hour round trip, despite probably a third of the usual traffic.



Came home to the neighbors in the alley having a rather large garage party. Last night other neighbors had 3 or 4 guys in their garage drinking, keeping distance and just sitting there talking. Very loudly as the drinks went down but just talking.

Apparently the tonight's neighbors took it up a level and they're out there now singing Beatles songs.



The feeling I'm getting is that people are saying "fuck it.". Like they'll go through the motions but not much more. I'm seeing a ton of mask over chin or gaiter around neck.

[malchior]

I just got an update on my friend's husband. He is has been in the ICU since the 3rd week of March. To quick recap, he went in feeling bad but not terrible. Had the usual blood oxygen crash we hear about. Got put on a vent. He was on a vent for weeks. They tried to ween him off but he kept having cardiac arrests. He made it through that.

What I just learned was that then his kidneys failed and they put him on dialysis. They've done a couple of treatment with antibody plasma. He responded well and his kidney function returned. Also his persistent weeks long fever broke. His blood oxygen levels are still very bad so they need to transfer him to another trauma center when he is stable enough to get him on an ECMO. He's been in the hospital 35-40 days or so. "Just like the flu". Fucking hell.

[Kraken]

Then we get bored and need a cheeseburger.

AND A DRAFT BEER!!! Jeez, man, focus on what matters. I can haz cheezburgers at home.

WaPo did one of those long-form, in-depth pieces that only newspapers still do. How Trump defeated Covid and saved the economy last month: 34 days of pandemic -- Inside Trump's desperate attempts to reopen America

This story documenting Trump’s month-long struggle to reopen America is based on interviews with 82 administration officials, outside advisers and experts with detailed knowledge of the White House’s handling of the pandemic. Many of them spoke on the condition of anonymity to recount internal discussions or share candid assessments without risk of retribution.

Some of Trump’s closest advisers rebutted on the record the suggestion that the pandemic response has been anything but successful.

[malchior]

Talking Points Memo captured a tweet thread that should be read. Hint: It's depressing and dovetails nicely with the WaPo story. Trump squandered February, March, and April now.

[hitbyambulance]

how do you deal with a significant portion of the population that is too self-centered/entitled to follow public health guidelines?

[gbasden]

how do you deal with a significant portion of the population that is too self-centered/entitled to follow public health guidelines?

Apparently, encourage them to perform risky behavior and then watch them die.

[malchior]

how do you deal with a significant portion of the population that is too self-centered/entitled to follow public health guidelines?

Apparently, encourage them to perform risky behavior and then watch them die.

It's not risky behavior. It's freedom!

Tonight is Trump's Mission Accomplished moment. He is declaring victory against the coronavirus at a tv 'town hall' with no people. It's *SAFE* out there. He also has plans to travel to critical states like Arizona. Which marks the only time that I'm rooting for the coronavirus.

[YellowKing]

I'd be enjoying watching the fool stumble into this trap, if not for the knowledge it's going to cost a lot of lives. But there's no way this doesn't backfire, unless everything we know about epidemiology is wrong.

[Holman]

https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/125694 ... 43969?s=20

Larry Kudlow defended today his Feb. 25 comments where he said coronavirus was "contained" "pretty close to airtight."

Kudlow: “For the umpteenth time I will say, my quote then was based on the actual facts which at the time there were only 40 or 50 cases and it was contained."

The Titanic was completely unsinkable before it began to take on water.

[Smoove_B]

how do you deal with a significant portion of the population that is too self-centered/entitled to follow public health guidelines?

Welcome to my existence. Though this is indeed an extreme example and the first time in modern history so many people have potentially had their Constitutionally guaranteed rights infringed upon. I don't think Americans en masse are prepared to deal with it and the outliers downright refusing to do anything are like glowing embers, sparking chaos. When you add in how the Federal government and some states are dealing with it, the end result (from my perspective) does not look good. As has been said by so many others in much more elegant ways, this pandemic has laid bare everything wrong with America - particularly how we treat/care for/consider vast groups in our population. And instead of using this information as a way to forge forward, collectively we've said "..but the economy" and are just sitting around waiting for things to go back to normal. Spoiler: they are not going to go back to normal.