Coronavirus and Pandemics

We have now faced two weeks of July and the results should be sobering.In 14 days:

• 4511 new cases of Covid-19
• 151 Covid-19 deaths
• more new cases and deaths than in March, April, May & June combined
• 840 hospitalzations
• 223 in ICU
• over 5000 known active cases

And the restaurants are still open; the churches still gathering; folks on the streets not wearing masks; schools planning on opening but not on campus until late September...And the TWIT response?

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This is against all medical advise, well how much less are my school taxes going to be then,,,also how much will i get paid to teach I still work my 50+ hours a week

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Criminally unjust to students. Where’s your data to prove the risk of transmission from kids to adults ? Who do parents contact to get their property taxes refunded as they now become the teachers ? What the hell does a single working parent do?

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Will the little illegal school children still be able to get their free breakfasts and lunches?

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Think past the one problem in front of you. And you are willing to create 10 problems to solve 1. You are just simply "reacting" to the mob and their fears for votes.

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Edited by jar, : fix sub-title

Hidalgo County Texas, July 17Yet another depressing report.Another 451 new KNOWN cases. Six thousand eight hundred sixty-one new cases this month so far.Twenty-seven deaths. Two hundred thirty-five so far this month.More active cases than released/recovered cases.Nine hundred eighty-two hospitalized.Three hundred four in ICU.Governor Abbott said in an interview yesterday that there will not be another closedown in Texas.Hopefully there will be someone left to turn off the lights.

The NYT today has an article centered on Edinburg; one of the cities in Hidalgo County. It only looks at one of the hospitals in the area, Doctor's Hospital at Renaissance (DHR) but it's pretty much reflected at all of the other hospitals in the Valley. Later today the County Judge is expected to issue a stay at home order for all but essential workers but unfortunately it will be unenforceable since Governor Abbott has still preempted all local control.His action though is an indicator of just how serious the situation is down here along the river.And over the weekend 1320 additional new cases as well as 17 more deaths were reported. July so fay has seen 8181 new Covid-19 cases and 255 deaths.AbE:There is actually a method to this madness and one shared by several Governors, many Senators and Representatives and the White House.Covid-19, as bad as it is, still is primarily a threat to the elderly, those with pre-existing conditions like diabetes, asthma, immune disorder, heart conditions, high blood pressure and all of those are common among the POC community and the poorer segments of our population.That is not the voting demographic courted by Governor Abbott or the White House. For the vast majority of those who are Covid-19 positive it is an unpleasant experience but survivable. While it seems that there might be many longer term effects that will plague those folk in the future, that is NOT of any importance during THIS election cycle.In addition if local governments react by applying additional sanctions on those who do not see Covid-19 as a clear and present danger those sanction will simply solidify the voting base that the Republicans fear they are losing.Edited by jar, : see AbE:

Finally the local County Court Judge issued a ruling; not what is needed but all that can be managed under current restrictions. It says that anyone notified that they have been exposed to or that has had a family member exposed to Covid-19 MUST self quarantine. It's really limited and nearly unenforceable but as I said, about all that can legally be done.

I have not been on th he internet or watching television for about 3 weeks.I just found out that a mask is required for any public place.Went into effect today.I was told that cases and deaths were up by a large amount.I just checked the net. WorldMeters showed Nebraska has 22,583 confirmed infections and 301 if those as deaths. The national death rate is 143,718, which h means about 13,000 to 14,000 nationally in July. 3 weeks in.Nebraska is under a 1.4% death rate. Low for deaths to confirmed cases. And a very low overall death rate of 1 per 6,000 residents. So far .So I fail to see why we need such draconian rules. This virus is not asbestos insulation type stuff. I am about to find out if a mask is required to be on while somebody eats or drinks. Imagine the bacteria risk. Imagine the bacteria risk from people reusing filthy masks thrown on the floor and God knows what else.The death rates are way down, nationally, since states started to open up in early June.We were about to see 25,000 deaths this month, based on what I saw.For a virus that around 10 percent of the population has already caught. A virus that could have a death rate under 0.2 percent per infection, especially for the non elderly. Notice how we don't protect the population from industrial chemicals and elements that cause most cancers , yet we torture everyone and destroy the economy over a virus that is more bark than bite.And, I say this ad somebody who is big on preparation for future viruses and bacteria. Including mask stockpiles and all. Edited by LamarkNewAge, : No reason given.Edited by LamarkNewAge, : Spell check massacred words , so I had to correct

Isn't there supposed to be a big "NOT" over Abbott's signature at the bottom of this?

Since it only applies to those who tested positive or who came in contact with those who tested positive it falls under the local health rules.Unfortunately the TWITS response so far has been "So don't get tested!"

Oh god.How could this NOT lead to a felony charge of reckless endangerment?Republicans. No matter haw many they kill, gotta make the economy look good for the election.Stay safe, jar.

What is particularly concerning is that we are still finding between 15% and 20% of all people being tested are coming in as positive. Recent rates have reached as high as 50%.WHO has said that opening up the economy should only be attempted when the percentage returning as positive consistently falls below 5%.

These are republicans. They don't do WHO anymore. They barely do CDC anymore.

There were 34 additional deaths recorded today and another 524 positive cases. There are over 1000 cases hospitalized and 228 in ICU. Our overall rate of Positive results still stands at 16.75 but that is considering total testing since March. Recent testing still runs between 30% and 50% positive.Our County Judge issued a "Stay at home" order covering all county residents that will become effective on July 22, 2020 at 12:01am but unfortunately many of the real critical Covid-19 vectors are allowed to continue including :

Texans are very stubborn. They are worried about their 'freedom' rather than the common good.The news from NY. We had a bump the last few weeks, but it looks like we have returned to normal. The local county's infection rate for new tests is at .5% NY hospitalizations were down to 716, down from a peak of 18825 on April 12th. And for about the last month, the statewide death rate has been bouncing between 5 and 15 (statewide).I wish the southern states would have learned from the pain NY went through. I don't want people to go through that.

Interview on tonight's local news with Governor Abbott and he still refuses to allow enforcement of the stay at home order or request to close non-essential businesses. In fact he refused to even discuss them.AbE:The numbers. Over half of all known positive Covid-19 cases are still active and we have had 10 times as many deaths so far this month than in March, April, May and June combined.Edited by jar, : see AbE:

We took our first vacation since the coronavirus pandemic began last week, spent it on Cape Cod. Masks were mandated in Provincetown and everyone was wearing one. Even the street musician in front of town hall was wearing one.The nearby beach was another story. Social distancing was very easy to maintain on the uncrowded beaches, but once I was in the water I completely forgot myself. I approached two women who I heard say they'd just seen a seal, and I asked where. They appeared horrified when I approached too close, and I only realized why later.Another time I was watching a family play a beach game with a ball and small trampoline and they invited me to join. It's played in pretty close quarters, four people in maybe a six-by-six area. I completely forgot about the virus and joined the game.We did several hikes and had our masks around our necks and only pulled them up when someone passed, but the last hike we did we completely forgot ourselves and never pulled our masks up.Several times we got out of the car to walk into stores and completely forgot our masks until we got to the door.It is so easy to forget. Fortunately most people were very nice when we needed reminding. Here's a nice picture of Ptown from one of the town beaches: --Percy

Dr. Fauci in response to a question from NYT interviewer Jennifer Senior:

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But Jennifer, would you want me to say something that’s directly contrary to what the president is doing? That’s not helpful. Then all of a sudden you don’t hear from me for a while.

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Source: Opinion | I Spoke With Anthony Fauci. He Says His Inbox Isn’t Pretty. - The New York Times--Percy