COVID-19/Coronavirus thread

[Balta1701]

3 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Agreed. Grocery bill is WAY up, but dining out and gas are down by a lot more.  Impulse buys are also completely gone now.

I would kill for a vacation. 

[caulfield12]

Basically, in the rush to get respirators/masks to healthcare professionals (not the general public) from Chinese suppliers...it turns out only 23.3% actually worked the way it was supposed to.   Well, that’s yet another argument for bringing back our PPE and pharmaceutical supply chains back to the US.   One can’t help but wonder how many doctors and nurses around the world got sick or died as a result...?  
 

According to press reports, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has withdrawn its authorization for dozens of China-made respirators, “after government testing found many didn’t work properly.” This is reflected in the FDA’s own thinning list of China-made respirators covered by the  relevant Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), the current iteration of which lists only 14 manufacturers, down from a peak of around 60. The EUA was originally issued on April 3, 2020, but was reissued yesterday, May 7, 2020:
https://www.chinalawblog.com

[caulfield12]

49 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

I would certainly hope they would as the VP would have to stop all travel in case the President needs disabling treatment. I don’t like either but crisis mode in a nuclear power is a bad thing.

People would also notice if either all his aides disappeared from him if he was asymptomatic or if he stopped making public appearances for weeks.

But hell guys go on wear no masks. If both the president and Vice President are on ventilators we get a president Pelosi for a few days.

It would actually be a good thing for another reason...at least for those who are religious in the US, Pence is able to project some modicum of warmth and human empathy completely lacking in Trump.   We can talk about separation of church and state issues, but now is as good a time as any to push the boundaries a bit (public speaking, not limiting abortion access) if it brings comfort and a sense of unity and shared sacrifice/purpose to the American people.  I’ve come to believe Pence at least has a consistent belief system and moral code, despite the fact that watching him have to kiss up to Trump is totally uncomfortable.  On his own, he certainly fits that central casting idea of what a President would look like...and projects confidence and stability if not charisma.

Watching thousands of deaths being ignored or not even acknowledged by our government on a daily basis is almost incomprehensible. 

And late May, early June promises even more horrific numbers.

Edited May 9, 2020 by caulfield12

[bmags]

56 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Agreed. Grocery bill is WAY up, but dining out and gas are down by a lot more.  Impulse buys are also completely gone now.

I ordered white Sox beer from binnys today out of an uncontrollable urge.

[StrangeSox]

 

 

[caulfield12]

You Can’t Grab an Economy by the P#$&y, sorry!
 

“When you see a virus like this one that does not respect county boundaries, this started out predominantly in Madison and Milwaukee; then we just had this outbreak in Brown County very recently in the meatpacking plants,” Roth explained. “The cases in Brown County in a span of two weeks surged over tenfold, from 60 to almost 800—”

“Due to the meatpacking, though, that’s where Brown County got the flare,” WI Chief Justice Patience Roggensack interrupted to clarify. “It wasn’t just the regular folks in Brown County.”

Perhaps Roggensack did not mean that the largely Latino workers in Brown County’s meatpacking plants—who have told reporters that they have been forced to work in proximity with one another, often without masks or hand sanitizer, and without being notified that their colleagues are infected—are not “regular folks” like the other residents of the state. Perhaps she merely meant that their line of work puts them at greater risk, and so the outbreaks in the meatpacking plants, seen as essential to the nation’s food supply, are not rationally related to the governor’s stay-at-home order, from which they would be exempt.

Yet either way, Roggensack was drawing a line between “regular folks” and the workers who keep them fed, mobile, safe, and connected. And America’s leaders have treated those workers as largely expendable, praising their valor while disregarding their safety.

.....

Although the full picture remains unclear, researchers have found that majority-black counties “account for more than half of coronavirus cases and nearly 60 percent of deaths.” The disproportionate burden that black and Latino Americans are bearing is in part a direct result of their overrepresentation in professions where they risk exposure, and of a racial gap in wealth and income that has left them more vulnerable to being laid off. Black and Latino workers are overrepresented among the essential, the unemployed, and the dead.

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/americas-racial-contract-showing/611389/

The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying

The pandemic has exposed the bitter terms of our racial contract, which deems certain lives of greater value than others.

Edited May 9, 2020 by caulfield12

[southsider2k5]

 

[Heads22]

i would like the administration here at soxtalk to start gaslighting us as well

 

"the boards were down for an hour"

"no, they weren't"

--

"i don't trust the sox pitching, they are awful"

"of all the people pitching for the sox, they are turning in the best performance"

--

"greg keeps talking in the third person"

"we are fairly sure that he is freely intermixing stories of another friend named greg"

[southsider2k5]

Just now, Heads22 said:

i would like the administration here at soxtalk to start gaslighting us as well

 

"the boards were down for an hour"

"no, they weren't"

--

"i don't trust the sox pitching, they are awful"

"of all the people pitching for the sox, they are turning in the best performance"

--

"greg keeps talking in the third person"

"we are fairly sure that he is freely intermixing stories of another friend named greg"

We only have the best administrators at Soxtalk. 

[Middle Buffalo]

8 minutes ago, Heads22 said:

i would like the administration here at soxtalk to start gaslighting us as well

"greg keeps talking in the third person"

"we are fairly sure that he is freely intermixing stories of another friend named greg"

Literally made me laugh out loud.

[caulfield12]

20 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

We only have the best administrators at Soxtalk. 

And they’re all generously donating their salaries, just like President Trump!

Have also heard rumors this season is being cancelled largely to suppress Fathom from accumulating more “likes” in game threads, thus allowing CWS and Bmags to pass him up.

Edited May 9, 2020 by caulfield12

[Heads22]

8 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

And they’re all generously donating their salaries, just like President Trump!

Have also heard rumors this season is being cancelled largely to suppress Fathom from accumulating more “likes” in game threads, thus allowing CWS and Bmags to pass him up.

I'll say that the longer I'm around here, the more I appreciate long timers like you and fathom. fathom might complain a touch, but I also think he's one of the smartest baseball minds on the board. I love the diversity of content and thought you bring, even if its a tad scatter brained at times. The information you have brought here from the pandemic that has started in China has given us a pretty unique look at everything.

[Quin]

Reiterating that Caulfield has been A+ in this thread

[greg775]

12 hours ago, StrangeSox said:

 

 

This is good to see, though:

 

 

no more relief for tens of millions of people and thousands of businesses for at least a month

 

Seems like the obvious end game is that if any states show even a modest decline in new UI filings, they'll use that as an excuse to not provide any more relief especially to states that are wisely staying more locked down.

The Pence boxes story BTW was fake news. Boxes were full; he cut a joke about the empty boxes, didn't deliver fake boxes. Fake.

[Heads22]

23 minutes ago, greg775 said:

The Pence boxes story BTW was fake news. Boxes were full; he cut a joke about the empty boxes, didn't deliver fake boxes. Fake.

He 100% said the initial boxes he lifted were empty but still wanted to do it for the cameras; whatever, politicans do photo ops all the time, far from the worst thing he or any politician has done.

 

Are you at least ready to admit the anti-Semitic signs at the rally earlier this week were real?

[greg775]

28 minutes ago, Heads22 said:

He 100% said the initial boxes he lifted were empty but still wanted to do it for the cameras; whatever, politicans do photo ops all the time, far from the worst thing he or any politician has done.

 

Are you at least ready to admit the anti-Semitic signs at the rally earlier this week were real?

I heard it was fake news but this shows it must be real. I'm not trusting any story about corona right now because so many people on both sides are liars. So it was fake news that the sign was fake. Nice. Yes I concede the sign apparently was real. The person holding it must really be something else. How in the frick can anybody use NAZI slogans or drawings when we realize what disgusting murderers they were?

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/pritzker-auschwitz-memorial-museum-condemn-use-of-nazi-slogans-at-reopen-illinois-rally/2265623/

Edited May 9, 2020 by greg775

[caulfield12]

21 minutes ago, greg775 said:

I heard it was fake news but this shows it must be real. I'm not trusting any story about corona right now because so many people on both sides are liars. So it was fake news that the sign was fake. Nice. Yes I concede the sign apparently was real. The person holding it must really be something else. How in the frick can anybody use NAZI slogans or drawings when we realize what disgusting murderers they were?

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/pritzker-auschwitz-memorial-museum-condemn-use-of-nazi-slogans-at-reopen-illinois-rally/2265623/

Well, the corollary to that is there’s no reason to trust anything either “side” says, thus, there’s really no point to any discussion as pretty much nobody in this day and age will suddenly “see the light” and admit to changing their view/s.

And you still use “apparently,” right?   You are agreeing to move on, but still not thoroughly or wholly convinced that you’re not being tricked somehow.  It was multiple signs in MI and IL, btw.

Living in Communist China for a decade, you would have to be incredibly naive or foolish to believe the propaganda...but, most critically, you still have to train your mind to sort out reality from conspiracy theory.

Edited May 9, 2020 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

2 hours ago, Heads22 said:

I'll say that the longer I'm around here, the more I appreciate long timers like you and fathom. fathom might complain a touch, but I also think he's one of the smartest baseball minds on the board. I love the diversity of content and thought you bring, even if its a tad scatter brained at times. The information you have brought here from the pandemic that has started in China has given us a pretty unique look at everything.

Thanks.  The weirdest part of this all...surreal perhaps the best word...is that something which started out 3-4 km from where I live is now impacting or close to impacting my 91 year old mother, 92 year old uncle (Covid positive for three days but still no symptoms) and another 94 year old uncle, all living in assisted living centers.   Mom in Iowa, both uncles in same facility in Plano, TX, two states offering at best “controversial“ or unconventional reopening strategies.   Would be totally helpless to leave if something were to happen, because I wouldn’t be able to return to China for many months, potentially.  All I can do is send flowers for Mother’s Day.

Following this story through all its twists and turns...and yet simultaneously so far removed from it, since we were under lockdown for months and months.   My h.s. friend who’s now an orthodontist in Portland closed and reopened his practice before I went back to work even.

At any rate, finally going back to school next week, having passed Covid test on Thurs.  We had to do the blood test (arm) and throat or pharyngeal swab.  That part sucked, makes you gag a bit, but nothing compared to the nose swabs that seemingly penetrate the brain and made majority of wife’s co-workers cry.

Just learned yesterday all graduating seniors are cleared (of course, they still have to decide between US, UK, Canada and Australia/HK/Singapore for fall, yikes!) and teachers were okay as well.  Really feel sorry for seniors (see Texsox comments earlier) though...they only are being allowed one week of In-school exams and then mid-June graduation is up in the air as well.  

Grade 9 returns on May 20th (Chinese national high school entrance group.)  Grade 10/11 back on June 1st.   Lots of elementary and KG (son has one more year before entering 1st) programs missed the entire semester...no classes at all from mid January through mid August.  Most schools will go until at least July 3rd, so normal 8-9 weeks summer vacation now cut down to six (plus had to quickly adjust and plan online classes last week of Spring Festival.)  For now, at least, still have jobs (with no salary cuts) but 9/30 colleagues remain stranded outside of China waiting to re-enter after late March flight ban on all foreigners is lifted.   All of them are attempting to scramble for new teaching jobs should the ban continue into late summer.

Edited May 9, 2020 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

Uh oh.  Cleveland Clinic alleging the Abbott tests are seeing inaccurate results 15-25% of the time.

[StrangeSox]

7 hours ago, greg775 said:

The Pence boxes story BTW was fake news. Boxes were full; he cut a joke about the empty boxes, didn't deliver fake boxes. Fake.

Ok I didn't post anything about that.

[bmags]

2 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

Uh oh.  Cleveland Clinic alleging the Abbott tests are seeing inaccurate results 15-25% of the time.

That was from a few weeks ago. It appears it just struggles with stored samples getting diluted. When used with swabs it’s supposed to still work and hopefully that’s the case.

[caulfield12]

1 hour ago, bmags said:

That was from a few weeks ago. It appears it just struggles with stored samples getting diluted. When used with swabs it’s supposed to still work and hopefully that’s the case.

Weird, was watching MSNBC Saturday morning show and they were still featuring it...I guess as part of the broader concerns about reliability of antibody tests.

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/deluge-of-medical-cargo-cripples-shanghai-pudong-airport

Deluge of medical cargo cripples Shanghai Pudong airport

Lengthy inspection delays cause PPE shipments to miss flights, forcing consolidators to look for alternate routes. Pretty incredible image there.

 

AP Exclusive: Docs show top WH officials buried CDC report

As early as April 10, Redfield, who is also a member of the White House coronavirus task force, shared via email the guidance and decision trees with President Donald Trump's inner circle, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, top adviser Kellyanne Conway and Joseph Grogan, assistant to the president for domestic policy. Also included were Dr. Deborah Birx, Dr. Anthony Fauci and other task force members.

Three days later, CDC’s upper management sent the more than 60-page report with attached flow charts to the White House Office of Management and Budget, a step usually taken only when agencies are seeking final White House approval for documents they have already cleared.

The 17-page version later released by The AP and other news outlets was only part of the actual document submitted by the CDC, and targeted specific facilities like bars and restaurants. The AP obtained a copy Friday of the full document. That version is a more universal series of phased guidelines, “Steps for All Americans in Every Community,” geared to advise communities as a whole on testing, contact tracing and other fundamental infection control measures.

On April 24, Redfield again emailed the guidance documents to Birx and Grogan, according to a copy viewed by The AP. Redfield asked Birx and Grogan for their review so that the CDC could post the guidance publicly. Attached to Redfield’s email were the guidance documents and the corresponding decision trees — including one for meat packing plants.

“We plan to post these to CDC’s website once approved. Peace, God bless r3,” the director wrote. (Redfield's initials are R.R.R.)

Redfield’s emailed comments contradict the White House assertion Thursday that it had not yet approved the guidelines because the CDC’s own leadership had not yet given them the green light.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ap-exclusive-top-white-house-221739591.html

Edited May 9, 2020 by caulfield12

[NWINFan]

8 hours ago, greg775 said:

I heard it was fake news but this shows it must be real. I'm not trusting any story about corona right now because so many people on both sides are liars. So it was fake news that the sign was fake. Nice. Yes I concede the sign apparently was real. The person holding it must really be something else. How in the frick can anybody use NAZI slogans or drawings when we realize what disgusting murderers they were?

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/pritzker-auschwitz-memorial-museum-condemn-use-of-nazi-slogans-at-reopen-illinois-rally/2265623/

I don't blame you for being skeptical, but this stuff about fake news gets old. People like Trump hide behind that when they won't take any responsibility for anything they do. And it doesn't do any good for yell "fake news" just because something makes you feel uncomfortable. And as a journalist, I have made mistakes, but I haven't made things up.

Several things are for real: Tens of thousands of people have died, and the dying isn't over. And merely opening up will not change that. Not wearing a mask won't change it, either. This crisis is far from over. 

In my book, here are the main sources of fake news: Trump, Fox News, Alex Jones, Glenn Beck, and many who complain about fake news the most. And unfortunately, there are many sick Nazi types in this society. 

What we need in a democratic society likes ours is a healthy debate. Chanting slogans doesn't help us decide what is real and what isn't. And this pandemic is real, very real.

[Balta1701]

So South Korea today is something. They've mostly re-opened stuff, including nightclubs in Seoul. One infected individual went clubbing last weekend, and so far they have tested about 600 of the people he was potentially in contact with that night and found 40 cases. They have something like 1400 people to track down, and they're struggling because even though the clubs had sign-ins, much of the information was incorrect or false, so now they've got to find all those people and then start tracing every single contact for the ones who became infected. They've also re-closed nightclubs for 30 days.

 

 It's hard to avoid thinking of the now-open restaurants and businesses in the US with this.

[Texsox]

https://www.nbcnews.com/shopping/wellness/how-buy-face-masks-n1199661

In case anybody is still struggling to find a mask.