All things COVID-19

[Stan]

There have been enough precautions that I don't think it will be that bad, in the bigger picture. I bet there will be less than 100,000 deaths in the U.S. and only a million or so, worldwide. The economic effects of the shutdowns will ripple through for a couple of years.

China's numbers went flat awfully fast. Any chance they started censoring the numbers so they don't look bad?

[WillyGilligan]

[Ronster]

[Phoebe]

My guess, they'll get away with it completely, and we will have only the hope that their constituents/opponents have a long memory come next voting time. We have let members of Congress get away with crap like this for years both for lack of will to solve it and because technically I'd guess it's hard to bring those charges with proof. How do they identify the precise bits of non-public info that were allegedly relied upon, after all? But I don't buy for one minute the excuse that they didn't manage their own funds so they're not to blame. Do they have the power to call up their investment adviser/manager and suggest a course of action, or is the money truly held beyond that sort of reach? In most cases it's not, and the timing here definitely suggests a betrayal of their duty of trust. If they had ALSO then agitated for immediate steps to blunt the economic impact of the virus and aid health care providers, I would think they were merely greedy people. You can be greedy and kind. But in this case, they happen to be greedy and morally wicked too. Don't forget, voters... But we'll see.

[Phoebe]

Rand Paul really hustling lately to earn that a special place in hell. This d****** who is also a medical doctor votes against every coronavirus aid measure, and even pulls a stunt to delay the bill by wasting two days on his little crusade amendment about Afghanistan. Then this weaselly hypocrite b**** who has no symptoms somehow magically manages to get a test when all across America, normal people and even healthcare providers who are symptomatic cannot get a test! And because most all of the Senate Republicans are so stupid these days, most of them just exposed himself to him in a meeting while he was positive.

[Kyle]

What Phoebe said.

[Stan]

Only a little new info but some nice graphics on the spread:

[Tahlvin]

My niece, who lives in the DC area and works as an event planner and part-time nanny, had a co-worker find out this morning that she tested positive. So now my niece needs to contact all of her clients, the families she works for, and everyone else she's had close contact with over the past couple of weeks and notify them that she has been exposed.

[Phoebe]

Does anyone have a good website for simply tracking the US spread curve day by day?

[Eliahad]

[DMDarcs]

Eli's map is good, and I understand why it was done the way it was, but it really bothers me that it focuses the attention on the middle of NY state when it should really be downstate. We have not had nearly as many cases reported as NYC.

[Phoebe]

I can't take it, THIS MAN IS A DOCTOR. He was tested who knows when, after knowing for who knows how long that he was exposed at an event to people who tested positive, and then he WENT TO THE GYM and IN THE POOL and to MEALS and all over the building. Is he actually in fact a Russian agent, as "some say", and his goal is to take out as many of his elderly colleagues as possible? THAT WOULD BETTER SUIT OCCAM!

From CNN:
"Paul's office announced on Sunday that he tested positive for the virus and that he was "feeling fine," but some senators and aides are angry at him for not doing more to self-quarantine earlier and for potentially exposing senators to the coronavirus. In the wake of Paul's diagnosis, Sens. Mitt Romney and Mike Lee of Utah self-quarantined on Sunday.
GOP senators told CNN Paul was in the gym with colleagues Sunday morning, and several pointed out how close Paul had sat to others during Senate lunches in recent days. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas said he saw Paul in the Senate swimming pool Sunday, according to a source in the GOP lunch.
Paul is the first senator to test positive for the virus. The senator had attended a major black-tie social event in Louisville, Kentucky, two weeks ago where several attendees have subsequently tested positive, including the wife of Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. His office said he sought to get tested "out of an abundance of caution.""

[Phoebe]

No memory of how I arrived at this link but I cried a few little tears and my child came in to see w.t.f.:


BTW I am both Paul and Beth in this scenario this is something we live out every day now.

[Tahlvin]

And now we have an event where . I hope she sues him.

[Tahlvin]

[Phoebe]

OK I'm done playing by the rules of Normal and action is needed. Suppose you were a champion OCD person whose greatest single fear right now is accidentally contaminating your parents while trying to give them supplies. Short of donning a gas mask and plastic suit and dousing everything you drop off in bleach, how can you come very close to that overall effect without ... you know, the hazmat equipment? Walk me through this. Pretend I'm contagious. How would you get it done? It's like pretending you're going to rob a bank and not get caught, except the goal is to deliver groceries sans contamination risk.

[Mike]

With zero authority in this area, here's my best take on it:

Acquire supplies.

Bring them to your parents' home.

DO NOT let your parents touch you at all. DO NOT bring the kids, because the grandparents will insist on physical contact with the grandchildren. Enforce 6-10 feet of social distance, even if they think it's stupid. Blame it on your own paranoia. Whatever.

Wash your hands.

Unpack the supplies, and as much as possible, wipe them all down with disinfecting wipes as you place them on the counter. Don't touch your face. As much as possible, don't touch surfaces in their home. Don't cough or sneeze, because then you'll want to start over.

Do not let your parents help you unload or sanitize anything. Continue insisting on social distancing.

Leave everything on the counter.

Encourage your parents to come outside with you to socialize. Don't let them put anything away yet.

Keep them outside and engaged with you for as long as you can. This is leaving the supplies inside under light and in a well ventilated area with disinfectant residue still on lots of stuff for another hour-ish, for whatever extra germ-killing that will provide.

Tell them how much you love them and then go. They can put everything away when you're gone.

[Stan]

To give a number to aspects of the shutdown, 2 weekends ago, the overall movie box office was ~100 million. That dropped to 53 million the following week. This last weekend, it was about 4 thousand. I'm not as concerned about the movie industry as other industries but the tracking was already in place. Other industries probably have a similar story.

[Eliahad]

I'm hoping the line I read about independent contractors and gig workers being allowed to apply for unemployment because of this stimulus bill is actually true.

[Mike]