"COVID-19 resources, info, and assistance for the science fiction, fantasy, & horror communities." Salutes Jason Sanford.
"At least 18 people have been killed as severe weather and strong tornadoes continued to slash across the South on Monday, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and leaving more than a million customers without electricity… There were more than 40 reports of tornadoes as the storms that began on Easter Sunday tore a deadly and destructive path from Texas and Arkansas, across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia and into the Carolinas and Tennessee." Just a reminder that as COVID-19 soaks up the entire news cycle, the world keeps spinning. Stay safe.
Never let a crisis go to waste. "But the Mississippi governor would quickly make it clear on conservative talk radio that he saw the ruling as an opening to shut down the Jackson Women’s Health Organization in the capital city, which he had spent the past eight years trying to do as the state’s lieutenant governor and Senate president. Federal courts, including the 5th Circuit, have repeatedly blocked those efforts, though, including last year when the federal appeals court blocked a six-week abortion ban that Reeves championed in 2019… This Texas ruling, Reeves argued, could serve as a 'guideline' to finally stop abortions in the state—at least temporarily." (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"China is reporting its highest number of new coronavirus cases in more than five weeks, saying most of them originated abroad." Sure most of them were "imported." Sure.
"The next few months will be full of grim updates about the spread of the new coronavirus, but they will also be full of homecomings. Patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19, some having spent weeks breathing with the help of a mechanical ventilator, will set about resuming their lives. Many will likely deal with lingering effects of the virus—and of the emergency treatments that allowed them to survive it."
"With a population of 10 million, larger than those of more than 40 states, (Los Angles County) is a prime location to launch a large-scale study that aims to answer that question (how bad is it) and learn more about antibodies that could potentially provide immunity from COVID-19, the disease associated with the coronavirus, according to public health and policy experts." Antibody testing gets a roll out.
"The coronavirus has officially reached nearly three-quarters of the country’s rural counties, with 1 in 7 reporting at least one death. Doctors and elected officials are warning that a late-arriving wave of illness could overwhelm rural communities that are older, poorer and sicker than much of the country, and already dangerously short on medical help." Here we go! At my hospital we are just waiting for it to hit the Amish community (which we serve). It's the Amish culture to wait until the very last (or when there is no option) to come into the hospital. And they haven't been practicing social distancing. The Amish also are always together and our strict rules on visitation are going to be both hard on them and an incentive to not come in. "The financial strain of gearing up to fight the coronavirus has put much pressure on cash-strapped rural hospitals. Many have canceled all nonemergency care like the colonoscopies, minor surgeries and physical therapy sessions that are a critical source of income." Waves to the crowd. (Grokked from Anne Wheaton)
"Spain, one of the countries worst hit by the coronavirus, is beginning to ease strict lockdown measures that have brought its economy to a standstill… People in manufacturing, construction and some services are being allowed to return to work, but must stick to strict safety guidelines." Also note the photo at the top of this article, "Police officers are handing out face masks at metro and railway stations in Spain." Compare and contrast this to how police in America have responded in a like circumstance, "A man was violently pulled off a commuter bus in Philadelphia by police for allegedly not wearing a mask." They say he was "unruly", but how much of that is "resisting arrest" (although he wasn't arrested)?
"Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said it 'could have gone either way' as he thanked healthcare workers for saving his life after being discharged from hospital." So, it sounds like it was more serious than we've been told. Also, I now wonder if Mr. Johnson has a different perspective on protecting the NHS than he had before this? Yeah, probably not. The after picture shows Johnson a little worse for wear, but in truth he always looks like that.
"Beijing is facing a diplomatic crisis in Africa after reports of alleged coronavirus-related discrimination against African nationals in China sparked widespread anger across the continent… African students and expatriates in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou were last week subject to forced coronavirus testing and arbitrary 14-day self-quarantine, regardless of recent travel history, amid heightened fears of imported infections."
"The Christ the Redeemer statue towered over Rio de Janeiro in a doctor's white coat on Easter Sunday, as a tribute to health care workers who put themselves at risk every day to help others during the COVID-19 pandemic. The striking scene included messages of thanks in many languages, along with images of nurses and doctors smiling in protective gear." Hey great, thanks. Would much rather have adequate PPE though.
As I've said on twitter, with this whole "hero" thing I've been channeling my inner Wade Wilson. I'm not a hero, I'm doing my job. A job for which I'm always willing to accept more pay, but I am reasonably compensated for doing. And with which, except for some fumbling this month, I have (crappy) health insurance. You want to "hero" somebody, increase pay and give insurance benefits to the grocery clerks, delivery people (food and packages), food processors, all those "essential" people without whom this country couldn't survive and would be doing a whole hellofalot worse in these times but for whom we pay minimum wage or less.
"As state governments and hospitals have scrambled to obtain masks and other medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic, scammers attempted to sell a fake stockpile of 39 million masks to a California labor union… The Los Angeles Times first reported on Sunday that the FBI had uncovered the scam, which has been traced back to a broker in Australia and a supplier in Kuwait. The investigators discovered the scam because they were looking into whether the supply could be intercepted by the federal government through the Defense Production Act."
"Stanley Chera, New York real estate mogul and Trump friend, has died of coronavirus complications." I hate to have to say this, maybe we'll see some empathy and compassion now that it's hit close to the president. Yeah, I'm not holding my breath either.
"China’s northeastern border with Russia has become a frontline in the fight against a resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic as new daily cases rose to the highest in nearly six weeks - with more than 90% involving people coming from abroad." Stay safe, my Russian friends.
Oh no, someone is telling the truth. "… Neel Kashkari, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis… while acknowledging the downside of what a prolonged shutdown could mean for the economy, said the U.S., 'barring some health-care miracle,' is looking at an 18-month strategy of rolling shutdowns based on what has happened in other countries." And that's only if one of the vaccines in trials actually works.
"Saudi Arabia and Russia have struck a deal with other major oil producing nations to slash production as they attempt to stabilize a market that has been upended by the coronavirus."
"Ford Motor expects to report an adjusted pretax loss of about $600 million for the first quarter as the coronavirus depresses sales and production… Ford said total revenue for the first quarter is expected to be about $34 billion, down 15.7% from $40.3 billion a year ago." Ouch.
"America’s small businesses are racing against the clock to survive the economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic as they await hundreds of billions of dollars in federal loans… Many firms are still struggling to apply for the money as they face technical glitches and confusion about lending terms. Hundreds of thousands of others have gotten approval but still haven’t received funding. Still others are hesitant to apply without knowing what their businesses will look like when the outbreak eases and they reopen, possibly by summer… Meanwhile, the clock is ticking and their cash is dwindling."
"One of the country's largest pork processing facilities is closing until further notice as employees fall ill with Covid-19. The closure puts the country's meat supply at risk, said the CEO of Smithfield, which operates the plant." Ouch times 1000. "South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said during a Saturday news briefing that Smithfield employees accounted for more than half of the active coronavirus cases in the state. About 240 employees are sick, she said, out of roughly 430 active cases in the state."
"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ general counsel called a representative of the Miami Herald’s law firm seeking to quash a public records lawsuit that would force the state to divulge the names of all elder-care facilities that have had a positive test for the coronavirus." (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, which he once dismissed as a hoax, has been fiercely criticised at home as woefully inadequate to the point of irresponsibility… Yet also thanks largely to Trump, a parallel disaster is unfolding across the world: the ruination of America’s reputation as a safe, trustworthy, competent international leader and partner."
"Trump has advocated for aggressive goals in recent days, and said Saturday on Fox News that he plans to base his decision on when to adjust federal social distancing guidelines and ask businesses to reopen 'on a lot of facts and a lot of instincts.'… But two of his health advisers, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, argued for a decision based only on the former Sunday."
"President Trump retweeted a call to fire his top infectious disease specialist Anthony S. Fauci on Sunday evening, amid mounting criticism of the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic." Here we go again. Also we won't mention where Dr. Fauci is polling better than the president.
"A Facebook post shared widely chastised Vos for wearing protective gear at the polls that 'election workers he forced to work today do not have.'… Other poll workers in Burlington wore the same gear as Vos, so he didn’t receive any special treatment there like the claim implies. Poll workers in other parts of the state had some – but not necessarily all – of the same equipment used by Vos… That leaves us with a claim that contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it Mostly False."
"The U.S. Supreme Court announced on Monday it will hear arguments by teleconference next month in a high-profile dispute over whether President Donald Trump’s tax and financial records should be disclosed and other cases due to the coronavirus pandemic." Can't wait to see if this gets zoom-bombed.
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