Saturday, March 21, 2020

News Dump Sat/Sun

Reminder: Intelligence officials were warning Trump about a pandemic as early as January, but they 'couldn't get him to do anything about it' | By the end of January and beginning of February, a majority of the intelligence contained in Trump's daily briefings was about the coronavirus, according to The Post.
https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-intelligence-warned-trump-of-pandemic-in-january-2020-3
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/us-intelligence-reports-from-january-and-february-warned-about-a-likely-pandemic/2020/03/20/299d8cda-6ad5-11ea-b5f1-a5a804158597_story.html
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coronavirus-trump-intelligence-threat-ignored_n_5e7573ebc5b6eab779488315

Kentucky Republicans restrict voter restrictions as US focuses on Covid-19 | Lawmakers approved new photo ID requirement that would make it harder to vote days after the governor closed the state capitol | The measure goes to Beshear, who will veto the measure. But the Kentucky legislature, where Republicans control a majority of seats, will override that veto with a majority vote. | “Many Kentuckians will not even have the option to obtain a new ID because county clerk’s offices throughout the commonwealth have closed following the recommendation of public health officials,” Corey Shapiro, the legal director of the Kentucky chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement. “It is unconscionable for politicians to move this legislation at a time when Kentuckians are not allowed in the capitol and are losing their jobs, their small businesses, access to childcare and more.”
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2020/03/19/voter-photo-id-bill-passes-legislature-head-gov-andy-beshear/2881374001/

Because of the coronavirus, the Peace Corps is doing more than evacuating its 7,300 volunteers from 61 countries. It’s also firing them. In a March 15 open letter to the volunteers, the agency’s director, Jody Olsen, said, “We are acting now to safeguard your well-being and prevent a situation where Volunteers are unable to leave their host countries.” But nowhere in the statement posted on the agency’s website does it tell the public that all the volunteers are being dismissed. That information is in the agency’s “frequently asked questions” about the evacuations. “All evacuated Volunteers and trainees, regardless of length of service, will be classified as having undergone a Completion of Service (COS),” it says. | Although the volunteers received dismissal notifications separate from the open letter, “Director Jody Olsen’s statement is very misleading to the public as well as the volunteers,” Ruck said by email Friday, her last day as a volunteer in her post in Windhoek, Namibia, in southwestern Africa. “What is really happening is she has ended the service of ALL volunteers and there will be no volunteer activity in any of the 61 countries until the Corona Virus is over, until countries open borders, until countries issue visas and until Peace Corps begins accepting applications to join.” | Ruck’s annual stipend was less than $14,000 for her economic-development duties in a Windhoek community center that serves orphans and vulnerable children. She said her evacuation and dismissal mean that “I abandon them when they need me the most.” Ruck, 51, now describes herself as “currently homeless, former residence Carefree, Arizona.” Peace Corps volunteers, suddenly jobless, are returning to a country with an economy in free fall. Finding a job will be difficult. They are not eligible for unemployment benefits, because their positions “do not rise to the legal relationship of employer and employee and, therefore, are not considered in employment,” according to the agency’s legalese. The agency does provide two months of health insurance. Ruck also is enraged by the evacuation order. “We all know the Peace Corps volunteers would be far safer if they stayed at their posts,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to send 7,367 Americans to airports and hotels around the world where they will stand in lines with hundreds of people for hours where the Corona Virus is spreading. . . . Imagine if a cruise ship of seven thousand passengers from the most poverty-stricken countries around the world arrived on the shores of the United States today.” Olsen ordered the volunteers to self-quarantine when they arrive in the States, according to Ruck. But the agency “refused to spend money on assisting the (former) volunteers with hotel rooms, disinfectants, transportation, and all the necessary supplies for quarantine,” she complained.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-peace-corps-isnt-just-bringing-home-7300-volunteers-because-of-the-coronavirus-its-firing-them/2020/03/20/69aa08f4-6ac0-11ea-b5f1-a5a804158597_story.html
https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-announces-suspension-volunteer-activities-evacuations-due-covid-19/

Kenny Rogers, a prolific singer who played a major role in expanding the audience for country music in the 1970s and ’80s, has died. He was 81.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/21/arts/music/kenny-rogers-dead.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimes

Reminder: At gun stores from California to New York, the American people are stocking up in enormous numbers, almost as if the end was near.  | People are arming themselves. They are lining up outside gun stores. Or going online. In February, the internet retailer ammo.com reported a 309% increase in revenue and a 222% surge in transactions. The group is calling the sales “unprecedented.” | The increased gun sales come as police departments are being forced to pare down operations due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Some police Departments are responding to only calls that involve emergencies – calls like fender benders and lost items are being handled over the phone or people are required to go and give a statement at the police station. | People are arming themselves. They are lining up outside gun stores. Or going online. In February, the internet retailer ammo.com reported a 309% increase in revenue and a 222% surge in transactions. The group is calling the sales “unprecedented.” | In Virginia, where the State Police track background check numbers, there was an 86% increase in requests in January compared to January of 2019. Authorities attribute some of that uptick to Virginia’s lobby day – when gun enthusiasts descended on Richmond in opposition to proposed new restrictions. But the trend continued in February, when over 64,000 buyers underwent checks, compared to 39,300 the previous February. And in March, Virginia saw 35,383 background checks conducted, which is just 10,000 background checks than the entire month of March 2019. | In Colorado, more than 14,000 background checks for firearms transfers have been received in the last week, compared to about 7,000 checks conducted in the same timeframe last year, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said in a statement on Tuesday. | In Pennsylvania, police said this week that a surge in requests to the state's background check system for firearm purchases twice resulted in the system shutting down for hours-long periods. On one day alone, March 17, the Pennsylvania Instant Check System completed 4,342 transactions. That day in 2019, they only ran 1,359 checks, according to Major Gary Dance, director of the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Records and Identification. | Across the Northeast, lines have snaked out the doors of local gun shops.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/gun-sales-rise-coronavirus-concerns-spread/story?id=69722973

Iceland is testing everyone and found “a significant portion of those who catch the disease do so with no or mild symptoms... [confirming research] that asymptomatic individuals contribute to the transmission of the disease in great numbers.”
https://www.buzzfeed.com/albertonardelli/coronavirus-testing-iceland

What if I told you… Tom Brady is a Buccaneer. Todd Gurley is a Falcon. DeAndre Hopkins is a Cardinal. Melvin Gordon is a Bronco. Philip Rivers is a Colt. Tedd Bridgewater is a Panther. A year ago, nobody would have believed it.
https://twitter.com/andrewsiciliano/status/1241076313168871424?s=21

Italy calls in military to enforce lockdown as 627 people die in 24 hours
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/20/europe/italy-military-coronavirus-intl/index.html

@HillaryClinton had a plan for that. “Global health and pandemics” from Stronger Together, Sept. 2016
https://twitter.com/reilyseanconn/status/1241153508780527619

Dozens of homes raided as Germany steps up fight against far-right extremists
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-21/german-far-right-raids-anti-semitic-organisation-banned/12077600

As coronavirus fears soar, Europe moves to ban wasteful "ghost flights"
https://www.salon.com/2020/03/13/as-coronavirus-fears-soar-europe-moves-to-ban-wasteful-ghost-flights_partner/

How Coronavirus Hijacks Your Cells | The coronavirus is named after the crownlike spikes that protrude from its surface. The virus is enveloped in a bubble of oily lipid molecules, which falls apart on contact with soap. | The virus enters the body through the nose, mouth or eyes, then attaches to cells in the airway that produce a protein called ACE2. The virus is believed to have originated in bats, where it may have attached to a similar protein. | The virus infects the cell by fusing its oily membrane with the membrane of the cell. Once inside, the coronavirus releases a snippet of genetic material called RNA. | The virus’s genome is less than 30,000 genetic “letters” long. (Ours is over 3 billion.) The infected cell reads the RNA and begins making proteins that will keep the immune system at bay and help assemble new copies of the virus. | Antibiotics kill bacteria and do not work against viruses. But researchers are testing antiviral drugs that might disrupt viral proteins and stop the infection. | As the infection progresses, the machinery of the cell begins to churn out new spikes and other proteins that will form more copies of the coronavirus. | New copies of the virus are assembled and carried to the outer edges of the cell. | Each infected cell can release millions of copies of the virus before the cell finally breaks down and dies. The viruses may infect nearby cells, or end up in droplets that escape the lungs. | Most Covid-19 infections cause a fever as the immune system fights to clear the virus. In severe cases, the immune system can overreact and start attacking lung cells. The lungs become obstructed with fluid and dying cells, making it difficult to breathe. A small percentage of infections can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome, and possibly death. | Coughing and sneezing can expel virus-laden droplets onto nearby people and surfaces, where the virus can remain infectious for several hours to several days. The C.D.C. recommends that people diagnosed with Covid-19 wear masks to reduce the release of viruses. Health care workers and others who care for infected people should wear masks, too. | A future vaccine could help the body produce antibodies that target the SARS-CoV-2 virus and prevent it from infecting human cells. The flu vaccine works in a similar way, but antibodies generated from a flu vaccine do not protect against coronavirus. |  Soap destroys the virus when the water-shunning tails of the soap molecules wedge themselves into the lipid membrane and pry it apart. The best way to avoid getting infected with the coronavirus is to wash your hands with soap, avoid touching your face, keep your distance from sick people and regularly clean frequently used surfaces. | Sources: Dr. Matthew B. Frieman and Dr. Stuart Weston, Univ. of Maryland School of Medicine; Fields Virology; Fenner and White’s Medical Virology; Nature; Science; The Lancet; New England Journal of Medicine; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/11/science/how-coronavirus-hijacks-your-cells.html

NASA data reveals Greenland lost 600B tons of ice last summer
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/488297-nasa-data-reveals-greenland-lost-600-billion-tons-of-ice-last

NO, REALLY??? Smoking or Vaping May Increase the Risk of a Severe Coronavirus Infection
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smoking-or-vaping-may-increase-the-risk-of-a-severe-coronavirus-infection1/?amp

 White supremacists discussed plans to weaponize coronavirus via “saliva,” a “spray bottle” or “laced items,” according to a weekly intelligence brief distributed by a federal law enforcement division on Feb. 17. Federal investigators appeared to be monitoring the white nationalists’ communications on Telegram, an encrypted messaging app that has become popular with neo-Nazis. In the conversations, the white supremacists suggested targeting law enforcement agents and “nonwhite” people with attacks designed to infect them with the coronavirus. “Violent extremists continue to make bioterrorism a popular topic among themselves,” reads the intelligence brief written by the Federal Protective Service, which covered the week of Feb. 17-24. “White Racially Motivated Violent Extremists have recently commented on the coronavirus stating that it is an ‘OBLIGATION’ to spread it should any of them contract the virus.”
https://news.yahoo.com/federal-law-enforcement-document-reveals-white-supremacists-discussed-using-coronavirus-as-a-bioweapon-212031308.html

Major manufacturers WILL NOT DRAMATICALLY CHANGE priorities of production until US promises them a market. We can't do this on mere charity. Without #DefenseProductionAct , companies risk creating unused inventory. That's the genius of DPA. US is the guaranteed market. https://twitter.com/juliettekayyem/status/1241463728689864711

The idea of even one mask going to an ICE agent as they essentially round people up for the pandemic equivalent of a gas chamber is a crime against humanity. I sincerely hope one day that another country will hold us to account for the literal concentration camps in the US: ICE just put out a request for 45,000 “respirator/surgical masks.” Note that it’s for ERO (Enforcement and Removal) — ICE’s deportation officers
https://beta.sam.gov/opp/b34a20873ba141619348b52223702570/view

To be clear, there is no healthcare plan for those held in detention. If they need a ventilator, they will likely die. If they need hospitalization they will probably die. And about 10% of all covid patients need to be hospitalized. It is literally a death sentence. Imagine taking advantage of people who are self-isolating to follow the law, to stay alive, and to help others stay alive.

“In a universe where masks and gowns are starting to become scarce, every time we test someone who doesn’t need one, we’re taking that mask and gown away from someone in the intensive care unit,” top NYC official tells @carolynyjohnson & @bylenasun
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/03/21/coronavirus-testing-strategyshift/

On display are traits many of us consider jarring and an automatic disqualifier for holding political office -- the need for praise, the propensity to blame others, the lack of empathy, the penchant for rewriting history, the disregard for expertise, the distortion of facts, the impatience with scrutiny.

546 DEAD.
In one day.
Just in #Lombardy
(yesterday it was 380)
And 3,251 more infected.
I am definitely lost for words.
https://twitter.com/antoguerrera/status/1241404840812654593

Trajectory
https://www.ft.com/coronavirus-latest

Satellite images show resurgence of air pollution over China
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/satellite-images-show-resurgence-of-air-pollution-over-china-1.4861849

I’d *like* to think that I was part of a collective that “orchestrated Biden’s nomination,” but I think pride of place there goes to, well, millions of black Americans who I’ve never met.
https://twitter.com/jerry_jtaylor/status/1241486900575326209

Some very emotional cashiers and stock-people and managers where I shop at (organic/vegan grocery store). So upsetting that people I've known for years (one I've known for 16 years) are being berated and harassed by shoppers (lowlife wealthy white christian scumbags). Please. Be. Kind. To. People. Who. Are. Working. (And. Thus. Exposing. Themselves.) To. Make. Sure. You. Have. Food. They are also putting themselves and families at considerable risk of exposure.



Rand Paul delayed Congress' response to coronavirus. Now he has it.

Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19. He is feeling fine and is in quarantine. He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events. He was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.
https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1241780756617273345

He was tested despite being asymptomatic and claiming that he personally did not know people who were tested positive or in quarantine because of possible exposure. Also remember: Rand Paul voted against coronavirus crisis money a few days ago. Needless to say, the demographics of the Senate place a disproportionate number of members in the “high risk” category. Also: he was informed as early as 10 days ago that he had been exposed to covid-19 because he attended an event with people who were infected (but they did not yet know it) and he had the rest friday: HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN SELF-QUARATINE UNTIL THE TEST RESULTS CAME BACK. THE HEALTH CARE WORKERS ARE TELLING PEOPLE TO SELF-ISOLATE UNTIL THE RESULTS COME BACK. HE LITERALLY LEFT THE HOSPITAL AND WENT RIGHT BACK TO THE SENATE. HE EXPOSED COUNTLESS THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN D.C. AND EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF THE SENATE. HE WAS SWIMMING THIS MORNING WITH THEM KNOWING HE WAS INFECTED. He worked out in the Senate Gym THIS MORNING! Exposing everyone!

Ted Cruz self-quarantined nearly 2 weeks ago after suspecting that he had been exposed. If Paul got results this morning, he would have taken the test a least a day or two ago, and suspected at least somewhat before to ask for a test. Yet stayed in contact w/many.

Rand Paul also knew he had potentially been exposed and failed to self-isolate.
https://twitter.com/dznyc/status/1241790902265397248
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2020/03/15/louisville-coronavirus-cases-museum-speed-ball-guest-tests-positive/5054435002/

Rand Paul was at a fundraising gala in Louisville two weeks ago. There were three confirmed cases from there within a week. The @louisvillemayor and @RepJohnYarmuth, among others, self-quarantined. The senator apparently chose not to. See @courierjournal for story.
Rand Paul also knew he had potentially been exposed and failed to self-isolate.
https://twitter.com/dznyc/status/1241790902265397248

Louisville Mayor Fischer self-quarantined following the event. His wife--who was also exposed at the event--tested positive a few days ago.
https://www.wave3.com/2020/03/18/mayor-fischer-says-his-wife-has-coronavirus/


Mike Pence yesterday: If you're asymptomatic do not get tested.
Mike Pence and Rand Paul today: we're asymptomatic and got tested.

Paul was at the Senate gym today and Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas told senators at lunch he saw Paul in the swimming pool today, per a source in the lunch
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1241804567442067458

I thought the federal guidelines were to stay away from gyms during this 15 day period....: Why was the Senate gym open, you ask? Because members of Congress police themselves. They make the decisions!
https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1241804392086593539

This is some incredible footage from Florida, and there amazing details in the thread. The difference between real news and useless propaganda has never been more important: Okeechobee County Commissioner Bryant Culpepper at emergency meeting says you can kill coronavirus by holding a blow dryer up to your nose after he saw it on “reliable source” OANN, warns “there’s a lot of baloney out there on social media” #BecauseFlorida
https://twitter.com/BillyCorben/status/1241740081343447040

At prior emergency meeting, Culpepper said his son discovered coronavirus “cure” on website that sells “nano ozone vapor” device hunters use to mask their scent from deer (he’s ordered 5 of them) and he hopes the White House is watching #BecauseFlorida https://lakeokeechobeenews.com/government/okeechobee-county-commission-suggests-ways-to-combat-covid-19-virus/
https://twitter.com/BillyCorben/status/1241747894304210945

For the record: the reasonable and VERY patient woman in the first video is Tiffany Collins of the Florida Department of Health in Okeechobee County. This is her complete response to Commissioner Culpepper at the March 20th 2020 emergency COVID-19 meeting. http://okeechobee.floridahealth.gov/about-us/collins-bio.html
https://twitter.com/BillyCorben/status/1241761663247945728

Project N95
The National COVID-19 Medical Equipment Clearinghouse
https://www.projectn95.com/

Trump illegally used money voted for Ukraine for his own unlawful purposes. He was literally impeached for this high crime. And now Trump's Treasury is asking to be entrusted with half a trillion dollars, at whim and in secret, no accounting until after the 2020 election? Madness
32 replies 290 retweets 588 likes
https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1241804607271174148


"Our ITU is full of intubated patients in their 20s/30s/40s/50s. The ones older than that aren’t even getting an ITU bed. They’re dying on the wards."
https://twitter.com/PoliticoRyan/status/1241771979503480841

“In the worst-case scenario, will social services collapse in some areas? Will order fray? Gun sales are increasing, because some people expect chaos and crime”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-outcomes.html

5 college students in Florida went on a spring break trip just before testing positive for coronavirus, university says.
https://ktla.com/news/coronavirus/after-spring-break-trip-5-college-students-in-florida-test-positive-for-coronavirus/

Just in: DOD announces its first death from COVID-19, a Crystal City-based contractor who worked at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
https://twitter.com/laraseligman/status/1241771156048396291

The Justice Department has asked Congress for the ability to ask chief judges to detain people indefinitely without trial during emergencies — part of a push for new powers that comes as the coronavirus spreads through the United States. | The DOJ requests — which are unlikely to make it through a Democratic-led House — span several stages of the legal process, from initial arrest to how cases are processed and investigated.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/21/doj-coronavirus-emergency-powers-140023
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/21/doj-merger-reviews-coronavirus-140669

Construction of US-Mexico border wall proceeds despite coronavirus pandemic
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/22/construction-us-mexico-border-wall-coronavirus-pandemic

Far too little, far too late: Army Corps of Engineers aims to convert buildings into hospitals in three or four weeks. This is absolutely the kind of action that should have been in progress back in EARLY January when covid-19 had already consumed China and South Korea and Japan
https://www.wcvb.com/article/army-corps-of-engineers-aims-to-convert-buildings-into-hospitals-in-three-or-four-weeks/31832265#

Bookmark this. When the doubling time of deaths* gets above 3 days, we will have begun to get past the runaway period of the pandemic. Note the current doubling times for China (35 days) & South Korea (12 days). *not cases, which can be underdiagnosed
https://twitter.com/SamWangPhD/status/1241464189912317960
https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus#growth-country-by-country-view

Median time from infection to symptoms is 5 days. When death occurs, it does so 14 days after first symptom, on average. 5+14=19 days. So we might *start* to see a slowdown 3 weeks after shelter-in-place directives go into effect.
https://twitter.com/SamWangPhD/status/1241475020968333314

File charges immediately and all their wealth is seized/frozen: The CEO of the Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, sold millions of dollars worth of the parent company's shares in late February just days before the first reported death from the novel coronavirus in the U.S. The transaction also came as financial markets were starting to tumble as the devastating economic impact of the outbreak was becoming clear. Jeffrey Sprecher, who is the husband of Republican U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, on February 26 sold $3.5 million in shares of ICE, as the exchange is called, at an average price of $93.42 each, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Since then, ICE shares have plunged nearly 25% amid a broader downdraft in stocks. Sprecher and Loeffler also sold $15.3 million worth of ICE shares on March 11, at an average price of around $87, SEC filings show.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nyse-jeffrey-c-sprecher-kelly-loeffler-sold-company-stock-ahead-of-coronavirus-market-meltdown/
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1343882/000120919120013809/xslF345X03/doc4.xml
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1343882/000120919120018872/xslF345X03/doc4.xml

Donald Trump has failed the American people
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1241471645233053699

Dan Snyder was first NFL owner to shut down travel. Now turning FedEx Field into a Coronavirus testing site. Leading the way. Or at least trying to.
https://twitter.com/JPFinlayNBCS/status/1241475415245500416

Here's a list of things Joe Biden is running on in 2020: Abolish the death penalty, end cash bail reform, end private prisons, raise the minimum wage to $15/hour, paid family sick leave, end charter schools, give everybody 2 free years of college, DACA, end unlimited campaign finance contributions, end offshore drilling, carbon emissions tax, assault weapons buyback program, universal background check for firearms and weapons registry, drug costs linked to overseas prices, medicare expansion available to all, increases to capital gains, corporate income tax and a wealth tax. And Biden is routinely declared a "centrist". Not even a moderate democrat, but an actual political centrist.

- Idiot friend: I'm terrified that we're facing a crisis bigger than WW2
- Me: Bruh, 70-85 million people died in WWII. Stop this fear mongering bullshit, you're doing nothing but instilling panic in people, you're lying and possibly mentally ill

Tearful nurse in York, UK confronted with empty supermarket shelves after 48-hour shift pleads for end to coronavirus panic buyingCOVID-19 (newsweek.com)
https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-panic-buying-nurse-1493470

    "I would veto anything that delays providing the security and the certainty of health care being available now," Biden said.    "If they got that through by some miracle, there was an epiphany that occurred, and some miracle occurred that said okay, it passed, then you got to look at the costs. I want to know, how do they find the $35 trillion? What is that doing? Is it going to significantly raise taxes on the middle class, which it will. What’s going to happen?"    "Look, my opposition isn’t to the principle that you should have Medicare. Health care should be a right in America. My opposition relates to whether or not a) it’s doable, 2) what the cost is and what consequences for the rest of budget are. How are you going to find $35 trillion over the next 10 years without having profound impacts on everything from taxes for middle class and working class people as well as the impact on the rest of the budget?"

In my neighborhood people are getting better than this, but not fast enough. And parents are still having tbeir kids play on playground equipment together, which is all kinds of selfish, entitled, and insane.
https://twitter.com/hunterw/status/1241775335332630531

Spanish opera singer Plácido Domingo says he has coronavirus.
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/spanish-opera-singer-plcido-domingo-coronavirus-69737468

As you go further out in time, uncertainties increase. In terms of social distancing, the correct attitude for governments may be like: "We NEED to do this AGGRESSIVELY for 2-3 weeks. Then revaluate. But it could be 2-3 months, or off-and-on in waves for 18 months. It depends."
https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1241773738078674945

Rand Paul was able to get tested with *no symptoms* despite guidance against doing so. @DavidLat is now on a ventilator & in critical condition with #COVID19. His experience trying to get tested *with symptoms* is shameful.
https://twitter.com/DeniseShearin/status/1241795354938482688

I cannot pretend to care for Rand Paul. Time after time he votes against the needs of everyday Americans. He cares NOTHING for us. Why should we now pretend to care for him?

I took a picture inside the Senate GOP lunch when the door was open Friday and saw Rand Paul seated next to other senators. He is visible in this photo.
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1241788676646096898

Rand Paul's racist white supremacist father: The former Republican presidential candidate concluded: "People should ask themselves whether this coronavirus 'pandemic' could be a big hoax, with the actual danger of the disease massively exaggerated by those who seek to profit – financially or politically – from the ensuing panic."
https://www.salon.com/2020/03/16/ron-paul-people-should-ask-themselves-whether-this-coronavirus-pandemic-could-be-a-big-hoax_partner/

Rand Paul's racist white supremacist father: The Coronavirus Hoax by Ron Paul https://nrvnews.com/the-coronavirus-hoax-by-dr-ron-paul/

Paul's office now says decision to get tested was b/c he attended CPAC (initial rationale was "out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events"). If Paul was infected at CPAC, he has been carrying the virus for almost a month.
https://twitter.com/IsaacDovere/status/1241820349475545088

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is immediately self-quarantining, per advice of congressional physicians office, sources familiar tells me.
https://twitter.com/LisaDNews/status/1241818341255364621

SEN. LEE, more: physician’s office said as he has no symptoms Lee is not priority, does not meet protocol for getting tested. But because he spent two hours with Sen. Paul at lunch Friday, they recommended he self-quarantine immediately. He has left the Capitol.
https://twitter.com/LisaDNews/status/1241819431984156672

Credit to Sen. Lee that he is immediately taking action, regardless of the politics or any other concerns. He could try to argue no symptoms, no test = no absolute reason to quarantine. But instead he is following doctor’s advice, quickly.
https://twitter.com/LisaDNews/status/1241822815319404544

I think McConnell is going to have to allow remote voting

New York state has more coronavirus cases than France or South Korea as infections soar to 15,168
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/22/new-york-state-has-more-coronavirus-cases-than-france-or-south-korea-as-infections-soar-to-15168.html

Coronavirus in the New York City Police Department, per @NYPDShea:
-98 confirmed cases: 70 uniform officers, 28 civilian employees
-3 currently hospitalized
-1 discharged today
-Officers calling out sick at nearly twice the normal rate since about March 17
https://twitter.com/AshleyAtTimes/status/1241822639884324865

Good: Brenda Jones files paperwork to face Rashida Tlaib again
https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/03/21/brenda-jones-files-paperwork-to-face-rashida-tlaib-again/2893539001/

German Dictator Angela Merkel in quarantine after doctor who gave her a vaccine tests positive for coronavirus
https://apnews.com/046150de70200b0f70a1534458bed939

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lat

On the evening of Saturday, 3/7, Z. and I went out to dinner with friends. After dinner, we were going to have a round of drinks - but I suddenly felt unwell, so I excused myself and went home. #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirusl
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396949968297984

On Sunday, 3/8, I was still feeling tired, but I didn’t put much stock in it - I even went to a gym class that afternoon (and struggled, but again just chalked it up to it being one of those days). #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396951000145931

That evening, we went out to dinner with Z..’s parents. In the middle of dinner, I again felt unwell, excusing myself early. #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396951859888135

On Sunday, 3/8, I was still feeling tired, but I didn’t put much stock in it - I even went to a gym class that afternoon (and struggled, but again just chalked it up to it being one of those days). #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396951000145931

That evening, we went out to dinner with Z..’s parents. In the middle of dinner, I again felt unwell, excusing myself early. #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396951859888135

On Monday, 3/9, I felt decently. I even went into the office for a few hours. But upon returning home that night, I knew something was off. #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396952883298313

My fever and chills began that night going into Tuesday, 3/10. I didn’t go into work that day (and basically didn’t leave my apartment since then, except when I finally went to the hospital). https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396953734860804

How did I get #coronavirus? I have no idea; it was true community spread. And I was also contributing to that spread, because I (stupidly and cavalierly) brushed off my initial mild symptoms and went to the gym, office, etc. #LatsCovid19Journal
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396954854662151

Other symptoms included joint aches and extreme fatigue. But it didn’t (yet) feel that different from the “regular” flu. During this period, I managed the fever and pain
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396955886419969

On Tuesday and Wednesday (3/10-3/11), my fever ranged from 101-104, with the 101-102 range most common. #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396957513809927

On Thursday, 3/12, I woke up fever-free without having taken fever-reducing meds, which struck me as great. In fact, by that afternoon I was thinking that maybe I was over whatever little three-day bug I had. #LatsCovid19Journal #coronavirus
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396958432407552

Boy was I wrong. On Thursday afternoon/evening, I developed a nasty cough, replete with heavy chest congestion. This continued into Friday, which is when my fever returned (101.6). #LatsCovid19Journal #CoronavirusOutbreak
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396959422218241

I called my internist on Friday, 3/13. The physician’s assistant I spoke with said it sounded like a flu that turned into bronchitis. She prescribed cough syrup and a Z-Pak and said I could feel better as early as the next day. #LatsCovid19Journal
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396960198262790

Unfortunately, I got worse over the weekend, my coughing having progressed to the point where it was making it hard for me to breathe. On Sunday, 3/15, I made my way to the emergency room at NYU Langone Medical Center, my nearest ER. #LatsCovid19Journal
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396961527861252

I described my symptoms at the ER, but based on all the horror stories I had read about the difficulty of getting a #COVID19 test, I wasn’t expecting much - and I was right. #LatsCovid19Journal
3 replies 61 retweets 403 likes
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396962437967874

This was during the worst days of the test shortage. To get tested back then, you needed symptoms AND (1) travel to an affected area, (2) exposure to an affected person, or (3) test results (like cold/flu panel) to rule out alternatives. #LatsCovid19Journal
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396963671048192

During that first visit to the ER, they did give me the cold/flu panel, which tests for a wide range of viral and bacterial agents that can cause cold/flu symptoms. My test came up... negative. #LatsCovid19Journal
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396964371595265

So, I said when they told me this, NOW can you finally give me a covid test? Alas, no. I don’t know the source of this rule or regulation, but I had to have my primary doctor call the hospital back the next day to schedule me for the test. #LatsCovid19Journal
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396965915103233

This seemed ridiculous. I had been seriously ill for over a week, I had scored negative on a test that captures about 85 percent of other viruses/bacteria - but instead of testing me for Covid-19 then and there, #LatsCovid19Journal
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396966737182720

you want me to to go back out into the community, potentially infecting more people on my way home, and come back to you the next day, potentially infecting more people on my way in? #LatsCovid19Journal
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396967727042563

My arguments fell on deaf ears. I hopped in a cab and headed home (again sanitizing my hands and suppressing my cough for the short trip, not wanting to infect the driver). #LatsCovid19Journal
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396968515551233

By Monday 3/16, I couldn’t breathe again. I rushed back to the ER - and this time they were on their game. They admitted me, gave me oxygen, put me in an isolation room - and FINALLY gave me the #coronavirus test. #LatsCovid19Journal
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396969194991617

It shouldn’t have taken two separate ER visits, both times with severe respiratory symptoms, to get a #COVID19 test. But that was my experience - and even though the situation is improving, it’s still sadly the case for so many others. #LatsCovid19Journal
https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1240396970470096897

.@DavidLat is now on a ventilator and in critical condition https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2020/03/21/david-lat-is-put-on-ventilator-as-his-covid-19-condition-worsens/
https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1241793053859422210

Roughly 30 nurses in Edmonton have refused to swab patients for the coronavirus because Alberta Health Services (AHS) won't provide N95 masks, their union says. "They believe that when they request one, they should be provided one from the employer without question."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-nurses-masks-covid19-swabs-exposure-1.5505406

Here's a reminder for the uninformed Bernie supporters who live in their own little bubble of lies: The Biden Plan to Combat Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Prepare for Future Global Health Threats
https://joebiden.com/covid19/

Emboldened wild animals venture into locked-down cities worldwide.If we were gone the Earth would reclaim everything with so little resistance.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/22/animals-cities-coronavirus-lockdowns-deer-raccoons

B.C. couple who bought entire store's meat section says they're living in fear now
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/bc-news/couple-buys-meat-section-video-death-threats-living-fear-lake-country-bc-2185549

Population of critically endangered African black rhino 'slowly increasing': IUCN said that the total number of these critically endangered rhinos increased from 4,845 in 2012 to 5,630 in 2018
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/african-black-rhino-population-endangered-extinction-a9412341.html

Billion-dollar wildlife industry in Vietnam under assault as law drafted to halt trading: PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc, has asked the agriculture ministry to draft a directive to stop illegal trading and consumption of wildlife over fears it spreads disease.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/18/billion-dollar-wildlife-industry-in-vietnam-under-assault-as-law-drafted-to-halt-trading

Atmospheric Concentration of CO2 Has Stopped Rising for First Time in Probably a Decade as Pandemic Intensifies. (The report says CO2 and NO2 are now increasing again from the near halt of emissions back in January and February, though at a slower rate.)
https://www.severe-weather.eu/global-weather/covid-19-global-co2-slowdown-climate-fa/

CEO of 3M: "As I write this, more than 500,000 respirators are on the way from our South Dakota plant to two of the more critically impacted areas, New York and Seattle, with arrivals expected starting tomorrow."
https://news.3m.com/blog/3m-stories/ceo-update-3ms-response-covid-19

Harvey Weinstein Test Positive For Coronavirus In Prison; Being Isolated
https://twitter.com/amychozick/status/1241840888088793089

I understand why “Weinstein tested positive for COVID19” rates a headline, but that really means it’s in another prison population. Which seems like a total nightmare.

Sen. Romney ordered to quarantine after coming into contact with Sen. Paul, who tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday: "He has no symptoms but will be tested."
https://twitter.com/NBCPolitics/status/1241840143780253698

"Several months before the coronavirus pandemic began, the Trump administration eliminated a key American public health position in Beijing intended to help detect disease outbreaks in China, Reuters has learned." | The American disease expert, a medical epidemiologist embedded in China’s disease control agency, left her post in July, according to four sources with knowledge of the issue. The first cases of the new coronavirus may have emerged as early as November, and as cases exploded, the Trump administration in February chastised China for censoring information about the outbreak and keeping U.S. experts from entering the country to help.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-cdc-exclusiv/exclusive-u-s-axed-cdc-expert-job-in-china-months-before-virus-outbreak-idUSKBN21910S

Romney, Scott, and Gardner join Lee in self-quarantining.
https://twitter.com/AlxThomp/status/1241838161812058112

To the absolute morons in NOLA who insisted on binge drinking in large groups despite St. Patrick’s Day parades being canceled, thanks a lot. Everyone in Louisiana has to stay home through Easter now.
https://twitter.com/ellencarmichael/status/1241835367688437767

Why We Are Crushing on Andrew Cuomo Right Now — Gov. Andrew Cuomo's daily press briefings on the coronavirus have become must-see TV for many New Yorkers.
https://www.vogue.com/article/andrew-cuomo-why-we-love-him-now-coronavirus/

Louisiana, Ohio issue orders for citizens to stay at home
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/488912-louisiana-ohio-issue-orders-for-citizens-to-stay-at-home

Futures plunge at the open, Dow indicated to tank 900+ points tomorrow
https://twitter.com/CNBCnow/status/1241848284622344194

Futures fall 5%, hitting 'limit down'
https://twitter.com/CNBCnow/status/1241848650537603073

I'm not sure it's useful to look at the US coronavirus numbers as a whole. For now, it's probably best to think about four regions:
1) NYC metro
2) Washington state
3) California
4) Everywhere else

Trump says he's approved the disaster declaration request for Washington and will approve the California request very quickly, maybe tonight. He says there are "large quantities" of medical equipment and supplies on the way to the hardest-hit states.
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1241848930582900738

Trump says supplies for NY and CA will get there within 48 hours. Says the hospital ship Mercy will be deployed to Los Angeles. (Washington state had also wanted it.)
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1241849237337452544

Trump is spelling out specific numbers at the press briefing. Says New York has received:
186,416 N95 masks
444,078 surgical masks
84,560 face-shields
68,944 surgical gowns
245,486 gloves
from federal stockpile to help with coronavirus outbreak.

Trump says four FEMA medical stations, with 1,000 beds, will be in New York this week.

USNS Mercy to Los Angeles
USNS Comfort to New York City

Trump says the National Guard has been activated to help New York, California and Washington state to help respond to coronavirus crisis. "And it's been activated," he says at WH press briefing.
https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1241848013640945665

Pres says he has approved or is approving disaster declarations for NY, CA and WA. He is also approving National Guard assistance for the same hardest hit states and is waiving usual 25% cost to the states. Also announce Honeywell producing millions N95 masks.
https://twitter.com/markknoller/status/1241853605398876162

Still pushing the untested drugs. He KNOWS they will work. And he’s “pretty smart.” I mean, 14 seasons of The Apprentice speak for themselves. So who cares what the scientists and doctors say?

https://covidtracking.com/data/

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first rapid coronavirus diagnostic test, with a detection time of about 45 minutes, as the United States struggles to meet the demand for coronavirus testing. | The test’s developer, California-based molecular diagnostics company Cepheid, said on Saturday it had received an emergency use authorization from the FDA for the test, which will be used primarily in hospitals and emergency rooms. The company plans to begin shipping it to hospitals next week, it said.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-fda/fda-approves-first-rapid-coronavirus-test-with-45-minutes-detection-time-idUSKBN218105

Why was Rand Paul even at the Senate, let alone in a gym and pool, if he was concerned enough that he went and got tested?

Asked why he's not using the Defense Production Act to force companies to make anything, he says, "We're a country not based on nationalizing our business. Call a person over in Venezuela, ask him, how did nationalization of their businesses work out?...Not a good concept."

During WW1, Wilson seized the railroads to boost efficiency.
During WW2, FDR seized dozens of corporations to boost production.
During the Korean War, Truman seized 88 steel mills to prevent strikes.
In 2009, Obama took 60% ownership in GM + Chrysler to prevent further damage.

This is actually a National Emergency. A pandemic. That is what the Defense Production Act is for. It is temporary. Businesses are waiting for Trump to use it. Someone is putting pressure on Trump to stall. To wait until more suffer? To insure maximum money can be made from current market supply? It isn’t nationalization, it is ordering the manufacturing for a temporary period of time items we need to survive

There have been a lot of conspiracy theories on why he hasn't invoked the Defense Production Act but he just told us: it is inconsistent with his 2020 re-elect campaign against "socialism". The most effective tools to use against a 50 state disaster, the DPA one of them, sidelined. Republicans are intentionally equate temporary nationalization as Permanent! and Socialism!

The CDC tomorrow is going to issue new guidance which will make it possible for people who have exposed to the coronavirus to return to work more quickly by wearing a mask for a certain period of time.
https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/1241855658607218691

Six days later — after Ron Paul wrote about “the madness over the coronavirus” and called Anthony Fauci “the chief fear monger” — his son would test positive for the coronavirus.
http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2020/march/16/the-coronavirus-hoax/

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