Another maniacal manic Monday

US reported more than 3,000 deaths and twice the number of infections compared to China where the outbreak began. In the hardest-hit countries in Europe, Italy reported the slowest daily rise in infections for two weeks, although the number of dead rose by 812. In Spain, an additional 800 deaths were reported. Number of coronavirus cases in Germany rose to 61,913 with 583 deaths. Australia cases slowed though officials stressed the need for continued physical distancing policies. Japan and Indonesia tightened travel restrictions. Tokyo summer Olympics to begin July 2021. Vietnam physical distancing begins Wednesday. Myanmar reported first coronavirus death. Czech Republic and Thailand reported rise in cases. Brazil placed burden of coronavirus crisis management on local administrations. In Spain, health workers account for 14% of cases. Mexico announced a health emergency after the number of cases topped 1,000 and deaths increased to 28; all non-essential activities suspended until April 30.  Aljazeera.com daily snapshot

31 Mar 2020	Cases		Deaths		Recovered
12:22 GMT*	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today
World	735,029	802,614	34,806	39,013	156,131	172,319
US	142,746	164,435	2,489	3,175	4,562	5,507
NY	59,648	67,325	965	1,342	67	67
CT	1,993	2,627	34	51	0	0
NC	1,167	1,373	7	7	0	0

*Documenting time of day because real time data updates continuously.
Tracking specific states:  NY is US epicenter, son Reid lives in CT, and I live in NC. 
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/               https://www.coronainusa.com/  

NCDHHS summary

+23k tests completed statewide
+8k tests pending (samples collected, results soon)
1,373 positive cases statewide
median age 47

17k hospital beds in NC, 7k empty (40%)
157 COVID-19 patients hospitalized

In the news…

Due to physical distancing guidelines, the 2020 Census timeline has been adjusted. It’s super easy and quick to respond online if you haven’t already.

Germany issuing immunity certificates for people who recover from the virus.

Hungary gave its leader unlimited power with no time limit. What could possibly go wrong? “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” -- Sir John Dalberg-Acton

HuffPost reported the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe lost their reservation status despite the struggles of residents dealing with the devastating impact of the pandemic.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam issued a statewide stay at home order effective through June 10.  

Nevada painted boxes in a parking lot for the homeless to sleep in.

A North Carolina man did something so stupid, it’s hard to believe he’s not from Florida.

Pentagon reported first coronavirus death of US soldier, a New Jersey Army National Guardsman.

The FDA approved emergency use of an anti-malarial drug for COVID-19 treatment. HHS introduced new rapid test kit, and reported milestone of 1 million Americans tested so far. CDC and Trump are allegedly reconsidering mask recommendations.

#StopAiringTrump and #BoycottTrumpBriefings trended Monday evening following President Trump’s latest presser, with calls for fact checking before broadcasting. Some feel his daily briefings are more like political rallies and corporate sponsor infomercials than traditional press conferences. Since he declared himself a wartime president, many have looked to him for comfort and strong leadership ala FDR or Obama. Unfortunately his daily updates seem to have more in common with the Vietnam era than WWII. Some skeptics have gone so far as to say Trump pre-empting local news is strategic to suppress local dissent. I personally think the timing is more about ratings than message. In his mind I believe ratings = approval = reelection = winning; as well as strong economy = reelection = winning. My friend Tim recently shared: “Do we live for the economy. Or does the economy live for us?" Exactly!  

#ThankAnAveragePerson also trended, which includes regular people who aren’t hoarding, and of course all the front line health care personnel, delivery drivers, food and grocery workers, custodians, trash collectors, and other essential personnel we might have taken for granted before the pandemic began. Super heroes and sheroes do indeed live among us. And kudos to WXII’s Kenny Beck for seeking out and sharing positive stories to give us hope.

More than a few news reports have been critical of the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic. I personally believe mistakes have been made, though I want to minimize my own bias as I research and document the crisis as fairly as possible. I do not want to amplify misinformation coming from any source, regardless of political ideology. This is why I check sources for bias and factual reporting via https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/.

In the spirit of hearing with open ears and an open heart what conservatives are trying to communicate, I share a commentary published by Real Clear Politics illustrating how President Trump and his supporters feel attacked by the mainstream media. Even when we think everyone has access to the exact same facts, information can be interpreted and processed differently. I’m trying to be less judgmental, more empathetic, and more gracious. Some days I fail, but those are my goals.

This brings to mind a piece about toxic tribalism. If you read nothing else today, please read this. It was published two years ago and still resonates with me deeply. And if you do nothing else today, please be kind, to yourself and to each other.

In case you might be wondering about my tribes, I self identify as progressive independent. Son Reid considers me a centrist moderate because I’m not as progressive as him, and once upon a time I was actually a republican. For what it’s worth, here’s a commentary from the Progressive Pulse. 

WSJ reported there is now a shortage of jigsaw puzzles. I’ll bet my friend Jane has plenty, and perhaps might consider lending or selling a few through the Next Door app. Another cool innovation, some people are stocking food and supplies in their Little Free Libraries.  

As the pandemic continues to challenge commerce and consumers, below is a partial list of corporate responses: 

·         Amazon* is undertaking a variety of helpful actions, despite employee concerns and strikes.

·         Ad Age is tracking marketers during the pandemic.
 Brooks Brothers converting factories to make medical PPE. 

·         Burger King’s contact-less food service ad is faring better than McDonald’s tweaked logo.

·         Cheesecake Factory was the first of several chains to announce a moratorium on rent payments. 

·         Columbia Sportswear CEO took a pay cut to help employees. 

·         Crocs donated shoes to health care workers.

·         CVS announced free Rx delivery and plans to hire more employees.

·         Delta Airlines was the first to announce free flights for medical volunteers.

·         Dyson invented a new ventilator. 

·         Four Seasons NY was the first hotel to announce complimentary rooms for medical personnel during the crisis. To date, no Trump hotel properties have made similar announcements.

·         Hobby Lobby began closing stores a few days after billionaire CEO David Green reminded employees “God is in control.”

·         Krispy Kreme offered free doughnuts to health care workers. 

·         Lowes, Goldman Sachs, and dentists donated masks and other medical supplies.

·         Prison inmates, the fashion industry, and home crafters are making cotton face masks.

·         Sheetz gave $3 per hour pay raise to employees working during the crisis. 

·         Starbucks offered free coffee to front line responders. Most in-store cafes have now closed though drive-thru and delivery are still an option in some markets.

·         Walmart announced plans to hire more workers, amid additional safety measures.  

·         Verizon is giving customers 15GB free data during the crisis.

·         Virgin billionaire Richard Branson pledged $250 million to help workers, reversing course after previously announcing employees would have to take two months of unpaid leave.

*It came to my attention today that Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, also owns Audible, IMDb, Twitch, Washington Post, Whole Foods, and Zappos. In solidarity with striking workers, I’m trying to boycott all of them but giving up IMDb searches is the hardest habit to break.

In my personal life…

Today we received in our mailbox a postcard outlining President Trump’s Coronavirus Guidelines for America dated March 16 (two weeks ago). Better late than never, though I believe this information would have been far more effective if the https://www.coronavirus.gov/ website had been created and promoted much earlier. To illustrate my point, consider the following…

Snopes verified South Korea and the United States both confirmed their first cases of COVID-19 on the same day: January 20, 2020. As of 10:15pm EST March 30, 2020:

	Cases	Deaths	Population
South Korea	9,786	162	51 million
United States	164,248	3,164	331 million

Math is not my best subject but clearly South Korea contained the virus more efficiently and effectively than the US. So how was disaster averted? The South Korean government’s response was four-pronged: testing, tracking, tracing, and treating. Equally important was how citizens embraced passive physical and social distancing. In other words, people cooperatively made sacrifices to put the health of the community above their own individual needs and wants. And they wore masks. Considering the individualistic rebel-without-a-clue me-me-me culture in the US, combined with our government’s slow response, no wonder we’re in the middle of a hot mess. Bless our hearts.

Back to my personal life…

Within the past two weeks we’ve received two separate letters asking us to complete the 2020 Census. I promptly submitted our data online the same day we received the first envelope so I considered it a waste of government resources, time and money, when the second arrived a few days later.

Greg recently gave his 1998 Honda Accord to son Austin so he’s been alternating driving his truck, his 1955 Chevy, and my Toyota Corolla to work. He missed having a beater for daily driving so last week he bought a 2003 Ford Focus. Now, once again, we have four cars parked next to our 500sf, 1 bedroom house. Some people hoard toilet paper. We hoard vehicles. Bless our hearts, LOL.

In keeping with Forsyth County’s stay at home order, I’m determined not to leave home unless it becomes truly necessary, which I don’t foresee, knock wood. I’m able to walk the dog around our yard and have plenty of garden and lawn tasks for exercise. Fortunately we don’t need anything right now, though I’m strategically updating our next grocery list in hopes Greg will pick up a few things toward the end of the week. Greg’s position with the city is considered essential so he continues to work.

UConn res life website update: “The residence halls noted above have been identified as facilities that need to be temporarily re-purposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” No further details available at this time so we’re guessing maybe dorms will be used as field hospitals, or perhaps temporary housing for doctors, nurses, and medical personnel.

This has nothing to do with coronavirus, but I LOVE the Mobil1 Rave commercial. I’m one of the few North Carolinians who doesn’t like NASCAR *gasp* but Kevin Harvick seems like a nice guy and I am mesmerized watching tiny Clint Bowyer dance. Kudos to the creative team. That is all.

Weekend news roundup

US President Donald Trump extended federal guidelines on social distancing until April 30 after a top health official warned between 100,000 to 200,000 people could die from coronavirus in the United States. The US has more confirmed cases than any other country in the world.  France announced it would pay for hotel rooms for victims of domestic violence and open pop-up counseling centres after figures showed the number of abuse cases had soared during the first week of the lockdown. Italy reported 812 deaths in one day (11,591 total) and 4,050 new cases, the lowest amount of infections since March 17. More than 800 people died in Spain over the last 24 hours (7,340 total) while deaths in Iran went up by 117 to 2,75. Aljazeera.com daily snapshot

30 Mar 2020	Cases		Deaths		Recovered
10:58 GMT*	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today
World	679,091	735,029	31,773	34,806	146,352	156,131
US	123,781	142,746	2,229	2,489	3,238	4,562
NY	53,455	59,648	883	965	40	67
CT	1,524	1,993	33	34	0	0
NC	1,022	1,167	4	7	0	0

*Documenting time of day because real time data updates continuously.
Tracking specific states:  NY is US epicenter, son Reid lives in CT, and I live in NC. 
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/               https://www.coronainusa.com/  

In the news…

President Trump announced federal social distancing guidelines will be extended through April 30, dismissing his earlier plan targeting Easter to reopen the country. His current aspirational goal for economic recovery is June 1. Over the weekend Trump tweeted about his TV ratings as well as security costs for members of the British royal family.

After Dr. Fauci reported the US could have millions of corona virus cases and more than 100,000 deaths, President Trump said based on that projection, his administration would “have done a good job”.

The CDC issued a travel advisory for NY, NJ and CT shortly after President Trump briefly considered an enforceable tri-state quarantine then decided it was not necessary.

In NY, refrigerated trucks are being used as makeshift morgues. In CA, a silicon valley energy company is repairing broken ventilators.

Since the US sent medical aid to China when the outbreak began, FEMA is now coordinating airlifts to bring medical supplies into the US from Asia. While the President said hospital workers might be stealing masks, capitalism and Covidien are likely to blame for the current ventilator shortage.

25 states have issued stay at home orders so far, highlighting differences between blue states and red states.

In nearby Guilford County, NC there is now an online form to report stay at home violators.

Moscow imposed a mandatory lockdown after more than 1,000 infections. Worldwide more than 1.5 billion people have been asked or ordered to stay home to flatten the curve.

  

While the US Defense Dept and military personnel are providing support in a variety of ways, the Pentagon announced nearly 15,000 National Guard troops have mobilized across the US to battle the spread of coronavirus.

Liberty University students returned to campus though some have exhibited coronavirus symptoms.

The first infant has died after testing positive for coronavirus.

Media Matters reported Fox News is rethinking their coverage of the pandemic while fringe right wing groups increase their attacks against Dr. Fauci.

In an ABC poll, 80% of Bernie Sanders’ supporters reported they plan to vote for Biden if he wins the nomination. 15% said they would vote for Trump, representing just 6% of voters who lean Democratic.

Amazon and Instacart workers are striking to pressure employers to provide more protections from the virus, including masks. Full disclosure: I canceled my Prime membership last year when I learned about other strikes over warehouse conditions. Until Jeff Bezos, the richest man in America, does better for his workers then he won’t get another dollar from me -- even if we run out of toilet paper. That’s how strongly I feel about this issue.

In my personal life…

I’m a novice blogger, learning day by day, hoping to attract more readers over time. Even if this blog never gains traction, at least it will be a record for grandchildren and others who might be curious what it was like living through the pandemic day by day, month by month.

Sunday morning Greg made Scotch eggs in our air fryer while I weeded and planted our third raised garden bed. After our homemade brunch I went back outside to continue pulling weeds from the mulched areas around our house. Later we moved the hammock into the shade where I relaxed listening to 80s music on Pandora in between naps. 

Greg spent most of the afternoon watching TV and enjoying the air conditioning inside the house. He also worked on his ’55 Chevy a little bit. It’s a beautiful classic car but problematic. Seems like every time he fixes one thing, something else breaks.

With sunny skies and a high of 85 degrees, the weather was more like summer than spring. After working around the house we spent quality time together, balanced with a little personal space too. All things considered it was a nice weekend, simple and sublime.