02 Feb 2020: The
first death outside China, of a Chinese man from Wuhan, was reported
in the Philippines. The death toll in China rose to 304, with 14,380
infections reported.
TRUMP: “We pretty much shut it down coming in from China.”
Groundhog
Day! Punxutawney Phil did not see his shadow so we're going to have an early spring! I am not at all concerned about the virus. Thinking about gardening, debates and primary elections. Looking forward to seeing son Reid graduate
from UConn in May, and our next road trip adventure. Also pre-planning a summer
beach vacation with Greg.
03 Feb 2020: China
reported 57 new deaths, bringing its death toll to at least 361. The number of
cases rose to 17,205 across the country.
04 Feb 2020: China
death toll rose to 425 people and the number of infected people stood at 20,438
in the mainland. Hong Kong also reported one death, bringing global deaths to
427. Belgium confirms first case in a person who was repatriated from
Wuhan.
05 Feb 2020: More
flights evacuating US citizens returned from Wuhan and the WHO reaffirmed there
was "no known effective treatment" for the coronavirus. Meanwhile,
China reported 490 deaths and 24,324 cases of infection. US CDC announced
it would begin shipping test kits to public health labs around the country.
06 Feb 2020: Death
toll in mainland China rose to at least 563, with more than 28,000 cases
confirmed. Meanwhile, authorities in Malaysia reported the country's
first known human-to-human transmission and the number of people infected in
Europe reached 30. WHO said it had already shipped
250,000 tests to more than 70 laboratories around the world.
07 Feb 2020: Li
Wenliang, a doctor who was among the first to sound the alarm over the
coronavirus, died, and Hong Kong introduced prison sentences for anyone
breaching quarantine rules. Mainland China confirmed the death toll had reached
at least 636, with 31,161 cases of infection and Chinese researchers suggested
the pangolin may have been one link in the chain of animal-human infections.
News
of the doctor dying in China has pierced my consciousness. I am now FINALLY aware of the
seriousness of the virus. Thinking of Ed Norton’s character in The Painted Veil, a doctor who died of cholera while treating patients in a Chinese
village. Worried about people living in Asia, but not thinking about virus in
US or other parts of the world yet.
08 Feb 2020: A US
citizen died in Wuhan. A Japanese man in his 60s with a suspected coronavirus
infection also died in Wuhan. Death toll in China reached 722 with 34,546
confirmed infections.
09 Feb 2020: Death
toll in China surpassed that of the 2002-03 SARS epidemic, with 811 deaths
recorded and 37,198 infections. An investigative team led by experts from the
WHO departed for China.
10 Feb 2020: China
had 908 confirmed deaths and a total of 40,171 infections. 97 new deaths were
reported following the deadliest day of the outbreak. President Xi Jinping
appeared in public for the first time since the epidemic began, visiting a
hospital in Beijing and urging confidence in the battle against the virus.
11 Feb 2020: WHO
announced that the new coronavirus would be called "COVID-19". Meanwhile,
deaths in China reached 1,016, with 42,638 infections recorded.
12 Feb 2020: 175
people infected on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, docked at Yokohama,
the Japanese health ministry said. The death toll in mainland China hit 1,113,
with 44,653 infections recorded. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the NASDAQ Composite, and S&P 500 Index all finished at record highs.
13 Feb 2020: North
Korea imposed a month-long quarantine on all foreign visitors and others
suspected to have COVID-19, the official Korean Central News Agency said. The
death toll in mainland China hit 1,300 with nearly 60,000 infections recorded.
Meanwhile, Japan confirmed its first death from the virus.
14 Feb 2020: Egypt
became the first country in Africa to report a case and France reported
Europe's first death from the virus. China reported 121 more deaths, bringing
to the total number across the mainland to nearly 1,400.
15 Feb 2020: Death
toll in mainland China surges past 1,500 with 66,492 infections confirmed in
mainland China. Elsewhere, the US prepared to evacuate its citizens from a
cruise ship quarantined at a Japanese dock. Meanwhile, a February 3 speech by
Chinese President Xi Jinping, published by state media indicated the government
knew about the threat of the virus well before the public alarm was
raised.
16 Feb 2020: Taiwan
recorded its first death of a taxi driver in his 60s due to the coronavirus. Authorities
reported that 1,665 people had died in mainland China with 68,500 cases of
infection reported.
17 Feb 2020: 1,770
deaths reported in mainland China and 70,548 cases. Japan confirmed 99 new
cases of the virus on board the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship.
18 Feb 2020: China's
daily infection figures drop below 2,000 for the first time since January, with
the country's health commission reporting 72,436 infections on the mainland and
1,868 deaths. Meanwhile, Russia said it would ban entry for Chinese citizens
from February 20.
19 Feb 2020: Iran
reported two deaths from the coronavirus, hours after confirming its first
cases. China's daily infection figures drop below 2,000 for the second straight
day, with the country's health commission reporting 74,185 infections on the
mainland and 2,004 deaths.
20 Feb 2020: South
Korea reported its first death from the coronavirus. China reported the
death toll had risen to 2,118 while the total number of cases
reached 74,576. The country's health commission reported daily infections
dropped to the lowest in almost a month, a result of authorities only counting
cases confirmed by genetic testing in Hubei. Global stock markets began downward trend.
21 Feb 2020: South
Korea reported its second death and 100 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus,
bringing the total to 204. In mainland China, the death toll reached 2,236 as
the confirmed cases of the infection rose above 75,400. Israel reported its
first confirmed case of the coronavirus after a woman who returned from a
cruise ship tested positive. In Italy, the region of Lombardy reported the
first local transmission of the virus with three new cases bringing the total
in the country to six infections.
Focused
primarily on politics and the upcoming primary election – not the virus. Attended
Forsyth County Board of Elections training to be an election assistant.
22 Feb 2020: South
Korea saw its largest spike in a single day with 229 new cases of the
virus. Italy reported its first two deaths, while Iran confirmed a fifth
death among 10 new infections. A sixth death was later confirmed, though it was
not clear whether this case was included in the country's 28 confirmed cases. In
mainland China, the number of new infections fell significantly with 397 cases
reported.
23 Feb 2020: Several
countries close their borders with Iran as the number of infections and deaths
in the country grew. In Italy, officials confirmed a third death, while local
authorities brought the Venice Carnival to an early close and suspended sports
events in an attempt to combat the spread of the virus in Europe's worst-hit
country.
24 Feb 2020: Kuwait,
Bahrain, Iraq, Afghanistan and Oman all reported their first cases of the
virus. Meanwhile, the number of cases in South Korea ballooned to 833 cases
with seven deaths. The death toll in China rose to 2,595 among 77,262
confirmed cases. A seventh death was reported in northern Italy.
TRUMP: “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the
USA… Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”
25 Feb 2020: Iran's
deputy health minister, who had a day earlier given a press briefing on the
outbreak, confirmed that he had coronavirus. The country's official total
reached 95 cases with 15 deaths. China's reported cases continued to
plateau, with 518 new infections and 71 new deaths confirmed. South Korea's
confirmed cases rose to 977 while Italy's reached 229.
TRUMP: “CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of
handling Coronavirus… I think that's a problem that’s going to go away… They
have studied it. They know very much. In fact, we’re very close to a vaccine.”
On March 19th, the first day of spring, I learned that on
February 25th, National Public Radio (NPR) warned Americans to
prepare for the spread of the virus, warned of disruptions to daily life including
school closings, workplace shutdowns, and the cancellation of large gatherings
and public events. The message came from
Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the CDC. She sounded the alarm in February, but it was
nearly a month later before I heard the siren because most local and national
news reinforce Trump’s message that the virus is a nothing burger in the US. I’ve
been retired for several months and rarely listen to the radio now. If I had
still been working, I would most likely have heard the NPR warning during my
commute. Would I have headed the warning? What might Greg and I have done
differently? On February 25 I’m oblivious. On March 19 my head is spinning. I wish I could travel back in time with Bill and Ted to fix
this.
26 Feb 2020: Global
death toll neared 2,800 with a total of about 80,000 confirmed infection cases
reported globally. Norway, Romania, Greece, Georgia, Pakistan, North Macedonia
and Brazil all detected their first cases of the coronavirus.
TRUMP: “The 15 (cases in the US) within a couple of days is
going to be down to close to zero… We're going very substantially down, not
up.”
On March 19, the first day of spring, I learned more
about Trump’s February 26 press conference. He quoted a Johns
Hopkins report that rated the US number 1 for being prepared for an epidemic.
This is also the day Trump put VP Mike Pence in charge of his task force. I knew
on February 26 that Mike Pence did not have a great track record
with medical science when he was Governor of Indiana so I tune out the rest of
the press conference, change the channel. On March 19 I learned the
Johns Hopkins report, and several other reports, concluded that “National
health security is fundamentally weak around the world. No country is fully
prepared for epidemics or pandemics, and every country has important gaps to
address.” Trump buried the lead when he said the US is better prepared than any
other country. I am livid and disheartened. I blame Trump for lying and
manipulating facts, and I blame myself for not being better informed, better
prepared. I wonder if a different person were president, any other person,
would it matter? When Obama was president, I hung on his every word. When
George Bush was president, I listened intently to his press briefings, for
information as well as for benign gaffes. But I can’t bring myself to watch or listen
to Trump for more than a minute or two. I expect him to lie so I would rather wait for the
fact checkers. His orange face, puckered butt hole mouth, and brash style repulse
me. I don’t trust him. I want to hear Dr. Anthony Fauci and other experts, medical doctors
and scientists, tell me what is happening and what I should do. But not Trump.
Anyone but Trump.
27 Feb 2020: Estonia,
Denmark, Northern Ireland and the Netherlands reported their first coronavirus
cases. The number of infections passed 82,000 worldwide, including more than
2,800 deaths. Italy has seen a spike in infections which jumped to 650, while 3
more people died with the tally of deaths now at 17. US administration is
considering invoking the Defense Production Act which would grant President
Trump the power to expand industrial production of key materials or products
for national security.
TRUMP: “One day it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”
Reid
and Lauren booked a hotel room in NYC for spring break, scheduled mid March.
I’m happy and excited for them.
On March 19, the first day of spring, I learned that US
Senator Richard Burr of NC, Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, attended
a luncheon on February 27 where he warned attendees to prepare for dire economic and societal effects of the virus. Also, he sold more than
$1.5 million in stocks shortly before the market tanked in March. Maybe he’s a
bible-belt Nostradamus, or maybe he engaged in insider trading. Tucker Carlson on
Fox News, among others, is calling for Burr to resign and await
prosecution. This time I agree with Tucker Carlson.
28 Feb 2020: Lithuania
and Wales reported their first coronavirus cases, with Netherlands and Georgia
reporting their second.
TRUMP: “We're ordering a lot of supplies. We're ordering a
lot of, uh, elements that frankly we wouldn't be ordering unless it was
something like this. But we're ordering a lot of different elements of
medical.”
29 Feb 2020: South
Korea reported its highest daily number of confirmed cases yet, 813, bringing
the country's total to 3,150 with 17 deaths. Iran also reported the number of
its cases had jumped 388 cases to 593 in 24 hours, with the death toll reaching
43. Qatar confirmed the first case in the country.
SOURCES:
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/02/25/809318447/health-officials-warn-americans-to-start-planning-for-spread-of-coronavirus-in-u
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