World Health Organization declares the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic
According to WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, it is not only the spread of the disease that prompts this move, but the inaction of some countries to take action to stop it. There are more throughout the world, but WHO must have the dominance of the United States in mind and the fact that, so far, the Donald Trump administration has been completely incompetent in the handling of the virus here.
Dr. Ghebreyesus comments...
“We’re deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction,” he said, just before declaring the pandemic. “We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear.”
Donald Trump's bell has been rung repeatedly but he is never there... READ MORE...
Good for Progressives, good for the country, Senate challenger Mark Kelly over Martha McSally by twelve points...
Senate candidate Mark Kelly
As a zoni, I welcome astronaut and husband of former representative Gabby Giffords to a Republican controlled state (so far) and hopefully a Senate seat that will help the chamber go Democratic in November. Give what's his name? Moscow Mitch McConnell the boot...READ MORE...
Those figures mean that at this time there are a minimum of 143 people in the U.S. with severe cases of the coronavirus...
My calculations are based on at least 950 known U.S. cases today, which could be higher tomorrow. Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, wants everyone over 60 or with underlying health conditions to stock up on what you need and stay home until there is some sense of control. Unfortunately, control may never be realized, considering who is in charge of the U.S. coronavirus epidemic.
The head guy, Donald Trump hasn't a clue of what is going on so he put his second in command, Mike Pence, in charge, who royally screwed up an HIV uprising in Indiana when he was governor. And to top it all off, Alex Azar, Health and Human Services Secretary just said he has no idea how many people in the U.S. have been tested for coronavirus. So, in light of this familiar blend of incompetence, the Trump administration just decides to keep the misinformation coming.
Here is Dr. Messonnier's take...
“This virus is capable of spreading easily and sustainably from person to person ... and there’s essentially no immunity against this virus in the population.”
“It’s fair to say that, as the trajectory of the outbreak continues, many people in the United States will at some point in time, either this year or next, be exposed to this virus and there’s a good chance many will become sick.”
Here's the update for coronavirus from Dr. Messonnier...
And here is a frightening fact from CNBC...
"Of the 70,000 cases WHO scientists looked at, only about 2% were in people younger than 19. The odds of developing COVID-19 increase with age, starting at age 60. It’s especially lethal for people over 80."
There are approximately 69 million folks today age 60 and over, and if you remove even a portion of that number from the day-to-day activities they are capable of and used to performing, the economy could take a dive. The eighty-plus crowd is much smaller, but more likely to heed the advice to stay at home in larger numbers due to the potential dire consequences. Think about it, some 80+ have no one to shop for them, and they have to go to the doctor.
Rachel Maddow prompts us on Donald Trump's pathetic incoherence on the coronavirus epidemic...
I don't honestly believe the Trump administration could have prevented the coronavirus from entering the United States, nor probably anyone else for that matter. But what has been clear from the beginning is the incompetence of Donald Trump and his minions. Here's the scenario from The Washington Post...
The coronavirus had already begun to spiral out of control around the world when Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, during routine Senate testimony, made a surprising claim.
“As of today, I can announce that the CDC has begun working with health departments in five cities to use its flu surveillance network to begin testing individuals with flu-like symptoms for the Chinese coronavirus,” Azar said. “This effort will help see whether there is broader spread than we have been able to detect so far.”
Chuck Schumer discusses Donald Trump's coronavirus incompetence...
The Post adds: "But there were two major problems: The cities weren’t ready, and the tests didn’t work." And so the comical parade of Trump administration bunglers has marched forward since then and here is a key fact to confirm its ineptness: there have been only 1,900 tests for coronavirus in the United States compared to 140,000 in So. Korea. And now how the United States did it...
"Azar’s bungled announcement before the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 13 was just one of many preventable missteps and blunders in the federal government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis — the embodiment of an administration that, for weeks, repeatedly squandered opportunities to manage and prepare for a global epidemic that has killed thousands worldwide and at least 19 (31 as of March 10) so far in the United States."
And there's more according to Dr. Messonnier...
"People with diabetes, heart disease, lung disease and other serious underlying conditions are more likely to develop 'serious outcomes, including death.'”
So, not only do we have a healthcare dilemma caused by the White House maniac, but we also have to worry about an economy that could spiral down soon, thanks to the incompetence of this same idiot. Never, in my lifetime, have we been between these most extreme rocks and hard places. Hello November.
Donald Trump continues to spread coronavirus misinformation - See 13 claims from AlterNet already proven pure hogwash...
The propagandist at work
It is bad enough that the coronavirus epidemic is spreading faster than U.S. health officials can control, but add to that the spewed idiocy of the Oval Office lunatic, which simply throws more fuel on the inferno. We know, now, that you cannot shut up this dolt, so his staff and the public now simply ignore his ravings and look for a credible source for information. Like in all other announcements, Trump still maintains there is nothing serious about the situation.
Here are only a few of the White House maniac's gems, then you can go the article because they are all worth reading...for a good laugh...
1. “Hopefully, we’re not going to have to spend so much because we really think we’ve done a great job in keeping it down to a minimum. And again, we’ve had tremendous success — tremendous success — beyond what people would have thought.”
Reality: "Trump said this when the number of confirmed cases of infection in the United States was around sixty. It’s now over 500 and counting.
2. “We’re rapidly developing a vaccine, and they can speak to you — the professionals can speak to you about that. The vaccine is coming along well.”
Reality: Any potential vaccine will take at least a year to 18 months to become available, and that’s assuming everything goes perfectly in the development.
3. “But we’re very, very ready for this, for anything — whether it’s going to be a breakout of larger proportions or whether or not we’re — you know, we’re at that very low level, and we want to keep it that way.”
Reality: The administration has not been ready for the outbreak, despite knowing about the threat of the virus for months. The United States has been well behind the appropriate pace of testing to understand the scope of the crisis and keep it under control.
“The Democratic field is poor, but Trump is dead.”
There's more...
“I live in New York City, and people there are hardly going to restaurants, cinemas, or theaters,” he said. “If it comes, we are totally f*cked.”
The stock market will recover; hopefully, Donald Trump won't. Can't be any more blunt than that...READ MORE...
Florida woman returns from Italy with coronavirus symptoms and cannot get verified to be tested. It's due to "refusal of health officials to conduct the necessary tests, according to CBS Miami." Here's her scenario...
“The doctor himself told me that, you know, he thinks that the results of my [preliminary] tests mean that I most likely have the COVID-19, but that the Department of Health did not want to pursue it further,” the woman said. “It was either the Department of Health or the CDC that decided not to further pursue the inquiry. But I was basically told that it is most likely that I have this virus and that I should self-quarantine.”
The hospital, Jackson Memorial, would only respond that they were,“following guidelines for testing established by the CDC and the Florida Department of Health.” More evidence of Donald Trump interference?
Unbelievable only 1,900 tested for coronavirus in U.S. but 140,000 in So. Korea...
"As the highly infectious coronavirus jumped from China to country after country in January and February, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lost valuable weeks that could have been used to track its possible spread in the United States because it insisted upon devising its own test."
The Centers for Disease Control ignored World Health Organization test guidelines used by other countries and embarked on research that ended in what was a similar test to what WHO had already developed. They distributed the kits...
"But when it was sent to labs across the country in the first week of February, it didn’t work as expected. The CDC test correctly identified COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. But in all but a handful of state labs, it falsely flagged the presence of the other viruses in harmless samples."
The admission from health officials...
“We’re weeks behind because we had this problem,” said Scott Becker, chief executive officer of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, which represents 100 state and local public laboratories. “We’re usually up-front and center and ready.”
That was before Donald Trump came to the White House.
Did Republicans stall the Coronavirus Bill just to protect the pharmaceutical industry over the welfare of the American people? The short answer is YES! When negotiations stalled on a federal spending package to address the spread of the coronavirus strain known as COVID-19, it was due to a dispute over vaccine pricing. Democrats even proposed free treatment and vaccine, but Republicans wanted to eliminate "fair and reasonable pricing," the federal procurement standard. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar commented, “We would want to ensure that we work to make it affordable, but we can’t control that price, because we need the private sector to invest. Price controls won’t get us there.” This dufus is talking about the rule of law when the U.S. is facing a potential pandemic in the coronavirus crisis. And it all can be traced back to the incompetence of the Donald Trump administration in handling the dilemma.
The Grand Press ready to unload coronavirus cases in Oakland
"At least 565 people in the US have tested positive for coronavirus, including 70 people who were repatriated to the US.," according to CNN. More than 3,500 have died worldwide and at least 105,000 have been infected, with these numbers climbing daily. What's really scary is "Hundreds of passengers have been infected from multiple cruise ships," and, as I indicated earlier, there are similar ships at sea with potential coronavirus infected passengers.
Princess Cruises which owns the Grand Princess and the Diamond Princess, earlier quarantined with the disease in Japan, "said the CDC has given a 'no-sail' order for another ship, the Royal Princess." It seems the cruise line says a crew member who recently served on the Grand Princess transferred to the Royal Princess just over two weeks ago. Princess claims it could not get the crew member tested.
Chris Hayes of MSNBC
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes literally fumed in a recent show, "All In," over Donald Trump’s botched handling of the ongoing coronavirus crisis. One of his major points was how far we have fallen behind in testing with 164 U.S. cases reported by the CDC, more than 500 in the media. U.S. News just released an article that claims, "'Real' U.S. Coronavirus Cases May Have Topped 9,000," a number investigators allege was, "very conservative" in methods to estimate the number.
Hayes added...
“And when the tests do deploy, case numbers in the country will spike. which will freak people out,” Hayes explained. “They shouldn’t be. The whole point is that we do not know how many cases there are. Because — inexplicably! — we have not been testing nearly enough now for at least a week and probably longer."
This is purely my opinion, but I wouldn't put it past Donald Trump being the sole reason behind the fact that test kits haven't been distributed, because he is afraid of the large number of potential coronavirus cases that will be revealed from the findings. Bad for his favorability ratings for the November election. And, perhaps that's where the researchers in the U.S. News piece loosely predicate their findings. Chris Hayes makes several good point worth reading here.
CNN headlines "dissonance" between Donald Trump and CDC on coronavirus
Trump/Hannity
But there is no discord when it comes to Trump allies who are willing to stretch the truth, even lie, for T-rump when it comes to the severity of the coronavirus. As an example, wingnut Republican, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz...
"a top Republican [suck-up] in the House of Representatives, appeared to be mocking the virus when he wore a gas mask to votes on the House floor."
The Oval Office lunatic has complained that some administration people like Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar were too alarmist when conveying information on the disease complaining that "doomsday scenarios and overly pessimistic predictions helped tank markets." Although there should be certain considerations in releasing information, this clearly points out Trump's interest in protecting his favorability ratings for the November election.
Here's CNN's take...
"From its earliest days, Trump has sought to downplay coronavirus' risks and lashed out when those within his administration appeared to be doing otherwise. He told a collective of executives at the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland, in mid-January that it would not pose a major threat to the United States, an attendee told CNN."
The big question remains, when the coronavirus epidemic turns into a pandemic, what will the White House maniac do? There are many, even within the Trump administration, who believe he doesn't have the skills or brains to handle it. Then what?,,,READ MORE...
Now, that's novel...Coronavirus stricken person a member of GOP CPAC, the party that denies the disease'''
Matt Schlapp
This person was exposed to the virus before attending theAmerican Conservative Union (ACU) convention, This person was tested as positive for COVID-19 in a New Jersey hospital; the convention was held in Maryland. But the patient remains quarantined in the New Jersey hospital. Did the person know he or she had been exposed? It all sounds very suspicious but everything Republicans do today is suspect. Here is an apparently incorrect ACU statement...
"ACU said that the patient did not make contact with President Trump or Vice President Mike Pence, and never attended the events in the main hall."
However, completely contrary to that...
"Matt Schlapp told the Washington Post he interacted with the patient at the event and that he then shook Trump’s hand on the stage on the last day of the conference."
Like I said before, nothing a Republican says can ever be trusted, except, perhaps, Matt Schlapp!
