COVID-19 updates

[John Camp]

This whole stimulus fight in the Congress does nothing but make me more sick and tired of politicians, and I was already sick and tired of them. The Republicans in the Senate wanted to have a $500 million "slush fund" under Trump's control to distribute to companies that needed help, with restrictions on disclosure for six months after the money is granted; they also wanted to ban any grants to non-profits that got money from Medicaid -- that is, things like abortion clinics, drug treatment clinics, etc. In other words, they wanted to give Trump a slush fund that could be used to help his reelection, provided by the taxpayers. I would no more trust Trump with a $500 million slush fund than I'd trust a drug kingpin with it. On the other side, in the House, which is controlled by the Democrats, one proposal in their version is forgiveness -- not delay -- of up to $30,000 in student debt. What does either thing have to do with the Covid-19 virus? Suspend student loan payments for now, until people are back at work, but get the money back later. If you're going to give away $500 million, make it utterly and openly transparent, so the taxpayers know where every dollar goes. This whole stimulus thing is turning into a gold rush, and guess who's going to get the gold?

[Robert Roaldi]

This whole stimulus fight in the Congress does nothing but make me more sick and tired of politicians, and I was already sick and tired of them. The Republicans in the Senate wanted to have a $500 million "slush fund" under Trump's control to distribute to companies that needed help, with restrictions on disclosure for six months after the money is granted; they also wanted to ban any grants to non-profits that got money from Medicaid -- that is, things like abortion clinics, drug treatment clinics, etc. In other words, they wanted to give Trump a slush fund that could be used to help his reelection, provided by the taxpayers. I would no more trust Trump with a $500 million slush fund than I'd trust a drug kingpin with it. On the other side, in the House, which is controlled by the Democrats, one proposal in their version is forgiveness -- not delay -- of up to $30,000 in student debt. What does either thing have to do with the Covid-19 virus? Suspend student loan payments for now, until people are back at work, but get the money back later. If you're going to give away $500 million, make it utterly and openly transparent, so the taxpayers know where every dollar goes. This whole stimulus thing is turning into a gold rush, and guess who's going to get the gold?

They don't even bother being subtle these days. I love that '6 month restriction on disclosure' thing. Wow, just wow. I can barely wait to hear the justifications for it.

[Alan Klein]

The last few posts show how different America is from some other countries.  Europe is looking at Italy and not liking what it sees in the north of that country.  If the virus goes wide scale, then even with a death rate of 2% to 5% there will be a lot of deaths.  If a significant number of medics are put out of action, then that would affect many more.  It is interesting to note that the youngest to die in the UK was 18 years old.

Plans to convert large premises to emergency hospitals indicate that scenario planning is looking at the possibility of many succumbing.  How America would deal with the effect on the economy of that may be different from how other countries would given differences in the benefit systems. The effect of the virus on the economy cannot be dodged.  It will be interesting to see how it pans out in different countries.

Jonathan

Every country is facing economic ruin on top of a major health crisis.  You can't borrow money you don't have. So the dilemma is at what point do you except a certain amount of sick and dead to allow a certain amount of the economy to move forward.  Having "free" health care does not make it any different in Europe as it is in America because health care is not free.  In Europe, it comes from high taxes and VATs mainly.  If the economy shrinks by 50%, you don't have the money to pay for your national health system.  It matters little whether that money comes from taxes like in the UK or from private insurance and taxes for the government paid for health services as in the US.  So you're stuck with printing money which devalues your pound and destroys the wealth of your country. Printing money being fake, just puts an additional burden on the economy and makes it harder to recover.  It adds burden in the form of debt that has to be paid tomorrow.  Trump is not the only one saying we can't do this too long.  Smart leaders everywhere are realizing that the operation may be successful but the patient dies anyway if they starve to death because they can't make a living.  We're facing a terrible decision that's going to hurt a lot whichever way is decided.  There are no easy solutions. 

[BernardLanguillier]

If true about Japan, their mortality numbers must be actually very high do to the advanced age of their population.

Well:
- death count only includes people already diagnosed as suffering from the virus
- the condition of a 75 years old person is not just defined by his/her age but also by many other aspects

Cheers,
Bernard

[Alan Klein]

Well:
- death count only includes people already diagnosed as suffering from the virus
- the condition of a 75 years old person is not just defined by his/her age but also by many other aspects

Cheers,
Bernard

I don't understand your post.  Maybe you can clarify it.  My point is just that since Japan's population is more aged, the percent dying will be higher since it appears older people have trouble surviving this disease.  Now, if there are other issues with the person, and the authorities decide to claim it was emphysema from smoking let's say that caused the guy's death even though it was the virus that aggravated the problem, then of course the percentage will not look as bad.  That could be happening in Japan if the government wants to hide the damage being done for political or economic reasons. 

[MattBurt]

We found out today our first confirmed death here was 10 days ago.
A local businessman with a pizza place. It's scary to think of all the potential contact that came from that.
I know two other probable cases personally, one in hospital. Tests administered but not confirmed yet.
It's getting very real and very close.

[Alan Klein]

We found out today our first confirmed death here was 10 days ago.
A local businessman with a pizza place. It's scary to think of all the potential contact that came from that.
I know two other probable cases personally, one in hospital. Tests administered but not confirmed yet.
It's getting very real and very close.

I just picked up a pizza and bought it home for me and my wife.  They brought it out of the store, a girl in gloves.  I paid for it in advance by charge card on the phone.  So I didn't go into the store.  I sprayed the box and plastic bag (of salad) and wiped it down with a antibiotic wipe when putting it in the car.  But who knows?    Where was that pizza store?

[MattBurt]

It was in Crested Butte, Co. And since he died 10 days ago he would have been probably contagious up to a few weeks before then and before people were taking this seriously.
This part of Colorado is being hit pretty hard. Everyone knows everyone here so it really brings it home.

[LesPalenik]

I just picked up a pizza and bought it home for me and my wife.  They brought it out of the store, a girl in gloves.  I paid for it in advance by charge card on the phone.  So I didn't go into the store.  I sprayed the box and plastic bag (of salad) and wiped it down with a antibiotic wipe when putting it in the car.  But who knows?    Where was that pizza store?

If you buy a frozen pizza and bake it at 400 degrees, that should kill all the germs. But if it has a lot of cheese or bacon, that could kill you.

[Alan Klein]

If you buy a frozen pizza and bake it at 400 degrees, that should kill all the germs. But if it has a lot of cheese or bacon, that could kill you.

I was suppose to go to my endocrinologist this week for a checkup on my diabetes.  Since he chickened out and cancelled because of the virus, I figure I'm still healthy enough to eat pizza.  But I didn't have bacon on it trying to be healthy.  I had pepperoni. 

My heart appointment isn't for another few months. 

[Craig Lamson]

I was suppose to go to my endocrinologist this week for a checkup on my diabetes.  Since he chickened out and cancelled because of the virus, I figure I'm still healthy enough to eat pizza.  But I didn't have bacon on it trying to be healthy.  I had pepperoni. 

My heart appointment isn't for another few months.

I hope your A1C was good

[Alan Klein]

I hope your A1C was good

Don't know.  Because my endocrinologist cancelled, I never took the blood test either.  I wasn't going into a lab with the virus going around even if they were open.  That's why I can keep eating pizzas.  Ignorance is bliss. 

[Paulo Bizarro]

There were 7 people in one family that got it 5 miles from me and 3 died.   
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/nyregion/new-jersey-family-coronavirus.html

There were 141 cases in my NJ county Middlesex and the one adjacent Monmouth.  That's out of a population of 1 1/2 million.  That doesn't sound so bad. Basically I'm staying in and disinfecting, making my own Purell hand sanitizer, etc.  Pretty boring.  It's raining now so I can't even get out to shoot.  I just got in three lens boards from China for my new 4x5 camera and an eye level reflex finder for it.  Sprayed it with alcohol. So now I have to mount a couple of lenses and figure out how I'm going to store them in my backpack.

141 cases that will double every two days. This growth period is exponential and will last about 1 month. France and Germany had around 40 cases 1 month ago. Math does not lie.

[Paulo Bizarro]

Swine flu, bird flu... etc.

And why is that? Because those mofos like to eat what no other normal human on Earth would even consider eating. And it always "randomly" starts there.

And the gratuitous insulting continues...

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Each has their own risks to way, and I do not judge anyone who happens to find it riskier to give up work then catch this thing.

Apparently, this seems to remain one of the main flaws in reasoning, and you are not alone. It's not about catching it, it's about spreadiing it to 2-3 more people (on average) once you become contagious. This will quickly spiral out of control and overload the capacity of ICU-wards (there will be no place even for people with e.g. heart attacks).

[JoeKitchen]

Apparently, this seems to remain one of the main flaws in reasoning, and you are not alone. It's not about catching it, it's about spreadiing it to 2-3 more people (on average) once you become contagious. This will quickly spiral out of control and overload the capacity of ICU-wards (there will be no place even for people with e.g. heart attacks).

I understand that Bart, but it is a flaw that a lot of people have right now.  So much so that in every country there are news stories about people not following the rules, lots of people. 

So it is not something I think can be fixed even with constant messaging.  It's just a flaw of people in general. 

You know in Philly the mandatory shut down of business has been on for a week and social distancing measures a little longer.  I live a block from one of the trail heads to the Wissahickon Park and Trail and need to drive along both roads that follow the ravine on either side of it.  People usually park on these roads who go to the park, and both roads were completely filled with cars, which means the park was packed.  The trail is only two cars wide, so with that many people, I just cant imagine effective social distancing was taking place. 

These measures can last for a couple of weeks, but until death comes to the door, I dont see it being practical expecting most to follow them much longer.  It's not in our nature and I would rather work with our nature then against it. 

[JoeKitchen]

Right now this has zero to do with each person and their own level of risk.   In this case is not just about her and her”level of risk”. It the level level risk SHE imposed upon others without their convent. It selfish, arrogant and down right greedy at the expense of others.

The rules are not that hard to obey at this point.  It’s not that much to ask this of people in an honorable society.  There is no way to excuse it, no way to rationalize it, no way do anything but to object to it.

I read that in the end up to 80% of the country will have to catch this thing, and many politicians are publicizing this. 

If this is truly the case, people whom are not in the riskier groups at some point in time will just throw their hands up and choose to go out.  Why destroy my life, and my families', by staying in if I am going to catch this eventually anyway mentality. 

[KLaban]

I understand that Bart, but it is a flaw that a lot of people have right now.  So much so that in every country there are news stories about people not following the rules. 

So it is not something I think can be fixed even with constant messaging.  It's just a flaw of people in general. 

You know in Philly the mandatory shut down of business has been on for a week and social distancing measures a little longer.  I live a block from one of the trail heads to the Wissahickon Park and Trail and need to drive along both roads that follow the ravine on either side of it.  People usually park on these roads who go to the park, and both roads were completely filled with cars, which means the park was packed.  The trail is only two cars wide, so with that many people, I just cant imagine effective social distancing was taking place. 

These measures can last for a couple of weeks, but until death comes to the door, I dont see it being practical expecting most to follow them much longer. It's not in our nature and I would rather work with our nature then against it.

How do you work with those who are naturally selfish or stupid?

[JoeKitchen]

How do you work with those who are naturally selfish or stupid?

I am all for shutting down restaurants and pubs at the current moment and asking that people practice social distancing for the time being.  However, most importantly, give a real timeframe for this. 

But expecting people to shut down their lives for an indefinite period of time with no end in site in areas where people are not dying in large numbers is just impractical.  With no definitive end date, people are going to break the rules, and more then likely a lot sooner then if you actually gave them an end date. 

I would expect this to boil over in 2 or 3 weeks.  But if you told people we need to do this for 4 weeks, and only 4 weeks, right at the start, most would mentally prepare for this and things would not boil over. 

Edit: this would be part of working within the parameters of human nature.  Give people practical measures with real timeframes, and many more will be likely to listen then having no end date. 

Last, all of this is coming from medical experts, which in their best case we would be staying inside for 9 month.  That's not practical, and if you think it is, you're fooling yourself.  However, just like every other expert, their knowledge is narrowly focused on one field, which is not economics.  So we can not just listen to them, since the economic damage this does will also cost lives.  We need to take their concerns while also thinking about the economy and making sure the cure is not worse then the disease. 

That suicide I posted about yesterday, do you think that will be the last?  How about drug overdoses; do you actually think this economic shut down will not increase those? 

[Rob C]

How sad. He was a good photographer. This artist's talk was posted on Lula a few months back (by Rob C?):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmZ5WIqxAZ4&t=

If you rewatch the video, you'll see that he mentions being bipolar and having a history of mental illness.

Perhaps it takes an event like Corona to throw a deadly switch.

But photographers have often committed suicide (once for each who has managed it with success) because of all manner of problems or imagined problems. Making lots of money isn't always protection: Terence Donovan is an example of one very rich one doing it.

Only speculation on my part, but perhaps a big moment arrives when you reach a point where you lose faith in all that your life's work has been about: were you deceiving yourself all that time? For a commercial guy, he has a kind of measure in his own fiscal success; for a street guy, how can he ever know whether his work really had any value at all? It's impossible to measure that beyond a bunch of "Likes" on some forum, and neither those nor book sales mean you get success. Worse, as every "artist" knows, the public knows fuck all anyway.

;-(