PLAYPEN: Covid-19 Everything Political

[LesPalenik]

This is an interesting map showing how the 2019-2020 seasonal flu traveled through the US on a weekly basis. 
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm

Preliminary CDC estimates for the 2019-2020 season are as follows:

39,000,000 to 56,000,000 cases. 
18-26 million medical visits
410,000 to 740,000 hospitalizations
24,000-62,000 deaths
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm

Curious how they're distinguishing between Covid-19 deaths and regular flu deaths especially for old people?

Surely, some of the flu and C19 cases will be misinterpreted and put into the wrong box.
But there is a good chance that because of the lockdowns, physical distancing and mask wearing, the flu cases will be this year lower than in the previous years.

[hogloff]

Question.  How full were they prior to the latest surge?  People are having procedures that posponed months ago.  How many of those are filling those ICU beds. I don't know the answer.   Full ICU's are Hospitals usual run.  One study I saw said that currently only 15-20 percent of the ICU beds in Texas for example are Covid related  This sounds like more panic porn to me.

Elective surgery that was postponed during the lockdown typically don't require an ICU bed.

[DP]

Serbia Seems To Relent On Coronavirus Curfew After Violence Erupts In Belgrade

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/07/08/888948015/serbia-seems-to-relent-on-coronavirus-curfew-after-violence-erupts-in-belgrade

Where is Slobodan when you need him?

he died in 2006 ... ours is a pup... but for that matter you need somebody like Ramzan actually.

[DP]

Dr. Fauci estimated that we will see 100,000/day soon if we stay on the current trajectory.

SSA will be solvent 

[jeremyrh]

  One study I saw said that currently only 15-20 percent of the ICU beds in Texas for example are Covid related  This sounds like more panic porn to me.

That figure is 15-20% of TOTAL beds, not ICU beds

[Craig Lamson]

That figure is 15-20% of TOTAL beds, not ICU beds

Really?  Gotta source?

This one from late June shows 27% ICU covid patients but I'm sure the stats have changed. We are working so I don't have time for an exhaustive search but at least at this date from this hospital the bulk of the ICU beds were filled with patients with some problem other than covid, which was my original point. 

https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/texas-hospital-icus-crowded-with-covid-19-patients-as-coronavirus-continues-to-spread/285-aad0788d-256e-4454-8e3f-87f9c7956680

[William Walker]

Really?  Gotta source?

This one from late June shows 27% ICU covid patients but I'm sure the stats have changed. We are working so I don't have time for an exhaustive search but at least at this date from this hospital the bulk of the ICU beds were filled with patients with some problem other than covid, which was my original point. 

https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/texas-hospital-icus-crowded-with-covid-19-patients-as-coronavirus-continues-to-spread/285-aad0788d-256e-4454-8e3f-87f9c7956680

I'm not sure if you are using this site....it seems to have everything you need, including counties..

https://covidactnow.org/?s=64399

[jeremyrh]

Really?  Gotta source?

https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2020/texas-coronavirus-cases-map/

[Robert Roaldi]

Interesting article about Rhode Island's relative success dealing with Covid, https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/07/08/gina-raimondo-interview-rhode-island-governor-covid-353799.

[faberryman]

This is an interesting map showing how the 2019-2020 seasonal flu traveled through the US on a weekly basis. 
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm

Preliminary CDC estimates for the 2019-2020 season are as follows:

39,000,000 to 56,000,000 cases. 
18-26 million medical visits
410,000 to 740,000 hospitalizations
24,000-62,000 deaths
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm

Curious how they're distinguishing between Covid-19 deaths and regular flu deaths especially for old people?

Given the margins of error, the look more like wild ass guesses.

[Alan Klein]

Given the margins of error, the look more like wild ass guesses.

the figures are preliminary so you have to go back to previous years to see better numbers.  These all come from the CDC

[faberryman]

These all come from the CDC

Yeah, the cdc.gov in the links sort of gave that away.

[faberryman]

I wonder what would happen if you held a large, but not that large, say 6000 or so, political rally in a civic arena with no social distancing and no masks during a pandemic? Well, I'm no scientist, but it should not come as much of a surprise that the number of COVID-19 cases in Tulsa spiked, doubling from the previous two weeks. Tulsa officials would not say definitely that the new infections were caused by the rally, it being their policy to not disclose the source of new infections, but they would say that the rally "most likely contributed" to the marked rise in cases. Who knew? And, more importantly, who's looking forward to going to Jacksonville?

The silver lining is that the other 994,000 supporters that Trump projected would attend the rally had the common sense to stay away. Maybe they will stay away from the voting booth in November too.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/08/tulsa-trump-rally-coronavirus-353708

In other Oklahoma news, the Supreme Court has ruled that the eastern half of the state is Native American land.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/09/supreme-court-says-eastern-half-of-oklahoma-is-native-american-land.html

In other Trump news, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump has to cough up his tax returns to the prosecutor in New York.  So much for his absolute immunity. Joining with the majority were Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.  Ouch. That has to sting.

Trump's response to the news: “This is all a political prosecution.” At least he didn't say "witch hunt", but give him time.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-trump-tax-returns-financial-records/2020/07/09/8f274352-c1e2-11ea-9fdd-b7ac6b051dc8_story.html

Edit: Trump has now tweeted: "POLITICAL WITCH HUNT"

And he even tweeted about COVID-19 and testing:

"For the 1/100th time, the reason we show so many Cases, compared to other countries that haven’t done nearly as well as we have, is that our TESTING is much bigger and better. We have tested 40,000,000 people. If we did 20,000,000 instead, Cases would be half, etc. NOT REPORTED!"

Anybody know what "1/100th time" means? Does he have to say it 99/100th more times to say it once? And what does it mean to have "bigger" testing. Bigger swabs? Bigger test tubes? Bigger crayons to fill out the forms?

[Robert Roaldi]

In other Trump news, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump has to cough up his tax returns to the prosecutor in New York.  So much for his absolute immunity. Joining with the majority were Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.  Ouch. That has to sting.

I guess being a conservative jurist does not mean that you are a Trump sycophant. This separation of jurisprudence from political loyalty must puzzle the President. He doesn't appear to believe that the world works like that, you know, by rule of law and all.

[Robert Roaldi]

Edit: Trump has now tweeted: "POLITICAL WITCH HUNT"

I love it that he still is trying to play that game.

[Alan Klein]

Yeah, the cdc.gov in the links sort of gave that away.

Yes the statistics came from Dr. Fauci's CDC.

[faberryman]

Yes the statistics came from Dr. Fauci's CDC.

It is not Dr. Fauci's CDC. Dr. Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Redfield is the head of the CDC. He is the guy with the goofy looking beard that inspires so much confidence. Trump appointed him. Need I say more?

[John Camp]

I guess being a conservative jurist does not mean that you are a Trump sycophant. This separation of jurisprudence from political loyalty must puzzle the President. He doesn't appear to believe that the world works like that, you know, by rule of law and all.

Why should he believe the world works by rule of law? Never has for him, he's mostly ignored them.

[hogloff]

I love it that he still is trying to play that game.

Only game he knows.

[hogloff]

Yes the statistics came from Dr. Fauci's CDC.

More false info.