Mar-a-Largo needs to be locked down and all the people this man may have come in contact with need to be tested including the president, and if necessary all need to be self-quarantined for two weeks. There is the potential for great harm spreading in the club.
5
Socialism for banks, oil companies, hotel chains, airlines, car companies, Wall Street, cruise lines?
1
Build the wall! Lock it up! That should pretty much take care of this problem that Hillary and Obama started - with the help of the Soviet Union, of course.
1
In the United States, there are 50 million people without health insurance who don’t go to a hospital until it is too late, and a vast worker population without sick leave coverage who hide illness symptoms to continue getting a paycheck. Enhanced unemployment benefits, free virus testing, aid for food assistance programs, and 14 days of paid sick leave will help. But, typical of Trump, it is too little and too late. Perhaps the coronavirus epidemic, with its cost in life and treasure, will end the rabid opposition to establishing a national healthcare system. Let us hope for the silver lining.
23
The fatality rate in Italy appears to be over 6%, according to this page and other NYT articles: "Italy’s government reported more than 15,000 infections through Thursday, ... and more than 1,000 deaths." This doesn't seem to be getting any press.
2
They just canceled this years American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, run by Will Shortz. To be fair, it’s several hundred people in a hotel conference room. That could be dangerous.
2
We know by now that Corona virus only selectively causes fatal infection in an exposed individual with immunodeficiency of any kind, primarily seniors and smokers. Sophie is no where close to 55 and with optimal life support in Canadian health system she will be just fine in a few days to resume yoga. Speedy recovery to a very special Sophie.
3
Our 401k is falling like crazy. A good thing would be to give us a one time tax free withdrawals up to 10K.
3
Best idea I’ve read about in days. Call Pelosi’s office and suggest this!! It can extend to all of those types of retirement accounts too.
Put Dr. Fauci in charge of everything. He has the courage to tell the truth as evidenced by his testimony in Congress Thursday. I wonder if Trump will fire him for contradicting the stable genius.
7
Thank you to Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats for providing the leadership on this that we so desperately needed.
5
Has the federal government, of which Trump is the leader, given any guidance at all to federal employees? Stay home and telework if possible? Stay home if you are not essential? Anything? Any words of advice? Any policy at all?
2
The isolation the USA now need and preferably within at most a few days is first and foremost an isolation within: No more mass gathering, restrictions on in-country travel, eventually closing school and universities, etc. the country. And the USA should immediately begin to build emergency (wartime-style) hospital because the country has far too few hospital beds for this epidemic. It's all one can learn from China and Italy.
10
When are we going to be realistic and understand that this virus originated in China esp. Wuhan Province. Remember when all the news stories talked about the deaths in Wuhan province - it is correct to call it the Wuhan virus.
One thing we must learn is that we should not continue to allow our drugs and other medical supplies to be manufactured in China. We must bring all that manufacturing back to the US. We must not allow ourselves to be at the mercy of evil country like China. No matter the cost we must bring this manufacturing back to the US - we are now paying the price for allowing China to be a chief source for out medical supplies and drugs.
28
@Judy Weller
Do you think calling it the Wuhan virus will make it go away?
93
@Judy Weller Pretty soon it might correctly reported that the Chinese Wuhan virus whooped Uncle Sam. Call it what you will, but our response has been pathetic. We are exposed as a house of cards.
60
@Pigsy Part of our problem is that we have allowed critical medical supplies to be manufactures in China. Thus we cannot ramp up manufacturing of them which we could do if they were still made in the US. This is one of the main causes of the shortages of masks and ventilators. In the past we could ramp up production of necessary goods ( which incidentally enabled us to win in WWII.) but once we lost that, we are unable to respond in any crisis where needed goods are manufactures off shore.
14
The left thinks this virus will be Trump’s undoing. Not a chance. He’s a wartime president now. The enemy is the virus. He’s going to stop this thing with bold actions and he’ll be more popular than ever.
85
@Mark
Wall Street is no longer buying the hoax thing.
Trump is done.
And he knows it.
472
When is that going to happen ? We still aren’t testing people, maybe he can start there.
262
@Mark
I am not the left, but I do think Trump could have done better.
161
Fascinating! In a NYT article, "Congress Nears Stimulus Deal With White House as Wall Street Suffers Rout", is the following: "The legislation...will include enhanced unemployment benefits, free virus testing, aid for food assistance programs and federal funds for Medicaid. The package also ensures 14 days of paid sick leave, as well as tax credits to help small- and medium-size businesses fulfill that mandate. Language was still being drafted for provisions related to family and medical leave...as staff members worked through the night to prepare the bill." That's Socialism, folks! Same as federal relief after a natural disaster. Terrifying, isn't it? Sigh....
12
Reading blogs is very beneficial when you are trying to find some relevant information Coronavirus Update.
1
this is THE threat...
The novel coronavirus could result in 10 million to 34 million hospital visits, based on statistics from other countries, according to the Harvard Global Health Institute. About one-fifth of those patients will require intensive care. With 2.8 hospital beds per 1,000 people, the United States has fewer than Italy’s 3.2 beds per 1,000, China’s 4.3 and South Korea’s 12.3.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/us/hospitals-coronavirus.html?
11
this is the danger we are facing...a health system overwhelmed and under resourced.
"Short-staffed and undersupplied, coronavirus crisis strains Seattle area’s capacity to deliver care"
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/short-staffed-and-undersupplied-coronavirus-crisis-strains-seattle-areas-capacity-to-deliver-care/
6
Maybe now that that his wife has it, he will start to take the virus more serious in his own country. My son attends University of British Columbia and the students still have classes on campus, rather than moving to online classes like Universities are doing in the USA. Considering there are many confirmed cases in Vancouver, the university should be taking greater precautions. It’s good every one has healthcare, at least.
4
Too much chaos. I think some of our national enemies are putting their time in right now in order to spread their propaganda. Too many people hoping on a political outcome to the pandemic. Let’s deal with the reality now and let the historians be political.
4
@Ben
Let's test people. You know, like Cambodia and South Korea and China and Germany are doing.
You know - all those countries Trump wants to ban people from traveling to or from because their numbers are higher than "his". (Helps to test to know what your numbers are, but whatever.)
12
@J: I absolutely agree. I think there will be plenty of blame to go around when the dust settles, and I have a feeling we both know who will feel it.
4
I want science to prevail. Both now, in the short term, where we come up with a way to put an end to this epidemic. And after, in the long term, where history tells us where we went wrong and where we went right. I have a feeling about where it will all end up, but right now recriminations are useless. We need to end corvid19.
What is the rationale for Justin Trudeau's not being tested for COVID-19 after his wife tested positive for it? Why isn't Trump being tested when he was in close contact with the Brazilian official during a dinner at Mar-al-Lago, and who tested positive for the virus?
At least Trudeau is working from home, but Trump is continuing to come in contact with others in the government on a daily basis. If either of them is sick, or in danger of becoming sick, don't people have a right to know that?
19
He can’t stand not being in front of a camera. If we forced him to isolate himself we’d see the country actually make progress and the country would see the snake oil salesman the rest have been witnessing for decades.
6
@Dutchiris: My first thought precisely upon reading that statement!
Such political bravado may very well be counterproductive to getting people to get tested.
2
In spite of the fact both Trump and Pence recently hosted President Bolsonaro of Brazil who has tested positive with the virus neither of them thinks he needs to be tested. How thoughtless! Shouldn't they set an example? Or are they somehow different from the common man? As in unable to contract viruses? Their unwise behavior is a supercilious danger to those around them. When his wife Sophie Trudeau tested positive recently, Mr. Trudeau voluntarily stayed home in consideration of others. Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence should take a page from this playbook. Fact is, they are mere mortals too.
9
Don't ask for mass testing for corona virus, it is not the answer ! In my opinion the test has to be done only if there are symptoms, otherwise it gives you a fake feeling of security, then you could go to a museum or to visit friends or restaurants and there, hours after being tested negative you could get the virus!
We should always wash our hands, don't touch our faces and don't stay near to other people, this is the best way not to be infected.
4
Is it possible that the reason that the UK and Ireland are exempt from the travel ban is that these countries have Trump golf courses. Just checking.
15
Trump has already completely botched the response to the coronavirus. He waited too long while making light of the threat and belittling its importance. He has done too little and too late. It reminds me of Hurricane Katrina, in a way. A natural disaster which proved firsthand to Americans how incompetent our president really was.
11
I do worry about coronavirus, despite being in my early 40s. I have had chronic asthma my entire life and I have always been susceptible to respiratory illnesses. I’ve had bronchitis a ridiculous amount of times. Yet, on the other hand, I’m still alive so maybe I can fight off coronavirus as well. My wife has a business which is dependent on the travel and tourism industry, and she has done her best to ignore coronavirus until today,despite multiple cancellations from clients. Today Disneyworld, a few miles down the road, announced a closure of a minimum of two weeks. My wife was shocked. I told her it was inevitable given recent events and that all other theme parks will soon follow suit. She was like, “It just got real.” It’s been real for me, I said. Just want to enter my thoughts into the cloud during this time of uncertainty.
4
It’s kind of funny because my cannabis industry business is doing better than ever. It’s a medical, high-technology testing lab for cannabis and CBD products. People want to know what they are inhaling, I suppose. And legislation is moving towards stricter testing. So our various interests have just reversed, in a way.
2
Also, our lab director just told me this morning that he has cross-trained everyone in our lab so that each of them can work three stations. They already wear strict protective gear in order not to contaminate the product samples. I feel like we might be one of the only businesses which is truly prepared for coronavirus, as we already have a completely isolated, medically pure environment where we do business.
2
I don’t mean to sound smug. It is a difficult and very competitive business, and I happen to have some great people who know exactly how to run a lab. We depend on quality. And those same measures which yield quality measurements of tiny amounts of different substances also protect us from spreading disease.
1
Why are we hearing of all these high profile people getting coronavirus but relatively low counts in the millions and millions of people in the US?
18
@JES
Hmm; I can think of two possible explanations:
1) We really don't have all that many cases in our country, because it's all a hoax. The Dems managed to infect hundreds of thousands of people around the world while no one was looking, because the whole impeachment thing was just a diversionary tactic to hide their real strategy. The media around the world are all in on the plot. And even Trudeau's wife and the UK's minister of Health are faking it.
- or -
2) We don't really have "low counts" in our country. Rather, it only looks like we have low counts because we've only tested 10,000 people total. (In comparison, South Korea tests 10,000 people per day!) And even more likely is the fact that we have millions of people already carrying/spreading the virus who haven't been "counted" yet because they don't yet know they've got it. However, Trump, the entire Republican administration, the Rightwing Media, and all the Deplorables have decided to ignore facts, ignore science, ignore professional experts, ignore health risks, and treat this as a partisan political game (because look, it's really only killing off people in those elitist, unAmerican Blue coastal states).
So JES, I'll leave it to you to decide which one of those explanations sounds more plausible.....
15
@JES Because you have tested less people then most other places do in a day
9
High profile people travel more and go to more events with crowds. I would consider that important.
4
Regarding the story about the person on the Jet Blue flight who tested positive and found out about it as he landed. Ultimate selfishness to go to the airport, get on a plane and FLY while waiting for results of the coronavirus test?!!! It is this type of behavior that will keep the pandemic alive in this country. I am appalled by this story as we all should.
39
Why all this happening ? Why the west is so callous ? Why western leaders are so bankrupt and seen as worse than leaders in the banana republics ?
It is our rotting moral fabric with the election of trump and the following acceptance of trump and the abdication of responsibilities by the self confessed “ biased jurors “ in Washington !
This is God’s expression of disgust at the evangelists decision to embrace a customer of Stormy and all other Porn stars, and our Supreme Court that had no objection to the edicts of such a low class person !
11
"President Donald Trump"... even after 3 years.. it still sounds so weird!
19
Does anyone here believe that if Trump has coronavirus the American people will be informed? When he gave his on TV statement Wednesday night he was coughing, out of breath, could not complete a sentence, kept gasping for air and looked ill. And another “ unexplained” doctor visit today.
Meanwhile Joe Biden releases all of his medical records as did Hillary Clinton but yet the right wing nuts kept predicting Hillary Clinton was ill and was going to die in three months… That was in 2016. If ANYONE suggests Trump is unwell they get fired, lawsuits, called a snake or traitor or worse...
30
Just stay at home and don’t come out.
3
My nail salon closed and the workers will have no income —- WE MUST Coordinate with other countries that are containing the virus! World health organization had testing kids ready back in December but Trump chose to privatize so American companies can profit meanwhile the American companies have not created any diagnostic test and are not sending out complete kits! The VA in Los Angeles zero test! This is not working out isolating ourselves from other world nations ! We are all one human being with the same color blood and the same devastating and vulnerable life systems. When other countries such as South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, are so far ahead and testing tens of thousands of their citizens and yet in the USA we’ve barelyTested approximately 3000 people when we have over 300 million citizens!
10
The Pres. says "millions of tests" are being produced and that everything is great. That's a provable crock.
If Trump says it, 99 times out of 100. its a lie. Just by speaking, he is making it worse.
27
Why ?
1
This only goes to show that being the wife of a PM doesn't mean you are smart. Anyone who took a flight in the last 6 weeks is not all that smart in my book. When Carly Fiorina told CNBC last week "yes, I am flying" I almost broke my TV. Low information, not too smart people should refrain from telling the public what to do, or not to do.
5
The US lags behind other countries in testing for the C virus.
And its long been behind the standards of other countries in guaranteed health care for all and mandatory paid sick leave for employees. Thus a greater risk for millions who are unprotected by the government they elect.
But there's another test we need:
How do we test our candidates for president to determine if they're qualified for the office? Using the criteria of basic ethics, responsibility to the public, commitment to truth, and emotional stability?
How can we protect America from the current and future Trump virus spreading through our politics, weakening our democracy?
What's the antidote to our dangerous disease syndrome infecting the White House, the Courts, the Senate and many state governments?
7
SenatorFischer’s bipartisan PREP Act would expand medical professionals’ access to vitally-needed respirators and create certainty for mask manufacturers. It is not controversial. The Senate could have passed it today.
But Senate Democrats refused to let it move forward.
1
Good thing travel between the US and GB hasn’t been limited.
3
So now we have to care about celebrities getting the virus? They have the means for utmost care, but nothing is being done for the commom man, old people, homeless, disabled people. Stop projecting the problems of the rich and famous people.
6
But wait ... weren't people from the UK considered"safe"?
Look, it is not all Trump's fault for decimating almost every Federal department from people with experience and knowledge. Just 99%.
But his continuing happy talk and lies, and then seeing him like a 7 year old telling his mommy how good, or at least not as bad as his brother, he is ...
This will be more painful for a lot longer than I thought possible 4 years ago.
6
Trump does not want the positive virus numbers to go up. Hence, the delay In testing. He just does not want people to know how bad it is.
How evil is that?
18
Apparently Theranos got the contract for lab test kits.
13
@Mikhail
Lol
3
This is the most inept administration ever. There hasn't been any serious events until now; except for one imagined by Trump and his associates. Now there is a real emergency and none of these guys can get the act together.
We don't even have enough test kits to diagnose COVID-19 and let alone treat the people in need. This is what happens when you have (developed country) resources and (CDC an unparalleled organization) knowledge; but an ignorant leader. It will be a painfully slow slog to recovery.
13
Free testing? How about free treatment too?
12
Given that the CDC is giving manifestly bad advice, I would suggest that the NYT starts using another source for its travel advisory. When all indicators show that the virus is in the community, rather than localized you should not go there. By this measure, China, Japan, South Korea and Germany appear to be far safer places to travel to or around than the US or the UK.
7
The best possible scenario is that free testing kits are available to the public. This would allow mass self-quarantine and diagnose. The kit should have reporting instructions included. We need to know how many and who have this disease.
15
Unfortunately, we are learning that the increased regulatory control that developed under Obama may have been our undoing this time.
During the Swine Flu epidemic the FDA didn't regulate laboratories or get involved in testing. Labs all across the country were free to respond quickly. Between 2009 and 2016, however, the FDA's regulatory control grew. It sought control of all clinical lab testing. A swift response was no longer possible.
This is what Trump was referring to when he said he had to "undo" a holdover of the previous Administration. His emergency authorization essentially got us back to the point were labs across the country were once again able to test.
6
That’s just not true.
14
But he slashed funding to the CDC, no? Also, in Canada the federal government has given emergency funding to research teams that work on this stuff. The US could do the same. Blaming Obama for this makes you appear ridiculous.
12
Check the facts. This “regulation” is not a regulation. Nuance matters in law. Trump doesn’t understand nuance.
7
Stocks are plunging because it’s clear the government has no coherent plan. Offering billions in loans does nothing to ease a pandemic. Markets are reflecting reality...a virus that knows no boundaries will keep consumers and travelers home.
If the government doesn’t implement widespread free testing, we have to assume the virus could be anywhere.
19
Movie stars and prominent politicians and their families can get tested in the blink of an eye. People lower down on the food chain, not so much. The next phase? Elites will have fast-track access to ICUs, ventilators, excellent medical care. The rest of us, not so much. Reality.
39
@Lise ~
Actually, I am not sure that is true. The Hanks were in Australia.
At about 20,000 tests in the US, the demographic estimates are noise in the system.
Of course Trump and Sean and Rush say the same ting about 30 deaths.
4
Great.
Amazing.
I am am an hourly-paid employee exempt from benefits who left a full-time job and moved from Boston to NYC in the last six months to pursue further opportunities in freelance work in a more competitive market.
I am out of work all of next week and for the foreseeable future. Every cultural institution in New York is closed indefinitely. I’m okay. But I am not happy.
I don’t want to make anyone sick. I want to go to work and get a paycheck. If I have to stay home then I will. Broke.
I’m glad that so many have been offered the opportunity to work from home. So many others cannot. Think about that.
Run to Trader Joe’s. Hoard toilet paper all you want. It’s not much comfort. We are all aboard that same hellish cruise ship now. Just don’t dare cough in public.
See ya once we hit land.
41
I read that one giant company has the chemicals needed to make the test work. Why has no one written about this? Can't more companies do this? Secondly, we could use some help from the Gates, Besos, and Bloomberg types. Bloomberg spent a lot of money on his campaign. In hindsight helping with a world pandemic would have been more successful. Finally, I get so angry that posters are bringing politics into this pandemic. The virus is not red or blue. Keep your political opinions on the political stories.
11
Ridiculous...how can one single company have the chemicals to make the vaccination or treatments??
3
I'm a New Yorker yet an Iranian-American. I spent the last 10 days of my life organizing feeding and providing dis-infectants to 80 families in Iran. My team on the ground says they have never seen such horror in their life!
The Iranian Government like US and China all made the same mistake. None are different.
I kept thinking last night whether Trump was truly caring about the people or whether his own investments in the stock market and oil was taking a hit.
We know the rest of these bozos are dictators. If Biden becomes smart enough to use this towards his advantage, hopefully Trump will become a one time President.
What happened to the stock market today was unacceptable. It could have been avoided.
I hope we learn.
29
"Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, wife of Canadian prime minister, has the virus."
NYT missed to mention :
She went to London as one of the speakers at WE Day in London.
26
That's all she's done over the past month?
Must be Trump’s fault
5
The virus is not his fault. But the lack of transparency and the absence of a clear strategy based on facts and science to manage and deal with the medical, economic and psychological impacts of the virus are definitely his fault.
4
my sister is a nurse at a hospital in Philadelphia. she is in bed today with the flu and aches and pains. she called the hospital where she works to see if she should get tested and they told her not to come in and that she didn't need a test.
47
@Paul I have currently come down with a fever and body aches. My work is saying I need to get tested. But the hospitals are saying do not come in as there are no tests to give. We are in some sketchy new territory right now, unfortunately. I wish your sister well!
25
So, Ms. Trudeau fell ill with Covid after she returned from the UK, where she presumably contracted it. Didn't Trump just ban travelers from 26 European countries from entering the US, EXCEPT from the UK and Ireland, because "they had it under control"? Looks like the UK has about as much control over Covid as we do here stateside - very little, and more to come. So, is it any surprise that the stock market and most everyone else is freaked out over the lack of competence and leadership of this administration?
86
EXACTLY. Well put.
20
Notice how only the rich and connected are getting tested? Tom Hanks. Wife of Canadian Prime Minister now. Government official from Brazil.
Speaking of the rich, why doesn’t Bloomberg donate $500M to create testing kits for us? Gates? Bezos? You like philanthropy billionaires? You have your opportunity.
47
You are completely wrong about what’s happening with testing in Canada. Here in British Columbia we are way ahead of the US in access to testing. Maybe try reading the news with the broader coverage…
34
Tom Hanks has been tested in Australia where the test is available for everyone
38
Gates is, don't know about the rest.
8
People that deliberately travel (on whatever scale) while being fully aware that they’re showing symptoms of COVID or are even at the point of being tested for it, should be reported/charged/fined or something to be punished. Serious endangerment of others
17
What if you get infected and need to return home? What then? Most people don’t have the $ to just hang out in a foreign country for 2 weeks, let alone the medical costs!
6
Yes but if you are in a foreign country your medical care is probably free.
3
Wait - what happened to that 6% annual GDP growth Trump promised us when he gave the rich $1 trillion??
81
@J Anders
Maybe check the pockets of the Emperor's new clothes.
5
Natural selection in action...... you can’t escape the laws of nature humans....
6
What happens to any news about Covid 19 in China and why hasn’t Russia had any cases??
7
because they are withholding the info...
31
Much safer than US
@Stewart Vodka.
to think we can beat mother nature...
5
May Trump can get it to. Lets see how he does.
7
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, wife of Canadian prime minister has the virus
This has the feel of a Greek tragedy.
The Junior Prime Minister, and his Junior Cabinet, have dragged their heels for so long on taking effective action to deal with COVID19, that one of its earliest victims in Canada is his own wife. The irony in this outcome is immense.
Aside from Ms. Trudeau's health, the question now becomes, where did her exposure occur? She returned from London, but depending on the length of her trip she may not have acquired it there, she may have had it before she left Canada.
And now, with this event, what will our esteemed leaders do? More of nothing, or something? Ontario has already extended the March break by two additional weeks for all schools in the Province, which is a major step. All major sports have suspended their schedules. Broadway has gone dark until April 12. Etc, etc, etc.
14
@Robit17 Very astute comment. I teach at a post-secondary school in the GTA and none are scheduled to close. Rather they just keep reminding their faculty, staff and students that they are 'monitoring' the situation and plan on being operational during the 3 week elementary and high school closures. University of Toronto has courses with 400 to 800 student enrollments. This is insane.
14
@Robit17 given we are 2+ months into this globally, the fact we have had less than 175 cases with 1 death speaks to some degree of effectiveness of how this has been handled in our country.
3
@Robit17
This is more than a bit of nonsense. What would you have had the PM do differently? He announced a one billion dollar assistance package. Sealing Canada's borders may have worked for a limited time, but is simply not sustainable over the long term. The virus would arrive anyway. The only viable response is a public health response--making sure our hospitals are ready. Coronavirus testing centers are being set up all over Toronto. We have fewer cases than the US. That is bound to change, but the measure of the government's response is in whether it is able to lessen the impact of the virus, not stop it entirely.
Of course Trump's advisors only know political maneuvering and hate to capitulate to medical scientists, same with preachers. But in the end you Can't pray this away or call it insulting names or threaten to sue it for libel. Can you hear us Conway and Miller?
13
The United States is now basically a third world country. Shocking to admit, but it’s good to face our reality.
55
@Alan Wahs
So much for MEGA.
10
Why are we not using eminent domane on the shutter lags that used to make the drug we need to fight Covid -19?
Government labs with government workers making American made drugs and equipment to fight this crisis? Instead we give 1.5 trillion to Wall Street banks because they got scared.
13
The STABLE GENIUS of America will take care of everything. Don't worry about a thing.
Stock market will take care of itself; i.e., the rich will not go broke; the poor will have nothing to worry about, literally NOTHING.
18
I now believe that the lag in testing Covid 19 in this country is mainly intentional on the part of Trump as a way of keeping the actual incidence unknown and preventing even the CDC from being able to know the incidence. And since the repoted incidence will remain low Trump can avoid any appearance of total incompetence. He can brag about the number of cases being much less than in any other nation.
It is as simple as that and testing will remain difficult to obtain until the day he leaves office and thousands of people will die and early death so that he can protect his image.
53
Absolutely. They continue to only count confirmed positive tests. Unless they start counting all probable cases the damage will never be understood.
19
People who’ve having difficulty being tested, including those infected at Biogen, were told they do not match the CDC’s requirement, which still maintains that you must have travelled to certain countries. In other words, you can’t possibly have picked it from the community, the myth Trump is still trying to maintain.
Meanwhile physicians in CA are getting out the word that the situation is much, much worse than is publicly known.
Sort of like that Chinese doctor who tried to blow the whistle on Wuhan...
26
@Bunbury
And his supporters will believe him as they take their last gasping breath.
3
Can I just add (as no fan) that this is not just the White House? Senior Republicans (Rebuplican Senators, with votes) let this happen. They didn't take suggestions from the House. They didn't come up with anything. They just watched. And worried about their session dismissing on time.
22
Canada, like European nations, refused to impose a similar ban to ours on people coming in who had been to China within 14 days. They adhered doggedly to their politically correct "openness" policy which welcomes all non-citizens, even though some bring deadly disease for which there is no cure or vaccine. They think they are humane and we are callous.
They welcomed this China virus into their countries. I wonder how whether the families of the dead Italians think their political leaders were humane to welcome those carrying the disease into Europe and Canada.
2
@Errol it sounds like Sophie Trudeau caught it in London (England, not Ontario), but nice try making this into something it's not through a xenophobic screed.
32
You’ve got your fax wrong. We don’t have sustained community-based transmission here in BC because our healthcare system is up to the task of contact tracing and community is complying with directives to self isolate as necessary. Today the BC health authorities said Canadian should not travel outside of Canada and they are most concerned about the transmission is coming in to BC from the US. The US is the biggest source of potential infection for Canada. That’s a fact, not an opinion. We would like a wall between Canada and the US please, and would like for all Trump administration officials and their supporters to stay on your side.
18
Humans have always passed illness between each other all throughout history—even when Europeans came to now Canada and America bringing diseases that killed many indigenous. So please save the talk. We are all connected for good and for bad.
11
Celebrities and world leaders who are infected are announcing their diagnoses publicly to serve as an example of fortitude and humanity. I doubt there would be any such announcement if Trump or anyone in his family tested positive. Trump, supposed germaphobe that he is, won't even admit to having been tested. Meanwhile, he will have no compunction remaining mum as his Mar-a-Lago guests and travelling companions drop like flies. And the band plays on...
15
What were people even thinking voting for a man who bankrupts his very own business, has an ego bigger than the universe and the vocabulary and actions of a 5 year old having tantrums. Like WHAT WERE YOU VOTERS FOR HIM SEEING THAT WE MISSED??? Businessmen should not be Presidents. He's shown us by leaving our health system totally defenseless that his way of running our country is NOT the same as his sleazy business dealings. I wish we'd just get bold and make him home isolate at put someone with some leadership qualities at the helm to stop the death and chaos we are all about to witness.
13
So, they sent the testing kits but not the reagents needed to use them. The bumbling continues, at great cost. We need a new president, someone who will take these threats seriously and clean house at CDC and FDA.
13
If South Korea can do it, why can't the United States?
"...the South Koreans managed to design and create a test, set up a network of labs across the country and get it all to work in 17 days."
"Nearly 20,000 people are being tested every day for coronavirus in South Korea, more people per capita than anywhere else in the world."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51836898
"According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a total of at least 11,079 specimens have been tested since January. However, the number of people tested is likely to be lower, as patients typically provide at least two specimens for testing."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51860529
10
The Koreans have an effective government without a FDA. Our government hasn't been effectively managed for decades because of the administrative state. Our politicians only talk, they don't manage, every single one of them.
9
@Tammie Reality Tammie, Tammie, Tammie! Administrative state? Pray tell.
Banksters getting even more free money doesn't help me at all.
14
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, its time for Congress to consider invoking the 25th amendment to protect the health and welfare of the citizens of the U.S. and the world. President Trump's persistent and extreme levels of ignorance, ineptitude, impulsiveness, dishonesty, and dismissiveness of science make him unable and unfit to perform his duties. He should be removed from office as he is clearly a grave threat to humanity and a menace to society.
25
Thank you, Republican members of Congress, for failing to remove a corrupt president who - in addition - is incompetent as the day is long...your "conservative" agenda bought with the lives of your constituents.
This president is a serial liar, he's concerned only with his own image, he's utterly clueless, and his narcissism and lack of qualifications make him a grave and present danger to every citizen in this country.
His failure to even take the pandemic seriously is reason enough for his removal; he's clearly uncaring and unable to meet the challenge of human empathy which would provoke him to action to save those whom he has been elected to serve.
26
@Not Amused
He's literally killing us.
13
Well Lindsay Graham has gone into self isolation....
6
The virus is the one thing that he can’t bully. That will be his downfall.
4
Well Trump has really botched a big one. So much for Trump making America great.
6
Don’t worry, you embryo worshipping forced birthers. There will be a lot of babies born this December and in early 2021. What do you think people end up doing when they’re cooped up?
2
Trump and Pence have been directly exposed and refuse to be tested. Are they going to self-quaranteen for 2 weeks? I don't thin so as they have not done it so far. So meantime, how many more people are they exposing? Way to go! Keep[ spreading that virus! Grand leadership and Great example! What an example for the dodo in chief!
11
From today’s NYTIMES article about the WHO recommendations,
and for so many who have so much to say about travel bans:
More than 70 countries have instituted travel restrictions, according to the W.H.O., including the United States, where President Trump announced on Wednesday night restrictions to travel from the European continent.
Yet in four advisories it has issued since early January, the W.H.O. has consistently advised against them, cautioning that limits on international movement during public health emergencies are unlikely to stop the pathogen’s spread.
The rules do not apply to domestic travel restrictions or to decisions made by private airlines, but the W.H.O. has repeatedly warned that international bans can block needed resources, or delay aid and technical support. Such restrictions are justified only at the beginning of an outbreak to buy nations time to prepare, the agency said. Beyond that, they are more likely to cause significant economic and social harm
7
At the risk of being macabre...
When millions of older Americans lose their lives and are no longer receiving medicare and social security benefits, will the system reach solvency?
When hundreds of thousands of homes, left behind as their owners exit the planet, are added to the housing market, will the housing crisis be lessened?
How will low income children who receive a free lunch, now or about to be turned away from school and denied possibly their only nutritious meal of the day, have the physical health needed to survive the virus?
Its astounding that our nation's leader has painted this pandemic in anti-China and anti-Democrat language. The slow response and mounting death toll will underscore the deficiencies of using toxic speech to fight a toxic virus.
Bet on the truth. Reality always wins.
10
The inequality of this testing is so blatant and obvious. Movie Stars, politicians, and professional athletes all outside the high risk age groups are some how getting tested. However, anyone who goes to a hospital with symptoms has to go through hoops to try to even get a test and even then there is a strong chance you do not get tested and then you’re sent home with no documentation of your visit. This is another example of inequality in this country and how mishandled this crisis has been on so many levels. Everyone should have the right to be tested. It’s a right and a duty to all the American people. It should not be something only available to the high profile, rich and elite of this country.
36
In Alberta, we had four new Covid 19 cases today, all travel related. One of the four - a two year old child - contracted this disease on a holiday in Florida. Americans are kidding themselves if they think that the US is any safer than Europe. Covid 19 is obviously spreading rapidly in communities across the US; it's just not being detected due to lack of testing kits. If anything, it is more dangerous there than anywhere else because it's invisible.
I'm not trying to spread panic here, just suggesting that the government of the US might do better to look inwards first if they are serious about finding solutions for how to curb the spread of the disease.
In Canada,current guidelines state that anyone who has traveled to the US should self isolate for 14 days upon their return.
70
No argument from this American!
14
Agree with your points with only one correction: it isn’t so much Americans that are kidding themselves, but rather our simpleton elected officials, specifically our President and Vice President.
19
How are we going to be able to afford this relief package after that "perfect" $1,000,000,000,000 dollar giveaway to the 1% in 2018? The GOP wants to know... because, you know, they're "fiscally conservative".
41
@Chicago Guy
It's a valid worry, but this is not the time to worry about it.
1
Another Putin inspired idea
4
People are flying in from Italy are not being screened or tested?! They're just walking out of the airport and going on about their merry way? What the heck is going on here?
With a 50% infection rate, and a mortality rate of 3.5%, six million Americans could end up dead.
6,000,000 - dead! And another 130,000,000 globally.
Meanwhile, some idiotic reality TV star with a spray on tan is sitting on his head in the Oval Office twiddling his thumbs, wondering how he can turn this whole thing to his personal advantage.
And the major headlines of the day are all about how a bunch of greedy, self-serving, filthy rich stock holders are having a bad day?
My fellow Americans, WE ARE DOOMED!
50
A friend came back from Milan this week. Wasn’t questioned anything at all. Wasn’t checked. Our government has been hijacked by people (gop and trump) who do not understand evidence based analysis. Morons calling the shots. We shall all pay the price.
12
@Chicago Guy but they will ask a ton of questions to legal immigrants from poor countries ven if they are perfectly normal, the customs are bigoted which is core thread of is country.
1
Can anyone reassure me that the collective reaction to all this is not the equivalent of, when someone yells “fire!” there are many more killed by the stampede than by the fire? Is there any room for sensible, informed moderation in our response?
8
@Jimbo Jones
Well, when there is a fire, it is generally appropriate to yell "fire!"
15
@Jimbo Jones Elderly people are “really” dying in Italy, not from panic, but from COVID-19.
19
The fool on the hill. The fool and family take ,take , take and give nothing to America. They’re living in our house our estate on our dime.
Trump is a failure liar and cheat.
Kick the bums out 2020.
Now maybe America will realize what a big mistake the fool and his creepy dumb bunch are.
2020 or bust.
24
In decades past experts have warned about catastrophes we as a nation should be preparing to face: medical pandemics, cyber-warfare, and destruction (accidental or deliberate) of our utility grids. But have we prepared for any of this to the degree we need to? No. We're too busy fighting global ground wars we can't win--wars which are bleeding our treasury and STILL not yielding security for us within our own borders or beyond.
18
Sweeping Aid Package = good news.
Federal Reserve is taking all the right actions.
The Treasury Department is keeping it eye on the economy and working on relief for troubled companies.
A vaccine is in the works.
Borders are being secured.
Large events are being canceled.
The President has been working with insurance companies and the banks.
Calm.
In the meantime:
If you think you have the virus stay home.
If you are over 70 stay home.
If you have an underlying medical condition stay home.
You don't need to run off to get tested.
If you think you should be tested stay home.
If your chest is tightening and you're having trouble breathing, call your doctor.
Don't run off to the emergency room.
Your doctor will call an ambulance or a health care worker if he deems it necessary.
Calm
7
@P&L
Dr. Trump says a vaccine is in the works.
He has a degree from Trump University.
8
@P&L
A vaccine that will take 18-24 months according to the medical scientists who are creating it.
It's wonderful that they can do it that fast. It's not going to be fast enough to stop this soon.
3
@P&L And when rent is due and you haven’t worked in 2 weeks because you “stayed home” - what then? It is not as simple as you paint it.
2
Thanks to President Trump, the sacrifice of our 401K plans was not in vain. We have decisively won the war on science.
23
@HL
now...about that trade war.
1
For goodness sakes, get it right for a change. The House is trying to get through a package to support Americans that are about to go down - while White House negotiator, Mnuchin, who as head of a bank wouldn't loan money to minorities who were eligible for a loan, wants the bill to include something about abortion.
There is panic in the streets, the disease is spreading rapidly, and the White House can't focus. It's been like this for a month.
And all we can do is sing that old song, "Send in the clowns."
19
@El Pajarito
"Don't bother - they're here."
7
This is a global problem and we are all affected. The virus doesn’t distinguish between races, religions, or political systems. It doesn’t know borders, nor does it respect them.
This should be a good time to put aside all of our nonsensical and petty quarrels and join forces to fight this.
We can, if we do it together.
16
@waldo
I was blindsided when my work mandated us to be able to work from home. They didn't mandate that we had the capability but mandated by assuming that we had the capability to connect at home. I am a little perturbed that they required me to be able to connect from home. I'd never done that before but tomorrow is a test that I can do so. I am not an officer at this company. I am in fact a peon. I don't appreciate that they require me to be able to connect from home although I don't protest it...YET! I admire their preparedness to see if this is feasible, but I also protest their imposition on my homelife to mandate it. Does anyone share my protest?
5
No. You could protect your home life by not working. Your employer is offering you an opportunity to keep earning an income.
10
@PhillyMomma - So would you rather go to work and possibly be exposed at the office or on your way there and back? I don’t understand this, honestly. The coronavirus is ravaging the globe, your employer is allowing you to work from home - a fortune allowance that not all people get - and you’re complaining because you have to connect from your house? There are definitely more worthwhile things to “protest” about. Find one. I suggest the lack of tests, for starters.
10
Pandemic sweeps across the US and the solution is to give banks $1.5 trillion dollars?
Ok, cool?
32
GAVIN NEWSOM, PLEASE CLOSE SCHOOLS NOW. The local school districts are working on the strange belief that cleaning the schools in the morning is magically going to prevent asymptomatic kids from spreading the virus. Each open school is a congregation of several hundreds in elementary and middle schools, to a couple of thousand kids in high school. The schools are patiently awaiting signals from Public Health authorities who have told them that they will discuss closure when they get the first positive case. BUT WE HAVE NO KITS. So the one positive case will also be very serious. By then many children, staff members, parents, grand parents, strangers in malls, grocery shops, restaurants, uber drivers will all be teeming with corona virus. Many may be mild, but many will be very sick, and many more may die. Some may get H1N1 and sars cov 2 together.
We voted for Democrats at the helm in California believing they were intelligent and compassionate. Please do the right thing immediately. As for needy children, hand the families special food stamps to enable them to eat during this catastrophe or organize food bags for families.
16
@Meena
This virus isn't affecting school age kids so much. Not one fatality under age 18 to date.
1
I agree completely. Schools are a huge vector. Kids will be ok but their grandparents won’t be. Open food banks, but keep everyone home.
17
Pediatric illness isn’t why schools are being closed. Kids spending all day around one another in close contact and then going back into the community is the issue. It’s meant to limit spread, not protect kids.
31
Every single American needs to go read the budget cuts Trump has made to the CDC.
They can all be found here on the federal HHS website:
https://www.hhs.gov/about/budget/fy2018/budget-in-brief/cdc/index.html
Trump proposed cutting the CDC's budget by $1.3 billion in FY 2018, $691 million in FY 2019, $1.3 billion in FY 2020 and $1.3 billion in the upcoming FY 2021 budget cycle.
Get rid of him before he can do any more damage.
45
@J Anders
That isn't the only damage this crazy person has done to the country. He's been damaging us for years and all of the republicans who support him because they are afraid of being bullied by him are complicit. Please, voters who have ever been bullied, get rid of him and his enablers...please!
5
Unbelievable crazy stuff. The US is way behind in your preparations for the pandemic and there's no way you can contain it by now. But maybe you can slow it down if the citizens can afford to stay at home for a while.
But such measures are blocked by far right ideologues and religious zealots? Yes, it is going to be expensive, but nothing compared to a US in meltdown with collapsed hospitals and care centers. Italy is struggling, desperately short of intensive care units, with a far better health care than the US.
Never mind blocking EU citizens, and contaminated people are easily identified in airports. You are not short of contaminated people, the US just doesn't know, as all the preliminary measures failed or weren't even considered. If anyone believe Alabama, Idaho and West Virginia are still virus free, you don't know how contagious pandemics work, by now it is effectively spread all over the US.
Only a few will die of covid-19 and the toll is directly proportional with lack of available intensive care units for the seriously ill. Eventually most will catch the virus, but it is urgent we don't catch it at the same time, and we do not storm the hospitals unless we are seriously affected or have serious known preconditions. Testing means nothing now unless you are ill. You can catch the virus on your way out of the testing facility.
It seems the US is bound for a maximized peak impact in a few weeks, if you do not take some hard measures to slow down the spread.
26
@Old Dane
My boss is a certified infectious disease doctor who was on the front lines of the HIV/AIDS line. She made us home worked able and closed our offices of a national medical member organization right away. This is what happens when folks who are on the front lines are in charge. Our current president of the US is an idiot. He doesn't believe in science and no one can tell him how he's being an idiot. I'll trust my CEO and her creds before the idiot in chief anytime. I am working from home for the next couple of weeks.
8
Remember all those rants from the media and commenters about the ineptitude and inadequacy of the totalitarian Chinese government in handling this crisis. Boy we are really showing them how it's done! And we are collectively responsible for our fearless leader, we elected the fool.
28
@Pigsy
But how about how everyone who is trying to contain this is now calling for Medicair for everyone. Bernie was right! You have folks suffering? Vote Bernie!
3
Pulling the abortion puppet strings while living breathing Americans are sick and dying from no COVID-19 testing and treatment. Unbelievable.
46
A national health care system could have provided a coordinated response and prepared for the plague that faces us. Our citizens are now mainly dependent on the mercy of clinics, hospitals and equipment providers who put profits first. If you don't have insurance, God help you. It's simply not believable that this won't be considered when providers are forced to choose who gets a bed or a respirator. Not under our current system.
14
@M Davis
My take on why other nations' citizens aren't as panicked is they have national healthcare and paid leave.
19
@M Davis
I say, if you go see your Primary Care Physician (PMC) regularly, they should be able to advise you on what is best for you. My problem is that I haven't been to see my doc since last summer because I haven't had any problems and I haven't needed my scripts adjusted lately. She would probably disagree that I shouldn't have come to see her, but I'm afraid to go see her now because folks are sick and I don't want to get sick.
Time for a modified version of Yang’s idea.
Our economy is based on consumerism. People buying lots of stuff. And they’re now afraid to buy anything because of the stock market crashing.
Add on top of that the virus. Here in Seattle that means everyone staying home, away from crowds. No consumer spending. On top of that, as people stay home, businesses are really suffering and people out here are now losing jobs.
The Yang-modified solution: The US government needs to give every household $1,000 a month for three months. Not money to the 1 percent but to people suffering. They’ll spend money and bring the economy back to life.
14
@Mary Why just 3 months? It’s a great idea that should always be in place. Imagine how less worried we would be if the money that was pumped into Wall Street today that quickly vanished had been put directly into our hands?
1
Exactly - now is the time for transfers, not bailouts. And for god’s sake — shut down all markets. Shut down markets, shut down schools, all non-essential human gatherings, make shopping safe... People need $ to keep the economy going. Wall Street does not keep the economy going, people do. Yang is an innovator - in the best sense. If we can’t innovate now, when we actually NEED INNOVATION(!) then, man, we truly are a mentally-deficient species.
I do volunteer work and crisis intervention at a NY upstate maximum security prison. I spent several hours at this prison last night and was appalled by the lack of preventive measures in place.
This is a major crisis and those incarcerated face the greatest risk of getting the virus.
Essential resources need to be set up at all the jails and prisons to curb the spread of the virus.
21
Leadership, leadership, leadership — what qualifies our leaders to lead? Wealth, connections, the status-quo, diplomas or wisdom? Wisdom is not born and can it be bought. It’s time for people to demand wise leaders who inform themselves, test themselves and healthily doubt their assumptions while working WITH others, more clever than themselves, to make the right decisions. Is your warden such a person?
Being in government is good business: you create problems and crises, and then raid the Treasury and hand out the cash to friends, corporations, donor interests and of course raise campaign money and solidify votes, as Biden tried to do today. Of course the biggest beneficiaries are those seeking power behind the retail drama. Several are quietly biding their time, and didn't go to law school to carry their lunch.
9
It is inconceivable that this bill will pass if it's only contents are things designed to help a majority of the American people. A bill without tax breaks for the rich, or a promise of subsequent gutting of the social safety net, etc, there will be literally ZERO Republican support for it. And why would any Republican support a bill that helps a majority of this country, when their party, and it's elitist platform, has not enjoyed majority support since 1992?
23
Oh, Lordy. Of COURSE Trump is being tested. He just won’t admit it because he’s nuts. Lindsay Graham and Mark Gaetz were tested and they are without symptoms but came close to Trump; you think Trump himself isn’t being tested?
21
@Yeah
He doesn’t just need testing. He needs to be in quarantine at least until results come back. He had close contact with a covid positive guy over the weekend. Anyone else would have had to be quarantined for two weeks and watched for symptoms
15
@Yeah
I agree. He's a germaphobe. He's probably being tested every day.
14
Trump has absolutely no clue. Surely people can see that now? Pence has to step up.
7
@tanstaafl Yeah, and then we find out that Pence has no clue, either.
I'll be spending Spring Break in outer space, thank you.
12
What does abortion have to do with coronavirus? Only Dr. Mitchie knows for sure.
18
This is Trump's Chernobyl ...
12
This is normal from McCarthy. Never misses a chance to force any issue into his 'world view' ... A while back he said the presidential election will be about 'socialism vs freedom' ....
Are his constituents as dumb as he thinks, or is he merely dumber than them?
8
Abortion?
You guys need to come into the 21 century. No one cares anymore about a clump of unwanted cells.
22
I hope the GOP will do it's best to insure that this bill has big tax cuts for the 1%, and a promise of massive cuts to healthcare, Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security to pay for it, as well as special provisions and exemptions for real-estate developers, and hotel owners. After all, now is not the time for "fiscal irresponsibility", is it? Did I mention a few billion for the wall? We really need that more than ever now.
4
Imho, the USA needs to use the state eligibility programs (TANF and ABAWD) to provide temporary universal basic income for people if this pandemic get bad. This will calm people, help slow the pandemic and provide a form of quantitative easing for Main Street. Giving Wall Street or big banks or big companies funds won’t work because they will just horde the cash like they did during the Great Recession. The states have the infrastructure (state eligibility programs, workers, software, processes, etc.) in place, the feds just have to fund it. Imho, the feds need to get this going ASAP.
4
Citizens in virtual panic, store shelves depleted of essential preventative products, botched virus test kits, no test kits, iconic public events shuttering and nearly three months into what's now a full blown global pandemic finally the "U.S. Nears Deal on Coronavirus Aid Package." Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate takes a weekend break mid-crisis. No one is effectively leading this country, and what's even scarier is no one seems to know how - or have the guts - to lead.
25
This is precisely why Donald Trump is dangerous as the leader of our country. He was warned for months about the dangers that this virus could pose as well as how it might disrupt everyday life and possibly damage our economy. He completely ignored those warnings and even worse gutted the organization that would best assist with this crisis most likely out of spite toward Obama. In a similar fashion, he has been warned about climate change. Climate change has the potential to end life on this earth as we know it. It is a much more serious and immediate threat than covid19 due to the fact that a mere 2 degree increase in the overall temperature of the earth could lead to worldwide catastrophic changes that will affect all of us. Not only has Trump been ignoring all warnings and advice but he has actually gutted the organizations that research and study the affects of climate change. Does this behavior pattern sound familiar? I have no problem with Trump's incompetence leading to his own bankruptcies but there is a problem when that same incompetence has the potential to destroy the entire planet. Just like this virus, the climate doesn't care about twitter and it doesn't care about political parties. It doesn't care about saving jobs in the oil and gas industry either.
20
Medicare 4 All is unrealistic yet somehow we find 1.5 Trillion dollars to help Wall Street in a matter of days.
31
@Peter Do you want your bank to collapse? The Fed is buying other assets, not giving money away. Although perhaps they should give some money away, with interest rates so low.
3
@tanstaafl
We have already been giving money away. In the form of tax refunds to giant corporate "people"..
6
@Peter Exactly. Yet the pathologically selfish will still blow the "trump"et for Biden's nomination. Whatever they are motivated by, it's clearly not the best interest of the vast majority of Americans (or humans).
1
If the GOP senators are playing politics and reluctant to sign on soon to help American families likely to struggle the most in the looming health crisis, they need to know the virus is non-partisan and will attack them and their families equally if not more. It will just their bad karma that will not spare them.
5
Deck chairs on the titanic. Are you kidding me?
6
“In any case I think that coronavirus is already also an American problem,” he said, adding that, because of the difference in the health care system, “it may be more serious than the European one.”
From an Italian doctor
Hear hear. Can you imagine when 600 people show up at a a US hospital emergency room?
Wait, do you have insurance? What kind? Can you pay your deductible first? You can’t?
Sorry then.
14
I wonder what is big and important enough for Mr Trump to take the lead on?
Lighthizer negotiates our trade, Pence navigates the pandemic.
What will get Trump off of Twitter to do more than make public appearances that always end up being campaign ads?
4
Has Trump been tested?
3
@Mixilplix Article says President Trump declined to be tested despite a possible exposure at Mar-a-Lago. Either his hunch says he can not be infected because he may think he is stronger than the virus or a test may reveal he is and the truth may hurt the stock market further. His credo - where ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise.
6
Apparently DJT stood shoulder to shoulder 5 days ago with a Brazilian Fabio Wajngarten -today found to be covid positive . There are pictures of the two in close proximity still up on the guy’s Instagram . Yet Trump isn’t quarantined. How come?
12
@Breakless
Trump isn't quarantined because he doesn't care about other people.
1
Overnight markets now open: a blood bath already. Trump's going to have a stroke.
11
Here's the biggest selling point in order to get the GOP on board with this: Just remind them that if half the population dies, then the value of their properties and rents will be cut in half as well - and the cost of labor will double. And then watch them all race down the aisle to support it.
After all, the modern GOP couldn't care less about the American people, unless their self-serving interests are somehow integrated with our survival.
14
I wonder how soon it will be before Trump declares an extended national state of emergency, which will involve postponing the November General Election.
I daresay most of the Republicans in the Senate will be just fine with it.
15
@Tweedledum
I guarantee you there has already been a lot of discussion about it already.
3
Does anyone here on this forum know the Phone # to the White House? 1600 Pennsylvania Drive?
I would like to start a petition. Everyone here seems disgusted with our current leadership, why not stuff their mailbox with mail. What do you think? I loved Eleanor Roosevelt when my grandparents were still alive. FDR had Polio, and even then he was a great leader.
Let's stuff the White House mail with our objections and our
criticisms. I don't see any other way.
10
@2B or not 2B
202-456-1111
https://www.whitehouse.gov
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
4
"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is near a deal with the Trump administration on a coronavirus relief package to help workers and patients affected by the crisis. “We resolved most of our differences,” she told reporters at the Capitol. "
And apparently no need for MCConnell and Senate Republicans to be involved since they are just Trumps tools?
6
"Many Republicans are opposed to the paid sick leave proposal [....] But another improbable sticking point has emerged: Republicans are trying to insert abortion restrictions into the emergency bill. The Republicans want to include the Hyde amendment, which would bar the use of federal funds for abortions."
Um. What a cheap shot. What the Republicans are saying here is:
"Our first priority is playing the venerable bipartisan game we've been playing against Democrats. Sure, we care about the people most vulnerable to the pandemic, but taking action doesn't really help us win the game. Oh, and, we hate women."
23
Time to get real boys and girls.
The world wide mortality rate for this virus is 3.5 %. Get the numbers and do the math.
The current mortality rate for the US is 2.96%. That's 29,629 deaths per million.
It's too late for travel bands, the virus IS HERE!
We need testing kits, incentives for people rich AND POOR to get tested and follow isolation protocols. Aid for the poor so they will go to the doctor and stay home from their jobs.
The virus seems to be in high rent areas and affecting wealthier folk who had greater mobility and thus more chances to be exposed and have the money to self isolate and work from home.
When the virus moves to lower economic strata the fun will really start. These are to folks on the floor at the food store, at the shake machine at Mcd's, at the corner store in name a city. How many people would a sick cashier who can't afford to get tested interact with in one shift.
IN SHORT WE NEED A PLAN. NOT IT'S THE EU'S FAULT or THE DEMOCRAT'S FAULT or a PLOT TO ADVANCE THE ABORTION AGENDA.
How many people have to die before Trump and the rest of Washington get it.
Funny thing...All the major players in this drama are in their 60's and 70's...Trump, McConnell, Pence, Pelosi, Biden, Bernie...The high risk group. What if......
15
One of the critical functions of widely available testing is that you can separate out those (often younger) people who test positive but are asymptomatic. You quarantine them in a gym or an armory until the disease runs its course. During this time they are not passing the virus on to more vulnerable people. They are kept out of both the hospital and the general population. They do not tax the acute care system themselves or via people they subsequently infect. Absent widely available testing you cannot do this kind of extremely critical triage. And so the virus runs more rampant than it might have had there been an intelligent plan in place. You can't manage what you can't measure. And without tests you can't measure.
13
Trump is flailing around trying anything and everything, except the right thing. He’s stubbornly forcing his ignorant and uninformed ideas upon each and every one of us, to our terrible detriment. This is obviously a medical issue that does not bend to him. Every single attack angle on the virus should be exclusively within the medical context: funding, testing, isolating, treating, a real nationwide mobilization. The blueprints are available from other countries. And our medical profession is struggling to keep up. This virus is marvelously immune to this administration’s ridiculous subterfuge, exposing trump’s innumerable deficiencies. So please keep the GD microphones out of his face, he knows nothing.
7
You know, the last time leaders behaved like the GOP, it ended with a guillotine...
15
Abortion restrictions! Really? At a time like this? PIGS!
36
Today’s market rout shows how little credibility trump and the gop have in this crisis. The equity futures market dived right after trump finished his awkward presentation. The market voted that there was no credibility or will to take the necessary actions to deal with this.
Slowing down this bill and inserting restrictions to medical procedures into a rescue package that needs to be implemented immediately shows (a) how ignorant the gop is of this threat and (b) how they are miscalculating that their base will overlook their dying because the gop doesn’t want to help people out.
The bottom line here folks is this: We are almost out of time in stopping this pandemic in the US. I mean we have maybe a week left before western Washington state and Westchester county are overrun. Hospitals in northern Italy are now not giving scarce resources (ICU beds and ventilators) to anyone deemed less than likely to thrive. That means if you are over 55, or you smoke or have health issues or are obese you receive minimal intervention. This is called triage - maximizing the positive impact.
Trump supporters and the gop need to glom to the fact that they are generally over 55, overweight, and sedentary. They are the ones who won’t be put on ventilators when this all goes to hell. Perhaps this is natural selection at work, but I would rather we minimize the deaths of Americans in all this.
11
Anyone seen the platform screws. Man these IKEA Gallows are a pain to assemble.
14
@gene
gallows humor couldn't come at a better time...well done.
8
Brilliant. So, so sadly true. We'll have to wing it as we string them up. We'll figure it out. Improvise, if you will. It's the American way.
2
Once again this screwed up republicans only care about making money so they are against sick leave. Don't they get paid sick leave? And they want to slip in an abortion bill to the emergency legislation. They are the kind of people that would stop an injured person and ask if they have life insurance before they would help them. They are disgusting.
19
Do I think everyone should be vigilant, yes. Should everyone panic & crash the economy, no. In 1 month if things get better, not the end of the world, and not what the media has predicted, Democrats & the media will be blamed for causing panic, fear, and the short term economic decline. It will be another notch in the belt of 100’s of reasons not to vote blue. You are literally self destructing your party, but don’t realize it.
6
@JOSEPH - Sorry to point this out, but it's simply not mathematically possible for this to be over in one month. This will play out here like everywhere else. And if we don't clamp down on it with a heavy hand, like China has, it won't be over in two months or even three months. We're the guinea pig country testing how bad this will get in a place where a significant part of the population has no health insurance. So my advice to you is stock up on toilet paper, just like everyone else. We're gonna need it!
27
@JOSEPH
No one is panicking. But the market is doing what its going to do. And business will be off because people will not spend as much on films, going out to dinner, travel and concerts until the virus passes. This will mean some people will not be working.
So far, Dems and the media have simply repeated what the medical experts say, and what's going on here and abroad. You cannot expect them to not provide information. If you are concerned about criticism of Trump, every bit is deserved. His governing style is rooted in divide and conquer, and his experience dominating the 24 hour news cycle by outrageous statements.
Remember, the virus does not care that you love Trump. Now, go wash your hands.
23
It’s probably a good idea to keep your head in the sand. Good luck!
20
Why does Europe think the US needs to consult with them? If the US administration thinks an entry ban of non-citizens who have traveled in Europe will help protect citizens and manage our resources, so be it. Europe, and a few other countries, need to understand that the US can set and enforce our own laws. They literally don’t get a vote.
93
@MyjobisinIndianow
"Why does Europe think the US needs to consult with them?"
It's called international cooperation. It's especially helpful in times of crisis.
516
@MyjobisinIndianow
Because it affects trade. That is why.
120
Allies are supposed to talk. It’s not rocket science. They help each other through clear communication, trade, and by supporting each other in times of crisis.
Trump didn’t get the memo.
296
We are witnessing a complete overreaction to a somewhat scary, but by no means catastrophic health hazard.
The population fatality rate and evident infected fatality rates are orders of magnitude lower than reporters and EXPERTS are reporting. The 1-3% fatality rates refer to TESTED people, who, in the US, are primarily sick bed patients in hospitals. The panic that is flaring up is infinitely more dangerous to us all than the Covid-19! I am not a health expert, but I implore those experts to show us the huge number of dead bodies cases by this. The actual number remains small, 5,000 globally. Even if it reaches 100,000 globally, it is not the sort of thing that justifies stopping the whole world. We can’t stop it.
2
People are reacting to an absence of leadership. I don’t see this changing. Buckle up.
42
I am somewhat of a health expert, given I have a degree in the field, and I can assure you that your sentiment is completely misguided. No, there is no reason for full on panic, but the amount of alarm so far has been to little, especially in this country’s government. The idea is not to “stop” the virus, as you suggested. The idea is to spread out the number of eventual cases over a longer period of time by mitigating it’s spread. This way, healthcare systems can avoid becoming overloaded, something that can happen even in more serious flu seasons. The case mortality rate, while still unknown, is almost certainly not much lower as you postulated. The experts are experts for a reason, for you to dismiss their numbers and substitute your own despite your own admission of “not being an expert” is incredibly dangerous and a  testament to how being misinformed can cause serious harm.
66
Sorry, but in this situation, if you are not a health expert, no one really cares what you have to say—at least on the medical aspects of the problem.
45
I think Trump should stick to his guns. The Democrats simply want to use this to elect a weak candidate. He should not let them.
4
Dems will have to clean up this mess too.
37
@Michael Livingston’s
There's no weaker candidate on the planet right now than Donald J. Trump.
My border collie can do better.
104
This is a national emergency. Some hospitals have their first COVID patients. Some on ventilators. This is not an over reaction. This is not political.
58
Congressional Republicans are hell-bent on punishing "those people." Paid sick leave, they think, is only something that brown and black people who vote for Democrats will benefit from, so they don't want it. In effect they are willing to risk spreading disease and killing people in order to deprive anyone whom they think will vote for a Democrat from protecting themselves, family and society from an epidemic. Bonus: maybe they will be too sick to vote (for a Democrat)!
Of course this position is racist. The Republican position is beneath contempt, and no outrage is too vehement to address this utterly cruel and disgusting position. These Republicans must be voted out of office. They don't care about the American people any more than Trump does.
7
The Republicans are trying to tie this to abortion in a time like this???!!!!!
13
Might be a good time to put your call into the White House and to call a sitting Republican senator of your choosing to convey your opinion about virus response and what humanity needs. Even 20 more calls per day to Republicans identifying how barbaric they are re this legislation would give some notification or indication of how angry 320 million people can get when the Republicans are jerking them around.
4
Republicans are so stupid and cruel! Trying to push a political agenda is preventing the congress from passing legislation to help people during one of the most costly and impactful national events of our time. Abortion restrictions?? Seriously? What is wrong with them?
11
lulu,
everything is wrong with them.
1
Unbeliievable that these radical GOP are still fixating on stupid abortion policies. We must vote these morons out and get this country back to sanity. These are Trumpies and God help us.
7
They think this is an opportunity to stick in provisions against abortion!!??? While people get sick and die waiting.
11
Why do we cross the isle again?
2
Is T doing nothing on purpose to cause a severe emergency so he can suspend the Bill of Rights and cancel the elections?
4
@Hector, Or is he hoping that a lot of Social Security recipients and old veterans die off, saving money that would go to tax cuts for his big supporters.
Republicans are on the defensive and they know it. They’re just posturing for their constituents. Pelosi holds the cards. If nothing passes, we go into recession and it’s all Trump’s fault and the GOP takes the blame politically. Remember the government shutdown. The real president, Pelosi, is on our side. Never fear.
7
@larkspur
It’s not just that they have a single payer, it’s HOW they are doing the testing that makes the difference. They are able to test 16,000 people a day. They do it because they have one, taken the Covid-19 virus seriously, and two, they’ve set up drive through testing, that’s right drive through testing. This would keep infected people from infecting people in a doctors office waiting room.
https://www.businessinsider.com/south-korea-launches-drive-thru-coronavirus-testing-facilities-as-demand-soars-2020-2
Unbelievable. A package emerges that will help the crisis and the Republicans are stalling to try to insert Abortion Restrictions?!? They have no shame and will end at nothing - nothing to punch their misguided political agenda... unbelievable - although maybe sadly all too predictable....
7
Annnnndddd...the Senate left for a weekend vacay until Monday. That alone should get everyone of the GOP leadership thrown out of office.
5
Why are Senate Republicans opposed to paid sick leave? It’s too expensive? As opposed to what? And then they are also trying to pork barrel in an abortion provision? I don’t get it.
7
It is immoral for the Senate Republicans to tack on anti-abortion language to a bill designed to give paid sick leave to stop the spread of the virus. They simply do not care about working people.
8
Kinda payback for all the indigenous North, Central and South American natives who dropped dead by the thousands when the Europeans arrived with their numerous diseases for which the natives had no immunity.
4
I heard the coronavirus is spread by tweets.
1
@J Anders
If that’s the case then surly Trumps infected. What a way for Pelosi to become president. Wouldn’t that be ironic, both Trump and Pence become incapacitated, which means by the constitutions org chart, Pelosi would become President. Now that would be funny.....and ironic.
1
james, it would be a blessing. i’m praying.
The meme is working.
Sylvia Browne wrote in her predictions book that a flu-like virus would come around in 2020, then disappear, then come back ten years later to then disappear for good! Innoculations may be created by then, but they will not be created this month.
" Republicans are trying to insert abortion restrictions into the emergency bill." - if that is true, then I don't know why anyone with a properly functioning brain would ever vote Republican again. This is outrageous, scandalous, unbelievable. There is an emergency at hand which needs immediate resolutions, not grandstanding! Don't you guys get it?
6
What are Republicans doing! This is madness
3
If we as a country have any sense whatsoever we will vote EVERY SINGLE REPUBLICAN OUT OF EVERY SINGLE OFFICE.
They are a danger to our lives.
VOTE
14
So the fool who tied his fortunes is now commander if a sinking ship
Translate Who you counted on , who had your back donnie now is saying: ‘ we don’t believe you ( probably in a lot harsher words)
We’ll as a nation get thru this
Him and that tired old sick political
Party-never. Let it die. They’ve earned it
1
If the GOP doesn't think all Americans should have paid sick leave at this time, then they should give it up themselves.
I am disgusted that this is even a question. What do they think people without paid sick leave are going to do if they come down with COVID 19? They will be forced to go to work, and infect others.
All Americans need paid sick leave, NOW MORE THAN EVER!
Shame on the GOP. Shame.
8
What is WRONG!! With republicans. So OBSESSED with controlling women having sex. They are willing to risk the lives if everyone. It’s a red state sickest
Break up the country. We will Never agree. Keep blue state tax dollars in blue states.
VOTE BLUE
5
“Republicans are trying to insert abortion restrictions into the emergency bill. “
Republicans are absolute fanatics. They never give up. In this hour, when the country is close to panic about corona virus. We must defeat these anti-science fundamentalists this November. And looking back through history, when have fundamentalists ever been right about anything?
5
Abortion restrictions? Really? The GOP is really a One Trick Pony.
6
By now the Coronavirus has learnt that when you travel you hitch a ride with citizens of that country. When you go to Italy, EU passport and when you come to US, an American passport. Bans be dammed!
How about test kits so we know what kind of infection rate we have first??????
2
Abortion restrictions? Now? These ideologically intoxicated right-wing lunatics are going to get us all killed.
7
Abortion restrictions, the right to live, while our grandparents die. Are the Republicans just crazy or stupid.
6
GOP = Greed Over People
7
Ms. Pelosi.....our Iron Lady.
3
Did anyone else notice Trump's eyes and expressions in his Oval Office address? Is he on heavy meds?
6
He may be infected.
How heartless (and frankly stupid) we must look to the rest of the world when our legislators cannot find it in themselves to support paid sick leave in the face of a pandemic.
8
The failure to respond, test and quarantine is more epic in proportions that Katrina
The Trump administration used falsehoods, innuendo and Fox News to promote a false narrative instead of acting.
There’s no cohesive plan and leadership even now
They Trump administration made this a ‘thoughts and prayer’ moment and that’s a travesty
5
There's just a thing or two Trump doesn't know - like the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.
1
What if you don’t have an hourly job? As a professional skydiver, I have to attach myself to strangers, and sit in a very small airplane all day. Here’s to hoping people come jump with their travel money!
2
How any Republican can support their party after today’s farce in the Senate is beyond me. Let there be a major reshuffle in November. This kind of irresponsibility in the Congress and the Executive CANNOT CONTINUE.
10
I think a lot of people are unaware of the fact that Biden supported the Hyde amendment. He changed his tune for the election, but he has not been a supporter of Roe v. Wade. Important to note with the changing face of the Supreme Court.
The following is from a NYT article published last June: “For decades, Mr. Biden supported the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortion under programs like Medicaid. As recently as June 5, 2019, he said he still did.
But after an outcry, in which it became clear that he was the only candidate in the Democratic field in favor of the measure, he reversed himself, saying he could no longer support a law that made abortion rights “dependent on someone’s ZIP code.”
[Read more about the Hyde Amendment’s history and impact.]
How has it affected his campaign?
The volleys over abortion are part of a larger problem for Mr. Biden: his inability, at least so far, to shake off parts of his record that are now out of sync with many Democratic voters. The same dynamic applies to his history on criminal justice and segregation.”
3
Don’t leave out the names of the Senators trying to inject abortion rules into this bill. We need to know who they are, so they can be shamed for acting against emergency measures.
9
Democrats want: “substantial new paid sick leave program, enhanced unemployment insurance, free coronavirus testing and food assistance.”
Republicans want: the Hyde Amendment preventing federal funds for abortions.
People with the virus surely will be better off with abortion restrictions.
5
Poetic justice-- that Brazilian officials would come to Mars Largo bearing the gift of coronavirus.
Maybe the earth is tired of those who destroy it.
7
Remember the old joke about the drunk who loses his keys in the alley and gets caught looking for them out in the street, under a lamppost, “Because I can’t see anything back in the alley?”
Well, funny thing about the way we’re doing testing and all the wacko-birds shrieking about how we don’t have a problem..
1
The country of “thoughts & prayers” , which seemed to be the only response politicians had to any tragedy , is now cancelling worship gatherings and turning to science in the hope for vaccine development? Nature and the human mind work in mysterious ways.
7
Abortion restrictions? Just when you think that the GOP cannot sink any lower, they do. This is getting scary fast - not only the virus but mostly the response.
5
That any party would inject ideology into a bill to assist in a pandemic is reprehensible.
10
China keeps exporting to us their dance troupes, so much like former USSR was seducing Americans with Bolshoi Ballet performances and famous Georgian dancers.
The directors of Georgian dancers ensemble were my mom close friends from Georgia.
They would stop at our house in Kiev to recount to my parents what a complete triumph it was, how they victoriously took over Europe and America.
I went to see them in Chicago many years ago, they're absolutely amazing.
But again history repeats itself, but now from China with Love.
1
Trump and the Republicans are creating the same type of success for the US that Donald did for Trump Steaks, Trump Casinos and Trump Airlines.
During the 2016 election cycle who could have predicted this financial and management disaster would happen under a Trump/Republican administration if a crisis occured. ? Anybody who didn't watch Fox "News". Heck, even guys like Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz were predicting this type of fiasco if Trump was elected back then. What happened to them? I will never trust a Republican again for the rest of my life which, god forbid, won't be shortened by COVID-19.
3
The Republican establishment has clearly sold their souls to the Devil, as has Trump. Voters will remember their callousness and cronyism in November.
6
In the face of the rapidly spreading COVID19 pandemic, it is time for Congress to seriously consider invoking the 25th amendment to protect the health and welfare of the citizens of the U.S. and the world. President Trump's persistent and extreme levels of ignorance, ineptitude, impulsiveness, dishonesty, disinformation, deflection, dismissiveness of science, lack of leadership and narcissism clearly and amply qualify him as unable and unfit to perform his duties. He should be removed from office immediately as he is clearly a grave threat to humanity and a menace to our global society.
4
Let the record show that the clown in charge and his insane (mostly acting) posse silenced, enfeebled or eliminated much of our science-based federal resources that could have gotten in front of this crisis and led the world response (as we usually do).
Thankfully Pelosi is, again, coming through as the only adult in the entire house of cards.
6
Here's the good news:
"Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, and Steven Mnuchin, the treasury secretary, spent Thursday negotiating privately over the contours of the measure, which would provide a substantial new paid sick leave program, enhanced unemployment insurance, free coronavirus testing and food assistance."
- Wow; what a refreshing change to see, for the first time, a Republican in this administration actually putting the needs of our citizens above partisan political games, and deigning to work with us evil Democrats to actually DO SOMETHING to help ALL citizens.
However....
"Many Republicans are opposed to the paid sick leave proposal, complaining that Democrats are using the coronavirus crisis to accomplish a long-held domestic priority that is exceedingly costly."
- Really? Really? How can the Republicans argue that funding paid sick leave during a deadly pandemic is pushing some "evil" "long-held domestic priority"? (And doesn't this truly expose the utter depravity of Republicans' position on healthcare for our citizens?)
Even worse:
"Republicans are trying to insert abortion restrictions into the emergency bill."
- But didn't Trump proclaim (just last night) that "We must put politics aside, stop the partisanship." Oh wait, that was before went straight back to lying and attacking Speaker Pelosi this morning.
Stop the destruction of our country! Vote all of the Republicans out of office in November!
5
I went to high school with Steve Mnuchin and his brother Allan at RCS. Trust me, Steve is not doing this for altruistic reasons. That is a skill which he does not possess.
3
Trump's cavalier attitude about being in the presence of someone who has tested positive for Coronavirus is more than alarming, it is irresponsible and shows just how leaderless his leadership is. He states he won't be tested; if that's true, why would anyone want to have anything to do with him? If he thinks this alleviates the concerns and fears the rest of us have that this gets much worse before it gets better, he is deluded.
Trump thinking that not allowing flights in from Europe and eliminating payroll taxes is going to solve the problem of our not being able to test all the people who need to be tested shows just how clueless and ill-equipped he is to deal with a real crisis.
Trump calling Coronavirus a 'foreign' virus and saying hat building the wall will also help us get through more quickly speaks to his limited intelligence and reasoning skills and his racist nature.
His appointing Pence, who was also in contact with someone who has tested positive for Coronavirus and doesn't plan on being tested, to oversee our Government's response, must speak to his sincere belief in prayer.
All of Trump's and Pence's words about this crisis are insulting to those who have contacted it, those who have died as a result. THEY KNEW THIS WAS COMING MONTHS AGO. Shame on them.
3
Fine, I’ll just say it: I hope Trump and his cadre of science-denying enablers contract this disease. And he should keep up his rallies and spend plenty of time with Sean Hannity while he’s at it. It will be Darwinism right before our eyes.
5
Republicans do not want to give paid sick leave, coronavirus testing or food assistance to those affected by the coronavirus. Yet, they have no objections to Mrs. Trump building a tennis pavilion at the White House. How about forgoing Trump's tennis pavilion and weekly golf outings at Mar-a-Lago, and use that money to help fund coronavirus relief.
1
There is a simple explanation for last night:
He just ran out of lies.
2
Trump should put a tariff on corona. That’ll fix it. And then the Europeans and the Chinese will pay for it. Can’t stand all this winning. Make it stop!
4
No doubt about it: close women's' health services so we can make believe we are doing something about a new virus that in reality cannot be stopped, at least now now and maybe not for 18 months.
Paid sick leave? Silly idea as seen everywhere in the world. We would not want sensible ways that work elsewhere. Well, they do work here for the rich who do no work at a certain point except design ways to ensure their billions stay close to home.
Wake up America and smell the sickness we have in government and now everywhere.
Oh why don’t we have a real leader in the White House.
I hope we can rally behind a real Democratic leader and a party that actually cares for the people in this country.
What do abortion restrictions have to do with a Coronavirus Aid Package. Are these Republicans sick in the head? We desperately need testing out here in America. Those who are quarantined need to earn a living, eat and get medical care. I wish it was November 3rd tomorrow we need to vote ALL Republicans out of office. We can vote in major tax cuts for the rich and corporations without abortion restrictions. I am disgusted.
2
Republicans are trying to insert abortion restrictions into the emergency bill. Oh for goodness sake. Nancy Pelosi should stand firm. Actual adults are trying to remedy a problem, and Republicans try to score points for their base
2
Trump. And Trump Alone. Is Responsible. Enough Said. If these statements don't adhere to so-called "reality," repeat after me: "Trump. And Trump Alone. Is Responsible." Because reality no longer matters. Right? Repeat: "Trump. And Trump Alone. Is Responsible." He said it himself. Are you not hearing me? Wake up, people! "Trump....." Listen closely...
Why can’t you enact paid sick leave during a time of emergency? They extended unemployment during 2008 and then ended it. And are you kidding that the Hyde amendment is going to be dragged in during a pandemic? Insanity.
Seriously. We are facing the worst epedemic/pandemic in a century and now we are going to argue about abortion?
WE NEED TESTING!!!
Stop stalling and throwing up roadblocks.
Start testing and giving us information.
Trumpism in the Information Age is an oxymoron and surreal to witness.
Our President and both political parties have doomed us. We have the government we deserve and our nation will suffer accordingly. Shame on all of us.
BREAKING NEWS - GOP to counter Dems proposal with an offer of a new pair of sturdy boot straps for each citizen and ample thoughts and prayers!
1
Sooooo, regarding abortion language in the aid package.....Let me get this straight - if a pregnant woman by chance contracts Covid 19 while pregnant, and suffers huge health problems (like breathing problem and lack of O2), Republicans want to make sure NO public money is spent for an abortion to possibly save the mother's life if needed. Is that what this is all about? The slim possibility that this might actually happen and the Republicans are way more concerned with the abortion rather than the mother's life or even the pandemic's consequences on the public. You can't make this nonsense up.
1
trump has banned travel into the U.S. from most of the world. wait till he tries to shut down the stock markets....
Can the Republicans in congress get any more despicable? There is no low they can't go lower.
2
Why is it that the GOP can't act on the coronavirus situation without having to tie it to their obsessive desire to control women's bodies?
Trump and the GOP always ruin everything, count on it.
1
So, let me get this straight. The GOP is hinging talks of economic stimulus and bailouts for the poor and middle class on whether or not they can slide in a further restriction on women's reproductive freedoms??? Yeah, like that's going to go over well. Hey! Yo! DNC, Biden/Bernie, are you paying attention!!
Remember when Trump said ‘Coronavirus will be good for America’?
He lied.
1
Abortion restrictions in a coronavirus aid package would seem improbable in any other political universe. Here it's just the Republican party: improbable, incomprehensible, incompetent. On so many levels.
3
The republicans keep getting more ridiculous. The world and our country are facing a pandemic, and they won't approve funds without tying it to abortion?
"But another improbable sticking point has emerged: Republicans are trying to insert abortion restrictions into the emergency bill."
I'm sorry, am I reading this currently? Can somebody pinch me please? THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR THIS NONSENSE.
1
Major . the entire Bernie Sandress address to the nation on coronovirus should be front page. It was major.
1
Where are test kits? Is it possible America can purchase kits from other countries?
TO REDUCE CASES, EVERYONE can
1) Start engaging in forms of social distancing.
2) Sterilize common surfaces like doorknobs:
The current scientific consensus is that this virus can be spread within 2 meters (6 feet) if somebody coughs. Otherwise, the droplets fall to the ground and don’t infect you.
The worst infection then becomes through surfaces: The virus survives for up to 9 days on different surfaces such as metal, ceramics and plastics. That means things like doorknobs, tables, or elevator buttons can be terrible infection vectors."
HOSPITALS AND HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS CAN:
Radically expand ICU capacities
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca
This is what happens when voters put an incompetent con man in the presidency. The worst of it is that the guy may win again.
3
"Italy’s government reported more than 15,000 infections through Thursday, a jump of more than 2,000, and more than 1,000 deaths."
1,000 is 6.67 percent of 15,000
6.67!
The fact that an aid package is being held up over paid sick leave and abortion gives me yet another reason not to vote Republican for the next decade+.
2
You can tell how serious the republicans are when they try and insert abortion limitations. These guys are priceless (in a bad way)
Republicans are consistently despicable. They always look at people facing some problem and clearly demonstrate over and over that the Republican part of the government is the problem.
<<<>>>
Somebody please tell me his is a joke. What is abortion access doing in a discussion about coronavirus relief? If this does not underscore how totally messed up the Republican leadership is I don’t what does....aside from the obstruction of paid sick leave and the general disregard for the welfare of the typical American......
1
Republicans in Congress are against paid sick leave for workers. As long as they get their paid sick leave, why care about what the American worker gets. Anyone who votes republican this November deserves whatever they get - in spades.
Abortion?
Some unbelievable callous ideologue thinks it's a good idea to hold up the COVID response in order to push through his petty desires, and the Republican party holds up negotiations for that???
Of course, those who are most vulnerable (no paid sick leave with kids to feed and rent to pay) are not entitled to any relief like health care and paid sick leave. The truly poor don't vote Republican and are solely responsible for their own sufferings.
Really, guys -- think!
I live in Rensselaer County in upstate New York. It is a decidedly a red county. As I write this there is dramatic shortage of toilet paper in the super markets. Apparently the concerns about abortion, immigration, the second amendment, the deficit, welfare and anything that has to do with helping our fellow citizens is overshadowed by the need for Charmin!
Republicans would kick their own mothers to the curb instead of providing benefits to anyone but the richest in society.
Yesterday I spoke with a Princeton graduate student who's coauthored a manuscript on Covid-19. He reminded me, "People are really, really bad at understanding exponential growth". Here's what it means. Once one person is infected with the virus, the number of infected people is estimated to double every 2.1 to 7 days until the pool of susceptible, non-infected people begins to shrink dramatically. Since the virus is new and no vaccine yet exists, that pool is huge, so we can expect doubling every few days for weeks and weeks, ultimately infecting tens if not hundreds of millions of US residents.
The spread rate is proportional to the number of infected people, the number of susceptible people and the average number of times per day one person encounters another. So we can only hope to slow the spread by reducing encounters. That's why we need a massive shutdown. I only pray we can avoid becoming Italy, but I'm not hopeful given the political climate.
Mitch McConnell is taking a three day weekend without the Senate taking a vote on Covid-19 relief funding. Why are we not setting up the gallows?
10
Did no one else read the line that said that the Republicans are pushing for anti-abortion measures to get put into this covid emergency response package?! What.... how..... why......... it’s hard to even put into words how kind-bogglingly stupid that is.
8
@R Pres
Trump is trying to hold onto as many voters as possible, even if it's only the evangelicals.
1
The pettiest vilest and sanctimonious of hypocrites
3
It doesn’t seem like anyone is prepared. My sister just got back from Europe (rushed coming back because of the very sudden travel ban), and now she’s experiencing symptoms. But no one in NJ seems to know how to help her. She’s called hospitals, and they say try NJ health. They told her to call urgent care. They ended up just laughing at her. I mean, how can you get a test? I tried to call NJ health and I’ve been on the phone for 30 minutes with no response. They seem grossly unprepared and this whole travel ban is really to make people think that they are doing something when in reality they are failing at their basic, fundamental purpose: to keep us safe. People should have access to tests and know where and how to get one if they are experiencing symptoms.
5
Try calling the CDC directly?
@Corinne
The truth is there are no tests. But Trump has made that information classified.
For real.
https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idRCV007XY4
Are you ready to vote against Trump yet?
8
I said from the beginning the problem will be with congress. The president is just a figure head who implements the laws and budgets passed by Congress. Nothing will change until Americans wake up and realize congressional and local elections are way more important than the glossy presidential election. Even who sits on the Supreme Court is determined by Congress, they say Yes or No to nominees.
Maybe this coronavirus will wake voters up. Or maybe it will take years when the devastating after effects of this virus are still with us. Like many boomers I had chicken pox as a child and decades later had shingles. Even though coronavirus is mild for young people now can it cause issues later? This is one of many concerns I have and Congress is behaving like a bunch of idiots.
4
Gop, what ARE you thinking? Abortion issue and disaster bills are two separate things....please.
7
To commenters who believe this “panic” is being stoked by liberals and liberal media: are the US lefties responsible for stoking it in China, Italy and Iran, too, or are those homegrown liberals, or...? Just trying to pin down the masterminds behind the stoking, globally -
5
Elect a clown expect a circus.
8
Nice to see that Republican congressmen and senators are fighting tooth and nail to save money and prevent the 99% of the country from getting any relief from this pandemic. Too bad they will so blithely cut corporate taxes and fund billions of stock buybacks for their billionaire donors. At some point, the stock market will crater enough that the craven GOP will actually approve some aid to help the normal people who are actually suffering through this COVID-19 episode. Too bad they don't serve the actual voters, only their wealthy patrons.
6
It’s interesting how the republicans consider sick pay to people who are told to stay home, as too costly. Yet republicans don’t feel that way about the billions of tax payer dollars have been given to farmers, in subsidies, nor do they seem to think that the 100 billion a year that our government is nice enough to give to corporations in the form of free corporate subsidies to do R&D. In other words, companies like Exxon get hundreds of millions in subsidies to develops better ways to extract oil, yet that’s the very business they are in. Yet Trump is already talking about giving them more tax payers dollars, while Senate GOP members tell the public that they just aren’t worth it, that insuring that they won’t be evicted, insuring that they can eat, and seek medical care, is just too costly. They simply forget about the trillion dollar tax break corporations just received.
All that while corporations were posting multi-billion dollar profits, and instead of putting a pile of cash in the bank so they won’t need tax payer dollars AGAIN, they spend it buying back their own stock. Essentially extracting equity out of the company, enriching themselves by exercising their stock options, you see under SEC rules, senior executives don’t have to say when they exercised their options, for up to 40 days it’s called the “safe harbor” rule, basically it’s not insider trading, yet, that’s exactly what it is. it is.
4
"Many Republicans are opposed to the paid sick leave proposal ..."
IMHO, this is all you need to know about the GOP in one simple sentence. When facing one of the greatest global medical emergencies in my 60 year old lifetime, what party could possibly be opposed to paid sick leave for low paid workers without benefits?
The Republican Party.
6
Now we’ll see the real reason behind building the interstate highway system- not to facilitate tourist travel across state lines, or to allow you to visit Mom a couple a states over, or even to expedite commerce. To aid in the deployment of the military to quell a revolt, through neutralization and subjugation of an unruly population. Coming to a town, city, or state near you: martial law.
3
Trump does not have authority to restrict domestic travel, a fundamental constitutional right. He never considers the law.
If Democrats impeached Trump in the House again, would the Republican Senate acquit him again? Because removing Trump is the only protection against Trump.
The Crash of 1929 is a misnomer. In fact, the stock market hit a high over 400 on the Dow in September 1929. The market continued to fall through October 1929. And continued to fall from there for almost four more years, until it finally bottomed at 44.11 on the Dow in JULY 1932.
I've been an investor for over 40 years and no one has seen a market like this in living memory. Even gold fell today. This isn't going to be one of those v-shaped recoveries, like 1987.
We are not anywhere near a bottom for the simple reason that the impact of the coronavirus is only now starting to get reflected in quarterly earnings guidance. Many companies that still look profitable on paper are in the same shape as airlines stocks. They just haven't said so yet.
If the money you have in the market is money you can't afford to lose, then think carefully about what to do.
I wouldn't be buying any dips. Whatever you do, ignore Larry Kudlow.
4
Trump doesn't want people tested. He does not want numbers to go up. He should be removed immediately with 25th Amendment. Testing issue should be investigated.
5
No more bailouts. During normal times companies waste money on stock buybacks, bonuses and stock options wasting profits to support speculation and affluence of a few. Individuals are lured into a cycle of consumer support for the corporate growth economy instead of saving. This time I think the recession will be deep because we are so unprepared and the appetite for bailouts is gone. Say no to all bailouts and teach everyone a lesson. The Chinese have a word 教训 (jiaoxun) that means teaching someone, usually a child, a lesson. We Americans need that lesson now.
3
Why does South Korea have drive-through testing and the USA has virtually no testing available? This from the BBC: "Nearly 20,000 people are being tested every day for coronavirus in South Korea." I hate conspiracy-theory thinking, but it's hard to refute the notion that the Trump Administration lives in fear of the explosion in the number of American infections when broad testing comes available - and is therefore putting the brakes on testing.
8
This can't be separated from the political process, it's the reality we're in. Every GOP member who voices or votes against paid sick leave needs to be on a highlight reel for all Dem. candidates anywhere on any ticket. This is who they are and voters need to know.
4
If you wonder why we’re having a difficulty in dealing with Corona Virus, it’s probably because one of Trump's many ways to cut costs and afford the top one-percent’s tax cut was to fire the entire U.S. Pandemic Response team - the executive branch group responsible for coordinating, practicing and stocking supplies for response to a pandemic.
He also cut funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), forcing them to cancel their efforts to help countries prevent infectious-disease threats from becoming epidemics in 39 of 49 countries, and one of those countries he abandoned was China.
He said that his rationale for these dangerous actions was that “you can always hire some doctors.” And now he still refuses to be tested for the virus, and continues to shake hands with foreign leaders and supporters.
3
Republicans think this is the time to try to push anti-abortion nonsense? So glad they have your priorities straight. And we wonder why other countries are testing without much trouble, while we wander around in the dark. American exceptionalism, indeed; everyone has a plan except us.
3
First, I want to comment on the President's speech. I thought his manner was stiff, I thought he might have NOT prepared that speech. He was deadpan...lacked any emotion. People say his "tone" was wonderful. I thought he was flat. In the future, he has to own the words so he must spend time preparing the speech with the writer. Second, the fact that the CDC messed up the test kits is not the President's fault. The CDC has plenty of funds...they should have done a better job. And they should have been prepared for mass testing. This "testing" fiasco belongs to them and they need to own it and correct it. Third, Congress needs to stay in session until all of the financial mitigation's are resolved, passed by both houses, and signed. And the mitigation's need to be open-ended for now since we have no idea how this virus will behave. We can't afford the time for Congress to pass extensions.
1
@J. G. Smith
The CDC does not have "plenty of funds".
Trump has cut its budget at least 19% every year he's been in office.
Read these if you don't believe me:
https://www.hhs.gov/about/budget/fy2018/budget-in-brief/cdc/index.html
1
leave it to the gop to turn a national health crisis into vehicle to promote their destructive platform of reducing aid to those who will be adversely affected and reduce funding for social security and medicare programs designed to protect our seniors and retires. heartless doesn't begin to cover it.
2
@mark There seems to be a long line of replies, so I'll keep mine short: Just No.
1
And Joe Biden thinks he can work with Republicans in the future.
The only thing we should work on with Republicans is locking them up.
3
So there's a chance that trump has it? If he and Pence both succumbed to it. wow. That would be real Godsend!
3
The aid package talks aren’t stumbling. The GOP is kicking the package so hard that it won’t contain anything useful.
2
Watching from a (pretty safe) distance, the administration looks more and more like a muppet show. If the "richest country" with the "strongest economy ever" needs to haggle about whether employees should be paid for sick leave, then the lights may go out soon. In most countries I know, that is a given.
No leadership = no plan = no solutions.
Just wait until the testing starts in the US....the numbers will shoot up, just like in Europe and Korea before....
Such "leadership" in a business context would lead to the immediate firing of the CEO, and possibly the entire senior management. It's so poor.
3
@UB
Jim Henson doesn't deserve that comparison.
Muppets in charge here would be a definite improvement.
1
Trump is going to keep downplaying it until it’s too late and the virus is everywhere.
Then he’ll come in as the great savior by deploying $ billions, Navy hospital ships on the Hudson, the works.
He’ll end up with higher approval rates than ever and get ready-elected.
This is happening because the Democrats are not pushing back and bringing this to the public.
This will be for work from home and online learning.
The Republican insistence on inserting abortion-related provisions into the coronavirus bill is shocking. They know that issue is contentious and will hold up getting this bill signed into law. They know that failure to enact meaningful relief for America’s mothers, kids and families could cost lives. I guess living breathing kids don’t count. I will never vote Republican again. I left the Party and will never look back.
1
Certainly no problem for the GOP when tax giveaways to billionaires cost money.
But paid sick leave for working people? No way.
That’s “family values” all right.
1
“ The passenger, who had previously been tested for the virus and was awaiting results, ”
This should be considered a criminal act.
1
If only there was an adult in the White House there would be much less panic, much more proactive solutions.
1
It’s time for Americans to take back self-governance. Congress is squandering the legacy of democratic principles the country inherited.
1
Welcome to the 20th century. Civilization is based on need, not greed.
Addressing paid leave in the face of this outbreak seems appropriate. Yes, it may also be a legislative goal, but that doesn’t negate its necessity at this time.
Concerns about abortions have zero basis in relation to Covid 19.
The President gave a reassuring speech last night and outlined a path forward. He announced a travel ban from Europe which follows up on his prescient ban on travel from China. Readers of the NYT will not like to read it but Democrats either were silent about or denounced it (the China travel ban). He said we are all in this together but his detractors have seized on trivia like calling it a foreign virus. They did after all call the 1917 pandemic the " Spanish flu". What's important is how we defeat it not what we call it. Not having enough testing kits is a legitimate point and Dr. Fauci has accepted responsibility. There have been 37 deaths and 10,000 in the Swine flu (H1Ni). What has changed? a media and social media that cares about ratings and is irresponsible.
1
We've been saying it now for 3 very long years: Donald Trump is a threat to our Country. With the Coronavirus, we now seeing why.
Art. XXV Section 4
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Congress needs to exercise the removal rights under the 25th Amendment. NOW.
Too bad the election isn't tomorrow!
This fiasco could be over in 2 or 3 days.
“But another improbable sticking point has emerged: Republicans are trying to insert abortion restrictions into the emergency bill. The Republicans want to include the Hyde amendment, which would bar the use of federal funds for abortions, according to a person familiar with the deliberations.”
Are you kidding me?
4
Well good for Speaker Pelosi. Although I wish her sense of urgency had been triggered when the first patient who had recently traveled from Wuhan was diagnosed in Washington State on January 19. But that was three days after the impeachment trial began, and I guess she and other Democrats were preoccupied. Meanwhile, all those nursing home patients died, COVID-19 is everywhere, and that little impeachment diversion? It went nowhere.
Republicans forever and ever.
given the circumstances, the average layperson likely thinks they will finally do the right thing, but not today and mot tomorrow, either, apparently.
33
@Alan C Gregory
GOP voters explicitly voted for their representatives to do nothing except give the rich tax cuts.
The GOP has been running on this same platform since Reagan, and the Red Stares have supported this for decades. And right now, the Red States hold the Electoral Majority, joined by small government Michigan, repeal Obamacare Wisconsin, and the government is the problem Pennsylvania. And they all got exactly what they voted for, and will vote for Trump again because they love his policies.
12
Even Cotton Mather was more open minded than the current Republicans. Interestingly, the inoculation he used to fight against a severe smallpox epidemic was accused of causing miscarriages, i.e. abortions. I recommend people read about the history of Cotton Mather and inoculation in Boston in 1721, it teaches a lot about human reaction to pandemics and science.
13
I am a practicing Catholic but I am temporarily suspending going to Mass until this coronavirus dies down. I miss the spirituality but I will just pray at home. When I return, I will appreciate it that much more. Hopefully, this virus will not last too long but until it is over I will be saying my prayers in solitude. I do miss the community feeling of Church prayer and I have made so many wonderful friends. They will be there once this outbreak is over. We are all in this together.
6
My far, far out there speculation is there is no testing being done. no screening being done and little direction from top as it is coordinated and has purpose. 1. People being kept in the dark of the true contagious nature and night death rates to avoid a true panic. 2. That said, once the full crisis hits, it will be a case of," well of course we had to suspend elections to protect the nation". Following the bread crumbs, denial followed by a slow, ineffective response with the intent on not containing, slowing or mitigating this in any way as a means to an end.
Is it that irrational of a thought ?
21
not irrational thought with these guys!
1
I'm still unclear why this travel ban will be, allegedly, a disaster for the European economies. It doesn't involve goods - we know that for sure - so, which Europeans, prevented from travelling, can so significantly impact the regions' financial health? Aside from tourists, AFAIK, most of these are business travellers and, in my experience, the majority of those work for American, not European companies. And, at least over the 30 day currency of the ban, I can't honestly see that the temporary physical absence of European sales, managerial and technical staff will derail long term business relationships. Alternative presence arrangements and compromises don't seem implausible.
And, causing 'European stocks to plummet'. Well, yes, Airline and hotel chains have taken a big hit but a bit of research suggests that it's American ones, rather than European ones that are the big fallers. OK, companies that operate European airport shops are down, but they're hardly stock exchange giants. Overall, US stocks seem to have taken as big a beating as their Euro counterparts, if not more.
And, those European tourists? 6.5 million of them spend about $22 bn annually when they visit the US. That doesn't sound like Europe's loss.
Perhaps I've looked in the wrong place but, I found little evidence to back up some of the lurid claims made by the ban's fans. Enlighten me...
3
The virus is here. Getting test kits into circulation is the only thing that is going to slow the rate of infection. Unless we know who has the virus, what is the point? There needs to be some real leadership and deferral to the experts. Science, science and more science. Luddites, hunches and weird speeches are not going to solve this.
31
I practice internal medicine in Maine. There is no meaningful testing occurring. If you think a patient needs to be screened, you will be badgered into relenting by an administrator who will explain why your patient does not meet CDC criteria. One of the criteria is exposure to a patient with Covid-19 which you cannot confirm unless you are actually permitted to test. It is Kafkaesque and will result in millions of deaths in this country.
106
@E Bennet
They don’t want to spend the money I’m guessing?
How this South Korean company created coronavirus test kits in three weeks
By Ivan Watson, Sophie Jeong and Julia Hollingsworth, CNN
Updated 7:57 PM EDT, Thu March 12, 2020
Lets do aid right this time. People who most need the aid are the people least likely to benefit from any tax cut. Distribute $1000 per month to everybody, and at tax time next year, those who took it but made over the poverty level (or whatever measurement makes sense) pay it back. A rising tide raises all boats. Bottom up - not trickle down. Let the market pick the winners, not lobbyists.
30
math is not your strong suit. the poverty level this year for a single person is 12440 or so..take a person making 10 bucks an hour full time. they make 20,800 pre-tax. assume the problem goes for two months under your plan.
where does that person find the 2000 dollars to pay it back?
the ide sounds nice but is not feasible and will harm people for many more months after the pandemic ends
@mikenola - See the qualifier "poverty level (or whatever measurement makes sense)" And make it clear at the program's implementation that if a person doesn't qualify - they should expect to return it. (Term for that is saving.) Not so hard.
I see nothing has been done to prevent Covid-19 in this country. Maybe in Trump's mind, we have enough hospital beds, plenty of doctors & nurses, and stock pile of medical protective gears, masks, and medicine. I hope we do.
If not, we better start the next round of trade negotiation with China immediately. We will provide zero tariff in 2020 or maybe 2021 for all Chinese imports. In return, China will provide Covid-19 experienced doctors and nurses to our hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. We will provide temporary "healthcare" visa to facilitate the process. And they will have to return home after services. Of course, we will pay financial reward as well as a trip to our National Parks or nearby big cities such as San Francisco or New York for compensation.
A lot can be done to beef up Covid-19 defense in a short time if Trump can start negotiation. We have already seen the "China speed" in the city of Wuhan dealing with the Covid-19 crisis. Some of the measures maybe undesirable, but the end result should be good. There is no perfect solution, only the acceptable one.
12
The broken English underscores this is just Sino propaganda trying to drum up support for China’s position in the trade negotiations at sick Americans’ expense. How the authoritarian zealots of the PRC continue to stoop so low never ceases to amaze.
1
Trump and GOP learned nothing from China’s early missteps that led to this.
Denial, censorship, lack of testing and treatment. And they are unable to stop politicizing and trying to gain advantage, however unrelated (ie abortion) instead of addressing the real issue.
Physicians in CA are saying the situation is much, much worse than is publicly known (so much for blaming the ‘media’.) Hence the closure of Disneyland.
Here in Boston people asking to be tested were and continue to be denied because they don’t fit the CDC (travel) requirements, which still refuse to acknowledge community infections.
On TV an expert says it’s because we don’t have the structure for such mass testing - but how is it everyone can get a preventive flu shot but not get tested when they are feeling sick? and yet this is performed abroad ?
The GOP easily blame the ‘foreign’ virus, but they are responsible for the ongoing chaos.
51
They do not care. China cared when its people were dying. These republicans simply don’t care; ergo they aren’t “repeating mistakes”.
It’s only a mistake if you don’t like the outcome.
South Korea has been able to test their population because they have a centralized single payer National Healthcare Service. They can coordinate and communicate more effectively than our disparate system across 50 states and thousand of little contracts between provider networks and payers.
Our system is geared to status quo. It is inadequate for an emergent situation of a new disease in addition to status quo. We leave it to individual administrators to run their hospitals so lean there is no reserve capacity for a pandemic. They're full all of the time with only a handful of reserve staff that split their time across different systems.
Our for profit system protected by privateer lobbyists will fail us. The failure is not some distant science fiction dystopia, but here, now. Our politicians' response will be to prop it up because it's all we have. God's speed.
45
In the panic, the questions on everyone’s mind: Are the banks safe? Will there be a run on the banks?
12
@Rod
The people panicking are the Wall Street folks. Give them all a sedative or something.
What panic would that be?
Only panic I’ve seen comes from right-wing media shrieking that it’s all a hoaxat about 145 frenzied decibels.
Oh, wait. There’re Trump’s conversion symptoms—I mean, not since old movies about Freud have I seen such a great case of hysterical blindness.
@Rod Thanks for reminding me! I knew I was forgetting to drain my bank account!
What is going on with coronavirus in Russia? Have i missed something in the news?
35
Russia and North Korea. No word from them. You know they have infections.
If its a problem it’s embarrassing. Usually they just say there’s “no problem, nothing to see.” They even denied Chernobyl.
It’s there, but you have to Google it for any news—interesting, no?
Why is the US not buying ventilators TODAY?
22
From who? The Easter Bunny?
This just in: why you don’t fire your epidemics guy off the NSC, don’t attack the science, don’t chop funding to public health, don’t shriek at Obamacare, don’t (insert long list here), and don’t run up humongous bills, is so that you can spend what it takes to PREPARE and EDUCATE amd TRAIN and STOCKPILE for when things go south.
The US has been lax in testing....on purpose. Nothing to see here folks. Keep moving along. Right. Can't be a negative if we don't have numbers.
68
Yes it’s a coverup.
1
As a lifelong Republican, I totally agree across the aisle that Trump GOP need to stop their denialism. We need to have a federal department with Nobel winning scientists and experts leading this charge with scientific solutions. I believe in science, not politics! The next catastrophe will be the global warming tipping point. Trump GOP must stop denying like they did with convid19. We need to work together and stop the politics immediately.
83
One year from today the following will be true:
Healthcare systems throughout the world will be strained by the constant flood of seriously ill patience arrive day after day.
Mass gatherings will continue to be banned to prevent even more strain on the already strained healthcare system. That's flattening out the numbers.
Even though China seems to be resurgent only a few months from the outbreak in December, they are not out of the woods.
Trump defeated. Biden raising taxes on the rich and corporations. Biden not relaxing tariffs, not relaxing on immigration, adding regulations on businesses... Stock Market at 13,000 and going down.
Even if the summer brings a swoon, the virus will return in the Fall. Sorry, NFL. No Football. No World Series. Just people going to work delivering the basics for human life. Millions out of work looking for handouts from the government. Good Luck.
10
@Kenneth
Look at history. The American economy is always better under Democrats.
Try changing your vote and see if things don't get better.
1
Trump, like other leaders before him will have a lot og blood in his hands. Public health is not part of US Republican's playbook, clearly, and this admistration is no exception. Its like " Mikey, you're doing a great job". (Katrina flood of New Orleans.) GOP is a fair-weather party. Ah, and they are clueless in Finance. (Fiscal "stimulus", gold standard, Laffer "curve", tricle.down economics? Reaganomics, Voodoo economics). Cokeheads in cabinet posts. No wonder we are in this mess. it'll only stop when Trump is crushed in November and we can look past this pluto-kleptocracy to rebuilding America.
33
Trump won’t be crushed. The USA will be crushed.
1
@Marco Avellaneda It'll only stop when America takes a stand.
My elderly parents live in another state. Alone.
I would like to the President for adding another dimension of terror to my life: the specter of not being able to reach them.
Trump--the gift that keeps on taking.
58
So the Republicans don't want to authorize sick leave because it's too expensive but want to balloon the deficit with more useless tax cuts and small business loans? November can't get here fast enough.
101
@Kristin
1.5 trillion today to help Wall Street.
Can someone please explain to me how a man who doesn't believe in evolution is going to understand viral mutation?
70
@J Anders
Thanks for the guffaw! I needed that!
1
At this rate we will never get ahead of the problem. After there is a breakout in Washington let’s close travel (2 wks after). A totally reactive step. Block travel to Europe - another reaction. Where are the proactive steps!
25
@A Prabhu
Except to places where is properties and businesses are located. He didn’t block travel to those.
@A Prabhu
Where are the test kits? And why did Trump make all information on that topic classified?
What's frustrating about all the media coverage of Coronavirus-19 is that there seems to be no discussion of what the actual goal is.
We read ever more stories of travel bans, event closures, states of emergency in various location etc. Tales of panic buying continue to astound us.
But we are left clueless as to what it is all this disruption is intended to accomplish. Yes, obviously it's to try and stop, or more likely slow, the spread of the disease. But it's evident that such a spread will continue even if we all hunker down in our homes until we run out of all that toilet paper we've bought.
I assume, or at least I hope, the goal here is to find a vaccine that can inoculate those who haven't already caught the disease. A goal that actually diminishes in need as more and more people contract it. And perhaps a goal, too, is to find a "cure" although it's hard to imagine such a condition can be corrected once caught.
So we are left with the query, should we begin to accept that Coronavirus-19 is an incurable illness, for which no vaccine exists? And that will debilitate for a time many who are infected by it and that it will also kill a certain percentage of those individuals?
And if we are to have to learn how to live with this virus among us, when do we begin to return from states of emergency to a new normal?
After all, we've never cured the so-called "common cold". So maybe we just have to learn how to live with Coronavirus-19.
4
This has been explained many times, here and elsewhere. The main goal is to “flatten the curve”. We can’t cure or stop the virus, but if too many people get too sick too fast, the hospital system can’t cope and will collapse. This is what happened in Italy.
By slowing the spread we give ourselves a chance to treat those who need help (from covid19 or other diseases). Eventually this virus might become another annual flu-type virus, but for now it is not.
22
@George S.
The goal is to prevent hospitals (the few that are left) from being swamped with patients all at once. There aren't enough hospital beds in the country for the numbers they are expecting.
19
@George S.
Delaying the surge in infections gives breathing space to the hospitals, time to find medications that at least attenuate the symptoms, and for immunity to develop among the population. Maybe even time to find a vaccine if we are lucky.
4
What are the odds ... Trump gets his contrived excuse for vengeance against "sanctuary states" that he absolutely hates?!?
Also interesting ... no European travel bans to countries where he owns golf courses?!?
His audacity and vindictiveness knows no bounds.
57
@ERB
He's already floating that possibility. He says he may have to ban travel to "hot spots" if they "get out of control".
And, of course, only blue states got ahead of the curve and used their major medical centers to start testing for cases. So that's where something close to the true numbers can be found - while Trump uses a mysterious lack of test kits to claim there are none in red states.
26
sounds like another investigation opportunity for the House Oversight Committee....
And now is the time for the GOP to win the abortion debate?!! Unbelievable. They are the wrong party to lead this country...
83
@Carlotta
Wrong party period.
1
@Carlotta they are truly vile and revolting and every other like adjective. Their depravity is bottomless.
1
“Republicans are trying to insert abortion restrictions into the emergency bill. “
Just when you think the incompetent conspiracy theory party can’t get any lower...
108
I know! Let's choose a completely inexperienced, incompetent, failed game show host, multiple bankrupt pathological liar to run the country. What could possibly go wrong?
89
@James Mazzarella
But Trump's base sure did stick a finger in the eye of them librul elites. Who are having to lead the fight now.
Brilliant plan!
27
I wonder how happy Trump’s base will be after Trump has bankrupted the country and there are massive cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Will they take care of aging parents with Alzheimer’s themselves when the government has no money in the Medicaid fund to pay for nursing home care. Of course they blindly think there’ll be no consequences for themselves or their families.
2
After Brazil's leader, Bolsonaro, came down with the virus after visiting Mar-a-Lago ('make Brazil great again, ha) would it be too ironic if Pence and Trump too, came down with it?
33
@Lev Not only ironic, but a good thing for all of the people who contract this virus.
You’re auto-correct changed ‘glorious’ to ‘ironic’!
1
No testing = no cases = plausible deniability = no plan = calamity.
50
Quite a lot comments here are based on the assumption that the overall number of infected individuals in the US is lower than in much of Europe. IMO it is high time to accept that it is almost certainly because US has barely started testing.
In 10 - 15 days you will see numbers comparable to Italy.
You, your president, should better start preparing hospitals for this scenario.
58
@Daniel R
It’s exponential growth. By the time they test it will be to late. They had over a month to prepare.
@Daniel R what, me worry?
France, Spain and Belgium are shutting down. In Belgium as of tomorrow no school for three weeks, no restaurants, bars, clubs, ... open only grocery stores, pharmacies and some other essential services.
That's what it takes. And they don't have gigantic metropolitan areas like ours.
Republicans sure are consistent in their Darwinian approach to society. I'm glad I'm healthy and not old.
17
Do they think Republicans citizens won't be impacted by coronavirus and need paid sick leave? Republican readers, please remember this when it comes time to vote:
"Many Republicans are opposed to the paid sick leave proposal, complaining that Democrats are using the coronavirus crisis to accomplish a long-held domestic priority that is exceedingly costly."
39
Money is more important to Republicans than human health or even life itself. Even when they print it themselves. I certainly hope this is a topic for upcoming the Sanders-Biden debate in an empty house.
Those smarter than I am can probably understand the economic relationship between perhaps millions of Americans not working and not being paid... the loss in income taxes on those lost wages... the actual cost of subsidies for unpaid ill or quarantined workers... and the risk of inflation of pumping money into the economy even as financial markets tank.
Or, as Jack Benny was asked: Your money or your life............ well?
I’m thinking!
12
@Wizened Republicans have already said that they support trump NO MATTER WHAT HE DOES. This is a great example of drinking the Kool-Aid.
Republicans are trying to put anti-abortion language into a relief bill for Covid-19? Really?
People are getting sick, some are dying, others are faced with job loss or loss of much needed income, some are wondering how to care for and feed their kids if schools close, and the Republicans are bringing up abortion?
Please! Use some common sense, concentrate on the crisis that is happening now, and do your jobs- lead America through this. This is not about abortion. At all.
57
It’s because Republicans have nothing else. There are tens of millions of almost child like Republicans who believe that abortion bans work. The experience of other countries show this is blatantly false. The ulcer drug Misoprostol is what women turn to and there isn’t a thing Republicans can do about it.
@Malinoismom and it’s not about money either, but that’s what the Trumplicans are all worried about. Does anyone else see the contradictory hypocrisy here?
The fraud "president" continues to lie about testing. Flat out lies! We are NOT testing air travelers arriving at our airports, even if they are screened and determined to have symptoms!
Where are the test kits? Who's in charge of that data?
We're failing.
33
Watch Trumps speech on the COVID-19 response last night, and then watch Biden’s Speech on his plan for how to address COVID-19 from this morning - then tell me who is more “presidential. There is no contest at all. Biden is already more of a President than Trump. Can’t wait until January 2021
39
So when does the 25th Amendment kick in when a current president is incapable of doing the job? Surely that moment has come. But the bad news is, even if this Naked Emperor could be removed, we get the ever-virtuous, science denying Mike Pence as his successor...we are so...(you fill in the blank.)
22
"So when does the 25th Amendment kick in when a current president is incapable of doing the job?"
(a) When we have a president (we obviously don't); and
(b) When his own veep AND (1) his cabinet or (2) "such other body as Congress may by law provide" say so—and In-on-Ukraine conversionist pence won't dare fight such a useful tool for imposing his own crazy, or putin's.
The Republicans are trying to insert anti-abortion language into a Covid-19 relief effort? Really?
People are getting sick, some people are dying, others are wondering how to care for and feed their kids, many are facing job loss or loss of income, and the Republican party is trying to bring abortion into this?
Do your jobs. Lead America through the crisis at hand. This is not about abortion. At all.
21
The Republicans are trying to insert anti-abortion language into a Covid-19 relief effort? Really?
People are getting sick, some people are dying, others are wondering how to care for and feed their kids, many are facing job loss or loss of income, and the Republican party is trying to bring abortion into this?
Do your jobs. Lead America through the crisis at hand. This is not about abortion. At all.
7
Trump is the deer in the headlights. Time to enact the 25th Amendment.
36
My guess why Trump and Pence won’t get tested is, I’d bet that both of them are getting pumped full of antibiotics daily.
18
@R Fleig Antibiotics don't help against sars-cov-2. If anything, it would weaken the immune system and make it more likely to get covid-19.
29
@R Fleig And they would have no effect on the coronavirus.
10
Antibiotics do not do a thing against a virus.
14
Will Trump self-quarantine since a recent guest to Mar-a-Lago, a Brazilian official, has tested positive for the Coronavirus; and he had been photographed standing shoulder-to-shoulder next to Trump?
How about White House visitors and staff? Are they in danger?
28
@Oceanviewer
And what about the staff at Mar-a-Lago?
Waiters in other countries have caught it.
19
@Oceanviewer Yes they are.
7
What is wrong with Repubs? This is not the time and place to play sneaky games. God help us. "The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy" not a fantasy now! Edgar predicted such a nightmare.
25
Save the banks, let the people get sick and die. $50 billion business bailout; $8 billion for public health. The GOP at its most exposed. And we are soylent green. Good grief, when does this end?
41
@SDT
Until the vast majority of the population is reduced to peonage.
6
@SDT
January 20, 2021
13
New administration.
This goes on until Nov, because, as it happens, the Emperor has no clothes.
5
Where are Trump’s test results? Where are his tax returns?
30
@Rod
Who cares? He could care less about our tests. His tax returns - that ship has sailed.
5
Hey Trump wouldn't ban travel in/out of Liberal states to punish them because they are run by and populated by intelligent people, who didn't vote for him and are actually making science-based decisions on the pandemic. . would he? Nah . .
21
Roll back the tax cut. NOW!
29
@Saints Fan Can you write off your $30 million dollar LearJet in one year? The 1%ers can. So, yeah, rolling back the wealth transfer (aka tax cut) makes a whole bunch of sense.
1
@Saints Fan
Amazon doesn't. Nor Exxon/Mobil. Nor Hailburton.
Just us non-corporate people.
@Saints Fan of course he/she does. But amazon doesnt!
It is unfortunate that it is a huge struggle to get everything that every member of Congress wants to get funded for the special interests they represent.
5
Jenny Durkan, Seattle Mayor just announced that the city will get 25k more confirmed cases of Coronavirus.
6
I just checked the weather in Brazil and it is nice and warm and according to trump there will be no virus when April arrives due to warm weather.Irony is a funny thing.
13
@sumyounguy Could have sworn I heard of a movie star contracting this in Australia where its summer.
11
@sumyounguy
Maybe he should just go there - forever-:)
6
@sumyounguy
Trump probably isn't aware that it is late summer/ early fall down in the southern hemisphere- they are just entering the cough cold flu coronavirus season.
4
When your country has a complete disregard and disrespect for science, you end up where we are. Both sides of the aisle, from anti-vaccine crusaders to climate change deniers, have long fought scientific evidence and interventions. As such, we are ill prepared and caught by surprise. And our health, well-being, and financial safety will suffer. Maybe Americans will re learn science going forward.
24
As a WA resident, Trump's domestic travel ban comment, "if somebody gets a little bit out of control" is potentially alarming. What does he mean by that?? He's already personalized his political differences with the WA and CA governors - this sure sounds like a warning to those governors. If there's a science-based reason for limiting air travel to WA and CA, ok. If it's political punishment?? Holy moly.
36
My Schwab account is oddly offline. Good luck, America.
9
“The market is still higher than when I got here,” said the Chief numerologist earlier.
Oh by the way there are less Test kits than the stock market closing.
Perfect.
16
Fauci describes Trump’s handling of the Corona epidemic as “competent” and further said that the banning of travel from Europe was warranted by the level of infection there. DeBlasio agreed. The epicenter is no longer China but Europe. So please stop condemning Trump for following the advice of Dr. Fauci and other experts. They know more than you do.
1
@Edward
I fully support a travel ban to Europe- ALL of Europe, including those places with Trump properties that are not currently included- Ireland, UK, Croatia and Bulgaria.
17
@Edward
You think banning travel from Europe was Fauci's idea?
And Fauci is protecting the entire American populace by telling Donnie what he wants to hear. Because he knows he is the last firewall between us and disaster, and he doesn't want to get fired.
11
Actually Fauci said the European travel ban is a drop in the bucket. It could have made a difference weeks ago- the virus is here now. He also said we’re failing, the testing situation is a disaster.
1
"It is not clear whether Mr. Mnuchin is actively pressing for the abortion curbs."
I doubt that. I suspect he cares about abortion as much as Trump does, which is not at all. It sounds more like a stunt that the religious members of the "Freedom" (nutjob) caucus would pull.
22
The European travel ban goes into effect at 11:59 pm tomorrow. GovExec Breaking News:
"The Trump Administration has not yet delivered implementation guidance to employees who will be on the frontlines of enforcing the president's new widespread travel restrictions, creating uncertainty for exactly how agencies will stop most Europeans from entering the Country."
Any bets the guidance comes in time? And, if so, any bets it'll be riddled with errors and contradictory and vague instructions?
I'm betting it'll be another incompetence-fuelled Trump mess.
23
Let me see if I got this right: the country is in a major health crisis, the House has a bill ready to be presented and voted on by the Senate and Mitch McConnell tells them to go home for three days????
21
The debacle associated with a molassas-slow response is really the result of the fact that no-one in the Trump Administration has any tolerance for bad news, or news that might disrupt the market.
Two months of valuable prep time were lost.
The adults left the oval office a long time ago. There will be local heros, but few national ones.
24
Rest assured States with Trump properties will be exempt just as countries in Europe with Trump properties were exempt. Florida, New York Illinois Virginia and New jersey you are safe.
25
"On the commercial side, I don't want to hurt the Chinese people. I happen to believe that the commercial contacts have led, in essence, to this quest for more freedom. I think as people have commercial incentive, whether it's in China or in other totalitarian systems, the move to democracy becomes more inexorable."
President George Bush (41) on June 5, 1989 in response to a question from a reporter on China's crackdown on student demostrations at Tiananmen Square.
Breath-taking
7
Gosh. Our economy is starting to feel like a trump real estate project.
60
The stock casino is already like one of his own casinos: Tremendous, Winning, The Best EVER!, and suddenly in deep red.
the question becomes how much will Trump profit when he sends the U.S. into bankruptcy? he made a billion from bankrupting his casino so i can only image what he thinks he will profit from bankrupting the nation
This situation in which we face what appears to be a bona fide national emergency--as distinguished from the, ahem, trumped-up variety--could very well be twisted and distorted to suit the purposes of an aspiring autocrat. If you know of anyone like that. We must guard vigilantly against such abuses.
15
Too late. xi hushed a hero and is using the once-Preventable Pandemic to look like one by imprisoning and snooping all of China. The loser here is using it as a nice excuse to impose border bigotry especially on the EU (except little england which Brexit-trainwrecked from that Lib'rul Commie Paradise™). His vile GOP is demanding forced-birth policy (via the nothing-to-Hyde amendment) with any aid bill. It's a tyrant gourmet!
On a personal level, Congress is smart to get this done before individual legislators face a quarantine. The testing needs to be free and widespread, and an inventory of possible quarantine sites made as soon as possible. Can the U.S. produce 1,000 additional beds in 10 days?
12
So paid leave will “cost too much” but the massive tax breaks do not?
58
@TWMcGurk The payroll "tax break" HURTS our Social Security, which is why he wants that! Snake!
16
Could someone please tell trumpy we do NOT want him to do any more?! Go play golf until this is all over, let the doctors handle the emergency.
We all knew what would happen when we got a crisis with him in charge, and we were so right! We just didn’t expect it to be a health emergency. Of course, most other countries have been preparing for just that for years now!
22
@Nina
I think Trump should spend as much time at Mar-a-Lago as possible.
With all the staff he infected.
7
Clever Trump to leave Great Britain open for business and travel;aren’t his golf courses in England and Scotland? He probably doesn’t know that Ireland isn’t in England. Nobody tell him that he also has a course in Ireland that isn’t covered. Let’s see how long it takes before Ireland is open to visiting.
26
@Margaret Doherty
They amended the travel restrictions to exclude Ireland this morning. Somebody must have told him.
9
It cannot be stated loudly enough that Republicans, who've been accusing the Democrats of politicizing this crisis non-stop, are derailing the relief package by trying to tack the anti-abortion Hyde Amendment onto the bill. A bill meant to help people suffering from the physical and economic effects of a virus.
38
This is very much like October 1929. Next comes the run on the banks.
Have you checked whether your bank is government guaranteed?
14
Looks like the billionaire owners of basketball franchises could lose some money. We better be sure to tax future generations to get them a big bailout in a rammed-through subsidy bill.
12
@SRP
If it's up to the Republicans, the cruise industry will probably get a big bail out. Disney could always use a few more billion in tax breaks while they're at it.
10
Trump's answer to every crisis: travel bans, tax cuts & now bank bailouts. Meanwhile, more and more Americans are exposed, but there's no tests. Plus, I read that he's proposed special relief for the hotel industry. Hmmmm. Something fishy there... If there's been a more incompetent handling of a national crisis, I don't know what it is.
21
So Trump bans travel from Europe while simultaneously blaming Europe for something that is not their fault? The proverbial closing the barn doors after the horse has bolted...
This president has had 3 months to prepare for this. 3 MONTHS! It is his fault and his alone.
A lot of today's market drop could be directly tied to that bonehead decision. He didn't even vet the speech as we had to get clarification from his VP and DHS. Amateur hour all the time and a failure at every single turn. We are on our own folks. I hope you live in a blue state with well funded local public health because this president is MIA.
45
"Republicans are trying to insert abortion restrictions into the emergency bill. "
Finally, I am utterly speechless.
112
@Glenn I'm not. I just sent a letter to my rep. Am I surprised? No. I *am* surprised that they aren't trying to include a repeal of ACA in it as well. (Think where we'd be now if the ACA had been repealed.)
37
How is it that our President reads a prepared statement from a teleprompter that still requires corrections and clarifications by the administration hours later? There really is no one at the White House that can write a clear and coherent statement for Trump to read to the public? What a disaster.
72
@jg
I thought that too. Especially the whopper about the insurance companies paying in full for all virus treatment.
15
@Jerseytime Sounds like he does not have his hand or head in any of it. You can add the whopper of goods from Europe. Why bother himself, he's just waiting for spring.
4
Trump will never admit fault nor come together. Trump Country: it is time to be one.
6
Can we talk about the 25th amendment NOW?
46
“Any one who wants a test will get a test. Any one.”
This is the real hoax.
49
@Opinioned! Not everyone NEEDS A TEST! Only those who have symptoms !
2
@Opinioned! - You got it right!
3
My daughter is symptomatic. She came from Seattle, where she lives, to us in NJ. She can’t get anyone to test her, even though she’s exposed my immune compromised quadriplegic husband. We are self quarantined as a result. Worse, his caregivers won’t come until she’s tested and cleared.
Meanwhile, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, with comparable symptoms to my daughter, easily obtain the test in Australia. Our public health system is a joke.
11
And now Lindsey Graham is in self-quarantine. But...not trump or Pence.
28
@Bill - With all the Republicans in quarantine, we might actually be able to get some decent Covid-19 legislation passed!
13
@Bill
Oh, he doesn't have the virus. He has the vapors.
6
Let’s face facts, the problem will not be solved by an president who denies science. trump and pence must go if we are to solve the pandemic. He seems against universal test because it would reflect on his popularity. Pathetic
33
@Robert Schmid
I am also astonished that the world's greatest superpower cannot produce enough test kits. It's not that we lack the financial resources to develop these test kits. The WHO could give us a lot of them but we seem to have refused the offer. Why is that other developing countries have an adequate supply of test kits (e.g., Pakistan)? My intuition tells me that if there were enough test kits available to test the US population for this virus, the confirmed cases would far exceed the numbers being reported by the media currently.
18
@2B or not 2B - That's the gist of it. More tests equals bigger numbers. And we all know what our fearless leader thinks of bigger numbers. He'd rather have let all those infected people die on the Grand Princess! That way they'd have been counted as deaths in the Pacific.
11
What gives? I thought this was all supposed to be a Democratic hoax...
25
But they're going to give 1.5 Trillion away ( a loan, yeah right) to business and such?
Where's the $$ for the people who pay the taxes that make it possible?
And people still admire this guy? My neighbor called Sanders a socialist. I asked him to give me a definition. He couldn't. I said look at what your Dear Leader is doing for business.
35
@Rick Tornello - And what about the $$ for testing and treatment of the actual virus?
6
The federal administration departments that must be tackling COVID-19 are clearly siloed. While the CDC and NIH continue to release public Heath PSAs, work to reduce spread of the virus and flatten the epidemic curve, agencies like TSA and Homeland Security are not taking the necessary precautions to help stop the spread of the virus. It is baffling that airport traffic is not being controlled in an effective manner. How is cutting off incoming travel from Europe going to even help when we were completely complacent about screening passengers from incoming European flights?!
8
@Nitya Screening is ineffective. All it does is identify the sick, NOT the infected, which would require TESTING.
And we are not capable of doing testing on our own citizens, let alone incoming travelers.
7
Hmm. Confirmed reports that at least two people test positive for coronavirus a few days after having some level of contact with Trump and Pence. Normal, recommended protocol is that Trump and Pence are tested, so as not to potentially infect others.
So why are the Prez and VP refusing to be tested? And let's remember that it's possible that people actually contracted the coronavirus from Trump and/or Pence.
And FYI, Ted Cruz's self-quarantine because he supposedly had contact with someone who knew someone who maybe had contact? That's just Ted's excuse to run and hide.
20
@Carroll Who can ever believe trump or pence. They probably have been tested.
7
I predict that when Ted Cruz ends his self-isolation we will see a rash of Senators starting their own.
4
@Carroll
Trump, his family and all his staff are probably getting tested every day.
Secretly, of course. Can't let us little people know they're getting preferential treatment and using up all the desperately-needed test kits.
Did you see the one about Matt Gaetz sleeping in his car in a WalMart parking lot? Wearing his gas mask, no doubt.
Here's one example of the testing debacle. Last time I checked there were officially 21 cases in Oregon. But, in a news conference this morning, the state's epidemiologist estimated that the actual number was between 150 and 200.
Just think about applying that ratio to the US. That is, about 8 to 10 times more cases that are thus far reported. This is an epic failure of our health agencies.
19
The health agencies can’t get valid numbers without more testing kits.
Basically Trump is a vector point like no other and he refuses to follow any protocols or precautions, apparently not understanding that he can be spreading the virus himself at this point. Anyone shocked?
23
@Berkeley Grad - Trump has now graduated from figuratively to literally dangerous.
13
Anyone who chooses to associate with him gets what they deserve.
I think Congress should not take a recess. They are the Captains of the ship and we need them to be present. When will Republicans accept abortion is not a laughing matter, it is very serious to a woman and should not be dictated by any man. Please Congress people vote for free tests and make test available to all Americans.
17
Preparing for a hurricane looks nothing like what I am seeing here in Orlando.
This town breathes on tourist dollars. This is going to hurt.
10
@Dan in Orlando I'm in New Orleans. We live (or die) on tourism -- and already there's no Women's Final Four, no Buku -- with French Quarter Fest and the biggest fish of all, Jazz Fest, likely to follow.
6
Why is it that only Congress seems to be able to get tested, they should be last in line, if at all.
12
Trump crows about shutting the borders "just in time" to stave off an increasing USA epidemic. Excuse me, 46 states with documented cases seems to indicate it's a bit late to shut the barn door.
21
Bloomberg would have had this under control by now.
21
How much of the $8.3 billion is going to Trump and Kushner properties?
Inquiring minds wanna know.
25
Well the capitalists have definitely voted "no confidence" on Trump's speech and measures. It looked like a recording of a hostage video by the captors telling everyone it's all ok. Trump's European travel ban is simply a political deflection by taking a gratuitous whack at the EU, and the "foreign virus" as he called it. The travel ban clearly has nothing to do with actual health measures for an internal outbreak which is well underway. The US government response, including the CDC, has been inept and criminal. We ought to petition the Chinese to send their experts. At least they've proven they know what their doing.
22
Even though Trump "is not concerned" about having stood next to Weisengarten, shouldn't he self-quarantine until the test (which I would hope he has taken since then) comes back? Or is he just going to ignore the risk to everyone he is in contact with?
12
@Ellen - Are you really wondering what the answer to this question is?
7
@Freedean
Sadly- not really. I do wonder how everyone who has to be around him now deals with this.
Trump may need to recalibrate his strategy. The President requested prime time from the networks for an address to the nation. Presumably each word of his brief hostage video carefully crafted; circulated among various staff assuring the quality of policy including effects. Oops major revisions within an hour.
Trump's speech inspired a meltdown of world markets. Do the honorable thing admit the pandemic cannot afford your management style. No shame admitting failure another case entirely of willful ignorance endangering the nation.
12
In 2009 the H1N1 novel virus migrated from Mexico to the United States. Within a few months president Obama issued a state of emergency proclamation which in part said, "The country is prepared..." Thereafter upward of 13,000 Americans died and 60,000,000 infected. The president was not excoriated
for his optimistic tone but rather we came together, fought and weathered the storm. What a difference an election year makes.
1
@clarity007
Incorrect. The 13,000 mortality figure was for the entire world. See
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that swine flu infected nearly 61 million people in the United States and caused 12,469 deaths. Worldwide, up to 575,400 people died from pandemic swine flu.
Swine Flu (H1N1): Overview and More - Verywell Healthwww.verywellhealth.com › Health A-Z › Cold & Flu › Related Illnesses
15
We need daily updates on testing in the U.S., with hard data.
Where are we currently testing, and how many? Where, exactly, are we distributing the test kits, and how many?
What are the test lab capacities in the areas conducting the tests?
Who, by name, is the administrations "test kit monitor"? Who is producing the test kits, and in what numbers? What can we do to increase the test lab capacity? Can we copy the South Korean "drive-through" testing protocols, and if not, why not?
22
@Slann
We need it, but we are unlikely to get it until the whole thing is over. We are way behind everyone else on this.
Its the one thing Trump didn't talk about yesterday.
15
@Slann The Guardian newspaper today reported that this week on the same day that South Korea conducted 11,000 tests the US conducted 8.
16
Trump must be ousted NOW! He must be forced out! We must not let him kill more Americans needlessly just so the can keep "his "numbers" low.
31
Trump still shaking hands?
20
@Brian. Trump won’t be attacked by the virus. He’s not human.
18
Impeach. Again.
If at first you don't succeed, etc.
27
Trump would love nothing more than to use this crisis to punish the states that don’t support him. He’s not President of the United States. He’s also President of the cult of white Red State Republicans who worship him as their God.
What a disgrace Trump is. Even more of disgrace is the GOP which enables him. Truly a reprehensible bunch.
43
Has President Trump trademarked "Stable Genius" yet?
14
@Keith Dow Ivanka has been working on that, to be sure.
5
The President of the United States has been focused on much more important matters, such as building an wall at the border to prevent the the invasion of nurse's aids from Guatemala.
24
This makes you think that we'd better off if Trump stopped talking and stuck to golf.
15
@sashakl And we can increase his handicap! How could he refuse?
1
First Lets stop the genius from taking private flights to mar a lago on tax payers money
24
Worse and worse. Trump doesn't know how to be proactive or implement strategies that actually help. The only strategy he knows is to prohibit things, shut down things, fire people and generally destroy the national infrastructure. In essence: "You're fired!" is his only response. It worked on TV, so he seems to think it will work here. It won't. He is trashing our nation because he doesn't know how to do anything else.
Look at his knee-jerk response to the press conferences: "I shut down travel from China! People said I shouldn't, but I did." Praise Emperor Donald for shutting something down! So now in his own tiny mind, that piece of rhetoric played well on Fox News, so now let's shut down Europe, let's shut down domestic travel! Amazing! That tanks the stock market? Who ever would have guessed?
And what do we do about the economic impact? Give money to hotels (including Trump hotels), airlines, cruise ship companies, and every other luxury travel corporation. Don't give money to clinics, to the CDC, to anything that would actually help mitigate the spread of the virus.
Thank heaven's for sensible governors like Jay Inslee (the "snake" according to Trump, because he made Trump "look bad.") Without proactive governors and mayors we would have a much worse disaster than we do now with this clown car full of idiots stumbling all over each other while blathering bromides to be picked up by the Goebbels hosts on Fox News and Rush Limbaugh.
25
@William O. Beeman
Right on the money! Bail out the cruise ship industry!
I agree, with DJT, it's elephant talk! Balderdash, ballyhoo,
it's only talk...double talk!
Who have thought the party that believes humans rode dinosaurs would be bad at managing a health crisis?
31
This is the same old script out of Trump’s demagogue playbook. Declare the foreign invader the problem, play to America’s fears of the unknown, xenophobia, and then implement some meaningless symbolic “wall” that will make people that operate purely out of the lizard brain feel safe. He needs to get some new material. Maybe even hire an expert authority that knows something about something and implement a plan like America did when it was “great”— in other words, during the days that we had leadership, vision, will, and community and not plutocracy.
11
@Mickey
Words of wisdom, Mickey...words of wisdom
3
Whatever Trump touches dies. He always manages to walk away leaving others to deal with the wreckage. It was clear from the start that the US was going to end up with a really bad hangover from the Trump presidency but the depth and breath of this collapse is still breathtaking. You reap what you sow. Greed, contempt for science and public servants and an unwillingness to work with other nations has now brought destruction down on all of us, even those who did not and would not vote for Trump.
13
How important is credibility and trust in the president, especially at a time of national crisis and emergency—
You can't put a value on it or overstate it.
And it's missing.
15
“President Trump” is an oxymoron. We should not foot the bill for a payroll tax cut just because he is failing to be presidential. The stock market would be in a much better position if his fingers and tongue were put out of action.
16
My family member just getting tested today as this person was in Milan during outbreak, flew back to New York. No one tested this person at airport. Now getting ill and it will be FOUR DAYS to confirm virus. This is insane. Member of travel group same time is already in hospital in New York. I am disgusted.
Thanks Republicans for Too Late Trump - Enjoy the virus.
27
For those of you, that speak German, the following link might be of interest: https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/info/podcast4684.html
Prof. Drosten, the leading corona-virologist in Germany, international well reputated too, talks in his podcasts about different corona subjects. He is a voice of reason in this excitied discussion and though he speaks calmly, he talkes about unpleasant truths too.
The bottom line, as far as I got it, is:
- there is no way to get rid of the virus before 60 - 70% of population got infected
- yes, many will die. especially among the elder ones
- but the percentage of deaths strongly depends on the speed of the epedemic
- the top priority should be to slow down new infections to help health system cope with them
In Germany we today have 2.300 known infected and only 5 deaths (0.2%). In Itlay the ratio is 15.113 to 1016 (6.7%). The main reasons for the different rates are simply: Germany started earlier to test people, so we got most of the subclinical infected too (lowering the statistical death load). And, more important, in Itlay health system is overburdened. In Germany not. Or not yet, at least :)
If we succeed in slowing down the epedemic, it may cause 200.000 to 300.000 deaths in Germany. That is very bad, but nearly 1 million die in a normal year anyway. It is a very serious situation, but not the end of the world. And all western nations are in the same situation. The virus can`t be stopped, bur slowing it down will save many lifes.
15
@Sokkel
Thank you. What the good professor said makes alot of sense, and is, in fact, simply good sense.
But my country is run by anti-scientific money grubbers.
9
@Sokkel Indeed. The lockdowns are primarily aimed at flattening the disease's peak, as our hospital capacity is limited. Responsible countries are going in lockdown, we continue to downplay the threat.
We're going to end up with Navy hospital ships on the Hudson, you read it here first.
Does anyone care what Trump says anymore?
Lying has consequences.
19
@BlueHaven
Unfortunately, yes. According to the site 538, his approval rating is still steady at 42%.
2
Trump’s comments about restricting domestic travel are ridiculous. He’s operating with no expertise, inciting fear and undermining actual health and scientific initiatives. He will kill state & regional economies with showbiz, empty gestures. And why isn’t he quarantined? He’s had risky contact in several instances recently!
14
Far from MAGA, Trump has made America into a third world country.
21
Could Hillary Rhodham Clinton do better? Maybe. But I prefer Donald J. Trump over her any day of he week and I am sure that there are many more Americans like me who do to. Thank you.
You are welcome to your opinion. I’m afraid that the financial markets don’t seem to be comforted by Trump “leading” us in this crisis. Never mind the Clinton supporters who don’t agree with you, our stock market is tanking because the markets don’t.
12
@southern boy - My cat could do better than Trump......and my cat has nine lives. Your welcome.
11
@Southern Boy
Remember, being totally in love with Donald Trump will not prevent you from getting sick.
6
Where are those test kits Mr. Trump?
22
America, any chance you could bring President Obama out of retirement to provide some proper leadership during this crisis, even if only to get the world through to November?
19
@Andrew
Well yes. Actually has anyone heard from him lately? Is he helping the American people? Why doesn’t he speak up?
Trump's European travel ban conveniently sidesteps his European resort countries.
13
Can we impeach Trump again, what a useless administration. Our country is unprepared and this is going to have devastating consequences.
12
Three "insights" of the day.
1) At noon Rush starts talking about how the stock market was rallying because he had been on the air for an hour
2) "Many Republican Senators want me to Veto the FISA Bill until we find out what led to, and happened with, the illegal attempted “coup” of the duly elected President of the United States, and others!"
THE WORST? Trump sounds like a bad seven year old:
"108 countries are dealing with the CoronaVirus problem, some of which we are helping!"
See, mommy, I'm a GOOD boy!
8
I am seeing more and more reports of younger, healthy adults, with no underlying health conditions being severely hit by this virus.
So much for it only being a concern for those 60+
Example today, from another article in the NYT:
In the intensive care unit of a Pavia hospital, doctors are treating a person known as Patient One, a previously healthy 38-year-old runner who is believed to have helped spread the virus around the Lombardy region.
The hospital’s doctors are busy calculating the probability of contagion, illness and death. Dr. Raffaele Bruno, director of the infectious disease unit at the San Matteo Hospital in Pavia, said they were compiling a data set to help international colleagues have a better sense of the stakes.
3
The American pharmaceutical and medical device industries, both of whom once made vaccines and diagnostic test kits, were off-shored to China, Ireland, India and Singapore years ago. Once the medicine chest of the world, we are now, its miserable laughing stock. We have no capacity to provide for testing and protection because we cannot manufacture them. But, hey, we can provide data.
6
After reading these comments - it is perfectly clear that this president is not able to do the job he swore to do.
It is time for congress to enact the 25th Amendment.
16
If you have managed to get a coronavirus test, why would you board a plane without knowing the results? Why take that gamble? I don't understand these types of people. What about the St Louis man supposedly ordered to quarantine himself but chose instead to take his daughter to a dance? I can't...
10
It seems, after looking over many of the comments, that they fall into 2 (possibly 3) camps. Those who are concerned about their portfolios; those who are concerned about public health; and those who are concerned with attributing blame...and promoting a political agenda.
That's pretty sad.
5
@alabreabreal
And those who have nothing useful to contribute?
3
No one in that administration can answer the simple question of why we can't ramp up the testing? Pence has told us two weeks in a row that there would be a million tests, then four million test 'by the end of the week.' It's not happening, no matter how many times he praises Trump's leadership.
This administration is lying to us, aided and abetted by their state network, Fox.
15
Coronavirus is an effective rebuttal of the nationalism which has been spreading across the western world. Instead of a coordinated effort between countries under the supervision of the World Health Organization (those globalists!), we are left with haphazard stopgap measures enacted too late by inept nationalist politicians. And we are paying the price. Nationalism is dangerous to your health. Literally.
9
@Ben Closing Wuhan from the rest of China worked fine. Closing Taiwan from the rest of the world worked fine. Closing S Korea seems to work. We will see on Italy and Denmark.
2
The United States of America needs to close for 2 weeks
No clubs
No bars
No sporting events, concerts
No plays, musicals, fundraisers, flea markets
Close every single school in the country
Those who are able to work from home should do so
Shut down completely for 2 weeks. It'll hurt in the short run, but it'll worth it in the long run
13
If I got sick now I could not go to the doctor. I don't have insurance.
There are millions like me. Will we, be the achilles heel of any proposed solution?
11
@Bo
Go anyway. Let them sue you for any bills related to the virus and see how far it gets them.
2
@Glenn
The Courts will enforce any collection action.
Unless, the poster is truly without any funds/property.
This is the harsh reality.
3
I was reading advice for dealing with the Corona Virus and I came across this in passing, "...the fact that they estimate a full 30% of the population never wash their hands."
4
Trump won’t get tested for Coronavirus just like he won’t release his tax returns or say why he had that unscheduled stop at Walter Reed months ago: HE HAS EVERYTHING TO HIDE and is too insecure to get in touch with the truth.
9
@Hope
He doesn't have to go for a test. Given the many folks around him have been quarantined, it is safe to assume he does carry the virus asymptomatically at a minimum, and is spreading it himself. If he is sick, the symptoms will show up and that he can't hid. The best thing is to stay away from him. There is no need to waste the test kits which are in short supply
5
@Sarah Perhaps, but it is still possible for people who are asymptomatic to spread this virus. And, I would not want to run that risk. And, I think the point is that he is not quarantining himself-- he's interacting with many, many people. He may only carry a light viral load, but still be contagious. We just don't know. And, as to testing, the point is there should not be a shortage. We need to know how broad the scope is in order to know the basic facts of epidemiology. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/faq.html
2
@Sarah Perhaps, but it is still possible for people who are asymptomatic to spread this virus. And, I would not want to run that risk. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/faq.html
2
Plagues and epidemics can have profound, lasting social effects.
Plague brought down Justinian in the 6th Century. The Byzantine Empire, the last remnants of the Roman Empire, became a backwater. This after having built the Hagia Sofia and composed the great law code that would set the standard for modern legal codes.
Plague marked the end of the feudal system in Europe in 1348-1350 because so many people died. It created opportunities for the lower classes and moved Europe towards capitalism. Genetic historians are discovering it had a profound effect on immunity of certain populations.
4
This increasingly feels like the end of October 1929.
6
starting, of course, and possibly ultimately limited to, travel to and from Blue states
4
The President is out of his depth and has let down both the country as well. as the free world. A sad day
10
Forget banning some domestic travel. Tell us when the testing kits are coming? Next month?
14
I agree that some domestic travel should be curtailed. Trump's should be the first. He can go to Camp David if he needs to get away from his hard work and long hours, "cough, cough, cough".
25
@Eduardo Montalbon — it’s a business adage that you cannot manage what you do not measure. It’s easy to keep numbers down if you don’t make test kits available or authorize testing with kits that are available.
22
The time is ripe for a Bernie Sanders presidency. He is not beholden to big money and genuinely has the majority of the people's interests at heart.
6
@derylbruce That is so untrue! Lets talk NRA
1
I live in Connecticut. I look around and see over 300 in New York; over 90 in Mass; 23 in Jersey with one death; yet only 3 here in Connecticut! It's not like we have so few people here and are so spread out over a large area like in New Mexico or Montana. I suspect we have as many cases as our neighboring states and we simply aren't testing too many people. At this point, we should all assume everyone around us has it and do what we would do to avoid getting the flu from them. But we also need to get immunity soon from this somehow and exposure might be the best way.
12
@FRITZ
Connecticut people are super-frigid and anti-social and this is a life saver now. I am from Connecticut. Bostonians are the same but have a high population density, so they might not be so safe.
1
@FRITZ Maybe.
I'm vacationing in Paris, in 2 days we were to be in Barcelona, this morning at 3 am the phone starts ringing. It's our daughter. "You've got to come home right now. Trump just announced a travel ban from Europe" Then friends started texting, emailing with the same message.
I spent the next 12 hours buying plane tickets, trying to cancel reservations for other flights, hotels, guides, shuttles, etc. Then it's announced that the travel ban doesn't apply to returning US citizens. Too late, by this time I've forfeited 2 weeks of vacation and $20,000 that I will never get refunded.
Between Trump not knowing what to do because he's fired anybody with any experience or education and Pence saying that there's no confusion, you gotta wonder if there is anyone in the White House that can make a decent decision. No wonder the stock market charts look like an anvil thrown from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
73
@jhine
The part about "wondering if there's anyone in the White House that can make a decent decision" is right. They seem to be running around in circles instead.
5
@jhine Sorry to hear about your situation. I must say, I would have great difficulty containing my anger and maintaining civility. I wish you the best of luck.
6
Safe travels home!
4
It is sad to see the competent infectious disease doctors try to work around Trump and Pence. It's strange having to read between the lines to get good information from the feds. Mainly, we now rely on health experts at the state and the local levels. We've lost our flagship which was the CDC.
The main problem is the lack of testing. Do we actually not have the capability? Jeeze. If we don't know about something then we can't deal with it. People are just left wondering what to do, and mildly ill people are doomed to be vectors. Why is this the policy? Folks who have returned from S Korea say people are much better off for having information and yes, the economy is working better there, too. Trump's no knowledge policy is v wrong in every way.
But Trump always does the wrong thing. He's always been cruel and stupid, and full of rage (the only other politician I know of who had the constant rage attacks was actually Hitler), and now his know nothing policy endangers the lives of many people, unnecessarily.
I don't wish ill on anybody, but it might not be a bad thing if he contracted a non-lethal, but highly unpleasant case of coronavirus, where he would end up extremely grateful to health professionals. Maybe then he would have a change of heart and listen to scientific minds more readily.
29
@Sues Besides that, imagine what a temporary, Pence presidency might be like - even if only for a few days.
1
What we really need is the steady hand and the clear mind of a person like Obama who actually respects science.
5
@Sues No, we need to be rid of him. There's no capacity for a "change of heart", as he has no heart.
4
DIARY FROM A QUARANTINED COUNTRY - DAY #3
In lockdown times, supermarkets are closed during weekends. We decided to buy our weekly foodstuff batch today. Going to supermarkets in an emergency period gives you a good idea of how life has changed. We were first lined up outside at 2 m distance from the next customer. They let people in 10 at a time, after another 10 people had left the building. I did not visit any communist block country in the pre-Gorbachev era, but I imagined myself there lining up outside a grocery store selling rationed food. Right after the entrance, we found a disposable glove dispenser, with a sign inviting anyone to wear a pair. We did so and started heading to the shelves. The atmosphere was quite surreal. A limited number of customers, moving around cautiously, looking at one other with veiled suspicion, and trying to keep the farthest distance. More people wearing safety masks than in the streets. A few of them wearing regular ones, some – including most of the supermarket staff – wearing the thinner (and useless) type. A few people protecting (?) their mouth and nose with a scarf, quite a number – including ourselves – wearing only their best common sense. A guy made me instinctively laugh because he was wearing an anti-gas mask. I found myself holding my breath when crossing other people. It was a quick and unpleasant shopping. Outside the building, no more controls, so I wonder whether all this could really be effective. Finger crossed.
44
@Paolo Bàrberi Thank you for sharing this experience and letting readers know what some of us may be facing in coming weeks, hard as it is to imagine.
Compliments to your Prime Minister, whose steps include many we should be making here. If only he was in the White House.
18
Maybe trump gave the virus to the Brazilians?
22
Can America get it together to very quickly produce in mass quantities what is needed to cope with an emergency ?
Yes. All you have to do to verify that is check out how quickly we ramped up to provide the planes, tanks, and other armaments needed to fight World War II. The difference between then and now is the informed leadership by F.D.R. then and the lack of leadership -- let alone informed leadership -- by Trump now.
23
Today we lack a lot of the industrial capacity we had at the outset of WW2 unfortunately.
6
@Steve Fankuchen
Yes but those were simple things .You need a lot of know how for N95 masks etc.
@Luke A
Excellent point. Thank you !
2
If this dire economic situation in the US and the world is the result of being a ‘very stable genius’, I think I’m glad that I might actually be a duffer!
11
Trump does not need to be tested. It's doubtful that covid-19 can make that long leap from humans to Trumps.
47
Since Donnie boy is immune from and above the laws, I’m sure he thinks himself immune from the virus also.
6
The Republican Party has been sowing the seeds of this crisis since 1980.
Four decades later the Republican Party's whirlwind has been loosed and the world is reaping its toxic harvest.
It is not the pandemic it is our nation's lack of resources and infrastructure and the worlds' complete failure in preparing for what has been warned of in the aftermath of the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic.
20
Trump is in way over his head. He should step down for the good of the country. It can be a part of a plea bargain.
24
The virus isn't the problem it is our lack of resources needed to respond to it effectively and an absence of leadership.
This is a man made—Grover "Drown Government in the Bathtub" Norquist and supply side economic zealots—crisis.
The Republican Party, as an institution, is a danger to the rule of law; the integrity of our democracy and the very survival of our citizens.
The problem is not just Donald Trump it is the decades long drumbeat of conservative defunding of government at all levels.
The only hope of defending the country from Conservative Republican's ideological drive to eliminate all functions of government is to vote against every Republican on your ballot on Nov.3.
18
Trump calculated the optics of leaving Americans languishing in China or on floating hot zone cruise ships would harm his re-election and rolled the dice on importing and unleashing a thousand super spreaders.
2
Trump is, as always, trying to pass the buck for his ignorance to someone else - in this case Europe through China. What's the point? What I see here is a disgracefully slow and inept response to this plague, probably to keep Trump's "figures" as low as possible for purely political reasons - to give him plausible grounds for claiming as totally false "win".
This isn't a game, it's an existential crisis. When OUR figures are dwarfed by almost every other country on this planet, and we therefore have no roadmap to get ahead of the massive epidemic, MANY Americans will sicken and die for no reason. Every hour that the Republicans hold up a Majority Bill in the House costs lives and puts us further behind. In this race we have already lost due to the failures of this fake administration to be prepared and to respond as they should have. It is blatantly clear and nothing that Trump says to the contrary can disprove it.
It is now Thursday and the "millions" of Covid19 tests that Pence and Azar promised would be available by last Monday are nowhere, nor are masks and other protective devices which should be worn by EVERYONE who is not in isolation. China, the country that Trump always falsely vilifies to make him look "better" and "stronger", is vastly ahead of us in protecting its people.
With poor tracking and crippled epidemiological tools, we are doomed. This has just begun here. Demand a LOT more of your Federal government and hold them accountable!
14
How many Americans have been tested?
ANSWER THE QUESTION, TRUMP.
25
Before now, the GOP refused to admit payroll "taxes" ARE taxes. Thus their claim that 47% of Americans "don't pay taxes".
How can you give a tax cut on things that aren't taxes?
12
I totally support travel bans in general at this moment, but Europeans are angry to Trump because the list of countries had no logic in it (except perhaps political). Sure, he doesn't need to consult European officials, but at least you should base the decisions on actual data if you wanna stop the spread of the virus.
Many countries in Europe (e.g. most of Eastern Europe) still have only <10 infections, while the UK has 590 cases and Israel 100 cases at the moment. UK has been very slow to react, meaning the virus will probably spread fast, as it's one of the most densely populated European countries. Sure, we have the free movement in EU, but many countries have already started border control as is possible in such situations.
I'm not saying travel bans to Eastern Europe aren't wise, but leaving some countries with major epidemic out of the ban isn't. This is why Trump's decision or CDC's travel recommendation doesn't make much sense to us Europeans.
10
John, within the Schengen zone of the EU, there are no travel limitations (or there weren’t any before the virus outbreak). So it doesn‘t make sense to treat the countries differently. Anybody from the most affected area could take a flight to the US via a country with only a few cases. So I think this is one of the few cases where Trump-bashing is not justified.
5
@Helleborus There weren't any before the outbreak, but now there are indeed. For example, Estonia re-introduced border control and can force 14 day quarantine for people entering from risk areas. Czech Rep. has closed borders from 15 nationalities (including many neighboring countries). Finland is recommending 14 day quarantine for anyone entering the country from abroad (though not strictly enforced by government yet).
At the same time, nothing prevents us Europeans from moving back and forth to UK or Ireland, which were not banned by Trump, as the borders stay open during the brexit transition period.
Who knew that viruses don't respond to tweets?
21
Why isn't the President being sequestered in light of his exposure to a Brazilian official who tested positive for the virus? So much for leading by example. There aren't any more words available to describe this President......
13
The FED bails out Banks with $1.5 Trillion; but medicare for all ? Too Expensive
33
The more I learn the more concerned I am about the gross incompetence of this administration. Is there anyone out there who isn't afraid?
16
@Linda
Indeed, the virus isn't what causes me agita it is Trump's uniquely in competent administration and Conservative Republican Ideology.
6
“If the Democrats try to move what they’re trying to do, I don’t know that that will help the economy,” Representative Kevin McCarthy, GOP
McCarthy's statement underscores the GOP's first and foremost concern, how to "help the economy". Its not about the people.
21
@Don The stupid part of his position is that helping the people WILL help the economy. We are a consumer driven society. Give the consumer the means to drive, and he will drive, and the markets will be happier than they are now.
5
"Trump curtails all domestic travel — except to his hotel properties." That's coming shortly; bet on it.
17
“If somebody gets a little bit out of control.”
That says it all.
13
Testing for the novel coronavirus continues to face severe limitations, as California health officials lack key components to conduct laboratory analysis, marking another barrier in the state’s efforts to identify infectious patients.
The shortfall compounds a month of sluggish progress in deploying diagnostic tests developed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and, if not quickly remedied, will continue to substantially undercount infected patients and could hinder efforts to contain the outbreak.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-11/coronavirus-testing-kits-lack-key-ingredient-causing-confusion
7
Here in Florida a JetBlue passenger is positive for COVID 19; authorities here told passengers and crew to move around freely; no quarantine. Another man just showed positive in Seminole County. Florida is Republican controlled; Desantis; Rubio;Scott. This is total incompetence. Donald Trump banned Europe; it is too late. COVID 19 is here in Florida; infecting and killing people. Protect our Health!! Most of these Reps are attacking China; grow up; stop throwing stones and protect our Health. Ray Sipe;Dist 18; Florida
18
@Ray Sipe - And you have thousands of partying spring breakers in Florida right now, from all over the country, getting ready to spread the virus to every nook and cranny of the US when they go back home.
6
Time to get serious folks, and quickly remove Trump from office. He's clearly and ignorant basket case with no sense of how to deal with a crisis like this. Wall Street has now figured this out; Senate Republicans have now figured out that Trump will be a millstone around their necks when it comes to being re-elected. If Trump remains in office he'll end up causing untold American deaths with his ignorant 'elephant in a china shop' routine. Congressman need to put their heads together on a bi-partisan basis and quickly remove him. Pence can take over until the November election.
It's becoming very clear that America's almost complete lack of testing, and it's current inability to test on a wide scale is both the critical issue, and is largely the responsibility of our current Federal administration with their unwillingness to face facts and deal with a rapidly unfolding situation in a timely manner.
Knowing this, are we willing to sit still and do nothing while the body count stacks up?
11
@bern galvin
what body count do you refer to?
Can someone please explain how or why someone with a pending coronavirus test boarded a commercial airplane?
8
When I watched Donald Trump’s address to the nation, many things were notable. Perhaps one of the most notable things was that he said that Americans should come together as a nation. This is a noble sentiment, of course; however, it is totally contrary to everything he has done in his presidency so far. Am I not correct in concluding that Mr. Trump has spent the last few years renting American society asunder? So why the change in sentiment, I wonder?
12
@Mark Alexander
The timing of a message for people to come together (for the first time during his admin) is ironic, considering people are being asked to stay apart and definitely not come together and certainly not in large groups.
10
@Mark Alexander
The only change is that someone else wrote the speech Trump gave.
By this morning, he was back to form, tweeting away about Democrats.
12
I'd love to go protest and ask, "Where are the tests?" But, alas, protesting is now not an option. Scary.
8
The flu epidemic of 1917-1918 killed an estimated 50 million people, striking down healthy young adults in a matter of days. One of the victims was apparently Donald Trump's grandfather, Friedrich. Trump did not know that anyone died of the flu. Donald never knew Friedrich, so he must not count as "near and dear."
Only when people near and dear to Trump and his enablers are struck down by the coronavirus will they view this pandemic as more than a hoax or a Democratic plot to "bring down Trump."
Coronavirus has the potential to be a "neutron bomb," wiping out swaths of the population while leaving the physical assets of society untouched.
I do not believe that Trump has the capacity to relate to the human toll that the coronavirus is going to exact on society.
19
Is it possible to turn MAGA hats into N95 masks.
Made in America, folks! (well, except for the materials...)
15
Excemption from travel ban for US citizens to return to USA is one thing.
Another is cancelled all flights and inability to return from Europe.
May be some transatlantic Cruise ship.
1
He's going to restrict travel inside the US? Telling people to avoid travel to areas where infection is widespread is smart, but this clown is going to order cessation of domestic travel? He simply can't get over wanting to be Putin or Kim can he?
8
Finally, the "stable genius" has met his match---a virus.
But will his base (cult) accept that?
Very doubtful!
4
1. Destabilize political systems. Check.
2. Destabilize the economy. Check.
3. Destabilize medical systems. Underway.
4. Vote your President in for life. Check.
5. Scary to think of what's next...
Guess which country, that currently only has (reported) 28 cases so far.
5
Trump's lies and "sharpie science" is figuratively and literally shooting himself and our Country in the foot. As just one example, he proclaims he wants no politics, yet exempts the 7th highest European source of the virus (UK) because Boris has praised Trump.
12
@Ralph - And he has golf courses there.
3
Restrict events but keep schools open??
6
@Jessica - The kids may be safer in school than at home.
Infection at Mar O-Lago...does this mean the facility will shut down..or worse, Trump cannot go there again....what are they doing to prevent the spread at "Trump's house".
This should set the mark for other properties with infections...
6
@RH - They need to do a really, really deep cleaning at Mar-a-Lago. Oh, wait, they already deported the cleaning staff!
5
Since the president has almost certainly been exposed to the virus via multiple channels at this point, why isn't he putting himself into quarantine?
15
@Randy
He did not look well on TV yesterday, panting and sweating.
4
I agree. And he had an unusual complexion, almost orange.
10
I'd like to see a section with daily testing updates: how many people have been tested, how many tests have shipped, what states have their own testing and where, are all hospitals able to access testing, what is the current testing criteria?
If you are unable to get some of this information, it would be helpful to know why. Is there no system in place? Are government agencies unwilling to give out information? Do they not have the information? There was a recent opinion piece on the difficulty of getting tested in NY. Is this still the case or have things changed? If I get sick, the first thing I want to know is how and where do I get tested.
18
@Lauren
As of Monday, March 9th, there were 30 test kits available in the entire state of Oregon.
So, no - things have not changed. (Well, except for Trump ordering all information about those numbers to be classified....)
6
@J Anders - He has no legal right to classify that information.
1
So Trump said this morning that he might restrict travel to Washington and California. Now I'm just waiting for him to suggest that there should be "big, beautiful" walls around the two states!
9
A three-point Democratic strategy:
1. Do nothing until the election.
2. In the meantime, let the Virus be his opponent.
3. Then he’s certain to lose...no matter how hard he tries to mutate.
3
Perhaps force a 14-day quarantine for the whole country so we can isolate and locate all the infections; the whole world should do it together really. I’d prefer a two week pause on everything over months or years of this.
10
@Audra this does feel like a good approach, just shut down for a few weeks. Schools can make up the time in July. Banks add an extra month to all loans and mortgages and let people miss a month with no negative impact. If people aren't spending then they don't need to earn.
5
@Audra
Might slow it down. But I think this bug, like the flu is difficult to burn out.
@Audra That only works if we have testing. We do not.
The Brazilian government allowed Carnival to take place. The country received millions of tourists from hundreds of countries. The government made no barriers at airports. Result: coronavirus.
4
@Soraia Silva
In the dining room of Mar-a-Lago last weekend, no less.
But, hey - Trump says it's just a hoax, so I guess that's his mental vaccine...
1
@Soraia Silva, Brazil would never cancel carnaval. But let’s see if Jair will continue to call COVID-19 a “Fantasia” now that he has been tested for it ;)
1
Lots of students are being sent home from colleges. Some to study online. There must be a few science students in there who could be 'drafted' by the government to learn how to care for covid-19 patients. Brief internship with the government might look good on a medical school application down the road.
7
@qisl
This government is not about to institute a plan like FDR's CCC or WPA. That's socialism, ya know!
6
We will never know how many people have it while we have this administration. They are blocking testing to cover up the extent of the problem.
12
One of my close friends who worked as a volunteer at China's Fangcang hospital told me: close proximity dinning is one of the top 2 causes for getting infected with COVID-19 (the other: direct contact with contagion). Too bad, this photo shows exact "close proximity dinning".
I think Trump should regret cutting the funding of CDC and the inactions leading to today.
12
@James - No one with any sense would set foot into the same room as Trump right now. Unfortunately, there's no one left around him with any sense!
2
If we can’t trust our President to convincingly lie about our epidemic, he has only ourselves to blame.
At his speech, he was trying so hard to stay awake, with all those vocabulary words flashing before his dour eyes, in a subtle search for little meaning and any exit.
Biden’s best strategy is to get out of the way. Let Trump’s incompetence be his guide, with enabling orchestrators striking a marching tune....as his character, revealed, waltzes to the dance-card of fate.
8
I am not a ‘believer’, but maybe there is such a thing as ‘divine retribution’? Fortuitously for him, Mr. Trump’s reported obsessive hand washing may yet stand him in good stead and he may not catch Covid-19 from Mr. Wajngarten after all, despite the fact he is counted among ‘the elderly’ most at risk from the virus. This should illustrate how wide-spread this pandemic is. Alas, even our Canadian Prime Minister and his wife are now self-quarantining – I am hopeful that they will not be impacted too heavily.
6
Well, 45 might be out of luck by not banning people travelling from the U.S. The wife of our Prime Minister just tested positive for Covid19. She contracted it while at a conference in the U.K. I love that 45 was rubbing shoulders with someone for Brazil who tested positive. If he contracts it, that would be poetic justice....
1
@Ann rubbing shoulders with, dining with, holding the hat he had just been given by....
1
I live in Washington State. One reason we have so many confirmed cases in Washington is that we have tested more than any other major city. This virus is likely in every major city and probably at the same level as King County.
Any leader worth his salt would know that the one thing to focus on is testing. The U.S. should launch a major "Manhattan Project" for creating test kits. Goal: 10MM in the next two weeks, 60MM in the next four weeks and 300MM by May 1. Focusing on tax cuts is really dumb.
The vacuum of government help has led to companies like the Bill Gates Foundation who are making test kits partnerning with Amazon who has last-mile capacity to aid in testing all the need it.
Our government has failed, but that is what the GOP set out to do, to starve it. Vote for change in November. Our lives depend on it.
15
$1,500,000,000,000 in "short term loans" to banks? Curiously, isn't that about the projected cost of the tax gift in the American Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017?
6
I would not be too surprised if the real U.S. numbers are even higher than Europe's confirmed cases. You can't compare the numbers when one isn't testing at the same level.
Trump's travel ban is just a political move - his buddy Johnson excluded of course. It might convince his hardcore fanbase, but everyone else will know it's not stopping the spread at this stage.
17
@Chris
This also has a lot to do with the exclusion of the U.K. from the travel ban:
"President Donald Trump’s pair of golf resorts in Scotland have steadily lost money, with losses calculated at $23 million the last year his company reported figures to United Kingdom officials."
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-scotland-golf-course-loses-1-million-a-year-and-locals-hate-it-2019-3?op=1
6
Died laughing at the President dive off podium after being asked if he'd been tested. Here's why I believe he will not answer. He's hiding something. A test WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK POSITIVE when he's been around so many who now have it. Is the reason perhaps that by taking it in front of public and letting us see results AT the lab--we will see he's negative because he has a vaccine. I believe this is manmade. There would be NO WAY to explain how he miraculous doesn't get it when he's been in contact with so many who do.
6
for those who have the time this will provide reassurance there are many knowledge people working diligently behind the scenes in labs around the world.
Epidemics Going Viral: Innovation vs. Nature In April 2018, a group of renowned researchers, clinicians, public health officials, and others with first-hand experience dealing with epidemics explored the complex challenges of global health emergencies, as well as potential solutions. Watch the video.
https://www.nejm.org/coronavirus?
5
@Mary Elizabeth Lease
Unfortunately, our government has decided it is more important to give a tax cut to fat cat donors than fund these people.
Trump fired the CDC's entire Infectious Disease Prevention team in 2018. In the name of cutting "waste and fraud".
Only 2 short years later, it is obvious where the actual waste and fraud resides: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
5
@J Anders
believe it or not most of those involved here are funded by the philanthropic grants...lots of wealthy septa and octogenarians in the cross hairs of the virus who want to enjoy their ill-gotten wealth for another decade or two.
For all you folks complaining about the lack of screeners and testing at US aiports, I have a suggestion. Why don't you go volunteer your time and go be a screener?
Oh I know...that's right...your lives are too busy and complicated and so much more important than others to be able to do that.
As they say, life ain't perfect...so why is it so shocking that we haven't had a perfect response. Deal with it people. Our numbers are so much better than most...and will continue to be based on the math...and we're just trying to keep it that way.
2
@Eduardo Montalban
Our numbers are "better than most" because America has tested far fewer people than any other country.
Even Cambodia has us beat by a mile in the raw number of people tested, never mind as a percentage of their population.
Trump has classified all information about how many test kits are available And he's hoping people like you won't ask questions if he makes some useless hand movements and calls them "prevention".
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@Eduardo Montalban
The lack of testing is a crime on our population, but in time it will not be able to hide the real impact as the virus spreads through the country and makes people sick.
And if the Federal or State governments announced a volunteer program to begin helping with duties related to virus containment MANY Americans would rise to the occasion. But no citizen has the authority to walk into an airport and start screening people as you suggest to make a meaningless political point.
12
@Eduardo Montalban: Our government should pay trained screeners. It's not a volunteer position.
9
It was thoughtless, and callous, of trump to spend last weekend at Mar-a-Lago golfing, celebrating Don Jr.'s girlfriend's (Kimberly Guilfoyle, former Fox "personality") birthday, and entertaining Bolsonaro and his crew. And so, how ironic it is to learn that one of the Brazilians has CV. Perhaps trump will rue the day he said he'd keep on shaking hands with people.
Maybe there really is a god.
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@Bill
He seemed horse during his address last night. It would make a great turning point in the eventual HBO miniseries. Fingers crossed.
4
As usual, Trump is treating this as a marketing and branding issue rather than a real emergency.
His focus is on blaming anyone other than himself for shortcomings and limiting our access to information to prove otherwise.
For example:
Pence Will Control All Coronavirus Messaging From Health Officials
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/us/politics/us-coronavirus-pence.html
Not a bit different than how China's communist party tried to cover this up at the start. For shame.
10
Here’s what’s going to happen. Trump, because of his narcissistic personality disorder will refuse to be tested and order Pence to do the same.
Can you say President Pelosi?
22
After my husband was diagnosed with a fatal illness we took advantage of Black Friday fares to book a March trip to Spain with his closest friend who is British. We had two lovely days in Seville and then we were awakened at 3:45 AM by four sets of friends texting the news that all flights would be canceled as of midnight Friday. One small fortune later we had tickets to get home and not much sleep. And sadly we will not see our British friends. I know that these are rich people’s problems but it does seem like common curtesy would include detailed information for citizens affected by policies...and the realization that you cannot call an airline at 4AM, so a 28 hour window to get home is pretty unrealistic. We would not have made it if not for our persistent friends.
9
@Lynn G
Perhaps you could have saw your British friends home in Britain and flew home from there where there is no travel ban. I wish your husband the best.
1
I wonder how much we taxpayers paid for Trump to host a dinner at his own resort?
That should not be allowed, unless he pays for it himself.
What a grifter.
24
To what extent are our numbers artificially low due to the lack of test kits?
13
Exactly this administration are totally capable of blocking testing to cover up the full extent of it.
@Lesley Hendrickson
It is absolutely the only reason we don't have as many cases as Italy.
As of Monday of this week, my home state of Oregon had a total of 30 available test kits. In the entire state.
But this is a feature, not a bug. Just as with the American citizens stuck on a cruise ship off San Francisco, Trump doesn't want us making "his" numbers look bad.
2
@Lesley Hendrickson
Some models are suggesting they could be 10 - 20K cases or more undocumented. This is problem number 1 right now and is going to cripple the economy due to fear. If we knew were it was we wouldn't all be preparing to hide inside and avoid contact with everyone.
1
If Trump says this is all a Democratic Party "hoax", why is he banning all flights from Europe, signing billion dollar Covid-19-related bills, and promising to sign more financial stimulus and health bills?
Not sure why any main street Trump supporter would really think he cares about them. All he cares about is how bad the stock market is doing and of course, himself.
I hope this Coronovirus pandemic literally and figuratively brings down the president and a new era of world leadership by the U.S. is restored.
9
I am re-posting this amazing comment posted by a physician in Texas. Why this comment wasn't a "NYT Pick", I'll never know:
"One physician’s perspective: I am very certain I have seen many COVID patients already, but was not allowed to test until today.
The Trump administration declined readily available free test in January from W.H.O.
This bought time for American corporations to develop proprietary test to profit from.
Unfortunately, this has taken two months. Due to defective first attempts. Meanwhile CDC made testing criteria so strict that essentially no one was tested.
The only reason our numbers are low is because we have not tested. If we were looking for it, we would have found it, throughout the country. We could have used standard contact tracing to slow it down.
Proprietary test are coming on line the last day or two. Cases will exponentially explode, as cases already here are finally recognized. Contact tracing is now useless secondary to volume.
Trump’s EU (except UK) travel ban is a political stunt that will make him appear to be doing something, but will have no effect. We squandered our chance to act afforded to us by the Chinese. Now we will have to take the hit led by small government and science denial.
I just hope the social upheaval doesn’t hurt more people than the virus will."
30
In spite of his self proclaimed medical genius, Trump's inability to grasp the nature or scope of this - or most any - crisis, there are other reasons to take his solutions with a grain of salt and fear his responses to this or any crisis.
1. He has an extremely limited imagination.
2. His sense of reality is confined almost entirely to what he imagines.
3. He cares nothing for anyone he does not regard as a loyalist.
4. He takes every crisis as a personal challenge.
5. His forte is to create problems then to pretend to solve them.
6. Over the arc of his entire life, he has never been a problem solver.
7. The corona virus won't respond to Trump's usual way of lying and insulting his way out of issues, problems or in this case, a huge crisis.
8. Trump can be counted only to confuse the issues, muddy the waters and add to the problems.
It seems best to listen to experts and ignore this president.
11
So that's the reason why Our Stable Genius slathered on the tangerine make-up last night but good. Not even Trump would want to worship his own face after that.
5
the atomization of our culture over the past 50 years has put us at a severe disadvantage in dealing with a pandemic compared to our relatives who experienced the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.
1
It would be great if there is an enterprising journalist with a spare moment able to track down Grover Norquist and ask him if, having succeeded in drowning government in the bathtub, the current unfolding consequence of his decades long effort are satisfying.
7
I don't understand what is going on. I think if I sat at a dinner table and had pictures taken over the weekend with someone who tested positive today, I would (a) self-isolate and (b) be tested. Why are Trump and Pence and all the others who were there not doing so? Are the rules different for them? Like them, I have every chance at surviving should I get sick. But my 91 year old mother with COPD lives with me, and will die. Flattening the curve by cooperating is our only chance at controlling this thing. Shame on anyone who does not comply.
18
Since Trump (and Pence) have clearly been exposed to Covid19, they need to go into self-imposed isolation. If they do not do this, who can make them?
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@TenToes
I would think this is grounds for a 25th Amendment case.
4
Deep breath.
Think logically.
The virus can only enter your body through an opening in your face.
Nose.
Mouth.
Eyes.
Ears.
So… DON'T TOUCH THOSE OPENINGS.
You have some power here.
Seriously.
At some point soon we will have some better treatments for those who get sick.
And, we will have a vaccine - maybe sooner than we think - and we will have beat this microscopic monster.
If no one coughs on you or stands so close that you can smell their breath - breath that may have microscopic particles with the virus - AND you keep your hands, particularly your fingertips, clean and you don't stick those fingertips into the openings of your face…
Then, you are one more person who is saying "I'm not letting that little monster into my body!"
We all need to adopt that fighting, even indignant, spirit realize we have power and, above all, realize this is temporary.
We'll get through it.
Just, for God's sake, keep your fingers away from the openings in your face!
If your nose itches, use a tissue or the back of your hand if you must.
Do not use your fingertips!
5
@Paul King Paul it's main form of transmission is respiratory droplets, breathing in other's breathe. Which isn't to say you aren't making a great point about the touching that too is a problem.
3
Trump hung out with someone who has now tested positive. Can Trump now be quarantined? Please? It’s mean of me to say, but I do hope Trump comes down with this hoax.
13
Jair Bolsonaro the 38th and current president of Brazil has sent a terse message through his ambassador to the US demanding Trump and Pence be tested immediately for Covid-19 after sending home Bolsonaro's emissary infected with the virus.
The message alluded to Trump and Pence being hypocrites and super spreaders.
10
Well, there is hope then that Trump has caught the disease.
7
I think that now we should all stop blaming the leadership or lack thereof and criticizing the actions taken,but instead DEMAND in one single voice that maximum effort be made,so
there are tests available to anybody who needs or wants them.Protective material( N95 masks available to all and mandatory wearing in public)gloves,sanitizers .Extensive screening to locate infected people and tracing contacts and send text alerts(otherwise what's the use of all fancy phones we have). If we all take part in this effort we can beat this sooner than later.
4
@Faliron
I agree that repetition of criticism is useless beyond the personal satisfaction of voicing it and all energy should be expended on demanding widespread screening and resouces to help prevent contamination. Good idea.
I seem to recall a comment from a few days back that there had been an early "glitch" in producing testing kits. "Glitch" is a meaningless explanation.
2
@Faliron
Being from the South, I have always found that people who suddenly insist others must "be nice" are generally trying to avoid blame for something.
4
@Faliron
you confuse us—the USA—with Italy or China.
1
That Trump is comically and wickedly inept, we already knew.
That so many enablers and apologists still keep applauding a man whose every word that comes out of his mouth is either to a lie, a compliment to himself, a way to impress people and play politics with whatever he can, even lives.
Hopefully, the republican congress will pay a “tremendous” (Trump’s favorite word which amounts to extra-cellular polymeric substance) price.
For now, unfortunately, we, the people are paying the price of his irreversible and proud ignorance.
12
@Dr Asturi
I've started timing how much of each news conference is spent with round-robin praise of Trump.
So far, it runs about 80%.
6
Rescind the 2017 tax cut!
12
@Steve
Exactly.
What does a tax extension do anyway except let the rich 1% we gave it to put off giving some back for this emergency?
2
You must be one of the rich elite who no longer can deduct from your federal taxes, an unlimited amount paid for state and local taxes and huge amounts for real estate loan interest. I don’t think that your demand is supported by the two thirds of taxpayers who unlike you, are now paying lower taxes because of the 2017 tax law. However, Democrat politicians can certainly announce to voters loudly and often that they want to raise taxes on most people and reduce them on some rich people.
@Rock Winchester
Before now, the GOP refused to admit payroll "taxes" WERE taxes. Thus their claim that 47% of Americans don't pay taxes.
How can you give a tax cut on things that aren't taxes?
1
Oh! --- I forgot to mention his over-sized gargantuan ego.
He only cares about that --- that's really the first of all things.
Add the above to my previous sentiment here:
"I could not stomach listening to Trump speak last night, but I just listened a few moments ago.
To hear the passionless monotone of his so-called presidential address to our nation, especially his "commanding" words . . .
". . . STOP the partisanship,"
. . . was the most sickening part of the whole 9 minutes and 31 seconds.
It's over. He only cares about the economy and his money.
He's always been a con-man. No trust. No decency. No honor.
Vote Nov 3, 2020, if he survives even that long."
14
@Paul
"Oh! --- I forgot to mention his over-sized gargantuan ego."
Don't worry ... we haven't fogotten, we can't forget.
Honest to God, I do my very very best to will no ill on another human being. I just WISH TO HIGH HEAVEN I never had to hear from or about this man ever again as long as I live. I just don't want him to live in my head anymore. Please let this end.
I still fantasize I'll wake up and 2016-2020 will prove to have been some kind of bizarre nightmare I was having.
5
If I board a commercial aircraft, and as I enter the plane door I glance into the cockpit and see a troglodyte sitting in the left-hand seat (the captain's seat), my confidence is going to go way down. And I'm going to go back into the airport terminal. Real fast. I'll be running.
This seems like an apt metaphor for the last 3 years of the U.S. presidency.
5
South Korea, with 15% of America's population, has already tested over 220,000 people. They have 50 drive-through testing centers, and anyone who tests positive is picked up for free by a specially equipped ambulance and whisked in for a free hospital stay.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is trying to pin the 'blame' on 'foreigners" (like American businessmen didn't carry this home from China months ago). All information about how many tests have been done is classified, as is information on how many tests might become available soon. Information given to the media has to be cleared by Mike Pense, and our president is back in his grievance bunker tweeting about how all this is a plot by Democrats to take his chair in the
White House.
By the time we get some adults in charge next January, it will be too late. Never mind - it already is.
12
At what point does ignorance and self-serving actions become outright criminal? The least I would do is sue this administration for its irresponsible denial of such an infectuos problem. I think world leaders should refrain from any invitations to the White House and should not allow entry of any kind from same to their countries in response. Trump is utterly reckless.
6
Given the bungled U.S. response and woeful lack of COVID-19 testing, I'm surprised any American currently abroad would be scrambling to get home.
6
@Anthony Reinhart - Yeah, they'd probably be safer to stay put in Europe. At least they could get tested there!
1
trump and his family, the omnipotent, will "never" test positive for the virus.
2
This episode reminds me (and reminds me and reminds me): there is no situation that Trump can't make worse.
19
The comment from the White House national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, was the typical M.O. of the Trump administration. By mid-January 2020, it was widely known to all sentient beings on this planet that there was an epidemic in China. It is mid-March now, there is still insufficient number of test kits and doubtful capacity to process the test kits. It seems that the Trump administration thinks by blaming others and deflecting responsibilities, then they could avoid addressing any problems.
5
Somewhere in DC in an undisclosed location Grover Norquist is chortling as the GOP is opening the window in preparation for the ceremonial throwing of the baby out it along with the bath water.
Mitch McConnell is having a bespoke suit tailored at this very moment to wear in his role as master of ceremony.
Noquist was quoted saying, "All good things are worth waiting for."
5
Comparing the speeches of Angela Merkel and Trump I feel sorry for the US. Reading the comments on Trumps speech here I still have hope that the american people will give the right answer in November. May you all be healthy when that day comes.
12