People have been dumb about the pandemic all this time. I’ve been dumb about it too. My rule has been “wear a mask whenever I go indoors,” so I’ve been wearing my mask to pick up takeout food and to the grocery store. But my gym reopened in early June, and my ass has been going there a lot and I haven’t been wearing a mask. I’m an idiot. I’m still social distancing (Virgos are natural social distancers!) and all, but yeah, I’ve definitely “eased up” on my own rules. Tons of people around America have taken the first phases of the “reopen” and run with it, and they’re now pretending that the pandemic is over. It’s not f–king over! The curve has not flattened, it’s plateaued.
The population of the US is 330 million
The population of the EU is 446 million[source https://t.co/JtQgQFMvj9] pic.twitter.com/DAVWfkIW15
— Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) June 16, 2020
For whatever record, I don’t *entirely* blame the Trump/Pence administration. They’ve done horrible things and they’ve had a completely sh-tty response to the pandemic, and the bulk of this falls on their shoulders. But a lot of people are also making terrible decisions too. Anyway, scientists are now predicting that the US could have 200,000 coronavirus deaths by October 1st. Which is insane. Trump keeps predicting nonsensical things too, like his promise that we’ll have a vaccine by the end of the year, or repeating the lie that we’re testing so many people and perhaps we should stop testing so there will be no more virus.
This week, the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed from our Coronavirus Czar, Mother’s Husband Mike Pence. This too was full of lies. Pence’s aim was – I think – to subdue the angst about reopening and talk up his fearless leader, Donald Bigly. You can read it here if you want. All that WSJ piece did was increase the angst and make Trump/Pence look tone-deaf and out-of-touch with the realities of what’s happening on the ground in so many states. Oklahoma politicians are flat-out begging Trump not to hold his Nazi rally in Tulsa on Saturday, because the state has seen such a huge increase in cases.
As for Dr. Fauci, he told the Daily Beast that he doesn’t really consider what’s happening now to be a “second wave,” because he doesn’t think we’re done with the first wave yet. He also said that he doubts we would see a city or state get taken by surprise like New York was in March and April, because of what we know about the virus now.
I don’t know what point I’m trying to make here, other than people still need to be careful. Wear your masks. Social distance. Don’t hang out in large groups. And I need to stop going to the gym so much.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Rachel Maddow made your point here for you last night. Our government is being poorly run, and getting worse by the day and year. Larger question is what do we want to do about it?
Love RM. I watch her every night after work, she does such a great job of cutting through the BS and explaining how things are. I found her particularly helpful during the whole Russia collusion stuff. She broke it down so that I could understand how each piece fit together. She ‘s so smart.
For me, sometimes stuff that goes on in the States can be a little confusing so it’s nice to have someone smart to “dumb it down” for me lol.
Pod save America guys talked about the huge difference it would make it we had a president (and everyone in the Republican Party ) wearing a mask and urging everyone to wear one. If we had big public service media information campaigns with famous actors and musicians telling everyone to wear a mask. Instead we have a moron who goes to a mask and swab factory and refuses to put on a mask. We’re definitely heading for a big uptick in cases and hospitalizations.
A lot of Americans seem to have decided that the pandemic is over simply because they wish for it to be over, and I find it kind of agonizing to watch. When I see pictures of people gathered for BBQs or whatever, I wish I could show them what it was like to live in NYC in April. There were refrigerated trucks parked outside of the hospitals to handle the overflow from the morgues, and the ambulance sirens were constant. There was just death and suffering all around us.
What’s crazy is that the US numbers have plateaued *with a significant percentage of the population still living in some version of lockdown.* If we go back to life as normal anytime soon, the whole country’s coronavirus curve will look like Arizona’s.
Not only Americans.
I am shocked by how many people here in France pretend it’s over. It’s not. To the government opened the schools for the last 2 weeks which is crazy. I am still working from home, but I had to fight , because my colleagues were forced to go back to work.
I go out often, and I have seen some friends.
No pub no restaurants even if it’s open. No gym. Still running early in the morning.
And I am keeping a list of all the persons I meet.
Yeah it’s kind of crazy here in France. In Paris, people still wear their masks in the subway but, otherwise, it’s like nothing nerve happened. No physical distanciation in the shops, people entering them without any masks or washing their hands … I really do hope we’re not gonna be hit by a second wave but, as I write this message, Beijing is confining some parts of its population because of new cases … Kind of scary, imho
I ate take-out food last night. It’s the first time since February I’ve had food from a restaurant. I didn’t eat much, I just couldn’t enjoy it.
What’s sick and scary are the Trumpsters I know and I’ve spoken to within this last week who are CONVINCED that this pandemic was created to insure that Trump loses reelection. They’re convinced that this conspiracy has EVERYONE who is dying labelled a Covid death, therefore, there really arent any true Covid deaths. This woman I watched spew her lies to anyone who would listen to her tipsy ass, was rambling on about how Soros is doing everything to fuel BLM, how China is funding Hollywood to further infiltrate the liberal “class” and how Covid is just the world’s concocted plot to overthrow Trump because the world hates him and Covid isn’t real. These people are a dangerous stain on the world. I have no idea how there is any going back after this. I truly think they need a very Covid sick family member to understand what is really at stake. And even then…
Every time a case totals update is posted on any of our regional news sites, the commenters’ opinions skew toward “hoax”, “gloom and doom”, etc.
Someone I know who checks in people at a business (a measure necessary during this reopening phase) says he is tired of hearing opinions. When a customer asked him if he personally knew of anyone who had the illness (an argument in places like ours with less cases), he had a great reply: “No, and I’m glad for that.” He said the customer actually paused to think and agreed it was a good thing. I think some people regurgitate this nonsense without thinking of the broader reality.
So the whole fucking world banded together to make Trump look bad so he loses the election? They’re so dedicated to this that they tanked their economies and killed their citizens. I find this puzzling. If Trump hadn’t have scrapped the pandemic response office that Obama left they might have been in a better position to respond in the beginning. He makes himself look like an asshole all by himself. The world didn’t need to grind to a halt to do that.
Trump has done a lot of terrible things, but I think the absolute worst is politicizing the virus. He has made so many people doubt the science ever since he called it a democratic hoax, and thousands have/will die because he released this toxic mindset into our country.
If he had given legitimacy to the concerns from the beginning, I think we’d be in a completely different place in both lives lost and economy.
Bringing up George Soros is a sure sign someone is wacko.
I am utterly horrified by the number of people who are simply… moving on. NOTHING HAS CHANGED. There is no vaccine, no guaranteed treatment options. The sequelae from this illness range from unpleasant to life-altering (a family friend is a survivor, but he now has kidney damage that will require dialysis). I can understand that we can’t stay home forever, but people who feel that consistently wearing a mask is too much to ask blow my mind. No one is asking you to do anything awful, people! Wearing a slightly uncomfortable facial covering while you’re out could literally SAVE LIVES, but I know plenty of people (including people who do things like donate money to health-saving causes!) who are like: mild discomfort is too great a sacrifice!
I am also appalled at how put out people are about wearing a mask. I have to wear a N95 with a paper mask over it for several hours at work bc I’m an RN in a private pediatric office. It’s very hot and uncomfortable, but it’s what needs to be done for my and others’ protection. I don’t have any sympathy for those that complain that the paper or fabric masks are just too uncomfortable for them. Today I found out I was exposed to COVID19, through an asymtomatic patient. That patient, a teenager, had been out and about in the community and has a large family, so a lot of people have been exposed, probably without the proper protection. I hope that my masks and other precautions I’ve been taking are enough to keep me from getting it. I’m nervous bc I take an immunosuppressant, but I’ll know in a few days if I have it after I get swabbed. We should all be assuming we are asymtomatic carriers and acting accordingly (mask wearing, social distancing minimum of 6ft, hand hygiene, etc.) until there is a vaccine.
No. The first wave is still on the upswing.
You don’t ignore a virus like this. That’s what Trump has done. That’s homicide.
He’s told people since Day One it’s a fake. Yet he’s making his cult agree that if they go to his rally and get sick, they can’t sue him.
Criminal negligence on a national scale.
I WISH we had “like”and/or “upvote” buttons here; I’d hit this a million times.
The first wave has not hit major parts of the country yet. It hit the big cities on the coasts but because those areas went heavy into lockdown, like a seawall or dam, it arrested the spread to other parts of the country. It is moving now. Death is spreading slowly and when ti reaches the vulnerable areas where people aren’t paying attention, it will take a huge toll.
Lightpurple – exactly. That’s why it’s still the First Wave. Thank you.
(The OG) Thank you.
Cuomo still talks daily about NY numbers, but we haven’t had a national update from Fauci since late April. TWO MONTHS with no official words of advice or facts on spread/treatment/advisories, etc. NOTHING.
“If we stop testing, we’ll see no more cases.” Only in the official whitewashed statistics. But that way many, many more people will suffer and possibly die because facts will be permanently and officially ignored.
By the way, that other myth, that only old people get it? Yesterday it was announced the biggest jump in new cases is aged 18-27. Because none of them think anything will happen to them. Because the President refuses to inform the American people how to save their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
“It’s not here. It doesn’t exist It’s fake news.. But if you get it and get sick and die, you can’t sue me.” That’s the President of the United States giving a hearty, “screw you” to American citizens.
You gave me chills, and I fear you are correct.
” Death is spreading slowly and when ti reaches the vulnerable areas where people aren’t paying attention, it will take a huge toll.”
So true! And so many rural areas don’t have enough hospital facilities. I don’t think they appreciate their vulnerability.
Yeah, it’s not a 2nd wave, it’s simply moving into new territories that never adopted the proper measures, they’re being hit by the 1st wave.
If not dealt properly, there won’t even be a 2nd wave, it’ll be endemic until a vaccine is available. You don’t want that.
Of COURSE this is still the first wave! We’ve never come out of it. Our lockdown caused it to slow, flatten…but we’re still IN it, evidenced by how many are spreading it to each other now that they’re swarming together as if it’s been a personal inconvenience to them, an affront to their “liberties” rather than an attempt to keep them alive!
There isn’t a 2nd wave until we’ve hit a prolonged “lull”. These idiots are going to be smacked btwn the eyes this fall, during our “regular” flu season when this plague comes back with a vengeance. All they have to do is look at China and Germany, who are experiences HUGE spikes in cases, esp China, who is going into lockdown again in certain areas hardest hit.
FOR GOD’S SAKE PEOPLE: WEAR A MASK (YOURS protect others, THEIRS protect YOU)! #StaySafe #SocialDistance!
Wait, what? I’m in Germany, what huge spike is this referring to? There was only that neighborhood in Berlin that was put in quarantine, but it was “only” around 50 cases – child’s play compared to the numbers the US is still reporting.
That said, I will definitely agree with you on the wearing masks comment. From the perspective of having been here through all this (and not being German), they’re handling it really well, and much of that is from people being more than happy to follow the rules in terms of wearing masks in all supermarkets, on public transport etc.
there has been a breakout of 400 positive cases at a meat plant in NRW near Bielefeld.
Well not exactly HUGE changes. Even though we have “only” had a bit over 200 deaths in June so far here in Germany, we do have over 300 confirmed cases daily and this week has seen a spike. In my city people are shopping and hanging out in restaurants like nothing ever happened, so I am not surprised we don’t have a proper lull, just a flattened curve. I will consider the first wave over when we have less than 20 cases daily and far less deaths no matter how geriatric. I can’t imagine what things will be like when fall/winter comes and all this outside dining and outside sport will be no longer possible and people will crowd into rooms for everything.
There are local Spikes in Germany. A meat packing plant with rumanian workers and neighbourhood with also mostly stubborn People. Not a nationwide spike. Iam in Bavaria with the hardest restricitions and we are far far from a second wave.
I think we are seeing a post-Memorial Day spike, right on schedule. According to worldometers.org, cases have been steadily climbing (globally) and deaths steadily declining, but yesterday deaths popped up. The real second wave will be in the fall.
After the protestors (most of whom *were* wearing masks) were gassed and shot at, we’re going to be seeing another BIG uptick in cases in another couple of weeks. REEEEALLY smart to shoot an irritant into a crowd, making them cough, rub their eyes, shout…all expelling droplets into a crowed area.
But then, I guess that’s the republiTHUG point. Besides the apparent cruelty and fascism, more “Libs” get sick…some die…thin the number of voters. Personally, I think this is how that corpse Stephen Miller gets off.
The problem is, the Republicans were protesting stay at hone orders en masse back weeks before the police brutality protests started. The spike we’re seeing now is related to that and the wimpy governors who decided to open up states way too soon after having done the bare minimum in terms of closing.
We haven’t even begun to see the effects of recent protests: with tear gas, locking people up in crowded jails, etc.
This is what has been happening in MD – I think our cases are going up (I would have to confirm that though) but our deaths and hospitalizations are overall declining. I’m not entirely sure why our hospitalizations are dropping – are people not getting as sick? are they not being admitted even if they are really sick? but I’m wondering if those will increase in the next few weeks. We started phase 1 of reopening on May 15, so its been over a month.
Our governor keeps talking about the low number of hospitalizations, which seems like a good thing, but I do think the emphasis on that makes people feel more secure. Our TJ Maxx and Homegoods opened last week and there was a line of a hundred people to get in. Our indoor dining opened up which I thought was one of the riskier activities but I guess we’ll see how things go.
I wear a mask whenever I’m inside or in close contact with someone, like even for curbside pickup, but I’m not sure how many are doing that.
I’m here in Maryland too! Our numbers are on a general downward trend but I really can’t imagine that will continue. I’m in Baltimore and our mayor has been more conservative than the governor – we just entered Phase I on 6/8. That being said, people are super lax in the wearing of masks and social distancing. I was in Bel Air on Sunday and was literally shocked to see people at an outdoor market – crowds and easily 75% with no masks. Gov. Hogan did a great job in the early months which I think is giving people a false sense of security. I wouldn’t be surprised to see numbers creep back up in the next couple weeks.
@NJR – I’m in Carroll county so we have been opening up as soon as Hogan gives the OK, which is stupid because then people just come here to shop or whatever from Howard and Baltimore counties. Central Maryland is a pretty condensed area to have such different rules, IMO.
Our farmer’s market here is opening up next week! granted its going to be a lot smaller and a lot more spread out, but still……
I think as vacations pick up (I know someone who flew her four kids to Florida this week for a vacation, WTF) our numbers will go up, and that’s not even talking about the general reopening that’s going on.
I find the drop in hospitalizations confounding, also. Especially since I’ve felt that In the hardest hit months, people who were probably sick enough to be hospitalized in normal times were sent home to make room for the really, really sick people. Perhaps this wave of people are younger and healthier and don’t need to be hospitalized.
@NJR.. In PGcounty, some high school football team continued to practice throughout the lockdown. The daycare down the street, kids and minders on playground with no masks and this was several weeks ago. I must say I’ve been impressed neither DC though.. first time this and everyone was wearing a mask. I give it until third week of July
@FHMom, In BC health officials were seriously alarmed at the drop in hospital intakes. Emergency room visits dropped from 16,000 monthly to just under 7,000. The prevailing theory was people were still suffering heart attacks, strokes and other medical emergencies, but they were staying away from hospitals because they were more afraid of catching covid-19. Dr. Henry, A. Dix, and Premier Horgan were all strongly urging people to still access emergency care when they needed it.
It’s absolutely the government”s fault. Individual action can’t overcome massive systemic failures. It’s akin to telling people they can solve climate change by recycling while ignoring the corrupt oil and gas industry.
This. I can’t wear my mask, stay home and keep my kids home as much as possible. That doesn’t change the entire rest of my community.
I still think the real second wave will be in the fall. We’re still in the first one. And I have not eased up on my mask wearing or disinfecting everything. I have noticed more ppl out and about and not wearing masks and sometimes I feel like I’m the only one taking this seriously. It’s like ppl decided they were tired of being home & bored, so the pandemic is over. They’re in for a rude awakening in a few months.
I took a drive yesterday as my car lease is up today and I have to turn my convertible in *sob* (first time out for more than just running to the pharmacy; even get groceries delivered). I put the top down, kept the front windows up, and put my mask on.
I drove down to the beach. I’d say about 60-70% of people in Santa Monica were wearing masks, or had bandanas around their necks in case someone was coming, they could pull it up.
I drove up PCH and went into Pacific Palisades (a mostly republiTHUG area); a LOT of people out…about 90% were NOT wearing masks/bandanas of any kind. Made me SO angry!
You’re not the only one taking it seriously. I do too. Masks when I go out, staying in as much as possible. I’m in NC and we are steadily going up since reopening. We reopened way too early.
I’m in FL so I get it. We opened too early and our Governor is an idiot.
I’m still quarantining the same as always. I am high risk and live alone, so I can’t afford to be careless. Here in Virginia, our overall numbers are declining, but in my locality, the numbers have increased every day for the past week. Our second-phase reopening began recently, and I plan to track those numbers for the next couple of weeks. I haven’t had a haircut since March 21, or a pedicure since March 7. I don’t plan on making an appointment for either of those things until July. The few times I have been out, most people were masked, but not enough to make me feel safe. It’s not been pleasant, but neither would be getting this wretched virus and ending up on a ventilator. I will do whatever it takes to avoid that.
Second wave? Ha! Not done with the first. There’s going to be a lot of “pneumonia” deaths in the next few weeks.
The second wave of the Spanish Flu pandemic was the deadliest. I’m sorry but people cannot afford to forget that!! This is not close to done.
Smithsonian magazine published a comprehensive article near the 100-year anniversary of the start of the Spanish Flu. I read it in March, just to try and learn from history. It’s sad to see how little we are willing to do for the greater good. We have so much more information now, yet practicing prevention is viewed as cowardly in some (Orange) circles.
One common theme between Spanish Flu and the current pandemic is how the gov’t downplayed it. They had a war to fight when it began and did not want to affect US morale. Today it’s being ignored for economic reasons.
Another interesting tidbit from the Smithsonian article that I did not realize – There is speculation that then-President Wilson might have died of the flu during the third/fourth wave, instead of stroke complications. He apparently had many of the symptoms attributed to Spanish Flu.
I will have to check that out, thanks.
I read one article that talked about how the second wave was deadlier but the reopening wasn’t really the main cause…they cited failure in government planning and leadership.
Hahahahahaha!!!!
Well gosh, it sure is good we don’t have any failures of government planning and leadership going on. *Screaming*
And there is this:
Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Monday disparagingly referred to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, as “the medical deep state.”
The stupid is real!
Laura Ingraham is such a terrible person. She’s actively harmful to other human beings.
She is one of the most dangerous public figures. Too many people listen to that God-awful network, and believe everything they are told without thinking for themselves. They downplayed this entire thing, and I have to wonder just how many of their viewers contracted this virus, and how many died from it because they refused to believe the science.
Fwiw, I’ve heard the theory going to the gym is a pretty risky activity: you’re in an enclosed space and people are breathing hard, which propels the droplets in your breath further.
To me gyms are hot beds of germs normally. I can’t see going to a gym unless after each person gets off a machine or uses weights a staff member deep cleans them. Also limit the number of users. Not worth the risk to me.
I was freaked out by the number of people not wiping down equipment in my gym back in March. I brought this to the managers attention, and 3 days later our governor issued an order closing down all gyms. I really, really want to go back when they open, but in the meantime I’m running outdoors. I’m not sure what I’ll do when it does open, but I have no confidence that it will be cleaned properly.
Yes, gyms are super risky. This is an airborne virus. Airflow and breath in each scenario play a big role.
I saw a comment from a woman on a fb post today that the “stay home” order was just so hospitals could prepare for the influx of sick people, and that now that they have the supplies they need people can resume normal lives. I was flabbergasted and it took a lot of willpower to scroll past and not reply scathingly.
Not trying to argue, but that is exactly what we were all told. It was to “flatten the curve” so hospitals would not be overwhelmed.
Agree, that is exactly what the stay at home was about and I think more people need to hear it because they think that things opening up means “it’s safe” when it really just means “it’s okay for you and your loved ones to catch covid-19 because now we have hospital capacity for you”.
Yeah… hospitals don’t have all the supplies they need.
I went to the gym 4 days a week, but not since March. I now run a Zoom exercise class with my 3 sisters and 1 sister in law 3x a week. We do biceps, triceps, butts, thighs and waist. I will not go back to the gym classes until there is a vaccine. I pay my dues, but won’t go. I also hike once a week for 5 to 7 miles for the aerobic exercise. I don’t want to be sick.
Word to the wise: Even in times of normal health, gyms are absolute disease hot spots! I picked up a very nasty case of strep at my gym a few years ago!
Be careful all! I know a lot of gyms have people cleaning the equipment, but you should still do it yourself – and don’t use the towel you touch yourself with. I bring lysol wipes with me now, because I don’t want a repeat of that last episode.
I always bring Lysol wipes with me. I get looks sometimes, but don’t care. The number of people (usually men) who don’t clean the equipment after using could turn anyone into a germophobe.
Isn’t strep spread through droplets? Does wiping down the equipment do anything?
It can help. people grunt and cough on the machines, and yeah, saliva can remain. I used to wipe down with a towel, but then realized I was touching my own face with it. Now, its disposables all the way.
Yes it helps
Trump supporters who believe in him should make sure their affairs are in order and update their wills before attending his rallies. Ditto for those who oppose wearing masks and go out in public.
I live in Illinois and a lake front suburb of Chicago. There are 5 phases of reopening. We are only in phase 3 and I am glad for it. I walk around our city and everybody is wearing masks and social distancing. The beach on the lake front is still closed, playgrounds, gyms and you can only eat outside. Certain businesses have opened, but with strict guidelines I am grateful for the tough policy. According to local officials we are still only in the first wave and that is why there is a slow opening policy. It has been hard, but I think well worth it. Because of that I have not let my guard down.
Near Chicago too but across the boarder in IN, about an hour outside of the city via the skyway. The difference between the two states is starting. My husband had to drive out to Melrose park to pick something up last week and he said everyone was wearing masks, it’s was amazing. Out here hardly anyone does. I just drove through our little dwntwn over the weekend and it was like nothing had happened and was a normal summer day with people walking together, out eating together zero masks in site. Our church just reopened last week and made masks optional (respect others decisions), they are social distancing but still now I’m not sure I ever want to go back. I do not understand that absolute hissy for people are throwing about masks. THEY CAN SAVE YOU LIFE!!! Why is it too much of a sacrifice?? If you don’t give a crap about anyone else at least do it for yours and your families safety. Why is this the hill to die upon?
Also, two of my children were unwittingly exposed to a child last week who then tested positive after their parent tested positive and let me tell you the clusterf@&k that is trying to get tested in this state. You either have to have a physicians referral which takes forever and then make an appt somewhere. Or you are supposed to go in the state run website to register and pick a testing location and schedule. Well I registered just myself and it took 20 min alone with all of the stupid hoops the site makes you jump through. After I scheduled my appt at one of literally TWO sites they offered me to schedule at in my entire county I went to the appt a few hours later only to see a sign on the door that they had closed early. I didn’t receive a phone call or anything and there were other people pulling up to obviously get tested as well. The number they give you is complete automated so you can’t talk to anyone or get an answer to anything important. It’s an effing joke and I can’t believe that it’s still this bad FOUR months later.
The early predictions in March or April by medical professionals in my family, 18-24 months. Desperate Dumpty and comrades continue a worsening spin. He’s looking for a headline to distract. He’s fighting McConnell over statues, suing his niece Mary and Bolton. He’s frightened to death he’ll be revealed. Too late Dumpty, you made your bed, lie in it. Counting the days for our election.
We are still in the first wave. While the seawalls put up in the northeast and along the west coast stalled it, the wave has now seeped through the wall and is spreading to areas that are paying it no mind – to those areas that believe “it’s THEIR problem, those people in NY and CA and NJ and MA, not OUR problem here in the big red center.” But it will be soon. And those estimates are low. We will hit 120,000 deaths today. We’ll be at 200,000 in July, not October. For the last two months, I have dreaded looking at my emails, text messages, FB page, every phone call. Every single day has brought news of yet another death. Some days as many as 3 with news that more people I know are infected, while cousins in Idaho and Arizona knew nobody with it. That is changing.
I’m in a red center area where a significant percentage apparently believe “if I don’t personally see it, it’s not real”. I find that very interesting, since many of these deniers claim to be religious (which requires us to fully believe in that which we cannot see).
It’s completely puzzling. I fear some hard lessons are going to be learned, especially as people are itching to travel.
Living in red as well and a few weeks ago my husband discovered one of our neighbors thinks a complete hoax because he “doesn’t know anyone that has it”. I mean when you admit that that’s your reason for denying it, you are too far gone at that point.
My condo board voted on Saturday to not open our pool at all this summer, despite it being a fairly small closed community. I think a lot of it was them seeing all the a-holes in the surrounding area refusing to comply with county orders to wear a mask indoors in public, and social distance at all times. I’m heartbroken (especially because my balcony looks right over the pool), but I don’t blame them.
Good for them.
What they should do is schedule blocks of time for people, so you can still swim without being exposed to other people.
My fear is for the Fall, when flu season starts to take hold. If we don’t get the infection rates down for Covid and take precautionary measures seriously, I shudder to think what we’ll happen in the Fall. I anticipate another forced lockdown.
I work in healthcare (operations). All year, every year, I work on the flu. The flu is always a BIG F**ing deal. I’m SO scared for this years flu season.
Please! Please! Please! Everyone get vaccinated this year!!
BTW – I’m in southern California and our Covid #s are starting to go up again. Some areas have always been bad (inland empire). Other areas they are going back up, like in the OC – Huntington Beach area….
I have never understood why some people (especially now) act as if the flu is no big deal. They may get a vaccine each year, but they don’t practice good respiratory hygiene and end up with something anyway. Why does anyone wish to be sick, and potentially infect others?
I’m at Long Beach memorial.
I hear they are going to open the overflow hospitals soon to deal with it.
The numbers are starting to go way up
What’s really scary, I’m on a surgical IR team and the number of blood clots and strokes in the 25-50 age group is insane.
With masks it’s a 3.4% communicable disease; without masks, it’s over 27%. It’s not about one’s own health, it’s about public healthcare. It’s about taking care of other people and ensuring that one isn’t a carrier. Everyone has to do better – the north east is the only area in decline because they are doing the necessary measures. It really boils my blood to see people in other states contributing to this first wave because it doesn’t obviously affect them. I have a friend, who has been a regular commenter on this site, recovering from a two week medically induced. coma because of COVID and this is what happens when people don’t care enough to protect their communities. I mean, COME ON.
The fact that the CDC and other experts were speaking out against masks instead of promoting them makes my blood boil. I’m in NJ and have been wearing a mask since early March. It’s lunacy that they were telling people to not wear them. It should have been policy from Day One. No excuses.
They were too busy blaming China for the Wuhan virus! I started wearing a mask early on and you could tell that the authorities lied to the public (masks won’t deter infections) because they wanted to make sure health care providers had them. They did not trust us to do what we are now doing, making our own masks.
I knew they were full of sh*t when they insisted that health care workers need them so as not to infect others but we don’t need them because they don’t protect the wearer at all. Logic says that if a mask can impede transmission from the wearer then it can help protect the wearer as well. Thousands died because of these lies. Keep wearing your masks, people . We are not out of the woods yet.
Yesterday I read an interview with Fauci where he said that the recommendation against the public wearing masks early on was because supplies were low and PPE was desperately needed for health care workers.
So it wasn’t that we didn’t need to wear masks. It’s that there weren’t any masks to wear. And unfortunately, that early “advice” about masks has given some people ammunition for arguing that they aren’t necessary to help prevent the spread. THEY ARE.
Like I said @Maida, the government, including Fauci, lied.
Thank you for pointing out that wearing a mask is about “taking care of other people.” My partner and I were talking this morning about how chilling it is that there has been no hue and cry due to so many nursing home deaths (is it about 40% of the total now?). It seems like the public is hardened and hedonistic. I feel for the families who have lost loved ones.
I volunteer locally at the senior’s home, and no one, not even spouses are allowed in, since early March. This is a bad change for people who don’t handle change well, even when its good. I’m really worried for some of them.
I live in a state (Vermont) that had a very early handle on coronavirus, had everything shutdown and under control very early, with a governor who listened to the science and has seemed to make all the right decisions. We are still seeing a spike in cases. There are many reasons for it (the spike seems to be rooted in the large refugee community in one town where the information may not have gotten through to them due to a language barrier). This is so far from over, even in places where it is seemingly under control.
We aren’t even over the first wave. I think dolt is still hoping the summer heat will kill it “like the flu”.
These states that reopened early are like the beta testers for the other states. I feel sorry for the population of those states who tried as best as they could with the prevention only to have their governors undo everything.
200,000 by September is the original prediction. The only thing different is Trump decided to pick an arbitrary cut off point(60,000) to say pandemic is over,
Dr. Fauci is correct – we never got out of the first wave – and every epidemiologist, ID and pulmonary specialist I work with agrees with him. I’m still behaving very much as though in quarantine and am not willing to do something unless the experts I work with say it’s safe to do so. We may not see a second wave in the fall because we may just have one long, continuing cycle of infections and death rolling across the country.
What a freakin’ mess.
I want you to stay safe, Kaiser. Live long and prosper and all that shiz
Here in FL, our Governor is a disciple of the Orange One. It’s a free-for-all. Maybe ten percent of people wearing masks in stores, bars & restaurants opening back up filled with mask-less morons, churches holding services, they want the schools to open up in August, ….it pisses me off.
They’re making a pro-Trump political statement by not wearing a mask. Really makes me wish we had an actual, functional government….
In two weeks, I’m bailing out of FL for the next three months to stay with my sister in CO. I have asthma so because DeSantis is an idiot, I’m gone. My job went bye-bye, so driving out and crashing at sister’s. I might survive the summer out there.
It’s gonna come back…hard. Had to be in North & South Carolina for work this past week and it is crazy down there. Such a cavalier attitude, it’s like they’ve completely forgotten about it. Ppl only wearing masks in stores that require it. Bars open and jam packed.
God, that’s awful to hear. The South Carolina curve is a horror story.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/south-carolina-coronavirus-cases.html
The ‘second wave’ or ‘second peak’ talk drives me nuts when many regions of the country haven’t gotten through the first. There’s a mass delusion at work.
What we’re seeing here is the end result of a decades-long war against education and critical thinking, and now we have a populace who is unable to tell truth from lies and has no understanding of basic science.
Succinct and accurate.
Spot on comment! Add to that the very real push to present a picture that is completely the opposite of reality, and it’s why we are where we are today. Forget herd immunity. There’s a real herd mentality and it’s not for the good of everyone.
My 21 year old sister has an auto immune disease and her treatment is a chemo that wipes her immune system. I am brought to tears DAILY at how this country is completely fine treating people like her. Imagine if everyone loved someone this compromised? I can’t explain the complete gutwrenching heartache that comes with the realization that nearly everyone you know prioritizes their gym, their bar, their whatever over MY LITTLE SISTER’S LIFE.
I’m so sorry Jane and i know how you feel. My oldest daughter has significant special needs and a weak immune system and even my in laws act like this is no big deal. They say they understand why we don’t want to go out and expose ourselves but they don’t apply the same rules to themselves.
So the venue I booked for my daughter’s winter wedding is refusing to refund our deposit, claiming that no one else with a wedding from August forward has canceled and that they’re following all state guidelines for keeping the venue safe. 🙄 That will put us in the middle of a second wave (if we ever actually get over the first wave) plus flu season. I’ll go to court if I have to but I’m determined to get that deposit back. Even my daughter and her fiancé no longer want a big do. They’re more interested in BEING married than GETTING married. (I’m moved to tears by their attitude.)
Meanwhile many synagogues are opening throughout SoCal with a million guidelines and restrictions. Why are they opening at all?? Pray on Zoom. Stay safe.
I’m in the Midwest. My 21 year old daughter just moved to Seattle, and says “everyone is wearing a mask here, mom.” Thank god. Here, where I live, not so much. I walked into a bank (their drive through was closed), and I was the only one there, but every bank employee was not wearing a mask. I stayed far away from everyone, kept my mask on, and transacted my business as soon as possible. I think people have quarantine fatigue. I’m in a red state, where the State Director of Health resigned recently (woman was a medical doctor and had a master’s In public health). She had picketers outside her house and was getting death threats, and had to have security assigned to her. Depressing stuff.
It’s hideous what was done to Dr. Acton and her family. She was the soothing voice of reason for many Ohioans.
I had to take my cat to the vet on Monday and I was the only person in the entire clinic wearing a mask. Which I found offensive because people working in grocery stores and health clinics for people, they’re wearing masks. Vet offices are also places where social distancing is impossible much of the time and are enclosed spaces. It’s Orange County, though, and our health department director had to leave her job because she was getting death threats for ordering masks to be worn. Our cases here are on the rise, record highs. My mental health is suffering but I am still not going anywhere unless it’s absolutely necessary.
My vet’s is really strict. Stay in your car, phone when you get there, they come out and collect your pet in mask, gloves and long aprons. IF you have to go inside, in one door, out the other, and you’re the only one in there. Even the accountant and receptionist are wearing full gear. I’m so relieved they’re open.
I canceled my gym membership, and I’m probably not going back until there’s a vaccine. I am a younger person but I don’t want to take unnecessary risks, because gyms are known germ hotspots. It sucks being out of shape, but I will start doing home work outs soon.
We aren’t even out of the first wave, because freedumb! Arizona is a total shitshow with everything basically open and almost no mask wearing or social distancing. One of the state politicians who was pushing to reopen had to close his restaurant again after an employee tested positive for Covid 19.
This is what we are dealing with.
Yeah that’s what I was thinking. When is the first wave going to end? They keep saying a second wave will come in the Fall but wouldn’t that only be possible if the first f*cking wave is over with? At this point, I’m just assuming life will be like this for a few years. This f*cking virus is going to make us all insane if anything else. I don’t understand why masks weren’t made mandatory from the get go all around the world. That in itself could have stopped much of the virus from spreading. Stupid people are out there acting like the virus is gone. F*cking morons.
Oh, I blame the government wholeheartedly. Trump ignored the facts before, during, and after lockdowns, purposefully spread lies about treatments, refused to set a nationwide lockdown, became jealous of Dr. Fauci, wants to pull out of WHO, and encourages people to disregard masks. We have no leadership. And yes, people should independently take some damn responsibility for themselves and their communities. We should all be wearing masks and limiting contact with the outside world unless absolutely necessary. We should still be in crisis mode, because we are. In many places cases are actually higher now than they were when we first entered lockdown. Personally, I’m still doing the exact same things I was in April. I’m fortunate to work from home, I clean, cook, hang out with my cats, read, and feel grateful I don’t have to be out there among the non-mask wearers.
But it is the administration’s fault that so many businesses feel comfortable opening (thus forcing employees back to the office whether they like it or not) and so many people are carelessly going about their lives as though the virus is eradicated. The government set the tone for this chaos.
I totally agree, Case. Well said.
I work as a crown prosecutor in Ontario. Since mid-March we have been working from home. The court system here shut down and all criminal trials were cancelled. A colleague was about to start a murder trial in late March with an accused person in custody and even that got adjourned just to give you an idea. We have been doing remote audio and video links from home for emergency matters (bail court, guilty pleas for people in custody). All this is new. Anyone who had a trial has had it automatically adjourned initially until June/July and now until the late summer/fall. Government is now trying to figure out how to reopen. They want some courts to start back up July 6. How we are going to do that remains to be seen. They’re talking about building plexiglass barriers in the courts, still doing as much as they can by video and audio. I am certain that the average member of the public is going to be even more terrified when they get a subpoena. Glad they’ve taken it seriously thus far but I am very nervous about going back to work as I too foresee another wave coming which will likely be worse than the first.
I practice civil law in Ontario and have basically assumed that nothing will get done for civil matters for months, outside of urgent motions. Which leaves a lot in limbo. There was always a priority for criminal and family matter to be heard first prior to this state of emergency so I can only imagine the backlog. There will be a hard push for mediations and settlement conferences but this is all uncharted territory. The one good thing about this is that it forces things to be done by the courts electronically. It’s amazing what still needs to be faxed in this day and age.
That’s whats happening here. I’m a government attorney so I don’t go into court at all but my husband practices civil law and all our jury trials are postponed until October, and a lot of the civil cases are getting pressure to settle or go to mediation. My husband JUST started doing depositions again last week but they are completely virtual, and the few court meetings he has had have been over skype.
BUT that is just my (fairly small) state, I think other states are much more of a free for all.
I cant imagine the backlog when jury trials resume.
I have to return to work next week, anxious as hell but hoping I can minimize me and my family’s risk by continuing to limit exposure anywhere else and keeping our social circle VERY small, I feel like that, I can at least control.
I havent eased up per se but I did go to the mall this weekend. I was surprised by how much peoplr are heading suggestions in my area. I think most people still want to do the right thing and keep their distance, wear a mask, while getting out more. Its possible to be safe and have some normal moments.
Im also really confused by the peaks and what not. Are things really getting worse or are pockets of the country just having their new york moments? I watch a lot of cable news but I also read a lot of data thats out there….everyone has good intentions I think, but I feel like cable news is painting a much more dire picture than what the data is showing….I could be wrong.
I think its concerning because numbers are spiking in states that did a thorough shutdown, like California. I think it increases the worry of what will happen as New York continues to reopen. And with North Carolina and Florida we see what happens when states do a minimal shutdown or reopen way too soon.
The whole point of the shutdowns was to flatten the curve for hospitals but if the numbers end up being worse than they were BEFORE the shutdown because people have stopped taking it seriously….then it feels like the shutdowns were a waste because we couldn’t reopen properly.
Wondering if I’m living in a parallel universe. I am currently staying in Florida and working remotely while this plays out. Drove by the beach this weekend and saw all the tourists and Floridians co-mingling lining the streets and shops everywhere – literally not a single person in the hundreds I drove past had a mask on. I don’t know why on earth this would be the case, especially considering the media has even pointed out Florida is one of the states with the fastest surging number of cases. Literally, people walking around and eating at restaurants with no masks, no social distance from each other, etc. This is NOT HARD, people. It’s not. It’s a small price to pay to keep safe. And if you don’t care about your own safety, consider the people around you including immuno-deficient people who will suffer because of your selfishness and possibly die. Can’t believe my eyes.
I have come to the sad conclusion that if people won’t even do the bare minimum to protect themselves, they don’t give one blessed damn about protecting others. As selfish and me-centric as society has become, you’d think that they would at least do whatever it takes to avoid this virus themselves. To see that not happening is scary, because that means that those of us who care about our fellow humans don’t stand a chance around these self-absorbed idiots.
Hey Americans, you’re great and I love you, but here in Canada we (in most provinces) have done a good job of flattening the curve. We are Canadian and we are polite and listen. (Not that some Americans don’t )
No offence, but I would like our border to stayed CLOSED for the time being.
I fully expect at least a million Americans to be dead before this pandemic burns itself out. It is an atrocity, and it absolutely did not have to be this way. I am just incandescent with rage basically 24/7.
Yep, I’m getting there too with the rage! I live in New York City. People have done a great job here of social distancing, and our cases have gone way down. Amazing considering the population density here, particularly in low income neighborhoods. Of course, that was at the cost of many jobs, as restaurants, entertainment venues, and stores closed down, and many other businesses that could not be run remotely went under. My employer was ready for this, and we are working remotely, but watching certain parts of the country just ignore the virus out of some political animus, or hubris, is maddening.