America reached a dreadful marker this week for the pandemic: the United States now has 3 million confirmed coronavirus cases. The worldwide number is close to 12 million, and I have no doubt that Americans will move the needle past 12 million by the end of the week. Apparently, the beaches were full all on both coasts for the Fourth of July weekend. Very few Republican crowds (including crowds for Donald Trump’s speeches) are wearing masks. “Masks” are seen as a political issue in this country, because we’ve been living in Idiocracy for some time now. And I feel like the only person who is still practicing social distancing AND wearing a mask whenever I go out? I went to a car dealership last Friday to get something small fixed on my car at the last minute, and I was the only customer in the dealership wearing a mask. It was… upsetting. Anyway, as 40 states see a spike in cases, that means there’s also a spike in testing, which has led to yet another catastrophe:
As Covid-19 cases in the US spike, some states, labs and public health departments are warning that turnaround times for diagnostic testing have slowed. The challenges, which stem in part from persistent obstacles in the test supply chain, underscore that while overall US testing capacity has multiplied, the nation’s health system still struggles in some regions to rapidly detect the spread of the virus.
In response to the surge in cases, the Department of Health and Human Services announced on Tuesday the launch of new testing sites in three hotspots — Jacksonville, Florida; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Edinburg, Texas. The sites will offer 5,000 free tests per city each day on a temporary basis, according to an HHS news release.
Despite federal efforts to support testing in some cities and regions, three major diagnostic companies — Quest Diagnostics, LabCorp and BioReference Laboratories — said this week that the growing demand for tests have in turn increased average wait times for delivering results.
It’s like going back to March, where there weren’t enough tests and everyone just had to assume that they were positive. Not only that, but the strain is back on hospitals – Florida and Texas hospitals are overrun with the surge in patients and Arizona is just completely f–ked at this point. And Donald Trump wants to mandate a return to school in the fall no matter what.
Meanwhile, Dr. Fauci warned of the “false complacency” and “false narrative” about a (relatively) low mortality rate currently in the US.
Another White House talking point touted by Press Sec. McEnany, VP Pence, and Trump himself is the U.S.' low COVID death rate.
But Dr. Fauci today urged the public not to take comfort in this “false narrative.” pic.twitter.com/bUdJBnNWrA
— The Recount (@therecount) July 7, 2020
"It's a serious situation that we have to address immediately."
In an online conference call with NIH director Dr. Francis Collins, Dr. Fauci explains how "we're still knee-deep in the first wave of this" in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/7KxLQvXtrc
— Bloomberg QuickTake (@QuickTake) July 7, 2020
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
The more hospitals get overwhelmed, the more people will die. We are heading towards Italy territory, where doctors will have to choose who gets a ventilator and doesn’t.
Yet all I see from the right is conspiracy theories about people being labeled positive without taking a test. Smh.
These conspiracy spouters ignore that there are people testing negative who really have the virus.
My area hospital’s infectious disease prevention specialist has repeatedly indicated that is what they have seen. A person can test negative and then positive within days. Anyone traveling to beaches, etc., is encouraged to monitor symptoms and get tested – but not to assume a negative means they are in the clear for at least 2 weeks.
I’m a nurse in charge of COVID testing and education in my clinic. Battling the disinformation is so exhausting and shouldn’t even be a part of this struggle – which is bad enough on its own (obv).
We just lost our 3rd patient yesterday (to COVID). The last time I spoke with her, which was about 10 days ago, she said only had a mild cough for a few days and was now feeling better. The trajectory can be that severe and that sudden. She died in her home.
@Trillion – I cannot imagine how tired and saddened you and your colleagues must be.
The lady I mentioned above who has been posting on FB mentions how exhausted and frustrated she is. A physician in our area who was hospitalized for weeks also posted how he’s ready to give up on trying to convince people it is not “like the flu”. We have not had an enormous amount of cases, but they are increasing now that people are traveling and ignoring use of masks. Until it gets personal, I don’t know that the majority will ever take it seriously.
I have former classmates that are now nurses at hospitals, and it is agonizing to see them BEG people to take this seriously on FB. One was in Boston, and another is in Arizona. They are sharing first-hand information about the HORROR they are witnessing…and yet we have “conservative” classmates who post about how this is all a hoax, how masks infringe on rights, how this is just a power grab from the gov’t to take away freedom. And the nurses say, “No! This is a crisis and people are dying horrible deaths”, and they brush it off like it is fantasy.
The miseducation of the American people is our downfall (was going to type “will be our downfall”, but too late!). The GOP push to scoff at science and believe in con men has come home to roost.
Last week, one of the evening news shows (Lawrence) said that their show and others have asked daily to book Fauci, and the WH turns the request down. Fauci did a BBC interview last week, and now this one. He’s apparently been muzzled.
Some people cannot face reality and use common sense. That plus the daily gaslighting about how things really aren’t bad are why we’re in this mess. Some states opened early and people wanted everything immediately back to our spoiled degree of normal.
As an Non American watching what is happening in America is appalling and sad to say the least. Why are Americans not being complied by the authorities to wear mask like other countries are doing (yes I know the Donald Trump factor comes in) but why aren’t state Governors forcing citizens to wear mask like other countries are doing. Americans seem to think this corona is a joke despite them suffering the greatest casualty. People are frolicking to the beach, parties are being held left, right and center and political rallies are still going on sigh. America is at its lowest low and the gun violence over the last weekend was crazy sorry but I’ll say this America isn’t safe fight now and it’s not a place to be. I hope that during the next election you guys do away with the celebrity culture and vote who is going to get work done positively.
Our leadership is afraid
@Ann why are they afraid ? I’d really like to know why
@Reginald – I’ll speak to what I’ve observed in my state (which borders another state that did not open early and now has stable case counts).
There is a vocal minority that floods social media with their “live with it” type nonsense. They will endlessly argue with anyone who sees the crisis for what it is. Some governors caved to that mentality, which is a byproduct of our national leadership downplaying the crisis and wanting the economy reopened no matter what cost.
Honestly? Because the people who don’t want to wear masks are (at least in part) gunowners and unhinged. I think some governors are genuinely scared to issue mask orders. Even when they do, there will be county sheriffs coming out and announcing that they won’t be enforcing the orders, so that just makes the governors look weak and ineffective.
I live in the Bay Area and the attitude here is VERY pro-mask relative to the rest of the country. We don’t have 100% compliance with the order but most people are wearing them and if you are out wearing one and someone walking towards you on the sidewalk does not have a mask, odds are they will cross the street. Basically, the people not wearing masks here know they are the social minority and that others disapprove of their behavior. I think that attitude has been very important in compelling a reasonable level of mask-wearing (and while COVID cases in California are spiking, the Bay Area is doing comparatively well).
@Cate thank you for educating me but I’d like to know why sherrifs can stand up to a governor isn’t the governor meant to a higher constituted authority I really don’t understand the politics and dynamics in America and I really want to learn.
Me too on the lack of understanding. Why can’t the governor just fire the sheriffs for insubordination? Also, sheriffs are elected, right? If a sheriff gets fired can they run in the next election and get re-hired?
Unfortunately Trump politicized this from the start and I think that’s been our downfall. Republicans/conservatives completely buy into his talk about how this is a hoax, more testing isn’t necessary because our numbers go up, masks aren’t necessary, etc.
My state has a Republican governor and his coronavirus response has been pretty good. We are currently at our lowest number of hospitalizations since March and while the number of positive cases varies from 300-500 new cases a day, our positivity rate is below 5%, so there appears to be ample testing. So some states are getting it right, its just hard because if your neighboring state isn’t, or if someone travels to a state like Florida, you could bring it back with you.
I’ll be curious to see what happens in the next few weeks.
Reginald, everything in America right now needs to be understood in the context of team sports. Think of football and the loyalty and passion it inspires. People see their team as part of their identity. That is now our politics and public policy.
Because Democrats side with “science”, the GOP therefore automatically and reflexively took the position of anti-science. If the Dems say this is serious and masks help, the Republicans commit to the equal opposite: this must be a hoax and masks aren’t necessary.
The numbers are also skewed because if you can’t afford the test, you don’t get tested. They are charging $200 in Texas.
What happened?? I remember someone bullying the CDC to guarantee free testing when this all started….guess that ran out.
I won’t even get started on the saga I had trying to get myself and my kids tested when we had a scare last month and two of my kids were in contact with a positive case. It solidified my thoughts about how terrible testing is here.
My grandmother lives in FL, in an area with tons of retirees. She needs to get 24 hr care at this point but in order to get it she needs a Covid test. She got one in the hospital 3 weeks ago when she was there but they wanted another one and no one could find a place near them that was doing testing, IN FLORIDA! They called an urgent care that said they did tests every morning for over $100 out of pocket and they only did something like 150 a day. They got her there at 8am when it opened and all the tests were already gone. They said that people start lining up at 4am to get these tests. This was last week. IN FLORIDA!
The beaches were closed in Southern California over the holiday weekend. Nobody was allowed to go there. I frequent parks and dog parks daily. People aren’t wearing a mask even though we are under governor’s order to do so. I estimate that 2 out of 10 are wearing a mask.
I went to the dog beach 2 weekends ago. 1 to 2 out of 10 people were wearing a mask. It was a beautiful day and very crowded. The only way people are complying is they put their mask on as they are entering a store and taking it off as soon as they leave.
@Soupie – This truly surprises me, though I guess it explains increasing case counts in your state.
I’m across the country (TN) and your observed stats on mask wearing is what I’ve seen here. Very few are wearing masks in stores and public places. Municipalities are considering mandatory mask wearing, and one court jurisdiction has ordered masks worn in courtrooms due to jail outbreaks.
I am in TN as well and we have a mandatory mask order. Several stores have posted “must wear mask to enter” signs and people are so angry. Someone anti-mask was very concerned for small businesses because they would shut down since the anti-mask people wont go shop there if they enforce masks.
No one is asking you to run a marathon in your mask! I am 33 years old and go shopping for my grandparents and see more 60+ year old people not wearing their masks. The bars got shut down again and they might start limiting restaurants even more.
Also, can Trump order schools back in? Wouldnt that be up to the school district?
I’m exasperated by all of it. I live in one of two blue counties in a deep red state but we still have plenty of MAGAts and they haven’t been wearing masks for weeks. My husband is the only one that goes to the grocery store and he’s seen the mask wearing going down every time he goes. I cancelled my dermatology appt last week because the office doesn’t enforce any kind of mask wearing, they only say not to come in if you have symptoms like we are still in March or something. I had a cardio appt a couple of weeks ago and the office is at the hospital so mask wearing is mandatory, thank goodness, and they take your temp at the door. My cardio though said she’s thinks this is all being blown out of proportion and the bottom of her mask wasn’t even tied in the back. She’s a freakin cardiologist talking to me like this. I will be getting a second opinion and a new cardiologist now.
The fact that dump is saying that masks are a choice but sending your children to school shouldn’t be enrages me like nothing else. WHAT THE ACTUAL F$&@! Yes of course I would love to send my kids back to school, frankly I need a damn break but I have common sense too and know that just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean it just goes away. Ignorance is not bliss in this case, it’s death. Our district is giving parents a choice to do remote or send them which is how it should be, a choice, but it’s only up until a point and then the district makes the decision for you and who knows how any of this is going to work with teachers teaching kids both in class and online. No one has done this before and I’m guessing it’s going to be a cluster.
Thank goodness I live in a state (New Jersey) where masks are mandatory in public places. It is such a frightening time in our country.
Same here, Bookie. I feel so thankful to live in one of the view states that is really managing cases very well and taking this seriously. New Jersey is kicking butt and I couldn’t be happier.
Well, Sweden still has the most deaths per capita in the world so many countries are not doing so good.
The Swedish people must be so mad at their local governments.
We have so many more cases as a country than we did in late March/early April. There’s no excuse for that to be happening once we identified the virus and ways to lessen the risk of spreading it. As I said on another thread yesterday, I feel like we’re trapped in some horrible political satire. What’s happening right now would be like if Disney World and nightclubs opened up during a zombie apocalypse, with people actively inserting themselves into hordes of zombies because of “their rights.” None of it makes sense, and it makes me sick to think about.
On top of the obviously horrible amounts of death and destruction this will cause if we continue to allow states to reopen, it’s just downright depressing because there’s no end in sight. When this all started I thought, “oh, we can get this under control by June, I’m sure.” When that clearly wasn’t happening, I readjusted my expectations to early 2021. Now, even that doesn’t look likely.
As a Canadian, I am hoping the border stays closed for a year at least. I’m sorry but NO ONE wants Americans in their country right now. We have some non-mask wearing morons here too but damn America is on another level with their ignorance and lack of believing in SCIENCE. This virus is airborne. You MUST wear a mask when inside any building to protect yourself and others.
I hope everyone keeps their borders closed to us until we have a vaccine, honestly. We’ve collectively proven time and time again, but never more so than right now, how arrogant and foolish we are as a country. My fellow Americans clearly have no interest in protecting one another, and we certainly shouldn’t be allowed to come and carelessly infect people in other countries who took this seriously.
When all this started in Feb-March, I thought our country would be back to normal by September and even that seemed like forever. Now, it will probably be next September too for us.
Absolutely rage inducing.
It is my hope that when doctors in these states have to make choices that they are anonymized and publicized and explained; eight patients requiring a vent presented on thus and such a day when only two vents were available. Patient A was a 45 year mother of three with cancer, Patient B was a 28 year old with health complications, etc, Patient B and Patient F were the patients who got a vent. Of course that would imply that our corporate owned media would cover such a thing and that the brain dead right wingers would even BELIEVE such a thing. So many of them are so far into the cult that nothing seems to penetrate.
We’re going to have to deprogram these people if we ever get out of this. And then change how our media operates to prevent this from ever happening again, because the way the pandemic is being handled is in some senses only a symptom of far larger systemic problems (albeit a symptom causing a heck of a lot of death).
Betsy, exactly! I keep pinging between rage and overwhelming anxiety. I am a mask wearing, handwashing, social distancing, sanitizer with health conditions. But even if I didn’t have health issues i would still do it! My fear is until it overwhelms more and more essential workers and the hospitals are full, nothing will change. How did we get to this point in the U.S.??
I live in Georgia and few people are wearing masks or social distancing. Our Covid cases are skyrocketing. My only shred of hope is the outrage parents and teachers are expressing about the schools re-opening soon. Many parents are not going to send their kids back and some teachers are refusing to go back as well. What are they going to arrest all these people? There would be a revolt which is maybe what we need!
I am hopeful that the school system metrics will help our area, too. If 14-day case counts go above a specified number, then schools revert to another phase.
Right now, they would not be able to open. Both our state and region hit an all-time high (again) for case counts today.
My spoiled brat 18-y/o cousin (we all live in MIAMI, FLORIDA FFS) had been going to fishing tournaments every weekend, and became symptomatic this weekend. His test came back positive yesterday. He refuses to isolate in his room and refuses to wear a mask. So help me Mother of All, if I hear that he’s going out now I will absolutely repirt his stupid, selfish ass to the county health authorities.
Aholes like him are why I won’t get to see my mom this year barring a Christmas miracle.
Wow what a total piece of sh*t. He needs to isolate, have ZERO contact with anyone until he gets a negative Covid-19 test. WTF !!!???
What a completely horrible human being. He’s actively killing other people. ugh.
This is America. This is who we are. Your cousin isn’t the only one. We are a country of selfish, ignorant jerks.
I live in Springfield, MO home of the Great Clips exposure where two hair stylists exposed 140 clients. Those two were the only ones to get Covid. My area has proven that masks work. Do we have a mandatory order? NO!
People refuse to wear masks. They will not social distance. If you are wearing a mask you are treated like a leper. I am beyond angry and scared.
Last week when I went out for essential shopping a woman stands right next to me and is reaching across me grabbing items from the racks. When I backed away from her she said I wasn’t in the way. I told her 6feet and she had the audacity to say she forgot about that rule!
If you don’t wear a mask I think you are a murderer. I have lost several because of this virus.
I don’t believe this BS about “wearing the mask makes you sick” because it causes CO2 poisoning. What are these people making masks out of? Duct Tape?
Geyla, my condolences on the losses you’ve suffered. <3
I swear I cannot even begin to understand how it must feel to live in the US right now. And I read Trump threatened to cut school funding if schools don’t reopen soon and also called Harvard University out for being “too afraid” because they’re not reopening?
I can only say I have never been more thankful for Angela Merkel. She has her flaws but we could have had it so much worse.
In Austin here, and even in a “blue” city, with a greater population of highly educated citizens, there are still enormous numbers of people flouting the mask requirement. And the head of our police union is encouraging police officers not to enforce the mask mandate and fine.
You know, it occurs to me that from the very beginning, the health experts should have attempted a different messaging strategy. Their mistake was assuming that anyone in the Republican party, including Republican voters, would be motivated to act safely based on the potential tragedy of hundreds of thousands of lost lives. There’s no humanity in any of these people, so clearly that message was never going to work.
They should have made it about the money from day one. If someone could have put models together to show exactly how much money could be saved by quarantining for X number of months as a history opening up early, or how much sooner restaurants bars and hair salons could open up if everyone stayed in quarantine through the end of July or whenever would be needed to get exponential spread under control, that might have made more of an impact.
This is late capitalism everyone. where nobody cares about other human beings except and so far as they can be exploited or turned into a profit for the 1%. Depressing as hell.
I agree. In hindsight, a completely self-centered message (economy, travel, etc.) might be more effective. Sacrifice for others clearly isn’t happening.
So true. When I see posts about wearing a mask to protect others, I know it isn’t convincing the people who need to hear it because they don’t care about others!
I absolutely agree that if we made it about losing money instead of losing lives, then the GOP would have actually been motivated to do something.
I keep reading about how studios arestill holding firm with their blockbuster release dates pushed back bc of the virus.
Tenet
Mulan
and I keep seeing the ‘exemptions’ for filming crews, esp w/Americans, to shoot in europe etc to keep up shooting for tv shows or movies. AM I TAKING CRAZY PILLS? It Really feels like hollywood ppl behind the scenes like studios, distributors, etc have their head in the sand, perhaps blinded by all the billions they have to lose. even then, those theatres wont be packed – and even if it attracted huge crowds, they have to space out seats for liabilitty reasons. and movie theatres have a circulated air system, its contained and recycling the air thruout all theatres….2 hour movie with a mask on the whole time? or ppl laughing? eating? seriously!?
and the shoots. I mean, come on. they talk about quaranting crew and stars, but Really? seems way to easy for protocol to be loosely if not followed at all.
I know the USA is doing awful, but Im worried the whole world could shut down again. I think modern life has provided a comfort of never feeling like our lives could be upheaved like this….and now that they ALL are in this very specific upheaval….well, I just dont know.
I really have a hard time understand how hollywood survives this pandemic if they dont do a VOD situation. the theatre cos are PISSED that Trolls was released and scored tons of money on VOD. it was a ‘trust breach’ of the theatrical window, which is only in place to protect money. its not in the best interest of the consumer.
anyway, we shall see.