March 12, 2020 (aka COVID-19 thread)

[lake_wrangler]

Meanwhile, I found this rather humorous. Or rather, it would be funny, if it wasn't reflecting such a sad reality...
(Image links back to original page.)

[lake_wrangler]

It occurred to me today, that the NHL, the NFL, the MLB, the NBA, as well as many other professional sports (tennis and more) are so "essential" (a bunch of adults paid to play games, essentially) that they managed to figure out ways to keep them going, but going to the gym is considered "non-essential", in spite of proven mental and physical health benefits...

[jwhouk]

So how did the Habs do last night, there, Lake?

[Alkarii]

It occurred to me today, that the NHL, the NFL, the MLB, the NBA, as well as many other professional sports (tennis and more) are so "essential" (a bunch of adults paid to play games, essentially) that they managed to figure out ways to keep them going, but going to the gym is considered "non-essential", in spite of proven mental and physical health benefits...

Professional athletes are considered essential because they generate ad revenue. A shitload of ad revenue. And also the amount of taxes they're paying.

I, however, never watch sports, as I find sports to be really boring.

[lake_wrangler]

So how did the Habs do last night, there, Lake?

Honestly, I don't know... I don't watch sports. Or TV, generally. I don't think I've turned the TV on once (apart for testing that it worked, that the cable was coming in fine) since moving into my new home...

[lake_wrangler]

It occurred to me today, that the NHL, the NFL, the MLB, the NBA, as well as many other professional sports (tennis and more) are so "essential" (a bunch of adults paid to play games, essentially) that they managed to figure out ways to keep them going, but going to the gym is considered "non-essential", in spite of proven mental and physical health benefits...

Professional athletes are considered essential because they generate ad revenue. A shitload of ad revenue. And also the amount of taxes they're paying.

Right. So as long as it helps generate revenue for the government, or for the big corporations that place said ads, that's OK. But if it helps a small business owner stay afloat, that's a different story. Got it.

I, however, never watch sports, as I find sports to be really boring.

Yeah, I never got into watching sports. I was never particularly good at sports, so that might have something to do with it. No link, no affinity.

Of course, I hold to the theory that had my parents not divorced (when I was 10), I might have gotten into watching hockey, because I do remember my dad watching it (but I was too young to get into it at the time). Had my dad stuck around, I might have started watching hockey with him, and might then have started liking it. But that's pure speculation, of course.

[jwhouk]

So how did the Habs do last night, there, Lake?

Honestly, I don't know... I don't watch sports. Or TV, generally. I don't think I've turned the TV on once (apart for testing that it worked, that the cable was coming in fine) since moving into my new home...

(watches the comment sail right over your head)

ICYMI, the NHL isn't playing right now because of, oh, I dunno, COVID?

Estimates right now are that the league might not even begin play until mid to late January, after a brief training camp post-New Year.

And oh yeah - the seven Canadian teams will be playing a separate schedule from the 24 US based teams.

---

And now, your weekly reminder:

• As of Dec. 12, Okanogan County, Washington, had a higher percentage of active cases to population ratio (3,447/100k) than exactly two Arizona counties: Greenlee (3,253/100k) and Yavapai (3,236/100k). Greenlee is the least populous county in Arizona, and has only seen three deaths from COVID. Yavapai County is located just north of metro Phoenix, and is the location of Prescott (the county seat) along with parts of Sedona and Peoria.
• The United States of America is currently responsible for 30.53% of the active cases worldwide (7.37 million to 24,144 million). The ratio of cases per 100k is 2,230.
• As of Dec. 9, Mesa Unified Public School District is down to 156 cases district-wide (73 fewer than 12/3), with the caveat that several schools have gone back to mostly remote/distance learning for the rest of the semester. Mountain View High School has gone from 19 cases before Thanksgiving to 10 last week to 14 this past week.
• My ZIP code in Mesa currently has 4,305 active cases. This is 7,071/100k of the population, a ratio of 1 case per 14 people.

[AnotherFairportfan]

From The Daily Beast:

Florida Gators Forward Keyontae Johnson in Critical Condition After Collapsing Mid-Game

Florida Gators’ star forward Keyontae Johnson is in stable but critical condition after collapsing in the middle of a game on Saturday. His teammates were crying and hugging each other as Johnson was escorted off the court for medical attention and taken to a nearby hospital, ESPN reports. Florida and the opposing team Florida State were given time to go to their locker rooms to gather themselves before continuing the game.

Along with the majority of his teammates, Johnson tested positive for coronavirus over the summer. The long-term effects of the virus are still being discovered, but it can do serious damage to the heart and lungs.

Johnson is one of the team’s top players and is thought to be an NBA prospect. The team’s coach, Mike White, will stay with him at the hospital overnight. “Please keep praying for ⁦‪Keyontae‬⁩ and his family. We all love him,” White tweeted.

Story at ESPN

[lake_wrangler]

So how did the Habs do last night, there, Lake?

Honestly, I don't know... I don't watch sports. Or TV, generally. I don't think I've turned the TV on once (apart for testing that it worked, that the cable was coming in fine) since moving into my new home...

(watches the comment sail right over your head)

ICYMI, the NHL isn't playing right now because of, oh, I dunno, COVID?

Estimates right now are that the league might not even begin play until mid to late January, after a brief training camp post-New Year.

And oh yeah - the seven Canadian teams will be playing a separate schedule from the 24 US based teams.

See? I told you, I don't watch TV...

Honestly, they could have played, and I wouldn't have known... And they did play, earlier in the year, in spite of the pandemic. I recall hearing of bubble cities, or somesuch, and that the Stanley Cup playoffs lasted until June, or something like that. So they could have played, that night, but my not watching TV and my not caring enough about sports news to bother memorizing anything of the sort prevented me from catching the joke as it indeed did fly right above my head. I wasn't expecting it, so I wasn't looking for it.

But now that I think about it, I do recall the morning radio show talking about what the league will do for next year, just as you elaborated on.

[lake_wrangler]

I have reservations about the famous Covid 19 vaccine. I do think it was rushed, that there may well be secondary effects that won't be known for a while, and so on.

Yet the media's handling of progress reports made by President Trump this fall shows again their bias:

Trump Made the Media Look Like Fools Again

Tl;dr: the media was so bent on "proving" President Trump wrong, that any time he talked about how quickly he hoped the vaccine would arrive, they made sure to "fact check" him and bring "experts" on board who could contradict his optimism (as if you could prove, ahead of time, that the vaccine could not possibly be ready on time). Yet here we are, and the vaccine is ready.

(For a certain definition of "ready", as we are not aware yet of the long term effects of it, since it was rushed along, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post...)

[lake_wrangler]

Outback publican speaks out after being ATTACKED and FINED for Covid rules (Article includes a 10 min. video.)

Tl;dr: after getting hit over the head with a glass by an angry patron, for enforcing COVID regulation "too harshly", the guy later gets fined by cops, in a sting-like operation, for not enforcing the regulations strongly enough... (And the cops traveled hundreds of kilometers to go there for their sting operation, while never letting the local police in on anything...)

[jwhouk]

1. COVID Vaccines have finally started being distributed in the US.

2. Trump was not responsible for them.

3. TRUMP LOST THE ELECTION, BIDEN WILL BE THE PRESIDENT IN 2021, GET OFF IT.

4. Cases are still going through the roof here in Arizona.

5. TRUMP STILL LOST, AND HE DIDN'T DO A DAMN THING TO STOP OR "CURE" COVID.

[lake_wrangler]

1. COVID Vaccines have finally started being distributed in the US.

I'll hold my applause, for now, until we know more...

2. Trump was not responsible for them.

I do seem to recall some sort of public-private partnership, where government funds were made available, to help private corporations develop the vaccine more rapidly... What was it called, again? Oh yeah: Operation Warp Speed...

While I'm pretty sure President Trump was not involved in the nitty gritty of the details of the program, he certainly had to have approved it (and probably encouraged its creation in the first place - but don't quote me on that last one...)

3. TRUMP LOST THE ELECTION, BIDEN WILL BE THE PRESIDENT IN 2021, GET OFF IT.

You seem to be taking this rather personally, from the interactions I've seen from you over on the Vote thread...

Why don't we let the experts, the lawyers, the State legislatures, and so on, do their work, and see if we get to the point where Congress gets to count the electoral votes, or if sufficient proof of fraud and other election problems will have been made public to overturn the results and have the State legislatures choose the winner by themselves...

4. Cases are still going through the roof here in Arizona.

How about hospitalizations? And can any hospitalization number be corroborated? I've seen reports of discrepency between the numbers and what was actually on the ground in the past, so please allow me to have my doubts... And I don't trust the numbers for the active "cases", seeing as more people are being tested, but often via a test that can be as inaccurate as to provide up to 90% false positives.

Please understand, I am not trying to minimize what is happening, but I fear that the numbers may be inflated somewhat, and the media is definitely playing on people's fears.

5. TRUMP STILL LOST, AND HE DIDN'T DO A DAMN THING TO STOP OR "CURE" COVID.

Actually, President Trump started doing things about Covid even as the Democrats were belittling the situation ("Come visit us in Chinatown," said she), were accusing President Trump of being xenophobe for cutting off flights from China, and were all busy trying to impeach him... And, of course, he made Operation Warp Speed possible...

As far as losing the election, I will agree with you on January 6th, if nothing happens between now and then to stop the process.

[AnotherFairportfan]

And, of course, he made Operation Warp Speed possible...

Which, of course, accomplished nothing.

[lake_wrangler]

And, of course, he made Operation Warp Speed possible...

Which, of course, accomplished nothing.

I'm not sure what you mean. He made federal funds available to partner with private companies, to help advance the development of the vaccine, and here we are, there is a vaccine ready. How is that not accomplishing something? I don't understand your reasoning. Please explain.

[lake_wrangler]

I'm guessing that many world leaders never saw the interview between the guy from the WHO and the UK news reporter, where the WHO guy said that lockdowns were not the best solution, and should actually be avoided if at all possible...

So we end up with Germany and Italy going into serious lockdowns BEFORE Christmas, France instituting curfews, etc.

And little old Québec, just told us that we are also going into lockdown again, but in their magnanimity, they are waiting until Christmas to do so. Workers will be forced to telecommute (work remotely), only essential businesses will remain open (groceries, pharmacies, hardware stores) and even big box stores will only be able to sell "essential" goods: food, repair stuff, hygiene stuff. How they expect to block off the "non-essentials" like electronics or clothing, I don't know.

How that is supposed to stop the spread of the virus, I have no idea... Does the virus stick to non-essential products more than to essential ones?

But hey' it's "only" from Dec. 25 to Jan. 11...

[AnotherFairportfan]

And, of course, he made Operation Warp Speed possible...

Which, of course, accomplished nothing.

I'm not sure what you mean. He made federal funds available to partner with private companies, to help advance the development of the vaccine, and here we are, there is a vaccine ready. How is that not accomplishing something? I don't understand your reasoning. Please explain.

Sorry - i meant with regard to the vaccine that's currently out there.

Not only did Pfizer accept very little or none Warp Speed funding and proceeded on their own, the Trump Administration declined to lock in the right to purchase another million doses when it was offered.

Now they're scrambling to get more since Pfizer sold all of the vaccine that they declined to purchase to other countries.

Warp Speed did back Moderna, and their vaccine is expected to be approved by the end of the week.

[AnotherFairportfan]

I'm guessing that many world leaders never saw the interview between the guy from the WHO and the UK news reporter, where the WHO guy said that lockdowns were not the best solution, and should actually be avoided if at all possible...

When was that interview?

[lake_wrangler]

I'm guessing that many world leaders never saw the interview between the guy from the WHO and the UK news reporter, where the WHO guy said that lockdowns were not the best solution, and should actually be avoided if at all possible...

When was that interview?

I forget, but I'm pretty sure the video was linked to in this thread, earlier on.

[Typeminer]

The pharmaceutical firms are multinational, and vaccine research is global. It has been a top priority of the world experimental biology community. And the second-greatest number of papers published in my employer's journals this year have been from teams headed by Chinese researchers.

This is a great achievement of applied bioscience, but ANY other administration would have handled a pandemic better. The Trump administration did not by a long shot facilitate this. Trump appointees to the CDC are now openly telling the NYT how the administration prioritized bullshit and propaganda over science and accurate information, while diverting funding to other purposes.

I've said it before: The guy who destroyed all the fire hoses because he didn't like the guy who bought them doesn't get to claim that no one else could have been better prepared to fight a fire. "Malfeasance in office" is putting it mildly.