Coronavirus: Track the virus' spread with this world map tool

jgoodguy

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We see this dichotomy play out as a group of mostly black sanitation workers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania carried out a one-day work stoppage. They demanded protective clothing and hazard pay for incurring risks of COVID-19 infection while on the job. Whole Food employees and workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York took similar actions, but the Staten Island strike leader was fired. Jeff Bezos didn’t get to be the richest man in the world by respecting workers’ rights.

As higher paid individuals work at home, people who don’t have that luxury risk their lives just getting to their jobs. In New York City subways are largely empty, but not in poorer neighborhoods. Subway travel has dropped 90% overall in recent weeks, but at subway stations in the Bronx, the poorest of the five boroughs, ridership levels are unchanged for people who work as home health aides, grocery store employees and construction workers. Their plight is exacerbated as subway trains now operate less frequently and passengers are crowded together in defiance of all “social distancing” rules required to prevent corona virus infection.
 

jgoodguy

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Many years ago, bestselling author Michael Pollan explained there’s a trade-off between efficiency and resilience.

For example, your grocery store probably did not have a warehouse full of toilet paper backstock sitting around somewhere when their customers bought out their entire supply. It would be expensive and inefficient to keep a huge supply of toilet paper on hand in the unlikely chance it would ever be needed.

My business school taught social Darwinism: survival of the fittest. The beauty of capitalism, we were taught, is that everyone competes for business and the competition drives innovation, while the least efficient companies go out of business.

A stark shortage of personal protective equipment has left health care workers without enough to go around. In my town, hospitals are organizing to receive donations from anyone who has a box of face masks, hand sanitizer, and gloves at home.

In short, they’re relying on community resilience where for-profit efficiency failed.
 

jgoodguy

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In Virginia, a funeral director prepared the remains of three people after health workers cautioned her that they each had tested positive for the coronavirus. But only one of the three had the virus noted on the death certificate.

Across the United States, even as coronavirus deaths are being recorded in terrifying numbers — many hundreds each day — the true death toll is likely much higher.

More than 9,400 people with the coronavirus have been reported to have died in this country as of this weekend, but hospital officials, doctors, public health experts and medical examiners say that official counts have failed to capture the true number of Americans dying in this pandemic. The undercount is a result of inconsistent protocols, limited resources and a patchwork of decision-making from one state or county to the next.
 

jgoodguy

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jgoodguy

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Overall, self-identified Republicans are much more likely now than a few weeks ago both to say that they view the virus as a serious problem and to be taking social distancing steps. So the partisan divide on these issues that seemed more apparent in early and mid-March is diminishing as Republicans view the virus outbreak more similarly to Democrats and independents.

What explains that shift? It’s likely that both the rising severity of the crisis itselfand the decision by President Trump and other prominent conservative voices to stop downplaying the seriousness of the pandemic have affected rank-and-file Republicans.
 

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2 Workers From Same Walmart Store Die After Contracting The Coronavirus

Two employees of one Walmart store in the Chicago area have died after contracting the coronavirus. The company did not specify the timing of their illnesses, but said the store remains open after passing "necessary inspections," last week.

"We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of two associates at our Evergreen Park store, and we are mourning along with their families," a Walmart spokeswoman said in a statement on Sunday. "While neither associate had been at the store in more than a week, we took action to reinforce our cleaning and sanitizing measures, which include a deep-cleaning of key areas of the store."

The company did not share the workers' names, ages or any further details, including when the workers first experienced symptoms or stopped working. Walmart's representatives also did not respond to inquiries about whether these were the first confirmed cases of coronavirus-related deaths among the company's employees.
 

jgoodguy

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Australian Officials Launch Criminal Investigation Into Ruby Princess Cruise Ship

The Ruby Princess cruise ship docked in Sydney on March 19 and nearly 2,700 passengers who were on board left freely, though some exhibited flu-like symptoms. On Sunday, Australian police announced they've launched a criminal investigation into the Ruby Princess, citing questions over whether the operators of the ship, Carnival Australia, were transparent about sickened passengers and crew members.

More than 340 passengers have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the New South Wales Ministry of Health. Sixteen crew members have already tested positive for the virus, according to the New South Wales Police Force, while another 200 are exhibiting symptoms. In all, at least six people from the ship have died, a Health Ministry official confirmed to NPR.

Police Commissioner Mick Fuller, speaking at a press conference, said that Australian authorities had made contact with the ship, "And on each case, they were informed that COVID-19 wasn't an issue on the ship.
 

jgoodguy

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But there was cause for cheer in some European hotspots, with Italy reporting its lowest death toll in two weeks, Spanish fatalities dropping for the third straight day and France seeing its fewest dead in a week.

“The curve has started its descent and the number of deaths has started to drop,” said top Italian health official Silvio Brusaferro, adding the next phase could be a gradual easing of a strict month-long lockdown.

In Spain, nurse Empar Loren said: “The situation is more stable. The number of patients in intensive care is not growing much anymore, and we are starting to discharge quite a few.”
 

Wehrkraftzersetzer

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the 4 major chances to get it are

1) any kind of direct sex been performed by more than one person
2) religious ceremonies
3) sports events
4) mass transport
 
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jgoodguy

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O' Be Joyful

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@O' Be Joyful please "translate", the mentioned plasma is artificial
Uni Erlangen: advances in therapy for corona patients

In the fight against the spread of the coronavirus, the University Hospital Erlangen relies on the transfusion of blood plasma. At the weekend, the facility received regulatory approval for the production of therapeutic plasma to treat critically ill Covid 19 patients, said Professor Holger Hackstein, head of the department for transfusion medicine. He was glad that the relevant documents had been processed quickly by the government for Upper Franconia in Bayreuth.

In the past few days, the university clinic had already called on former Covid 19 patients to donate blood plasma. The active ingredient is to be obtained from this. Anyone who has had a Covid 19 disease has developed antibodies, Hackstein explained. This could help other patients. The response to the call for donations was enormous.

According to Hackstein, the University Hospital of Erlangen is one of the first facilities in Germany to have received permission to produce therapeutic plasma. The more clinics are allowed to work with this procedure, the better. Because: "There is a huge need."
 

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Overall, self-identified Republicans are much more likely now than a few weeks ago both to say that they view the virus as a serious problem and to be taking social distancing steps. So the partisan divide on these issues that seemed more apparent in early and mid-March is diminishing as Republicans view the virus outbreak more similarly to Democrats and independents.

What explains that shift? It’s likely that both the rising severity of the crisis itself and the decision by President Trump and other prominent conservative voices to stop downplaying the seriousness of the pandemic have affected rank-and-file Republicans.
?

Bill deBlasio, Mayor of New York City, March 10:
“If you’re under 50 and you’re healthy, which is most New Yorkers, there’s very little threat here. This disease, even if you were to get it, basically acts like a common cold or flu.”

Governor Cuomo, March 19, 2020:
New York governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday slammed New York City mayor Bill de Blasio’s suggestion that the city may implement a “shelter in place” order mandating residents remain at home except for essential visits to grocery stores and other necessary trips, in the wake of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic....

Cuomo has repeatedly rejected the idea that he would approve a quarantine or lockdown of New York City, and on Thursday he again said a lockdown was not on the table.

“Look, I would know, I would have to authorize those actions,” Cuomo said. “It’s not going to happen.”

New York- 130,000+ cases
 

jgoodguy

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More than 10,000 people have now died from COVID-19 in the U.S., as the pandemic's horrible toll hit another milestone on Monday.

The U.S. is reporting more COVID-19 cases than any country in the world, with nearly 350,000 people testing positive for the coronavirus, according to a COVID-19 dashboard created by the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, which reports coronavirus numbers in near real time.

The U.S. trails only Italy (16,523 dead) and Spain (13,055 dead) in the number of people lost to the pandemic.
 

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Hospitals Are Sourcing Masks from Auto Body Shops, HHS Inspector General Finds

Hospitals are trying to make their own disinfectant from in-house chemicals, running low on toilet paper and food, and trying to source face masks from nail salons.

Those are some of the findings from a snapshot survey of how America's hospitals are handling the coronavirus crisis. The survey was done over five days — during the week of March 23 — by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General. Ann Maxwell, who oversaw the report as assistant inspector general for evaluation and inspections, says it's "the first objective, independent, national look at how hospitals are addressing the COVID-19 response."

One hospital said its shipment of face masks from the federal government had all expired 10 years ago. In another shipment of 1,000 masks, half were child-sized. Yet another hospital said when trying to buy supplies, masks that had been 50 cents were now $6 apiece.

She adds the federal government has taken steps to try to address this issue, "but when we talked to hospitals [in late March], they were still reporting that this was a serious challenge."

"Hospitals reported insufficient inventory of essential cleaning supplies, such as disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, and hand soap. One hospital [...] described making disinfectants, such as bleach, out of on-hand chemicals, such as chlorine."
All sorts of critical supplies were hard for hospitals to get and keep in stock. Beyond cleaning supplies, hospitals also reported shortages of "intravenous therapy poles, medical gas, linens, and food." Multiple hospitals said their supply of toilet paper was running low.
 
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