Politics and COVID-19

[Tamfana]

1 hour ago, nittygritty said:

That’s why they put warning labels on products like fish tank cleaner, drain cleaner, bleach, tide pods, antifreeze, etc. 

"They" being the people in science and government who determine risks and care about protecting others who do not have their knowledge and expertise.  

[Redhead14]

Maybe "they" should put a warning label on Trump's forehead - "Following the advice and/or assuming the omnicience of this person could be hazardous to your health".

[nittygritty]

20 minutes ago, Tamfana said:

"They" being the people in science and government who determine risks and care about protecting others who do not have their knowledge and expertise.  

Hey Tamfana, don’t drink fish tank cleaner or any cleaning products. 

[Ellener]

1 hour ago, nittygritty said:

Hey Tamfana, don’t drink fish tank cleaner or any cleaning products. 

Hey @ everybody...don't drink the Kool-Aid...

( wash hands well afterwards if you do! )

😃

[Tamfana]

I only listen to Trump to counter his schlock. That's why our household quarantined March 4 when Trump was STILL saying the virus was very mild.  It was clear he was lying and/or stupid and that he'd make it worse.  (I haven't admitted it yet, so here I will- I also shuttered one business on Feb 19, almost completed, ruthless capitalist that I am.)  

Edited April 7, 2020 by Tamfana

[NuevoYorko]

13 hours ago, Ellener said:

Politicians and laypeople make insurance and medical policy decisions which should be up to qualified doctors every day in the US.

What does this have to do with the issue?  People do bad, wrong, destructive things every day.  That doesn't minimize the seriousness of the president of the US making false claims about a drug.  

[NuevoYorko]

5 hours ago, Piddy said:

 

  Again, I want Trump to listen Fauchi and Birx  instead of Navarro.  I'd like to just see the Fauchi and Birx conduct the nightly press conference instead of the Trump reality show.  He just rants incoherently and lies every night.  I wish they wouldn't even cover when he speaks his nonsense.

I agree - further, I myself want to listen to Fauci and Birx when it comes to the medicine and science around this situation.  There are different aspects that would be appropriate for a President to address during a crisis such as this.  Among these would not normally be "The Bachelor."  But these are curious times.

[gaius]

I'm pretty sure Fauci was saying just weeks ago you don't need a facemask, don't need mass quarantines and Birx was endorsing an Alex Jones like conspiracy theory about China to excuse the gross incompetence of our own medical officials. I wouldn't even listen to a restaurant recommendation from those two.

The information coming out of China has been far more reliable than anything from anyone over here, politician or MD. I think I'll continue to ignore our officials and listen to the people who actually know what they're doing.

[Ellener]

3 hours ago, NuevoYorko said:

What does this have to do with the issue?  People do bad, wrong, destructive things every day.  That doesn't minimize the seriousness of the president of the US making false claims about a drug.  

it IS the issue, and one of the reasons why the situation was unprepared for eg not enough masks for nurses/drs.

The president fired cdc and research workers very early in his presidency as I recall without proper advice.

There will no doubt be a huge economic hardship to people who have needed the medical services later too in the USA when the bills start coming into people's mail boxes later in the year.

[Libby1]

On 4/6/2020 at 5:39 PM, Piddy said:

What's scary now is Trump is pushing the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine using anecdotal evidence.  Trump is listening to his economic adviser Peter Navarro instead of his science advisers.  Trump and his hunches.  🙄

Is that the drug he wants to treat Boris Johnson with?

[Piddy]

1 hour ago, Libby1 said:

Is that the drug he wants to treat Boris Johnson with?

I believe it is.  I just wish it was the doctors (Fauchi and Birx) recommending it instead of non doctor Trump. 🤒

Edited April 7, 2020 by Piddy

[mrs rubble]

On ‎4‎/‎7‎/‎2020 at 4:39 AM, Piddy said:

What's scary now is Trump is pushing the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine using anecdotal evidence.  Trump is listening to his economic adviser Peter Navarro instead of his science advisers.  Trump and his hunches.  🙄

I had an American friend ask me about the credibility of this today, as I'm a microbiology technician. My words to him were "DO NOT TAKE ANY MEDICAL ADVICE FROM DONALD TRUMP" he doesn't understand the science or contradictions of taking any of these drugs. Quite frankly 99% of people I talk to here in New Zealand about Trump think he's an absolute joke, no one can understand why he was voted in!

[major_merrick]

Hydroxycholoroquine or ivermectin might work.  Might not.  But given the side effects of those things, I'd say "the cure is worse than the disease."  Seriously, how desperate does a person have to be?

As far as politics go, I'll say this: The response doesn't fit the typical US government pattern of burying serious issues.  Which makes me wonder if this isn't really serious and is instead being used for some nefarious purpose.  So far, outside of hot spots like New York, this just doesn't seem like the horrible awful threat everybody is panicking about.  The economic cost is absolutely unjustified, nor is the excessive powers the government is grabbing.  And like 9/11, I don't expect them to give those powers back when this is over.  I don't know if Trump is wise, ignorant, playing his own game, or listening to leftists and New World Order types.  None of what's going on makes sense to me yet.  I'm also hearing of places where the hospitals are basically empty.  Nobody is sick, but doctors can't do regular work.  Weird.

Meanwhile, our county is preparing for a very long haul with this issue.  Roads continue to be closed to outsiders, and might be that way for months in case of civil unrest from the city.  Due to a beef shortage, cattle are now being stolen from farms. 

Our sheriff announced that all businesses except dine-in restaurants in our county will re-open next week - an "exclusive economic zone" for residents only.  While schools in the state are closed for the rest of the school year, families without internet will be able to send their kids back to in-person classes in our county in groups of 10 or less.  Families who homeschool are encouraged to include the children of friends and neighbors.  The county government is offering temporary employment for any county resident between ages 18 and 65 who is unemployed after next Monday - hiring on the spot for a number of tasks.  The county government is also creating a "safe market" on the fairgrounds where people can meet for barter with plastic shielded stalls and plenty of sanitizer.  So far in my county - no cases.  Not a single one.  So what's being done here is working so far.

Edited April 8, 2020 by major_merrick

[basil67]

As this is a worldwide phenomenon, how would the US government have gone about burying it?  

[Redhead14]

8 hours ago, basil67 said:

As this is a worldwide phenomenon, how would the US government have gone about burying it?  

Well, I think there was at least an attempt to bury it in the US by declaring it a hoax and minimizing it to the extent that there was a 70 day or so delay in implementing containment measures.  I'm not sure if this was an intentional attempt because of the upcoming election or simply a product of denial and hoping it would go away somehow.  It kinda piqued my suspicions too.  However, I can't deny that there is a virulent virus flying around.  I have a close friend who just lost his brother-in-law so it's hitting closer to home.  It makes sense also that there may be pockets of areas where the virus isn't taking so much of a hold and hospitals aren't overloaded.  I live in a rural area and there are a few cases in my county and only about 10 cases in my town.  My county is at the bottom of the list in terms of case numbers and lightly populated and spread out.  Part of the reason why hospitals may not be overloaded in some areas, is the fact that the advice is that if you are sick, you call your doctor first before going to the hospital.  People are being told to stay home even if they are sick unless breathing is impaired or if they have an additional condition.  So, I think this helps keep them from being overrun with nervous, panicked people running in for every sniffle, etc.  And, if someone is admitted, no one is allowed to visit them or come into the hospital.  There isn't going to be a lot of people buzzing around in the waiting areas/lobbies, etc. so I get that it may appear that a hospital isn't busy.  I would imagine it to be a little different in a major city though.  People and/or ambulances lined up outside waiting.  I'm not going to drive into the city to check into that though. 

[amaysngrace]

My daughter works in a hospital.  Initially her fear was having to be the one to decide who gets a ventilator but she’s shifted now.  Now she’s trying to deal with the realization that anyone dying of this in a hospital won’t have a loved one by their side since they aren’t allowed any visitors.

She will have to be their person, a stranger whom they’ve never met before, covered completely from head to toe in protective gear.

It’s heartbreaking. 

[Redhead14]

1 minute ago, amaysngrace said:

My daughter works in a hospital.  Initially her fear was having to be the one to decide who gets a ventilator but she’s shifted now.  Now she’s trying to deal with the realization that anyone dying of this in a hospital won’t have a loved one by their side since they aren’t allowed any visitors.

She will have to be their person, a stranger whom they’ve never met before, covered completely from head to toe in protective gear.

It’s heartbreaking. 

Yes, my friend's brother-in-law just passed away because of Corona -- alone in the hospital.  His wife was in the hospital parking lot praying they would let her in.  She hadn't seen him since she dropped him off.  Now she's in quarantine all by herself to grieve and keep watch to see if she comes down with it too.  That's dreadful.  The other thing that I think is/will be happening more is that a lot of people will be dying at home . . . especially people who live alone and that will skew the death rate numbers as well for a while  We ain't seen nothing yet. 

[amaysngrace]

I’m sorry.  I keep posting in the wrong threads. 

But on topic, I don’t get why so many people feel the need to politicize this.

Can’t we see that we’re all only just humans for once?

[NuevoYorko]

7 hours ago, amaysngrace said:

I’m sorry.  I keep posting in the wrong threads. 

But on topic, I don’t get why so many people feel the need to politicize this.

Can’t we see that we’re all only just humans for once?

I hear you - but, in the US in any case, it is inherently politicalized because of the constant personal attacks from the administration (trump) on governors from blue states who are trying to navigate this crisis. Etc.  Also the incumbent using the platform of a daily "briefing" as a political rallying platform when ALL of us humans are trying to get the most factual information that we can in order to deal with what is happening.  We can't help but react to it; it's not "wrong."

[amaysngrace]

18 minutes ago, NuevoYorko said:

I hear you - but, in the US in any case, it is inherently politicalized because of the constant personal attacks from the administration (trump) on governors from blue states who are trying to navigate this crisis. Etc.  Also the incumbent using the platform of a daily "briefing" as a political rallying platform when ALL of us humans are trying to get the most factual information that we can in order to deal with what is happening.  We can't help but react to it; it's not "wrong."

I’m glad to know my post was lost on you.

 

[Woggle]

People who are hateful will not let a pandemic get in the way of expressing that hate. 

That being said while I don't care about being partisan it is disgusting how much our federal government fell down on this. With proper leadership we could have been like South Korea or Germany in the sense that we would have been affected but it would not have spun out of control the way it did. Our doctors and nurses should have the best protection available instead of having to make masks out of plastic bags. People who are tested and those who are positive and need treatment should not have to worry about going into debt. In general this has exposed how destructive the dog eat dog style darwinism that has defined our society in recent times is in a real crisis.

Everybody here knows I am not some leftist and in fact I can't stand the extremists on that side but this is why I didn't vote for the current guy in charge. I want competent leadership and he is not it. 

[major_merrick]

13 hours ago, amaysngrace said:

I’m sorry.  I keep posting in the wrong threads. 

But on topic, I don’t get why so many people feel the need to politicize this.

Can’t we see that we’re all only just humans for once?

It is inherently political because medicine became political when government got involved.  Medical issues are a method of control, just like anything else these days.  Whether you live or die isn't quite as important as how you live and die.  And in this pandemic, I believe the economic consequences of our leaders' actions will cause far more suffering and damage than the virus will. 

I know I'm the contrarian in the room, but I have yet to see a response from either the left or the right that I find palatable....both sides are suspect at this point, which isn't new.

[basil67]

6 hours ago, Woggle said:

That being said while I don't care about being partisan it is disgusting how much our federal government fell down on this. With proper leadership...

It's been interesting here.  Our PM was behind the 8 ball for longer than we would have liked, so the states took it upon themselves to make rules.  It caused a bit of a kerfuffle and the PM got mad, but ultimately he's now pretty much agreeing with what the states have been doing.   Closing of schools is the one thing which there has been no agreement on - but it's school holidays for two weeks now, so it will be interesting to see what happens when term 2 begins.

Edited April 9, 2020 by basil67

[mrs rubble]

We’re two weeks into lockdown here. Our numbers are falling only 29 cases today out of several thousand tested, our PM announced today that they will let us know April 20th if lockdown needs to extended, but has told businesses to prepare to go from level 4 alert to level 3, meaning that businesses may open again with strict hygiene and tracing of customers. 

I’m very hopeful that the numbers still continue to improve. We have a total of 1239 cases here, 375 recovered, 4 in ICU 14 in hospital and 1 death. 

 

[basil67]

We're hearing similar here in Oz too.   Strangely, a friend of a friend is a nurse in a regional hospital and they are currently gearing up to accept overflow from the city hospitals.   Seems like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.....and heaven knows where the truth lies!