Posts
Updated on 4/21
Georgia, which has over 19,000 confirmed cases, will allow businesses like fitness centers and hair salons to reopen Friday (4/24) and then dine-in restaurants and movie theaters the following week, though bars and nightclubs will stay closed. (Monday, 4/27), and 4/30 to end shelter in place state-wide.
https://www.ajc.com/news/local/atlanta-mayor-announces-panel-plan-reopening-city/xpbJoK9KecqViQeuNxK7lN/
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/coronavirus-georgia-live-updates-whats-happening-today/3VZQTRLUGZGWVJ355QGDZO3I6A/
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What to expect if you get COVID-19
Most news emphasizes the rapid spread and number of deaths out of context of the surrounding numbers or pre-existing health of the patient, but few mention that the average person will be okay.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/01/coronavirus-how-sick-will-you-get/
from the article:
“Why are some people completely asymptomatic, some have mild disease, others have severe disease but recover — and others have fatal disease? We are still trying to figure this out,” said Dr. Brian Schwartz, Vice Chief for Clinical Affairs in UC San Francisco’s Division of Infectious Diseases.
“It is a small subset of people that will go on to develop serious disease. Most will not,” he said. “We want to learn how to prevent people from developing serious disease — and if they do, figure out how to treat it the right way.”
It’s well known that death rates are higher among older people. Only 0.2% of people younger than 19 die. But for people between the ages of 60 and 69, the death rate is 3.6%. It jumps to 8% to 12.5% for those between ages 70 and 79 and 14.8% to 20% percent for those older than 80.
But there’s more to it than that. Monica Arima is age 64; her husband Adrian, at 70, is six years her senior. But she has asthma and diabetes, while his underlying health is good.
Emerging U.S. data confirms trends seen in China and Italy: Rates of serious COVID-related symptoms are higher in those with other medical problems and risk factors, such as diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic renal disease and smoking. In a U.S. Centers for Disease Control report released on Tuesday, higher percentages of patients with underlying conditions were admitted to the hospital and to an ICU than patients without other health issues. There may also be a genetic influence.
...and here's another article that begins telling how the virus is mostly contained in China.
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Leading causes of death - See article
Where does the stimulus money come from?...and here's another article that begins telling how the virus is mostly contained in China.
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Leading causes of death - See article
- The leading underlying illness was hypertension, which showed up in 55% of the deaths.
- Next was diabetes, which was diagnosed in 1,755 deaths, or about 37% of the cases.
- Other top illnesses found in those who died from coronavirus were hyperlipidemia; coronary artery disease; renal disease and dementia.
Vaccine 6 months away (April - September, beginning October?)
https://nypost.com/2020/04/11/coronavirus-vaccine-is-six-months-away-lead-researcher-says/
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https://nypost.com/2020/04/11/coronavirus-vaccine-is-six-months-away-lead-researcher-says/
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I speculate that it is borrowed from China, ironically. I googled and found an article stating that it comes from bonds owned by private corporations. We know China owns most of our bonds, so I doubt it's a far cry from the truth that in the end, China will own our 2.2 trillion stimulus debt.
There is also the suggestion that the stimulus will go towards rebuilding infrastructure, which is much better than simply giving it away.
From the article:
Q: Will the U.S. Treasury Department have to print $2 trillion in dollar bills to pay for the stimulus?
A: Not exactly. Treasury doesn't have to print all those greenbacks because it can simply borrow the $2 trillion from investors by selling U.S. government bonds. The money that investors use to buy the bonds could come from their cash accounts, but more likely it will come from selling other investments, like corporate bonds
Individual payments
Check my status
When to receive checks
https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/04/21/heres-precisely-when-youll-get-your-stimulus-check.aspx
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Did Trump call the corona virus a hoax?Individual payments
Check my status
When to receive checks
https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/04/21/heres-precisely-when-youll-get-your-stimulus-check.aspx
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...and for the record, here's a story with a breakdown on the accusation that
Trump called COVID-19 a hoax - Go to 8:00 for what he said 'in context':
https://youtu.be/2mfuRVGdtTk
Excerpts: The Democrats: "Now they are politicizing the corona virus...Russia...they tried the impeachment hoax, they tried anything and this is their new hoax..." He then goes on to say how we are unified and doing great because we took action early, thereby acknowledging that they are handling the situation well.
So, in context, Trump is stating that the Democrats are taking advantage of the corona virus to attack him...the 'hoax' being how he is mishandling the situation, not that the virus itself is a hoax.
More here on Snopes.com
Again, it's all about context, and this is the problem with our media, the tactics that are constantly employed to create misinformation, to fabricate a story, and create controversy, and often violent response, is to take facts out of context and push it as a polarizing distraction. Once the damage is done, the truth comes out but by then it's too late. Cities have been burned and people ruined or harmed, sometimes with lasting insistence on the original misinformation.
I'm guessing this issue will be brought up again during the elections.
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Origin of the virus
https://youtu.be/5qO3MrhXM2A
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Commercial burglary up 75% in NYC with shelter in place
https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-sees-more-burglaries-of-businesses-under-coronavirus-emergency-measures-11586008801
Anti-milarial drugs to treat serious cases, FDA approved
https://youtu.be/eG6cW97ixAs
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/03/31/824572119/clinical-trials-set-to-determine-if-anti-malaria-drug-effective-against-covid-19
Georgia - 3k+ cases, 100+ deaths
https://youtu.be/9PUWSqKm9h8
Daily status by county, cases and deaths.
https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report
The highest numbers are in Fulton County, but numbers are relatively low:
Total population: 1,038,884
Cases: 624
Deaths: 19
Georgia population by county
Atlanta Gas prices - $1.33 - $1.39
https://www.11alive.com/gasprices
Travel restrictions from Mexico and Canada to the US end on 4/20
https://mx.usembassy.gov/wha-
Social distancing ends on 4/30, Atlanta now shows shelter in place until 4/13
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-coronavirus-briefing-death-rate-social-distancing
Atlanta - county by county shelter in place
State
https://www.walb.com/2020/04/02/kemp-signs-state-shelter-in-place-executive-order/
City https://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/atlantas-latest-coronavirus-updates-friday-april-3/
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/dekalb-county/city-brookhaven-orders-all-restaurants-bars-close-except-takeout-deliver/QIYG7FHBGNAVDA4CRTS2PV3CTY/
Allowed:
Grocery store, hardware store, or pharmacy, to the doctor/dentist, get takeout or delivery from restaurants, and exercise outside.
You can leave your home to care for a relative who needs it.
You can leave your house to go to work if you have an essential job.
You can even go to the gun store, as the order includes a specific clause that “nothing in this Order shall be construed to suspend or limit the sale, dispensing, or transportation of firearms or ammunition, or any component thereof.”
Essentially, stay home; limit your trips to the store and utilize curbside pickup/delivery; feel free to take a walk but keep six feet apart from others; and know that this is all temporary and for the greater good.
Beltline hours - reference article
6 a.m. to 10 a.m., trails will be limited to older adults and anyone with a compromised immune system.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the trails remain open for exercise, though officials still say that social distancing is required.
Beltline hours - reference article
6 a.m. to 10 a.m., trails will be limited to older adults and anyone with a compromised immune system.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the trails remain open for exercise, though officials still say that social distancing is required.
Considerations
After speaking with an Indonesian New Yorker, who talked about how Chinese investors buy up properties during recessions with cash collected amongst families. He also suggested the conspiracy that COVID was bioengineered to target the elderly, which would be consistent with the notion of Chinese eugenics, both in China and abroad.
How COVID may impact real estate - results are showing how home values may drop - more homes are lost as jobs are lost and owners are forced to sell. An interesting coincidence with the recent tax increases and rise of home values, ultra-low rates and low inventory - it has been a seller's market.
Apparently, Trump's tax measures in New York have driven away Chinese investors, and the overbuilding in Long Island City currently yields hotels offering rooms for $19 - $34 per night. The person I spoke to suggested that the best investment would be any distressed housing that opens up in Queens, then AirBNB rooms at $330/night.
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This is Part 2, my additional thoughts after writing my first more provocative post.
This is a just a string of thoughts, not a well composed thesis of any kind.
My idea of common sense:
If sick, stay home for 2 weeks after symptoms occur, and warn people you are sick and avoid them if you are invited to visit.
Otherwise, if healthy, go into the public as needed as though under normal circumstances, but obviously, don't deliberately go around people who are known to be sick.
Israel numbers give a pretty good model of reasons why noone should be shutting down the economy and shitting ourselves.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/israel
Coronavirus Cases:
3,035
Deaths:
12
Recovered:
79
ACTIVE CASES
Thoughts
Suppose the average person assumes the burden of liability and risks going in public and operating. Those who are most susceptible stay home, and they don't contribute to the work force anyway. Those who do get sick for an average of two weeks, and go back to work, and are no longer a threat until the next mutation or vaccine. If not, the economy is certainly devastated and impacts our partners in the world economy as well, businesses close and individual lives are ruined. If faced with a choice of sickness or losing a job, a home, or all means of financial stability, most people would trade total ruin for a nagging cough.
Key thoughts about the handling of COVID-19.
Rate of mutation is slow, so a vaccine will be long-lasting. Article
People are likely not infectious 10 days after symptoms occur. Article
Therefore, after recovery from infection, the person is no longer contagious, cannot spread the virus, and cannot get sick again unless or until a new strain emerges.
Most healthy people who are infected experience mild symptoms - fever, cough, headache. Death is less common for most healthy people.
If infected, people must self quarantine.
Here's what I found googling about quarantine time:
Using available preliminary data, the median time from onset to clinical recovery for mild cases is approximately 2 weeks and is 3-6 weeks for patients with severe or critical disease.
Stay at home until instructed to leave: Patients with confirmed COVID-19 should remain under home isolation precautions until the risk of secondary transmission to others is thought to be low. Talk to your healthcare provider: The decision to discontinue home isolation precautions should be made on a case-by-case basis, in consultation with healthcare providers and state and local health departments.
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Another argument is that if people get infected the hospitals will be overcrowded and unable to handle. Wait a minute, the assumption is that anyone infected ends up in the hospital. If the vulnerable populations stay out of harms way, and average people are out and about, those who get sick will not end up in hospitals, they will end up at home - like Tom Hanks - doing laundry and dishes and taking naps. So many panic-based assumptions about this virus. It sounds less horrible than the flu we have every year.
With a recession looming throughout this Presidency, it's notable that the last recession in 2009 also coincided with a pandemic from China, H1N1. But, Obama declared a national emergency, but noone remembers this and there was no shut down like this one.
If the President were asked whether if we should drive cars in the context of safety, one could easily make the argument that we should not drive based on data. There's no guarantee that anyone can drive a car and avoid a fatality.
We now have a 2 trillion dollar stimulus - I'm sure we will borrow the money from China.
The American public believes in reality TV and loves to hate the bad characters, the shows rely on that suspension of disbelief to engage and create tension. Unfortunately, people don't realize these shows are heavily scripted, and viewers walk away believing that the show is an accurate representation of humanity. The characters deliberately say and do provocative things, to play the role of victims, villians, heroes and fools. The scenarios combine these characters to create gripping scenarios through tension and release.
To what extent is the American public watching a reality show with our Presidency?
Trump suggested opening churches by Easter because 'I don't know, I just chose Easter because it would be nice', then immediately countered by a doctor in the same speech who says Easter will be peak time for the infections to spread.
The format of this speech is not an arbitrary coincidence - Trump wouldn't deliberately say something so flippant, as though Easter was an arbitrary date for everyone to congregate because it would be nice - and then deliberately follow his words with a doctor who contradicts him. Why was this method of presentation crafted in this way, and why would Trump be willing to speak in this manner and then be followed by such a retort by a doctor? Was this a way of licensing Americans to use their own judgement, or a way of playing good guy - bad guy, goofus and gallant to get Americans to read between the lines, or a way of being controversial? How much of this is designed to sidestep liability?
The President of the US is like a CEO. His role is to instill investor confidence, which means he's a salesman. But is he really the Chief Executive, or just selling the message that he's told by others in the background? Is he playing the role of an idiot, is he part of the problem or is he a heroic rebel and a maverick? I'm not sure. Does a good economy rely on perception of the Presidency or did Trump actually do something to make a difference? Obama says he inherited a good economy. Or was it all just timing?
Unfortunately, we cannot predict the future, so for now the public is gripped by liability and fear, emphasis on threat without relief focus on actual impact. As a result, we are held indefinitely in suspense and actual authority is invoked to require us to conform.
Will there be more crime or less during this period of shut down? News says it will be low because everyone is staying at home with curfews and warnings. But isn't this a little early to celebrate? A lot of people who are doing okay today will be desperate sooner or later. Some will be on the streets with no home to wall up.
Again, this is Part 2, my additional thoughts after writing my first more provocative post.
