Wednesday, April 08, 2020

Coronavirus News (35)

Chaos rocks Trump White House on virus' most tragic day The chaos and confusion rocking President Donald Trump's administration on the most tragic day yet of the coronavirus pandemic was exceptional even by his own standards......... Trump set out Tuesday to cement his image of a wartime leader facing down an "invisible enemy" at a dark moment as the country waits for the virus to peak and with the economy languishing in suspended animation........... "What we have is a plague, and we're seeing light at the end of the tunnel," the President said, on a day when a record number of Americans succumbed to the wicked respiratory disease. ......... an already impeached President is using the cover of the worst domestic crisis since World War II to further erode constraints on his power. ...... Trump insisted he hadn't seen January memos by a top White House official warning about the pandemic at the same time the President was dismissing it as a threat. ........ He also announced he was placing a "very powerful hold" on funding for the World Health Organization, even though it correctly identified the scale of the virus and he didn't. .......

the sense of farce

Trump's top economic adviser Larry Kudlow admitted that a small business rescue program was off to "a bad start" after recipients struggled to register funds, only for the President to celebrate the program's roaring success -- and to credit his daughter Ivanka with personally creating 15 million jobs. ..... he lashed out at mail-in voting, making claims about fraud that don't square with the facts, even though he recently cast such a ballot himself. ........ A majority of Americans -- 55% -- now say the federal government has done a poor job preventing the spread of the disease in the United States, up eight points in about a week. And 52% say they disapprove of the way Trump is handling the outbreak. As usual, assessments of Trump break on partisan lines. Some 80% of Republicans say the federal government has done a good job, and Trump's approval rating is steady at 44%. ........ the second stage of the national effort -- reopening the economy and keeping a second wave of infections at bay -- will require focused and subtle leadership that can win the confidence of the nation. ....... Trump had already warned he will ignore a provision in the bill requiring the special inspector general to report to Congress on the handling of the funds. ....... a top economic official, Peter Navarro, had written a memo to the President in January warning coronavirus could become a "full blown pandemic" causing trillions of dollars in economic damage and risking the health of millions of Americans. ........ The WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International concern on January 30 after sending a team to Wuhan and to meet Chinese leaders in Beijing...... On the same day, at a rally in Michigan, the President said of the virus, "We think we have it very well under control." ....... But on Tuesday, the President lashed out at the global health body, claiming it had underplayed the threat of the virus and that he had got it right......... Given the President's long timeline of false statements and predictions, that must go down as one of the most audacious comments of his presidency. It was also reflective of

his own tendency to nominate an enemy and accuse it of the very transgression that he is accused of perpetrating

.

'It's a racial justice issue': Black Americans are dying in greater numbers from Covid-19
Coronavirus: Boris Johnson spends night in intensive care after symptoms worsen He was moved as a precaution so he could be close to a ventilator - which takes over the body's breathing process ....... "I hope people who may have wandered out the other day and decided they can sit around having barbecues will really think about this carefully and recognise this is serious...."If the most powerful man in Britain can come down with this, so can you"...... Mr Johnson was initially taken to hospital for tests after announcing 11 days ago that he had coronavirus. His symptoms included a high temperature and a cough. ....... Around two-thirds of patients admitted to intensive care with Covid-19 will need sedation and ventilation within 24 hours of arriving.
4 Behaviors That Help Leaders Manage a Crisis

They must decide with speed over precision, adapt boldly, reliably deliver, and engage for impact.

....... During a crisis, cognitive overload looms; information is incomplete, interests and priorities may clash, and emotions and anxieties run high. Analysis paralysis can easily result, exacerbated by the natural tendency of matrixed organizations to build consensus. ......... Embrace action, and don’t punish mistakes. Missteps will happen, but our research indicates that failing to act is much worse. ......... think internal wikis that capture issues, solutions, innovations, and best practices. Effective leaders extend their antennae across all the ecosystems in which they operate. ........ Keep mind and body in fighting shape. To reliably deliver, leaders must maintain their equanimity even when others are losing their heads. Establish a routine of self-care: a healthy diet, exercise, meditation, or whatever works best for you. Stock up on energy, emotional reserves, and coping mechanisms. ........ One leader we know conducts 30-minute “wind down” sessions with direct reports each Friday afternoon via Zoom. People share their states of mind along with the week’s highlights and low points......... celebrate your daily (often unsung) heroes. Simply staying productive in these times is heroic.

ESSENTIAL WORKERS WOULD GET UP TO $25,000 BOOST UNDER SENATE DEMOCRATS' NEW 'HEROES FUND' STIMULUS
The Supreme Court is tipping the scales toward Trump's reelection
China's Wuhan ends its coronavirus lockdown but elsewhere one begins China’s new coronavirus cases doubled on Tuesday as the number of infected travellers from overseas surged, while new asymptomatic infections more than quadrupled..... To stem infections from outside its borders, China has slashed the number of international flights and denied entry to virtually all foreigners. It also started testing all international arrivals for the virus this month.

Euro zone fails to reach a deal on new coronavirus stimulus after 16 hours of talks
Coronavirus: EU top scientist forced out in political row
Hong Kong extends social distancing restrictions to contain coronavirus
GM to supply 30,000 ventilators to national stockpile for nearly $490M
Oklahoma State coach says 'a lot of' his players can fight off coronavirus

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Tuesday, April 07, 2020

Coronavirus News (34)





U.S. airlines want a $50 billion bailout. They spent $45 billion buying back their stock. it's a point that we should keep in mind every time we see companies line up at the bailout trough. If many of these companies hadn't spent lots of money to buy back their own stock to prop up its price, they wouldn't need anywhere near as much money as they need now........ From 2014 through 2019, United spent $8.57 billion for stock buybacks and paid no cash dividends. Southwest spent $8.53 billion for buybacks and $1.38 billion for dividends, for a total of $9.91 billion. American spent $11.895 billion for buybacks and $1.064 billion for dividends, for a total of $12.959 billion. Delta spent $10.08 billion for buybacks and $3.168 billion for dividends......

companies frequently borrow money to help fund buybacks. That works great to prop up their stock prices - until one day, there's a problem.

.... So yes, let's keep these companies - and other bailout candidates - out of bankruptcy. But let's make them pay taxpayers a handsome return on our loan and give us a big chunk of stock before they're allowed to send another penny to Wall Street.

Kamal Haasan pens open letter to PM Modi criticising implementation of the lockdown The President of the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) said the common populace cannot be blamed for being ill-prepared for a crisis of this magnitude but that the Prime Minister could and would be blamed for this as

the 'strict and immediate' lockdown was 'almost demonitisation style.'

...... "You ordered an entire nation of 1.4 billion people to shut down within 4 hours," he said. "A mere 4 hour notice period for the people when you had a 4 month notice period... My biggest fear is that the same mistake of demonetisation is being repeated albeit at a much bigger scale." ...... on one hand the Prime Minister was asking the more privileged people to put up a spectacle of lights while on the other hand the poor man’s plight was becoming a shameful spectacle...... while these 'psychotherapy techniques' were being adopted to address the "first world anxiety problems of the ‘haves’ who have a balcony to cheer," what would happen to those who don’t have a roof over their heads...... "I would like to see you doing more to secure everybody’s fortress and ensure that nobody goes to bed hungry. COVID-19 will continue to find more victims but we are creating a fertile playground for

Hunger(H), Exhaustion(E) and Deprivation(D) of the poor. HED ’20

is a malady that is smaller in profile but far deadlier compared to COVID-19.It’s impact will be felt long after COVID-19 has vanished"

Coronavirus: Spain to become first country in Europe to roll out universal basic income Government plans to keep payments ‘a permanent instrument’ after pandemic is over ....... Spain is to roll out a universal basic income (UBI) “as soon as possible” to mitigate the impact of coronavirus. ....... that UBI could become something that “stays forever, that becomes a structural instrument, a permanent instrument”. ......

the restrictions would remain in place until 26 April at the earliest

. ...... Iran, which introduced a UBI programme in 2011 in the form of monthly cash transfers into individual family accounts ........ The world’s most prominent trial of UBI took place in Finland, ending in February 2019 after two years. During that period, unemployed Finns were given a monthly flat payment of €560 (£490). The researchers who led the experiment found recipients were happier and healthier, but no more likely to find employment.

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Coronavirus News (33)



Coronavirus: How China’s army of food delivery drivers helped keep country going during outbreak Buying and paying for meals and supplies online was already second nature for many Chinese before the Covid-19 lockdown .... The supply and delivery networks that were already in place were able to work with the authorities in cities like Wuhan ......... “China’s powerful home delivery service makes life much easier at a time of crisis.” ....... “Home delivery played a very important role amid the coronavirus outbreak. To some extent, it prevented people from starving especially in cases when local governments took extreme measures to isolate people.” ...... All of these things have been in place for a long time and the crisis tested its agility and capability to deal with peak demand.” ....... “The surge of online demand for fresh merchandise shows the pandemic helped e-commerce providers further penetrate into the life of customers. It also helped upstream farm producers to know and trust us.” ......... prices had gone up and vegetables were three times more expensive than they had been over Lunar New Year in 2019.



Italy Is Sending Another Warning This is what a country a month into lockdown looks like: desperate, hungry and scared. ........ “As of yet, I haven’t received any government assistance. We have nowhere to turn.” ......

The first European nation to be hit hard by the coronavirus, it has become a harbinger for the rest of Europe and America.

....... The economy is in trouble, bound for a major contraction. And the precariously situated workers — self-employed, seasonal, informal — are suffering the most. It’s not clear how much longer they can survive. ........

“We don’t even know when things will go back to normal.”

....... the measures put in place by the Italian government to ameliorate the worse effects of the crisis — a moratorium on mortgages, loan repayment holidays for businesses and wage protections for those laid off — do not protect them. ...... Mr. Esposito and his family are relying on weekly food parcels from a community center. “Without their help,” he said, “we just wouldn’t have anything to eat.” ....... The government has granted a one-time payment of 600 euros, around $650, to the self-employed and to seasonal workers in the tourist sector. ...... “There are lots of people who are going hungry.

You can see that their behavior is beginning to change.”

Reports of social unrest across the region — shopkeepers forced to give away food, even some thefts — have ruffled a usually close-knit community. “The other night I caught some kids trying to break into my garage,” Mr. Gallinari said. “This is new for us.” ...........

for insecure workers across the world, the siren is ringing.














Dear Friends and Family, It’s been 15 days since being tested positive for Covid-19 (Coronavirus) and I would like to...

Posted by Shambhu Moktan on Tuesday, April 7, 2020
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Monday, April 06, 2020

Coronavirus News (32)

Chinese tourist sites packed as country comes out of lockdown, but experts say risk still high



There Is No Plan for the End of the Coronavirus Crisis

For a month, American journalists and public-health experts have praised the coronavirus response of South Korea and Singapore above all others. On Tuesday, Singapore will close its schools and most businesses to guard against an out-of-control outbreak; South Korea just extended its social-distancing policy.

.......

Cases are spiking in Japan, and a second wave of infections is feared in China, as well.

...... many of the nations desperate Americans have spent the last few months praising as exemplary models of public health management do not actually have the virus under control — or at least not to the degree it appeared a few weeks ago, or to the degree you might be hoping for if you expected a (relatively) quick end to quarantine measures and economic shutdown followed by a (relatively) rapid snapback to “normal” life and economic recovery. ......... this crisis is just a few months old and the scientific and public health wisdom just as preliminary. ..... the fact that there is also no planning to speak of for how we might leave behind the present crisis means all we can see looking forward from the darkness — is more darkness. ....... public-health experts in the U.S. are increasingly worried that the public is underestimating how long the coronavirus “disruptions” are going to last — with many Americans assuming a sort of national reopening will begin in early May and most public-health experts expecting at least a month beyond that. Possibly more, even considerably more. ....... the tests we are using may have a failure rate of about 30%. That means about one in every three people being tested could be getting the wrong result. .......seasonality (which could dampen the spread come summer but which most epidemiologists suspect won’t radically alter the trajectory of disease). ......... we have no idea how long “this” will last and how it will end. In the meantime, all we have is a daily White House press conference starring a shortsighted, uninformed, and self-contradicting showman of a president, with multiple competing response teams occasionally emerging from the shadows to reveal a basic ignorance about the meaning of federalism. ............ both the Republican governor of Georgia and the Democratic mayor of New York seem only to have learned, in the last few days, that asymptomatic people can still spread the disease — a fact familiar to anyone following the story since January — is less an indictment of those two men than the vacuum of guidance from Washington, which requires every state and local leader to piece together their own understanding of the disease.

To fight Covid-19, India will need 15 mn PPEs, 50,000 ventilators by June The country would require an estimated 27 million N95 masks, 15 million PPEs, 1.6 million diagnostic kits, and 50,000 ventilators by June 2020 ..... As the global death toll in coronavirus surpassed 69,000, the central government is ramping up its preparedness to deal with the pandemic. In the last few weeks, the govt has restricted supply of critical medical equipment, and has prohibited or tightened export restrictions on testing kits and drugs, especially anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine. It has also prohibited exports of “all ventilators including any artificial respiratory apparatus or oxygen therapy apparatus or any other breathing appliance/device" along with sanitisers, surgical masks, and PPEs.

Oil prices are low, print some money, don’t think of inflation, says Abhijit Banerjee the “uncertainties caused by uncertainties”, the unsustainability of lockdowns, difficulty in getting numbers, the case for domestic manufacture of ventilators and why India needs to “go Keynesian”. .......... The biggest problem is for now is the savings of human lives, and in the near term it will be about getting back to work. And in the medium term to get back into the normal economy. What we are doing now to save lives must not snowball into a such a big economic crisis that we lose livelihoods. ........ People are working for a cure but it will take time. All we can do is to isolate ourselves. Another thing we can do is to practice good hygiene in particular washing of hands. ......... If there are a lot of asymptomatic infected people, we are closer to herd immunity than we think we are. If the numbers infected are closed to 100 million than a smaller number. ........ we could not count them very systematically. In France where I come from, anybody who dies at home is not counted (as dying from virus). Only if you die in a hospital (are you counted as someone who died from the virus). ........

When the weather becomes hot and humid, we do not know how it will respond. It is a new virus and we know so little about it.

....... The good news is that India is an extremely young country. The average age is around 28. ....... the world economy will be in a free fall. Rich countries will be in a lockdown. They are not going to buy anything. The whole world economy is going to shrink. That is a complete given. We are going to see a massive recession. ......... People will have lost so much income and so much wealth that they will sit on what they have and not spend. That is the core worry. ........ Is it the end of Second World War and people will start buying things or is it the middle of 2009 crisis and people are afraid to spend? I do not know the answer to this. But I am pessimistic.

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The Virus Asks For Out Of The Box Thinking

  1. The three week lockdown imposed upon India is the right thing to do, and every country will have to follow suit. It is the cheapest way. Testing is not available.
  2. But India executed it badly. You have to have a plan to feed everyone. Just stay home. We will feed you for three weeks. That means the demand and supply thing will have to break. This is an emergency. It is still demand and supply, but there is no money involved. You feed everyone who is hungry. You deliver food to homes.
  3. Three weeks are enough time for the infected to get symptomatic. You identify them and you isolate them. They basically stay in their homes, the mildly symptomatic do. One thing to try is you hover your head over boiling water in a bowl, and cover your head with a towel, and you inhale the steam for a few minutes. The dire cases go to the hospitals. The world's factories need to produce the basic equipment and medicine like FDR produced planes for World War II. Call a truce to the China-US trade war. It was always stupid. Now it is fatal. You don't want a Spanish Flu redux. You don't want a hundred million dead.
  4. The non-infected will have to go back to work otherwise on top of the pandemic we will have tremendous hunger. And if the hunger is widespread enough, societies will start to collapse. That is chaos. You will see uncontrollable riots. But too many jobs will have been destroyed in three weeks. Many people will not have the option to simply go back to work. You need Universal Basic Income. Every human being on earth should be given $100 a month immediately. No questions asked. It can not be a one-time thing. It could easily be a year. Done right, it can be indefinite.
  5. But $100 will not cut it in a place like the US. You will need $1,000.
  6. This UBI is the only thing that can resurrect the world economy.
  7. This virus can not be tackled in any one country. It will have to be tackled simultaneously in every country.
  8. We need a world government. And we need it at zip speed. I would not mind if someone like Barack Obama steps in to become the first President Of The World. Gordon Brown has broached the idea. Former heads of state are best positioned to rally around the idea and make it happen.
  9. When the vaccine shows up -- the best estimate is 18 months -- and hopefully it comes in the form of a band-aid, it needs to be taken to everybody. Only a world government can do it. A world government with real teeth.
  10. This is the dress rehearsal for climate change. The coronavirus is forcing the world to do what needs to be done to fight climate change.
Inequality And Climate Change Are Existential: A Blueprint For Survival
Towards A World Government





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Coronavirus News (31)

Pondering a path forward for New York 58% of New York City residents fear they will be unable to "meet monthly financial obligations."
Here's who's hiring right now
Dimon: 'Bad recession' is coming as the International Monetary Fund declared a global recession underway that will be worse than the 2008 crisis ......

To overcome this pandemic, we need a global, coordinated health and economic policy effort.


Zoom CEO: 'I really messed up'
Millennials caught short in crisis Graduating seniors are watching a great job market evaporate before their eyes as the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic ripple across the globe.
The subtle voyeurism of video calling

As of this morning, Queens leads the boroughs in number of confirmed COVID-19 cases at 22,276. Stay safe, South Queens. Our team is here to help 24/7 any way we can.

Posted by Jenifer Rajkumar on Monday, April 6, 2020


Anderson Cooper: "This is not normal!"
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Coronavirus News (30)

Parts of the US will endure a devastating week from coronavirus, health officials say. But there are also signs of hope
UK PM Boris Johnson admitted to hospital for tests
Coronavirus: Japan to declare emergency as Tokyo cases soar
9 charts showing what coronavirus is doing to the economy Jobless claims are already at record numbers, and it’s getting worse.



The Apocalypse as an ‘Unveiling’: What Religion Teaches Us About the End Times For people of many faiths, and even none at all, it can feel lately like the end of the world is near. ....... called the coronavirus pandemic a “divine reset.” ...... Not only is there a plague, but hundreds of billions of locusts are swarming East Africa. Wildfires have ravaged Australia, killing an untold number of animals. A recent earthquake in Utah even shook the Salt Lake Temple to the top of its iconic spire, causing the golden trumpet to fall from the angel Moroni’s right hand. ....... The crisis is revealing health care inequalities, class divisions and the fact that the most important workers in American society are among the least paid ...... “What is being revealed are the fault lines in the system that always existed,” he said. “We are just noticing it now because the system is stressed.” ........ About 44 percent of likely voters in the United States see the coronavirus pandemic and economic meltdown as either a wake-up call to faith, a sign of God’s coming judgment or both ....... the pandemic “the most apocalyptic thing that has ever happened to us.” ....... the story of the defeat of an evil beast, a final divine judgment and the coming of a New Jerusalem. ....... Some of the earliest apocalyptic speculation is found in Jewish scriptures, in stories like the Book of Daniel, as the Hellenistic age gave way to the Romans around the second and first centuries B.C. and Jewish communities experienced violent persecution. Some Jews speculated again about the end of time when the Roman army destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70. ........... The rabbis developed a system where Jews could live anywhere, under any government and live meaningful lives connected to neighbors and to God. ........ the Quran tells stories of plagues and of a final earthquake that will tear the earth apart .......In Buddhist traditions, apocalypse comes as a result of collective karma — everyone’s actions toward one another and the world — which means its outcome can change, even in the present circumstance. “Now people are kinder to each other, they are spending more time with families,” Dr. Wallace said. “It’s like a warning to change the course of actions, to bring back compassion, empathy, develop social equality.” ......... “People are advocating that we throw our grandparents to the slaughter, sacrifice them on the altar of capitalism,” she added, referring to Republican leaders who have suggested that older Americans might be willing to sacrifice themselves to save jobs. ........

For too long America has been on “spiritual life support,” trusting its own invincibility



India observes nationwide candlelight vigil in a show of solidarity in the fight against coronavirus
AOC says coronavirus proves US is a ‘brutal, barbarian society’ the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the United States as a "brutal, barbarian society" for the "vast majority of working-class Americans." ........ certain policies she wishes Congress would adopt to combat the coronavirus, including canceling rent payment and reforming healthcare ........ what this crisis is showing us is that this is only a rich society for a very small amount of people. And it is a brutal, barbarian society for the vast majority of working-class Americans.

Americans are underestimating how long coronavirus disruptions will last, health experts say Americans are underestimating how long the coronavirus pandemic will disrupt everyday life in the country, warning that the Trump administration’s timelines are offering many

a false sense of comfort

. ....... quickly reopening businesses or loosening shelter-in-place rules would inevitably lead to a new surge of infections ......

an “intensive period of social distancing and a national semi-voluntary lockdown” will last for months.

....... “Decisions to reopen society should not be about a date, but about the data” ....... Some activities, like reopening schools, might be deemed low risk and of societal benefit, Gates said. But mass gatherings “may be, in a certain sense, more optional.” Until large numbers of people can be vaccinated against the virus “those may not come back at all,” he said. ....... Though vaccine development is proceeding at a historic pace, in a best-case scenario a product won’t be available for the general public for at least 18 months, and likely longer. Early supplies, which will be limited, would be used to protect health workers. ....... People who are still vulnerable to the virus will see the risk as over, leaving open the possibility of resurgent spread. ......... people in high-risk groups — those over 65 or 70 and people with chronic conditions — may need to practice physical distancing even after restrictions have loosened for others, at least until vaccine is ready. ...... our best case scenario is we can pull off what South Korea seems to be managing, which is get the curve down.

Can Donald Trump wait out the coronavirus?
'He's answered that question.' Trump interrupts when reporter asks Fauci about hydroxychloroquine
HHS watchdog paints bleak picture for hospitals fighting coronavirus
Coronavirus mortgage bailout: ‘There is going to be complete chaos,’ says industry CEO
Coronavirus threatens the next generation of smartphones
'Trump more dangerous than coronavirus': Iranian admiral Ali Shamkhani says US sanctions imposed on crucial medical equipment are 'illegal' and an 'inhumane act'.
Ireland's prime minister to work as doctor amid coronavirus pandemic
Man shot five people for 'talking too loud' during coronavirus lockdown, investigators say
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