Coronavirus News (113)

Trump’s seeding of a culture war over masks just got a lot less subtle stop a senseless and counterproductive culture war over the wearing of masks during the coronavirus outbreak. ........ “So with the masks, it’s going to be, really, a voluntary thing,” he said. “You can do it. You don’t have to do it. I’m choosing not to do it, but some people may want to do it, and that’s okay. It may be good. Probably will. They’re making a recommendation. It’s only a recommendation. It’s voluntary.” ........ Asymptomatic people can be carriers. The idea that a mask isn’t necessary because the potential wearer has no reason to believe they’re sick also ignores the benefit that masks could provide when it comes to contracting the virus oneself.

In explaining his decision, Trump suggested he was holding out in public because he didn’t want to allow reporters who have continually pressed him on the issue to win.

.......... “I wore one in this back area, but I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it,” Trump said. ......... When it comes to wearing a mask, public health isn’t the only consideration. So, too, are pride and Trump’s appetite for provocation. ...... Whatever can be gained by a president setting an example for the American people, there are other considerations........ In the days before Trump’s Monday retweet, anecdotal images showed Memorial Day weekend revelers in places such as the Lake of the Ozarks flouting not just mask-wearing guidelines but also social-distancing guidelines. .........

90 percent of Democrats thought Trump should wear a mask in public, but just 38 percent of Republicans said the same........ 87 percent of Democrats reported wearing one while leaving home in the previous week, while just 53 percent of Republicans did.

...... While 18 percent of Democratic-leaning voters said they never wore a mask, 46 percent of Republican-leaning voters said the same. ......... What’s most inexplicable, though, is that

wearing a mask is one of the simplest things to do — and something that could actually help when it comes to lifting those restrictions

. Masks help people reemerge in society without infecting one another

"We now see a trend in an uptick in hospitalizations. It's a small uptick, but it is an uptick and it is unmistakable, and it is probably a result of reopening," says @ScottGottliebMD. "We are going to have to watch it--we expected this." pic.twitter.com/1BuRaksMaT

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) May 26, 2020

WHO Media Briefing

The covid-19 lockdown has served its purpose. It’s time to end it. The objective of the lockdown was never to stop every American from getting covid-19, which is impossible; it was to buy time to learn about the virus and prevent our health-care system from being overwhelmed. ......... The Army Corps of Engineers spent $660 million to build emergency field hospitals across the country ......... “most of these facilities haven’t treated a single patient.” ....... in at least a dozen states there are now more coronavirus tests than there are people to take them, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D-N.Y.) recently said, “we have more sites and more testing capacity than we’re using.” ....... Those achievements have come at an enormous price.

In the past two months, almost 40 million Americans have lost their jobs — about a quarter of our working population.

One recent study suggested that 42 percent of those layoffs may be permanent. ........... The costs are not just in lost jobs, but in lost lives. Americans have been forced to put off care for non-covid-19 illnesses such as cancer and cardiac disease — forgoing screenings, surgeries, chemotherapy and emergency room visits. ..........

we could see an additional 40,000 deaths due to suicides and drug overdoses among the jobless, as well as an additional 2 million people addicted to drugs.

........ the vast majority of covid victims are older Americans, like my mother, with underlying health conditions. We must continue to shelter and protect them. But for everyone else, especially young people, the risks of resuming activity are much lower.......... Parents uncomfortable sending their kids to school should be given the option of distance learning. But the vast majority of students should be allowed back in the classroom with appropriate social distancing precautions. .......... children will suffer a 9- to-12-month learning loss because of the lockdown. That will only worsen if it continues in the fall. ......... Michael Chertoff, chairman of ReOpen DC Advisory Group, has recommended that Washington, D.C., schools not fully reopen for in-person learning until there is a vaccine. That’s completely senseless......... Michael Chertoff, chairman of ReOpen DC Advisory Group, has recommended that Washington, D.C., schools not fully reopen for in-person learning until there is a vaccine. That’s completely senseless.