COVID19 Update - Day 12

US Tests: 225,374
US Cases: 31,888
US Deaths: 398
Worldwide Cases: 331,273
Worldwide Deaths: 14,490

I was afraid to post this update, because I knew the numbers were going to be bad.  But I was stunned to see how bad they actually are.

Since yesterday, there has been a 26% increase in tests, a 37% increase in reported cases, and a staggering 46% increase in reported fatalities in the U.S.!

In one day.

Please point this out to anyone who still insists that this is no big deal, or that we're overreacting.  It seems almost certain that before this is all over, the death toll --- just in the U.S., mind you --- will be well over 1 million.

If anything, Trump and the rest of the idiot caucus (the GOP) are underreacting:

"No. We haven't yet," Gaynor replied when asked on CNN's "State of the Union" if the Trump administration has ordered any companies to make critical medical supplies needed on the front lines of the coronavirus fight.

The FEMA chief insisted that donations and voluntary offers of assistance from companies are presently sufficient. "It's happening without using that lever," he explained, adding, "If it comes to a point we have to pull the lever, we will."

It's pretty simple.  There is a dire, life-or-death need for personal protective equipment (gloves and masks, abbreviated PPE) for the medical professionals fighting the virus; for tests which can identify infected individuals, and ventilators for the very sickest.  The whole point of the Defense Production Act is to make sure that in times of crisis, America has the supplies it needs.

What possible reason is there for Trump NOT to invoke the DPA?  And why, rather than acting like, I don't know, a Commander in Chief, is Trump delegating all responsibility for crisis management to the governors --- some who are responding well, others not --- to compete with each other for supplies?  If Trump's actions aren't the result of sheer incompetence, then they can only be corrupt somehow.

On the personal side, I made the 6-hour round trip voyage with my son today, to clean out his dorm room in Morris, MN.  It was fairly uneventful, although it was a bit somber, for me anyway.  This is certainly not the time or circumstances under which I saw myself moving my son out after his first year of college.  Ordinarily, there might be kind of a party atmosphere, as all of the students say their summer goodbyes.  I might have been able to meet some of Nik's friends and their parents, and exchange a few stories about the year just completed, and look forward to next year.

But there was none of that.  The campus intentionally staggered the times for students to clean out their rooms, so there were very few other people there.  There was no sense of community and celebration.  There were no introductions, no goodbyes, no hugs, no handshakes.  Everyone scrupulously practiced social distancing.

And of course, if this is the worst consequence I personally have to deal with from COVID19, I know I should consider myself lucky.  But it was a stark reminder of the times we're now in.