US Cases: 239,009
US Deaths: 5,784
Worldwide Cases: 1,011,490
Worldwide Deaths: 52,863
A watershed date in the progression of the pandemic. There are now more than 1 million confirmed cases worldwide --- and more than 10% of worldwide deaths occurred in the U.S.
Today is also the first day that the number of deaths in the U.S. exceeded 1,000 in a single day.
In a follow-up to yesterday's Forbes article discussing how Trump's refusal to invoke the Defense Production act is allowing businesses to sell millions of masks to foreign interests, today ProPublica has an article about how the Trump-created shortage is leading states to pay exorbitant prices for the life-saving items they need:
With the coronavirus outbreak creating an unprecedented demand for medical supplies and equipment, New York state has paid 20 cents for gloves that normally cost less than a nickel and as much as $7.50 each for masks, about 15 times the usual price. It’s paid up to $2,795 for infusion pumps, more than twice the regular rate. And $248,841 for a portable X-ray machine that typically sells for $30,000 to $80,000.
This payment data, provided by state officials, shows just how much the shortage of key medical equipment is driving up prices. Forced to venture outside their usual vendors and contracts, states and cities are paying exorbitant sums on a spot market ruled by supply and demand. Although New York’s attorney general has denounced excessive prices, and ordered merchants to stop overcharging people for hand sanitizers and disinfectant sprays, state laws against price gouging generally don’t apply to government purchases.A lot of people are rightly criticizing Trump's handling of the crisis, and arguing that a competent president (or indeed, just about anyone else) would have managed the crisis in such a way that the death toll would be much lower. One piece of data to support this view is the fact that South Korea confirmed its first case of COVID19 on the same day as the U.S. --- and so far has only suffered 169 deaths --- or 1/34 as many as the U.S.
Another startling data point comes from the U.S. Army. Two months ago, the Army projected 150,000 American deaths as an absolute worst-case scenario --- and now Trump is boasting that if the U.S. death total comes in at 200,000, then he will have done a very good job.
And speaking of the military --- Trump and the GOP spend a lot of time positioning themselves as the only 'real' Americans who 'support the troops'. You would think that during this pandemic, even while Trump continues to hold daily pep rallies while Americans die, he would at least make sure to take care of the troops.
But as it turns out --- not so much:
The commander of a US aircraft carrier that has been hit by a major outbreak of coronavirus has been relieved of command for showing "poor judgment" days after writing a memo warning Navy leadership that decisive action was needed to save the lives of the ship's crew, acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly announced on Thursday.
In his memo, Crozier implored Navy leaders to take immediate steps to address the situation.
"Decisive action is required. Removing the majority of personnel from a deployed US nuclear aircraft carrier and isolating them for two weeks may seem like an extraordinary measure," his memo said.
"This is a necessary risk. It will enable the carrier and air wing to get back underway as quickly as possible while ensuring the health and safety of our Sailors. Keeping over 4,000 young men and women on board the TR is an unnecessary risk and breaks faith with those Sailors entrusted to our care," Crozier added.There is no personal update today.
No comments:
Post a Comment