COVID19 Update - Day 31

US Tests: 2,528,725
US Cases: 492,678
US Deaths: 18,461
Worldwide Cases: 1,694,594
Worldwide Deaths: 102,669

The Cult of Trump is ready to take a victory lap.  I'm not linking to them, but they're out there, pointing to the fact that 'only' 18,000 Americans have died (as if there aren't going to be thousands more to come), and talking about how that's a lower mortality rate than the regular flu.

Their boasts conveniently ignore two facts:

1. We are still far from knowing the final death tally.  It's going to grow, and will probably grow higher than it needs to because Trump and his acolytes (Governors DeSantis, Ivey, Reeves, etc.) want to 're-open' society sooner than they should.
2. Whatever the final number is, any credit for keeping it relatively low is due mainly to the exact social distancing and shelter-in-place shutdown the Cult of Trump want so badly to be rid of.

I mean, no one should be celebrating when this is happening anywhere in the United States:

Interments are typically done by inmates from the city's Rikers Island jail complex, but during the coronavirus pandemic the job has been taken over by contractors.

City officials haven't explained whether the increase in burials is due to pressure on mortuaries to dispose of bodies more quickly. The virus has been killing hundreds of New York City residents each day this week.

Overwhelmed hospitals have been placing bodies in refrigerated trucks parked outside their doors.

In a surprising twist in the continuing saga of federal confiscation of medical supplies from states and municipalities, FEMA insists that they're not seizing anything:

FEMA and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection are working to prevent domestic brokers, distributors and others from sending critical medical resources overseas, according to the FEMA statement.

“PPE being distributed internally within the United States is not being seized or re-routed by FEMA,” the statement read.

There is no question that SOME federal agents are confiscating medical supplies all over the country.  So the only question is whether FEMA is lying, or whether some other federal agency is responsible.  Either way, it's starting to seem certain that Trump is playing games with these supplies --- and thus with peoples' lives --- in an effort to score political points.

On the personal side, my only personal update is that today is my dad's birthday.  Happy birthday dad!