COVID19 Update - Day 35

US Tests: 3,081,620
US Cases: 602,473
US Deaths: 25,668
Worldwide Cases: 1,979,477
Worldwide Deaths: 126,539

I'm not sure what happened at the Johns Hopkins coronavirus resource center.  Either I screwed up the number of worldwide cases yesterday, or they made some kind of adjustment, because somehow the total went down.  Let's hope this lower number is the correct one, I guess.

I have nothing special to report about the pandemic on either a personal or national level, so instead I'll just talk about ways you can help others at this time.

Once again, I want to promote the site While at Home.  It offers state-by-state information about how you might be able to get tested for COVID19,   It provides a list of ways one can volunteer to help others at this time.  And it lists a number of well-run charitable organizations you can donate to, if you are fortunate enough to still be employed during this time.

Additionally, now would be a really good time to support the United States Postal Service.  If you haven't heard, the post office is nearing bankruptcy, and is requesting $75 billion in additional funds.  This is partly due to reduced customer demand during the pandemic, but it's mostly due to Republican efforts to cripple the post office during the Bush administration:

In 2006, Congress passed a law that imposed extraordinary costs on the U.S. Postal Service. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) required the USPS to create a $72 billion fund to pay for the cost of its post-retirement health care costs, 75 years into the future. This burden applies to no other federal agency or private corporation.

If you want to support the post office --- and you should --- you should buy stamps or other items from them, and then call your members of Congress and demand that the USPS get the funding it needs.

If we're still sheltering in place in November, we may need to vote by mail.  And that can't happen if the post office has been shut down --- which is a big part of the reason why Trump opposes giving USPS the funding it needs.