COVID19 Update - Day 254

US Tests: 151,750,069*

US Cases: 11,556,142*

US Deaths: 243,675*

Worldwide Cases: 56,817,667*

Worldwide Deaths: 1,358,489*

* - Numbers are a lower bound.  True numbers are being suppressed by the Trump administration

Another day, another record number of #TrumpVirus cases:

Numbers are headed in the wrong direction across the country, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

Only one US state, Hawaii, is showing a decrease in new cases greater than 10% compared to the previous week. Five others -- Idaho, North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and Arkansas -- are holding steady, while the remaining 44 states are showing increases in new cases greater than at least 10% compared to the week prior.

Nationwide, the seven-day average of new cases is at its highest ever: 161,165 cases a day. That's up 27% compared to last week.

An early cold snap in the middle of the country at the end of September helped drive the recent surge in cases as people moved indoors, Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, said Thursday.

Birx asked Americans to limit gatherings, stay apart and wear masks -- including indoors, she said, because of the possibility of asymptomatic spread.

Sadly, yes, this means you SHOULDN'T have Thanksgiving dinner with someone outside your bubble.  Lives are literally at stake. 

COVID19 Update - Day 253

US Tests: 150,287,768*

US Cases: 11,373,310*

US Deaths: 241,704*

Worldwide Cases: 56,178,674*

Worldwide Deaths: 1,348,348*

* - Numbers are a lower bound.  True numbers are being suppressed by the Trump administration

It's heartbreaking to think how many lives might have been saved if the Trump administration had said this clearly and repeatedly starting in March (instead of weaponizing hygiene, calling the virus a hoax, promoting quack cures like hydroxychloroquine or --- god help us --- injecting disinfectant, and holding daily superspreader rallies):

Adm. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary of health who leads the government’s COVID testing efforts, sounded the alarm on Wednesday that the country is in an “absolutely dangerous situation” as COVID-19 cases continue surging ahead of the holiday season.

During an interview on MSNBC on Wednesday, Giroir said that both COVID-19 hospitalizations and fatalities being up by 25% week over week means that the country is “not going in the right direction.”

Giroir stressed that the country is at an “absolutely critical, dangerous point” as he urged the public to wear a mask to reduce the spread of COVID-19 because it’s “the only way we get out of this” until there’s a vaccine for the pandemic that has killed more than 249,000 Americans thus far.

“Right now, we are in an absolutely dangerous situation that we have to take with the utmost seriousness,” Giroir said. “This is not crying wolf. This is the worst rate of rise in cases that we’ve seen in the pandemic in the United States and right now there’s no sign of flattening.”

Giroir reiterated that the public needs to be “incredibly concerned.”

And of course, the #TrumpDeathCult are continuing to exacerbate the problem by stamping their tiny feet, throwing a temper tantrum, and refusing to let the grownups take charge of the situation:

President-elect Joe Biden rebuked President Trump on Wednesday for standing in the way of his formal transition, especially because the sitting president’s refusal to concede will put the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine during the Biden administration “behind by weeks or months.”

During a roundtable with workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday, Biden particularly expressed his dismay over General Services Administration chief Emily Murphy’s refusal to sign an “ascertainment,” which would allow Biden’s transition team to contact federal agencies or access the millions of dollars set aside for it, despite his legitimate election victory and amid surging COVID-19 cases.

This behavior should guarantee that Trump gets what he wants, though.  He will forever stand out from all other American presidents --- for his corruption, his incompetence, and his malfeasance. 

COVID19 Update - Day 252

US Tests: 149,011,164*

US Cases: 11,202,899*

US Deaths: 239,784*

Worldwide Cases: 55,624,562*

Worldwide Deaths: 1,338,106*

* - Numbers are a lower bound.  True numbers are being suppressed by the Trump administration

Sorry, no updates tonight.  Because reasons.

COVID19 Update - Day 251

US Tests: 147,761,664*

US Cases: 11,047,064*

US Deaths: 238,217*

Worldwide Cases: 54,826,773*

Worldwide Deaths: 1,323,093*

* - Numbers are a lower bound.  True numbers are being suppressed by the Trump administration

It's not news that the Trump administration is intentionally hindering Joe Biden's transition team.  However, Joe Lockhart and Laurence Tribe made a point about this malfeasance which I hadn't considered.

Part of the Trump administration’s motive for delaying the “ascertainment” that triggers the transition to a Biden administration is to cripple its successor, but the other part is to delay discovery of its shocking ineptitude and inexplicable inactivity https://t.co/Z5wHCfaz3G

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) November 16, 2020

 

COVID19 Update - Day 250

US Tests: 146,367,058*

US Cases: 10,891,210*

US Deaths: 237,536*

Worldwide Cases: 54,320,021*

Worldwide Deaths: 1,316,133*

* - Numbers are a lower bound.  True numbers are being suppressed by the Trump administration

Trump only cares about himself, part 237,536.  Add this to the pile of evidence that anyone who thinks that Trump loves the flag, or America, or is 'working for us' is either lying, stupid, or delusional:

Although Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board has contacted states and the medical community prior to the President-elect’s inauguration in January, the transition team cannot access data from the Trump administration regarding COVID-19, vaccine distribution plans as well as intelligence briefings until it gets the green light from General Services Administration chief Emily Murphy — a Trump appointee who has sole authority over whether Biden’s transition can officially move forward.

Murphy has yet to sign a letter of “ascertainment,” which would allow Biden’s transition team to contact federal agencies or access the millions of dollars set aside for it.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, stressed the importance of a smooth transition process in light of surging COVID-19 cases nationwide, during an interview on CNN Sunday. After citing his experience in serving six presidents for 36 years, Fauci described how a smooth transition is like “passing a baton in a race.”

Pressed on whether it’d a good idea for public health experts to be able to work with Biden’s transition team right now in terms of what is best for the public’s health, Fauci replied “of course.”

Along with former Obama administration DHS secretary Jeh Johnson and Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton rebuking the Trump administration’s refusal to assist President-elect Joe Biden’s formal transition process, Republican Govs. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) and Mike DeWine (R-OH) on Sunday also suggested that Trump reverse course by aiding the incoming Biden administration’s smooth transition.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince people that he doesn't exist.  The next greatest trick was to convince people that he wanted to make America great.

COVID19 Update - Day 249

US Tests: 145,197,630*

US Cases: 10,752,101*

US Deaths: 236,953*

Worldwide Cases: 53,788,566*

Worldwide Deaths: 1,308,725*

* - Numbers are a lower bound.  True numbers are being suppressed by the Trump administration

No matter how scared you are about the current surge in #TrumpVirus cases, you probably aren't scared enough.  So instead of reading this post, you should go read Kevin Drum's instead.  A taste:

Between October 1 and October 23, the case rate went up by about half. Add three weeks to that, and between October 23 and November 14 the death rate went up by . . . about half. So, since the case rate has risen about 2.3x in the past three weeks up through today, we can probably expect the death rate to increase about 2.3x between now and the end of November. That’s very close to 3,000 deaths per day.

It might be less than that, since the case fatality rate has been slowly declining. On the other hand, it might be more than that since the current unsmoothed case rate is about 180,000 per day. If that’s a more accurate measure, we could end up well over 3,000 deaths per day.

Seriously, go read it.  It has charts and everything. 

COVID19 Update - Day 248

US Tests: 143,850,906*

US Cases: 10,588,169*

US Deaths: 235,629*

Worldwide Cases: 53,284,867*

Worldwide Deaths: 1,301,054*

* - Numbers are a lower bound.  True numbers are being suppressed by the Trump administration

Tonight I'm feeling lazy, and I don't want to take the time to research an interesting #TrumpVirus story.  But writing about outbreaks which were directly caused by Trump's irresponsibility is always low-hanging fruit:

This is not the first coronavirus outbreak among the Secret Service. When Trump first resumed his campaign rallies in June, dozens of Secret Service agents came down with Covid-19. That outbreak happened after Trump’s ill-fated indoor rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and following a trip Vice President Mike Pence took to campaign in Arizona.

And it’s not just the Secret Service experiencing an outbreak, either. After Trump, several of his top officials, and many others in contact with them tested positive for the coronavirus in October, it appears the entire White House is dealing with another coronavirus cluster.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was the first high-profile staffer to test positive in the Trump administration’s second outbreak. Bloomberg’s Jennifer Jacobs reported that Meadows tested positive on November 4 after attending an election night event at the White House alongside hundreds of people without masks.

That news would be worrying enough on its own. But as Jacobs reported, Meadows’s infection was not widely known until she broke the news — reportedly two days after he tested positive

Others in Trump’s inner circle who have tested positive include Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson and campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski. Carson was at the same large event on election night as Meadows, and he tested positive on Monday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He told the Post that afternoon that he was experiencing a “fever of 101 [degrees], chills, muscle cramps, respiratory issues, and fatigue.”

It's one thing if Trump and members of his cult insist on putting their own lives (and those of their families) at risk.  But this article also says that more than 130 secret service officers are currently in quarantine.  It's frankly criminal that Trump insists on putting these peoples' lives at risk.

And hypocritical as well.  Trump and his minions are supposedly concerned about the welfare of law enforcement, with their 'blue lives matter' attitude and fascist American flag knockoff.  But as usual, they only mean this when it's convenient for them to feel morally superior to others.

In reality, the #TrumpVirus has taken the lives of more law enforcement officers than all other factors combined.  But does that cause them to moderate their behavior even a little?  Of course not.  Doing whatever they damn well please is a high priority to these people, second only to singing the praises of their corrupt, impeached, and defeated master.