30 thoughts on “C-19 Chat Post – October 7 2020”

  1. This is an edited version of part of Heather Cox Richardson’s daily email. If you have FB, she has some great podcasts as well as daily emails. The number of military and refusal to assist in contact tracing is worrisome. I have lost count of how many staff members have been impacted and we cannot know how many secret service

    “At least 34 people near Trump have contracted the virus in the past few days. The press corps near the White House is down to a skeleton crew as the White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, and four press aides have tested positive. So have top aide Stephen Miller and Admiral Charles Ray, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard Admiral.

    Along with other military leaders, Ray attended an event celebrating Gold Star families last Sunday at the White House. That event included some of the same people who had been at the event the previous day in honor of Amy Coney Barrett. Those who attended both events included Trump and the First Lady.

    Senior military leaders who attended meetings with Ray last week in a secure room at the Pentagon are now are self-quarantining. They include the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley; the Vice Chairman; the Army chief of staff; the Naval Operations Chief; the Air Force chief of staff; the CyberCom Commander; the SpaceForce operations chief; the director of the U.S. National Security Agency, Gen. Paul Nakasone; the Chief of the National Guard, Gen. Daniel Hokanson; and the deputy commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Gary Thomas.

    The White House has apparently not done any contact tracing, and it declined the help of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to do it.”

  2. Boston school opening on hold as Covid cases increase . And when the flu hits next month it’s going to be insane

  3. I want to clarify my comment on Rudy G. He was definitely coughing up a storm, but not in front of anyone. He was on Fox News, being interviewed on Zoom, I assume.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/06/trump-lawyer-rudy-giuliani-masks-coronavirus-fox-news

    He has been prescribed hydroxychloroquine to “ward off the virus,” apparently. I don’t know if he has it, but I’m going to guess he does.

    I’m surprised we’re hearing nothing about Hope Hicks. You’ll notice that the asymptomatics have been tweeting and given interviews, while the symptomatics have not been tweeting or giving interviews. The exception may be Rudy G.

  4. We are living a NIGHTMARE!

    trump is blackmailing America. He is basically saying vote for
    me and I’ll make sure the Stimulus package happens, else go screw yourself and you get Nothing! (at least not until after Jan. 20)

    Donald Trump needs to be arrested and charged with MURDER.

  5. Pay attention to the timeline on positive tests. They do NOT occur all at the same time.

    Cam Newton tested positive a few days ago. The team then conducted tests and found no more positives (except a practice squad player). And now Gilmore has tested positive. More may follow.

    NFL protocol is inconsistent with science and the CDC guidelines. If a person tests positive – eg, Newton – you have to assume more will be infected and players must self-isolate accordingly for at least 10 days and preferably 14. Negative tests don’t imply the virus hasn’t transmitted to others. You must wait it out for a bit.

    The U.S. federal government and all state governments have this policy in place for ALL people traveling to the U.S. from overseas (with a few exceptions; those being countries with little or no coronavirus). So, if my ex-wife gets a waiver to travel to visit her son – which is highly doubtful, by the way – she must quarantine for 14 days.

    Yet, somehow this rule doesn’t apply to Mike Pence, or anyone at the White House. The VP debate goes on as if nothing has happened. I’ve been hammering this point for months. Since March, Pence has been on a reckless mission to accumulate air miles. He travels like a maniac to places (sometimes >10,000 miles a week), mostly when he doesn’t have to. Pompeo is similarly intoxicated by kerosene fumes. He travels like there’s no tomorrow. NO other secretary of state or foreign minister does this!

    The VP debate can be – should be – done by Zoom. There is no reason to have an in-person debate. And, most of Pence’s visits over the past 6 months have been entirely unnecessary, AND in violation of federal government policy.

    To be fair, I do NOT think Biden should be traveling at this point either. It’s totally unnecessary. All of his campaign work and town hall meetings can be done virtually. The vast majority of Americans – myself included – can’t go to conferences. Air travel is exceedingly limited. Rules and protocol should apply to all.

    1. Agree! INSANE that Pence is NOT quarantining! he was clearly exposed! This whole administration plays by their own rules and have total disregard for anything else.

      1. Yet the people will probably vote this administration right back in . This is the biggest & most important election in my lifetime

        1. I have a son that turned 18 earlier this year. Imagine this being the first time that you voted in a presidential election. I have a feeling that he will never forget when he first voted.

          1. Wow. I still remember the first time I voted and it was just a regular vote. It was an amazing thrill. But wow I had not thought of those voting for the first time this year. Amazing

  6. There was an interesting segment this morning on ABC’s GMA which showed a handful of COVID-19 victims that seemed to recover quite nicely and continued to test negative BUT now suffer intermittently from severe coughs, very difficult breathing, cognitive disfunctions, sudden fainting spells, etc.

    These individuals are now known as COVID “Long-Haulers”. I also immediately thought of Eduardo Rodriguez of the Red Sox who still has heart issues the last I heard.

    Could POTUS eventually become one of these L-H’s??

    Joshua, have you ever heard of this new phenomenon? Is this automatic for all COVID sufferers?

      1. Yikes!!! Thanks Vicki. This is very informative as always. Come to think of it, the GMA segment did interview all women, relatively young (30s/40s). I assumed it was just random.

        Joshua, once a vaccine is finalized, can that help these Long-Haulers? Or are they doomed for life?

        1. I was thinking about it also Philip. Macs cousin has two friends who are long haulers. Both women. Yikes is right.

  7. Philip, the vaccine is to prevent illness, not to treat it. So no, a vaccine won’t do anything to help long-haulers. This said, the therapeutics that are in the pipeline – 2 of which were used by the President – could help. Also, some long haulers will recover on their own. It’ll take a while, though.

    1. Thanks Joshua. It will be interesting if FLOTUS could end up being a Long-Hauler. Although her case was relatively mild, at least that was what was originally reported.

  8. Philip, the long-hauler phenomenon has been well-documented since April. It affects tens of thousands of Covid-19 patients, but not the majority of patients. Most Covid-19 patients who are symptomatic suffer relatively brief episodes of illness, similar to influenza.

    One important caveat is that some symptomatic patients, and even some asymptomatic patients, may be suffering long-term damage without knowing it. They’re performed hundreds of thousands of scans worldwide of multiple organs of Covid-19 patients and found evidence in some of long-lasting damage to certain organs; lungs, heart, brain, and kidneys, being the main organs.

  9. WEEI v. Sports Hub. The former is dying out, quite frankly. It’s a remarkable thing. Sad, too, as I have great admiration and respect for Ordway, Arnold, and a few others at the station over the yeas, including Holley, Adams, Johnson, Sarandis, and Buckley.

    What does this have to do with coronavirus? Well, not directly. But, let me explain. Since March, I’ve listened to both stations. The contrast couldn’t be starker regarding Covid-19. WEEI sounds like the White House, and it’s group think, as I never hear an opposing opinion. Basically, the message is let the virus rip, Covid-19 doesn’t affect athletes, Massachusetts restrictions are too draconian, etc … On the other hand, Sports Hub offers a more nuanced perspective, much more in line with the way people in the Bay State and around New England think about the virus. I think this partly explains its popularity. WEEI is out of touch. It’s almost like listening to a station in the backwoods of Arkansas, when it comes to politics or Covid-19.

    I love hearing conservative and liberal viewpoints. It would be boring not to have both. But, sometimes viewpoints get stale. WEEI’s are moldy.

    1. Taper.

      Thanks for referring me and others to Heather Cox Richardson.

      U.S. numbers breakdown today:

      https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1313988009465765889/photo/1

      Sadly, the head of White House security office, Crede Bailey, is gravely ill with coronavirus and has been hospitalized since late September. Security office handles credentialing for access to WH; works closely with Secret Service on security measures on the compound.

      For a disease that’s a piece of cake and something we can’t let “dominate our lives” it’s remarkable how many (former) high-ranking government officials have gotten serious cases of Covid-19: Boris Johnson, Bolsonaro, an Iranian government minister, Berlusconi, etc … My guess is Christie fits into that category; a serious case. [Trump, on the other hand, does not.]

      The Ukrainian former president has bilateral pneumonia from Covid-19, and is “not doing well,” according to his wife. Poroshenko is 55. I don’t think he’ll make it. https://112.international/society/poroshenko-gets-bilateral-pneumonia-caused-by-covid-19-wife-55394.html

      You may recall that the former PM of Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko (59), hero of the Orange Revolution, was also hospitalized in serious condition with the disease for three weeks in late August and early September. She survived.

      Sadly, the most famous soccer penalty kicker of all time, the Czech Panenka (71) is in grave condition with Covid-19 in Prague. I don’t think he’ll make it.

      1. Thank you, Joshua. And it is my pleasure. I’ve found many of Heather Cox Richardson’s podcasts to be a wonderful leaning tool, She is left of center but sure seems to present as moderately as possible. And to her credit if she thinks she may have a bias, she will say so

        Assistant Marine Commandant Gen. Gary Thomas was among top military officers who put themselves under quarantine this week after Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Charles Ray tested positive on Monday.

        How many of our military? How much does he plan to weaken us?

Comments are closed.