China is moving forward to end SARS-CoV-2 in their society.

China knows these viruses don't go away by themselves. They take measures to protect the people. They don't mind spending the money to protect its citizens.

27 March 2020
By Zaria Gorvett

A bus is disinfected using UVC in Shanghai, China 

...There is also a third type:f (click here) UVC. This relatively obscure part of the spectrum consists of a shorter, more energetic wavelength of light. It is particularly good at destroying genetic material – whether in humans or viral particles. Luckily, most of us are unlikely to have ever encountered any. That’s because it’s filtered out by ozone in the atmosphere long before it reaches our fragile skin.

Or that was the case, at least, until scientists discovered that they could harness UVC to kill microorganisms. Since the finding in 1878, artificially produced UVC has become a staple method of sterilisation – one used in hospitals, airplanes, offices, and factories every day. Crucially, it’s also fundamental to the process of sanitising drinking water; some parasites are resistant to chemical disinfectants such as chlorine, so it provides a failsafe.

Though there hasn’t been any research looking at how UVC affects Covid-19 specifically, studies have shown that it can be used against other coronaviruses, such as Sars. The radiation warps the structure of their genetic material and prevents the viral particles from making more copies of themselves.

As a result, a concentrated form of UVC is now on the front line in the fight against Covid-19. In China, whole buses are being lit up by the ghostly blue light each night, while squat, UVC-emitting robots have been cleaning floors in hospitals. Banks have even been using the light to disinfect their money....

Known effects on SARS-CoV

Transfusion. 2006 Oct;46(10):1770-7.

Evaluation of inactivation methods for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus in noncellular blood products.

Darnell ME, Taylor DR.

...Viral inactivation by heat treatment (click here) at 60 degrees C required 15 to 30 minutes to inactivate the SARS-CoV. UVC efficiently inactivated SARS-CoV in 40 minutes, whereas UVA required the addition of psoralen to enhance inactivation of the virus. The presence of bovine serum albumin limited the ability of UVC and UVA to inactivate SARS-CoV and octanoic acid treatment does not reduce the infectivity of SARS-CoV-spiked protein solutions. S/D treatment required 2, 4, and up to 24 hours for Triton X-100, Tween 80, and sodium cholate inactivation, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Heat, UVC irradiation, and S/D treatments effectively inactivate SARS-CoV, whereas octanoic acid treatment is insufficient for inactivation of the virus.

Trump creates victims out of competent people.

Trump has no right to complain about Governors, he never lead this national emergency. The 40,000 ventilator request came from New York and at the peak of the virus New York has 15,000 and was looking to put two patients on one ventilator hence having the capacity of 30,000. Additionally, New York was using  C-PAP pressure support.

Why does he lie like this?

WHO Timeline (click here)

31 Dec 2019

China reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, Hubei Province. A novel coronavirus was eventually identified.

13 March 2020
By Josephine Ma

The first case of someone in China (click here) suffering from Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, can be traced back to November 17, according to government data seen by the South China Morning Post.

Chinese authorities have so far identified at least 266 people who were infected last year, all of whom came under medical surveillance at some point....

1 January 2020

WHO had set up the IMST (Incident Management Support Team) across the three levels of the organization: headquarters, regional headquarters and country level, putting the organization on an emergency footing for dealing with the outbreak.

4  January 2020

WHO reported on social media that there was a cluster of pneumonia cases – with no deaths – in Wuhan, Hubei province.

5 January 2020

WHO published our first Disease Outbreak News on the new virus. This is a flagship technical publication to the scientific and public health community as well as global media. It contained a risk assessment and advice, and reported on what China had told the organization about the status of patients and the public health response on the cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan.

10 January 2020

WHO issued a comprehensive package of technical guidance online with advice to all countries on how to detect, test and manage potential cases, based on what was known about the virus at the time. This guidance was shared with WHO's regional emergency directors to share with WHO representatives in countries.

Based on experience with SARS and MERS and known modes of transmission of respiratory viruses, infection and prevention control guidance were published to protect health workers recommending droplet and contact precautions when caring for patients, and airborne precautions for aerosol generating procedures conducted by health workers.

12 January 2020

China publicly shared the genetic sequence of COVID-19.

13 January 2020

Officials confirm a case of COVID-19 in Thailand, the first recorded case outside of China.  

14 January 2020

WHO's technical lead for the response noted in a press briefing there may have been limited human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus (in the 41 confirmed cases), mainly through family members, and that there was a risk of a possible wider outbreak. The lead also said that human-to-human transmission would not be surprising given our experience with SARS, MERS and other respiratory pathogens.

20-21 January 2020

WHO experts from its China and Western Pacific regional offices conducted a brief field visit to Wuhan.

22 January 2020

WHO mission to China issued a statement saying that there was evidence of human-to-human transmission in Wuhan but more investigation was needed to understand the full extent of transmission.

22- 23 January 2020

The WHO Director- General convened an Emergency Committee (EC) under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) to assess whether the outbreak constituted a public health emergency of international concern. The independent members from around the world could not reach a consensus based on the evidence available at the time. They asked to be reconvened within 10 days after receiving more information.

28 January 2020

A senior WHO delegation led by the Director-General travelled to Beijing to meet China’s leadership, learn more about China’s response, and to offer any technical assistance. 

While in Beijing, Dr. Tedros agreed with Chinese government leaders that an international team of leading scientists would travel to China on a mission to better understand the context, the overall response, and exchange information and experience....

March 6, 2020
By Jon Cohen

Clifford Lane

On 13 February, Clifford Lane went to a Washington, D.C.(click here) –area airport to catch a flight to Japan, where he would help launch a study of an experimental drug, remdesivir, against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Lane is a deputy director at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a right-hand man to Anthony Fauci, head of NIAID and the top research scientist in the country advising the White House on the outbreak of the virus. As Lane waited to board his plane, he was told that his final destination had changed. “I get an email, ‘You need to go to China.’ It’s like, are you kidding?”

Lane had been selected as one of two U.S. scientists to join a World Health Organization team of 13 international researchers who would tour five different cities with 12 Chinese colleagues to get a firsthand look at the coronavirus epidemic there. The joint mission, which ran from 16–23 February led to a report that offered more details about the clinical course of COVID-19 and the epidemiology in China than had appeared anywhere before.

Lane is a clinician who has been on the front line of HIV/AIDS research and led studies of vaccines and treatments in Liberia during the West African Ebola epidemic in 2014–16. On 4 March, Lane, still under quarantine in his Maryland home, spoke with ScienceInsider about the China trip and his view of the situation in the United States....

March 25, 2020
By Marisa Taylor

Washington - The Trump administration cut staff (click here) by more than two-thirds at a key U.S. public health agency operating inside China, as part of a larger rollback of U.S.-funded health and science experts on the ground there leading up to the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters has learned.

Most of the reductions were made at the Beijing office of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and occurred over the past two years, according to public CDC documents viewed by Reuters and interviews with four people familiar with the drawdown.

The Atlanta-based CDC, America’s preeminent disease fighting agency, provides public health assistance to nations around the world and works with them to help stop outbreaks of contagious diseases from spreading globally. It has worked in China for 30 years.

The CDC’s China headcount has shrunk to around 14 staffers, down from approximately 47 people since President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, the documents show. The four people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the losses included epidemiologists and other health professionals....

I lost five family members due to the Avian Flu virus of 1918.

This is from my family's diary. It is about my Grandfather John Daniel Barrett. He died on February 3,1973 from Black Lung after losing one of his lungs to surgery years earlier.

This was authored by a dear Aunt.

"...His father, Edward Barrett, was an Irish immigrant coal miner. Edward was the father of eleven children, John was the fourth child born on November 30, 1900...His childhood was lost to him when he entered the dark, damp inners of that mountain (of coal) at the age of nine...But, John was not alone, there were many other young boys joining him (at work)...

...the next time we visit his life he is 17 years of age, still entering the mine day in and day out with his father Edward, at his side.

Then came the day his father told John he would be going to work alone. "I'm not feeling well today, John, you'll be going to work without me....He was unable to think of a day his father hadn't left home with him on their way to work. But today was going to be a day to remember for so many reasons.

(The day was October 19, 1918, in northeast Pennsylvania.)

...finishing the day with the sound of work ending whistle, only to arrive home to the most devastating news of his young life. As he got closer to his home, he was very aware of the somber glances and soft whispering of his neighbors. He attributed this sad atmosphere to the fact that so many of his friends and neighbors were effected by the loss of life due to the flu epidemic.

But John would realize upon entering his family home that there was more to it today. His sister, Mae, who was nineteen at this time, would meet him at the door to tell him of the untimely death and burial of his father. Edward Barrett was 46 years old. Also, John was told his mother's condition had worsened throughout the day.

...In fact, graves were dug in advance of someone's death, in an effort to head off the epidemic.

Later that evening, Mae and John were summoned to their mother's bed, Mariah Lynott Barrett, age 41, had a very urgent message for her third and fourth born. She would entrust them with the raising of their seven younger siblings. Since the elder two brothers were in the armed forces or married, the burden of rearing the younger seven children would fall on their young shoulders. Mariah Lynott Barrett would die that night and be buried in one of the readied graves.

He for the second time seventeen-year-old John Barrett entered the mine without his father to support his siblings...Francis nearly 16, Bessie age 14, Margaret age 12, Vincent age 10, Anna age 8, Tilly age 4 and Clare age 2.

The tragedy did not end with his parents, some of the children were ill with the flu as well. Some of the children died of long term complications of the flu. Tilly died in 1919, Claire in 1921, Francis died in 1923....

...The remaining siblings grew in age, grace and most importantly good health. Anna would marry but later died in childbirth at the age of 30. Bessie became a nurse and worked in the profession until she retired. She married once at an older age but would lose her husband Joe. John would eventually marry Gladys Lucille Dougher at the age of 25. He eventually would enter training to become a pipefitter and the years of entering a coal mine ended. Eventually, he ended his home in Pennsylvania and took five of his own children to Michigan....

Needless to say, there is more to my Grandfather's diary than these paragraphs, but, these viruses are horrible entities in the world that destroy lives, reassign others and causes history to bend to it's will.

COVID-19 is a deadly serious problem in the USA. Going forward we must be careful in returning to a vibrant economy. It is not worth it to simply "get back to normal." It won't happen that way and the scared lives and deaths will be a very sad legacy to the USA.

Trump is touting a return to work by Americans on May 1st because he wants to be blameless for any impact on the economy if the "Stay At Home" orders of the states remain after his demands otherwise.

Trump wants to blame the "Democratic Governors" for any pain Americans are feeling.

Trump's statements can be traced to his political standing and priorities. He isn't interested in the well being of the American people, so much as winning an election.

We already know from the examples of other countries that returning people to a "normal" life only results in a return of the country to a second "Stay At Home" order. I think it will be more difficult to achieve a second stay at home order and will be more painful than continuing the current paradigm. The healthcare systems will be stressed all over again. A return To Stay At Home would occur closer to the November election and will delay the national election for the chaos and Trump's concern for re-election.

It is my opinion that if governors are acting in the best interest of the people they will succeed in their favor. The payments to people currently Laid Off will serve to increase the movement of the economy within the USA and far less economic pain that people may be experiencing now. Once the payments are working to help the people, they will defer a return to work to the best judgment of governors that have kept them safe so far.

Trump has no right to declare Marshall Law.

The last time Marshall Law was instated was 1941 in Hawaii after Pearl Harbor was attacked.

(SARS-CoV). SARS was first reported in Asia in February 2003

May 7, 2003
By Robert Roos

May 7, 2003 (CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) (click here) today estimated the overall fatality rate for SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) patients at 14% to 15%, significantly higher than previous estimates. The agency estimated the rate for people older than 64 years to be more than 50%.

The revised WHO estimates, based on data from four countries, came on the heels of a Lancet article in which researchers studied case records from Hong Kong and calculated a case-fatality ratio as high as 55% for patients aged 60 and older.

In the early stages of the SARS epidemic, health officials estimated the mortality rate at less than 4%. More recently, officials have cited rates in the 6% to 7% range. Today's SARS figures from the WHO—6,903 cumulative cases and 495 deaths—point to a case-fatality ratio of 7.2%. But WHO officials note that this calculation underestimates the rate, since some currently ill patients will die of the disease.

The WHO based its estimates on an analysis of the latest data from Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Vietnam. "On the basis of more detailed and complete data, and more reliable methods, WHO now estimates that the case fatality ratio of SARS ranges from 0% to 50%, depending on the age group affected, with an overall estimate of case fatality of 14% to 15%," the agency's announcement said.

The fatality ratio is less than 1% for people younger than 25, 6% for those aged 25 to 44, 15% for those aged 45 to 64, and more than 50% for people 65 or older, officials said.....

During November 1, 2002--June 11, 2003, (click here) a total of 8,435 probable SARS cases were reported to WHO from 29 countries, including 70 from the United States;...

There is an enormous difference in the relationship between China and the USA when the first SARS virus came to call. Trump is arrogant and negligent!

The WHO carries out it’s responsibility well in seeking information about the health circumstances within all countries. Donald John Trump pulled American scientists out of posts all over the world. When that occurred information was not forthcoming as before. Trump can point fingers at the WHO, but when American support ended the infrastructure wasn’t in place to continue its work the same as before. Does anyone expect a Third World country to carry the same expertise as First World countries? 

So, now the manipulated truth by Trump exists rather than the real truth that the WHO had some of its best reporting ended with the cessation of USA scientists in countries that spawn disease.

Today, Pope Francis, in his Easter address, stated conditions in Northeast Mozambique are desperate.

Depending on the source it is stated this conflict is a civil war (click here). Other sources state is is Al Shabab. 

Amnesty International African assessment (click here)

"Conflict Zones" are unable to address COVID-19 including the need for ventilators.

April 4, 2020
By Danielle Paquette, Susannah George and Sudarsan Raghavan

...The Islamic State (click here) is calling on loyalists everywhere to capitalize on the chaos, according to its media channels. The Taliban is launching major attacks in Afghanistan while handing out masks, gloves and soap....

17 March 2020
By Joseph Hanlon

It appears (click here) that insurgents are trying to maintain control over the corridor and road through Bilibiza, Cabo Delgado, which was attacked and heavily damaged 29-30 January.. On 9 March there was an attack on the road from Bilibiza toward Quissanga on the coast. And Moz24h (10 Mar) says the insurgents have closed the road going inland from Bilibiza, blocking the road with trees and have put headless bodies on the road. Moz24h says local people report heavy fighting, with ambushes of government armoured cars. (The map in the pdf version of this bulletin shows the roads in the area.) Bilibiza is 50 km north west of Pemba as the crow flies or 120 km by road, and is the farthest south the war has spread

The other focus of the war is very close to Mocimboa da Praia. On 8 March at 05.00, gunmen ambushed a heavy truck belonging to Bangladeshi traders who have been working in Mocimboa da Praia district for the past four years. At about 14.00, a pick-up sent to fetch the owners of the truck and assess the damage was fired on. In the two ambushes four people were injured. (AIM 10 Mar)

The villages of Ulo and Anga, close to Mocimboa da Praia town, were attacked and burned on 12 March. On 5 March Naikidunga was attacked and on 6 March Nabage. Local people report a number of villages in the area have been recently attacked and local people report many dead, some kidnapped, and houses burned. (Moz24h 13, 6 Mar)

Elsewhere, on 4 March insurgents killed four people and burnt down 30 houses in an attack against the village of Nkonda, Nangade district. (AIM 10 Mar) Insurgents attacked soldiers in Chomba, 30 km northwest of Mueda town, but the date is not known.

The World Food Programme has produced a good set of district maps for Cabo Delgado.

Package Bankruptcy - "...those are the rules of the game...."

The tax bailout of 2017 was squandered. In 2008 when the government bailed out GM, Ford didn't need it. Why? Because the company took loans when there was zero interest rate. Ford was flush with money because it planned for the future. There are financial instruments that already exist that can address companies floundering now. Bailing them out is not the answer. The American people are hurting because of a global pandemic AND THAT IS WHERE THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY LIES.

The financial markets have investors and they take a risk. If they didn't plan for this pandemic as a probability within that risk assessment after PRESIDENT OBAMA openly addressed this PROBABILITY, not a possibility, in a speech, then they need to look to the financial instruments that already exist to decide the path of their OWN RISK.

Since the Wright Brothers invented flight, there is not a president that hasn't bailed out an airline. This may be a difficult time for airlines, but, there exist financial instruments to address the corporate structure. It is the employees that need to be supported. When employee incomes are maintained the markets will grow again. Until the employees are receiving income, the markets will be lackluster. This is a pandemic, not a global economic collapse. It only looks that way because the "ready cash" was there to be grabbed in pensions and 401Ks. Who is going to make them whole again? Nobody because Wall Street saw an opportunity to take what is not theirs. THAT is the real immorality and Americans know it.

By the way, the “Wet Markets” in China where wildlife is sold as food are still operating because of a trade war that removed American agricultural goods from the bellies of the poorest of the Chinese people.

Bailing out the financial markets is wrong. They will find a rally in the process of people having money to spend again.

The USA is not the only country providing cash benefits to their citizens.

April 10, 2020
By Beatrice Britneff

Any person (click here) who applies for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) (click here) will be automatically approved for COVID-19 financial relief, regardless of whether they qualify for the funding or not, the federal employment minister confirmed on Friday.

As first reported by the Toronto Star, the government isn’t asking people to provide documents proving their income as part of the claims process but it will review the applications’ veracity down the road, Carla Qualtrough said during a daily news conference with federal officials.

“We will, whether it be in the upcoming weeks or at tax time next year, reconcile accounts and make sure people didn’t game the system,” Qualtrough said....

The Canadian government does not pass judgment on it's citizens in need due to COVID-19. Canada TRUSTS it's citizens to make an honest claim. Canada is not diverting monies to the financial sector with any of the funding specifically set aside for the citizens of Canada.

Who is eligible?

The benefit will be available to workers:

-Residing in Canada, who are at least 15 years old;

-Who have stopped working because of COVID-19 and have not voluntarily quit their job or are eligible for EI regular or sickness benefits;

-Who had income of at least $5,000 in 2019 or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application; and

-Who are or expect to be without employment or self-employment income for at least 14 consecutive days in the initial four-week period. For subsequent benefit periods, they expect to have no employment or self-employment income.

Changing the subject. This is a video by a nurse in Australia. He praises Tesla for it's ventilator design and makes helpful comments that he hopes Tesla will listen to which it can include in it's manufacture FREE OF CHARGE to hospitals. I really like the way he talks about lungs, lung processors and the application to a ventilator made primarily from car parts.

I think “Private Equity” should lead the reopening and get them off our backs.

The real "back to work" is determinant by the hospitals.

The reason Americans are home and practicing social distancing is that if everyone became ill at the same time the hospitals would be overwhelmed and vast amounts of people would die.

When it comes to the end of the stay at home orders, or better said, gradually rescinded aspects of the stay at home orders; the real MEASURE of success will be realized in understanding the capacity, staffing and PPE stocked for at least a week's use in local hospitals. The PPE stocked at hospitals has to be restocked daily to maintain functional status.

This level of awareness of hospitals' capacity to care for people infected with COVID-19 is NEW and can be viewed as intrusive. But, local health officers can easily ask for daily accounting of all aspects required to protect lives. A hospital management employee could collect information about OPEN BEDS (both general floors, and unit beds), the number of patients infected with COVID-19, staff-patient ratio and the stock of PPE on hand. This information can be published daily to the community through a website and in newspapers. It would provide an understanding of the success of the roll-out when lifting of stay at home orders. At no point should Americans be in danger of death. Illness should not guarantee a poor outcome, but, one well handled by the local hospital.

Of course, the real safety is in testing, but, if testing isn't forthcoming there needs to be plenty of information so Americans can decide their path forward. While that is a horrible idea, people will risk their lives to provide for their families. If testing isn't going to happen then information about the hospitals' ability to take care of them is vital.

A color code of preparedness issued daily by hospitals can be a good visual to allow Americans to know the status of DANGER to their health because of a stressed health care system.

The color code could resemble the color code used for terrorist threats. 

Don't make it illegal to shop when the merchant has done everything to prevent transmission of the virus.

Shop online and pick-up at the curbside.

People are going to need what appears to be frivolous items, such as batteries and plugs for their phones. Most everything today is done with data. Even getting government announcements about the virus to people is done with data. I find guidance by the state government to merchants can facilitate such needs.

Currently, "Best Buy" is taking orders online and fulfilling those orders at the nearby store with staff positioned at the front door curbside. The driver provides a name for the order and the staff brings it to the curbside on a trolley whereby the driver can place it in the vehicle. The staff then returns the trolley into the store for the next customer. The staff is keeping safe six feet distance from each other and customers. The trolley, of course, has to be wiped with a sanitizing wipe for any place customers may have touched, like the handle.

Merchants like Best Buy can report any failure OF THE METHOD in providing this service, but, it appears to be working. Many merchants can use that model including home improvement supplies such as Home Depot. I think that governors and their staff can provide that guidance to merchants in this regard.

Contact tracing isn't that difficult if people simply turn on their Facebook page.

April 10, 2020
By Lena H. Sun, William Wan and Yasmeen Abutaleb

A national plan to fight the coronavirus pandemic (click here) in the United States and return Americans to jobs and classrooms is emerging — but not from the White House.

Instead, a collection of governors, former government officials, disease specialists and nonprofits are pursuing a strategy that relies on the three pillars of disease control: Ramp up testing to identify people who are infected. Find everyone they interact with by deploying contact tracing on a scale America has never attempted before. And focus restrictions more narrowly on the infected and their contacts so the rest of society doesn’t have to stay in permanent lockdown.

But there is no evidence yet the White House will pursue such a strategy.

Instead, the president and his top advisers have fixated almost exclusively on plans to reopen the U.S. economy by the end of the month, though they haven’t detailed how they will do so without triggering another outbreak. President Trump has been especially focused on creating a second coronavirus task force aimed at combating the economic ramifications of the virus....

It is an invasion of privacy, but, if Americans really want to stop this virus in it's tracks, then having a record of where one traveled is important. For anyone with a smartphone, just leave the tracking settings on and the phone can record exactly where the owner traveled within a timeline that is important to test others for COVID-19.

It would be really great if there was a free app designed specifically for this purpose. The app could be appropriately named and it would remain confidential on a continuous record without necessarily posting it to the owner's Facebook page.

Hospitals would have to have the ability to connect with a person's phone to download travels within a time frame most appropriate in diagnosing potential carriers and/or exposure to the illness. The data would be invaluable.

January 8, 2020
By Geoffrey A. Fowler

The new ‘Off-Facebook Activity’ (click here) tool reminds us we’re living in a reality TV program where the cameras are always on. Here are the privacy settings to change right now.

Ever suspect the Facebook app is listening to you? What we now know is even creepier.

Facebook is giving us a new way to glimpse just how much it knows about us: On Tuesday, the social network made a long-delayed “Off-Facebook Activity” tracker available to its 2 billion members. It shows Facebook and sister apps Instagram and Messenger don’t need a microphone to target you with those eerily specific ads and posts — they’re all up in your business countless other ways.

Even with Facebook closed on my phone, the social network gets notified when I use the Peet’s Coffee app. It knows when I read the website of presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg or view articles from The Atlantic. Facebook knows when I click on my Home Depot shopping cart and when I open the Ring app to answer my video doorbell. It uses all this information from my not-on-Facebook, real-world life to shape the messages I see from businesses and politicians alike....

Interesting enough there are credible sources looking at political differences in protecting people from COVID-19.

I think these studies are interesting, but, does anyone learn from that reality The last thing that should occur in this pandemic is a greater divide in the USA. Everyone knows the time lag in the USA and the poor leadership occurring with no real answers. The investigation into the lag is important and should go forward, but, "it is what it is" and Americans are good people and know how to act as communities.

I believe the way forward has to set politics aside and listen to the experts. 
Dr. Fauci is probably the one person we can trust and look toward to provide guidance as to how the USA in its entirety can move back to a NORMALIZED life. The people need to look to Dr. Fauci for the way forward.

I stress the word NORMALIZED because of the beginning return to life as it was before the virus will be cautious. It will take some time, months and not weeks, to eliminate COVID-19 from society. The "Unemployment PLUS 600" or businesses maintaining their payrolls is significant in the "CARES" legislation. There is every reason to "be sure" the path forward is safe.

A vaccine is important. There are two vaccines in trials today. That is astounding. The vaccines have moved quickly in the trials and it may be that a vaccine will be forthcoming sooner than the usual path. I am confident if the vaccine trials show real promise they will be fast-tracked into use in the country. But, until that occurs and it is a proven preventative Americans need to look to experts to find a path forward.

The reason the path forward is slower than many would like is because as soon as Americans begin to interact in a social realm they will contract the virus. That means there the stress within the hospital system will continue. There will still be danger to some of the most vulnerable in our country. So, the path forward has to include caution as well as enthusiasm for normalcy.

The most realistic aspect of our society moving back to normalcy is acknowledging children will not return to classes until the next school year beginning in late August or early September depending on the communities. That measure of time is probably the best point of view for the way forward. There is no hurry to make the USA "perform" to a previous standard. There is plenty of reason to MEASURE a return to normalcy by understanding the capacity of hospitals to care for the American people. That is why the "Stay at Home Order" was enacted in the first place. It is the hospitals' capacity to care for Americans that must be the focus of the path forward.

From the Financial Times:

April 3, 2020

...Beyond defeating the disease, (click here) the great test all countries will soon face is whether current feelings of common purpose will shape society after the crisis. As western leaders learnt in the Great Depression, and after the second world war, to demand collective sacrifice you must offer a social contract that benefits everyone....

The other "control" in social behavior has to expect less participation by those most vulnerable. The demographics of the deaths in the USA during this pandemic will be collected, studied and investigated to understand who is most vulnerable and how their behavior has to be modified on a continuous basis. Governing has to focus on the most vulnerable in the path forward as well. "The Americans with Disability Act" has to be modified to include vulnerable Americans to this virus. No one is to be a sacrificial lamb to COVID-19.

The best way forward is testing, but, the USA has not tasked industry to mass-produce tests. The American people are going to have to contain the damage to their lives themselves when the country opens up again by declaration of the experts.

Do not demonize the experts in political fodder. They are vital to our lives.

From "The Economist" 

April 2, 2020

Much has been made (click here) of President Donald Trump’s delayed response to the covid-19 pandemic. After initially dismissing concerns about the virus, Mr Trump promised, and then failed to deliver, millions of testing kits; in recent days he has taken to quarrelling with Democrats over deliveries of life-saving medical equipment. Yet the president is not an outlier. Apart from the federal government, many state and local governments have also dragged their feet....

28 March 2020

The Study (click here)

...An event history (click here) analysis of five social distancing policies across all fifty states reveals the most important predictors are political: all else equal, Republican governors and governors from states with more Trump supporters were slower to adopt social distancing policies. These delays are likely to produce significant, on-going harm to public health....

Yahoo money:

Coronavirus hits Democratic communities harder than Republican counterparts (click here)

March 20, 2020
By Kristin Myers

As the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the country, (click here) large urban cities and academic institutions — which typically vote Democratic — have been among the hardest hit.

According to the CDC, every state in the country has reported cases of COVID-19, as does Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. New York, Washington, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida, and Georgia have been some of the hardest states, with New York and Washington reporting well over 1,000 cases each.

To be certain, COVID-19 is hammering the entire U.S., regardless of geographic location or political affiliation. And the coming economic calamity is expected to leave no industry or region unscathed.

Yet as the virus brings activity on both coasts — which overwhelmingly voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 — to a grinding halt, the demographics underscore how Democratic areas are being more heavily impacted than Republican ones.

And while low-wage workers of all stripes will likely bear the brunt of the economic hardships caused by the spread of the virus, it is black and Hispanic workers — and black women especially — that stand to be negatively impacted the most....

It is supposed to be the gold standard.

"The Nursing Home Reform Act" (click here)

The original reform act was passed in 1989. There hasn't been much more enacted since them.

Amendment of Subsection (d)(1) (click here)

The Joint Commission (click here) on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations or JCAHO is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that accredits over 20,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the country. The JCAHO commonly is referred to as the Joint Commission in the healthcare industry and among governmental industry regulators on the federal and state levels. The Joint Commission is the successor of an organization established in 1951.

Is your organization (click here) ready to implement the standards? You can assess your readiness in a variety of ways, including:

- Conduct mock surveys. Walk through your facility and see how well you meet the requirements.

- Identify gaps in compliance. Document areas where improvement is needed. This will help target your efforts and prioritize where resources need to be allocated.

- Develop timetable for compliance. Once you've identified areas for improvement, assign completion dates for each gap identified. This will help you formulate a readiness date for your on-site survey.

Regardless of the name of the nursing home, it is probably owned by a corporate company. 

"Facts about long term care accreditation" (click here)

The Joint Commission’s Long Term Care Accreditation Program was launched in 1966. Today, nearly 1,000 organizations offering long term care services are accredited. Organizations eligible for long term care accreditation include those with: 

Beds licensed by the state as nursing home beds, excluding intermediate care facilities specializing in care for individuals with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. 

Beds designated as long term care beds under a hospital license, excluding beds belonging to a long term acute care hospital and hospital swing beds. 

Beds, units or facilities certified by Medicare or Medicaid as skilled nursing facility beds. 

Beds, units or facilities designated as long term care by a governmental entity, such as the Department of Veterans’ Affairs or a state authority....

The Republicans don't care about the people of this country.

US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has many names for very valid reasons, including sidling up to Russia and the money of an oligarch, therefore, "Moscow Mitch." But, one of his identities that he proudly touts is "The Grime Reaper." The picture below shows why "Moscow" Mitch enjoys the title of being the Grim Reaper. But, the issue that occurred with Wisconsin and exposing Americans to a known killer virus is an astounding development.


April 9, 2020
By Linda Greenhouse

The Supreme Court (click here) just met its first test of the coronavirus era. It failed, spectacularly.

I was hoping not to have to write those sentences. All day Monday, I kept refreshing my computer’s link to the court’s website.

I was anxious to see how the justices would respond to the urgent request from the Republican National Committee and Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Legislature to stop the state from counting absentee ballots postmarked not by Tuesday’s election but during the following few days.

A federal district judge, noting that Wisconsin’s election apparatus was overwhelmed by the “avalanche of absentee ballots” sought by voters afraid to show up at crowded polling places, had ordered the extra time last Thursday, with the full support of the state’s election officials. Was I the only one left in suspense on Monday, holding out hope that the five Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices would put partisanship aside and let the District Court order stand?

In early evening, the answer landed with a thud. No, they would not.

In more than four decades of studying and writing about the Supreme Court, I’ve seen a lot (and yes, I’m thinking of Bush v. Gore). But I’ve rarely seen a development as disheartening as this one: a squirrelly, intellectually dishonest lecture in the form of an unsigned majority opinion, addressed to the four dissenting justices (Need I name them? Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan), about how “this court has repeatedly emphasized that lower federal courts should ordinarily not alter the election rules on the eve of an election.”

Yes, the Supreme Court was absolutely myopic with their heads in the academic clouds by five of the conservative judges; but; don't' lose sight of the sincere evil within the Republican Party.

April 8, 2020
By Garrett Eps

...In Wisconsin, (click here) the Democratic governor called a special session to consider a delay; the Republican legislative majority refused even to convene. They calculated that a lower turnout would be good for them, and walked away from their duty to the voters. Applications for absentee ballots surged—an understandable response to the looming danger at the polls—until the numbers overwhelmed state officials.

As of last week, thousands had not yet received their ballot, and so could not mail it to be received by Election Day, April 7. To vote, they would have to risk infection and journey to the polls. A federal district judge found this to be a burden on the right to vote, and ordered the state to accept ballots that arrived by April 13. A federal appeals court approved the order...

This was planned and the Republican Party would not be budged. They were the people that refused to attend to the needs of the people of the State of Wisconsin.

In Congress today, the Republican Party wants to go forward with more funding when they aren't even interested in having an oversight committee in place to monitor the $2.2 trillion for the "CARES" law.

Congress is out of session until Monday. How can McConnell actually expect reasonable people to trust him with more money when the people aren't even sure how the first law was carried out by the Republican executive branch?

The politics in the country are hideous and ridiculous and lack the truth. The people are supposed to be the focus of government, including the Supreme Court, and part of that is the reassurance that their government is working as it is expected.

After this episode of Republican disregard of the people, I have to believe when McConnell embraces the identity of "The Grim Reaper," he really means it. 

The people of this country are not at the center of the Republicans currently in government. Wisconsin is proof. And the complete disregard of reality that Americans are facing on election day by the Supreme Court's ruling, allows the declaration of "Robert's Politically Activist Court."

Never in my wildest imagination would I expect a political party to completely disregard the safety of the lives of the American people and their future. 

The next spending bill cannot be passed until the oversight is in place and certainly not without making provisions to allow elections to go forward with safety built into the elections of this country when facing dangers to Americans' health.