Filed under: Capitalism, China, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Economy, Free Markets, Freedom, Health Care, Heartwarming, Immigration, Politics, The United States | Tags: Americans Stepping Up, Coronavirus, science, Technology
Thursday March 26th: King County, Washington State, which includes Seattle, and an assortment of suburban communities. The population is 2.23 million. It is of particular interest because we got the first round of coronavirus or COVID-19. 31,712 people were tested, 92% negative, 2,530 or 7% were positive.
Washington state is the 13th largest state with a population of 7,797,095 (last Census). The total number of cases is 2,580 with 122 deaths. Here is the Public Health Report for Seattle and King County for March 26, Thursday. Lots of interesting data there, and a map that shows how it is spread. The blue in the middle of the orange map is Lake Washington, the surrounding light blue is Puget Sound. While we started it out in the country with the Kirkland nursing home, and way too many deaths, New York, bigger and denser is rapidly catching up.
The United States currently has the most cases of any country in the world. New York is rapidly surpassing Seattle in active cases, which is understandable as the city is so dense. There is so much that we just don’t know yet. Can you get the disease more than once, or do you develop an immunity? Are young people immune? Apparently not, but that information comes from only a very few cases. We will learn all these things in time, but we want it now.
What is even more interesting and positive is the way Americans are stepping up to contribute. Dyson, a company that makes vacuum cleaners and that sort of stuff, has designed new ventilators and will produce 15,000. Apple is turning out 10 million masks. Bodman Industries does 3D computer printing. Their 60 printers will be printing 3,000 masks a day, and they are working with their suppliers to get others involved.
China announced this month of nearly a week of no new infections in Wuhan, the city where the pandemic originated, but nobody knows whether it can be believed or not. Chinese scientists have been transparent about what they have discovered so far, shared information on the genetics and sequences of the virus and details of autopsies, clinical care and outcomes and even shared fatality rates among different age groups. On the other hand, Chinese propaganda insists that the virus originated with the American military, which is absurd, but is filled with the Communist Party’s long history of propaganda and the necessity to bury the cover-up in a happy story of triumph over the virus. Communist governments do not like news that reflects badly on the Communist government. They included a photo of empty beds in a Wuhan hospital. A Taiwan network reported that one hospital as under pressure from the central government not to admit patients so it could report no new cases. So there you go.
Filed under: China, Economy, Europe, European Union, France, Health Care, Iran, Italy, National Security, News, Politics, Science/Technology, The United States, United Kingdom | Tags: Coronavirus, Empty Store Shelves, Hoarding
What’s new, you might ask, in the center of the CoronaVirus in the country? Unfortunately the “stocking-up” goes on apace. Grocery store shelves are empty, deliveries take far longer than was usual. That’s what is reported. We have not left the house. That which we have ordered delivered will be here next Monday (a week away, not tomorrow) And as these things go, the more bare shelves there are, or the more anxiety that is expressed, the more people try to stock up. We used to call it just plain hoarding. But that word has gone out of style.
It’s a growth thing. The more it’s talked about, the more empty shelves, the more people panic, and their actions inflict another bunch.
Two brothers from Tennessee who tried to capitalize on the outbreak of coronavirus bought up nearly 18,000 bottles of hand sanitizer which they were selling for between $8 and $70 each. Much higher than any in the local stores. Amazon and other online sellers cracked down on sellers who were found to be price gouging. Now they are stuck with a huge supply and nowhere to sell it. To which the American people are undoubtedly saying “Good! Serves ’em right.”
In New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio announced that the CoronaVirus is a case for “Nationalization of crucial factories and Industries that could produce the medical supplies needed” Brilliant! He added that “every factory that can make hand sanitizer should be on 24/7 shifts and the distribution should be going to the places that need it most.” President Trump has just asked companies for their help and offered federal help to them in a time of crisis, and they are going to work.
Some people go to work, others pontificate. Bit of a test of character. The Israelis have a vaccine ready for testing. We have vaccines close to being ready. You have to conduct testing with real people to find out if it really works as hoped for., and that all takes time. Stay calm, study up, and wash your hands a lot.
*“This too shall pass” is a Persian adage translated and used in multiple languages. It reflects on the temporary nature, or ephemerality, of the human condition. The general sentiment is often expressed in wisdom literature throughout history and across cultures, although the specific phrase seems to have originated in the writings of the medieval Persian Sufi poets such as Rumi.
Filed under: Bureaucracy, China, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Economy, Health Care, Immigration, Italy, National Security, News the Media Doesn't Want You to Hear, Politics, The United States | Tags: Coronavirus, King County Toll, Washington State
King County, Washington reports 388 confirmed cases, 35 deaths. 3 more deaths have been reported since this morning. Snohomish County, just to our north, has reported 154 confirmed cases. There is a smattering of single cases throughout the state.
The CDC (Center for Disease Control) reports 1,629 total cases in the country, and 41 total deaths. As you can see, most of them are obviously from here. They report that slightly more than half, nationwide, are travel related. That includes people returning from Wuhan, China, from Italy, and 46 from the Diamond Princess Cruise ship.
If you go to the CDC website, and look for the COVID-19 in the U.S. there’s a dandy map if you scroll down that gives the numbers for the whole country. Page is updated at noon, Monday through Fridays. 46 states are reporting and the District of Columbia. Not sure who is missing, Alaska and Hawaii I would guess, and…?
Here in King County, there’s a lot of hoarding going on. Grocery stores are being raided as people think of themselves as “stocking up” just in case. Unfortunately grocery shelves are stripped and anyone who did not grasp the greed of their fellow citizens is out of luck. Nice going, neighbors.
We may need a government, but we don’t have to like it. A good example.
American Elephants 