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COVID-19 detected in United States

We have 17 here in Arlington, which is the most in Virginia so far. I had bronchitis earlier this week and I was really nervous for a couple of days.
 
ATC-ZERO at All NYC area airports.

#Breaking: All NYC metro area airports (JFK-LGA/EWR/ISP/HPN/TEB/MMU/ABE etc) are closed after NY center shuts down air traffic in the area; due to staffing issues.
 
#Breaking: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has tested positive for COVID-19, days after pushing a doomed amendment delaying passage of Coronavirus legislation
 
gangstonc said:
Also, it doesn’t seem like the senators are likely to submit to testing. I can’t believe the gym was even open. Very irresponsible.
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Yeah, I’ve avoided my gym in Tuscaloosa despite them still being open and cleaning more than they were. Those places harbor germs.

On that note, it’s also refreshing to go for a run outside. Weather has been awesome. And I can ensure a much larger spacing between me and the next person.
 
Kory said:
Yeah, I’ve avoided my gym in Tuscaloosa despite them still being open and cleaning more than they were. Those places harbor germs.

On that note, it’s also refreshing to go for a run outside. Weather has been awesome. And I can ensure a much larger spacing between me and the next person.
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I spent a lot of years in gyms, but I finally got tired of wiping everyone’s sweat off the benches so I built a home gym - zero regrets. I’ll never set foot in a gym again. As I’ve watched more gyms near me close their doors due to covid19 concerns, I’ve really been thankful for my decision.
 
Surely this isn't true....

One source said Trump began talking privately late last week about reopening the country after the 15-day shutdown because he is worried about the economic damage from shuttering the economy.
Trump believes "we are strong and need a strong economy as we deal with this crisis," the source said.
Matt Schlapp, a Trump ally and chairman of the American Conservative Union, backed Trump. "I think it is soon becoming time to have old and/or sick people take every precaution and healthy people go back to work forever changed w(ith) new habits in a grimmer reality," Schlapp said in a tweet.
Former Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, who was frequently at odds with Trump, backed Trump. "I agree 100%, @realDonaldTrump," Corker tweeted.
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Trump aims to decide economic course on coronavirus at end of 15-day plan

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-TRUMP (UPDATE 2):UPDATE 2-Trump aims to decide economic course on coronavirus at end of 15-day plan
news.trust.org news.trust.org
 
When do we determine how we are going to get back to normal? The next few weeks will get ugly as people continue to hemorrhage money as they’re unemployed and retirement money dries up. This is how you start civil unrest.
 
Fauci has to be the most levelheaded guy in Washington.

www.dailywire.com

Dr. Fauci: ‘If You Lock Down Everything Now, You’re Going To Crash The Whole Society’

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a lead voice of the Coronavirus Task Force, explained in an interview with Science on Sunday that while we are rightly taking decisive action to attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19, we must not impose...
www.dailywire.com www.dailywire.com
 
WesL said:
Surely this isn't true....


Trump aims to decide economic course on coronavirus at end of 15-day plan

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-TRUMP (UPDATE 2):UPDATE 2-Trump aims to decide economic course on coronavirus at end of 15-day plan
news.trust.org news.trust.org
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We are going to reach a point where we'll do more harm to the American people by destroying the economy than letting 2-4 million people die from the virus would have.

I don't know where that point lies, and I'm not saying I necessarily disagree with anything that's been done nor do I necessarily agree with Trump's reasoning. I'm just worried all the mitigation eventually might end up doing more harm than letting the virus burn through the country in a few months would have.

*Don't want to sound cold-hearted, that's not my intention. I absolutely am worried about family members, and am doing my part in staying in the house as much as I can. There's just no easy way out of this, and at some point the economic impact has to be weighed against the virus impact.
 
Jacob said:
We are going to reach a point where we'll do more harm to the American people by destroying the economy than letting 2-4 million people die from the virus would have.

I don't know where that point lies, and I'm not saying I necessarily disagree with anything that's been done nor do I necessarily agree with Trump's reasoning. I'm just worried all the mitigation eventually might end up doing more harm than letting the virus burn through the country in a few months would have.

*Don't want to sound cold-hearted, that's not my intention. I absolutely am worried about family members, and am doing my part in staying in the house as much as I can. There's just no easy way out of this, and at some point the economic impact has to be weighed against the virus impact.
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We can’t let this get to Great Depression level economic impact otherwise, as fractured as this country is, I think this might do us in.
 
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Kory said:
We can’t let this get to Great Depression level economic impact otherwise, as fractured as this country is, I think this might do us in.
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I agree with the sentiment but I'm not convinced those are the two choices we face (lockdown that decimates the economy versus companies getting back to normal while the virus burns through). It is so tough to filter through the various options in the "fog of war" of a situation like this, but I do think there's more than two potential outcomes or options.

The outcome I'm worried about is that we attempt to return to normal, cases greatly accelerate, and then we end up with the same or worse economic damage as millions of people get sick and are forced to be hospitalized or stay home anyway.

My thought process for several weeks now is that we can take our economic harm in the short-term by having more restrictive measures now, or we can face a longer period of economic uncertainty and damage if we try to return to normal and our healthcare system becomes completely overwhelmed. Car accidents, cancer, heart disease, stroke, etc don't stop simply because the system is flooded with Coronavirus patients. I believe we'd sharply increase our mortality rate for other preexisting health issues and trauma cases.

That said, I also agree that people are going to become less and less likely to follow government restrictions and requests as they begin to run out of money and need to pay bills, eat, and keep a roof over their head. The stimulus package Congress has been debating simply isn't robust enough nor does it have enough direct cash transfers to paycheck hungry workers (and even those without full-time employment) to substitute for a gridlocked economy frozen by quarantines and restrictions.

It goes against my usual fiscal beliefs, but I think we need to be looking at several trillion in cash payments and aid over the next 60-90 days. That's in addition to the bailouts, loans, grants, and other assistance businesses are going to need. We need to shutdown or restrict all but essential services and jobs and have the government step up and reimburse the public for their lost pay. Half measures won't cut it as people won't comply if their finances are dried up, nor will half measures stop the virus. And letting it burn through is just postponing the economic fallout and making it have more permanent repercussions.

I truly believe the only path forward is for the government to cover about 60-70% of GDP and payroll over the next 2-3 months. We'll just have to raise taxes once things return to the normal. The economic output lost will be lost forever, but no matter which path we choose that's going to happen no matter what. I think Americans will rebel from a let it burn through plan once deaths accumulate and the healthcare system is obliterated. Likewise, I think they'll rebel if we try to stick with halfway measures that don't flatten the curve enough while pushing people into economic doom.

At the end of the day, whatever path is chosen, you have to have a high probability of compliance by the American people to make a given plan work. And I just don't think the other two possibilities will see Americans comply for the time needed. People are scared. Wait until they become desperate and it will be too late. Congress needs to act and it needs to be an aid and economic rescue package that not even the craziest model has ever even conceived of.

In retrospect, every single major financial or economic crisis has always found the biggest hindrance to recovery and a return to normal is that NOT ENOUGH was done early on. Aid packages and government payment transfers were not enough, or were too conservative, or not targeted at a broad enough swath of the economy. I've never seen a retrospective that slammed the government for doing too much too quickly. Only for doing too little too late.

Maybe I'm wrong. I hope I am. It seems like the Trump admin is trending toward a mix of half-measures and economic pain while trying to get people back to work and have the virus burn out. The UK tried going down that path and had to reverse themselves quickly. We may very well end up doing the same.

I sure would like it if whatever we did worked out a million times better than even the most optimistic scenarios currently look like. I don't envy the decision-makers one bit. No matter what decision they make there will be substantial tradeoffs. I don't know that a "good" option exists. Just less bad ones.
 
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I would hate to be a world leader right now... so much weight on their shoulders...
 
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