Despite Ongoing Propaganda, COVID-19 Numbers STILL GOING UP

Preface
Numbers below are as of April 28, 2020 at 6:00 PM, Mountain Time, USA.  Compare them to those of my April 25th Post.
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USA:
Known cases--- 1.03 million
Deaths--- 58,947 (over one quarter of the world's total)

The numbers keep going up.  Nothing has peaked.

WORLD:
Known cases--- 3.08 million
Deaths--- 214,000

The total number of known cases (and deaths) keeps going up.
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A few facts to keep in mind---
1.  Most people who catch it suffer to varying degrees, and recover.
2.  Too many younger & younger folks (and others) are catching it and dying.
3.  COVID-19 is at least 10 times deadlier than the flu.  [So far this flu season in the USA, over 20,000 people have died from that bug.]
4.  Is it now safe to congregate in large groups?  No.  No.  No.
5.  Much more testing is needed in order to get a handle on this whole situation.
6.  Should people still wear masks?  Yes, definitely.
7.  Should all other precautions still be taken?  Yes, no question about it.
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Trump and Crew are wrong on almost everything they say about this new virus.  Don't believe them.  Their pronouncements primarily are nothing but Edward Bernays style propaganda geared toward the next election.

Not only my opinion.  Stay Well
p.s.  For any new readers here, while not a virologist or epidemiologist, I do have an extensive background in Biology and Environmental Science.  Unlike Rush Limbaugh ["It's just a common cold, folks."], I generally know what I'm talking about in those and related fields of knowledge.  😊

Trump Outdoes His Former Ignorant Statements

As reported on Democracy Now (today)---

"And then I see the disinfectant... knocks it [the virus] out in a minute...is there some way we can do that... by injection... inside [the body]... almost a cleaning."  ~ DJT

The above statement was toward the end of Trump's announcement about new research to be done on covid-19 by Homeland Security.  Perhaps it was more of his gaslighting, meant to confuse people.  Or, perhaps it was simply another measure of his utter ignorance regarding human biology in particular, and Science in general.  In any case, these kinds of outrageous announcements might encourage uneducated people who may be feeling desperate to try it on their own.  Hopefully, that will never happen.

In all my years of following American politics, I've never heard anything more stupid than this bit by DJT.  Absolutely unbelievable.  This is the man who has access to the nuclear war trigger.  Think about that.  Not only that, he's the man who asked, "Why can't we use them [nuclear weapons]?".

Shortly after The Don's imbecilic remark, Lysol issued the following warning:
"...under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion, or any other route)."

Even a four-legged donkey (or a puppet for the Financial Sector) should be able to beat Trump in the next election... that is, if there's any common sense at all left in the American people.

Not only my opinion.  Stay Well

"Now That We Have Passed The Peak In New Cases..." ~ DJT

Our "genius" President apparently has no clue as to how to read data; and, it looks as though his advisors don't either.  Or perhaps they informed him otherwise and, as usual, he's not listening.

Mr. President:  as a country, we aren't even close to the peak in new cases.  Why?  Because we have no idea how many people have been exposed to, and are carriers of, covid-19.  Why?  Because the paltry amount of testing you keep bragging about is nowhere near the amount needed.  We don't have to test every person in our Land, but the less than one percent of the population tested thus far is inadequate for making the statement you made regarding the peak of new cases.  "Peak" means the highest possible number, Mr. Pres.  In case you're ignoring it, the number of cases goes up every single day.  Hello.

On top of that, and again, in case you're ignoring it, the number of deaths in a 24-hour period (not total deaths) went from 2,400--- 100 per hour--- to over 4,500.  Nothing has peaked yet.  It's a fairly safe bet that at least hundreds of thousands of people that we don't know about are infected with this virus.  My best guess:  that number is in the millions.  Very shortly, the total number of known cases in the USA will be over one million.  That number will continue to increase.  We have no natural immunity to this new virus, and so far, no vaccine either.

Just because the increase in cases has become arithmetical (rather than exponential/ geometric) in 2 or 3 cities does not mean that's what will happen countrywide tomorrow, next week, or next month.  Plus, when we consider the gross lack of following precautionary measures (social distancing, masks, disinfection, etc.) that's going on outside those few cities mentioned above, the whole situation gets very bleak.  Before too long, the chance of another exponential surge in new cases is extremely high.  Such a surge will be due primarily to our Leaders' poor response to (and attitude toward) the pandemic.  Too many people (including our "Leaders" in DC) still are taking this whole thing way too lightly.  That pretty much guarantees another exponential increase in both cases and deaths... soon... very soon.  If everyone doesn't start taking this pandemic seriously, that exponential/geometric increase will continue.

Wake up... or, stop lying.

Not only my opinion.  Everyone Be Well

COVID-19 Has a Message for the Politicians in the Current Administration

STAY OUT of the realm of Science.  Why?  Because you don't know a damned thing about it...and you don't pay any heed to experts in the health field who know quite a bit about Science.

March 7, 2020 in the USA---
Confirmed cases:  401... and 19 deaths.

April 2, 2020 in the USA---
Confirmed cases:  over 239,000... and over 5,800 deaths.

April 13, 2020 in the USA---
Confirmed cases:  over 500,000... and over 21,000 deaths.

Meanwhile and presently, Trump is ramping up his psychological gaslighting.  He blames the Democrats and the Media for not taking the virus seriously.  This is what gaslighters do:  they accuse others of the very thing for which they, themselves, are to blame.  Then they repeat it over and over.  He's now saying he took bold action by banning China travel.  He ignores:  his shipment in March of tons of PPE to Asia; prior to that, his utterly dismissive statements re covid-19; his failure to take Executive action early on re the manufacture of ventilators; his complete--- & ongoing--- failure to facilitate testing for the virus; his total disregard for the wearing of masks; his complete lack of understanding as to how this virus spreads; etc.  He also ignores the fact that evidence suggests the virus entered the U.S. from Europe, not China.

Pence is just as (or perhaps, almost as) bad as Trump re covid-19.  The last recent statement I saw on the News from him was:  "No one [on Main Street] needs to wear a mask.".  Mr. V.P., here's what the scientists say:  everyone needs to wear a mask.  That includes you.  Do us a favor and put a gag inside yours, and Trump's, too.  Keeping the two of you from talking would be far better than anything either of you have done so far in office.  😊

Given the exponential progression of the numbers above, it should be painfully obvious that Trump, Pence, Larry Kudlow, Mike Pompeo, etc. are light years behind on the covid-19 learning curve.  They don't have a clue, and none of them appear to have any respect for Science or scientists.  That's probably because they all (except for Trump) seem to be fundamentalist, religious nutcakes... but most importantly, they all (including Trump) appear to worship the idols of Business, Money, and Power.  From all appearances, nothing is more important to them... especially the health of those who (in their eyes) are below their station in life.

To make matters worse, Trump & Crew now are working on a plan that in all likelihood will spread covid-19 even more.  Luckily, re-opening the economy is not within their power; however, they can promote the idea with great vigor.  Of course we need to get people back to work; that's a given.  But if we do it too soon, it will be disastrous.  What's needed now is much more of a direct infusion of cash to the American public.  Better yet, a Guaranteed Basic Income.  We can't afford that, you say?  It will make people lazy, you say?  The work (for 20 years) of the economist, Guy Standing, says otherwise on both counts.  People work harder when they have some minimal, basic economic security.  It really is time to think out-of-the-box.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well
p.s.  Again, for any new visitors here (& a reminder to everyone else), I'm not a Democrat or a Republican.  Plus, I have a Science background... both in the field and academically.

The OVERDUE Recession is Starting NOW

Preface
Below is the latest email (slightly edited here) I sent to family & friends.  The Recession hasn't officially started, because the Powers-That-Be in Gov't need at least two calendar quarters (I think) of data before declaring it.  Anyone who doesn't have his/her head buried in the sand, though, probably would agree:  this is the beginning.  Act accordingly, as follows.
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Be safe, & keep stocked up.  This is the start of a Recession...possibly even worse, a Depression.  Irrational exuberance re the economy already is evaporating.  Distribution of goods already is being affected.  "Runs" on grocery stores already (just barely) have started.

If anyone never has believed me in the past about the overdue Recession, believe this now:  it has started.  

The covid-19 Black Swan, predicted by Daniel Zhang, is at the beginning of crushing the economy.

We'll all survive that, but those of us with a cache of extra household goods (not just food) will be much more comfortable than others.  Distribution of goods eventually will slow way down...temporarily...maybe only for a couple of weeks, maybe for a bit longer.  It hasn't kicked into high gear yet, but it will...no one knows exactly when.  Stock up... food, OTC meds, paper goods, anything you use daily or weekly.

Thanks to the slow response (& lack of previous preparedness) by most governments--- especially in the USA ---covid-19 sooner or later will infect multiple millions, and will devastate the world economy.  If we all don't pull together on this situation, many fewer millions will die (directly or indirectly).  That's not hyperbole.

p.s.  Worldwide:  140,000+ cases; 5,300+ deaths; 123 countries (including "territories").

USA:  1,650 known cases; 41 deaths; 47 known States.
Compare these numbers to those in the March 10 post/essay immediately previous to this one.

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Not only my opinion.  "Be Prepared"  (A long, long time ago, I was a Boy Scout.  For those who don't know, that's their motto:)