Misinformation is spreading faster than the virus..

GM, Ford are ‘exploring’ making ventilators for coronavirus patients amid shortage fears


https://www.marketwatch.com/story/gm...?mod=investing

FACTS:

The reason Italy has been hit so hard is because they have the oldest population in Europe, and those elderly Italians aren't exactly social media butterflies that know what's going on in the world. That's why this flu spread so quickly in Italy, and the death toll is so high.

All 16 special COVID-19 hospitals have shut down in China because there aren't enough new cases of COVID-19 to justify the cost. The media hardly reported this.

The reason COVID-19 cases in America have skyrocketed in the past week is because we're TESTING for it now, so of COURSE cases will go up.

The vast majority of cases resulting in death are due to people with underlying health issues. Elderly people have ALWAYS been at risk when they contract the flu or pneumonia. Been that way since the dawn of time. Nothing is different with this flu virus.

Estimates say that 50 million of us may have already been exposed to the COVID-19 virus and we didn't even know it. It may have been nothing more than a slight cough, a sneeze, and by the next day all is well because your body fought it off.

When the H1N1 epidemic broke out in 2009, we didn't have mass panic, we didn't close schools, we didn't shut down businesses, we didn't self quarantine. The official CDC states that from April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, there were 60.8 million cases, 274,000 hospitalizations, and 12,469 deaths in the U.S.

Why no panic back then?

Here's a chart from the CDC (Center For Disease Control) on the COVID-19 outbreak, and how many people died of the flu/pneumonia in 2018.

So STOP overreacting, STOP clicking on every biased 'doom and gloom' media story bent on destroying America, our way of life, and our economy.

Well said stealthy!!

The reason why there was no panic during the H1N1 epidemic in April 2009 was because the country was already in panic mode due to The Great Recession. That was what the media was covering and that was what the Fed was responding to.

You have to look at where we were right before the CV19 pandemic hit:

Record unemployment low

Record stock market high

Full recovery of the housing market

Everything was roses, waterfalls and rainbows. The only thing on the minds of Americans and in the media was the 2020 election. So maybe now you can understand when it all turned upside down literally overnight.

GameStop: We Can Stay Open During Lockdowns Because We're 'Essential Retail'

https://kotaku.com/gamestop-we-can-s...wer-1842415962

If you are not familiar with GameStop, they are a retailer that sells gaming consoles and video games which happens to be on the very edge of going bankrupt.

Return to Christmas...
 

https://i.postimg.cc/ydBgm7k0/bdfs.jpg

The world's fastest supercomputer identified chemicals that could stop coronavirus from spreading, a crucial step toward a vaccine

After I made this post I turned to my son Alex and said; "we should put up our "Hanukkah Bush" again. He agreed it was a good idea. And up it went.

It's a little 3 foot Christmas tree we bought at Target. Came with lights already strung (of course we added more). Growing up Jewish I was always envious of my non Jewish friends around Xmas time that had these big beautiful Christmas trees with all the lights and razzle dazzle. All we had was the Menorah. Very plain in comparison.

And it's working! The living room isn't as dark now and two of my stocks made big gains today.

Do something to add a little light or joy into your lives . . . do it NOW. The result is very calming.

The governor from California just announced that 56% of the people in California or 25 million people will get the coronavirus. Tell me that isn’t creating mass hysteria! that is ridiculous for a leader to be saying those types of things. What stats support that?

California like New York are no longer on a curve. It's literally a straight line pointed up - the number of new cases per day. This is happening because widespread testing is now available and revealing that more people have the virus then was thought to have. Due to community spread - people who have the virus coming in contact with others - is creating a domino affect. If left uncheck (not enforcing mandatory self quarantine and social distancing) it may definitely reach that 25.5 million number. That number is a worst cast scenario BTW. Also keep in mind that the government is about to open the federal coffers and states are going to want lots of money especially as our government is now in a giving/lending mode.

They are no longer worrying about the death rate. Today's concern is overwhelming our hospitals and medical systems along with shortages of respirators and medical supplies .

Florida has got to be a state that will at least equal New York & California's case count,if not surpass it in the future.
The elder to younger ratio not to mention that attitude of those in charge like that of Clearwater.

https://i.postimg.cc/XJyNhhmQ/BB11pzQu.jpg

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/co...tandhp#image=3

Today FL is number 5 with 432 cases. #1 is NY with 5706 and #2 is WA with 1376. CA is #3 with 1021.

Yes the population of FL is slanted towards 65+. But so is Arizona. FL is 20% while AZ is 17%. Not too much of a difference.

Those photos and videos from Clearwater were disturbing yes. And the governor has refused to close all the beaches (FL gets $40 billion a year from tourism) leaving it in the hands of local mayors and city councils.

Unfortunately, times of need and guidance can bring out the worst in leaders (DeSantis) as it can bring out the best (Cuomo).

The biggest issue with FL is not the number of it's cases but with the number of people that visit FL for a short time then leave and go back home.

California governor issues statewide 'stay at home' order over coronavirus

https://i.postimg.cc/F1XYDmKy/screenshot-7736.png
https://i.postimg.cc/FF7BLSJb/screenshot-7737.png
https://i.postimg.cc/ZY2DFqrG/screenshot-7738.png

Not shown are all the school closures. That pretty much the same as everywhere else?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom orders all Californians to stay at home

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ca...cid=spartandhp

Makes you wonder how did it really start?

Anyone notice the arrest of the Harvard professor who
secretly set up the lab in Wuhan?

https://gizadeathstar.com/2020/02/wu...d-and-jeffrey/

French study finds anti-malarial and antibiotic combo could reduce COVID-19 duration

https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/19/fr...d-19-duration/

Gov. Dewine is on top of things, trying. Fly your flags fellow Ohioans!

Getting in the shop and tinkering with the ride has a pretty calming effect also,,btw.

The first signs are appearing that the panic is already projected to slow down. Major retail is beginning to announce that will not accept returns on high demand items moving forward. Right now Cosco is implementing this action in the Northeast, Texas and Illinois. I guess Retail does not want an entire parking lot stacked 6 feet high in returned stuff.

Life finds a way.. :)

Fauci predicts Americans will likely need to stay home for at least several more weeks

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fa...cid=spartandhp

New York Governor Mandates All Non-Essential Workers Stay Home

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/am...mpression=true

^^ That is a very telling graph.

I've been practicing social distancing, with varying degrees of success, for about 40 years.

AKA "Engineers: keep doing what you are doing".

K

Yup, After 26 years my Wife finally seems to understand this behavior now......

CNN....627 deaths in Italy past 24 hours.

I hate to be the one to broach this subject, but at some point we must strike a balance between the cost of social distancing taken to the extreme vs. the cost of a certain percentage of the population getting sick; and yes, even dying.

I keep hearing the talking heads referring to every life as being priceless; and how we must take all the extreme measures even if it means saving one life. Frankly, that is not now, and never has been, reality; not in this Country, not any where in the world.

Before you dismiss me as a heartless bastard, let me give you just ONE example. On average we kill 37,000 (or thereabouts) people in highway accidents every year just in the U. S.. If we truly believed that every life was priceless, and that each life must be saved at all cost, the national speed limit would be around 30 mph, because very few people die in car accidents at that low of a speed. Let’s face it, that isn’t happening. There was enough of an outcry when we were at 55.

Then, you say, what about pedestrian accidents? Even at 30 mph, pedestrians get killed. Right you are. The solution? We build pedestrian bridges over every intersection in the U. S. to save those last few thousand lives. Also, not happening.

At some point we have to decide where to draw these lines. Different States have different needs right now. Some need more drastic measures than others. Just my opinion, but when they shut down all the restaurants in OKC, I believe that went overboard. There needs to be some room for personal choice. Some restaurants around here had already blocked off every other booth or table, to create distancing. Sherri and I went out to eat Tuesday evening after buying her new car. We weren’t within 20 feet of another patron. Currently, at last count, there were 46 known cases in Oklahoma, among almost 4 million residents. We are ALREADY social distancing.

Sadly, it appears the only opinions being espoused to those in charge are from those wanting the most drastic measures, always justified because “every life is priceless.” We need to evaluate the impact of those measures along with considering the consequences of no measures. Strike a balance. Look at Lee’s graphic. Assuming it is 100% accurate (and we really don’t know, because we haven’t been here before, but it seems quite reasonable) the return on investment is HUGE from 0% to 50% reduction, but not nearly as drastic for that next 25%. I don’t know where to draw the line. But I can guarantee you, I don’t want it at 100%.

Here is the kicker: If we plunge the entire WORLD into a depression as bad as the 1930's how many of those “priceless” live going to be lost then? I am just saying look at the REAL big picture. Let’s take reasonable measures, but don’t go overboard.

I mean no disrespect to those of you (or anyone for that matter) that believes the entire Country (and Canada as well, so maybe I should say the entire continent) should go on lock down. I think it is a huge mistake if we do.

Lynn:

It is not fair to make any comparisons to other stats. And BTW, you picked a miniscule one. How about: Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure. And they still sell cigarettes right.

Stop looking at the mortality rate and concentrate on the rate of those people going into the hospital and those going into ICU. If CV-19 overwhelms our health care system, what about all the other people who need to be hospitalized or placed in ICU? Are doctors going to have to choose who lives and who dies?

Having your lifestyle disrupted so abruptly sucks. I understand that. It sucks for all of us. But it's the price we have to pay to get this pandemic stopped in it's tracks right away. We do not want a repeat of the 1918 Spanish Flu. 675,000 Americans died and we had a population that was more than 3X smaller than it is today. If CV-19 duplicated the Spanish Flu we would see well over 2 million people die here in the US.

It's important not to keep asking "when are we getting there?" This is a 1000 mile trip and we just passed mile marker 50.

Decided to take a short trip to get out of the house - headed for the highway to just cruise. On the way back I suggested to my son we make a stop at Walmart - head over to the meat area - if it's empty - just leave.

So off we went. Got to the meat aisle and again almost everything was sold out. Going to try to make meatloaf using turkey sausage instead of beef. When we were there my son lost it! Some big fat guy was just grabbing everything in site and my son grabbed the sign that said be thoughtful of others - only 2 per item are allowed. And he said in a loud voice; "hey a$$hole . . . can't you read?" Well the guy got all flustered, apologized and put back about 90% of the stuff he took. My son is almost 6' 2' And has this menacing look that he can put on. That's my boy!

I totally agree with this but unfortunately common sense, that’s what your logic is, may be long gone.
I might add that as the hysteria rises people get more and more desperate. I won’t go into detail what that desperation could lead to but it could lead to way more lives lost.

For better or worse, I agree with Lynn and Crush. Shutting down an entire society, IMHO, will do more harm than good. I am all for those who are more susceptible or already compromised from a health standpoint to be quarantined, but for the vast majority of population, being smart and not taking any undue risk will allow for the economy to continue and not allow us to plunge into a recession if not a depression. Just my thoughts.

Guess you didn't see this:

https://i.postimg.cc/50B8rvpr/1rTwVFH.jpg

A Chinese official was in Italy and said Italians are not obeying the lockdown and that is why the virus is devastating Italy.You might see lockdown orders in North America.Will we obey it?

https://i.postimg.cc/pTM9xz8f/screenshot-7739.png
https://i.postimg.cc/7hmbgRR9/screenshot-7740.png

Posted this today at 12:35 AM NM time on another forum.

When hospitals begin turning away all patients (that includes setting up tent style triages in the parking lots) because they are full and people are dying by the thousands maybe then people will take it seriously. Of course by then it will be too late. They will be using garbage trucks to pickup the corpses there will be so many.

How's that for Fear Mongering?

We survived the 1918 Spanish Flu. We survived The Great Depression. We survived WWII. We survived The Great Recession (with the H1N1 epidemic stuck in that time frame). And we will survive The Great Lockdown. And each time we survived we became stronger. Maybe it is time to "thin the herd." You can apply that to any demographic you like.