Paul Ehrlich reports from Oregon: The city moved early on social distancing and, with its relative low density compared to most cities, death and cases have not been a serious as elsewhere—eight deaths, 213 confirmed COVID-19 patients. Thus far. Because like elsewhere throughout the country testing shortages are a major problem, creating an undercount of people actually infected. Meanwhile, most people here taking the necessary precautions seriously, and stepping up to help and volunteer (errands, etc) for those who are self-isolated. And attempts to stay positive. In our condo building, for example, we have a weekly hallway happy hour (six feet apart) meeting with glasses of wine to socialize, keep in touch. And during this outbreak, my 97-year-old mom decided she wanted to be closer to us in Portland despite invites since we moved here nearly three years ago after prowling and publishing in Asia since 1983. While tricky given her condition under the best of circumstances, my wife a...
Back in the innocent days of early January, we were in Arizona when we first heard about the virus in China. It sounded bad, and it fit in with something I had been saying for years before and after Trump was elected to people who thought he was somehow a reasonable alternative to your everyday politician. " "What is going to happen when there is a real disaster in this country? He is going to kill us all, and he is not going to care." Of all the predictions I have ever made (someone I'm convinced every spring that this will be the year that the Mets go undefeated) that is the one I so wish I was wrong about. I don't know if I am going to survive this but the day the door opens to the world and I can go out safely is the day I go to work for whoever it is that is opposing Donald Trump, and I won't stop working until the day after the election. There has been a sea change in the administration's language the last couple of days, and I hav...
It hasn't been a great week. I don't know of anyone who thinks that it has been, except for Trump who expressed his pleasure at his own efforts again last night to keep the potential death toll under 100,000 — a number that we all know now is useless and seriously under-reported — that and the erections he gets on the podium every time someone uses the word "models," which is several times a night. Contrast that with Andrew Cuomo whose consistent message is that every life is precious. As for me, well, I've been sick all week and I can't seem to shake it. I'm sure it's not CV, which is both good and bad news; good because as the new ventilator-assignment guidelines indicate , I'm on the list of people who don't get one when the inevitable shortage occurs because the numbers tell them that a 65-year old with heart trouble isn't going to make it anyway. And if it's not CV, and if my inability to walk up our hill without stoppi...
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