The numbers just keep going. There were 77,255 new cases Friday. On Saturday, we surpassed the grim 140,000 dead mark. And it is not slowing down. There are currently 3,773,260 cases in the USA and we have had 140,534 deaths. "It is what it is," said the president, as he shrugged off the death count in a recent interview on Fox News.
Yet, the Trump administration is trying to block billions of dollars for states to conduct testing and contact tracing in the upcoming coronavirus relief bill.
VIRUS NEWS:
A 21-year-old Florida man brought the coronavirus back home and gave it to his mother, sister, brother and father. His father is now in the hospital fighting for his life.
A top Health and Human Services official says that most of the virus transmission is coming from asymptomatic carriers (mostly the young).
People in their 20s who've had COVID shared their stories and gave a warning to others.
85 infants under the age of 1 have tested positive in one Texas county.
A 9-month-old girl in Kentucky has the virus.
A 13-year-old boy in Southern California died from COVID 19 over the weekend.
Can children spread the virus? For those who still don't know---the answer is YES! This article looks at the 31% of tested kids in Florida that have come back testing positive. Older children (middle school and high school-age) can also spread the virus.
When it comes to talking new stimulus money for states, Diane Feinstein says states that do not have rules requiring masks should get less or no money, according to the FOX News report
Dr. Fauci implores state and local leaders to be as forceful as possible with mask orders.
Miami-Dade, the global epicenter of the virus outbreak, now has a mask mandate with $100 fines for those who are caught not wearing one.
The president does not think there needs to be a national mask mandate. On the other hand, Bernie Sanders would have masks distributed to every citizen.
Other experts have chimed in to debunk mask myths.
Top health experts have changed their minds about the importance of wearing masks since the beginning of the outbreak and are encouraging them. Here is why.
Worried about your oxygen levels while wearing a mask? Don't be.
An African-American pastor in Oklahoma says he was assaulted by an angry white mob at an anti-mask protest.
The White House has blocked the CDC from testifying at a hearing on reopening schools.
A teacher in Illinois tested positive at her school. Now, six children and other staff members must quarantine and be tested. The governor is trying to mandate masks in the state, but one private school in the state wants to leave the decision up to the parents of the students.
California's governor says most schools in the state cannot open in the fall.
Many teachers are feeling coerced into returning to the classroom, but really have little choice.
Parents and teachers are all anxious about what the new school year will hold for them and their kids
John Oliver bashes Florida’s Ron DeSantis for proposing ‘really dumb’ ideas about opening schools after admitting he was ‘really dumb’ before.
Study abroad programs have been canceled for the coming school year.
Trump sites low death rates among children in New Jersey as a reason to reopen schools. (So he wants to sacrifice any kids?)
Dr. Anthony Fauci (NOT the president) has been the one shining star in this whole mess that we can turn to for honest answers. He discusses reopening schools, vaccine possibilities and the tensions he is facing at the White House. Dr. Fauci holds New York as an example of a state getting it right in getting the virus contained.
Trump says Fauci is a "little bit of an alarmist" as virus numbers continue to rise and rise and rise...
As more and more Americans get sick and die, Trump still insists he is right about the virus.
When questioned about coronavirus testing and his thinking that if you tested less there would be fewer cases, he responded nonsensically and seemed to blame Obama and Biden for stopping testing.
Trump appointed a supporter to head up the post office after his insistence that mail-in ballots will bring about a lot of fraud, irregardless of the pandemic. Critics are already wondering if he and his crew are planning some fraud of their own. Perhaps that is why he has let the virus rage uncontrolled, so he can "cheat" with the mails at election time? Just a thought...
For the second time in a row, the president's approval rating for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak has hit an all-time low. To reverse this slide, Trump's people are hoping he'll return to the daily coronavirus meetings.
Someone from the president's re-election campaign spoke with a reporter about the president's coronavirus response. Just like the president, she tried to blame others for it.
Americans are also increasingly disliking how Republican governors are handling the pandemic. The governor of Georgia is suing the mayor of Atlanta over her mask ordinance...causing other mayors to wonder why the states are fighting themselves.
New information has surfaced as to why Florida's Governor DeSantis pulled the states surgeon general from a coronavirus briefing in April. New Jersey's governor is telling those who criticize his efforts to halt the virus in his state to go and visit Georgia.
Gangs in Florida are terrorizing residents with massive COVID 19 parties.
The president has said that the COVID 19 epidemic is coming under control as Florida had a record number of cases over 10,000 for the 5th day in a row; Sunday's count was 12,478 new cases. Despite the ever-rising tide of cases, the governor still declines to issue a mask ordinance.
Republican senators are now panicking as the virus is taking off in their states and are starting to spread the alarm.
A couple in Kentucky are under house arrest after testing positive but refusing to self-quarantine.
A man in his 20s died from the virus in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday.
The president held the his first-ever "tele-rally" event on Friday, going virtual due to the pandemic.
Doctors and nurses who helped in New York's outbreak tell their home states that the virus is real.
A 30-year-old female doctor got COVID 19 and survived...although she was sure she would die.
A doctor in Alabama who survived the virus, does not understand the public's disregard for the severity of the outbreak.
Doctors put a pregnant woman with COVID 19 into a coma before delivering her baby.
Whatever happened to the hazard pay that was touted about for essential workers? Democrats are trying to secure it but it looks like the Republicans are shooting it down.
Despite the pandemic, many still need to be treated for life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer. Here is how some are coping.
The pandemic is also interfering with organ donations.
Can your blood type have anything to do with how your body would react to the virus?
There are currently no less than 23 experimental vaccines in development throughout the world.
With Brazil running rampant with infection, vaccine developers want to test their work there.
Volunteers in the Baton Rogue and New Orleans area are needed for vaccine trials.
A pharmaceutical mogul in India says that any vaccine that comes along, Americans will be paying too much for it...and he wants to change that.
A report says that in order to get federal help with coronavirus outbreak, California Governor Gavin Newsom was forced to appeal to Trump himself and thank him for the assistance.
A California man flew to Idaho to get a COVID 19 test after waiting two weeks for an appointment in the Bay Area.
Washington DC is closing down testing sites today due to "extreme heat." Whatever...
An "alarming outbreak" of the virus spread through a Department of Homeland Security training facility.
Much like our president is trying to do here, Sweden stayed "open" during the pandemic...and their elderly paid the price.
A 90-year-old man was able to say goodbye to his 86-year-old wife in Florida before here death.
A new stimulus package could be devastating for those on Social Security.
The State Department released the cable that started the unfounded rumors that the virus originated in a Wuhan Lab.
My friend Erich sent this article showing how misinformation (usually from conservative sources such as FOX, Rush Limbaugh, etc.) and outright lies have essentially brainwashed a large segment of the population about the pandemic and turned us into a culture of idiocy.
Of all of the horrible things that 2020 has brought, at least we know that the virus can NOT be spread by mosquitoes. However, with the heat, we can expect blackouts throughout the country from time to time...
A teenage daughter and her father started a charity project called Quarantunes and have raised a lot of money in the process.
US companies are losing hope of a quick economic rebound from COVID 19.
Tourists are still flocking to Las Vegas apparently, despite the shutdowns.
STATES:
Massachusetts is doing well with only 177 new cases on Saturday.
New York enjoyed a record low in hospitalizations since March over the weekend.
Virginia added 890 new cases on Saturday.
South Carolina had 2,335 new cases yesterday.
Florida now has more than 350,000 confirmed cases of the virus. Some Florida counties are now imposing curfews to try to curb the virus tide. It has gotten so out of hand that a Democrat Florida Representative says the state "needs to close down." As the state hit the milestone of its 5,000 death, Governor DeSantis was still echoing the president (The idiotic mantra of "There are more cases because we are doing more testing" essentially) and cautioning citizens not to give in to fear.
Pennsylvania had an additional 786 new cases added to its escalating total on Sunday.
The governor of Ohio warned his citizens that the state is heading in the wrong direction and "could become the next Florida." A church in the state that held in-person services had 12 member get the virus. Two have died.
Minnesota added 737 new cases on Sunday.
Kentucky had 538 new cases Saturday, the second-highest single-day total since this started.
Alabama reported 1,953 new cases on Friday. There were more than 2,000 cases on Saturday.
Michigan saw another 678 cases added on Saturday. A school board president in the state posted misinformation about the virus on social media, calling it a hoax. Idiot.
Wisconsin's numbers are growing. The state recently passed the 400,000 case mark, 10,000 of which came in the last two weeks. On Friday, the state added 805 new cases. 978 new positive cases came in on Saturday. 883 were reported on Sunday.
Texas is going through its own, personal virus hell. Dallas County now exceeds 40,000 cases, with 1,031 additional reported on Saturday. The governor said Sunday that there would be no new shutdown, despite the increasing numbers.
Montana added 106 new cases on Saturday.
Denver, Colorado will be offering free COVID 19 tests this week.
Idaho now has 13,500 cases and counting.
Utah's numbers keep rising. There were 727 new cases on Friday. There were 760 on Saturday. An additional 785 were tallied in Sunday. The numbers keep going up and up and up... Millennials and teens are thought to be the ones spreading it.
Nevada added 1,182 cases on Saturday, 1,115 of those coming from Clark County (home of Las Vegas).
Washington had 950 new cases reported on Saturday. The State Department of Health says the state has reached an "explosive situation."
People in rural Oregon are overwhelmed with the virus and "needs help." There were 353 new cases reported Saturday. The state added 436 new cases on Sunday.
GLOBAL:
There have been than 600,000 deaths globally---the US (with 4% of the world's population) making up about 25% of them. The world set a new record for virus cases across the globe on Saturday. There were nearly 260,000 new cases reported and another 7,360 fatalities. Currently there are 14,507,491 infections globally and there have been 606,173 deaths.
Doctors in the UK are warning that a second wave of the virus could decimate the National Health Service.
Colombia has seen looting as the coronavirus lockdowns have kept people from working.
2,000 healthcare workers in Ghana have been infected.
Iran reports that it believes there are approximately 25,000,000 cases there.
India has more than one million cases of the virus.
Australia is battling a resurgence of the virus in the Victoria area. Face masks are now mandatory in Melbourne.
For the first time in 4 months, Cuba was able to celebrate no new infections on Sunday.
Rwanda is having success with free testing and robot caregivers.
Believe it or not, the coronavirus pandemic has given rise to pirate attacks in the Asian seas.
Rehab centers are popping up across Europe to help patients suffering from long-term effects of the virus.
CALIFORNIA:
As cases keep piling up, the mayor of Los Angeles concedes that he opened the city up too soon.
The mayor of San Francisco is extremely frustrated. She shut the city down and they did a great job...but the virus is on the rise there. San Francisco County has been added to the state's "watch list" keeping things closed down. All in-door malls and non-essential offices will be closed starting today.
Orange County reported 702 new cases Saturday.
A popular church leader in Ontario and two of his daughters have died from the virus. His wife is in an ICU. A dozen other family members have tested positive as well.
The wonderful New Parkway Theater in Oakland has developed a meal crate program to keep their heads above water during the lockdown.
LOCAL:
A travel nurse, here to work with COVID 19 patients, was denied a stay at her booked hotel.
Fresno County is looking for volunteers to help with the COVID 19 crisis.
Cases are rising in Kings County and the ICU space is tight.
A new COVID 19 testing site is coming to Merced County.
Coronavirus has been found in Yosemite National Park sewage.
A church in Fresno has defied Governor Newsom's orders and held services yesterday.
A local non-profit shows appreciate to first responders during the crisis.
Sanger business owners have gotten creative while trying to stay afloat during the lockdown.
719 new cases were added in Kern County yesterday.
CREATIVITY:
One-hit wonder (but what a great hit it was) early 80's New Wave band Modern English re-recorded their song I MELT WITH YOU remotely from quarantine. (Man, do I feel O-L-D!)
The "Karen" phenomenon coupled with the pandemic led to this clever video. CAUTION: It has some language and gestures, but...
Here is a video from April about unusual masks people are wearing out there during the pandemic:
This is, uh... something you don't see every day (and yet my favorite of the bunch). It's not virus-related, but recently posted. It's STAIRWAY TO GILLIGAN'S ISLAND (performed by a sad clown named Puddles). Think Led Zeppelin meets classic TV theme song. Give it a listen:
MAIL:
My friend Sue in Southern California sent a note:
"Life is pretty boring to say the least," she said. "We’re still taking our daily walks in Malibu Creek State Park. There are very few people in the park, since we go early to beat the heat. We go mask-free, but it's interesting to see more men wearing them than women. And the men are often either jogging or biking.
"I’m still shopping once a week at Trader Joe’s with the 'elder set' at 8 a.m. I'm always wearing my N94 mask when out and about. I had my 'deep dental cleaning' at the periodontist this week. Temperatures were taken at the desk and a few questions were asked. There was a new suction device during the procedure that, I guess, eliminates any spray. .
"I never knew I’d be feeling so vulnerable running simple errands like grocery shopping, a trip to the post office or Fed Ex.It's just another Day in the Life of COVID! At least most people in our community are wearing masks."
Paula, one of my teacher friends, sent me another note on Friday morning:
"I am in Lindsay,"she corrected me. (I thought she taught in Visalia...) "Our board announced Tuesday that we were starting off completely online as we are prepared to do that and would be phasing in kids based on need. The entire plan will be laid out next week. However that all may change after the governor's announcement today. We are, as of now, being allowed to do the virtual teaching from our classrooms and not home, which will be a lot better. Kindergarten may look a bit different, but again, all of that may change after today’s announcement."
My friend Sara is a teacher in Fresno Unified. She sent me a note Saturday and she was hoping mad about some thoughtless "covidiots" she encountered:
"I wish everyone would just do as they're supposed to, follow guidelines, and wear the damn mask 😡," she said. "Then, we'd be better off. Have you seen Canada's stats?! They're amazing! But we live in a very greedy, egocentric culture. There is no ideaology of the "greater good" for a lot of people out there. (I'm not saying everyone is like that of course - I know plenty who aren't; but I also know more plenty who are.)
"As of now, you know all the updates about education per the governor. I am absolutely terrified to go back into the classroom. I have been so stressed out about the reopening of schools, and I still am, but at least the Newsom's announcement buys us some time. I find it really annoying how people keep saying that teachers just don't want to work, or "How can I work if my kids don't go to school?" (as if we are glorified babysitters 🙄). Almost all the teachers I know agree that in-person instruction is best for everyone. (It would make teaching a hell of a lot easier for me!) As far as I am aware, there were never any guidelines/safety measures put in place to ensure that we could have a safe return.
"I already enrolled my own children for distance learning this school year. There's an opportunity to send them back into school throughout the school year, but I won't send them back until the science shows that it's safe enough.
"For me, as an educator, I will have to do whatever I'm told. I don't have the luxury of not working. My district is offering online teaching as a teaching option, but educators have to meet certain criteria to qualify for a position. You legitimately have to provide medical information, which I find incredibly intrusive, but I did it anyway. In addition to my own health issues, my elderly parents live with us and have several medical issues that put them at high risk for severe complications if they get COVID. My daughter is high risk, too. I have applied, and we will see how that goes.
"Other than that, we are doing okay. We are super big on social distancing, wearing masks, hand sanitizer, etc., and I'm still terrified. I only do online grocery pickup,. Target pickup for everything else, Amazon... you name it. I try to keep it as contact-free as I can.) My kids haven't been in a grocery store since March 16th.
"We just had our house fumigated, and we had to stay at a hotel in Clovis for three days. Now, I'm terrified that I'm going to get sick. The hotel we stayed at was awesome up until last night. Then it all went to hell in my opinion.... There was a huge party on the patio and pool area. They had music thumping way after 10 p.m., at least 14 people in this teeny, tiny pool (which, according to the sign, it was a maximum of 12), screaming and jumping all over each other, alcohol all over the place, large groups of people talking in incredibly close groups, and not a single one of them wearing a mask. There was easily at least 50 people in this tiny area. I was horrified. Mind you, these are people staying in the same hotel as we are. Covidiots!
"I sent my husband down to make a complaint. The front desk literally told him they had several complaints from other rooms, and other hotels in the nearby vicinity, and the front desk person shrugged it off. We weren't even complaining about the noise, but the lack of following the COVID guidelines they had posted all throughout the hotel! She basically said that those big groups of people have been staying at the hotel for over a month and then implied it's like a courtesy to allow them to do that. Needless to say, I'll be calling their corporate office about this. I guarantee you that mindset isn't coming from just that one front desk person. I would imagine management would've heard about this already and done nothing since it seems like such a normal thing there. I also found two charges that weren't mine on the receipt, which I brought up and they said would be removed. We shall see. Either way, I'm calling corporate. I never would have stayed there had I known that would happen. They were so highly rated on TripAdvisor and Hotels.com and Yelp, too. I was floored. Covidiots!"
My friend Angel in Colombia sent me a note. He has been working several jobs, really hustling to make things work for himself and his family. In the midst of the pandemic, he opened his own business. He had sent me a photo of his self. I responded to it and then he wrote sent this note (which may be missing something in his translation):
"I was crying, because I quit the job and I was putting my things away," he said. "And while I was saving everything, I remembered everything I did to bring my family to Colombia ... to get them out of Venezuela.
"I was crying because I finished a difficult chapter in my life. I felt that I had lost my dignity ... many dreams ... and that I sacrificed a lot ... and my family did not value all the effort I made. And after 2 years ... where I gave them all the money I could collect ... and all my time ... they could not have a thank you.
"But now, I'm strong and it's time to start a new life and start from 0 and just ..
"Even so ... I met really special people ... like you ... who taught me to see the world differently and to realize that what I did ... I achieved things that many would not achieve. .
"I stayed strong and firm ... with a big smile ... when many times I felt defeated..."
Walter, another friend who lives in Colombia (His English isn't so good), also dropped me a quick note:
"We are all fine," he said. "I'm not going out on the streets, and my family and I are fine. Work is simple, but I'm keeping thanks."
My friend Eric in Costa Mesa sent a quick note:
"I was going to get my haircut on my birthday," he said. "Of course they closed two days earlier. Oh well, I usually wear a cap anyway.
"I think it's a terrible idea to start schools right now. This is a once in a 100 year thing. I understand that it throws everyone's schedules off, but we are talking death . In one of the articles you sent a while back, some people were having strokes among other things. It's been almost two years since my stroke and I still am not back to normal. Maybe I'll be in physical therapy permanently? All the things that can happen....
"It still seems like so many people are in denial."
It was my friend Sai's birthday on Friday. He lives in Oakland. I got to speak with him briefly via the phone. He was having a small social distance party that night with a few friends.
"We were all outside and just kept our distance," his wife, Ashley texted me on Saturday. "It seemed to go well."
My friend Erich in San Leandro attended. He shared this:
"It was fun," he said. "Ashley put out a spread of wonderful Indian food, some she prepared herself. I met the two neighbors they invited, George from across the street and Dottie, their immediate neighbor next door. It was just a small group with lots of good food, booze and good neighbors. I got home right before midnight. I should have taken a coat. It got pretty chilly sitting outdoors. I borrowed one of Sai's jackets. Masks? Yes and no. It's kinda difficult drinking and eating with a mask. But we basically maintained the 6 feet distance."
I'm sure it was better than celebrating via Zoom...
SHIRLEY:
Shirley has not wanted to go out at all. I guess she senses it is just too hot outside, despite the fact I have the air conditioning on 24/7 and she is inside. She has been laying directly on the cool tile (which is on a cement foundation) all akimbo most days.
On Friday, she was in her corner. I had fed her, but she hadn't touched her food. I checked on her later on. She still hadn't eaten, but I discovered she had peed all over. Her urine is clear usually, but tortoises also pee out these white goopy blobs which kind of look like bird poop when it dries (as this batch from the patio below shows).
UGH! Shirley!!!!! It was a big mess. While she continued to sleep in the corner, I tried to clean the mess up. My mom called and was telling me about stuff going on with her in Washington all the while. I was cleaning and backed up, stepping on her water bowl and spilling that all over as well, creating an even bigger mess. UGH! Is there such a thing as tortoise incontinence pants? Blah!
On Sunday, I opened up the shade covering the sliding glass door to let some light in as I always do. It must have been too bright for Shirley, as she crawled over to the hole she'd ripped in the back of her box and stuck her head in to escape the light.
Eventually she decided she wanted to go outside---for the first time in days. Even though it was hot out, I opened the door and she merrily tortoise trotted out.
She ate her food...and went back for seconds of it later on. (Hooray!) She's now back inside, hanging out in her cardboard condo, snoozin' away... While she was out, I mopped her area. I just used dish soap, as I didn't want to use too strong of a chemical in the area she likes to be in. But it still smells like tortoise pee. I'll have to try again the next time she goes out.
ME:
The weekend was uneventful for me. What else is new, right? I did have a grocery pick up. It took nearly a half hour for the groceries to be brought out after I messaged that I had arrived. I guess going on a Saturday--even though I had an assigned time--was a bad idea.
My big concern and frustration is my yard, specifically the back yard. It's dying.
I thought it was my sprinklers. I had them set for twice a day on my allowed days to water. I've now upped that to three times a day (1 am, 4 am, and 10 pm). I know they are going off...I've been awake when they do. But still, everything is dying.
I've been watering manually a 4th time on watering days in the early evening...it doesn't seem to help. I don't get it. I hate to "waste" water---but don't know what else I can do to help.
The front isn't as bad, although there are dead/dry patches in the lawn out there as well.
On Sunday evening (!), I got an Amazon delivery. The delivery guy just put it on the porch and left. I only realized it was there because the security camera alerted me. It was just a bottle of orange extract (for a cocktail recipe my mom had sent me--of course!). The weird thing was that there was this black plastic...thing attached to the box.
It has a sticky suction cup base that was stuck to the box. It moves...but I have no idea what it is for or why it was stuck to the box. Maybe I should just leave it on the porch and see if it magically disappears ("like a miracle," as Trump would say)? Hmm.
Aside from that, I've really got to tidy up the house. The place is a cluttered mess with piles everywhere. I've been going through boxes, trying to get rid of crap...and my house has just exploded with crap. I've got to get it picked up (or at least, um...hidden) before Saturday, as Saturday is July 25th, the day when the makers of the LIFE IN A DAY documentary sequel are calling for people all over the world to film their day...and I do NOT want my messy house on display. EEK! Here is a promotional pitch from the director and producer of the project:
Here is a second promo, featuring a look at what the film might be like. The first film was an extraordinary look at people and lives around the world. I was thrilled to be a part of it (even if I was just seen sitting on the toilet for a nanosecond or so).
I don't know yet what I'll do or say in my entry. I'll talk about my virus blog, of course. Maybe I'll go to the drive in. Maybe I'll take a short, lonely day trip somewhere. Or maybe I'll just spend more time on the toilet. There's no guarantee I'll be in the new film...but it would be fun to participate anyway. Why not? (I'm glad today is not the filming day. My toilet was clogged this afternoon. Ha!)
Here is the email I was sent. (If it is too small to read, skip below):
Here is a link to the website with more information, release forms, etc. should you chose to be involved: LIFE IN A DAY 2020
Not that it's all that interesting (it's NOT), but here is the "Special Edition" ("Special" meaning that I added in music to make it more palatable) of my original submission from July 24, 2010.
Dull. Dull. DULL. But at this point, I don't know what I can do to make the next DAY IN A LIFE video installment any more interesting. Oh well...
Stay SAFE! Stay SHELTERED! Stay ALIVE!
CHEERS!
Continue to the next part HERE.
.
Comments
CHEERS!