There are 5,575,323 cases of the virus in the USA. There have been 174,283 deaths. Jared Kushner, in a recent interview on CNN, says the response of the US government has been a "success". Really?
VIRUS NEWS:
While cases of the virus are said to be declining (or has testing just slowed?), experts say that could change if people don't continue to be careful. The CDC says that the death rate could start to fall as early as next week.
A piece in USA Today says that misinformation and selfishness further exacerbated the horrendous outbreak here.
Dr. Birx says she wishes our early lockdown had been as stringent as Italy's, which got the virus controlled there.
A report suggests that the coronavirus may be as deadly as the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.
In a reversal by the White House, the CDC will once again be collecting the virus data.
Fox News (and no one else?) reports a new strain of the virus that is more contagious but less deadly. Hmm...
A new study shows that children--even if asymptomatic--can carry a higher viral load than adults in ICUs.
Texas has begun publishing virus information for some child care centers.
The Trump Administration now wants teachers, who have been exposed to the virus, to remain in the classroom (so they can expose the students, who in turn can infect their families??? CRAZY!)
A veteran teacher shared a personal essay about her wanting to return to the classroom--but not like this.
Governor Kemp of Georgia is spending $80 million in pandemic funding for various school programs.
The governor of Michigan signed a bill to have in-class learning in schools in areas that are deemed safe to do so. However there have been 14 virus-related school outbreaks in the state so far.
A Georgia teacher's rap about virtual learning has gone viral.
As schools reopen, concerns about children spreading the virus has increased.
A study in Texas suggested that if schools were to open today, at least 50 students and/or staff members would show up unknowingly infected.
Outdoor classes are better at keeping the virus at bay.
A doctor pointed out what we all already know: It's going to be hard to keep schools open with the pandemic going on.
An elementary school student tested positive in Indiana.
Officials say that a Southern California teenage girl with underlying health conditions has died of COVID-19.
12 educators in Idaho are in quarantine following coronavirus exposures.
Volleyball practice has been canceled at a high school in Michigan after a positive test there.
In an Omaha, Nebraska school, 17 students and 18 staff have tested positive for the virus.
Students and staff in Utah can be charged with a misdemeanor for not wearing masks in school.
More than 300 students and school staff were quarantined in Florida after the first week of school.
The education chief of Florida told school districts not to rush to close schools when COVID-19 cases appear.
In Mississippi, 2,035 students and 444 teachers have tested positive for the virus.
As colleges and universities open, lessons are being learned from those schools that have already had hundreds of outbreaks in their first days of classes.
Texas A & M has quarantined two sororities and is now requiring all students and staff to undergo COVID 19 education before school resumes.
The University of Notre Dame reported at least 222 cases of the virus as of Wednesday. The spike is blamed on off-campus partying. Five football players are among the latest to test positive at the school.
Michigan State has seen how other colleges have gotten off to a disastrous in-class school year with outbreaks all over...and have switched to going all virtual when school resumes there.
North Carolina State is moving its undergraduate classes online.
A 19-year-old in Merced, CA has been battling COVID 19 for the second time.
A 20-year-old University of Alabama student details his ordeal with the virus that he originally thought was just a hangover.
Cell phone data shows how Las Vegas is “Gambling with lives” across the country.
Many leaders used COVID as a cover to dent democracy. But Trump may be the first to openly admit it with his plans to stop the funding of the post office.
The president continues to decry mail in ballots leading to voter fraud (even though we are in the middle of a pandemic and some states have done nothing but mail-in voting for years). In one interview he said that "they might have to do it again," referring to the election. He probably wasn't serious, but with him, you never know.
The Trump re-election campaign is suing the state of New Jersey for the governor's plan to send every voter a mail-in ballot due to the pandemic.
Fresno County election officials urge voters to use drop boxes instead of the post office if they are worried about their ballots getting there in time.
Newly Trump-appointed Post Master Louis DeJoy said he would halt changes to the postal system until after the election. However, he would not reverse the massive damage that has already been done.
The University of North Carolina is looking for 500 volunteers for its stage 3 coronavirus vaccine test.
Once a vaccine is found, how long will it be before the entire world is vaccinated against it?
A study suggests that the first doses of the vaccine should go to frontline workers.
The prime minister of Australia said he expects the vaccine to be a mandatory vaccine--which sparked controversy, as no vaccines in Australia are mandatory.
A top Harvard scientist says that a vaccine is possible by winter.
The World Health Organization blasted "vaccine nationalism" in an attempt to keep nations from hoarding any vaccine that comes along. Instead, it asks countries to join the “COVAX Global Vaccines Facility” for sharing vaccine with developing countries.
The FDA has halted the use of plasma to treat COVID 19.
President Trump, who used to push hydroxchloroquine as a COVID 19 miracle medication, has reportedly recently been focused on Oleandrin, a bogus supplement made from poisonous oleander bushes, which was promoted heavily to the president by the My Pillow Guy (who was later lambasted by Anderson Cooper live on his show).
Dr. Anthony Fauci sat down for a Zoom interview to discuss the virus and what life will be like if/when we get a vaccine. It's about 30 minutes long, if you are interested. The doctor underwent surgery on his vocal cords yesterday and may not be speaking on the virus any time soon:
The Trump Administration has limited the FDA's ability to review tests for the virus.
Spit tests used by the NBA have been approved by the FDA.
Doctors checking comatose COVID-19 patients for signs of a stroke, stumbled onto a new clue about how the coronavirus may harm the lungs.
Many young, previously healthy COVID-19 survivors have long-term health issues following recovery.
Vaping has been linked to increased COVID 19 risk in teens and young adults.
Many COVID 19 survivors face a stigma from society.
A GOP senator from Louisiana has tested positive for the virus.
A California mayor lost his mother and step-father to COVID 19 just weeks apart.
As cases continue to spring up around Europe, there have been huge anti-mask protests there.
Trump spoke to a small crowd in Yuma, Arizona on Tuesday where there was little social distancing and few masks.
An idiot pastor in Los Angeles said that God created heatwaves so his congregation could meet inside without social distancing or wearing masks.
460,000 bikers took part in the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota without social distancing or masks. It was bound to happen... A person has tested positive who was in a bar for several hours. The next two weeks will show if any others got infected. Several others tested positive by late Thursday.
An anonymous writer detailed an illegally operating gym in Michigan that has members attending against the governor's orders and no masks are worn.
Since the governor of Georgia reversed his position on allowing local governments to issue mask regulations, dozens of towns have been quick to jump on a mask mandate.
A brilliant YouTuber created a mask-applying machine that literally shoots it on to your face.
Actress Sharon Stone shares what is going on with her sister and brother-in-law, who are hospitalized in Montana with COVID 19, and what they are going through: She blames her sister's condition on anti-maskers.
Wearing a mask and breathing in less coronavirus probably means you get less sick according to some reports.
The couple who assaulted a 17-year-old employee of an amusement park in Pennsylvania earlier this month after being asked to wear a mask, have been apprehended and face assault charges.
A New York City family was kicked off of a flight for failing to have 2 1/2-year-old keep her mask on.
A fight onboard an airline broke out when a passenger refused to wear a mask.
A doctor posted this video of a COVID patient's plea for people to wear masks and be responsible, before dying from the virus herself.
A coronavirus outbreak on Seattle fishing boat suggests antibodies may provide immunity.
Fitbit says its trackers can predict early signs of COVID 19.
Both COVID 19 and the common cold can impair taste and smell...but there is a big difference between the two, a study finds.
President Trump, in a desperate attempt to make himself look better by bringing down another world leader, tried to play up the outbreak in New Zealand, making it sound horrendous. Not so fast, Mr. Presidunce. New Zealand's PM, Jacinda Arden called his attack "patently wrong." New Zealand has had an outbreak--but the country really has had the virus under control for months. (The chart for New Zealand is below. Notice that the cases were never higher than 100? Thank you President "It's a hoax. It will go away." Trump.)
Due to the pandemic, the Democratic National Convention was successfully held remotely earlier this week.
Many, especially those in the White House who point to several democrat-leaning cities, say that crime in this time of the virus is out of control. This brief video looks at that claim. It is true and not true:
The new "skinny" GOP-led Senate virus relief bill does not include another stimulus check and cuts unemployment rates in half.
Weekly unemployment filings have jumped above 1 million again.
The New York Mets have postponed games after players test positive.
A photographer in Los Angeles is doing free bridal photos for brides during the pandemic.
There was a concert in the UK recently (previously mentioned) where the audience was socially distanced. Here is a quick vid clip of how that worked. Brilliant!
Mink farms in Utah have had outbreaks among the animals.
Movie theaters have started reopening across parts of the country.
Tijuana's red light district is bustling despite pandemic.
GLOBAL:
There are currently 22,679,466 cases of the virus globally. There have been 793,710 deaths around the world.
France has had a huge spike in cases in a short period of time. The record post-lockdown caseload explosion continued yesterday.
Both Spain and Italy are seeing big daily spikes again, as well.
In Wuhan, China, thousands of people attended a massive pool party. There were no masks or social distancing. Why? Unlike here, they've pretty much eradicated the virus problem.
Indonesia has failed at controlling the virus and has tried to use several unscientific quack cures (Are you paying attention, Presidunce Trump?) such as herbal mangosteen juice and eucalyptus necklaces.
The death toll in India has exceeded 50,000.
South Korea's latest outbreak is related to attending church. The controversy around it is turning into a religious battle of sorts. Protests there have led to increased outbreaks.
Sweden, which didn't bother with lockdowns or any other virus protections (kind of like here, perhaps?) has seen the worst death toll since a famine swept through the country 150 years ago.
STATES:
Georgia, Texas, and Florida continue to lead the states in the number of cases per capita.
New Jersey added 302 new cases and 8 deaths yesterday.
North Carolina's governor reminded his citizens to remember to carry out the right steps to stop the virus. There were 1,972 new cases reported yesterday in the state.
Governor Kemp of Georgia adamantly defended his virus response on Wednesday after the White House called out the state for being one of the states with the most per capita cases of the virus.
Florida now has more than 10,000 dead. On Thursday, the state had a mind-blowing 4,555 new cases (!!!??!!) and 119 new deaths. Governor DeSantis must be proud. GEEZ!
Ohio had 1,122 new cases and 22 deaths yesterday.
Kentucky announced 726 new cases and 14 deaths yesterday.
In Tennessee, those who have tested positive, their whole family now has to quarantine for a minimum of 24 days.
Illinois had 1,832 new cases and 27 deaths yesterday.
Minnesota reported 698 new cases and 7 deaths yesterday, bringing the state's daily death toll back down to single digits.
Missouri reported 1,058 new cases yesterday.
At least 20 bars and restaurants in Arkansas were cited for breaking emergency virus measures in the state.
Oklahoma had 597 new cases and 17 deaths on Wednesday.
Texas has hit 10,000 deaths.
Colorado has seen outbreaks at churches, restaurants, schools, and even a grocery store lately.
Montana had 117 new cases and 5 deaths yesterday.
Utah's governor is enacting new emergency coronavirus orders. There were 461 new cases on Wednesday along with 4 deaths.
Nevada is keeping restrictions in place for Clark County (i.e. home of Las Vegas) bars and restaurants.
Alaska has seen a cluster of cases. There have also been cases reported in the St Lawrence Islands.
In Hawaii, multiple Target store employees have tested positive. And with the beaches of Oahu closed, thousands of citations for violators have been written.
CALIFORNIA:
Californians are now not only dealing with the pandemic but also experiencing a crazy amount of wildfires throughout the state.
More than 300 cases and 7 deaths have been linked to a Foster Farms facility in Livingston.
Governor Newsom plans to unveil new criteria for reopening businesses sometime next week.
The mayor of Los Angeles has cut off the power to a house in the Hollywood Hills that has had numerous parties during the pandemic.
LOCAL:
County public health officials developed a new plan to help Fresno County fight COVID-19, including educating Ag workers, making testing more accessible, and adding contact tracers.
The House of JuJu restaurant in Clovis willingly gave up its liquor license because the eatery willingly lets diners eat inside, which is a direct violation of the governor's emergency regulations.
California State University Fresno has restarted, but all of the classes are online.
Kings Canyon Unified has taken extra precautions for the first day of school.
Clovis Christian Schools opened to in-class instruction--despite the state's ban of in-class instruction due to the virus.
The pandemic has impacted the Golden Chain Theatre in Oakhurst.
Protesters in Clovis called for salons to reopen statewide.
CREATIVITY:
Hooray! Here is a new Randy Rainbow song:
This is a stinging parody of QUE SERA SERA:
Vincente Fox, former president of Mexico, has this hilarious mock (?) campaign ad. Caution: There is some language:
Political ads are just so well done these days. Here are some recent great ones:
And here is another game from THE DAILY SHOW, showing the president responding to a question. Based on his response, you get to guess what the question was:
Here is a cleverly edited video of Trump interviewing himself:
Zowie---the only NON-political bit I have for you isn't even virus-related. It's a groovy instrumental piece by the 60-s-inspired all-female surf band, The Surfrajettes:
MAIL:
My friend Linda sent a little note -- just for fun:
"My 'granddog' Maverick is ready for a vacation!," she said.
She later sent another quick note and photo:
"Tiny sumos in COVID masks," she said. "I saw this in San Francisco last Friday."
My mom, Sandy, who lives in Washington state on Whidbey Island, sent me a series of text messages yesterday. She wanted to share her recent experience:
"I got a haircut today," she said. "I hadn't been there since December 17th. I really needed a haircut, because every time I took a shower there was a lot of hair in the bottom of the drain. I couldn't keep it out of my face. It was driving me nuts.
"The stylist said they had only been open for a few days. In the area where you wait, there were only two chairs spaced way apart. Usually they have about 10. They will call you from the car if you prefer. There were three stylists in there and they were separated far apart. There were a whole lot of empty stations. In between cuts, there was a lady who went around wiping down everyone's chair. With those cloth covers they put over you, they would change between people and throw the used ones in a laundry bag to be cleaned."
My friend Kim in Wisconsin sent me a note.
"Things here are getting worse," she said. "I am still negative for now. I have heard that a few nursing homes in the area have started COVID wings or do have positive cases. I can only imagine what this winter will bring. Influenza and COVID. Yikes!
"My aunt did call me tonight to talk about delaying our trip (to Hawaii). I think that is a good idea. I would never want to take a chance if there is no vaccine. We will have to wait and see.
"I think that Halloween is going to be a bummer this year -- no trick or treating for the kids, no haunted house. I will just watch scary movies this year and relax. I am glad that I do not have kids. My co-workers with kids are really struggling between sending them back to school or home schooling. It is a tough situation.
"I am looking forward to November to vote Trump out. He did a horrible job and now we will pay the price."
I had a letter and some postcards from my friend Mauro and his wife, Natalia, from Italy on Tuesday.
On the back of the first postcard, Mauro wrote: "Matera is an old, old town in the south, one of the oldest town in the world. The first people who lived here were Neolithic men! Maybe you can see it in the Mel Gibson movie THE PASSION. Here the time seems stopped forever!"
On the second postcard, he wrote: "Do you know the Italian song VOLARE? Here in this nice sea town was born the singer of it. It's famous also to be a set of some Italian movies, because it's so beautiful and really romantic. 😉 In the square center there is a famous restaurant who do roll with octopus. It's incredible!"
In the letter, he wrote:
"I hope COVID 19 stays out of you. We're all fine fortunately. We're in holiday for two weeks. We love going to Croatia as you know, but the Europe borders are still half closed. So we decided to stay in Italy, in the deep south of it...
"Here the weather and the food are fantastic! I attach some postcards, so you can see how beautiful is my country.
"The disease in Italy is strong. In Spain, too. But now slowly, slowly it became more soft, so we come back to normality. ...Are difficult times and difficult moments to pass, but I hope people could learn something good by this strange period.
"Now I am going to dive in this so beautiful and clean water.
"PS Un abbraccio fortissimo (A big hug)"
SHIRLEY:
Last time we checked in on Shirley, she was just in an ornery, crabby mood. That continued on into Monday, when she tore up more of the area next to the refrigerator.
She slept all day Tuesday. However, she'd been inside for days. Although it had been ungodly hot, I was determined that she needed some outside time. On Wednesday, I had an appointment in the morning and I needed to leave by 8:30. I put her out on the mat outside of the slider and left. When I came home a little before 11, she was still in the same spot. Had she gone back to sleep?
I called her a couple of times and petted her head. She just stayed there. I left the door open, in case she wanted in. I checked on her later, and she was still just sitting there. I talked to her some more and pet her a bit more. She finally seemed to wake up and walked off towards the planter near the patio...but only got about a foot away from the mat before stopping again.
I again called to her to see if she wanted in. She just sat there. I closed the door and went back to what I was doing. A few minutes later, I saw she was by the door, wanting in. She had peed (on the patio---grrr!--but still outside). She came in and headed to the corner by the refrigerator (which I had just quickly cleaned up).
She went to sleep and has been more or less sleeping since. I still have those pieces of box back there, which I sit over her to help block the light when I'm in there.
Her crazed, wildness the previous week I blamed on the excessive heat (even though the house is air conditioned). But this latest bit with her just sitting on the mat for hours? The only thing I can think of is all of the horrible smoke from all of the wildfires. It seems like that would panic her more instead of making her just sit there. I just don't know...
ME:
I met the new neurologist on Monday. Absolutely NONE of my medical records were forwarded to him. All he had was a brief note from my referring doctor and the "Focal loss of large and small myelinated nerve fibers" test result. Period. UGH! It was so frustrating.
The plan for now is I need to get some blood work done, then return (two separate times) for nerve conduction studies (one upper torso, one lower)., even though I've told him I've had them before and they showed nothing. We will decide what we need to do after those tests are done, but he did indicate a possible (probable) lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to see what (if anything) is in my cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and then possibly some IVIG (Intravenous immunoglobulin) treatments. (Which has me wondering what I did. This is like karma... I used to give IVIG treatments at the hospital.)
On Tuesday, I saw my cardiologist. Basically, it was the delayed follow up visit about the ultrasound done on my legs. (The original follow up was a disaster as I had just had the biopsies done and my left leg was swollen.) He seems to feel that the vein in my right leg, which some quack venous doctor worked on (He closed off my great saphenous vein, which he said would fix my problem. It didn't.) (You can read about it and watch the procedure HERE.), was not completely shut off, which has caused my foot and leg to swell. He wants to correct that next week (which is fine, because I will still have insurance at that point. Ha!). We will see how that goes.
Erich stayed a few days longer than originally planned. He decided to leave Wednesday morning (as it was supposed to be cooler where he lives that day. It wasn't though, he later reported). So, Tuesday night we sort of celebrated his last night with a to-go dinner from a Mexican place in Clovis he likes, Salsa's.
We called our order in. The last time he had been in town (for my biopsy), we had gotten food here...and they were serving inside. However, Fresno County and the state as a whole had an increase in the number of coronavirus cases...so there was no inside dining this time.
There was patio dining on the sidewalk out in front, but in this heat? Uh... NO thank you.
On Wednesday morning, I had a dental appointment. It was just a cleaning and annual x-rays. Luckily that had been scheduled before my legs gave out so it should be covered under insurance still. They came up with some excuse to get me back next week--a dental guard to wear at night. That will be done just a day or so before the end of the month and the end of my coverage. Phew!
After the dentist, I got some gas at Costco and then picked up some groceries at the store.
Erich was gone when I got home. It has now been two weeks since his birthday trip to the coast--a day trip that became an overnighter (and which had me freaking out about getting infected, especially in that hotel room). However, neither one of us got sick---so I guess we are in the clear now.
I had a disaster. I had these two cases of these little canned margarita-like drinks in the cupboard. My mom likes them and they were hers. Lime-A-Ritas, Cherry-Ritas, Apple-Ritas, etc. She hasn't been here in a long while. Those drinks just sat there waiting for her. I don't know how or why, but when I looked in the cabinet, there was something sticky, wet and runny all over the cabinets. What a mess. I took everything out and pushed things around in the cupboards trying to figure it out. My kitchen is a disaster area of cans, bottles, packages and other crap! UGH!
As I was picking up one of the boxes of the 'Ritas, my hand kind of crunched down on one of the cans. It was empty. How weird, I thought. Why would there be an empty can in the box? As I investigated, I discovered several of the cans looked as if their tops had been popped open and were empty. Others, however, were still sealed (apparently) but were also empty or nearly empty. Only one can (out of 24) was entirely full and sealed. I don't know why they exploded or when. I have the air on 24/7, so it couldn't be the heat. WEIRD -- and such a crazy mess.
Stay SAFE! Stay SHELTERED! Stay ALIVE!
CHEERS!
Continue to the next part HERE.
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