Coronavirus ~ COVID-19

[homoe]

The U.S. set a record Thursday as the number of new coronavirus cases rose to over 77,000, topping the previous record in July.

Nationwide, 77,640 new cases were reported for the day, up from the previous record of 75,723 on July 29, according to the latest tally compiled by NBC News.

The record-breaking daily tally comes as the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached nearly 8.5 million, with 224,280 deaths. There were 921 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Thursday.

Public health officials warned this week that the number of cases is rising across most of the country.

Dr. Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday afternoon that the agency has noted a "distressing trend" in which coronavirus case numbers are "increasing in nearly 75 percent of the country."

Much of the increase is centered in the Midwest. States like Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin have recorded rises in case numbers in the last two weeks.

[Kelt]

Getting ready to button it up again. Cases around 80k a day, dead 230K or so, no more control over this virus than ever. I think we (collective) are just numb to the numbers and very burned out on all these precautions. Enough time has elapsed to where folks are letting up on the gas and just sort of seeming to give in and become complacent. Me too, I want this over, but even more than that I don't want to get this particular bug. It's nasty and there are a lot of "long-timers" who will suffer with this for who knows how long?

I feel like I'm starting a hibernation when all I want to do is get out a go pretty much anywhere for a change of scenery. I keep telling myself how lucky I am (and I am), how much worse others through history have had lock downs for wars, famine, waiting out calamities much longer and worse than now. I keep telling myself to just buck up for 6 months and no complaining, we should have more answers then.

Housekeeper is here now, will get a haircut this week and stop PT/Massage on Thursday. Yard folks should be done about then too except for no contact maintenance. I think it's going to feel like a long winter, oh well at least I think they will keep the trails and beaches open this time.

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by Kelt

Getting ready to button it up again. Cases around 80k a day, dead 230K or so, no more control over this virus than ever. I think we (collective) are just numb to the numbers and very burned out on all these precautions. Enough time has elapsed to where folks are letting up on the gas and just sort of seeming to give in and become complacent. Me too, I want this over, but even more than that I don't want to get this particular bug. It's nasty and there are a lot of "long-timers" who will suffer with this for who knows how long?

You're right to be cautious. There's evidence that COVID can cause damage to the brain.

[Kelt]

Originally Posted by Gemme

You're right to be cautious. There's evidence that COVID can cause damage to the brain.

That’s a good article thank you for posting it. Whether it is lungs, heart, or brain I don’t want any of it. I just have to convince myself to stay the course or while longer. Stay safe.

[Gemme]

Our Governor is contemplating rolling back to Phase 2 again, which would close entertainment businesses and reduce the percentages of customers that the open businesses can maintain. People have to STOP being selfish and stupid! All those grown ass people need an old fashioned whoopin'. I used to have to go pick my own switch. Maybe a fly swatter or paddle with COVID etched into it. Maybe that would leave a lasting reminder for them then.

[homoe]

Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, urged the Trump administration in an internal memo to take “much more aggressive action” to tackle COVID-19, The Washington Post reported.

“We are entering the most concerning and most deadly phase of this pandemic … leading to increasing mortality,” Birx wrote Monday in a report for top White House officials, according to the Post. “This is not about lockdowns — It hasn’t been about lockdowns since March or April. It’s about an aggressive balanced approach that is not being implemented.”

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has continued to downplay the threat of the virus. He has held rallies with hundreds of attendees, many of whom don’t wear masks, and has falsely claimed the ballooning number of COVID-19 cases across the country is due to increased testing. In the lead-up to Election Day, Trump has been campaigning by fearmongering about a “Biden lockdown,” saying there will be “no weddings, no Thanksgiving, no Christmas” if his rival wins.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

[homoe]

President Trump’s repeated assertions the United States is “rounding the turn” on the novel coronavirus have increasingly alarmed the government's top health experts, who say the country is heading into a long and potentially deadly winter with an unprepared government unwilling to make tough choices.

“We’re in for a whole lot of hurt. It’s not a good situation,” Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s leading infectious-disease expert, said in a wide-ranging interview late Friday. “All the stars are aligned in the wrong place as you go into the fall and winter season, with people congregating at home indoors. You could not possibly be positioned more poorly.”