Monday, August 3, 2020

8-3: Trump is Mussolini, he said (and I thought)

✅Coronavirus hospitalizations drop in L.A., Orange counties -- Coronavirus hospitalizations in Los Angeles and Orange counties have dropped over the last week, which may be evidence that actions taken to limit the virus’ spread are working, public health officials said Sunday. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/3/20

San Francisco flattened the curve early. Now, coronavirus cases are surging -- The Bay Area was supposed to be exceptional. It was one of the first metro areas in the United States to fully shut down to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Nearly everyone wears masks, in stores and on streets. Its progressive residents generally have been inclined to follow the rules, and there’s a high level of trust in public health officials, local governments and the fast-changing science. Heather Kelly and  Rachel Lerman in the Washington Post$ -- 8/3/20

 

Scientists Worry About Political Influence Over Coronavirus Vaccine Project -- Operation Warp Speed has moved along at a rapid clip. But some people involved in the process fear pressure to deliver an October surprise for President Trump. Sharon LaFraniere, Katie Thomas, Noah Weiland, Peter Baker and Annie Karni in the New York Times$ -- 8/3/20

Pelosi accuses Trump, Birx of spreading misinformation about coronavirus -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi doubled down Sunday on her claims that President Donald Trump and coronavirus task force coordinator Deborah Birx are spreading misinformation about the pandemic.  Allie Bice Politico -- 8/3/20

 

Orange County Public Workers Confront Coronavirus Uncertainty Amidst Outbreaks

Voice of OC

 

Coronavirus tracker: California cases surpass 500,000, but hospitalizations are on the decline

OC Register

     For the fifth consecutive day, California reported fewer coronavirus-related hospitalizations. According to state reports, there were 7,754 hospitalizations Saturday, Aug. 1, or 245 fewer hospitalizations.

     The state’s number of total cases topped 500,000 (506,456) since reporting began, and 9,354 people have died as of Saturday. There were 6,896 new cases of the coronavirus and 182 new deaths reported, according to unofficial counts from county websites. California health officials reported the state’s first coronavirus death of a child on Friday, saying the victim in the Central Valley was a teenager who had other health conditions.

 

COVID-19 Roundup: Study Recommends Testing Every 2 Days
Experts say study offers "wake-up call" as to whether colleges are planning enough testing. Players push back on planned football season, and another college lays off faculty.

Inside Higher Ed

     A new modeling study published Friday by researchers at Harvard and Yale Universities concluded that a safe way to bring college students back to campus this fall would be to test them for COVID-19 every two days using "a rapid, inexpensive, and even poorly sensitive" test, and to couple this testing with strict behavioral strategies to keep the virus’s rate of transmission (Rt) -- the average number of individuals infected by a single contagious person -- below 2.5.

Such a strategy, the authors wrote, “was estimated to yield a modest number of containable infections and to be cost-effective.”

     They added, “This sets a very high bar -- logistically, financially, and behaviorally -- that may be beyond the reach of many university administrators and the students in their care.”….

 

Colleges Seek Waivers From Risk-Taking Students

Inside Higher Ed

     As fall semester approaches, students are increasingly opposing liability waivers and "informed consent" agreements required by colleges as a condition of returning to campus.


Covid Tests and Quarantines: Colleges Brace for an Uncertain Fall

Colleges are racing to reconfigure dorms, expand testing programs and establish detailed social distancing rules. And then, what to do about sex?

NYT

     This month, many colleges around the country plan to welcome back thousands of students into something they hope will resemble normal campus life. But they face challenges unlike any other American institution — containing the coronavirus among a young, impulsive population that not only studies together, but lives together, parties together, and, if decades of history are any guide, sleeps together.

     It will be a hugely complex and costly endeavor requiring far more than just the reconfiguring of dorm rooms and cafeterias and the construction of annexes and tent classrooms to increase social distancing. It also crucially involves the creation of testing programs capable of serving communities the size of small cities and the enforcement of codes of conduct among students not eager to be policed….

 

Jim Clyburn: Trump is Mussolini
The South Carolina Democrat compares the president to the Italian dictator.

Politico

     House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn on Sunday likened President Donald Trump to Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, warning that Trump would resist leaving office.

     The South Carolina lawmaker and No. 3 House Democrat said on CNN's "State of the Union" that Trump has taken up "strong-arm tactics." Trump ignited an uproar last week after he floated the idea of delaying the November election, which he lacks the authority to do.

     "I don't think he plans to leave the White House," Clyburn said of Trump. "He doesn't plan to have fair and unfettered elections. I believe that he plans to install himself in some kind of emergency way to continue to hold on to office."….


Its Plan Is Risky, Its Community Is Vulnerable, and Cases Are Surging. Why Is This University Reopening?

CHE

The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, facing a system mandate, financial necessity, and concern for students’ well-being, will reopen even as public-health experts underline extensive risks.


Trump calls Birx's dire warning on widespread coronavirus in the US 'pathetic'

Guardian UK






 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Will he be strung up like Mussolini was?

Bob said...

Well chosen sketches and cartoons to complement the selections you have excerpted.

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...