Muh Muh Muh My Corona (virus)

Which is precisely why more testing in the U.S. will NOT be forthcoming. Can't call it a pandemic with only 10,000 confirmed cases or whatnot.

 

Five hundred forty-seven, but who’s counting?

That’s up three from a couple of hours ago. Data source: Johns Hopkins’ COVID-19 dashboard, which leverages ArcGIS. Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS

 

This guy appears to be Vermont's first patient with coronavirus.
Readsboro is about 25 minutes east of Bennington up in the guts
of a mountain just north of the Mass border.
One of his neighbors is posting on Facebook,
including this letter his wife got.





Within the hour, Vince Guest said
that Dave is in critical condition.






UPDATE (10:15 p.m.): He continues to interact with friends as I edit this.

 

I don't think that they have a snowball's chance of getting away with that. You try telling sick people in fear for their lives that they are not allowed a test to confirm or clear them and see what happens. That's true for everyone, and five times as true for the privileged sorts with high end medical insurance. Once it gets out that no one is getting tested at all the phones in Congressional offices will be melting.

 

At least there's lots of college rings on to keep him entertained.

 

I've dealt with this sort of thing directly. Back after 9/11, when the National Enquirer was mailed anthrax spores, followed by a number of fake envelopes full of bogus anthrax in the news, I dealt with easily over a hundred people or better who wanted either an anthrax test or an anthrax shot. There *were* no anthrax shots for anyone except the military. I resorted to asking if they had any symptoms, which of course they didn't, because duh. When they said no or described something unrelated, I told them that we could do any test they wanted as long as they understood that their insurance was not going to pay for it and that they would be personally on the hook for the bill. My go-to answer was "No one in Pinson, Alabama is in danger of anthrax attacks from terrorists, or at all except maybe if they run cattle. Do you live on a farm?"

It was kind of funny then, in a black humor sort of way. This isn't.

 

We're not too far from an NCAA tournament without spectators.
I do wonder what that will do for TV ratings. I'm guessing it will tank them because people, although inclined to stay at home, will forget the thing exists. They'll be watching CNN. Or Fox, which will, of course, tell them that it's all overblown in the name of smearing their Lord and Savior.

 

Death toll to 21

 

I was a little premature.