Emergence of a Deadly Coronavirus

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Musician John Prine is in a critical condition in hospital after a "sudden onset" of coronavirus symptoms, his family says.

Prine, 73, was hospitalized on Thursday and intubated Saturday night and continues to receive care but "his situation is critical," according to a family statement posted on his verified Twitter account.

Grammy-winning singer and songwriter has had nearly 50-year career playing a blend of country and folk music.
Born in 1946, the Songwriters Hall of Fame says that Prine began his career in Chicago in the late 1960s after learning guitar aged 14.

Songs from his 1971 debut album were later covered by musicians including Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, John Denver and Norah Brown. In a 2009 interview, Bob Dylan listed Prine as one of his favorite songwriters.

In 1981, Prince and his manager founded Oh Boy Records in Nashville, Tennessee. According to the label, it is the second-oldest artist-owned independent record label in the US.
Prine has survived cancer twice. In the late 1990s, he had surgery to remove cancer from his neck. The operation removed a piece of his neck and changed the tone of his voice, deepening it and giving it a gravelly sound. In 2013, he underwent surgery to remove cancer in his left lung.

Trend in Italy as a result of poor EU response to coronavirus: People are burning the EU flag, playing the Italian national anthem, and declaring "We will save ourselves":

https://twitter.com/DCBMEP/status/1244187431659855872

"Diversify away from China". Perhaps it's my black and white thinking. Perhaps it's because I've never thought it to be a good idea to trade extensively with any Communist government, but rather than "diversify away", in my view I'd rather we stop doing business with China. We never should have started.

I grew up in the 1970s when the USSR was still considered an enemy. It would have been unthinkable to trade extensively and even become dependent on the USSR back then like we've (ugh, I hate the thought of even saying it) become dependent on China.

One of many reasons I think we should stop trading with and doing business with/in China? They're a human rights nightmare. Utterly shameful.

Nope, not me. It was Pepe that wrote that!

I continue to be surprised at how low the. reported number of cases are compared to other pandemics. I would have expected it to be at least 5 million by now. But it still hasn't gotten to 1M. It's at bout 3/4 of 1M.

I think here are at least 4 reasons why the number of cases in the US has exceeded other countries so much.

1. A much larger population than say Italy.

2. A considerably lagrer number of foreign visitors.

3. Testing.

4. China's numbers are extremely lower than reality. Probably due to insufficient testing.

then if it were me, I would not go to a hospital except under the most dire emergency. I would wait at the sidelines and let the doctors and nurses concentrate their efforts on the coronavirus patients.

Nope, not me. It was Pepe that wrote that!

There are suggestions the CCP lied, oh my.
There are suggestions that the loss of life in China is more like 50,000.

Now, this has surprised me.
There seems to be a growing movement to hold China responsible for the pandemic and to pay recompense in some form.
I hope it happens.
The bastards.

A grassy meadow in New York's Central Park normally occupied by sunbathers and picnickers was transformed into an emergency field hospital on Sunday as officials scrambled to supplement a hospital system rapidly being overwhelmed by coronavirus.

The 68-bed field hospital in the park's East Meadow along the Upper East Side is designed as a respiratory care unit.
Samaritan's Purse, a Christian humanitarian aid organization, set up the tents in cooperation with FEMA, state officials and local hospital authorities, the organization said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said the tent hospital is expected to be operational by Tuesday.
Though small, the field hospital is an example of how New York is using every possible method to expand its capacity to treat coronavirus patients.

The Army Corps of Engineers transformed Manhattan's Javits Convention Center into a makeshift 1,000-bed field hospital, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo set a goal of building a 1,000-plus patient temporary hospital in each New York City borough as well as in Westchester, Rockland, Nassau and Suffolk counties.

More than 1,000 people have died of coronavirus in New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, as of Monday morning, a state official told CNN. And Cuomo has warned that the numbers of coronavirus patients, hospitalizations and deaths will continue to rise until they reach an expected peak in two to three weeks.

Cuomo's call for "all hands on deck" in the state has also turned out more medical staff and a surge in needed medical supplies.

The city has received all of the 2,500 ventilators promised by the federal government. They are distributing the ventilators along with personal protective equipment including 8,918,000 face masks, 179,328 face shields, 1,570,300 surgical gloves and 476,565 N95 masks.

"There is not enough of anything," an attending physician in the anesthesiology department of a Long Island hospital told CNN. "There are just so many patients who are so sick it seems impossible to keep up with the demand."
For medical professionals on the front lines, many of whom are reusing single-use equipment, the supplies are the best line of defense against contracting the virus themselves, spreading it to patients and being unable to continue providing care.

Staff moved and a hospital in Central Park
Cuomo has emphasized a two-pronged solution to the coronavirus outbreak: increase the ability to care for those who get sick and cut down on the spread of new cases.

NYC's Emergency Rooms are serving twice as many patients as usual and their ICUs are three times as large as usual, Dr. Mitchell Katz, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals said Sunday.

In response, 500 contract nurses were added to the NYC Health + Hospitals system this week and another 500 are expected next week, Mayor de Blasio said Sunday.

And Queen's Elmhurst Hospital, which de Blasio said is among the hardest hit in the city, has received 169 clinicians to help in its fight against the virus. The city will continue to move personnel to help every hospital that needs it during this pandemic, de Blasio said.

At Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, where CNN gained access Sunday, the ICU was working at capacity, patient beds lined the hallways of the emergency department and the morgue was full.
"I can say that every corner every part of the hallway, every room, every space has been filled up to capacity with our patients," Dr. Arabia Mollette said.

Enforcing social distancing
In New York City, social distancing has gone from a moral responsibility to a legal requirement, as de Blasio announced Sunday that residents who violate policies will receive a summons and fines ranging from $250 to $500.

People will be fined if they are told by officers to disperse, keep moving, or maintain distance, but they continue to violate policies anyway.

"If you ignore that order ... we're going to have to fine you. We're going to give people every chance to listen and if anyone doesn't listen, then they deserve a fine at this point," de Blasio said.

Beginning Monday, the New York Police Department will conduct spot checks on subway cars to ensure social distancing.

Team sports are banned in the city. Tennis courts and soccer fields where people continue to gather will have their nets taken down, and 80 basketball hoops have already been removed.

NYPD commissioner expects nearly 900 positive tests in department
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a news conference Sunday that he anticipates that by Monday morning, there will be close to 900 NYPD members testing positive for coronavirus.

As of Sunday, 730 NYPD officers and 96 civilian employees have tested positive, a law enforcement official said.
Of those 826 total employees infected, 29 are hospitalized, and one is in critical condition, the official said.

Three members of the department have died of the virus.

The NYPD advises members with underlying conditions who want special accommodations to seek permission to work from home, the official said. The department is advising pregnant staff members to do the same.

On Saturday, the department announced its first death of a detective due to coronavirus
Detective Cedric Dixon, a 23-year veteran, worked in the 32nd Precinct in Harlem, Shea said.

The detective was in his 40s and had underlying health conditions, multiple law enforcement officials said. Shea did not provide details on the officer's health history.

On Friday, Giacomina Barr-Brown, a civilian worked in the 49th Precinct Roll Call Office, also died from coronavirus.
Barr-Brown was a seven-year veteran of the NYPD.

And on Thursday, Dennis C. Dickson, a custodian who worked at police headquarters, became the first member of the NYPD to lose his life to coronavirus.

The police chief lauded Dickson's commitment to the department, noting the 14-year veteran "worked 17 days straight" during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

"May we never forget the sacrifice of those workers who put themselves in harm's way to keep you and your family safe," Shea said.

"Clarence House has confirmed today that, having consulted with his doctor, the Prince of Wales is now out of self-isolation," a spokesman told the BBC.

The palace official told the BBC that the 71-year-old prince is in good health and following the government’s restrictions.

He had spent seven days self-isolation in Scotland, according to the BBC.

Clarence House announced last week that Prince Charles had tested positive for the coronavirus. He was tested after displaying mild symptoms. His wife Camilla, the duchess of Cornwall, tested negative for the virus, according to the statement.

The duchess will self-isolate until the end of the week, the BBC reports.

Queen Elizabeth II, 93, is quarantined in Windsor, England, with Prince Phillip, 98.

Large public events that the queen and other members of the royal family had planned to attend in coming months will be canceled or postponed, and the annual Maundy Service at St. George’s Chapel will not be held, Buckingham Palace had previously announced

It's interesting how the shape of the head is similar to that of a dog,