I think the numbers went up 4,000 to 6,000 today.

@Flowerwall I haven't been tracking closely but the number of cases seems to double every few days.

Wait 2-3 weeks when all those spring break beach kids go home and spread infection across the land. The worst is yet to come.

If you can donate blood - this is a good time. There’s quite a shortage now.
I just donated and got a coupon for a free pint of beer - as soon as the brewery reopens:/

@Haemish1 Agreed. I donated today too. Make an appointment as they turned away some walk-ins as the place was pretty full.

We have 20k confirmed. No way its 80k!

@Flowerwall I'm not arguing with you, these are his numbers and I drew a mathematical conclusion. If he's throwing numbers around, they need to add up.

@Paul4747 Even if his numbers are inflated over precautious is much more neccessary than underprecaution, at this time. Call a physicist or mathematician and have him calculate a value on that. The value of staying home right now is so high! But I will absolutely guarantee you there are more than 80k right now infected in this nation. There has to be! They are in my state ONLY testing critical patients and healthcare workers. How would we ever expect reliable numbers given that situation?
And also the CDC, the absent CDC, this is the government entity for disease control?

@Flowerwall I think you've taken me for saying more than I did.

I am not saying, don't take precautions.
I am not saying, go on with lfe as normal.

I had my daughter stay home at her mother's (my ex) this weekend because I work in a correctional facility, and we've put 2 prisoners into quarantine already for flu-like symptoms. They don't even lock in my unit, but there's no telling how many of mine they did come in contact with, not to mention staff who travel from building to building. So I kept her away from me until we know more.

What I am saying is, take everything with a grain of salt. If you're not hearing it from Anthony Fauci, the leading voice on this issue, the one who has been saying all along that it will get worse before it gets better, ask yourself why not. He has not been one to pull punches because it makes Trump or the nation feel better when it comes to the numbers.

Take into account the natural tendency of some people to see a microphone or a TV camera during a crisis and put themselves front and center with the absolute worst predicctions they can imagine.

It's good for us to be realists. It's not good for us, or for our mental health, to be either foolishly optimistic nor to give in to gloom & doom pessimism.

You ask the question, "Is the Professor wrong?" It's a good question, maybe the best question. I don't assume bad faith on his part, but: have his conclusions been peer reviewed? Has anyone else agreed with him? These answers are important in deciding whether to trust him, or to write him off as a talking head grabbing his moment in the limelight. Not everyone, even in a crisis like this, is an honest broker. Maybe especially in a crisis like this.

@Paul4747 Yeah it's also great for me to know as a free citizen that prisoners have priority in testing over free law abiding, Americans. Woohoo! American justice! But I guess they are the ones that the system can most profit off of. I just work everyday, why would that matter?

@Flowerwall Prisoners are in a unique situation. They are in a hothouse for infection already. There's no such thing as social distancing in the prison setting. Diseases spread like wildfire, and that's the common cold or flu. They don't have the option of self-isolating. So, yes, a priority is testing and isolating anyone with these symptoms there, because if one gets it, it's very possible that soon 700 will have it. And staff, who have no choice but to come to work, will take it home with them, unwittingly spreading it to potentially thousands who unwittingly become disease vectors in their turn.

Do you see why testing in prisons would be a priority?

I understand you are afraid. Don't give in to it.

By the way, in Michigan, at least, "the system" doesn't profit off of prisoners whatsoever. MDOC is the single biggest budget item and the first one to face trimming every year. It costs the taxpayers upward of $50,000 to keep one person in prison a year, before considering any medical treatment, extraordinary health care, and mental health treatment they may need. State prisons are NOT a for-profit industry.

@Paul4747 No. I see free law abiding citizens as priority. Prison can easily use quarantine and use social distancing. Put sick together. Lock cells. I see medical workers as priority.

What about grocery store employees? EVERYONE is in the stores. What about them bringing it home? I don't mean you shouldn't be getting tested. I am asking why some who has presented to Dr with Similar symptoms being turned away for testing at the end of March 2020 when this virus began in 2019.

@Paul4747 $50,000??? LOL oh wow!!! LOL!!! $50,000? For one person?! THAT is AMUSING!! You could comfortably support a family of 5 on that money including a trip to Disneyland!! LOL!

@Flowerwall I'm really, really not arguing with you, but I want you to understand the situation.

Prisons have limited space. Quarantining only works as long as there are quarantine cells available. The vast majority of prisoners in my state, and I dare say most states, are in double bunked cells or open living cubicles with as many as 8 sharing the space, and 60 or more share the same bathrooms. A military barracks is the closest equivalent. Eventually they would run out of room to separate cases. The most effective measure is to keep the virus out.

Of course I'm concerned about eveyone, but in prison, a person is a ward of the state. The state has an obligation to protect them from health risks if possible. Someone sentenced to 2 years should not face a death sentence due to a communicable disease because they're not allowed to take measures to protect themselves.

hmmm

Well you probably have to first be screened. I would keep following up. Do you know anyone sick? If so, everyone should keep writing about their experiences here

@Flowerwall Thankfully not as yet

When the World Health Organisation (WHO) already had a working test available free of patents, etc. why did the USA (CDC) decide to waste time devising their own, test? Surely it wasn't for (gasp!) money?

@Petter I don't know there are some occurances in Senate of individual senators that are being questioned, stockd. Ethics. What is the most egregious offense of elected officials? I don't know the full details, but I think one of the senators is involved in defense? Or maybe I have that wrong? It sounds like maybe the senators are possibly violating a law. I never did understand economics very well.

@Flowerwall Politicians prey on people's ignorance.

@Petter - I was certain of the same thing until I fact checked it. Snopes has a write up on it too. I admit to being disappointed, but facts needs to be honored by all including when they don't go the way we like. Leave that pathology to others.
[factcheck.org]

@RussRAB The fact remains that the first CDC tests were defective. The US should have used the WHO tests at least until their own had been proven reliable.

@Petter - No disagreement from me on that point. Testing has been a critical part of containing this disease and this administration has lacked the urgency necessary to keep infections at a minimum. No excuse for such a poor performance.

This site must update at regular intervals. At the moment, the US has edged out Italy with the most new cases. China is now showing at 46 new cases. I would wonder if this is terribly low.
[worldometers.info]

@RussRAB China had started to relax its restrictions. Most of the new cases were in newly arrived people, although a few were transmitted internally. As a result, China has clamped down hard on its borders.

[aljazeera.com]

This live TV site gives excellent World news coverage.
(If it doesn't work at first, click on "having trouble watching" and it changes the codec.)

Not only that, but they are sitting on those dead brains.

John's Hopkins has had the most credible info out there!

@Flowerwall hey, imo if you are sick, bam go to doctors, but nonetheless "dead doctors don't lie," meaning, briefly, that them guys at JH will not live as long as we will. Doctors are retards where health is concerned, and many of them will admit that. They are allopaths, symptom treaters; ezackly what ppl want, and pay for i guess. Ppl want a magic pill to cure them of their self inflicted ills, mostly

So, imo if you get "sick" goto JH, but if you want to avoid getting "sick," get off the SAD and eat some effing garlic already lol

@bbyrd009 Keep reading those chicken entrails

I just want to repeat the important part...People who have no symptoms, and don’t know they have and are spreading the virus...is why this pandemic is happening.

By the time some people begin to get sick, the infection is all over the country. The testing numbers you are seeing do not reflect the real infected population...just those who got tested. I believe the real infected rates are much higher, but since we can’t test everyone. There is no way to tell. But judging by the numbers in other countries where they actually have tests available for everyone who wants one. We can extrapolate. Just saying...stay safe.

In about 2 more weeks we should start to see a decline. Those who had it should be on the mend. Of course there will always be those who will try to profit from this. Disgusting, but that is our system.

@Shaggy2018 fwiw "infection" and "immunization" are actually basically the ezack same thing. Safety is irrelevant imo, no offense. You cannot stop the wind. Your choices are bsically get immune or die imo