New US Coronavirus Hotspots Appear In Republican Heartland Areas

[appalachiablue]

Source: The Guardian

New coronavirus hotspots are emerging in Republican heartland communities across multiple states, contradicting Donald Trump’s claims that infection rates are declining across the nation.

At a fraught press briefing on Monday, the president declared: “All throughout the country, the numbers are coming down rapidly.” Yet county-specific figures show a surge in infection rates in towns and rural communities in red states such as Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and North and South Dakota, according to data tracking by the New York Times.

Trump’s claim is also contradicted by data used by the White House’s own pandemic taskforce to track new and emerging hotspots. In a 7 May report, obtained by NBC News, the list of top 10 surge areas included Nashville, Tennessee; Des Moines, Iowa; Amarillo, Texas; Racine, Wisconsin; Garden City, Kansas, and Central City, Kentucky – a predominantly white town of 6,000 people which saw a 650% week-on-week increase.

Muhlenberg county, where Central City is located, has voted Republican in every presidential election since 2004, with Trump winning 72% of votes in 2016 – the biggest ever victory for the party. The geographical spread of new hotspots suggest that the virus is advancing quickly outside major coastal towns and cities such as New York, Newark and Seattle where infection rates are now plateauing or dipping.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/13/new-us-coronavirus-hotspots-republican-heartland-areas

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Many of the new hotspots appearing in rural and urban areas are in states with governors who refused to issue stay-at-home orders, or are following Trump’s advice to ease lockdown restrictions against public health warnings about the dangers of doing so too soon.

[Auggie]

1. Who at D.U. would be surprised at this news? NO ONE ...

I'm waiting for results from Georgia.

[keithbvadu2]

3. Trump and his supporters know the results they want. Lie and hide them.

Trump and his supporters know the results they want.

Lie and hide them.

[RKP5637]

2. It's sad to say, but more deaths might need to occur before people finally realize

what an asshole they worship as president in their cult.

[TheFourthMind]

4. Praise the Lord and pass the bleach. n/t

[ananda]

5. I think all of this is true...

... but I also think that these cases will be seriously
under-reported, including the deaths.

[Thekaspervote]

6. I have personally been downright distraught over the death toll

And I still am for all my fellow health care workers, the elderly and those that through no fault of their own were sickened and died.
But from now on, when I see hoaxers, deiniers and trumpers getting sick and dying...not my problem.

[paleotn]

7. Who didn't see that coming?

other than wing nuts.

[Evolve Dammit]

8. How could we ever see this coming??? Good luck.

[bucolic_frolic]

9. Don't know what Trump was calculating

That nursing homes in Blue states would depopulate? I mean did he really think the pandemic would fade by summer? Well now it's building in Red states. I don't want to believe in such cold calculations, but it's a question as to what this White House was thinking.

[ouija]

11. I'm pretty sure we are blowing past 250,000k

[lonely bird]

19. I figure

Half a million.

[LiberalLovinLug]

10. "Deep State Democrats purposely came to our State and infected citizens!"

To ruin the economy and make it seem worse than it is in 3.....2......1..

[LiberalFighter]

12. I'm guessing they will be less capable of dealing with the virus.

[MuseRider]

13. Garden city, Ks.

Leans R and is a source of lots of meat packing jobs. Dem Governor has been good but our legislature is going to fix that.

[The Figment]

14. Emporia Ks. Is seeing a small spike in Covid cases,

We have a large Tyson processing plant here...scares the crap outta me,hardly leave my house.

[Bengus81]

18. Also in the SW corner of Kansas around Liberal (yep that's the name of the city)

And more meat packing plants. Small populations and high CV positive counts.

[Rebl2]

15. If more in

the rural areas start dying from this virus, won’t that mean fewer trump voters? Maybe they will begin to see he has lied to them-or not.

[appalachiablue]

16. You would think, unless convinced by the right

and kook conspiracy theories that they got sick becuz of 'foreigners, Chinese, immigrants and libruls' that spread the disease and are at fault. Coronavirus being politicized. Crazy people in a crazy world.

[vercetti2021]

17. Amarillo only had 55 cases on April 2nd

Then it spiked due to our meat plants

April 30th - 675 total cases (with not enough people wearing masks)

May 12th - 1,745 total cases (after prematurely reopening, and still not enough people wearing masks)

And I live here to mind you. Because like 80% of people that go to stores right now or not wearing masks and I'm the only one that really has one and people look at me like I'm a fucking freak Amarillo

[regnaD kciN]

20. Muhlenberg County...

When I die let my ashes float down the Green River
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester Dam
I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin'
Just five miles away from wherever I am

-- John Prine (1946-2020)

[appalachiablue]

21. Nice, beautiful song; can't believe he's gone.

[yellowdogintexas]

22. Central City has a correctional facility which is racking up cases left and right

That is why it has become a hotspot.
I could not figure out how a little town like Central City blew up like that, but one of my KY friends enlightened me.

I grew up about 40 miles from Central City and have actually been to Paradise before Mr Peabody's Coal Train wiped out the town. Literally. Closed it down, bought all the houses and started digging.

That is truly a beautiful song, isn't it?

Muhlenburg County is also the home of the Everly Brothers. They were from a wide spot in the road called Powderly.

[FrodosNewPet]

24. Paradise

[Rizen]

23. Democrats need to bring the country back to science.

This wishful thinking and sheer idiocy is dangerous.