March 23, 2020

Now I am really , really concerned.

For the last two weeks, I have been at home, reading as much as I can, from all over the world, to try and understand as much as I can about this Covid-19. I’ve also asked questions of health care professionals, and of those whom I believe are sick with the diseases. I am much more concerned each day with what I have learned.

Here are my bullet items I have gathered. Please think about these points.

- we are in the very, very early stages here in our country. I believe Italy is definitely similar to what our nation is gong to look like very, very soon. I am sure we are about to run out of ICU beds in about one week (April 1) in many area of the country.
Why we must act now- forecast by state here: https://covidactnow.org


- only those essential employees should be at work now. If I owned a company doing ANY service work, except medical related, I would shut the company down today, and send all employees home, and urge them to prepare. What is essential? The DHS has determined General categories of employees who will be essential through this event: https://fortune.com/2020/03/20/essential-workers-government-list-employees-coronavirus/

- even with “Social Distancing” , we are going to run out of ICU beds in about two weeks- two and a half tops. (April 7-10). The curve isn’t going to be a couple of day “blizzard”- it is going to be a rolling horrible disaster for MONTHS. If we are lucky, it will peak in late May, and the overwhelmed ICU’s will finally be AT MAX Capacity on the downswing again by the end of JULY. I really think THAT is the time frame we are working on.


— The event and the dying isn’t going to be over by then, it’s just going to be down to a 2-3% level again, instead of a 15% level. Yes, when we overwhelm the iCU beds, the death rate will skyrocket as it is doing now in Italy. The death rate won’t fall until we have ICU care available for everyone who gets really sick, and I don’t think that will be likely until late summer at the earliest. I hope I’m wrong. I don’t think I will be.

— Our culture of refusing to heed government direction means we will be more like a third world country in our death rate.

Koreans are less individualistic than Americans. They obey rules for the good of society better than American tend to. The Chinese were able to clamp down on civil liberties to quarantine whole cities. People won’t allow that here. To many are just against rules. It’s American culture to go 80 in a 65 zone. So to will be our failure here.

This virus is very contagious- and some/many who get it will not know they are sick, or will have only minor symptoms, and will carry it to dozens or hundreds of others , many of whom will not survive.

— it comes from another species- we are not yet sure if it was a bat or a bird. In either case, or bodies will not react quickly, and it will stay in us and keep an individual sick longer than typical illnesses we are used to. We won’t fully recover in a few days- it may be 10 days into the really bad part, and it may be a month or more before we recover enough to no longer be contagious. It’s NOT a 3-day flu. But it could be a 30-day horrific experience. When they say 70% of cases are “mild”, they mean 70% won’t need supplemental oxygen or ICU care. It can make people “sick as a dog”, like the worst flu you ever had, for 10-14 days, and if you don’t need oxygen to survive, they are calling that “mild”.’

— it won’t be fully over as a pandemic until either:

A. the majority of people left on the planet have had it, and developed immunity, or

B. A vaccine is successfully developed - POSSIBLY in summer or fall of 2021 or early 2022, AND it is produced in sufficient quantities to inoculate everyone.

—- We SHOULD have an antibody test within a shorter time- a few months, hopefully, that will allow doctors to tell if you already have had covid-19. IF so, then the majority opinion now seems to be that you won’t be able to catch it twice, and you will be able to go back to work. That is how some economic recovery will be able to be started- by those who already have been sick and are well again. This assumes that the virus does not evolve into different strains rapidly. There appear to be two different strains already- but we don’t have good science yet to tell whether they developed slowly, or quickly.

— God help us all- it’s going to get much worse before it gets better.

P.S. my favorite voice right now, on YouTube, is a U.K. nursing instructor named Dr. John Campbell. Go look him up and subscribe to his daily video- it’s extremely helpful in understanding the latest information. Here is one of his videos: watch and learn! Be safe!

March 13, 2020

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: All Michigan K-12 schools must close until April 5

Source: Detroit Free Press

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer late Thursday ordered all K-12 schools in Michigan to close until April 5 as the state battles the coronavirus. The order covers traditional public, charter, private and boarding schools in the state.

“This is a necessary step to protect our kids, our families, and our overall public health,” Whitmer said in a statement. “I am working with partners across state government to ensure educators, parents, and students have the support they need during this time, and to ensure our children who rely on school for meals have access to food. I know this will be a tough time, but we’re doing this to keep the most people we can safe. I urge everyone to make smart choices during this time and to do everything they can to protect themselves and their families.”

Michigan State Superintendent Michael Rice said the decision had to happen.

“Closing our K-12 school buildings is the responsible choice that will minimize the risk of exposure for children, educators, and families and mitigate the spread of coronavirus,” Rice said. “The Department of Education will continue to work closely with our partners in state government to help our students and educators in each school district get through this time. This is about protecting the most people in Michigan.”



Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2020/03/12/coronavirus-michigan-k-12-schools-close-until-april-5/5039384002/

---

Every school in the state. Good action by our Governor that is sure to raise a lot of discussion tomorrow.

March 4, 2020

AP: BERNIE WINS COLORADO and VERMONT

AP is now reporting Bernie has won both Colorado and Vermont.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/484779-blank-wins-colorado-primary?amp

March 3, 2020

Good luck BERNIE!

Today is your day to shine and make a Yuuge impact on our nation.

Best of luck to you today.

Love and hearts to you for really reminding the party that we are the party that makes government work for the people- not the special interests.