hotair--2020-03-24--Larry Hogan: We're going to listen to our scientists on when we go back to work, not the White House

I wonder if Trump realizes how ferocious the pushback will be if he follows through on encouraging people to go back to work next week .
Nearly every scientist in the country will start howling that he ’ s inviting a catastrophe .
Every Democratic official in America will ignore him and warn people to stay put at home and keep slowing the spread .
But maybe he ’ s priced all of that into his calculations and is willing to proceed anyway .
Has he priced in the fact that lots of *Republican* officials may also resist ?
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he may not be anticipating it .
If so , he should start thinking about it now : If the plan is to claim that liberals and experts are colluding in a plot to suppress our glorious economy by encouraging people to stay home , that message will be weakened if members of his own party start agreeing with the other side .
Here ’ s Larry Hogan getting ahead of the curve .
“ So what ?
” you might say .
Hogan ’ s a known RINO who governs a deep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Of course RINOs think the Great Culling to appease the economic gods is a bad idea .
Republicans with greater loyalty to MAGA will feel differently .
Some will , yeah , to their eternal shame .
But not as many as usual .
Next week will be the ultimate acid test of the twisted degree of “ loyalty ” congressional Republicans are expected to show the president .
What will Lindsey Graham or Tom Cotton do if both Trump and his hardest hardcore base starts screaming at them that they ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economy because they won ’ t condone prematurely relaxing our only defense against a global pandemic ?
I think that demand for loyalty might be a bridge too far for them .
I think .
We ’ ll see .
It ’ s not just Republican pols who ’ ll contradict Trump if he insists on people going back to work .
Here ’ s his former FDA commissioner , gently encouraging him to not be crazy : “ It ’ s the classic trolley problem , ” said one snarky Twitter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economy will be in shambles and millions of people will die .
But if we ‘ flip the switch ’ and take serious action , the economy will still end up in shambles and millions of lives will be saved .
A quintessential catch-22.
” The best outcome here , and the likely point of the tweets from Graham , Cheney , and Cotton , is to nudge Trump to reverse course before he goes all-in on getting people back to work ASAP .
He doesn ’ t have the authority to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to local officials .
But he can make it politically painful , especially for red-state governors , to stick with a lockdown by encouraging Trump fans locally to view the social distancing measures as “ unpatriotic ” or whatever .
Graham et al .
are trying to avert that .
I ’ m happy to credit them with pure motives in all this — “ common sense ” and “ basic decency ” are good reasons not to ease off the gas pedal in constraining an epidemic — but they ’ re political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the potential political fallout if we move too soon on reviving the economy and catastrophe ensues .
Who ’ ll be blamed if an outbreak takes off here nationally at around the same time countries like the UK and India are beginning to see infections slow thanks to their stay-the-course approach on lockdowns ?
Trump , sure , but maybe the GOP writ large .
The most bizarre thing about the “ get back to work ” push is that nothing should be simpler for a politician at a time like this than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ frightened and vulnerable .
I ’ ve written half a dozen posts over the years about what a tone-deaf halfwit Andrew Cuomo can be but his tone in these two clips is exactly right .
Graham , Cheney , and Cotton are watching that and thinking , “ I don ’ t want my party on the wrong side of a partisan debate about whether certain people ’ s moms are expendable or not.
” It ’ s one thing to say that we can ’ t deep-freeze the economy forever in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s another to say we shouldn ’ t freeze it for a few weeks with massive government fiscal relief in the name of saving hundreds of thousands of lives at a moment when we haven ’ t even begun to see the peak of cases .
It ’ s unbelievably revolting and callous , not to mention destined to backfire enormously .
Trump may not see the political danger there but other Republicans will .
Anyway , hopefully we can speed this debate up and arrive at our final destination soon : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go back to work , local officials ignore him , scientists call him insane , much of the public remains at home to protect themselves , and then he complains daily for the next seven months that the sluggish economy would have been roaring along by now with only a few dead grandmas here and there if everyone had listened to him .
That ’ s a fair trade — he gets a domestic scapegoat onto whom he can shift blame for the economic calamity and a few hundred thousand , or a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have died get to live .
I ’ d take that deal .

I wonder if Trump realizes how ferocious the pushback will be if he follows through on encouraging people to go back to work next week.
Nearly every scientist in the country will start howling that he’s inviting a catastrophe. Every Democratic official in America will ignore him and warn people to stay put at home and keep slowing the spread. But maybe he’s priced all of that into his calculations and is willing to proceed anyway.
Has he priced in the fact that lots of *Republican* officials may also resist? He’s not used to that so he may not be anticipating it. If so, he should start thinking about it now: If the plan is to claim that liberals and experts are colluding in a plot to suppress our glorious economy by encouraging people to stay home, that message will be weakened if members of his own party start agreeing with the other side. Here’s Larry Hogan getting ahead of the curve.
Republican Maryland Gov Larry Hogan
slams the WH’s “confusing messaging” on coronavirus. “It's not just it doesn't match with what we're doing here in Maryland. Some of the messaging coming out of the administration doesn't match.” pic.twitter.com/CWt247C4HL — Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) March 24, 2020
“So what?” you might say. Hogan’s a known RINO who governs a deep blue state and nearly primaried Trump. Of course RINOs think the Great Culling to appease the economic gods is a bad idea. Republicans with greater loyalty to MAGA will feel differently.
Some will, yeah, to their eternal shame. But not as many as usual.
When it comes to how to fight #CoronavirusPandemic, I’m making my decisions based on healthcare professionals like Dr. Fauci and others, not political punditry.
https://t.co/ePuWBGd7SD — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 23, 2020
There is no functioning economy unless we control the virus. — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 23, 2020
There will be no normally functioning economy if our hospitals are overwhelmed and thousands of Americans of all ages, including our doctors and nurses, lay dying because we have failed to do what’s necessary to stop the virus. https://t.co/AchwfXtuLi — Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) March 24, 2020
This is the stark truth: we have to arrest the spread of the China virus to get the economy back on its feet & get life back to something like normal. https://t.co/KNUTXNIpnL — Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) March 24, 2020
Next week will be the ultimate acid test of the twisted degree of “loyalty” congressional Republicans are expected to show the president. What will Lindsey Graham or Tom Cotton do if both Trump and his hardest hardcore base starts screaming at them that they’re co-conspirators in a Democratic scheme to undermine the economy because they won’t condone prematurely relaxing our only defense against a global pandemic?
I think that demand for loyalty might be a bridge too far for them. I think. We’ll see.
It’s not just Republican pols who’ll contradict Trump if he insists on people going back to work. Here’s his former FDA commissioner, gently encouraging him to not be crazy:
So long as covid-19 spreads uncontrolled, older people will die in historic numbers, middle aged folks doomed to prolonged ICU stays to fight for their lives, hospitals will be overwhelmed, and most Americans terrified to leave homes, eat out, take the subway, or go to the park. — Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) March 24, 2020
But there's no functioning healthcare with hospitals overwhelmed, no return to work with people terrified of a virus raging uncontrolled. There are two ways to end this. Let a vast swath of people catch covid which is unthinkable, or break the epidemic. We must choose the latter — Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) March 24, 2020
There's no easy return. We must accept a sober truth. This pathogen has altered history and changed our world. But it caught us at a time when we have the public health tools, technology, and know how to defeat it quickly and vanquish it for good. We must stay on the battlefield. — Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) March 24, 2020
“It’s the classic trolley problem,” said one snarky Twitter pal. “If we do nothing the economy will be in shambles and millions of people will die. But if we ‘flip the switch’ and take serious action, the economy will still end up in shambles and millions of lives will be saved. A quintessential catch-22.”
The best outcome here, and the likely point of the tweets from Graham, Cheney, and Cotton, is to nudge Trump to reverse course before he goes all-in on getting people back to work ASAP. He doesn’t have the authority to actually lift shelter-in-place orders; that belongs to local officials. But he can make it politically painful, especially for red-state governors, to stick with a lockdown by encouraging Trump fans locally to view the social distancing measures as “unpatriotic” or whatever. Graham et al. are trying to avert that. I’m happy to credit them with pure motives in all this — “common sense” and “basic decency” are good reasons not to ease off the gas pedal in constraining an epidemic — but they’re political animals and are doubtless looking ahead to the potential political fallout if we move too soon on reviving the economy and catastrophe ensues. Who’ll be blamed if an outbreak takes off here nationally at around the same time countries like the UK and India are beginning to see infections slow thanks to their stay-the-course approach on lockdowns? Trump, sure, but maybe the GOP writ large.
The most bizarre thing about the “get back to work” push is that nothing should be simpler for a politician at a time like this than to project empathy with constituents who are frightened and vulnerable. I’ve written half a dozen posts over the years about what a tone-deaf halfwit Andrew Cuomo can be but his tone in these two clips is exactly right.
Cuomo on ppl like Trump touting “low” coronavirus death rate: “It’s only 1% or 2% of the population. But then why all of this? … it’s grandmas & grandfathers & sisters & brothers. It’s a woman who recovered from breast cancer … it’s about my mother. It’s about your mother.” pic.twitter.com/FnKLTGGZdS — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 24, 2020
REPORTER: Conservatives are saying to to end this crisis, older people are expendable CUOMO: “My mother is not expendable. And your mother is not expandable… We’re not going to accept a premise that human life is disposal. We’re not going to put a dollar figure on human life.” pic.twitter.com/XkfnoPwzeq — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 24, 2020
Graham, Cheney, and Cotton are watching that and thinking, “I don’t want my party on the wrong side of a partisan debate about whether certain people’s moms are expendable or not.” It’s one thing to say that we can’t deep-freeze the economy forever in the name of saving every life; it’s another to say we shouldn’t freeze it for a few weeks with massive government fiscal relief in the name of saving hundreds of thousands of lives at a moment when we haven’t even begun to see the peak of cases. It’s unbelievably revolting and callous, not to mention destined to backfire enormously. Trump may not see the political danger there but other Republicans will.
Anyway, hopefully we can speed this debate up and arrive at our final destination soon: Trump says it’s okay to go back to work, local officials ignore him, scientists call him insane, much of the public remains at home to protect themselves, and then he complains daily for the next seven months that the sluggish economy would have been roaring along by now with only a few dead grandmas here and there if everyone had listened to him. That’s a fair trade — he gets a domestic scapegoat onto whom he can shift blame for the economic calamity and a few hundred thousand, or a few million, of us who otherwise would have died get to live. I’d take that deal.


hotair--2020-03-24--As city-dwellers panic-flee to their vacation homes, locals wish they would go away

Places like Nantucket and Martha ’ s Vineyard are usually packed with tourists and wealthy people who own second homes in the summer .
But the coronavirus has made summer arrive early for many of these small towns as people from large cities flee to their second homes hoping to avoid infection .
The locals in many of these places are not pleased at having these summer people show up , potentially bringing the virus with them , to a place where medical services are extremely limited .
The company that owns the hospitals in Martha ’ s Vineyard and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away : Partners Healthcare – the parent company of Martha ’ s Vineyard Hospital and Nantucket Cottage Hospital – issued a statement last week telling visitors to stay away .
‘ Consider the limitations of our critical-access hospitals during this unprecedented time of pandemic , ’ the statement reads .
‘ For your safety , and to save lives , we strongly advise you to STAY AT HOME.
’ In a letter to the governor the company wrote that population of the islands has already doubled : ‘ Contributing to the challenges facing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individuals of all ages who have traveled to each island to ‘ ride out the virus ’ .
‘ We have discussed this phenomenon with leaders on both Nantucket and Martha ’ s Vineyard ; they estimate that the influx may have doubled the size of the normal off-season population on the respective islands .
The same thing is happening in the Hamptons along the tip of Long Island .
City people who own second homes are showing up and quickly buying up everything they can in grocery stores , irritating the locals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same thing is happening in vacation spots around the country and points to at least one instance where the concerns that those fleeing the city would bring the virus with them turned out to be true : From the Catskills to Wisconsin ’ s Door County , communities whose economies usually revolve around seasonal visitors are asking them to stay away .
Over the weekend , New Jersey Gov .
Phil Murphy ( D ) urged people with cottages on the Jersey Shore to “ stay at your primary residences , ” while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) warned that those with property on Nantucket or Martha ’ s Vineyard should “ stay on the mainland.
” Their concerns aren ’ t exactly unfounded .
In Vermont , where ski towns have been “ bustling at levels normally seen at peak times during winter holidays , ” according to alt-weekly Seven Days , one of the first confirmed coronavirus cases was a man from Westchester County , N.Y. , who fled to his vacation home in hopes of avoiding the virus .
Within 24 hours of arriving , he had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apparently didn ’ t know they were sick when they fled New York , but last week the New York Post published a story about a woman who allegedly did know she was sick and traveled to the Hamptons anyway : The Springs resident says her friend , a nurse out here , reported that a wealthy Manhattan woman who tested positive called tiny Southampton Hospital to say she was on her way and needed treatment .
The woman was told to stay in Manhattan .
Instead , she allegedly got on public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ condition .
Then she showed up at Southampton Hospital , demanding admittance… “ We ’ re at the end of Long Island , the tip , and waves of people are bringing this s–t , ” says lifelong Montauker James Katsipis .
“ We should blow up the bridges .
Don ’ t let them in.
” At the core of this is not just panic but the sudden awareness many people have that , in the midst of a pandemic , the city is a more dangerous place to be because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a tweet Sunday , Gov .
Andrew Cuomo called the density “ destructive.
” The NY Times published a story today with the odd headline “ Density Is Normally Good for Us .
That Will Be True After Coronavirus , Too.
” As is often the case at the NY Times , it ’ s what gets left out that is most important .
In this case , it ’ s the fact that density is definitely not good for us at this moment .
Density makes mass transit possible .
It allows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environments where people can walk and where children can find playgrounds .
It enables us to pool risks .
It supports big public hospitals and stronger safety nets .
It allows us to curb climate emissions , which present a public health problem of an entirely different kind… It will be a shame if we come away from this moment skeptical of density itself , or if some of the benefits of density , like mass transit and bustling commercial corridors , suffer lasting damage .
Whether or not we fully appreciate them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the next disaster .
So long as the next disaster isn ’ t another pandemic that ’ s probably true .
But for right now , what a lot of people want is to get away from the dense population centers if they can .
I can ’ t say I blame them but I also understand why the locals in these vacation spots , people who have chosen a life with less population density , aren ’ t eager to see them show up in the middle of this crisis .

Places like Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard are usually packed with tourists and wealthy people who own second homes in the summer. But the coronavirus has made summer arrive early for many of these small towns as people from large cities flee to their second homes hoping to avoid infection. The locals in many of these places are not pleased at having these summer people show up, potentially bringing the virus with them, to a place where medical services are extremely limited. The company that owns the hospitals in Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket has been asking people to stay away:
Partners Healthcare – the parent company of Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and Nantucket Cottage Hospital – issued a statement last week telling visitors to stay away. ‘Consider the limitations of our critical-access hospitals during this unprecedented time of pandemic,’ the statement reads. ‘For your safety, and to save lives, we strongly advise you to STAY AT HOME.’
In a letter to the governor the company wrote that population of the islands has already doubled:
‘Contributing to the challenges facing island hospitals are the large number of individuals of all ages who have traveled to each island to ‘ride out the virus’. ‘We have discussed this phenomenon with leaders on both Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard; they estimate that the influx may have doubled the size of the normal off-season population on the respective islands.
The same thing is happening in the Hamptons along the tip of Long Island. City people who own second homes are showing up and quickly buying up everything they can in grocery stores, irritating the locals:
East Hampton resident Jason LaGarenne said he’s seen ‘breathtaking acts of selfishness’ by the newly-arrived New Yorkers. ‘I saw one guy walk out [of a grocery store] with a cart full of carrots. Just carrots,’ LaGarenne said.
Today the Washington Post says the same thing is happening in vacation spots around the country and points to at least one instance where the concerns that those fleeing the city would bring the virus with them turned out to be true:
From the Catskills to Wisconsin’s Door County, communities whose economies usually revolve around seasonal visitors are asking them to stay away. Over the weekend, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) urged people with cottages on the Jersey Shore to “stay at your primary residences,” while Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) warned that those with property on Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard should “stay on the mainland.” Their concerns aren’t exactly unfounded. In Vermont, where ski towns have been “bustling at levels normally seen at peak times during winter holidays,” according to alt-weekly Seven Days, one of the first confirmed coronavirus cases was a man from Westchester County, N.Y., who fled to his vacation home in hopes of avoiding the virus. Within 24 hours of arriving, he had started to show symptoms.
That person apparently didn’t know they were sick when they fled New York, but last week the New York Post published a story about a woman who allegedly did know she was sick and traveled to the Hamptons anyway:
The Springs resident says her friend, a nurse out here, reported that a wealthy Manhattan woman who tested positive called tiny Southampton Hospital to say she was on her way and needed treatment. The woman was told to stay in Manhattan. Instead, she allegedly got on public transportation, telling no one of her condition. Then she showed up at Southampton Hospital, demanding admittance… “We’re at the end of Long Island, the tip, and waves of people are bringing this s–t,” says lifelong Montauker James Katsipis. “We should blow up the bridges. Don’t let them in.”
At the core of this is not just panic but the sudden awareness many people have that, in the midst of a pandemic, the city is a more dangerous place to be because of the density of other people. In a tweet Sunday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the density “destructive.”
This is not life as usual. There is a density level in NYC that is destructive. It has to stop and it has to stop now. NYC must develop an immediate plan to reduce density.#StayAtHome — Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 22, 2020
The NY Times published a story today with the odd headline “Density Is Normally Good for Us. That Will Be True After Coronavirus, Too.” As is often the case at the NY Times, it’s what gets left out that is most important. In this case, it’s the fact that density is definitely not good for us at this moment.
Density makes mass transit possible. It allows for more affordable housing. It creates environments where people can walk and where children can find playgrounds. It enables us to pool risks. It supports big public hospitals and stronger safety nets. It allows us to curb climate emissions, which present a public health problem of an entirely different kind… It will be a shame if we come away from this moment skeptical of density itself, or if some of the benefits of density, like mass transit and bustling commercial corridors, suffer lasting damage. Whether or not we fully appreciate them right now, we may need them in the next disaster.
So long as the next disaster isn’t another pandemic that’s probably true. But for right now, what a lot of people want is to get away from the dense population centers if they can. I can’t say I blame them but I also understand why the locals in these vacation spots, people who have chosen a life with less population density, aren’t eager to see them show up in the middle of this crisis.


hotair--2020-03-24--New York will try to save COVID-19 patients with blood plasma from others

New York City is currently the largest center of COVID-19 cases in the country and an effective vaccine or antiviral treatment is still an unknown distance away , over the horizon .
But give New York credit for at least trying to be creative and come up with solutions to save its citizens .
Doctors here are preparing to attempt a different sort of medical technology to combat the virus , but it ’ s not some sort of new breakthrough .
In fact , it ’ s a method that dates back to some of the earliest years of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a vaccine , doctors will be attempting to extract blood plasma from patients who have already recovered from the disease and provide a transfusion to current patients battling the coronavirus .
Presumably , they will have developed antibodies providing not only immunity but an increased ability to fight off the live virus in their systems .
It ’ s been used to combat other illnesses in earlier times and there ’ s no reason to think it won ’ t work now .
( NBC News ) Hoping to stem the toll of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , New York health officials plan to begin collecting plasma from people who have recovered and injecting the antibody-rich fluid into patients still fighting the virus .
Gov .
Andrew Cuomo announced the plans during a news briefing Monday .
The treatment , known as convalescent plasma , dates back centuries and was used during the flu epidemic of 1918 — in an era before modern vaccines and antiviral drugs .
Some experts say the treatment , although somewhat primitive , might be the best hope for combating the new coronavirus until more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could take several months .
You can read a good summary of the use of convalescent plasma here , published in 2015 .
This technique was used in a number of locations in Africa during the last Ebola outbreak and it was also used in Asia when we were dealing with SARS .
The results were nearly 100 % in terms of success rates , provided you could find a source for the plasma and get it into the new patients before they deteriorated too far .
Of course , as the study @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the use of convalescent plasma which led to the practice being largely abandoned in the United States in recent decades .
It ’ s not that the procedure is dangerous ( when done correctly ) or ineffective .
It absolutely works .
But the biggest issue is obtaining enough volume of the plasma to treat all of the people in need during a major outbreak like the one we ’ re currently experiencing .
You see , you can ’ t just take a sample of the plasma from one person and reproduce @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ounce has to be made from blood extracted from a willing survivor of the disease which is then put through a process known as plasmapheresis .
And you need a reasonable amount of it for the treatment to be effective .
So that means you ’ re talking about one blood donor visit being able to potentially save one infected person .
Also , you have to be able to screen out people with other infectious diseases .
Saving somebody suffering from COVID-19 by giving them blood plasma from someone who is HIV @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So how many coronavirus survivors without other , complicating health issues are there in New York at the moment ?
How many of them will be willing to leave their homes and go to a potentially crowded hospital or lab setting to donate the blood ?
I ’ m not trying to trash this plan or suggest they shouldn ’ t try .
It will almost certainly help at least some people until we have a proven vaccine or effective antiviral medication available .
But until we have a lot more survivors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t going to be the global panacea that we ’ re all hoping for .
With that said , I applaud New York ’ s medical community for thinking outside the box and at least trying to save more folks .
Assuming this works well , the results should be shared with the rest of the world .
If we ever get to the point where there is more plasma available than patients in need , the plasma could , in theory , be used on healthy people to provide them with immunity @ @ @ @ @ @ @

New York City is currently the largest center of COVID-19 cases in the country and an effective vaccine or antiviral treatment is still an unknown distance away, over the horizon. But give New York credit for at least trying to be creative and come up with solutions to save its citizens. Doctors here are preparing to attempt a different sort of medical technology to combat the virus, but it’s not some sort of new breakthrough. In fact, it’s a method that dates back to some of the earliest years of modern medicine.
Instead of waiting for a vaccine, doctors will be attempting to extract blood plasma from patients who have already recovered from the disease and provide a transfusion to current patients battling the coronavirus. Presumably, they will have developed antibodies providing not only immunity but an increased ability to fight off the live virus in their systems. It’s been used to combat other illnesses in earlier times and there’s no reason to think it won’t work now. (NBC News)
Hoping to stem the toll of the state’s surging coronavirus outbreak, New York health officials plan to begin collecting plasma from people who have recovered and injecting the antibody-rich fluid into patients still fighting the virus. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the plans during a news briefing Monday. The treatment, known as convalescent plasma, dates back centuries and was used during the flu epidemic of 1918 — in an era before modern vaccines and antiviral drugs. Some experts say the treatment, although somewhat primitive, might be the best hope for combating the new coronavirus until more sophisticated therapies can be developed, which could take several months.
You can read a good summary of the use of convalescent plasma here, published in 2015. This technique was used in a number of locations in Africa during the last Ebola outbreak and it was also used in Asia when we were dealing with SARS. The results were nearly 100% in terms of success rates, provided you could find a source for the plasma and get it into the new patients before they deteriorated too far.
Of course, as the study notes, there are challenges associated with the use of convalescent plasma which led to the practice being largely abandoned in the United States in recent decades. It’s not that the procedure is dangerous (when done correctly) or ineffective. It absolutely works. But the biggest issue is obtaining enough volume of the plasma to treat all of the people in need during a major outbreak like the one we’re currently experiencing.
You see, you can’t just take a sample of the plasma from one person and reproduce it on a massive scale. Every ounce has to be made from blood extracted from a willing survivor of the disease which is then put through a process known as plasmapheresis. And you need a reasonable amount of it for the treatment to be effective. So that means you’re talking about one blood donor visit being able to potentially save one infected person.
Also, you have to be able to screen out people with other infectious diseases. Saving somebody suffering from COVID-19 by giving them blood plasma from someone who is HIV positive is obviously not a viable solution. So how many coronavirus survivors without other, complicating health issues are there in New York at the moment? How many of them will be willing to leave their homes and go to a potentially crowded hospital or lab setting to donate the blood?
I’m not trying to trash this plan or suggest they shouldn’t try. It will almost certainly help at least some people until we have a proven vaccine or effective antiviral medication available. But until we have a lot more survivors than current patients, this isn’t going to be the global panacea that we’re all hoping for. With that said, I applaud New York’s medical community for thinking outside the box and at least trying to save more folks. Assuming this works well, the results should be shared with the rest of the world. If we ever get to the point where there is more plasma available than patients in need, the plasma could, in theory, be used on healthy people to provide them with immunity in lieu of an actual vaccine.


hotair--2020-03-24--Update: America's fourth largest city goes to "stay at home" mode

Yesterday I wrote a post about Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo ’ s decision to hold off on issuing an order to shelter in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic .
Working with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner , she was taking a wait and see approach .
And , just like that , local news sources began reporting Monday night that a “ stay at home ” order will be issued Tuesday morning .
The situation is fluid , as the expression goes .
The order will take effect at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday and extend through April 3 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ as well as the city of Houston and other municipalities , will have to restrict business activity to that of only “ essential ” business .
The list of exemptions includes grocery stores , pharmacies , and other stores considered necessary for everyday life .
Churches must go to online services only .
Parks will remain open but not high traffic playgrounds .
April 3 , by the way , is the date established by Governor Abbott that preventative measures extend to at the statewide level .
Why the change of mind ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ their own , Houstonians and Harris County residents are not staying home as they ’ ve been asked to do .
Let me say upfront that I don ’ t have a whole lot of confidence in the leadership abilities of Harris County Judge Hildalgo .
She was elected in the 2018 election when Democrats swept Harris County .
She defeated incumbent Ed Emmett , who led Harris County through major events including Hurricane Harvey .
She is 29 years old , a native of Colombia , and a far-left progressive .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will remind you that Harris County is the most populous county in Texas and the third-most populous county in the United States .
Hildalgo is woke , y ’ all , and she reminds us of that on the regular .
For example , shelter in place isn ’ t “ the right term ” so she tweaked it to stay at home .
It ’ s all about feelings with that language .
The medical community is asking for stronger measures to be taken in order to quell the spread of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear , ” William McKeon , president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center , told the Chronicle .
“ Earlier and more aggressive restriction of public movement is much more effective at reducing community spread of COVID-19 than later and less aggressive restrictions .
We must come together by standing apart.
” In a highly unusual move , chief executive officers of the Texas Medical Center on Monday unanimously and strongly called on civic leaders to invoke such an order to further reduce community spread of the new coronavirus , which has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and caused nine deaths .
The leaders came to the consensus during their daily teleconference on COVID-19 , the disease caused by the virus .
Other counties are making the same decision – Bexar County ( the Hill Country ) , and Travis County ( Austin ) both plan to issue similar orders .
Galveston County issued the same announcement Monday night that Hildalgo will make today – a countywide order that begins at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday and will remain in effect until April 3 .
As of Monday , the Houston area @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without shelter in place orders .
On March 11 , Hildago issued a disaster declaration that gives her the power to issue a shelter-in-place order or establish a curfew .
Until then , the strongest measures that have been taken are the order to close down clubs , gyms , bars , and restaurants to dine-in service .
Schools are closed for an extended amount of time .
The State of Texas is not under a statewide lockdown .
Starting today , New Mexico , Massachusetts , Delaware , Michigan , West Virginia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go under stay at home orders .
Texas Lt .
Governor Dan Patrick finds himself in the midst of a kerfuffle after his appearance on Tucker Carlson ’ s show Monday night on FNC .
He is growing impatient with the economic shutdown and is lobbying for getting back to business as usual as quickly as possible .
The leftists are only too happy to portray his remarks as a willingness to sacrifice senior citizens for the benefit of the economy .
“ No one reached out to me and said , ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ willing to take a chance on your survival , in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren ?
” ‘ Patrick remarked .
“ And if that ’ s the exchange , I ’ m all in.
” In an interview with Tucker Carlson , Patrick claimed other grandparents like him would be willing to make the same sacrifice .
I just think there are lots of grandparents out there in this country like me , ” Patrick continued .
As of Monday night , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County/Houston area totals 199 .
Two deaths have been recorded and 18 people have fully recovered .
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee reports that 744 free tests have been administered as of Monday night – of those , 40 people tested positive , which is just over 5 % .
There were 33 new cases recorded Monday .
Three children under the age of 10 have tested positive – two in Houston , one in Galveston .
Galveston was the first area county to issue a more stringent stay at home order .
The first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That ’ s how it stands in America ’ s fourth-largest city today .

Yesterday I wrote a post about Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s decision to hold off on issuing an order to shelter in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Working with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, she was taking a wait and see approach. And, just like that, local news sources began reporting Monday night that a “stay at home” order will be issued Tuesday morning.
The situation is fluid, as the expression goes. The order will take effect at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday and extend through April 3. The unincorporated areas of Harris County, as well as the city of Houston and other municipalities, will have to restrict business activity to that of only “essential” business. The list of exemptions includes grocery stores, pharmacies, and other stores considered necessary for everyday life. Churches must go to online services only. Parks will remain open but not high traffic playgrounds. April 3, by the way, is the date established by Governor Abbott that preventative measures extend to at the statewide level.
Why the change of mind? Well, it seems that left on their own, Houstonians and Harris County residents are not staying home as they’ve been asked to do. Let me say upfront that I don’t have a whole lot of confidence in the leadership abilities of Harris County Judge Hildalgo. She was elected in the 2018 election when Democrats swept Harris County. She defeated incumbent Ed Emmett, who led Harris County through major events including Hurricane Harvey. She is 29 years old, a native of Colombia, and a far-left progressive. This is her first elected office. I will remind you that Harris County is the most populous county in Texas and the third-most populous county in the United States. Hildalgo is woke, y’all, and she reminds us of that on the regular. For example, shelter in place isn’t “the right term” so she tweaked it to stay at home. It’s all about feelings with that language.
Hidalgo said Monday if the county issues such a directive, calling it a shelter-in-place order is “not the right term” because it “evokes hurricanes, chemical incidents, makes you think of an active shooter drill.”
The medical community is asking for stronger measures to be taken in order to quell the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
“The facts are clear,” William McKeon, president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center, told the Chronicle. “Earlier and more aggressive restriction of public movement is much more effective at reducing community spread of COVID-19 than later and less aggressive restrictions. We must come together by standing apart.” In a highly unusual move, chief executive officers of the Texas Medical Center on Monday unanimously and strongly called on civic leaders to invoke such an order to further reduce community spread of the new coronavirus, which has now infected nearly 800 people in Texas and caused nine deaths. The leaders came to the consensus during their daily teleconference on COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Other counties are making the same decision – Bexar County (the Hill Country), and Travis County (Austin) both plan to issue similar orders. Galveston County issued the same announcement Monday night that Hildalgo will make today – a countywide order that begins at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday and will remain in effect until April 3. As of Monday, the Houston area was the most populous in the country without shelter in place orders.
On March 11, Hildago issued a disaster declaration that gives her the power to issue a shelter-in-place order or establish a curfew. Until then, the strongest measures that have been taken are the order to close down clubs, gyms, bars, and restaurants to dine-in service. Schools are closed for an extended amount of time.
The State of Texas is not under a statewide lockdown. Starting today, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Delaware, Michigan, West Virginia, Indiana are the latest states to go under stay at home orders. Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick finds himself in the midst of a kerfuffle after his appearance on Tucker Carlson’s show Monday night on FNC. He is growing impatient with the economic shutdown and is lobbying for getting back to business as usual as quickly as possible. The leftists are only too happy to portray his remarks as a willingness to sacrifice senior citizens for the benefit of the economy.
“No one reached out to me and said, ‘As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival, in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?”‘ Patrick remarked. “And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in.” In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Patrick claimed other grandparents like him would be willing to make the same sacrifice. I just think there are lots of grandparents out there in this country like me,” Patrick continued.
As of Monday night, the number of total cases in the Harris County/Houston area totals 199. Two deaths have been recorded and 18 people have fully recovered. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee reports that 744 free tests have been administered as of Monday night – of those, 40 people tested positive, which is just over 5%. There were 33 new cases recorded Monday. Three children under the age of 10 have tested positive – two in Houston, one in Galveston. Galveston was the first area county to issue a more stringent stay at home order. The first case was reported on March 5.
That’s how it stands in America’s fourth-largest city today.


hotair--2020-03-24--Texas Lt. Gov.: I'm willing to risk my life to save the economy for my children

I wrote three posts yesterday about the insanity of going back to work soon but a Twitter pal , watching this clip , cut to the heart of it in one line : “ Every cult eventually becomes a death cult.
” To say that we need economic activity to restart as soon as possible is common sense .
Economic downturns have human tolls ; major economic downturns have major human tolls .
No one , including the doctors , disputes that .
We need a plan to gradually reopen the economy once it ’ s safe to do so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ floating plans of their own . )
The argument against telling people to go back to the work isn ’ t that lockdowns don ’ t come at a human price .
The argument is that sending people back to work now , before the spread of the disease has slowed , before testing has increased to the degree we ’ d need to contain new outbreaks , will make literally every problem we have much worse , including economic deterioration .
There ’ s no meaningful economic recovery to be had while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t be rushed to make the president happy just because his attention span lasts four seconds .
If everyone outside of New York and Seattle goes back to work , in a month they ’ ll just have to shut down again as the disease spirals out of control locally .
Or , alternately , businesses will shutter on their own as the virus spreads and consumes their staffs .
The social-distancing strategy which Trump embraced a week ago requires patience .
But he has no patience , which is why he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like hydroxychloroquine as a pretext to declare “ mission accomplished ” and get that Dow average that he cares about so much moving again .
The point is this : Everyone understands rationally that sending people back to work right now risks utter catastrophe , human and economic .
In the very near term , there ’ d be signs of recovery .
Hiring will begin , GDP will rise .
Then the virus will spread .
Then it ’ ll begin to rage out of control in metropolitan areas , and then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ die , millions will be sick and unable to work .
There ’ ll be no “ quick start ” option for the economy at that stage .
Deaths and sickness won ’ t just be due to corona infection either ; anyone who ’ s managing an unrelated condition will have difficulty getting drugs and finding care as the health-care system melts down .
There ’ ll be plenty of deaths and lots of misery indirectly caused by the crisis as well .
Trump cited higher suicide rates yesterday as a human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is true but doesn ’ t factor in how many people will kill themselves amid the despair of an unchecked epidemic that ’ s taken some of their friends and family .
The final death toll , and likely economic toll , from the “ go back to work ” plan will be many times what it would be if we ’ re patient now , and not “ just old people ” either , as the more sociopathic among us like to pretend .
Rationally , that point — going back to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good — is easy to grasp .
I ’ m sure Dan Patrick , Texas ’ s lieutenant governor , can grasp it .
I ’ ll be charitable and assume that Jerry Falwell Jr can grasp it too .
So when you see something like this , it ’ s not a function of stupidity .
It ’ s a function of a cultist attitude that places Trump and his fondest wishes above the basic welfare of people in one ’ s care .
As the coronavirus threatens to spread across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ preparing to welcome back up to 5,000 students from spring break this week… Meanwhile , hundreds of professors and instructors without a valid health exemption will come to campus to hold office hours .
“ I think we have a responsibility to our students — who paid to be here , who want to be here , who love it here — to give them the ability to be with their friends , to continue their studies , enjoy the room and board they ’ ve already paid for and to not interrupt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I ’ d be surprised if he can find an epidemiologist anywhere right now who thinks that ’ s a good idea .
But he doesn ’ t want students back because it ’ s a “ good idea ” ; he wants to show support for Trump , just as Patrick ’ s “ I ’ m willing to die for my economy ” idiocy is .
That ’ s how far gone solidarity with the president has reached in some precincts of the right : Every cult eventually becomes a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ normally repost long Twitter threads but this one , from the head of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security , should be circulated in full because the president ’ s about to thrust the country into a grossly premature debate about scaling back social distancing early .
Every doctor in the country will sound like this next week .
Note his point about the death rate .
The death rate for coronavirus isn ’ t written in the stars as 0.5 percent or 1 percent or whatever , a number that ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all times .
It ’ ll change depending upon the quality of care available .
It ’ s not going to be 1 percent if hospitals cease functioning .
I don ’ t know of any country in Europe that thinks it ’ s safe yet to start relaxing social distancing measures , and they ’ re weeks ahead of us on the timeline .
Boris Johnson warned his country yesterday that their lockdown would go on for three weeks at a minimum ; one poll shows that 93 percent of Brits support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , has a leader that either can ’ t grasp why his “ strategy ” would cause a cataclysm or is frankly indifferent to a mass die-off over a span of many months because he ’ s convinced himself somehow that that ’ ll be better for the economy than four to six weeks of a lockdown would be .
But Trump is Trump , and he ’ ll always be Trump .
What excuse do his enablers , who know better , have ?
One more quote for you , this from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we ’ re staring at something potentially worse than the Great Depression .
Does he think it ’ s time to send people back to work immediately to solve that problem , then ?
Of course not .
He ’ s not insane .
Not even during the Great Depression and World War II did the bulk of economic activity literally shut down , as it has in China , the United States , and Europe today .
The best-case scenario would be a downturn that is more severe than the GFC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ output ) but shorter-lived , allowing for a return to positive growth by the fourth quarter of this year .
In that case , markets would start to recover when the light at the end of the tunnel appears .
But the best-case scenario assumes several conditions .
First , the US , Europe , and other heavily affected economies would need to roll out widespread COVID-19 testing , tracing , and treatment measures , enforced quarantines , and a full-scale lockdown of the type that China has implemented .
And , because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine to be developed and produced at scale , antivirals and other therapeutics will need to be deployed on a massive scale .
That ’ s exactly what scientists like Fauci have been saying .
Use this period of economic “ pause ” to prepare for more aggressive testing .
The idea that doctors and economists are saying two different things simply isn ’ t true .
An economic restart is utterly urgent — but slowing down the virus is an absolutely necessary precondition to it .
Simple as that .
As I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s prime minister just ordered a country of 1.3 billion people to stay in their homes for the next three weeks .
Why would he do that to India ’ s economy ?
Because : He knows what ’ ll happen to India ’ s economy , not to mention its population , if he doesn ’ t .
Exit question : How many kids will be orphaned when the parents or grandparents who are raising them end up dying in the great “ get back to work ” cull ?
Should we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the costs of the current economic freeze ?

I wrote three posts yesterday about the insanity of going back to work soon but a Twitter pal, watching this clip, cut to the heart of it in one line: “Every cult eventually becomes a death cult.”
Tx Lt Gov Dan Patrick says grandparents would be willing to die to save the economy for their grandchildren pic.twitter.com/wC3Ngvtsbj — Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) March 24, 2020
To say that we need economic activity to restart as soon as possible is common sense. Economic downturns have human tolls; major economic downturns have major human tolls. No one, including the doctors, disputes that. We need a plan to gradually reopen the economy once it’s safe to do so immediately. (Some people are already floating plans of their own.) The argument against telling people to go back to the work isn’t that lockdowns don’t come at a human price. The argument is that sending people back to work now, before the spread of the disease has slowed, before testing has increased to the degree we’d need to contain new outbreaks, will make literally every problem we have much worse, including economic deterioration. There’s no meaningful economic recovery to be had while the virus is spreading. It can’t be rushed to make the president happy just because his attention span lasts four seconds. If everyone outside of New York and Seattle goes back to work, in a month they’ll just have to shut down again as the disease spirals out of control locally. Or, alternately, businesses will shutter on their own as the virus spreads and consumes their staffs.
The social-distancing strategy which Trump embraced a week ago requires patience. But he has no patience, which is why he’s already touting hoped-for miracle cures like hydroxychloroquine as a pretext to declare “mission accomplished” and get that Dow average that he cares about so much moving again.
The point is this: Everyone understands rationally that sending people back to work right now risks utter catastrophe, human and economic. In the very near term, there’d be signs of recovery. Hiring will begin, GDP will rise. Then the virus will spread. Then it’ll begin to rage out of control in metropolitan areas, and then massive disruption will begin. Thousands will die, millions will be sick and unable to work. There’ll be no “quick start” option for the economy at that stage. Deaths and sickness won’t just be due to corona infection either; anyone who’s managing an unrelated condition will have difficulty getting drugs and finding care as the health-care system melts down. There’ll be plenty of deaths and lots of misery indirectly caused by the crisis as well. Trump cited higher suicide rates yesterday as a human cost in an economic downturn, which is true but doesn’t factor in how many people will kill themselves amid the despair of an unchecked epidemic that’s taken some of their friends and family. The final death toll, and likely economic toll, from the “go back to work” plan will be many times what it would be if we’re patient now, and not “just old people” either, as the more sociopathic among us like to pretend.
Rationally, that point — going back to work now will do more harm than good — is easy to grasp. I’m sure Dan Patrick, Texas’s lieutenant governor, can grasp it. I’ll be charitable and assume that Jerry Falwell Jr can grasp it too. So when you see something like this, it’s not a function of stupidity. It’s a function of a cultist attitude that places Trump and his fondest wishes above the basic welfare of people in one’s care.
As the coronavirus threatens to spread across the Lynchburg region, Liberty University officials are preparing to welcome back up to 5,000 students from spring break this week… Meanwhile, hundreds of professors and instructors without a valid health exemption will come to campus to hold office hours. “I think we have a responsibility to our students — who paid to be here, who want to be here, who love it here — to give them the ability to be with their friends, to continue their studies, enjoy the room and board they’ve already paid for and to not interrupt their college life,” Falwell said.
I’d be surprised if he can find an epidemiologist anywhere right now who thinks that’s a good idea. But he doesn’t want students back because it’s a “good idea”; he wants to show support for Trump, just as Patrick’s “I’m willing to die for my economy” idiocy is. That’s how far gone solidarity with the president has reached in some precincts of the right: Every cult eventually becomes a death cult.
I don’t normally repost long Twitter threads but this one, from the head of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, should be circulated in full because the president’s about to thrust the country into a grossly premature debate about scaling back social distancing early. Every doctor in the country will sound like this next week.
COVID has been spreading w/ exponential growth in US for some time, and we're just beginning to get an understanding of how extensively. There
are nearly 40,000 cases recognized in the US as of today, w/ ~100 deaths
today. A few weeks ago, we had recognized 70 cases total. 2/x — Tom Inglesby (@T_Inglesby) March 23, 2020
There continue to be big diagnostic limitations. Shortages in reagents, swabs. Don’t have rapid diagnostics in many hospitals yet, so it can be days before doctors and nurses can find out if a pt in front of them has COVID. 4/x — Tom Inglesby (@T_Inglesby) March 23, 2020
There continues to be terrible shortages in the masks that health care workers need to keep from getting sick with this disease. 6/x — Tom Inglesby (@T_Inglesby) March 23, 2020
In Asia, we've seen these interventions work to lower
pace of the epidemic, lower numbers of critically ill, lower
the number of people who get COVID. In
Asia where big social distancing measures have been in place for two months,
they have had very strong impact. 8/x — Tom Inglesby (@T_Inglesby) March 23, 2020
These big social distancing measures take time to work. The impact of big interventions in Wuhan China took about 3 wks to start to reverse things. And then everyday after the situation got better. In the US, we're about 7 to 10 days into this, depending on the state.10/x — Tom Inglesby (@T_Inglesby) March 23, 2020
Many models report that health care systems will be completely overwhelmed/collapse by the peak of cases if major social distancing is not put in place. 12/x — Tom Inglesby (@T_Inglesby) March 23, 2020
Beyond that, if hospitals were completely overwhelmed, they may struggle
to provide even oxygen for some or many of the 15% of recognized cases expected to be “severely ill”. let alone provide care for other life threatening conditions. 14/x — Tom Inglesby (@T_Inglesby) March 23, 2020
Before considering big changes to social distancing measures
now, we should as quickly as possible get to strongest possible position for COVID response – we're no where near that now. We'll need rapid Dxs in place almost every location where a pt can be seen for care.16/x — Tom Inglesby (@T_Inglesby) March 23, 2020
We'll need to reduce the # of cases to such a low
level that we could again do contact tracing & isolation of cases around
the country (as they can in many countries in Asia now). 18/x — Tom Inglesby (@T_Inglesby) March 23, 2020
We'll need a serology test that can be used to identify those that have been infected and recovered already, and to know how prevalent disease is in the US. We would hopefully have therapies developed and in a quantity that we can treat at least the sickest pt w COVID. 20/x — Tom Inglesby (@T_Inglesby) March 23, 2020
For now we need to keep production running, doctors offices working, groceries, pharmacies, banks open. It is ok to have science informed dialogue about which businesses need to be closed vs what can stay open in some way if social distancing can be put in place in them.22/x — Tom Inglesby (@T_Inglesby) March 24, 2020
We also need to put every conceivable econ program in place to help those being hurt by these social distancing measures. And move ahead rapidly to get our country far better prepared to cope w COVID before people recommend we abandon our efforts to slow this virus. 24/x — Tom Inglesby (@T_Inglesby) March 24, 2020
Note his point about the death rate. The death rate for coronavirus isn’t written in the stars as 0.5 percent or 1 percent or whatever, a number that’ll obtain under any condition and at all times. It’ll change depending upon the quality of care available. It’s not going to be 1 percent if hospitals cease functioning.
I don’t know of any country in Europe that thinks it’s safe yet to start relaxing social distancing measures, and they’re weeks ahead of us on the timeline. Boris Johnson warned his country yesterday that their lockdown would go on for three weeks at a minimum; one poll shows that 93 percent of Brits support that. Our country, almost uniquely, has a leader that either can’t grasp why his “strategy” would cause a cataclysm or is frankly indifferent to a mass die-off over a span of many months because he’s convinced himself somehow that that’ll be better for the economy than four to six weeks of a lockdown would be. But Trump is Trump, and he’ll always be Trump. What excuse do his enablers, who know better, have?
One more quote for you, this from economist Nouriel Roubini. Roubini is worried that we’re staring at something potentially worse than the Great Depression. Does he think it’s time to send people back to work immediately to solve that problem, then? Of course not. He’s not insane.
Not even during the Great Depression and World War II did the bulk of economic activity literally shut down, as it has in China, the United States, and Europe today. The best-case scenario would be a downturn that is more severe than the GFC (in terms of reduced cumulative global output) but shorter-lived, allowing for a return to positive growth by the fourth quarter of this year. In that case, markets would start to recover when the light at the end of the tunnel appears. But the best-case scenario assumes several conditions. First, the US, Europe, and other heavily affected economies would need to roll out widespread COVID-19 testing, tracing, and treatment measures, enforced quarantines, and a full-scale lockdown of the type that China has implemented. And, because it could take 18 months for a vaccine to be developed and produced at scale, antivirals and other therapeutics will need to be deployed on a massive scale.
That’s exactly what scientists like Fauci have been saying. Use this period of economic “pause” to prepare for more aggressive testing. The idea that doctors and economists are saying two different things simply isn’t true. An economic restart is utterly urgent — but slowing down the virus is an absolutely necessary precondition to it. Simple as that.
As I’m writing this, India’s prime minister just ordered a country of 1.3 billion people to stay in their homes for the next three weeks. Why would he do that to India’s economy? Because: He knows what’ll happen to India’s economy, not to mention its population, if he doesn’t. Exit question: How many kids will be orphaned when the parents or grandparents who are raising them end up dying in the great “get back to work” cull? Should we count that human cost too relative to the costs of the current economic freeze?


hotair--2020-03-24--Today's the day? Mnuchin, Schumer close on $2T "Marshall Plan" coronavirus economic relief package;

Today's the day? Mnuchin, Schumer close on $2T "Marshall Plan" coronavirus economic relief package; Update: "Real optimism," says Pelosi

Could Congress manage to get its act together today ?
Or this evening ?
Or ever ?
The word from overnight negotiations between Chuck Schumer and Steve Mnuchin show progress being made , and the Senate Majority Leader now tells Roll Call that a deal could be reached as soon as this afternoon on the $ 2 trillion CARES Act relief bill .
Of course , Schumer said that over the weekend too — right before torpedoing it : Principals negotiating a $ 2 trillion economic rescue package for a nation on virtual lockdown from COVID-19 reported substantial progress late @ @ @ @ @ @ @ morning and votes later in the day .
“ We expect to have an agreement tomorrow morning , ” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer , D-N.Y. , said just before midnight after a meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland .
“ That ’ s the expectation , that we will finish it tomorrow and hopefully vote on it tomorrow in the evening.
” “ There are still a few little differences .
Neither of us think they ’ re in any way going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreement , ” Schumer added .
He said two of his caucus ’ priorities — “ workers first and a ‘ Marshall Plan ’ for hospitals ” — were “ very strongly in the bill.
” Mnuchin told reporters that negotiations would restart this morning , but that he also felt that an agreement was closer now .
One development this morning involved Mnuchin directly , in fact .
He and the White House agreed to more robust oversight over the operation of the loan program rather than just have Mnuchin operate it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has agreed to allow enhanced scrutiny over a massive loan program that is a centerpiece of the Senate ’ s $ 2 trillion coronavirus economic package , two people briefed on the discussions said , taking steps to address a major Democratic concern and potentially pave the way for a vote by Tuesday night .
The Senate bill allows the Treasury Department to extend $ 500 billion in loans and loan guarantees to try and blunt the virus ’ s economic impact .
Of that amount , $ 425 billion is supposed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states .
Another $ 50 billion would go to passenger airlines , $ 8 billion more for cargo airlines , and an additional $ 17 billion would be directed for firms that are deemed important to national security .
… The precise oversight structure for the new lending program could not be determined , and it was also unclear whether the oversight structure would be as robust as what was created during TARP .
By Monday evening , a number of Republicans were on board with making changes to win Democratic support .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ this federal facility program ?
Sure , absolutely , I would be very supportive , ” Sen. Dan Sullivan ( R-Alaska ) said on a Senate floor speech Monday night .
That ’ s a smart and wise concession , but will it be enough ?
And will Trump agree to letting that authority get devolved away from his direct control ?
The president remains in the loop on all the developments , Mnuchin said , and is supportive of the direction in which the bill is now evolving : “ I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progress , ” Mnuchin told reporters on Capitol Hill just before midnight after emerging from negotiations .
“ There ’ s still a couple of open issues , but I think we ’ re very hopeful that this can be closed out ( Tuesday ) .
” Mnuchin said that he and Schumer had consulted with both President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky. , Monday about the progress made on the legislation .
Though no deal was reached , staff was expected to continue drafting the massive package @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Schumer said , and told him “ we were very , very close to the agreement [ and ] he seemed very happy with that.
” He also added that Trump seemed “ very positive ” about the status of the talks .
Schumer said that he hopes they can complete the agreement Tuesday and vote on it by the evening .
That call would have taken place at about the same time as this tweet , however : What about Nancy Pelosi ?
Anything passed by the Senate has to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re not yet back in town for business .
The plan , according to Politico Playbook , was to have Schumer do all the negotiating and then try to pass it without objection while much of the House remains out of town .
Pelosi blew up the negotiations in order to push her own version of coronavirus relief in order to give Schumer more leverage : TRUTH BE TOLD , Democrats did do quite well here in exerting their influence .
As of late Monday night and early this morning , sources @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fund for corporations got additional oversight , and there was more money for hospitals in the bill .
Marianne LeVine , Sarah Ferris and John Bresnahan with details DEMOCRATS WERE SO PLEASED WITH THE DIRECTION of the talks that PELOSI convened her leadership on a call Monday with this message : Let me know what you hate about the Senate bill , so we can work it out .
It was a message she had been delivering since last week , but this time , it was a tad bit more urgent since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ released her own bill — a long piece of legislation aimed at giving something to Democrats to rally around .
THE PROCESS seemed to be going as planned .
Until Trump ’ s tweet .
Meh .
If the process was to highlight just how wedded Democrats are to special interests and their activist extremes , then yes , the process went as planned .
To everyone else , the process got hijacked by Pelosi at the last minute and forced unnecessary uncertainty in an environment where anxieties are already skyrocketing in and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s laundry list of hobby horses in her bill show pretty clearly that she , if not most Democrats , view this crisis as a unique opportunity to exploit rather than a situation requiring a laser focus on the actual problem .
If Pelosi gets even a fraction of what she wants , Trump ’ s tweet won ’ t interrupt her plan to get the bill approved .
The House might need to come back into session to deal with it , but the House should be in session right now anyway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If they are nervous about the lack of social distancing in the chamber , then the House and Senate should change their rules to allow for remote debate and voting — working in some manner to remain in control of their responsibilities .
If Schumer actually signs onto an agreement today , Pelosi won ’ t have any more leverage in the matter anyway .
Once that happens , expect a swift passage of the bill , perhaps by tomorrow after the cloture vote , unless Mitch McConnell works around it more quickly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreement , the media treatment of Democrats over the last 36 hours will look like hosannas in comparison to what will follow .
Update : Pelosi said a few minutes ago on CNBC , “ The question is , who has the leverage ?
” She poses it as a slam at Republicans , but it ’ s a bit more self-revealing .
Now , however , Pelosi signals that she ’ s probably going to push whatever Schumer negotiates :

Could Congress manage to get its act together today? Or this evening? Or ever? The word from overnight negotiations between Chuck Schumer and Steve Mnuchin show progress being made, and the Senate Majority Leader now tells Roll Call that a deal could be reached as soon as this afternoon on the $2 trillion CARES Act relief bill.
Of course, Schumer said that over the weekend too — right before torpedoing it:
Principals negotiating a $2 trillion economic rescue package for a nation on virtual lockdown from COVID-19 reported substantial progress late Monday with a deal potentially on Tuesday morning and votes later in the day. “We expect to have an agreement tomorrow morning,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said just before midnight after a meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland. “That’s the expectation, that we will finish it tomorrow and hopefully vote on it tomorrow in the evening.” “There are still a few little differences. Neither of us think they’re in any way going to get in the way of a final agreement,” Schumer added. He said two of his caucus’ priorities — “workers first and a ‘Marshall Plan’ for hospitals” — were “very strongly in the bill.”
Mnuchin told reporters that negotiations would restart this morning, but that he also felt that an agreement was closer now. One development this morning involved Mnuchin directly, in fact. He and the White House agreed to more robust oversight over the operation of the loan program rather than just have Mnuchin operate it on his own:
The White House has agreed to allow enhanced scrutiny over a massive loan program that is a centerpiece of the Senate’s $2 trillion coronavirus economic package, two people briefed on the discussions said, taking steps to address a major Democratic concern and potentially pave the way for a vote by Tuesday night. The Senate bill allows the Treasury Department to extend $500 billion in loans and loan guarantees to try and blunt the virus’s economic impact. Of that amount, $425 billion is supposed to go to businesses, cities, and states. Another $50 billion would go to passenger airlines, $8 billion more for cargo airlines, and an additional $17 billion would be directed for firms that are deemed important to national security. … The precise oversight structure for the new lending program could not be determined, and it was also unclear whether the oversight structure would be as robust as what was created during TARP. By Monday evening, a number of Republicans were on board with making changes to win Democratic support. “Could we have more transparency on this federal facility program? Sure, absolutely, I would be very supportive,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said on a Senate floor speech Monday night.
That’s a smart and wise concession, but will it be enough? And will Trump agree to letting that authority get devolved away from his direct control? The president remains in the loop on all the developments, Mnuchin said, and is supportive of the direction in which the bill is now evolving:
“I think we’ve made a lot of progress,” Mnuchin told reporters on Capitol Hill just before midnight after emerging from negotiations. “There’s still a couple of open issues, but I think we’re very hopeful that this can be closed out (Tuesday).” Mnuchin said that he and Schumer had consulted with both President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Monday about the progress made on the legislation. Though no deal was reached, staff was expected to continue drafting the massive package overnight. … Mnuchin called the president, Schumer said, and told him “we were very, very close to the agreement [and] he seemed very happy with that.” He also added that Trump seemed “very positive” about the status of the talks. Schumer said that he hopes they can complete the agreement Tuesday and vote on it by the evening.
That call would have taken place at about the same time as this tweet, however:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1242293340151873536
What about Nancy Pelosi? Anything passed by the Senate has to get passed by the House, and they’re not yet back in town for business. The plan, according to Politico Playbook, was to have Schumer do all the negotiating and then try to pass it without objection while much of the House remains out of town. Pelosi blew up the negotiations in order to push her own version of coronavirus relief in order to give Schumer more leverage:
TRUTH BE TOLD, Democrats did do quite well here in exerting their influence. As of late Monday night and early this morning, sources told us, the $500 billion fund for corporations got additional oversight, and there was more money for hospitals in the bill. Marianne LeVine, Sarah Ferris and John Bresnahan with details DEMOCRATS WERE SO PLEASED WITH THE DIRECTION of the talks that PELOSI convened her leadership on a call Monday with this message: Let me know what you hate about the Senate bill, so we can work it out. It was a message she had been delivering since last week, but this time, it was a tad bit more urgent since the negotiations were proceeding apace. PELOSI released her own bill — a long piece of legislation aimed at giving something to Democrats to rally around. THE PROCESS seemed to be going as planned. Until Trump’s tweet.
Meh. If the process was to highlight just how wedded Democrats are to special interests and their activist extremes, then yes, the process went as planned. To everyone else, the process got hijacked by Pelosi at the last minute and forced unnecessary uncertainty in an environment where anxieties are already skyrocketing in and out of the markets. Pelosi’s laundry list of hobby horses in her bill show pretty clearly that she, if not most Democrats, view this crisis as a unique opportunity to exploit rather than a situation requiring a laser focus on the actual problem.
If Pelosi gets even a fraction of what she wants, Trump’s tweet won’t interrupt her plan to get the bill approved. The House might need to come back into session to deal with it, but the House should be in session right now anyway in some form in this crisis. If they are nervous about the lack of social distancing in the chamber, then the House and Senate should change their rules to allow for remote debate and voting — working in some manner to remain in control of their responsibilities.
If Schumer actually signs onto an agreement today, Pelosi won’t have any more leverage in the matter anyway. Once that happens, expect a swift passage of the bill, perhaps by tomorrow after the cloture vote, unless Mitch McConnell works around it more quickly. If Pelosi obstructs a bipartisan Senate agreement, the media treatment of Democrats over the last 36 hours will look like hosannas in comparison to what will follow.
Update: Pelosi said a few minutes ago on CNBC, “The question is, who has the leverage?” She poses it as a slam at Republicans, but it’s a bit more self-revealing. Now, however, Pelosi signals that she’s probably going to push whatever Schumer negotiates:


hotair--2020-03-24--Let's just say it, shall we? Joe Biden is probably not okay

With the Democratic primary largely on hold at the moment and no big public rallies being staged ( because of you-know-what ) , it ’ s probably easy to lose track of the fact that Joe Biden is still trying to secure his place as the official nominee for the presidency .
He ’ s finding other ways to try to generate some headlines , however .
As John pointed out yesterday , Uncle Joe plans to appear presidential by giving his own series of pandemic updates to the nation in a sort of “ shadow administration ” function .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ yesterday and it was… not good .
You can watch the wheels come off of his presentation in this video that Breitbart posted to their Twitter feed .
Things seemed to be going fairly normally for a little while as Biden obviously recites some remarks while reading them off the teleprompter .
But then the prompter obviously must have failed .
At that point , Joe went to full ramble mode .
The video is only a bit more than thirty seconds in length , but it feels a lot longer .
Frankly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sit through , but make sure you have the sound on for this .
This is about as close as we can get to a transcript of Biden ’ s remarks falling into disarray .
“ And uh , and , and in addition to that , uh , and in addition to that , we have to , uh , make sure that we , uh , we are in a position that we are , well , lem me , lem me go a second thing .
I ’ ve spoken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there was almost certainly some sort of technical failure going on here .
A couple of seconds into the clip you can see Biden gesturing with his right hand , most likely urging a staffer to keep the teleprompter rolling .
I ’ m assuming it just froze up at that point .
But it was the former Veep ’ s performance after that technical failure that sends some worrisome signals .
Let ’ s keep one thing in mind .
This wasn ’ t some moment where Biden got caught by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ question at him or an awkward answer to a pointed comment from an audience member at a town hall .
This was a planned , staged event where Biden was able to set the tone and tempo at a time of his choosing .
All he had to do was successfully read the words on the teleprompter .
And even if the prompter failed , he had plenty of time to practice the remarks in advance , allowing him to push forward and summarize his message in the same general theme .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that low bar .
Was Uncle Joe just “ confused ” again ?
Maybe .
Maybe not .
But just stop and think about what the task was that he was trying to accomplish .
He had a set of remarks on a very important subject that he wanted to impart to the nation .
But right in the middle of his delivery , he just had a brain freeze .
I ’ m not trying to diagnose the guy because I ’ m no doctor .
Heck , I can ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the best-case scenario imaginable here , are we to conclude that Biden is no longer able to even deliver four minutes of prepared remarks without having them literally fed to him word for word by the teleprompter ?
This meltdown happened in one of the most controlled and stage-managed environments imaginable .
If Joe Biden can ’ t even pull that off , how is he going to perform if he ’ s sitting across the table from Putin , Erdogan or Kim Jong-un ?
“ Lem me , lem me go a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dazzle his negotiating partner .
I swear to you that I ’ m not trying to be unkind to Joe Biden or just run him down in the name of gaining some momentary political advantage .
My family has struggled with “ mental clarity ” issues involving some of us in our advancing years , as I ’ ve mentioned here in the past .
I can totally sympathize .
But this guy is asking to be made the leader of the free world and be given the launch codes .
And if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and honestly care about something besides just replacing Donald Trump with any other warm body they can find , the DNC should be having a long , serious discussion about this by now .
They are not yet officially committed to making Joe Biden the nominee and there are other options still available .

With the Democratic primary largely on hold at the moment and no big public rallies being staged (because of you-know-what), it’s probably easy to lose track of the fact that Joe Biden is still trying to secure his place as the official nominee for the presidency. He’s finding other ways to try to generate some headlines, however. As John pointed out yesterday, Uncle Joe plans to appear presidential by giving his own series of pandemic updates to the nation in a sort of “shadow administration” function. He launched one of the first ones yesterday and it was… not good.
You can watch the wheels come off of his presentation in this video that Breitbart posted to their Twitter feed. Things seemed to be going fairly normally for a little while as Biden obviously recites some remarks while reading them off the teleprompter. But then the prompter obviously must have failed. At that point, Joe went to full ramble mode. The video is only a bit more than thirty seconds in length, but it feels a lot longer. Frankly, it’s pretty uncomfortable to sit through, but make sure you have the sound on for this.
Every American needs to see Joe Biden's latest brain freeze. pic.twitter.com/CfrrHRElfy — Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 23, 2020
This is about as close as we can get to a transcript of Biden’s remarks falling into disarray.
“And uh, and, and in addition to that, uh, and in addition to that, we have to, uh, make sure that we, uh, we are in a position that we are, well, lemme, lemme go a second thing. I’ve spoken enough on that ”
To be clear, there was almost certainly some sort of technical failure going on here. A couple of seconds into the clip you can see Biden gesturing with his right hand, most likely urging a staffer to keep the teleprompter rolling. I’m assuming it just froze up at that point. But it was the former Veep’s performance after that technical failure that sends some worrisome signals.
Let’s keep one thing in mind. This wasn’t some moment where Biden got caught by surprise when a reporter tossed a loaded question at him or an awkward answer to a pointed comment from an audience member at a town hall. This was a planned, staged event where Biden was able to set the tone and tempo at a time of his choosing. All he had to do was successfully read the words on the teleprompter. And even if the prompter failed, he had plenty of time to practice the remarks in advance, allowing him to push forward and summarize his message in the same general theme. He didn’t even manage to meet that low bar.
Was Uncle Joe just “confused ” again? Maybe. Maybe not. But just stop and think about what the task was that he was trying to accomplish. He had a set of remarks on a very important subject that he wanted to impart to the nation. But right in the middle of his delivery, he just had a brain freeze. I’m not trying to diagnose the guy because I’m no doctor. Heck, I can’t even diagnose myself. But even in the best-case scenario imaginable here, are we to conclude that Biden is no longer able to even deliver four minutes of prepared remarks without having them literally fed to him word for word by the teleprompter?
This meltdown happened in one of the most controlled and stage-managed environments imaginable. If Joe Biden can’t even pull that off, how is he going to perform if he’s sitting across the table from Putin, Erdogan or Kim Jong-un? “Lemme, lemme go a second” isn’t going to dazzle his negotiating partner.
I swear to you that I’m not trying to be unkind to Joe Biden or just run him down in the name of gaining some momentary political advantage. My family has struggled with “mental clarity” issues involving some of us in our advancing years, as I’ve mentioned here in the past. I can totally sympathize. But this guy is asking to be made the leader of the free world and be given the launch codes. And if the Democrats are taking this election seriously and honestly care about something besides just replacing Donald Trump with any other warm body they can find, the DNC should be having a long, serious discussion about this by now. They are not yet officially committed to making Joe Biden the nominee and there are other options still available.


hotair--2020-03-24--Uh oh: Singapore, Hong Kong reimpose coronavirus restrictions over "second wave" of cases

If these reports turn out to be accurate , they do not bode well for a strategy of getting back to normal in the near term .
According to multiple media reports , Singapore and Hong Kong have had to reimpose lockdown policies due to a second spike in coronavirus cases .
Both have had an influx of returning residents that might have re-seeded the COVID-19 virus back into the populations , but until the mechanism for these second waves are known , social distancing and closed borders are apparently back in effect .
Sky News broke the story on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state media outlet South China Morning Post followed up : When Singapore announced it was shutting its borders to tourists starting Tuesday , entrepreneur Lee Xiaohui , 34 , heaved a sigh of relief at her timing .
Just two days earlier , she had booked her parents a flight home to the island nation from the United States , where they were helping out with her sister ’ s newborn .
… At least 65 airlines have cut flights by roughly 95 per cent as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being the latest to ground passenger planes .
The national carrier on Monday said it would cut its flight capacity by 96 per cent until the end of April and ground 185 of its 196 aircraft .
It has described the outbreak as the “ greatest challenge that the SIA Group has faced in its existence ” .
Singapore Airlines ’ announcement comes a day after the Lion City announced a ban on all short-term visitors , including those entering or transiting , as well as tightened travel restrictions on work pass holders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in imported cases has threatened the success of Singapore ’ s containment measures , while authorities have been tightening border controls so the health care system would not be too taxed .
Of its 23 confirmed infections on Sunday , 18 had a recent travel history to either Europe , the US or Southeast Asian countries .
What ’ s the lesson there ?
Travel restrictions work , and they may need to remain in place longer than people think .
The coronavirus hasn ’ t yet burned itself out , and it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least when hot weather arrives in the summer .
Singapore got back to business as usual too early , and now has to re-apply its containment measures to stop a second-wave spread .
That won ’ t impact those who have already had it and fought it off , but it could put everyone at risk who dodged it the first time .
SCMP also reports that Hong Kong has detected a new surge in confirmed COVID-19 cases , and has issued new lockdown orders as a result .
This also appears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Hong Kong will close its borders to all non-residents and plans to ban the sale of alcohol at thousands of bars and restaurants in a drastic effort to stop an alarming surge of coronavirus infections , both imported and spread locally .
The city reported another surge on Monday – 39 more patients confirmed as having Covid-19 , most of them with a recent travel history and one a doctor tasked with issuing quarantine orders to visitors at the airport .
With the total number of cases at 356 , Chief Executive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ critical situation ” and became emotional at a press conference as she appealed for public vigilance and compliance with home quarantine orders .
Beijing has sounded the alarm on a second wave in Hong Kong , reports The Sun , again pointing at “ imported cases ” : The journal Art World notes that Hong Kong has closed all its museums — again — and says this is an object lesson for countries expecting a quick return to normalcy : Until recently , Hong Kong had been a shining example of how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus pandemic contained .
Despite being a part of China , where the COVID-19 outbreak originated , Hong Kong implemented preventative measures that flattened the curve , preventing the rampant spread of the virus .
Those measures included shutting down government-run museums in late January .
Other institutions in the city followed suit ( save for the sparsely visited Hong Kong Maritime Museum ) .
By March , those measures were being adopted in countries outside Asia , including the US and much of Europe .
At the same time , Hong Kong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ security , was letting up its guard .
Convinced that the worst of the threat had passed , museums gradually began reopening earlier this month .
Then a second wave of the pandemic hit .
… The news of coronavirus resurgences serves as a warning of what may be in store for other countries in the world where the initial number of infections is still rising , and experts are already concerned that a second wave may hit even harder than the first .
As a result , museums and other places of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closed even after the threat of infectious disease appears to have waned .
This should be of particular interest at the White House , which has sent signals that it sees the economic damage of social-distancing guidelines to be potentially as deadly as the coronavirus , if not more so .
That ’ s true if we expect these to be in place for a very lengthy period of time , but the point of these measures was to hold down the curve until we get enough hospital capacity to meet demand .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a single curve , not multiple curves , and that might mean rethinking the length of the flattening strategy in light of these second-wave eruptions .
Hong Kong went two months , and the curve restarted almost immediately ; will we have enough health-care capacity if that happens here by the end of next week , or even mid-April ?
At some point , of course , we ’ ll have to reopen everything and let the boosted health-care system deal with the wave of COVID-19 .
But perhaps we should consider @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get more resources on the ground in more places before we surf that wave .
The last thing we need is to reopen , and then shut down again .
Update : Thailand issued an emergency decree today as well that takes effect on Thursday , but it ’ s not clear whether this is a second-wave problem or just a single-wave problem .
The restrictions are pretty severe , however ( via reader Shawn O ) : Prayut says some requirements would be mandatory while others would be “ requests.
” A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policy and procedures for the requirements .
He did not state how this committee will be chosen .
He urged people not to return to their home provinces and said there will be checkpoints and quarantine measures taken along the way for those who do .
Provincial governors have full authority and are cooperating to quarantine those trying to return .
Violator of quarantine or self isolation face fines of up to 20,000 baht .
The emergency decree gives various powers , including the potential restriction of domestic travel , censoring media , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ among others .

If these reports turn out to be accurate, they do not bode well for a strategy of getting back to normal in the near term. According to multiple media reports, Singapore and Hong Kong have had to reimpose lockdown policies due to a second spike in coronavirus cases. Both have had an influx of returning residents that might have re-seeded the COVID-19 virus back into the populations, but until the mechanism for these second waves are known, social distancing and closed borders are apparently back in effect.
Sky News broke the story on Singapore earlier, and the semi-official China state media outlet South China Morning Post followed up:
BREAKING: Singapore has re-introduced locked down after reports of a second wave of #coronavirus. Get the latest #COVID19 news here: https://t.co/40m6xiThdz pic.twitter.com/8HtahoMgTp — Sky News (@SkyNews) March 24, 2020
When Singapore announced it was shutting its borders to tourists starting Tuesday, entrepreneur Lee Xiaohui, 34, heaved a sigh of relief at her timing. Just two days earlier, she had booked her parents a flight home to the island nation from the United States, where they were helping out with her sister’s newborn. … At least 65 airlines have cut flights by roughly 95 per cent as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on the global travel industry, with Singapore Airlines being the latest to ground passenger planes. The national carrier on Monday said it would cut its flight capacity by 96 per cent until the end of April and ground 185 of its 196 aircraft. It has described the outbreak as the “greatest challenge that the SIA Group has faced in its existence”. Singapore Airlines’ announcement comes a day after the Lion City announced a ban on all short-term visitors, including those entering or transiting, as well as tightened travel restrictions on work pass holders and their dependents. A recent spike in imported cases has threatened the success of Singapore’s containment measures, while authorities have been tightening border controls so the health care system would not be too taxed. Of its 23 confirmed infections on Sunday, 18 had a recent travel history to either Europe, the US or Southeast Asian countries.
What’s the lesson there? Travel restrictions work, and they may need to remain in place longer than people think. The coronavirus hasn’t yet burned itself out, and it likely won’t do so until at least when hot weather arrives in the summer. Singapore got back to business as usual too early, and now has to re-apply its containment measures to stop a second-wave spread. That won’t impact those who have already had it and fought it off, but it could put everyone at risk who dodged it the first time.
SCMP also reports that Hong Kong has detected a new surge in confirmed COVID-19 cases, and has issued new lockdown orders as a result. This also appears tied to a recent influx of travelers:
Hong Kong will close its borders to all non-residents and plans to ban the sale of alcohol at thousands of bars and restaurants in a drastic effort to stop an alarming surge of coronavirus infections, both imported and spread locally. The city reported another surge on Monday – 39 more patients confirmed as having Covid-19, most of them with a recent travel history and one a doctor tasked with issuing quarantine orders to visitors at the airport. With the total number of cases at 356, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor warned of a “critical situation” and became emotional at a press conference as she appealed for public vigilance and compliance with home quarantine orders.
Beijing has sounded the alarm on a second wave in Hong Kong, reports The Sun, again pointing at “imported cases”:
A LEADING Chinese coronavirus expert has warned of a second outbreak because of the increasing number of infected people coming in from abroad. Professor Li Lanjuan, a member of Beijing’s expert team on the virus, said she was “very worried that imported cases could trigger another large-scale epidemic in our country”. … The Hong Kong Government confirmed 44 new cases yesterday, 29 of the which had travelled during the 14-day incubation period. Meanwhile Singapore today confirmed 54 new Covid-19 cases with the overwhelming majority of the cases coming from overseas.
The journal Art World notes that Hong Kong has closed all its museums — again — and says this is an object lesson for countries expecting a quick return to normalcy:
Until recently, Hong Kong had been a shining example of how a country might successfully keep the novel coronavirus pandemic contained. Despite being a part of China, where the COVID-19 outbreak originated, Hong Kong implemented preventative measures that flattened the curve, preventing the rampant spread of the virus. Those measures included shutting down government-run museums in late January. Other institutions in the city followed suit (save for the sparsely visited Hong Kong Maritime Museum). By March, those measures were being adopted in countries outside Asia, including the US and much of Europe. At the same time, Hong Kong, lulled into a false sense of security, was letting up its guard. Convinced that the worst of the threat had passed, museums gradually began reopening earlier this month. Then a second wave of the pandemic hit. … The news of coronavirus resurgences serves as a warning of what may be in store for other countries in the world where the initial number of infections is still rising, and experts are already concerned that a second wave may hit even harder than the first. As a result, museums and other places of public gathering may do well to remain closed even after the threat of infectious disease appears to have waned.
This should be of particular interest at the White House, which has sent signals that it sees the economic damage of social-distancing guidelines to be potentially as deadly as the coronavirus, if not more so. That’s true if we expect these to be in place for a very lengthy period of time, but the point of these measures was to hold down the curve until we get enough hospital capacity to meet demand. The plan was based on the assumption of a single curve, not multiple curves, and that might mean rethinking the length of the flattening strategy in light of these second-wave eruptions. Hong Kong went two months, and the curve restarted almost immediately; will we have enough health-care capacity if that happens here by the end of next week, or even mid-April?
At some point, of course, we’ll have to reopen everything and let the boosted health-care system deal with the wave of COVID-19. But perhaps we should consider extending that period out long enough to get more resources on the ground in more places before we surf that wave. The last thing we need is to reopen, and then shut down again.
Update: Thailand issued an emergency decree today as well that takes effect on Thursday, but it’s not clear whether this is a second-wave problem or just a single-wave problem. The restrictions are pretty severe, however (via reader Shawn O):