huffpost--2020-04-09--In New Orleans, A Field Hospital For A Surge Officials Hope Won't Come

The “ medical monitoring site , ” which the National Guard erected in just a week , is expected to have 1,000 beds for COVID-19 patients who have been discharged from hospitals and be up and running by April 20 .
The facility will be for people who do not need ventilators but still need medical assistance , and is intended to help hospitals free up beds for the sickest patients as they contend with longer-than-average hospital stays for COVID-19 patients .
Now , the question is whether it will get worse .
And if people don ’ t keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say , the state could see COVID-19 numbers continue to climb dramatically .
The state ’ s current modeling shows the state on course to require 2,500 new hospitalizations a day in the New Orleans area by mid-May if the public does not adhere to social distancing .
Like other states around the nation , Louisiana is both preparing for a worst-case scenario and hoping that residents will do their part to ensure that it doesn ’ t happen .
“ We feel we are still at risk of another spike , certainly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve been doing effectively , ” Joseph Kanter , assistant state health officer at the Louisiana Department of Health , said on Thursday .
“ We would expect to see just what we were fearing initially , which is surge in demand , more patients than there are ICU rooms , more patients than there are ventilators and the need to house massive numbers of hospital-level patients outside of hospitals like we were planning to do at the convention center and other locations.
” New Orleans ranks above other viral hotspots in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Control ’ s list of heightened risk factors for COVID-19 : high blood pressure , diabetes , coronary heart disease , COPD , chronic kidney disease and cancer , according to a report released in late March by The Data Center , a research organization based in New Orleans .
Sixty-six percent of people who have died from the virus in Louisiana have hypertension , 44 % had diabetes and 25 % were obese .
Only 3 % of the people who have died from the virus in Louisiana did not have any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is at home and is wondering whether it ’ s time to let up on distancing and isolation , ” Kanter said .
“ This here should be a message that it ’ s not time to let up .
Look at what ’ s happened here , look at the magnitude of this .
We are still very much in this — in fact , we haven ’ t even hit halfway.
” There are limits to how much the new medical monitoring facilities can do , because of supplies , staffing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The state ’ s biggest need for COVID-19 treatment continues to be hospital-level care , rather than the lower-intensity care that the medical monitoring sites are equipped for .
Plus , the medical monitoring site won ’ t be able to accommodate patients that need ventilators , which remain in short supply .
“ First and foremost is that we ’ re not going to have enough ventilators to make a difference in this .
The point of [ the convention center ] is to offload the hospitals enough so that they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the sick , ” Kanter said .
“ So , if they don ’ t have enough ventilators to do that , it ’ s going to be all for naught.
” “ What you have is every state competing amongst each other and competing with private hospitals all in the private market to buy the same stuff and then the feds are coming in and they ’ re competing as well and outbidding , ” said Kanter .
“ So it ’ s like this crazy flea market where everyone is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is lives.
” The average mortality in the ICU tends to be somewhere around 10 to 15 % , he says , but now he ’ s seeing a mortality rate in the ICU over 50 % for COVID .
Most of Denson ’ s patients have been between 50 and 80 years old , but he ’ s had many patients in their 20s and 30s , too .
Denson and his colleagues are using a range of ventilator strategies with patients , including prone ventilation , in which ventilation is delivered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Usually what we do works .
Nothing works as well as I ’ m used to , I guess , ” Denson said .

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Twenty-three COVID-19 patients arrived Monday morning at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans to find the massive hall converted into a field hospital of sprawling white tents outfitted with posters of inspirational quotes, tropical plants and orchids.
The “medical monitoring site,” which the National Guard erected in just a week, is expected to have 1,000 beds for COVID-19 patients who have been discharged from hospitals and be up and running by April 20. The facility will be for people who do not need ventilators but still need medical assistance, and is intended to help hospitals free up beds for the sickest patients as they contend with longer-than-average hospital stays for COVID-19 patients.
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The center could be expanded to accommodate as many as 3,000 people, and another 250-bed facility is just across the street for patients who are presumed to have coronavirus but are awaiting test results. But operations started off slower than expected this week, with a trickle of patients in the last few days bringing the total to 41.
That could be a sign that social distancing measures ― which New Orleans solidified with a stay-at-home order on March 20 ― are working. At the end of March, when the state was scrambling to retrofit the building, models were showing that the state would exceed bed capacity by April 4 and ventilator capacity by April 7. Neither crisis point has been reached.
Still, Louisiana residents are highly vulnerable to contracting and dying from the coronavirus: New Orleans has disproportionately high rates of residents with health conditions that put them at high risk for the illness, plus entrenched poverty and substandard health care.
The coronavirus outbreak is already calamitous for Louisiana, with reported cases now numbering 18,283 and deaths numbering 702. Louisiana has the third highest death rate per capita in the country, with half of the top 20 counties in the country for coronavirus deaths per 100,000 residents are in Louisiana. The state recorded its most deaths in a single day on Tuesday: 70.
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Now, the question is whether it will get worse. And if people don’t keep up social distancing, public health experts say, the state could see COVID-19 numbers continue to climb dramatically. The state’s current modeling shows the state on course to require 2,500 new hospitalizations a day in the New Orleans area by mid-May if the public does not adhere to social distancing. Like other states around the nation, Louisiana is both preparing for a worst-case scenario and hoping that residents will do their part to ensure that it doesn’t happen.
“We feel we are still at risk of another spike, certainly if people stop the distancing that they’ve been doing effectively,” Joseph Kanter, assistant state health officer at the Louisiana Department of Health, said on Thursday. “We would expect to see just what we were fearing initially, which is surge in demand, more patients than there are ICU rooms, more patients than there are ventilators and the need to house massive numbers of hospital-level patients outside of hospitals like we were planning to do at the convention center and other locations.”
Numbers of new COVID-19 cases are lower than experts feared just a week or two ago, which public health officials hope means the rate of infection is flattening, Kanter said. But he and other officials remain very cautious in their optimism, especially as they continue to see patients dying at alarming rates.
The state is continuing to plan for this worst-case scenario. In addition to the convention center site, the state leased the 1,110-room Sheraton hotel, the fourth-largest in New Orleans, to use as another medical monitoring site. It’s also considering leasing the nearly 1,200-room Hyatt hotel. Louisiana is also developing plans for medical monitoring sites in the capital city of Baton Rouge and in other coronavirus hotspots in the state.
“As our numbers ramp up, we may very well exceed the first medical monitoring station, so that’s why the plans are in place for the second and the third,” said Glennis Gray, assistant director at the state’s Center for Community Preparedness, who is serving as incident commander for the site. “We’re just planning for it, we hope that we won’t have to.”
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A Vulnerable Population
New Orleans ranks above other viral hotspots in every condition on the Center for Disease Control’s list of heightened risk factors for COVID-19: high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary heart disease, COPD, chronic kidney disease and cancer, according to a report released in late March by The Data Center, a research organization based in New Orleans. Sixty-six percent of people who have died from the virus in Louisiana have hypertension, 44% had diabetes and 25% were obese. Only 3% of the people who have died from the virus in Louisiana did not have any underlying health condition.
“You add the health disparities and the inequity that we know plague us in Louisiana and it makes us vulnerable really during any emergency, particularly now,” said Kanter. “That’s something that we’re working to address but we know that we’re at risk for worse outcomes because of it.”
These conditions are most prevalent among African-Americans, who made up 70% of deaths in the state thus far, despite making up just 32% of the state’s population, according to data announced Monday.
Economic and housing instability makes residents even more vulnerable. The median income in New Orleans is just $38,423 and 36.6% of residents are severely housing-cost-burdened, according to The Data Center.
“People in poverty are much more likely to be living in close quarters,” said Allison Plyer, chief demographer at The Data Center. “They often don’t have the ability to quarantine a family member who gets sick, and spread among family members is going to be much more likely.”
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That means patients often can’t stay home to get well. At local primary care and urgent care clinics in New Orleans, Meghan Maslanka, the medical operations manager at the convention center, says providers “tell us stories about some of their patients sleeping in the park or trying to sleep in the urgent care bathroom because they’re afraid to go home, they don’t want to infect their loved ones.” That’s driving the need for “step-down” facilities.
A temporary hospital has been set up in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, as overflow for local hospitals that are reaching capacity, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in New Orleans, April 4. Phase one of the operation can house 1,000 patients with the capability to double that capacity as needed. Gerald Herbert/Associated Press
Across the country, as states watch their hospitals reach toward capacity, health departments are increasingly creating beds in nontraditional settings: In NYC, the Javits Convention Center has slowly begun to receive patients at its 2,500-bed facility. Field hospitals are being set up in cities across the country from Seattle to Miami to Chicago.
Louisiana’s facility is one of largest in the country and one of the first to accept patients. Its existence alone serves as a warning to residents, said Kanter, standing in a nurse station during a tour of the facility on Saturday.
“If anyone is at home and is wondering whether it’s time to let up on distancing and isolation,” Kanter said. “This here should be a message that it’s not time to let up. Look at what’s happened here, look at the magnitude of this. We are still very much in this — in fact, we haven’t even hit halfway.”
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The Biggest Need: Hospital-Level Care
There are limits to how much the new medical monitoring facilities can do, because of supplies, staffing and the severity of the disease. The state’s biggest need for COVID-19 treatment continues to be hospital-level care, rather than the lower-intensity care that the medical monitoring sites are equipped for. Plus, the medical monitoring site won’t be able to accommodate patients that need ventilators, which remain in short supply.
“First and foremost is that we’re not going to have enough ventilators to make a difference in this. The point of [the convention center] is to offload the hospitals enough so that they have the capacity to care for the sickest of the sick,” Kanter said. “So, if they don’t have enough ventilators to do that, it’s going to be all for naught.”
The state obtained 390 ventilators so far from the federal government and private vendors and projects that it needs 1,000 more.
“What you have is every state competing amongst each other and competing with private hospitals all in the private market to buy the same stuff and then the feds are coming in and they’re competing as well and outbidding,” said Kanter. “So it’s like this crazy flea market where everyone is bidding against everyone else and the product is lives.”
Accessing sufficient materials could pose a problem at the medical monitoring sites, too, as doctors across the state reuse and ration personal protective equipment. “There’s not a hospital locally that I believe is not rationing,” said Joshua Denson, pulmonary and critical care physician at Tulane Medical Center.
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He has firsthand experience with the crisis. Denson diagnosed Louisiana’s second case of COVID-19 in the second week of March. Since then, the crisis has rapidly escalated, and beds in his hospital have filled up at an unprecedented rate.
“We don’t have that many leaving,” Denson said. “There are some people getting better but honestly, if you’re in the ICU, it’s really bad. I would say in general, most people just don’t get better no matter what we do.”
The average mortality in the ICU tends to be somewhere around 10 to 15%, he says, but now he’s seeing a mortality rate in the ICU over 50% for COVID. Most of Denson’s patients have been between 50 and 80 years old, but he’s had many patients in their 20s and 30s, too. Denson and his colleagues are using a range of ventilator strategies with patients, including prone ventilation, in which ventilation is delivered to patients lying on their stomachs. “Usually what we do works. Nothing works as well as I’m used to, I guess,” Denson said.
Louisiana Health Department Nursing Staff wait to check IDs and take temperatures of people wishing to enter the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on April 6, 2020. Claire Bangser/AFP via Getty Images
Hospitals are expected to begin discharging patients to the sites in higher numbers once they approach capacity, but if patients aren’t ready to leave, the discharge rate will be limited.
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“Some of those higher-level-care patients — maybe nursing home facility patients — maybe do require more than what the medical monitoring station is able to care for at this time,” said Jeff Elder, emergency medicine physician at the University Medical Center of New Orleans.
Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) has also expressed concerns about staffing at the medical monitoring sites.
“This is really one of the hardest things about standing up these stand-alone medical monitoring hospitals like we’re doing in the convention center — you still gotta be able to staff it and so you gotta be able to find the doctors and nurses, which are very difficult things to do,” Edwards said during a press conference last Friday.
The convention center is being staffed through San Antonio-based nonprofit BCFS Health and Human Services. A Navy medical detachment arrived in New Orleans from Jackson, Florida, over the weekend to staff the small facility across the street. Volunteers coordinated by the Louisiana Department of Health are expected to arrive on the site in the coming days. Tulane University has opened up hundreds of dorm rooms to accommodate volunteers from other states.
With current projections based on severely limited testing, the exact needs and challenges facing the sites for now remain unknown.
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huffpost--2020-05-03--The Critical Cases The Supreme Court Will Hear In First-Ever Remote Arguments

Booking.com is challenging the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ’ s decision not to issue the travel website a corporate trademark for its name .
The agency rejected the company ’ s request because its name simply combines a generic word ― in this case , “ booking , ” as in reserving a hotel room ― with the top-level domain , “ .com.
” The denial of trademark rights for generic words goes back to an 1888 Supreme Court ruling that allowing generic word trademarks would enable firms to monopolize a market through ownership of the rights to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ firms .
The ruling could impact other companies with similar names like Cars.com , Dictionary.com , Wine.com and Newspapers.com .
In 2013 , the Supreme Court ruled that a requirement that non-governmental organizations receiving federal funds to help fight HIV/AIDS “ have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking ” infringed on the First Amendment rights of those organizations .
Despite this decision , the federal government continues to insist that foreign affiliates of U.S.-based organizations that receive HIV/AIDS funds maintain a policy against prostitution and sex trafficking .
The Alliance for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ led to the 2013 ruling and is challenging the government again here .
The government argues that since foreign affiliates are separate entities incorporated in foreign nations , they do not receive protection under the U.S. Constitution .
The alliance argues that it and its foreign subsidiaries “ share a common mission and speak with a single voice.
” Forcing them to take divergent public policy positions would undermine their work and infringe on the U.S. parent organization ’ s First Amendment rights .
An association of political consultants who would like to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 1991 law banning robocalls to cellphones and a 2015 amendment to that law allowing an exception for robocalls to collect debts owed to the federal government .
The consultants argue that the law and the government debt collection exception infringe on First Amendment speech rights .
If the court rules in favor of the consultants , its decision may come down to whether it must strike the entire law or can merely sever the government debt collection exception .
This case asks the court to deal with questions stemming from one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government , the ethnic cleansing of Native American tribes in the 19th century .
At issue is whether Jimcy McGirt , a Seminole man convicted of sexual assault under Oklahoma state law , was within the boundaries of the Creek Nation reservation in eastern Oklahoma when he committed his crime .
Major crimes , like murder or sexual assault , committed by Native Americans on reservation land are supposed to be prosecuted by the federal government , not the states .
In this case , McGirt ’ s lawyers argue that the legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ based on the lines drawn in 1866 .
The reservation was created several decades after the Creeks ’ forcible removal from Southeastern states , along with the four other Civilized Tribes , as part of the ethnic cleansing effort known as the Trail of Tears .
That reservation was then eviscerated by the government-backed theft of land by white settlers in the late 19th century before Oklahoma was admitted as a state in 1906 .
On April 27 , the Supreme Court asked the parties to submit supplemental briefings by May 8 on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both cases on the grounds that they are political disputes between branches of the federal government .
This would give the justices a chance to effectively punt on the cases .
Whether the congressional subpoenas would be honored would then be left up to the companies on the receiving end .
The court is asked to decide whether the state laws mandating that electors vote for their states ’ popular-vote winner are unconstitutional under the First , 12th and 14th amendments .
Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig , the lawyer for the plaintiffs in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to rule on the constitutionality of faithless electors at a moment when it will not determine the outcome of a presidential election , rather than amid the uproar of a future election decided by one or two faithless votes .

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WASHINGTON ― For the first time in history, millions of Americans will be able to listen live as the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments this week. In a few months, the coronavirus pandemic has brought about what open-government advocates have wanted for decades: more transparency from the highest court in the land.
Starting on Monday at 10 a.m., the Supreme Court justices will listen, separately and remotely, as lawyers argue their cases by phone conference. Audio of these arguments will be livestreamed on C-SPAN.
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The court will hear a total of 10 cases on six days, spread out over the course of the next two weeks.
A phone conference is a major break from the typical pomp and circumstance of this traditional institution, which has long resisted making any concessions to 21st-century technology (or, in the case of the telephone, 19th-century technology).
C-SPAN made its first formal request for camera access to the Supreme Court 32 years ago, in 1988. While lower federal appeals courts allowed for camera access, the Supreme Court never budged. In recent years, the court released same-day audio in certain high-profile cases but still resisted livestreaming its proceedings.
The U.S. Supreme Court on April 15, 2020, amid a stay-at-home order in Washington, D.C. DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images
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This month’s break with centuries-old practice will require some changes. Justices typically can ask questions of the lawyers whenever they want. But remote conferences, as anyone who has ever tried to Zoom with more than a dozen people can attest, need some order. So the justices will ask their questions in order of seniority.
Most of the lawyers will argue from their home or office, while government attorneys will argue from the solicitor general’s conference room at Justice Department headquarters. The court has reportedly urged lawyers to use landlines to avoid connectivity problems.
Transparency advocates who have pushed the justices to give the public greater access to their proceedings say it’s about time the Supreme Court let a little light in, even if it came about in a way they never imagined.
“It’s exciting, albeit overdue, that the Supreme Court give the public real-time access to its hearings ― and not just to the 50 or so members of the public who wait between five hours and five days in line to get in during a normal argument day,” Gabe Roth of the group Fix the Court told HuffPost.
Roth said he’s anticipating the court will run into technical issues and is pleased that a high-profile dispute involving President Donald Trump’s financial records isn’t up until next week. But he said he thinks the public will be “heartened to hear that at least some of their public servants have a serious, intellectually rigorous approach” to their jobs.
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“The court will come out looking good, and the public will come out smarter about the third branch,” Roth said. “A win-win.”
Here’s a look at the cases that the Supreme Court will hear remotely in this unprecedented time:
May 4
United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B.V.
Booking.com is challenging the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s decision not to issue the travel website a corporate trademark for its name. The agency rejected the company’s request because its name simply combines a generic word ― in this case, “booking,” as in reserving a hotel room ― with the top-level domain, “.com.” The denial of trademark rights for generic words goes back to an 1888 Supreme Court ruling that allowing generic word trademarks would enable firms to monopolize a market through ownership of the rights to the word describing the goods sold by other firms. The ruling could impact other companies with similar names like Cars.com, Dictionary.com, Wine.com and Newspapers.com.
May 5
United States Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International Inc.
In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that a requirement that non-governmental organizations receiving federal funds to help fight HIV/AIDS “have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking” infringed on the First Amendment rights of those organizations. Despite this decision, the federal government continues to insist that foreign affiliates of U.S.-based organizations that receive HIV/AIDS funds maintain a policy against prostitution and sex trafficking. The Alliance for Open Society International brought the lawsuit that led to the 2013 ruling and is challenging the government again here. The government argues that since foreign affiliates are separate entities incorporated in foreign nations, they do not receive protection under the U.S. Constitution. The alliance argues that it and its foreign subsidiaries “share a common mission and speak with a single voice.” Forcing them to take divergent public policy positions would undermine their work and infringe on the U.S. parent organization’s First Amendment rights.
May 6
Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania
The consolidated cases brought by the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Catholic nuns, and the Trump administration seek to uphold new rules greatly expanding religious exemptions from covering birth control and other women’s health care under the Affordable Care Act. This is a follow-up to the 2014 Hobby Lobby case where five conservative justices created a religious liberty exemption for closely held corporations from providing birth control coverage under the ACA.
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After the passage of that law, the Obama administration had issued a rule requiring employer-provided health plans to cover birth control at no cost for women. The Supreme Court created a limited religious liberty exemption in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. Petitioners sought to expand that exemption in the 2016 case of Zubik v. Burwell, but Justice Antonin Scalia’s death left a 4-4 tie.
In 2017, the Trump administration issued new rules expanding the religious liberty exemption by amending the Obama administration regulations. The questions now before the Supreme Court focus on the Trump administration regulations.
Pennsylvania argues that the promulgation of those rules violated the Administrative Procedure Act by not following laws requiring a notice of rulemaking and an open comment period. The order of nuns and the Trump administration want the court to expand on its Hobby Lobby ruling as the Zubik petitioners sought in 2016.
Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants Inc.
An association of political consultants who would like to make robocalls soliciting campaign donations is challenging a 1991 law banning robocalls to cellphones and a 2015 amendment to that law allowing an exception for robocalls to collect debts owed to the federal government. The consultants argue that the law and the government debt collection exception infringe on First Amendment speech rights. If the court rules in favor of the consultants, its decision may come down to whether it must strike the entire law or can merely sever the government debt collection exception.
May 11
McGirt v. Oklahoma
This case asks the court to deal with questions stemming from one of the most shameful acts of the U.S. government, the ethnic cleansing of Native American tribes in the 19th century. At issue is whether Jimcy McGirt, a Seminole man convicted of sexual assault under Oklahoma state law, was within the boundaries of the Creek Nation reservation in eastern Oklahoma when he committed his crime. Major crimes, like murder or sexual assault, committed by Native Americans on reservation land are supposed to be prosecuted by the federal government, not the states.
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In this case, McGirt’s lawyers argue that the legal boundaries of the Creek reservation should be based on the lines drawn in 1866. The reservation was created several decades after the Creeks’ forcible removal from Southeastern states, along with the four other Civilized Tribes, as part of the ethnic cleansing effort known as the Trail of Tears. That reservation was then eviscerated by the government-backed theft of land by white settlers in the late 19th century before Oklahoma was admitted as a state in 1906.
In prior cases, the court has been deferential to claims of Indian reservation boundaries. What the justices may find problematic in this case is that the 1866 Creek reservation boundaries were vast and would now include the entire city of Tulsa. Recognizing them in McGirt’s case would have sweeping ramifications for numerous major crime cases in Oklahoma.
The court heard a similar case in 2019, Sharp v. Murphy, but never issued a ruling before replacing it with the McGirt case on the spring docket. One potential reason for this switch is that Justice Neil Gorsuch recused himself from Sharp v. Murphy, which may have left a 4-4 tie. He did not recuse himself from the McGirt case.
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru
St. James School v. Biel
When is an employee of a religious organization considered a minister of that religion under the law? That’s the question before the Supreme Court in these consolidated cases.
In 2015, Agnes Morrissey-Berru was fired from her position as a teacher at Our Lady of Guadalupe School, a Catholic parish school. She filed a claim in court charging age discrimination. In 2014, Kristen Biel, a teacher at St. James School, also a Catholic school, was fired after announcing she had breast cancer. She filed a complaint charging discrimination based on her illness. Biel died in 2019.
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The schools argue that the teachers were covered by the “ministerial exception” to employment discrimination laws created by the Supreme Court in 2012, which lets religious organizations decide who can or cannot be ministers. They state that even though Morrissey-Berru and Biel were teachers, their work was essential in promoting the Catholic religion and its values. The Trump administration filed a friend-of-the-court brief backing the two schools.
May 12
The most closely watched cases of the Supreme Court’s spring docket are the three brought by President Trump to stop Congress and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. from obtaining his personal financial records.
Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP
Trump v. Deutsche Bank
In the consolidated Mazars and Deutsche Bank cases, Trump is challenging the power of the House committees on Oversight and Reform, Financial Services and Intelligence to subpoena his accounting firm, Mazars, and his lenders, Deutsche Bank and Capital One, to obtain his personal financial records. The committees subpoenaed the records both as part of their oversight of the executive branch and the ethics laws governing it and as part of their effort to craft legislation amending those ethics laws.
Trump argues that Congress has no legitimate purpose in pursuing his financial records. In doing so, he makes sweeping claims that would eviscerate Congress’ oversight function and subpoena power. He also argues that the ethics laws that Congress seeks to amend are unconstitutional and therefore any attempt to perform oversight or legislate in that area is preemptively forbidden. Congress disputes Trump’s arguments. The district court and appeals court judges who heard these cases sided with Congress.
On April 27, the Supreme Court asked the parties to submit supplemental briefings by May 8 on whether the court should refuse to hear both cases on the grounds that they are political disputes between branches of the federal government. This would give the justices a chance to effectively punt on the cases. Whether the congressional subpoenas would be honored would then be left up to the companies on the receiving end.
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Trump v. Vance
The third case comes out of a grand jury investigation into potential lawbreaking by Trump and the Trump Organization that was launched by DA Vance based on information provided by Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen. Vance’s grand jury subpoena seeks the financial records and tax returns of the president.
Trump argues that so long as he occupies the Office of the President of the United States, he is immune from criminal investigation and prosecution according to the Constitution. The principle of presidential immunity is based on opinions issued by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel in 1973 and 2000.
Vance argues that OLC opinions are not binding law and that the alleged crimes he seeks to investigate both predate and do not relate to Trump’s presidency.
A district court dismissed Trump’s challenge to the subpoena. An appeals court ruled that the doctrine of presidential immunity would not cover private actions taken by the president prior to assuming the office.
May 13
Chiafalo v. Washington
Colorado Department of State v. Baca
These two cases ― which are being argued separately ― both ask the court to determine whether state laws requiring Electoral College members to cast their votes for the winner of the popular vote for president in their state are unconstitutional. In 2016, seven electors violated state laws by voting for someone other than the popular-vote winner of their states. It was the highest number of “faithless electors” in any presidential election.
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The first case was brought by three Washington state electors ― Peter Chiafalo, Levi Guerra and Esther John ― who were fined $1,000 each for casting their Electoral College votes for former Secretary of State Colin Powell. The second case was brought by Colorado elector Michael Baca, who was replaced by the Colorado secretary of state as an elector after he attempted to cast a ballot for then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Baca, Chiafalo, Guerra and John were among the first faithless electors to be penalized for casting an Electoral College vote for someone other than the popular-vote winner. (Washington state elector Robert Satiacum Jr. was also fined for casting his ballot for Native American activist Faith Spotted Eagle, but is not part of the Washington case.) The four who brought the dispute to the Supreme Court were part of the failed “Hamilton electors” effort to deny Trump an Electoral College majority and throw the election to the House of Representatives.
The court is asked to decide whether the state laws mandating that electors vote for their states’ popular-vote winner are unconstitutional under the First, 12th and 14th amendments. Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig, the lawyer for the plaintiffs in both cases, wants the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of faithless electors at a moment when it will not determine the outcome of a presidential election, rather than amid the uproar of a future election decided by one or two faithless votes.


huffpost--2020-04-21--Gov. Whitmer Creates Coronavirus Task Force To Address Effect On Black Americans

The Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities is expected to study and investigate the causes of the disproportionate effects of COVID-19 , the disease caused by the new coronavirus , and recommend immediate actions to address the disparities and the systemic racial inequities behind them .
The executive order cited data showing Black residents make up a staggering 40 % of COVID-19 deaths in Michigan despite representing 13.6 % of the state ’ s population .
“ The deep inequities people in communities of color face , like basic lack of access to health care or transportation or protections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more susceptible to COVID-19 , ” Whitmer said at a news conference Monday .
“ We ’ ve seen heartbreaking stories come out of Detroit .
Many who have lost their parents , and children , and friends and neighbors .
Michiganders need leaders who are going to do everything they can to lower their risk of catching this virus , no matter their community , their race or socioeconomic status.
” The task force will be led by Lt. Gov .
Garlin Gilchrist and include a diversity of health experts and community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 15 people in his life to COVID-19 , said Monday that the task force ’ s work will be dedicated to Skylar Herbert , a 5-year-old girl who died Sunday of complications from the virus .
Skylar is the youngest person in Michigan so far to die of COVID-19 .
“ Skylar ’ s family lives in the 48219 ZIP code , which is the second-most impacted ZIP code with 559 positive cases of COVID-19 as of yesterday , ” the lieutenant governor said .
“ It ’ s a predominantly Black neighborhood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first responders in the city of Detroit .
After she was admitted to the hospital , she then developed a rare complication that led to swelling of her brain and a lesion in her frontal lobe .
“ Her story cuts right to the core of why we must act now , why it ’ s important to follow the orders and maintain social distancing .
My condolences , my prayers go to Skylar ’ s family .
And this task force will serve in her memory to ensure that we can limit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as many families as possible.
” “ When communities have been impacted by racial disparities for generations , this means it is a systemic problem , and a systemic problem requires a systemic solution , ” Gilchrist said .
“ We know that more often than not , people of color do not have the financial luxury in the state of Michigan to be able to work from home .
They are more reliant on public transportation to get groceries or to get to work .
They don ’ t have enough money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a time and have to make repeat trips.
” Gilchrist said that the task force will “ take action in real time ” instead of issuing a report much later .
The group will work until 90 days have passed since the declared states of emergency and disaster , or until Whitmer announces another date .
As of Monday , Michigan had at least 32,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases , an increase of 576 since the day before .
The state also now has reported 2,469 deaths , an increase of 77 since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first state to create a task force to address such disparities during the pandemic , but the issue is a nationwide problem .
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its first breakdown of COVID-19 case data by race on Friday , showing that 30 % of patients whose race was known were Black .
But the federal data didn ’ t have racial information for 75 % of all cases and did not include any demographic breakdown of deaths .
Despite the lack of federal data , city and state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and deaths are heavily concentrated in the Black population .
Black residents in Chicago make up more than half of all COVID-19 cases and a staggering 72 % of coronavirus-related deaths despite representing roughly a quarter of the population .
In Milwaukee , Black residents make up about half of COVID-19 cases despite representing about a quarter of the population .
In Louisiana , Black residents account for 70 % of all COVID-19 deaths in the entire state , despite being about a third of the population .
“ The task force will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and we hope that we will be able to continue to make recommendations going forward about how we can address racial disparities in a broader sense , ” Gilchrist said .
“ This is not something that we can solve overnight , but it ’ s something that we can work on every day to make a difference .
”

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The Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities is expected to study and investigate the causes of the disproportionate effects of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, and recommend immediate actions to address the disparities and the systemic racial inequities behind them. The executive order cited data showing Black residents make up a staggering 40% of COVID-19 deaths in Michigan despite representing 13.6% of the state’s population.
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“The deep inequities people in communities of color face, like basic lack of access to health care or transportation or protections in the workplace, have made them more susceptible to COVID-19,” Whitmer said at a news conference Monday. “We’ve seen heartbreaking stories come out of Detroit. Many who have lost their parents, and children, and friends and neighbors. Michiganders need leaders who are going to do everything they can to lower their risk of catching this virus, no matter their community, their race or socioeconomic status.”
#COVID19 is disproportionately impacting communities of color, so we’re taking action. The Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, chaired by @LtGovGilchrist, will identify actions we can take to ensure all Michiganders have access to critical care and resources. — Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) April 20, 2020
The task force will be led by Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and include a diversity of health experts and community leaders. Gilchrist, who has lost 15 people in his life to COVID-19, said Monday that the task force’s work will be dedicated to Skylar Herbert, a 5-year-old girl who died Sunday of complications from the virus. Skylar is the youngest person in Michigan so far to die of COVID-19.
“Skylar’s family lives in the 48219 ZIP code, which is the second-most impacted ZIP code with 559 positive cases of COVID-19 as of yesterday,” the lieutenant governor said. “It’s a predominantly Black neighborhood. She is the daughter of two first responders in the city of Detroit. After she was admitted to the hospital, she then developed a rare complication that led to swelling of her brain and a lesion in her frontal lobe.
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“Her story cuts right to the core of why we must act now, why it’s important to follow the orders and maintain social distancing. My condolences, my prayers go to Skylar’s family. And this task force will serve in her memory to ensure that we can limit the exposure for as many people, as many families as possible.”
SHE HAS A NAME: Skylar Herbert, the daughter of Detroit first responders, is the first child with COVID-19 to die in Michigan. She was five years old. pic.twitter.com/rkBbbG8FIg — Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) April 20, 2020
In addition to studying the disparities in the impact of the coronavirus, the task force’s goals include suggesting ways to:
Increase transparency in reporting racial and ethnic data related to the spread of COVID-19.
Remove barriers to accessing proper physical and mental health care, both during a pandemic and following it.
Reduce the effect of racial bias in the medical industry, specifically in testing and treatment.
Mitigate environmental and structural racism that contributes to Black and brown residents being more exposed during pandemics resulting in the risk of death.
Create and improve systems that support long-term economic recovery following a pandemic.
“When communities have been impacted by racial disparities for generations, this means it is a systemic problem, and a systemic problem requires a systemic solution,” Gilchrist said. “We know that more often than not, people of color do not have the financial luxury in the state of Michigan to be able to work from home. They are more reliant on public transportation to get groceries or to get to work. They don’t have enough money to buy hundreds of dollars of groceries at a time and have to make repeat trips.”
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Gilchrist said that the task force will “take action in real time” instead of issuing a report much later. The group will work until 90 days have passed since the declared states of emergency and disaster, or until Whitmer announces another date.
As of Monday, Michigan had at least 32,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, an increase of 576 since the day before. The state also now has reported 2,469 deaths, an increase of 77 since Sunday.
Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist has been put in charge of the state's effort to study the disporportionate effects of the coronavirus on Black and brown communtiies. Clarence Tabb Jr./The Detroit News via ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michigan appears to be the first state to create a task force to address such disparities during the pandemic, but the issue is a nationwide problem. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its first breakdown of COVID-19 case data by race on Friday, showing that 30% of patients whose race was known were Black. But the federal data didn’t have racial information for 75% of all cases and did not include any demographic breakdown of deaths.
Despite the lack of federal data, city and state data clearly show that confirmed COVID-19 infections and deaths are heavily concentrated in the Black population. Black residents in Chicago make up more than half of all COVID-19 cases and a staggering 72% of coronavirus-related deaths despite representing roughly a quarter of the population. In Milwaukee, Black residents make up about half of COVID-19 cases despite representing about a quarter of the population. In Louisiana, Black residents account for 70% of all COVID-19 deaths in the entire state, despite being about a third of the population.
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“The task force will be in place throughout the crisis, and we hope that we will be able to continue to make recommendations going forward about how we can address racial disparities in a broader sense,” Gilchrist said. “This is not something that we can solve overnight, but it’s something that we can work on every day to make a difference.”


huffpost--2020-05-03--Larry Kudlow Defends February Claim That U.S. Coronavirus Outbreak Was 'Contained'

“ This is a human tragedy , ” he added .
“ That ’ s the worst part of this @ @ @ @ @ the economic side ― I don ’ t think it ’ s going to be @ @ @ @ @ ” Of course , Kudlow was wrong about both the virus ’ s spread and @ @ @ @ @ of Sunday , more than 1.1 million people in the U.S. are known to have @ @ @ @ @ least 67,000 have died .
Roughly 30 million Americans have applied for unemployment since mid-March @ @ @ @ @ During an interview with CNN ’ s “ State of the Union , ” host @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a disconnect between Trump administration officials who want to reopen the economy and @ @ @ @ @ so too early could be disastrous .
Tapper pointed to Kudlow ’ s eyebrow-raising comments @ @ @

“This is a human tragedy,” he added. “That’s the worst part of this. The business side and the economic side ― I don’t think it’s going to be an economic tragedy at all.”
Of course, Kudlow was wrong about both the virus’s spread and its economic impact. As of Sunday, more than 1.1 million people in the U.S. are known to have contracted the virus and at least 67,000 have died. Roughly 30 million Americans have applied for unemployment since mid-March amid sweeping business closures.
During an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” host Tapper asked Kudlow if there’s a disconnect between Trump administration officials who want to reopen the economy and medical experts who warn doing so too early could be disastrous. Tapper pointed to Kudlow’s eyebrow-raising comments from February.


huffpost--2020-05-03--COVID-19 Threatens A New Eviction Crisis

Illustration : Damon Dahlen/HuffPost ; Photo : Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images Tents housing the homeless line a street in downtown Los Angeles last month .
Los Angeles , which has one of the largest homeless populations in the country , is trying to move 15,000 homeless individuals to hotels or emergency shelters in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 .
A wave of evictions post-quarantine will mean many cities will see a significant increase in homelessness .
In Seattle , a 2017 survey found that the majority of evicted renters ended up homeless .
In New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tenants who had experienced an eviction were more likely to move into a homeless shelter — and stay there longer — than tenants who had never been evicted .
“ Some people are going to be able to pay their rent with their savings for a few months , ” Hatch said .
“ But if their savings run out and their job still hasn ’ t come back , a lot of those people are going to end up on the street or scrambling for a new place to live.
” If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across the city , landlords may reduce rents to attract new tenants .
But , Manville noted , even if the landlord lowered the rent on that apartment to $ 600 , it would be too late for the previous tenant .
She wouldn ’ t have the first month ’ s rent and deposit needed for a new place and would now have an eviction on her record to deter other landlords from renting to her .
Meanwhile , her landlord may not find a new tenant for the apartment for months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ action problem , ” Manville said .
“ Individual landlords may be confident that if they evict tenants , they ’ ll be able to fill the vacant unit quickly .
If a large number of landlords evict their tenants at the same time , however , there ’ s going to be too many empty apartments and not enough people with the savings to move into them .
All these problems can be avoided by just letting people stay in their homes.
” The social effects , too , may be long-lasting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more likely to lose their jobs , if they ’ re still employed in the first place .
Their children show worse academic performance .
They are more likely to move into lower-quality and overcrowded housing , affecting both their short- and long-term health .
Even if cities don ’ t see a significant rise in homelessness , low-income populations may move en masse to cheaper suburbs .
At the federal level , the National Low Income Housing Coalition is asking Congress to include $ 100 billion in emergency rental assistance in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cover back-rent for tenants so they aren ’ t evicted as soon as local governments lift the temporary bans .
The nonprofit organization is also asking for $ 70 billion in infrastructure spending to retrofit public housing to help reduce health conditions that make residents more susceptible to COVID-19 .
States and cities could also do their part .
Gary Painter , the director of the University of Southern California ’ s Sol Price Center for Social Innovation , said lawmakers could ban rent increases during the pandemic and its economic aftermath .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ loans for renters and landlords to cover costs and help renegotiate lease terms , a process that is relatively routine in other parts of the housing market .
The most important factor in all of these efforts will be keeping Americans in their homes as long as possible .
A rise in homelessness is not only a moral catastrophe for cities but also a fiscal one .
Nearly every study on the costs of homelessness finds that it is cheaper to prevent evictions than to mitigate their fallout .
A 2018 study found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ roughly $ 8,000 in medical care , homeless services and lost wages .
More Affordable Homes For More People The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit , the federal government ’ s primary vehicle for encouraging affordable housing production , mostly goes to renters who earn around 60 % of the local median income .
In some cities , households earning as much as $ 117,400 are eligible for subsidized housing .
Attacking the roots of the country ’ s eviction and homeless crises , Saadian said , will require targeting low-income renters and addressing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of affordable housing .

Tents housing the homeless line a street in downtown Los Angeles last month. Los Angeles, which has one of the largest homeless populations in the country, is trying to move 15,000 homeless individuals to hotels or emergency shelters in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Illustration: Damon Dahlen/HuffPost; Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
The coronavirus has put America’s housing market on hold. As residents shelter in place, real estate listings have slowed to a trickle. State and federal policymakers, facing an unprecedented spike in unemployment and a pandemic simultaneously, have banned evictions to ease economic hardship during the crisis.
But eventually all of this will have to end. When the eviction bans expire, millions of Americans will find themselves on the hook for months of back rent. Thirty million Americans — overwhelmingly the poor and renters — are newly jobless as unemployment hits previously unthinkable levels.
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“Eviction moratoriums are a great first step, but there’s a lot of evidence that landlords are still filing for eviction,” said Megan Hatch, a professor at Cleveland State University who studies urban policy. “When these restrictions are lifted, a huge number of people could be evicted right away.”
May 1 is the second rental due date since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of renters will have to choose between paying their rent and buying essentials. Some have already reached the bottom of their savings.
Even before the pandemic, a significant percentage of Americans were struggling to pay rent. In a 2018 Pew Charitable Trusts survey, nearly 1 in 6 households reported spending more than half of their income on rent. Of the roughly 19 million American families who are eligible for rental assistance, only 4 million receive it.
In April, almost one-third of households said they couldn’t pay the rent. May is not looking any better.
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“We know millions of households were one financial accident away from eviction,” said Sarah Saadian, the vice president of public policy for the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “This pandemic may be the breaking point.”
A wave of evictions post-quarantine will mean many cities will see a significant increase in homelessness. In Seattle, a 2017 survey found that the majority of evicted renters ended up homeless. In New York, a 2018 study found that tenants who had experienced an eviction were more likely to move into a homeless shelter — and stay there longer — than tenants who had never been evicted.
“Some people are going to be able to pay their rent with their savings for a few months,” Hatch said. “But if their savings run out and their job still hasn’t come back, a lot of those people are going to end up on the street or scrambling for a new place to live.”
The economic hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic have led some housing activists to call for rent strikes. VALERIE MACON via Getty Images
A No-Win Situation
Thousands of newly homeless people and thousands of empty apartments will create a situation that benefits neither renters, landlords nor cities.
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Michael Manville, a UCLA professor who studies urban planning, described a scenario in which a renter paying $800 a month loses her job. She can’t pay her rent, gets evicted and ends up moving in with a friend.
If this happens to thousands of other people across the city, landlords may reduce rents to attract new tenants. But, Manville noted, even if the landlord lowered the rent on that apartment to $600, it would be too late for the previous tenant. She wouldn’t have the first month’s rent and deposit needed for a new place and would now have an eviction on her record to deter other landlords from renting to her. Meanwhile, her landlord may not find a new tenant for the apartment for months.
“It’s a collective action problem,” Manville said. “Individual landlords may be confident that if they evict tenants, they’ll be able to fill the vacant unit quickly. If a large number of landlords evict their tenants at the same time, however, there’s going to be too many empty apartments and not enough people with the savings to move into them. All these problems can be avoided by just letting people stay in their homes.”
“Only the federal government has the power to keep this problem from spiraling.” - Michael Manville, UCLA professor
This scenario would have wide-ranging effects for cities themselves. High vacancy rates make it harder for developers to build new homes because banks won’t want to finance construction in places tenants aren’t paying rent.
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The social effects, too, may be long-lasting. Hatch noted that evicted tenants are more likely to lose their jobs, if they’re still employed in the first place. Their children show worse academic performance. They are more likely to move into lower-quality and overcrowded housing, affecting both their short- and long-term health. Even if cities don’t see a significant rise in homelessness, low-income populations may move en masse to cheaper suburbs.
“Renters are being hit hardest and first,” said Jenny Schuetz, a fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. “These are people without a lot of resources or choices. It’s not clear that when this is over they can move someplace else. They’re going to live wherever they can afford to.”
Seattle has already converted an event space into a temporary men's shelter for the homeless during the coronavirus pandemic. Karen Ducey via Getty Images
A Federal Challenge
The severity of the coronavirus-driven housing shock will depend on the steps policymakers take to prevent it.
At the federal level, the National Low Income Housing Coalition is asking Congress to include $100 billion in emergency rental assistance in the next economic stimulus package. This would cover back-rent for tenants so they aren’t evicted as soon as local governments lift the temporary bans. The nonprofit organization is also asking for $70 billion in infrastructure spending to retrofit public housing to help reduce health conditions that make residents more susceptible to COVID-19.
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States and cities could also do their part. Gary Painter, the director of the University of Southern California’s Sol Price Center for Social Innovation, said lawmakers could ban rent increases during the pandemic and its economic aftermath. They could also provide low-interest, long-term loans for renters and landlords to cover costs and help renegotiate lease terms, a process that is relatively routine in other parts of the housing market.
“If you own a strip mall and all of a sudden you lose two tenants, it’s not unusual to renegotiate new terms with your financial backers,” Painter said. Cities could extend the same principle to their residential housing by expanding their legal-assistance programs or initiating large-scale negotiations between landlord and renter representatives.
The most important factor in all of these efforts will be keeping Americans in their homes as long as possible. A rise in homelessness is not only a moral catastrophe for cities but also a fiscal one. Nearly every study on the costs of homelessness finds that it is cheaper to prevent evictions than to mitigate their fallout. A 2018 study found that every eviction cost New York City roughly $8,000 in medical care, homeless services and lost wages.
“It makes a lot of sense for the Congress to beef up the money flowing to the typical American, especially lower-income Americans,” Manville said. “Only the federal government has the power to keep this problem from spiraling.”
Failure to build public and low-income housing has contributed to a nationwide affordability crisis. Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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More Affordable Homes For More People
Saadian noted that the coronavirus should also be a call to reform the policies that made renters so vulnerable to homelessness in the first place.
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the federal government’s primary vehicle for encouraging affordable housing production, mostly goes to renters who earn around 60% of the local median income. In some cities, households earning as much as $117,400 are eligible for subsidized housing. Attacking the roots of the country’s eviction and homeless crises, Saadian said, will require targeting low-income renters and addressing the federal government’s decades-long underfunding of affordable housing.
“The housing shortage is almost entirely at the low end of the income spectrum,” Saadian said. “If there isn’t sufficient housing at the low end, the problem ends up affecting people higher up the income spectrum.”
The coronavirus may also provide an opportunity for cities to solve the other driver of the housing crisis: the near-impossibility of building more homes in overgrown cities.
“We basically stopped building housing in 2008,” said Jeff Tucker, an economist for real estate listing site Zillow. “We have this huge housing deficit at the same time we have several million extra people in their 30s who are disproportionately renting right now and trying to transition to homeownership.”
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If cities don’t address this mismatch, the country could return to its trajectory of soaring home prices relatively quickly after the pandemic is over — or maybe even before. Tucker said that Zillow’s web traffic fell roughly 20% at the start of the pandemic but is now 20% higher than it was last year. “Virtual tours” of homes have increased sevenfold.
Some of this increase is due to Americans having more time to browse real estate listings, but it may also indicate that some potential home buyers, especially affluent ones, plan to use the drop in demand to climb onto the housing ladder. If rents and prices continue to climb as they did before the pandemic, they will only increase the displacement and homelessness risks.
The pandemic should be a call for cities to rethink their economic structures, Schuetz said.


huffpost--2020-05-03--I'm A Doctor In A COVID-19 Unit. Before You Call Me A Hero, Here's What You Should Know.

I spent my first year as a doctor at a cancer hospital , which had required me to learn the language that doctors use when patients are at the end of life , but the sudden and unique nature of this situation made it especially challenging .
Mrs. L ’ s daughter had been unable to visit the hospital in prior days , given the new visitation restrictions .
Mrs. L died .
Walking out of her room after pronouncing her deceased , I found her nurse in the workstation .
She had tears pooling in the corners of her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of comfort I also needed to hear : “ We did all that we could , ” and “ She ’ s no longer suffering.
” To compose myself for whatever would happen next , I headed to the workroom on 10 West , where I ate a pudding from a bag with a note that said , “ Thank You Healthcare Heroes !
” I had volunteered for this .
Knowing the risks , I felt a personal obligation to help my colleagues on the front lines .
My passion for medicine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I viewed this opportunity to serve outside my specialty as a privilege to be able to help our patient population and to support our physician community .
But what was the best way to help ?
Was there a role for an ophthalmology resident ?
As I mulled over these thoughts , I recalled what I had read about Dr. Li Wenliang , an ophthalmologist in China who had made international news when he raised alarms about the virus .
His warnings were not based on a clinical trial or an epidemiological @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on his clinical judgment and observations and did what he thought was right .
He was a doctor first , not “ just ” an ophthalmologist .
The example he set was a reminder that when the moment is right , I should trust my instincts and act to help others .
It was with this motivation that I offered myself in service — this was a chance to shape my career not just as an ophthalmologist , but also simply as a physician .
As the nights went on , I learned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ COVID-19.
” It led to some unexpected outcomes and some puzzling findings .
Patients might appear fine , then rapidly decompensate .
There were blood clots .
Escalating inflammatory markers heralded the onset of end-organ failure and in many cases , death .
We gave hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin , but then we stopped the azithromycin based on new evidence .
Patients were enrolled in what seemed like mysterious trials of viral replication inhibitors and immunotherapies .
Was any of it working ?
I could hardly tell .
The faceless interactions of my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ goggled self with the patient ’ s own adornments of oxygen tubing and masks made it hard to really communicate .
My words had no face ; I was just the pair of eyes that I once saw reflected from the window , superimposed on a glimmer of Manhattan ’ s lights .
And as patients attempted to speak , oxygen fought its way in the other direction across the vocal cords toward the infected lungs , and the mouth formed words without sound .
“ I want you to know that we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appreciate you , ” a lady said as she approached me , as I was sipping my coffee on a Central Park bench the evening before another shift .
“ You and all the other doctors , you ’ re all heroes , ” she finished .
This time , I felt less shy .
I thanked her , and I felt pride swell up in my chest .
Upon entering the hospital that evening , I could hear the now-routine 7:00 p.m. applause and cheering .
Later the following week , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the doormen in my old building , a hospital-owned apartment building filled with young physicians , had died from the coronavirus .
My feelings of pride suddenly turned to guilt .
Had we done this to him ?
As unwitting vectors of this virus , moving to and from the hospital , perhaps we had exposed him .
If not for us , I could not help but think , he would still be alive .
He had greeted me on countless late nights as I hurried to and from one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had delivered our packages , accepted our food deliveries , called up as friends had arrived .
Those days are over now .
There is no more routine ophthalmology , no more social gatherings , and more horrifying of all , there is no more Mr. F. This is the reality of the virus — it kills those that are more vulnerable , those that we too often walk past .
To me , it was a privilege to volunteer on the so-called front lines .
First and foremost , it was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and nurses , it has not been .
I also think often of the numerous essential workers who have little choice in the matter , whose role has transformed into one of daily risk and fear of infection .
The hero who worked as a doorman in my building was one of them , and so many of my patients were , as well .
The more work I did in the hospital , the more I became humbled by the tremendous work that others were doing , the ones who could not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ended .
We can all be helpers , and we all have a role to play as this crisis continues to unfold .
The words of encouragement , the donations of food and personal protective equipment have been nothing short of inspiring .
I can only hope that the teamwork and collaboration that has taken place during this time will continue , and that we will pay more attention to those in our communities that we tend to overlook or take for granted .

A selfie the author took in full PPE. Photo Courtesy of Ethan Sobol
On my way home from my first night shift on the “COVID wards,” I was struck by the stillness of 3rd Avenue. The cool air hit my now-unmasked face for the first time in several hours. I felt refreshed, perhaps more awake than I had felt hours earlier in the midst of caring for a quickly declining patient.
Mrs. L was suffering from multi-organ failure. My team had helped keep her alive through the night, but it was hard to tell if we had made a lasting difference.
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With the cold air on my face, I felt invigorated. After weeks of anxiously reading the news and wondering how far this crisis would progress, I finally was on the “front lines” as an ophthalmology resident working on the medicine wards caring for patients with COVID-19.
My thoughts were interrupted as a middle-aged man suddenly approached me on the sidewalk, blocking my path. “Thank you for everything you’re doing,” he said. I flinched; as a seasoned New Yorker, I’m suspicious of any stranger approaching me. “You’re a hero!” he said, before heading back to his car. Continuing my walk home, I responded almost inaudibly, “You’re welcome.”
The next night, we were less successful. Despite our best efforts, Mrs. L appeared to be dying. Other patients were sick, too. Drawing upon muscle memory from my time as an intern nearly two years ago, I found myself inserting nasogastric tubes, drawing arterial blood gases, calling a cardiology consult, pushing intravenous medications, and placing countless orders.
Amid the chaos, there was barely time to consider the implications of Mrs. L’s clinical status. When it finally became clear that there was nothing more we could do, the hardest part was calling her daughter in the middle of the night and breaking the news.
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I spent my first year as a doctor at a cancer hospital, which had required me to learn the language that doctors use when patients are at the end of life, but the sudden and unique nature of this situation made it especially challenging. Mrs. L’s daughter had been unable to visit the hospital in prior days, given the new visitation restrictions.
Mrs. L died. Walking out of her room after pronouncing her deceased, I found her nurse in the workstation. She had tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. I offered her the words of comfort I also needed to hear: “We did all that we could,” and “She’s no longer suffering.” To compose myself for whatever would happen next, I headed to the workroom on 10 West, where I ate a pudding from a bag with a note that said, “Thank You Healthcare Heroes!”
I could barely taste it.
I had volunteered for this. Knowing the risks, I felt a personal obligation to help my colleagues on the front lines. My passion for medicine had never just been about ophthalmology, and I viewed this opportunity to serve outside my specialty as a privilege to be able to help our patient population and to support our physician community.
But what was the best way to help? Was there a role for an ophthalmology resident? As I mulled over these thoughts, I recalled what I had read about Dr. Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist in China who had made international news when he raised alarms about the virus. His warnings were not based on a clinical trial or an epidemiological study ― he simply spoke out based on his clinical judgment and observations and did what he thought was right. He was a doctor first, not “just” an ophthalmologist.
People in Hong Kong attend a vigil on Feb. 7, 2020 for Chinese doctor Li Wenliang, who died of COVID-19 at age 33. ASSOCIATED PRESS
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The example he set was a reminder that when the moment is right, I should trust my instincts and act to help others. It was with this motivation that I offered myself in service — this was a chance to shape my career not just as an ophthalmologist, but also simply as a physician.
As the nights went on, I learned more and more about the disease named “COVID-19.” It led to some unexpected outcomes and some puzzling findings. Patients might appear fine, then rapidly decompensate. There were blood clots. Escalating inflammatory markers heralded the onset of end-organ failure and in many cases, death. We gave hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin, but then we stopped the azithromycin based on new evidence. Patients were enrolled in what seemed like mysterious trials of viral replication inhibitors and immunotherapies. Was any of it working? I could hardly tell.
The traditional exam with a stethoscope barely mattered — instead, there was the increased work of breathing, the breathlessness, the accessory muscle use, the slowly declining oxygen saturation numbers listed as percentages like test scores at the bedside. Ninety-three percent was good, 90% was good enough, but someone with a lower score needed extra help.
I, too, felt frequently out of breath after taking the stairs in an N95 mask and face shield, and after nearly yelling to ask patients questions over the loud hum of the various oxygen delivery devices ― nasal cannulas, non-rebreathers, high flow nasal cannulas, and BiPAPs. Presumably, the patient can’t hear you while intubated, but sometimes we’d try to talk to them.
The faceless interactions of my masked, gowned, gloved, and goggled self with the patient’s own adornments of oxygen tubing and masks made it hard to really communicate. My words had no face; I was just the pair of eyes that I once saw reflected from the window, superimposed on a glimmer of Manhattan’s lights. And as patients attempted to speak, oxygen fought its way in the other direction across the vocal cords toward the infected lungs, and the mouth formed words without sound.
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It was so difficult to even talk to my patients. Was I doing anything at all?
“I want you to know that we’re all praying for you and appreciate you,” a lady said as she approached me, as I was sipping my coffee on a Central Park bench the evening before another shift. “You and all the other doctors, you’re all heroes,” she finished. This time, I felt less shy. I thanked her, and I felt pride swell up in my chest. Upon entering the hospital that evening, I could hear the now-routine 7:00 p.m. applause and cheering.
Later the following week, I found out that Mr. F, one of the doormen in my old building, a hospital-owned apartment building filled with young physicians, had died from the coronavirus. My feelings of pride suddenly turned to guilt. Had we done this to him? As unwitting vectors of this virus, moving to and from the hospital, perhaps we had exposed him. If not for us, I could not help but think, he would still be alive.
He had greeted me on countless late nights as I hurried to and from one of the hospitals while on call. He had delivered our packages, accepted our food deliveries, called up as friends had arrived. Those days are over now. There is no more routine ophthalmology, no more social gatherings, and more horrifying of all, there is no more Mr. F. This is the reality of the virus — it kills those that are more vulnerable, those that we too often walk past.
“My feelings of pride suddenly turned to guilt. ... As unwitting vectors of this virus, moving to and from the hospital, perhaps we had exposed him. If not for us, I could not help but think, he would still be alive.”
To me, it was a privilege to volunteer on the so-called front lines. First and foremost, it was a choice — but for many other physicians and nurses, it has not been. I also think often of the numerous essential workers who have little choice in the matter, whose role has transformed into one of daily risk and fear of infection.
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The hero who worked as a doorman in my building was one of them, and so many of my patients were, as well. The more work I did in the hospital, the more I became humbled by the tremendous work that others were doing, the ones who could not take a break until the pandemic has ended.
We can all be helpers, and we all have a role to play as this crisis continues to unfold. The words of encouragement, the donations of food and personal protective equipment have been nothing short of inspiring. I can only hope that the teamwork and collaboration that has taken place during this time will continue, and that we will pay more attention to those in our communities that we tend to overlook or take for granted.
As I prepare to return to my duties in ophthalmology, caring for the vision-threatening emergencies that still can occur during the pandemic, I’m simply glad to have played a part. But the next time someone calls me a hero, I hope I am quick enough to respond, “I am not the hero, but let me tell you about some people who are...”
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huffpost--2020-05-02--President's Campaign Reportedly Ordering 'Trump Branded' Face Masks For Supporters

Campaign organizers hope the masks , meant to guard against the spread of the coronavirus , will help Trump woo older voters who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 — and who are increasingly supporting Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden amid the pandemic , according to the Journal .
They ’ ll be handed out free or provided in exchange for a campaign a donation , the newspaper reported .
The masks are an ironic touch , given that the president dismissed the threat of COVID-19 as recently as March .
He also doesn ’ t wear protective masks and has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wearing one .
Vice President Mike Pence triggered controversy Tuesday when he ignored a Mayo Clinic requirement to wear a mask during a tour of the medical complex .
He was the only person in sight without one as he greeted health care workers and at least one patient .
In a fact-follows-fiction twist , “ Saturday Night Live ” in February mocked the Trump administration ’ s fumbling response to COVID-19 with a sketch featuring Beck Bennett as Pence and Kenan Thompson as Housing Secretary Dr. Ben Carson pitching “ Make America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be purchased from the White House , but “ it may take a couple months for delivery because they are made in Wuhan , China , ” Thompson ’ s Carson cautioned .
Trump has trailed Biden nationally among voters 65 and older in four national Wall Street Journal/NBC New polls this year .
Trump won 52 % of those voters against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in 2016 , according to exit polls .
In another bid to woo older voters , Trump ’ s campaign on Sunday will begin airing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ profile as a fighter against COVID-19 .
The Trump campaign couldn ’ t immediately be reached for comment about the masks .
Critics on Twitter loved the mask idea — if only to skewer it .

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President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is ordering red “Trump branded” face masks, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Campaign organizers hope the masks, meant to guard against the spread of the coronavirus, will help Trump woo older voters who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 — and who are increasingly supporting Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden amid the pandemic, according to the Journal. They’ll be handed out free or provided in exchange for a campaign a donation, the newspaper reported.
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The masks are an ironic touch, given that the president dismissed the threat of COVID-19 as recently as March. He also doesn’t wear protective masks and has indicated he has no intention of ever wearing one.
Vice President Mike Pence triggered controversy Tuesday when he ignored a Mayo Clinic requirement to wear a mask during a tour of the medical complex. He was the only person in sight without one as he greeted health care workers and at least one patient.
In a fact-follows-fiction twist, “Saturday Night Live” in February mocked the Trump administration’s fumbling response to COVID-19 with a sketch featuring Beck Bennett as Pence and Kenan Thompson as Housing Secretary Dr. Ben Carson pitching “Make America Great Again” masks. The masks could be purchased from the White House, but “it may take a couple months for delivery because they are made in Wuhan, China,” Thompson’s Carson cautioned.
Trump has trailed Biden nationally among voters 65 and older in four national Wall Street Journal/NBC New polls this year. Trump won 52% of those voters against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in 2016, according to exit polls.
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In another bid to woo older voters, Trump’s campaign on Sunday will begin airing a TV ad aimed at beefing up his profile as a fighter against COVID-19.
The Trump campaign couldn’t immediately be reached for comment about the masks.
Critics on Twitter loved the mask idea — if only to skewer it.
How the hell can that happen when heath are workers cannot get the needed PPE’s ! #WorstPresidentInHistory — Mary Furse (@lastoften) May 1, 2020
But our hospitals and dental offices can get any. SMDH — preising (@preising) May 1, 2020
MAGAts think C19 is a hoax. No masks for them — Montanagirl (@Margare93369457) May 1, 2020
The mask of the red death. — Will Saletan (@saletan) May 1, 2020
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Anyone know where I can get a MAGA bodybag? — Danny Goldberg (@dannygberg) May 1, 2020
Made in China? — Grokken The Masked Sea Monster (@grokken) May 1, 2020


huffpost--2020-04-14--At Least 40 Interior Department Employees Tested Positive For COVID-19

Almost every bureau of the Interior Department ’ s vast agency ― 70,000 employees across 2,400 nationwide offices ― has had at least one employee test positive for the virus .
The Interior Department has kept these numbers private , while leaving most public parks and refuges open to the public even as public lands experts warn it could put workers and visitors at risk .
As of Tuesday , 40 Interior Department employees are being treated for coronavirus , with positive cases in offices ranging from the Office of the Solicitor to the Bureau of Reclamation .
The daily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fluctuates , as employees either test positive for the virus , recover or perish , making it unclear the total number of Interior employees over the course of the epidemic who have come down with the virus .
The Interior-wide COVID-19 tally , collected daily through bureau self-reporting to a national internal database , offers a window into the department ’ s ad hoc information-gathering and -sharing measures undertaken as a result of the spreading national pandemic , which has affected staffers across the country .
Bureaus whose duties typically include fieldwork outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to the numbers .
The National Park Service had the largest number of positive COVID-19 cases among its staff : 10 cases as of April 7 with the tally dropping to eight as of April 10 .
The tally did not distinguish whether the two employees recovered or died .
The Bureau of Indian Affairs and its education arm , the Bureau of Indian Education , reported seven cases of COVID-19 among its employees , who work largely within Native American communities and are often of American Indian or Alaska Native @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disproportionately from diseases and are considered especially vulnerable to coronavirus ; according to internal department figures , 35 tribes have reported at least one case of COVID-19 .
The Bureau of Land Management reported four cases .
It is largely decentralized across the U.S. , with 95 % of employees outside of Washington ( a proportion made greater this year under the bureau ’ s controversial reorganization ) .
Many of the bureau ’ s employees are responsible for overseeing public land use and environmental enforcement in some capacity .
The U.S. Geological @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country responsible for field work that includes mapping of earthquake data , also reported four cases .
At least 39 employees there have been directed to quarantine as a result of potential exposure , according to the database .
Employees at the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement , which largely oversees oil production in the Gulf of Mexico , reported four cases of COVID-19 as well .
One of the bureau ’ s field offices is located in New Orleans , a city that has been hit hard by the COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ course of the pandemic has resisted calls to publicly release the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases within the agency .
A handful of agencies , including the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection , have been releasing their COVID-19 counts .
An Interior Department spokesperson said the agency is tracking all reported positive employee cases of COVID-19 “ to ensure proper public health actions are being taken , ” and that employees and the public are informed only when there ’ s a possible risk of exposure .
Methods they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office and building cleaning and required periods of self-isolation for affected employees .
“ President [ Donald ] Trump has led and coordinated an ‘ All-of-America ’ strategy to combat the coronavirus pandemic and slow the spread .
The Department of the Interior has accordingly done its part to protect the health and safety of the public and our employees by taking significant mitigation actions , ” an Interior Department spokesperson said in a statement .
One of Interior ’ s agencies , the National Park Service , has for weeks faced criticism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of national parks open to the public in some capacity .
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt hailed the park system in letters to staff as a great social distancing opportunity for the public , despite staff pushing internally , and in some cases publicly , to close down the parks for safety reasons .
The Grand Canyon , a major site of contention , officially closed April 1 , after a concession employee in the park tested positive .
There ’ s currently a third officer in New York who has been tested for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Shelton .
The main concern for officers like Shelton , who patrols the George Washington Parkway in D.C. , is contamination from the public who continue to visit open sites such as Washington ’ s National Mall .
The park police has already experienced a shrinking of its ranks dating back years due to budget cuts , and any contamination could be a major impact to the group that totals nearly 530 officers nationwide , with approximately 100 officers in New York .
“ The Secretary of Interior has outright refused and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in certain areas to close parks .
He ’ s exposed all of these officers , ” Shelton said .
“ Quite frankly , the Secretary of Interior has been sending a horrible message and going against what the administration is pushing [ on social distancing ] .
It ’ s very counterproductive and frustrating that people aren ’ t on the same page .
”

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At least 40 employees across the Department of the Interior have tested positive for COVID-19 and are considered contagious, resulting in mandatory employee quarantines, office closures and deep cleanings, according to internal data reviewed by HuffPost.
Almost every bureau of the Interior Department’s vast agency ― 70,000 employees across 2,400 nationwide offices ― has had at least one employee test positive for the virus. The Interior Department has kept these numbers private, while leaving most public parks and refuges open to the public even as public lands experts warn it could put workers and visitors at risk.
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As of Tuesday, 40 Interior Department employees are being treated for coronavirus, with positive cases in offices ranging from the Office of the Solicitor to the Bureau of Reclamation. The daily internal tally of cases across the agency fluctuates, as employees either test positive for the virus, recover or perish, making it unclear the total number of Interior employees over the course of the epidemic who have come down with the virus. The Interior-wide COVID-19 tally, collected daily through bureau self-reporting to a national internal database, offers a window into the department’s ad hoc information-gathering and -sharing measures undertaken as a result of the spreading national pandemic, which has affected staffers across the country.
Bureaus whose duties typically include fieldwork outside of Washington have been hit the hardest, according to the numbers. The National Park Service had the largest number of positive COVID-19 cases among its staff: 10 cases as of April 7 with the tally dropping to eight as of April 10. The tally did not distinguish whether the two employees recovered or died.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs and its education arm, the Bureau of Indian Education, reported seven cases of COVID-19 among its employees, who work largely within Native American communities and are often of American Indian or Alaska Native descent themselves. Those communities often suffer disproportionately from diseases and are considered especially vulnerable to coronavirus; according to internal department figures, 35 tribes have reported at least one case of COVID-19. The Bureau of Land Management reported four cases. It is largely decentralized across the U.S., with 95% of employees outside of Washington (a proportion made greater this year under the bureau’s controversial reorganization). Many of the bureau’s employees are responsible for overseeing public land use and environmental enforcement in some capacity.
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The U.S. Geological Survey, which has employees all over the country responsible for field work that includes mapping of earthquake data, also reported four cases. At least 39 employees there have been directed to quarantine as a result of potential exposure, according to the database.
Employees at the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which largely oversees oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, reported four cases of COVID-19 as well. One of the bureau’s field offices is located in New Orleans, a city that has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Fish and Wildlife Service, the bureau responsible for overseeing wildlife refuges across the U.S., reported three positive COVID-19 cases and has issued quarantine orders to at least 193 employees.
The Interior Department during the course of the pandemic has resisted calls to publicly release the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases within the agency. A handful of agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection, have been releasing their COVID-19 counts. An Interior Department spokesperson said the agency is tracking all reported positive employee cases of COVID-19 “to ensure proper public health actions are being taken,” and that employees and the public are informed only when there’s a possible risk of exposure. Methods they are putting into place include contact tracing, office and building cleaning and required periods of self-isolation for affected employees.
“President [Donald] Trump has led and coordinated an ‘All-of-America’ strategy to combat the coronavirus pandemic and slow the spread. The Department of the Interior has accordingly done its part to protect the health and safety of the public and our employees by taking significant mitigation actions,” an Interior Department spokesperson said in a statement.
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The department would not provide answers to the number of total employees who have tested positive under the pandemic.
“The attitude is, ‘We’re going to keep business as usual for as long as possible. The less information we disclose, the better,’” Jeff Ruch, Pacific director of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said of Interior’s communications strategy. “It’s like, why break your backs to collect it?”
One of Interior’s agencies, the National Park Service, has for weeks faced criticism over the decision to keep the majority of national parks open to the public in some capacity. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt hailed the park system in letters to staff as a great social distancing opportunity for the public, despite staff pushing internally, and in some cases publicly, to close down the parks for safety reasons. The Grand Canyon, a major site of contention, officially closed April 1, after a concession employee in the park tested positive.
A spokesperson for the National Park Service said officials “will only provide public information where an employee presented an exposure risk for the public based on CDC guidance.” They would not confirm the most up-to-date number of COVID-19 cases in the agency.
“Where employees may have exposed any of their colleagues, the NPS Office of Public Health will work with local authorities and the impacted employees to follow proper public health procedures to keep one another safe,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
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Contamination concerns extend to U.S. Park Police officers, who are responsible for patrolling major public parks and high-volume tourist destinations in Washington, D.C, San Francisco and New York City ― three of the most heavily hit coronavirus regions. Officers patrol popular sites including the Lincoln Memorial, Golden Gate Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.
At least two USPP officers have tested positive in New York, according to the internal Interior data, a reality that could be disastrous for the small number of officers tasked with overseeing sites.
“Our field offices are literally in the hardest-hit areas,” said Mike Shelton, vice chairman of the union that represents officers, the United States Park Police Fraternal Order of Police. “Police officers are very much scared to come to work.”
There’s currently a third officer in New York who has been tested for COVID-19 and is awaiting results, according to Shelton. The main concern for officers like Shelton, who patrols the George Washington Parkway in D.C., is contamination from the public who continue to visit open sites such as Washington’s National Mall. The park police has already experienced a shrinking of its ranks dating back years due to budget cuts, and any contamination could be a major impact to the group that totals nearly 530 officers nationwide, with approximately 100 officers in New York.
“We’re literally on a skeleton crew to begin with, but now we are concerned because one officer who gets infected can take out an entire station,” he said.
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His biggest frustration is a lack of a coherent messaging from Interior leadership.
“The Secretary of Interior has outright refused and ignored the Park Service’s request in certain areas to close parks. He’s exposed all of these officers,” Shelton said. “Quite frankly, the Secretary of Interior has been sending a horrible message and going against what the administration is pushing [on social distancing]. It’s very counterproductive and frustrating that people aren’t on the same page.”
Ruch said the main question now facing Interior is what it will do once statewide stay at home orders are lifted, which he argues is why positive COVID-19 cases aren’t being shared publicly.


huffpost--2020-04-14--Carey Hart Recounts 3-Year-Old Son And Wife Pink's 'Intense' Coronavirus Battle

Carey Hart has revealed details about the frightening experience he had living with his wife Pink and 3-year-old son Jameson while they battled coronavirus symptoms .
The former motocross star recounted the recent ordeal during an interview with SiriusXM ’ s “ The Jason Ellis Show ” Monday , saying that while he and their 8-year-old daughter Willow remained healthy , both his 40-year-old wife and young son took ill. “ It was intense .
They both got extremely sick .
My son probably got the worst of the two of them , which debunked the whole theory that this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Hart had been in Daytona Beach , Florida , for a motorcycle rally and returned home on March 11 , several days before his family members became sick .
Since that time , the family had remained quarantined .
“ The symptoms started to kick up , we probably stayed home for another 10 days and then my son took a turn for the worse .
He ’ d have extremely high body temperature , I mean he was up around 102 , 103 , for a solid two , going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Hart said Jameson took baths four or five times a day in an attempt to break his temperature , and Pink ( whose real name is Alecia Beth Moore ) struggled to breathe , in part due to her pre-existing asthma .
Pink , whose real name is Alecia Beth Moore , recently shared personal details of her “ rollercoaster ” battle with the disease , highlighting how both she and her son struggled to recover .
She said she tested positive for COVID-19 , the disease caused by the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ symptoms .
Hart clarified that they were only able to access testing for his wife , not Jameson .
“ It ’ s funny , at one point , I heard myself saying ‘ I thought they promised us our kids would be okay.
’ It ’ s not guaranteed .
There is no one that is safe from this , ” Pink said , shortly after her diagnosis .
She also harshly criticized the lack of testing .
Pink has donated $ 1 million to two funds to support healthcare workers battling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Temple University Hospital Emergency Fund in Philadelphia , where her mom , Judy Moore , worked for 18 years in the Cardiomyopathy and Heart Transplant Center , and another $ 500,000 will go to the Los Angeles Mayor ’ s Emergency COVID-19 Crisis Fund .

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Carey Hart has revealed details about the frightening experience he had living with his wife Pink and 3-year-old son Jameson while they battled coronavirus symptoms.
The former motocross star recounted the recent ordeal during an interview with SiriusXM’s “The Jason Ellis Show” Monday, saying that while he and their 8-year-old daughter Willow remained healthy, both his 40-year-old wife and young son took ill.
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“It was intense. They both got extremely sick. My son probably got the worst of the two of them, which debunked the whole theory that this only hit old people,” Hart said.
Hart had been in Daytona Beach, Florida, for a motorcycle rally and returned home on March 11, several days before his family members became sick. Since that time, the family had remained quarantined.
“The symptoms started to kick up, we probably stayed home for another 10 days and then my son took a turn for the worse. He’d have extremely high body temperature, I mean he was up around 102, 103, for a solid two, going on three weeks straight,” Hart said.
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Hart said Jameson took baths four or five times a day in an attempt to break his temperature, and Pink (whose real name is Alecia Beth Moore) struggled to breathe, in part due to her pre-existing asthma.
Pink, whose real name is Alecia Beth Moore, recently shared personal details of her “rollercoaster” battle with the disease, highlighting how both she and her son struggled to recover. She said she tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and her son too was displaying symptoms. Hart clarified that they were only able to access testing for his wife, not Jameson.
“It’s funny, at one point, I heard myself saying ‘I thought they promised us our kids would be okay.’ It’s not guaranteed. There is no one that is safe from this,” Pink said, shortly after her diagnosis. She also harshly criticized the lack of testing.