There are 1.4 million global cases. There have been over 80,000 deaths around the world. The US added over 27,000 cases and over 1,800 deaths since yesterday. The US has nearly 400,000 confirmed cases, most of which are in NY.
Logisitics reports indicate that many meat processing plants, including Tyson and others, are slowing production or halting production altogether because of illness or risk of illness to staff. This could impact grocery store supply. American milk producers are also suffering and some, like Berkeley Farms, have been shuttered. Unrelenting news about food production impacts and supply chain problems has me worried that grocery shelves will continue to be sparse into the foreseeable future.
Hospitals are running out of toilet paper and other important supplies. Administrators cite lack of government coordination and communication, equipment bidding wars, price gouging, and supply chain shortages as principle problems. States are having problems getting supplies though FEMA:
Gov @GovPritzker confirms that the federal ‘Air Bridge’ flights from China, organized by the White House taskforce, are bringing PPE back from China which are then turned over to private companies. The states then have to bid against each other to purchase from those companies. pic.twitter.com/QG62dWtQuc
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 7, 2020
Waiting in long, crowded lines to vote is dangerous. Maintain social distancing in lines if you must, and find a better way if you can. This is an example of mitigation and safety practices while voting (not a political endorsement):
NEW: The Democratic Party of Wisconsin just put up this guide to where to find curbside voting & absentee ballot dropoffs in your city. Can you RT this far & wide? https://t.co/XBROvUVHfA
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) April 7, 2020
Hospitals are separating mothers from their newborns when COVID status is unknown and suspected positive. This is a tough decision, and nobody really knows how necessary it is. China separated all infants from mothers during the crisis. Research into the need for this kind of separation is ongoing.
Weekly flu deaths v. weekly COVID-19 deaths—a “hockey stick” curve is bad news, indeed:
More compelling evidence for the withering ‘just the flu’ gang. pic.twitter.com/yXu2ESbDki
— Doc (@DocTooch) April 7, 2020
Pritzker allows prisoner furloughs in Illinois as increasing number of prison inmates get sick. 62 inmates and 40 correctional officers are sick with COVID-19. The jails have hundreds of cases as well.
Acting Secretary of the Navy resigns after insulting Crozier. Meanwhile, 0ver 1,500 servicemembers have tested positive. The Navy is leading the pack.
Huge numbers of New Yorkers are dying in their homes. The bodies are not being tested posthumously for the pandemic virus. Deaths from the virus are absolutely being undercounted. 200 New Yorkers are dying in their homes each day, which is about 10 times more than would be expected.
SARS-CoV-2 also attacks the heart, leading to a number of horrible (if not fatal) cardiac ailments.
