Archive for 2020
April 10, 2020
They do telegraph their sympathies — and lack thereof — pretty clearly, don’t they?
Also, IowaHawk is a national treasure.
NEWS FROM MY NECK OF THE WOODS: Coronavirus in Tennessee: Active Knox County cases down to 35, 154 total; race, zip code data coming today.
The Knox County Health Department is reporting two new cases on Friday, bringing the total case number to 154.
There are now 35 active cases in the county as of April 10, down from 42 on Thursday.
“We’re seeing a slowed rate of increase in our cases, which is exactly what we are wanting to see and we are encouraged by that with the social distancing we have going on,” Charity Menefee, director of Communicable and Environmental Disease at KCHD, said. “But we are still seeing a steady increase in cases. We have not started going down the other side of the curve yet. We are still going up.”
The total number of recovered cases now stands at 115, up from 106 on Thursday. Recovered cases refer to those who have been released from isolation after seven days from their onset of symptoms, plus 72 hours of being symptom-free. Recovered does not mean necessarily the person had to be hospitalized.
Eighteen of the 154 cases have resulted in hospitalization at any point during the illness. This figure does not reflect the number of patients currently hospitalized in the county.
In Knox County, 3,150 total tests have now been conducted.
So far so good. Still four deaths.
TRUMP TO ANNOUNCE A NEW REOPENING TASK FORCE. “President Trump said Friday that he’ll be announcing a new council next week devoted to ‘opening our country’ as the coronavirus lockdown continues. The panel, separate from the Coronavirus Task Force, will be comprised of doctors and business leaders, the president said. The announcement will likely come Tuesday. The president said the task force will be broader than just an economic one. He also confirmed that some mayors and governors could be in the group.”
HMM: Coronavirus: low antibody levels raise questions about reinfection risk. “Researchers in Shanghai hope to determine whether some recovered coronavirus patients have a higher risk of reinfection after finding surprisingly low levels of Covid-19 antibodies in a number of people discharged from hospital. A team from Fudan University analysed blood samples from 175 patients discharged from the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre and found that nearly a third had unexpectedly low levels of antibodies. In some cases, antibodies could not be detected at all.”
UPDATE: So some possibilities: The report could be false, or mistaken. Either is possible, and doubly so coming out of China. Or these people never had Covid-19 at all. Alternatively, it’s the innate immune system rather than the adaptive immune system that is key. Kids generally get few symptoms and their innate immune systems are much stronger than adults’. Maybe an effective innate immune response doesn’t produce a strong antibody count because it kills the disease off first.
WANT TO TAKE A BREAK FROM THE SERIOUS NEWS FOR A FEW MINUTES? Florida Man Friday: Everybody Is Kung-Flu Fighting.
PBS’S YAMICHE ALCINDOR MAKES SURPRISE IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION TO TRUMP 2020 REELECTION BID:
PBS’ Yamiche Alcindor confronted Surgeon General Jerome Adams on his statement that “African-Americans and Latinos should avoid alcohol, drugs and tobacco,” clarifying that people were offended by the language he used.
“I have a quick question for you. You said that African-Americans and Latinos should avoid cool, drugs and tobacco. You also said, ‘do it for you Abuela, do it for big momma and papa,” she said. “There are some people online that are already offended by that language and the idea that you’re saying behaviors might be leading to these high death rates.”
“Could you talk about whether or not — I guess have a response to the people that might be offended by the language you used?” Alcindor asked.
Jim Treacher is astonished at Alcindor’s journalistic efficiency:
UPDATE: “If you thought it was crazy that Yamiche would suggest our black surgeon general is racist, keep in mind she also believed” Jussie Smullett.
QUOTE ME AS SAYING I WAS MISQUOTED: Muslim cleric who asked Allah to send virus to kill 500 million Indians now says he was quoted out of context.
POINTS IN ITS FAVOR, BUT WE SHOULD CANCEL ITS CAREER ANYHOW: No, the coronavirus isn’t racist.
FASTER, PLEASE? A Team Exploited the Coronavirus Pandemic to Set a 26-Hour 38-Minute Cross-Country Record. “It did not escape many long-time Cannonballers that an immobilized workforce and hard times might create ideal road conditions for fast driving thanks to much lower traffic volumes. Musing in online chat groups ensued. But most decided that it was better to cast their lot with the rest of humanity and stay home. Most, but not all.”
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: Communist China and the Democrats: How Close Are They?
This one is just for our VIP members, and I hope you’ll use that VODKAPUNDIT discount code if you’ve been thinking of becoming a supporter.
ALL THE BEST PEOPLE TOLD THEM IT WAS EASIER TO BUY A GUN THAN TO BUY A BOOK: Virus-Panicked Liberal Gun Buyers Are Getting Angry When They Discover Their Own Gun Control Laws.