Thanks for the links, Heretic... it's appreciated, as always...
Man, this whole situation is a fucking nightmare. From afar, I've kept an eye on the numbers in Indiana... they don't look good to me... how are you guys doing?
Heretic
Posts : 3520
Subject: Re: COVID-19 4/17/2020, 2:09 pm
Like, I expected Trump to be terrible, but not tens of thousands of dead terrible. We're close to what, almost two full weeks of 9/11s? Holy fuck.
Just as cases are starting to plateau in some big cities and along the coasts, the coronavirus is catching fire in rural states across the American heartland, where there has been a small but significant spike this week in cases. Playing out amid these outbreaks is a clash between a frontier culture that values individual freedom and personal responsibility, and the onerous but necessary restrictions to contain a novel biological threat.
The bump in coronavirus cases is most pronounced in states without stay at home orders. Oklahoma saw a 53% increase in cases over the past week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Over same time, cases jumped 60% in Arkansas, 74% in Nebraska, and 82% in Iowa. South Dakota saw a whopping 205% spike.
The remaining states, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming each saw an increase in cases, but more in line with other places that have stay-at-home orders. And all of those numbers may very well undercount the total cases, given a persistent lack of testing across the US.
This trend undermines the notion perpetuated by President Donald Trump and some of his Republican allies that the restrictive social-distancing measures aren't necessary in rural America -- and that these states even offer a model for reopening the country.
Which was the only outcome; they can deny science all they want, but reality fucking wins. Every. Time. And now that orange muppet is trying to incite riots to force states to reopen, all of which is just going to kill a fucking ton of people since we're still not prepared, and pro-lifers like happy are just gleeful about it... I knew conservatives were completely full of shit, but this is beyond the pale.
This is just starting and it's going to be really, really terrible.
Scorpion
Posts : 2141
Subject: Re: COVID-19 4/18/2020, 12:24 am
Heretic wrote:
Like, I expected Trump to be terrible, but not tens of thousands of dead terrible. We're close to what, almost two full weeks of 9/11s? Holy fuck.
Just as cases are starting to plateau in some big cities and along the coasts, the coronavirus is catching fire in rural states across the American heartland, where there has been a small but significant spike this week in cases. Playing out amid these outbreaks is a clash between a frontier culture that values individual freedom and personal responsibility, and the onerous but necessary restrictions to contain a novel biological threat.
The bump in coronavirus cases is most pronounced in states without stay at home orders. Oklahoma saw a 53% increase in cases over the past week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Over same time, cases jumped 60% in Arkansas, 74% in Nebraska, and 82% in Iowa. South Dakota saw a whopping 205% spike.
The remaining states, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming each saw an increase in cases, but more in line with other places that have stay-at-home orders. And all of those numbers may very well undercount the total cases, given a persistent lack of testing across the US.
This trend undermines the notion perpetuated by President Donald Trump and some of his Republican allies that the restrictive social-distancing measures aren't necessary in rural America -- and that these states even offer a model for reopening the country.
Which was the only outcome; they can deny science all they want, but reality fucking wins. Every. Time. And now that orange muppet is trying to incite riots to force states to reopen, all of which is just going to kill a fucking ton of people since we're still not prepared, and pro-lifers like happy are just gleeful about it... I knew conservatives were completely full of shit, but this is beyond the pale.
This is just starting and it's going to be really, really terrible.
Yep... and the reality is that we still don't even know how widespread this virus actually is... because testing has been completely inadequate. I've seen nothing from Trump that indicates that we're going to tackle the testing problem, either.
The incompetence of our government's response to this crisis has been truly breathtaking. I don't know how all of this ends, but at this point, I have no confidence at all in the federal government.
I'm fucking sick of being stuck at home... but if we just started testing like we need to, then at least I'd have some hope that we're taking proactive steps to beat this thing.
Sometimes, I just need a break from all the bad news. I'm posting a video that provides a temporary escape... especially when coupled with a proper set of headphones and substance of your choice . For first time listeners, I suggest dropping in at about the 8 minute mark. Hopefully, you'll enjoy!
happy jack
Posts : 6988
Subject: Re: COVID-19 4/18/2020, 7:58 am
Heretic wrote:
…. pro-lifers like happy are just gleeful about it...
Don't know why you chose to lie about this, but can't say that I'm surprised, either.
happy jack
Posts : 6988
Subject: Re: COVID-19 4/18/2020, 11:21 am
Heretic wrote:
Like, I expected Trump to be terrible, but not tens of thousands of dead terrible. We're close to what, almost two full weeks of 9/11s? Holy fuck.
Agreed. Haven't seen anything this bad since Bush caused Hurricane Katrina.
Heretic
Posts : 3520
Subject: Re: COVID-19 4/18/2020, 8:52 pm
happy jack wrote:
Don't know why you chose to lie about this...
I call 'em as I see 'em. Tens of thousands dead, tens of thousands more to come, and you're still obsessing over bathroom use and, presumably, abortion. Haven't criticized this administration's response at all, offering only a lazy and easily debunked "but Obama..." as if that justified deaths three fucking years after an explicit warning.
You've continually downplayed the risks and deaths due to climate change, lack of gun regulations, healthcare, etc over and over again no matter how many studies and real world examples I cite. The only thing that can categorize such inconsistencies is a "They ain't fetuses, so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯..." If I'm wrong, then by all means, let's have an honest conversation about what's currently happening and how bad it will be if that muppet and his protesters get their way and reopen long before the science says its safe. But I highly doubt you're willing or capable.
Scorpion wrote:
Sometimes, I just need a break from all the bad news. I'm posting a video that provides a temporary escape... especially when coupled with a proper set of headphones and substance of your choice . For first time listeners, I suggest dropping in at about the 8 minute mark. Hopefully, you'll enjoy!
Shit, this was fantastic. How do you find this stuff? I had limited exposure to techno in the early 2000s thanks to a close friend of mine. Hybrid, DJ Sasha (Airdrawndagger is one of my faves), a little Oakenfold... this lower tempo stuff has always been my favorite.
And legal justification to throat punch any asshat that says "but tha swimmin' poolz..."
happy jack
Posts : 6988
Subject: Re: COVID-19 4/20/2020, 11:44 am
Heretic wrote:
If I'm wrong, then by all means, let's have an honest conversation about what's currently happening and how bad it will be if that muppet and his protesters get their way and reopen long before the science says its safe. But I highly doubt you're willing or capable.
I have absolutely no idea how bad it will be should things start to open up, and neither do you. But speaking only for myself and my family, these so-called lockdowns have had virtually no effect on our lives. I have not had more than one consecutive day off from work since this whole thing began, and the rest of the family has also been working steadily. Though we take all precautions seriously, we have been getting our gas, groceries, and other necessities at will, and we have not been cowering beneath the blankets waiting for the Reaper to knock on the door. We are, unlike Hollywood stars, MSNBC reporters, and diversity counselors, essential personnel.
The White Male Is The Biggest Risk In Spreading The Virus
The ongoing challenge for government is to keep older white men on their side as social distancing measures drag on, writes Richard Stokoe.
By Richard Stokoe
Covid-19 has found an ally in its pursuit of infecting as many people as possible in the shortest space of time — the older white man. Boris Johnson and his dad, Mike ‘Sports Direct’ Ashley, Matt Hancock, Neil and Stephen Kinnock, Tim ‘Wetherspoons’ Martin, Donald Trump, Michael ‘Ryanair’ O’Leary and Robert ‘I drove to visit my parents’ Jenrick. High-profile individuals that at first glance have very little in common. Yet they have all shown public disregard for either the virility of the virus or the advice to stay at home, self-isolate and socially distance. They are not alone. A recent UK wide poll by JL Partners found that around 3.6 million people are still ignoring social distancing advice, 2.6 million aren’t washing their hands and 3.1 million people are still content to hug or shake hands. Politicians, like Michael Gove have lazily pointed to millennials being the culprits. They cite the photos of groups of young people shopping in markets or lounging in parks as evidence that, true to form with rebellious youth, it is they that are breaking the rules and putting lives at risk. This is simply wrong. The group that will disobey warnings in a crisis far more than any other is older white men. It is known as the ’White Male Effect’. Not all older white men expose themselves to greater unnecessary risk by failing to trust or act on warnings, and not all women or young people will play ball either. We all remember ‘Chris’, the infamous BBC Radio Solent caller who proclaimed she was happy to risk walking on the beach in return for her life. But a far higher proportion of older white men will expose themselves to risk than any other group, including millennials. Research repeatedly demonstrates that white men, especially older ones, consistently ignore warnings. They have a greater distrust of officialdom and experts, believe more in their own instincts to be right over anyone else’s and, have a higher tendency to not do what they are told even if it is for their own good or the good of others. They believe in their own invincibility and immortality. In tornadoes, older white men, compared to anyone else, are less likely to take shelter. In floods they are far more likely to refuse to leave the area. During Covid-19, it means many won’t stay home to save lives. This White Male Effect will also almost certainly have played a part in how slowly the UK and the US responded to the emerging pandemic. Both the Johnson and Trump administrations have also turned to older white male experts for how to manage this crisis — the notableexceptions being Jenny Harries and Yvonne Doyle. This White Male Effect is caused primarily by the education system and society as a whole, which encourages white men to believe in their own superiority. The longer a white man lives in Western society, the longer he is exposed to subtle influences that tell him he knows best. He has a higher opinion of himself, a determination to assert dominance over others and a fear of other groups, such as younger people or women, undermining his authority. In tornadoes, older white men, compared to anyone else, are less likely to take shelter. In floods they are far more likely to refuse to leave the area. During Covid-19, it means many won’t stay home to save lives. The ongoing challenge for government is to keep older white men on their side as social distancing measures drag on. The lockdown appears to be working in terms of ‘flattening the curve’. For the current measures to continue to be successful it takes the vast majority to obey. This need to continue to alter our behaviour will wear thin on many of those older white men who originally conformed. Once the initial news blitz declines, and he hasn’t experienced Covid-19 for himself, older white man will think the government has cried wolf. He will believe it is overhyped and will become desensitised to the crisis far quicker than anyone else. The latest uptick in traffic on the roads shows that he probably already is. It won’t be easy to rein in the older white man without some form of martial law. The government has deployed every public relations trick in the book. There has been a carpet bombing of emails, letters, press briefings, adverts and headlines all delivering ever more apocalyptic warnings to the public. The doom cupboard is almost bare. The government has commandeered some of the best and most astute older white male minds to tackle the impact of coronavirus. Now they must reach out to the brightest in disaster management, behavioural economics, nudge theory, marketing and public relations, and ask them to solve the White Male Effect conundrum before it is too late. This effort must include women, ethnic minorities and younger people rather than another pale male cohort — otherwise the same mistakes will be repeated and more lives will be lost.
And do you know why we are so keen to spread this virus? Well, isn't it obvious?
CORONAVIRUS 04/08/2020 05:45 am ET Updated Apr 08, 2020 Black People Are Dying Of COVID-19 At Alarming Rates. Here’s Why.
Persistent inequities exacerbate the impact of coronavirus.
By Nina Misuraca Ignaczak and Michael Hobbes
DETROIT — Greg Bowens stopped counting when seven people he knew well had died of COVID-19. New names kept coming up on his social media feed, day after day. “How is it possible that I would know this many people who had died?” Bowens, a 55-year-old public relations professional and founder of the Grosse Pointe/Harper Woods NAACP Branch, recalled thinking to himself. That was before Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services started releasing official data showing the racial breakdown of cases and deaths on April 2. That data showed that, although just 14% of the population of Michigan is Black, 33% of coronavirus cases and 41% of deaths were in the Black community. It was little surprise to Bowens and other African Americans in Detroit, who had been witnessing the people around them falling sick and dying for several weeks.
………
Think about the phrase ‘I can’t breathe’ in reference to COVID-19 and consider where we’ve heard that before.
An Ohio man who dismissed the coronavirus pandemic as a “political ploy” and ripped his state’s lockdown as “bulls–t,” has died of COVID-19, according to reports.
John W. McDaniel, 60, passed away last Wednesday in Columbus — exactly a month after reportedly firing off a series of angry messages about the contagion.
. . .
McDaniel reportedly called “bulls–t” on Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s stay-at-home order closing bars and restaurants.
“He doesn’t have that authority. If you are paranoid about getting sick just don’t go out. It shouldn’t keep those of us from living our lives,” he wrote, according to the reports.
“The madness has to stop.”
The posts have since been deleted, but were saved and shared widely on social media, including by coronavirus talking head Dr. Dena Grayson.
McDaniel’s obituary confirmed that he died “with his loving family by his side from complications from Covid-19.” He was the first COVID-19 fatality in Marion County, the Marion Star said.
The reality is worse than the satire could ever be. Expect a lot more of these.
More than a dozen U.S. researchers, physicians and public health experts, many of them from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were working full time at the Geneva headquarters of the World Health Organization as the novel coronavirus emerged late last year and transmitted real-time information about its discovery and spread in China to the Trump administration, according to U.S. and international officials.
A number of CDC staff members are regularly detailed to work at the WHO in Geneva as part of a rotation that has operated for years. Senior Trump-appointed health officials also consulted regularly at the highest levels with the WHO as the crisis unfolded, the officials said.
The presence of so many U.S. officials undercuts President Trump’s assertion that the WHO’s failure to communicate the extent of the threat, born of a desire to protect China, is largely responsible for the rapid spread of the virus in the United States.
An Ohio man who dismissed the coronavirus pandemic as a “political ploy” and ripped his state’s lockdown as “bulls–t,” has died of COVID-19, according to reports.
John W. McDaniel, 60, passed away last Wednesday in Columbus — exactly a month after reportedly firing off a series of angry messages about the contagion.
. . .
McDaniel reportedly called “bulls–t” on Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s stay-at-home order closing bars and restaurants.
“He doesn’t have that authority. If you are paranoid about getting sick just don’t go out. It shouldn’t keep those of us from living our lives,” he wrote, according to the reports.
“The madness has to stop.”
The posts have since been deleted, but were saved and shared widely on social media, including by coronavirus talking head Dr. Dena Grayson.
McDaniel’s obituary confirmed that he died “with his loving family by his side from complications from Covid-19.” He was the first COVID-19 fatality in Marion County, the Marion Star said.
The reality is worse than the satire could ever be. Expect a lot more of these.
Fucking old white prick. Let's kill 'em all now before they infect everybody.
As so many of us are now trapped inside, unable to experience the outside world except through masks or Netflix, we’ve increasingly had to rely on the power of our minds to imagine anything beyond our current state. When will COVID-19 no longer be a threat? What will a “cure” look like? What other measures might we be forced to take to prevent the virus’s resurgence, and for how long? Who will you see and where will you go on that mythical, beautiful day when everything finally reopens—and how will our world have been transformed? These are questions that are currently left open to hypotheses and dreams, as distant and unknowable as the afterlife. But if you want to view paradise, there’s nothing to it: come with Texas congressman Louie Gohmert and you’ll see a world of pure imagination, one where all our problems can be washed away by a magical powder.
Gohmert first alerted the world to this powder during an interview with Tyler’s KLTV, when he was asked about the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine that’s been championed by President Trump as a possible treatment for the coronavirus. This despite potential heart complications, a lack of clinical trials, and studies showing it has no statistically significant effect. Nevertheless, Gohmert said he believes hydroxychloroquine could be just as powerful a weapon against the pandemic as the powder already being used in Germany that, when mixed with water, kills the virus on contact—and that Louie Gohmert, apparently, just made up.
“It is being used in Germany as a mist,” Gohmert said. “Health-care workers go through a misting tent going into the hospital, and it kills the coronavirus completely dead, not only right then, but any time in the next fourteen days that the virus touches anything that’s been sprayed, it’s killed.”
Gohmert also claims to have spoken to an Arizona-based plant that’s manufacturing the powder, saying he urged them to “fast-track” it for use in the United States. But when pressed by PolitiFact for more details about what this powder consists of, or even the name of the company where it’s supposedly being produced, Gohmert’s office didn’t respond to “multiple requests.” According to the site’s Madlin Mekelburg, however, she did get responses from officials at Germany’s Federal Ministry of Health, the German Society of Hospital Hygiene, and the German Hospital Association—all of them saying this “magic powder” simply doesn’t exist.
'Xenophobe in chief': Democrats blast Trump's plan to suspend immigration to the U.S.
Rebecca Shabad 4 hrs ago
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats slammed President Donald Trump after he announced that he plans to suspend immigration to the United States, arguing that such a move does nothing to protect Americans from the coronavirus and deflects attention away from his handling of the outbreak. "This action is not only an attempt to divert attention away from Trump's failure to stop the spread of the coronavirus and save lives, but an authoritarian-like move to take advantage of a crisis and advance his anti-immigrant agenda. We must come together to reject his division," tweeted Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. ………
A co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., tweeted that the president was "giving into racism & xenophobia."
Just so I have this straight: the liberals want more foreigners in this country, but they want fewer Americans in their streets and in their workplaces. I'll have to think about that one for a while.
A panel of experts convened by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases recommends against doctors using a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for the treatment of COVID-19 patients because of potential toxicities.
"The combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin was associated with QTc prolongation in patients with COVID-19," the panel said.
QTc prolongation increases the risk of sudden cardiac death.
The recommendation against their combined use would seem to fly in the face of comments made by President Trump suggesting the combination might be helpful. On March 21, for example, the president described them in a tweet as having a "real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine."
Heretic
Posts : 3520
Subject: Re: COVID-19 4/22/2020, 3:31 am
"They only pretend to believe these things on television for money."
Federal prosecutors this week charged a Southern California doctor with selling coronavirus treatments online — including a drug repeatedly promoted by President Trump — as a “100 percent” cure, officials said.
The doctor, Jennings Ryan Staley, 44, a licensed physician and the owner of Skinny Beach Med Spa in San Diego, was charged with mail fraud on Thursday for his role in selling “Covid-19 treatment packs” that included the medications hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said in a statement. Mr. Trump has promoted hydroxychloroquine as a “what have you got to lose” remedy.
The treatment packs were billed as a “concierge medicine experience,” and retailed “at $3,995 for a family of four, that included among other things access to Dr. Staley,” the two medications, and “anti-anxiety treatments to help you avoid panic if needed and help you sleep,” prosecutors said.
It's almost as if everyone but the President knows it doesn't work...
Scorpion
Posts : 2141
Subject: Re: COVID-19 4/23/2020, 11:11 pm
Heretic wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
Sometimes, I just need a break from all the bad news. I'm posting a video that provides a temporary escape... especially when coupled with a proper set of headphones and substance of your choice . For first time listeners, I suggest dropping in at about the 8 minute mark. Hopefully, you'll enjoy!
Shit, this was fantastic. How do you find this stuff? I had limited exposure to techno in the early 2000s thanks to a close friend of mine. Hybrid, DJ Sasha (Airdrawndagger is one of my faves), a little Oakenfold... this lower tempo stuff has always been my favorite.
I'm a music junkie...
I was also introduced to techno in the late 90s, early 2000s by a close friend... coincidence? I listened to Oakenfold and others, but somehow missed Sasha altogether. I listened to Airdrawndagger a couple of days ago... Wow... that's an album that was ahead of its time. Thanks!
There are few things in life that I like more than music, and I really got into "Deep House" music in early 2019. Luttrell will be in Portland on July 31.. I'm going if crowds are allowed by then.
There's another performance from another artist that I'd like to share, from a few years ago. This video has a whispered "audio watermark" every 5 minutes or so and a couple of short interruptions, but in my humble opinion, it may be the best live set that Yotto has ever done. Hope you like it!
Trump Threatens More Plagues Unless State Governors Let His People Go
April 22nd, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C—As more state governors lock down and enslave their people, one hero has been called to save Americans from their masters. President Donald Trump says he was commanded by a burning rose bush in the Rose Garden to confront Democratic state governors over their tyranny. He first said he wasn't sure he could do it as he was too awesome and good at this kind of thing and it would go to his head, but the rose bush agreed to send Mike Pence along with him to balance his amazingness out. "Let my people go!" Trump cried as he threw down a MAGA hat and miraculously transformed it into a Big Mac, which he then ate. "Greatest miracle, maybe ever." But the governors had their own Satanic magicians who performed similar tricks, turning their pink women's rights hats into vegan milkshakes. "Sad! Not good!" Trump said. "If you will not let my people go, more plagues will be unleashed -- the best plagues, maybe ever. We're talking bigly plagues." Sure enough, Lake Erie turned to blood, Pepe the Frogs spread across the land, and locusts descended on everything and ate everybody's crops. The Democrats didn't seem to mind the Angel of Death plague though, since most of them are already cool with abortion. After the tenth plague, some of the governors finally relented, allowing Trump to lead his people to freedom across a miraculously parted Missouri River.
'It's Okay To Cry,' Says Pathetic Excuse For A Man
April 23rd, 2020
MOUNTAIN VILLAGE, WA—“It’s okay to cry,” said Troy Pierce, a sad pathetic excuse for a man. Pierce went on to explain how in these stressful times, it’s important to be attuned to one’s feelings and acknowledge them -- the sort of things one might hear from a woman if one were to actually listen. “We have it in our head you can’t see a man cry,” continued the bag of estrogen in the vague shape of a man, “but that’s a poisonous idea.” Others pretended to support this idea. “He’s right; there’s nothing wrong with a man crying,” said Christie Mathis, a woman, though you could tell from her eyes that she was repulsed by him and instead desired a real man with no emotion and maybe a longer beard. Scientists are unsure of the purpose of crying. In small children, it seems to signal they need help. Women can also cry, usually as a means of emotionally manipulating men. It is unknown what purpose crying could have for men other than just to disgust everyone around them. Some believe men evolved the ability to cry when Braveheart came out, but now it's just a vestigial function. Thus, most men disagree with Pierce on it being okay to cry. “Rrrgh,” said Duke Miller, a Marine sergeant, in a noncommittal grunt as he continued to hold the same stony-faced expression he used while riding a roller coaster, seeing the birth of his son, and attending his father’s funeral.
One of the more frustrating aspects of the coronavirus pandemic has been the amount of disinformation swirling about. Much of this is politically motivated, perhaps unsurprising with the attention given to President Donald Trump's rambling, error-strewn press conferences. It may seem like commonsense that actively misleading the public during a national emergency has consequences, but now Fox News' two most-watched hosts have unwittingly performed a rather elegant experiment on their viewers that allows us to quantify that effect. The results are stark: greater exposure to Sean Hannity versus Tucker Carlson shows a measurable increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths throughout March and early April.
. . .
By this point, it's a safe assumption that some of you are screaming at your screens that the authors are idiots, because correlation isn't causation. But the study is well-controlled for other variables—for example, how rural an area is, how far it is from Seattle, or differential rates of health insurance—that could affect the local spread of COVID-19. For example, geography or rates of health insurance or educational attainment at the county level could explain these results. On top of that, the study builds on previous (recent) work that has shown that there are partisan differences in how people respond to emergencies—areas that saw more votes for Trump have lower hurricane-evacuation rates, for example, as well as GPS data that shows less social distancing in areas that watch greater amounts of Fox News.
Whether Fox News planned to conduct this experiment or not, it does elegantly show that dis- or misinformation during a public health emergency costs lives.
As Ars reported recently, evidence from the 1918 flu pandemic suggests that cities with more aggressive lockdown responses had stronger economic recoveries.
There’s more than one way to think about the economics of lockdowns, and a paper due to be published in the Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis has an entirely different approach. It accepts that lockdowns will hurt the economy compared to business-as-usual but calculates whether that cost is outweighed by the lives that will be saved by social-distancing measures.
The answer is yes—by $5.2 trillion. That’s an estimate that changes based on a range of different assumptions, but it represents what the authors consider the most realistic scenario.
. . .
The estimate of 1.24 million lives saved seems pretty high. But it’s not necessarily outlandish—a model published by a team at Imperial College London estimated that if the pandemic were allowed to rampage through the United States unmitigated, it would lead to around 2.2 million deaths. Current estimates suggest that the total death toll by August may be more in the region of 60,000 to 124,000 deaths—if (and it’s a huge if) social-distancing measures stay in place. That’s a horrific number, but at its most optimistic, it means 2.14 million fewer deaths than that worst-case scenario. This means that the estimate of 1.24 million lives saved could be on the low side.
Importantly, the researchers don’t question their assumption that social distancing will lead to a greater decline in GDP or a slower economic recovery compared to business as usual. That assumption doesn’t tie in with other recent research suggesting that social distancing may, in fact, be the best thing for the economy itself. If the economy recovers faster with social distancing than without, this research would actually be underestimating the economic benefits of lockdown.
There are reams of questions still to be answered about the economic results of the pandemic, and models like these will need to be tweaked, repeated, and refined as more information rolls in. But right now, a range of different economic analyses are questioning the knee-jerk assumption that social distancing is a worse economic outcome than business as usual. And a poll of economists at US universities saw a unanimous response: restarting the economy should only be on the cards with a huge increase in testing capacity and a well-formed plan to control new outbreaks.
One of the more frustrating aspects of the coronavirus pandemic has been the amount of disinformation swirling about. Much of this is politically motivated, perhaps unsurprising with the attention given to President Donald Trump's rambling, error-strewn press conferences. It may seem like commonsense that actively misleading the public during a national emergency has consequences, but now Fox News' two most-watched hosts have unwittingly performed a rather elegant experiment on their viewers that allows us to quantify that effect. The results are stark: greater exposure to Sean Hannity versus Tucker Carlson shows a measurable increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths throughout March and early April.
. . .
By this point, it's a safe assumption that some of you are screaming at your screens that the authors are idiots, because correlation isn't causation. But the study is well-controlled for other variables—for example, how rural an area is, how far it is from Seattle, or differential rates of health insurance—that could affect the local spread of COVID-19. For example, geography or rates of health insurance or educational attainment at the county level could explain these results. On top of that, the study builds on previous (recent) work that has shown that there are partisan differences in how people respond to emergencies—areas that saw more votes for Trump have lower hurricane-evacuation rates, for example, as well as GPS data that shows less social distancing in areas that watch greater amounts of Fox News.
Whether Fox News planned to conduct this experiment or not, it does elegantly show that dis- or misinformation during a public health emergency costs lives.
It's not the virus that kills people - it's the video. I seem to have heard something very similar to that before.
Home 
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. For first time listeners, I suggest dropping in at about the 8 minute mark. Hopefully, you'll enjoy!