Notations From the Grid (Special Edition): On #LifeInTheAgeofCorona

We hereby present the following courtesy of the Washington Post , Bloomberg, The Economist & the White House along with guidance on our state  as we urge all to practice Social Distancing, Stay Home and Stay Safe:

The White House • April 2, 2020

WATCH: Vice President Pence thanks American workers for keeping food on the table To slow the spread of Coronavirus, many Americans are doing their part by staying home and socially distancing. In distribution centers across the country, workers are contributing in another crucial way: by making sure families have food and supplies during this pandemic. Vice President Mike Pence visited one of these busy hubs yesterday—a Walmart Distribution Center near Gordonsville, Virginia. On behalf of a grateful nation, “thank you for doing a great job, for keeping food on the table for the American people,” the Vice President told workers over the intercom. Great American companies like Walmart are stepping up to ensure our national supply chains don’t miss a beat during this global crisis. “You’re on the front lines,” Vice President Pence said. “And the fact that you’re showing up every day, you’re rolling your sleeves up and you’re doing the work, says an awful lot about each and every one of you—about the way you love your neighbors and the way you love your country.”  Thank you to the men and women working around the clock! Watch: “These are not numbers; these are Americans” These 30 days: How you can help President Trump announced updated guidelines this week to continue slowing the spread of Coronavirus in America. This 30-day window will be crucial: If every American does his or her part, the latest models suggest we could save 1 million or more U.S. lives.  Surgeon General: Why these next 30 days matter “We’re attacking the virus on every front with social distancing, economic support for our workers, rapid medical intervention—and very serious innovation—and banning dangerous foreign travel that threatens the health of our people,” President Trump said yesterday. “And we did that early.” “Together, we have the power to save countless lives.” Developed by public health experts on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, these guidelines remain essential for containing the virus and protecting the most vulnerable among us: Listen and follow all directions from your state and local authorities.   Avoid social gatherings, especially those with more than 10 people.   Practice strict personal hygiene. Wash your hands and avoid touching your face. Sneeze or cough into a tissue or the inside of your elbow.   Use pickup or delivery options instead of eating at restaurants or bars.   Work from home if at all possible. Do not go to work if you feel sick.   If someone in your household tests positive for Coronavirus, keep the entire family at home and contact your medical provider.  If every American follows these guidelines, our country will be well on track to manage this outbreak and ultimately defeat the virus once and for all. “In this time of need, I know that every American will do their patriotic duty and help us to achieve a total victory,” President Trump says.  30 days to slow the spread: How to protect yourself and others Photo of the Day President Trump delivers remarks on enhanced counter-narcotics operations and increased border security during a press briefing | April 1, 2020

Important developments in the coronavirus pandemic. Presented by Slack

By Angela Fritz with Avi Selk  Email The Post's coronavirus coverage linked in this newsletter is free to access from this email. The latest Stimulus reversal: On Wednesday, we told you that people who get Social Security would have to file a simple tax return in order to get their stimulus checks. The new hurdle drew enormous criticism, and a few hours after we sent the newsletter, the Treasury Department reversed its decision. You can catch up on stimulus check details here. A record 6.65 million people filed new jobless claims last week, bringing the total in March to more than 10 million. Read how economists are reacting to the news and what they think this means for the economy. Gig workers were promised unemployment benefits but it could be weeks until they get them. (Plus: here are the companies that have pledged to keep people employed.) The extremely grim American death-toll projections that the White House shared on Tuesday have already been revised upward. Here's what we know about the model the task force is using, and how it has changed.  The covid-19 death toll passed 50,000 worldwide today, with some 1 million confirmed cases. The United States has more than 230,000 confirmed infections so far, and more than 5,500 people have died. The U.S. is now the outbreak’s epicenter, with more confirmed infections than any other country. Early last month, 3M was ramping up to produce masks, but there was a problem, and it was just one of a number of roadblocks. Read our story that dives inside how America got into this mask crunch.  The White House is debating where to send the new rapid covid-19 tests. Members of the president's task force talked about sending them to areas where there are relatively few cases, but officials in the hardest-hit areas want them going to hot spots. Read about the struggle to determine who will be best served by the new tests. Ambassadors from Italy and Spain cautiously reported signs of improvement on Thursday. Read how their measures have started to pay off and what the U.S. is learning. The White House has rejected the idea of re-opening healthcare.gov — the Affordable Healthcare Act website — to help people find insurance. In Wednesday's White House briefing, Pence answered a question about opening the marketplace by saying, “We have Medicaid for underprivileged Americans,” though Medicaid does not address the people in the middle, who either didn't have health care coming into the coronavirus crisis or were recently laid off and lost their coverage. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the creation of a committee to scrutinize the Trump administration’s response to the crisis and its management of the $2 trillion stimulus package.  Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-diseases expert and widely beloved face of the White House task force, has received threats to his personal safety, prompting the government to step up his security. The Empire State Building blinked red this week as New York became the new focal point in the battle against the virus. New York is running out of time, quickly approaching an expected apex of cases, and the state's scramble is a siren to the rest of the U.S. After the SARS epidemic, many insurers added exclusions to their business policies for losses caused by viruses or bacteria, and now insurance companies are avoiding paying claims because of coronavirus. Here's what we know about the exclusions and the effect they are having on American businesses. Because of a strange coronavirus conspiracy theory, an engineer derailed a train on purpose near the USNS Mercy hospital ship in Los Angeles, federal officials say. Bloomberg looks at the impact on state and city governments: New York, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, is projected to lose between $10 billion and $15 billion of revenue in the fiscal year that starts Wednesday. Ohio state agencies are looking to cut 20% in spending, and Cincinnati is furloughing 1,700 city workers. Georgia may have to renege on a $1,000 pay raise for teachers that state House lawmakers had budgeted for in the coming year. California is already dipping into reserves and has warned state agencies not to expect full funding next year. States, cities and counties rely on revenue from taxes on income, sales of goods and even on gains from the stock market -- all sources of money that the virus threatens to wipe out as the U.S. is poised for a recession. Despite the unprecedented federal stimulus package that includes $150 billion for states and municipalities, officials like New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio say more help is needed to make up the funds that local governments are losing, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for “significantly more” aid for states. Here’s the latest news: The Pentagon seeks body bags as civilian deaths mount U.S. is trying to shift blame for virus outbreak, China says China returns a county to lockdown after infections Our take on the latest developments They came out in force in a 2003 outbreak of respiratory disease, and now they look to spread even more widely. Masks, that is. They became a staple in many Asian nations 17 years ago as residents tried to ward off the SARS virus. Officials in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan have recommended wearing masks in crowded places such as buses or subway cars, and some eastern European countries are now requiring their use. Office workers and pedestrians embraced protective masks in Hong Kong, while many Western nations have yet to do so.  Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg Neither the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor the World Health Organization have embraced the use of masks by the uninfected public. Surgical masks, the flat, paper variety, don’t block out virus inhalation, while many people don’t know how to properly use a more face-fitting version, called a respirator. Solid proof is lacking about whether wearing a mask in public even helps, and hospital workers who do know how to use them should get first priority. If health-care workers don’t have masks for protection, more of them will become infected, depleting their ranks and in turn the quality of care available to all of us. The best use of them by non-medical personnel, these organizations say, is in patients who may be coughing or sneezing; a mask may block the flight of infectious droplets from their nose and mouth. That view may be about to change. George Gao, director of China’s CDC, has said that the failure to use masks in the U.S. and Europe is a “big mistake.’’ In light of the possibility that people without coronavirus symptoms are spreading the disease, the U.S. CDC is reviewing its guidance on masks. The WHO is also reconsidering its stance. If the U.S. recommends masks for the public, it will be a vital challenge to ensure their supplies for doctors, nurses and other workers caring for desperately ill coronavirus patients – along with others who interact daily with those caregivers. Thousands of hospital workers have already fallen ill with potentially lethal Covid-19, and if it continues, there may not be enough professionals to care for the patients. Listen up Latest Podcast: When Will We Have a Vaccine? The approval process can be frustrating when people are dying. But cutting corners can have devastating consequences. Get the latest headlines and today’s big story in 15 minutes. Map the outbreak around the world, and track Covid-19’s spread in the U.S. Sponsor Content by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are enhancing access to care during the coronavirus outbreak by waiving prior-authorization and copays for diagnostic testing, expanding telehealth and increasing access to prescriptions. Learn more. What you should read Nations’ Coronavirus Laws Lead to Abuses Patients have been locked up, beaten and shamed.  Europeans See Glimmer of Virus Hope in Italy Country’s easing death rate suggests outbreak may have peaked. TB Vaccine Use Linked to Lower Virus Deaths Preliminary findings should be viewed with caution, researcher says. European Mayor Spurns China’s Virus Aid Prague leader symbolizes skepticism of outreach by Beijing. Many New York Coronavirus Patients Are Young About 1 in 5 NYC hospitalizations occur in people under age 44. This is courtesy of the  - Tourism: In the Chron, Gregory Thomas reports that California could lose a daunting $54 billion in tourism revenue in 2020 because of the COVID-19 shutdowns. California will lose $10.9 billion in travel revenue and 554,000 jobs in April alone, according to new projections from Visit California, the state’s tourism bureau. By the end of 2020, the state could lose a total of $54.5 billion in travel spending. The rapidly expanding coronavirus pandemic has effectively frozen the transportation and hospitality businesses, leading to the closures of hotels, small businesses and parks around the state in March.  “This erases more than a decade’s worth of progress and will return California to 2009 levels of travel spending,” according to an analysis overview posted to Visit California’s website on April 1. - The blame game: For Capitol Weekly, Scott Soriano writes that because the apparent origin of the virus in Wuhan, China, which has been widely reported, the result has been racial attacks against Asian-Americans. One of the least-talked-about symptoms of the COVID-19 pandemic is the rise in anti-Asian discrimination, harassment and violence. While there has been abundant anecdotal evidence of this phenomenon, only recently has anyone tried to quantify the bigotry. Two California-based groups and a professor from San Francisco State University are taking a lead on the issue. The Economist today The best of our journalism, handpicked each day Free to read | Between tragedies and statistics The hard choices covid policymakers face Epidemiological models are among their only guides Related → Read more: The Economist’s coverage of covid-19 and its consequences Uniting the states Covid-19 and America’s political system How will a decentralised country that spans a continent fight what is now the world’s largest outbreak? Bagehot Labour’s new leader should beware of “war socialism” Contrary to the belief of many in the party, the pandemic will not favour the left Daily chart American states’ responses to the coronavirus follow party lines Republican-leaning governors are slower to impose restrictions than Democrats Gas, guns and guerrillas Jihadists threaten Mozambique’s new gasfields The government’s response to a mysterious revolt is cruel and ineffective Justice like waters Joseph Lowery died on March 27th The preacher and fiery civil-rights campaigner was 98 Worth a thousand words The power of newspaper cartoons during a public health crisis They reflect the current mood, for good and for ill The Economist Asks Can America unite to fight the virus? This week we speak to Cory Booker, the senator from New Jersey, one of the states hardest hit by covid-19

Notations On Our World (Weekly Edition): On #LifeInTheTimeofCorona

As our World continues its' War on the COVD-19, our commitment to bringing perspective to bear remains ever so--please note the following courtesy of the team at USAFACTS:

THE ECONOMY AND COVID-19  The COVID-19 pandemic is leading to unprecedented plans like the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (better known as the CARES Act). In addition to continuing to report new cases county by county, USAFacts has information on how the CARES Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act could impact many facets of American life. Let’s look at some historical government metrics to gain insight.   CHANGES TO SICK PAY  On March 18, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which aims to expand support for families affected by COVID-19 with a variety of government assistance programs. The law expands, among other things, unemployment benefits and requires businesses to provide employees with roughly two weeks of paid sick leave.   However, it exempts businesses with more than 500 employees from providing sick leave. As of 2019, companies of this size employed 48% of private-sector workers. Meanwhile, some of the country’s largest employers, such as Walmart, are already expanding paid sick leave for employees afflicted with the virus.   Some small businesses with fewer than 50 employees are also exempt from the law—small businesses employed 27% of private-sector workers in 2019.   Prior to the bill, 73% of private-sector workers had paid sick leave, with some occupations more likely to offer it than others. For example, 94% of workers in management and business occupations had paid sick leave, as well as 88% of professional workers. Yet, only 58% of service workers did.    CHANGES TO BUSINESS Many industries are directly affected both by recent closures and changing consumer behavior. Just how large are these industries and how much do they contribute to the US gross domestic product (GDP)? Food services and drinking places make up an increasing proportion of GDP, from 1.76% in 1997, to 2.23% in 2018. Last year, more than 12 million people worked in food services, particularly restaurants and bars. That’s 8% of the workforce. Travel and hospitality industries are also experiencing dramatic declines in business. More than 2 million Americans work in hotels or similar accommodations.   Read all this and much more on how the coronavirus could impact American businesses, including working from home, store closures, and the S&P 500 market index.     CORONAVIRUS CHECKS The CARES Act includes plans to send direct payments to taxpayers based on their most recent tax return (either 2019 or 2018). New USAFacts analysis breaks down who will likely to receive these payments. Single filers reporting less than $75,000 in adjusted gross income on tax returns will get the full $1,200 check. Married couples earning less than $150,000 would get $2,400. Some people would also be eligible for an additional $500 for children claimed under the Child Tax Credit. People who made more than $75,000 in 2019 might still receive a check but will have 5% taken out of every dollar earned above $75,000. Single taxpayers who earned more than $99,000 are ineligible for a check.   According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, 82% of all families would get the full amount offered. Only 8% of families, primarily those in higher income brackets, would get nothing.