April 4th: Grim Projections
Headlines
CNN: Italy reports first drop in ICU bed use. Officials announced this week that the numbers of new infections had plateaued. It’s worth noting that their nationwide lockdown began on March 9th.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo forecasts New York’s crisis peaking within about a week.
A German Exception? Why the Country’s Coronavirus Death Rate is Low. This NYT article suggests they’ve had a high rate of testing and the public trusted the Government guidelines and followed them. So simple.
Daily White House Press Briefing
I watch these daily, despite knowing it’s a terrible idea. If you see clips of Trump speaking at one, I urge you to only listen to Doctors Fauci or Birx when it comes to any recommended health or medical suggestions.
Trump said he may start taking hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug he thinks may be a "game changer" for treating coronavirus. He said: "I may take it. I have to ask my doctors about that." While there are clinical trials for this drug, the FDA has NOT approved it as a treatment for the virus. You will not hear Doctor Fauci or Doctor Birx suggest this. Listen to them.
I was heartened to hear that 1,000 medical military personnel are being deployed to NYC. We seem in dire need of the type of precision the military is trained for.
Doctor Fauci projects an upcoming increase in deaths, but also wants to focus on the amount of new cases (or lack thereof). He and Dr. Birx feel that the mitigation is working, and he described doing a power walk down Massachusetts Ave in DC with his wife, and seeing people self-distancing while in line for take-out. He said it made him very happy to see people standing 6 feet apart in line. Some days that’s all I want - for Fauci to see that people are listening.
Dr. Birx said that we’re about 12 days behind on Italy, Spain France, etc. That is an incredibly grim reality in terms of death rates that can be seen on this map. She pointed out recently that the US is 5 times the size of Italy, so we must take basic geography and population into account. But the high population of Seniors in Italy makes me very scared for ours in Florida.
Sagrada Familia in Spain. Te quiero, Espana. ❤️
Photo by Liam Gant
Local Fun:
Golden Gate Park Virtual Concert Series to mark its 150th anniversary. Check out past concerts here.
Apparently we can hire some nice singers to serenade us. They have a van and will travel.
Best Video of the day:
A dog “singing” a new version of “I Will Survive.”
Left to Right: Madrid, Summer of 1995, with friends in Pamplona for San Fermín, San Francisco City Hall lit in the colors of the flag of Spain - Photo by Hernando Torres-Fernández, a church in Spain - Photo by Adrianna Calvo.