by Jack
In addition to providing a free speech forum Post Scripts is also dedicated to presenting news and information you can use to make an informed decisions. However, information available on the coronavirus changes almost daily and that’s a challenge for us, but we will still make a good faith effort to stay abreast of the breaking news, not to alarm, but to inform. We know its important to you, so we will give it our best shot.
The following article is presented in that spirit.
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-the-hammer-and-the-dance-be9337092b56
Note: KPAY announced today that Butte County had its first confirmed case of coronavirus. The Butte County Public Health website was checked, but we were unable to find any updated information. Enloe Hospital’s website was also checked with similar results.
As of 2pm March 21, 2020 there are 1,468 positive cases and 27 deaths in California. Approximately 26,200 tests had been conducted. This includes the latest numbers California has received from commercial and private labs. At least 13,467 results have been received and another 12,700+ are pending. See the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) for the latest data.
UPDATE: First Butte County case of Coronavirus has been confirmed. It is a mild case. Dr. Andy Miller says patient is a 65 year old Chico man, with underlying health condition. Investigation just began today. The test came in today. Fellow family member will be quarantined with patient. Source Rick Silva, Paradise Post.
Good article.
Thanks Chris, I simply tried to present another “expert” view and let the readers decide.
Remember, you asked me if any professionals were sharing my opinion? Guess what? I started hearing people echoing my thoughts yesterday and it’s growing!
I’ve thought from the onset that we should not overreact and do careful, measured things. Like the travel lock down – that’s prudent. We could close our border – that’s sensible. We could even close down most everything, except critical industry for 2 weeks, in order to give health professionals time to get geared up and assess the situation as best they can.
But Chris, there comes a time for us to deal with the future consequences of our actions. After that two weeks we should not do things that are guaranteed to destroy our economy – we’ll need something to come back too.
After that initial shut down, we should only quarantine those high risk people and those already infected. The healthy workers should remain on the job to keep the economy going. Of course limit public exposure! We should shorten hours for certain public businesses and do reasonable things like that, but a wholesale shut down until further notice… no, that would cripple us for decades to come.
This virus is not the plague, but right now we are treating it as if contact means death. That’s not true, contact means 3% or less of the 50% total that will catch it will likely die. We’ll have to deal with that terrible reality. We’re strong, we can do it. We’ll make that sacrifice to win this battle and save our economy, but not if we destroy our economy first. Then we’ve got nothing. We’re ruined, game over.
Jack, the way I’m interpreting the article, the writer is predicting the shutdown should last weeks but is also stressing the importance of testing. I don’t think it is prudent to end the shutdown until most or all Americans can get reliable tests with quick results.
Just something to watch and reflect on. We all need to actively work to shorten the curve of this virus not just run and hide in fear.
Whether your work is considered essential or not, it should be obvious that any gathering or large groups of people will continue to propagate this disease,
Side bar: however when I read on a regional basis, that cannabis shops are essential and OK, but gun shops bad ? What the heck!, it’s OK to get high on pot and maybe social mingle do to a elevated state of disregard for the danger or consequences of one’s actions, thereby continuing to spread this virus, or stay sheltered and protect your family from possible threats or trouble that a overloaded police force can’t immediately deal with, that just smacks of bias politics in my opinion.
Anyway, Good common sense interview, whether or not it is 100% spot on, I won’t comment on, but it is a damn sight better than what the alphabet networks are doing to help inform and guide everyone to get through this. And we will!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_bjJtesu2Q
From around the web–
Italy–
https://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2020/03/italy.html
Get ‘er done!–
https://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2020/03/italy.html
Congress–
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2020/03/betraying-america.html
Did you all know it’s state governors, not the feds, who control the healthcare in their state, which includes the number of hospitals and beds?
CON-Certificate of Need State Laws
12/1/2019:
“Certificate of Need (CON) laws are state regulatory mechanisms for establishing or expanding health care facilities and services in a given area. In a state with a CON program, a state health planning agency must approve major capital expenditures for certain health care facilities. CON programs aim to control health care costs by restricting duplicative services and determining whether new capital expenditures meet a community need.
Intent and Structure of CON
The basic assumption underlying CON regulation is that excess health care facility capacity results in health care price inflation. Price inflation can occur when a hospital cannot fill its beds and fixed costs must be met through higher charges for the beds that are used. Larger institutions generally have larger costs, so hospitals and other health facilities may raise prices in order to pay for new, underused medical services or empty beds. CON programs require a health care facility to seek a health planning agency’s approval based on a set of criteria and community need. Once a health facility has applied for state approval, the health planning agency may approve, deny or set certain limitations on a health care project.
While the effectiveness of CON programs continues to be a heavily debated topic, many states consider CON programs as one way to control health care costs and increase access to care. Below is a list of both arguments in favor and against CON laws.”
Interactive map.
https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/con-certificate-of-need-state-laws.aspx
Did the Medical Device Tax under ObamaCare contribute to the shortage of mask and ventilators needed to meet the needs of today’s crises?
New Research Provides More Reasons to Repeal the Medical Device Tax:
“Key Findings
The medical device tax is a 2.3 percent excise tax on the value of medical devices sold domestically. The tax was packaged in the Affordable Care Act to help cover its cost.
The medical device tax fails most tests for good policy and is fundamentally flawed in its structure.
New research shows that many of the predicted negative effects from the medical device tax occurred, both to the companies and to consumers.
In 2013, the medical device tax lowered industry research and development spending by $34 million.
The tax is responsible for the loss of approximately 21,800 jobs from 2013 to 2015.
The tax has been delayed by Congress twice, but the tax still exists. While full repeal is difficult due to federal revenue constraints, ideally, suspensions would exist for longer than two-year intervals.
Introduction
The medical device tax is a small but consequential provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that created economic distortions for America’s medical device manufacturers, sellers, importers, and consumers from 2013 until 2016.”
https://taxfoundation.org/new-research-provides-more-reasons-to-repeal-the-medical-device-tax/
And last but not least for the reasons the past’s acts set up the perfect storm for the health crisis is our stockpile of supplies were not replenished after the H1N1 and Ebola health care threat to our country. Did Obama not replenish the supply because of the tax and loss of employees created by the very healthcare law that bears his name?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11238121/barack-obama-depleted-respirator-mask-stock-for-swine-flu-and-never-replenished-reserve-leaving-trump-with-low-supply/
https://www.theblaze.com/news/obama-administration-n95-stockpile-coronavirus
https://www.lacortenews.com/n/obama-administration-failed-to-resupply-stockpile-of-n95-masks-following-n1-h1-pandemic
Today Gov. Cuomo demanded all available ventilators be sent to NY now and when they don’t need them anymore they can be sent to other areas. Guess he feels the lives of New Yorkers are more important than the rest of the country.
Also disclosed today, Cuomo decided to not buy ventilators in 2015, but instead spent $750 million for a solar panel plant in Buffalo NY that has turned into a real boondoggle.
‘Buffalo Billion’ investment helps IBM, but is Cuomo team revealing all?:
https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/new-york/2015/06/22/buffalo-billions-investigative-report/29020017/
https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/19/solarcity-gigafactory-brightens-new-yorks-manufacturing-revival.html
More unintended consequences—
“To summarize it briefly, many of those who are accustomed to buying drugs with the proceeds of panhandling, begging and minor crime are finding their usual fields of endeavor have become barren. With most people staying at home, there aren’t nearly as many drivers, pedestrians, shoppers, etc. to approach for money; and many stores are also closed, making shoplifting of higher-value items almost impossible. Supermarkets are overcrowded and under-stocked, and besides, stealing a jar of mayonnaise or a tin of peas isn’t exactly going to bring in a lot of money. Therefore, many of the aforementioned drug buyers are turning to residential and property crimes to fund their habit. They’re snatching anything left out in gardens; ringing doorbells and aggressively begging for – or, rather, demanding – money; stealing parcels that are delivered on doorsteps and left unattended; and breaking into cars parked on the street, looking for valuables left inside them. There are also reports of threats of violence to homeowners and others who try to stop them.”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-grasshoppers-are-already-coming.html