Tag: coronavirus

It feels like we've been shut in forever. But when I look back, I see that the shelter-in-place orders for Oahu and Hawaii only started this past Monday.

March 26, 2020 – Shut In

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It feels like we’ve been shut in forever. But when I look back, I see that the shelter-in-place orders for Oahu and Hawaii only started this past Monday. Four days ago! Looking further back I see that coronavirus has injected itself into my life for much longer. It goes back to January when Sec. of Commerce Wilbur Ross basically said yeah, people will get sick and die but this is an opportunity for businesses to sort out their supply chains. Foreshadowing what has become this administration’s obsession with the economy over people. I realize now that we (my immediate family and me) have been slowly dialing back our lives since the end of January. Going out less and less. We already were working from home. Stocking up (but not hoarding). Doing the Costco and Amazon triage of buying and ordering non-perishable things we will need in the months ahead, not

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This is hilarious... #TheWestWingWisdom

March 24, 2020 – Open by Easter

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“Trump says he wants the country opened by Easter” –CNN headline I can hear the Sunday sermons now. “As the Lord was resurrected, so shall the US economy and all our good fortunes with it.” It would make a great scene in a reality TV show. If this weren’t the reality we are now living. But here’s the thing: Three states that are among the strongest drivers of that economy (NY, CA, WA) are all in the throws of this pandemic with infection rates on the rise dramatically. How do you open a country for business when its business centers are too infectious to open back up? We’ll be selective, opening up the areas least at risk, they say. Really? What impact are the 12 people in Montana and their heads of cattle going to have on the overall economy? Oil prices have cratered, so not even fracking can help now.

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Can we really get back to "normal" after going through the coronavirus pandemic?

March 23, 2020 – Can We Even Get Back to “Normal”?

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While watching all the activity in DC this morning, it occurs to me that every action our government is (and isn’t) taking is aimed at restoring what they see as normalcy. I’m not sure that normalcy is possible anymore. This health crisis, and financial crisis, and election cycle have exposed the cracks in our systems and society. The advantage and hubris of the 1% is writ large when basketball players have access to a critically important medical test and healthcare workers are having to make-do with cloth face masks that offer next to no protection from the virus that is all around them. We turn to technology to offer a different way to keep educational services going. But what happens to the students who don’t have fast, reliable internet service at home or rely on school for the one or two healthy meals they get during school days? There are no

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Please, stop comparing the death rates between sicknesses. This is not a contest.

March 10, 2020 – No Comparisons

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Please, stop comparing the death rates between sicknesses. This is not a contest. What’s needed is for people to change their daily habits in the small ways that can slow/stop the spread of coronavirus: hand washing and social distancing, in particular. People’s health is in danger of being compromised and the most vulnerable among us are in danger of dying. For the common good, please take these actions. You may be healthy and strong, but someone you come in contact with may not be. We do not have a good understanding of how virulent coronavirus is, so we cannot say the infection spreads only to the next 5 or 10 or 100 people in the chain of contact We need to assume that exposure continues down the chain and respond accordingly.

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