Quote
MisterDDDD
Today was the deadliest day yet in the United States, with 2,492 new lab test positive COVID19 deaths.

Yeah. And let’s all go back to work.... mixing with each other. Dreadful “leadership”.

Rod

On a lighter note, also in the media here in the U.K, Leeds band the Kaiser Chiefs have re-recorded their old hit ‘Oh My God’ with topical new lyrics. To give it a homely feel, Singer Ricky Wilson sings in his normal speaking Leeds accent instead of his usual no accent singing voice. Made me laugh anyway.

[m.youtube.com]

This place is in my county, a short distance across the water from a beach cabin of mine.
It can only be reached by driving through Canada. With the borders closed to non-essential travel, it is now deemed the safest place in the country. So close, but yet so far

This is the ‘safest place’ from coronavirus in America

The safest place from the coronavirus in the US might be a tiny town on an off-the-beaten-path peninsula connected to Canada south of Vancouver, according to a report.

The 1,300 or so residents of Point Roberts — which is part of Washington state but not directly connected to the US mainland — have not been affected by the pandemic so far, according to the UK’s Guardian.

“It’s probably the safest place to be in the country,” Pamala Sheppard, 65, who has lived in the enclave on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula since 1989, told the news outlet.

“Because our borders are shut, we’re like an island right now. We’re like an island with no boats,” she added.
[nypost.com]

[www.ft.com]

Interesting that today China's deaths spiked by almost 1300. I suspect they are finally starting to disclose actual numbers, albeit slowly, unless someone has other information:

[www.worldometers.info]

Quote
CaptainCorella
New White House Policy just announced.

[www.whitehouse.gov]

It's a statement of WHAT can be done, but the WHEN is not prescriptive.

Thanks!!

US coronavirus deaths hits record one-day total of 4,591

"Thursday marked a new record for coronavirus deaths in the U.S., with 4,591 people dying from the virus in just 24 hours.

The prior record was 2,569 deaths in the U.S. Wednesday, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

The number of new coronavirus cases on Thursday was approximately the same as Wednesday, with 31,451 new confirmed infections across the country, according to the outlet."
[thehill.com]

Quote
MisterDDDD
US coronavirus deaths hits record one-day total of 4,591

"Thursday marked a new record for coronavirus deaths in the U.S., with 4,591 people dying from the virus in just 24 hours.

The prior record was 2,569 deaths in the U.S. Wednesday, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

The number of new coronavirus cases on Thursday was approximately the same as Wednesday, with 31,451 new confirmed infections across the country, according to the outlet."
[thehill.com]

That wasn't the total number of deaths on THAT DAY. That was a backlog of previously undocumented COVID deaths in New York dating back to mid March that was just reported all at once. The actual number of deaths that day was in the low 2000's. But yeah, that sure makes for a scary headline and article, doesn't it?

Quote
podiumboy

Quote
MisterDDDD
US coronavirus deaths hits record one-day total of 4,591

"Thursday marked a new record for coronavirus deaths in the U.S., with 4,591 people dying from the virus in just 24 hours.

The prior record was 2,569 deaths in the U.S. Wednesday, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

The number of new coronavirus cases on Thursday was approximately the same as Wednesday, with 31,451 new confirmed infections across the country, according to the outlet."
[thehill.com]

That wasn't the total number of deaths on THAT DAY. That was a backlog of previously undocumented COVID deaths in New York dating back to mid March that was just reported all at once. The actual number of deaths that day was in the low 2000's. But yeah, that sure makes for a scary headline and article, doesn't it?

Thanks.
Both the Wall Street Journal and report I referenced made it appear otherwise.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-04-17 18:12 by MisterDDDD.

I am proud to see that The Rolling Stones are supporting the World Health Organization WHO and health workers across the world by joining in on the One World live event tomorrow:

The Rolling Stones joining One World - Together At Home, April 18

Bjornulf

Excellent news!

Good of the band to support the effort.

~"Love is Strong"~



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-04-17 19:19 by angee.

Five weeks and one day into shutdown. My weekly report on life at home...

I did my shopping today, like I do one time per week. People are not that scared anymore. I do my shopping at 8am, long time before most people wake up and go to the shops. First the bakery at ten to eight. I got my favorite Danish pastry, they are often sold out in an hour, so I have to be there early. Then the main shop which opens at 8am. I was the third person into the shop, so I have plenty of space. One person have got a mask, but that is still very unusual in Norway. I think people feel masks are scary, almost hostile. We live very much apart, very much countryside, half an hour by car from the big city Oslo, and it is easy to keep a distance of 2-3 meters, even in the shopping center and grocery store. I get home as soon as I can, change everything, I feel dirty until I have a shower. Yes, I know there is a very little chance of getting the virus from shopping, but this virus is of no mercy. If I bring it on to someone in the danger zone, then I will regret as long as I live. I play it safe.

There are now just 100 or so new corona positive cases per day in Norway. Most are in the capital city Oslo, and they seems to be in the urban areas where people live very close, where they may be do not always respect the rules of social distancing. The spread of the virus is now down to an R factor of 0.7, which means every positive person bring on the virus to 0.7 others. This means the virus will go away over time, if we keep up with what we started. We have 2-11 deaths every day. Still there are reports on individual people. Not by name, but by where they come from, and if they are young or elderly, what hospital or home etc. My local newpaper is running a story about an old man age 95 who just recovered from the virus. I wish there were more stories like that.

The ten days or so of Easter Holidays are over here in Norway. Normally Easter is an almost two weeks spring break, where some go to their mountain cabins, to do the last skiing. Others book travels to warmer places. I have spent many Easter holidays on Stones tours, too many to mention, but some close to my heart are Argentina 1998, when I phoned home to my wife, and said I needed to stay for another week, as the Stones had added two more shows, with Bob Dylan, and of course the Cuba show God Friday 2016, where I came from the tour in Mexico into Havana, and my wife came from home via Toronto, to meet me for 10 days in Havana. Great memories.

This Easter we are at home, like most other people in the world. Rather than reporting on all the misery of the corona virus, I want to look at life from the bright side. Few places on the planet have as sharp and different seasons as we here in Norway. Summer may be hotter than Spain at times. Fall is great in multiple colors, and harvesting of everything planted during spring and early summer. My father, who was a gardener, made stocks of apples, carrots, cabbage, all sorts of fruits and vegetables, to last for months during winter, that was in the 50's and 60's, before we had freezers and modern preservation. Winter is very very dark, cold, and with lots of snow. Spring is getting rid of the snow, and it is the best time of year for any gardener. Yesterday I had to get to the garden shop, to get yellow Easter flowers, they have to stand the frost at night, and a new common lilac - syringa vulgaris.

This is our spring days now. The spring flower hvitveis (wood anemone) is to be seen absolutely everywhere right now. It is taking over from the initial spring flowers hestehov (coltsfoot) and blåveis (Hepatica nobilis). Then my cherry tree is still very early, but may be in 1-2 weeks, I will have cherry blossom - sakura, as they call it in Japan! The third image is the weather forecast for my home place for the next seven days. I am forever thankful to my parents, for their choice of moving from the rough weather in Møre og Romsdal, near Ålesund and Molde, into the Oslo area, where we do probably have the most stable weather there is in our country.

Stay strong and enjoy the spring - don't worry too much about the virus - soon we will be fine!







Bjornulf



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2020-04-17 21:20 by bv.

Enjoy the spring Bjornulf. And this year you will be home for strawberry season.

BV, that was a very beautiful and very positive message you posted for which I appreciate and Thank You . Please Stay Safe !

Great news out of Norway. Slowly easing the way into the post lockdown reality is a good test. In California folks mostly adhering and being careful. I just got back from Walmart which I have avoided. I needed my glasses fixed and was able to get that done. Stocked up on carbonated water, dishwasher soap and juice. No toilet paper except generic one ply and bought second to last package of paper towels. Most people wearing masks and being careful but approximately 1 in 5 clueless. The Vietnamese donut shop down the street didn't seem to get the memo. Folks sitting inside talking, the woman who owns it taking no precautions. I stopped at another store nearby that has low prices and they are having a hard time getting inventory. I bought a few things I needed. I did read the distribution center for the largest grocery chain in the area dealing with an outbreak. 51 cases out of 1700 employees with one death so far. Sounds like that is going to be a problem real soon.

Oh and I did buy strawberries too. They looked real good.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-04-17 22:01 by daspyknows.

Quote
MisterDDDD
This place is in my county, a short distance across the water from a beach cabin of mine.
It can only be reached by driving through Canada. With the borders closed to non-essential travel, it is now deemed the safest place in the country. So close, but yet so far

This is the ‘safest place’ from coronavirus in America

The safest place from the coronavirus in the US might be a tiny town on an off-the-beaten-path peninsula connected to Canada south of Vancouver, according to a report.

The 1,300 or so residents of Point Roberts — which is part of Washington state but not directly connected to the US mainland — have not been affected by the pandemic so far, according to the UK’s Guardian.

“It’s probably the safest place to be in the country,” Pamala Sheppard, 65, who has lived in the enclave on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula since 1989, told the news outlet.

“Because our borders are shut, we’re like an island right now. We’re like an island with no boats,” she added.
[nypost.com]

Cool article. Lots of people in the Vancouver area have cabins/second homes down in Pt. Roberts, including a buddy of mine. As I understand, no Canadians can go down there right now but the full time residents down there can still cross the border. Not too sure what retail/restaurants/gas stations etc. are down there.

Quote
DGA35

Quote
MisterDDDD
This place is in my county, a short distance across the water from a beach cabin of mine.
It can only be reached by driving through Canada. With the borders closed to non-essential travel, it is now deemed the safest place in the country. So close, but yet so far

This is the ‘safest place’ from coronavirus in America

The safest place from the coronavirus in the US might be a tiny town on an off-the-beaten-path peninsula connected to Canada south of Vancouver, according to a report.

The 1,300 or so residents of Point Roberts — which is part of Washington state but not directly connected to the US mainland — have not been affected by the pandemic so far, according to the UK’s Guardian.

“It’s probably the safest place to be in the country,” Pamala Sheppard, 65, who has lived in the enclave on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula since 1989, told the news outlet.

“Because our borders are shut, we’re like an island right now. We’re like an island with no boats,” she added.
[nypost.com]

Cool article. Lots of people in the Vancouver area have cabins/second homes down in Pt. Roberts, including a buddy of mine. As I understand, no Canadians can go down there right now but the full time residents down there can still cross the border. Not too sure what retail/restaurants/gas stations etc. are down there.

Lots of Canadians have cabins/second homes down where I am as well, in Birch Bay.
Haven't been up there since border closures, but would assume if you own property you can cross to take care of it etc. Going up this weekend, curious to see.

Quote
MisterDDDD

Quote
DGA35

Quote
MisterDDDD
This place is in my county, a short distance across the water from a beach cabin of mine.
It can only be reached by driving through Canada. With the borders closed to non-essential travel, it is now deemed the safest place in the country. So close, but yet so far

This is the ‘safest place’ from coronavirus in America

The safest place from the coronavirus in the US might be a tiny town on an off-the-beaten-path peninsula connected to Canada south of Vancouver, according to a report.

The 1,300 or so residents of Point Roberts — which is part of Washington state but not directly connected to the US mainland — have not been affected by the pandemic so far, according to the UK’s Guardian.

“It’s probably the safest place to be in the country,” Pamala Sheppard, 65, who has lived in the enclave on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula since 1989, told the news outlet.

“Because our borders are shut, we’re like an island right now. We’re like an island with no boats,” she added.
[nypost.com]

Cool article. Lots of people in the Vancouver area have cabins/second homes down in Pt. Roberts, including a buddy of mine. As I understand, no Canadians can go down there right now but the full time residents down there can still cross the border. Not too sure what retail/restaurants/gas stations etc. are down there.

Lots of Canadians have cabins/second homes down where I am as well, in Birch Bay.
Haven't been up there since border closures, but would assume if you own property you can cross to take care of it etc. Going up this weekend, curious to see.

Yes, lots in Birch Bay. Another buddy has a cabin just past Lynden near the Abbotsford/Sumas border. My sister has a place in Scottsdale. She said a lot of Canadians have a place in the same complex.

Quote
MisterDDDD

Lots of Canadians have cabins/second homes down where I am as well, in Birch Bay.
Haven't been up there since border closures, but would assume if you own property you can cross to take care of it etc. Going up this weekend, curious to see.

I don't understand.

I thought non-essential travel was banned. Isn't that what I'm reading Ivanka got into bother about over last weekend?

(Aside: My daughter lives in Vancouver and finds the isolated bit of the USA more than handy for postal deliveries!)

--
Captain Corella
60 Years a Fan

Oh, for the Ancile that protected Rome.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-04-19 09:05 by Title5Take1.

Quote
CaptainCorella

Quote
MisterDDDD

Lots of Canadians have cabins/second homes down where I am as well, in Birch Bay.
Haven't been up there since border closures, but would assume if you own property you can cross to take care of it etc. Going up this weekend, curious to see.

I don't understand.

I thought non-essential travel was banned. Isn't that what I'm reading Ivanka got into bother about over last weekend?

(Aside: My daughter lives in Vancouver and finds the isolated bit of the USA more than handy for postal deliveries!)

Yes, borders are closed to only essential travel like semi trucks or people who work across the border. In regards to mail, I know a number of people who have mailboxes just across the line in Sumas.

Quote
CaptainCorella

Quote
MisterDDDD

Lots of Canadians have cabins/second homes down where I am as well, in Birch Bay.
Haven't been up there since border closures, but would assume if you own property you can cross to take care of it etc. Going up this weekend, curious to see.

I don't understand.

I thought non-essential travel was banned. Isn't that what I'm reading Ivanka got into bother about over last weekend?

(Aside: My daughter lives in Vancouver and finds the isolated bit of the USA more than handy for postal deliveries!)

It would certainly get you into trouble here. The Scottish chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, was recently hounded out of office after she admitted making visits to her second home, and Boris Johnson is criticised for recuperating at the Prime Minister's official country home, Chequers, rather than in London.
Most holiday areas are telling second home owners to stay away.

THE AUSTRALIAN -- 18 April 2020



ROCKMAN

Quote
Green Lady

Quote
CaptainCorella

Quote
MisterDDDD

Lots of Canadians have cabins/second homes down where I am as well, in Birch Bay.
Haven't been up there since border closures, but would assume if you own property you can cross to take care of it etc. Going up this weekend, curious to see.

I don't understand.

I thought non-essential travel was banned. Isn't that what I'm reading Ivanka got into bother about over last weekend?

(Aside: My daughter lives in Vancouver and finds the isolated bit of the USA more than handy for postal deliveries!)

It would certainly get you into trouble here. The Scottish chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, was recently hounded out of office after she admitted making visits to her second home, and Boris Johnson is criticised for recuperating at the Prime Minister's official country home, Chequers, rather than in London.
Most holiday areas are telling second home owners to stay away.

In Australia a New South Wales Gove Minister was fined and then resigned his post for pretty much the same reason.

--
Captain Corella
60 Years a Fan

Quote
CaptainCorella

Quote
MisterDDDD

Lots of Canadians have cabins/second homes down where I am as well, in Birch Bay.
Haven't been up there since border closures, but would assume if you own property you can cross to take care of it etc. Going up this weekend, curious to see.

I don't understand.

I thought non-essential travel was banned. Isn't that what I'm reading Ivanka got into bother about over last weekend?

(Aside: My daughter lives in Vancouver and finds the isolated bit of the USA more than handy for postal deliveries!)

Non essential travel is banned indeed.
Twenty minute drives to check on your property once a month is deemed essential (by me and likely officials as well)
Also have to make sure the jets on the hot tub didn't freeze up over winter, and the grill on the bbq probably needs maintenance.
May take several days what with having to monitor the gorgeous beach sunsets and making sure the bikes are working well

Just kidding actually we have to go up and make sure we didn't experience any water pipe breakage over the winter, and mow the lawn. Spending the afternoon at most with no visits to stores or being within 50 yards of anyone.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-04-18 07:54 by MisterDDDD.

Thank you Bjornulf for your weekly account with the added bonus of lovely Spring flowers. Here in North Wales we noticed lots of wood anemones and violets when we took our dog for a walk in the local woods yesterday. It was good to feel a connection with the rest of the world and to know Spring is unfolding just as it should. Can't wait to see the Stones. BBC tomorrow night for us I think and hope.

I have been told that Fox News are right wing, and New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, La Times, Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune and so on are left wing. Is there a news channel in USA accepted by BOTH republicans and democrats? The reason why I ask, is because I am trying to find a completely neutral US news channel these days.

From Fox News:

The three states Trump tweeted about -- Virginia, Michigan and Minnesota -- are run by Democratic governors and critics have responded by calling to “liberate America” from the president.

The protests -- mainly led by conservative supporters of Trump – are a controversial part of a growing effort to turn around an economy that has been hurt in recent weeks because of the pandemic.

New York Times:

In a series of all-caps tweets that started two minutes after a Fox News report on the protesters, the president declared, “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” and “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” — two states whose Democratic governors have imposed strict social distancing restrictions. He also lashed out at Virginia, where the state’s Democratic governor and legislature have pushed for strict gun control measures, saying: “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”

Trump's ‘liberate’ tweets supporting lockdown protesters spur social media frenzy (Fox News April 17, 2020)

Inslee rebukes the president, as Trump encourages rebellion to states’ coronavirus stay-home orders (Seattle Times April 17, 2020)

Trump calls to “LIBERATE” states where people are protesting social distancing restrictions (New York Times April 17, 2020)

Bjornulf

THE AUSTRALIAN -- 18 April 2020



ROCKMAN

An interesting article on the difficulty of producing a vaccine for coronavirus from ABC News Australia.
[www.abc.net.au]

Quote
bv
I have been told that Fox News are right wing, and New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, La Times, Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune and so on are left wing. Is there a news channel in USA accepted by BOTH republicans and democrats? The reason why I ask, is because I am trying to find a completely neutral US news channel these days.

From Fox News:

The three states Trump tweeted about -- Virginia, Michigan and Minnesota -- are run by Democratic governors and critics have responded by calling to “liberate America” from the president.

The protests -- mainly led by conservative supporters of Trump – are a controversial part of a growing effort to turn around an economy that has been hurt in recent weeks because of the pandemic.

New York Times:

In a series of all-caps tweets that started two minutes after a Fox News report on the protesters, the president declared, “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” and “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” — two states whose Democratic governors have imposed strict social distancing restrictions. He also lashed out at Virginia, where the state’s Democratic governor and legislature have pushed for strict gun control measures, saying: “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”

Trump's ‘liberate’ tweets supporting lockdown protesters spur social media frenzy (Fox News April 17, 2020)

Inslee rebukes the president, as Trump encourages rebellion to states’ coronavirus stay-home orders (Seattle Times April 17, 2020)

Trump calls to “LIBERATE” states where people are protesting social distancing restrictions (New York Times April 17, 2020)

I don't think I'd call the Seattle Times left wing. Maybe in the old days but the current generation of the family that owns the paper definitely leans more Republican but that doesn't mean the current leader. They've been pretty even handed in reporting the news in a straight forward manner. Now, Governor Jay Inslee is definitely on the left side but he has been pretty straight forward in dealing with the crisis. If he hadn't taken the (early) action that he did there probably would've been far more deaths in Washington state especially the Seattle area than there have been. It has still been pretty bad & it is going to be a long recovery. As far as non biased news in the US goes, I honestly can't think of any outlet. Very tough in an election year especially when you factor in how divided the country has become. Even without the virus, it is troubled times.