Friday, April 30, 2021

Day by day: What Trump administration officials and GOP sycophants said about the virus (April 20-30, 2020)



Washington Post, 4/30/2020
President Pence’s office threatened to retaliate against a reporter who revealed that Pence’s office had told journalists they would need masks for Pence’s visit to the Mayo Clinic — a requirement Pence himself did not follow.
Pence’s trip to the clinic Tuesday generated criticism after he was photographed without a surgical mask — the only person in the room not wearing one. The Minnesota clinic requires visitors to wear masks as a precaution against spreading the coronavirus. 
Pence’s wife, Karen Pence, said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday that he was unaware of the mask policy until his visit was over. 
But Steve Herman, who covers the White House for Voice of America, suggested that there was more to the story after Karen Pence’s interview.
In other words, he said it's 'bullshit'.

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April 29th update starts here


Kushner painted a rosy picture for "Fox and Friends" Wednesday morning, saying that "the federal government rose to the challenge and this is a great success story and I think that that's really what needs to be told." 
[snip] 
May will be a transition month ... I think you will see by June, a lot of the country should be back to normal, and the hope is that by July the country is really rocking again," he said.

Well, we know how this inane prediction turned out.


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April 28 update start here

Another GOP COVIDIOT governor in action


In a new executive order announced April 28, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has announced guidelines that would allow most businesses to reopen this week, repealing the state's stay-at-home order that has been in effect over the past few weeks.  [emphasis added]

On April 28, 2020, Tennessee's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 380.

Three month later, on August 1, Tennessee's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 2,428, an increase of 540% since April 28.

On December 18, Tennessee's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 9,193, an increase of 2300% since April 28.

Tennessee's current 7-day average of new Covid cases is 1,042, 175% higher than is was on April 28.

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April 27 update starts here

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds focuses on reopening her state.  Way, way too soon!


Reynolds said she is moving from an "aggressive mitigation strategy" to a focus on targeted containment so Iowa can begin to kick-start its economy again. She acknowledged COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, is likely to be in the state until a vaccine is developed. 
"Instead, we must learn to live with COVID virus activity without letting it govern our lives," Reynolds said.

On April 27, 2020, Iowa's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 385.

Ten days later, on May 7, 2020, Iowa's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 559, an increase of 45% since April 27.

On November 13, 2020, Iowa's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 4,660, an increase of 110% since April 27.

Iowa's current 7-day average of new Covid cases is 403.

Learn to live with it, Iowa.

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April 26 update starts here

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis takes a victory lap.  Way, way too soon!


ClickOrlando, 4/26/2020
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis asserted on Sunday that parts of the state are now “on the other side” of the coronavirus outbreak, and said he would soon announce whether he would lift edicts that shuttered much of the state’s economy because of the pandemic 
[snip]  But he again pushed back at critics who said he was slow to move on putting social-distancing restrictions in place. 
“Florida has performed better than anyone predicted," the governor said. “People should be comforted in knowing that all those predictions of hundreds of thousands of people hospitalized were not accurate, and it has just not been the case so that’s a good thing."


Speaking of being 'on the other side'.....


On April 26, 2020, Florida's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 745.

On May 16, 2020, Florida's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 11,870, an increase of 1500% compared to April 26.

On January 8, 2021, Florida's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 17,991, an increase of 2300% compared to April 26.

On April 17, 2021, Florida's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 6,193, an increase of 730% compared to April 26, 2020.

Heckuva job, Ron!

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April 25 update starts here


Another GOP COVIDIOT governor in action

By May 4, diners can begin returning to restaurants in the Omaha area and several other areas of Nebraska lightly impacted by the coronavirus, Gov. Pete Ricketts announced on Friday.
The decision to begin relaxing the state’s COVID-19 restrictions, the governor said, was based on “hard data” that hospitals and intensive care units are not being swamped, and not on pressure to reopen the economy. 
“If we’re not overwhelming our health care system, we’re winning,” Ricketts said.

And how did Ricketts' plan work out?

On April 25, 2020, Nebraska's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 221.

Fourteen days later, on May 9, 2020, Nebraska's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 419, nearly doubling the  April 25th.

On November 19, 2020, Nebraska's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 2.377, an increase of nearly 100%  compared to April 25.

Heckuva job, Pete!

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April 24 update starts here



COVIDIOT GOP governor in action.

News Tribune, 4242020

And how did Stitt's plan work out?

On April 24, 2020, Oklahoma's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 94.

On July 30, 2020, Oklahoma's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 1106, an increase of more than 1000% compared to April 24.

On January 13, 2021, Oklahoma's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 4,256, an increase of more than 4400%  compared to April 24.

Heckuva job, Kevin!

New York Times (arrows added)

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April 23 update starts here


"Congress did send South Dakota $1.25 billion to us, but they tied our hands on how we can spend it. The only way I can spend this money is on Covid relief. I can't spend it to replace revenues," she said at a news conference. 
"I can't spend it to make up some of the difference that we're seeing from our economy stalling and people not out shopping and participating in adding some sales tax revenue to our state budget or to our local city and local government budgets as well." 
Her comments come on the heels of a stunning surge of coronavirus cases in South Dakota. Noem, a Republican, has faced criticism for refusing to issue a mandatory stay-at-home order, even following an outbreak at a major pork processing plant in the state.  [emphasis added]


South Dakota:  #3 in Covid cases per 1,000,000 population 

South Dakota:  #9 in deaths per 1,000,000 population

7-day average of new Covid cases on April 23, 2020:  92

7-day average of new Covid cases on April 22, 2021:  148.


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April 22, 2021 update starts here

More like, "Gov. DeSantis and local leaders hallucinate over a path....." 


Florida's daily average of new Covid cases on July 17, 2020, was 11,865 -- 14 times times higher than April 22's daily average of 825.2

Florida's daily average of new Covid cases on January 9, 2021, was 15,684 -- 19 times times higher than April 22's daily average of 825.

Florida's daily average of new Covid cases on April 21, 2021, was 6.095 -- nearly 8 times times higher than April 22's daily average of 825.

“We need to get the doctors to talk with some of the licensing boards of cosmetology, barber and all this stuff to figure out, okay, what’s the contact like? How can you reduce the contacts?” DeSantis said. “I think there’s a path forward with a lot of this stuff, but you’ve got to be smart about it. You’ve got to do it intelligently.” 
The latest numbers are giving state leaders confidence that with continued social distancing measures and protocols, that can be done gradually and successfully. [emphasis added]
“As of last night we were actually below 700 [people] in the ICU statewide, which is lower than I think it was in certainly a week, maybe two weeks,” DeSantis said. He also cited a drop in the percentage of people infected with COVID-19 in certain areas, including the hotspot of Miami-Dade County.

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April 21, 2020 update starts here

Smirky Georgia GOP Governor Brian Kemp gets the message from pandemic disaster machine Donald Trump.


As we begin the process of safely reopening our economy, it is critical that business owners, operators, and contractors adhere strictly to increased safety and sanitation guidelines to mitigate the spread of COVID-19," Gov. Kemp said. "Working together, I am confident that we can get these sectors back online and work to ensure the health and safety of all Georgians."

Foolhardy Kemp attempts to reopen Georgia in the 2nd month of the pandemic when his state is 9 months from its peak of new Covid cases.  This is an example of how consistently nutty the GOP response has been.

New York Times (arrows added)

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April 20 update starts here.

Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis gets the message from pandemic disaster machine Donald Trump.


Click Orlando, 4/20/2020


The red arrow indicates how deranged DeSantis was to make a "curve is flattening" comment 1 year ago. 

New York Times (arrow added)


Related series of official/sycophants posts:
April 1-15, 2020.

Related series of posts: Day by day:  What Trump said about the pandemic. 

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