Sunday, June 13, 2021

Day by day: What Trump administration officials and GOP sycophants said about the virus (June 1-15, 2020)

 



Washington Post, 6/13/2021
Trump plans to host his first rally in months inside the BOK Center, a Tulsa entertainment and events venue that holds more than 19,000 people. On Wednesday, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) tweeted supportively of Trump’s planned visit, saying it “confirms Oklahoma is the national example in responsibly and safely reopening.”  [emphasis added]

On June 13, 2020, Oklahoma's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 145.

One month later, its 7-day average of new Covid cases was 626, an increase of 330%

On November 25, 2020, its 7-day average of new Covid cases was 3,274, an increase of 2160% since June 13.

On January 13, 2021, its 7-day average of new Covid cases was 4,256, an increase of 2835% since June 13.

Oklahoma's current 7-day average of new Covid cases is 120.

The only thing it confirms, Kevin, is.....

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June 12 update starts here

Photo credit:  Gage Skidmore via Wikipedia


At the White House, though, officials played down the severity of the virus surge and sought to blame it on factors beyond Trump's forceful push to reopen the economy, which he's counting on to help him win reelection. 
“I spoke to our health experts at some length last evening. They’re saying there is no second spike. Let me repeat that: There is no second spike," Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, said Friday on "Fox & Friends.” 
He said COVID-19 cases are increasing only in certain spots of the country, but that nationally, the rates of new cases and fatalities have flattened out. “There is no emergency,” Kudlow said. "There is no second wave. I don’t know where that got started on Wall Street.”  [emphasis added]
Wrong as wrong as he can be

New York Times (arrows and box added)

Red arrow:  June 12, 2020

Orange arrow:  Second wave in July 2020

Purple box:  Massive third wave from November 2020 to February 2021

Green arrow:  Fourth wave in April 2021

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June 11 update starts here


"We can't shut down the economy again. I think we've learned that if you shut down the economy, you're going to create more damage, and not just economic damage, but there are other areas," he said during an appearance on CNBC, calling President Donald Trump's initial decision "very prudent" but saying "we've learned a lot" since then.

Sorry, Steve, the reviews were already in.

The Hill, 5/5/2020

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June 10 update starts here

(red arrow indicating 20,000 threshold added)

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, an outside adviser to the White House who served as the commissioner of food and drugs under Mr. Trump, cited modeling from the investment house Morgan Stanley that forecast a doubling in the number of infections over the next 60 days. In an interview, he predicted a “slow burn through the summer, where maybe 20,000 cases a day diagnoses is the new normal.”

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June 9 update starts here


Texas Tribune, 6/9/2020
Data released Wednesday by the Texas Department of State Health Services shows 2,153 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 2,056 the day before, and 1,935 Monday. Before the last few days, the previous high was May 5, when 1,888 people were hospitalized. 
The figures come a little more than a month since Abbott's statewide stay-at-home order ended and he began a phased reopening of businesses. It also comes about two weeks after Memorial Day. The hospitalizations have increased some 42% since then. 
A spokesman for Abbott's office, John Wittman, said Wednesday that "every Texan who needs access to a hospital bed will have access to a hospital bed."
A little more than a month later......

Texas Tribune, 7/14/2020

Not even close to peaking on June 9.

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June 8 update starts here




On June 8, 2020, West Virginia's 7-day average of new Covid cases was 19.

One month later, its 7-day average of new Covid cases was 104, an increase of 450%

On October 8, 2020, its 7-day average of new Covid cases was 186, an increase of 880% since June 8.

On January 8, 2021, its 7-day average of new Covid cases was 1,440, an increase of 7500% since June 8.

West Virginia's current 7-day average of new Covid cases is 135.

Heckuva job, Jim!

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June 3 update starts here


Click Orlando, 6/3/2020

It didn't go well.

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June 2 post starts here

Dear  Superspreader Brian,

Your timing is off, as usual.

Best,

Retiring Guy



From June 2 to July 29, Georgia 7-day average of new Covid cases increased from 571 to 3,409 (+500%).  Its second wave of cases peaked at a 7-day average of 9,694 on January 13, 2021.


At a press conference on May 28, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced that bars and nightclubs could reopen on Monday, June 1, given that they follow 39 mandatory safety measures. [bold red added)
[snip]
These measures include a limit to how many patrons may be inside a bar, requirements that all employees wear facemasks and increased sanitation, among other rules. Bars have an especially thin profit margin after paying for alcohol licenses, insurance, utilities, and, in some cases, rent, so closures have not been easy.  
"Just making money is not the only reason behind opening the bar; returning to the normalcy that we have before is also a driving force behind it, [Mohsen Mohseni] "Moghadam [owner of the International Bar and Grill] said. "Also, I want to be able to provide more hours for my bartenders, barbacks and staff … to provide for them the opportunity to come back and work." 
Former bartender Bryant Keith was apprehensive about the reopening. After working at seven different bars throughout his time in Athens, he said he’s unsure that bars will be able to meet all the state-mandated requirements while still being functional.

 



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