# Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2020 Breaking News **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [February 11, 2020, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758 "2020-02-11T01:16:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 139
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2768 "2020-04-27T01:06:48Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > We’ve been on total lockdown since 3/20 and things were really, REALLY rough starting a week after and up until last week. > > My daughter is NYPD and my son is an EMT in Elmont (which borders Queens, which was the most super fucked of the boroughs). For a time the dead were outstripping our capabilities. If you died at home, your family had to sit with your body for sometimes over 24 hours because there were just not enough hours in the day for the ME to get them. And a lot of people were dying at home. Not necessarily of the virus, but because nobody wanted to go into the hotbed vector that are our hospitals. Not enough room in hospital morgues, so refrigerated trucks were parked outside. There are pictures of the mass graves on Hart’s Island. Funeral homes were stacking bodies OUTSIDE in 65 degree weather. 20% of NYPD were out sick. Shit was seriously fucked UP. > > People are taking lockdown very seriously. There was a drive to protest the lockdown that coordinated with all the national protests. No one showed up. I mean not one, single, solitary person. The police were puzzled. Sure there are stupid people who don’t follow the rules. There are upwards of 15 million people here, of course there will be assholes. But my daughter tells of a call she got. It came in as vandalism and car damage. When she got to the site, it was 5 teenagers in a brand new Lexus who had been parading the car up and down Flatbush. People threw eggs at them from their windows. > > Our curve has flattened. My son has gotten in before midnight for the last 4 nights in a row after a month of, well, just insanity. Today was the first day we’ve had under 400 deaths this April and our governor is contemplating easing up on the lockdown upstate (where it never got anywhere near as bad as downstate). Downstaters are afraid we’ll be inside out tiny apartments (lucky for me, I live in a -tiny- house) until at the very least, Thanksgiving. But thing are looking much better. For a second there, I was very worried. Dear God, you people are having it rough. I’m so sorry. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2769 "2020-04-27T04:09:02Z")
2,994,958 total cases 206,997 dead 878,955 recovered In the US: 987,322 total cases 55,415 dead 118,781 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 2,921,439 total cases > 203,289 dead > 836,978 recovered > > In the US: > > 960,896 total cases > 54,265 dead > 118,162 recovered We did not hit 3,000,000 total cases today but we will tomorrow, along with two other milestones I expect the US to pass. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2770 "2020-04-27T05:30:48Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > We’ve been on total lockdown since 3/20 and things were really, REALLY rough starting a week after and up until last week. > > My daughter is NYPD and my son is an EMT in Elmont (which borders Queens, which was the most super fucked of the boroughs). For a time the dead were outstripping our capabilities. If you died at home, your family had to sit with your body for sometimes over 24 hours because there were just not enough hours in the day for the ME to get them. And a lot of people were dying at home. Not necessarily of the virus, but because nobody wanted to go into the hotbed vector that are our hospitals. Not enough room in hospital morgues, so refrigerated trucks were parked outside. There are pictures of the mass graves on Hart’s Island. Funeral homes were stacking bodies OUTSIDE in 65 degree weather. 20% of NYPD were out sick. Shit was seriously fucked UP. > > People are taking lockdown very seriously. There was a drive to protest the lockdown that coordinated with all the national protests. No one showed up. I mean not one, single, solitary person. The police were puzzled. Sure there are stupid people who don’t follow the rules. There are upwards of 15 million people here, of course there will be assholes. But my daughter tells of a call she got. It came in as vandalism and car damage. When she got to the site, it was 5 teenagers in a brand new Lexus who had been parading the car up and down Flatbush. People threw eggs at them from their windows. > > Our curve has flattened. My son has gotten in before midnight for the last 4 nights in a row after a month of, well, just insanity. Today was the first day we’ve had under 400 deaths this April and our governor is contemplating easing up on the lockdown upstate (where it never got anywhere near as bad as downstate). Downstaters are afraid we’ll be inside out tiny apartments (lucky for me, I live in a -tiny- house) until at the very least, Thanksgiving. But thing are looking much better. For a second there, I was very worried. That sounds harrowing. Thanks for that. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2771 "2020-04-27T06:45:34Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > A “flattened” curve is not the same thing as a downward-sloping curve. With a flattened curve you could well see the same number of deaths daily for some period of time. Also, it depends on _which_ curve you are talking about. Even if you flatten the curve of new infections, the curve of new deaths could continue rise for some time, since the people who died will have contracted the disease some days or weeks earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2772 "2020-04-27T07:32:32Z")
The King has lifter the 24-hour curfew. I am at the office for the first time this month. On the other hand, nobody else showed up. School is closed until the end of Ramadan. Having been at my desk for ninety minutes, I have discovered work impacts on my naps. On the other hand, I have empty my in box. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2773 "2020-04-27T10:28:32Z")
(thought better of it) ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2774 "2020-04-27T11:45:21Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Also, it depends on _which_ curve you are talking about. Even if you flatten the curve of new infections, the curve of new deaths could continue rise for some time, since the people who died will have contracted the disease some days or weeks earlier. Ah, makes sense, but the masses may not take kindly to the revelation that there were many curves that needed flattening. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2775 "2020-04-27T12:03:27Z")
Another day of zero new infections in Taiwan, for the fourth time this month and without a domestic transmission for 14 days straight. There have been 281 patients who have recovered and the current number of active cases is at 148. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2776 "2020-04-27T15:23:36Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 2,994,958 total cases > 206,997 dead > 878,955 recovered > > In the US: > > 987,322 total cases > 55,415 dead > 118,781 recovered > > Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > We did not hit 3,000,000 total cases today but we will tomorrow, along with two other milestones I expect the US to pass. Am I remembering wrong that they not too long ago lowered best case scenario US deaths from a couple of hundred thousand to 60 thousand? Because we are hitting 60 in the next couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2777 "2020-04-27T15:29:21Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > Ah, makes sense, but the masses may not take kindly to the revelation that there were many curves that needed flattening. [Too many things to think about!](https://imgur.com/HE68MhD) Make it simpler! ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2778 "2020-04-27T16:05:08Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Am I remembering wrong that they not too long ago lowered best case scenario US deaths from a couple of hundred thousand to 60 thousand? Because we are hitting 60 in the next couple of days. [You’re remembering correctly](https://www.npr.org/2020/04/09/830664814/fauci-says-u-s-coronavirus-deaths-may-be-more-like-60-000-antibody-tests-on-way). The IHME model is currently predicting a leveling off at 67k. Here in Ohio, the IHME estimate back in March was leveling off at over 2000 dead. Two weeks ago that was down to 522, and now it’s back up to 808. Still well within the predicted margin but sadly not as good as hoped. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2779 "2020-04-27T16:09:22Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > [You’re remembering correctly](https://www.npr.org/2020/04/09/830664814/fauci-says-u-s-coronavirus-deaths-may-be-more-like-60-000-antibody-tests-on-way). The IHME model is currently predicting a leveling off at 67k. > > Here in Ohio, the IHME estimate back in March was leveling off at over 2000 dead. Two weeks ago that was down to 522, and now it’s back up to 808. Still well within the predicted margin but sadly not as good as hoped. IHME isn’t a very good model. I recommend looking at the FiveThirtyEight pandemic modeling survey results and using that to get a sense for where things are more likely to land. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2780 "2020-04-27T17:06:42Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Am I remembering wrong that they not too long ago lowered best case scenario US deaths from a couple of hundred thousand to 60 thousand? Because we are hitting 60 in the next couple of days. Not the next couple days. The rate of loss is falling. We will probably not reach sixty thousand until early next month. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2781 "2020-04-27T17:35:53Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Not the next couple days. The rate of loss is falling. We will probably not reach sixty thousand until early next month. Yeah, brain glitch. For some reason I was thinking of reaching 56,000 in a couple of days as reaching 60,000 in a couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2782 "2020-04-27T17:46:41Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Am I remembering wrong that they not too long ago lowered best case scenario US deaths from a couple of hundred thousand to 60 thousand? Because we are hitting 60 in the next couple of days. > [@eschereal](#): > > Not the next couple days. The rate of loss is falling. We will probably not reach sixty thousand until early next month. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Yeah, brain glitch. For some reason I was thinking of reaching 56,000 in a couple of days as reaching 60,000 in a couple of days. You were right the first time: we will definitely reach 60,000 US deaths from covid-19 before May. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2783 "2020-04-27T18:04:17Z")
This US Army civilian employee is at the center of the conspiracy theory that she started the coronavirus, and now she’s getting death threats. > **[Exclusive: She's been falsely accused of starting the pandemic. Her life has...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/27/tech/coronavirus-conspiracy-theory/index.html)** > > Maatje Benassi, a US Army reservist and mother of two, has become the target of conspiracy theorists who falsely place her at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, saying she brought the disease to China. The Japanese island of Hokkaido lifted their shutdown, and then had to reimpose it after a major outbreak. > **[This Japanese Island Lifted Its Coronavirus Lockdown Too Soon and Became a...](https://time.com/5826918/hokkaido-coronavirus-lockdown/)** > > Hokkaido's story is a sobering reality check for leaders across the world as they consider easing coronavirus lockdowns ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2784 "2020-04-27T18:49:42Z")
Meanwhile, in Ontario: The Premier has released guidelines on how and when to open things up: > [@](#): > > Ontario must see a “consistent two-to-four week decrease in the number of new daily COVID-19 cases” before the government can start to loosen restrictions and begin reopening the economy, says a new framework released by the province. > > The province will reopen its economy through a three-stage process in the coming weeks and months, a government document unveiled Monday afternoon says, though it offers no firm date and few details about when that effort will begin. > [@](#): > > While there are no specific dates included in the planning document, when and how Ontario begins reopening will depend on a number of factors, including:[ul] > [li]A consistent two-to-four week drop in new daily COVID-19 cases.[/li][li]A decrease in cases not traced to a source.[/li][li]A decrease in new hospitalizations.[/li][/ul]Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer health, said last week that the province would need to see fewer than 200 new cases daily for an extended stretch before relaxing COVID-19 emergency measures would be feasible. Source: [CBC report](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/covid-19-coronavirus-ontario-economy-reopen-framework-1.5546004) that explains the criteria for reopening, and links to the complete guidelines document. In other news… I’ve been getting a weekly newsletter from my work. As some may know, I was laid off on March 20th. Work has always said that they will be calling us back when customer orders start appearing again. The place was running three shifts a day, 24/7 almost, before the shutdown. I am on afternoon shift; I suspect that day shift (7:00 to 15:00) will be called back first, then afternoon shift (15:00 to 23:00), then midnight shift (23:00 to 7:00). Anyways, the latest newsletter goes into the changes at work, including: [ul] [li]We have to take our temperature and fill out a questionnaire each day before going to work.[/li][li]They have staggered shift change times and break times so that lunchrooms are not as crowded at any one time.[/li][li]They have built more entrances and exits to reduce crowding at the entryways.[/li][li]There are now markings to indicate physical distancing at lunchroom tables, line-up areas for time clocks, etc.[/li][li]Workstations now have barriers between them. [/li]_(Given the arrangement of and movement required at some of the workstations, I am not sure how that will be possible, but we’ll see.)_ [li]We will evidently be wearing masks on the production floor.[/li][li]No more lockers in the changerooms. [/li]_(No big deal for me; it was always a bit of a free-for-all getting one, and I never actually had one.)_ [li]No more use of fridges in the lunchrooms. We will have to leave our lunches in our cars or take them to our workstations. [/li]_(I was already bringing a bag containing all the things I might need on the floor, plus a drink, a sweater, etc, so little difference for me. My lunch was always simple things that didn’t have to be cooked or warmed up. But I can see how it might affect many people, especially ones who are used to bringing frozen food and letting it thaw before microwaving it.)_ [li]Speaking of which… we will be allowed to use the microwaves, but we have to clean them after each use.[/li][/ul] They are referring to this as ‘the return to the new normal’. There is an app which formerly mostly provided newsletters and other such corporate info; not that many people had it. The daily screening questionnaire is now through this app, and we are encouraged to download it. Or you can fill in a form at the entrance to the plant. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2785 "2020-04-27T19:03:18Z")
**[Top E.R. Doctor Who Treated Virus Patients Dies by Suicide](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/nyregion/new-york-city-doctor-suicide-coronavirus.html)** > [@](#): > > A top emergency room doctor at a major Manhattan hospital that treated coronavirus patients died by suicide on Sunday, according to her father. > > Dr. Lorna M. Breen, the medical director of the emergency department at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, died in Charlottesville, Va., where she was staying with family, her father said in an interview. > > Her father, Dr. Philip C. Breen, said she had described devastating scenes of the toll the coronavirus took on patients. > > “She tried to do her job, and it killed her,” he said. > > The elder Dr. Breen said his daughter had contracted the coronavirus but had gone back to work after recuperating for about a week and a half. The hospital sent her home again, before her family intervened to bring her to Charlottesville, he said. > > Dr. Breen, 49, did not have a history of mental illness, her father said. But he said that when he last spoke with her, she seemed detached, and he could tell something was wrong. She had described to him an onslaught of patients dying before they could even be taken out of ambulances. > > “She was truly in the trenches of the front line,” he said. > > He added: “Make sure she’s praised as a hero, because she was. She’s a casualty just as much as anyone else who has died.” > … ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2786 "2020-04-27T19:16:28Z")
The mayor of Mumbai is a former nurse, and she has gone back to working as a nurse to inspire others. > **[Inspiring! Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar returns to serve as nurse to...](https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/inspiring-mumbai-mayor-kishori-pednekar-returns-to-serve-as-nurse-to-motivate-covid-warriors/1941137/)** > > Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, 56, is a Shiv Sena leader. A former nurse herself, she donned her uniform once again to show solidarity with the frontline workers. She also visited the Nair Hospital. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/2787 "2020-04-27T19:44:58Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > **[Top E.R. Doctor Who Treated Virus Patients Dies by Suicide](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/nyregion/new-york-city-doctor-suicide-coronavirus.html)** > ☹ That should go over in the ‘thank you for your service’ thread. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=138) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=140)