Saturday, July 11, 2020

Self-isolation Day 116.

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, got up once during the night finally waking/getting up at 6:45.

Last night I played 5 games on Chess.com, losing all 5. I was easily winning the first game and I lost on time in the third game. It was especially disappointing because I had the white pieces in 4 of the 5 games. My rating now is 1239.

I left the apt at 8:45 and as soon as I walked out of the garage I realized there was a light drizzle. I did a U-turn back to the apt. I guess no walking for exercise for me today.

Teresa beat me in parcheesi this afternoon 7 games to 4.

About 6:15 the rain started but it didn’t last long.

Starting next week, for the next 2 weeks, the Medellin Metropolitan Area is returning to 2-digit cedulas each day. Our day(s) out will be Thursday(s). Probably because the coronavirus cases continue to increase.

 

With rising Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations sending many states backward in their reopening plans, one health expert warns that if the US continues on its current path it will reach "one of the most unstable times in the history of our country."

"We will have hospitals overwhelmed and not only in terms of ICU beds and hospitals -- and that's bad -- but exhausted hospital staff and hospital staff that's getting ill themselves," Dr. Peter Hotez, the dean of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN Friday night. "So, we won't have enough manpower, human power, to manage all of this."

Only five states saw a decrease of at least 10% in average new daily cases over the past week. And the US set a record for the highest single day of new cases for the second time this week with 66,627 cases on Friday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

 

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Saturday tweeted a scathing response to President Trump's Friday night commutation of former associate Roger Stone's prison sentence, calling the move "[u]nprecedented, historic corruption."

 

According to WOAI, a patient in San Antonio, Texas in their 30s has died after going to a “COVID party” - a gathering of people who intentionally expose themselves to coronavirus to see for themselves whether the virus is real.

Per Methodist Healthcare Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jane Appleby, the patient’s final words to the nurse were, “I think I made a mistake, I thought this was a hoax, but it’s not.”

 

The U.S. on Friday reported more than 68,000 new COVID-19 cases, breaking the country's record for the daily number of new cases for the third consecutive day as the growing pandemic tightens its grip on the country.

 

Kazakhstan is pushing back after China reported it was grappling with an outbreak of “unknown pneumonia” different from COVID-19 that has killed hundreds.

 

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle reacted Friday night to news that President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime confidant Roger Stone. Democrats accused Trump of abusing his power while some Republicans applauded the move.

Stone is a Republican operative convicted of lying to Congress to protect the president's campaign from an investigation into Russian election interference.

He was convicted of lying to investigators about efforts by Trump campaign aides to learn about WikiLeaks' plans to release emails that Russian operatives stole from Hillary Clinton's campaign. Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation found Russia undertook a "sweeping" campaign to help Trump, but found no evidence he coordinated with the effort.

 

The nationwide death toll is rising again, and the CDC just released its new list of where fatalities will rise. "This week's national ensemble forecast predicts that there will likely be between 140,000 and 160,000 total reported COVID-19 deaths by August 1st," reports the agency. "The state-level ensemble forecasts suggest that the number of new deaths over the next four weeks" will rise in the following states. Arizona, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia.

 

A Trump replay from April 20^th: Trump on state closures, “Some governors have gone too far. Some of the things that happened are maybe not so appropriate.  And I think in the end it's not going to matter because we're starting to open up our states, and I think they're going to open up very well."

The US has 3,128,107 ð 3,189,117 ð 3,260,551 coronavirus cases with 133,009  ð 133,749 ð 134,581 deaths. New cases were flattening but now they are increasing.

Per Medellin Guru, as of this afternoon Colombia has a total of 133,973 ð 140,776  ð 145,362 cases with 5,119 deaths.  Medellin has 3,633 ð 3,940 ð 4,506 cases, an increase of 166 from July 9^th to July 11^th.  Envigado has a total of 191 cases, an increase of 11 from July 10^th to July 11^th.

 

Joke of the day

A DEA police officer stops at a ranch in Texas, and talks with an old rancher. From the first second he had a bad attitude about him, annoyed he had to muddy his clean boots out in the country. He tells the rancher, "I need to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs." The rancher says, "Alright, you can search the ranch, but do not go in that field over there."

The DEA officer, clearly angry, says, "Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me." Reaching into his rear pants pocket, he removes his badge and proudly displays it to the rancher. 

"See this badge? DO you?!? This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I wish, on any land, no questions asked or answers given. Have I made myself clear? Do you understand me?!?" He shouts.

The rancher nods quietly, apologizes, and goes about his chores.

A short time later, the old rancher hears loud screams and sees the DEA officer running for his life chased by the rancher's big Santa Gertrudis Bull. With every step the bull is gaining ground on the officer, as he runs for all he's worth.

The rancher throws down his tools, runs to the fence and yells at the top of his lungs:  "Your badge... Show him your BADGE!!!"