Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Quarantine Day 133.

Last night I went to bed at 10:45pm, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7am. At one point I got a cramp in my left calf; probably not used to so much walking. We got a little rain overnight.

Last night I played 4 games on Chess.com, winning 1, losing 2, and drawing 1. In the last game I lost my internet connection again in what was at the time a very even game. My new rating is 1271.

Teresa left the apt at 9am for her walk. I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show then left for mine. It was a perfect day – sunny, 72 degrees with a slight breeze, and my back felt great. I took 10 mil with me and after my walk I bought 2 bags of milk at a small tienda next to Asados Rogelio. I ran into Teresa outside and we returned to the apt.

Per the afternoon news, Daniel Quintero, the mayor of Medellin has the coronavirus. Luckily, he’s a young man of 40.

Today I beat Teresa in parcheesi 7 games to 5.

Dr. Rendon texted me that my new crown has arrived. We made an appointment for Thursday morning at 9am.

Teresa spent a good part of the day on the phone trying to get an appointment for an injection with eps. Finally Laura did it for her in the evening.

On the evening news the president stated that the quarantine will continue until August 30^th. I assume that means our current 3 days in, 4 days out.

 

Portland Commissioner Chloe Eudaly said Tuesday the city is fining the federal government $500 every 15 minutes – the maximum charge allowed -- until it removes an unpermitted fence blocking a bike lane on Southwest Third Avenue.

 

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden told reporters on Tuesday he would name his running mate in the first week of August, days before he formally accepts his party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention.

 

A Baltimore ICU doctor has died as a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) after selflessly helping patients despite his husband's pleas that he stay home. He was 56.

 

Less than a week into Major League Baseball’s long-delayed season, its schedule was thrown into turmoil on Tuesday because of the Miami Marlins’ continuing escalation of positive coronavirus tests.

The Marlins have at least 17 positive cases within their traveling party — including 15 players — and will not play again until Monday at the earliest. The Philadelphia Phillies, who hosted the Marlins for three games last weekend, will not play again until Friday.

The ripple effects of those changes affected three other teams: the Yankees, the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals.

 

Police say a man captured on surveillance video breaking windows at a south Minneapolis auto parts store in the days after George Floyd’s death is a Hell’s Angels member who was bent on stirring up social unrest.

Dubbed “Umbrella Man” for an all-black getup that included hood, gas mask and black umbrella, police say the man’s actions soon led to an arson fire that was the first of several that transformed peaceful protests into chaos.

 

Well over half a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, experts are learning more about the virus that was initially believed to be only a respiratory illness. Over time, it’s become clear that COVID-19 attacks far more than just the lungs, and new research indicates that it can leave lasting heart damage, even in formerly healthy people who have recovered from the initial symptoms.

 

Donald Trump declined to throw out the first pitch for the Yankees earlier this week, claiming he was too busy battling Coronavirus. In reality, he was never even invited.

 

Billionaire Bill Gates on Tuesday weighed in on the debate over reopening schools, saying “the benefits outweigh the costs.”

In no uncertain terms, Gates said that kids younger than 13 should return to school “in almost every location.”

“I’m a big believer that for young children, the benefits in almost every location — particularly if you can protect the teachers well — the benefits outweigh the costs,” he said in an interview that aired Tuesday on CNBC‘s “Squawk Box.”

Gates said the situation gets more complicated with older students. “As you get up to age, like, 13 and higher, then you’ll have to look at your locale to decide what you’ll do with high schools,” he said. “And if they’re not in, then you have to put massive effort into trying to get there to be continued learning online.”

 

More than 100 law enforcement agencies have reportedly pulled out of security agreements to send personnel to help with security at the Democratic National Convention next month in part because they are concerned about recent efforts to limit law enforcement’s use of tear gas and pepper spray in responding to violent riots.

 

While some individuals are still dismissing expert recommendations to wear face coverings or masks in public, others are sharing stories of regret. As cases of the novel coronavirus increase in the U.S., anti-maskers nationwide are changing their stances as they experience symptoms of the pandemic. By sharing their stories, individuals who once denied the severity of the virus hope they can emphasize the importance of following safety guidelines to stop the spread of COVID-19.

After vocalizing her views against masks, a city official in Arkansas called herself "selfish" and shared that she no longer doubts the use of masks after being diagnosed with COVID-19. "I knew I was going to die, and I knew I was going to do it alone," Sandra Brand told ABC News affiliate News5. Brand has spent over two weeks in the hospital fighting coronavirus alone.

 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House coronavirus task force and a leading immunologist, has said the consequences of not following re-opening guidelines can been seen in "plain sight" in Southern states that have had a recent surge in COVID-19 cases.

 

After a week in which the president was more willing to stick to a script, temporarily eschewed some of his more fact-challenged medical statements and kept many of answers to reporters’ questions uncharacteristically succinct, Trump’s more typical behavior is starting to show through.

In the last day, he again chided governors who were slowing economic reopenings amid a nationwide coronavirus surge, and he returned to promoting flawed information about hydroxychloroquine, MAGA world’s preferred Covid-19 drug, even as top public health officials debate its efficacy. Tuesday night, Trump characteristically doubled down, defending his decision to trumpet misleading claims from a doctor who has also alleged alien DNA is used in medical treatments and vaccines are disseminated to prevent people from being religious.

 

The US has 4,221,959 ð 4,297,923 ð 4,356,266 coronavirus cases with 146,500+ ð 148,300+  ð 149,500+ deaths.

After case numbers fell steadily in April and May, cases in the United States are growing again at about the same rapid pace as when infections were exploding in New York City in late March. But the hotspots are now mainly spread across the southern and western parts of the country.

Per Medellin Guru, as of this afternoon Colombia has a total of 248,976 ð 257,101ð 267,385 cases with 9,074 deaths.  Medellin has 13,514 ð 14,753 ð 15,417 cases, an increase of 664 from July 27^th to 28^th. Envigado has a total of 830 cases, an increase of 39 from July 27^th to 28^th.

 

Joke of the day

A man dies and goes to hell. Once there, he finds that there is a different hell for each country, so he tries to seek out the least painful one.

At the door to German Hell, he is told: "First they put you in an electric chair for an hour. Then they lay you on a bed of nails for another hour. Then the German devil comes in and whips you for the rest of the day."

He does not like the sound of that, so he checks out American Hell, Russian Hell and many more. They are all similarly gruesome. 

However, at the Italian Hell a long line of people are waiting to get in. Amazed, he asks, "What do they do here?"

He is told: "First they put you in an electric chair for an hour. Then they lay you on a bed of nails for another hour. Then the Italian devil comes in and whips you for the rest of the day."

"But that's the same as the others," says the man. "Why are so many people waiting to get in?"

"Because of the power cuts, the electric chair does not work. The nails were paid for but never supplied, so the bed is comfortable. And the Italian devil used to be a civil servant, so he comes in, signs his time sheet and goes back home for private business."