Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Quarantine Day 134.

Last night I went to bed at 10:30pm, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 8am.

Last night I played 4 games on Chess.com, winning 1 and losing 3. My new rating is 1256. I was winning the 2^nd game but lost my internet connection. I was winning the 4^th game until I blundered my queen.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and left the apt. (Teresa left about 5 minutes earlier. I understood she was going walking with a girlfriend and she would pick up lunch at Asados Rogelio.) I took the elevator to the basement and when the doors opened I saw an older (not older than me) woman talking to someone in the garage. As she talked she backed into the elevator. I had to say “pardon” 3 times before she noticed me.

I walked downtown and bought L-Arginina at a tienda naturista. I stopped at my usual ATM but after waiting about a minute (“processing your transaction”) it gave me nothing. I picked up my monthly medications at Todo Drogas. I stopped at another ATM and requested 300mil but it only gave me 100mil. I stopped at the copy center and had a few things printed out. I walked to the Viva Envigado and had the same 100mil experience at another ATM. I tried a different bank’s ATM and this time it allowed me to withdraw 500mil.

I went up to the 2^nd floor of the mall and got in a medium-long line for Bancolombia. It turned out to be a 25-minute wait. Just as I turned the corner and was met by a security guard. I showed him my cedula and told him I need a cashier to pay for my apt. He told me I could go directly inside. I’m guessing I got the 4-star treatment because of my age although maybe it was my good looks. LOL. In the future I’ll have to show the security guard my cedula first thing. Inside it was another 10-15 minute wait for a cashier but at least I could sit. I paid for the apt, my health insurance and Juan Castro’s chess lessons.

Outside I went downstairs and back inside Exito where I picked up a few things. Outside I paid for Direct TV at a Baloto kiosk and then took a taxi back to the apt.

I was back just before noon.

Teresa returned at 1:30 with lunch from El Pastelito. Afterwards, about 2:30 she left for SantaFe mall to return a dress to Zara.

 

Once again, the coronavirus is ascendant. As infections mount across the country, it is dawning on Americans that the epidemic is now unstoppable, and that no corner of the nation will be left untouched.

As of Wednesday, the pathogen had infected at least 4.3 million Americans, killing more than 150,000. Many experts fear the virus could kill 200,000 or even 300,000 by year’s end. Even President Trump has donned a mask, after resisting for months, and has canceled the Republican National Convention celebrations in Florida.

Each state, each city has its own crisis driven by its own risk factors: vacation crowds in one, bars reopened too soon in another, a revolt against masks in a third.

 

In an op-ed published at the Houston Chronicle this Wednesday, the paper’s Editorial Board welcomed President Trump back to Texas as he prepared to visit an oil rig in the state. The Board also had a special message for Trump: do better.

“When you visited Dallas back on June 11, Texas was leading the stampede to reopen for business, spurred on by Gov. Greg Abbott’s aggressive plans and your administration’s false assurances that the outbreaks were ‘under control,'” the Board writes. “At the time, the United States had reported a little more than 2 million confirmed cases and almost 114,000 deaths. Texas was reporting about 85,000 cases and 2,000 deaths. Seven weeks later, as Air Force One descends on the Lone Star State, the United States has more than 4 million cases. America is closing in on 150,000 dead — nearly the population of Midland.”

Now Texas has almost 400,000 confirmed cases and nearly 6,000 deaths thanks to the coronavirus.

According to the Board, Trump can’t afford to take the state for granted in 2020. That’s evidenced in the decreasing confidence Texans have that Trump is up to the task of leading the nation “out of the canyon that you and your administration have helped dig.”

“One important thing you could do on your visit, Mr. President, is to make an unequivocal commitment to improved testing, social-distancing and getting your followers in the Republican Party to give up their rebellion to Gov. Abbott’s face-mask order,” the Board writes. “We are almost certain you won’t, but that would be a good start to something resembling leadership.”

 

President Donald Trump was already having a bad day on Tuesday, but his unhinged press conference at the White House, in which he once again defended hydroxychloroquine as a remedy for coronavirus and complained that “nobody likes me,” just made it worse.

Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who served under President Trump, told MSNBC on Wednesday that hydroxychloroquine "definitively" does not work as a coronavirus treatment.

 

One of the most anti-mask members of Congress, Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas, has tested positive for COVID-19. Gohmert was scheduled to travel to Texas with President Donald Trump and got a positive result after taking a test at the White House.

Gohmert told CNN last month that he would only start wearing a mask regularly if and when he contracted COVID-19. According to that CNN report, Gohmert “spends ample time on the House floor not wearing a mask, often talking with aides and lawmakers at length while not maintaining a social distance.” In recent weeks, the iconoclastic Texan has been in the news for banging on his desk (while not wearing a mask) in an effort to interrupt a congressional witness and defending supporters of his who took part in fights (while themselves not wearing masks) at an event being held by the Democrat running against him in November. On Tuesday, Gohmert’s chief of staff used Facebook to post an alternate link to a conspiracy theory video in which a doctor who has espoused bizarre beliefs regarding demon sperm and alien DNA argued that mask usage is unnecessary. (Both Facebook and Twitter have attempted to remove the video from circulation on their platforms.)

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) on Wednesday released a video statement about his coronavirus diagnosis, suggesting without evidence that wearing a mask may have contributed to testing positive.

 

White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci warned parents sending kids back to school that children over 9 years old can spread the coronavirus as well as adults. 

A recently published study in South Korea indicated that although kids under the age of 9 were less likely than adults to transmit the virus to their families, teenagers were at least as likely to transmit the disease as adults.

Some areas of the country will have an easier time welcoming students back to school since the virus isn’t spreading uncontrollably, he added.

 

The Federal Reserve expressed concern Wednesday that the viral outbreak will act as a drag on the economy and hiring in the coming months and said it plans to keep its benchmark short-term interest rate pegged near zero to provide support.

In a statement at the end of its policy-making meeting Wednesday, the Fed acknowledged that the economy has rebounded from the depths of March and April, when nearly all states closed down nonessential businesses. But it said the coronavirus pandemic "will weigh heavily on economic activity, employment and inflation."

In a change from their previous statement in June, the Fed policymakers added: "The path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus" — an acknowledgement that uncertainty about when the health crisis might be solved has complicated the Fed's ability to set interest rate policy.

 

The country's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick are among this year's recipients of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award.

 

A Colorado restaurant that defied state orders in reopening to a massive crowd on Mother's Day closed permanently on Sunday.

The state's Department of Public Health and Environment yanked C&C Coffee and Kitchen's business license after co-owner April Arellano defended the decision to reopen, writing on social media, "If I lose the business at least I'm fighting."

Jesse and April Arellano announced on Facebook that they were shutting down their Castle Rock location to stall their "financial bleeding."

The owners wrote in the defiant post that they knew they were "going against the grain" by reopening for Mother's Day, but slammed the backlash from their community and authorities like Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. 

 

From the US embassy, COVID-19 Quarantine Update and Extension:  On Tuesday, July 28, President Duque announced the extension of the isolation measures in Colombia until August 30.  As of July 28, there are 267,385 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Colombia according to the Colombian Ministry of Health.”

 

Herd immunity is necessary to really contain a virus, according to epidemiologists. That is generally achieved once enough people either get vaccinated or survive the virus so they have the antibodies to fight off new infections and the virus doesn’t have enough new hosts to spread. Most scientists think 60% to 80% of the population needs to be immune to achieve herd immunity, the WHO said.

The World Health Organization on Wednesday advised public officials against trying to achieve so-called herd immunity to the coronavirus by allowing it to rapidly spread throughout their communities, saying it will overwhelm hospitals and kill a lot of people.

 

Dr. Fauci doesn’t believe life in the U.S. will return to normal until sometime in 2021, at the absolute earliest.

Fauci also said that the U.S. won’t return to a pre-coronavirus way of life until a majority of Americans receive a vaccine.

With COVID-19 still spreading rapidly across many states, a group of doctors recently penned a letter urging lawmakers to institute a second shutdown.

 

The scary thing about the coronavirus pandemic, aside from the fact that it’s still spreading rapidly across dozens of states, is that the situation may get a lot worse once fall rolls around. Once the weather cools and flu season kicks into high gear, doctors believe that a surge in new coronavirus cases is likely.

 

After Rep. Louie Gohmert appears to be the 11th member of Congress to test positive for coronavirus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced Wednesday that masks will be required in the House of Representatives chamber.

 

I was eating a few plantain chips, my new favorite snack mainly for their saltiness, when I heard a crack. I broke off the new temp crown. Luckily, I have my appointment tomorrow morning to put in my new crown.

Teresa returned at 7:30. She told me how inexpensive everything is. She also expressed her opinion that Zara will close permanently.

 

The US has 4,297,923 ð 4,356,266 ð 4,435,387 coronavirus cases with 148,300+  ð 149,500+ ð 151,100+ deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of this afternoon Colombia has a total of 257,101ð 267,385 ð 276,055 cases with 9,454 deaths.  Medellin has 14,753 ð 15,417 ð 16,360 cases, an increase of 942 from July 28^th to 29^th. Envigado has a total of 882 cases, an increase of 58 from July 28^th to 29^th.

 

Joke of the day

A guy goes to Las Vegas to gamble and he loses all his money. He doesn't even have enough for a cab, but he flagged one down anyway. He explained to the driver that he would pay him back next time and gave him his phone number, but the driver told him, "Get the HELL out of my cab!"

So he walked all the way to the airport and got home. Some time rolls by and he decides to go back to Vegas again and this time he wins BIG. He gets his bags and is ready for the airport with all his new winnings. There is a line of cabs and at the very end, he sees the driver from last time that kicked him out. He stood for a moment thinking how can I get revenge on that driver.

So, he gets in the first cab. "How much is it to the airport?" He asks. The driver says, "$15"

"Great, how much for you to sleep with me on the way there?"

The cab driver says, "Get the hell out of my cab."

So he goes to the next one and asks the same thing. "How much to the airport?"

"$15"

"Great, how much for you to sleep with me on the way there?"

And that cab driver also tells him to get the hell out of his cab. He does this all the way down the line of drivers, each one kicking him out. He finally gets to the last driver, the one from his last trip. The driver doesn't recognize him and he asks, "Hey how much to the airport?"

The driver responds, "$15".

The guy hands him $15 and says "Great let's go!"

And so the driver leaves, slowly passing all the other drivers who are staring out their window while the guy in the back smiles at them enthusiastically while giving them the thumbs up!