Texas Re-Opening Announced

[Post Oak 20184]

2 hours ago, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/10/texas-starr-county-covid-19-model-greg-abbott

"

Their strategy worked. The first few coronavirus cases trickled into Starr county in late March, but for three weeks in April, there were no new infections. Before the end of May, weekly tallies of new confirmed positives never once reached double digits. Even seasonal influenza, coughs, colds and fevers that would normally travel through the community suddenly vanished.

“What we did here was a model for the rest of the nation to follow, but it was lost,” said Joel Villarreal, the mayor of Rio Grande City, one of four small cities in the county. “In fact, I think we had it right.”

The inflection point came when the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, unilaterally decided to reopen the state, and stripped local governments of their power in the process. By early May, malls, restaurants, movie theaters, gyms and salons threw open their doors, albeit at limited capacity. Texans lost their fear of the virus as politicians told them it was safe to re-emerge from lockdown, and once masks became politicized, localities could no longer require their use.

“We had local input to close down. But to reopen, we didn’t have any, at all,” said Villarreal."

Tldr;

What he wants to say is Abbott fucked us.

 

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13546]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/texas-lt-governor-dan-patrick-is-determined-to-sacrifice-everyone-but-himself-for-gop-convention

Nothing epitomizes the Texas GOP more than insisting on holding an in-person convention that party leaders would only attend via video, then attacking the Democratic mayor for cancelling it due to a public health crisis and ICU scarcity caused by the governor overruling local municipalities from enacting public health measures, and suing the city where court proceedings will be held virtually due to very crisis that drove party leaders' decision not to attend their own in-person convention.

[ultimaton 2966]

3 hours ago, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

How about converting the Capitol for overflow ICUs? 

https://www.statesman.com/news/20200710/texas-cities-want-to-send-covid-patients-to-austin---but-is-space-available?template=ampart

Throw in the governor's mansion and wherever it is that Goeb is holed up while you're at it. 

[HenryJames 65887]

@justhookit

[HenryJames 65887]

 

[UpperWestside 6134]

This was a story relayed to me from one of my best friends who lives in a suburb north of Dallas. As soon as bars were reopened there one of his co-workers that he has known for years thought the whole thing was a joke. The guy is 50 and health-wise was a prime candidate to get Covid. He was going to a bar every single day. He comes into work about three weeks or so ago and starts to feel sick. He got Covid and almost died. He is not allowed back to work and my friend has stopped going to the office entirely (He was going 1 or 2 days a week, but is now working remotely).

My friend kept telling this idiot he was going to get Covid because of how reckless he was acting. Now the guy is hooked up 24/7 to an oxygen tank at his home and is apologizing to everyone he knows about what he did. This kind of blatant stupidity is why we don't have this under control.

[safe sex 11678]

Lol, I remember when we were sending nurses to Detroit and Chicago to help out there, because Austin had done a pretty damn good job in flattening the curve. A good third of the nurses last night in COVIDLAND in my hospital were sent to us from Wisconsin sister sites.

[GRHorn 105]

6 hours ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

It was a hoax! Fake news!

The sky is a painting. 

[Beantown Express 2.0 6554]

So my family avoided being around people for months and we finally had the first person over to our house, my nephew, the week before Father’s Day.  I find out today that he got sick about 5 days later with a fever.  Had the fever for 3 days and lost his sense of smell.  Got tested and had to wait 10 days for the results.  Positive for Covid 19.  He is my fam but the dumbass never told us so we knew nothing about him being sick and probably should have quarantined for 2 weeks (although we pretty much do that except for the grocery with a mask and golf course).  Enough time has passed but I am not sure if me or my wife and kid got it and were asymptomatic or never got it.  Not sure if we should get tested or not even worry about it.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11807]

4 minutes ago, GRHorn said:

The sky is a painting. 

The wiener is a carrot!

[Patrick Bateman 3903]

59 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

 

25%+ positivity rate.  We're headed towards another shutdown which Abbott had previously said would never happen under him (started changing his tune couple of days ago).  His approval ratings are going to plummet.

 

[4th&Five 41457]

Shit like Blazer Tag is still open. We’re so stupid. 

[tx 3 putt 76315]

1 hour ago, trauma babe said:

Lol, I remember when we were sending nurses to Detroit and Chicago to help out there, because Austin had done a pretty damn good job in flattening the curve. 

then abbott and patrick decided being MAGA was more important than what's good for this state. fuck them both, they need to be removed from office asap 

Edited July 11, 2020 by tx 3 putt

[HenryJames 65887]

1 hour ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

Enough time has passed but I am not sure if me or my wife and kid got it and were asymptomatic or never got it.  Not sure if we should get tested or not even worry about it.

Need to see pics of wife to decide.

[Grade of D as in David 13253]

2 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

then abbott and patrick decided being MAGA was more important than what's good for this state. fuck them both, they need to be removed from office asap 

We need to bring back public shaming and the stocks. I'd love to swing by the capital and sling some eggs or fruits at these fuckers.

[StruggleBus 3922]

On 7/9/2020 at 6:07 PM, Wanker Bob said:

College football is going to happen. There's just way too much money in it. They'll set a schedule with no OOC games so the conference can better regulate testing and reduce travel and it'll happen. 

You’re going to be really disappointed in a couple months 

[Neonmoon 38127]

Abbott is a dumb cunt 

[tx 3 putt 76315]

22 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

Abbott is a dumb cunt 

Zero leadership skills. He’s blinded by trump 

[Skyline 325]

[tantric superman 4667]

10 hours ago, Bateshorn said:

I’m getting the distinct impression that the chances of my actually dropping my son off at Trinity in August is not great, bob.

The cult will wait for you both.  The cult is patient.

[zork 629]

26 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

Zero leadership skills. He’s blinded by trump 

Or influenced by the disaster of an economy in the US and the Swedish relative success with their herd immunity plan, along with the same in Texas till things have escalated, clearly, in the last 6 weeks. 

As it turns out, NYC has almost achieved that herd immunity with their lack of closing the subway, etc,  and their initial stages causing a recent report to have upwards of 40-60% of New York citizens tested recently  now with the antibodies.  That immunity is not without costs, nor pain, nor death of some of the most sensitive or most risk taking crowds.

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13546]

3 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

Shit like Blazer Tag is still open. We’re so stupid. 

Is this different from laser tag? Like real flame throwers? Cuz I might be for that.

[Neonmoon 38127]

3 minutes ago, zork said:

Or influenced by the disaster of an economy in the US and the Swedish relative success with their herd immunity plan, along with the same in Texas till things have escalated, clearly, in the last 6 weeks. 

As it turns out, NYC has almost achieved that herd immunity with their lack of closing the subway, etc,  and their initial stages causing a recent report to have upwards of 40-60% of New York citizens tested recently  now with the antibodies.  That immunity is not without costs, nor pain, nor death of some of the most sensitive or most risk taking crowds.

The Sweden model is an absolute failure and the majority of the world views it as such. Not only did they have massive per capita deaths compared to their neighbors but still had the same economic fallout. 

[tx 3 putt 76315]

14 minutes ago, zork said:

Or influenced by the disaster of an economy in the US and the Swedish relative success with their herd immunity plan, along with the same in Texas till things have escalated, clearly, in the last 6 weeks. 

As it turns out, NYC has almost achieved that herd immunity with their lack of closing the subway, etc,  and their initial stages causing a recent report to have upwards of 40-60% of New York citizens tested recently  now with the antibodies.  That immunity is not without costs, nor pain, nor death of some of the most sensitive or most risk taking crowds.

[zork 629]

30 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

The Sweden model is an absolute failure and the majority of the world views it as such. Not only did they have massive per capita deaths compared to their neighbors but still had the same economic fallout. 

Of the, as of July 10th,  deaths in  Sweden attributed to Covid:

• 1428 were 90 years or older
• 2300 were 80-90 years old
• 1194 were 70 to 80 years old
• 379 were 60 to 70 years old
•  156 were 50-60 years old
• 69 were 0-50 years old

Approximately 10 million people in Sweden.

https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/sweden-population/#:~:text=The current population of Sweden,of the total world population.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1107913/number-of-coronavirus-deaths-in-sweden-by-age-groups/

 

Economy:

Quote

...

In a report on Monday, Capital Economics presented data that give Sweden an irrefutable edge. From peak to trough, Swedish GDP will shrink 8%; in the U.K. and Italy, the contraction is somewhere between 25% and 30%, according to estimates covering the fourth quarter of 2019 through to the second quarter of 2020. The U.S. is somewhere in the middle, it said.

...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-16/one-economy-stands-out-as-crisis-reveals-striking-differences

That was inclusive of Q2, reported here on June 15th.  I am thinking there were no trillions of debt/dollar PPP or stimulus checks given out by the Swedish government as well. 

 

Edit:

BTW, I have some potential co-morbidities, so I wear mask and gloves when in the 7-10 day visits to stores.  We work from home as much as possible.

 

Edited July 12, 2020 by zork

[brakeman 28228]

10 hours ago, relapse98 said:

I LOVE live music. Like, I literally publish a daily music calendar for events in my area (and now livestreams that I find). I used to go to live music probably 3 times a week. Work at a large music ampitheater during the summer. Haven't gone to a single thing since spring break.

Last time I was even close to sitting in a restaurant was on the deck at Lone Star Float House about 2 months ago, that was our 2nd sit down in a restaurant since spring break, the other being 3 days earlier at the same place. Everything else I cook and maybe every 2 weeks get a togo family meal.
 

In late March, bought the above mentioned white trash pool. That thing has helped keep my sanity. If it wasn't for it, ehrmagherd.

If I can do it, anyone can. But people are pussies and would rather fight about death numbers and wearing or not wearing a mask, when if you just stay home, it makes it all easier.

i'm in DC with a 2 year old. We are camping out here at home since st. patrick's day. its not that fucking hard.

eat and drink better at home, you hopefully will never have this time again. 

oh yeah, enjoy your family.

[tx 3 putt 76315]

[gmr548 16491]

Lol y'all responding to zork

[Wanker Bob 379]

The problem is the US is 40-50 percent zorks. 

It's why democracy is completely failing. Democracy requires competent and contentious citizens. 

[tantric superman 4667]

Sweden - 54 deaths per 100K

US - 40ish per 100K

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality

Stor framgång!

 

[justhookit 4178]

9 hours ago, HenryJames said:

@justhookit

I’m just an idiot on the internet, but I don’t agree at all with what they are saying regarding the beaches. They were as much or  more crowded in May and we had basically 0 new cases. This spike happened after the bars and restaurants reopened. Tourists likely increased the numbers but it was because of what they did after the beach, not because of what they did on the beach. I’m sorry about the moron  in the article that shared a bottle with a stranger on the beach.

[HenryJames 65887]

 

[Bateshorn 9898]

There’s that per capita talk we talked about. 

[Okie State 3788]

The water park thing blows my mind. You'd have to pay me to go to a water park in normal times.

[Francisco 2.0 32318]

Ladies and Gentlemen, the senior Senator from Texas.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/cornyn-kids-covid-texas-cases-coronavirus-gop-15399723.php

 

Quote

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said during a TV interviewThursday that it’s unclear whether children can get and transmit COVID-19. That same day, Texas reported more than 550 COVID infections in children 9 and younger.

Cornyn’s comment comes as the Trump administration has pushed this week for schools to reopen in the fall, with the president going as far as to threaten to cut off federal funding for those that don’t. In Texas, officials have said schools must reopen in August, with few exceptions.

 

Quote

“The schools can open, but if parents don’t feel comfortable sending their children back, then they won’t,” Cornyn said. “I think we’ve got a long way to go in regaining their confidence.”

He continued: “The good news is, if you look at the numbers, no one under the age of 20 has died of coronavirus.”

“We still don’t know whether children can get it and transmit it to others,” he said.

 

Quote

Texas reported 1,722 confirmed cases in people 19 and younger, including 550 in children 9 and younger as of Thursday. At least one Texan under the age of 18 is reported to have died of the coronavirus, a 17-year-old girl from Lancaster who died in April, according to health officials there, the Dallas Morning News reported.

 

 

Quote

A spokesman for Cornyn said the senator was not questioning whether children can catch the virus, but the extent to which they can transmit it.

“This comment is being widely misinterpreted on social media and unfairly twisted by partisan Democrats for political gain,” said Drew Brandewie, a spokesman for the senator. “Sen. Cornyn was not questioning whether children can catch the virus — of course they can. He was questioning the likelihood that children can catch it and THEN transmit it.”

 

 

[Guest Lobo]

Apparently we're gonna wave pool our asses back into economic prosperity. 

The types of businesses that people protested to get back into, and the ones that were a priority for the Governor's office...da fuh? 

I mean he specifically singled out bingo parlors, nail salons, movie theaters, and water parks.  That will be studied by economists for decades.  Collectively, they make up probably less than 1% of our state's GDP and collectively employ maybe 20,000 people with another 10,000 in seasonal employees.  But they all somehow became stateside priorities.  This will never not baffle me, the order in which we opened things back up.  I guess the bingo parlor cartels are as powerful as the conspiracy theorists suggested.  You can still smoke in them and they somehow aren't really "gambling" even though there's more strategy involved in slot machines.  Anyway, someday one of you "Open It All Up NOW!" folks explain this shit to me.  Real slow.

Also, that interview spin on Cornyn.  The Senator is "questioning the likelihood that children can catch it and THEN transmit it."  

Dah fuh?  

Coronavirus inside a 10-year old's body, "Guys, we gotta just hang tight here.  Nobody leaves, understand?  I know our corporate culture is to spread to other hosts, but this host here is just a kid.  So the law says we stay here and just run out our clock.  I know, I know...the kid has saliva, coughs and sneezes like the rest of their species.  But Senator Cornyn says we can't transfer out of here.  Once we're here, we're here.  No transferring, this isn't Rutgers, okay?"  

Edited July 12, 2020 by Lobo

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13546]

Would there be any reason to believe children don't or less likely to transmit it? My limited understanding is that the more doctors learn about the corona virus the more they are viewing as a vascular disease rather than respiratory in the way it affects patients, but I can't really get a grasp why there would be reason to question, knowing what we know about transmission, whether children can spread it.

[Nivek 16853]

If it's at least 4ppm of chlorine in the water it's pretty well disinfectant. Issue is the breathing back and forth as covid spreads by air. Unless they're spraying the chlorinated water around the air, it won't do much good. Surfaces are probably covid free though

Protozoa laugh at chlorine

[Bookman 4610]

7 hours ago, Wanker Bob said:

The problem is the US is 40-50 percent zorks. 

It's why democracy is completely failing. Democracy requires competent citizens. 

What should we do? Keep cutting funding to public schools?

Edited July 12, 2020 by Bookman

[Bozo_Casanova 26277]

20 minutes ago, Bookman said:

What should we do? Keep cutting funding to public schools?

We sHOuLd rUn tHe CoUnTrY lIkE a BuSiNeSs

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Wanker Bob said:

The problem is the US is 40-50 percent zorks. 

It's why democracy is completely failing. Democracy requires competent and contentious citizens. 

so fighting is good?  Surly's gotta be the healthiest democracy on Earf.

Edited July 12, 2020 by slorch

[DDD Dad 14251]

Would there be any reason to believe children don't or less likely to transmit it? My limited understanding is that the more doctors learn about the corona virus the more they are viewing as a vascular disease rather than respiratory in the way it affects patients, but I can't really get a grasp why there would be reason to question, knowing what we know about transmission, whether children can spread it.

The explanation I have heard is that because it typically manifests itself with inflammation in children rather than with respiratory symptoms, those children are less likely to transmit the virus because they aren’t sneezing and coughing.

[Beau Vine 53987]

12 hours ago, zork said:

As it turns out, NYC has almost achieved that herd immunity with their lack of closing the subway, etc,  and their initial stages causing a recent report to have upwards of 40-60% of New York citizens tested recently  now with the antibodies. 

You have a link for this 40-60%?  And we're talking about NYC, not specific neighborhoods?

[Beau Vine 53987]

2x

Edited July 12, 2020 by Beau Vine

[HenryJames 65887]

The blacks and browns in Queens.

[Guest Lobo]

So we should treat rural areas differently than how we treat dense urban areas during this pandemic?  

[Beau Vine 53987]

2 hours ago, Lobo said:

Apparently we're gonna wave pool our asses back into economic prosperity. 

The types of businesses that people protested to get back into, and the ones that were a priority for the Governor's office...da fuh? 

I mean he specifically singled out bingo parlors, nail salons, movie theaters, and water parks.  That will be studied by economists for decades.  Collectively, they make up probably less than 1% of our state's GDP and collectively employ maybe 20,000 people with another 10,000 in seasonal employees.  But they all somehow became stateside priorities.  This will never not baffle me, the order in which we opened things back up. 

First were malls and movie theatres.  I was like, "WTF, we're going to rebuild the economy on the backs of junior high students?"

[Nice Guy Eddie 13410]

17 hours ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

So my family avoided being around people for months and we finally had the first person over to our house, my nephew, the week before Father’s Day.  I find out today that he got sick about 5 days later with a fever.  Had the fever for 3 days and lost his sense of smell.  Got tested and had to wait 10 days for the results.  Positive for Covid 19.  He is my fam but the dumbass never told us so we knew nothing about him being sick and probably should have quarantined for 2 weeks (although we pretty much do that except for the grocery with a mask and golf course).  Enough time has passed but I am not sure if me or my wife and kid got it and were asymptomatic or never got it.  Not sure if we should get tested or not even worry about it.

The people you really don’t want it be around is someone 18-30. If I was that age, I would be looking for any restaurant/bar I could find even if driving out of town. Now that I’m older I wouldn’t want to get within 50 feet of someone that age. They will ultimately test for having the highest positive rates.

shake my head at family gatherings posts on Facebook with a handful of young adults also in attendance. They’re going to get everyone sick. When they say they were at the lake yesterday with 1 friend, they’re not telling you about the other 200 people that were there.  And when asked, they will admit to nothing. No idea where I got covid.

[relapse98 634]

9 hours ago, tantric superman said:

Sweden - 54 deaths per 100K

US - 40ish per 100K

Swedish success model!

[Guest Lobo]

4 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

First were malls and movie theatres.  I was like, "WTF, we're going to rebuild the economy on the backs of junior high students?"

Yeah, the movie theater thing?  I was picturing Kramer going back to work at H&H bagel after the decade-long furlough.  These guys going back to work for $8/hour tearing tickets and buttering popcorn?  Yeah, that's gonna reboot the economy.  Oh but wait, Dan Patrick had a great rebuttal to my concern that maybe the projectionists union at AMC theaters weren't gonna save the day.  "Yes, but you see Lobo...once they're back at work...they'll be taking their paychecks and spending them at the mall foodcourt after work."  Oh yeah, now I get it.  Unlike many of you, I still think Trickle-Down economics has some validity, but not when it's reliant on the concession stand shift manager spending their wages at Spencer Gifts.  

Edited July 12, 2020 by Lobo