Biden advisers urge immediate COVID-19 action as infections mount

[webfact]

Biden advisers urge immediate COVID-19 action as infections mount

 

FILE PHOTO: Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to speak about modernizing infrastructure and his plans for tackling climate change during a campaign event in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., July 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's top advisers on Sunday called for urgent action to address the nation's "deeply alarming" COVID-19 epidemic and warned that Republican President Donald Trump's transition delay could further jeopardize the battle against the virus, including vaccine distribution planning.

 

They also urged Congress to immediately pass bipartisan financial relief even before Biden, a Democrat, takes office on Jan. 20, as daily COVID-19 cases shattered U.S. records and strained hospitals nationwide, forcing a wave of new restrictions heading into the U.S. holiday season.

 

"We are in a very dangerous period," Dr. Michael Osterholm, a member of Biden's COVID-19 Advisory Board and director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, told NBC News' "Meet the Press."

 

Unless action is taken now, "we're going to see these numbers grow substantially," Osterholm warned. "Our future's in our hands."

 

Daily new infections in recent days have more than doubled single-day highs reported during the previous U.S. peak in mid-July. Total U.S. COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began are approaching 11 million, with 245,581 related deaths, the most in the world. The number of COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals has reached an all-time high.

 

Spikes in cases have hit every U.S. state. Several have implemented new mask mandates, imposed limits on gatherings and taken other public health measures despite earlier resistance as local healthcare systems reached a tipping point.

 

Basic public health measures such as face covering to curb the virus' spread have become politicized under Trump, who has eschewed mask mandates even after contracting COVID-19 last month, while Biden has backed their widespread use.

 

Still, some Republican governors in recent days have been forced to act, with North Dakota joining 35 other states over the weekend in mandating masks and Iowa this week requiring them in certain circumstances.

 

Forty U.S. states have reported record increases in COVID-19 cases so far in November, while 20 saw a record rise in deaths and 26 reported record hospitalizations, according to a Reuters tally.

 

Saturday's 1,257 COVID-19 deaths marked the fifth consecutive day with more than 1,000 deaths in the United States.

 

Ron Klain, Biden's incoming White House chief of staff, on Sunday urged Congress to immediately pass COVID-19 relief legislation with new restrictions certain to take a toll.

 

"This could be a first example of bipartisan action post-election," Klain told NBC. He said Biden has spoken to congressional Democratic leaders, but not to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has so far refused to publicly acknowledge Biden as president-elect.

 

'PASSING A BATON'

Leaders in cities and states, especially those that weathered large outbreaks in the spring, defended renewed actions despite next week's Thanksgiving holiday and Americans' weariness over battling the disease.

 

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, whose stay-at-home restrictions begin on Monday, said as many as 1,000 city residents were projected to die without further steps.

 

"Standing by and watching that kind of devastation is just not something that I could abide. We are at a critical inflecting point," she told MSNBC.

 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, in a tweet, said public schools would remain open there on Monday as infection positivity rates stayed below a 3% threshold.

 

Klain said there had been no formal contact between Biden's advisory panel and the White House Coronavirus Task Force, which requires transition authorization from the General Services Administration.

 

"It's really important in the smooth handing over of the information," top U.S. infectious disease expert and White House task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN's "State of the Union" program. "It's almost like passing a baton in a race, you don't want to stop and give it to somebody, you just want to essentially keep going."

 

Biden's team this week planned to meet with Pfizer Inc, which last week released positive initial data on its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, and other drugmakers, Klain said.

 

Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, head of Biden's COVID team, told Fox News the coronavirus surge was "deeply alarming" but that a national lockdown was "a measure of last resort."

 

"The better way to think about these safety restrictions is more a dial that we turn up and down depending on severity" in a given area, he said.

 

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; additional reporting by Michelle Price, Nathan Layne, Sarah N. Lynch, Linda So and Anurag Maan; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-16

 

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[Tug]

Golfing is much more important to donald than the well-being of the American people he hasent even mustered integrity to recommend masks nor lead by example this guy imo is beyond the worst president ever just a disgrace 

[PatOngo]

It will be very difficult for Joe to clean up the absolute mess his predecessor has made over the past 4 years!

[Jeffr2]

Sadly, it's still political. These governors should be jailed for putting those they are suppose to protect in harm's way.

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/13/republican-governors-reject-biden-mask-orders-436385

 

Red state governors reject Biden on mask orders

The politicization of mask-wearing shows how difficult it will be for Joe Biden to build consensus around even basic public health strategies after he’s sworn in.

[Credo]

16 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

Sadly, it's still political. These governors should be jailed for putting those they are suppose to protect in harm's way.

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/13/republican-governors-reject-biden-mask-orders-436385

 

Red state governors reject Biden on mask orders

The politicization of mask-wearing shows how difficult it will be for Joe Biden to build consensus around even basic public health strategies after he’s sworn in.

The governor of North Dakota has implemented a mask mandate.  It's about as Republican as it gets.   Apparently, when reality meets politics, reality wins.

 

They have also had to allow medical personnel who are Covid positive but asymptomatic to keep working.  

 

https://apnews.com/article/bismarck-north-dakota-coronavirus-pandemic-45788d9dfaae23c1db8125088dfa242b

[Surelynot]

As the poem goes..".Too late. Too late was the cry......" Well done Trump. His voters must be so proud.

[wombat]

The advisors are calling for action not pres elect....the pattern begins.

[placeholder]

4 minutes ago, wombat said:

The advisors are calling for action not pres elect....the pattern begins.

Read the whole article not just the headline. They are calling for action on the part of the Trump administration and Congress.

[Scott]

Troll posts reported and removed along with replies.  

[Lacessit]

Fauci is sounding the alarm, Trump has a tin ear. He's obsessed with how he can use the courts to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Having surrounded himself with sycophants, no-one in the White House is going to step up and tell Trump he needs to s##t or get off the pot. More people will die due to the narcissism of one man.

Biden is hobbled because he doesn't assume power until January 20. Trump will continue to be a wrecker until then.

[nobodysfriend]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

daily COVID-19 cases shattered U.S. records and strained hospitals nationwide,

 

Is there a possible relation between the election results and the Corona cases in the US ?

Trump held rallies in a lot of states that later became hotspots ...?

 

Election results :

 

 

and Corona cases :

[Jeffr2]

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/29/health/covid-trump-rallies-counties-cases/index.html

 

Seems to be a correlation. Including that big bike rally in the Dakota. From what I've read, if there are 100 or more people in a group, there's a 100% chance at least one has the virus.

[Jeffr2]

1 hour ago, Credo said:

The governor of North Dakota has implemented a mask mandate.  It's about as Republican as it gets.   Apparently, when reality meets politics, reality wins.

 

They have also had to allow medical personnel who are Covid positive but asymptomatic to keep working.  

 

https://apnews.com/article/bismarck-north-dakota-coronavirus-pandemic-45788d9dfaae23c1db8125088dfa242b

A bit late,eh? They are being overwhelmed now.

[heybruce]

7 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

 

Is there a possible relation between the election results and the Corona cases in the US ?

Trump held rallies in a lot of states that later became hotspots ...?

 

Election results :

 

 

and Corona cases :

The rallies didn't help, but I think the biggest cause of the virus surge in Republican led states is the Republican governors refusing to take sensible actions, such as mandating mask wearing and restricting venues where crowds gather, that will reduce the spread.

[Credo]

3 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

A bit late,eh? They are being overwhelmed now.

Yes, but better late than never.   The Nurses Association is not too happy about being told to work when you're contagious.  I suspect that also presents a further hazard for other non-infected medical providers.  

[Jeffr2]

11 minutes ago, Credo said:

Yes, but better late than never.   The Nurses Association is not too happy about being told to work when you're contagious.  I suspect that also presents a further hazard for other non-infected medical providers.  

Wow! That's crazy. Listening to the governor of Ohio saying the number of hospitalizations has tripped in just the past few weeks. He's ordered officers to now go out and enforce the mask mandate. Sadly, many are ignoring it.

[Surelynot]

4 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

Wow! That's crazy. Listening to the governor of Ohio saying the number of hospitalizations has tripped in just the past few weeks. He's ordered officers to now go out and enforce the mask mandate. Sadly, many are ignoring it.

What's the point...it's all a hoax.....no worse than the flu...it'll be gone in a couple of weeks....masks...pfft.

[Surelynot]

34 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

 

Is there a possible relation between the election results and the Corona cases in the US ?

Trump held rallies in a lot of states that later became hotspots ...?

 

Election results :

 

 

and Corona cases :

Not only republican states in general, but lower population densities (and lower IQ's?)

[Lacessit]

9 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

What's the point...it's all a hoax.....no worse than the flu...it'll be gone in a couple of weeks....masks...pfft.

Please put a sarcasm alert on your posts, Republicans might think you are serious.

[edwinchester]

Be poetic if Trump was charged with culpable homicide for his handling of the pandemic and his refusal to smooth the transition to the incoming Biden administration.

[SymS]

Masks do work, but the US is really a lost cause.
Example 1: I saw a video in a planr where everybody wore masks. But 1. no social distancing, the plane is packed. 2. Eating is allowed. 3. People thought it was a good idea to lower their mask when talking.
Example 2: People think it's safe to protest or celebrate in large crowds with masks. News flash: it's not even if masks are worn at all times. Again, I've seen countless videos where people take down their masks to shout whatever they feel, or even drink from the same bottle, then put their mask back on. Safety first!

[placeholder]

5 minutes ago, SymS said:

Masks do work, but the US is really a lost cause.
Example 1: I saw a video in a planr where everybody wore masks. But 1. no social distancing, the plane is packed. 2. Eating is allowed. 3. People thought it was a good idea to lower their mask when talking.
Example 2: People think it's safe to protest or celebrate in large crowds with masks. News flash: it's not even if masks are worn at all times. Again, I've seen countless videos where people take down their masks to shout whatever they feel, or even drink from the same bottle, then put their mask back on. Safety first!

It may not be as safe but it is safer. And epidemologists have noted that even in crowds where social disacing rules are not pbserved masks make a real difference

[Surelynot]

What is the rightwing obsession with masks?.....so there are doubts about their efficacy, maybe they don't provide any protection, maybe they do?........but why take the chance?.....Just wear one......it's a piece cloth across your mouth and nose....IT MIGHT JUST SAVE YOUR LIFE........Oh!.....forgot...they are Trump supporters.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, Credo said:

Yes, but better late than never.   The Nurses Association is not too happy about being told to work when you're contagious.  I suspect that also presents a further hazard for other non-infected medical providers.  

Unless there is some sort of law that can force people to work while sick, I can't see nurses working while ill unless they choose to do so. Perhaps they are nurses that tested positive but have zero symptoms.

They would probably segregate positive nurses to work in specific wards and no non infected nurses in them, IMO.

[Lacessit]

45 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

What is the rightwing obsession with masks?.....so there are doubts about their efficacy, maybe they don't provide any protection, maybe they do?........but why take the chance?.....Just wear one......it's a piece cloth across your mouth and nose....IT MIGHT JUST SAVE YOUR LIFE........Oh!.....forgot...they are Trump supporters.

As far as I can make out from the medical publications I have waded through, if an infected person sneezes or coughs into a mask, the probability of infecting another person is 0.2, i.e. an 80% reduction in transmission. If an uninfected person is wearing a mask, the risk of transmission from an infected person is reduced by 30%. Other factors such as social distancing come into play.

When I see a Trump rally of people not wearing masks, and packed together like sardines, all I can think of is a big petri dish.

The rightwing obsession with masks is the same as wearing seatbelts and motorbike helmets, it's an infringement of personal freedumb.

Australians accepted the necessity for lockdowns, mask wearing etc. many months ago.

907 deaths, 1348 active cases. USA 251,000 deaths, 4.1 million active cases. Yet Americans still come out with the same tired cliche about how free they are. Yeah right.

Americans are paying a heavy price for their exceptionalism, the virus doesn't give a free pass to stupidity.

[Eric Loh]

1 hour ago, edwinchester said:

Be poetic if Trump was charged with culpable homicide for his handling of the pandemic and his refusal to smooth the transition to the incoming Biden administration.

I am hoping that a kind of Truth and Reconciliation Commission will be assembled like in South Africa to look into the malfeasance and gross mishandling of the pandemic and hold Trump accountable for human rights violation. I wanted to reference to the Nuremberg trials but that may be the extreme. The commission should also look at how to reconcile the deeply divided nation brought upon by Trump's highly divisive 4 years dictatorial tenure. 

[placeholder]

5 hours ago, Surelynot said:

What is the rightwing obsession with masks?.....so there are doubts about their efficacy, maybe they don't provide any protection, maybe they do?........but why take the chance?.....Just wear one......it's a piece cloth across your mouth and nose....IT MIGHT JUST SAVE YOUR LIFE........Oh!.....forgot...they are Trump supporters.

There are no longer any doubts about their efficacy. Basically this is down to Trump and his penchant for scientific denialism.

[puipuitom]

8 hours ago, wombat said:

The advisors are calling for action not pres elect....the pattern begins.

That's why the president-elect brought these advisers together... at least.. in normal countries.

[puipuitom]

This Republican president want to break the record of the Democratic president, Roosevelt, for the number of deaths during his administration.  Roosevelt needed 4 years and two terms to reach that, Trump will do it in 3/4 of a  year, one term.  as of March 31, 1946 there were an estimated 286,959 dead. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_casualties_of_war#:~:text=As of June 2018 total of US World,Wounded as 103%2C 284 and MIA as 8%2C177. 

Covid-19: 249.730 per 16 Nov '20 

[Somchai Jackson]

13 hours ago, webfact said:

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, whose stay-at-home restrictions begin on Monday, said as many as 1,000 city residents were projected to die without further steps.

 

Thank the stars for Lori.  She understands that drastic measures are needed including lockdowns, restriction of movement, business closures, and if need be jailing the crazies who refuse to wear masks, social distance, and who insist having illegal gatherings for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  People just need to learn to stay home for the betterment of the world and anyway it reduces the carbon footprint Chicago and helps the great lakes heal from excess carbon emissions.