Coronavirus News (283)

U.S. tops 60,000 daily coronavirus infections for first time since early August New study shows Republican-leaning counties hardest hit in recent weeks. ..........  The virus is spreading in rural communities in the heartland ......... “Stay home. Wear a mask. Stay six feet apart. Wash your hands frequently.” .........  The widespread use of powerful steroids and other treatments has lowered mortality rates among people who are severely ill. .............  the dry indoor environment is congenial to the spread of respiratory viruses. ......... “Inevitably, we’re moving into a phase where there’s going to need to be restrictions again” ......... The virus isn’t going away magically, and everyone needs to prepare for a challenging winter. ........  the tendency for people to lower their guard around individuals they know best ......... Much of the new transmission is taking place in rural communities in the heart of the nation with limited hospital capacity. They also tend to have older populations more vulnerable to severe outcomes from covid-19. ........ “red” counties with the most intense leanings toward Republicans have had the largest recent increases in cases, while “blue” counties that lean Democratic have tended recently to be flat. ........ the Republican-leaning communities have been less inclined to follow public health guidance, including recommendations about mask-wearing and social distancing  ........ Many of the country’s leading medical experts, including top federal government doctors, have urged adherence to public health guidelines, but that message has competed with the pronouncements of President Trump and his closest political allies, who have played down the threat of the coronavirus. ..........   the White House strategy for fighting the pandemic is bolstered by the Great Barrington Declaration, a document posted online by three “dissenting scientists” that argues the virus should be allowed to spread at natural rates among younger, healthier people while older people and others who are vulnerable are kept isolated. .......... “It’s eventually going to spread everywhere in the U.S. … This virus is opportunistic. 

Pelosi, Mnuchin cite progress in economic relief talks but eye obstacles with Senate Republicans During a nearly 90-minute call, the two negotiators said they continued to exchange proposals on stimulus, virus testing ...........  Pelosi and Mnuchin have been discussing a new spending deal between $1.8 trillion and $2.2 trillion, although President Trump has said he would support even more. ......... McConnell next week plans to put a roughly $500 billion package on the Senate floor, close to a quarter the size of the package Mnuchin and Pelosi are working on. .............   “I’ve told him. So far, he hasn’t come home with the bacon," the president said of Mnuchin. ........... “The Republicans are very willing to do it,” Trump said, insisting that Pelosi is standing in the way and “she’s got a lot of mental problems.” ............ Trump’s uneven posturing appears to have only strengthened Pelosi’s determination to hold out for a bigger and better deal, despite pressure from a number of House Democrats to reach an agreement now. ........... Mnuchin and Pelosi have agreed on several measures to include in a new stimulus plan, including a desire to send another round of $1,200 stimulus checks, more small- business aid and help for the airline industry. They also have sought to extend emergency unemployment insurance, although there have been differences on how to structure such assistance. ..............   Defending his call for higher spending, Trump repeatedly asserted without evidence or explanation that China would pay for the nearly $2 trillion stimulus package. “I’d like to see more money — because it comes back,” he said on Fox Business Network. “We’re going to take it from China. I’ll tell you right now: It’s coming out of China.” .............  The president has repeatedly made false claims about foreign nations paying for domestic spending projects, for instance claiming that Mexico would fund construction of a wall along the southern U.S. border. .............  Asked how he would get China to pay for the stimulus package, Trump asserted: “Well, there’s lots of ways. Okay? There’s a lot of ways. And I’ll figure all of them out. I already have them figured out.” 

A pandemic should be the great equalizer. This one had the opposite effect. The virus is ushering in the greatest rise in economic inequality in decades, both globally and in the United States. .......... Thanks to the rise of China, India and other countries, the share of people living in abject poverty (under $2 a day) is less than a quarter of what it was in 1990. ........... about 100 million people are falling back into extreme poverty this year. ......... The World Food Program — recipient of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize — estimates that the number facing hunger will double this year to 265 million people. ..........  38 percent of those who have lost work due to covid-19 don’t have even a month’s worth of savings. ........... In the current recession, the top 25 percent, after a slight initial decline, has bounced back completely. The bottom 25 percent, on the other hand, has cratered, with job losses of more than 20 percent. .......... For those whose jobs can be done remotely — bankers, consultants, lawyers, executives, academics — life goes on with a few hiccups. For those who worked in restaurants, hotels, cruise ships, theme parks, shopping malls, work has simply disappeared. .............  The tragedy is that we know what we need to do. In March, Congress and the administration acted swiftly and boldly to pass a massive relief and stimulus package, which was so successful it seems to have made many in Washington complacent. It has now largely expired, and the two parties are back to their partisan warfare. The Democrats are right to want a much larger relief package than the administration is offering. Cities and states should not be punished for the collapse in tax revenue that have resulted from the pandemic. But surely the best path for the country is for Democrats to accept the concessions they have extracted from Republicans and then push for more after Election Day. .............  I cannot help but wonder whether the relative normalcy of life for elites has prevented us from understanding the true severity of the problem. For those of us using Zoom, things have been a bit disruptive and strange. But for tens of millions of people in the United States — and hundreds of millions around the world — this is the Great Depression. Can we please help them?

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