Pirate's Cove

I was wondering where this rumor came from. A bunch of fellow employees were yapping about it, scaremongering that Los Federales were about to invoke a two week mandatory quarantine of all citizens. Which would be statutory and Constitutionally problematic, if not downright illegal and un-Constitutional. Like quite a few of the ones invoked by state and city leaders

US moves nearer to shutdown amid coronavirus fears

Officials across the country curtailed many elements of American life to fight the coronavirus outbreak on Sunday, with health officials recommending that groups of 50 or more don’t get together and a government expert saying a 14-day national shutdown may be needed.

Governors and mayors closed restaurants, bars, and schools as the nation sank deeper into chaos. Travelers returning home from abroad were stuck in line for hours at major airports for screenings, crammed into just the kind of crowded spaces that public health officials have urged people to avoid.

In a sign of impending economic gloom, the Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rate to near zero. President Donald Trump sought to calm a jittery nation by declaring the government has “tremendous control” over the situation and urging people to stop the panic buying of grocery staples that has depleted store shelves nationwide. Gun stores started seeing a similar run on weapons and ammunition as the panic intensified. (big snip)

His decision came after Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious disease expert, said he would like to see a 14-day national shutdown imposed to prevent the virus’s spread.

“I think Americans should be prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing,” said Fauci, a member of the White House task force on combating the spread of coronavirus. He heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.

There is no indication Trump is considering such a move.

See, if Trump doesn’t do this, he’ll be called reckless and all the other stuff. If he does do this, he’ll be called a dictator and authoritarian and Hitler. So, it’s a lose-lose situation. Regardless, it was simply one person, albeit a subject matter expert, opining. So, this is not government policy, no one is really proposing this, the government is not planning to make this happen. Relax.

The worldwide outbreak has sickened nearly 170,000 people and left more than 6,500 dead, with thousands of new cases confirmed each day. The death toll in the United States climbed to 64, while infections passed 3,700.

Do you know how many had the flu in the U.S.?

“So far this season we’ve had between 30 and 40 million illnesses in the United States,” Martin says.

Of that number, about half were ill enough to seek medical care, and between 300,000 to 500,000 people required hospitalization.

The CDC estimates that there have been 20,000 to 40,000 deaths in the United States so far this year.

Just for comparison, that’s a thousand times more deaths in the United States than have been blamed on the coronavirus so far.

What’s helped is people taking the flu shot, which is reported to reduce flu infections by 45-50%, because this was actually considered an above average flu season.

For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover.

And that may have given some people false hope, causing them to venture into crowds that Fauci and others would prefer they avoid. Even if someone doesn’t become visibly ill, they can still carry the disease and spread it to others.

For most people, this is a big nothing burger. Which, of course, makes some people jerks, going out in public just like they do when they have the flu or a cold. Having crowds of no more than 50 seems odd: how does that help? That’s 50 people to infect, who then go their way into other groups. See, this is the thing: most don’t feel bad enough to stay home.

Perhaps we should calm down a bit. Yes, we should be concerned, but, calm down.

Oh, and

https://twitter.com/commonpatriot/status/1239513507109847048