100,000 Americans Die; Trump Plays Golf

On Memorial Day weekend, as the number of Americans dead from COVID-19 approached 100,000, President Donald Trump played golf on one of his private courses. Trump National Golf Club is in Sterling, Virginia, only 30 minutes from Arlington National Cemetery, so it might have been the president’s way of observing the solemn holiday.

More:

“Trump tees up controversy as he plays golf in a pandemic,” Martin Pengelly, The Guardian

“Trump Plays Golf at His Virginia Club as U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Nears 100,000,” Daniel Politi, Slate

“US nears 100,000 pandemic deaths: Does Trump feel your pain?” Calvin Woodward, Associated Press

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Contact Tracing

Contact tracing can help stem the spread of COVID-19.

More:

“How Do You Do Contact Tracing? Poor Countries Have Plenty Of Advice.” Jason Beaubien, NPR News

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Trump Self-Prescribes Snake Oil

President Donald Trump, dissuaded from mainlining Lysol, has talked his doctor into giving him hydroxychloroquine in an effort to prevent COVID-19. “The hydroxy,” as the president calls it, is an anti-malarial drug with zero proven effect in preventing or treating COVID-19 infection, and the FDA has warned of its cardiovascular risks. As of this writing, we are unaware of any movement to revoke the medical license of Sean Conley, D.O., current Physician to the President, over this matter.

President Trump’s reasons for ignoring prevailing advice on the risks in taking hydroxychloroquine?

1. “You’d be surprised at how many people are taking it….”
2. “I’ve heard a lot of good stories.”
3. “I get a lot of positive calls about it.”
4. “What the hell have you got to lose?”

More:

“Despite FDA Caution, Trump Says He Is Taking Hydroxychloroquine As A Preventive,” Joe Palca, NPR News

“Trump’s stunning claim that he’s taking hydroxychloroquine could trigger a cascade of negative effects,’ Philip Bump, Washington Post

“Trump Takes Hydroxychloroquine, Does Not Understand How Science Works,” Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine

“Trump Says He’s Taking Hydroxychloroquine, But He Also Lies Daily,” Peter Wade, Rolling Stone

Updates:

“Pence says he isn’t taking unproven hydroxychloroquine treatment for coronavirus that Trump takes,” Kevin Breuninger, CNBC

“Trump dismisses hydroxychloroquine study that undermines him as a ‘Trump enemy statement,’” aaron Rupar, Vox

“White House releases doctor’s note on Trump’s purported use of hydroxychloroquine,” Peter Weber, The Week 

“Hydroxychloroquine Isn’t a Joke It’s a Scandal,” Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo

“Antimalarial drug touted by President Trump is linked to increased risk of death in coronavirus patients, study says,” Ariana Eunjung Cha and Laurie McGinley, Washington Post

“Hydroxychloroquine: Trump’s Covid-19 ‘cure’ increases deaths, global study finds,” Sarah Boseley, The Guardian

 

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Ground Zero: Zabar’s

“I can’t stay at home, because I have two kids,” says Billy Yulfo, assistant manager at New York’s Zabar’s grocery, an essential worker in a pandemic hotspot. an Atlantic video by Daniel Lombroso.

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The Accuracy of Covid-19 Testing

COVID-19 tests are vitally needed to control the pandemic, but even accutate antibody tests can generate false positives.

More:

“‘Breakthrough’ COVID-19 Tests Are Currently Cheap, Fast—and Not Very Accurate,” Jim Daley, Scientific American

“Why even a super-accurate Covid-19 test can fail,” Umair Irfan, Vox

“Understanding COVID-19 False Positives,” Emily Oster, Slate

Related:

“The US has no idea how to manage all the testing data it’s collecting,” Neel V. Patel, MIT Technology Review

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COVID-19: Over 70,000 Americans Dead. So Far.

Find more statistics at Statista

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Trump Will End Coronavirus Crisis with Tax Cuts for the Rich

“We’ve all hoped and prayed for something to save us from this pandemic. Will it be a vaccine? A therapeutic drug? Large-scale testing and tracing? An antibodies-rich llama or pack of virus-sniffing dogs?

Nope. According to the White House, the real coronavirus cure is even more magical: tax cuts.”

— The White House’s coronavirus cure is even more magical than we could have imagined,” Catherine Rampell, Washington Post
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Social Distance

“A Social Distance,” a film by Jacob Jonas and Ivan Cash, with music by Steve Hackman. How ordinary people are experiencing self- quarantine around the world.

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Why You Should Wear a Mask

They don’t make you invincible, but they’re important in a pandemic. A Vox video by Laura Bult, Danush Parvaneh, and Estelle Caswell.

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Coronavirus Task Force Disbanding

The day after President Trump admitted that 100,000 Americans will die in the current wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, he announced that his Coronavirus Task Force will disband:

“Mike Pence and the task force have done a great job, but we’re now looking at a little bit of a different form, and that form is safety and opening. And we’ll have a different group probably set up for that.”

Mr. Trump has decided that restarting the economy is worth sacrificing the lives of workers, first responders, and their friends, families, and neighbors. But the president is also thinking about safety measures — for corporations. Republicans want to shield employers against COVID-19 damage claims by workers and consumers.

More:

“Administration to Phase Out Coronavirus Task Force,” Noah Weiland, Maggie Haberman and David E. Sanger, New York Times

“White House plots breakup of coronavirus task force,” Gabby Orr, Nancy Cook, and Brianna Ehley, Politico

“Trump gives up on virus fight to focus on economic recovery – and re-election,” David Smith, The Guardian

“Trump Admits ‘There’ll Be More Death’ After Economy Reopens,” Justin Baragona, Daily Beast

“‘Death Is Not An Economic Motivator’: Pelosi Emphasizes Dangers Of Reopening Economy,” Cristina Cabrera, TalkingPointsMemo

“Trump Says Nation Needs to Accept More Deaths: ‘We Have to Be Warriors,” Justin Baragona, Daily Beast

Updates:

“Trump reverses course and says White House coronavirus taskforce will stay,” David Smith, The Guardian

“Trump: COVID-19 task force not dismantling, just refocusing,” Zeke Miller, Jill Colvin, and Darlene Superville, Associated Press

Related:

“New projection puts U.S. COVID-19 deaths at nearly 135,000 by August,” Rich McKay, Reuters

“Meatpacking Crisis Shows Limits of Human Sacrifice As Recovery Plan,” Eric Levitz, New York Magazine

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