LIVE BLOG: daily COVID Taskforce briefing “…more people with symptoms every day than tests”

Live Blog below

Will there be incisive questions today? We can always hope.

Today should be a disinformation doozy, considering the tweets today.

Today's press conference gonna be lit. https://t.co/n0bBfNT2nu

— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) April 22, 2020

Trump has never quite figured out how to govern. Instead, he has focused his energy on appearing like he’s doing his job, making him a Potemkin president. https://t.co/5UzWsd30N5

— The Nation (@thenation) April 22, 2020

Can you really practice social distancing while cutting someone’s hair? Barbering is an intimate act, one that that many of us are nostalgic for in the Covid-19 lockdown. But thanks to an executive order from Governor Brian Kemp, residents of Georgia will in a matter of days be able to go to hair salons and a host of other businesses. Following the lead of Donald Trump, who has repeatedly advocated an early reopening of the economy, Kemp has issued orders allowing, as The Washington Post reports, the reopening of “fitness centers, bowling alleys, body-art studios, barbers, nail salons, cosmetologists, aestheticians, beauty schools, massage therapists, theaters, private social clubs and dine-in restaurants.”

Many of these businesses don’t meet the criteria set out by the White House for a safe operation. Nor is Georgia a state that seems ready for experimentation with reopening. With 818 deaths as of Tuesday, it has the 11th-highest number of fatalities of any American state.

During a briefing on Tuesday, Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force was asked how social distancing could be practiced in hair salons, nail salons, and tattoo shops. Birx replied, “I believe people in Atlanta would understand that if their cases are not going down, that they need to continue to do everything that we said, social distancing, washing your hands, wearing a mask in public. If there’s a way that people can social distance and do those things, then they can do those things. I don’t know how, but people are very creative. So I’m not going to prejudge.”

Birx’s incoherent answer reflects the dangerously mixed messages the Trump administration has been sending about Covid-19. Birx, like her colleague Dr. Anthony Fauci, has repeatedly stressed the need for continued social distancing, which will allow for a testing regime to be set up that will make it safer to return to normal social life. Unfortunately, the sound advocacy of Birx gets overwhelmed by others in the administration, including the president himself, who are eager for a quick solution. In order to maintain their status in the White House, Birx and Fauci have to compromise with this faction, leading to absurdities such as Birx’s suggestion that a barber shop could practice social distancing.

https://t.co/5UzWsd30N5

Goodman falsely suggested that there's no evidence that social distancing works and said she tried to offer Las Vegas as a control group.

"How do you know until we have a control group?" https://t.co/Kr3AjVacvw

— Axios (@axios) April 22, 2020

DON'T LOOK AWAY! From my friend and colleague @Nigrotime I filmed these trucks when there were 11 behind the coroner's office and I sobbed. I can't imagine the emotions as Michael is recovered from a horrific attack of #COVID19 TY to all the photojournalists risking their lives pic.twitter.com/P0PVZIw8yw

— Sandi Bachom (@sandibachom) April 22, 2020

Trump on February 24: “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA… Stock Market starting to look very good to me!” https://t.co/P9xoGjvuFY

— Richard Hine (@richardhine) April 22, 2020

Remember that the neologism of “stochastic terrorism” is based on a media effects argument:

Link to the paper: https://t.co/R2k5lYnflP

— G. Elliott Morris (@gelliottmorris) April 22, 2020

Data not available to analyse that.

But this chart gives an idea of how care home deaths from COVID-19 as a percentage of all care home deaths is increasing. pic.twitter.com/MqE9oFi7vl

— Tarbat (@tarbatness) April 22, 2020

Second wave of coronavirus likely to be even more devastating, CDC director warns https://t.co/CiywqF4uJJ

— Hunter Sellari (@HunterSellari) April 22, 2020

When the 2017 tax cut was up for a vote, it was clear to any sentient person that this was a reckless and dangerous procyclical act— a huge stimulus during economic prosperity that would explode deficits and debt, leaving no leeway to act when there was a downturn or emergency. 1

— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) April 22, 2020

1. Another interesting implication of today's weekly gasoline use is understanding the negative crude oil price business. Gasoline use is the result of a demand shock. Chart shows that at least for now the COVID-19 demand shock has maxed out at least for gasoline use. pic.twitter.com/p0QW33UnDM

— Scott Irwin (@ScottIrwinUI) April 22, 2020

Today, Trump celebrated #EarthDay by planting a tree and praising our environmental “stewardship.”

He didn’t mention how he’s used coronavirus to justify relaxing EPA enforcement of pollution rules. pic.twitter.com/CcBebN7Oia

— DNC War Room (@DNCWarRoom) April 22, 2020

annieli

“You’re not mopping fast enough. (Laughter) That’s a socialist mop. (Laughter and applause) Grab a mop — let’s get to work.” – Barack Obama (2009); “Soyez réalistes, demandez l’impossible!”

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