USA

Is USA A Democratic Country? Election Related News Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s bizarre press conference and President Trump’s invitation to the Michigan Republican leaders to meet him at the White House and Covid-19 pandemic's havoc of breaking its record of new infections and deaths in a day continue to dominate the news cycle this week. US is a democratic country and, in the elections, one wins and one loses. It’s a question of who can convince more people that he is a better candidate in fulfilling the wishes of majority of people. You give the best shot and then wait for the people to decide. If you win, great. If you lose, there is no shame in losing. You concede, congratulate the winner and say bye or start planning for the next try. To me it’s as simple as that. President Trump had his share of successes and failures. On balance, people decided not to go with him. All his attempts to discredit the election and his delusion that somehow, he can reverse the result is not helping anyone. It’s damaging the country, democratic system of government and his own legacy. Now coming to the Covid-19, it’s shattering all kind of records; We had more than 190,000 new cases and more than 2,000 deaths in one day. The IHME at the University of Washington has projected the number of deaths to 471,000 by the end of February. That means more than 200,000 people dying in the next 100 days. "We expect daily deaths to reach a peak of over 2,500 a day in mid-January," the IHME modeling team wrote on Thursday. On Thursday, the US reported a new high of more than 80,600 hospitalized patients nationwide. Case counts have exceeded 100,000 for more than two weeks. In the last week, an average 165,665 cases have been confirmed per day, up more than the double from the average daily 80,669 per day four weeks ago. Case counts have exceeded 100,000 for more than two weeks now. A general assessment of the country as a whole indicates forty-four states with increasing number of infections and six with no significant change . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released strong recommendation against travel on Thanksgiving this year as cases of COVID-19 soar throughout the country. "The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to celebrate at home with the people you live with," the agency said in new guidance posted today on its website. If people do decide to travel, the CDC recommends that people always wear a mask in public settings, stay at least six feet apart from others and wash their hands often. After a long absence, the US coronavirus Task Force had a public appearance yesterday. Vice President Pence presented a far rosier assessment as he defended the administration’s handling of the pandemic “America has never been more prepared to combat the virus than we are today. We approach this moment with the confidence of experience, we know the American people know wat to do” The task force coordinator Dr. Birx presented a lot of charts which depicted almost the whole country in red signifying the alarming number of infections. In an open letter on Thursday, the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association and the American Nurses Association asked the public to scale back on traditional gatherings to help curb the spread of the virus. "The record-shattering surge underway is resulting in uncontrolled community spread and infection that has already overburdened health systems in some areas and will ultimately consume capacity of our health care system and may reduce the availability of care in many places in our country," they said. According to CDC And with the CDC previously estimating at least 40% of infections are asymptomatic, officials are concerned that people could be bringing the infection with them to holiday gatherings without even knowing it and could put other, more vulnerable members of their family at risk. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards warned that if residents were planning on a Thanksgiving that looks like previous ones, "you're making a mistake." In Utah, where hospitals are overwhelmed and about 45 ICU beds remain vacant, the governor advised that only people from the same household gather for the holiday. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday a limited Stay-at-Home order will be going into effect Saturday for the counties that are in the state's most restrictive tier. That includes Los Angeles County, San Diego County, Riverside County, Orange County and Sacramento County. About 94% of California's population is currently in the most restrictive tier. Nonessential work and gatherings must stop between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., the governor said, adding the order will remain in effect for one month. A statewide curfew is also now in effect in Ohio, where Gov. Mike DeWine clarified police won't be out pulling people over if they see them driving at night. "We should assume they have a legitimate reason for being out," the governor said. "But on the other hand, if there is a number of people congregating somewhere, and the police see that, certainly they're probably going to pull over and say, 'hey, it's beyond the 10 o'clock, you guys need to go home.'" The curfew will be in effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and will last for 21 days. In Arkansas, the governor announced an 11 p.m. closure for all businesses that are licensed to sell and allow consumption of alcohol on premises. The new directive goes into effect Friday and will last until January 3, the governor's office said, adding that it covers restaurants and bars as well as private clubs with "on premise" permits. Covid-19 Mortalities A new study of Covid-19 mortalities from March through May in New York City finds that the highest rates of cases, hospitalizations and deaths were concentrated in communities of color, high-poverty areas and among people 75 years of age and older or those with underlying conditions. The study, published Thursday in a report by the CDC and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, also found that the crude fatality rate from Covid-19 was 9.2% overall and 32.1% among hospitalized people, during the city’s Covid-19 peak. The findings echo what public health officials and others have said for months, warning that there is a greater need to mitigate transmission of the virus among the city’s most vulnerable groups. The deaths were highest among people aged 75 and older, the incidence of disease was highest among those aged 45 to 64, according to researchers. Most critically, incidence, hospitalization and death increased with higher levels of neighborhood poverty, the study found. The incidence of disease was highest among Black and African-American New Yorkers. Age-adjusted data showed that rates for hospitalization and death were highest for Black and Latino people. The majority of those that died had two or more underlying health conditions. Researchers also noted that Black and Latino New Yorkers disproportionately work in lower-paid, front-line industries with limited ability to socially-distance, and often without employer-based health insurance. Johns Hopkins Covid Data - in USA Now let us get back to numbers; MD VA NY US New cases 2,910 1,954 5,310 190,210 No cases 174,733 210,707 617,410 12,072,560 Case per mil pop 28,902 24,695 31,755 36,443 Death last 24h 19 35 31 2,015 Total deaths 4,372 3,896 34,136 258,354 Death per million pop 723 456 1,755 781 Projected death by March 1 8,900 7,100 46,900 471,000 Test (mil) 4.0 3.3 17.4 175.9 % Positivity 7.2 7.1 2.7 Tests per million pop 661,310 381,464 893,737, 528,664 Nursing home deaths 2,237 1,890 8,000* 70,000* * Not updated ** Not available, Now to get to some optimistic news. “Our shields are worn. Our resolve is being tested.” So say the most immediate, frontline health care workers in a new ad campaign. The campaign, in print and video, by about 100 of the nation’s largest and best-known hospital groups began on Thursday, and aims to counter public resistance to mask-wearing. In addition, the American Hospital Association joined with the American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association, urging the public to be careful in celebrating the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. The groups wrote an open letter on Thursday, recommending that people “celebrate responsibly in a scaled-back fashion. We are all weary and empathize with the desire to celebrate the holidays with family and friends, but given the serious risks, we underscore how important it is to wear masks, maintain physical distancing and wash your hands,” the letter said. The ad campaign by major hospital groups includes sponsoring print advertisements in prominent newspapers, including The New York Times, and backing a social media push featuring a powerful video that expresses the frustration felt by some of the nation’s health care workers over the refusal of so many Americans to wear masks, an action that could potentially prevent tens of thousands of deaths. The doctors and nurses appeal to the public . “We put our lives on the line daily to keep you safe. So, do something for us. Wear. A. Mask,” the caption reads. Dr. Tomislav Mihaljevic, chief executive of the Cleveland Clinic, led the campaign, saying it was intended to recognize health care workers’ fatigue in dealing with the eight-month-long pandemic in the United States. “This is a cry for help, a rallying cry,” he said. Now to an update on the vaccine, Pfizer has applied to the FDA for “Emergency Use” of its vaccine. Moderna is also expected to follow suit sooner. According To Chris Cuomo From CNN In an CNN interview with Chris Cuomo on Thursday, Dr. Fauci stated that vaccination may start as early as the Christmas and as many as 30 million may be vaccinated by the first quarter of 2021 and the whole population by then end of the year. He also stressed the need for wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and avoid large gatherings in the meantime. For going to normalcy, he stressed that large scale rapid testing with isolation must be continued for some time. So, Friends, relief is coming. The challenge will be how to change the minds of the people who don't believe in vaccines. For making the vaccine campaign effective, at least 50-60% of the population need to be vaccinated. BE SAFE and STAY SAFE until we have an effective vaccine and vaccination program, WEAR FACE MASKS AND FOLLOW SOCIAL DISTANCING There have been so much misinformation, disinformation and confusion about Covid -19 that I hope my attempt to provide updates and insight would be helpful in understanding and coping with the Covid-19 pandemic better.

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