Red states - later impact (due to extreme downplaying?) are exploding near me, (Indianapolis)

[salin]

Link to tweet

Josh Russell
@josh_emerson
Shit looking real grim here in Indianapolis, these are posts by nurses and doctors on the local Facebook pages and groups.

Below this post are embedded posts that I can't capture (via copy and paste.) An hour or so before reading this tweet, I had read that Indianapolis (where I lived/worked for more than a decade) was an emerging hot spot.

Schools started shutting down (locally - not by the state) around March 12, and social distancing was encouraged shortly there after - a week or so later restaurant/bars were shut down, and a week later (this past Monday) "non essential businesses".

That is - VP Pence's home state was slow to react (but faster than some red states), despite his 'knowledge' as the key govt person on the Corona virus since (I think) late February.

We are weeks away from 'flattening' the curve - as many haven't taken those efforts (to flatten the curve) seriously.

Yet another harbinger of how early we are in this crisis.

Keep sheltering, and stay safe as possible.

[Indykatie]

1. I'm in Indianapolis Too

I was pleasantly surprised when the Governor issues our mandate. It was late but better late than never I guess. Stay safe Salin.

[salin]

4. You too, Indykatie.

I am now in Bloomington - and post IU spring break (and for those students returning) is a bit concerning. I also have been surprised that the Gov has been stronger than his predecessor (who now heads up/in name/the fed govt response to the crisis). Even if late -let's hope that despite the spike - that the sheltering will start to bend the curve.

Stay safe, Indykatie. Peace.

[Progressive Jones]

2. Indiana knew they had to do a shut down after Ohio and Illinois did it. nt

[salin]

5. Yes ... but initially (with schools) it was done by local jurisdictions rather than the state.

Once the Gov started acting - despite delays - he has started following OH and Ill.

[Progressive Jones]

10. It would have been worse when Pence was Governor.

He did not serve his home State well. He was very unpopular,
and he would have been torn to shreds over any missteps.

[Igel]

12. I've noticed that the areas likely to be hardest hit earliest

are locked down locally.

In other words, the curve tips up and is noticeable, and action's taken.

A lot of places in Texas, for instance, have no lockdown orders. On the other hand, they have just a few cases reported (which is likely an artifact of testing, not actual infection) and have no deaths (which I take to be an indication that the incidence really isn't all that high, at least not as of 10-20 days ago).

Focus just on state-level orders and what often affects the majority of a state's population doesn't appear on the radar.

[tblue37]

3. Missouri is emerging as another hotspot. I am in Kansas, and our numbers remain low,

But without widespread testing, low numbers mean nothing.

[SunSeeker]

6. Wait until it really hits in Florida.

[rusty quoin]

9. Yeah. Talk about flattening the curve. That state will fatten the curve.

Faith has no part in this, and we are about to get a really hard lots of deaths lesson in it.

I have 5 in my family and we are healthy enough right now, but I’m wishing I die over them, but it’s not like that. I want them to live over me but that’s not my choice.

The numbers will claim family members because of Trump’s response back in January and February.

This was preventable, but we have Trump, and I have a pretty good chance of losing a very close family member.

This is horrible.

[SunSeeker]

11. Yup, Trump wasted 6 weeks lying to us that it was under control. That's why we're fucked now.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/28/trump-coronavirus-politics-us-health-disaster?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR0soVILKGaglxnpgp7tNvFna_OcxPkirrYIcysErOp39VddD2mQfHJ_1oY

[BadgerMom]

7. The comment stating that the truth might cause panic

catches my eye. No one wants panic. And patient rights are paramount. But the idea that a picture is worth a 1000 words is true. If those holding a camera could be protected and the identities of patients could be blocked, reporting inside the hospitals likely would convince people who are thus far unconvinced to shelter.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

8. It's getting bad in Texas as well.

Note: Houston Chronicle has lifted its paywall during the crisis.

Coronavirus live updates: Abbott deploys National Guard, 26 deaths in Texas
Dug Begley and Hannah Dellinger
March 27, 2020

Link: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/coronavirus-covid-update-live-tx-county-pandemic-15160898.php

(snipits)

Houston’s tally of COVID-19 cases triple, but testing suffers setback.

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena confirmed Friday night that 17 additional firefighters have been placed under COVID-19 quarantine. In total, 620 firefighters “have had some level of exposure since this operation began,” Pena said.

11 HPD officers test positive for COVID-19. Houston police Chief Art Acevedo said an officer in his 40s is hospitalized and 10 others who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus are resting at home.

Two more Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the department's staff to eight.

Texas to enforce quarantine orders at Louisiana border.

Confirmed cases:

Worldwide: 595,953
U.S.: 104,007
Texas: 1,964
Houston Region: 484
Worldwide Deaths: 27,333
U.S. Deaths: 1,693
Texas Deaths: 26

KY.............

[Igel]

13. It's not good, but context matters here.

We're the second most populous state.

So the site I look at currently has TX with 38 dead. Oklahoma has 16 (picked because it was lower but I didn't have to scroll down, and sort of like Texas in some ways).

TX has almost 29 million people. Oklahoma has 4 million.

For the number of people killed by this virus, Oklahoma's still ahead. It's not the count, it's the number per capita that shows how an area's doing. 38/29 million versus 16/4 million. We're under 1.5 dead/million, OK's at 4 dead per million. Not gloating, just pointing out this is how the numbers have to be approached. You can't compare NY and Indiana directly--NY has more people. Per capita is better. (Even then, it's hard to compare straight across; life's messing, thinking's often simplistic.)

It's hard to sort out what's going on given the data, but some data we know are deeply flawed--yet people continue to use them as though they were golden. Other data are still flawed, but probably not so badly. Even then, they're not adjusted for things like when the infection took root there or what the population is or when curve flattening measures actually were put in place.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

15. Agreed. Other gray factors are how 'crowded' a populace is.....

and how social they are, both of which are difficult to place a metric on. I know those are factors in China, New York and Italy to varying degrees. First thing that came to mind with Italy was "social" and with China and New York it was "crowded."

What disturbed me with Texas was the seemingly high number of first responders that are getting sick, although that could be similar to other areas on a per capita basis.

Far too much variance in data state-to-state and nation-to-nation, IMO but getting groups to agree on doing anything on a "we" basis these days has become increasingly difficult with so many "me-based" right-wingers in control.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

14. Yikes! I'm here in Indianapolis

And not far from Community South either! I had no idea we were "an emerging hotspot" until yesterday's news that we were. I'm glad that we got shut down relatively quickly. I've been working from home pretty much since 03/17/2020 but had to go out a few times since then. I went to Eskenazi last Friday to pick up some medicine for my wife and the place was very buttoned up and I had to go through a quick health screening as soon as I walked through the door.

[Tbear]

16. Very close to Community South as well

Started staying home with spouse a just a few days before you. Right after first school closing in Avon.

Only going out for supplies and being careful.

Got TP?