It’s because the only data we had was primarily from China. I don’t put much stock in the accuracy of any information that comes from China and reports that new cases there are almost at 0 are being contradicted by leaks throughout their country and the media. Apparently the notion that China is getting back to work and that the decisive action of their government beat the virus is highly questionnable and may just be CCP propaganda.

How on earth are cities like New York and Seattle not already under federal quarantine and lockdown? They’ve continued to allow flights in and out of these cities over the past few weeks which has significantly contributed to spread all over the country including my state.

This will be looked back on as a huge failing of the feds to take tough, decisive action early enough and to do enough domestically. Blocking flights from a Europe but not doing the same for hotspots in the US was ridiculous and something that never made sense to me.

American industry ramped up production of vital war equipment and supplies during WWII. I cant understand why the same can’t be done to make basic items like medical masks and vital medical supplies right now. Have we really outsourced so much manufacturing to China that we can’t even rush items like medical masks for our own needs?

China will do little to nothing to help the US right now. Their government appears to be looking at this as an opportunity to spread their influence in Europe and and other countries traditionally in the US sphere of influence. The crazy propaganda being spun by their government right now that COVID19 was made by the US military and planted in China unfortunately paints a pretty clear picture.

Recent reports suggest China has building power on and is running some factories to make it look like people are going back to work. I’m not sure we should really believe they have Covid19 under control in their country. Kind of hard to do when it originated there and they have 1.4 billion people.

China is very concerned about the future and long term impact of global investment and manufacturing in their country right now due to the COVID situation and anger about how they handled things, covered it up early on. As a result, the CCP is cranking up the propaganda machine and doing everything they can to shift the blame elsewhere.

Agreed. This didn’t have to happen if China permanently closed the wild animal markets after SARS in 2003. They let them reopen unfettered and unregulated again and now we have this, something much worse.

I don’t think a war will start anytime soon but make no mistake, relations between the US/the West and China have been deteriorating for many years and COVID isn’t going to help China when this is all over. I already think we are in the early stages of a Cold War with China and the fact their government is manufacturing conspiracy theories to blame the US military for Covid19 is just more evidence of that.

Countries and global corporations are going to be angry once this is over and I predict there will be a backlash. There will be far more hesitance to invest more in China and a lot of manufacturing globally will be shifted back home or diversified elsewhere.

Yep. The WHO relationship with China and their money is very problematic and contributed to this disaster. Many things the world is going to have to address and change once this global nightmare is mercifully over.

Yeah and throw your mayor in there with that. He has shown a staggering degree of incompetence in how he has handled the outbreak in NYC. I read his advisors were begging him for days to close schools, restaurants, etc while he continued to make his daily journey to the YMCA for work outs and pretend it should be business as usual. He dragged his feet and New York has a major healthcare crisis in the making.

Meanwhile air traffic to and from the New York area has continued which has contributed to spread all over the eastern seaboard and country. 5-6 of the earliest cases here in Utah were from New Yorkers who came here for ski vacations. They contributed to the breakout in Park City which is a ski hub with a relatively small local population.

This isn't New Yorkers fault but to your point, it is on the feds who should have shut down air traffic from early hotzones like New York, Seatte, etc. 7-10 days ago along with Europe.

Of course, there is plenty of blame to go around there. Had they done that, NYC's mayor, governor, and other national politicians would have screamed bloody murder and politicized that issue as well.

What all of this has taught me is that even in the event of a legitimate national crisis where potentially thousands of lives and the economy is at stake, politicians on both sides of the aisle seem to prioritize political agendas and scoring points over the needs of the country. This contributes to gridlock and gets in the way of taking quick, decisive action that in this case could have made a big difference.

Great idea. Contribute to another banking crisis and depression

Unless you have no way of paying your mortgage this attitude is completely irresponsible. H
You borrowed the money and agreed to repay the loan. Do the right thing and honor your obligations.

Should have happened 10 days ago along with Seattle. Would have blunted a lot of national spread and helped save some lives.

Your mayor could have and should have done a lot better. He is largely responsible for the mess right now in NYC.

Acted like an adult? He ignored everyone around him for days begging him to close schools, etc while showing a blatant disregard for public health and showing a terrible example bu going to his favorite YMCA every day.

Sorry but you cant just point fingers at the feds and not look at the glaring incompetence and mistakes made at the local level by your mayor.
Both have made blunders but unfortunately those made by your mayor have have a much bigger impact on the current uncontained spread in your city than any other one person.

I read that the CDC decided they wanted to develop their own tests that could not only test but for coronavirus but rule out similar symptom diseases like influenza, etc at the same time.

The test failed and cost us valuable time. This combined with the misguided CDC plan to centralize and control testing (not allowing private labs to offer their own tests) for only those that met certain criteria has proven disasterous.

Tell where I'm wrong on your mayor? I didn't hear it from Fox News and have hardly watched FOX at all during this crisis.

I'm tired of both parties and have not been happy myself with how Trump has handled this. Increasingly, I consider myself an independent.

You on the other hand clearly are a partisan. It appears you can only see the mistakes made by a Republican administration while completing ignoring and refusing to acknowledge the egregious blunders of NYC's mayor and politicians at the local and state level.

Once again, you dodge my question and change the topic.

I'll make it easier for you: Who in NYC makes the decision on closing schools, restaurants, and public places and when?

Here in Utah, our governor closed restaurants (except for take out), schools, and businesses early this week despite a relatively low number of at least diagnosed cases. Waiting for the feds to give that order would be incompetence at its worst.

These decisions should be made at the local level first. They are the ones that have the pulse of their cities and state.

Deflect and spin any way you want but your mayor and governor missed the window to try to blunt the spread in NYC. Ultimately, that failing falls on them first and foremost.

It is interesting that in countries like So. Korea and Germany, the death rate so far is so vastly lower than Italy. My heart aches for Italy everday I see the reports and hope and pray we don't repeat that in areas here in the US.

You are dead on on the Chinese government. I don't trust any of their data and given their recent propaganda attempts to blame Covid19 on the US military, I'm really beginning to wonder what they are trying to hide.

The Chinese people are victims of a rogue, bad government.

Their current president, Xi, has made himself dictator for life and has cracked down on what limited freedoms the people enjoyed previously. They say he is cut out of the Chairman Mao, strongman mold. His now not so subtle goal, well known within China, is to displace the US as the world's superpower and democracy with authoritarianism.

Just stay there please. The rest of us in most western states are doing just fine. In my state, we are very well managed fiscally and would like to keep it that way.

The last thing we want is more Californias moving here and bringing their tax and spend mentality with them. We are doing just fine without you.

Yep. I read the study. It came out of China so take it for what it is worth.

It showed a higher percentage of those with blood type A were susceptible to complications and death while it was lower for those with O type. That isn't to say that those with O didn't get sick and die too, though.

Like you said, they would have to do a lot more research and compile data globally to really determine if there is anything to it, though.

He is the one bragging about how great his state is while putting down smaller ones.

What I can tell you that some of our states are doing just fine on our own. If everything is so great there, why are so many moving to Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and all over the western US?

Glad you feel that way so you'll stay put. Good to know you're not only arrogant but a bigot as well.

Tells you a lot, doesn't it? Despite the great weather and recreational options California is blessed with, long term residents and companies are still leaving the state in droves.

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you the one that started boasting about how you and your state are subsidizing all of us rednecks in the hinterlands (followed up with religious slurs)? Maybe not your exact words but that is clearly how it came across.

I lived in So. California for 3 years when I first graduated from a college and still have many friends there. I enjoyed my time there and feel the weather and recreational options are great.

We still visit 1-2x a year but have no desire to live there again given the crowds , cost of living, and terrible state and local taxes.

I would have been nicer in telling you this if not for the fact you felt the necessity to pull out your superiority complex and put others down in this thread that live in smaller states.

Did I say anywhere that I am defending Trump's handling of this crisis? I haven't been happy with the fed's and CDC's lack of preparation either.

The point I am making is that there are some in this thread trying to place all blame for what is happening on the federal government. This while absolving their state & local politicians of any responsibility for their slow and botched response and actions.

You guys can protest all you want but Deblasio's handling of the outbreak in NYC has been slow and frankly, impotent. His own aids and cabinet were begging him for almost a week to close schools, restaurants, and other public places and he just dragged his feet and continued on as if all would be okay. Apparently, he only took action after his advisors basically sat him down and had an intervention.

I will ask you like I did Levi: Who is responsible for the decision and timing of school closures, restaurants, and public places at the state and local level?

This is a terrible situation for New York and the country. All I'm saying is if you guys are going to politicize this and try to assign blame, you need to be a little more objective and look at some of the glaring failures of your local officials as well.

I get it. Doesn't mean that we locals in other states like the cost of housing skyrocketing because of it. This is nothing new. It has been a common complaint throughout the western states for many years.

Most Californians are great. However, there is a subset of elitists that are leaving because of the taxes, etc but inexplicably want to bring the same ideas with them. That is where the disconnect and friction with long time residents
can start.

I feel for you guys. I'm afraid NYC is going to be the US's Italy in the near future. Let's all hope and pray for better outcomes.

I think the culture of affection/ touching and cities and towns where people live in close proximity has definitely contributed to what is occurring it Italy.

The US in most areas will hopefully fare better as we are mostly more spread out in suburbs.

Unfortunately as we are seeing in NYC right now, large cities where it is very crowded and people live in close proximity, this virus appears to spread like wildfire.

You're right. Once the world is through this painful episode, there will be plenty of time to evaluate what happened and address the change and fixes required of those governments and parties that contributed to this mess.

Then who do you consider to be the "greatest generation?"

I'm no doc but we are taking mail and putting it garbage bags for 3-4 days before opening anything. Ditto for packages which we have also been spraying with bleach before opening as well.

Overkill? Maybe but the reality is the so called experts told us for weeks the risk of coronavirus in the US "remains low" and look at where we are now.

These are many of the same experts telling us the danger of transmission from mail, packages, and takeout food is low. At this point, I'm using common sense realizing none of us really know enough about this virus to make these assumptions. .

Agreed. The time for tough, decisive action is now.

NYC and areas like it (Seattle) should have ordered people to stay at home days ago with citations and fines for those in violation. It is coming but their local leaders (yes, along with fed testing) have been behind the game since this started.

I hope enough other cities and states are learning from mistakes being made and don't do the same. Too many people just don't get it until it is right in their faces and their healthcare systems overrun. Young people everywhere are a huge part of this problem.

Agreed. It is just common sense that there is some risk, particularly when you consider that it tends to be younger people cooking and preparing the food (the demographic most likely to have few or no symptoms and report to work if mildly ill).

I get why they are remaining open for take out. It is necessary economically to keep some of these places going so it is a balancing act.

Everyone's age and health situation is different, though. I'm doing what is best for me and my family. I don't think spraying down mail and packages is excessive. It is common sense if you want to do everything you can to avoid getting this.

If someone is advertising home tests for Covid19, it is a scam. Takes a validated lab and proper processing.

I hope they catch whoever is behind these scams and they are prosecuted. Very dangerous to public safety in addition to the fact they are trying to profit off fear and people's naivte.

It isn't going to happen this year. Sad but just reality.

Unfair for Tokyo and Japan. I hope they are allowed to postpone them and do them next summer or fall.

Would be a great healing time and celebration for the world if by that time we have a vaccine and have been able to out all of this behind us.

Yep. They should be testing as much as possible for that exact reason.

One of the reason I've stopped listening to all the experts and am taking my own precautions around mail, packages, takeout, etc.

Sorry man, hate to ruin your political narrative but I've been taking this seriously and warning people it isn't the flu for over two months now. We've been stocking up on food for 5-6 weeks.

Sorry that doesn't fit your narrative that criticizing Deblasio for his incompetence equates to denying the seriousness of the virus. Incompetence and negligence aren't traits exclusive to Republicans or Democrats. There are incompetent fools on both sides.

Still waiting for the answer to the question of who is responsible for deciding when school closures restaurants, etc take place? The feds or state and local leaders?

If that is indeed the case, there should be. The politicalization of this crisis is getting us no where. Slow indecisiveness and poor decisions are being made by politicians on both sides of the aisle

That is the point I'm trying to make but there are some partisans that have a difficult time admitting that

I think it will become endemic like the flu.

Once they have a vaccine, it will at least provide some immune protection if if it mutates. They don't always get the strain right every year with influenza as it entails some guess work. This year wasn't that accurate but getting the flu shot will reduce severity and symptoms in most patients even if the vaccine wasn't a great match.

You do realize he started doing that only after the Chinese government started a narrative and story this past week that the US military planted it in Wuhan in October, right?

Hard to believe they think anyone will buy it but the Chinese ambassador was summoned to the White House this past week to explain.

Not trying to be political here but trying to make sure people understand the entire picture of what is going on.

I get it every year. If you want to ensure when you get it lasts longer with more symptoms, by all means, continue to skip it every year.

This is night and day more dangerous than H1N1. The death rate from that was about 0.1%.

Unfortunately, I don't disagree. This is shaping up to be another Spanish Flu type pandemic with a lot of casualties domestically and globally.

I'm pretty scared for my elderly parents, and for myself. I have some asthma issues and this thing scares the hell out of me.

That has been my hope as well but looking at countries where it is warm or summer right now (Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, etc), it doesn’t appear to be the case.

Exactly why we’ve made the decision to sanitize and delay opening all packages and mail right now. As this thing continues to spread, who knows who has handled the deliveries and exactly how long this stuff lasts on paper and packaging.

They need to start issuing citations for violations of orders and blocking off these areas if people won't voluntarily comply. We're headed that way anyway so might as well start now before all these fools spread it around even more.

Honestly, how anyone could believe it came from anywhere other than Wuhan, China is beyond me. Whether it was a pangolin or some other animal that transferred it, it is pretty clear at this point it originated from bats at a wild animal wet market (SARS came from bats as well which is probably why they used a bat as the source in the movie Contagion).

Pretty sad that there was precedent on what could happen from SARS and that these markets still exist.

I bought a couple of inverse bear market etfs last week.

The market continuing to crash is the last thing I want but unfortunately, I don't see any good news to rally it in sight right now. I hope I'm wrong even if it costs me what I put in those etf's.

Wow, they should track those returning and throw them in isolated county jail quarantines for 14 days upon return. Selfish morons.

Are you an internist/FP or specialist? Appreciate everything you guys do and sending thoughts and prayers your way.

Jackasses. Kids or adults as well?

We aren't alone. There is a reason much of Europe is being enveloped by this as well. Not taking it seriously and pretending its business as usual.

Stupidity and recklessness seems to be a common denominator, particularly amongst youth worldwide (although I do think ours tend to be even more selfish and entitled).

Unfortunately, for many, they can't take things seriously until it's right in their face or they are a loved one becomes ill.

It is also why there are so many ignorant fools amongst us doing spring break, holding Coronavirus parties, and having extended family get togethers right now.

We can talk about and argue about the media from a political perspective all we want but one thing they are clearly guilty of is the gradual dumbing down of the American public.

We are behind them and not on a good trajectory.

Just let him know if we just let it run its course, there will be mass burials of bodies without funerals at landfills or wherever possible like they are on Italy right now.

If he is okay with that, just tell him he needs to volunteer to help with the bodies. Of course, there are younger people dying from this as well ( like the 36 year old Brooklyn principal today), so if he is one of the unlucky ones, he may not have that option.

They should have done that 10 days ago. Many of the early cases in Utah and the outbreak in Park City have been traced back to tourists from NYC or locals that traveled to the area for work.

Yeah, hopefully Republican leadership stands up to him and tells him to pound sand on this one. Republican or Democrat, I just think this is a bad decision from a public health standpoint.

A lot is being made of China beating the virus and Wuhan opening back up to work and normal times. I'm not buying it. Question anything coming from the Chinese government. Propaganda and painting the CCP there in a positive light overrides everything there.

Even if it is in remission there, it wont be long before a handful of people pick it up again and it starts spreading throughout China as well.

The only solution is developing and fast tracking an effective vaccine or treatment. My guess is that understanding the risk, many volunteers will decide to get the vaccine and take the chance. It won't be 12-18 months or we're all in big trouble.

Trump. Graham is doing the right thing here.

Cuomo & Diblasio can lash out all they want but sadly there is a global shortage of ventilators everywhere. It isn't unique to the US.

I understand their angst and urgency as it is a terrible situation. With that said and as I've said before, maybe if they'd done the right thing and shut down NYC schools, restaurants, etc earlier when they should have (and Diblasio's advisors were begging him to), they could have slowed this down and bought time for ventilator production to catch up.

Agreed. I've been advocating for a flight ban in and out of hotzone cities and areas for over 2weeks.

States are going to be stretched to capacity taking care of their own citizens.

I don't know about suicides but afraid alcoholism could explode before all of this is over.

Agreed. No way the country where it began and in a city of 12 million (Wuhan) only had 3200 deaths. It isn't 21 million but I'm pretty sure China downplayed its severity and how many people have actually died.

It has been far worse so far in the rest of the world then their data suggests and 80% of Chinese men smoke. China fears global backlash and some potential liability so I think they've downplayed it somewhat.

Sorry to hear that. What area of the country?

Unfortunately, possibly as soon as tomorrow. I think this is a stimulus induced bounce in the middle of a bad bear market. Until we get some good news, the market has more downside.

That would be very bad for the country... and the world.

Ummm... once again, they started that trash talk with the narrative that the virus was engineered by the US military and planted in Wuhan last October at the world military games.

Some may be okay with that but I'm not. In fact as an American, it pisses me off.

We did? How?

That was a rumor/conspiracy theory that has been floating around for months and never came from official government sources.

China's came directly from one of the CCP's high ranking officials (China's equivalent ofJosef Goebbels).

They have been pushing that narrative lately, particularly in areas like Russia, Iran, etc where they have influence and people may actually be naive and misinformed enough to believe it.

Yeah, thankfully your mayor did a great job of taking precautions and protecting all of you.

Thankfully most local governments aren’t taking their cues from the President or federal government on when to act or do what is best for their cities and states.

I’m not excusing away any federal response shortcomings or lack of testing but even rudimentary research shows just how poorly Mayor Diblasio handled the NYC breakout (his staffers have been very open in their criticisms). If someone is going to assign blame and call out the feds, it is ridiculous to give that empty suit a pass.

Is a one off Senator or house member an official spokesperson for the government?

Sorry man, I’m just not going to side with the CCP on this one. It started in Wuhan, in all liklihood at a wild animal wet market, and any attempt to spin it otherwise is propaganda.

I have a feeling many countries including the US will be reconsidering the extent and depth of manufacturing and business relationships with China after this fiasco is over. Not worth the risk but something about 1.4 billion people makes it hard for some companies to resist.

The reality is a cold war between the two countries had already started before this situation. I think this will really accelerate a deeper freeze after it's over.

Our two countries outside of business ties created by US companies have little in common politically or philosophically and a decoupling I think is inevitable.

Despicable behavior.

Yeah, waste of federal funds IMO.

Good hell, what next?... and why does 85% of this stuff seem to originate in China?

Oh brother. Give it a rest.

Yeah I couldn't tell. If so, my apologies. If serious, no apology

In the US, it is typically in the desert southwest. We had a small cluster of it several years back in So. Utah.

Didn't realize they had it over in China as well. When I read the initial post that they were testing everyone on the bus, the first thing that leapt into my mind was another concern over the virus possibly mutating and jumping human to human.

While not likely, it isn't impossible. I think SARS and now Covid19 have taught us that.

He is taking a poll?

If Bernie gets this, I think his fight to the bitter end campaign is effectively over. He looks like he already has one foot in the grave. No way he'd survive Covid19.

I think China has downplayed the severity how and deadly it is actually turning out to be. That may be why they didn't want WHO representatives or a accept offers of help from the CDC and other countries medical personnel in Wuhan in January. This set the tone of some complacency globally.

That coupled with your point that too many people just don't get it until it is in front of them or a loved one is afflicted and it becomes real.

I agree and have been saying NYC, Seattle, and the Bay Area should have been locked down without air travel starting 2-3 weeks ago. That would have helped contain the spread to the rest of the country significantly and allowed the limited equipment & resources to be focused on those areas instead of stretched too thin.

Too many Americans think that measures such as these are unconstitutional or limit their freedoms. While true in the short term, sometimes measures such as these are necessary for the sake of public health and to prevent things from getting worse and the loss of more lives.

No one at the federal or local level wanted to make the tough decisions to take the steps necessary and lock things down when they needed to be and now we're going to have to live with consequences.

NYC has almost half of the US cases. If I lived there, I wouldn't be going out much except for necessities like food.

Ditto for the Chinese. Does anyone really believe a country of 1.4 billion where this originated and where a city of 10 million is considered medium size has only had 82,000 cases and under 4k deaths?

Their 2 months of hard quarantine of Hebei province definitely helped but increasingly I'm not believing anything their government is saying about this. I also think the numbers in terms of cases and deaths has been downplayed since the get go which is why we're seeing higher death rates in Europe and most other areas of the world so far.

Honor system. If enough people dont obey, then escalation in some areas might be necessary.

At least in my area, I've heard Cheesecake Factory is still doing a pretty good take out business. Taking the stance they arent paying rent anywhere for April strikes me as pretty bold and questionable.

Are they a company not healthy at all financially? With many of their locations still open for take out, they can't afford to pay rent for a few months if they have to? Hard to believe.

I've been saying the same thing. How on earth can the market think spending and printing money on that level spells anything other then long term inflation and problems?

I've been a decent saver for most of my life which gives me some comfort at times like these. Problem is, it may not be worth much by the time I retire.