Prepare; Don't Share

By now we've stocked up on toilet paper (so much toilet paper!), hand sanitizer, and canned soup. We've learned which songs to sing while we wash our hands, and we're trying mighty hard to keep our hands away from our faces. We've made sure our Netflix subscription is up to date and we have a stash of girl scout cookies.

We brace for the worst, while we don't really know what the worst will be.

I touched upon 45's response to the COVID-19 global crisis in my post about the virus scare on February 29: COVID-19, A Primer.

In the past few weeks, Sniffles of course was able make a bad situation worse. True to form, his utter ignorance and ineptitude was on full display. In summary, he has been a "walking, talking, tweeting disaster," as CNN's Samantha Vinograd writes. It's hard to enumerate all the missteps from this wart, but let us try.

There has not only been misinformation, there has been disinformation coming from the Whitewash House. Just. Shut. Up.

Dave Whammond 

He doesn't get it, and if he does, it's the usual 🙈🙊🙉. He has perfected the tactic well over the last 3½ years. But likely it's deeper than that. He wants to spin criticism about his handling of the crisis a "Dem Hoax."

There has been increased fear and confusion because of the incomplete, or misleading, information. Here are AP fact-checks of many of his misleading and false statements.

The scariest mouthpoop he has squirted was saying that people can go to work while sick. That's just downright dangerous. If you feel sick, stay home! Let me say it again. If you feel sick, stay home!

But maybe the most frustrating aspect of the government's bumbled response surrounds testing kits. There has been mega confusion. We can not know how the disease is spreading without knowing who has it. Knowing how the disease is spreading can help us stop it from spreading. Science!!

The Orange Scourge has said that "anyone who needs a test gets one," but health officials across the nation report test kits are in woefully short supply. For example, in California, where there has been one death, where travelers from abroad are being quarantined, where thousands are being monitored, where the governor has declared a freaking state of emergency, only 516 people had been tested as of last Thursday.

And he has blamed Obama for the delays in testing. Ummmmm. This virus appeared four months ago. Gah! <LSR bangs head into the ever-growing dent in the wall>

The good news is that the private sector is stepping in, and thanks to the Gates Foundation, home test kits are on their way, at least for residents of Washington, our hardest-hit state so far. Thank you, Bill and Melinda Gates!

He has been characteristically bizarre, such as while he was visiting the CDC a few days ago:




Tell me, if you were going to go in front of cameras broadcasting to the entire world, would you read up a little on the topic so that you didn't look like an abject idiot? I think I would.

And yet......

There have been so many other instances of his downplaying the crisis, it's mind-boggling. Thanks to the Washington Post, who made this compilation.




Huh? A hunch?




He has also, of course, been is shrugging about the risk at his rallies. This, too, is dangerous. He recently spoke at a CPAC rally. Later, a person attending that event tested positive. And guess what? 45 shook hands with someone who had direct contact with that patient.

And at the same event he does this:



It reminds me of this:

Image found on Reddit

Two members of Congress had direct contact with that individual, and yesterday both Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) decided to self-quarantine. And as I go to press, Rep Matt Gaetz (R- FL) (along with a couple others) also decided to self-quarantine after exposure at CPAC. Gaetz's announcement came an hour after he was on Air Force One with The Chosen One.

I really don't wish harm to come to any of my fellow earth travelers, but yanno? I'm bringing out the world's tiniest violin for this one. This is the same Matt Gaetz who mocked the impending crisis by wearing a gas mask to the House. The same Matt Gaetz who presides over the congressional district where Florida's first COVID-19 death occurred. The Germophobe-in-Chief and one of the most odious members of Congress? The schadenfreude is strong in this one.

Mike Pence, who supposedly is in charge of the response, hasn't been anywhere. I haven't seen him address the issue with the American people. I wonder if SCROTUS put Mikey in charge so that when the crisis spins out of control – which it inevitably will – he can put the blame on Mike and nominate a new VP.

The government's crisis response been bungled at many levels. And the bungling is costing us time. The alarm was sounded months ago, but the See No Evil mechanism was promptly put into place, causing confusion and distrust. He's simply not telling the truth, and we can't trust what the government is doing, sadly.

We want facts. We need facts. Facts can allay fears and point the direction to solutions. Getting the facts engenders trust. We need to focus on the facts, and we need to demand facts. Science is not a deep state conspiracy.

This essay isn't meant to stoke more fears. It's just lamenting the bad information. Good information is helpful; bad information is downright dangerous.

So, back to factual information. The Centers for Disease Control is the best source. Here is prevention advice from the CDC. And here is the CDC's advice for what to do if you get sick.

Go. Read. Do.

The long and short of the advice is: prepare your home and your family. Have a little extra food and medications on hand; keep your hands and your belongings clean; don't share your germs! Don't share your personal items or air space if you get sick.

LSR's motto: Prepare; don't share. 

Except: Let's share our hoards of TP with friends and neighbors. Stay in touch. If you feel sick and can't get to the store, ask for help. It's easy to leave stuff on each other's porches. Friends, if you need cough medicine, TP, or homemade cookies, call me!

Stay informed and prepare. Besides the CDC, consult reputable medical and media sites. Here is the World Health Organization's information. Here is a great bunch of information, including a set of data  and an interactive map, from Johns Hopkins. WaPo is keeping their pulse on the crisis with live updates.

Remember, you aren't just protecting yourself, but more importantly you are protecting the most vulnerable among us, the elderly and the chronically ill. Do your part.

Don't panic. And keep a sense of humor.

And to that end: