March 14, 2020: Trump Announces "National Emergency" in the Face of COVID

 

3/14/20: If you were thinking maybe Dr. Donald J. Trump (commonly known as “Dr. Zero”) is a quack, the evidence is now irrefutable. 

This is the same Dr. Zero who told us the COVID-19 virus was no worse than the flu. Now, Dr. Zero has had to admit we face a National Emergency, “two big words,” as he put it when making the announcement yesterday.

 

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“There are no good choices, but there are good decisions.” 

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan

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And here, let us remember what may have been his worst prediction of all: We were sitting on 15 cases of the novel coronavirus on February 26. But thanks to him, we were headed for zero. 

There was no reason to worry whatsoever. 

(You can find that prediction in the official White House transcript, if you don’t believe me. This isn’t “Fake News.”)

 

 

As of Saturday evening, Johns Hopkins University has increased its running totals for worldwide COVID-19 cases to 156,099 (see above). The worldwide death toll now stood at 5,819, which would indicate a mortality rate of 3.7%. As for the United States approaching “zero,” we stand at 2,572 cases. Like Italy, we may be in for worse to come. Despite having shut down their entire economy, and told everyone to stay home, the Italians report 21,157 cases and 1,441 deaths. The situation in Iran is dire, with 12,729 cases and an admitted 611 dead. Iraqi citizens returning home from Iran say the situation is far worse. Iraq has sealed its border with Iran, except to its own citizens. 

The spread of the virus is so rapid that what Trump said Wednesday night, when he tried to reassure the nation, is already out of date. He said he wasn’t going to need to ban travelers from Ireland or the United Kingdom, even though the U.K. had more reported cases of COVID-19, than several countries included in the ban. The next day, Dr. Don defended his decision not to ban travel from the United Kingdom. He said the Brits were “doing a good job” of containing the virus. Less than 48-hours later, the U.K. had seen confirmed cases rise to 1,143. 

So, as of today, Dr. Trump has banned travelers from the United Kingdom, too. Same with travelers from Ireland.

 

In fact, the president has been forced to admit that this virus is not just like the flu. He recommends today that if you don’t have to travel within the United States, you should stay home. 

Meanwhile, economic damage continues to spread across the world, and hamstring large sectors of the U.S. economy. The stock market plummeted more than 2,300 points on Thursday, rebounded almost 2,000 on Friday. The Dow ended Friday at 23,186, a drop of 6,365 points in a month. Trillions in equity have been wiped from the books. Cancellations of all kinds are drying up business. The local economy of Austin, Texas, suffered a $350 million hit when the South by Southwest Festival was canceled. That was without a single confirmed case in the city. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan may have said it best when she explained the decision to shut down city schools for six weeks: “There are no good choices, but there are good decisions.” 

Travel bans, and an expected slowdown in economic activity, caused oil prices to drop. It was good news for drivers (who have few places to go for the foreseeable future) but catastrophe for drilling companies. Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell to $31.50 per barrel on Friday.

 

Nor is there any end in sight for the spread of the virus or the spread of the damage, both to health and economy. Saturday morning, my youngest daughter, Emily, a nurse in Columbus, Ohio told us the first confirmed case in the city had been revealed, a 49-year-old man who traveled on a Carnival cruise ship, the Valor. He left the ship on March 5, and has likely been infecting others since. The state has 26 confirmed cases, seven requiring hospitalizations and all Ohio public schools will be shut down for three weeks, starting Monday. 

The coronavirus is spreading rapidly around the world. Spain saw a jump of more than 2,000 cases this weekend. It was announced that a two-week state of emergency would be implemented, basically shutting down the country. At least five flights from England were alerted to the news in midair and turned around, rather than land passengers in a two-week quarantine. France, which had only a hundred confirmed cases on March 2, now has 3,672. The government has ordered closure of all non-essential businesses, starting at midnight. Even war-torn Syria has announced the closure of schools and universities to stem the spread of disease – at least all the schools and universities that haven’t been blown to bits during the long and bloody civil war.

 

Anyone who said this was “just like the flu” was ill-informed or obtuse. Dr. Trump decided he had better get tested, after his doctor said last night there was no need. The fact that two people who visited Mar-a-Lago last weekend and tested positive apparently convinced Dr. Trump this morning he had to get checked. Attorney General Bill Barr was already in self-quarantine. So, too, were Rona McDaniel, the chairwoman for the Republican National Committee, and her family, after Ms. McDaniel began experiencing fever and other flu-like symptoms. The Pentagon has put almost all domestic travel for service members and families on hold through May 11. The Archdiocese of New York announced it was canceling masses starting today, and the Boston Marathon has been postponed till September, the first such disruption in 124 years. The Masters Tournament has been postponed. Panic shopping has begun emptying shelves in groceries across the U.S. 

Toilet paper has been a flash point. 

 

POSTSCRIPT: The State of New York has issued a “cease and desist” order to Alex Jones and Infowars. 

Officials warn Jones that he may no longer sell toothpaste, claiming that it will protect users from the COVID-19 virus. 

Also receiving a “cease and desist letter” for selling bogus products to protect against the novel coronavirus: Pastor Jim Bakker.