I have been trying to leave politics out of my posts regarding COVID-19 out of an abundance of respect for all readers, but I find that it’s not been as easy as it sounded two weeks ago when my family began our precautions. I did my duty as an American and watched the President’s address live on Wednesday. As I said to a cousin when we disagreed politically, while I have trusted sources that I have already vetted, I still prefer primary sources, and will use them whenever I am able. Watching the President live was one way to do that. He did NOT instill in me a lot of confidence, especially when less than five minutes after he finished, there were no less than three corrections to his “planned”, “well-thought out”, “vetted” speech.

I do not say this lightly, but when getting your information about COVID-19, please do NOT listen to the President and/or the Vice President. I would also include Senator Mitch McConnell, Representative Kevin McCarthy, Representative Tom Cotton, Senator John Kennedy (LA), and the head of the CDC, Dr. Redfield as they have all continued to pass on misinformation and lied about the extent of the virus and where we stand on a vaccine, mitigation, and flattening the curve. I am sad to include the doctor in this list of unreliable people, but they are truly that: unreliable. If they refuse to tell the truth in small things, how can they be trusted to tell the truth in the big, important, controversial ones.

I will continue to get my information from Dr. Anthony Fauci of NIH. He has said in his Congressional testimony that this virus (COVID-19) is ten times more lethal than the flu. It is nothing like the flu, and people should stop downplaying it. I will also be checking in on Ron Klain and Dr. Celine Gounder’s podcast, Epidemic where they talk to experts. I have a few new resources to add to my main Coronavirus post that is included below.

There may be up to 1.4 million new tests next week, and 5 million by the end of the month, according to reporting from NBC News. The President declared a national emergency this afternoon which frees up about $50 billion for states and the federal government to get a handle on this pandemic. It is expected that there will be widespread drive-thru testing with results coming within 36 hours. There will be a Google form to fill out if you have symptoms and you will be directed to a testing place. THIS IS INCORRECT. I DON’T KNOW IF THE PRESIDENT LIED AGAIN OR IF IT WAS JUST WISHFUL THINKING. We’ll see how that works out. I am hoping that it does.

Information:

Rachel Maddow’s show transcript from March 11, 2020 or listen to the same on her podcast

Rachel Maddow’s show from March 12, 2020

Cancel Everything (Social Distancing) from The Atlantic

Flattening the Curve, Isolation, Quarantine (from Vox)

How Fox News Misled Viewers about Coronavirus – important to keep up with and recognize the misinformation (CNN Business)

How Trump Set Up his White House to Fail (relates to information access) (The Atlantic)

9 Charts that Explain the Coronavirus Pandemic (from Vox)

Podcast:

America Dissected: Coronavirus with Dr. Abdul el-Sayed. New pods will be broadcast on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Twitter:

Dr. Abdul el-Sayed