OT: Coronavirus

They better direct deposit those stimulus checks as soon as they can because this thing has a ways to go yet. The more testing that goes on, the higher those infected numbers are going to be. Much higher. Rural areas: don't think this is a big city problem, stay vigilant or it'll be at your back door before you know it. Californians still are going to farmer's markets, etc. SMFH. 

just heard in the news that 61 Italian doctors have died from the virus. So sad and crazy

Terrifying jobs numbers per state...

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/26/upshot/coronavirus-millions-unemployment-claims.html

@"MaroonBells" said: Terrifying jobs numbers per state...

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/26/upshot/coronavirus-millions-unemployment-claims.html

It's unfathomable to comprehend and so very sad...

I think most are going to get locked-out of that as its subscription only...I grabbed this:
==========================================
The Department of Labor reported on Thursday that 3.28 million people filed for unemployment insurance last week, confirming that the economy is rapidly transitioning from strong activity to an unwelcome hibernation because of the coronavirus.
That eye-popping number — more than four times higher than ever recorded, and a sharp rise from 282,000 the previous week — reflects the peculiar nature of this crisis.
This downturn is different because it’s a direct result of relatively synchronized government directives that forced millions of stores, schools and government offices to close. It’s as if an economic umpire had blown the whistle to signal the end of playing time, forcing competitors from the economic playing field to recuperate. The result is an unusual downturn in which the first round of job losses will be intensely concentrated into just a few weeks.
By contrast, a “typical” recession plays out over a period of many months, or even years. The usual delay reflects the reality that it takes time for businesses to calculate their latest revenue numbers, then to recognize that they’re facing something worse than just a few bad months, and then to decide whether to respond by trimming their work forces.
Today’s very different dynamics mean that comparisons of this latest number with previous recessions won’t yield much insight into the economy’s future.
Some simple numbers make the point. In the last recession, which began in December 2007, initial unemployment claims rose above their long-run average level (of 345,000) for five years. Summing up these extra spells of unemployment — that is, adding up the number of claims above 345,000 each week — suggests that the financial crisis led to around 26 million extra jobless claims in total.
It’s possible that these latest numbers signal that the United States is on the cusp of a similarly painful downturn in which an extra 26 million job losses will also occur, but this time at a more rapid rate of roughly 3.25 million per week spread over only eight weeks. But of course it could be far worse or, with fast progress on coronavirus, wind up being far better — it’s simply unknowable at this time.
According to a forecast driven by Google searches, jobless claims this week may be as high as 4.7 million, according to an analysis from the economists Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham from Yale and Aaron Sojourner from the University of Minnesota. The forecast is based on higher search volume at the state and national level.

Small business is going to be gone. Retail is going to be gone. So many restaurants are going to be wiped out. The unemployment numbers are going to continue to rise. Housing is going to be an issue. Real estate market is going to plummet. So many people are going to leave healthcare. There are many hospital workers and law enforcement out right now. I am thinking many will leave law enforcement and the military. There are still so many people that are not getting how serious this is. 

2nd-Grader Gives 6K Masks, Caps To Hospital Staff: Coronavirus | Ashburn, VA Patch https://t.co/9Wh0M1aQf0

— Sonee #WomensRightsAreHumanRights (@Sonee333Sonny) March 30, 2020

@"Vikergirl" said: Small business is going to be gone. Retail is going to be gone. So many restaurants are going to be wiped out. The unemployment numbers are going to continue to rise. Housing is going to be an issue. Real estate market is going to plummet. So many people are going to leave healthcare. There are many hospital workers and law enforcement out right now. I am thinking many will leave law enforcement and the military. There are still so many people that are not getting how serious this is. 

you seem to be a little alarming with your dire predictions.  its going to hurt some businesses and some professions short term,   but if there is a need,  it will be filled by a new small business,  a new retail chain,  and new restaurants will open.  This isnt the end of life as we know it,  its just going to create a few new wrinkles for us to over come in the next year or so.  We will recover and get back to where we were or even better.

Johnson & Johnson says human testing of its coronavirus vaccine will begin by September, and it could be available for emergency use authorization in early 2021. https://t.co/FClKl7SOqL pic.twitter.com/d6a4Ra9MKy

— CNBC (@CNBC) March 30, 2020

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"Vikergirl" said: Small business is going to be gone. Retail is going to be gone. So many restaurants are going to be wiped out. The unemployment numbers are going to continue to rise. Housing is going to be an issue. Real estate market is going to plummet. So many people are going to leave healthcare. There are many hospital workers and law enforcement out right now. I am thinking many will leave law enforcement and the military. There are still so many people that are not getting how serious this is. 

you seem to be a little alarming with your dire predictions.  its going to hurt some businesses and some professions short term,   but if there is a need,  it will be filled by a new small business,  a new retail chain,  and new restaurants will open.  This isnt the end of life as we know it,  its just going to create a few new wrinkles for us to over come in the next year or so.  We will recover and get back to where we were or even better.

BREAKING: Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister just announced he has obtained an arrest warrant for Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne in this case and that the pastor is expect to turn himself in for violating the county order. Background @TB_Times here: https://t.co/SLqng6hAmZ

— Tony Marrero (@TMarreroTimes) March 30, 2020

@"Vikergirl" said: https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1244591669363834880?s=19

God bless em - and that's scary as s hit to hear too. That's a long ways off. 

Significant resources are being put against current medications that may help symptomatically today. That's the hope for now and immediately. 

I believe, deep down, that when this gets under control, we will recover nicely.  I consider the last couple downturns to be devastating because it was systemic to the economic infrastructure, the capital system failed. The tech bubble and corrupted monetary system, bond savings and loan....  This is not that.

@"purplefaithful" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"Vikergirl" said: Small business is going to be gone. Retail is going to be gone. So many restaurants are going to be wiped out. The unemployment numbers are going to continue to rise. Housing is going to be an issue. Real estate market is going to plummet. So many people are going to leave healthcare. There are many hospital workers and law enforcement out right now. I am thinking many will leave law enforcement and the military. There are still so many people that are not getting how serious this is. 

you seem to be a little alarming with your dire predictions.  its going to hurt some businesses and some professions short term,   but if there is a need,  it will be filled by a new small business,  a new retail chain,  and new restaurants will open.  This isnt the end of life as we know it,  its just going to create a few new wrinkles for us to over come in the next year or so.  We will recover and get back to where we were or even better.

Those small/mid/large biz that were teetering before the poop hit the fan? Nature will have her way with them and they will have a difficult time surviving. I would put Macy's, Bed Bath, Kohls and others on that list

edit: sorry, didnt see VG already posted this...

Warrant issued for Florida pastor who led packed services despite safer-at-home orders

TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida sheriff on Monday sought an arrest warrant for the pastor of a megachurch after officials said he held two services with hundreds of people and violated a safer-at-home order put in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a news conference Monday that he was negotiating with the attorney of Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne to turn himself in to authorities in Hernando County, where he lives. Chronister added that the pastor has “an arsenal of weaponry” and “a vast security force."
“We're allowing him to turn himself in. If he doesn't then we're going to be forced to be police officers and go get him and law enforcement is highly trained to handle it appropriately," the sheriff said.
Chronister said his command staff met with The River at Tampa Bay Church leaders about the danger they are putting themselves — and their congregation — in by not maintaining appropriate social distancing, and Howard-Browne went ahead and held the services. The Sheriff's Office also placed a digital sign on the road near the church driveway that said, “practice social distancing.”
“Shame on this pastor, there legal staff and the leaders of this staff for forcing us to do our job. That's not what we wanted to do during a declared state of emergency,” Chronister said. “We are hopeful that this will be a wake up call for him, his legal staff and his entire leadership at the church. We're also hoping the congregation realizes the importance of reducing the spread of this virus and stays at home.”
The church has said it has sanitized the building, and the pastor said in a tweet that the church is an essential business. He also attacked the media for “religious bigotry and hate.”
The county and governor’s orders require gatherings, including those held by faith-based groups, be fewer than 10 people to limit the spread of COVID-19. A live stream of Sunday's three-and-a-half-hour church service showed scores of congregants. In a Facebook post, Howard-Browne said coronavirus “is blown totally way out of proportion.”
On March 18, the church called its ministry an essential service, just like police and firefighters, and said it would keep its doors open despite closure orders.
In a video on Facebook on Sunday, Howard-Browne said “it looks like we're going to have to go to court over this because the church is encroached from every side.”
“This is really about your voice. The voice of the body of Christ,” he said. “I'm not negating that people are dying from the coronavirus. We're just saying that the thing is blown totally out of proportion...the church is an essential service to the wellbeing of a community.”
As recently as last year, Howard-Browne's church hosted an event with Paula White Cain, who was named an advisor heading President Donald Trump’s Faith and Opportunity Initiative. She is also an unofficial spiritual advisor to the president.

Stock Photo: Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister

For those of you weened on "i love rock & roll" by Joan Jett this is the rocker who penned and performed it originally...

pic.twitter.com/ICYzIglWTS

— Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (@joanjett) March 29, 2020

@"Vikergirl" said: https://twitter.com/TMarreroTimes/status/1244675843030482945?s=19

BREAKING: Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister just announced he has obtained an arrest warrant for Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne in this case and that the pastor is expect to turn himself in for violating the county order. Background @TB_Times here: https://trib.al/IWLS0fa 

Looks like a spiritual leader I would give my money to :)

A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or some similar confidence trick or deception in order to obtain money, fame or other advantages via some form of pretense or deception. Synonyms for "charlatan" include "shyster", "quack", or "faker".

Edit:  I don't consider this anti-religion because I don't think any Christian would take ownership of this quack and defend him!

wait for it......

I think most religious people would consider their beliefs to be an important and essential part of their life.  The church leadership in the above post has clearly failed to consider all aspects, including long term health of the congregation and community at large.  They need to look at plans B, C, or D to serve their flock.