Coronavirus:

[robert.]

Civil unrest will not end painlessly. 2020 will take half a decade to recover from. Neither candidate has mentioned a plan A,B, or C. Just a bunch of short statements " I'll do I'll do and he wont"

[Rufus T. Firefly]

People that present plans get ridiculed on the campaign trail and dissected by the media and all the talking head experts.

These elections were reduced to popularity contests years ago with any substance excised.

[rogruth]

I registered to vote 1n 1955 when I became 21, the legal voting age then, and have voted in every election since. I registered as an independent.
In Georgia you declare your party when you go to vote in a primary and mine would change depending on what was happening. Sometimes an
office would have only one candidate for an office and another office would have 10. I tried to vote where it might help.
This may be my last national election.Getting too old to care and am being sickened by the campaign claims and antics. I think I agree with those
that think we need a strong third party like the Republicans were in Lincolns time. We have had a few and some have had good programs but
none have been strong enough to make a difference and get their candidate elected.

On this forum we have been able to control ourselves most of the time but I am worried about where this may go.

[HONDO74]

First generation of coronavirus vaccines 'likely to be imperfect,' UK official warns
The UK’s coronavirus task force chair said mass distribution will also be a challenge
https://www.foxnews.com/health/first-ge ... perfect-uk

The chair of the U.K.’s coronavirus task force has warned that the yet-to-be-approved first generation of coronavirus vaccines is “likely to be imperfect” and that the public should remember that “we do not know that we will ever have a vaccine at all.”

“The first generation of vaccines is likely to be imperfect, and we should be prepared that they might not prevent infection but rather reduce symptoms, and even then, might not work for everyone or for long,” Kate Bingham wrote in an article titled “The U.K. Government’s Vaccine Taskforce: strategy for protecting the U.K. and the world,” which was published Tuesday in The Lancet.

Bingham said the U.K. has invested in several companies developing vaccine candidates “to give the U.K. the greatest chance of providing a safe and effective vaccine, recognizing that many, and possibly all, of these vaccines, could fail.” She said the country has focused on potential vaccines that would protect people 65 and older, as the greatest amount of coronavirus fatalities in the U.K. occur among this group.

[HONDO74]

Covid-19: PM announces four-week England lockdown
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-54763956

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a second national lockdown for England to prevent a "medical and moral disaster" for the NHS.

He said Christmas may be "very different" but he hoped taking action now would mean families can gather.

Pubs, restaurants, gyms and non-essential shops will have to close for four weeks from Thursday, he said.

But unlike the restrictions in spring, schools, colleges and universities can stay open.

After 2 December, the restrictions would be eased and regions would go back to the tiered system, he said.

Mr Johnson said: "Christmas is going to be different this year, perhaps very different, but it's my sincere hope and belief that by taking tough action now we can allow families across the country to be together."

[Neil]

One specific intervention could change a great deal. Wearing masks whenever you are around people you do not live with. Particularly critical indoors. We are pretty vigilant about masks, but not particularly punitive at work, and almost all of our 40+ infected employees (out of about 20,000) seem likely to contracted their infections outside the medical center.

Cutting the number of infections and thus deaths seems more than worthwhile for the inconvenience. I know there are a few physicians who have objected to masks but they are not infectious disease experts in the least. It's not an infringement on liberties to force people to not harm or kill others, even if unintentionally.

[robert.]

To bad they failed to mask up people living in nursing homes. Could have saved a lot of lives.

[HONDO74]

How crazy can new Yorker's be, It was Probably advertised on social media.....

Halloween party shut down inside Brooklyn warehouse
https://news.yahoo.com/halloween-party- ... 26434.html

New York City deputy sheriffs broke up an illegal Halloween party where hundreds of people were crowded inside a warehouse in Brooklyn early Saturday morning, officials said. It happened around 1 a.m., CBS New York reports.

According to investigators, deputies were alerted to a potential mass gathering and watched more than 150 people wearing Halloween costumes enter the warehouse.

The deputies said they heard loud music and saw what were likely security guards controlling access to the party.

When deputies entered the warehouse, they found hundreds of people dancing, drinking and not wearing masks or social distancing. More than 380 people were in violation of emergency orders, authorities said.

10/31/20 @ 0100HRS: Deputy Sheriffs shut down illegal bar/party inside warehouse at 23 Meadow Street, Brooklyn: 387+ people violation of emergency orders, 9 organizers charged with multiple misdemeanors, Administrative Code, Health Code & Alcoholic Beverage Control Law offenses. pic.twitter.com/qKxvqRtpWt

The party's organizers, security guards, workers and entertainers face numerous charges, including for breaking executive orders signed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio that limit indoor gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

It's not an infringement on liberties to force people to not harm or kill others, even if unintentionally.

In fact, one could argue not wearing a mask to be public an self-endangerment.

[HONDO74]

It's not an infringement on liberties to force people to not harm or kill others, even if unintentionally.

In fact, one could argue not wearing a mask to be public an self-endangerment.

New York City Imposes Fines Of Up To $1,000 For Those Who Refuse To Wear Face Masks September 30, 2020
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronaviru ... r-face-mas

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that the city will impose fines on people who refuse to wear face coverings, after it saw a positivity rate for coronavirus tests of over 3% for the first time since June.

The fine is up to $1,000, the mayor's office told NPR.

City personnel will hand out free masks to anyone who is not wearing a face covering, the mayor said.

"Anyone who refuses to wear a face covering will be told that if they don't put one on, they will be fined," de Blasio said. He said it would start immediately and on a large scale. "That will happen aggressively, clearly."

"Our goal, of course, is to give everyone a free face mask and get them to wear it. We don't want to fine people," said de Blasio.

Out of 146 zip codes citywide, de Blasio said, the uptick is happening primarily in nine zip codes in Brooklyn and Queens, including areas with tight-knit Orthodox Jewish communities. Health officials are emphasizing outreach to these communities to distribute masks and literature.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

It's not an infringement on liberties to force people to not harm or kill others, even if unintentionally.

In fact, one could argue not wearing a mask to be public an self-endangerment.

New York City Imposes Fines Of Up To $1,000 For Those Who Refuse To Wear Face Masks September 30, 2020

It's hardly a new idea to make willful transmission of a disease either by deliberate act or indifference a criminal act

[rogruth]

In fact, one could argue not wearing a mask to be public an self-endangerment.

New York City Imposes Fines Of Up To $1,000 For Those Who Refuse To Wear Face Masks September 30, 2020

It's hardly a new idea to make willful transmission of a disease either by deliberate act or indifference a criminal act

Yes and could it be considered to be murder?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

New York City Imposes Fines Of Up To $1,000 For Those Who Refuse To Wear Face Masks September 30, 2020

It's hardly a new idea to make willful transmission of a disease either by deliberate act or indifference a criminal act

Yes and could it be considered to be murder?

Assault with intent might be possible -- pretty sure some cases related to AIDS/HIV were taken to court.

[rogruth]

It's hardly a new idea to make willful transmission of a disease either by deliberate act or indifference a criminal act

Yes and could it be considered to be murder?

Assault with intent might be possible -- pretty sure some cases related to AIDS/HIV were taken to court.

That's what I was thinking.

[Neil]

If you need more convincing of the utility of masks, social distancing (avoiding indoors time with people you don't live with), closing down outdoor events with large numbers of unmasked individuals, here's some data. Peak New York cases per 100,000 people was 297.5. In the unmasked state of Florida, 315.5, about the same, but a much less dense population. In the Dakotas, with resolutely political and just plain stupid leadership, the rates have not peaked yet. Despite very low population densities, the current rates are 767 and 813 for South and North Dakota. A totally unnecessary disaster and tragedy for many innocent citizens who could have avoided infection, at least in the short term.