Springing Forward to a Coronavirus Update

From Chris Hayes on Twitter just a couple of hours ago:

I’ve been trying very hard to use our platform to communicate the facts and science of where we are in this pandemic. We do not want to stoke panic, because, again the *individual* risk remains low. Wash your hand. Have some canned food.

BUT

The news from Italy tonight [about the general quarantine in northern Italy] clarifies just how enormous the systemic risk we’re facing is. And here’s the plain truth: Our federal government has failed and we are now, because of that failure, facing an enormous impending crisis. This is Katrina-level incompetence, if not worse.

Yesterday the President came out and admitted he is pressuring scientific and health experts to take steps that are worse for public health to artificially keep the numbers low.

This is sociopathic governance.

Now we have this story that the White House overruled health officials who wanted to warn elderly and immune-compromised people not to fly. But Trump wants the economic activity because he wants to be re-elected.

This is sociopathic governance.

(The VP’s press office has denied the story but unfortunately, given the record of this White House, there is absolutely no reason to believe them.)

All the facts we have access to suggest the following: Trump is attempting to cover up the full scope of the outbreak in order to boost his chances for re-election. HE ADMITTED AS MUCH YESTERDAY ON CAMERA.

In doing so, he is quite literally threatening public health.

This Is incompetence and malevolence that will quite simply get a lot of people killed. I know that sounds harsh, but we have to start saying the clear and simple truth that is now evident.

I hope other people in the media wake up to this.

Meanwhile, Business Insider has the story of an American Hospital Association presentation in which the epidemiologist presenting estimated that almost a third of the U.S. population will get COVID-19, with nearly 5 million people hospitalized and 500,000 deaths:

• 4.8 million hospitalizations associated with the novel coronavirus
• 96 million cases overall in the US
• 480,000 deaths

None of which even touches on the economic disruption all of that will bring.