Tag: coronavirus

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Ellen Jokes Quarantining In Her $24 Million Mansion “Is Like Being In Jail”

Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres at home (screen capture)
Ellen DeGeneres began hosting her talkshow from her living room this week in an effort to lift the spirits of her television audience. She began by acknowledging all the folks who are still at work helping to keep the world running including “doctors, hospital staff, first responders, supermarket employees, truck drivers and everyone who keeps us going.” Ellen shared doing the at-home edition of her show is for not only her viewers stuck at home but also for her staff and crew: “I love them and miss them, and the best I can do for them is to keep the show on the air.” But things went a bit awry when she cracked a joke comparing her experience quarantining in her $24 million mansion with folks who are incarcerated. “This is like being in jail, is what it is,” said Ellen. “Mostly because I’ve been wearing the same clothes for ten days and everyone in here is gay.”

The moment the words escaped her lips you could almost sense she regretted the reference as she clapped her hands and dropped her face as she said, “Ah, the jokes that I have.” The Emmy Award-winner went on to say she wants to “spread light where there’s shade,” which is a good thing because a LOT of shade was thrown her way on Twitter after the joke fail.

Ellen has caught some flack in recent months for seeming to be out of touch with the average person after standing up for her comedy pal Kevin Hart during the Oscar hosting debacle, and then palling around with former President George W. Bush. As I was writing this article, the video on YouTube was removed, which is probably for the best. At the end of the day, I don’t think an unfunny joke makes Ellen a bad person. Every comedian has a clunker every now and then. But perhaps cracking wise about a pandemic that’s killed thousands and comparing home situations with prisoners who barely have basic necessities might be put on the ‘no joke’ kill list.

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Acting Navy Secretary Resigns After Attacking Relieved Captain As “Naive/Stupid”

Captain Brett Crozier was removed as commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt last week for attempting to alert the Navy about mounting concerns about the spread of COVid-19 on his ship. Apparently, the Trump administration thought it “looked bad” for Navy captains going public with unsafe situations. “We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset: our Sailors,” Crozier wrote in a memo that three US defense officials confirmed to CNN. Video footage of Crozier being cheered by his crew as he left the Roosevelt went viral. Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly (above) then traveled to Guam where the ship was docked on Monday to address the crew. During his speech, he called Crozier “too naive or too stupid” to be in charge. Hours later, he was ordered by Defense Secretary Mark Esper to apologize. It would seem that wasn’t enough to stop the bad press, as Modly has now submitted his resignation for the dumb AF remarks. From CNN:

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned on Tuesday, a day after leaked audio revealed he called the ousted commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt “stupid” in an address to the ship’s crew, according to a US official and a former senior military official.

On Monday, Modly told the crew of the Roosevelt that their former commander, Capt. Brett Crozier, was either “too naive or too stupid” to be in command or that he intentionally leaked a memo to the media, in which Crozier warned about coronavirus spreading aboard the aircraft carrier and urged action to save his sailors, according to remarks obtained by CNN.

According to Peter Baker of the NY Times, “After excoriating Crozier, Modly did not tour the ship, saw few of the crew and was gone in less than 30 minutes. Questions solicited for him were screened but he did not answer a single one.” As of today, 230 sailors aboard the Roosevelt have tested positive for coronavirus. Undersecretary of the Army James McPherson, a retired rear admiral and former judge advocate general of the Navy, has been named as Modly’s successor.

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Funny: Broadway Shows Reimagined Under Quarantine

(all images via Jeremy & Jeffrey West)
Creative brothers Jeremy and Jeffrey West tapped into their love of musical theater during the COVID-19 threat to come up with re-imagined Broadway musical titles and posters, a project they dubbed #QuarantineAMusical. “After being under quarantine and maintaining social distancing recommendations for the past three weeks, my brother Jeffrey and I have been brainstorming fun projects to keep our creative juices flowing,” Jeremy West told Playbill. “This project started when I tweeted a joke about John Guare releasing a revised version of his play titled Six Feet of Separation, making changes in light of 2020 social distancing. From there, we made a list of parody musicals re-imagined during a quarantine and dubbed it #QuarantineAMusical.” Check out some of the clever tweaks on these award-winning musicals. You can see more over at Playbill.com.

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40,000+ Have Arrived In US From China In Past Two Months

Donald Trump at White House press conference (image via White House)
From the New York Times:

Since Chinese officials disclosed the outbreak of a mysterious pneumonialike illness to international health officials on New Year’s Eve, at least 430,000 people have arrived in the United States on direct flights from China, including nearly 40,000 in the two months after President Trump imposed restrictions on such travel, according to an analysis of data collected in both countries.

The bulk of the passengers, who were of multiple nationalities, arrived in January, at airports in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Newark and Detroit. Thousands of them flew directly from Wuhan, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, as American public health officials were only beginning to assess the risks to the United States.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly suggested that his travel measures impeded the virus’s spread in the United States.

“I do think we were very early, but I also think that we were very smart, because we stopped China,” he said at a briefing on Tuesday, adding, “That was probably the biggest decision we made so far.” Last month, he said, “We’re the ones that kept China out of here.”

Since the ‘travel ban’ (which exempts Americans) took effect on February 2, 279 flights from China have landed in the U.S. I’m just guessing but I doubt the coronavirus cares if you are a Chinese native or an American when hitching a ride across the Pacific Ocean. Forty thousand people coming here from China certainly didn’t “stop” the virus. The Times also notes that screening procedures during these past two months have been “uneven.”

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Woman Who Mocked COVID-19 Dies From Virus Two Weeks Later

The first confirmed case of the omicron variant in the U.S. has been discovered in California.

A Texas woman who mocked the ongoing COVID-19 health threat as a “hoax” on social media has died of the virus. As Twitter user @sunnmcheaux posted, on March 14th Karen Kolb Sehlke shared a lengthy coronavirus “hoax” rant on her Facebook. On April 2, her family launched a GoFundMe campaign to pay for her medical and funeral costs. The third tweet below carries a Facebook post that has been attributed to a friend of the deceased, but I haven’t been able to confirm that.

The same Twitter user noted that initially, the GoFundMe listed the cause of death as COVID-19. The campaign has since been edited to now say cause of death unknown. The campaign raised more than $35,000 before the family stopped further donations. The Facebook rant has reportedly been removed as well. I agree with Sunn m’Cheaux that the point of highlighting this story isn’t to mock the woman’s death but to understand the ongoing risks and widespread effects of the disease. (h/t JoeMyGod)

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New York Sees First Decline In Daily COVID-19 Deaths

The state of New York reported its first decline in daily coronavirus deaths possibly signaling better days on the horizon. From Bloomberg News:

New York State reported 594 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday, fewer than the 630 it reported on Saturday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said at his daily news briefing. The state has had 4,159 fatalities so far.

New Jersey, which has the second-highest number of U.S. cases, reported a slowdown in the death rate: Fatalities rose by 71 on Sunday, compared with 200 the day before. It also reported fewer new cases, 3,381, for a total of 37,505. Total deaths are 917.

As President Donald Trump and other leaders warned of rising death tolls, Cuomo said it was too early to say if the outbreak had reached a peak in New York — the center of the nation’s outbreak.

“You could argue that you are seeing a plateauing,” he told reporters in Albany. “Next week they will tell you whether we are on a plateau or is it just a blip,” he said, referring to statisticians.

Additional encouraging signs: New hospitalizations declined to 574 on Sunday from 1,095, and 74% of those hospitalized have been discharged.

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Jake Tapper To Trump: ‘This Isn’t About Winning A News Cycle’

CNN’s Jake Tapper addressed Donald Trump directly today on-air asking questions many Americans – like myself – would like answered.

“If I can take a moment, I would like to speak directly to one person known to watch this show, or at least clips of this show, President Trump.

“Mr. President, I know you, like millions of Americans, are eager to have the nation go back to some semblance of normal. One of the questions the American people need answered for that to happen responsibly: What’s the plan?

“Is there a plan for widespread testing of every American so as to isolate the virus — the way other countries have done? When will there be enough tests for that to happen? How will they be administered? Who will pay for the tests and the results? Who will notify us as to whether we’ve tested positive or not and what to do then?

[snip]

“This isn’t about winning a news cycle on Fox, please. The American people right now need someone to explain what is going to be done to get us out of this. It’s a moment that requires leadership. It requires honest information. It requires empathy. And it requires a plan. Do you have one?”

Sadly, I think we know the answers to those questions.

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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Navy Captain Removed From Carrier Command Tests Positive For COVID-19

Captain Brett E. Crozier (image via U.S. Navy)
Two classmates close to Capt. Brett E. Crozier, who was removed from his command of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt this week, say he has tested positive for the coronavirus. Crozier was relieved of his command for sending an email underscoring the dangerous health risks his crew faced regarding COVID-19 as dozens were testing positive for the virus. “We are not at war,” wrote the captain in his March 30 letter. “Sailors do not need to die.” From the New York Times:

The commander began exhibiting symptoms before he was removed from the warship on Thursday, two of his classmates said.

Crozier was fired following a leak to The San Francisco Chronicle of a letter he had emailed to Navy leaders that detailed the failures on the service’s part to provide the necessary resources to swiftly move sailors off the carrier and disinfect areas on board as the virus spread through the ship.

Thomas B. Modly, the acting secretary of the Navy, said he had lost confidence in Crozier’s ability to command the ship effectively as it dealt with the evolving crisis after Crozier sent the letter on an unclassified email system to 20 to 30 people. Sending such a letter, Modly said, caused unnecessary alarm about the operational readiness of the ship and undermined the chain of command. “In sending it out pretty broadly, he did not take care to ensure that it couldn’t be leaked,” Modly said. “And that’s part of his responsibility.”

In a briefing Saturday, President Trump offered support for Modly’s decision. “He shouldn’t be talking that way in a letter,” the president said of Crozier. “I thought it was terrible what he did.”

During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper said there were 155 confirmed cases of coronavirus among sailors aboard the aircraft carrier, and that more than half of the ship had been tested.

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CDC Now Recommends Public Wear Face Masks

Donald Trump announced Friday that the CDC is recommending that the public wear a “basic cloth or fabric mask” in public to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. In making the announcement, the White House underscored the recommendation was not for the use of “medical-grade or surgical-grade masks.” However, at the Coronavirus Task Force briefing, Trump told the press, “I don’t think I’m going to be doing it.” Surgeon General Jerome Adams explained that there are a significant portion of people infected by the virus who are asymptomatic or presymptomatic, but who can nonetheless transmit the virus. The recommendation to wear masks in public is intended to prevent these individuals from unknowingly infecting others.

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Trump Goes On Attack After Question About Jared Kushner’s “Our Stockpile” Comment

On Thursday, Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner (you know, the one solving the Middle East conflict) made a perplexing remark about the stockpile of medical equipment housed by the federal government. “The notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile,” Kushner said. “It’s not supposed to be state stockpiles that they then use.” Folks were confused as to what differentiates the federal “our” stockpile from what would/should be used by states. It almost sounded like Kushner was saying the stockpile was for the Trump clan or the Trump administration to do with it as they wished. The federal government IS the United States of America. It exists primarily to keep the citizens of all states and U.S. territories safe. If the stockpile isn’t meant for states to use, then who would be using it? And why is anyone at this point in time even using the word “OUR” in regard to anything? Then on Friday (via CBS News):

When CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang pressed the president on what Kushner meant by “our,” he dismissed the question as a “gotcha.”

“‘Our, our’ — it means the United States of America,” the president said.

Mr. Trump said the stockpile is needed for the “federal government,” to keep for the country “because the federal government needs it, too, not just the states.”

The president accused Jiang of using a “nasty” tone in her question.

Governors have implored the president to provide them more ventilators and other much-needed equipment, but the president has repeatedly put the blame on the states for not stocking up on the equipment themselves.

Basically, Kushner misspoke. And in the Trump administration handbook, rather than say, “He misspoke,” everyone has to act like the response was “perfect” and they are stuck defending a stupid comment.