[guest post by Dana]

Because everything is in such a state of flux, it’s difficult to stay focused on the subject of a post. Commenters seem to want to discuss any number of issues related to coronavirus – including, but not limited to: coronavirus aid package, bailouts, treatment and protocols, current trajectories of the virus throughout the nation and world, etc, etc. Here’s a fresh post to talk about it all.

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Striking the right balance for their state is what every governor is trying to work out:

Sweeping statewide quarantine orders may not have been the most effective strategy to combat the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded on Thursday, as he weighed plans to restart the economy.

“We closed everything down. That was our public health strategy,” said Cuomo during an Albany press briefing. “If you re-thought that or had time to analyze that public health strategy, I don’t know that you would say ‘Quarantine everyone.’”

…

“I don’t even know that that was the best public health policy. Young people then quarantined with older people, [it] was probably not the best public health strategy,” he said. “The younger people could have been exposing the older people to an infection.”

Further:

Cuomo’s office said the governor was referencing a study by a Yale professor, who wrote a column that appeared in the opinion section of the New York Times last week.

They pointed The Post to nearly identical comments Cuomo made about the topic during a press conference Monday, when he explicitly named the piece’s author, Dr. David Katz.

“There’s a theory of risk stratification that Dr. Katz who’s at Yale University is working on, which is actually very interesting to me,” Cuomo told reporters then. “Isolate people but really isolate the vulnerable people. Don’t isolate everyone because some people, most people, are not vulnerable to it.”

He added: “And if you isolate all people, you may be actually exposing the more vulnerable people by bringing in a person who is healthier and stronger and who may have been exposed to the virus, right.”

This was Cuomo on Tuesday, defending his lockdown order:

Why all of this? Because it’s 1 percent or 2 percent of the population. It’s lives, it’s grandmothers and grandfathers and sisters and brothers…And you start to see the cases on TV. It’s a 40-year-old woman who recovered from breast cancer but had a compromised immune system and four children at home. That’s what this is about. It’s about a vulnerable population…

It’s still really tough going in New York:

New York continues to see its infection trajectory rise unabated, with cases soaring to nearly 45,000 and deaths surpassing 500 by Friday morning, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced more than 7,000 new positives overnight.

COVID-19 has, in two weeks, claimed more lives in New York City than homicides did all of last year.

The number of hospitalizations is up 13-fold over the last 10 days, Cuomo said, but the rate of admittances doubling is slowing — from every two days earlier this week to every four days by Thursday. That, despite the surge in overall numbers, could signal a slowing rate of spread, Cuomo says. But, he acknowledged, the height of the crisis is still ahead — about 21 days out.

Here’s Cuomo today, hoping for the best but preparing for the worst:

I hope NY doesn’t ultimately need 30,000 ventilators.

But I don't operate on opinion and hope.

I operate on facts and data and science.

All the projections say we will need 30,000-40,000 ventilators.

So that is what we will strive to have.

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 27, 2020

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Actually, Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock both tested positive for coronavirus:

Both announced their infections Friday on Twitter and tried to allay concerns that Westminster’s response to the virus might be compromised.

The announcements come as British health authorities announced another 181 fatalities on Friday, bringing the death toll to 759. More than 14,500 infections have been recorded, but as the UK is not testing widely, true infection numbers are likely to be much higher.

Over the last 24 hours I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus.

I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government’s response via video-conference as we fight this virus.

Together we will beat this. #StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/9Te6aFP0Ri

— Boris Johnson #StayHomeSaveLives (@BorisJohnson) March 27, 2020

While it is unknown where he got the virus, he certainly was playing fast and loose with his conduct as recently as early March:

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that coronavirus would not stop him greeting people with a handshake, adding that he had shaken the hands of everyone at a hospital where infected patients were being treated.

…

“I’m shaking hands,” Johnson said when asked how he planned to handle visiting dignitaries.

“I was at a hospital the other night where I think a few there were actually coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody, you’ll be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands.

He said people were free to make up their own minds, but referred to the scientific advice he had received: “Our judgment is washing your hands is the crucial thing.”

No wonder some are labeling him an “imbecile” in light of his diagnosis.

–Dana

It’s time for Song #8 in the Patterico Music Project. If you are a long-time reader, you are familiar with the idea. Over the years, I have asked some of my favorite musical artists to record cover versions of songs I have written. Most of those songs, I wrote in the early 1990s — about 28 years ago. This one is a little different. I wrote it in early 2018, just over two years ago. I wrote it thinking about my wife’s grandmother, LaVerne Jackson Yandell, who passed on in July 2016.

If you remember previous entries, I generally publish the lyrics in a follow-up post, but reserve the original post for the cover. All I’ll say about the lyrics at this point is that they are a tribute (and a lament about the things I never said) to my wife’s grandmother. She is one of the greatest people I have ever met. I admired her deeply, but never quite told her just how deep my admiration ran. This song expresses some of my regret in the words I left unspoken. This cover version is yet another performance by Jamie Woolford, another special influence in my life, who (to my everlasting amazement and deep satisfaction) has covered several of my previous songs. I told you about Jamie here, in my post announcing his cover of “Alien Song.” Click the play button to listen to today’s entry:

The background image you see above is a partial photographic portrait of Mrs. P’s grandmother from her younger days. Here’s a better image:

If there is someone in your life who means something to you, and they’re still around, don’t leave anything unsaid. No matter how corny or overdramatic it might seem, say those things. Say them as soon as you can. Before you lose the chance.

P.S. Here are the previous entries in the series:

• “Creation” recorded by Jay Semko

• “Was It Really You?” recorded by Jay Semko

• “The Same Mistake” recorded by Jay Semko

• “Alien Song” recorded by Parthenon Huxley

• “Wrong Side of the Road” recorded by Steve Bertrand

• “In Your Mind” recorded by Jamie Woolford

• “Alien Song” recorded by Jamie Woolford