Beltway Insider: Trump, Governors/Pandemic, Economy, Relief/Reopen, UK PM, Ebola, China/Dog Meat, Election

The Trump Administration has continued to update the American public daily on the Corona-virus and all measures it is taking to combat the deadly disease as more governors break away from recommendations endangering efforts and ground secured.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, which tracked polls of likely or registered voters for the period ending April 11, 2020, decreased by 1.4 percentage points to 44.4% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness increased by 1.0 percentage points to 50.7%. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated bi-monthly.

Trump Wrestles Pandemic

President Trump, Vice President Pence, along with the Corona-virus Task Force have continued to brief the nation daily on the pandemic reinforcing the social distancing measures, which caused shock and disruption in life and lifestyle, are working.

The concern, especially as the weather in most parts of the nation begin to warm, is that citizens will relax their personal adherence to these protective measures which are undermining the infection rate and subsequent risk of death.


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The disease models which have guided the President have been scaled back as the strict social measures continue to reduce infection rates.

"We had a number of 100,000 lives and I think we'll be substantially under that number. Hard to believe if we have 60,000 deaths, but that's a lot fewer than we were originally told and thinking.  They said between 100K and 220,000 lives on the minimum side, and then up to 2.2 million lives if we didn't do anything.  But it showed a just tremendous resolve by the people of this country," Trump said in a press conference.

The federal declaration on March 13, 2020, which has only been one month, of a national emergency had resulted in much of the nation responding as warriors, with those on the front lines and those who maintain the stay at home orders, reducing the chance of exposure and infection. Today, President Trump has approved a disaster declaration for all fifty states.

Governors who have been entrusted through the election process with the power to handle the outbreak in their states as they see fit, have been briefed daily and are aware to reduce infection rate, exposure must be limited.

The interconnectedness of the United States, which appears that many state leaders are choosing to ignore by refusing to present innovative limited risk campaigns accommodating religious practices and any other large gathering, even open air, or enforcing stay at home orders fuels what many are predicting as second wave.

Governors Break Away

Nine governors, all republicans, have refused to issue Stay at Home orders despite continued pressure from the president and the nation's top doctor, Dr. Anthony Fauci. These states are not only jeopardizing the citizen of their states; they are jeopardizing the health and recovery of the nation.

The Healthdata.org posted expected peaks in cases factoring in social distancing measures. Even as the president has indicated these measures were necessary to combat the spread and threat of the disease., these governors refuse to enforce and have even challenged the orders in state courts.

The disconnect in the perception of potential threat to many of these remote areas are akin to World War II generals who saw the war as not the problem of the United States until the Pearl Harbor attack.

Viewing from the sidelines even in Manhattan, the epicenter, or in Los Angeles or other major metropolitan areas, the disconnect between what is actually occurring in emergency rooms and what many are experiencing will allow for the potential of increased outbreaks and community spread and infection. The fact that there is a disconnect proves the imposed measures are working.

All totals on Healthdata.org incorporate the risk mitigation factors. Without employing preventive measures, the potential for outbreaks increases exponentially. Arkansas is expected to peak on May 5, 2020 and is not expected to be free of new cases until after June 15, 2020; Iowa is not expected to peak until May 6, 2020 and is not expected to be free of new cases until June 13, 2020; Nebraska is not expected to peak until May 04, 2020 and is not expected to be free of new cases until June 14, 2020; North Dakota is not expected to peak until April 27, 2020 and is not expected to be free of new cases until June 15, 2020; South Dakota is not expected to peak until May 03, 2020 and is not expected to be free of new cases until June 15, 2020.

High tourism states including Texas and Florida risk directly contributing to a 2021 outbreak for attendees in the tentatively scheduled March 2021 SXSW Film Festival and Spring Breaks which will takes students from Universities across the country to warmer temperatures throughout the United States.

Texas Governor Greg Abbot announced today he would be issuing an Executive Order next week designed to reopen his state even as the peak for his state is not expected until May 04, 2020 with death totals expected to reach a range between 11 to 191. The high end is, of course, if all social distancing guidelines are ignored or reduced. If risk mitigation is implemented the total exposure and infection rates will fall.

"On March 19, Abbott issued an order to close certain businesses, including schools, restaurants, bars, and gyms to limit the spread of COVID-19. "Working together, we must defeat COVID-19 with the only tool that we have available to us. We must strangle its expansion by reducing the ways that we are currently transmitting it," Abbott said then. "We are doing this now, today, so that we can get back to business as usual more quickly," The Washington Examiner reported.

Clusters and density will increase risk of exposure, followed by infections, followed by potential death.

Economy's "V" Hit

Unemployment had reached record lows, consumer spending was up, all indicators were grading Trump's economic leadership as stellar. The fallout from the pandemic and the subsequent need to reduce exposure, infection and death, has tanked what was touted as the best economy in fifty years.

In three weeks, the lowest unemployment in five decades flipped to the highest unemployment rate in 94 years, in fact, since the Bureau of Labor Statistic's record keeping began. A staggering 16.5million workers laid off or terminated and it is not over yet.


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Economic indicators predict the jaw-dropping slide into the abyss, which took a record breaking three weeks, will in all probability take a minimum of six months to regain its footing and stabilize. It is also possible the economy will plateau at several stages before reaching pre-pandemic levels.

The post-pandemic economy may become more virtual, with a blend of on and off-site employees, integrating 21st century options to maintain smaller, less dense, groups. The Stock Exchange may be the perfect example of a work environment that will need to implement a new style of business operations.

Discretionary consumer spending, which has also seen a dramatic fall, should rebound by Q4.

Rush to Reopen Poses Threats to World

The infection rate, which is crucial in the calculation of reopening the government, should, and in all likelihood will not follow the World Health Organization Ebola guidelines, which set a 42 day mark of no new cases, double the standard 21 day or three weeks, as the guide.

The inability of governors to understand the ideology behind this move is not political as much as is a humanity, and an interlocking system of dependency. Unrestricted movement creates a new breeding ground for the virus to begin a cross country trek.

It is more likely the virus will remain part of our disease ecosystem, and even as we move forward toward control, through vaccine and preemptive testing, the government will utilize monitoring for flare ups, and localized outbreaks and deal with them on a federal level as opposed to allowing the governors, who refused to enforce federal and medical guidelines during this time of national emergency and crisis, to control second wave outbreaks.

This lethal strain of the Corona-virus, in all probability will create annual or possibly even ongoing permanent exposure and infection. As these cases and outbreaks lessen, contact tracing becomes more possible.

When working with smaller outbreaks, narrowing the circle such as New York State did with New Rochelle, would allow for contact tracing. The weakness in this theory is the strength of the virus, and its potential to multiply, like New Rochelle from one carrier to more than 1000 positives.


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Vaccination, which will eventually become integrated into disease prevention, will also create problems with the communities of individuals who oppose vaccinations.

Currently, the only probable timeline guidance remains the standard pandemic protocol registered and unilaterally accepted by the World Health organization and other governing medical bodies which is 21 days or three weeks of no new cases.

The rush to begin loosening restrictions, for those who join in, could become the second wave which many nations are already reporting. The only safe measures are slow integrations, mandating social distancing, personal protection and possibly modernizing business practices to include more viral workers.

Real time deadlines remain September 1, 2020 for all non-essential businesses, September 6, for all educational institutions, and full on integration by October 2020. Some cities, such as Los Angeles, are moving toward complete online Higher Education coursework for summer sessions to allow for the completion of degree requirements.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Released from ICU

Great Britain's Prime Minster Boris Johnson, who actively challenged the social restrictions and governmental guidelines to protect against the Corona-virus, was admitted to the ICU unit this week, after testing positive and self-isolating at his residence on 11 Downey Street.

After a week in intensive care, the prime minister, who has yet to be released, stated, "I owe doctors and nurses my life after coronavirus treatment."

His partner, Carrie Symonds, who is also pregnant with the couple's first child, also tested positive.

Ebola Lesson in Reopening US

"The Ebola epidemic that ravaged Liberia may be nearing an end as the WHO announced the state had reached the crucial 42nd day mark since any new cases were reported. The timeline is critical in epidemic procedures as it is considered the turning point in any pandemic. In the past medical experts state the end of an epidemic is marked when no new cases for a specific time have not been reported. In the case of Ebola, the time frame increased from 21 days to 42, double the standard timeline," reported the Beltway Insider (https://tinyurl.com/HL-No-New-Cases).

China Removes Dogs from Livestock List

In response to the international community and the consequences of the Corona-virus pandemic, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture has announced this week they would declassify dogs as livestock and amend the listing as companion animals.

"The coronavirus is widely believed to have originated in horseshoe bats and could have been passed onto humans by intermediary species on sale in the markets of the city of Wuhan, where the pathogen was first identified. China subsequently banned the breeding, trading and consumption of wildlife, and revoked all existing licenses. It has also promised to revise legislation to make the ban permanent," Reuters reported.


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Dr. Peter Li, China policy specialist at Humane Society International, says: "This is the first time we've ever seen China's national government explain that dogs are companion animals. Recognizing that dogs hold a special bond with humans is an essential first step towards eliminating the consumption and trade in dog meat.  This could be a pivotal moment that provides encouragement for other cities across the country to follow Shenzhen's lead to ban the eating of dogs and cats."

More than thirty million dogs are killed for meat annually in Asia. The decline in acceptance of this traditional delicacy, and continued outrage from animal rights groups including the Humane Society International, and the World Health Organization.

Relief Drags On

Even as the federal government and state's governors continued to tout the massive relief packages provided by the federal government, implementation is slow.

To the layman, the justifications appear actual, guidance from the Department of Labor, and even while media is blasting the message that the relief checks have been sent and direct deposited, so far, nothing.

Election 2020: Biden Presumptive Nominee, Vets VP Options

Former Vice President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., has become the presumptive nominee of the Democratic party with the withdrawal of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who suspended his campaign this week.

With a surprise resurgence after two consecutive losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, Biden was in a must win situation, and declared he would win South Carolina and with that the African American vote. The February primary once again secured his front runner status. What followed shocked everyone as he stormed Super Tuesday. After which the race once again narrowed to Sanders and Biden.

Pandemic interruption became the latest wrench in the race, with primaries rescheduled until June.

With Sanders announcing his decision, Biden became the presumptive nominee and announced he had already begun to vet potential vice president hopefuls. Biden is expected to pick a female candidate.

Senator Kamala Harris, (D-CA) has been suggested as a possible candidate and many interpreted a Biden's "I'm coming for you" remark as indication he was seriously considering her for the spot. Ms. Harris, a former democratic presidential candidate exited the campaign early, withdrawing her candidacy December 3, 2019 after falling poll numbers, fundraising issues and internal divides. After Biden's landslide win in South Carolina it became clear he could win the African American vote on his own. Ms. Harris' history and her relationship with former San Francisco Mayor Wille Brown, which has clear indications of quid pro quo, could become damaging.

In order to win the presidency, the candidate must win the electoral college and not the popular vote.

For more information on President Donald Trump www.whitehouse.gov.

Sources: Various © Articles covered by Copyright protection

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