Covid 19

[22-rimfire]

Under Title 32 the Governor has the authority to call out the National Guard for in-state purposes. However, if the President decides to do so, he can call up the guard for purposes of an emergency and place them under the control of the Federal Government.

I always believed that too until Trump called National Guard to the border in an emergency in CA and the CA gov threatened or yanked them...... so I am not sure.

Maybe it has to do with what is called an emergency?

 

[Arathol]

There are limitations. Depends on the circumstances and who declared what sort of emergency. Guarding the border is not such an emergency. Whats going on with the corona virus is a national emergency and the President is well within his power to activate the NYNG and send them anywhere he wants.

 

[timberweasel]

Trump is deploying the National Guard in NYC. NYS Gov Cuomo gave NYC Mayor De Blasio 24 hours to come up with a plan to keep people from going out all day and congregating in City parks.

I fully expect to see patrols in the parks and other public spaces.

I am worried.

I have a huge concern regarding what lengths our respective Governments are willing to go in order to counter this situation. I am truly worried that the proposed solution will be worse than the problem itself.

Declaring 'Martial Law' would be a huge mistake, IMO. Smart people will heed good advice (self-quarantine/isolation measures, sanitation, etc.) but sadly, many will not listen. If the police are deployed, they will be hopelessly outnumbered--and then targeted by public ire/frustration. If the Military is deployed they, too, will be outnumbered, and *then* what? Use of force? Will they be asked to shoot civilians who do not comply? Not a good solution that has any hope of supporting long term stability. How many times have we seen this play out in other countries, in other times?

Anyway, I have no more faith in the 24hr news cycle to give 'we the people' the unbiased facts. All I'm seeing in the news lately is partisan politics and spin, left vs right; and it all sucks. Wish 'old skool' journalism would return. I don't have any confidence that I know what's really going on in the world anymore.

*Edited to note: this is not directed at Marchone but rather a response inspired by the contents of his post...

 

[RedFury]

I am worried.

I have a huge concern regarding what lengths our respective Governments are willing to go in order to counter this situation. I am truly worried that the proposed solution will be worse than the problem itself.

Declaring 'Martial Law' would be a huge mistake, IMO. Smart people will heed good advice (self-quarantine/isolation measures, sanitation, etc.) but sadly, many will not listen. If the police are deployed, they will be hopelessly outnumbered--and then targeted by public ire/frustration. If the Military is deployed they, too, will be outnumbered, and *then* what? Use of force? Will they be asked to shoot civilians who do not comply? Not a good solution that has any hope of supporting long term stability. How many times have we seen this play out in other countries, in other times?

Anyway, I have no more faith in the 24hr news cycle to give 'we the people' the unbiased facts. All I'm seeing in the news lately is partisan politics and spin, left vs right; and it all sucks. Wish 'old skool' journalism would return. I don't have any confidence that I know what's really going on in the world anymore.

*Edited to note: this is not directed at Marchone but rather a response inspired by the contents of his post...

Timberweasel, I am worried too. The economy has been severely damaged already although we may not see the results of this damage for a few more weeks. The "stimulus" may perk up the stock market but the amount is so large it is likely to end up being more than 10% of our GDP. It's not like that money is sitting in the bank somewhere. It will be created out of thin air and dumped into the economy. It will not be tied to any production of goods and services. It will have no backing at all but it will be a loan from the Fed Reserve. Forget the Gold Standard. That's been long gone but we (the world population) still believe the money represents something of value. Pulling 2 or 3 trillion out of thin air is likely to shake that belief.

Meanwhile, one of the smartest things my wife ever said is "chicken has never been worth Zero." She said that in response to one of the buy gold now TV ads.

We are cutting payroll this week. The pressure to shut down continues to grow due to the virus control recommendations.

 

[annr]

New rules (guess they got my memo).

My family member went to health center in advance of treatment's start tomorrow: parking lot empty. Free Parking. LARGE waiting room had 1-3 patients max. Almost all of the chairs were removed. Lots of social distancing. No family members allowed in the entire building (clinic and/or hospital), so I will not accompany him tomorrow or Friday.

This is what I tried to talk to the oncologist about: this is not business as usual, not just the cold/flu season, esp. for those with cancer treatment. Apparently he/they agreed, or someone forced them to agree. I have a small sense of relief.

 

[annr]

FDA to allow alternative respiratory devices to treat COVID-19
The Food and Drug Administration identified a number of medical devices that can be used to help treat patients suffering from COVID-19 if ventilators are not available. “Whenever possible, health care facilities should use FDA-cleared conventional/standard full-featured ventilators when necessary to support patients with respiratory failure, or a device subject to an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), if any,” FDA stated in a guidance document issued March 22.


“However, to help ensure the availability of the greatest possible number of devices for this purpose, ... FDA does not intend to object to limited modifications to indications, claims, functionality, or to the hardware, software, or materials of FDA-cleared devices used to support patients with respiratory failure or respiratory insufficiency, without prior submission of a premarket notification” for the duration of the declared national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, said in a statement that the agency is doing everything it can to support patients, health care professionals, and others during this pandemic.

“One of the most impactful steps we can take is to help with access and availability to life-saving medical treatments,” he said. “Our policy issued today demonstrates our ability to react and adapt quickly during this pandemic and help very ill patients access the lifesaving ventilator support they need. To do that, we are providing maximum regulatory flexibility to facilitate an increase in ventilator inventory, while still providing crucial FDA oversight. We believe this action will immediately increase ventilator availability.”

The document identified examples of where modifications would not create undue risk, including the use of powered emergency ventilators and anesthesia gas machines for patients needing mechanical ventilation; the use of ventilators outside of their cleared environment; the use of devices used to treat patients with sleep apnea, such as CPAPs and BiPAPs, to treat respiratory insufficiency when appropriate design mitigations are in place to minimize aerosolization; and the use of oxygen concentrators for primary supply when medically necessary and clinically appropriate.

The agency also is allowing for changes to the hardware, software, and materials to FDA-cleared ventilators and anesthesia gas machines, such as modifications to motors, batteries, or other electrical components; material changes to components in the gas pathways or with other patient tissue contact; the introduction of filtration to minimize aerosolization; and other hardware and software modifications.

FDA is also allowing for products to be used past their indicated shelf life.