[Summit] The Globe's Fast Forward & Rhode Map newsletters -- How we got here + What you can & can't do when + Local Hero(in)es [Covid News no. 61]
David Kolsky
davidjkolsky at yahoo.com
Sat Mar 28 04:48:25 UTC 2020
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| Friday, March 27 | Follow Teresa Hanafin on Twitter |
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| The good, the bad, and well, let's focus on the good
By Teresa Hanafin, Globe Staff
Good morning! It's Friday, March 27, the 87th day of the year. The summer solstice is in 85 days. Hang in there. Sunrise in Boston was at 6:34 a.m. and sunset will be at 7:05 p.m., for 12 hours and 31 minutes of sunlight. The waxing moon is 10 percent full.
The Old Farmer's Almanac editors have written a nice, uplifting note to readers at this difficult time, providing not just tips on spring cleaning and sanitizing (hint: it involves lots of alcohol, and I don't mean vodka), but also some fun things for the kids to do on its, well, kids page. |
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What's it like outside? Beautiful. Mid- to high 50s. Nice day for a walk, but carry a 6-foot stick.
Breaking: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his health secretary, Matt Hancock, have tested positive for the coronavirus. As with so many others, it's not known how or where they were infected. However, both have been attending Cabinet meetings and other gatherings, so they could have been spreading it.
Prince Charles was diagnosed earlier this week.
You may recall that as recently as mid-March, as the coronavirus was racing across Europe, Johnson rejected the practice of other European leaders, refusing to do mass closures -- he didn't shut down schools, sporting events, or restaurants and bars. All he did was ask people with respiratory symptoms to stay home.
But as the number of cases and deaths spiked, he finally closed schools, colleges, nurseries, restaurants, gyms, etc. a week ago and recently ordered everyone to stay home except for essential activities. There have been 14,579 cases in Great Britain -- 8th highest in the world -- with 759 deaths. That's a really high death rate of 5.2 percent.
Hey, sport: Dan Shaughnessy says the Red Sox owe fans some answers on the Tommy John surgery planned for Chris Sale -- an elective procedure.
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Another short-ish newsletter ... but still wonderful!
The United States had plenty of warning. We could see the coronavirus coming from China: Chinese health officials started seeing unusual pneumonias in Wuhan between Dec. 12 and 29. On Dec. 31, they reported to the World Health Organization that they had an unidentified pneumonia in the country; on Jan. 7, they notified WHO that it was a new coronavirus (which they actually knew 11 days earlier, on Dec. 27).
The first death in China was Jan. 9, and the first case outside that country -- in Thailand -- was Jan. 13. The first case in the US was Jan. 21.
We saw this coming. We had more time than many countries to prepare.
We have a better health care infrastructure than many countries.
We also had a detailed plan for what specific steps to take, and when to take them, in the case of a pandemic reaching our shores -- a plan developed by the Obama administration and handed to the Trump administration. It was ignored.
Today, the United States has the ignominious distinction of having more confirmed cases than any other country in the world -- more than 86,000 -- with the worst trajectory of new cases.
Sure, you can make the argument that China or Russia may be lying about their number of cases, but it's not exactly in their best interests to do so unless they don't want any international help and don't mind seeing 25 percent of their populations wiped out.
Some disturbing stories from investigative reporters today:
Politico: Trump team failed to follow NSC's pandemic playbook
The Trump administration, state officials and even individual hospital workers are now racing against each other to get the necessary masks, gloves and other safety equipment to fight coronavirus — a scramble that hospitals and doctors say has come too late and left them at risk. But according to a previously unrevealed White House playbook, the government should've begun a federal-wide effort to procure that personal protective equipment at least two months ago.
"Is there sufficient personal protective equipment for healthcare workers who are providing medical care?" the playbook instructs its readers, as one early decision that officials should address when facing a potential pandemic. "If YES: What are the triggers to signal exhaustion of supplies? Are additional supplies available? If NO: Should the Strategic National Stockpile release PPE to states?"
The strategies are among hundreds of tactics and key policy decisions laid out in a 69-page National Security Council playbook on fighting pandemics, which POLITICO is detailing for the first time. Other recommendations include that the government move swiftly to fully detect potential outbreaks, secure supplemental funding and consider invoking the Defense Production Act — all steps in which the Trump administration lagged behind the timeline laid out in the playbook.
ProPublica: Internal Emails Show How Chaos at the CDC Slowed the Early Response to Coronavirus
The CDC fumbled its communication with public health officials and underestimated the threat of the coronavirus even as it gained a foothold in the United States, according to hundreds of pages of documents ProPublica obtained.
Reuters exclusive: U.S. slashed CDC staff inside China prior to coronavirus outbreak
Most of the reductions were made at the Beijing office of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and occurred over the past two years, according to public CDC documents viewed by Reuters and interviews with four people familiar with the drawdown.
The Atlanta-based CDC, America's preeminent disease fighting agency, provides public health assistance to nations around the world and works with them to help stop outbreaks of contagious diseases from spreading globally. It has worked in China for 30 years.
"The CDC office in Beijing is a shell of its former self," said one of the people, a U.S. official who worked in China at the time of the drawdown.
Separately, the National Science Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development, the global relief program which had a role in helping China monitor and respond to outbreaks, also shut their Beijing offices on Trump's watch. In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture transferred out of China in 2018 the manager of an animal disease monitoring program.
Reductions at the U.S. agencies sidelined health experts, scientists and other professionals who might have been able to help China mount an earlier response to the novel coronavirus, as well as provide the U.S. government with more information about what was coming, according to the people who spoke with Reuters.
The Trump administration in February chastised China for censoring information about the outbreak and for keeping U.S. experts from entering the country to assist.
But let's end on an upbeat note.
At the Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey, an emergency room nurse heard a knock on a window. When she turned, she saw a man, his hand over his heart, tears streaming down his face, holding a handmade sign:
Thank you all in emergency for saving my wife's life. I love you all.
"I don't know him, I don't know his wife," the nurse, Allison Swendson, wrote on Facebook. "But throughout the last 13 years as a nurse, I realized, this is why we do it. Times are tough, but we make a difference. I love my team."
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At the Cleveland Clinic, a man with COVID-19 was in isolation in ICU for several days. His caregivers communicated with him and tried to cheer him up by leaving him written messages taped to the glass window of his door.
When he was finally discharged, he returned the favor, taping this message to the door window:
This window has been the most impactful window in my life. On days when I watched you work hard to keep me and others alive, unable to thank you for the time that you poured into me -- and although I will probably never get the chance to pour that same love and support into you, I want you to know that I think you all are rockstars.
I watched some of you have good nights and some bad nights but what was consistent every night was that you care for people.
Today I leave this ICU a changed person, hopefully for the better, not only because of your medical healing and God's direction and guidance, but with the fact of knowing that there are such wonderful people dedicated to the care and concern of others.
God bless each of you.
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| Thanks for reading.
"When someone is going through a storm, your silent presence is more powerful than a million empty words." – Mahatma Gandhi
Send comments and suggestions to teresa.hanafin at globe.com, or follow me on Twitter @BostonTeresa. See you Tuesday.
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| Please tell your friends about Fast Forward! They can sign up here. The Globe has lots of other e-mail newsletters that are almost as good as this one, from breaking news alerts to sports, politics, business, and entertainment -- check them out. |
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| March 27, 2020 | Follow @DanMcGowan on Twitter |
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| If you have friends or relatives who would like their own free copy of this daily briefing about Rhode Island, tell them they can sign up here. |
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| LEADING OFF |
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| Happy Friday afternoon and welcome to a special edition of Rhode Map. I'm Dan McGowan and I promise that I’ve watched only one episode of the new season of “Ozark” so far. Follow me on Twitter @DanMcGowan or send tips to Dan.McGowan at globe.com.
To sum up Governor Gina Ramondo’s message for Rhode Islanders heading into the weekend: When it doubt, stay inside, bake some cookies, and watch Netflix.
During her afternoon press conference, Raimondo said the state is now up to 203 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, and everyone agrees the number of actual cases is undoubtedly higher than that.
But the governor also gave her clearest guidance to date regarding the earliest that her many restrictions will expire. Here’s a breakdown of those key dates.
At least April 13
- Restaurants and cafes are closed to dine-in customers.
- Hair salons, nail salons, and spas are closed.
- Indoor recreation like movie theaters, Go-kart racing, and laser tag are closed.
- All gatherings larger than 10 people are prohibited.
At least April 25
- All people who fly into T.F. Green airport must self-quarantine for 14 days.
- All people traveling to Rhode Island from New York must self-quarantine for 14 days.
At least May 8
- The state’s Open Meetings Act is suspended, which means government boards can meet virtually rather than in person.
- Health insurers most cover tele-health services.
Indefinitely
- The state’s two casinos are closed.
- Nursing homes can’t have visitors.
- The DMV is open to appointments only.
Things you can (and should) do this weekend
- Read a book. Here’s a list of local reads.
- Watch “Ozark.” It’s great.
- Subscribe to the Globe. We’ve got an awesome deal right now.
Here are a few things worth reading this afternoon:
Rhode Island
This Cranston couple was supposed to get married today, but the coronavirus got in the way.
Massachusetts
Governor Charlie Baker is following Governor Raimondo and ordering a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine for anyone coming to the state.
For everyone
Exactly how much are you likely to get in your stimulus check? It depends. Here’s the Globe’s guide to how it all works.
Finally, thank you all so much for reading both the AM and PM editions of Rhode Map this week. It means a lot. Have a lovely weekend.
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----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Rhode Map - The Boston Globe <newsletters at bostonglobe.com>To: Sent: Friday, March 27, 2020, 07:48:52 AM EDTSubject: Thank you notes to Rhode Island's coronavirus heroes
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| Read this on the web |
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| March 27, 2020 | Follow @DanMcGowan on Twitter |
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| If you have friends or relatives who would like their own free copy of this daily briefing about Rhode Island, tell them they can sign up here. |
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| LEADING OFF |
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| Happy Friday and welcome to Rhode Map, your daily guide to everything happening in the Ocean State. I'm Dan McGowan and a Friday night stuck at home would be more fun if TGIF still had “Family Matters,” “Boy Meets World,” “Step by Step,” and “Hangin' with Mr. Cooper.” Follow me on Twitter @DanMcGowan or send tips to Dan.McGowan at globe.com.
It has been a long couple of weeks.
While this space is normally used to update you on the latest coronavirus numbers, I wanted to change things up today to give everyone a chance to take a deep breath and smile.
The crisis isn’t over yet, but there are so many people in our community who have stepped up to become heroes this month. From our health care workers and teachers to our grocery store clerks and janitors, lots of people deserve an air hug.
Below is a list of just some of those heroes, all submitted by Rhode Map readers.
Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott
Dr. Scott’s combination of authoritative, but calm, intelligence, and her expertise and leadership in the field, are exceptional. – Neil Steinberg
Teachers
Thank you to every educator in Rhode Island who is dedicated to providing the best experience possible in an unprecedented and uncertain time for all of our students. – Neil Steinberg
Neil and Laurie Kiely
They run a support group for suicide survivors (families affected by the loss of a loved one by suicide) that meets every two weeks at Butler Hospital. They are heroes always, but in this crisis, they, decidedly non-techie, have learned how to use Zoom to host support group meetings so that people continue to have access to this important resource. – Anya Wallack and Mark McBurney
Supermarket and postal workers
After reading the Globe article on the supermarket workers, all market workers should be lauded. Also, postal workers and mail carriers. I heard a report on NPR radio yesterday that they’re basically in the same boat, maybe worse. – John Kaminski
They are working without masks and aren’t being given masks while they stock shelves and serve customers. They don’t have all the highly controlled protocols that are in place in medical facilities. They are out interacting with the general public on a daily basis. – Judi Drew
Simple enough, the local heroes helping us get through these tough times: those working in the grocery stores, on the front lines. – David Nicolato
Amy Ferguson
Amy is the statewide coordinated entry manager at the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless. Every single day, she is communicating with entities throughout the state, filling gaps to make sure individuals and families experiencing homelessness are safe, and that homeless systems providers have everything they need to stay operational. – Angelina Denomme
Rick Simone
>From working with hundreds of businesses on and off Federal Hill to support unemployment needs, SBA loan needs, coordinating group calls with Congressman Langevin and Senator Reed, he has been nonstop working. – Rita Ellis + team.
Dr. Victoria Leytin
Victoria is just one of the many emergency medicine physicians on the front lines of this crisis risking their health and welfare every day for the sake of others. With affiliations at Rhode Island Hospital, Miriam Hospital, and Newport Hospital, Victoria also volunteers her time using data to advocate for stronger public health protections for Rhode Island residents. – Michael Roles
Fred Mattera
Fred is the executive director of the Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island, which represents the community of seafood harvesters. Currently, he's fighting to ensure that members of Rhode Island's commercial fishing industry receive the economic and social supports they need while seafood markets are struggling from the crisis. – Michael Roles
Cheryl Space
I want to recognize Cheryl and her incredible team at Providence Community Library for keeping patrons informed about the coronavirus crisis and the resources available for help. Cheryl and her staff have been working hard to provide the public with links to live story times, free e-books, streaming videos, online mini-concerts, and much more. – Patricia Raub
PJ and Tom Tally
They’re the fifth generation in their family to lead Tally’s religious store in Cranston, which opened in 1885. They are working with their team to safely distribute tons of palm and Easter candles to parishes throughout New England from an enormous cold storage warehouse in Cranston. The inability to hold in-person Mass services has been difficult for parishioners, especially going into Easter season, but many parishes are preparing to distribute palms while also taking appropriate precautions. – Dave Preston
Glenn Katz-Sherman
He’s the chairperson of the Little Compton Democratic Committee, and has asked that each of us reach out to our elder neighbors and friends and singles regularly to make sure they are OK. – C.A. McNeil
Jason Martin
Jason is from Little Engine Personal Training in Providence, and he’s helping me get through COVID-19 by shifting sessions to a digital format. He customizes everything to whatever equipment you have at home and never fails to make you laugh! – Cait Swanson
United Way 2-1-1 staff
While taking 2-1-1 calls daily for social services is their job, they are handling Covid calls and the routine calls -- while also caring for their own families, keeping up with information that changes daily, and being there to talk to and listen to Rhode Islanders who are scared, anxious, and in need. – Sandi Connors
Annie Dulski
She’s an emergency medicine resident at Kent County Hospital who has been working extra shifts and longer hours recently. Even at 38 weeks pregnant, she has been going into work and giving up over half of her day, every day, for the last few weeks, to ensure that we treat everyone (COVID-19 or any other illness) with the utmost care. – Robert Dulski
Christy Clausen
She’s the seasonal projects supervisor at the Providence Department of Public Parks and one of the lead coordinators of the multi-agency effort to feed children in Providence. – Art Norwalk
RWU’s Justice Systems Training and Resource Institute
The instructors will be offering their expertise to police agencies and first responders across New England. They also developed a one-stop comprehensive law enforcement resources website that offers trainings and best practices, as well as resources for community members who are interested in becoming FEMA-trained to assist with responding to COVID-19 in their communities. – Jill Rodrigues
Francis Tavarez
Francis has been in quarantine at the Comprehensive Community Action Program. Due to the high volume of calls and patients they have been serving, Francis has been working a 13 hour shift, every day. – Rekha Rosha
Clara Decerbo
She’s the acting director of the Providence Emergency Management Agency (PEMA). She’s doing an amazing job at interfacing with all aspects of Providence governance, state, and federal groups. She’s an unsung hero in this fight. – Billy Kepner
Rhode Island's nursing home workers
They have worked tirelessly to provide compassionate care to residents enduring the profound heartache of not being visited by family or loved ones. – Emmanuel Falck
Stacy Monteiro-Mendes
Stacy is a medical lab scientist for the Rhode Island Department of Health and has been personally performing COVID-19 tests for Rhode Islanders. On average, she has worked at least 55-60 hours a week and hasn’t had a day off in over 15 days. Once widespread testing is available, it’ll be folks like Stacy working around the clock conducting tests that will help us understand if we have flattened the curve. – Theresa Agonia
Nancy Wolanski
Nancy is the director of the Grantmakers Council of Rhode Island. She’s generally an incredible connector, but right now is doing a very important job convening the group and connecting us to members of local government and nonprofits to identify and communicate needs and opportunities to help with funding, volunteers, and other resources. – Anonymous
Steve Motta
Steve has worked almost every day at Save A Lot unloading trucks and loading shelves full of groceries so that people can purchase the food that they need. He and his team don't have any protective wear and are not receiving additional pay or incentives like some of the other supermarkets. – Julie Motta
RIPTA drivers
As expected, ridership is down, but we are still moving more than 30,000 people a day on average between our regular routes (the big buses) and our paratransit vans under our RIde division, which is for persons with disabilities. – Barbara Polichetti
Employees at Shaw’s in Middletown
They are still going out of their way to be helpful and courteous. – Judith Giuliano
Dr. Selim Suner
He is known for his thoughtfulness, strategic thinking, and selflessness, and has been working tirelessly to create protocols and improve our emergency department response to COVID-19. – Dr. Elizabeth Goldberg
Beth Hogan
Beth is a Narragansett resident who normally works multiple jobs and is out of work. But she is home sewing surgical masks. She is one of the most caring individuals I know. – Catherine Taggart
Drew Allsopp
He spent the last two weeks driving around the urban core getting over 50 Nowell Leadership Academy families set up with WiFi, hotspots, and even groceries and toiletries to make sure they’ve got whatever they need to stay on track to graduate this spring. – Toby Shepherd
Kate Brewster
Kate is the director of the Jonnycake Center in Peace Dale. Organizing, distributing, and delivering three times the amount of food they usually do, the Jonnycake Center provided weekly groceries and school vacation meals to all who qualify in South Kingstown and Narragansett. With just a few days notice, Kate and her team had to rally enough volunteers (and food donations) to suddenly provide breakfast and lunch to children on the free and reduced lunch program who found themselves out of school. – Elizabeth Gledhill
McAuley House
Kudos to the staff at McAuley House, who are continuing to come to work to prepare and provide takeout meals to Providence’s most vulnerable citizens. – Kathryn
Rumford residents
My neighbors in Rumford for their offers to do shopping and other errands for each other, and their ability to keep spirits up with chats on Messenger or loud conversations shouted across a yard. Not heroic, per se, but oh so important. – Tony Bogar
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| Thanks for reading. Send comments and suggestions to dan.mcgowan at globe.com, or follow me on Twitter @DanMcGowan. See you this afternoon.
Please tell your friends about Rhode Map! They can sign up here. The Globe has other e-mail newsletters on topics ranging from breaking news alerts to sports, politics, business, and entertainment -- check them out.
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