The Coronavirus - Three Weeks Later

(Ed. note: In the last post I was highly critical of CNN commentator Chris Cuomo. Since then, it was announced that Cuomo, brother of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and son of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, has been diagnosed with the coronavirus. Notwithstanding my political differences with him, I wish Cuomo a complete and speedy recovery.)

First, the numbers. The latest I saw (again, outdated already) are 330,991 cases in the US, with 9,437 deaths. The states with the most cases are New York with 122,177 cases and 4,159 deaths, New Jersey with 37,505 cases and 917 deaths, Michigan with 15,718 cases and 617 deaths, California with 14,055 cases and 325 deaths and Louisiana with 13,010 cases and 477 deaths.

The new unemployment numbers are both shocking and distressing. For the week ending March 28, there were 6.6 million new claims for unemployment benefits. Combined with the prior week's numbers, that is 10 million new claims in two weeks. It is good to hear stories of people able to afford it ordering take-out from their neighborhood restaurants. One friend advised me that they are continuing to pay their periodic cleaning person, without them actually going to clean the house.

The impact on society. The illnesses and deaths are tragic. The rise in unemployment is devastating. But what structural changes to society will we be seeing - and will they be temporary or permanent? LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said this: "if any non-essential businesses continue to operate in violation of the stay at home order, we're going to act to enforce the safer at home order and ensure their compliance...we want to thank you for turning folks in and making sure we are all safe...snitches get rewards." I certainly understand the need for everyone to comply, but encouraging neighbor to report on neighbor leaves me with an uneasy feeling.

And California Governor Gavin Newsom told us: "Absolutely, we see this as an opportunity (to) reshape the way we do business and how we govern." Among other things, Newsom referred to income inequality as issues "we've long been struggling to address." Again, in 2008 Rahm Emanuel said "you never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that, it's an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before."

In Pennsylvania, a 19 year old woman was ticketed for taking a ride in her car. That ticket cost her $202.25. The ticket indicated that the woman "failed to abide by the order of the Governor and Secretary of Health issued to control the spread of a communicable disease, requiring the closure of all non-life sustaining businesses as of 20:00 hours on 3/29/20. To wit, defendant states that she was 'going for a drive' after this violation was in effect."

On the other hand, there are nine states that, as of yesterday, have failed to issue stay at home orders. Those states are Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming. All those states have Republican governors. Some cities within those states have issued their own stay at home orders. In total, 311 million Americans are living under such orders. But the articles that I have read asking if the cure is worse than the illness have all been written by conservatives. I previously admitted that my initial reaction to the coronavirus story was that it was overblown. I quickly changed my outlook. Coronavirus is easily spread, and it seems in many instances to be lethal quickly. Nevertheless, is it unfair to just ask the question of how much society should change in dealing with this virus?

And anti-Trump columnist Bret Stephens asked in his 4/4/20 Op-Ed in the New York Times, if some countries might be using the virus as a pretext to become more authoritarian. For example, Philippine President Duterte "used the pandemic to issue shoot-to-kill orders against political protesters." And, as a big supporter of Israel, Stephens nevertheless said this: "In Israel, the government's decision to use cellphone data to track the movements of infected individuals quickly became a model and alibi for other states to pick up the practice, with no scruples about the data they collected."

In this election year, our democracy is clearly being affected. Neither Joe Biden nor Bernie Sanders is able to hold campaign rallies. President Trump is unable to do so as well, but he has the incumbent's advantage of regularly being in front of the camera. The Democrats have moved the dates of their convention from July 13 through July 16, to August 17 through August 20. The Republican convention is scheduled for August 24 through August 27. But who knows whether these conventions will be able to proceed in the usual fashion. Or how the November presidential election will be accomplished. Even now, Congress has no apparent mechanism for operating remotely. According to the 4/4/20 editorial in the New York Times, House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader McConnell actually agree on something - Congress needs to meet in session in the Capitol. Is that still feasible? Shouldn't they already have had a back-up plan for working and voting remotely?

Here's an interesting statistic. For the first quarter of 2020, with major news stories including a presidential election, a presidential impeachment and the coronavirus, Fox News far eclipsed MSNBC and CNN in the ratings - an average of 3.4 million prime time viewers, versus 1.9 million for MSNBC and 1.4 million for CNN. Fox had the top 5 cable shows, and 13 out of the top 15 shows. Hannity had an average of 4.2 million viewers, Tucker Carlson had 4 million, then it was The Five, The Ingraham Angle and Special Report with Bret Baier. Rachel Maddow of MSNBC was sixth. CNN's top show was The Lead with Jake Tapper - coming in at number 22. There is a reason for the success of Fox.