The Coronavirus - One Week Later

As of noon today, Fox News reported 31,057 US cases and 390 deaths. By the time you read this, those numbers will be inaccurate. We pray not significantly inaccurate. At least 7 states have issued "stay at home" orders. The list includes California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, Connecticut and Louisiana. Hawaii issued a 2 week quarantine order, punishable by a $5000 fine and one year in jail. Putting anybody but violent offenders in jails right now seems to me to be contraindicated.

The last I saw, New York had 15,168 cases, by far the most. New Jersey had 1,914, Washington had 1,793, California had 1,200, Michigan had 1,035 and Florida had 824 cases. New York City alone had 9,654 cases - nearly a third of the total US cases.

The California Governor and State Public Health Officer ordered "all individuals living in the State of California to stay home or at their place of residence except as needed..." Undoubtedly, other state's orders are similar. Of course, there are various exceptions, including health care providers, first responders - including social workers dealing with cases of abuse, plummers, electricians, exterminators, grocery stores, pharmacies, utility workers, gas stations, postal services, the media, banks and defense/national security related employees. Also excepted in California are professional workers (lawyers and accountants) "when necessary to assist in compliance with legally mandated activities and critical sector services." Whatever all that means.

California's Order prohibits dining in restaurants, although take-out and delivery is permitted. Also ordered closed are bars, nightclubs, entertainment venues, gyms, public events, convention centers and hair and nail salons. I saw on TV a picture of the Paramus, NJ mall parking lot. Empty! As of Thursday, there were 281,000 new initial claims for unemployment benefits. That was 33% higher than the week before. CNN reported that Goldman Sachs was predicting 2.25 million new initial claims.

I am still seeing a discussion by some of the need to quickly reduce the number of cases and deaths from coronavirus versus how much damage to the economy we should tolerate. I do not have the answer. But the number of cases and deaths is rising rapidly - as are the number of unemployed. One thing I do feel confident to say is that this virus, and the social and economic repercussions from it, is likely to have an impact on the election.

I remain reluctant to discuss the politics. However, I do need to make something clear. Whatever President Trump does or does not do, he will be severely criticized by the mainstream media and the Democrats. Just one case in point. On January 30, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus to be a "Public Health Emergency." On January 31 Trump barred entry into the US from China. Likely Democratic nominee for President, Joe Biden, called the action "hysterical xenophobia." And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said it was "an excuse to further his (Trump's) ongoing war against immigrants." Yet, Dr. Anthony Fauci said shutting down air travel from China was likely a big help in curtailing the spread of the coronavirus in the US. So let's hear it for the Democrats who would favor political correctness over the safety and well-being of Americans. Oh wait, they already do that, as with protecting our borders.

In this time of social distancing and isolation, one of our daughters set up a virtual Shabbat on Friday night for our immediate family. We said and sang Shabbat prayers together, ate together and schmoozed for 2 1/2 hours. It was a nice way to catch up and keep in touch while being separated physically.

And, to end on a humorous note...On Thursday night my Rabbi at Chabad gave his weekly sermon online. He could not deliver the sermon on Shabbat (Friday night) because orthodox rabbis will not use electronic devices on Shabbat (with the exception being to save a life, as all the rules are superseded by the need to save a life). We were connected through Zoom. It was easy to log in, and to be able to see and hear the Rabbi. We were also able to hear and see one another. So they asked everyone to mute the sound on their computers so there would not be constant background noise while the Rabbi was speaking. One female congregant failed to mute her sound. During the sermon she could be heard yelling at someone "bullshit!" She provided some much needed laughter in these stressful times.