Short Takes #6 on
COVID-19 for Progressive Charlestown readers
By Will Collette
Here’s a rundown of
news items that may be of special interest to Progressive Charlestown readers.
Aliens approaching!
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| AP/ABC7NY |
Accompanying footage showed National Guardsmen knocking on doors in Westerly, Quonnie and down the coast at summer houses with NY-tagged cars in the driveway.
The
idea was to register New York visitors and to impress on them the Governor’s
order to self-quarantine themselves for 14 days.
Aside
from unfavorable national coverage, Raimondo’s order also infuriated New York
Governor Andrew Cuomo who has threatened to sue Rhode Island.
Rather
than stretch this out into a big long Thing, Raimondo and Cuomo talked and Raimondo them revoked
the order that targeted New Yorkers and immediately replaced it with a
broader order requiring all passenger cars with non-Rhode Island plates to stop
at checkpoints.
It’s
unclear how this affects Rhode Island’s many “Fake Floridians” – Rhode Islanders
who set themselves up as Florida residents to dodge state taxes. Do they get a
special dispensation since they actually live here?
Benefits for the
self-employed are coming
The
RI Department of Labor and Training
tweeted words of encouragement to the many workers who normally can’t get
unemployment compensation – the self-employed, small business owners,
independent contractors, gig workers, etc.
They
suggest you sign up to get an e-mail for notification when the benefits are in
place. Here’s their Tweet:
Are you a gig economy worker, a contract worker, small biz owner, worker for hire, self-employed, or otherwise ineligible for regular UI benefits? Sign-up to receive an email when the emergency #COVID19 UI benefits application is available: https://bit.ly/2JoKjzI.
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| So far, RI's data shows WAY more infections in the 20-60 age than in the 61+ bracket. Older people have tended to get sicker and to die at a higher rate. Men are getting infected more than women, though the margin seems lower than elsewhere. |
It’s been hard for the state to accurately gauge how bad the
pandemic is hitting Rhode Island for lack of testing.
Tomorrow (Tuesday), a drive-through test site set up by the RI
National Guard and URI will open for business in URI’s Plain Road parking lot
with the hope of testing 600 people a day. The site will operate 7 days a week
from 9 AM to 3 PM.
BUT, BUT, BUT before you race down there, you must understand
that you must have an
appointment scheduled before getting tested, and a signed order form from
your physician or the Rhode
Island Department of Health.
In an e-mail, the Health Department told me to contact your
primary care doctor to get the form and the appointment.
The Health Department’s COVID-19 phone number is 401-222-8022
and the e-mail for COVID-19 info is RIDOH.COVID19Questions@health.ri.gov.
Open and Shut
Open and Shut
There is a new list of businesses that are affected
by Gov. Raimondo’s order closing non-essential businesses during this pandemic.
See the entire list by CLICKING HERE.
For the most part, the list of essential versus
non-essential businesses is common sense. Examples: food stores, pharmacies, banks and
funeral homes are essential. Bookstores, florists, beauty salons and gift shops
are not.
There are some debatable choices. For example, you
can still buy guns but you can’t buy garden supplies. You can buy liquor but
you can’t buy blue jeans (new or used).
Job Lot stays open as an essential business. You can’t
buy liquor or guns there, but you can get garden supplies and blue jeans.
The Dr. Demento
Show
His lies have become even more vicious than usual, and this takes the cake: He says the
reason why masks and other protective equipment is in such short supply is
because the goods are “going out the back door” presumably stolen by nurses and
health care workers.
He can’t understand why hospitals need so many more ventilators because he remembers (?) seeing some “major hospitals” get by with two.
He can’t understand why hospitals need so many more ventilators because he remembers (?) seeing some “major hospitals” get by with two.
The CDC is not present at the Dr. Demento Show, Dr.
Fauci has been forced to tone down his reports and Dr. Birx has now become one
of Trump’s acolytes.
Sure, many of us can’t help but look at a car crash or a building on fire, but at some point, most of us will look away.
Sure, many of us can’t help but look at a car crash or a building on fire, but at some point, most of us will look away.
We are all in very serious danger with this
ignorant, bigoted lunatic in charge.