OT: My Kid's School Just Closed Due to Coronavirus

JohnInCarolina

Lit said:

Just got just got told to work from home until we hear otherwise

Better keep that Sig by your side.  You might need it sooner than you think.  

billt01

DoubleEgger said:

JohnInCarolina said:

speed51133 said:

My daughter's daycare announced they will NOT close unless someone tests positive for covid-19. How stupid is that?

Galactically stupid.

Never underestimate the stupidity of the general public. 

or elected officials

Battleborn

HendersonTRKing

How about some #facts?  Enough with the Obama blame game.  Enough with treating a public health crisis like a political crisis.  Enough with cutting critical government programs to fund tax cuts for the wealthy and extend corporate socialism at the expense of our health and lives.  Hollowing out core governmental functions may seem harmless -- or may even not be noticed --  until it's too late.  

I ran the White House pandemic office. Trump closed it.

The federal government is moving too slowly, due to a lack of leadership.

President Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday. His White House eliminated a National Security Council office that focused on pandemics. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

By 

Beth Cameron 

Beth Cameron is vice president for global biological policy and programs at the Nuclear Threat Initiative. She previously served as the senior director for global health security and biodefense on the White House National Security Council.

March 13, 2020 at 9:32 a.m. EDT

When President Trump took office in 2017, the White House’s National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense survived the transition intact. Its mission was the same as when I was asked to lead the office, established after the Ebola epidemic of 2014: to do everything possible within the vast powers and resources of the U.S. government to prepare for the next disease outbreak and prevent it from becoming an epidemic or pandemic.

One year later, I was mystified when the White House dissolved the office, leaving the country less prepared for pandemics like covid-19.

The U.S. government’s slow and inadequate response to the new coronavirus underscores the need for organized, accountable leadership to prepare for and respond to pandemic threats.

In a health security crisis, speed is essential. When this new coronavirus emerged, there was no clear White House-led structure to oversee our response, and we lost valuable time. Yes, we have capable and committed global and national disease-prevention and management organizations, as well as state and local health departments, all working overtime now. But even in prepared cities like Seattle, health systems are struggling to test patients and keep pace with growing caseloads. The specter of rapid community transmission and exponential growth is real and daunting. The job of a White House pandemics office would have been to get ahead: to accelerate the response, empower experts, anticipate failures, and act quickly and transparently to solve problems.

 It’s impossible to assess the full impact of the 2018 decision to disband the White House office responsible for this work. Biological experts do remain in the White House and in our government. But it is clear that eliminating the office has contributed to the federal government’s sluggish domestic response. What’s especially concerning about the absence of this office today is that it was originally set up because a previous epidemic made the need for it quite clear.

Coronavirus will linger after the pandemic ends. But it won’t be as bad.

The U.S. government worked hard to fight the 2014 Ebola epidemic. Unlike Central Africa, Ebola was not a usual occurrence in West Africa; the necessary elements of community trust and public health decision-making weren’t in place to detect and stop it. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone were blind spots for disease surveillance. The cost was thousands of lives, billions of dollars and years of economic recovery for countries already torn by decades of war.

So in 2016, after the formidable U.S.-led Ebola response, the Obama White House established the global health security office at the National Security Council and asked me to lead the team. We were to prepare for and, if possible, prevent the next outbreak from becoming an epidemic or pandemic. 

 Our team reported to a senior-level response coordinator on the National Security staff who could rally the government at the highest levels, as well as to the national security adviser and the homeland security adviser. This high-level domestic and global reporting structure wasn’t an accident. It was a recognition that epidemics know no borders and that a serious, fast response is crucial. Our job was to be the smoke alarm — keeping watch to get ahead of emergencies, sounding a warning at the earliest sign of fire — all with the goal of avoiding a six-alarm blaze.

 We partnered with federal departments and agencies as they monitored evolving outbreaks, triggering alarms for decision-makers when those outbreaks began to take on unusual or worrisome characteristics. Shortly before Trump took office, we were watching many health security threats, including a rising number of cases in China of H7N9 influenza, a deadly strain with high mortality but low transmissibility between people. Earlier, we had been tracking a large outbreak of yellow fever in Angola that threatened to sap the limited global supply of that vaccine, affecting the local population, international travelers, deployed citizens and troops. We were focused on naturally occurring diseases and potential bioterrorism — any and every biological threat that could cause a major global health and security emergency. 

 My office was also tasked with preparing — at home and around the world — for the next health emergency, no matter its origin. In 2014, even before the first cases of Ebola came to light in Guinea, the Obama administration launched the Global Health Security Agenda, which now includes more than 60 countries, to accelerate epidemic preparedness. That effort, bolstered by $1 billion from the U.S. government in an emergency spending bill to fight Ebola, led to major gains in global capability to combat the Ebola outbreak and prepare for the next pandemic, which turned out to be covid-19. We began building, measuring and tracking capacities each country had, such as the strength of their national laboratory systems and their abilities to detect and report disease, stand up emergency operation centers, build an epidemiology workforce and maintain safe and secure practices. We spurred the use of transparent, measurable assessments of progress, and we leveraged our diplomacy with other countries to finance and fill gaps. At the same time, we strengthened international biosurveillance networks to help alert us to future potential pandemics.

We can’t stop the pandemic now. But we can be ready for it.

 Another critical task came in early 2017, when we began transitioning pandemic preparedness to the incoming Trump administration. As a civil servant and the head of the directorate, I remained at the White House for several months after the transition. I attended senior-level meetings and directly briefed the homeland security adviser and the national security adviser. After I left the White House that March, pandemic preparedness remained on the agenda; my office remained intact under the leadership of my well-respected successor, Rear Adm. Tim Ziemer; and the national security adviser was tracking H7N9 and other emerging threats.

 It’s unclear whether the decision to disband the directorate, which was made in May 2018, after John Bolton became national security adviser, was a tactical move to downgrade the issue or whether it was part of the White House’s interest in simplifying and shrinking the National Security Council staff.  Either way, it left an unclear structure and strategy for coordinating pandemic preparedness and response. Experts outside government and on Capitol Hill called for the office’s reinstatement at the time.

 Its absence now is all too evident. In his remarks Wednesday night, the president talked about travel bans and the resilience of the U.S. economy but made little specific mention of the public health crisis unfolding across America — exactly the kind of detail a dedicated NSC pandemics infrastructure would have pushed to address. A directorate within the White House would have been responsible for coordinating the efforts of multiple federal agencies to make sure the government was backstopping testing capacity, devising approaches to manufacture and avoid shortages of personal protective equipment, strengthening U.S. lab capacity to process covid-19 tests, and expanding the health-care workforce.  

 The office would galvanize resources to coordinate a robust and seamless domestic and global response. It would identify needs among state and local officials, and advise and facilitate regular, focused communication from federal health and scientific experts to provide states and the public with fact-based tools to minimize the virus’s spread. The White House is uniquely positioned to take into account broader U.S. and global security considerations associated with health emergencies, including their impact on deployed citizens, troops and regional economies, as well as peace and stability. A White House office would have been able to elevate urgent issues fast, so they didn’t linger or devolve to inaction, as with covid-19 testing in the United States. It would be in charge of sharing information and coordinating our public health and humanitarian response with partners and allies. And it would work now to prepare the United States and the world for the next pandemic, including by developing incentives for global leaders and governments to rapidly finance and fill identified gaps.

 Pandemics, like weapons of mass destruction and climate change, are transnational threats with potentially existential consequences. No single department or agency can be responsible for handling them. Pandemic threats may not arise every year, but the White House should constantly prepare for them. We can’t afford for federal decision-makers to waste time relearning old lessons when they should be innovating and acting. 

 Covid-19 wasn’t preventable, but it was predictable. Hopefully, its impact can still be limited. But it is well past time for the U.S. government to show the leadership required for an effective domestic and global response. We need to start sprinting. Come April and May, no one will wish the United States had done less.

Twitter: @BethCameron_DC

dmourati

speed51133 said:

My daughter's daycare announced they will NOT close unless someone tests positive for covid-19. How stupid is that?

I've gotten the same vibe/sense from my kid's preschool. I don't have an actual emailed policy or anything of the sort. 

We decided to keep our 4yo home starting yesterday while my wife and I were both supposed to WFH. Didn't work really. My wife was super stressed out trying to hide the fact that our son was home while she was supposed to be working. I spent an hour this morning trying to play remote IT to get her VPN/office video chat working. Holy convoluted BS.

My company provides a backup daycare service where a caregiver will come to your home, paid for by the company, for ten days per year. I have someone coming all week next week. Beyond that, still scrambling.

fishlessman

had to stock up on tonic water this morning, the line was a good 50 carriages deep. also snagged the last two boxes of spaghetti.  the manager said they will be out of food by sunday. its crazy out there.   the supermarket has more than 400 carriages, there were 3 when i got mine

liquor store has no customers and the same at mcdonalds and the coffee places .

DuckDogDr

@nolaegghead...just saying it could happen....you're gonna blast the source, but the theory is plausible. 

JohnInCarolina

How much bourbon do you have to buy to cross the line into hoarder territory?  Asking for a friend...

speed51133

I was just told by my company we will not issue an official WFH policy but will allow requests by people with compromised immunity or over a certain age. Kind of silly in my opinion. I guess we just don't have the IT resources to allow people to do it. We employ 2500 people...almost 1500 in one spot.

kl8ton

Our mission trip to Guatemala was just postponed until October.  The villages we were going to visit are very remote and their healthcare options in those villages are non existent.  Last I read yesterday Guatemala has no known cases.  

JohnInCarolina

Word on the street is that The President will declare a national emergency during his press conference this afternoon.  

fishlessman

for the DIY crowd

Legume

Politics aside, one would hope that we all learn from past experiences, especially those in positions of leadership and influence.

dbCooper

JohnInCarolina said:

Word on the street is that The President will declare a national emergency during his press conference this afternoon.  

The other word on the street is this declaration has been waiting for Jared and Stephen to complete their research into the matter.  These are the guys that wrote the speech the prez delivered Wed evening.

HendersonTRKing

dbCooper said:

JohnInCarolina said:

Word on the street is that The President will declare a national emergency during his press conference this afternoon.  

The other word on the street is this declaration has been waiting for Jared and Stephen to complete their research into the matter.  These are the guys that wrote the speech the prez delivered Wed evening.

Thankfully, Kush has solved that pesky middle east peace problem and Miller has our immigration issues contained (in cages, amirite?), so they can apply their deep public health expertise to this crisis.  And speech writing.  The best people. 

In other words on the street, what's the over/under on Fauci's tenure?  Not cool to say the boss should be tested.  Not cool to admit that the system failed.  Not cool to acknowledge that things will get worse before they get better.  Gone by 4/15?  

billt01

rumors about NYC "shutting down"

Battleborn

This is the meat section at 9 AM at local Kroger. 

Fred19Flintstone

JohnInCarolina said:

Word on the street is that The President will declare a national emergency during his press conference this afternoon.  

Thanks Huggy!

Lit

speed51133 said:

My daughter's daycare announced they will NOT close unless someone tests positive for covid-19. How stupid is that?

My wife works at a Montessori school and they haven’t closed yet. Since I am working from home I am gonna keep the kids with me. 

Lit

JohnInCarolina said:

How much bourbon do you have to buy to cross the line into hoarder territory?  Asking for a friend...

My rye stash 

JohnInCarolina

Lit said:

JohnInCarolina said:

How much bourbon do you have to buy to cross the line into hoarder territory?  Asking for a friend...

My rye stash 

Amateur!

Botch

HendersonTRKing said:
In other words on the street, what's the over/under on Fauci's tenure?  Not cool to say the boss should be tested.  Not cool to admit that the system failed.  Not cool to acknowledge that things will get worse before they get better.  Gone by 4/15?  

I've been wondering that myself.  I don't know if he even holds a position that the president can fire him from, but I'm sure it'll happen if/once this thing dies down.  

DoubleEgger

Does Prüvit kill the Coronavirus? Asking for a friend. 

saluki2007

JohnInCarolina said:

How much bourbon do you have to buy to cross the line into hoarder territory?  Asking for a friend...

I currently have approx 20 bottles of whiskey and I don't think that's enough...

The Cen-Tex Smoker

saluki2007 said:

thetrim said:

saluki2007 said:

thetrim said:

RATM postponed in PHX.  Any ideas on how to get a refund from ticketmaster?  It's probably harder that trying to get a roll of TP at this point.

I don't know the answer to that question, but I imagine it won't happen until they decide whether they will reschedule the show or completely cancel it.

Their website say you'll get an email when they have a new date and "if they allow refunds" you'll be bale to take care of it thru the website. Being such an anti-capitalist group, I'm sure Rage will insist on the refunds soon.

My brother got the same email.  We were suppose to go see Bert Kreischer in a couple weeks.  Show has been postponed.

Phew! That was close! You almost had to see Bert Kreischer! 

Botch

 
  

The Cen-Tex Smoker

dmourati said:

speed51133 said:

My daughter's daycare announced they will NOT close unless someone tests positive for covid-19. How stupid is that?

I've gotten the same vibe/sense from my kid's preschool. I don't have an actual emailed policy or anything of the sort. 

We decided to keep our 4yo home starting yesterday while my wife and I were both supposed to WFH. Didn't work really. My wife was super stressed out trying to hide the fact that our son was home while she was supposed to be working. I spent an hour this morning trying to play remote IT to get her VPN/office video chat working. Holy convoluted BS.

My company provides a backup daycare service where a caregiver will come to your home, paid for by the company, for ten days per year. I have someone coming all week next week. Beyond that, still scrambling.

That is an amazing benefit. 

ColbyLang

All Louisiana schools closed until the Monday following Easter

THEBuckeye

DoubleEgger said:

Lit said:

DoubleEgger said:

The paper goods aisle at Walmart this morning. So bare they could paint the shelving. Folks that sat back and chastised others for stocking up can enjoy wiping their ass with leaves. Watch out for poison ivy 😉

They had some toilet paper last night but not much. The cherries are like 2 aisles down if you need any. 

One of my phobias is running out of toilet paper. This is standard for our household of two pre virus. 

Also, I hate Walmart so I try to minimize the number of trips I have to make there. 

We have 2 rolls. You need to give me most of yours. #toiletpaperjustice

fishlessman

schools here just closed for two weeks, why do i think they are not opening in 2 weeks