5 Major Coronavirus Developments — Early Mistakes Drove Infections and Deaths — June 15, 2020
GoLocalProv News Team
5 Major Coronavirus Developments — Early Mistakes Drove Infections and Deaths — June 15, 2020
"Everything [went wrong] and not just at the city and state level but also at the federal level. I mean you know the basic fundamental failure was the failure to adequately stop or screen people coming in from out of the country early on. It started with China and China's failure not to let the rest of the world know what was actually going on," said Fine.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"You know, I was looking at some numbers today, and in January there were 400 000 people, if my memory is right, who arrived in the United States from China [after the breakout]," said Fine.
Political Infighting and Lack of Testing
As GoLocal unveiled at the early stages of the breakout, Rhode Island failed to develop and implement a functional testing system in the first five weeks. The response and the testing were no better in other hot spots like New York City.
Through April 6, Rhode Island was running one of the least effective testing programs. Rhode Island recorded its first case on March 1.
"A huge problem the problem was testing and that we didn't really have effective testing in the United States probably until the end of March. That was a disaster and built on top of that the infighting between governors and mayors in New York and the in-fighting between the leadership of the departments of health and their respective political colleagues - you know, just chaos," said Fine.
WATCH AT NOON: Former Director of Health Dr. Michael Fine on GoLocal LIVE
See Slideshow: 5 Major Coronavirus Developments Below
5 Major Coronavirus Developments — June 15, 2020
Concerns About Spread at Upcoming Trump Rally
“I’m concerned about our ability to protect anyone who attends a large, indoor event,” Bruce Dart, the director of Tulsa city and county’s health department, told the Tulsa World this weekend. “And I’m also concerned about our ability to ensure the president stays safe as well.”
President Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Tulsa in a 19,000 person arena
"Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) took to the air on Sunday to argue that the rally will be safe and he intended to go. 'Everyone needs to take responsibility for their own health,' he said on ABC’s “This Week.”
The Trump campaign has asked attendees to sign waivers promising not to sue if they do get the disease," according to the Washington Post.
Virus Isn't Going Anywhere
“This virus is 'not going to rest' until it infects about 60 percent to 70 percent of the population,' said Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, in an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
"Experts have estimated that without a vaccine, about 70 percent of the population will need to be infected and develop immunity in order to stop the virus’s spread, a concept called herd immunity. The current number of confirmed cases in the United States is over 2 million, less than 1 percent of the U.S. population," according to a New York Times database.
Maskless New Yorkers May Force New Restrictions
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that New Yorkers seem to have forgotten much of the pain and death of the past few months.
New Yorkers were out drinking and partying throughout the city sparking a stern warning from Governor Andrew Cuomo.
At a Brooklyn beer garden, patrons squeezed together on picnic tables to sip on lagers. In Manhattan’s Upper East Side, they huddled outside a diner after dark. And in the East Village, a flock of New Yorkers spent the city’s first Friday since its reopening crowded shoulder-to-shoulder on the sidewalk.
As a jazz band played outside the bars on St. Marks Place, there were more frosty beverages than covered faces to be seen.
“Don’t make me come down there …” New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) wrote on Twitter on Saturday, responding to a video of the mask-less masses.
Numbers
15,947 Cases in Rhode Island - State Has Not Updated in 3 Days
105,603 Cases in Massachusetts
833 Deaths in RI - State Has Not Updated in 3 Days
7,624 Deaths in Massachusetts
2,162,228 Cases in the United States
117,858 Deaths in the United States
8,008,382 Global Cases
435,856 Global Deaths
3,929,615 Global Recoveries
GoLocal LIVE -- Monday, June 15, 2020
12:00 PM - Dr. Michael Fine, Former RI Director of Health
1:00 PM - Governor Gina Raimondo, Press Briefing
2:00 PM - Anthony Sanders, Awoken Apparel
EDITOR'S NOTE: Gov. Raimondo has reversed her policy and is now allowing reporters to attend press conferences and directly ask questions. For more than 6 weeks she had blocked reporters from directly asking questions for the public to hear.
