Trump death cult: on the worst day of the pandemic, delusional Trump says it will ‘just disappear’

H/T Graphic: Buzzflash.com

On the very day that “52,000 new cases were reported in the United States, the highest total since the start of the pandemic” and “record-shattering numbers of new cases were reported Wednesday in six states — California, Georgia, Texas, Alaska, North Carolina and Arizona” — in 45 states, seven-day averages of new infections are higher than they were a week ago, Coronavirus cases rose by nearly 50 percent last month, led by states that reopened first …

The delusional Donald Trump in an interview with Fox Business’ Blake Burman on Wednesday said “I think we are going to be very good with the coronavirus.” “I think that at some point that’s going to sort of just disappear, I hope.” ‘Insane’: Trump Ripped for Saying in New Interview He Thinks Coronavirus Is Going to ‘Just Disappear’:

The incredulous Burman asked, “You still believe so? Disappear?”

“I do. I do, at some point,” the president reiterated. “And I think we’re going to have a vaccine very soon too.”

Video mashup: John Heilemann for The Recount.

The United States is on the precipice of an apocalyptic “humanitarian catastrophe” in the next several weeks with hospital systems being overwhelmed in several states by this massive surge in COVID-19, leading to states like Arizona invoking “crisis care standards,” i.e., triage (or “death panels” for real), and this fucking idiot’s only plan is to gaslight Americans with his delusional belief that the coronavirus pandemic will just magically disappear one day. This is criminal negligence. This fool is literally consigning Americans to their deaths with his negligent ignorance and incompetence. He needs to go, now.

Trump said the virus would ‘disappear’ when the US had, by his count, 15 cases in February. Total confirmed US cases to date are 2.7 MILLION and rising fast. And he says the same thing today. It’s the definition of insanity. https://t.co/vU8Q4yyIzb

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) July 1, 2020

Remember the CDC says COVID-19 cases in U.S. may be 10 times higher than reported: “Our best estimate right now is that for every case that’s reported, there actually are 10 other infections,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC. So things are even worse than reported.

This crisis was entirely predicted by health experts and economists who warned against reopening the economy too soon, as the White House demanded for partisan political reasons. As The Post reports:

Coronavirus infections in the United States surged nearly 50 percent in June as states relaxed quarantine rules and tried to reopen their economies, data compiled Wednesday showed, and several states moved to reimpose restrictions on bars and recreation.

More than 800,000 new cases were reported across the country last month, led by Florida, Arizona, Texas and California — bringing the nation’s officially reported total to just over 2.6 million, according to data compiled by The Washington Post.

States that took an aggressive approach to reopening led the country in infection spikes — along with California, the nation’s most populous state, where leaders have been more cautious. California on Wednesday reported 110 new deaths, more than any other state.

States in the South and West are now pausing or reversing plans to reopen the economy because of the massive surge in COVID-19 cases. (Graph via The New York Times).

Vice President Pence traveled to Arizona as state health officials on Wednesday reported record highs in new infections, deaths and virus-related hospitalizations.

The state reported 4,877 new confirmed cases, eclipsing its daily record set 24 hours earlier. Eighty-eight more people died of the virus, the highest daily death toll yet, bringing the state’s fatalities to 1,720.

Pence endorsed Republican Gov. Doug Ducey’s moves this week to reimpose restrictions on bars, gyms, water parks and more, calling the governor’s caution “responsible.” He said the federal government will meet Ducey’s request for 500 additional emergency medical workers.

Despite offering praise for Ducey’s handling of the pandemic, Pence acknowledged the numbers in Arizona are alarming. He did not answer a question about whether Ducey has gone far enough and should mandate a wider stay-at-home order.

“The reason we’re here is because of the rising number of cases in Arizona as well as the rising positivity rate,” Pence told reporters.

“It’s very clear we have community spread in this state and across much of the Sun Belt and that’s the reason why we wanted to be here and receive a briefing,” Pence said. “But it’s also why we wanted to be here to express our strong support for the steps that Governor Ducey and that local officials have put into effect: limiting certain gatherings, closing certain establishments during this rising time.”

The Arizona Republic adds, Vice President Mike Pence announces 500 medical personnel on their way to help Arizona with COVID-19 crisis.

Pence spoke the week after Trump visited the state for a tour of the border barrier with Mexico and to hold a crowded indoor political rally in Phoenix over the objections and public health advice of local officials.

Trump did not wear a mask then, but Pence did so for much of his brief visit Wednesday.

* * *

Worldwide, more than 10.5 million cases have been detected, and 60 percent of those were diagnosed only in the past month, according to the World Health Organization.

Over the past week, more than 160,000 cases were diagnosed worldwide each day, WHO Secretary General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday.

The fast pace of infection serves as a grim reminder that even as some countries begin to reopen, the risk of contracting the coronavirus remains.

“Flare-ups are to be expected as countries start to lift restrictions,” Tedros said at a news conference in Geneva, noting that countries applying comprehensive tracking and isolation measures will be best prepared to avoid widespread outbreaks and new restrictions.

“However, we are concerned that some countries have not used all the tools at their disposal and have taken a fragmented approach,” he added. “These countries face a long, hard road ahead.”

Tedros did not name specific countries, but the example of the United States was clear.

With this looming apocalyptic “humanitarian catastrophe,” the Associated Press reports, Hollowed out public health system faces more cuts amid virus:

The U.S. public health system has been starved for decades and lacks the resources to confront the worst health crisis in a century.

Marshaled against a virus that has sickened at least 2.6 million in the U.S., killed more than 126,000 people and cost tens of millions of jobs and $3 trillion in federal rescue money, state and local government health workers on the ground are sometimes paid so little, they qualify for public aid.

They track the coronavirus on paper records shared via fax. Working seven-day weeks for months on end, they fear pay freezes, public backlash and even losing their jobs.

Since 2010, spending for state public health departments has dropped by 16% per capita and spending for local health departments has fallen by 18%, according to a KHN and Associated Press analysis of government spending on public health. At least 38,000 state and local public health jobs have disappeared since the 2008 recession, leaving a skeletal workforce for what was once viewed as one of the world’s top public health systems.

KHN, also known as Kaiser Health News, and AP interviewed more than 150 public health workers, policymakers and experts, analyzed spending records from hundreds of state and local health departments, and surveyed statehouses. On every level, the investigation found, the system is underfunded and under threat, unable to protect the nation’s health.

Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview in April that his “biggest regret” was “that our nation failed over decades to effectively invest in public health.”

So when this outbreak arrived — and when, according to public health experts, the federal government bungled its response — hollowed-out state and local health departments were ill-equipped to step into the breach.

Over time, their work had received so little support that they found themselves without direction, disrespected, ignored, even vilified. The desperate struggle against COVID-19 became increasingly politicized and grew more difficult.

States, cities and counties in dire straits have begun laying off and furloughing their limited staff, and even more devastation looms, as states reopen and cases surge. Historically, even when money pours in following crises such as Zika and H1N1, it disappears after the emergency subsides. Officials fear the same thing is happening now.

“We don’t say to the fire department, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. There were no fires last year, so we’re going to take 30% of your budget away.’ That would be crazy, right?” said Dr. Gianfranco Pezzino, the health officer in Shawnee County, Kansas. “But we do that with public health, day in and day out.”

* * *

The United States’ decentralized public health system, which matches federal funding and expertise with local funding, knowledge and delivery, was long the envy of the world, said Saad Omer, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health.

“A lot of what we’re seeing right now could be traced back to the chronic funding shortages,” Omer said. “The way we starve our public health system, the way we have tried to do public health outcomes on the cheap in this country.”

This lengthy investigative report has much more to report and is a must read. Suffice it to say that this country is ill-prepared and ill-equipped to deal with what the disaster about to occur. Especially with a total lack of leadership from the federal government.