Is There a Doctor in the House?

Let's get real on the coronavirus thing.  Mike Pence, who was criticized for his handling of Indiana's HIV outbreak, will now be leading the U.S. response to the virus.  He is also the guy that once said that smoking does not kill.  He's the guy who once (and possibly still) believes that you can "pray the gay away."

 

Just four out of the 15 people on the coronavirus task force are doctors-- one of whom was named the morning of the meeting and was not at the meeting.  Those on the task force include Larry Kudlow, the Trump economic adviser who earlier in the week said the U.S. was "airtight" from the virus  Also on the taskforce is Ken Cuccinelli, the acting deputy Homeland Security secretary who had tweeted a complaint that he could not find a map of coronavirus' spread. 

 While Pence met with his task force, Nero fiddled away in the Oval office.   Trump spent nearly an hour with actors Dean Cain, Kristy Swanson and playwright Phelim McAleer.   He later met with black supporters, including Diamond and Silk, Candace Owens and ex-'Grey's Anatomy' actor Isaiah Washington.  At that meeting he called the country's response to coronavirus an 'incredible achievement' and said that NBC News was 'racist'

Back in the real world, the stock market lost another 1,190 points, making this the worst week for investors since the Bush recession

We also now have coronavirus cases in Norway, Nigeria, Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia, Romania for the first time-- joining Italy, Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, North Macedonia, Spain, Sweden and Britain.  And in France cases have doubled.  The virus is now said to have entered Iran in an unknown manner and the number of cases could be much higher than known-- even a vice president and members of the Iranian parliament have now tested positive.

Infections have now been found in patients in Germany and the United States who had no known risk factors, like having traveled to an affected area, suggesting that the virus could be spreading undetected in a manner known as "community spread."

And now we know (thanks to a whistleblower) that Federal government health workers were not given proper medical training or protective gear when they were sent to assist Americans who had been quarantined for possible exposure to the coronavirus.

Staff members without protective gear or proper training entered quarantine areas at Travis Air Force Base and March Air Reserve Base in California and interacted with the people who were in isolation and who had tested positive for the coronavirus. These same staffers then moved freely around and off the bases, the complaint said.

The whistle-blower, described as a senior leader at the Department of Health and Human Services, said at least one worker stayed in a nearby hotel and left California on a commercial flight, potentially exposion hundreds (if not thousands) more people.
In addition, many of the health workers were unaware of the need to test their temperatures three times a day, the whistleblower added.  The employees were not given training in safety protocols until five days after they were ordered into quarantined areas, including a hangar where evacuees from coronavirus hot zones in China and elsewhere were being received. 

Who is in charge here?  Mike Pence, Deborah Birx (who was named as the White House’s “coronavirus response coordinator”) or HHS SecretaryAlex Azar, who says he is the Chair of the Task Force?  Whoever it is, get your act together!