Pre-Pandemic Significant Trees of Orlando

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Before the Pandemic, I was doing a series of sketches of the significant trees of Orlando. The City of Orlando Parks department published a map of 7 locations in Orlando with Significant Trees. These live oak trees line the south side of Lake Eola on Central Avenue. The huge lower branches reach out an some touch the ground before reaching back up to the sky. These huge trees provide plenty of shade for people walking around the park.

It was rush hour while I sketched. Someone wanted to park in the spot next to where I was sitting. He asked it the meters were running after pm and I told him I think the meters are off after 6pm. I can;t be quoted on that however. I tend to park out in the suburbs and walk into downtown when needed for a sketch.

This series of sketches of Orlando trees were the final outdoor sketching project I was working on as the looming pandemic squeezed in on Orlando. As of today April 11, 2020 there were 923 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Orange County and 12 deaths. Central Florida has 2,300 cases. The number of cases in Florida has topped 18,400. I had to stop sketching trees on location when people started coming up to me to see what I was sketching. Adulation is fine, unless it might cause death. The latest projections show Florida may see 1,218 to 10,293 fatalities
by June 21, with the median projection at 3,999 deaths, according to the
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation out of the University of
Washington.The lower numbers of the projection assume everyone honors the stay at home at home order. Publix Supermarket, across the street from these live oak trees I sketched has made all of it’s aisles one way to be sure people shopping can maintain a six foot distance from each other.

Orlando area patients at Orlando Health are starting to get treated for COVID-19 with the blood of patients who have recovered. Convalescent plasma has shown promise as an early treatment for SARS, MERS and EBOLA before a vaccine could be developed.

#Stay Home, #Stay Safe, #Save a Life.

A Doctor’s Visit During a Pandemic

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My doctor’s appointment was set up months ago. On the day of the appointment I managed to let it completely slip my mind since I was juggling Zoom conference calls in an attempt to work remotely. I cursed myself for forgetting as it takes months to get in. Rescheduling however was relatively easy. When Pam and I arrived at the doctor’s office the reason it was easy to reschedule was obvious. There were only a few cars in the parking lot. The lot is usually packed to overflowing.

The waiting room was also not very crowded making social distancing a breeze. The nurses wore face masks, but otherwise it was business as usual. After filling out mynew insurance forms, I took a heaping squirt of hand sanitizer from the dispenser on the counter. I didn’t have much time to sketch the waiting room. My name was called before I could refine this sketch.

The closest I got to any other patient was in the narrow hallways. My appointment was a standard follow up visit to be sure I was still functioning like normal. I honestly expected more of a war zone atmosphere, but I suppose the small general practitioners are not yet feeling the brunt of the virus outbreak yet. They did insist I fill out a form that verified that I had not visited a foreign country and no one in my family had the virus. I am wondering if I would have been turned away if indeed I had recently traveled abroad.

Where’s the Bacon?

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Smithfield Foods the world’s largest pork production facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota is now the largest Covid-19 hot spot in the United States. Nine state governors have not issued stay at home orders, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. The governors, all
Republican, have often defended their actions out of a belief in smaller
government, despite many calls from within their own states to do so.  

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, for instance, told reporters
earlier this week that “the people themselves are primarily responsible
for their safety” and that state and national constitutions “prevent us
from taking draconian measures much like the Chinese government has
done.” She also added, “South Dakota is not New York City.”

Eighty of South Dakota’s 180 new COVID-19 cases are employees of the
Smithfield Foods meat-processing company, bringing the total to 600 Smithfield Foods
employees who have tested positive. There are also now 135 total cases
of non-employees that became infected when they came into contact with a
Smithfield employee, according to the South Dakota Department of
Health. 

Augustín Rodriguez, 64, showed up for every one of his
shifts at Smithfield Foods, where he worked for nearly two decades.
Augustín kept going to work even after he began experiencing COVID-19
symptoms like fever and cough because he needed to work. He kept working until a sharp pain in his side kept him from going to work. Three days later he was hospitalized and tested positive for Covid-19. He was placed on a ventilator and died two weeks later. His death is presumed to be the first connected to a COVID-19 outbreak at Smithfield Foods meatpacking plant in Sioux Falls. His wife, Angelita, believes he was worked to death.

Smithfield announced Sunday April 12, 2020 that it would be closing its Sioux Falls
plant indefinitely Wednesday. The plant has 3,700 employees.  The company is closing its meat processing plants in other states as well. The number of South Dakota residents who have tested positive for Covid-19 has surpassed 1,100, and more than half of those cases have
some connection to the Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in Sioux Falls. 

Kristi Noem a staunch Trump supporter seems to think that her rural state is safe from the virus or she is choosing to ignore the reality. Despite the numbers, Noem said she would not issue a stay-at-home order
for Minnehaha and nearby Lincoln Counties, as Sioux Falls Mayor Paul
Ten Haken requested. Noem said a stay-at-home order wouldn’t have made a
difference in Sioux Falls because the plant would have remained open as
part of a critical infrastructure business.

Noem also said her state will begin trying Hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug pushed by President Donald Trump in treating COVID-19. On the same say she made that announcement scientists in Brazil said they stopped part of their study, after heart rhythm problems developed in one-quarter of people
who were given a higher dose of the drug. Tom Hanks wife, Rita Wilson, developed “Extreme side effects” when she was given the drug in Australia. Noem received 1.2 million doses of the drug from the Federal government. Her constituents will be the guinea pigs. Senator Elizabeth Warren, said: “The governor just lets this problem get bigger and bigger and bigger.”

The Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls used represents about 4% to 5% of
U.S. pork production, or about 18 million servings per day. The pork industry could see 5 billion dollars in losses due to the pandemic. Consumers are likely to be meat shortages due to the plant closings.

Police Find 17 Bodies in a Small Retirement Home Morgue

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Nursing homes are being hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of deaths in long term care health facilities has doubled since last week. Nation wide so far 35,000 seniors and staff have tested positive for Civid-19 and 5700 have died. Nursing homes have been closed to visitors for over a month now because of the pandemic.

After an anonymous tip by a staff member, reporting that a body had been stored in a shed, police found 17 bodies in the morgue for New Jersey’s largest nursing home,  Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation I and II Long-term Care Facility. The small morgue was meant to handle four bodies at a time. I probably depicted the morgue too large imagining it able to handle 3 autopsies.  68 people from the nursing home as well as 2 staff members have died in recent weeks. 26 tested positive for Covid-19. This is a 700 bed facility and privately owned. Owners of the private facility were not answering calls.

Local Mayor Michael Lensak said on April 16, 2020, “According to the county there were only 10 dead in the home, but that was updated to 22 deaths in the morning, and now reports are of 68. It is very disconcerting to not have the proper information coming out of a facility.” Families who lost loved ones say they received form letters telling them
their loved ones were sick, and in at least one case, the letter
arrived after the patient died. The outbreak, and problems with how bodies are handled, prompted the New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy to order an investigation.

More than 180 other residents and staff are showing respiratory or flu-like symptoms. Andover Subacute has only a one-star rating on Medicare.gov – or “much below average” – with deficiencies found in health inspections and staff assessments.

There have been rumors that FEMA and the National Guard might be called in to lend medical assistance. Arrangements are being made to try and get personal protective equipment to staff. Officials arranged for a refrigerated truck to be brought to the nursing facility to be used as an overflow morgue. It is a fluid hanging situation that is a hint at what is happening across the country.

New Jersey now has more than 75,000 Covid-19 cases with 3518 total deaths and on April 16, 2020 362 new deaths were reported; of that number, 54
people had been living in long-term care facilities.

Walkers NOT Social Distancing at Lake Eola

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I got a tip from a reporter that walkers are NOT social distancing at Lake Eola. As she put it, “I am so annoyed at the hot, hot people with great fit bodies… that keep working out together! Argh! They look beautiful but their grandparents will all be dead.”

In Orange County,  Mayor Jerry Demings issued a stay at home order that went into effect March 26, 2020. Parks remain open for exercise and physical activity as long as social distancing is observed. In that order, public parks are open without the amenities. You can still access the trails for some
outdoor exercise but don’t plan on using any fitness centers, the
swimming portion of Kelly Park or attending any classes or activities.
Playgrounds are also temporarily shutdown. The swan boats are also docked until further notice. With so many people getting cabin fever, Lake Eola Park is more crowded than ever making social distancing near impossible.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an order On April 15, 2020 that everyone must wear masks when out in public. The use of masks is voluntary for the rest of the country. Donald Trump specifically pointed out in the press briefing that he will not be using a mask. It is always safer to do the opposite of the POTUS, so I wear a mask when out in public.

Walking, running, riding your bicycle, boating, fishing, swimming,
playing tennis, golfing and all outdoor exercise is allowed as long as
you still practice social distancing. Gyms and fitness centers remain
closed to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19.  All golf courses remain open as well. I am certain that anyone with a cough or who might be asymptomatic would never go to a golf course, touch door knobs, toilet surfaces, a golf cart or get within 6 feet of the person they are playing.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office will enforce the stay at home order, although
deputies have noted that the ultimate goal is to keep people safe, not
necessarily make arrests. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said authorities are not going to be out
looking to handcuff and arrest people. It is likely violators will
receive and warning and larger groups will be broken up. That being said, violators can face a $50 fine
or even jail time. Violations can be reported at 407-836-HELP (4357). The beautiful walkers and runners of Lake Eola however seem immune to social distancing

The latest numbers from the Florida Department of Health in Orange
County show 1,051 cases and 18 deaths in Orange County. So far, a total
of 12,756 tests have been administered.

Winter Party Festival Covid-19 Infections

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The Winter Party Festival took place in Miami Beach March 4 – 10, 2020. More than 10,000 men gathered to party for the week despite the Center for Disease Control’s recommendation at that time that gatherings should be limited to no more than 250 people. Now, two people have died, and at least 38 others have
tested positive for the Covid-19 virus. Once the party was over, people
flew home to all corners of the country, possibly spreading the virus far and
wide. Some people chose not to attend the event although event
organizers were not offering them refunds. Precautions at the Winter Party included “educational posters”
that were posted at venues and 10,000 bottles of hand sanitizer placed throughout.

On March 1, 2020, Florida became the third state in the United States with a documented Covid-19 case.
On March 9, 2020, Donald Trump tweeted that the Fake News Media and the
Democratic Party were inflaming the CoronaVirus situation, far beyond
what the facts would
warrant.  Governor Ron DeSantis was dragging his feet about closing Florida beaches as spring breakers descended on the state. The Mayor of Miami had already contracted the virus. A week after the festival was over, Miami Beach announced they were finally closing the beaches.

On March 15, a Boston doctor who had attended the Winter Party tested positive for the virus after returning home. Thousands of e-mails were sent out to attendees to let people know of the spread of the virus. It is impossible to prove that the people infected caught the virus at the festival. With the long incubation period, they might have caught it on the plane or elsewhere, but were most certainly contagious carriers at party time.

Israel Carrera, a 40 year old from North Miami, was the first to die of the virus after attending the Winter Party. The second was Ron Rich, a 65 year old volunteer who did not attend the main party which counted 3,000 in attendance.

Davie Police Chief, Dale Engle, was placed on administrative leave
after officers at his Florida station filed a union complaint alleging
that he dismissed their concerns about Covid-19 protection measures
and that he blamed the Covid-19 fatality of a Broward County Deputy Sheriff, Shannon Bennett, on his sexuality. He claimed that Bennett died because he was a “homosexual who attended homosexual events.” The National Fraternal Order of Police tweeted that, if Engle’s “disgusting” alleged remarks are true, he should be fired.

On March 4, 2020, I was at a press event at the Rep Theater about the future onePULSE Memorial and Museum. It wasn’t an overly crowded event, but I was still going to theaters and sketching. On March 10, 2020, I was sketching at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s sold-out 12th Annual John R. Hamilton Mock Trial. I therefore can confirm that public events were still being staged in the Sunshine State. Though concerned, I felt it was impotent to keep documenting the arts. Information about the virus and circumstances were changing rapidly by the hour at the time. Hindsight might make it easy to judge, but I was still sketching in crowds despite concerns and the conflicting information from officials.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, Trump used a prime-time oval office address to announce a ban on travel for non-Americans from most of Europe. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finally instated stricter social distancing on March 12, 2020, which was two days after the Winter Party Festival was over.

It is unknown exactly how many people might have contracted the Covid-19 virus at the Winter Party Festival. Rea Carey, the Executive Director of the LGBT Task Force, which organized the Festival said on Instagram, “I am deeply saddened by the death of Israel Carrera. I
extend my care and condolences to his loved ones, his friends and
family. He was so clearly loved by many. The particular cruelty of this
virus, this pandemic, is our inability to be together in grief, to hold
each other and to care for each other. We hold Israel and everyone being
affected by COVID-19 in our hearts.”

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article241133076.html#storylink=cpy

Hart Island Mass Grave

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New York City announced that Hart Island would be used as a mass burial site for unclaimed victims during the Covid-19 pandemic. A drone launched by the Hart Island Project took video footage of the football field long trench where the dead are buried in simple pine boxes, three deep. A fork lift is used to bring the boxes into the trench and then workers stack the boxes three deep and re-enforce them with plywood before covering them with a layer of dirt.

The island has a long history of being the final resting place for the homeless and indigent. An estimated twenty-five people used to be buried each month, but now over 25 people are buried each day. The bodies arrive by ferry from City Island in the Bronx.

Melinda Hunt of the Hart Island Project said on Twitter, “Hart Island burials are not disrespectful. There is not enough testing to know how many people buried died
of complications from COVID-19. Many families have no choice.” She said, “Hart Island is the most democratic place. Everybody is
handled the same. There is a beauty to that.”

The city purchased Hart Island in 1868 and turned it into a public cemetery. Over 150 years, the island has served as burial ground to victims of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic and the AIDS crisis in the 1980. It is the largest national cemetery in the United States, but has been largely inaccessible to the public. The island also was a prison workhouse, a Civil war Union solider training site,
and prisoner of war camp for Confederate fighters. It once harbored
yellow fever and tuberculosis victims. More than a million New Yorkers have been laid to rest on the small
strip of land off the coast of the Bronx, soldiers, the poor and the
unclaimed, the homeless and stillborn babies.

The city is transferring unclaimed bodies to the 101-acre island to make
way for Covid-19 victims whose bodies are claimed. New rules will require remains to be taken to the island if
they go unclaimed for two weeks. The city’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner will hold an individual for 14 days during the pandemic, after that, they are taken to the island. Burials are done with ledgers and a grid system so that the bodies can be located and disinterred should a family come forward to claim them and wish to rebury them. Families would have to hire a funeral home to pick up the remains. There is no charge for disinterment.

Hunt said. “This is where the majority of Covid-19 victims are going to
be buried. It disproportionately affects the low income community who
can’t really isolate and avoid using the subways. By the same token
those same people can’t afford a funeral.”

Nearing Capacity

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Hospitals in New York City are being flooded beyond their capacity. Doctors and nurses are stretching the limited resources available to them and doing the best they can. Every day they struggle to just keep their heads above water, while the numbers of patients entering the hospital system continues to grow.

The sick are arriving so fast that more than 5,000 new beds might be needed for next week. One out of every four Covid-19 patients is in intensive care. The longer a patient stays on a ventilator the more likely they will not live. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order to transfer ventilators from upstate New York to hospitals that have a dire need right now. The New York hospital system has 90,000 beds which are now filled to capacity.

Medical workers are the front line soldiers in this battle against Covid-19. Airbnb is offering $2 million dollars to provide hotel rooms for front line workers in this fight against Covid-19. A surge and flex system was set up to get needed supplies to the communities with the greatest need in New York State. Javits Center, Tents in Central Park, and the Brooklyn Cruise terminal should help with overflow patients as the numbers keep rising. Cuomo stressed over and over that testing is needed on a grand scale to control the spread of the virus.  Right now they are just trying to mitigate the damage from letting the virus go unchecked for so long. America has more cases of Covid-19 than any other country in the world. Before anyone can go back to work with any semblance of normalcy, there must be testing.

In New York State, the death toll continues at an astonishing rate.

April 4, 594 died

April 5, 599 died

April 6, 731 died

April 7, 779 died

April 8, 799 died

April 9, 777 died

April 10, 783 died

April11, 758 died

April 12, 671 died

The fact that the death rate leveled off is a somewhat hopeful sign. It indicates that the stay at home order might be turning the tide. However, 7,844 have died to date. New York asked for people to send photos of how their are staying strong though the pandemic and they edited a short video that stresses #Stay Home, #Stop the Spread, #Save Lives.

Covid-19 Pandemic Funerals

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The  United States is now the epicenter of the Covid-19 Pandemic and New York City is being hit the hardest. In New York City, funeral homes are having trouble keeping up with the demands of collecting bodies from the hospital morgues or truck refrigeration units and burying them. In the past funeral directors would go straight to the morgue to pick up the body, but now each hospital had multiple layers of security to be sure the funeral staff are not carrying the virus. A funeral director in Brooklyn had 15 Covid-19 victims to bury less than a month ago but by April 6, there were 300 victims to bury. No funeral home is able to handle such volumes.

Many death certificates listed Pneumonia as the cause of death but the medical examiner has to update the death certificate if the cause of death is in question. While this is being done the bodies sit in cold storage. Death certificates can take up to 3 days to be fixed. Now a person dies in New York City about every 10 minutes, so the morgues are overcrowded. Make shift morgues are being set up with white tents and refrigerated tractor trailers.

If a funeral is held, then the body must be embalmed. Only 10 people are allowed people gather at the funeral home and people must stand 6 feet apart. If someone were to cough, then the virus is airborne and can infect beyond the 6 foot perimeters. After any wake in the funeral home, every surface must be disinfected and the city has stated that only 3 funerals can be allowed on any given day. With such a high case load that means other options are needed for burials. Cremation is the most common funeral service but even they can not keep up with the demands. Cemeteries or crematories because they can only handle a certain number each day.

In California mourners could drive to the cemetery but they had to remain in their cars while the body was lowered into the ground. Grieving families can not hug each other or cry on each others shoulders. If you die from Covid-19 you will likely die alone.

Funeral home staff also are out of personal protective gear like face masks and gloves. Hospital staff get the first pick of protective gear and funeral staff must risk their lives by reusing what gear they have on hand.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo mourned the 799 lives that ere lost in just 1 day in NYC. He wants to bring into New York funeral directors and staff from out of state to help with burring all the bodies. 9-11 he the Twin Towers were attacked, was supposed to be the darkest day in New York City with 2753 lives lost. To date New York City has lost 7067 live to the Covid-19 virus.

Stay Home. Stop the Spread. Save Lives.

Unemployment Line

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Hundreds of people risked exposure to the Covid-19 virus to stand in line in Hialeah, Florida on Tuesday April 7, 2020. The line was for people who don’t have internet access or printers, so they could pick up unemployment forms in person.The line snaked outside of the John F. Kennedy Library, and around the block, before it opened at 11
a.m. Social isolation to lower  cases of COVID-19, prompted an unemployment crisis
that the state government was not prepared for. Some people had been out of work for a whole month.

Many are still having issues submitting
applications for benefits after having lost their jobs through no fault
of their own. Applicants who had access to the Internet were dealing with error
messages and hours of waiting on the phone while calling a helpline that
was of no help. People started lining up as early as 6-7 a.m. The online servers could not handle the sudden influx of people seeking claims. The online server had to be taken down overnight Sunday April 5, 2020 into Monday. From about 10 p.m. until 5 a.m., the Florida Department of Economic
Opportunity will not be accepting reemployment benefit applications
online. The agency had received 1.5 million calls in the past week.

By the end of the week, there will 82 new servers to increase connectivity. Last week, DEO had nearly 200 staff working on the claims. There are now
579 additional employees and more than 2,300 state employees. In the past two weeks, the department has spent $25 million on
improvements to the computer and phone systems it uses to collect
unemployment benefits applications.

The Department of Labor reported Thursday that 227,000 Floridians
initiated unemployment claims the week prior, up from 74,313 the
previous week. Another 56,000 were expected last week as Governor Ron
DeSantis issued a statewide stay-at-home order that took effect on
Friday.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as
the CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, expands benefits. DEO
is working to incorporate the new provisions of the CARES Act to ensure
all Floridians who are eligible get their full amount of Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Assistance
as it becomes available. Benefits will be paid from the date they became
eligible under the CARES Act. 

It was horrifying to watch people standing in line with no social distancing. Tempers flared as people stood in the oppressive Florida heat. If any one person was infected their could be a flair up of infections and deaths.

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In an equally callous and short sighted instance, Michigan held it’s primary voting in the midst of the Pandemic. Voters had to chose between their health and their civic duty. Wisconsin Republicans, the state’s conservative supreme court risked voters’ lives by sending them to polls. People will die.