No Facemasks Allowed

Posted on by Thor

Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster Due to COVID-19 on March 13, 2020 and the Texas Department of State Health Services declared a public health disaster six days later for the first time since 1901. Counties, cities, and other local jurisdictions began implementing stay-at-home and shelter-in-place orders as the virus spread throughout March. The state remained locked down for two months. Abbott and his administration began directing a “reopening” of the state’s economy in April, 2020.

In May of 2020 Liberty Tree Tavern in Texas had a sign up that read, “No Face Masks Allowed“. Neighbors in Elgin, Texas were still wearing masks outside, even after it was no longer mandated by the county. The tavern owner did not think such a response was necessary, he said, and he wanted to push back. Many stores and restaurants across the country took the opposite approach asking patrons to wear masks, even kicking out those who fail to comply.

In the emergent political war over masks, a handful of businesses are fashioning themselves as fortresses for the resistance. If the bar is only allowed to be at 25 percent capacity, then he didn’t want those 25% to be sheep,”  “Being scared all the time isn’t good for your health. It suppresses your immune system.” he said. Bartenders need to see their customers’ faces to check IDs and make sure no one gets served too many drinks, he argued. Anyone with the virus, including those who are asymptomatic, should not be coming out to begin with. Besides, he asked: How are you supposed to down a beer with a bandanna stretched across your lips? One customer’s son, who has intellectual disabilities, was allowed to keep his mask on.

Bars create a risky combination of tight quarters, young adults unbowed by the fear of illness and, in some instances, proprietors who don’t enforce crowd limits and social distancing rules. Texas alcohol licensing board suspended the liquor licenses of 17 bars after undercover agents observed crowds disregarding emergency rules that required patrons to keep a safe distance from one another and limit tavern occupancy. Bars are tailor-made for the spread of the virus, with loud music and a cacophony of conversations that require raised voices. The alcohol can impede judgment about following rules meant to prevent contagion.

June 26, 2020 Texas Governor Greg Abbott had to order all bars closed for a second time because of a huge spike in COVID-19 cases. “At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars,” Abbott said in a news release. “The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health.” “If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars, now seeing in the aftermath of how quickly the coronavirus spread in the bar setting,” he said during an  interview with KVIA in El Paso.

Texas hospitals are running out of drugs, beds, ventilators and even staff. Short-staffed hospitals in Midland and Odessa have had to turn away ailing COVID-19 patients from rural West Texas facilities that can’t offer the care they need. And epidemiologists say the state’s hospitals may be in for a longer, harder ride than places like New York, where hospitals were stretched to capacity in the spring and some parked refrigerated trailers outside to store bodies of people who died from COVID-19. On  July 10, 2020 a patient in his 30’s who attended a coronavirus party later became seriously ill. The patient said to his nurse before dying, ‘I think I made a mistake, I thought this was a hoax, but it’s not,’ said Methodist Healthcare’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jane Appleby.

Pre-Pandemic: Garage Sale

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It is hard to think back and remember the innocent days of placing belongings in the driveway for strangers to touch and thump through. Now in the height of the pandemic this scene looks menacing. The Centers for Disease Control recommends keeping a six-foot social distance between guests, limit the number of attendees and encourage wearing masks where distancing isn’t possible. With more people staying at home in recent months, many used their downtime to go through old belongings.

• Place posters encouraging social distancing for customers to see upon arrival and while shopping.

Here are some of the suggestions should you decide to host or go to a garage sale…

• Set up tables and chairs six feet apart.

• Use heavy-duty tape to form a flow for customers to follow throughout the sale.

• Ask customers to stand in a line, while spread apart, during a high traffic times.

• Clean all tables and chairs several times throughout the day.

• Make sure all merchandise is washed and dried and/or wiped down with a disinfectant product before placing on a table or chair for sale.

• Wipe down all tables and chairs using disinfectant at the end of the day or in the morning before the next day of the sale starts.

• Wear masks and disposable gloves at all times during the sale.

• Have hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol on tables and other places for customers to use.

Summer Camp COVID-19 Outbreaks

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An overnight summer camp in rural southwestern Missouri saw 82 campers, counselors and staff infected with Covid-19. Missouri is one of several states to report outbreaks at summer camps. The Kanakuk camp near Branson ended up sending its teenage campers home. On Friday, the local health department announced 49 positive cases of the COVID-19 virus at the camp. By Monday, the number had jumped to 82.

A parent interviewed about the outbreak said he felt that the camp had done everything they could to keep his children safe. Kanakuk plans to reopen later this summer once test results from all staffers are returned and show it’s safe to do so, said Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health.

Kanakuk employs numerous layers of systems and protocols to ensure that the facilities, staff, and campers stay safe, clean, and healthy. However, the most important thing they do as an organization is spend countless hours praying in advance for every camper and staff who walks through the gates. They pray for a healthy and safe environment.

Some states, like Oregon, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, closed summer camps this year, and many camps elsewhere have voluntarily canceled programs. But other camps are plowing ahead, hoping that precautions like social distancing, masks and requiring children to quarantine before coming to camp will quell the risk.

In Texas, 76 cases of campers and staff who attended Pine Cove’s Christian camps have tested positive, and several weeks of camp were canceled after clusters of cases were discovered. The spread came despite state requirements that include enforcing social distancing and banning outside visitors. As of last week, campers and staff must wear masks when social distancing isn’t possible.

In Lake Burton, Georgia YMCA Camps, at least 85 kids and counselors tested positive for COVID-19, Georgia Department of Public Health officials told McClatchy News. Campers were all between 7-14 years old and staff between 16-22, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The YMCA says this situation happened despite careful planning and adherence to safety guidelines laid out by leading health experts and mandated by the state, 11Alive reported.

In Arkansas, Mount Ida’s Camp Ozark closed after “several” people were infected, though it didn’t say how many, Fox said. It’s a calculated risk for camps, to open or not open, but most are choosing to stay closed for safety, or are being forced to stay closed by state or local government mandate, according to CNBC. Nearly two-thirds of summer camps haven’t opened this year.

A Fort Myers, Florida children’s theater camp shut down this week after two students tested positive for COVID-19. “The students that tested positive didn’t have any symptoms,” Jeremy Kuntze, the executive producer for the nonprofit Creative Theater Workshop said. The students had rehearsed and performed in the summer camp production of the musical “Hairspray Jr.,” which ran June 15 through July 3, 2020. “We had taken safety precautions,” Kuntze said. “We required temperatures to be checked every day before students arrived. Sanitizing. All staff and volunteers wore masks. Visitors wore masks.” Students, however, weren’t required to wear masks, Kuntze said. “They were encouraged.” When performing on stage no one wore masks.

Screening for fevers with temperature checks is not a panacea. “The absence of an elevated body temperature is not a seal of approval,” said Dr. Fred Jacobs, a pulmonologist and former commissioner of the New Jersey Health Department, told ABC News. “The answer is not temperature. The answer is testing.” Children in particular can be asymptomatic and spread the virus with no sign of a temperature.

All of this foreshadows the insanity of opening schools in Florida 5 days a week despite the surge in COVID-19 cases. Children are not immune to the virus and they can certainly spread the virus to friends and family.

Florida  just shattered the number of cases reported in a single day with, 15,299 new cases on Sunday July 12, 2020. This is the highest daily total of any state in the United States. 45 people died in the state on Sunday July 12, 2020.

Crealdé in a Pandemic

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On Sunday mornings I have been instructing an Urban Sketching Class at Crealdé School of Art (600 St. Andrews Blvd. Winter Park, FL 32792). Rather than teach in the enclosed classroom, I have been instructing outside. We have been lucky with decent breezes. I did this quick demo sketch to show students how to lay out a composition and then they wandered off to do sketches of their own.

I am fascinated by the outdoor portable sinks that have been installed outside with foot pedals to turn on and off the water. The water only shoots out as a powerful geyser, there is no middle ground. I would be very curious to see the little ones using then during summer camp.

We had discussed two point perspective and the use of lights and darks in a sketch. Periodically I would walk around and find the students to check on their progress while maintaining six feet of distance. I carry a six foot staff as a visual reminder to myself and the students. It would be nice if it was a rare wizards staff, but it is just a section of molding.

All my students have all been troopers about wearing masks, though I had to lend a mask to one student who forgot one at the first class. I wear a mask and face shield to further protect my students.

Florida Schools to Re-Open in August

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Donald Trump is the one person you should not listen to in order to keep your children safe. Re-opening schools should not be a priority over public safety. The president and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said they want all schools to reopen full time in the fall. They do not offer ways to do that safely.

On Monday July 6, 2020, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran ordered Florida public schools to reopen in August. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that if Walmart, Lowe’s and Home Depot are open, then schools  should be open as well. But neither the governor, nor the White House, can force school districts to open in Florida, which has just set another record of 11,433 new COVID-19  cases in a single day this Friday July 10, 2020.

DeSantis and Corcoran both conceded last month that county school boards would have the final say about when and how to reopen their campuses. The state constitution, empowers school boards, not the state education commissioner, to “operate, control and supervise” public schools.

Vice President Mike Pence said, “The president said today that we don’t want the guidance to be too tough.” So, next week, the CDC will issue weaker and less specific and less costly guidance to keep students safe during a pandemic. The president threatened to cut off funding to schools if they do not open, but the federal government only funds a small portion of school budgets. States fund the bulk of school budgets.

States that opened too soon including Florida, have already ignored CDC guidelines on how to re-open safely. They are knee deep in a huge spike in infections with no plans in place to slow the spread of the disease. Up until now parents have been able to protecting their children by keeping them at home. No one knows how the virus presents in children, or how children might transmit the virus to older adults.

To date, two 11 year old children have died from the virus in Florida. 44 Florida Intensive Care Units are at full capacity. Florida State’s lead epidemiologist, Scott Pritchard, who had held his position for 15 years, quit on the day that DeSantis announced the state would open K-12 schools at full capacity. Clearly the scientists disagree with the mindless politics of rushing to open schools in the midst of the pandemic.

Florida teachers are warning that re-opening schools at the height of the pandemic could be deadly. “We’ve been given no guidance. We’ve been given no regulations that make sense to reopen our schools, and in the middle of a pandemic, we’re being told we have to reopen schools come hell or high water,” said Fedrick Ingram, president of the Florida Education Association told CNN Tuesday night.

At least one superintendent has said he will let “local conditions at the time” dictate whether schools open. Six associations representing teachers and parents – including the National Parent Teacher Association and the American Federation of Teachers – have criticized the President’s push to reopen schools. One of the teachers that will soon have to go back is Tracy Merlin, who teaches elementary school students and says it’s nearly impossible for instructors to guarantee their students’ safety under the current circumstances. On social media, teachers were posting, “Where can I get a living will?”

Lily Eskelsen Garcia, the president of the National Education Association, said she previously taught nearly 40 middle schoolers in a “tiny little classroom with one window. That was not healthy before the pandemic,” she said. “My classroom was a germ factory. I knew that I was going to catch someone’s cold every year. This is different. This is a virus that kills people.”

Dr. Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases advised superintendents to use the CDC guidelines as a guide to get students back to school safely. Physical distancing, masks, and hand washing could help keep the level of infection in the community down. Schools can consider modifying the school schedule with alternate days, morning versus evening, allowing online virtual lessons.

The above illustration was done as a virtual online demonstration for my Elite Animation Academy students about how to illustrate contemporary news. While instructing students on how to research, I found images of a Japanese teacher who had students create their own wings which promote social distancing. I also found research showing robots and automatons in front of students. Perhaps this is the only sane solution for the rush to crush students into crowded classrooms.

Orange County Florida Public Schools, will offer a three-pronged plan including face-to-face instruction, virtual schooling and innovative learning.

Trump Jr’s Girlfriend Infected

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Trump Jr‘s Girlfriend has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Kimberly Guilfoyle, ex-wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a former Fox News television personality and a senior fundraiser for Donald Trump’s re-election campaign traveled to South Dakota to be at the president’s speech at Mount Rushmore. She and Jr did not fly on air force one. Anyone who gets close to the president is routinely tested. She did not attend the event after the positive test result and drove back east. She is asymptomatic and did not get in close proximity to the president. “After testing positive, Kimberly was immediately isolated to limit any exposure,” Sergio Gor, chief of staff for the Trump Victory Finance Committee, said in a statement quoted in The New York Times. Donald Trump Jr tested negative, but as a precaution is also self-isolating and canceling all public events.”

She became the latest person in the president’s orbit — and who attended his June 20, 2020 indoor rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma — to test positive for COVID-19. Some campaign staff and Secret Service personnel tested positive, while former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said last week he had been hospitalized with the virus, the Times said. In addition,  Montana GOP gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte to suspended in-person campaign events after his wife and running mate attended an event with Guilfoyle. The Hill reported.

Guilfoyle and Trump Jr attended a June 27, 2020 party in the Hamptons where mask less attendees were partying like the pandemic was not a reality. The couple were guests of honor. They stayed at the party for about an hour. Party goers were “freaking out” after learning Guilfoyle tested positive for COVID-19, Page Six reported Monday July 6, 2020. The party took place at the Bridgehampton mansion (51 Sandpiper Lane, Bridgehampton, Long Island) owned by famed developer Joe Farrell. Video published by Page Six showed attendees without masks and chatting in close groups — not social distancing. Guests were on the roof but there are reports of the party being inside as well.

According to Harvard Health Publishing and Johns Hopkins University, the incubation period for Covid-19 — that is, the time between contracting the virus and developing symptoms or getting a positive result on a diagnostic test — is three to fourteen days. Researchers believe someone with Covid-19 becomes contagious two or three days before the onset of symptoms; however, those without symptoms can also transmit the disease.

Dorinda Medley Tweeted, “Anyone that attended Joe Farrell’s packed Hamptons party last week should get tested ASAP including @ramonasinger.”

Eyes: The Window for Covid-19?

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Eyes are the Windows to the Soul. What if they are also the windows for COVID-19 infection? I began wearing face shields or glasses along with my face mask anytime I teach students in person.  How COVID-19  infections spread is still not sufficiently understood. The main route of transmission is by respiratory droplets released from infected persons. Transmission via surfaces appears less frequent. The virus acts like no pathogen humanity has ever seen.

Doctor Joseph Fair took a flight to New Orleans and took every precaution by wearing a face mask, gloves and he had Purel to wipe down all surfaces around him on the flight. Despite his precautions he was infected by COVID-19. The eyes are one of three known routs of getting the infection. The nose and mouth are the most common routes and most people do not consider they eyes. Droplets landing on your eyes are just as infectious. He was not wearing goggles. Passengers were not social distanced. They were packed in like sardines. He developed symptoms 3-4 days later. He was in the hospital in critical condition but has since improved.

The CDC says, “it may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.” “Based upon what we know, I would say that the possibility of acquiring it on the surface of your eye is possible. It’s certainly plausible,” said Dr. Thomas Steinemann. “Any sort of open mucosa [mucous membrane] is a chance for a droplet to land there and get into your body,” said Dr. Abraar Karan. She followed up, “It’s hard to quantify exactly what the risk is in terms [of] through the eye specifically.”

Edward E. Manche, MD, a professor of ophthalmology at Stanford University Medical School, says that while doctors don’t know for sure, many think eye infection can happen. “I think it’s widely believed now that you can acquire it through the eye. A Johns Hopkins research study, suggests that there’s a good likelihood that the ocular surface cells are susceptible to infection by COVID-19. That study is now under pier review. That study examined 10 post-mortem eyes and five surgical samples of conjunctiva from patients who did not have the COVID-19. They wanted to see whether the eyes’ surface cells produced the key receptor for COVID-19, the ACE2 receptor.

COVID-19 has been known to cause Conjunctivitis which is an inflammation of the membrane that lines the front of the eye and inner eyelid, and is more common in the sickest patients. If the virus invades and infiltrates your conjunctiva – the clear tissue covering the white part of your eye and the inside of your eyelids – likely “there’s going to be inflammation or redness in your eyes,” Steinemann said. To become infected through your eyes, the virus would have to penetrate the eyes’ mucous membrane, be washed by tears behind your cheeks into your nasal cavity, and then flow from the nose into your throat. “It’s a more circuitous route,” says Steinemann. Our eyes have a number of defense mechanisms that help protect against infection, like eyelids that blink to cover the eye and tears that contain immunoglobulins that fight invaders.

The basic precautions against COVID-19 still hold when it comes to your eyes, says Steinemann: Wash your hands, practice social distancing – and “don’t touch your face” also means don’t rub your eyes. I ware a face shield any time I go in to work. I was surprised at how many times the shield blocked me from touching my face or mask. I forget I am wearing the shield.

You don’t need to be wearing a face shield on your walk around the neighborhood or your visit to the grocery store, Steinemann notes. For those situations, he recommends wearing a mask and practicing good hygiene and social distancing.

ISS Expedition

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This painting was a quick demo for my virtual Elite Illustration students. Today, July 7, 2020 at 12:30pm NASA will be broadcasting a live event with the ISS Expedition 63 In-Flight crew, Commander Chris Cassidy, and fight engineers Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. They will be interviewed by the New York Times and Fox News.

The SpaceX launch was on May 30, 2020 from Cape Canaveral. This was the first launch of humans in to space from American soil for more than a decade. It took the spacecraft 19 hours to reach the  International Space Station (ISS), 400 kilometers above Earth. Here the crew will remain for one to four months, before they return home.

To help prevent the contraction and spread of any illness, astronauts are held in isolation for 7 days before they launch into space. This is to keep them healthy and to avoid sending pathogens into space. The astronauts were also they were trained on how to detect symptoms and early signs of diseases. Only one launch was ever scrubbed due to an illness.

Elon Musk was overcome with emotion after the launch. His company Tesla was charged with building the rocket that launched the astronauts into space. His adrenaline was pumping. He then got choked up talking about his responsibility to bring the astronauts home safely to there families. Both astronauts have young children. He said, “I’ve spent 18 years working toward this goal, so it’s hard to believe that it’s happened.” Musk said. “This is hopefully the first step on a journey towards civilization on Mars, of life becoming multi planetary, a base on the moon and expanding beyond Earth.”

Pre-Pademic: Turkey

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In Mustafapasa, Turkey I noticed this sign of Americanization, a Coke delivery truck and could not resist dong a sketch. It once had a mixed population, Greeks and Karamanlides (Turkish speaking Christians) and Muslim Turks. In 1924 after the Greco Turkish war, the population exchange agreement between Greece and Turkey, forced Greeks and Karamanlides to leave the town for Nea Sinasos a town in the northern part of the island of Euboea in Greece. Most of the exchange was based not on language or ethnicity, but upon religious identity. An estimated  384,000 Greeks were killed from 1914 to 1918, and 264,000 from 1920 to 1922. The total number reaching about 648,000.

Fast forward to 2020. Coke has pulled over 700 million dollars in advertising from Facebook because the social media platform does not limit hate speech. Trump wrote: “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” a phrase used by a Miami police chief in the 1960s and widely interpreted as a violent threat against protesters. Facebook employees have condemned CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to leave up President Trump’s post. Twitter hid the same post for glorifying violence. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey took full responsibility for the decision.

After weeks of a staunch hands-off approach, Zuckerberg on Friday June 26, 2020 reversed course as a parade of brands began severing their ties with the company. Zuckerberg said Facebook will put warning labels on posts that break its rules, even if they are newsworthy, opening the door to potentially labeling posts by Trump. Facebook rules say speech that inspires or incites violence is not allowed on its platform. The company has removed over 300 Boogaloo hate groups form the platform. It is a feeble start to address a much bigger problem.

If you ignore or deny history you are bound to repeat it.

Rushmore

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Donald Trump has an infatuation with large sculptures. When visiting the Governor of South Dakota, he mentioned that he had a life long dream of having his head sculpted on Rushmore along side George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The Governor laughed, but Trump did not. He was serious.

On July 3, 2020 he flew to South Dakota set off fire works above the mountain. Weeks before a wild fire six miles from Rushmore burned 60 acres and required 117 firefighters from 3 states to get it extinguished. In preparation for the fireworks the US government spent $30,000 dollars to do a controlled burn in April around the site to mitigate the chance that the fireworks could start another wild fire.  About $600,000 was being spent on the display, including $350,000 for the actual fireworks and $3,500 on portable toilets. The governor of South Dakota purchased the fireworks with money that had been earmarked for economic development. The money that could have helped the states economy grow went up in smoke in a matter of minutes.

3700 people showed up for the fireworks. There was no social distancing at the event despite the record-high new COVID-19 cases in the United States. Chairs at the event were zip tied together making any social distancing impossible. You had to rub elbows and breath on your neighbor. Face masks were optional but very few people wore them. This was the perfect breading ground for the COVID-19 virus to spread.

The Black Hills are a deeply sacred place of spiritual and cultural significance to the native peoples of the area, nearly 60 tribes. The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty established the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation, according to the National Archives, but the lands were systematically taken by the US government after gold was discovered in the area in the 1870s. Almost 50 years later, the likenesses of the four American presidents were carved into the mountain. In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled that the Sioux Nation had not received just compensation for the land.

Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of the monument, was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slave, and Abraham Lincoln approved the executions of 38 Lakota natives in Mankato, Minnesota, which was one of the largest mass hangings in the history of the country. A member of the Democratic National Committee, Tweeted, “Trump has disrespected Native communities time and again. He’s attempted to limit their voting rights and blocked critical pandemic relief. Now he’s holding a rally glorifying white supremacy at Mount Rushmore — a region once sacred to tribal communities.”

Members of the Lakota tribe blocked one of the roads leading to the monument by stalling three vans across the road and then lining up across the road to block oncoming traffic. They held the barricade for over two hours at which time National Guard in riot gear came and made arrests. A Lakota leader negotiated to make sure women and children had a chance to stand aside before the arrests began. More than a dozen protestors were arrested to make way for the presidents new photo op.

I found no reports of embers from the fireworks setting any fires, but the real wildfire sweeping the nation is COVID-19, which the president chooses to ignore. COVID-19 cases have been rising in 36 states with California, Arizona, Texas and Florida all posting record numbers of new infections this week. These are states that Trump convinced to open early. Florida reported 11,458 new COVID-19 cases Saturday July 4, 2020, shattering its record for daily reported cases coming just short of NYC’s highest case count.