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.”

Disney to Re-Open as COVID-19 Cases Spike

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Disney is known for it’s magical thinking. The company plans to re-open Walt Disney World and Animal Kingdom on Saturday July 11, 2020 as new cases of COVID-19 surge in Florida. Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios are set to reopen July 15. As the theme parks prepare to open their gates, Florida has recorded the largest weekly increase in COVID-19 cases in the country. Orlando, on the doorstep of Disney, has the fifth-highest number of COVID-19 cases in Florida. Florida has over 10,000 new cases of the virus every day. 266 hospitals in Florida are reporting less than 10 hospital beds available. As of Wednesday July 8, 2020, the Florida Department of Health reported a total of 223,783 cases. It reported 10,140 new cases in the last 24-hours.

More than 10,000 Disney Cast members signed a petition urging Disney and government officials, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, to reconsider opening Disney World. “This virus is not gone, unfortunately it’s only become worse in this state,” the petition posted on MoveOn.org reads. “While theme parks are a great way to relax and enjoy free time, it is a non-essential business; it is not fair to the people who work there to risk their lives, especially if they are at risk or have family members who are at risk. People are more important than making a profit. As individuals who work in the bustling tourism industry in central Florida, we are responsible for ensuring the safety of our guests and our fellow magic makers. Keeping ourselves and our visitors safe is our No. 1 priority, in every theme park. This includes our health and well being. We are encouraged to say something when we see something that we deem is unsafe so we’re speaking up.”

When Disney CEO Bob Capek was asked about how many guests would be allowed into the park each day and he did not respond with a number of guests or a percentage of maximum park capacity. Instead he said they will try and maintain 6 feet of distance between guests. As he said, “Unlike Shanghai, where there were strict government mandates in terms of what capacity could be when we reopened, we don’t have that here at Walt Disney World.”  As he explained, “Well, we won’t open up a park unless we can cover our variable costs — essentially our cost to operate the park. So then beyond that it becomes a question of trying to cover your overhead and your capital expenses that you have.” Expecting a business to self regulate for public safety doesn’t work if profits are at stake. Disney will not loose money. What are you prepared to loose?

While some safety concerns have been addressed around areas like temperature checking for employees, the park was slower to offer responses on whether they will offer the COVID-19 testing that the labor union requested. Actors Equity said that Walt Disney World is retaliating over their demand for COVID-19 testing for actors, who have been “locked out” because of their desire for safe working conditions. The union represents about 750 park employees. Employees dressed as characters are represented by the teamsters. Equity actors appear in staged productions such as Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage and Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.

The reopening plan was approved unanimously last month by the county’s economic recovery task force, prior to the huge surge in COVID-19 cases in Central Florida. Disney World is reopening with only limited park reservations available for people with annual passes or tickets that were purchased before the pandemic. No new tickets are being sold for 2020. Other theme parks have already reopened their gates to the public in Central Florida, including Universal Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando and Gatorland, that reopened back in May.

Mayor Jerry Demings said, “At this point, I’m fairly comfortable with the decision that Disney has made to reopen because of the extent that they have gone through to ensure it’s a safe environment. Again, we saw something positive today in terms of the lowering of the positivity rate within the last week and some of the other things. So we have to take the good news where there’s bad news, as well, and we have to try to get our economy stimulated. But we don’t want to do that at the expense of risking people’s safety.”

Florida State Governor Ron DeSantis remains solidly behind the re-opening. He believes attending a Florida theme park would be safer than going to a large private gathering. It is also safer than jumping off a ledge at the Grand Canyon.

An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. COVID-19 is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death. According to the CDC, senior citizens and Guests with underlying medical conditions are especially vulnerable. By visiting Walt Disney World Resort guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19.

Stay Home. Stop the spread. Save lives.

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.

They Know Not What They Do

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Vice President Mike Pence took a trip to Texas where he visited the First Baptist Church in Dallas on Sunday June 28, 2020. A choir of more than 100 people performed without masks spraying each other and the audience with aerosolized droplets which spread COVID-19.  According to organizers, nearly 2,200 people attended the Celebrate Freedom Rally.

Studies have suggested that COVID-19 can spread through respiratory droplets in the air that can linger inside buildings. High-powered vocalizations, for instance loud talking or singing, are particularly efficient in producing these tiny particles. Other choir-linked outbreaks have occurred in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.

Throughout the service, the members of the choir sang at full volume, behind an orchestra. I really feel bad for the orchestra who would have gotten the full force of the fire hose. Singers were not six feet apart. The audience packed in a few rows back were also not practicing social distancing. Face masks at the event were “strongly encouraged,” with signs posted around the venue signaling the suggestion. Perhaps 50% of the audience took the suggestion while some wore the masks incorrectly. The choir put their masks on between songs which is counter intuitive since the singing is the best way to spray the virus into the venue. Secret Service agents must have known to place the Vice President off to the side rather than being seated front and center. The indoor service lasted for about one and a half hours.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an outbreak in a 122-member choir in Washington state. 86% of singers that attended that one rehearsal contracted the deadly virus. At that 2.5-hour choir practice attended by 61 persons, including an symptomatic patient, there were 32 confirmed and 20 probable secondary COVID-19 cases that occurred. Three patients were hospitalized, and two died.

In an interview Pence said that “people should listen to state and local officials on wearing masks in public, every state has a unique situation.” Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott opened his state early. The state has become a hot spot for the spread of the virus in recent weeks and he has had to reverse his position by requiring bars to close, putting restrictions on outdoor gatherings, and scaling back restaurant dining to help stop the spread.

The CDC initially recommended that churches consider suspending or at least decreasing the use of a choir and congregants singing during services. The CDC asserted that “The act of singing may contribute to transmission of Covid-19, possibly through emission of aerosols.” They have had to soften their language by “suggesting” or asking people to please “consider” life saving measures. Late last month however, the agency quietly removed that guidance from its website. According to The Washington Post, the White House requested that change.

I actually got sick to my stomach working on this illustration. I went into the bathroom and dry heaved. I am being physically affected by blatant the irresponsibility I see all around me. I scrubbed the bowl while kneeling before it. That is when the image of the Exorcist pea soup fire hose effect hit me. It occurred to me that Trump uses the same distraction technique when he doesn’t have an answer to any policy question. Denying reality does not defeat reality.

“Forgive them father for they know not what they do.”

Resurgence in Dating and COVID-19

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A dating app for wealthy people sees their members getting ready to date on the Fourth of July weekend despite social distancing rules still being in effect. Men and women who have been in isolation for months are desperate to score a date. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, online dating has taken off. Messaging on Hinge increased 30%, and Tinder saw its biggest day ever on March 29, with over 3 billion swipes. People have more time to talk online.

The virus is primarily spread, through respiratory droplets. And this is why it’s important to maintain that physical distance. Because you don’t know who has it and who doesn’t. And so, if people act irresponsibly and go out wanting to meet people, well then we’re gonna create new chains of transmission. Writing love letters is quite romantic.

With  a resurgence of COVID-19 cases hitting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ordered Bars closed though he refuses to consider a step back in his phase 2 re-opening plan. On June 26, 2020 there were 8,942 new COVID-19 cases on , shattering the previous record of 5,508 set just two days ago. New Case counts keep rising by about 1000 cases each day. DeSantis said the order was issued because many people were disobeying the state’s reopening guidelines. “People weren’t following it,” the governor said. “There was widespread noncompliance, and that led to issues. If folks just follow the guidelines, we’re going to be in good shape. When you depart from that, then it becomes problematic.” He however  refuses to make mask wearing mandatory state wide.

Back in April while NYC was suffering from the onslaught of the deadly virus, the governor claimed victory over the virus when he visited the president at the White House. “Everyone in the media was saying Florida would be like New York or Italy and that has not happened,” he said. “We had a tailored and measured approach that not only helped our numbers be way below what anybody predicted, but also did less damage to our state going forward.” Now he has to eat his words.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in response, ” look at the numbers, You played politics with this virus, and you lost.” “It was never politics. It was always science,” Cuomo said. He  criticized other state leaders’ response to the coronavirus pandemic Thursday June 25, 2020, saying some states who rushed to reopen their economies were playing politics.

Dr. Anthony Fauci in testimony before a congressional committee said on Tuesday that the rate of new coronavirus infections could more than double to 100,000 a day if current outbreaks were not contained, warning that the virus’s march across the South and the West “puts the entire country at risk.” “We have a very heterogenous country, but heterogeneity doesn’t mean that we are not intimately interconnected with each other,” Fauci said. “So what goes on in one area of the country, ultimately could have an effect on the other areas of the country.”

Vice President Mike Pence wore a face mask to a public briefing on Tuesday June 30, 2020 where the message from the surgeon general and others was clear: Americans should to do the same while in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The vice president and others removed their masks only when delivering remarks. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said “When you do not wear your face covering, we end up in a situation where you see higher rates of disease spread and you end up having to close places. This mask, this face covering, actually is an instrument of freedom for Americans if we all use it.”

Today July 2, 2020 Florida reached a new milestone surpassing a 1000% increase in COVID-19 cases since it re-opened.

Waiting Room

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Waiting rooms have become menacing places since the Covid-19 Pandemic began. It is estimated that there are 883.7 million ambulatory care visits a year in the U.S., with 54.5% of these visits going to primary care physicians. In the waiting room, there is ample time for the mingling of patients who have an acute infectious disease and those who do not. Studies have shown that airborne infections pose a particular threat to susceptible individuals whenever they are placed together with an infected individual in confined spaces like a healthcare facility waiting area.

According to the CDC, Covid-19 is spread mainly between people who are in close contact with one another (within about six feet) through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. A person can contract 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, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads. These patterns of transmission raise the concern that healthcare facility waiting areas are environments in which there is risk of transmission of Covid-19 to high-risk uninfected patients.

It is also recommended that, where possible, the waiting room chairs are arranged in a manner that is conducive to patients maintaining at least six feet of distance from other patients. There have been some recommendations regarding the use of HEPA filters. Unfortunately, since the Covid-19 virus is very small (0.1 of a micron), it is likely not filtered by most commercially available HEPA filters, which are only able to filter particles as small as 0.3 microns.

Five precautions include,

  • Make hand sanitizer accessible in high-traffic areas
  • Offer an antiviral face mask to patients and healthcare workers
  • Use germ-killing wipes on high-contact surfaces
  • Review containment plans and keep patients with flu-like symptoms away from others
  • Follow hand hygiene compliance standards.

Anyone in Orange County, including within the city limits of Orlando, will be required to wear a face mask beginning this Saturday while out in public, under a new mandate by Mayor Jerry Demings. Under his order, “every person working, living, visiting or doing business in Orange County,” will be required to wear face coverings consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, while in any public space.

On my half hour drive to Crealde School of Art today on the second day of the mandate I saw 25 to 50 people and none had a mask. My students thankfully did have masks.
The latest numbers from the Florida Department of Health show that there have been 97,291 cases of COVID-19 statewide, resulting in 3,161 deaths. That is an increase of 3,494 cases since Saturday morning. There were also another 17 deaths reported.

Virtual Courses and Summer Camps

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I had never used Zoom prior to the pandemic. I now use it every week to teach students traditional foundation drawings skills and animation for Elite Animation Academy. I like the platform because students can watch me draw live in an intimate online setting. I can take a drawing done by each student and then quickly add a few strokes to show them how their sketch might be improved. As students sketch away on assignments I like to sketch them from my end of the virtual classroom. I honestly feel that students get more from me than when I taught them in the classroom setting, pre-pandemic.

In a news conference Thursday June 18, 2020 Governor Ron DeSantis and Commissioner Richard Corcoran announced that they plan to reopen schools for in-person learning in the fall of 2020. DeSantis said, “We are not going to be instituting a lot of rules, or really any rules.”

  • Step 1 – June – open up campuses for youth activities and summer camps.
  • Step 2 – July – expand campus capacities further for summer recovery instruction.
  • Step 3 – August – open up campuses at full capacity for traditional start of the academic year.

According Florida Today, Florida’s surgeon general has acknowledged that a syndrome that attacks children and is associated with Covid-19 has surfaced in Florida, adding yet another critical layer to diagnosing and treating the disease. Emergency Medicine Physician Rajiv Bahl, MD, said that it’s too soon for children to begin playing together and having play dates.

Starting tomorrow, June 21, 2020, I will be teaching summer camps and classes 7 days a week until August 7, 2020. Summer camps will begin Monday June 22, 2020 at Elite Animation Academy and I will be instructing 5 days a week. I don’t know how many students are in the summer camps, but maintaining 6 feet of distance between students might be a challenge.

Today Sunday June 21, 2020 I will begin teaching a course at Crealde. Last week was the first class but I did not have the course on my calendar since I wasn’t given the course schedule, so I missed it. Six students showed up. I felt bad when I got the call and I was still in bed.

One Crealde student received notice that someone that they had been exposed to on June 11th, 2020 just received a Positive Covid-19 result.   Out of an abundance of caution, they were tested June 20, 2020, and will self isolate until results come back on Tuesday June 23, 2020 or Wednesday June 24, 2020.  They withdrew from class. I was asked to let the other five students know why the student left.  This student was with all of the other students for the entire 75 minutes that they waited on Sunday June 14, 2020 when I was at home.   Most students were wearing masks.  This student was wearing a mask.

The person this student was exposed to had no symptoms. People who are asymptomatic can expose others to the virus. They were both wearing masks, exposure was less than a minute together, the doctor says there is a very slim chance the student contracted Covid-19.  I feel like I dodged a bullet for now.
Tomorrow Sunday June 21, 2020 when I go to teach at Crealde I will of course wear a mask, but if any students decide to show up despite the possible Covid-19 exposure, then I will feel the need to get tested as well. I have been locked down for the past 3 months doing a pandemic themed painting every day. It will be a shock to try and return to “life as normal.”
At President Donald Trump‘s poorly attended Tulsa Rally, he said he had told officials in his administration to slow down coronavirus testing because of the rising number of cases in America. He said that the US has now tested some 25 million people. “Here’s the bad part… when you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people; you’re going to find more cases. So I said to my people, slow the testing down please.”
Florida reported another 4,049 coronavirus cases Saturday June 20, 2020, yet another record-shattering increase as the number of infections statewide approaches 94,000. Every day this week has show exponential growth in the spread through the state with a new record set each day. Florida has “all the markings of the next large epicenter of coronavirus transmission,” and risks being the “worst it has ever been,” according to projections from a model by scientists at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania.
Working 7 days a week, I will not be able to produce a pandemic themed painting each day. I will have to limp by, doing one or two a week. I am about the enter the Wild West of teaching summer camps and courses in the midst of a pandemic.

Theaters Shuttered

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Local Theaters have been devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Wade Hair the owner and artistic director of Breakthrough Theater (419 West Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park FL), announced via Facebook Live that they would not be reopening the theater due to complications brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The theater has been closed since March 13, 2020 and if they could open, they could only have 10 people per audience since the theater is so small. The theater had been in operation for 11 years. It was a magnificent mom and pop community theater that I loved. Friends and patrons have helped pay the bills up until now but with the Covid-19 case numbers rising, the theater owners just cant see themselves re-opening any time soon. They will have to leave the building by June 30, 2020.

Moonlight Players Theater (735 W Minneola Ave, Clermont, FL) is also closing. The Theaters 26th season closed with the pandemic closing much of the county and suspending all local theatre activity. Due to the timing of the pandemic-related closures, they had to make this bittersweet announcement that they will be vacating the Warehouse Theater home in historic downtown Clermont. They are having a closing sale June 20, 10:30am to 6:30pm. People are invited to fill up a bag or a box starting at $10. Many chairs and furniture pieces available as well. Only 10 people at a time will be allowed in the building, please wear a mask.

The New York Ballet has canceled its 2020 production of Nutcracker.  This will be the first time the company hasn’t presented the classic since the production premiered in 1954. The show is New York City Ballet’s most lucrative production, earning more than $15.3 million in ticket sales. Performed around 47 times each holiday season, The Nutcracker employed more than 150 dancers and musicians from the company, 40 stagehands, and more than 125 students from the School of American Ballet.

Again in NYC, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center canceled Fall performances. New York City has done an amazing job recovering from the huge spike in cases and has begin a phase opening watching the data closely. Here in Florida there has been a huge spike in new cases of Covid-19 over the past week. The number of cases has risen 254% since the state re-opened. Florida reported another 3,822 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday morning, breaking the one-day record of 3,207 set just 24 hours earlier.

The UK Government is going to issue a report on June 22, 2020. Andrew Loyd Webber  saw a preliminary report with government advice which included, musicals might return but without singing to stop the spread of the virus. He went on to say, “We in theater must be positive and use everything we can to demonstrate that we can open. If having done that we fail, at least we tried.”

AMC Movie Theaters announced a plan to re-open on July 15, 2020. AMC  reported that it lost more than $2 billion in the most recent quarter, when the pandemic essentially stopped theater going. Face masks will be required. AMC plans on opening 450 or so of its U.S. theaters on July 15, while all 600 should be open by July 24 in time for Disney’s Live Action Mulan and Warner Brothers’ Tenet. Now I worked on the original animated version of Mulan so I am very curious to see it. The opening of the live action remake was put off due to the pandemic but I can wait until it is available somewhere other than a crowded theater.

Orange County Mayor, Jerry Demings and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer have required residents to wear a mask in public places. Orange County is currently reporting the largest increase in positive cases since the pandemic began. We are seeing a significant rise in positive cases among those 20-40 years of age. We continue to see cases where those infected do not show any symptoms of having the virus. Because of this, we cannot be certain those around us have not been exposed. Each of us, no matter our age or how healthy we may be, must remain diligent in our fight against this pandemic.

Everyone must practice physical distancing and good personal hygiene. We must get tested for COVID-19 if we’re concerned we’ve been exposed.  We must continue to protect one another through simple, selfless actions.

COVID-19 is persists in Orlando. Remind every person in our community that our work to combat this virus is not done. Florida is showing signs of becoming the next epicenter of the Covid-19 virus outbreak.

Security

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In a news conference Tuesday June 16, 2020, Governor Ron DeSantis said that 260 workers from the Orlando International Airport tested positive for Covid-19 after nearly 500 employees were tested. Airport Chief Executive Phil Brown had to correct the Governor’s statement. According Brown, of the 500 airport workers who were tested for Covid-19, only two had positive results. Those tests were done over a three day period.

Between mid-March and through June 6, there were 132 employees of all the airlines, rental car companies, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Aviation Authority that tested positive, according to the statement. Another 128 people who tested positive were not airport employees but were traceable connections to the workers who tested positive for Covid-19, according to the public health team. so, 132 plus 128 is, 260 people with some affiliation with the airport have tested positive for Covid-19. This shell game is rather funny as executives try to confuse and downplay the numbers.

Clearly the airport executive tried to downplay the number of workers affected but regardless, 260 people were infected by the virus. That left me wondering, what would it be like to try and get through security knowing the TSA agents might be infected with the virus. A pat town might not just be invasive but downright terrifying.

On Wednesday June 17, 2020, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority approved a new policy requiring all 22,000 airport employees to wear facial coverings in public areas of the airport. Employees will need to observe social distancing “to extent that they can.” I imagine social distancing goes out the widow as a TSA agent spears the virus all over your clothes as they pat you down.

Some people have felt they were sexually assaulted when they were patted down. a well-known CNN political commentator and analyst, Angela Rye was subjected to a humiliating vaginal pat-down before boarding a regular flight from Detroit to New York. In addition to being screened by the backscatter X-Ray machine, the female officer advised that she had to be patted down. It was only supposed to be “a backhanded pat around her upper thigh.” Instead, the female officer went down her leg, up her dress and her hand sideways touched Rye inappropriately. The same officer then faced Rye, and her sideways hand once again hit the middle of Rye’s genitals. Rye believed she was sexually assaulted. She filed a complaint.

OIA is stepping up its cleaning efforts in high traffic areas, and hand sanitizer stations have been added throughout the airport. And as reported earlier they are downplaying the tread of the virus.

I hear flights going into and out of OIA all day long. Airlines have to keep the flights on schedule even if they are empty because it is a requirement of the 25 billion dollars in government bail outs. Known as the CARES Act, airlines receiving aid are required to continue flying to every domestic destination they already serve, even with low passenger numbers. The requirement is designed to keep supply chains stable and transport essential personnel, like government and healthcare workers, as well as to maintain connectivity to smaller areas. While airlines collected 25 billion dollars small businesses are folding all over the county. So, ghost planes are flying all over the country literally empty except for plane crews and very few passengers.

We are living in the age of ghost planes and zombie molestation in the name of “security.”

Dueling Dashboards

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Florida now has Dueling Dashboards. Rebekah Jones was the former manager of Data and Surveillance for the Florida Department of Health Covid-19 Dashboard. She was removed from the state’s dashboard project after she questioned other officials’ commitment to accessibility and transparency. In April, she was working on the results that would specify which countries in Florida could open. Superiors told her they did not like the results. A report had been written on the criteria needed for a county to re-open. Many rural counties did not meet the standards needed to re-open. Some more populated counties at the time did meet the criteria. She was told, “We can’t tell Jackson and Franklin Counties that they can’t re-open but Broward and Maimi-Dade can.” They wanted to exempt counties with populations of less than 75,000 allowing them to re-open regardless of their status. She was asked to delete data and hide information making the information not publicly inaccessible. Basically they wanted justify the Governor’s desire to re-open regardless of the facts.

The reputation of the dashboard had been built on it’s transparency. The data was eventually put back, but now it is hard to know how reliable that data is. They have changed how the date is calculated and how it is recorded. Data continues to go missing since the dashboard keeps crashing.

The way percent positive cases were calculated was re-worked. As she put it, Lets say there are 100 apples and 50 are rotten. 50% of the apples are rotten. Now lets say 30 were rotten yesterday, 10 were rotten 2 days before and 5 are almost completely rotten but not quite, the rest of the non-rotten apples are diced into hundreds of pieces. No matter how you slice it 50% of the apples are rotten. The scenario is made more convoluted than it has to be.

Percent of positivity was one of the bench marks each county needed to meet to re-open. Positivity had to be below 10% and decreasing for two weeks. The way it was calculated was to divide the number of positive tests by the number of tests given. It was changed to the number of new cases per day divided by the number of negative tests per day. If someone gets tested multiple times it throws off the results. She refused to mislead the public during a health crisis and was fired.

Since leaving Rebekah decided to create her own Covid-19 Florida dashboard and she accomplished that in 3 days. Jones’s website floridacovidaction.com is paid for entirely by donations. Her dashboard reported about 77o2 more positive cases than the Florida Department of Health dashboard on March 1, 2020, because she bases her findings on science and data.

The new dashboard also shows report cards on where each county stands on reopening. Based on the facts she presents only one county is actually ready to open every other county included Orange County failed.

After being fired, Gov. Ron DuhSantis attacked Rebekah’s character but he can have no say on her new dashboard since the information is publicly accessible. He accused her of not being a scientist, and not having access to the date. Her new Dashboard clearly shows that she was the architect of the FDH dashboard and I for one will be consulting her new dashboard often since I tend to trust her results more that the FDH site.  She was able to quickly assemble the new and improved Covid-19 Dashboard since she knows exactly how to find and access the data. The dashboard she had created previously was praised by Deborah Burks a member of the White House Task Force and her credibility remains unquestioned.

Liberty County up tin the Florida panhandle is the only county that meets all the criteria of the Department of Health to re-open. Decrease in ER Visits for COVID-like illness: YES
Decrease in ER Visits for influenza-like illness: YES
Decrease in new cases by date: YES 

Orange County where I live, has not met the criteria to Re-open.

According to Department of Health, Orange County does NOT meet the criteria for the next phase of reopening.
Decrease in ER Visits for COVID-like illness: NO
Decrease in ER Visits for influenza-like illness: NO
Decrease in new cases by date: NO 

Social distancing grade for Orange County is:
F
Distance Grade: D
Encounters Grade: F
Visitation Grade:  F

Florida reported another 2,610 cases of COVID-19 on the morning  of Wednesday June 17, 2020, and saw its Covid-19 death toll rise to over 3,000. Those numbers come one day after the state set a record with 2,783 new cases. The rush to re-open has consequences. Wear masks, socially distance and stay home if you can. If 80% of people wore masks this virus could stop dead in its tracks.