The Naked Virus: A Daytona Superspreader

Posted on by Thor

Bike Week in Daytona Florida continues through March 14, 2021. This is the 80th Daytona Bike Week.Last year the rally happened right at the beginning of the pandemic and it helped spread the virus.

300,000 bikers are expected to show up in Daytona the midst of the pandemic. It will of course spread the virus all across the country. The new COVID variant, B117 is far more contagious and deadly than the first strain of the virus and Florida is ground zero. There have been 31,000 deaths from COVID-19 in Florida so far, the third highest death toll in the country. Florida continues to do every stupid thing it can to be number one.

Officials in Daytona allowed bars to open at 60 percent indoor capacity for the annual Bike Week. Just like the Sturgis Bike Rally in North Dakota during the pandemic, making money took a priority over public health.

Infectious Disease doctor Mohammed Reza of Daytona is worried about the possible outcomes. “My concern is this will become a superspreader event,” Reza said. “Especially if we have this more contagious variant of the virus already in Florida. No matter how much we do, anytime people congregate and come together, this virus will spread.”

Bobby chin strap, The Naked Virus, has been pan handling at Bike Week for 21 years. His wife, The Naked Cow Girl also works the event. This year Daytona instituted a policy that prohibits pan handling within 10 feet of businesses. The Naked Cowboy was arrested for pan handling.

At first I was sympathetic to the plight of the guitarist who only wore Fruit of the Loom underwear. Perhaps he was truly an artist. But then he started throwing the  N-Word around. “So the blacks can walk around and take tips all day long.” he said. He also gave the female officer a hard time for wearing a mask saying she must be a fan of Biden. She was wearing a neck garter which is the least effective form of a mask, the other officer had no mask. Bobby chin-strap,  The Naked Virus, WAS wearing a mask when he appeared in court. Pan handling charges were dropped and he pleaded no contest to resisting arrest. Chin strap paid $223 in court costs.

With the vaccines rolling out there is light at the end of the tunnel. Stop being stupid.

South Beach Superspreader

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Miami invested 5 million dollars on an ad campaign to convince people to come to South Florida during the pandemic for spring break. Tourism in Florida generated over $91 billion in 2018, but due to COVID-19 lock down measures Miami lost billions of dollars in 2020.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has no mask mandate in place for the state. It does not take a rocket scientist to realize that spring breakers will take no safety precautions when they come on mass to Miami beach to party hard and spread the virus.

A new variant of the virus imported from Great Britain called B117 now accounts for more that 40% 0f new cases of COVID-19 in Florida. Florida has more cases of the variant than any other state. B117 is more contagious and more deadly. We are at a tipping point as the slow roll out of vaccines is racing against the exponential growth of this new variant. Global health expert Dr. Peter Hotez has warned that these spring breakers could “spell disaster” for the country. “It’s the perfect storm,” he said. When all the drinking and partying is over the college students will return home to seed the virus all over the country. I am amazed that Florida Governors are happy to repeat the same mistakes they made exactly one year ago.

More than 1 million Americans traveled domestically and internationally over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day which likely seeded the B117 variant in the USA. The B117 SARS-CoV-2 variant, identified in 33 states thus far, will dominate other strains in the coming weeks, triggering major COVID-19 surges such as those seen in Portugal and the United Kingdom—unless the United States immediately scales up surveillance and mitigation efforts. However in Florida, bars, restaurants, and clubs will remain open because Miami is unable to keep them closed due to a state executive order from Governor Ron DeSantis. He chose never to implement statewide mask mandates. Last year, Florida became of the biggest states to loosen COVID-19 restrictions when DeSantis reopened all restaurants, hotels, and bars at full capacity. Let the parties begin as the new variant spreads like wildfire.

Pre-Pandemic: The Wooly

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The after work crowd quickly filled The Wooly in Manhattans Financial District (9Barckay Street NYC). I quickly dashed off a sketch while Pam met with fellow museum curators.

The Wooly began in 2009 with a clandestine bar in the landmark Woolworth building in lower Manhattan.

The Wooly quickly became a downtown destination for private parties within the art, fashion, music, tech and entertainment industries.

I liked the dark wood warmth of the places lighting. I was standing at a central room divider with seats and a simple shelf for drinks.

The kitchen has pretzels, Buffalo wings tacos and burgers. I’m pretty sire I just had a beer while I sketched. They are offering take out and catering during the pandemic. I don’t imagine the scene I sketched exists right in NYC.

I miss sketching these sorts of crowded scenes. Thankfully the COVID-19 case numbers are falling and perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel after a year of isolation in my artist studio.

Pre-Pandemic: O’Hara’s Pub near Ground Zero

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O’Hara’s Pub, on Cedar Street, badly damaged during 9/11, is a testament to the resiliency of New York City and its people. The pub was badly damaged in the wreckage of 9/11 but built itself back up to become a haven for first responders and tourists alike.

The bar became home base for ground zero recovery workers after 9-11. We found a tight little corner booth near the rest rooms to share drinks and stories with several museum staff.

The walls are covered with thousands of patches from the uniforms of firefighters and rescue workers which cover any free space throughout the bar. The tradition was established just one year after 9/11 when a construction worker ripped the patch off of a firefighter’s uniform and stapled it proudly to the wall.

Michael Keane, the owner, and five of his employees were there when the towers were struck. That day windows burst from their frames and dust engulfed the establishment. Keane watched the tower fall from the roof where he’d set about putting out small fires that erupted when the first plane hit.

It took the bar about a year to get back up and running. Regulars were slow to return, but construction workers from ground zero began to call the place home after the long days of work.

Bribes for Vaccines in Florida

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At a time hen many of Florida’s elderly were smuggling to find COVID vaccine doses, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is making sure rich donators get first dibs on COVID-19 vaccine shots. An ultra-wealthy and exclusive community called Ocean Reef Club, on the northern tip of Key Largo received enough coronavirus vaccine doses for 1,200 residents over the age of 65, according to a Miami Herald report on March 3, 2021. Homes at Ocean Reef range from $900,000 condominiums to homes worth more than $10 million, according to the club’s website.

Former Illinois governor Bruce Rauner (R), who is from that exclusive community, was inspired to donate $250,000 to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s war chest. 17 other Key Largo residents have contributed to the Friends of DeSantis committee over the past four years.

Last month,  he organized a COVID vaccine pop up site in a mostly White, affluent part of Manatee County and then threatened to take vaccine away from counties where officials criticized his approach. Residents could only get the vaccine if they were from that exclusive zip code. “If Manatee County doesn’t like us doing this, then we are totally fine with putting this in counties that want it,” DeSantis said at a news conference in February 2021. “We’re totally happy to do that.”

Critics have also accused DeSantis of using the vaccine distribution plan to appeal to donors; he has raised more than $2.7 million in February alone since he began the “pop-up” clinics, the Herald reported. Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried called for a federal investigation into Governor Ron DeSantis’ handling of the vaccine distribution.

Pre-Pandemic: The Accidental Historian

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The Accidental Historian Exhibition was at the Orange County Regional History Center through January 20, 2020, so the exhibit came down just prior to the start of the pandemic. On January 21, 2020, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the United States in the state of Washington. The patient had recently returned from Wuhan, China.

The exhibit featured people who might be historians without even realizing it. That’s certainly true of many bloggers, urban sketchers, photographers, and more. This engaging exhibition, created at the History Center, was about individuals who are absorbed in documenting the world of today accidentally becoming some of Central Florida’s finest historians for the future. The exhibit offered a glimpse into some of our favorite collections that were created for the now – more than 100 years ago.

The Accidental Historian featured both historic and contemporary work and collections, including drawings by the renowned artist and teacher Ralph Bagley and Urban Sketchers Orlando, poetry by Orlando’s inaugural poet laureate Susan Lilley, audiovisual work by food blogger Ricky Ly, historic images by photographer T.P. Robinson, and more.

This panel discussion featured three contributors to the exhibit. At the podium Catherine Duffy asked each panelist questions in turn.

Photographer J.D. Casto had documented the Pulse Nightclub shooting’s aftermath. His photos capture Orlando’s love and hope following the shooting. One of his photos of an auditorium hung next to a similar photo from one hundred years ago and it was as if time had stood still.

Ricky Ly founded Tasty Chops, a blog for local foodies. The exhibition featured several of his videos of local restaurant owners discussing their offerings.

Robin Katz, is a member of Urban Sketchers Orlando. She uses her sketchbook as a journal to document the Central Florida community. Samples of Robin’s sketches were featured in the exhibit.

 

 

All Quiet on the Vaccine Front

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With vaccines slowly rolling out there is light at the end of the tunnel. My great great grandfather Augustus Arthur Thorspecken served in WWI and his army camp in Kansas was where Spanish flu broke out in America. I started to wonder what it must have been like for him at the end of the war as he hoped to avoid the flu and the final days of battle. Knowing the war was ending some soldiers let their guard down and that resulted in death.

All Quiet on the Western Front featured a soldier who was an artist and on the final day of battle he saw a butterfly. As he was distracted by the butterfly’s beauty he stood and was shot dead by a sniper from the enemy trenches.

As vaccines become available some state mayors have lost patience with mask mandates and trying to keep constituents safe. With only about 6% of people vaccinated there is no herd immunity. Only after about 70 to 95% or more of the population is vaccinated will it become safer to reopen state economies fully. Texas and Mississippi have decided to fully open which is a death sentence for people who will be subjected to new strains of the virus which will go unchecked. I had hoped that stupidity would end when the ex-president left office but there is plenty of stupid to go around.

We are all experiencing some form of pandemic fatigue but the solution is not to run into a machine gun firing line. Texas Governor Greg Abbott ignored the advice of health experts as he lifted his state’s mask mandates. Texas has had COVID deaths so far. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced March 22, 2021 that he’s lifting all state-imposed mask mandates and removing COVID-19 related restrictions on business operations. Mississippi has had COVID deaths so far. Of course I live in Florida and it is up to individuals to try and protect themselves from ignorant state leadership. Florida has had COVID deaths so far. Wear a mask, social distance and wash your hand often. State governors are trying to kill you.

Mad Mask Abbott

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Texas Governor Mad Max Greg Abbott announced on March 2, 2021 that the states mask mandate would be lifted and all business could open at 100% capacity starting March 10, 2021. The CDC had warned the day before that states should not ease public health safety restrictions. As of March 1, 2021, only 6.57% of Texans have been fully vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins University.

COVID case numbers have fallen since the insanely high numbers of January driven by the holidays, New Years Eve and the Super Bowl. However the number of new cases have leveled off at about the worst of the summer surge which was the worst imaginable horror at the time. Since new cases of COVID-19 have been leveling off at about 50,000 new cases a day, there is a risk that there could be a 4th wave driven by states lifting health guidance too early. New variants of the virus are spreading and some are resistant to the vaccines being distributed. In Brazil, people who recovered from the COVID virus at the beginning of the pandemic are getting re-infected. The second infections are more severe and deadly.

A team of researchers in Houston, Texas, has sequenced the genomes of SARS-CoV-2 isolated from 20,400 COVID-19 patients treated at a single health system there, and they’ve found cases of all the major variants that public health experts say could increase the transmission of the virus or the severity of infection.

Ironically President Joe Biden‘s fast vaccine roll out is partly the cause of governor Abbott letting his guard down. President Joe Biden slammed Abbott on March 3, 2021 for putting lives at risk by clinging to “Neanderthal thinking” rather than heeding advice from the nation’s top scientists. “I think it’s a big mistake,” Biden told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with lawmakers. “We are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because of the way in which we’re able to get vaccines in people’s arms….The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything’s fine, take off your mask. Forget it. It still matters.”

Biden noted the death toll, 511,874 Americans at last count. “We’re going to lose thousands more…. We’ll not have everybody vaccinated until sometime in the summer,” Biden said. “It’s critical, critical, critical, critical that they follow the science. Wash your hands, hot water. Do it frequently, wear a mask and stay socially distanced. … I wish the heck some of our elected officials knew it.” To date, Texas has lost 43,266 lives.

“We at the CDC have been very clear that now is not the time to release all restrictions,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asked about Texas’ change of policy during a White House briefing. “The next month or two is really pivotal in terms of how this pandemic goes.”

COVID PAC

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The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is the country’s largest meeting of conservative activists and politicians, and usually gives insight into the direction of the Republican Party. It was held in Orlando February 25 to February 28 2021 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Hotel employees are required to wear protective masks and gloves during their time on-site. The Hotel also implemented social distancing guidance in public areas and other health and hygiene requirements to keep guests safe.

When organizers got on the stage, which was designed in the shape of the Odal Rune, a Nazi Symbol, and they asked the audience to wear masks they were met with angry boos.

The big star of the conference was a golden statue created by Mexican artist, Tommy Zegan. Attended worshiped the golden calf with red white and blue shorts by posing for selfies. The ex-president gave his first speech sine loosing the election. It was a droll rather boring rehash of his past grievances. He also begged for money since he made a whole lot of cash loosing to president Joe Biden.

Mask wearing at the event was spotty at best with plenty of chin straps and ear dangling decorations rather than properly fit masks.  Florida’s Grim Reaper, aka lawyer Daniel Uhlfelder, raised money to have a plane troll thee conference with a banner that read, “Welcome Insurrectionists!”

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the hotel where the Conservative Political Action Conference met did its very best to comply with COVID-19 restrictions. “Signs were posted throughout the hotel and announcements were made to make sure the attendees were aware of the masking order,” Demings said. “However, we know that some of the attendees were non-compliant.” The hotel lacked the balls to  enforce the mask mandate. This like all of the former president’s events, will be a superspreader.

PPE Pollution

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Reports from around the world suggest COVID-19 pollution is becoming a global issue. In Hong Kong, for instance, surgical masks and gloves litter hiking trails and wash up on beaches. Clean-up crews on beaches in the United Kingdom have reported surges in discarded takeout containers and hand-sanitizer bottles.

During the pandemic, personal protective equipment (PPE) has driven increased plastic pollution. To fill the high PPE demand among the general public, health care workers, and service workers, single-use face mask production in China soared to 116 million per day in February 2021, about 12 times the usual quantity. The World Health Organization (WHO) has requested a 40% escalation of disposable PPE production. If the global population adheres to a standard of one disposable face mask per day after lockdowns end, the pandemic could result in a monthly global consumption and waste of 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves.

Face masks and gloves are polluting the oceans. Waterlogged masks, gloves, hand sanitizer bottles and other coronavirus waste are already being found on our seabeds and washed up on our beaches, joining the day-to-day detritus in our ocean ecosystems. French clean-up charity Opération Mer Propre is among those calling for action. “There are more masks than jellyfish,” Laurent Lombard from the organization said in one Facebook post. The quarantine economy has driven more people online, resulting in greater packaging waste from deliveries.

Plastic decomposes over hundreds of years. That means the same PPE that today is washing up in gardens, overflowing in landfills and sinking in the ocean could be a problem for our great-great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren. And their grandchildren as well.