All Bets are Off

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Las Vegas saw a record number of infections two weeks after the casinos re-opened June 4, 2020. Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said the state is “not ready” to advance to Phase 3 of reopening as Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations continue to spike.

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas all reported their highest single-day increases in cases over the past week, according to Newsweek.

Donald Trump has been rushing the states to re-open while trying to ignoring that the virus exists or that it will “Magically” go away and never wearing a mask.

The Joe Biden campaign said this in response to the pandemic…

The American people deserve an urgent, robust, and professional response to the growing public health and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. That is why Joe Biden is outlining a plan to mount:

  • A decisive public health response that ensures the wide availability of free testing; the elimination of all cost barriers to preventive care and treatment for COVID-19; the development of a vaccine; and the full deployment and operation of necessary supplies, personnel, and facilities.
  • A decisive economic response that starts with emergency paid leave for all those affected by the outbreak and gives all necessary help to workers, families, and small businesses that are hit hard by this crisis. Make no mistake: this will require an immediate set of ambitious and progressive economic measures, and further decisive action to address the larger macro-economic shock from this outbreak.

 

Waiting Room

Posted on by Thor

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

Posted on by Thor

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.

Price of PPE

Posted on by Thor

Why are police officers around the country outfitted in high tech riot gear while nurses and doctors have to scramble for basic personal protective equipment? Back in April when New York City was first hit hard by the Covid-19 Pandemic some nurses and doctors had to improvise, using hefty garbage bags since Personal Protective equipment was in such short supply.  Now, with police hitting the streets with pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse protestors we can see that they are very well supplied with PPE.

I decided to host a fashion show with a nurse and an officer in riot gear. I am not great at knowing the costs of fashion items but I will try and research what each is wearing and how much it costs. I will limit myself to the items visible in my illustration.

The Nurse.

It should be noted that PPE costs increased 1000% during the Covid-19 pandemic. While nurses ran out of PPE, and had to re-use face masks, the President accused them of stealing their own supplies..

A basic Face Shield. She is sporting a fairly basic face shield. In May, Amazon began to mass produce face shields at coast for nurses and doctors. Prices are between $12 and $35.

Pro-Safe Skull Cap  $4.06

This nurse is not wearing an N-95 Surgical Mask. The Face Mask she is wearing is not designed to form a seal around the nose and mouth. A pack of 50 about 29.00 or $.59 cents each. Face masks can not be shared and should not be re-used.

Disposable Scrubs Top $4.99.

Disposable Scrubs Pants $4.99.

Disposable Vinyl Gloves $16.99 for 100 pairs or $.16 cents per pair.

She should be wearing Waterproof Boots (e.g. rubber or gum boots) $36.45. I have also seen photos of nurses putting hefty bags over their street shoes and duck taping them in place.  $9.99 for 40 bags. or $.49 for a pair. Duck tape is $4.99 for a roll which can go a long way.

Outer Protective Gown is a Hefty Bag with a hefty plastic tie for a belt. $.24 cents.

Any street clothing will not be counted. The total for the ensemble is about $27.52. Her wings are free. She has earned them.

The nurses had resorted to trash bags after the death of assistant nursing manager Kious Kelly, 48, who died of COVID-19 on March 24, 2020. Colleagues have blamed his death on the forced reusing of protective equipment.

Around April Fools Day, Nurses battling the Covid-19 pandemic at Mount Sinai West in New York City finally got more protective gear after The New York Post revealed a shortage so dire that some staffers resorted to wearing trash bags. Should we ant to thank essential workers, we should make sure they are included in city budgets.

Riot Gear Police.

Helmet Lancer Tactical Large – X-Large Industrial ABS Plastic Constructed Maritime Adjustable Crown with 20mm Side Rail Adapter Velcro Padding NVG Shroud Bungee Retention. $65.

Gas Mask is similar to the Evolution 5000 $229.50.

The Upper Body Protector Vest is about $71.42.

The department supplys ammunition. Collapsible batons, chemical spray, handcuffs — both metal and the plastic variety used in riot-type situations — and a leather utility belt to hold these items are other must-haves.

Minnesota officers receive an annual equipment allowance of $980 — rookie cops get three years, or $2,940, up front to start building their wardrobes. Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges has pledged another $1.1 million for a department wide rollout of body cameras. LAPD officers are outfitted in riot gear that costs tax payers at least $470 per officer, not counting weapons.

I can’t identify the exact less lethal weapon this officer is holding but it is probably just short of $1000. Should anyone be able to identify it with a price, please let me know. The Sting Ball Grenade on his vest is $52.50. Who knows how much more ammo and grenades are in the bag he is holding.

The Body Cam on his vest is about $155.98.

This officer may have on a very nice Paul Newman Rolex Daytona watch.

So an exact pricing estimate seems difficult, but it is fair to say that there is a big difference between the $27.62 Nurse ensemble and the several thousand dollar plus riot police ensemble. By one estimate one officers riot gear could pay for the PPE for 33 nurses.

This leads to the idea of defunding the police to create balance in the community. Rather than investing billions in a culture of violence, we could invest some of that money in services that have a positive impact on the community like youth programs, counseling and affordable housing. The nation wide peaceful protests are helping inspire change.

What Point?

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The 1,107 graduating Cadets at West Point have been studying remotely since March 19, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The spring break was extended indefinitely due to the spread of the virus across America. By studying at home, cadets helped stop the spread of the disease. Despite these successful safety measures, President Donald Trump insisted that he wanted to give a commencement speech in front of all the cadets at West Point.

Every cadet had to return to West Point two weeks weeks early to self isolate so that the POTUS who never wears a mask in public and often does not social distance might be kept safe. “Trump’s reckless decision to gather 1,000 Cadets at West Point for a speech puts our future military leaders at increased risk – all to stroke his own ego,” Army veteran Senator Tammy Duckworth wrote in April.

“Because travel increases your chances of getting infected and spreading Covid-19, staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from getting sick,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote on it’s website. On top of this, New York State has had the highest number of cases of Covid-19 in America. West Point is just a 90 minute drive north of New York City which has been the epicenter of the outbreak of the virus.

Prior to the ceremony every cadet had to take Covid-19 tests to keep the POTUS safe. The ceremony flouted New York Governor Andrew Cuomo‘s social distancing directives for graduations in the state to be limited to 150 people. Sixteen of the graduating class tested positive for the Covid-19 upon their return to campus. The 16 cadets are receiving treatment but are not showing symptoms of the disease, Lieutenant. General Darryl Williams, West Point’s superintendent, told USA Today. Other than the 16 cadets, 71 of the more than 5,000 faculty, staff and civilians at West Point have also tested positive for COVID-19 since March, USA Today reported. I am sure that Trumps SS would kept anyone who was infected far from the president.

A rift has become evident between the executive branch and the military. The government’s highest ranking military official, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley apologized for his role in Trump’s now infamous photo op in front of Saint John’s Church last Monday June 8, 2020, saying “I should not have been there.” Hundreds of West Point alumni, two days before Trump’s address, also called out the top Pentagon leaders, for failing to uphold the Constitution in their responses to nationwide protests.

Top Army leaders and Defense Secretary Mark Esper were “open” to the discussion about re-naming military bases that are named after Confederate generals who lost the civil war. The  GOP-led Senate Armed Services Committee approved a new amendment that would require military bases named after Confederate soldiers to change their names – setting senators on a collision course with the president. Trump tweeted that he “will not even consider” renaming military bases. The bases are located in  southern states that helped Trump secure his 2016 victory, and as Election Day approaches, he needs their support.

The class of 2020 West Point graduates entered their commencement ceremony on the Plain Parade Field wearing white face masks. Once they got to their socially distanced folding chairs they could remove their masks. There was no family of friends allowed. I imagined that if I was a graduate I would probably make a scarecrow to wear my hat. The POTUS probably wouldn’t notice the difference. The scarecrow could easily stand in for the military salute photo op.

The presidents speech was sleepy and insipid. I read his speech, but don’t pay attention to what he says anymore, I just watch what he does. He hobbled  off the stage after the cadets all threw their caps in the air. 16 0f those caps might have been carrying the Covid-19 virus.

Pre-Pandemic: Significant Trees

Posted on by Thor

On March 19, 2020, I did this last sketch for the Orlando Significant Trees series before settling in and isolating for the Covid-19 pandemic. This tree in Big Tree Park, (930 Thornton Avenue Orlando FL) is likely 350 to 400 years old. It is the oldest tree in Orlando. Live Oaks can live for centuries.

While doing this sketch a woman walking her dog approached to see what the sketch looked like. Because she got closer than 6 feet from me, I decided it was no longer a good idea to be doing drawings on location. The Covid-19 Pandemic had been announced on March 13, 2020 so it was rather foolish of me to have been thinking I could still sketch on location safely. Several other trees need to be sketched But I decided to wait to do these until after the new cases of Covid-19 infection level off for 14 days. That has yet to happen as new cases rise each day here in Florida.

On March 19, 2020 more than 14,200 people had tested positive in the U.S. and at least 187 had died. These numbers seem so small looking back. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a statewide order for residents to stay at home. Floridians would not be asked to stay at home until April 3, 2020. The State Department told citizens who traveled abroad they should come home immediately or prepare to remain overseas. This rush back into the United States would result in a huge spike in cases in New York City as people who went untested upon return, poured into the city airports.

Projections models at the time predicted a possible 1.1 million deaths in America assuming there was little to no social distancing. A better scenario envisioned Americans embracing drastic restrictions and school closures, which would reduce the  death toll closer to the thousands as the country prepares for a grueling but surmountable road ahead. We are today somewhere between these very different scenarios with almost 2 million cases and 111,390 dead and rising.

 

Pulse: Don Price

Posted on by Thor

Don Price was the sexton at Greenwood Cemetery at the time of the Pulse Nightclub massacre. He got a call from the mayors office the weekend of the shooting. He had been out at the beach watching a Space X launch. He returned to met with the mayors office. The mayor wanted to know if Greenwood could handle the 50 burials. The mayor also wanted to see the area of the cemetery that could accommodate the families on about Sunday afternoon. It was announced that the families would not have any cost of burial at Greenwood. People thought that meant the burials were free, but there were costs. Several anonymous law firms underwrote the burials paying families for the plots. 50 spaces were set aside. The section that was set aside had just opened up two months earlier, so it was easy to send the mayor photos and plot maps since it was just surveyed.

The cemetery worked with the state. The cemetery map became a war board. Funeral homes had to be called each day and reports sent to the state. The cemetery kept track of every funeral and service. Men’s dress suits and flowers were donated to families. Almost 21 victims were buried in Puerto Rico.  It is possible some of them will return to Greenwood because of hurricane Maria. Families have been displaced and families may want their loved ones back in America. These were 21 year old kids. We ended up burying 4 in Greenwood. Others were buried in, Tampa, Texas and North Carolina.

He met with families that did not understand everything going on.  They didn’t live in Orlando and suddenly they had to decided if they should bury their loved one at Greenwood or back to Puerto Rico. He had to give each family their options and let them decide. Services started Saturday. It was the first time the cemetery had multiple holes open at once. Tents were put up and families were kept separate from the holes. It was chaos.

People who come in the cemetery want to know where the Pulse section is even today. There are 49 bricks set aside for a memorial at the cemetery but that project was put on hold because so much is going on.  It will be put up with no fan fare.

They went out dancing on Saturday night, and Sunday morning they were gone. Half of them were out of the state by Wednesday. Some parents would not recognize the sexuality of their children. One victim was not even picked up. Greenwood had to work on trying to get him picked up. Finally, next of kin made the arrangements.

The burial site for the Pulse victims is right next to Anderson Road. Mayor Buddy Dyer didn’t want to put the burial site on display, but he didn’t want to hide this part of history. From the site you can see the lake, and downtown Orlando. But there were threats of protesting. A 10 foot chain link fence was erected down Anderson and black construction mesh was added so families with a service would not feel like they were on display. Commissioner Patty Sheehan helped Don find American flags and rainbow flags so the families didn’t have to look at the black mesh. It gave them some color. A parade permit was pulled so they could close down the third lane on Anderson and shut down the wetlands park. So if protestors showed up they could be arrested. Luckily there were no protestors.

As a cemetery they have a right to control any still or video images shot on property. News crews could shoot between funerals but not during any funerals. No burials were filmed. Don had a police officer with him to be sure media respected families privacy. Everyone was watching.

Orlando has become a more open and accepting community. Greenwood was open to all races since day one, but if you go to Winter Garden,  Winter Park or Ocoee, there is a white cemetery and a black cemetery. Everyone in Orlando was affected by this tragedy. It was an attack against our entire community. It tied us together. Don stayed away from any of the memorials after the shooting. As he said, “When it comes to a memorial, the last thing you want is for the undertaker to be standing there.”