The Isolation Diaries No. 9

"I haven't heard about testing in weeks," the president said. "We've tested more now than any nation in the world. We've got these great tests and we come out with another one tomorrow that's, you know, almost instantaneous testing. But I haven't heard about testing being a problem." Donald J. Trump, March 30, 2020

Some days ago, I wrote that Donald Trump’s statements about the Coronavirus pandemic would become more unhinged and batshit as time goes on and the Trump Gang’s incompetence becomes glaringly clear. In the past two days Trump has boasted about ratings for his daily press briefings, comparing them to Monday Night Football, claimed that if only 100,000 Americans die from Covid-19, it should be considered a success for his administration, and, as noted in the quote above from March 30, repeated his dubious claim that the US has tested more people than any nation in the world.  

Let’s talk a bit about testing, one of the most important elements of a containment strategy. In the county where I live this is what’s happening, as reported by Tyler Hayden of the Santa Barbara Independent: “Of the 88 known COVID-19 cases in Santa Barbara on Monday ― a dramatic jump from 47 just three days earlier ― 14 people are hospitalized, with 10 in the Intensive Care Unit. Nationwide testing shortages continue to minimize the true scope of the regional outbreak, as only 726 Santa Barbara residents ― or just over 0.15 percent of the county’s population ― have been screened.” 

In the midst of a devastating pandemic, the President of the United States uses a daily briefing -- not to reassure or comfort the nation -- but to brag about his TV ratings. Viewers tune in to the briefings because they want information about the virus and the federal government’s response, not because they love Trump or believe his bullshit. Human beings are fascinated by trainwrecks, car accidents, magicians and carnival barkers. Most of us would stop and watch if we happened across a Great Dane fornicating with a chihuahua simply because that’s not something one sees everyday. As always, Trump draws the conclusion that makes him feel good about his pathetic self.

Sweet Jesus. 

Is the choice between saving lives or saving the economy? Is it that black and white? Can the country have a functioning economy with millions of sick citizens? For business as usual to return isn’t the first order of business to control the virus? 

We walk to Ralphs on Carrillo Street. Traffic is light. An MTD bus rolls down Figueroa Street carrying one passenger. Today we don’t have to wait in line. The shelves are well-stocked, the meat section looks like it would on a normal day, almond milk is available, and we even score a 9-pack of toilet paper. It’s sitting right there for the taking. I almost can’t believe it. Up by the check-out counters the blue tape on the floor has been replaced with real signs that say, “Wait here,” and now between the customers and the checker there’s a sheet of plexiglass. Goes to show how the abnormal becomes a whole lot less strange in just a few weeks. 

What will the new normal be when we come out the other side of this pandemic? When the danger passes and we emerge from our homes (if we’re fortunate enough to have a home), will we be like residents in a neighborhood or city that has been under aerial bombardment, curious to see what’s destroyed and gone forever, what can be salvaged, rebuilt, dusted off and restarted? 

On the walk home I call my brother in Tillamook, Oregon. He tells me its windy and damp, temperature in the mid-40’s at three in the afternoon. Eight weeks ago my brother stopped watching all TV news and tells me the effect on his nerves has been dramatic, like shedding a water-logged coat. Is Trump still in power, he asks. Yes, I say, but this virus has him by the balls and every last one of his deficiencies is exposed. Will that matter in November? asks my brother. I’m not sure, I say. It’s all upside down. In the end I suppose it depends on the good judgment and commonsense of the American people, and by that I mean the decent people who voted for Trump in 2016 out of desperation and disgust, who felt abandoned and neglected by both political parties. These people don’t attend Trump’s creepy rallies, wear MAGA caps, or believe everything Trump says. They tossed Molotov cocktail votes in 2016 because they were fed up with being run over and left for dead by the economic wheels. They rolled the dice once with Trump, but I’m betting they will not be fooled again. I hope you’re right my brother says. Hey, do you have enough TP?

My family remains healthy. My daughter had two online classes today. My son is experimenting with Julia Child recipes and claims to have added a pound to his 127 pound frame. Gabriel is surviving forced isolation much better than we thought he would. 

100,000 dead Americans is acceptable to Donald Trump. The projected figure of as many as 2.2 million dead was that high because the Trump Gang dithered for nearly six weeks, ignoring advice from inside the administration that Covid-19 was coming. Trump brushed aside the warning, said we were ready, that Covid-19 would pass the great and powerful and exceptional USA by. Trump was blase until the cases multiplied and the stock market nosedived. 

The rent’s paid, the power’s on, the water runs clear from the tap, and we have enough food and drink. We have enough money -- for now. We’re fortunate, incredibly fortunate.