covid

In a recent article in The Atlantic, Thomas Chatterton Williams decried America’s handling of the coronavirus. The words “utter disaster” are used, and Williams, an expatriate, contrasts America’s response to that of France, where he currently lives. “As Donald Trump’s America continues to shatter records for daily infections, France, like most other developed nations and …

Next month marks the beginning of the 2020/2021 academic year in several US states, and pressure is mounting to reopen schools even as the COVID-19 pandemic persists. Florida, for example, is now considered the nation’s No. 1 hot spot for the virus; yet on Monday, the state’s education commissioner issued an executive order mandating that …

California’s 2020–21 $202 billion state budget spends about three times as much per state resident, adjusted for inflation, compared to California’s 1990–91 budget. And this is after $20 billion of COVID-19 related budget cuts. But as you look around the state, you will not see this much higher spending at work. You will instead observe …

Governments overplayed their hands with mandates that they are losing the ability to enforce. On June 19, the mayor of Cottonwood, Arizona, unilaterally ordered city residents to wear face masks in public places. A week later, my family went downtown to grab some lunch at a favorite barbecue joint. The proclamation might as well have …

Donald Trump has moved to officially withdraw the US from the World Health Organisation during the coronavirus pandemic. The US president has formally notified the United Nations that America is leaving the WHO, prompting his presidential election rival Joe Biden to say he will rejoin immediately if elected. Mr Trump warned in May that the …

Hospitals across the country are trying a new tactic to combat COVID-19: replacing medical doctors with Hollywood celebrities doling out advice. The Hollywood celebrities will simply lecture patients with their vast knowledge from their acting careers, tell them to do better, or sing “Imagine” for really bad diseases. Hundreds of thousands of doctors were informed …

Mayor Sylvester Turner said city health officials will shut down the GOP Convention if it does not follow strict guidelines. “We expect all of these rules to be strictly adhered to, if this convention should go forward, there will be health inspectors and monitors that will be at the convention the entire time,” said Turner. …

The debate over COVID-19 lockdowns has thrust Sweden into the global spotlight. Anders Tegnell, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said he’s confident Sweden’s approach is the right one. As nations around the world begin to ease lockdown restrictions passed amid the scariest pandemic since the 1918 Spanish Flu, a new battle is brewing among …

It sounds like Houston’s Mayor Turner wants to push the city back into a lock down. Yesterday he took to Twitter in an effort to beg Texas Governor Greg Abbott to re-close all the gyms and bowling alleys. This is how it starts. We mustn’t give Sylvester a frickin’ inch. This news comes to us …

It is common to hear social media figures and pundits deride censorship on social media and other technology platforms. As I wrote in Towards Data Science, this threat is very real, especially during the COVID-19 public health crisis. However, the exaggeration of the threat plays into our society’s growing fondness for “grievance culture.” The story …