Monday Monday. March 30th. Happy birthday to Gomez Addams.

How things were in the olden days.

Bruce Mohl notes that Massachusetts is upping its game on coronavirus testing. He also references a South Korean doctor that advises wearing masks to help slow the spread. South Korea had its first case the same day the US did but infections there are generally under control now. Masks, unfortunately, are not readily available in the US today and in any case should be going to healthcare workers first. Then first responders and grocery store workers.

The Financial Times has a comprehensive recap of the global spread and impact of the virus so far. Lots of interesting charts and graphs.

A 44 year-old state rep from Michigan is one of the latest coronavirus fatalities. The Detroit police chief has tested positive and about a quarter of the force is in quarantine.

For people renting, Tom Acitelli has a list of resources for dealing with the impact of the virus. And David Rabinovitz writes about how small businesses are dealing.

Even if you’re stuck at home you should be walking, walking, walking.

And Thomas O’Grady writes about photography as literature, particularly the work of Dublin photographer Fionán O’Connell.

It’s March 28th. Saturday. Be nice to your cat.

Can we draft Bill Gates for president?

The current president is invoking the Defense Production Act to order GM to produce the ventilators that governors are screaming for. So now maybe they’ll actually get them …if they’re nice. Then again, people who run companies that already make ventilators don’t think auto manufacturers will be able to produce them. As for the drive-through parking lot testing sites that were touted by the president, not much has actually happened and those plans have been quietly scaled back because of a lack of available tests.

In Massachusetts, the Health Commissioner, Dr. Monica Bharel, has tested positive. The Governor is not, at this point, showing symptoms. – The Harvard Street Health Center in Dorchester is adapting to the crisis by embracing telehealth technology. – That halt to construction in the city is impacting some large projects but others are planning to move ahead on schedule. – And Boston Magazine has some tips for redecorating your home during a pandemic. Of course they do.

A 101 year old man, born into the Spanish Flu, has recovered from Covid-19 and is being released from an Italian hospital.

In Denmark, the government is underwriting most peoples’ salaries for the next three months. The Irish government is nationalizing the country’s hospitals until further notice.

And for many people, if you’re not commuting you’re not listening to podcasts. But if you are still listening to podcasts, here are two conservative libertarian economists discussing the impact of coronavirus. It’s an interesting take.

Friday. It was a long week.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive. He’s working from home. His Health Minister, Matt Hancock, is also infected.

You’ve got to give members of Congress credit. Many are flying or driving back to Washington for the coronavirus relief bill vote just to make sure Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky) doesn’t throw a wrench into the works. I’m sure they aren’t particularly happy about traveling to, or lingering long in, the District at this point in time.

Charlie Baker is danged mad.

The National Police Foundation and the National Alliance for Public Safety GIS have collaborated on an ESRI dashboard for law enforcement infections. It seems to rely on self reporting and for Massachusetts the numbers don’t seem right. It’s a good idea but I don’t see jurisdictions being in any hurry to advertise staffing problems.

Ian Mackay and Katherine Arden go into a little more detail on how long the coronavirus can live on surfaces.

Wondering how much of a stimulus check you’ll get? This might give you an idea.

And this snippet video must have taken some work to put together but it gave me a lift. We could all use three minutes of fun these days.

It’s a bright sunshiny Thursday morning. Happy birthday to both Freebie and the Bean.

Three more Boston Police officers have tested positive, bringing the total to four. Ayanna Pressley and Seth Moulton are showing symptoms. James Taylor, who is “inspired by the courage and sacrifice of the health care heroes in the trenches” is donating a million bucks to Mass General. Good for him.

Studies show that the virus can live for a time on surfaces, including cardboard, and people are worried about the packages delivered to their homes. Experts are divided about the real risk although they say that if you’re careful it shouldn’t be a problem. But if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you may want to avoid overnight delivery.

The economy and much of our way of life has been shut down for about a week now and some folks are thinking that’s enough, that we’re over the hump. But here’s a reality check from Dr. Fauci, as of yesterday.

We are in the escalating phase of a very serious pandemic. That is a fact. We have got to realize that and to prepare and respond. It is not, as it were, under control. Because it’s still going up. Are we trying to control it? Yes. Are we having an impact? We are doing some rather dramatic things. California shutting down. New York doing the same thing. And for the country in general, the physical separation. So even though the infection is going up, there’s no doubt that what we are doing is having an impact.

That being said, there does need to be a plan to restart the economy and get things back to ‘normal’. But it won’t be simple and it won’t be soon, definitely not by Easter. And we have to consider the potential of a resurgence of infections in the fall.

Local media around the country are covering the coronavirus crisis under stress, both from the virus itself and from the impact of budget cuts. But it’s the “story of a lifetime” and outlets are going above and beyond in their efforts. Harvey Leonard is still forecasting the weather but these days it’s from his living room.

And in an alternate universe somewhere, we listened to Bill Gates back in 2015 and none of this ever happened.

Wednesday, March 25th. It’s International Waffle Day. (Talk about bad timing.)

New York is now the coronavirus epicenter and things are getting worse. People who have been in the city recently are being encouraged to self quarantine for 14 days. (I’m in that boat, unfortunately. My sentence will be up on Saturday.) There are more than 15,000 cases in the city. The NYPD has 200 cases. For a sense of what’s going on in the hospitals check out this Twitter thread by an ER doctor at Columbia.

New Orleans is also blowing up with cases. How could that have happened? Seems pretty obvious in hindsight.

Covid-19 fatality rates are beginning to come into focus. New Zealand researchers estimate the real-world range to be between 0.25%–3.0%. The actual disease fatality rate may be closer to the low end, but that assumes testing and treatment are readily available and are of high quality. With shortages of equipment and an overburdened health care system, the number will tend to be at the higher end of the range.

We might want to keep an eye on Brazil. It sounds like Bolsonaro is playing Russian roulette with the virus. Sweden also seems to be going it’s own way.

And at least one person who went to a coronavirus party received a surprise parting gift.

Tuesday. The 24th of March. Market futures are green and the sun’s coming out.

Seventeen days is a long time.

The daily onslaught of depressing news is taking its toll. People are tired of hearing that things are going to get worse before they get better. But it’s still important to hear bad news even if it’s old news, as long as it’s accurate. It’s disappointing that certain officials are winging it when it comes to informing the public, particularly when it comes to miracle cures. There are real consequences. It’s usually a better idea to let the science work itself out before speculating or making promises, especially when you’re speaking from on high.

Massachusetts is locking down at noon. There are 777 cases in the state as of this morning. The largest proportion appear to be 40 to 49 years old.

Sites for tracking coronavirus cases by town are beginning to pop up. Two that appear to be catching on are Covid Near You and Lets Beat COVID. There isn’t a lot of data available yet but if enough people use these sites they could be a good tool for tracking what’s happening around you.

And while in the midst of trying to manage a global pandemic, the World Health Organization is under attack from hackers.