3/13/20
NATIONAL
ISSUES
COVID-19
Special Edition
|
Contact all Federal
Members of Congress
(includes contact info and
links to social media)
Fax
legislators for free:
Or use Resistbot: https://resist.bot/
Or use StampsLicked to
have messages hand-delivered to our own legislators: https://stampslicked.org/
White
House contact: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house
|
RESPONSIBLE
COVID-19 LEGISLATION: “House
Democrats have introduced a multi-billion dollar bill that includes free
coronavirus testing and paid emergency leave to help those worst affected by
the COVID-19 epidemic. Called
the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R.
6201), the package was introduced Wednesday and includes free testing for
anyone in need, paid sick leave and enhanced unemployment insurance.” https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/03/12/House-Democrats-unveil-multi-billion-dollar-COVID-19-bill/3271583995186/
However, House Republicans are balking and
want to include some Trump items, too. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/12/coronavirus-house-republicans-come-out-against-bill-ahead-of-vote.html The Senate has cancelled their home work week
and will stay in Washington, but Mitch McConnell has already indicated the bill
will get no action in its current form in the Senate. https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2020-03-12/us-senate-republican-leader-blasts-houses-coronavirus-bill Let’s contact all our MoCs to tell them
that the nation needs them to step up and create a plan to help all
Americans.
THE U.S. *HAD*
A CORONAVIRUS TEST: The Seattle Flu Study had a coronavirus test
and was using it in February. The
federal government shut it down. Dr.
Helen Chu defied the order and continued testing. Thanks to her, Washington state was ahead of
the game. We all could have been. https://mynorthwest.com/1758762/coronavirus-washington-seattle-flu-study/
Let’s thank Dr. Chu for her work and her persistence: https://epi.washington.edu/faculty/chu-helen
CDC AUTHORIZES
NO-COST CORONAVIRUS TESTING: During questioning at a House hearing, Rep.
Katie Porter pressed Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, to agree that all Americans can be tested for
Coronavirus regardless of insurance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKvCAR0Akro Let’s thank Rep. Porter for her
persistence: https://porter.house.gov/contact/
(scroll down for addresses)
WHY NBA? The NBA
has cancelled the rest of its season. A
couple of Utah Jazz players tested positive for COVID-19. While this is unfortunate, “One of the big
questions that remains is how the team was able to get access to COVID-19 tests
so quickly when so many hospitals,
clinics and health agencies haven’t been able to get tests to help people in
their own communities.” https://ftw.usatoday.com/2020/03/coronavirus-testing-kits-utah-jazz-rudy-gobert-nba-season-postponed “. . . testing in the US lags far behind
that in other countries, due to a combination of technical and policy issues,
as well as political pressure.” https://time.com/5801790/coronavirus-testing-us/ Let’s make sure that all our MoCs know
that no one of us is more worthy than another for this test and that changes
need to be made to assure we get up to speed on this and be much better
prepared in the future.
SCHOOL
LUNCH IN THE TIME OF COVID-19—Low-income,
food-insecure students who receive free and reduced-price school meals will be
severely impacted as schools close due to the coronavirus emergency. This blog
post from the Union of Concerned Scientists describes the problem. https://blog.ucsusa.org/karen-perry-stillerman/lunch-in-the-time-of-covid-19-what-schools-need-now-to-ensure-kids-dont-go-hungry-during-a-pandemic Let’s
read it, and then let’s tell our Members of Congress, our Governors, and our
State legislators to work on guaranteeing that our students do not go
hungry.
LOCAL
ACTION RE: COVID-19: The
President’s address about COVID-19 left more concern in its wake: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/11/donald-trump-us-coronavirus-address
It is clear that we are not going to have national leadership during this
crisis. Now is the time for us to be engaging with school, town, city, and
state leaders to encourage greater proactivity towards social distancing before
that tool no longer holds its strength for us. As Dan Rather said on Twitter, “One
of the conundrums of public health is the very same action that might seem like
a drastic overreaction early in a crisis could end up being woefully inadequate
if you wait too long.” Let’s be in touch with our local leaders to
implore for courage.
SCAMMERS
USING COVID TO GET YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION: If you didn’t have enough to worry about with the new coronavirus, here’s one more thing: Scammers are
using the outbreak to steal your information through phishing attempts or to
lure you into downloading a different kind of virus. https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/3/5/21164745/coronavirus-phishing-email-scams.
Let’s read this article to get tips
on how to make sure a scammer doesn’t get our information.
IF
TRAVELING OVERSEAS, ENROLL in STEP, (SMART TRAVELERS ENROLLMENT PROGRAM) US
DEPT OF STATE: “The
Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free service to allow U.S.
citizens and nationals traveling and living abroad to enroll their trip with
the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.” The state department can keep us
informed. We can learn more and sign up here: https://step.state.gov/step/
CORONAVIRUS
TESTING FROM ANYWHERE OFFERED FROM U OF WASHINGTON: A shortage of available tests is making this
pandemic much worse, but there is some help available for the University of
Washington Virology Department. Licensed medical practitioners from anywhere in
the US can now order #SARSCoV2 #CoronavirusUSA testing from @UWVirology. They
continue to add capacity and claim they can test hundreds more people
daily. We can find test and ordering info here:
EXPLAIN
CORONAVIRUS FACTS TO KIDS WITH NPR COMIC BOOK: Children are overhearing worried adult
conversations, news bulletins, in addition to fear-based rumors from each
other. NPR makes it easier for us to calmly discuss what is going on with them
with this well researched, informative and accessible Comic on Coronavirus for
kids. It explains the basics, kids only get mild cases, wash your hands, don’t
believe child spread rumors, in simple, cheerful terms. We can check
out NPR’s Just for Kids Coronavirus Comic, then share with kids and
friends on social media too: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/02/28/809580453/just-for-kids-a-comic-exploring-the-new-coronavirus
STAY
SAFE WHILE GROCERY SHOPPING: From
googling to find our stores least busy hours, staying at least 6 feet away from
other people, to cleaning up before, during and after, there are many
ways we can protect ourselves from the Coronavirus while shopping for
groceries. We can check out this Consumer Reports article for steps to
staying safe while grocery shopping:
STAY
INFORMED WITH FREE ACCESS TO NEW YORK TIMES COVID-19 NEWS: The New York Times is now offering free access
to Coronavirus coverage. We can click this link to stay up to date on
Coronavirus news and information from the New York Times for free: https://www.nytimes.com/news-event/coronavirus?
CHECK
OUT THE USEFULNESS OF SUPPLEMENTS TO FIGHT CORONAVIRUS:
Consumer
Labs rigorously tests supplements to see if they are what they claim to be and
can do what they claim to do. We can check out their assessments of
some popular Coronavirus related remedies like zinc, vitamin C, and elderberry:
https://www.consumerlab.com/m/answers/do-natural-remedies-or-supplements-prevent-coronavirus/natural-remedies-coronavirus/
FROM
THE CDC: HOW TO KEEP OUR HOMES CLEAN AND DISINFECTED: While the bad news is that the Coronavirus
can live on surfaces and packages, the good news is that it is fairly easy to kill
with alcohol-based cleaners and diluted hydrogen peroxide. MIT
researchers tell us, “In a February review of what’s already known about
this type of virus, German researchers said that within a minute of cleaning a
surface, a million viral particles can be reduced to 100, likely reducing the
risk of infection.“ https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615348/heres-how-long-the-coronavirus-can-stay-in-the-air-and-on-packages/ We can find thorough information on
keeping our homes clean and disinfected from the CDC here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/home/cleaning-disinfection.html CDC also has a list of cleaning
products that are allowed to say they can be used against the virus: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-03/documents/sars-cov-2-list_03-03-2020.pdf
CURBSIDE
TESTING: Minnesota, along
with a growing number of places, is offering curbside testing. Let’s contact
our local officials and ask that they set up curbside testing as soon as
possible.
WAYS TO
HELP ITALY: Italy is
suffering greatly from this pandemic. Here are some ways we can reach out
and help the Italian people: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14zy8SmZXJE6Cc7ixP7n5X2yQfiPIyf-lIYO7OGXEHj4
CLEANING
CELL PHONES: As we probably have guessed, our cell phones
are germ carriers, too. https://www.statefoodsafety.com/Resources/Resources/the-dirty-cell-phone-25-127-bacteria-per-square-inch Let’s use our phone speaker when we can
and keep our phones clean too: https://www.androidcentral.com/how-clean-and-disinfect-your-android-smartphone,
https://gizmodo.com/apple-says-its-a-ok-to-use-clorox-wipes-on-your-iphone-1842216982
HOW TO
USE TIME AT HOME TO RESIST: Some
of us will be staying home more. We need
to stock our pantries: https://www.nbcnews.com/better/lifestyle/staying-home-due-coronavirus-here-s-what-stock-your-fridge-ncna1155791
Then,
let’s find creative ways to be at home. Let’s play with the kids, read some
books, try some new recipes, but let’s also use some of our time to do the actions
in Rogan’s List and to send emails to our MoCs. We need policies to help
those who live paycheck-to-paycheck, safety for our health care workers, and
COVID-19 mobile testing sites in every city
READING/WATCHING
Pandemic,
COVID-19 and all the coronavirus terms you need to know - https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/05/us/coronavirus-definitions-terms-glossary-trnd/index.html
Worried
about coronavirus? If your loved one is over 60, read this - https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/health/what-60-older-need-to-know-coronavirus-wellness-trnd/index.html
How to self-quarantine
during coronavirus outbreak
- https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-how-to-self-quarantine.html
Young
and Unafraid of the Coronavirus Pandemic?
Good for You. Now Stop Killing
People - https://www.newsweek.com/young-unafraid-coronavirus-pandemic-good-you-now-stop-killing-people-opinion-1491797
Coronavirus
will bankrupt more people than it kills — and that's the real global emergency - https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/coronavirus-deaths-trump-stock-market-pandemic-economy-bankrupt-italy-a9394891.html
Flatten
the Curve - https://www.flattenthecurve.com/
Here’s
how coronavirus spreads on a plane—and the safest place to sit - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/01/how-coronavirus-spreads-on-a-plane/
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We can stay up
to date on Congress by checking out their schedules. a) The House publishes
a weekly schedule at The Weekly Leader (published and dated Friday)
as well as daily schedules at The Daily Leader. b) The Senate updates
their schedule daily at the Senate Floor Schedule
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