#love in the time of covie-19

[paulsebert]

So uh... either the vaccine is so good it prevents car accidents or people who don't get the vaccine are kind of stupid.

#love in the time of covie-19 #get your shot

[daniwoitkowski]

What is Black Twitter?

Social media has become more ingrained in our daily lives, especially now during the Covis-19 pandemic where we had to embrace alternate ways.

Twitter is a platform that purpose is to spread information fast, short content for our tech-heavy, attention-deficit modern world. Unlike Facebook such as you're hanging out in your own living room, you can catch up with friends and can still guard your privacy. Twitter would be more like bar scene where people talk to strangers, drop one-liners, and engage with personalities from all walks of life.

Twitter is the only social network where everyone is on an unrestricted even playing ground for concise communication. Twitter, along with other social media platforms has made leaps and bounds toward correcting social injustice through movements and cultural trends through hash tags, such as ones used especially by black tweeters who circumvent traditional channels to get their voices heard.    

Black Twitter is one such channel that can be defined as a network where culturally connected people attempting to draw attention to issues in black communities. It’s not a separate platform from Twitter, it’s a community within the Twitter platform to draw attention to and for black people.  What’s important to understand is that black people found a way to use social media to change the world. From civil rights movements or presidential elections to simply people loving, creating, thinking and commenting, it’s all there right at your fingertips.  

Countries have been overthrown, careers have begun and ended, based around events on social media platforms. Unfortunately, Twitter like every other social media platform is full of anti-black trolling, along with many other racist contents. As a result, some black people were seeking refuge in more controlled spaces.  

What is the origin of Black Twitter? Honestly this one is different depending on who you ask. One source mentioned that It all started in a newsroom not too far from Walt Disney World. Sometime around 1992-1993, Barry Cooper a sports reporter for the Orlando Sentinel taken an interest in digital media realized something in her sports coverage online (2020, May 19). Another source explains they felt that in 2010, Farhad Manjoo wrote this article called, “How Black People Use Twitter,” and the response to it on Twitter was aggressive abbreviated to “Black Twitter” (2018, Nov 28).

However, in the beginning of viral Black Twitter there were responses on such movements like the 2012 YouTube documentary pertaining to the efforts to finding kidnapped children in Ugandan. The video received over 120 millions views in days, and receiving donations towards the cause (2019, Dec 23).

Black Twitter, has hence been responsible for bringing our country’s eyes to horrifying acts against black people, such as the killing of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Where moments after the Brown’s death witnesses to spread news of the event through the Twitter hashtags #Ferguson and #MikeBrown (2019, Dec 23).

How about in 2013, when George Zimmerman was acquitted for killing Trayvon Marting. Thus began the birth of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter (2019, Dec 23).

During this time that we find ourselves living through Covid and practicing social distancing, social media is more vital than ever before and there is power in numbers. Black Twitter, has proven this in many ways with how it promoted ‘Black Lives Matter’ and raised awareness around the such unjudged racist deaths.

Defining Black Twitter, however, is still to be difficult to explain perhaps rightful so coming from a non-black person as myself. Do you have to be black to part of Black Twitter? Most sources I found states, you do have to be black. But is that in itself a racism answer? I think not, I am not black and cannot pretend to be black. Even though I will stand with the black movement and attempt to emphasize... I will not have the same fear walking down the street as a black person. We must not pretend racism doesn’t exist. We must acknowledge, we must educate, we must help pass along the word.  

Source Cites:

David Dennis Jr. (2020, May 19). https://theundefeated.com/features/a-blessing-and-a-curse-the-rich-history-behind-black-twitter/  

Lucy Turner, Logic Design. (2020, July 29). Social Media Impact on Social Movements like Black Lives Matter. https://www.logicdesign.co.uk/blog/social-media-black-lives-matter/

Donovan X. Ramsey, The Atlantic. (2015, April 10). The Truth About Black Twitter. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/04/the-truth-about-black-twitter/390120/

Whitelaw Reid, UVA Today. (2018, Nov 28). BLACK TWITTER 101: WHAT IS IT? WHERE DID IT ORIGINATE? WHERE IS IT HEADED. https://news.virginia.edu/content/black-twitter-101-what-it-where-did-it-originate-where-it-headed

Andre Wheeler, The Guardian. (2019, Dec 23). Ten years of Black Twitter: a merciless watchdog for problematic behavior. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/dec/23/ten-years-black-twitter-watchdog

[lenmiscate]

Join the global meditation please do your part I can send you the link via pm to easy access Full instructions at: https://facebook.com/events/s/end-of-covi-19/257868678581450/?ti=as It is time to take action again! It is time to take the destiny of our world in our own hands! We all agree that the process of planetary liberation is taking too long, and the current timeline is not going in the best direction. Here is our chance to collectively shift the timeline back into our optimal timeline for planetary liberation. Therefore we are using the opportunity of the massive astrological configuration of Jupiter Pluto conjunction on April 4th/5th to create a portal through which we will unify our consciousness and trigger the process that will solidify the optimal Ascension timeline for the planet. We will be doing this meditation at 10:45 pm EDT on April 4th in New York. This equals 9:45 pm CDT in Chicago, 8:45 pm MDT in Denver and 7:45 pm PDT in Los Angeles. Europe and Asia will already have April 5th at the moment of the activation, which will be 3:45 am BST in London, 4:45 am CEST in Paris, 4:45 am EET in Cairo, 10:45 am CST in Taipei and Beijing, 11:45 am JST in Tokyo and 12:45 pm AEST in Sydney. #consciousness #esoteric #energy #enlightenment #peace #mindful #peaceonearth #nothingness #love #life #lightwarriors #yosoyhuasca #metaphysical #awakening #advaita #beautiful #soul #source #spiritual #meditation #spirituality #lightworkers #newearth #ayahuasca #newage #lenmiscate #dmt #lsd #oneness #wisdom https://www.instagram.com/p/B-bDLTdns5d/?igshid=pthbkcn1mdec

#consciousness #esoteric #energy #enlightenment #peace #mindful #peaceonearth #nothingness #love #life #lightwarriors #yosoyhuasca #metaphysical #awakening #advaita #beautiful #soul #source #spiritual #meditation #spirituality #lightworkers #newearth #ayahuasca #newage #lenmiscate #dmt #lsd #oneness #wisdom

[holaafrica]

New Post has been published on http://holaafrica.org/queer-lockdown-essential-workers/

Queer Lockdown – Essential Workers

By Tshegofatso Senne (@mbongomuffin), Illustrated by studiostudioworkwork

LGBTQIA+ people have been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a country that very rarely prioritises the needs of our community, circumstances have worsened during the pandemic, especially as the poor and working class face greater risks. LGBTQIA+ people are at the intersection of multiple vulnerable communities, with those who are immunocompromised, living with HIV/AIDS, unemployed, those who are homeless, refugees and others who are forced to live with homophobic family members. Even within non-governmental organisations, funding very rarely prioritises our community.

Regardless of this, queer people are still working tirelessly as essential workers across a range of sectors. They are working in our food stores, within public transport and media, they’re within cleaning, sanitation and security services, at our pharmacies and banks, they’re helping bury our loved ones and take care of far more within the healthcare sector. Queer people have always done care work and yet, they are often the first to be forgotten or pushed aside.

I was able to speak to three queer medical practitioners to hear about their experiences working during this time; just how it is that our community is uniquely affected within a pandemic and how they’re coping with that.

Buhle Radebe*, a nurse at a public hospital in Johannesburg is a queer woman who lives with her mother and brother, notes how fortunate she feels to be in close quarters with a family that is completely accepting of her sexual identity.

“Some people are lucky to have homes that are allow for their full expression. Unfortunately, with schools closed many have had to leave residences and are now stuck in abusive spaces,” she says. Whether we are out or not, being in a lockdown period with a family that is unaccepting or oblivious to the person you are is immensely terrifying for many.

“They can’t be themselves entirely, having to change the way they speak or dress. They’re dying for this time to end so they can remove themselves from that space and environment. They can longer seek safety at school, work or with friends, there’s no easy way to preserve themselves.”

Dr. Anastacia Tomson, a medical doctor, author and activist is a trans woman in Cape Town. She notes that housing is a huge problem that she’s seen patients and queer individuals alike facing. This is definitely not a new conversation, the effects of COVID-19 add a different element to the frustrating experiences of queer people currently; the pandemic has worsened homelessness. Having a safe place to call home and having access to loved ones that understand their identities is not always the case.

“I think as with any socio-economic phenomenon it’s always the marginalised populations who are hit the hardest and not always in ways we even understand,” shared Anastacia. “The reason it’s so difficult right now is because we didn’t really recognise or pay enough attention to how lacking these structures were before the pandemic. So now we find ourselves in a space where we need them and don’t know where to start.”

While NGOs attempt to bridge the gaps between the needs of the community and the actual service government provides, this is a systemic issue. Worse still, even the services that the government does provide often result in incredibly traumatic experiences for queer individuals who are able to access them.

“This is the dilemma as a queer person, the majority of healthcare providers we go to are not necessarily going to be part of the community, they aren’t going to have the context, they aren’t going to have the understanding,” shared Anastacia.

Accessing general healthcare comes with immense trauma and red-tape that’s used to discriminate against the community. Trans-identifying individuals cannot access specialists they need as easily now, those without updated ID documents with affirming gender markers find this even more difficult. Many are dead-named, misgendered and treated condescendingly which becomes a greater problem when such a large part of the population cannot access healthcare because they’re aware of the trauma involved in doing so.

Many queer medical practitioners are having to work as much as possible in order to allow for access to medical services, across sectors. Aware of the unique challenges the community faces, these practitioners are working extra hard to ensure that queer people have access to and feel safe to seek necessary medical care.

Dr. Melusi Dhlamini, Clinical Executive at Marie Stopes South Africa and a medical doctor, is a queer man who is determined to ensure that all who need to access sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) during the pandemic are able to. Reported (and legal) abortions for 2019 sat at 105000; one can only imagine how this number has plummeted during the pandemic, with so many having less access to services during lockdown.

“When lockdown started there was a feeling of SRHR not being essential. Every resource is being redirected for COVID. This is part of flattening the curve and I get that, but then what is deemed as essential? What is the cost once you delay an abortion? We have a limited amount of time, 20 weeks to work with. People don’t get the importance of this conversation,” he shared with me.

This time has forced doctors to be more innovative, which is exactly what Melusi did. He became the first South African doctor to complete an at-home abortion. While there was some pushback from providers who worried about safety, Melusi trained providers and did the first few himself. At the time of this interview, 28 May 2020, they had completed 257 at-home abortions and continue to receive over 20 calls a day from people who look to access this service.

“If you’re less than 9 weeks pregnant you call in and are screened to exclude anything that could put you at risk of having an ectopic pregnancy and whether you have medical conditions that would preclude you from getting an at-home abortion. Once that’s done we send you the medication or you can come collect. You are counselled on how the process will work, someone from Marie Stopes, available 24/7, is directed to you should you need guidance or questions.”

This service has allowed so many to access this service privately. It’s also reached areas that don’t have centres in them; places in the Northern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, especially.

The LGBTQIA+ community is disproportionately impacted by the various ways this pandemic has put additional strain on how the community is able to access healthcare in an already difficult system. Oftentimes we already have significantly lower health outcomes because of the discrimination we face and without medical aid this is exacerbated. Individuals within the community are encounter hyper-medicalisation as trans or intersex people, or have procedures done on them without their consent. Queer refugees cannot access medical care and face increasing risks when relocating to find safety. Additionally, many procedures that the queer community may need are deemed as non-urgent and postponed or cancelled during the pandemic.

Anastacia, whose work includes providing gender-affirming healthcare to trans patients, speaks on this overall impact. Patients are unwilling to come out to the medical rooms or clinic, and if they do travel it’s challenging due to lockdown restrictions. A lot of patients are struggling with their finances, a lot more don’t have secure housing and this makes life excruciatingly difficult.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty right now and that makes gender-affirming care more difficult to do. Many public sector clinics have had to restrict their operations because of the pandemic. We definitely know that gender-affirming healthcare is essential and scientifically it’s proven to improve life expectancy, quality of life, adverse outcomes, affects depression, anxiety, substance use, etc. You can’t make the argument that this work is not essential. There are many people who would like to use this pandemic as a reason to shut down access to queer healthcare services but I think it’s our responsibility as clinicians and activists not to let them do that.”

This has definitely been the experience of Melusi, who says that many hospitals and clinics have taken this time as a justification to stop prioritising abortions, even though the need has not subsided. He talks through the various situations he’s had to deal with since the beginning of lockdown.

“I was so upset when I called to a hospital in the Eastern Cape and found out they had only done 2 abortions in 2 months. They have 40 people on the waiting list, many who are already past 10 weeks. The head of the department had no plan. Pre-COVID this clinic would have patients lining up at 5am just to make sure they could access this service,” Melusi shared. “At Bara they only see 4 or 5 clients a day and the demand is huge. They have a working list and prioritised clients are around 20 weeks. So if you’re 12/13 weeks you’re going to wait until they have no choice but to squeeze you in. This is the reality of South African healthcare.”

This, indeed, is the reality of South African healthcare.

As a nurse, Buhle feels this reality in a completely different way than the doctors above. Nurses, as vital as they are to healthcare are often treated as unimportant. Within the public hospital where she works, nurses have seldomly been given information about procedures or what’s happening in the hospital. Her ward, paediatric medical, was changed into a COVID-19 ward with little to no information and they were simply told they would now be testing patients; this occurred with them barely having access to sufficient Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

“They were dishonest about the first suspect COVID patient we had. At the time we didn’t have PPE at all, there weren’t even masks because people were stealing things. Alcohol sanitiser was being stolen, on Monday we had 20 boxes but by Friday there were only 6,” Buhle recollected. “I told them they can’t put us at risk like that. Granted, it’s our jobs to take care of patients but at the end of the day our health must come first as well. At the end of the day we go back to our families, most of my colleagues are married with kids. I live with my mother and my brother is back from school. My mother has a heart condition so I said no, I’m not going to put my mother at risk like that.”

This isn’t just in this hospital, as confirmed by Melusi. Healthcare workers all across the country are having to deal with levels of dishonesty that pose a huge risk for them.

“One of my friends working in Pretoria was simply told, ‘You’re not seeing psychiatric clients anymore, you’re doing COVID work. Thanks, bye.’ There was a lot of uproar. They received no training. People who work in psych wards don’t usually touch patients and now they’re being made to test people without training.”

There’s a high level of frustration that then affects the quality of work done as well as the morale within their jobs. These are some of the factors that can easily lead to incorrect results; how good can a specimen be when sent to the lab if there’s knowledge lacking in how to collect it.

“A friend who usually works with rape victims was told that they would be seeing less of these clients and they’d be working in roadblocks to help with testing from now on. They were also not trained, simply thrown in the deep end. You are just told, there’s no discussion, even with people with conditions and diseases that put them at risk for contracting COVID. No screening was done to ensure that they wouldn’t be putting their lives at risk.”

The strain on healthcare workers is not new, but has grown exponentially in the time of COVID-19. There’s fear, anxiety and uncertainty.

“We don’t know when things are going to get really bad, we’re not even there yet, Anastacia shared. “It’s now a lot more difficult to maintain boundaries and leave work at the office. It just hasn’t been possible. Over the past two months more than ever in recent memory my work has been slipping outside of office hours and I have to attend to patients and check on them after hours. It becomes a challenge. At the same time it’s the realisation that a lot of the coping measures that we use in our day-to-day lives have also been denied to us in this lockdown process.”

Anastacia touches on an incredibly important note here, the use of substances, tends to be higher amongst queer populations. The adversity so many of us face in our personal lives, with family or loved ones, co-workers and complete strangers, pushes many to find various coping mechanism. “Whether they’re deemed healthy or not, they become necessary for survival. Now being denied access to that can be a significant challenge.”

The impact of this pandemic on LGBTQIA+ is continuously expanding beyond what we know. Housing, food and financial security are priorities, with mental healthcare opening up more questions about accessibility. We have always created our own communities and support structures and now many are completely cut off from those, unable to interact with friends and acquaintances outside of home to feel understood and supported. The effects on mental health are numerous and we’re only going to be aware of the overall impact as time goes by. Those without access to smart phones and affordable internet are not even able to access virtual mental health services right now.

Buhle notes that more holistic support structures are necessary. Nurses working with COVID patients are not receiving proper PPE or a danger allowance (an additional sum of money given to workers in high-risk environments) and she they can’t afford medical aid to be able to go for therapy. She notes that the issue needs to be addressed systemically, “They may give you that allowance but if you do catch COVID and, god forbid, you die that allowance stops. It’s given to you for the time you’re working within the ward. So yes, give us money but we need support as well. If I die what does my family do after?”

“This is a crisis,” Melusi shares. “Workers are kept in the dark when there are cases of COVID, people are sent to do testing without training, wards and whole hospitals are closing, workers are not showing up to work because of these issues and work morale is incredibly low.”

So what exactly can be done within our own communities?

“Now is the time to build community-based resources where we figure out how to support this community and upskill our people so that we can provide ourselves with these services,” Anastacia said. “In order for someone to be able to get mental health assistance, we need the financial access, we need someone to be available to assist. That person needs some degree of training and fair compensation.”

Mutual aid is not a new solution for our communities. We’ve been denied the opportunities, education, training and development so long that we felt it was best to invest in ourselves.

Anastacia places great importance on this, “I think maybe this should really serve as the pivot for us to recognise that now is our wake up call, that we have to start building and growing and developing those resources that have within our own community so not to fall by the wayside. We also have to look after ourselves.”

These healthcare workers do phenomenal and often underappreciated work for the community and their role in ensuring accessible healthcare is undeniable. Our community is uniquely affected by this pandemic, battling access combined with prejudice; it is natural to wonder how we can create systems of mutual aid and development of shared resources for the community. I leave you with this: what do queer futures look like and what can we do where we are, with what we have to inch closer to futures where we are prioritised?

*Pseudonym used to preserve the interviewee’s anonymity

This article was commissioned by GALA as part of the Queer Lockdown project, with the support of SAIH (Norwegian Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance Fund).

#COVID #queer #Politics & Lifestyle

[cpknightly1]

My Dearest Surgy Friends,

I'm struggling to find the words to write. We received word that my sister (who identified as male) succumbed to Covis-19 at 2:30 am. Today.

She was my middle sister. She and I were best friends.

Always getting into trouble.

Once, we had finished practice with our all girl band and they had left. We switched instruments and she taught me how to play the drums while I taught her the guitar.

Momma once bought us a chemistry kit- we blew up the laundry room. No kidding.

Memories of her are coming and going. Then I get angry.

I found out through the Doctor that she refused intubation.

Over the past 20 years I've been trying to care for him.

He was mentally I'll and refused treatment. He had a rage that was immeasurable.

I became his guardian. I was given 2 choices take responsibility of him or put him in a mental hospital. I couldn't do the latter. But over these years there was no helping him. Spending thousands.

For him to stay in hotels. And when he didn't get the cash he'd become angry.

My entire family took him in at different times. Only to find some destruction or rage.

He had CHF and diabetes.

But even after all this time and all the frustration he was my sibling and I loved him/her.

I have been praying that this virus would pass over friends and family. The idea that you can't hug them or hold their hand is tragic.

He was one hell of a drummer, funny as hell, loving and protective. He once was a cop, graduated cum laude from a wonderful University.

Worked for the government.

We couldn't figure out where the illness started. We believe after the death of Momma.

She had so much loss in a very short time.

No matter how hard I tried he wouldn't listen. You can only help those who want to help themselves. You end up growing a spine of steel. If you don't, you won't survive it.

I can't cry and I feel so odd. I'm angry that he wouldn't save himself.

But forever and always he/she is that sister/brother I will always, Love and always. I will miss him until my time is done.

I would imagine many of you maybe going through this too

I hope all of you are safe and are blessed that this has not happened to you.

Happy Easter everyone.

I'll write as soon as I can

Always,

Chris

🌹❤🙃

[wingsofkpop]

Hey! I'm so sorry for bothering you, but I wanted to ask you something. Do you have any tips for someone starting a writing blog? I'm thinking about starting one 😅, COVI-19 really made me think more and more about this idea I have had, for quite a while... Thank you so much for your time lovely💙 Hope everything is going well for you 💙

First of all, you should obviously decide who (if you’re writing for Kpop then groups/members) or what subjects (i.e. Fluff, Angst, Smut) you’d like to write! Once you’ve done so, you should also decide what kind of works you want to write, for instance, drabbles, reactions, mtls, multi-chapter fics, etc. What you choose to post is all up to you.

When you initially start, it might be helpful to create an intro post about your new blog in order to introduce and get yourself out there! This is extremely helpful if you decide to take requests as well, just make sure you outline what you are and are not comfortable writing if any if you go down that route, whether it be in a rules page or somewhere else.

When you start posting your work, tags are your best friends in this instance. If you can, try to front your most popular ones since I believe Tumblr has a cutoff of how many tags your post can show up in. Although make sure the tags you use are relevant to your fics.

Finally, it’s a good idea to reach out to other blogs and become mutuals. It’s nice to have a little support system as well as have some friends to talk to uwu~

And you could never bother me, sweetie! I’m happy to help anytime~ Stay safe and healthy!❤️❤️

#asks

[ssvperboy-aa]

hi, i’m sleeping but it’s midnight my time & i just wanted to say happy birthday to my literal twin/me from another dimension @coolwxthyou. i really can’t believe we have the same birthday, that’s still surreal to me! i’ve never shared a birthday with a friend 🥺🥺

🦋 ellie i love you sooooo much, i hope you you have any amazing day!! you deserve all the best things the world has to offer! you’re amazing and lovely and soooooo kind! you’ve put up with a ton of my shit in the short time i’ve known you and i really appreciate you for it!  🦋

i wish i could celebrate our birthday with you and that covi-19 was OVER so we could have a huge ass party. i love you so much! 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

#someone tell me to shut up ↳ ᴏᴏᴄ #as u can tell: i love ellie

[ayanamehra]

What the reason CMOs love SEO today? You Assume: Significance

CMOs must confirm that their company responds well to a crisis such as COVID-19, as its brand reputation can have a Ongoing effect. And unpredictably, CMOs’ preferred marketing channels are not delivering the desired results, while masters have turned out to be the supporting marketing channels.

Role of SEO

SEO will allow you to stay visible! It’s a tried-and-tested branding tool, and in times of pandemic, how to produce full ROI through your marketing efforts.

Current situation, COVID-19 individuals may not use your products or services as they are concerned about their jobs, survival, and trying to keep themselves safe. Nevertheless that doesn’t mean they’re offline!

Some are quarantined in their home and are looking for various items related to COVID-19 and goods and services that will make their lives easier during this pandemic. In this case, you can modify the content so that your brand continues to seem in the search result. Down the line Digital Marketing channels will have the highest ROI for your website

If you are marketing for business that is growing today like food & drinks, health care, e-commerce you may already be at the top of your minds for many people. SEO is always going to support you get the advantage over your competitors. Even if you’re marketing for a business that isn’t so good perpendicularly, SEO can still assist you to take care of top of the mind that will become an advantage once the snowstorm (COVI-19) is ended.

SEO & Growing Verticals

Fast and Interactive Website

Be globally present

Economic improvement

SEO & Non-Growing Verticals

Up-to-date SEO is a jewel for the future

Benefit of Local SEO 

Content     takes time

Footnote

The global economy is affected by pandemic (COVID-19), just for temporary manner. Accordingly being prepared now will help to drive the situation forward at the right instant. And SEO schemes will assist to require the most of the demand in this new normal and steel oneself against for a better future!

#seoagencyinbangalore #seocompanyinbangalore #seoservicesincompanyinbangalore #seo

[gordonwilliamsweb]

S.D. Governor Gives State High Marks in Handling the Pandemic. Are They Deserved?

“We did have tragedies and we did have losses. But we also got through it better than virtually every other state.”

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on “The Ingraham Angle,” Fox News, Feb. 2, 2021

Covid-19 has pushed states to adopt unique approaches to protect their residents, but few have garnered as much scrutiny as South Dakota. Its governor, Kristi Noem, refused to enact a mask mandate or close any businesses. She argued these precautions were a matter of personal choice, even at large gatherings, such as a July 3 political event at Mount Rushmore and the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis that was connected to covid cases in Minnesota and other nearby states.

This story was produced in partnership with PolitiFact. It can be republished for free.

She sees success in the approach.

In a recent television interview, Fox News personality Laura Ingraham asked Noem, a Republican, why she believes news outlets criticize her handling of the pandemic. Her response: While her state sought to protect high-risk populations and keep hospitals from overflowing with patients, she said, it was done in a way that still allowed residents to earn a living.

“That was a unique approach that, for our people, really worked well,” she said in the segment. “We did have tragedies and we did have losses. But we also got through it better than virtually every other state.”

That got us wondering. Are we really “through” the pandemic? And on what measures is this statement based?

We first reached out to Noem’s office to ask these questions.

In an email, communications director Ian Fury didn’t address the first question. On the second, Fury cited South Dakota’s standing in these categories: vaccine distribution, unemployment, the number of people moving to the state and the state’s budget surplus.

Fury dismissed using an “apples-to-apples” comparison between South Dakota and other states on measures such as deaths and case counts, saying such assessments are flawed because the timing of surges and the metrics used can vary by state.

Expanding the Lens on How South Dakota’s Doing

Several measures can offer clues as to how a state is managing the pandemic, experts said.

In the health category, the number of deaths per capita is one way to track the most severe covid cases, said Kumi Smith, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota.

This metric is not a real-time snapshot of how quickly the virus is spreading in a community, given the lag in reporting deaths. But, Smith said, it can provide “a much fuller picture of what’s going on with the pandemic” than case counts alone. That’s because case counts can wax and wane depending on other factors, such as the availability of coronavirus tests and which populations a state prioritizes for testing, she said.

In South Dakota, 1,815 lives have been lost to the pandemic, making its per capita death rate 205 deaths for every 100,000 residents as of Wednesday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state’s death rate ranks among the top 10 in the nation.

Another key metric is positivity rates — or the percentage of people tested who have the virus. It can indicate whether a state is regularly testing enough residents, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious diseases physician and senior scholar at the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University.

Positivity rates vary by how they are calculated. Data from the South Dakota Department of Health and the CDC shows the average weekly positivity rate peaked in the spring. Few tests were being done at the time, which means every positive result would have had a greater impact on the rate. Johns Hopkins’ covid tracker, which uses a different method, shows the state’s rate peaked in November.

High positivity rates can indicate a lack of adequate testing that allowed the virus to spread unchecked, said Adalja. “Their death count may be even higher,” he added, because some of those cases may not have been properly tested and identified as caused by covid.

Last week, the positivity rate hovered slightly under 7%, as reported by the state. Johns Hopkins researchers placed the figure closer to 20% as of Feb. 3. Both are above the 5% maximum rate recommended by the World Health Organization to reopen a community.

Hospitalization data — specifically, the number of intensive care unit beds occupied — can also help gauge how a state is handling the pandemic, public health experts said. By comparing the number of beds occupied in intensive care units during the pandemic with the year before, said Smith, the metric can show whether hospitals could keep up with the demand caused by the virus.

News reports indicate some South Dakota hospitals struggled to keep up with demand in the fall when the state’s outbreak peaked. As of Wednesday, state data shows, about half of adult and pediatric ICU beds in the state were available.

Public health experts noted South Dakota has emerged as a national leader in distributing covid vaccines, ranking among the 10 states with the most residents vaccinated per capita. While the vaccines do offer a way out of the pandemic, “I do think that we are still at the very, very beginning of a very long end,” said Smith.

And the Economy?

Most of the metrics Noem’s office highlighted related to South Dakota’s economy. And, indeed, the state has the lowest unemployment rate in the country and ended the budget year with a $19 million surplus.

How did the state manage to pull that off during a pandemic?

Evert Van der Sluis, a professor of economics at South Dakota State University, said several factors helped. The state experienced less of an economic decline than initially projected at the start of the pandemic because of federal aid, conservative revenue projections and a multibillion-dollar investment in wind energy, he said.

South Dakota — where agriculture is the top industry — also benefited from billions of dollars in direct federal government payments to farmers, said Van der Sluis. While some of these payments were connected to the pandemic, others helped offset the financial losses caused by fallout from a U.S. trade dispute with China.

However, Van der Sluis said, these indicators don’t capture the depth of the damage caused by the pandemic.

They also don’t necessarily highlight how a state has done better than others because they don’t take into account that variations in population density, tax revenue and industries all influence how a state manages an outbreak.

“We can talk about economic well-being,” he said, “but some of the enormous harm done by covid is not reflected, at least in the short run, by economic measures.” It may become apparent in long-term measures like health care spending and lost productivity, he added.

While the lack of lockdowns also may have played a role in keeping South Dakota’s economy afloat, said Lucy Dadayan, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute, there are other states that raked in cash while implementing strong public health measures. Case in point: California.

As reported by Politico, California defied expectations of an economic downturn because of tax revenue from its wealthiest residents and their stock market gains. Ultimately, Dadayan said, a state’s ability to stay financially afloat is dependent on a variety of factors — which makes it more difficult to draw comparisons between states and their economic performance during the pandemic.

“It all matters,” she said.

Our Ruling

Both public health measures and fiscal stability represent important pieces to forming a full picture of how the state is handling the pandemic, experts said.

As Van der Sluis noted, these metrics are blunt instruments when measuring the damage done by the death of a loved one.

In addition, comparing states wholesale is difficult, given their differences and the dynamic nature of the pandemic, as various sources noted. And, though South Dakota is experiencing a decline in case counts, with 109,580 cases to date and growing concern nationwide about the virus’s emerging variants, it’s hard to say the state has “come through” the pandemic.

Noem’s statement on South Dakota’s performance cherry-picked the data, emphasizing the state’s economy while giving less weight to the lives lost and the burden of disease its residents suffered. We rate it Mostly False.

Sources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: COVID-19 Outbreak Associated with a 10-Day Motorcycle Rally in a Neighboring State — Minnesota, August–September 2020,” Nov. 20, 2020

South Dakota Department of Agriculture, “South Dakota Agriculture — Facts & Impact”

U.S. Department of Agriculture, “USDA Announces Details of Support Package for Farmers,” July 25, 2019

CNN, “Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota Led to a Covid-19 Outbreak in Minnesota, New Report Says,” Nov. 21, 2020

CNN, “No Social Distancing Planned for Trump’s Mt. Rushmore Fireworks Event, Governor Says,” June 30, 2020

NBC News, “Weeks After Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, First COVID-19 Death Reported as Cases Accelerate in Midwest,” Sept. 2, 2020

NPR, “South Dakota Is Asking Congress for Flexibility in Spending Relief Aid,” Aug. 3, 2020

United Van Lines, “Annual 2020 United Van Lines National Movers Study,” Jan. 4, 2021

South Dakota State News, “South Dakota Closes the 2020 Budget Year with a $19 Million Surplus,” July 16, 2020

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Unemployment Rates for States: December 2020,” Jan. 26, 2021

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, “Differences in Positivity Rates”

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, “Testing Trends Tool: Track Trends in COVID-19 Cases and Tests,” Feb. 10, 2021

Fox News, “Kristi Noem on Becoming a Media Villain for Defending Liberty,” Feb. 2, 2021

South Dakota Department of Health, “South Dakota COVID-19 Dashboard,” Feb. 8, 2021

White House COVID-19 Team, Joint Coordination Cell, and Data Strategy and Execution Workgroup, “COVID-19 State Profile Report — South Dakota,” Feb. 9, 2021

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, “South Dakota: State Overview,” Feb. 10, 2021

NPR, “COVID-19 Hospitalizations Surge in Dakotas: ‘It’s Like We Opened Up a Spigot,'” Nov. 14, 2020

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Trends in Total and Cumulative Incidence Rate of COVID-19 Deaths in South Dakota Reported to CDC, per 100,000 population,” Feb. 9, 2021

Argus Leader, “Some COVID-19 Patients Flown out of State as S.D. Hospital ICU Capacity Dwindles,” Dec. 4, 2020

ABC News, “Doctors Fear More Death as Dakotas Experience Virus ‘Sorrow,’” Nov. 7, 2020

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, “Daily State-by-State Testing Trends: South Dakota,” Feb. 10, 2021

Argus Leader, “Wind Energy Expansion in South Dakota to Bring 888 More Turbines, $3.3 Billion Investment,” Sept. 6, 2019

Email statement from Ian Fury, communications director for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Feb. 3, 2021

Telephone interview with Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Feb. 5, 2021

Telephone interview with Kumi Smith, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, Feb. 4, 2021

Telephone interview with Evert Van der Sluis, professor of economics at South Dakota State University, Feb. 8, 2021

Telephone interview with Dr. Jeffrey Engel, senior adviser for the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, Feb. 8, 2021

Telephone interview with Lucy Dadayan, senior research associate at the Urban Institute, Feb. 5, 2021

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).

S.D. Governor Gives State High Marks in Handling the Pandemic. Are They Deserved? published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[shrinathbus]

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Travelling is something that everyone loves or even if-not they tend to travel for work or some other reason. Therefore it's one of the necessary activity of human life. Travelling experiences bring different levels of satisfaction to people and Shrinath Solitaire brings it all under one roof. They provide different kinds of services: Cab services, Bus services, Truck services, Staff transportation, Logistics, Outstation taxi. To all the services they provide are luxuries, safe and on time travel.

Shrinath Solitaire's Volvo bus services are one of the most luxuries and premium service in Rajasthan. The booking for this service is available online and through travel agencies. The Volvo bus services are unique in so many ways:

The bus infrastructure is luxurious and super comfortable

They have on-time bus schedules and backup offers in case of late departure

All the drivers and professionals are experienced ensuring the safety of all the passengers,

To take care of any technical issues on the journey, a technical support team accompanies.

Shrinath Solitaire takes special care of women's safety on the bus, and at the drop location, they also take refreshment stops at hygienic places. Volvo bus amenities include personal TV, GPS tracking, wakeup calls, convenient reschedule option, water bottle, charging points, Spectacle Holder, dustbin, shoe-rack, extra legroom, etc in-bus food delivery.

Shrinath Solitaire bus service provides the best Volvo travelling experience with taking care of the best sanitization and comfort of all the passengers. They are one of the leading travel and Logistics Company in Rajasthan with the best customer experience. It's worth a try for all who desire to travel in these difficult times of COVI-19 and all the women out there who feel scared to travel alone or anyone who loves travelling. The experience is going to be mind-changing and relaxing for sure. All this with the super convenient online ticket booking facilities, makes Shrinath Solitaire the first choice of customers.

Travel time is like a "me time" for everyone, Time when a person needs to relax or stay by themselves. Shrinath Solitaire takes care of all the arrangements and chaos for your comfortable and peaceful travel.

#volvo bus service in rajasthan #best Volvo AC bus #Ticket Booking #Ticket Booking Offers. #best bus services in India #volvo bus booking rajasthan

[4bworld]

Should people continue to social distance and wear masks until we have a vaccine? Discuss and vote at 4b.

The reason social distancing includes staying six feet away from others is, according to experts, because it is “...the average distance that respiratory droplets from a sneeze or cough travel before they settle and are no longer likely to be inhaled by other people.”

#covid #coronavirus #corona #stayhome #quarantine #staysafe #lockdown #socialdistancing #virus #love #d #stayathome #cov #pandemic #dirumahaja #instagood #a #covi #instagram #quedateencasa #art #o #like #pandemia #health #cuarentena #n #s #india #bhfyp

[go-redgirl]

Shoppers Move Online Faster Than Even Payments Firms Expected

Kimarie Santiago’s small business is the kind of operation U.S. banks and payments companies have been trying to lure online for years.  

The Covid-19 pandemic finally made it happen.Santiago’s Saltopia, which sells infused sea salts with names like “Mustard Been Love” and “Ben There D’Onion That,” spent nine years selling almost exclusively to specialty stores and food distributors. When those businesses shut as stay-at-home orders spread, Santiago wasted no time making the shift.“Grocery chains, specialty shops, it just died -- our wholesale business died,” Santiago said in an interview. 

“I was like, This is our time. We have to focus all our business right now on direct-to-consumer and figure out how to drive as much sales and traffic to our website.”As millions of business owners like Santiago make the same calculation, payment companies that process online transactions are seeing a boom.PayPal Holdings Inc. posted a surge of as much as 30% in the number of newly-active customers in core markets who use the service four times or more in 10 days, the San Jose, California-based company said last week.

“People are jumping in with both feet, and not just dipping their toes in the water,” PayPal Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman said in an interview. “It’s not hyperbole that we’ve seen a three- to five- year acceleration. That’s the math.”PayPal shares have climbed by more than 80% this year, one of the top performers in the 71-company S&P 500 Information Technology Index. Shares of Shopify Inc. and Square Inc. advanced 170% and 113%, respectively.

At Global Payments Inc., revenue from processing online payments surged to 25% of the firm’s total as more merchants started to let customers make purchases online, the company said Monday.

Shoppers Move Online Faster Than Even Payments Firms Expected | 

________________________________________________

OPINION:  Well, it goes to show you that Americans will spend money and buys goods whether its on line or at the stores.  Nothing stops Americans from buying and spending that ‘ole’ mighty dollar.

In fact, the stores maybe making more money selling their goods on-line than customer shopping in stores.

Its a win, win situation no matter how you look at it.  

Nothing will stop Americans from shopping and spending money, it just our way of life.

So, Covi-19 has lost, because their are many, many, under-ground haters that thought this ‘virus’ would kill America economy, but it has done the opposite.  

We are shopping more on-line and spending money and its making America financial strong again.  

Hooray! Hooray!   

TRUMP 2020! TRUMP 2020! TRUMP 2020 TRUMP 2020 🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷

[djwrex]

Quarantunes by DJ Wrex "The Coronavirus Covid-19 Mix"

Quarantunes by DJ Wrex “The Coronavirus Covid-19 Mix”

quarantunes dj wrex coronavirus covi-19 los angeles

The Quarantunes Mix to help you get through this tough time. I urge you to stay inside, social distance and wash your hands so we can get through this as fast as possible. Can’t wait to get back on the decks for all of you guys. Much love! Thanks for all the support! Feel free to share. Quarantunes!

Quarantunes Tracklist

The…

View On WordPress

#coronavirus music #covid-19 #quarantunes

[crystalinamarie]

Late night blogging:

Feeling extremely guilty and selfish right now as I reflect on how overwhelmed I’ve been feeling these past few weeks. I’ve been venting how my job has been overly demanding and how stressful it’s been etc. Normally this is my busiest time of year and this year I’ve definitely been challenged with a side of COVI-19. Mornings are early and the nights are long. I’ve had to advise so many businesses in the last two weeks how to furlough, lay off or close their doors as a business. My heart truly breaks for so many live’s have been effected by COVID-19. The true hero of this madness are the ones in the front lines who face this virus first hand. Everyone is battling their own hardship during this time. Feeling extra blessed to have a job that’s secure, home filled with love and unconditional support during this time. Always count your blessings 💓 Praying for peace, love and recovery from this chaos. 🙏🏼

[ddispositionss]

1.Do you want a boyfriend or girlfriend? 2.When did your last hug take place? 3.Are you a jealous person? 4.Are you tired right now? 5.Do you chew on your straws? 6.Have you ever been called a tease? 7.Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight? 8.Do you cry easily? 9.What should you be doing right now? 10.Are you a heavy sleeper? 11.Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months? 12.Are you mad at someone right now? 13.Do you believe in love? 14.What makes you laugh no matter what? 15.Who was the last person you talked to? 16.Do you get butterflies around the person you like? 17.Will you get married? 18.When was the last time you smiled? 19.Does anyone like you? 20.Do you secretly like someone? 21.Who was the first person you talked to today? 22.Who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything? 23.What are you NOT looking forward to? 24.What ARE you looking forward to? 25.Has someone of the opposite sex ever told you they loved you, and meant it? 26.Suppose you see your ex kissing another person what would you do? 27.Do you plan on moving out within the next year? 28.Are you a forgiving person? 29.How many TRUE friends do you have? 30.Do you fall for people easily? 31.Have you ever fallen for your ex’s best friend? 32.What’s the last thing you put in your mouth? 33.Who was the last person you drove with? 34.How late did you stay up last night and why? 35.If you could move somewhere else, would you? 36.Who was the last person you took a picture of? 37.Can you live a day without TV? 38.When was the last time you were extremely disappointed? 39.Three names you go by... 40.Are you currently in a relationship? 41.What is your all-time favorite romance movie? 42.Do you believe that everyone has a soul-mate? 43.What’s your current problem? 44.Have you ever had your heart broken? 45.Your thoughts of long distance relationships? 46.How many kids do you want to have? 47.Have you ever found it hard to tell someone you like them?

IM BORED so im doing this nobody cares but im bored x

1. im happy with my girlfriend thanks x

2. idk a long time ago

3. VERY

4. yes i always am

5. sometimes if im nervous

6. idk i dont think so

7. yes fucjskx

8. it depends but sometimes 

9. nothing

10. no sigh i used to be

11. yes i hope a lot longer than that

12. yah

13. yes

14. idk when i get embarrassed i laugh a lot

15. my friend

16. i get butterflies when i talk to my girlfriend x

17. yes

18. today

19. yes hi kairis

20. its not a secret i like my girlfriend x

21. my girlfriend

22. my journal

23. school

24. june x

25. i mean yes but not like in love but i have brothers and they love me and mean it 

27. i hope

28. no not normally

29. like 6 i guess idk

30. no 

31. no

32. my finger but not like in my mouth but just like playing with my lip idk

33. my best friend

34. like 3 because i couldnt sleep i was sad

35. yes in a heartbeat

36. my friends i think

37. yes

38. a few days ago

39. covi, cov, covs

40. yes x

41. imagine me and you or in your eyes

42. yes

43. my life

44. yah

45. i think they create really strong relationships if theres a lot of trust 

46. 2

47. yah

[keelymedina]

Whiskey and Vodka Trends for 2020 – 2023

 Whiskey and Vodka Trends for 2020 – 2023

 Alcoholic Drinks Report 2020 – Spirits 

Statista Consumer Market Outlook – Segment Report

The global Spirits market has witnessed solid growth over the past few years that is expected to continue only slightly less dynamically over the mid-term. The worldwide revenue of US $443 billion in 2019 is expected to increase to US $502 billion by 2023. The most important players by revenue in this segment are Diageo, Kweichow Moutai, Pernod Ricard, Suntory, and Bacardi.

Whiskey Trends World Wide

Revenue (2020)

-12.0% yoy 

US$15,958m

Average Revenue per Capita (2020)

-12.5% yoy 

US$48.21

Revenue in the Whisky segment amounts to US $ 15,958m in 2020. The market is expected to grow annually by 8.1% (CAGR 2020-2023).

In global comparison, most revenue is generated in India (US $ 18,791m in 2020).

In relation to total population figures, per person revenues of US $ 48.21 are generated in 2020.

The average per capita consumption stands at 1.4 L in 2020.

The Whisky trends for 2020- 2023 segment (in the U.S. and Ireland: Whiskey) contains distilled alcoholic beverages on a grain basis that have been aged in wooden casks for a duration of at least three years. Besides Vodka, Whiskey is one of the most popular Spirits worldwide. Great Britain and the U.S. are the world’s main important exporters of Whiskey. Diageo, Suntory, and Pernod Ricard are some of the world’s biggest producers.

The market for Alcoholic Drinks is structured into retail sales for at-home consumption and on-premise or foodservice sales for out-of-home consumption. The at-home market, also called an off-trade market, covers all retail sales via super- and hypermarkets, convenience stores, or similar sales channels. The out-of-home market, also called an on-trade market, away-from-home market, or HORECA encompasses all sales to hotels, restaurants, catering, cafés, bars, and similar hospitality service establishments. Both the at-home and the out-of-home markets are valued at retail selling prices including all sales and consumption taxes. The valuation of the out-of-home segment at retail prices means a significant change of the market definition in comparison to earlier iterations of the Consumer Market Outlook, as out-of-home consumption was valued at wholesale prices before. This means market totals are not comparable to published data from prior years.

Vodka Trends Worldwide

Revenue (2020)

-9.9% yoy 

US $42,057m

Average Revenue per Capita (2020)

-10.8% yoy 

US $5.65

Revenue in the Vodka segment amounts to US $ 42,057m in 2020. The market is expected to grow annually by 8.0% (CAGR 2020-2023).

In global comparison, most revenue is generated in the United States (US $ 18,803m in 2020).

In relation to total population figures, per person revenues of US $ 5.65 are generated in 2020.

The average per capita consumption stands at 0.3 L in 2020.

The Vodka Trends for 2020 – 2023 segment contains distilled alcoholic beverages based on grain and/or potatoes with an alcohol content of typically 40 % vol abv. or more. Originating in Eastern Europe, Vodka is the most successfully sold spirit in the world today.

The market vodka trends for Alcoholic Drinks is structured into retail sales for at-home consumption and on-premise or foodservice sales for out-of-home consumption. The at-home market, also called an off-trade market, covers all retail sales via super- and hypermarkets, convenience stores, or similar sales channels. The out-of-home market, also called an on-trade market, away-from-home market, or HORECA encompasses all sales to hotels, restaurants, catering, cafés, bars, and similar hospitality service establishments. Both the at-home and the out-of-home markets are valued at retail selling prices including all sales and consumption taxes. The valuation of the out-of-home segment at retail prices means a significant change of the market definition in comparison to earlier iterations of the Consumer Market Outlook, as out-of-home consumption was valued at wholesale prices before. This means market totals are not comparable to published data from prior years.

Conclusion:

Although, the Whiskey and Vodka trends this last 2020, have seen a downslope of profits worldwide due to the Corona Virus (Covis-19). It is forecasted at an 8% gain in 2021. Just in time to bounce back and get back to normal. Although 2020 has been a rough year for producers and retail establishments we are on the climb again and profits will continue to rise.

Extra Credit:

If you love to hear about more of the latest trends or market reports and brand information check out the Top 60 blogs related to Whiskey or Vodka here.

Whiskey and Vodka Trends for 2020 – 2023 appeared first on https://iowalegendaryrye.com/ Whiskey and Vodka Trends for 2020 – 2023 published first on https://iowalegendaryrye.com/