U.S. Senator Doug Jones, the Democrat from Birmingham, Alabama, Urges People to Be Concerned and Prepare, but Not Panic –

By Glynn Wilson –

PENSACOLA, Fla. — The Spring Break travel and tourism season is just now getting into full swing along the Gulf Coast, just in time for what could be the worst human health pandemic on the planet at least since the Swine Flu in 2009. The roads to Pensacola Beach and beaches were not crowded Thursday afternoon, although the real action is supposed to begin this weekend.

An uncrowded beach in Pensacola: Glynn Wilson

But forget about getting tested to see if you have COVID-19, especially in Alabama. There are not enough test kits in the state or country to test everyone who wants to be tested.

There are restrictions in place in the state limiting testing people to those who have traveled to the official hotspot countries of China, Japan, South Korea, Italy and Iran, or otherwise have evidence of being exposed to someone who has tested positive for the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared coronavirus a pandemic three months after it first emerged in China, and since detection Covid-19 has spread to every continent on earth except Antarctica, and already infected more than 100,000 people worldwide in more than 100 countries.

The most recent declared pandemic hit in 2009, caused by Swine Flu, the influence A virus, which originated in Mexico, is estimated to have caused between 100,000 and 400,000 deaths globally in its first year alone.

The Spanish Flu hit in 1918 and killed between 20-50 million people.

So far are there are 134,088 reported positive cases of coronavirus, with 4,964 dead and 68,898 survivors, as of this writing, although the actual numbers including unreported cases are likely much higher.

Worldometers

A pandemic, which comes from the Greek term pan (‘all’) and demos (‘people’) is the term used to describe the spread of a disease that grows in multiple countries and continents at the same time.

But according to the Trump administration, and Republican officials in Alabama, there is no need to worry. After all, no cases have been reported in Alabama, yet.

The Florida Department of Health reports 36 cases and two deaths so far, with 1,230 people monitored to date.

Dr. John Lednicky, a University of Florida virologist who has spent years studying the coronavirus, of which the SARS-CoV-2 is the newest strain, says the problem is the lack of testing.

“The thing that hurts us the most worldwide is the lack of testing being done,” Lednicky said. “No one knows how to go about paying for it. The capability for testing is an issue.”

That’s also the problem in Alabama, according to Senator Doug Jones, the Democrat from Birmingham, who addressed the latest information about COVID-19 in a media call with the press on Thursday. Senators held a private briefing in the morning with members of the Trump administration charged with overseeing the coronavirus response.

“I think it’s fair to say that there is a bipartisan consensus that we did not get as many answers from the administration as to their responses to this virus as we had hoped, and there are a lot more questions than answers,” Senator Jones said. “First and foremost, I’m extremely concerned about the lack of availability of testing for this, both in Alabama and the country at large, especially it seems in Alabama. Until the tests are widely available and affordable, we won’t really know the extent of what we’re dealing with here. It is hard to plan when you don’t know the extent.”

Unfortunately, he said, no one in the administration’s briefing could “really provide answers into when these tests are going to be available,” Jones said. “I can’t stress that enough. No one can say, the president or anyone one else (when) ‘Everyone who wants to get tested can get tested’.”

The Alabama Department of Public Health is only officially reporting 10 tests so far, and all of them have come back negative.

“We are being lulled in Alabama into a false sense of security because nothing has been detected,” Senator Jones said. “The virus is likely there. We just need to deal with it. And even if it’s not, we need to take the actions now as if it was there.”

Senators are looking to the private sector for answers, he said.

“We’re looking to the science and the best practices from around the world to determine what we need to implement here and around the United States,” he said. “For example, South Korea is leading the way in drive-through testing for COVID-19.”

They are also looking into Telehealth.

“We need to do everything we can to prepare for and mitigate the impact and Telehealth is a great way to do it,” he said.

In the meantime, he said, they are trying to do what they can do from the federal perspective including getting the $8.3 billion in funding that passed last week “out the door and into our communities.”

“This is clear,” he said. “This is not a reason to panic, but it is a reason to be very concerned.”

Start the social distancing, he said, which includes remaining six feet away from other people, including in church, and remaining and even working and studying from home as much as possible.

Update: On Friday, members of Congress were instituting work from home policies for staff, and the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center canceled all public tours and closed to all visitors other than members, essential staff and credentialed press. Museums are also announcing closings, and the Palafox Market in Pensacola just shut down until further notice.

“Quit shaking hands,” the Senator said, even though the president and Vice President Mike Pence have said they will continue to travel and shake hands wherever they go on the campaign trail, for official business, or to more golfing vacation days at Mar-a-Lago.

It has been reported that President Trump has already been exposed to the virus, when meeting with a Brazilian official at the Florida resort, and by sitting beside Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz from Fort Walton on Air Force One, who had his selfie taken with the Republican who tested positive after attending a conservative CPAC meeting, where Trump made a speech.

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, reviewing the coronavirus supplemental appropriation and preparing to go vote, wearing a gas mask as a stunt. He later apologized, after it was revealed that two of his constituents in Florida have already died from the virus: Twitter

“Wash your hands as much as possible,” Senator Jones said. “Try to keep your hands away from your face.”

“We’ve got allergy season. We’re still in flu season,” he said. “It’s a really difficult situation. But if in fact, we’ve got a minimal number of cases in Alabama now, or none, the things that we can do now to try to stop the spread of the virus will be extremely important.”

He said we should look at other countries, where they have taken proactive steps, and the virus has been mitigated.

“We haven’t done that in this country,” Jones said. “Quite frankly, I won’t say we have put our head in the sand, but the fact of the matter is, we have been behind the curve on trying to get a handle on this. We just overlooked what was going on in other parts of the world.”

Call your doctor and heed the protocols, he said.

When I asked if he had heard from tourism officials about canceling Spring Break, he said: “We have not heard that … trips like that being canceled. Different schools are taking different approaches. This clearly is going to effect any number of businesses across the state and the country.”

According to reporting by Rolling Stone magazine and other news outlets, hotel bookings are going down, and many universities are canceling classes on campus. Concert tours, sporting events and other public functions are being canceled. Stock markets around the world are crashing.

So far in the coastal cities of Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Pensacola, spring break is going forward with an expectation of somewhat smaller crowds this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In Gulf Shores, Public Information Officer Grant Brown said city officials are monitoring the situation but no events have been canceled yet. Steps are being taken to add extra hand washing stations in key places where crowds gather and additional cleaning crew shifts are being added to sanitize public places.

Information about the virus and what to do to prevent it is posted on the city web sites of Pensacola and Gulf Shores, but not on the site of the neighboring town of Orange Beach.

Pat McClellan, co-owner of the Flora-Bama Lounge, said spring break will go on as usual. And since young people are not getting as sick or dying like older men, cancelations and no shows are expected to be minimal.

In Florida, the Legislature went into a panic this week after the Republican Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency

The Florida House abruptly recessed and cleared public galleries after several of its members agreed to be tested for the virus since attending a conferences in Washington, D.C., where other conference goers tested positive.

A Matt Gaetz selfie: Twitter