- New Cases: 611,972 (⬆︎ 1.03%)
- New Deaths: 12,037 (⬆︎ .86%) 🥳 New Record! 🎉
USA
- New Cases: 181,124 (⬆︎ 1.40%)
- New Deaths 2,304 (⬆︎ .87%)
Since February 29th, one American has died of COVID-19 every 89 seconds.
Yesterday, somewhere in this world, a fellow human being died of COVID-19 every 7 seconds.
Why we can't have nice things - Stupid Politician Tricks
Denver’s mayor urged residents to avoid Thanksgiving travel - then he flew cross-country to see family
On Wednesday morning, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock urged residents to stay home and meet family online for Thanksgiving to help curtail the spread of the coronavirus.
“Pass the potatoes, not covid. Host virtual gatherings instead of in-person dinners,” the Democrat tweeted. “Avoid travel, if you can.”
Then, less than an hour later, Hancock boarded a flight on his way to Mississippi for Thanksgiving with his wife and daughter, his spokesman Mike Strott confirmed to The Washington Post.
The move left critics blasting Hancock for appearing to ignore his own advice at a time when the coronavirus continues to rise precipitously in Colorado.
“Our Mayor has abandoned his city during one of the most critical times we needed leadership the most,” tweeted Tay Anderson, a Denver Board of Education member.
Hours later, amid mounting blowback on social media and from local politicians, the mayor apologized.
“I made my decision as a husband and father, and for those who are angry and disappointed, I humbly ask you to forgive decisions that are borne of my heart and not my head,” he tweeted.
Hancock is the latest politician blasted this month for seeming to skirt the same restrictions that have curtailed life for millions of Americans during the worsening pandemic. Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) apologized after photos showed him at birthday party inside a high-end restaurant where no one at his table wore masks. And this week, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) canceled plans to host his 89-year-old mother and two daughters in Albany for Thanksgiving after critics noted that he had spent days pleading with New Yorkers to avoid family gatherings for the holidays.
And of course, the competition for top prize in Stupid Politician Tricks is always quite fierce.
Wyoming’s governor has resisted calls for a mask mandate. Now he has the coronavirus.
Earlier this month, with coronavirus cases rising dramatically across Wyoming, a coalition of medical experts and nearly every county health officer in the state wrote to Republican Gov. Mark Gordon with an urgent demand: to issue a statewide mask mandate.
Gordon declined. While he has stressed the importance of wearing masks, he has also argued that it’s an individual choice to do so.
“It is incredibly important that we take personal responsibility for our actions and understand how those actions can implicate others,” Gordon said last month.
Now Gordon, 63, has tested positive for the virus, his office announced Wednesday. “He only has minor symptoms at this time and plans to continue working on behalf of Wyoming remotely,” Gordon’s office said in a news release.
Throughout the pandemic, a number of Republican governors have resisted mandating face coverings, with some questioning their effect — an echo of President Trump’s dismissive attitude toward masks — and others, like Gordon, calling for personal responsibility. But in recent weeks, with the pandemic dramatically worsening and evidence mounting that mask mandates can reduce transmission, several have reversed course.
GOP-led states including Utah, West Virginia and North Dakota all recently tightened mask rules, and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), who had previously called such rules “feel-good” measures, put a limited mandate into effect earlier this month.
Gordon, though, has held firm against any statewide mask rules even as Wyoming, like other states in the West and Midwest, has seen coronavirus cases increase significantly this fall. The state has now topped 30,000 cases and recorded at least 215 deaths, according to The Washington Post’s coronavirus tracker.
While some counties in Wyoming have issued local mask requirements, health experts say they’re often ignored — and enacting new rules on the county level hasn’t been easy.
When commissioners in Natrona County, which includes Casper, the state’s second-largest city, invited health officials to discuss a possible mask mandate this month, the meeting had to be adjourned early because of incessant heckling. Anti-mask protesters have repeatedly gathered at the state Capitol in Cheyenne as well.
On Nov. 12, Wyoming public health experts urged Gordon to reconsider a statewide mask rule. A letter signed by 21 county health officers and the heads of the state’s medical society and hospital association noted that recommendations alone weren’t driving enough people to mask up.
“Education and encouragement alone have not achieved desired outcomes. Our health care resources are becoming critically strained with hospitalizations and deaths increasing,” the letter said.
Last week, Gordon responded to the record case numbers by issuing new restrictions, including reducing the size of indoor and outdoor gatherings. And he urged residents to wear masks.
“The Governor reminded residents to practice the three Ws — wash your hands, watch your distance and wear a face covering,” his office said Nov. 19.
But Gordon again stopped short of issuing a mask mandate.
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