The Daily Valet. - 3/23/20, Monday
✔️ Zoom, Quarantines and Canada
Monday, March 23rd Edition
Like the airport, quarantine happy hour starts whenever you want.
Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf
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Today’s Big Story
Americans Ordered to Stay Home
The longer we resist it, the longer we’ll have to deal with this
Nearly one in three Americans were ordered on Sunday to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic as Ohio, Louisiana and Delaware became the latest states to enact broad restrictions, along with the city of Philadelphia, reports Reuters.
They join New York, California, Illinois, Connecticut and New Jersey—home to over 100 million Americans combined—as cases nationwide topped more than 35,070, with 458 dead, according to a recent tally.
On Sunday evening, President Trump said that the federal government has activated the National Guard to assist the states that have been hit hardest by the rapidly spreading coronavirus—New York, California and Washington.
According to NPR, FEMA will fund the deployment of the Guard, which Trump said will give states “maximum flexibility to use the Guard against the virus without having to worry about costs and liability. And [it frees] up state resources to protect the health and safety of the people in their state.”
Over the weekend, New York state’s death toll reached 150, surpassing Washington state and accounting for a third of all US deaths. That underscores just how serious this is, but there's still a lot of ambiguity when it comes to stay-at-home orders. What's crystal clear is that we need to do it in order to stop the spread of the virus.
Federal guidelines give state and local authorities leeway in what they consider “essential” businesses during an emergency. But in general, those industries include grocery stores and food production, pharmacies, health care, utilities, shipping and banking (along with governmental services, law enforcement and emergency personnel).
↦ Social Distancing Win: Drive-Ins are being reinvigorated thanks to the rise in self-isolation and social distancing. (Just bring your own snacks.)
Senate GOP Pressures Democrats to Pass Stimulus Package
$1.8 trillion package falls far short of advancing
Top-level negotiations between Congress and the White House churned into the night Sunday over a now nearly $2 trillion economic rescue package, reports the Associated Press.
As President Trump took to the White House podium and promised to help Americans who feel afraid and isolated as the pandemic spreads, the Senate voted against advancing the rescue package.
According to Fox News, many Democrats had complained that the draft aid package did not go far enough to provide health care and unemployment aid, while failing to put restraints on a proposed $500 billion "slush fund" for corporations, saying the ban on corporate stock buy-backs was weak. Democrats also pushed for additional food security aid, small business loans and other measures for workers.
Of course, in voting to block action, Democrats risked a political backlash if they are seen as obstructing progress on a measure that is widely regarded as crucial to aid desperate Americans and boost a weary economy.
↦ FYI: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced another procedural vote on the package set for 9:45 ET this morning—just minutes after the stock market opens.
Zoom: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
“It’s everyone’s lifeline at this point”
With so much of the country stuck indoors to stop the spread of the coronavirus, people are turning to video calls to have meetings with colleagues and customers—not to mention virtual happy hours with friends and family.
And while there are any number of free services at their disposal, Zoom is increasingly the one they’re choosing. Why? Because the app is known for its reliability. It avoids the long outages that discourage repeated use and it doesn’t have the latency that makes some video chats a pain.
Of course, it's all fun and games until the trolling and nudity starts. But the trolls of the internet are under quarantine, too, and they’re looking for things to disrupt, reports the New York Times.
They're jumping into public Zoom calls and using the platform’s screen-sharing feature to project graphic content to unwitting participants—like when Chipotle had to shut down a recent chat after the nudity popped up.
↦ FYI: How to change your Zoom video background like everyone's doing right now.
Canada Won’t Send Athletes to Olympics
Unless they’re postponed for a year
Canada will not be sending athletes to this summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo because of the risks associated with the coronavirus outbreak, making it the first country to draw a line in the proverbial sand.
The Canadian Olympic committee sent out a statement Sunday evening saying, "While we recognize the inherent complexities around a postponement, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our athletes and the world community."
Canada's decision comes hours after the International Olympic Committee said it's considering postponing—but not canceling—the 2020 Games.
The IOC said it would take up to four weeks to consider alternatives, which include postponement. But, thankfully, they've taken the possibility of canceling the Games off the table.
↦ FYI: Despite a growing number of athletes and organizations calling for a delay, the CEO of the US Olympic Team isn't calling for a postponement.
In Other News
Other Things We’re Talking About Today
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How Are Your Hands?
Because mine have been washed raw
I had to leave the house this weekend: I stopped by our deserted office to pick up a few essentials. I distanced myself the best I could, applied copious amounts of hand sanitizer and vigorously washed my hands multiple times.
Such precautions are necessary, but definitely take a toll on your hands. Thankfully, we're nothing if not experts at testing out body and grooming products. So our own Jordan Taylor got the team to round up the best hand creams to combat the dryness and cracked skin.
"Dry, cracked skin puts you at greater risk for infections, so after you wash, try applying a dab of hand cream," he writes. "You could use any old lotion to grease up your hands, but you're better off ordering some quality creams specially formulated to tackle tough skin and brittle nails."
↦ Read: The best hand creams to buy right now.
What We’re Buying
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↦ Get It $34.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond
Today’s Deals
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Morning Motto
However you feel is the way you feel. It’s all okay.
↦ Follow: @cleowade
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