The Daily Valet. - 4/14/20, Tuesday
✔️ Ready to Reopen?
Tuesday, April 14th Edition
Remember texting “I’m on my way,” but you hadn’t left the house yet? I miss those days.
Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf
Today’s Big Story
When Can We Really Reopen?
Governors form groups to explore lifting restrictions; President Trump says he alone will decide
On Monday, Wyoming recorded its first death from COVID-19, meaning all 50 states now have at least one fatality in the pandemic. However, the country is at a standstill and must plan a way to return to a new normal.
Seven Northeastern states and three on the West Coast formed regional pacts aimed at coordinating a gradual reopening of their economies without a resurgence of coronavirus infections just as the outbreak appeared to be starting to wane, reports Reuters.
The 10 state governors, nearly all Democrats (except for Charlie Baker of Massachusetts) gave no timeline for ending stay-at-home orders and lockdowns that together, have sidelined more than 100 million Americans in their states.
President Trump, who has been eager to get Americans back to work over the past few weeks, declared on Monday that any decision on reopening U.S. commerce was his to make, reports the Associated Press. But governors from both parties were quick to push back.
Meanwhile, the White House’s newly announced business-focused task force still lacks any business leaders, as executives are leery of being involved in a panel that could become as controversial as Trump’s earlier forays, which were disbanded shortly after Trump’s 2017 comments on Charlottesville Virginia protests resulted in several CEOs resigning, reports NBC News.
It’s clear that both politicians and executives are now hoping to get back to businesses ASAP. But according to the Wall Street Journal, restarting the economy will be “fitful, fragile and partial.” After all, if things open up and the number of cases continue to rise, will anyone feel confident going to a restaurant or crowded sporting event?
↦ FYI: For the first time in history, every state in the U.S. is under a disaster declaration simultaneously due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amazon Puts New Grocery-Delivery Customers On Hold
But there is a waitlist ...
If you're not already a customer of Amazon's grocery delivery services, offered through Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods, you'll now have to wait your turn to become one.
Soaring demand for online food delivery during the coronavirus pandemic has forced Amazon to create a waitlist for new shoppers, reports CNN. It's part of a number of changes the company is making to its food delivery business.
Amazon explained in a blog post that it recently boosted order capacity by 60% in recent weeks and is adding more. But that's still not enough to meet demand from the millions of hungry, house-bound subscribers.
Amazon is quickly evolving to keep up with the growing reliance on its services. The company has pushed back delivery times for non-essential items, suspended shipments of non-essentials to its warehouses, and on Monday, announced it will hire 75,000 new workers. That's in addition to the 100,000+ the company has hired since mid-March—bringing its total full- and part-time payroll to more than 950,000 people.
The Post Office Is in Danger
It’s never been more important ... or more endangered
You know the drill: Neither rain nor sleet or even a pandemic will keep mail carriers from serving every address in the United States. But the coronavirus crisis is shaking the foundation of the U.S. Postal Service in new and serious ways.
Last week, members of Congress were informed that it will “run out of cash” in September without federal assistance. But the White House rejected emergency funding for the agency that employs around 600,000 workers.
According to Vox, there are a lot of complexities here, but the immediate crisis is actually pretty simple: The volume of more profitable types of mail are plunging, taking USPS revenue down with them. And unless something is done relatively quickly to make up for those lost revenues, it’s hard to see how significant layoffs and service reductions can be avoided.
But during this new era of social-distancing, we've been reminded that the mail could be considered the nation’s oldest essential service. According to Bloomberg Business, letters, packages and other deliveries are up. And stimulus checks should start appearing in mailboxes around the end of this month.
↦ FYI: The USPS maintains 31,000 post offices, 276 processing and distribution plants, and 228,000 trucks and vans.
The Silent Spreaders
What we know about those who are asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic
We now know that it's possible to be infected with the coronavirus and go through a period of time before symptoms kick in. Or that there are those who show no symptoms at all. And that's not good when you're trying to prevent the spread.
But if you don't have a cough, a fever or any other sign of illness, how would you know you're infected (and contagious)? NPR examines the phenomenon of the “silent spreader.”
After infection, symptoms might not develop for five to six days—even up to two full weeks, according to the Annals of Internal Medicine. The time between catching the virus and showing symptoms is called the “presymptomatic” phase. Those who are “asymptomatic” are people who carry the active virus in their body but never develop any symptoms, ever.
Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, said that he thinks “asymptomatic spread was and is more significant than was appreciated back in January.” What is clear is it gives weight to the advice we've been hearing all along: Keep a six-foot distance from others and keep washing those hands thoroughly.
↦ FYI: The National Institutes of Health announced that it's recruiting 10,000 volunteers for blood testing to look for antibodies to COVID-19—a sign that a person was infected in the past.
In Other News
Other Things We’re Talking About Today
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Watch Bob Ross to Releive Your Stress
Every episode of “The Joy of Painting” is free to watch on YouTube
If you're feeling cooped up and stressed while stuck in the house, you're in luck. Because every single episode of Ross’s 1983 PBS show Bob Ross: The Joy Of Painting is now available to watch for free on Youtube.
All 403 episodes are there and accounted for on the Bob Ross YouTube page, broken down into playlists from Seasons 1 through 31. Each episode is 30 minutes long, which amounts to over 200 hours of soothing ASMR voices and happy little trees.
According to Decider, who alerted us to this glorious find, Ross always made a point to encourage all of his viewers to keep painting and creating, no matter their skill level. It's comforting motivation during such an uncertain time, isn't it?
↦ FYI: Despite his mellow demeanor, Ross spent 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and retired with the rank of master sergeant.
Sales We’re Eyeing
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Morning Motto
Put in the work and the results come ... eventually
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