Herd This

“I think Trump clearly does not like the advice he was receiving from the people who are the experts — Fauci, Birx, etc. — so he has slowly shifted from their advice to somebody who tells him what he wants to hear,” said Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease expert at Emory University who is close to Dr. Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator.

The core of his appeal in the West Wing rests in his libertarian-style approach to disease management in which the government focuses on small populations of at-risk individuals — the elderly, the sick and the immune-compromised — and minimizes restrictions for the rest of the population, akin to an approach used to disastrous effect in Sweden. The argument: Most people infected by the coronavirus will not get seriously ill, and at some point, enough people will have antibodies from Covid-19 to deprive the virus of carriers — “herd immunity.” – Source: NY Times

As Coronavirus Infections Rise, Masks In Paris Become Mandatory In All Public Places : Coronavirus Live Updates : NPR

“We are in a period of epidemic growth,” Prime Minister Jean Castex said. “We want to do everything to avoid a new lockdown.” The order goes into effect Friday.

The French government announced Thursday that face masks will become mandatory everywhere in Paris and its suburbs, including all outdoor public spaces. The heightened mask requirement comes as the number of new COVID-19 cases in France jumped to more than 5,000 in the previous 24 hours — the highest increase since the country came out of lockdown in mid-May.

The order goes into effect at 8 a.m. Friday. The Paris region is one of 21 high-risk “red zones” in France. But until now, masks were largely mandatory only inside shops and on public transportation. People were not required to wear them outdoors, except at street markets and in certain densely packed areas. The new rule means that now cyclists and scooter users will have to mask up as well.

Prime Minister Jean Castex, speaking at a press conference Thursday morning, said France had reached a critical threshold of 50 infections per 100,000 residents, a red line.

“We are in a period of epidemic growth,” said Castex. “We want to do everything to avoid a new lockdown.” [ . . . ]

More at NPR: As Coronavirus Infections Rise, Masks In Paris Become Mandatory In All Public Places : Coronavirus Live Updates : NPR

Mike Pence is ___________

Pas de Merde friends. Fill in the blank, please