Tag: COVID-19
-
Demand Rapid COVID-19 Testing
by James C. Sherlock Three days ago, I wrote the following: Now it has turned out that by far the most effective and timely test for COVID-19 has been produced for point-of-care (physicians offices, clinics, etc.) testing, not for centralized test labs. That fact has left the hospitals and the administration collectively clueless. … Daily…
-
Virginia’s Let-the-Good-Times-Roll Budget
by Kerry Dougherty We’re in a hell of a mess here in Virginia, folks. Oh, other states are in trouble too. But how many of them saw their state legislatures go on a wild spending spree less than a month ago, even while the coronavirus was spreading across the globe? How many of them have…
-
COVID-19 Update: Yikes!
I’ve divined hopeful signs in past statistical updates, only to have my hopes dashed. So, take this with a grain of salt. But Virginia may be turning a corner. Consider this nugget from the COVID-19 numbers reported by the Virginia Department of Health this morning: The number of confirmed new patients Tuesday was only a…
-
The War against COVID-19: Tales from the Trenches
Small business gap funding. Northern Virginia technology entrepreneur Pete Snyder and his wife have donated $100,000 in “seed money” to create the nonprofit Virginia 30 Day Fund to help businesses meet payroll until federal relief comes through. The fund, reports the Washington Post, will provide up to $3,000 to each approved small business. recipients do…
-
Regulated States Have Fewer Hospital Beds
by James C. Sherlock Virginians have read my complaints for years that Virginia’s Certificate of Public Need (COPN) law has artificially reduced supply of healthcare facilities in Virginia, driving up prices and reducing access. Legislators who believe as I do have not won the argument for the past 30 years in Richmond. Unfortunately, I offer…
-
COVID-19 Update: Back into Panic Mode
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has released its COVID-19 update, and I’m back into panic mode. The number of reported new cases leaped to 563 yesterday, the biggest number yet. What I had tentatively described yesterday as a respite in the exponential rate of increase over the weekend turned out to be an artifact…
-
Why Can’t the Northam Administration Hit the Curveball?
by James C. Sherlock The question in the title is a proxy for nearly every question people ask on this blog. I will try to answer that here so that expectations for the Northam administration’s performance are not are impossible to meet. The key thing to know about the “Virginia Way” in healthcare is that…
-
Hospital Association Publishes More Granular COVID-19 Data
by James A. Bacon The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association today unveiled its own COVID-19 dashboard — and it puts the Virginia Department of Health information portal to shame. The VHHA dashboard contains key metrics lacking in the state’s statistical summary, and its data on the number of hospitalizations conflicts with those provided by the…
-
The Masking of America
by Kerry Dougherty Here we go again. Seems America’s insufferable micromanagers have moved on from spying on neighbors to shaming strangers for not wearing masks at the supermarket. You know who you are. I feared this would happen the moment the CDC recommended that, when out in public, folks should consider wearing fabric face masks.…
-
COVID-19 Update: A Glimmer of Hope
The latest numbers from the Virginia Department of Health are heartening. The COVID-19 epidemic in Virginia has not peaked, or come anywhere near peaking. But maybe, just maybe, the rate of acceleration is slowing. Another way to put it: It may take a bit longer than we thought for things to go all to hell.…
-
The Progressives’ “Opportunity of a Lifetime”
by James C. Sherlock Virginia faces a crisis of governance during COVID-19, and the repercussions will play out in the General Assembly and in our elections for federal offices this fall. The political campaigns both within and outside the General Assembly will be about policy rather than the administrative skill to carry it out. In…
-
Virginia Jails and Prisons Brace for Pandemic
by a contributing writer Fears of COVID-19 outbreaks among prisoners and correctional employees have begun to be realized. Department of Corrections efforts to mitigate infections have been notably effective, yet confirmed cases now include 13 inmates and five staff, as well as one inmate in the Fairfax County jail. Dozens more are being monitored. Given…
-
COVID-19 Update: A Brief Respite in the Relentless Climb
Don’t get your hopes up. Yes, it is true that the number of new COVID-19 cases reported by the Virginia Department of Health this morning dropped 40%, but don’t make too much of one day’s results. As the chart above shows, the number of new confirmed coronavirus cases shows considerable volatility. Confirmed cases vary for…
-
Constructive Criticism in a Crisis
by James C. Sherlock Steve Haner and I have expressed the exact same three-phase reaction to state government missteps in the COVID-19 crisis. At first we gave the Governor slack because we knew he was unprepared and is supported by bureaucracies similarly unprepared for the new realities and that both needed time to adjust. Then,…
-
COVID-19 Update: Blastoff!
According to data published by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) this morning, the number of new COVID-19 cases confirmed in Virginia Friday shot up to 395, up from 306 the previous day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2,407. To emphasize the change in the number of new cases, I have changed…