# Citizen reporters go out and do what the media won't! (empty hospitals)



## Becky1951 (Apr 5, 2020)

What's your thoughts on this? I'm not sure what to think.


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## Pepper (Apr 5, 2020)

No, sorry, won't watch 13 minute video without some sort of synopsis.


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## win231 (Apr 5, 2020)

Becky1951 said:


> What's your thoughts on this? I'm not sure what to think.


We've been lied to so many times, we don't automatically believe what we're told.  It usually has something to do with money.


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## Lc jones (Apr 5, 2020)

This is a very good idea, having regular folks go out and get the facts instead of relying on the dishonest media.


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## Pepper (Apr 5, 2020)

Dana Ashlie, the narrator, is an anti-vaxxer, and conspiracy theorist, with an ax to grind.  Gullible is the only word I can think of about people who don't care about the source they are being misled by. Google her name, then say you believe a word she says.

Didn't need to watch more than a minute to find that out.


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## Becky1951 (Apr 5, 2020)

Pepper said:


> Dana Ashlie, the narrator, is an anti-vaxxer, and conspiracy theorist, with an ax to grind.  Gullible is the only word I can think of about people who don't care about the source they are being misled by. Google her name, then say you believe a word she says.
> 
> Didn't need to watch more than a minute to find that out.


Thanks I should have googled her. Guess I was hopeful it wasn't really as bad as the media is reporting.


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## todalake (Apr 5, 2020)

Do you mean to tell me that the nations all over the world are wrong and it is a conspiracy that all the governments in the world are in on it.   Willing to spend trillions of dollars and tank the economy!      Amazing what some people will believe if they saw it on the internet.

Elvis is alive,  moon landing didn't happen,   mafia shot JFK,   aliens are among us,   sex is better after 80,  etc.


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## Duster (Apr 5, 2020)

The virus is a diversion. Things will soon become very clear and you will know all. Be patient. No worries. Everything is gonna be alright.


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## Suzy623 (Apr 5, 2020)

I choose not to watch. There are a lot of videos that are taken by people I don't know and never heard of. No idea what their agenda is but you see a lot of it on FB. And, IMO, there is no 'fake' news channels. I listen to all the major networks and hear their interpretation of what I hear Trump or Fauci or Cuomo or whoever says and then make my own decision as to who or what to believe.


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## WhatInThe (Apr 5, 2020)

Not hard to question empty hospitals in some areas especially when it's known now that the 2 hospital ships capable of handling almost 2000 patient probably don't even have 200 on them.

https://www.navytimes.com/news/coro...ere-sent-to-the-usns-mercy-comfort-this-week/

Alot of butt covering so they have to over plan and over prepare although I'm hearing reports all these make shift hospitals don't have staff yet. Beds and equipment are one thing but care givers are another.


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## Suzy623 (Apr 5, 2020)

todalake said:


> Do you mean to tell me that the nations all over the world are wrong and it is a conspiracy that all the governments in the world are in on it.   Willing to spend trillions of dollars and tank the economy!      Amazing what some people will believe if they saw it on the internet.
> 
> Elvis is alive,  moon landing didn't happen,   mafia shot JFK,   aliens are among us,   sex is better after 80,  etc.


One that really burns me is people who refuse to believe the holocaust ever happened. I've known people who lived in Holland who were directly affected by it and whose families were torn apart. The wife of a couple I knew was terrified when we were there one evening. A dark color car was parked on the street and she closed the heavy curtains, turned all but one lamp out and kept peeping to see if the car was still there.  We were 3 floors up and the car was parked just beyond the light from the street light. She was almost in a panic state, afraid they were going to take her and her husband.


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## Butterfly (Apr 6, 2020)

todalake said:


> Do you mean to tell me that the nations all over the world are wrong and it is a conspiracy that all the governments in the world are in on it.   Willing to spend trillions of dollars and tank the economy!      Amazing what some people will believe if they saw it on the internet.
> 
> Elvis is alive,  moon landing didn't happen,   mafia shot JFK,   aliens are among us,   sex is better after 80,  etc.



It's absolutely beyond absurd to believe that this virus thing isn't real, or isn't as bad as being reported by the major news media.  If anything, it's probably worse, since we don't really have a handle on how many people are infected because there are not enough tests available.


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## Aunt Bea (Apr 6, 2020)

I didn't watch the video but I'm happy that we may have overprepared to the point that we have surplus hospital beds and ventilators lined up waiting to be used.

I believe that the virus is real and the numbers of dead people are real.

We have nothing to lose by taking this virus seriously and everything to lose if we don't.

Stay safe, do what you can to blunt the curve and starve the virus.


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## hollydolly (Apr 6, 2020)

Aunt Bea said:


> I didn't watch the video but I'm happy that we may have overprepared to the point that we have surplus hospital beds and ventilators lined up waiting to be used.
> 
> I believe that the virus is real and the numbers of dead people are real.
> 
> ...


 I didn't watch the video either, just read the comments of those who did... ... @Aunt Bea , I'm not sure whether you're being factual or sarcastic about the surplus of beds and ventilators waiting to be used,  simply because everything  I've read about the USA says the opposite ...and certainly it's not the case in the UK, we are desperately short of both , as well as medical staff..


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## Aunt Bea (Apr 6, 2020)

hollydolly said:


> I didn't watch the video either, just read the comments of those who did... ... @Aunt Bea , I'm not sure whether you're being factual or sarcastic about the surplus of beds and ventilators waiting to be used,  simply because everything  I've read about the USA says the opposite ...and certainly it's not the case in the UK, we are desperately short of both , as well as medical staff..


I was being serious.

IMO empty hospital beds and unused equipment means that we don't have enough sick and injured people that need hospitalization or lifesaving care.

To me, that is a very good thing.


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## hollydolly (Apr 6, 2020)

Aunt Bea said:


> I was being serious.
> 
> IMO empty hospital beds and unused equipment means that we don't have enough sick and injured people that need hospitalization or lifesaving care.
> 
> To me, that is a very good thing.


so you have empty beds, and unused ventilators and yet in the last 48  hours (at least)  3,000 people have died from Covid-19... and those infected are likely  to be 10 times higher than that, in the USA  yet there are spare beds and ventilators?... wow... really? that's wonderful ... I wonder then if they could transport those unused medical equipment to the uk.. we're desperate..


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## Aunt Bea (Apr 6, 2020)

hollydolly said:


> so you have empty beds, and unused ventilators and yet in the last 48  hours (at least)  3,000 people have died from Covid-19... and those infected are likely  to be 10 times higher than that, in the USA  yet there are spare beds and ventilators?... wow... really? that's wonderful ... I wonder then if they could transport those unused medical equipment to the uk.. we're desperate..


Now I'm wondering who is being sarcastic. 

I'm not saying that things won't get worse or are not serious but I don't understand why citizen reporters are upset because we currently have excess capacity in some areas.


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## hollydolly (Apr 6, 2020)

I'm not being sarcastic AB...I'm taking you at your word that there's a huge excess of beds and ventilators, in the USA, and wondering why they wouldn't think to share them with countries like the UK or Italy or Spain  who have very few...


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## Aunt Bea (Apr 6, 2020)

hollydolly said:


> I'm not being sarcastic AB...I'm taking you at your word that there's *a huge excess of beds and ventilators,* in the USA, and wondering why they wouldn't think to share them with countries like the UK or Italy or Spain  who have very few...


I don't recall saying that or anything even similar to that. 

I think that it's time for me to step away from some of the coronavirus threads and keep my comments/opinions to myself.


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## hollydolly (Apr 6, 2020)

OK... perhaps you didn't say HUGE excess but you did say  surplus... which of course in any language means an excess, ... but anyway I'm not going to have a falling out over it..  let's call a truce..


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## Rosemarie (Apr 6, 2020)

hollydolly said:


> I didn't watch the video either, just read the comments of those who did... ... @Aunt Bea , I'm not sure whether you're being factual or sarcastic about the surplus of beds and ventilators waiting to be used,  simply because everything  I've read about the USA says the opposite ...and certainly it's not the case in the UK, we are desperately short of both , as well as medical staff..


This is something I'm puzzled about. My husband was in the army, and I know that the government had plans drawn up, ready to put into action in the event of a nuclear attack.
With all the global travel and biological weapons, it was only a matter of time before a major pandemic happened. Yet our government seems to be completely unprepared. Why was there no contingency  plan?


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## StarSong (Apr 6, 2020)

I did watch the video.  

These "self reporters" are taking short videos that the media, the governmet, hospital admins, and more are involved in some sort of massive effort to dramatically overstate this virus's seriousness and the number of people being tested or hospitalized.

However, one cannot project anything more from 30 second clips beyond precisely what is being shown at that moment.  A snapshot in time.  

An empty ER may very well mean hospital efficiency at immediately dispatching potential patients into isolation, testing, and beds.    
Empty testing facilities may mean the video is being shot outside of the hours when tests are being conducted (notice there were no hospital personnel in those tents at the time the videos were shot).
A 30 second clip of a refrigerated morgue truck with no bodies being loaded into it merely means no bodies were being loaded into during those 30 seconds.  

I cannot imagine virtually every government on this planet shutting down their economies to perpetuate an exaggerated risk. Nor can I imagine that the front line doctors, nurses, EMTs, etc., would add to the conspiracy. Quite the opposite. 

Like most of you, I know people in the medical field - their complaints are that the public isn't taking this seriously enough. Not one has told me that this is an exaggeration.  Not one.


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## Em in Ohio (Apr 6, 2020)

Suzy623 said:


> I choose not to watch. There are a lot of videos that are taken by people I don't know and never heard of. No idea what their agenda is but you see a lot of it on FB. And, IMO, there is no 'fake' news channels. I listen to all the major networks and hear their interpretation of what I hear Trump or Fauci or Cuomo or whoever says and then make my own decision as to who or what to believe.


It is the only way to get a little bit closer to the truth.  I also surf to foreign news sites like Al Jazeera (English) - they often give a much different perspective on the U.S. than our local news.


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## Suzy623 (Apr 6, 2020)

Empty said:


> It is the only way to get a little bit closer to the truth.  I also surf to foreign news sites like Al Jazeera (English) - they often give a much different perspective on the U.S. than our local news.


I have family in Holland who tell me that the US is shipping ventilators, masks, shields to Holland. And our Federal stockpile hasn't provided for our emergency needs? Oh, wait.  They sent 5,000 masks to Alabama, all with the expiration date of over 10 years ago. And all dry rotted. That doesn't make much sense to me. Holland is a small country and also a neutral country. They don't manufacture any PPE as far as I know so importing is the only way they can get them. So mind bending. How do we know who or what to believe anymore?


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## garyt1957 (Apr 7, 2020)

hollydolly said:


> so you have empty beds, and unused ventilators and yet in the last 48  hours (at least)  3,000 people have died from Covid-19... and those infected are likely  to be 10 times higher than that, in the USA  yet there are spare beds and ventilators?... wow... really? that's wonderful ... I wonder then if they could transport those unused medical equipment to the uk.. we're desperate..



People who are put on a ventilator only have a 40% chance of surviving.  And yes, some hospitals in some areas aren't full,YET. The US is a big country and the virus is hitting different areas at different times.


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## garyt1957 (Apr 7, 2020)

hollydolly said:


> I'm not being sarcastic AB...I'm taking you at your word that there's a huge excess of beds and ventilators, in the USA, and wondering why they wouldn't think to share them with countries like the UK or Italy or Spain  who have very few...



There's no excess of ventilators in the US. In fact the President has GM and Ford making them in auto plants because we'll have a shortage. We do have spots in the country that haven't been hit as hard as Ny and Mi and they may have some extra right now, but they will need them and more when the virus gets to their area. Even in NY there's a fight over whether the north part of the state should send excess vents to the harder hit south part, when eventually the north will need them and maybe not get them back.


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## hollydolly (Apr 7, 2020)

garyt1957 said:


> There's no excess of ventilators in the US. In fact the President has GM and Ford making them in auto plants because we'll have a shortage. We do have spots in the country that haven't been hit as hard as Ny and Mi and they may have some extra right now, but they will need them and more when the virus gets to their area. Even in NY there's a fight over whether the north part of the state should send excess vents to the harder hit south part, when eventually the north will need them and maybe not get them back.


 thanks Gary I did think it was odd that there would be surplus...


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## hollydolly (Apr 7, 2020)

garyt1957 said:


> People who are put on a ventilator only have a 40% chance of surviving.  And yes, some hospitals in some areas aren't full,YET. The US is a big country and the virus is hitting different areas at different times.


 of course, as it is here even... and in Spain and Italy, and germany etc..... Northern Italy was almost flattened by Covid-19 for example before southern Italy was even touched by it...and none of these countries are as large as the USA so I can imagine 

.. I always think of the USA as like  being a whole Continent of countries (states) ... because one side to another can be as different as though they were totally different countries,  like for example in Europe.. the only difference being that you all  speak the same language and  have the same leader..whereas here in Europe its loads of countries separated by borders just like ''states''..but everyone speaks a different language and has different leaders...


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## garyt1957 (Apr 7, 2020)

hollydolly said:


> .. I always think of the USA as like  being a whole Continent of countries (states) ... because one side to another can be as different as though they were totally different countries,  like for example in Europe.. the only difference being that you all  speak the same language and  have the same leader..whereas here in Europe its loads of countries separated by borders just like ''states''..but everyone speaks a different language and has different leaders...



Comparing folks from Boston, NY, MN, and the south sometimes I'm not sure we are speaking the same language


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## Ken N Tx (Apr 7, 2020)

garyt1957 said:


> Comparing folks from Boston, NY, MN, and the south sometimes I'm not sure we are speaking the same language


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## In The Sticks (Apr 7, 2020)

garyt1957 said:


> People who are put on a ventilator only have a 40% chance of surviving.  And yes, some hospitals in some areas aren't full,YET. The US is a big country and the virus is hitting different areas at different times.


I was just commenting that there we are experiencing extremes in realities.

The more densely populated areas are where this is getting transmitted rapidly and that have horrific numbers.  That means that it's real bad there, and it's always close to home.  These people are truly suffering.

For many others (not to downplay it), it is a minor inconvenience.  Small rural populations afford Social Distancing as the default way of life.

As of this moment...
NYC alone has nearly 79,000 confirmed cases.  That's 20% of the confirmed cases in the entire nation!!!  (I can't imagine.)
The next-highest state is NJ, with about 44,000 cases for the entire state.
There are 7 states with over 10,000 cases.
There are 20 states with under 1,000 cases.
The remaining 21 states are somewhere in between 1,000 and 10,000.

There are like-kind disparities _within_ each state as well. There are counties in NY state that have only had 1 or 2 confirmed cases.


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## WhatInThe (Apr 7, 2020)

Hospitalizations for the virus started dropping this week in NYC.

https://news.yahoo.com/usns-treat-covid-19-patients-154350465.html


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## In The Sticks (Apr 7, 2020)

WhatInThe said:


> Hospitalizations for the virus started dropping this week in NYC.
> 
> https://news.yahoo.com/usns-treat-covid-19-patients-154350465.html


When you look at a from-day-one "New Cases" graph for there, it looks like a roller coaster, but the figures are still generally upward-trending, with each peak & valley mostly being higher than the preceding one.  And due to the size of the population, each day's numbers are in the thousands.  It truly boggles the mind.

I sure hope that declining admittance rate is the beginning of a permanent trend.  Perhaps the severity is declining.


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## Duster (Apr 7, 2020)

I watched the video. Since it came out many, many other people are showing in videos that that their area hospitals have very little going on.  I happened to drive by my city of 40,000 population's only hospital and there were maybe a dozen cars and few people mid day on a Friday. That's kind of weird because it is normally very busy.  My husband went by the main hospital in an adjoining county and said there wasn't anyone around there, either. Spooky, since the local media says we have 444 cases of Covid19 in the area.  Something isn't adding up.


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## Butterfly (Apr 8, 2020)

Duster said:


> I watched the video. Since it came out many, many other people are showing in videos that that their area hospitals have very little going on.  I happened to drive by my city of 40,000 population's only hospital and there were maybe a dozen cars and few people mid day on a Friday. That's kind of weird because it is normally very busy.  My husband went by the main hospital in an adjoining county and said there wasn't anyone around there, either. Spooky, since the local media says we have 444 cases of Covid19 in the area.  Something isn't adding up.



Here where I live, the hospitals are not allowing visitors, or people other than the patient, even in the ER (except for one person with a child), and most volunteers are not allowed right now,  which may account for a lot of the empty parking spaces.  Also here doctors and clinics have cancelled all routine and non emergent appointments and procedures, which would account for more empty places.  So it's not surprising that the parking lots may look much like they do in the middle of the night.

Staff and docs and nurses usually have other, protected parking, so they wouldn't be in the normal parking lot.


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## garyt1957 (Apr 8, 2020)

Butterfly said:


> Here where I live, the hospitals are not allowing visitors, or people other than the patient, even in the ER (except for one person with a child), and most volunteers are not allowed right now,  which may account for a lot of the empty parking spaces.  Also here doctors and clinics have cancelled all routine and non emergent appointments and procedures, which would account for more empty places.  So it's not surprising that the parking lots may look much like they do in the middle of the night.
> 
> Staff and docs and nurses usually have other, protected parking, so they wouldn't be in the normal parking lot.


Exactly. Visitors account for probably 70% of the cars in a hospital lot at any time. Plus all the other reasons you mentioned. Let those video "reporters" go into the ICU and see what it looks like.


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## In The Sticks (Apr 8, 2020)

Duster said:


> I watched the video. Since it came out many, many other people are showing in videos that that their area hospitals have very little going on.  I happened to drive by my city of 40,000 population's only hospital and there were maybe a dozen cars and few people mid day on a Friday. That's kind of weird because it is normally very busy.  My husband went by the main hospital in an adjoining county and said there wasn't anyone around there, either. Spooky, since the local media says we have 444 cases of Covid19 in the area.  Something isn't adding up.


The vast majority of people recover at home, just like any other flu.

There are some for whom this strain affects violently, but those 444 cases are not in the hospital.


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## RadishRose (Apr 8, 2020)

At 6 am, a line of cars started forming in front of St. Francis hospital in New Haven for virus testing. The line was several blocks long by 6:30; the testing center doesn't open until 9 am. We need every resource.


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## Happyflowerlady (Apr 8, 2020)

There are a lot of people who are driving by their local hospitals and testing areas, and then they are reporting and posting pictures on both Facebook and Twitter.  Most of them are saying the same thing, that the hospitals are empty.  My friend in Idaho said that she has friends who work at the local hospital there, and they have been laid off, at least temporarily. 
One person who was crying about being an ICU nurse on the news was found to be one of those crisis actors; which didn’t lend to the credibility of her tearful performance on the air.


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## Pepper (Apr 8, 2020)

There is no such thing as a crisis actor, and paid by whom?  For God's sake, get a grip with this conspiracy BS.  It's ludicrous.


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## StarSong (Apr 8, 2020)

Happyflowerlady said:


> There are a lot of people who are driving by their local hospitals and testing areas, and then they are reporting and posting pictures on both Facebook and Twitter.  Most of them are saying the same thing, that the hospitals are empty.  My friend in Idaho said that she has friends who work at the local hospital there, and they have been laid off, at least temporarily.
> One person who was crying about being an ICU nurse on the news was found to be one of those crisis actors; which didn’t lend to the credibility of her tearful performance on the air.


Disbelief that this is or could become a crisis is precisely how it became a crisis.  Just ask the Chinese, Italians, New Yorkers, and more.  It may not be in the hospital where your friend's friends work (oh those mysterious friends of a friend), but that doesn't mean it won't arrive eventually - or that it isn't going to explode elsewhere.


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## Butterfly (Apr 8, 2020)

Anybody can make a video, doctored or not, and post it online to allegedly prove anything they want it to prove.  

What axe are those people trying to grind, anyway?


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## Suzy623 (Apr 8, 2020)

Friday night my niece had to be taken to the hospital.  She had something stuck in her throat and couldn't swallow. Her sister called the ER and let them know they were coming.  When my niece, her sister and their brother got to the ER, only my niece with the problem was allowed into a 'triage trailer' outside the ER door. Then only my niece was taken into the hospital from a side door. No visitors were in the waiting room and my other niece and nephew had to wait outside in their car. So, yes, the parking lot was almost totally empty, the ER was empty and, according to my niece who went in, the nurse who tended to her was covered from head to toe.  That's in Mobile, Alabama where today we have 249 cases and 8 reported deaths. It was, of course lower 5 days ago. This was around 9:00 Friday night. I have never seen the ER empty like that on a Friday night or any other night I've had to be there. She was processed, diagnosed, scoped, had obstruction removed and released in less than 3 hours. Usually it would take 3 hours just to get your turn to be triaged.


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## Pauline1954 (Apr 8, 2020)

Duster said:


> The virus is a diversion. Things will soon become very clear and you will know all. Be patient. No worries. Everything is gonna be alright.


Are you a Q follower?


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## StarSong (Apr 9, 2020)

Q follower?  Now we're into deep state conspiracy theories?  Oh my.


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## Pepper (Apr 9, 2020)

*Q*uazy.


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## Sunny (Apr 9, 2020)

Gary, exactly.  It is so easy to convey any message that one wants, by doctoring the "evidence."  Even with medical personnel working around the clock, and with desperate shortages of needed equipment, it is possible to get a picture of a ventilator going unused for a few seconds, in between patients. And immediately start fomenting doubt about the media, etc.

There are people who actually believe that the earth is flat.  And people who believe that the entire creation of the earth and all the life on it only took 6 days.  Credulous people are out there, waiting to be preyed upon by the charletons.


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