Overcast and damp this early-evening Monday here in California’s Central Valley. Humid, too, after raining on-and-off nearly all day. Better than the heat and we need the rain.

Major news of the day, so far, comes of course from the T-Rump — per The Washington Post this evening:

President Trump announced Monday that he is taking the drug hydroxychloroquine as protection against the novel coronavirus, despite the lack of evidence that it prevents individuals from contracting the illness and warnings from physicians that it can have deadly side effects.
…
“Here we go, you ready? Here’s my evidence. I get a lot of positive calls about it,” Trump said Monday. “The only negative I’ve heard was the study where they gave it — was it the VA with, you know, people that aren’t big Trump fans gave it.”
…
Eric Topol, a cardiologist who is the director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said hydroxychloroquine is “completely without evidence of any benefit and, on the other hand, known risk of serious heart rhythm problems.”

He added: “All risk, no proven benefit, goes against any rational use of the drug.”

The T-Rump has major mental issues, beyond just being a wretched, nasty human being. Even Fox News had to ring the warning bell:

Cavuto immediately follows up the President’s statements on Hydroxychloroquine warning his viewers that they could die if they take this drug if they are in a risky population pic.twitter.com/eIDAP5uLdx

— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) May 18, 2020

Injected into that babble is this item that the T-Rump started taking hydroxychloroquine after he got a letter from a doctor he doesn’t know/never heard of, saying it was great — he explained in gibberish:

“I’ve had so many letters from people, like the one I told you about, I got it last week, I’ll give you — would you like a copy of it?
I’d love to give you — if you ask Mollie she’ll give you a copy of it.
But this is a doctor he doesn’t want anything I don’t know him never heard of him.
He treats people that are that we’re talking about and he said out of hundreds of people that he’s treated he hasn’t lost one.
And he just wanted me to know about it. That’s all. He wasn’t saying, ‘Gee can I have dinner with you Mr. President? I’d like to come to the White House.’ But I’ve received many such letters.”

Beyond insane…

Meanwhile, there’s some new needed information to aid staying alive — via CNN this afternoon:

By now, you’ve likely heard the main pieces of advice to avoid the coronavirus.

Wear a mask. Wash your hands with soap.
Stay at least 6 feet from others.
If you do gather with others, go outside rather than inside.

Still, there’s one more aspect to infection that has received less attention.
Growing evidence suggests that Covid-19 infection, like with other illnesses, is related to prolonged time exposed to the virus.
The longer you stay in an environment that may contain the virus, the higher the risk of getting sick.

Shopping/public activities must become quick in-and-out events.
However, good for us, not-so-good for others — Dr. Erin Bromage, a comparative immunologist and professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth: ‘“Even if there is virus in that environment, you hopefully haven’t had that extended time needed to get to that infectious dose. The employees, though, are in that environment all day,” he said. “So what wouldn’t infect you and I because it didn’t get to that infectious dose number, has a much stronger effect or larger effect on an employee that gets that low dose all day.”‘

And we’re back to where we was…

‘That was very well done, Cole…’

(Illustration: M.C Escher’s ‘Three Spheres II,’ found  here).