Just Ordered 4 More FREE COVID-19 Tests from the COVIDTESTS.GOV Website

FREE COVID-19 Tests

COVIDTESTS.GOV: 100% FREE COVID-19 test kits are back, and I just placed my order.  Four (4) test kits are on their way to yours truly.

I have never tested positive for COVID, but I like to remain vigilant. COVID-19 killed my mother back in 2020, during the peak back then.  She was traveling in and out of the United States at the time.

From the COVIDTests.gov website:

"...To be confident you do not have COVID-19, the FDA recommends 2 negative antigen tests for people with symptoms or 3 antigen tests for people without symptoms, performed 48 hours apart. A single PCR test can be used to confirm an antigen test result..."

 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a COVID Tracker HERE. 💀

COVID, like the flu, will come and go forever.

There are lots of folks out there who don't care about knowing their status...😟

I'm not one of those people...🙌

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Pandemic Prepared: My COVID-19 Pandemic Diary

Pandemic Prepared
My COVID-19
Pandemic Diary

Just bought a bunch of supplies from Walmart:  Lysol, 91% isopropyl alcohol and toilet paper.

I order from Walmart so often that I decided to join their Walmart+ program.  Free (and faster) shipping, special discounts and other very nice perks.  There was a Walmart+ new signup promotion so I am paying an introductory $9.99 per month to be a Walmart VIP.

I live in a house with 3 strangers and 2 relatives.  My aunt, and her 22-year-old son, both got COVID last year, and both recovered.  I don't have it, and I never contracted it. So both of my housemate relatives have beautiful antibodies coursing through their bodies.  I don't.  Moreover, since I have a long history of bad reactions to vaccines. I am not inoculated. 

So I am quite obsessed with keeping everything -- and I mean everything -- 100% germ-free.  I spray / wipe doorknobs, refrigerators (we have 2 here), toilet seats, toilet bowls, faucets,  desks, chairs, tables, etc.  If I make any kind of contact with it, it suffers the full brunt of my germicidal ways, all day, every day.

My mother was taken by COVID early last year.  It was fast.  From diagnosis to death took 5 days.  She was in East Africa at the time.

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What makes me really mad is that all too many are not taking this pandemic seriously.

I attended my nephew's wedding a few weeks ago.  Not only did I wear a mask, I also brought a brand new box of masks as backups, and to give away to anyone in need.

Out of all who attended, only 2 people wore a mask: me, and one other guest.  Some guests even looked at me like I was being ridiculous.  Yup.

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And here's another reason why I shop at Walmart.com so often: I earn free gift cards in return for using the Microsoft Bing search engine.  I make my living online, and I'm searching all the time, so this is simply perfect for me.

>>> https://rewards.microsoft.com/ <<<

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Masks and Gloves

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Eviction Moratorium Ends July 31, 2021: Could Millions Become Homeless?

Eviction Moratorium

by Gary D. Halbert, of the Forecasts & Trends E-Letter

In March of 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the so-called “CARES” Act) which included an eviction moratorium preventing landlords from evicting tenants who were delinquent in paying their rent. The moratorium was originally set to expire at the end of July 2020 but was extended four times to July 31, 2021. That’s this Saturday, and the Biden administration says it will not be extended further.

It remains to be seen how this all plays out. Some forecasters predict we’ll see millions of new homeless people wandering the streets over the next several months. Others think landlords will be reluctant to oust their tenants, especially if they believe those renters will soon get federal or state assistance with paying their unpaid rent. We’ll see.

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In March of 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the so-called “CARES” Act) which included an eviction moratorium preventing landlords from evicting tenants who were delinquent in paying their rent.

The national moratorium has been challenged in several courts and its expiration date has been extended four times. It is currently set to expire this Saturday, July 31, and federal officials (including President Biden) have indicated there are no plans to extend it again.

Throughout the moratorium, there has been confusion among renters and landlords regarding federal rent assistance. Landlords complain that some tenants have abused the moratorium by not paying rent, even if they have the money to do so. Tenants complain about the complicated paperwork and the long wait to receive rent assistance funds.

More than 11 million Americans -- 16% of renters -- are still behind on their rent payments, according to analysis by the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities. Some believe the numbers are far higher. And the moratorium ends this Saturday!

Congress approved more than $46 billion in rental assistance between last December and March for both tenants and landlords, but getting the money into their hands has proved hard for both the federal government and state and local agencies.

Exact amounts of assistance renters and landlords can receive depend on their income and where they live, but renters could get enough to cover rent from as far back as March 13, 2020, unpaid utilities and even, in some cases, future rent. The problem is, the assistance is just not getting to where it needs to go.

The Treasury Department claims that more than $1.5 billion in assistance was delivered to eligible households in the month of June alone — nearly triple the amount distributed since April. Administration officials point to this as a pivotal sign of progress in the program and an indication that once local communities establish a system for handling the money, they will be able to distribute it quickly. That’s good news but, again, the eviction moratorium ends in four days!

The White House announced last week it will convene a meeting of over 2,000 local officials, landlord and tenant advocates, legal experts and other participants from 46 cities to answer questions and raise awareness about emergency rental assistance and eviction prevention strategies tomorrow (Wednesday).

Yet how is that going to help with the deadline looming for landlords to commence eviction proceedings starting next week? I don’t know. With such a big pow-wow at the White House tomorrow, I would think there would be a lot of media coverage on this dire situation on the Wednesday evening news. But we’ll see.

Bottom line: There is a definite risk that millions of renters could be evicted and put on the street just ahead. Now I understand the eviction process is a complicated one, including in most cases going through courts. So, it’s not going to happen immediately after the deadline this Saturday. Yet this could be an economic nightmare over the next several months.

Finally, given the economic magnitude of the start of mass evictions for millions of delinquent renters, and the psychological impacts it would have on the country at large, I could see this throwing stocks into a major correction just ahead.

Hopefully, federal and state agencies can get up to speed muy pronto and assure landlords that the money is coming and convince most not to initiate the eviction process a few weeks longer.

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by Gary D. Halbert, of the Forecasts & Trends E-Letter

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Fast Gaining Jobs In The Wake of COVID-19

From the exceptional folks at LinkedIn: Fast Gaining Jobs In The Wake of COVID-19:

Fast Gaining Jobs In The Wake of COVID-19

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Free Online Credit Reports Until April 2021

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the three major credit reporting agencies -- Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion -- are offering free access to online credit reports, weekly, until April 2021.

Free Online Credit Reports Until April 2021

You can Start Here.

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