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Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

New York Sending National Guard To Control Coronavirus Spread In NYC Suburb
The nation’s biggest cluster of COVID-19 cases is believed to be in New Rochelle, located about 10 miles north of Manhattan, officials said.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/new-roch … 57280cbd86

New York’s governor announced Tuesday he is sending the National Guard into a New York City suburb to help fight what is believed to be the nation’s biggest cluster of coronavirus cases — one of the most dramatic actions yet to control the outbreak in the U.S.

The move came as health authorities contended with alarming concentrations of the disease on both sides of the country and scattered cases in between.

Schools, houses of worship and large gathering places will be shuttered for two weeks in a “containment area” centered in New Rochelle, and the troops will scrub surfaces and deliver food to the zone, which extends a mile in all directions from a point near a synagogue connected to some of the cases, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Exclusive: U.S. coronavirus testing threatened by shortage of critical lab materials
The slow pace of coronavirus testing has created a major gap in the U.S. public health response.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/1 … age-125212

A looming shortage in lab materials is threatening to delay coronavirus test results and cause officials to undercount the number of Americans with the virus.
The slow pace of coronavirus testing has created a major gap in the U.S. public health response. The latest problem involves an inability to prepare samples for testing, creating uncertainties in how long it will take to get results.

snip

If enough processing kits aren’t available, the risk that testing will be disrupted is “huge,” said Michael Mina, associate medical director of molecular diagnostics at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
“RNA extraction is the first step in being able to perform” a coronavirus test, he said. “If we cannot perform this step, the [coronavirus] test cannot be performed.”

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Nearly 1,000 People Diagnosed With Coronavirus In U.S.
The number of COVID-19 cases reported across the country is expected to grow in coming days as testing efforts expand.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coronavi … 57280d6a4a

As coronavirus cases crop up across the United States, some governors and other leaders are scrambling to slow its spread, banning large public gatherings, enforcing quarantines and calling National Guard troops.
With new deaths reported and the number of confirmed U.S. cases closing in on 1,000, lawmakers and health officials set up containment zones and quarantine areas and sought to limit contact with those who might be infected.
In Washington state, the governor was expected to ban gatherings of more than 250 people in virtually the entire Seattle metro area, home to some 4 million people. Schools and houses of worship were shuttered in a New York City suburb where a cluster of cases could be the largest in the nation, and the governor sent National Guard troops to help clean public spaces and deliver food.
The moves came as the battle to stop the virus from spreading intensified. More schools and universities, including UCLA, Yale and Stanford, have announced plans to send students home and move classes online.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

The Most Common Coronavirus Concerns, Answered By Doctors
Read this before you call your physician in a total panic over COVID-19.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/com … d38b3972a0

There’s a lot of fear surrounding the coronavirus. The pathogen, which is spread through respiratory droplets, has infected people across the globe and here in the United States with the disease officially known as COVID-19.

snip

That said, information is always helpful (and can even abate some fears when there’s a lot of confusion). We asked medical workers to share some of the most common questions they’ve been getting about the coronavirus and their answers. Read on so you can feel better prepared:

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Coronavirus gets real for an aging Senate
But most senators say they won't change their lifestyles, even though they're among the most at risk.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/0 … ate-124759

They traverse the country every week by plane, appear at events with hundreds of people and shake countless hands. They work in a sprawling complex with a constant influx of tourists. And two-thirds of them are over the age of 60.
In other words, U.S. senators are among those most at-risk of contracting — and potentially succumbing — to the coronavirus that is spreading rapidly around the globe.

snip

But most of them have no intention of radically changing their habits amid a seemingly uncontrolled outbreak.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Trump attacks second Democratic governor over coronavirus criticism
The president blasted New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo days after targeting Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/0 … ism-124216

President Donald Trump on Monday accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of attempting "political weaponization" of the coronavirus crisis, attacking another Democratic governor who has declared a state of emergency as a result of the outbreak.
Responding to a Saturday interview on MSNBC in which Cuomo criticized the "mixed messages" put forth by the federal government in response to the coronavirus, Trump wrote on Twitter: "There are no mixed messages, only political weaponization by people like you and your brother, Fredo!"

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Trump’s Misplaced Blame on Obama for Coronavirus Tests

https://www.factcheck.org/2020/03/trump … rus-tests/

Amid criticism over his administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that he had to overcome an Obama-era Food and Drug Administration “rule” to more quickly provide diagnostic tests to the American people. Experts, however, told us no such formal regulation was ever implemented under the previous administration.
The outbreak, which began in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019, has now spread to more than 70 countries, including the U.S. According to a Johns Hopkins University case tracker and a New York Times database, as of March 6, more than 200 people in the U.S. have been infected with the new disease, known as COVID-19, and at least 14 have died.

The Trump administration has been criticized for its handling of the outbreak, especially the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s belated rollout of testing kits. (We’ll explain more of what happened in an upcoming article.)

But in a March 4 briefing with airline executives at the White House, Trump and other coronavirus task force officials attempted to deflect criticism, suggesting that the lack of available testing was partly President Barack Obama’s fault.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

CDC director breaks with Trump on claim that border wall will help stop coronavirus
The president had tweeted that Americans “need the Wall more than ever!”

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/1 … rus-125007

Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday he was unaware of any indication from his agency that physical barriers along America’s borders would help halt the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. — contradicting an assertion President Donald Trump made earlier in the day.

snip

Among the various scrutinized aspects of the administration’s handling of the outbreak, the CDC has received widespread criticism for its failure to promptly produce a coronavirus test for Americans as well as for its decision to not use a test developed by the World Health Organization in the interim as the epidemic worsened.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Nearly 1,000 People Diagnosed With Coronavirus In U.S.
The number of COVID-19 cases reported across the country is expected to grow in coming days as testing efforts expand.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coronavi … 57280d6a4a

As coronavirus cases crop up across the United States, some governors and other leaders are scrambling to slow its spread, banning large public gatherings, enforcing quarantines and calling National Guard troops.

With new deaths reported and the number of confirmed U.S. cases closing in on 1,000, lawmakers and health officials set up containment zones and quarantine areas and sought to limit contact with those who might be infected.

In Washington state, the governor was expected to ban gatherings of more than 250 people in virtually the entire Seattle metro area, home to some 4 million people. Schools and houses of worship were shuttered in a New York City suburb where a cluster of cases could be the largest in the nation, and the governor sent National Guard troops to help clean public spaces and deliver food.

The moves came as the battle to stop the virus from spreading intensified.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

World Health Organization Declares COVID-19 A Pandemic
The novel coronavirus has killed over 4,000 people worldwide.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/cor … 61645ec5fd

The World Health Organization has officially declared COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, a pandemic.
The virus, which originated in China, has infected more than 113,000 people worldwide and killed more than 4,000, according to the WHO.
In the U.S., more than 930 people have been infected and at least 29 people have died across 28 states and Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a pandemic as an epidemic — a sudden increase in the number of cases of a disease — that has “spread over several countries or continents, usually affecting a large number of people.”

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

White House Told Federal Health Agency To Classify Coronavirus Deliberations: Sources
The White House insistence on secrecy, potentially delaying the response to the coronavirus outbreak.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/white-ho … 57280f95ca

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - The White House has ordered federal health officials to treat top-level coronavirus meetings as classified, an unusual step that has restricted information and hampered the U.S. government’s response to the contagion, according to four Trump administration officials.
The officials said that dozens of classified discussions about such topics as the scope of infections, quarantines and travel restrictions have been held since mid-January in a high-security meeting room at the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), a key player in the fight against the coronavirus.
Staffers without security clearances, including government experts, were excluded from the interagency meetings, which included video conference calls, the sources said.
“We had some very critical people who did not have security clearances who could not go,” one official said. “These should not be classified meetings. It was unnecessary.”

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Senate GOP Blocks Emergency Paid Sick Leave Bill From Moving Forward
The legislation put forth by Democrats would guarantee 14 days of paid leave for workers affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/sen … 61645ebff9

Democrats hoping to pass an emergency paid sick leave bill to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus were stymied by Senate Republicans on Wednesday.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) tried to speed the measure up for a vote on the Senate floor through a procedural maneuver, but an objection from Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) prevented the bill from bypassing the Republican-controlled health committee.

snip

Alexander said that paid sick leave is a “good idea.” But if lawmakers want to require employers to provide it, then the federal government should have to foot the bill, he argued.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

House Democrats Torch Trump Administration's Coronavirus Response
President Donald Trump has downplayed the crisis. But the nation's leading expert on infectious disease warned lawmakers that the worst is yet to come.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/cor … 61645e9311

House Democrats slammed President Donald Trump and his administration on Wednesday over the coronavirus outbreak, accusing the president of downplaying the threat and top officials of fumbling the response.

In a fiery opening statement at a hearing featuring several high-ranking health officials, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, said testing in the U.S. has been “severely inadequate” and plagued by delays, noting that South Korea is conducting some 10,000 tests per day ― more than the U.S. has completed in total.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Do Not Listen To Trump On Coronavirus. Listen To Health Experts, Please.
Pay attention to public health officials. The president has proven himself incapable of sticking to science.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/cor … a30fc28bbc

The coronavirus outbreak “is going to get worse,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious disease, told lawmakers on Wednesday ― a warning that stands in stark contrast to the messages coming from President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

The coronavirus has infected more than 110,000 people worldwide and is continuing to spread. The disease it causes, COVID-19, was officially declared a pandemic on Wednesday by the World Health Organization.

Fauci and other health experts have worked to emphasize the seriousness of the pandemic: While it’s impossible to predict at this point how many will ultimately be affected in the U.S., he said it could be “many millions” if the government and Americans don’t take steps to contain the outbreak.

snip

He and other public health experts have had to work to counter the number of misleading statements and full-blown lies that Trump has told about the coronavirus outbreak, some of which downplay how contagious the virus is and how dangerous the illness can be. Trump, for example, has repeatedly brought up the common flu, suggesting the coronavirus is no more serious.

That’s incorrect, Fauci said.

“People always say, ‘Well, the flu does this, the flu does that,’” he said. “The flu has a mortality of 0.1%. This has a mortality of 10 times that.”

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Coronavirus Conference Cancelled Because Of Coronavirus
Events all over the world are facing cancellation as the outbreak spreads.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/cor … 57280fb0f5

The organizers of a conference on “Doing Business Under Coronavirus” have decided they can’t carry on with business as usual.

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) had scheduled a roundtable in New York City for Friday where business leaders were to discuss how to carry on doing business at a time when supply chains are breaking down and many people are working from home.

“Due to the evolving COVID-19 situation, the Council on Foreign Relations, like many other organizations, has suspended all in-person events effectively today through at least Friday, 3 April 2020,” the not-for-profit group told The Independent.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Trump Won't Answer CNN Reporter's Question About His False Coronavirus Comments
The president has repeatedly downplayed and even lied about COVID-19, leaving health officials to counter his misinformation.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/tru … a30fc2b55c

President Donald Trump dismissed a reporter as “fake news” on Wednesday afternoon when asked to respond to Americans who see him downplaying the coronavirus pandemic and giving statements that differ from what experts are saying about the public health crisis.

The president’s refusal to answer the question from CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta came during a Cabinet Room meeting with banking leaders to talk about the virus’s effect on the economy.

“What do you say to Americans who are concerned that you’re not taking this seriously enough and that some of your statements don’t match what your health experts are saying?” Acosta asked.

“That’s CNN, fake news,” Trump responded, at which several meeting attendees began snickering. The reporting pool was then dismissed from the room.

While he could not be identified in the video, Acosta later confirmed on Twitter that he was the reporter who asked the question.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Trump To Ban All Travel From Europe Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
The president will restrict all travel from the region for 30 days, beginning Friday. Only the United Kingdom is excluded.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/tru … a30fc2e389

President Donald Trump said he will ban all travel from Europe for 30 days amid the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus declared a pandemic on Wednesday.

The ban will apply to the entire region except the United Kingdom, and will begin on Friday.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

The Trump Administration’s Sunday Morning Coronavirus Messaging Was a Disaster
Really, Ben Carson?

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 … shows-bad/

Members of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force fanned out on the Sunday morning talk shows to deliver a message about the administration’s handling of COVID-19—only, it’s unclear what exactly that message is. Pressed by journalists to provide numbers and a plan, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and Surgeon General Jerome Adams deflected and stumbled, unwilling or unable to answer basic questions about the coronavirus response.

snip

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Here Are 17 Ways the Trump Administration Bungled Its Coronavirus Response
This list doesn’t include Donald Trump Jr.’s claim that Democrats wanted the virus to spread and kill Americans.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 … -response/

With the Trump administration failing to send out enough testing kits and multiple White House officials spreading misinformation about the virus, it’s hard not to be concerned about their ability to handle the threat of a global pandemic.
Here are some of the greatest hits of the Trump administration’s bungled coronavirus responses—so far:

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Trump’s Media Attacks Are Always Shameful. But in the Middle of the Coronavirus Crisis, They’re Dangerous.
A new campaign email takes his assault on the news to the next level.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 … ronavirus/

Yet Donald Trump, the person in charge of the government’s response to the fast-spreading coronavirus, has ramped up his effort to discredit the media at the very moment it’s most vital. And his reelection campaign has decided to place his political interests over the health and safety of the nation, disseminating a message that could threaten the lives of Americans.

On Monday morning, as the coronavirus crisis intensified, the Trump campaign zapped out an email to thousands, if not millions, of people, with the subject: “It’s all FAKE NEWS all the time.” The letter—sent jointly by the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee—was a full-throated screed against the “mainstream media.” It decried the media as “UNHINGED,” and exclaimed, “They are deceiving the public and knowingly making up their ‘facts’ and ‘sources’ in order to protect their partners, the Democrats. They are so corrupt and have gone totally insane.” It continued: “They are truly the Enemy of the People! Liberal reporters can’t accept the fact that America wants FOUR MORE YEARS of President Trump and now they’re spiraling out of control.”

snip

Trump’s long assault on the press has always been reprehensible. In the midst of a public health crisis, it is…well, what’s beyond reprehensible? Horrendous? Disgraceful? Reckless? Irresponsible? Disgracefully horrendous and recklessly irresponsible? Whatever the adjective, Trump and his campaign have opted to smear and vilify the organizations that are needed to keep the public informed about a national emergency that has the potential to turn into a national disaster.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Alex Jones Is Peddling Toothpaste That He Falsely Says Kills Coronavirus
The "Infowars" founder is just the latest to attempt to profit off of fears over the outbreak.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/ale … 8156f0ce82

Jones told listeners on his “Infowars” program Tuesday that silver-infused toothpaste being sold on his website has been verified by federal officials as a coronavirus killer, despite the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying otherwise.

“The patented nanosilver we have, the Pentagon has come out and documented and Homeland Security has said this stuff kills the whole SARS-corona family at point-blank range,” he said. “They’re still discounted despite all the hell breaking loose.”

snip

The FDA has previously said that colloidal silver is not safe or effective for treating any disease or condition, however. On Monday, nanosilver was on a list of products that the FDA said it had flagged, along with the Federal Trade Commission, as being sold as unapproved products intended to prevent or treat COVID-19.

Warning letters were issued to companies that were selling the products. One of the letters was issued to the televangelist program “The Jim Bakker Show,” which the FDA rebuked for selling a product called “Silver Solution” that it advertised as a cure for coronavirus.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

4 Recommendations for Dealing With the Coronavirus from a Public Health Dream Team
“We are in a situation where the idea of fully stopping the threat is not a realistic goal.”

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 … ream-team/

On Friday, the liberal advocacy organization Center for American Progress hosted a four-person panel of public health experts focused on the emerging threat novel coronavirus poses to the American public. The panelists were heavyweights of Democratic policy circles, with expertise spanning from national security to epidemiology—the sort of experts who might have played a major role in a Hillary Clinton presidency or who Joe Biden would call for advice. Three worked in various capacities for the Obama Administration and Ronald Klain, who is now the general counsel for a company that invests in startups, was responsible for coordinating the US response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

They described a near future in which the United States government has failed to adequately address the epidemic. The image was bleak: Without proper testing, it will be impossible to chart the spread of the disease, and unsustainable spikes in hospital visits will overwhelm an undersupplied healthcare infrastructure. There would be no way to determine the extent of the unexpected consequences for the educational and service sector, nor any clear sense of when the end of the epidemic might occur.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

The Biggest Lie in Donald Trump’s Coronavirus Address
The president said we’re “more prepared” than any other country. We’re so not.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 … s-address/

Public health officials beg to differ. Our hospitals, experts say, are severely underprepared for the expected number of coronavirus cases. According to biologist Liz Specht, writing in STAT, the United States has about 2.8 hospital beds per 1,000 people, and if 10 percent of coronaviruses cases require hospitalization, beds will be at capacity by early- to mid-May. (And, given the lack of testing in the US, it’s not clear how many Americans have been infected in the first place.) On top of that, as my colleagues Will Peischel and Jessica Washington reported last week, in 2018 Trump cut most of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s funding for fighting pandemics. That same year, the head of the National Security Council’s global pandemic team left his post, followed shortly after by the entire team. The positions remain empty.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

'It’s going to get worse': Health officials warn of coronavirus escalation
One administration official said the recommendations will instruct residents of communities in several states to work from home.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/1 … rus-125492

The nation’s top health officials cautioned Wednesday that the U.S. will see more coronavirus cases as the domestic outbreak spreads, a stark warning that comes as Congress looks to head off the outbreak's economic impact and global health organizations declare it a full-blown pandemic.

More than 1,000 people in the U.S. have already been diagnosed with the coronavirus in 38 states, leaving at least 29 people dead. But Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told members of the House Oversight Committee that “we will see more cases, and things will get worse.”

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Trump Responds To Spiraling U.S. Coronavirus Outbreak By Unveiling Europe Travel Ban
The president said nothing about the lack of available testing across the country. The coronavirus has already killed dozens in the U.S. and infected at least 1,200.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/tru … a30fc2e389

In the face of a rapidly expanding global coronavirus pandemic that has already killed dozens and infected at least 1,200 within the United States, President Donald Trump delivered a strange Oval Office speech Wednesday in which he focused on banning travel from Europe, said nothing about the lack of available testing across the country, and ignored many crucial aspects of the public health crisis.

The president said he would ban noncitizens from traveling to the United States from Europe for 30 days amid the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus now declared a pandemic. The ban will apply to anyone in the European Union’s 26-country Schengen Area and those who have traveled there in the past 14 days. It begins Friday.

The president initially said all travel would be suspended from Europe but later clarified that the ban would exempt Americans, permanent residents and their families, although such travelers could be subject to additional screening at ports of entry. Trump also clarified, amid confusion over his remarks, that the ban did not apply to trade with Europe, only “people.”

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

A Few Coronavirus Facts To Keep In Mind When You're Panicking
COVID-19 is a very real problem. But there are also some other points to keep in perspective if you're anxious.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/cor … 61645c20bc

It can be hard to keep calm with the barrage of news stories about COVID-19 and worries about vulnerable populations, sick leave and the health care system. Not to mention, cold and flu season means we’re experiencing more anxiety-inducing sniffles, and we’re already seeing changes to some ways we live, work and travel.

With so much uncertainty, it’s completely normal to feel concerned or even scared right now.

But experts are correct that managing your anxiety can be beneficial. One of the best ways to do that is to get some (measured) perspective about the situation.

Below, we’ve rounded up some facts about COVID-19 to give your worried mind a fuller picture of what’s going on.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Top Disease Expert Repeatedly Checks People Comparing Coronavirus To The Flu
Dr. Anthony Fauci dropped hard facts on Sean Hannity, lawmakers and the president.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/ant … 7ef116958a

The nation’s leading infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has urged Americans to take the coronavirus outbreak very seriously, repeatedly setting people straight for suggesting COVID-19 is less lethal than the seasonal flu.

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, did not mince words during an appearance on Fox News’s “Hannity” on Tuesday night, and gave stark and sobering testimony before House Oversight Committee lawmakers the following day, contradicting several White House talking points.

Host Sean Hannity, who has downplayed the seriousness of the virus and blamed those highlighting its severity as attempting to crush President Donald Trump’s reelection efforts, was dealt some harsh facts by Fauci during their interview.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

'Disturbing In So Many Ways': Conservatives Pan Trump's Coronavirus Speech
The president's big speech isn't going over well at all.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/tru … 7ef1172902

President Donald Trump’s speech about the steps he’s taking to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus received low marks on social media ― and not just from the left. Many on the right denounced the speech as a “disaster.”

snip

Trump also misspoke several times. He announced a ban on not just people from Europe, but goods, which was incorrect. He also said insurance companies would pay for coronavirus treatment, but an industry spokesperson told Politico the waived fees only apply to tests, not treatment.

Trump’s conservative critics slammed the speech on social media:

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

The Biggest Lie in Donald Trump’s Coronavirus Address
The president said we’re “more prepared” than any other country. We’re so not.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 … s-address/

Public health officials beg to differ. Our hospitals, experts say, are severely underprepared for the expected number of coronavirus cases. According to biologist Liz Specht, writing in STAT, the United States has about 2.8 hospital beds per 1,000 people, and if 10 percent of coronaviruses cases require hospitalization, beds will be at capacity by early- to mid-May. (And, given the lack of testing in the US, it’s not clear how many Americans have been infected in the first place.) On top of that, as my colleagues Will Peischel and Jessica Washington reported last week, in 2018 Trump cut most of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s funding for fighting pandemics. That same year, the head of the National Security Council’s global pandemic team left his post, followed shortly after by the entire team. The positions remain empty.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Trump’s travel ban sidesteps his own European resorts
The president announced new travel restrictions on Europeans as the coronavirus pandemic escalated, but a few key spots on the continent were spared.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/1 … rts-126808

President Donald Trump’s new European travel restrictions have a convenient side effect: They exempt nations where three Trump-owned golf resorts are located.

Trump is already under fire for visiting his properties in both countries as president, leading to U.S. taxpayer money being spent at his own firms. The president has been saddled with lawsuits and investigations throughout his term alleging that he’s violating the Constitution’s emoluments clause by accepting taxpayer money other than his salary.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

'It’s going to get worse': Health officials warn of coronavirus escalation
One administration official said the recommendations will instruct residents of communities in several states to work from home.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/1 … rus-125492

The nation’s top health officials cautioned Wednesday that the U.S. will see more coronavirus cases as the domestic outbreak spreads, a stark warning that comes as Congress looks to head off the outbreak's economic impact and global health organizations declare it a full-blown pandemic.

More than 1,000 people in the U.S. have already been diagnosed with the coronavirus in 38 states, leaving at least 29 people dead. But Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told members of the House Oversight Committee that “we will see more cases, and things will get worse.”

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

California Governor Calls Out What A Mess Coronavirus Testing Is Right Now
The Golden State received test kits for COVID-19 from the federal government that did not include all the components needed to actually run a test.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/cal … 8156f3d84b

California’s ability to test people for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has been limited by incomplete test kits provided by the federal government, the state’s governor said Thursday.

So far only about 1,500 people have been tested in the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a press conference. While the state government has 8,000 test kits available, the kits have not all included every necessary component to actually perform the test for COVID-19, Newsom said.

“I continue to reinforce the tests are not complete, kits all do not include re-agents, chemicals, solutions that are components,” Newsom said, adding that it was “imperative” that labs get access to “all ingredients that are components of the test.”

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Trump Twiddles His Thumbs With Economy In A Tailspin
The fact that the Trump administration and the Republicans have not come out with a clear plan is an "outright cruelty," said one economist.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/tru … 7ef119a31d

Economists say that a recession fueled by the coronavirus pandemic is on the horizon and warn that if policymakers don’t move quickly, the damage could be painful. Yet so far, the White House and congressional Republicans haven’t released any actual policy proposals to deal with the economic blows of COVID-19.

“It could very plausibly be worse than the financial crisis,” said Jason Furman, a Harvard economist and former economic adviser to President Barack Obama who helped design the 2009 stimulus bill crafted in response to the Great Recession.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Trump Appears More Concerned With Closing Borders Than Testing For Coronavirus
The president has characterized the pandemic as a “foreign virus” and suggested that banning people from other countries is key to fixing the outbreak at home.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/tru … a30fc4be6e

snip

The president may be hoping that fear-mongering will obscure glaring failures in the federal response to the coronavirus outbreak. On Wednesday, the president continued to insist “the risk is very, very low” for most Americans. But he failed to address the lack of available test kits, and he offered confusing information about the type of relief people could expect.

Trump claimed in his remarks that health insurance companies had agreed to waive copayments and extend coverage for coronavirus treatments — but a spokesperson for the insurance lobby AHIP told Politico the plan was only to waive copayments for testing. Trump also promised to take “emergency action” to provide financial relief to Americans who stay home from work sick — just hours after his own party blocked an effort in the Senate to guarantee workers 14 days of paid sick leave.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Disneyland, Disney World To Close Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, has killed more than 4,500 people worldwide.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/dis … 7ef1194312

Theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Paris Resort will close after Sunday through the end of the month, according to ABC News, which is owned by Disney. Disney Cruise Line will suspend all new departures beginning Saturday through the end of this month.

The Walt Disney Company said it will pay its cast members during the closure period.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

As Coronavirus Spreads, an Illinois Public Health Agency’s Website is Sidelined by Hackers
The ransomware outage could take weeks to fix.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 … ronavirus/

The website for a public health department serving about 210,000 people in central Illinois, including students at the state’s flagship public university, has been hit with ransomware that could leave it shuttered for up to two weeks. While the perpetrator of the cyber attack has not been identified, the closure comes as Illinois has 20-some confirmed coronavirus cases, and raises the prospect that other government agencies instrumental to responding to the epidemic could face similar challenges.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

There’s a Global Pandemic but the Trump Administration Will Still Cut Food Stamps
In contrast, during the the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, Congress authorized Pandemic-SNAP.

https://www.motherjones.com/food/2020/0 … od-stamps/

As new coronavirus cases around the world and in the United States continue to climb, President Donald Trump Wednesday night announced sweeping proposals for financial relief to attempt to protect small businesses and some workers from some of its effects. “Our banks and financial institutions are fully capitalized and incredibly strong,” he said. “This vast economic prosperity gives us flexibility, reserves, and resources to handle any threat that comes our way.”

Meanwhile, the administration has said that the draconian federal rule that will kick 700,000 people off of food stamps will still go into effect as planned on April 1.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Mike Pence Criticizes 'Irresponsible Rhetoric' On Coronavirus, While Making False Claims
The vice president sought to clear up confusion on the COVID-19 pandemic — by praising Trump's European travel ban, which itself caused confusion.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/mik … a30fc419eb

Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday sought to clear up confusion and send Americans a unified message on the coronavirus pandemic by praising President Donald Trump’s response and vaguely criticizing “some irresponsible rhetoric.”

In a series of morning television interviews, he made false claims and dodged key questions about the spread of COVID-19 and the federal government’s handling of the pandemic. He did not acknowledge that the president, his administration and his GOP allies have themselves been responsible for some of the incorrect information about the virus.

snip

Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly contradicted guidance from medical experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including falsely claiming a coronavirus vaccine could be developed within months and downplaying the pandemic by suggesting it would disappear by the spring.
Trump and his allies have also promoted racism and xenophobia. In his Oval Office address, Trump referred to COVID-19 as a “foreign virus.” Other GOP lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), have called it the “Wuhan virus” or the “Chinese coronavirus,” even though it has now spread worldwide and is not tied to race or ethnicity. They have also attacked people calling them racist, claiming it’s an overreaction.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Donald Trump's Coronavirus Response Will 'Cost Lives,' Washington Post Board Warns
The newspaper's editorial slammed Trump for being “more concerned with his own image than the well-being of the nation."

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/was … 0e72fd8855

Trump has peddled multiple falsehoods and repeatedly sought to downplay the threat of the virus, which has infected more than 700 people in the U.S. and killed 26 nationwide.
In its editorial — titled “Trump is endangering lives with his contempt for truth” — the newspaper’s board bashed Trump’s “constant minimizing of the seriousness of the crisis” and for being “more concerned with his own image than the well-being of the nation,” citing the president’s suspicion of federal agencies who should be working together to combat the crisis.
“President Trump has spent three years demeaning and weakening the U.S. government,” the paper wrote. “Now that the United States desperately needs that government to function well, we are paying a steep price.”
The New York Times opinion columnist Jennifer Senior in a similarly scathing column declared Trump “unfit” to lead the country through the crisis, calling his narcissism “a grave danger to our health.”

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

How Long Can COVID-19 Live On Surfaces?
COVID-19 can develop from ingesting droplets that land on everyday surfaces.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/cor … a30fc55fdc

How long can COVID-19 live on surfaces?
An analysis published in March in the Journal of Hospital Infection looked at 22 studies about coronaviruses and surfaces. It found that human coronaviruses can survive on surfaces like metal, glass or plastic for up to nine days. Agents with about 60 per cent alcohol are effective disinfectants to clean them.

Another study, by the U.S. government and other scientists, found that the virus that causes COVID-19 — after being sprayed into the air — could be detected up to three hours in the air, four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and two to three days on stainless steel. (Those findings have not been peer-reviewed.)

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Bolsonaro Blames The Media As Coronavirus Worsens In Brazil
President Jair Bolsonaro, a close Trump ally, says the media is exaggerating the outbreak, even as it reaches members of his government.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/jai … 7ef1186cb3

Fresh off a trip to the United States that included a visit with Donald Trump, Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro is adopting his American counterpart’s conspiratorial response to the coronavirus pandemic even as it continues to worsen in South America’s largest country.

On Tuesday in Miami, Bolsonaro told reporters that coronavirus concerns, which along with falling oil prices have roiled Brazilian financial markets, were a “fantasy” concocted by the media.

“During the past year, obviously, we have had moments of crisis,” Bolsonaro said, according to Reuters. “A lot of that is fantasy. And coronavirus, which is not all the mainstream media makes it out to be.”

He adopted another of Trump’s early talking points on Wednesday, saying that fears over COVID-19, as the disease is known, were inflated because “other forms of flu killed more than this” illness has.

There are 69 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Brazil, with at least 900 more suspected cases. More than 900 additional suspected cases have already been ruled out, according to Brazil’s Ministry of Health.

As the Brazilian president shrugs, the pandemic is clearly threatening his country, and even Bolsonaro himself — he is now under observation and testing for the virus.

Bolsonaro’s statements “show a president disconnected from the real world,” Bernardo Mello Franco, a columnist at Brazil’s O Globo newspaper, wrote on Thursday. “While other leaders announce measures to tackle the virus, Bolsonaro tries to deny its seriousness.”

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

'Morning Joe' Slaps Donald Trump With Scathing Supercut Of His Coronavirus Rhetoric
The video montage showed Trump's marked change in tone for his Oval Office address. But how long will it last?

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/mor … a30fc4179a

MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” kicked off the show Thursday by highlighting Donald Trump’s contradictory rhetoric on the coronavirus pandemic.

A montage contrasted the president’s peddling of falsehoods and downplaying of COVID-19 to the more somber way he announced a 30-day ban on some travel from Europe in a televised address from the Oval Office on Wednesday night.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

Trump Has Golf Resorts In Countries Exempt From His Coronavirus Travel Ban
The president says British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is doing a "good job," but he's been criticized for moving slowly to address the spread of COVID-19.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/tru … a30fc5eabf

President Donald Trump owns three golf resorts in the European countries he has spared from his travel ban.

Foreign nationals from all 26 countries of the Schengen Area, which make up most of Europe, will be barred from entering the U.S. for at least 30 days as protection against the spread of coronavirus, Trump announced Wednesday. The United Kingdom and Ireland are not part of that group, but they do have cases of coronavirus — and Trump golf resorts.
The president’s Trump Organization owns a golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland, and two in Scotland: Trump Turnberry and Trump International Golf Links.
Trump said Thursday that he exempted the U.K. from the travel ban because he believes conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson is doing a “good job” battling coronavirus. But several health experts disagree with Trump’s assessment.
Trump’s decision is “clearly not based on science,” Jeremy Konyndyk, a Center for Global Development fellow who helped the U.S. deal with the Ebola crisis, told Foreign Policy magazine.

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

CDC Tested Just 77 People For Coronavirus This Week
States are testing fewer than 100 people a day and the CDC tested even fewer in an entire week.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coronavi … a30fc6424d

WASHINGTON — Despite insistent promises from the Trump administration, coronavirus testing in the United States appears to be proceeding with a marked lack of urgency. An examination of state and federal records by Yahoo News finds that American states are, on average, testing fewer than 100 people per day — while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had tested fewer than 100 people total in the first two days of this week.

Meanwhile, a single private lab is performing tests, according to a trade group representing such facilities. The administration has repeatedly said that private enterprise would play a critical role in making sure that all Americans who need a coronavirus test receive one.
U.S. officials on Tuesday were faced with an onslaught of questions from members of Congress, amid reports of South Korea’s drive-through coronavirus testing locations.
“This is not a problem we can test our way out of,” said Stephen Redd, MD, head of the CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, in testimony on Wednesday. It was an admission that, in a nation of 320 million, testing every person will be impossible.

snip

More testing will inevitably reveal more coronavirus cases. The United States now has 1,300 cases, with 38 deaths. Trump admitted last Friday that he was hesitant to have coronavirus-infected passengers disembark the Grand Princess cruise ship on U.S. shores because, as he explained, “I like the numbers being where they are.”

The numbers where they are as of today are not especially troubling, but likely not because the coronavirus has failed to take hold. “Low case counts so far may reflect not an absence of the pathogen but a woeful lack of testing,” explained former Department of Homeland Security official Juliette Kayyem in an article for the Atlantic.
That could lull Americans into a false sense of security about the severity of the disease, and the disruptions that the disease could cause. “If Americans conclude that life will continue mostly as normal,” Kayyem writes, “they may be wrong.”

Tallex

Administrator

Re: Covid19 file

All Of The Times Donald Trump May Have Been Exposed To The Coronavirus
The president keeps meeting people who could transmit the virus to him.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/don … 7ef119ae88

President Donald Trump is constantly downplaying the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. In impromptu comments on Tuesday, he urged Americans to “stay calm,” promising, “it will go away” and “a lot of good things are going to happen.” In a Wednesday night speech from the Oval Office, he sought to reassure the nation that his administration was on top of the crisis.

But reality keeps walking up and shaking his hand.

At least four people who have either tested positive for the virus or previously been in contact with someone who tested positive have met and come into close contact with the president.

Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) shook Trump’s hand after Air Force One landed in Atlanta for a visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last Friday. Collins would discover on Monday that he had come into contact with a major donor at last month’s Conservative Political Action Conference near Washington who tested positive for coronavirus. Collins entered himself into self-quarantine.