| Does Iran's coronavirus crisis raise the risk of war? Posted: 04 Apr 2020 06:14 AM PDT  Iran is experiencing on of the worst outbreaks of coronavirus in the world. Will the instability cause the country's leaders to lash out against America?
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| Fact check: No, coronavirus did not lower the death rate in Chicago Posted: 03 Apr 2020 02:22 PM PDT  A widely shared Facebook post claims COVID-19 has lowered the death rate in Chicago. But that's not what the data show.
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| 1st federal inmate to die of coronavirus wrote heartbreaking letter to judge Posted: 05 Apr 2020 05:35 AM PDT  Patrick Jones "spent the last 12 years contesting a sentence that ultimately killed him," one of his former lawyers said.
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| North Korea's official coronavirus count: Zero. Why that claim is hard to believe Posted: 04 Apr 2020 10:20 AM PDT  Experts are skeptical of the no-coronavirus claim from the tightly controlled country so desperate to maintain the status of its border with China.
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| Number of coronavirus intensive care patients in Italy drops for first time Posted: 04 Apr 2020 09:31 AM PDT  Italy reported its lowest daily rise in COVID-19 deaths for nearly two weeks on Saturday and said the number of patients in intensive care had fallen for the first time. The Civil Protection department reported 681 deaths, bringing the total to 15,632 since the outbreak of the new coronavirus epidemic in northern Italy on Feb. 21. The total number of confirmed cases rose to 124,632 from 119,827 reported on Friday but for the first time, the number of patients in badly stretched intensive care units fell, with 3,994 patients being treated, down 74 from 4,068 on Friday.
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| Lebanon repatriates nationals in rare flights despite virus Posted: 05 Apr 2020 07:29 AM PDT  Lebanon on Sunday started repatriating nationals who were stranded abroad in its first flights in weeks since it closed its international airport to stem the novel coronavirus. The first of four planes touched down at the Beirut international airport late in the morning bringing in 78 passengers from Riyadh, local television reported. A second carrying 79 passengers from Abu Dhabi followed in the afternoon, the National News Agency said.
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| The Latest: Fauci: Coronavirus could become seasonal Posted: 05 Apr 2020 12:41 AM PDT  — Fauci: Very good chance coronavirus "will assume a seasonal nature." — Czech Republic agrees to take coronavirus patients from France. WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci says there a very good chance the new coronavirus "will assume a seasonal nature" because it is unlikely to be under control globally.
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| Have I already had coronavirus? How would I know and what should I do? Posted: 05 Apr 2020 04:10 AM PDT  Covid-19 symptoms, when they occur, vary widely and undertesting means many people have probably been unwittingly infected * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverageCovid-19 symptoms vary widely, and undertesting in many countries means that many people may have already had the coronavirus without having received a positive diagnosis. Is it possible to find out, and how should you behave if you think you may have been infected? Is there any way to know whether someone has had Covid-19 in the past?Dr William Hillmann: At this point, we don't have a test to tell that. We are developing antibody tests to check for a prior infection, but those aren't ready for clinical use yet. The only definitive way to know that you've had it is to get tested while you have it and to have that test be positive. Could I have had it and been asymptomatic? Hillmann: Coronavirus is actually quite a significant spectrum of symptoms, from people who are entirely asymptomatic and would have no idea that they have it to people with very mild, cold-like symptoms – runny nose, congestion, sore throat – to people with more flu-like symptoms – high fevers, muscle aches, shortness of breath and cough. All the way up to people with severe illness, who we're seeing in the hospital with respiratory failure, requiring ICU care. (Editor's note: recent reports suggest that loss of smell and taste are also signs of Covid-19 infection.) What percentage of carriers are asymptomatic?Dr David Buchholz: Right now in New York, we're only testing the sickest possible people. So we have no idea. However, there was a study in Iceland, which tested [a large segment of its] population, and 50% of the people who tested positive had no symptoms. Are people who are asymptomatic also contagious? Hillmann: A significant proportion of people who are totally asymptomatic are contagious for some portion of time. We just don't know [for how long] at this point, because we don't have the kind of testing available to screen for asymptomatic infections.When people are symptomatic, they're contagious. A day or two before they become symptomatic, they're likely contagious as well. A virus builds up and starts to shed, and then after symptoms resolve, people can still be contagious for a couple of days. We have some evidence of viral shed even a couple of weeks after symptoms are resolved. It's hard to know if that's actual live virus, which is still able to infect somebody, or if that's just dead virus that the body is shedding. Should someone behave differently if they think, but don't know for certain, that they have already had it?Buchholz: We all have to be role models. If we're all in it together, we all should be doing social distancing.Hillmann: Since there's no real way to know at this point who might have had it, unless you're symptomatic, you get a swab and are definitively diagnosed with it, I would just act as if you hadn't had it. Keep doing all of those things that we all should be doing at this point: social distancing and hand hygiene. If I think I may have had it, do I have an ethical obligation to tell people I came in contact with? Even if it may in fact just have been a cold?Buchholz: I would, absolutely. I'm in New York, and it was definitely in the community before we knew it. So, yeah, any family members and close friends, maybe somebody you work next to, I think I would just alert them, especially if it was in the last 14 days. If it's been more than 14 days, they would have gotten sick by now if they had significant exposure.Hillmann: It's up to every individual about what they feel is right. If somebody is diagnosed with a case of coronavirus, I might feel a little bit more strongly that they should tell people because if you're in close contact with a healthcare worker, it could have implications for precautions that healthcare worker needs to take. If I've had it, can I get it again?Buchholz: There's not been any evidence that anyone's gotten it more than once. Someone with a normal immune system that can react to the virus and get better should have immunity for quite some time, at least a year, if not lifelong.There have been reports out of China suggesting people are testing positive for Covid-19 a second time. Most scientists think it is an issue around the inaccuracy of the testing and not that people are having two separate cases of the disease.ExpertsDr David Buchholz, senior founding medical director, primary care, assistant professor of pediatrics, Columbia University Irving medical centerDr William Hillmann, associate inpatient physician director at Massachusetts general hospital * Due to the unprecedented and ongoing nature of the coronavirus outbreak, this article is being regularly updated to ensure that it reflects the current situation as best as possible. Any significant corrections made to this or previous versions of the article will continue to be footnoted in line with Guardian editorial policy.
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| Trump accused of ‘firing people for telling the truth’ after dismissing man who handled impeachment complaint Posted: 04 Apr 2020 01:10 AM PDT  Donald Trump has fired the US inspector general for the intelligence community, Michael Atkinson, the man who first handled the complaint made by an anonymous CIA whistleblower that became the basis for his impeachment.The president wrote to the House and Senate intelligence committees late on Friday informing them of his decision, saying it was "vital" he had confidence in the independent government watchdog and and "that is no longer the case with regard to this inspector general".
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| Report: Federal Agency Shipped Face Masks Overseas as Veterans Affairs Hospital Rationed Them Posted: 03 Apr 2020 01:48 PM PDT  A federal agency reportedly shipped face masks overseas from a Miami warehouse even as a nearby Veterans Affairs hospital was rationing them due to the coronavirus outbreak.The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had a warehouse of face masks sitting unused in Miami while a Veterans Affairs hospital in the city was telling its health care workers to use the same face mask for an entire week, Fox News reported.Later, USAID exported the masks overseas. Since then, however, the administration has reportedly halted USAID shipments of personal protective equipment out of the country.The administration is also considering cracking down on private companies that persist in shipping supplies out of the country even as U.S. states grapple with a shortage of the life-saving supplies, potentially increasing the death toll from the coronavirus. The restrictions will likely come in an order President Trump intends to sign Friday targeting American "shady brokers," who sell masks and ventilators to foreign countries at high prices.Governor Cuomo of New York, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak with more than 92,000 cases, said Thursday that the state only has enough ventilators to last six more days. On Friday, Cuomo signed an order allowing the state National Guard to appropriate ventilators and personal protective equipment from hospitals and medical institutions and transfer them where they are most needed. Ventilators are desperately needed to treat cases of the coronavirus, a respiratory virus that attacks the lungs and causes shortness of breath."It's not that we're going to leave any health care facility without adequate equipment, but they don't need excess equipment now," Cuomo said.States have also turned to buying ventilators from private manufacturers, where they compete with both the federal government and other states."It's like being on eBay with 50 other states bidding on a ventilator," the New York governor said of the process.Meanwhile, the federal government is evaluating which states should receive the nearly 10,000 ventilators it had available in its stockpile as of Thursday. The government has also been unable to fill more than 90 percent of the requested number of N95 protective face masks.
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| Exclusive: LA retailer making coronavirus masks for the masses Posted: 03 Apr 2020 12:12 PM PDT  Los Angeles-based retailer Buck Mason is known for its quality manufacturing and design on classic clothes for men. Now, however, the company is using its design capabilities to help its community and mass-producing washable non-medical masks.
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| Fauci: 'We are struggling to get' the coronavirus outbreak 'under control' Posted: 05 Apr 2020 08:48 AM PDT  "So just buckle down ... because we've got to get through this week that's coming up because it is going to be a bad week," Fauci said.
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| U.K. Warns Lockdown Could Be Tightened if Public Defy Rules Posted: 05 Apr 2020 09:58 AM PDT |
| Drive-by blessings in virus-hit Philippines Posted: 04 Apr 2020 11:26 PM PDT  Locals lined up in front of their homes in a district of Manila, which is entering its fourth week of a lockdown that has brought the frenetic metropolis nearly to a halt. "This celebration will continue despite the spread of the virus," said Bong Sosa, who attended wearing a mask crafted from a water cooler bottle. The blessings come as the Philippines recorded a total of 144deaths and 3,094 confirmed virus cases, numbers that are expected to keep rising as the nation ramps up testing.
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| Iraq suspends, fines Reuters news agency over virus report Posted: 03 Apr 2020 12:02 PM PDT |
| The family of a 34-year-old father in a 2-week coma with COVID-19 says a 'bureaucratic glitch' has kept him from accessing potentially life-saving treatment Posted: 03 Apr 2020 10:57 AM PDT  Michael Goldsmith is unconscious as his family fights for access to a drug, remdesivir, that he's been promised — twice.
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| Trump takes jab at reporter for federal stockpile question Posted: 03 Apr 2020 04:25 PM PDT 
Trump took aim at states as well, saying they should have been better prepared to respond to the pandemic with their own stockpiles of medical supplies, and should not have expected the federal stockpile to meet their needs. "Many of the states were totally unprepared for this, so we had to go into the federal stockpile," Trump said. "We're not an ordering clerk. They have to have for themselves."
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| Coronavirus: Trump says teenage son Barron ‘isn’t as happy as he could be’ as quarantine frustrations hit White House Posted: 05 Apr 2020 12:44 AM PDT  Donald Trump offered a rare personal insight into the life of his 14-year-old son Barron Trump and how he is faring in quarantine during his latest White House briefing on the coronavirus outbreak.The president had tweeted a message of encouragement to the nation's frustrated Little League baseball players earlier in the day, telling them to "Hang in there!"
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| Are coronavirus immunity certificates really such a good idea? Posted: 05 Apr 2020 03:45 AM PDT  The Mayo Clinic will debut an antibody test for the novel coronavirus next week. Intended to bolster Minnesota's unique plan to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, the test could allow those who have recovered from the virus — and thus may have immunity — to return to normal life and work more quickly. "Potentially [it could] help redeploy health-care workers and other individuals back into the workforce," said Mayo researcher Dr. Elitza Theel. "It's an important test from a public health perspective."It is indeed, which is why Mayo isn't the only place working on something like this. In Germany, antibody test kits for home sampling may soon be available on a large scale — with a twist, as Der Spiegel reported last week: Those who test positive for antibodies might be issued "immunity certificates." "The immune system could be given a type of vaccination card that, for example, allows [immune people] to be exempted from restrictions on their work," explained epidemiologist Gérard Krause.This is a proposal with obvious appeal, possibly a way to move our economic and social lives back toward normalcy without risking the efficacy of the pandemic response. But the precedent of requiring special papers to appear in public is troubling. The history of "papers, please" is not exactly a shining beacon of freedom. Rightly does the phrase, in American minds, summon visions of Nazis and Soviets.Are coronavirus immunity certificates such a good idea?I posed this question to Chelsea Boyd, a research associate in harm reduction at the libertarian R Street Institute with a master's in epidemiology. "Simply from a logistics perspective, I'm not sure how a large country would manage to process certificate requests and validate test results with any measure of speed, accuracy, or equity," she said. Something may be feasible in Germany — with a quarter of the United States' population in a 27th of the territory — but impossible here.Yet bureaucratic limitations weren't the only issue Boyd raised. Another is the nature of antibody testing itself, coupled with what we simply don't know about COVID-19 immunity. Antibody tests don't "differentiate between a remitted infection and an active infection," she noted, and home testing (like that planned in Germany) is "generally considered less reliable than lab-confirmed testing." That's not to say it's worthless, only that user error and test precision are real concerns (compare, for example, home pregnancy tests to those done by a doctor or midwife).Furthermore, though "evidence strongly suggests that after a person recovers from COVID-19 they are immune to reinfection, at least in the short term," Boyd told me, we don't know that for certain or if the short term is weeks, months, or years. And immunity certificates "are meaningless," she continued, "if COVID-19 immunity isn't complete or lasting." A certificate system could even become dangerous, Boyd warned, if it were used as a substitute for a "robust" public health response to keep health-care facilities from being overwhelmed and "eventually decrease spread enough that we can go back to using case identification, isolation, and contact tracing as the primary means of preventing subsequent outbreaks."I also spoke with Patrick Eddington, a Georgetown University professor and research fellow in homeland security and civil liberties at the Cato Institute. He highlighted enforcement and privacy risks in the certificate plan. Would the government "send agents to people's homes to verify the authenticity of the certificate?" he asked. "Are they going to do so at places of work — like an Amtrak train conductor coming around to verify your ticket? Will each certificate's data be maintained in a centralized database along with other personally identifiable information" for millions of people? The temptation to hackers would be enormous — to say nothing of future misuse by our government itself.Boyd and Eddington both raised another risk of immunity certificates: fraud, whether via faking home test results, as Boyd suggested, or forging or buying black market forgeries of the certificates, as Eddington mentioned. The economic value of an immunity certificate would be enormous, and plenty of people would be desperate enough to lie or pay to get one. Others would deliberately contract a COVID-19 infection with perhaps misplaced confidence that they would quickly recover and be duly certified to go back to work.None of this is to say mass testing isn't a vital part of our response to the novel coronavirus. Eddington argued for imitation of the South Korean model, which relied on rapid, widespread testing, and Boyd predicted "antibody testing and confirmed immunity will play some role in every area's plan to relax social distancing measures."Rather, it's a word of caution against turning test results into a formal, police-enforced requirement of public life. The health benefits likely would be fewer than we might hope, and the risk of unintended consequences — in public health, privacy and other civil liberties, crime rates and policing — is too high.Instead of the "papers, please" route, we may simply have to trust each other, to extend a little further our necessary, constant, unconscious reliance on the goodwill and decency of strangers.More stories from theweek.com 5 funny cartoons about social distancing The noble lie about masks and coronavirus should never have been told Social distancing is going to get darker
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| South Korea's return to normal interrupted by uptick in coronavirus cases Posted: 05 Apr 2020 04:35 AM PDT  With many parts of the world wondering what a slow return to normal life will look like, South Korea's situation offers a warning: The curve doesn't necessarily stay flat.
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| Small businesses worry coronavirus loans ‘too risky’ Posted: 05 Apr 2020 01:51 AM PDT  Owners of small businesses tell the BBC they still have concerns about the government's loan scheme.
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| Tokyo reports 143 new coronavirus cases, highest jump in one day: governor Posted: 05 Apr 2020 12:19 AM PDT  Some 143 more cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported in Tokyo, the city's governor said on Sunday, with the highest daily jump bringing the number of cases in the Japanese capital to more than 1,000. Tokyo's metropolitan government has strongly urged people to stay at home as the city of nearly 14 million has seen an uptick in the number of cases in recent days. The number of cases with untraceable transmission routes had increased in recent days, Governor Yuriko Koike said in a livecast YouTube video on Sunday, adding it was worrying that there were a number of people who were infected at hospitals.
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| Iran to restart 'low-risk' economic activities soon Posted: 05 Apr 2020 09:24 AM PDT  Iran said Sunday it will allow "low-risk" economic activities to resume from April 11 as its daily coronavirus infection rates slowed for a fifth straight day. "Restarting these activities does not mean we have abandoned the principle of staying at home," President Hassan Rouhani said at a meeting of Iran's anti-coronavirus task force. The president, whose country has been battered by US economic sanctions, did not specify what qualified as "low risk" activities, but said bans would remain on schools and large gatherings.
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| NY's death count nears 4,200, but there's a glimmer of hope Posted: 05 Apr 2020 07:57 AM PDT  A slight dip in new coronavirus deaths in New York over the last 24 hours may be a glimmer of hope that the spread is slowing, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday as overall fatalities in the state climbed to nearly 4,200. Cuomo said it was too soon to determine whether the pandemic had reached its apex. "We could either be very near the apex, or the apex could be a plateau and we could be on the plateau right now," Cuomo said.
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| 'Just one week and it's a whole different world': An ER doctor who survived Ebola shares the new reality of treating the coronavirus in NYC Posted: 03 Apr 2020 11:14 AM PDT  The volume and severity of cases hitting the emergency room is new for Dr. Craig Spencer. "Our ERs are ICUs," he tweeted.
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| Fact check: Did the Obama administration deplete the federal stockpile of N95 masks? Posted: 04 Apr 2020 12:31 PM PDT  During the presidency of Barack Obama, the national stockpile was seriously taxed as the administration addressed multiple crises over eight years.
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| Cuomo Emerges as 'Trump Whisperer' During Coronavirus Crisis Posted: 03 Apr 2020 12:10 PM PDT  ALBANY, N.Y. -- For Gov. Andrew Cuomo, it should have been a softball question lobbed from a friendly source.The governor's brother, Chris Cuomo, the CNN anchor, asked what he thought of President Donald Trump's repeated insinuation that health care workers in New York City were stealing medical supplies from hospitals by taking them "out the back door."But Andrew Cuomo did not take the bait."It's a very vague thing," the governor said. "It went out the back door? I don't know what that means."His younger brother seemed stunned."It didn't go out the back door," Chris Cuomo said. "He is saying somebody is taking it.""Maybe that's what he means, but I don't know," the governor replied. "It's a very vague reference."The exchange Monday was a vivid example of the delicate balance that Andrew Cuomo, a third-term Democrat who is enjoying a surge in popularity, has struck in his handling of the Republican president.It is a daily dance that employs equal parts open flattery and indirect attack, bended knee and sleight of hand. In practical terms, that plays out in the governor's complimenting the president by name but seldom attacking him that way.While most Democratic leaders criticize Trump at nearly every turn, Cuomo has made it clear that he is more interested in getting help to fight the outbreak than he is in engaging the president in a war of words.And Trump has returned the gesture.On Thursday, the White House released a letter that Trump sent to Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, accusing him of failing to better prepare New York for the virus because he was "missing in action."The president then suggested that Schumer begin working with Cuomo "for the good of all New Yorkers."The letter followed up an earlier blast on Twitter, where the president urged Schumer to "stop complaining & find out where all of these supplies are going."Trump closed the last of his two posts with another shout out to New York's governor: "Cuomo working hard!"The president's missive seemed to be in response to a letter that Schumer had sent to the president earlier Thursday, pleading for more protective equipment and better logistical coordination in the federal response, which the senator said was rife with "tardiness and inadequacy."As for the president's letter, Schumer was unimpressed."I say to the president: Americans are dying, Americans are losing their jobs, American businesses are teetering on the brink," he said. "Stop the pettiness. Be a leader. Get the job done."Like the president, Cuomo has been ready to criticize Schumer, a fellow Democrat, suggesting that the senior senator of New York had failed his constituents in the $2 trillion stimulus package."It would be nice if he passed a piece of legislation that actually helped the state of New York," Cuomo said Sunday.The governor's soft touch with the president would seem to be a departure from his style in Albany, where he has been in office for nearly a decade and is known as the consummate political animal who thrives on conflict.But Cuomo is also a proudly pragmatic deal-maker who has readily and regularly worked with Republicans when that party controlled the state Senate, infuriating some fellow Democrats, especially progressives. And in dealing with the president, the governor has seemed to refine that strategy, recognizing that Trump's political antennae are fine-tuned to detect both praise and put-downs."The trick to Trump is not to embarrass him in public," said Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic political consultant who has known both men for decades. "Being a Trump whisperer means he can criticize him obliquely, by talking about the national government's failure to respond."But he can't attack him personally," Sheinkopf continued, "because then he loses any opportunity to talk to him behind the scenes to get anything done."Cuomo's tactics have seemingly paid off in tangible ways. In the month since the virus was first discovered in New York, the governor has finagled or finessed the creation of thousands of federally financed hospital beds; the federal authorization of labs in the state to run coronavirus tests; and the arrival Monday of a federal hospital ship, USNS Comfort, which the state hopes will help relieve pressure on local hospitals, although it has been largely underused thus far.Some of that largesse has been born of sheer necessity: New York remains the national epicenter of the outbreak, with more than 92,000 confirmed cases and more than 2,300 deaths.By the same token, Trump has been complimentary of Cuomo's performance on several occasions, perhaps aware of the governor's good reviews for his handling of the outbreak."With Cuomo he's not dealing with a governor: He's dealing with a person who could shape the public opinion nationally and affect the outcome of the presidential election," said Gerald Benjamin, distinguished professor of politics at State University of New York at New Paltz. "Cuomo requires distinct tactics from Trump's point of view."Trump and Cuomo have known each other for decades and share similar histories and traits: Both are Queens natives, sons of powerful fathers, with a need to prove themselves. Both are known as brash and demanding bosses, and both like the spotlight."They're both combative egomaniacs," said Mike Murphy, a veteran Republican strategist and a Trump critic. "But Cuomo has the advantage of being the highly competent combative egomaniac."Cuomo, who served as secretary of housing and urban development under President Bill Clinton, also understands that New York is in an inherently dependent position in relationship to Washington, said George Arzt, a political consultant who was press secretary to Mayor Ed Koch."He once told me that the city can't go to the toilet without calling the state. He realizes the federal government is in a similar position for the state," Arzt said of Cuomo. "He needs the federal government and he's not going to poke the bear unless he has to."There have been skirmishes between the two men: Trump has accused Cuomo of overstating the number of ventilators the state needs and suggested on several occasions that the governor is a malcontent.Still, those brush-backs are mild compared to the type of vitriol that Trump has leveled at other Democratic governors like Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer, who the president said was in "way over her head" and didn't "have a clue" how to confront the crisis.Murphy said that even with a "New York echo chamber that all hates Trump," Cuomo was "not looking for enemies right now," given the state's urgent needs."Cuomo just knows that total war would be good for him politically in some dimension, but operationally, it would be a huge pain," he said.Cuomo's position also stands in opposition to that of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has repeatedly criticized the president, although his tone has become more measured in recent days."We're talking about, ironically, a New Yorker in the White House who right now is betraying New York City," de Blasio said March 20.Trump has not taken such comments well."Yeah, I'm not dealing with him," the president said, later that day. "I'm dealing with the governor."For his part, Cuomo says that he is not being obsequious and is willing to fight the administration."I'm a tangler," he said.But he insisted that the crisis is too big for squabbling."I know this is a political year, and everything is a political backdrop, and Democrats want to criticize Republicans, Republicans want to criticize Democrats," Cuomo said this week. "Not now. Not now."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Coronavirus: Russian ventilators shared with US were built by company on Trump's sanctions list Posted: 03 Apr 2020 10:51 AM PDT  A delivery of ventilators, transported from Moscow to New York this week to help deal with the coronavirus pandemic, were manufactured by a Russian company that is currently subject to US sanctions.NBC News reports that as the boxes of desperately needed ventilators were unloaded at New York's John F Kennedy Airport, they were discovered to be a model of ventilator called the 'Aventa-M' — manufactured by the subsidiary of a sanctioned Russian firm.
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| Search continues for Arkansas woman who vanished from her home in 2016 Posted: 04 Apr 2020 09:55 PM PDT  Mercedes Toliver was last seen leaving her Prescott, Arkansas home on foot just after midnight on December 17, 2016. She was reportedly on her way to her aunt's house nearby. She never made it. There has been no activity on her social media accounts since. The Prescott Police Department is investigating.
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| De Blasio Says City Told Public Masks Unnecessary in order to Preserve Supply for Medical Workers Posted: 03 Apr 2020 01:54 PM PDT  New York mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday said the city administration had initially recommended that residents not wear masks during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic out of concern that residents would buy up masks needed for healthcare workers.De Blasio was asked during a Friday radio interview why the city initially told the public that medical masks would be ineffective in preventing the spread of the coronavirus."The concern throughout was, we didn't want a situation where people were taking supplies, surgical masks, N95's away from the people who are doing the life-and-death work [and] who must be protected," de Blasio said on WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show."We did not want to create an artificial demand there," de Blasio continued, "nor did we want to create a sense that if you had something over your face you didn't need to practice social distancing, [or that] you didn't need to shelter in place, which are much more important strategies."The mayor said New Yorkers were now encouraged to wear homemade masks or scarves over their mouths when going outside, because the measure could prevent asymptomatic patients or those with mild symptoms from spreading the disease.On Friday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, also voiced support for the use of cloth masks in public."Because of some recent information that the virus can actually be spread even when people just speak, as opposed to coughing and sneezing, the better part of valor is that when you're out, and you can't maintain that six-foot distance [from another person], to wear some sort of facial covering," Fauci told Fox News.Public health officials at the federal level, as well as those representing international groups like the World Health Organization, initially discouraged the use of masks when the coronavirus became a point of significant public concern in February. Health officials from various states have begun to reverse the initial directives and the White House is expected to announce during a Friday press conference that the CDC has changed its guidelines regarding the efficacy of masks.
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| Tokyo area sees daily coronavirus cases topping 100 for first time: NHK Posted: 04 Apr 2020 01:24 AM PDT  Some 118 people were newly infected with the novel coronavirus in the Japanese capital of Tokyo, NHK public broadcaster reported on Saturday, citing metropolitan government officials. It marked the first time that daily confirmed cases exceeded 100 in the Tokyo area, bringing the number of confirmed cases there to 891, NHK said. Tokyo's metropolitan government has strongly urged people to stay at home at the weekend as the mega-city faces a rising number of cases and as speculation simmers that Japan may declare a state of emergency, leading to lockdown.
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| At least 19 killed in Mexico gang clash Posted: 04 Apr 2020 05:26 PM PDT  Ciudad Juárez (Mexico) (AFP) - A gang battle in Mexico has left at least 19 people dead in the northern state of Chihuahua, officials said Saturday. At least five armed clashes have occurred in the Madera community so far this year, local authorities have said. "The state attorney general, in conjunction with the public safety office and Mexican Army, launched an operation to investigate and locate armed groups that staged a confrontation that left 19 people dead yesterday in the town of Madera," authorities said.
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| Coronavirus: Australia launches criminal investigation into Ruby Princess Posted: 05 Apr 2020 03:26 AM PDT  Passengers from the Ruby Princess disembarked in Sydney without knowing the coronavirus was on board.
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| Coronavirus kills some people and hardly affects others: How is that possible? Posted: 04 Apr 2020 07:00 AM PDT  How can the new coronavirus affect people so differently — killing some while leaving others blissfully unaware that they have been infected at all?
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| Blame the Chinese Communist Party for the coronavirus crisis Posted: 05 Apr 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Coronavirus crisis proves communism is still a grave threat to the entire world. If Beijing had just been honest, the pandemic could be preventable.
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| Labor Department Secretary: Following strict health measures will help keep outbreak short Posted: 03 Apr 2020 12:03 PM PDT  Eugene Scalia, Labor Secretary, speaks on the March jobs report amid the coronavirus outbreak on 'The Daily Briefing.'
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| Trump says the fired Navy commander's letter pleading for help for his coronavirus-stricken ship 'looked terrible' and was 'not appropriate' Posted: 04 Apr 2020 07:28 PM PDT  President Donald Trump said Saturday he agreed with the Navy's decision to fire Capt. Brett Crozier over his letter pleading for help.
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| For journalists covering Trump, the new reality at the White House Posted: 04 Apr 2020 12:08 PM PDT  Behind the scenes: Temperature checks, reduced staffing, lots of Purell and coping with grim news.
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| U.S. airports close gates and runways as travel declines due to coronavirus Posted: 03 Apr 2020 03:50 PM PDT  Airports are consolidating terminals and closing runways to cope with airline flight cuts and fewer travelers.
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| As COVID-19 deaths steady, Italy's health minister eyes next phase Posted: 05 Apr 2020 05:09 AM PDT  Italy's health minister outlined plans on Sunday for broader testing and beefed-up health services as part of a package of measures that would follow a future easing of the country's coronavirus lockdown. Roberto Speranza said it was too early to say when Italy would be able to lift the measures imposed across the country on March 9, when it became the first country in Europe to impose a general lockdown to slow the spread of the virus. With more than 15,000 dead, Italy has the world's highest death toll from disease, accounting on its own for almost a quarter of all deaths globally.
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| Revealed: food bank shortages expected to hit Washington state by mid-April Posted: 04 Apr 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Report obtained by Guardian projects acute demand and supply problem, meaning agencies will struggle to provide for the hungry * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageAgencies and organisations tasked with feeding children, the poor and the elderly in Washington state during the coronavirus crisis will experience shortages of food and supplies as early as mid-April, according to state government emergency planning documents obtained by the Guardian.A 27 March situation report (SitRep) document produced by the Unified Command of Washington's State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) projects that a combination of acute demand at food banks and schools, supply problems for food and cleaning supplies, plus staffing shortages, will mean government and NGOs will struggle to provide for hungry people whose incomes have disappeared as the state's economy stutters.This raises the prospect of food bank shortages in Washington but also nationwide, as food banks across the US are being increasingly utilized by unprecedented numbers of people in an economy that has been abruptly slowed to fight the spreading pandemic.Washington state has experienced one of the earliest and most serious outbreaks of Covid-19 in the US. Governor Jay Inslee has received praise in recent days for his decisive response, which is thought to have prevented an even worse crisis.But the document suggests that at the predicted peak of the epidemic, which has already infected at least 4,896 Washingtonians and killed at least 195, the state will need to head off a parallel humanitarian crisis.The SitRep document, produced by the emergency agency coordinated by Washington state's military department and distributed to state and local agencies involved in the emergency response, details emerging problems and frantic efforts to solve them across a range of numbered emergency support functions (ESF), including communications, firefighting, and energy.Under the heading "ESF11 Agriculture and Natural Resources", the SitRep details the growing problems in food security. Many of the problems involve food banks – non-governmental organizations that deliver food to needy people.The document says there is already a "shortage of food at food banks", which is projected to become worse. It says: "NGOs have food on hand. However, burn rate is increasing fast. Demand is growing dramatically so supply is quickly being used up."It goes on to warn: "Food banks expect a significant gap in the food supply across the whole system by mid-April (April 10-20)."It then offers insight into spiking demand at specific NGOs delivering food in Washington: "Northwest Harvest (a statewide food bank service) reported they are distributing 450,000lbs of food this week."It continues: "The burn rate and demand are rising sharply. These NGOs are seeing 30 percent to 100% increases in the number of people served."In a telephone conversation, Northwest Harvest chief executive Thomas Reynolds said of his food banks: "We don't predict peak demand for another three weeks and then we anticipate peak demand for 12 to 20 weeks."He added: "I worked for 15 years for Care International. So what it reminds me of is earthquakes in Nepal, the tsunami in Japan, food crises in Yemen. And the difference is there's a lot more experience in a place like Nepal or Yemen to respond to emergencies."The document says rural counties are already moving to rationalize food delivery in the face of demand."Chelan county is moving away from using small distribution centers. Instead they are going to start using a single, mass-distribution site for emergency food," it says.It continues with a prediction: "It's a model we will likely see more of in the days and weeks to come."On Wednesday, Inslee, announced he had mobilized 130 National Guard members to provide support for food banks in Chelan and four other counties, with potentially more to follow.The problems are being compounded by supply problems in other goods necessary for food service, such as supplies used to clean kitchens.As in other states, Washington has closed schools, but many districts have maintained school lunch delivery as a way of feeding needy children.These programs, too, are under strain, according to the SitRep.One issue is in the workforce, which "is a growing issue because schools rely on older people to work in food service and as bus drivers. These are two job categories important to food assistance."The document says "older workers are opting not to work because of Covid concerns" and that schools are also experiencing supply problems.The document does offer some hope that solutions to shortages are emerging, but leaves open the question of whether they will arrive in time.Chris McGann, a spokesman for the Washington state department of agriculture, said in an email: "The current situation with its rapidly increasing demand and limited resources is putting incredible strain on the social safety net. Hunger relief is no different."He added: "We have called on the federal government and private industry to identify and commit additional resources to help us make sure families have the nutritional support they need to make it through this crisis."He also said that the problem was so far confined to food banks. "The food supply chain is otherwise operational and functional. People will still be able to get food at the grocery store."Reynolds stressed that Northwest Harvest was working well with the state and has "good relationship with our local elected officials". But he said he hoped food security will become more central to political debate."I think we should be asking people who are running for office. What is your food policy?"
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| Queen: History will remember your actions in virus crisis Posted: 05 Apr 2020 06:02 AM PDT  In a rare address to the nation, Queen Elizabeth II plans to exhort Britons to rise to the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic, drawing on wisdom from her decades as Britain's head of state to urge discipline and resolve in a time of crisis. Both the monarch and her 98-year-old husband are among those over 70 whom the British government have advised to stay home for 12 weeks.
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| Boris Johnson's pregnant fiancee Carrie Symonds suffers coronavirus symptoms Posted: 04 Apr 2020 09:49 AM PDT  Boris Johnson's pregnant fiancee Carrie Symonds has revealed she has "spent the past week in bed" after suffering coronavirus symptoms but is now recovering. The 32-year-old, who is expecting the couple's baby in early summer, falls into the group of vulnerable people urged to avoid contact with those with symptoms of Covid-19. Prime Minister Mr Johnson said last week that he had tested positive for coronavirus and has now spent more than a week in self-isolation in Downing Street. Shortly after his announcement, Ms Symonds - who usually lives with the Prime Minister in the Number 11 flat - shared a photograph of herself self-isolating in Camberwell, south London, with the couple's dog Dilyn. But on Saturday evening she revealed she too has suffered coronavirus symptoms. She tweeted: "I've spent the past week in bed with the main symptoms of Coronavirus. I haven't needed to be tested and, after seven days of rest, I feel stronger and I'm on the mend. "Being pregnant with Covid-19 is obviously worrying. To other pregnant women, please do read and follow the most up to date guidance which I found to be v reassuring."
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| Ethiopia reports first coronavirus death Posted: 05 Apr 2020 08:40 AM PDT  Ethiopia on Sunday announced the first death of a patient suffering from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, as officials ramped up testing to get a clearer picture of the outbreak there. "It is my deepest regret to announce the first death of a patient from #COVID19 in Ethiopia," Health Minister Lia Tadesse said on Twitter. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also took to Twitter on Sunday to offer his condolences.
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| Aid workers seek to avoid coronavirus outbreak at Matamoros migrant camp Posted: 05 Apr 2020 04:00 AM PDT  Asylum-seekers camp near the border in crowded conditions, waiting indefinitely as the U.S. puts their cases on hold. Health workers fear an outbreak.
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| Trump Orders VA to Stop Withholding Money from Veterans Posted: 03 Apr 2020 10:57 AM PDT  The president has directed the Department of Veterans Affairs to suspend debt collections immediately.
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| Sleeping in the attic: How a NYC nurse is trying to keep her family safe from the coronavirus as she works on the front lines Posted: 04 Apr 2020 06:08 AM PDT  Diana Torres, a nurse who works in Manhattan, moved into her attic to avoid exposing her family to the coronavirus when she comes home after shifts.
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