Archives for April 2020

 

Passages in bold in the body of the texts below are usually my emphasis, though not always. This is an ongoing project, and I update the site frequently during the day. Because I try to stay focused on what has actually happened, I usually let the news ‘settle’ for a day or so before posting. I hope readers will peruse the articles in full for a better understanding of the issues and their context; our democracy and our future depend on citizens who can distinguish between facts and falsehoods and who are engaged in the political process.

 

For independent global news, visit Democracy Now!

 

Friday, 24 April 2020, Day 1,190:

 

Some Global Coronavirus Updates for Friday, 24 April 2020: European Union (E.U.) Waters Down Report on China’s Coronavirus Propaganda, The New York Times, Friday, 24 April 2020:

• The E.U., pressured by Beijing, watered down a report on China’s disinformation.
• In the time of ‘les microbes,’ our Paris bureau chief sees an older Paris emerging.
• Ramadan, normally a time for Muslims to congregate, begins under lockdowns.
• Pakistani doctors warn that the country is loosening its lockdown too soon.
• Belgium to begin lifting restrictions in May.
• U.S. roundup: Trump’s remarks on disinfectants are rebuked, and the Navy wants a captain reinstated.
• A World War II veteran has the top single in Britain.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Some U.S. Coronavirus Updates for Friday, 24 April 2020: Trump’s Suggestion on Thursday That an ‘Injection Inside’ the Human Body With a Disinfectant Could Help Combat the Coronavirus Prompts Warnings About the Dangers of Ingesting Disinfectants, The New York Times, Friday, 24 April 2020:

• Warnings of the dangers of ingesting disinfectants follow Trump’s remarks.
• Three states move ahead with reopenings despite misgivings.
• The pandemic upends how Muslim Americans celebrate Ramadan.
• Scientists are concerned about false positives in virus tests.
• Navy leaders recommend reinstating Capt. Crozier.
• Federal workers sent to a quarantine site lacked proper gear or training.
• The California National Guard has been deployed at nursing homes.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Some New York Coronavirus Updates for Friday, 24 April 2020: Virus Deaths in New York Hit Lowest Level Since 1 April, The New York Times, Friday, 24 April 2020:

• Deaths in N.Y. fell to 422, the lowest one-day figure since April 1.
• ‘I dare you’: Cuomo stepped up his attacks on McConnell’s bankruptcy suggestion.
• Governor Murphy expresses concern over New Jersey counties that have ‘slid backward.’
• New Yorkers want cheap wine, and lots of it.
• As domestic violence reports rise, New York offers new resources.

Other significant developments are included in this article.

Continue reading Week 171, Friday, 24 April – Thursday, 30 April 2020 (Days 1,190-1,196)

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Thank you Wild Oats Market in Williamstown–Cooperatively Owned Since 1982!

 

Passages in bold in the body of the texts below are usually my emphasis, though not always. This is an ongoing project, and I update the site frequently during the day. Because I try to stay focused on what has actually happened, I usually let the news ‘settle’ for a day or so before posting. I hope readers will peruse the articles in full for a better understanding of the issues and their context; our democracy and our future depend on citizens who can distinguish between facts and falsehoods and who are engaged in the political process.

 

For independent global news, visit Democracy Now!

 

Friday, 17 April 2020, Day 1,183:

 

Some Global Coronavirus Updates for Friday, 17 April 2020: Syria’s Kurdish Northeast Had Its First Covid-19 Death. The Case Was News to the Kurds. Germany’s Infection Rate Falls, a Sign That It Is Getting the Virus Under Control. The New York Times, Friday, 17 April 2020:

• Syria’s Kurdish northeast had its first Covid-19 death. The case was news to the Kurds.
• Germany’s infection rate falls, a sign that it is getting the virus under control.
• The U.N. warns of the pandemic’s ‘potentially catastrophic’ impact on the world’s children.
• U.S. roundup: Trump encourages protests against some state restrictions.
• Canada’s big annual party will go virtual, the government said.
• Americans and Europeans tell of harassment in India, where foreigners are blamed for contagion.
• The latest in science: Medical ingenuity is abounding where ventilators aren’t.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Some U.S. Coronavirus Updates for Friday, 17 April 2020: Trump Foments Protests Against Governors; Health Experts Warn That Lack of Testing Presents a Serious Challenge to Reopening, The New York Times, Friday, 17 April 2020: Included in this article:

• Trump calls to ‘LIBERATE’ states where people are protesting social distancing restrictions.
• The lack of testing presents a serious challenge to reopening, health experts say.
• Cuomo and Trump spar over the federal response to the outbreak.
• Prominent conservatives and donors are behind some statehouse protests. 
• The federal government will direct $19 billion in aid to farmers.
• At least 7,000 people living in or connected to U.S. nursing homes have died.
• Governors in Texas, Minnesota and other states are looking to ease restrictions.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Some New York Coronavirus Updates for Friday, 17 April 2020: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Trump Spar Over Coronavirus Aid to New York, The New York Times, Friday, 17 April 2020:

• “They’re your projections, Mr. President.” Cuomo and Trump trade jabs.
• New Jersey’s four-day death toll: 1,400.
• Connecticut passes 1,000 virus deaths.
• Some N.Y.C. lawmakers want to close 75 miles of streets to cars.
• Another 630 deaths in New York, but hospitalizations are dropping.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Continue reading Week 170, Friday, 17 April – Thursday, 23 April 2020 (Days 1,183-1,189)

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Passages in bold in the body of the texts below are usually my emphasis, though not always. This is an ongoing project, and I update the site frequently during the day. Because I try to stay focused on what has actually happened, I usually let the news ‘settle’ for a day or so before posting. I hope readers will peruse the articles in full for a better understanding of the issues and their context; our democracy and our future depend on citizens who can distinguish between facts and falsehoods and who are engaged in the political process.

 

For independent global news, visit Democracy Now!

 

Friday, 10 April 2020, Day 1,176:

 

Some Global Coronavirus Updates for Friday, 10 April 2020: Coronavirus Caseload Tops 1.6 Million, as Countries Greet Easter Weekend with Lockdowns. The United States, citing the virus, vowed to issue visa penalties for countries that refuse to accept people it wants to deport. Moscow’s hospitals have been pushed to their limits. The New York Times, Friday, 10 April 2020:

• Global deaths cross 101,000, a devastating toll, as cases surge past 1.6 million.
• Russia’s outbreak is growing fast, straining medical resources.
• The Turkish government orders millions to stay home in sudden lockdown. 
• Violence erupts over the distribution of food in Kenya.
• See how the coronavirus has upended Good Friday around the world.
• Pakistani Muslims defied the government’s order not to congregate for prayers.
• The latest in science: Antibody tests may work, but not perfectly. 

Many other significant developments are covered in this article.

Some U.S. Coronavirus Updates for Friday, 10 April 2020: Trump Says Countries Must Accept Deportees or Lose Visas. The U.S. says that lifting stay-at-home rules too soon could result in a spike in infections. Apple and Google are working on a cellphone feature to help with contact tracing. The New York Times, Friday, 10 April 2020:

• Trump says he’s ‘looking at a date’ to begin easing restrictions.
• Seventy test positive at a San Francisco homeless shelter.
• Citing virus, Trump moves to punish countries that won’t accept deported citizens.
• Burning Man will not take place in the Nevada desert.
• Disruptions of global supply chains are leading to shortages.
• New York’s projected hospital-bed shortfall has not materialized.
• Apple and Google plan a cellphone feature to help track the virus’s spread.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Some New York Coronavirus Updates on Friday, 10 April 2020: Number of Virus Patients in I.C.U.s Starts to Fall in New York. The figure decreased for the first time since the outbreak began, providing more evidence that the curve of infection is flattening, but deaths remain high. The New York Times, Friday, 10 April 2020:

• The number of virus patients in I.C.U.s in New York fell for the first time.
• The virus has completely changed funerals and mourning.
• A moment to cheer amid the sorrow.
• Deaths in New Jersey near 2,000.
• Five more homeless people have died in shelters.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Continue reading Week 169, Friday, 10 April – Thursday, 16 April 2020 (Days 1,176-1,182)

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Passages in bold in the body of the texts below are usually my emphasis, though not always. This is an ongoing project, and I update the site frequently during the day. Because I try to stay focused on what has actually happened, I usually let the news ‘settle’ for a day or so before posting. I hope readers will peruse the articles in full for a better understanding of the issues and their context; our democracy and our future depend on citizens who can distinguish between facts and falsehoods and who are engaged in the political process.

 

For independent global news, visit Democracy Now!

 

Friday, 3 April 2020, Day 1,169:

 

Some Global Coronavirus Updates for Friday, 3 April 2020: Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) Recommends Wearing Masks in Public; Trump Says, ‘I’m Choosing Not to Do It.’ Alabama became the 41st state to issue a stay-at-home order, and the attorney general expanded the pool of prisoners eligible for early release from federal prisons. The New York Times, Friday, 3 April 2020:

• C.D.C. says all Americans should wear masks. Trump says the rule is voluntary.
• Trump will nominate an inspector general to oversee the Treasury’s $500 billion bailout fund.
• Barr expands early release of inmates at federal prisons with coronavirus cases.
• Death toll in New York soars to nearly 3,000 as state pleads for aid.
• Half the planet is on lockdown, but not every U.S. state is, even after Alabama issues an order.
• Texas reports its largest outbreak at a nursing home. Its staff members worked in at least seven others.
• Trump says U.S. election will take place on schedule in November, but opposes voting by mail.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Some New York Coronavirus Updates for Friday, 3 April 2020: New York Virus Deaths Double in Three Days to Almost 3,000. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Friday that there had been 562 deaths due to the virus over the previous 24 hours, a higher toll than the state saw in the first 27 days of March. The New York Times, Friday, 3 April 2020:

• As of Monday, 1,000 people had died in New York. Soon, that number will be 3,000.
• New Jersey lowers flags to half-staff as another 113 people die.
• Mayor de Blasio called for a national draft of doctors.
• A steakhouse in Manhattan is donating aged steaks to first responders.
• The hospital ship Comfort might start accepting coronavirus patients.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Some Business Coronavirus Updates for Friday, 3 April 2020: Wall Street Caps a Turbulent Week With a Decline. A $349 billion program to throw a financial lifeline to small businesses gets off to a rocky start. The New York Times, Friday, 3 April 2020:

• Stocks drop as the jobs report spooks investors.
• A bank in West Virginia is the first to fail in the virus crisis.
• Small-business relief program processes $3.2 billion in loans on Day 1.
• Job losses in March ended almost a decade of straight gains.
• Putin urges the United States to participate in oil output cuts.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Some significant developments in the coronavirus pandemic on Friday, 3 April 2020: People should wear cloth face coverings in public, the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) recommends, to reduce the spread of coronavirus, The Washington Post, Adam Taylor, Teo Armus, Jennifer Hassan, Rick Noack, John Wagner, Katie Mettler, Brittany Shammas, Alex Horton, Siobhán O’Grady, Eva Dou, Michael Brice-Saddler, and Steven Goff, Friday, 3 April 2020: “President Trump on Friday announced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone wear a simple, cloth face covering while out in public. The debate about whether the public should wear masks came after increasing evidence that infected people without symptoms can spread the coronavirus. Medical masks should still be reserved for health-care workers. While making the announcement, Trump said it was ‘voluntary’ and that that he is choosing not to do it, though ‘it may be good.’ Here are some significant developments:

• The United States reported more than 32,000 confirmed cases Friday, bringing its total to more than 273,000. The U.S. death toll is over 7,000. More than 1 million confirmed cases have been reported around the world.
• A Washington Post investigation uncovered alarm and dismay among scientists at health labs about the Trump administration’s reliance on a flawed coronavirus test developed by the CDC, which was used for weeks as the virus began to spread across the United States.
• Trump intends to nominate White House lawyer Brian D. Miller to serve as the inspector general overseeing the Treasury Department’s implementation of the newly enacted $2 trillion coronavirus law, the White House said Friday night.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) continues to press the case for another federal stimulus bill. It would include more direct payments to individuals, additional small business loan funding and the extension of enhanced unemployment benefits.
• Data suggests 75 percent of patients in China originally listed as asymptomatic go on to develop symptoms, a World Health Organization epidemiologist said. The Communist Party chief of Wuhan, the Chinese city where the outbreak began, said that the risk of a resurgence there remains high.
• New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) called for a national enlistment of health-care workers organized by the U.S. military, as statewide cases grew to more than 102,000 on Friday, with nearly 3,000 deaths.

Many other significant developments are included in this article.

Inside the coronavirus testing failure: Alarm and dismay among the scientists who sought to help, The Washington Post, Shawn Boburg, Robert O’Harrow Jr., Neena Satija, and Amy Goldstein, Friday, 3 March 2020: “On a Jan. 15 conference call, a leading scientist at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention assured local and state public health officials from across the nation that there would soon be a test to detect a mysterious virus spreading from China. Stephen Lindstrom told them the threat was remote and they may not need the test his team was developing ‘unless the scope gets much larger than we anticipate,’ according to an email summarizing the call. ‘We’re in good hands,’ a public health official who participated in the call wrote in the email to colleagues. Three weeks later, early on Feb. 8, one of the first CDC test kits arrived in a Federal Express package at a public health laboratory on the east side of Manhattan. By then, the virus had reached the United States, and the kits represented the government’s best hope for containing it while that was still possible. For hours, lab technicians struggled to verify that the test worked. Each time, it fell short, producing untrustworthy results. That night, they called their lab director, Jennifer Rakeman, an assistant commissioner in the New York City health department, to tell her it had failed. ‘Oh, s—,’ she replied. ‘What are we going to do now?’ In the 21 days that followed, as Trump administration officials continued to rely on the flawed CDC test, many lab scientists eager to aid the faltering effort grew increasingly alarmed and exasperated by the federal government’s actions, according to previously unreported email messages and other documents reviewed by The Washington Post, as well as exclusive interviews with scientists and officials involved. In their private communications, scientists at academic, hospital and public health labs — one layer removed from federal agency operations — expressed dismay at the failure to move more quickly and frustration at bureaucratic demands that delayed their attempts to develop alternatives to the CDC test…. ‘We have the skills and resources as a community but we are collectively paralyzed by a bloated bureaucratic/administrative process,’ Marc Couturier, medical director at academic laboratory ARUP in Utah, wrote to other microbiologists on Feb. 27 after weeks of mounting frustration. The administration embraced a new approach behind closed doors that very day, concluding that ‘a much broader’ effort to testing was needed, according to an internal government memo spelling out the plan. Two days later, the administration announced a relaxation of the regulations that scientists said had hindered private laboratories from deploying their own tests. By then, the virus had spread across the country. In less than a month, it would upend daily life, shuttering the world’s largest economy and killing thousands of Americans.”

Continue reading Week 168, Friday, 3 April – Thursday, 9 April 2020 (Days 1,169-1,175)

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