Monday, May 04, 2020

Coronavirus News (77)

Kudlow says third round of PPP small business loans might be needed as demand soars
Coronavirus vaccine may never come, health expert warns
Trump warns coronavirus death toll could reach 100,000
Lincoln got better press treatment, Trump claims, as he ups pandemic death estimate
Pence: 'I Should Have Worn A Mask' When Visiting The Mayo Clinic



China pushes back against US claims that coronavirus originated from Wuhan lab
Mike Pompeo: 'enormous evidence' coronavirus came from Chinese lab Secretary of state does not provide any evidence to back claim
Mitch McConnell could yet pay price for 'tone deaf' coronavirus response The Senate majority leader oversaw a huge handout to big business and drew bipartisan ire for suggesting struggling states should go bankrupt ........ It was, New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo observed, “one of the really dumb ideas of all time”. Larry Hogan, his counterpart in Maryland, called it “complete nonsense”. Congressman Pete King of New York said it was the work of

the “Marie Antoinette of the Senate”

. ............. It would be an understatement to say Mitch McConnell’s suggestion that state and local governments should declare bankruptcy rather than seek more federal funding went down like a lead balloon. It was a rare instance of the Senate majority leader overplaying his hand........ “It’s not just the fact that McConnell was remarkably brutal in pairing Americans into red and blue states at a time of national crisis – that is pretty shameless – but I think it was also politically inept because he’s got his colleagues in tough races in blue states.” ........ a $500bn “corporate slush fund”. ....... Last week McConnell retreated from his much-derided position on “blue state bailouts” and bankruptcy, indicating he would consider funds in the next relief bill for state and local governments struggling to pay police and firefighters. ....... “There’s no question all governors, regardless of party, would like to have more money, I’m open to discussing that” .......... “McConnell is now refusing to pass ANY stimulus bill that doesn’t include TOTAL LEGAL IMMUNITY for corporations that get people sick [with] the coronavirus. It’s abhorrent. It’s also totally impractical. How can we reopen the economy if companies have no incentive to keep us safe?” .......... Trump and McConnell appear bound together.

Should the president lose in November, he could bring down Senate Republicans – perhaps even McConnell in Kentucky.

Challenger Amy McGrath, a fighter pilot, outraised McConnell in the first three months of this year. .......... “History will not look back on Mitch McConnell kindly. He has been the most effective enabler of Donald Trump.



Widely Used Surgical Masks Are Putting Health Care Workers At Serious Risk
How air pollution exacerbates Covid-19
Why I'm skeptical about Reade's sexual assault claim against Biden: Ex-prosecutor If we must blindly accept every allegation of sexual assault, the #MeToo movement is just a hit squad. And it's too important to be no more than that. ...... When women make allegations of sexual assault, my default response is to believe them. ........... That so many women were willing to wait in my dreary government office, as I ran to the restroom to pull myself together after listening to their stories, is a testament to their fortitude.

‘It’s being built on our blood’: the true cost of Saudi Arabia’s $500bn megacity With an artificial moon and flying taxis, Neom has been billed as humanity’s next chapter. But beneath the glitzy veneer lies a story of threats, forced eviction and bloodshed ........ The brainchild of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the new city state of Neom, named from a combination of the Greek word for “new” and the Arabic term for “future”, is intended to cover an area the size of Belgium at the far north of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coastline. ......... the project may include a huge artificial moon, glow-in-the-dark beaches, flying drone-powered taxis, robotic butlers to clean the homes of residents and a Jurassic Park-style attraction featuring animatronic lizards. .......... Yet part of the site is the home of the Huwaitat tribe, who have spanned Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Sinai peninsula for generations, tracing their lineage back before the founding of the Saudi state. At least 20,000 members of the tribe now face eviction due to the project, with no information about where they will live in the future. ..........

For some Saudis, the Huwaiti tribe among them, Neom, with its parallel legal system reporting directly to the king, represents an elite version of Saudi society, one designed simply to shut them out.

..... is also set to include a vast data-gathering network, including drone and facial-recognition technology covering the entire city-state. ......... A $10bn King Abdullah financial district in Riyadh, intended as a “special zone,” has sputtered since its inception in 2006, weathering construction delays and confusion over its purpose, even after government attempts at a relaunch in 2016. Critics of Neom say the project risks the same fate. ......... For Cooper, Neom is less a shining vision of the future than a grim symbol of Saudi human rights violations, underscored by the treatment of the Huwaitat tribe........“It shows the lack of platforms people have to express their opinions, even on less contentious matters than civil or political rights,” he says.

Stocks Are Recovering While the Economy Collapses. That Makes More Sense Than You'd Think. On March 23, U.S. stock markets closed the day after a multi-week plunge of nearly 30%. ........ the GDP was down 4.8% in the first quarter and this quarter is likely to be much worse. ........ The stock market? Overall, stocks are up across all indices more than 30% from that low point in late March. .......

because of moves by the Federal Reserve, financial markets are awash in money, vast, water-hose supplies of money.

......... Since March, the Fed has committed to lend or buy trillions of dollars of financial assets, which by some estimates might end up exceeding $8 trillion dollars by the time all is said and done. No one knows how high that figure will climb. .......... And it’s not just the Fed. Congress has allocated almost $3 trillion in economic aid; the Bank of Japan is doing much the same as the Fed for the world’s third largest economy; the European Central Bank is not far behind, and multiple governments around the world are following suit. ........

even as real-world economies freeze and implode in the short-term, financial markets are buoyed by a tsunami of liquidity.

.......... That troubles many investors, who see either sharp spikes of inflation or dire reckoning ahead for stocks and bonds. ....... the recent market strength is simply a dead-cat bounce like what happened in 2008 before a more intense crash later that year. .......... all the liquidity in the world cannot compensate for the collapse of real-world economic activity and these moves by the Fed and governments are the equivalent of flooding a drought stricken area with water for a few days. It feels like a relief, but if there is no rain in the months after, it does little good ........... there is a dramatic difference in how individual companies are faring that reflects a cold-eyed assessments of how they will do in a pandemic world ........ Five mega-tech companies – Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Google – alone make up $5 trillion of market cap, and Amazon in particular has seen its stock go up more than 30% since mid-March. Costco and Clorox have seen booming business along with Walmart, as has the video conference company Zoom. ........... distinguishing between industries that look to be hardest hits from those that might even benefit from the dramatic economic dislocations that COVID-19 responses are creating. ......... The Fed, for instance, is committed to purchasing hundreds of billions of dollars of municipal bonds at favorable rates, which will mean that cash-strapped state governments should be able to retain teachers and policemen and programs even if Congress proves negligent as Mitch McConnell seems to be pushing for. That will mean that pensions for public servants remain intact. The Fed also is about to lend another $500 billion to Main Street businesses, which is coming too late to avoid the pain of the last month but will still matter greatly to the ability of companies to move forward and eventually rehire. The most visible effect of the money in motion now is the stock market, but that will be not the sole beneficiary as more Fed money flows to states and Main Street. ...........

as bad as things are just now, they actually could be considerably worse.



Millions of farm animals culled as US food supply chain chokes up US government vets said to be ready to assist with culls, or ‘depopulation’ of pigs, chickens and cattle because of coronavirus meat plant closures ........ Covid-related slaughterhouse shutdowns in the US are leading to fears of meat shortages and price rises, while farmers are being forced to consider “depopulating” their animals. ........ At least two million animals have already reportedly been culled on farm, and that number is expected to rise. Approved methods for slaughtering poultry include slow suffocation by covering them with foam, or by shutting off the ventilation into the barns. .......... a clear indication of a national farm animal emergency. ........ producers could be forced to kill 700,000 pigs a week due to meat plant slowdowns or closures. .........

In a letter this month to leading poultry companies, Mercy for Animals called AVMA culling methods – which include water-based foam generators, whole-house gassing and ventilation shutdown – inhumane.

............ Foaming means covering hens with a layer of foam that blocks their airways, gradually suffocating them over several minutes. Ventilation shutdown, meanwhile, although described by the AVMA as “not preferred”, is one of the cruellest, but cheapest options, said Garcés. “Shutting down broiler chicken house ventilation systems means animals die of organ failure due to overheating, as temperatures quickly rise.” ......... On Sunday Tyson chairman, John Tyson, warned in a blog post that: “In addition to meat shortages, this is a serious food waste issue. Farmers across the nation simply will not have anywhere to sell their livestock to be processed, when they could have fed the nation. Millions of animals – chickens, pigs and cattle – will be depopulated because of the closure of our processing facilities. The food supply chain is breaking.” ......... the combination of restaurant and slaughterhouse suspensions meant pigs “are backing up on farms with nowhere to go, leaving farmers with tragic choices to make [because] hog farmers have nowhere to move their hogs.” ......... “It is a black swan event. There are hogs available. We are full to the brim. But when we are down about 23% in hog harvesting capacity and we can’t process at normal rates, then the only option is to depopulate.” .......... “It’s going to be painful for the next few weeks until about mid-May when hopefully processing plants start to come back online.” ......... In Europe, by contrast, the situation appears reversed, as slaughterhouses remain open and intensive pig and poultry farmers benefit from lockdown

shopping sprees for home cooking

. ............. “The irony is that smaller, more sustainable farmers are the hardest hit while supermarkets in the UK stock up on the cheapest, most intensively reared pork and poultry”



Feeding the Nation and Keeping Our Team Members Healthy Sometimes life changes in the blink of an eye, and the world as we know it is different. Anxiety, doubt, and the fear of the unknown are now our constant companions. ............. The private and public sectors must come together. ....... In addition to meat shortages, this is a serious food waste issue. Farmers across the nation simply will not have anywhere to sell their livestock to be processed, when they could have fed the nation. Millions of animals – chickens, pigs and cattle – will be depopulated because of the closure of our processing facilities. The food supply chain is breaking. ........... We have a responsibility to feed our country. It is as essential as healthcare. This is a challenge that should not be ignored. Our plants must remain operational so that we can supply food to our families in America. ......... In January, we formed a coronavirus task force; since then, we’ve put in place numerous measures to protect our team members across the nation. The company’s efforts have included taking worker temperatures and installing more than 150 infrared walkthrough temperature scanners in our facilities; securing a supply of face coverings before the CDC recommended their use – and now, requiring them in all company facilities; and conducting additional daily deep cleaning and sanitizing. We’ve implemented social distancing measures, such as installing workstation dividers and providing more breakroom space. We’ve also relaxed our attendance policy to encourage workers to stay at home when they’re sick or feel uneasy about coming to work. And in a few circumstances where we haven’t been able to meet our own standards, we’ve voluntarily closed operations, only resuming when adequate safety measures were in place. .................... We are also encouraging our team members to continue the social distancing practices we have established within our operations, before and after shifts and in their communities. ................ Tyson is waiving the waiting period to qualify for short-term disability so workers can immediately be paid if they get sick. We’re also waiving the co‑pay, co-insurance and deductible for doctor visits for COVID-19 testing, as well as eliminating pre-approval or preauthorization steps, waiving co-pays for the use of telemedicine, and relaxing refill limits for 30‑day prescriptions of maintenance medication. ........... Tyson Foods is also paying approximately $60 million in “thank you” bonuses to 116,000 frontline workers and Tyson truckers who support our operations every day. ...... more than $11 million worth of food and meals donated by the company since March 11. Over the coming days, we will make more product donations equal to an additional 100 million meals. .......

It hasn’t been easy, and it’s not over.





Some patients who survive COVID-19 may suffer lasting lung damage The similar respiratory disease SARS left lasting lung injury in some patients

Recommended reading RETURNING HOME WITH A Dream PART 1 of 2 By Binod Shrestha Dai It has always been a pleasure to...

Posted by Ashutosh Tiwari on Monday, May 4, 2020


Some patients who survive COVID-19 may suffer lasting lung damage The similar respiratory disease SARS left lasting lung injury in some patients



Japan extends state of emergency amid fears second wave could cripple Tokyo hospitals Shinzo Abe says lockdown measures will remain in place in all regions until 31 May
Russia adds record 10,000 coronavirus cases in dramatic turnaround as Putin's problems stack up
U.K.'s Boris Johnson Says His Battle With Coronavirus 'Could Have Gone Either Way'
Jersey City to expand COVID-19 testing to all residents; offering antibody testing
New Zealand calls for thousands of new 'green' jobs in bold comeback plan There's plenty of speculation over the origins of the pandemic that has ground much of the world to a halt. But there's little doubt about who caused it. As a panel of international scientists noted in a release issued this week,

"There is a single species that is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic — us."

............. goes on to point the finger squarely at our obsession with "economic growth at any cost." ........

"Rampant deforestation, uncontrolled expansion of agriculture, intensive farming, mining and infrastructure development, as well as the exploitation of wild species have created a 'perfect storm' for the spillover of diseases from wildlife to people."

.......... This week, New Zealand's Green Party unveiled an ambitious plan to get the country back to work and the gears of industry turning once again, in environmentally friendly fashion. ...... And all for the tidy sum of $1 billion.......... It may seem like a lot, but the cost pales in comparison with what we're paying in lost economic output from this pandemic. Early estimates peg that tally at around $2.7 trillion, which is about the entire GDP of the United Kingdom. ............ "Our tourism industry depends on the health of our nature, and culture, and so it is important to invest in this critical infrastructure, rather than just bulldozers and asphalt." ......... One thing, at least, is certain: we can't go back to the way things were. ........ the world needs "transformative change" across the board. That includes fundamental, system-wide reorganization across technological, economic and social factors, including paradigms, goals and values, promoting social and environmental responsibilities across all sectors........ "As daunting and costly as this may sound — it pales in comparison to the price we are already paying."



लकडाउन कसैलाई कश्ट होस् भनेर दिईएको सजाय होइन। यो त केवल कोरोना महाब्याधीको सन्क्रमण फैलनबाट रोकथाम गर्ने एउटै मात्र उत्तम र सजिलो उपाय हो। घरभित्र बसौ। आफु, आफ्ना परिवार र समाजलाई पनि जोगाऔ।

Posted by Rabindra Maharjan on Monday, May 4, 2020

Don't be a Terrorist. Please wear your mask in public places. Time has changed & now without mask, you are terrorizing us. 😂😂

Posted by Tsewang Sherpalama on Monday, May 4, 2020

काठमाडौं का मानिस सबै सुरक्षित थिए ,अब बाहिर बाट गुटुङटुँङ खनिएर कोरोना सार्ने भए। किन आउन देको होला ? दिमाग चाँई हो...

Posted by Kamala Subedi Sapkota on Monday, May 4, 2020
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Sunday, May 03, 2020

Coronavirus News (76)

She Predicted the Coronavirus. What Does She Foresee Next? Laurie Garrett, the prophet of this pandemic, expects years of death and “collective rage.” ....... She saw it coming. So a big part of what I wanted to ask her about was what she sees coming next. Steady yourself. Her crystal ball is dark. ....... Despite the stock market’s swoon for it, remdesivir probably isn’t our ticket out, she told me. “It’s not curative,” she said, pointing out that the strongest claims so far are that it merely shortens the recovery of Covid-19 patients. “We need either a cure or a vaccine.” .......... “I’ve been telling everybody that

my event horizon is about 36 months

, and that’s my best-case scenario” ........ this is going to go in waves,” she added. “It won’t be a tsunami that comes across America all at once and then retreats all at once. ............ “Did we go ‘back to normal’ after 9/11? No. We created a whole new normal. ......... we could have massive political disruption .......... “Just as we come out of our holes and see what 25 percent unemployment looks like,” she said, “we may also see what collective rage looks like.” ........ Her Pulitzer, in 1996, was for coverage of Ebola in Zaire. She has been a fellow at Harvard’s School of Public Health, was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and consulted on the 2011 movie “Contagion.” ........ Each morning when she opens her email, “there’s the Argentina request, Hong Kong request, Taiwan request, South Africa request, Morocco, Turkey,” she told me. “Not to mention all of the American requests.” ......... she wasn’t surprised ..

the response in many places was sloppy and sluggish.

....... there is one part of the story she couldn’t have predicted: that the paragon of sloppiness and sluggishness would be the United States. ........ President Trump’s initial acceptance of the assurances by President Xi Jinping of China that all would be well, his scandalous complacency from late January through early March, his cheerleading for unproven treatments, his musings about cockamamie ones, his abdication of muscular federal guidance for the states and his failure, even now, to sketch out a detailed long-range strategy for containing the coronavirus. .........

she called Trump “the most incompetent, foolhardy buffoon imaginable.”

........ she’s shocked that America isn’t in a position to lead the global response to this crisis, in part because science and scientists have been so degraded under Trump. .......... “I’ve heard from every C.D.C. in the world — the European C.D.C., the African C.D.C., China C.D.C. — and they say, ‘Normally our first call is to Atlanta, but we ain’t hearing back.’ There’s nothing going on down there.

They’ve gutted that place. They’ve gagged that place.

I can’t get calls returned anymore. Nobody down there is feeling like it’s safe to talk. Have you even seen anything important and vital coming out of the C.D.C.?” .......... America has never been sufficiently invested in public health. The riches and renown go mostly to physicians who find new and better ways to treat heart disease, cancer and the like. The big political conversation is about individuals’ access to health care. .............. recounted her time at Harvard. “The medical school is all marble, with these grand columns,” she said. “The school of public health is this funky building, the ugliest possible architecture, with the ceilings falling in.” ......... America needs a federal government that assertively promotes and helps to coordinate that,

not one in which experts like Tony Fauci and Deborah Birx tiptoe around a president’s tender ego

. ............. “I feel like I’m just coming out of maybe three weeks of being in a funk because of the profound disappointment that there’s not a whisper of it.” ........ Instead of that whisper she hears wailing: the sirens of ambulances carrying coronavirus patients to hospitals near her apartment in Brooklyn Heights, where she has been home alone, in lockdown, since early March. “If I don’t get hugged soon, I’m going to go bananas,” she told me. “I’m desperate to be hugged.”



Economic growth is an unnecessary evil, Jacinda Ardern is right to deprioritise it Ardern has put out a national budget where spending is dictated by what best encourages the “well-being” of citizens, rather than focussing on traditional bottom-line measures like productivity and economic growth. ........ Long revered as a stalwart of a capitalist society the need to grow has come to overshadow everything else. We prioritise it over our personal health, we prioritise it over the health of the planet and we prioritise it over our happiness........... Economist Kenneth Boulding once said that we eat in order to achieve the state of being well-fed, and moving our jaws is simply the ‘cost’ of getting there. We would therefore be mistaken to focus our attention on the act of chewing as the desired end-state when it is simply the price we pay to become fed. ....... But as long as growth is the target of our economic systems people will continue to focus on chewing, which is neither a sustainable nor desirable trait of an economy. ....... The government will put an emphasis on goals like community and cultural connection and equity in well-being across generations in what has been described as a “game-changing event” ..........

Ardern has set aside more than $200 million to bolster services for victims of domestic and sexual violence and included a promise to provide housing for the homeless population.

......... all new spending must advance one of five government priorities: improving mental health, reducing child poverty, addressing the inequalities faced by indigenous Maori and Pacific islands people, thriving in a digital age, and transitioning to a low-emission, sustainable economy. ......... Rising inequality, a mental health crisis and climate change are all significant threats, but as long as other major economies prioritise economic growth over wellbeing New Zealand may become a lone wolf trapped in an increasingly hungry bear pit.



‘Covid 19 is exposing, not causing, problems in care homes’ Millions of adults in the UK are currently experiencing, week by week, day by day, hour by slow hour, social isolation, in a way that they never have before. ....... “Sometimes in here, we don’t know what day of the week it is, but when you come, we know we are not forgotten.” ...... Millions of adults in the UK are currently experiencing, week by week, day by day, hour by slow hour, social isolation, in a way that they never have before.

It’s one thing to hear or read about loneliness and social isolation for other people – it’s another thing to live it yourself.

Write down what this isolation feels like, so that we have a permanent reminder. Because when lockdown ends for us, too many people will still be indoors, watching from the window, waving from the door.





The US just reported its deadliest day for coronavirus patients as states reopen, according to WHO

The U.S. saw 2,909 people die of Covid-19 in 24 hours

....... Public health officials and epidemiologists have warned that as the public grows fatigued by restrictions and businesses reopen, the virus could spread rapidly throughout communities that have yet to experience a major epidemic. ....... New York state, which has reported more than 27% of all confirmed cases in the U.S. ....... The state has reported at least 24,039 of the country’s 65,173 Covid-19 deaths ...... Funeral homes, caught in the middle of the bottleneck, have had to store corpses in refrigerated trucks, or in some cases whatever storage unit they can find. ........

The CDC warns that all data right now is “provisional” and the agency might not have a more accurate count until December of next year.





Cleaning and hygiene tips to help keep the COVID-19 virus out of your home From doing laundry to preparing meals — every day measures to help protect your family. ....... we know the virus is transmitted through direct contact with respiratory droplets of an infected person (through coughing and sneezing), and touching surfaces contaminated with the virus. The virus may survive on surfaces for a few hours up to several days. The good news? Simple disinfectants can kill it. ............. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. ........

Yes, you’re hearing it everywhere, because it’s the best line of defence. Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20-30 seconds.

....... Make sure to wash hands after you blow your nose, sneeze into a tissue, use the restroom, when you leave and return to your home, before preparing or eating food, applying make-up, handling contact lenses etc. ......

Cold water and warm water are equally effective at killing germs and viruses — as long as you use soap and wash your hands the right way!

....... Cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces in your home regularly is an important precaution to lower the risk of infection. ........ Every home is different, but common high-touch surfaces include: Door handles, tables, chairs, handrails, kitchen and bathroom surfaces, taps, toilets, light switches, mobile phones, computers, tablets, keyboards, remote controls, game controllers and favourite toys. ........

Many disinfectant products, such as wipes and sprays, need to stay wet on a surface for several minutes in order to be effective.

........ Good practices to consider include removing your shoes when you enter your home and changing into clean clothes when you return home after being in crowded places, and washing your hands with soap and water immediately afterwards. ......... Wash or disinfect your laundry bag and hamper as well. Consider storing laundry in disposable bags............. disinfect the surfaces of all machines you use and don’t touch your face. ....... Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before eating and make sure your children do the same.

Why an American mother rushed her daughters back to Shanghai during the Covid-19 outbreak As the coronavirus raged in mainland China, a Shanghai-based American packed her two daughters off to her native United States. But after witnessing the two countries’ markedly different approaches, she found herself rushing them back ............

The sharp contrast between the way China has sought to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and the way the US has handled the pandemic has been alarming.

........ I was on the ground in the US for less than 36 hours, but saw enough to be alarmed. If I hadn’t forcefully volunteered that I had just come from living in China, I don’t think anyone would have checked me for fever before entering the US. ......... While on the ground, I did not leave my house except to ride with my husband to pick up some takeaway;

I was stunned at how full my hometown restaurants were

. ...... We opted for the home quarantine – which would be allowed only if our neighbourhood committee and building management agreed........

I spent a sleepless night in my chair, worried that after two months of staying virus-free in China, I might have managed to pick it up in the US during my 36 hours on the ground

........ Even now, I feel outrage that the US still does not have enough tests for the symptomatic while China had enough to test asymptomatic foreigners. ........ Finally, after we promised not to leave our flat, our passports were returned to us, and at 4.03am, some 16 hours after landing, we were home. That morning, a young woman in a hazmat suit knocked on our door and took our temperatures at 10am. She returned at 3pm to take our temperatures again. ....... This routine was repeated for 14 days before we would be permitted to circulate in the general Shanghai population. We chatted occasionally with our temperature takers (they were a rotating cast of 20-something women). ........ Nine days after we returned to Shanghai, the Chinese shut down the border to all foreigners in an effort to prevent further reimportation of Covid-19 cases. I am so glad I made that mad dash back to pick up the children when I did......... most of the businesses in our neighbourhood have reopened, markets are bustling and the subway is nearly full. But I find the crowds a little unnerving. We had got maybe a bit too used to keeping our distance. .......

Shanghai is almost back, and so are we.



Time has come to re-open Delhi; people will have to be ready to live with coronavirus: Arvind Kejriwal He cited figures saying in April 2019, the government earned Rs 3,500 crore while in April this year, it only received Rs 300 crore.

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