3/3/2020
We all know who’s going to foot the bill. Hint: it’s not billionaires
Joe Biden Promises Beto O’Rourke Will Be the One Who Leads on the “Gun Problem” – The Guy Who Wants to Take Your Guns (VIDEO)
March 3, 2020
Last night in Texas Senator Amy Klobuchar and former Rep. Bobby O’Rourke endorsed Joe Biden for president.
During his rally Joe Biden promised supporters that Bobby, fake Latino ‘Beto’, “will be the one who leads” on his gun control efforts.
It is widely known that Bobby O’Rourke wants the government to confiscate your guns.
Bobby knows about as much about guns as Joe knows what state he’s in.
Coronavirus ‘worst case scenario’ could see 80% of UK population infected – England’s chief medical officer
England’s chief medical officer has warned that coronavirus has the potential to infect 80 percent of the UK population and kill one percent of those who contract the disease, as the government unveils its Covid-19 battle plan.
During a joint-Downing Street press conference on Tuesday where UK PM Boris Johnson announced the publication of the government’s 28-page ‘Coronavirus: action plan’, Professor Chris Whitty told reporters about the “worst case scenario.”
Vote of no confidence: Almost no UK doctors think NHS can handle coronavirus outbreak, survey finds
Whitty claimed that up to 530,000 British citizens could die from contracting the virus, but stressed the number “is likely to be lower than that and probably a lot lower than that.”
The UK government’s action plan says that if there is an escalating outbreak, up to a fifth of the British workforce could be forced to stay at home, schools may close and elderly people advised to not attend social gatherings.
The document warns that there could be an increase in deaths from coronavirus – particularly among vulnerable and elderly groups – and so local authorities will have to deal with that challenge, which suggests morgue capacity could become an issue in such an event.
It also proposes that businesses could face “short term cash flow issues” as a result of low demand from customers.
Johnson’s administration has warned that police and fire services will only respond to the most serious call-outs if their staff fall ill through coronavirus.
It comes after a survey conducted by the Doctors’ Association UK showed that more than 99 percent of 1,618 NHS medical staff, contrary to the prime minister’s assurances, say that the British healthcare system is not prepared to handle a major outbreak of Covid-19. To date 51 people in the UK have contracted the virus.
Suspected coronavirus case being treated at University of Chicago Medical Center as four other cases reported in Illinois
3/3/2020
A person suspected of being infected with the coronavirus is being treated at the University of Chicago Medical Center, the fifth case to be reported in Illinois.
The hospital said it was waiting for lab test results to back up its suspicions. No details were released about the patient.
“We are awaiting lab tests to see whether this patient has COVID-19. Not sure how soon we will get back results,” hospital spokeswoman Lorna Wong wrote in an email Tuesday morning.
On Monday, the third and fourth cases in Illinois were reported: A husband and wife in their 70s both tested positive for coronavirus, but the results still need to be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The man was being treated at Northwest Community Hospital and his wife was under quarantine at home, officials said. Two other cases in Illinois have been confirmed by the CDC.
Wong said the hospital has been “preparing for this eventuality” since coronavirus first became a global public health threat in January.
“Senior hospital leadership and leaders from our infectious diseases and infection prevention teams, along with other expert clinicians, are working closely with local, state and federal health officials and continue to apply up to date recommended guidelines,” she said in an emailed statement.
“We have the utmost confidence in the dedicated and highly trained team composed of nurses, physicians and other health care professionals who are providing care for this patient,” it said.
Wong said the hospital wanted to release information as early as was possible, while awaiting official confirmation of the diagnosis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We will continue to update you as this situation develops, but wanted to immediately inform you,” she said.
On Monday, Arlington Heights School District 25 said two staffers and two students would be staying home as a result of possible exposure to a person who is related to a hospital worker who encountered a patient with coronavirus.
At least 15 states have reported confirmed cases of coronavirus. At least six people have died from the disease in Washington state.
The disease has hit at least 70 countries, with 90,000 cases and 3,100 deaths. The vast majority of cases and deaths have been in China. While the number of new cases recorded daily in that epicenter country has declined for weeks, the virus continues to spread fast in South Korea, Iran and Italy, prompting increased travel warnings and restrictions.
In Illinois as of Monday, 102 people are being or have already been tested for the virus, including the four people whose tests have come back positive and 79 people who tests have come back negative, with 19 tests still outstanding, according to state officials. A total of 286 people were being monitored by health officials as of Monday and state health officials are working to create guidelines for those who work with the most vulnerable patients, state officials have said. Several of the cases, and deaths, in Washington state have been among patients at a nursing facility.
The state has a hotline people can call with questions or to report suspected cases, 800-889-3931. They can call the Office of Consumer Health Insurance at 877-527-9431 about their insurance coverage.
COVID-19 3rd March Tuesday
By Dr. John Campbell
I am a nurse from the US and yes they are being reactive instead of proactive and they really aren’t doing much. Not shutting down anything in WA state where a lot is happening.
Buttigieg set to endorse Biden
BY JULIA MANCHESTER AND AMIE PARNES – 03/02/20 02:20 PM EST
Former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg is set to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden in the Democratic presidential race one day after ending his own bid, according to a source close to the Biden campaign.
Buttigieg’s planned endorsement comes as fellow moderate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) also throws her support behind Biden after dropping out of the race Monday.
The latest endorsements for Biden point to a consolidation of the moderate lane of the Democratic race in an effort to block progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) from getting the nomination.
Biden’s campaign got a new push after Saturday’s South Carolina primary, where the former vice president won every county in the state.
DEVELOPING
FEMA preparing for possible coronavirus emergency declaration
By Laura Strickler and Suzy Khimm
WASHINGTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency is planning for the possibility that President Donald Trump could make an emergency declaration to bring in extra funds and personnel to assist the administration’s coronavirus response, according to internal documents obtained by NBC News.
FEMA officials are preparing for an “infectious disease emergency declaration” by the president that would allow the agency to provide disaster relief funding to state and local governments, as well as federal assistance to support the coronavirus response, according to agency planning documents reviewed by NBC News.
The Trump administration would have to use the 1988 Stafford Act to enable FEMA to provide such disaster assistance. Emergency declarations are most often used in the event of natural disasters but can be used to help manage disease outbreaks.
Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
“To me this is another indication that the president and the White House are finally aware of the gravity of the situation,” said Michael Coen, who was FEMA chief of staff during the Obama administration. “They need to consider all tools available to them and have contingencies for action.”
“I actually find this reassuring,” said Tim Manning, who was a FEMA deputy administrator under President Barack Obama. “I hope this discussion has been happening continuously over the last couple of months.”
An emergency declaration would allow FEMA to provide disaster medical assistance teams, mobile hospitals and military transport, among other kinds of federal support, Manning said.
FEMA’s disaster relief fund has a current balance of $34 billion, according to the latest agency update. “It’s money that’s sitting there and ready,” said another former FEMA official, who declined to be identified.
FEMA spokesperson Lizzie Litzow said the agency is currently focused on supporting the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which separately declared a “public health emergency” on Jan. 31, allowing HHS to access funds and other resources to aid the government’s virus response. “At this time, there isn’t anything additional to the HHS public health emergency,” Litzow said.
It would not be the first time the federal government has used FEMA’s resources to assist in a medical event.
In 2000, President Bill Clinton used a Stafford Act emergency declaration for outbreaks of the West Nile virus in New York and New Jersey, ordering up to $5 million in federal aid to supplement state efforts to combat the mosquito-borne virus.
Emergency declarations are distinct from “major disaster” declarations, which are more far-reaching and are typically used for hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters.
PANIC BUYING HITS GERMAN STORES AS CORONAVIRUS CASES DOUBLE
Grocery chains report rising demand for canned goods, other long-term provisions
MARCH 2, 2020
Germans are slowly coming to realize that they, just like 50 other nations in the world today, could soon be facing a coronavirus epidemic.
Indeed, the pathogen has become a major topic of discussion in the country – so much so, in fact, that some residents are now stockpiling food out of fear they could be placed under quarantine.
Bulk-buying supplies
On Friday, a spokeswoman for one of the country’s largest supermarket groups, REWE, told DW that while they didn’t register any panic at the start of the week, the situation quickly changed.
“We have noticed rising foodstuff and canned goods purchases across the entire country to which we are adapting accordingly,” said Kristina Schütz from REWE Group, which is headquartered in Cologne and runs the Penny, REWE and Nahkauf grocery chains.
Discount chain Lidl has recorded a similar spike in purchases, with a spokesperson confirming that “we are noticing a rise in sales in certain regions and stores.”
According to the chains, Germans are stockpiling long-lasting and canned food, pasta as well as toilet paper and disinfectants.
What do authorities recommend?
Four years ago, the Bonn-based Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) published a checklist of long-lasting foods it recommends stockpiling for emergencies.
The BBK, which is staffed by some 300 civil servants, educates the general population on how to prepare for crises. It advises Germans to stockpile food and drink for about ten days.
Specifically, the checklist states that one person needs 14 liters of liquid a week, and recommends stocking mineral water and fruit juice in particular. Even so, the BBK warns against panic buying, advising Germans to stockpile only foods and drinks “that you and your family would consume anyway.”
The BKK also suggests stocking food that keeps for a long time without needing refrigeration, to pay attention to sell-by dates, and mark when items were purchased, in case they don’t have dates printed on them. It also advises Germans to “store newly bought food items at the back of the cupboard so that you consume older items first.”
Sound advice
This comprehensive emergency checklist hasn’t gone unnoticed abroad. Bulgarian daily 24 Tschassa, for example, praised the advice provided by German authorities, saying that in most cases “consumers just hoard all kinds of products – without a proper idea how long they will come in useful or whether they might need them at all.”
The paper said sticking to the German checklist is a good idea “as it makes no sense to buy excessive amounts of supplies.”
Warning against stoking fear
While many pundits in Germany agree the list is useful, they simultaneously warn against stirring hysteria. So far, Germany has confirmed 129 cases of coronavirus, with 16 having already recovered, and no deaths reported. More than half of the cases are in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the country’s most populous state.
The German Journalists Association (DJV) therefore emphasizes that media outlets should avoid stoking fear.
Accordingly, DJV head Frank Überall stated that “people need clear information as well as advice” to make sense of the situation.
He has called on journalists to heed the German press code which calls on them to “avoid an inappropriately sensationalist tone when reporting on medical issues, as this may give rise to unfounded fears or hopes.”
The press code also states that “stoking fear and hysteria is incompatible with responsible journalism.”
THIS ISN’t HELPING: Devout Muslims Lick Shia Shrine in Iran to “Prove” Their Faith Can Beat the Coronavirus (VIDEOS)
March 2, 2020
According to the Coronavirus website there have been 1,501 cases of coronavirus in Iran and 66 deaths.
These numbers are suspect as the regime is not open with its data.
** The Gateway Pundit posted an extensive report from Iran on the coronavirus on Sunday night.
What is clear is that devout Muslims are not making the situation better by licking the Shia shrines.
There are currently several videos making the rounds on social media of Muslims licking shrines to prove their faith is greater than the coronavirus.
Yuck.
Media, Democrats Spread Fake News That Trump Called Coronavirus ‘A Hoax’
Steve Watson – 3/2/2020
Bloomberg tweets edited video clips
After last week blaming The President for the coronavirus spread, Democrats and the leftist media are now falsely claiming that Trump said the entire outbreak is not real.
Politico published an article Friday claiming that Trump called the coronavirus a “hoax” at his rally in South Carolina.
The article claimed that Trump “tried to cast the global outbreak of the coronavirus as a liberal conspiracy intended to undermine his first term.”
In reality, Trump referred to “politicizing” of the coronavirus by Democrats as “their new hoax.”
Even Facebook flagged Politico’s piece as false information:
The President clarified his remarks over the weekend, noting noting that he was “referring to the action that they take to try and pin this on somebody because we’ve done such a good job.”
“The hoax is on them. I’m not talking about what’s happening here. I’m talking what they’re doing. That’s the hoax,” Trump said, according to NBC News.
Mike Bloomberg proved Trump’s exact point by spreading an edited video and claiming that Trump believes the virus isn’t real:
Bloomberg repeated that claim in an interview with CBS, prompting host Scott Pelley to correct him:
“He said that the Democrats making so much of it is a Democratic hoax, not that the virus is a hoax,” Pelley told Bloomberg.
Mini Mike simply ignored Pelley, and argued “This is up to the scientists and the doctors as to whether there is a problem,” adding that Trump’s response to the coronavirus outbreak has been “ignorant and irresponsible.”
Meanwhile, over at CNN, the mental gymnastics went a step further, with Inside Politics host John King saying that “you can read this how you wish” as far as Trump’s ‘hoax’ comments go.
https://www.mrctv.org/videos/cnn-tells-viewers-take-trumps-hoax-comment-how-you-wish
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