2/19/2020
Every time Tedros talks about how China is handling the situation he seems like he accepting an Academy Awards or something. Always thanking how China is doing a great job blah blah blah…

FEBRUARY 19, 2020
“Biased American public health and immigration policies” are to blame for Americans’ “anxiety over the potentially deadly disease,” says a recent Berkeley News article.
The piece, titled “Coronavirus: Fear of Asians rooted in long American history of prejudicial policies,” draws on the opinions of two UC Berkeley educators to make this claim.
Professor John A. Powell, director of Berkeley’s “Othering and Belonging Institute” is quoted saying that Coronavirus woes stem partly from “an assumption that the West, particularly Anglo-American Christians, should dominate the world,” and partly from a “heightened state of [anti-immigrant] bias.”
He adds that debates about Chinese expansionism, Chinese 5G networks, and Chinese espionage can also reveal racist American tendencies.
Powell concludes that a global society is the only path forward in a new world characterized by growing Chinese hegemony.
Berkeley research scientist and lecturer Winston Tseng agrees with Powell.
“There’s a part of that original history of xenophobia and racism in America from the 19th and 20th centuries that is coming back,” he told Berkeley News.
“[The Coronavirus] is a very serious issue, for sure, but from a public health standpoint it’s a relative issue compared to all the public health issues globally,” he said, after stating his belief that the virus will peak with only 200,000 cases.
The Berkeley News article also claims that “social media memes and GIFs” about the coronavirus are complicit in the spread of virus-related xenophobia.
Campus Reform previously reported on a similar statement about the virus made by Berkeley that was ultimately retracted by the school alongside a public apology. The statement came in the form of a now-deleted Instagram post from an official Berkeley account which claimed that “xenophobia” is among the “normal reactions” to the virus.
The school’s executive director of communications and media relations, Roqua Montez IV, acknowledged the social media retraction and apologized for its content.
Campus Reform reached out to Montez for further comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
2/19/2020

The decision is the strongest measure yet taken to prevent the entry and spread of the new coronavirus in Russia. Previously, Russian Railways suspended all passenger traffic to and from China, and flights have been heavily restricted. In addition, border crossings in the Far East have been closed.
“From 00:00 local time on February 20, 2020, the passage of citizens of the People’s Republic of China across the state border of the Russian Federation entering the territory of the Russian Federation for labor purposes, for private, educational and tourist purposes, is temporarily suspended,” read a statement issued by the government’s operational headquarters headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova.
Russian man diagnosed with coronavirus on board cruise ship in Japan

Additionally, from Wednesday Russia will temporarily stop issuing entry invitations to Chinese citizens for private and educational purposes.
There are currently no reported live cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Russia. Two infected Chinese citizens who were quarantined in the Tyumen and Transbaikalia regions have recovered and were discharged from hospital.
One Russian man has, however, been hospitalized in Japan after becoming ill on board the cruise ship Diamond Princess, which was docked and locked down because of a virus-spreading passenger.
He and his spouse have been transferred to medical facilities, with Japanese authorities clarifying on Tuesday that only the man is currently known to be infected.
Over 1,800 people have so far died from COVID-19, with more than 72,000 infections recorded. The vast majority in China. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the epidemic a global health emergency.

2/18/2020
Liu Zhiming, the director of Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, died on Tuesday morning after “all-out rescue efforts failed,” state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Liu’s death was initially announced on Monday night in a social media post by the Hubei Health Commission. However, in a follow-up message the commission said that the hospital director was alive and battling the virus.
At least six other medical workers in China have died from the virus, while an additional 1,716 have been infected, AFP reported, citing official figures.
The death toll from coronavirus has reached 1,873, with nearly half of China’s population subject to quarantines or other restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of the virus.
According to the latest figures, there are 73,325 confirmed cases of the virus worldwide – the vast majority in mainland China.

