By Dr. John Campbell – 3/5/2020
“Using the ‘Pandemic’ word would not change the approach.” That means it is a pandemic.
Hungary Seals Border, Warns Migrant Invasion Could Bring Coronavirus
By Dan Lyman – 3/4/2020
Hungary has sealed its southern border, warning that many of the migrants currently attempting to break into Greece have traveled through Iran, which is in the midst of an explosive coronavirus outbreak.
Budapest announced that ‘transit zones’ along the border with Serbia, where migrants can apply for asylum and await decisions, will be closed indefinitely amid an effective invasion of Europe intiated by Turkey.
“We are suspending indefinitely new admissions of people into the transit zones,” said Chief Security Advisor György Bakondi. “We are seeing a certain link between the coronavirus and illegal immigrants.”
“For the safety of the 321 refugees in the transit zone, we are suspending the reception of additional refugees.”
Bakondi said there are currently around 10,000 migrants preparing to sail from Turkey to Greek islands and another 13,000 attempting to storm Greece’s land border – numbers which are reportedly increasing rapidly.
Many of the migrants hoping to reach Europe are from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran, and a large number of them could be carrying coronavirus contracted at home or during their journeys, Bakondi asserted.
“To the Hungarian people: We will protect our borders and our internal security,” he declared. “And a message to the migrants: No matter what their ‘organizers’ say, there is no way to Europe [through Hungary].”
“Hungary will not open up or let through anyone,” he continued. “The road does not lead here, it’s not worth trying this way.”
Hungary has no reported cases of coronavirus at the time of this writing.
Man’s sick friend: First reported case of human-to-animal transmission suggests people may infect dogs with Covid-19
By Peter Andrews – 3/4/2020
You’ve heard of animal-to-human coronavirus transmission, but how about the other way around? In a world first, a case has been reported of a dog possibly infected with coronavirus – who seems to have contracted it from its owner.
Initial reports of a possible canine case of coronavirus began to emerge from Hong Kong last week, and at that point it was announced that the dog in question would be quarantined for a fortnight. Swab tests from the pet’s oral and nasal cavities were tested and turned up a “weak positive” for coronavirus. Thankfully, almost a week after first testing positive, the dog is reported as not yet having any symptoms.
Why the pooch was tested in the first place was not clear, although it was doubtful part of a routine medical check-up. It could be that some clinics are making sure to test all household pets of infected people so as to ensure the virus has as little mechanism to move about as possible. Alternatively, it could be that this dog is the first pet to be tested, and were others to be subjected to the same scrutiny it could transpire that more pets of infected people are also carriers of the disease.
Animal madness
Much of the early reportage on the outbreak focused on the seafood and wildlife market in Wuhan, which Chinese officials had declared was the likeliest source of the outbreak. That seemed to imply that the virus had an animal origin, as live poultry, fish and other critters were reportedly present at the market.
As such, the initial panicked response to the outbreak was to obsess over the potential source of the virus. Exactly what kind of animals were at this market, and were they alive and kicking, or dead to be sold as meat?
Animals as a source seemed, and still seems, a plausible view. Sars is one other virus, and closely related to 2019-nCoV, to have previously resided in beasts before making the leap to humans, and it was eventually traced back to a horseshoe bat colony in China.
And bats, of course, became the most inculpated source for the new disease. Who could forget those now-viral images and videos from Wuhan of people tucking into soup that looked like something from an HP Lovecraft novel? While it later emerged that the images were a few years old, it set people’s minds to feverishly imagining what lethal zoological combo could have spawned the plague that has now infected tens of thousands of people worldwide.
Quite early on, Chinese scientists published a genetic study claiming that snakes were the most likely animal ‘reservoir’ for Covid-19. Pangolins were also mentioned, although traditional Chinese medicine’s unique relationship with wildlife meant that, for some, practically everything was on the table.
An innocent victim
It is important to remember that the dog in the case mentioned received the virus from its owner, and not the other way around. Commenting on the case, Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) pointed out that it does not currently have conclusive evidence that pets can be infected “or can be a source of infection to people.”
Therefore, animal health experts say that there is absolutely no reason to hide from your pet, or to keep it indoors. You’re probably much more likely to contract the virus from another person – no matter where in the world you are.
While the dog remains under investigation, and it is not definite whether or not it has the coronavirus, it – like its owner – has been quarantined. Hopefully the dog, and its owner, make a full recovery, and the virus does not spread to more animals. But the prospect of the virus crossing the species barrier does not bode well for anyone.
BBC PUBLISHES LEAKED IRAN FOOTAGE SHOWING BAGGED BODIES OF COVID-19 VICTIMS PILING UP
“If these are confirmed to be from Corona as videos claim, death toll is higher than the government claims (officially at 77).”
MARCH 4, 2020
More shocking leaked footage published by the BBC shows bodies piling up at a local morgue in Qom, said to be victims of the country’s spiraling coronavirus outbreak. Located 140km to the south of Tehran, Qom is believed ground zero for Iran’s epidemic, and crucially is a popular place of Shia religious pilgrimage.
Mideast-based correspondent Joyce Karam comments of the newly published video: “If these are confirmed to be from Corona as videos claim, death toll is higher than the government claims (officially at 77).”
As of Tuesday Iranian health officials announced 2,336 coronavirus cases and 77 dead, including 23 parliament members confirmed for the virus, which is roughly 10% of Iran’s legislature.
All of this strongly suggests much bigger numbers of infected nationwide, after multiple reports alleged the Islamic Republic is hiding its true numbers, or at least refusing to test.
Chuck Todd and the rest of the propaganda goon machine are gas lighting America by claiming that they didn’t push a manufactured narrative claiming that the Trump Administration is calling the Coronavirus outbreak a hoax. Chuck Todd, in a fit of hypocritical outrage went as far as to confront Vice President Mike Pence who is leading the effort to respond to the Coronavirus outbreak in the United States. Todd insists that no one in the mainstream media created anything resembling what the Trump Administration claims. Of course, as usual, Chuck Todd neglected to check the facts.
Further leaked video published in the series Tuesday by BBC Persian shows health workers in full Hazmat gear burying victims believed infected by Covid-19.
The country is bracing itself for the possibility of “tens of thousands” getting tested and possibly being confirmed for the virus after the latest spike in cases, an official said previously.
Among the new series of leaked videos includes footage that appears to show preparations for mass graves as the crisis rapidly worsens in the Islamic Republic.
Ayatollah Khamenei and others among Tehran’s top leadership have claimed Iran’s handling of the epidemic has been timely and transparent.
But on Tuesday the supreme leader ordered the armed forces to assist Health Ministry in combating the spread.
As the footage went viral after first appearing on Iranian social, later picked up by BBC, the video maker’s commentary has been translated and captioned in the below, which noted the number of bodies being processed “seems like it’s never ending”:
It’s as yet unclear what role national troops could play, but hundreds of thousands could be mobilized: “After downplaying the coronavirus as recently as last week, Iranian authorities now say they have plans to potentially mobilize 300,000 soldiers and volunteers to confront the virus,” Fox News reported citing state sources.
The series of clips published by BBC Persian Tuesday is not the first such to come out of Iran, but underscores the widespread allegation that authorities are greatly downplaying the true death toll and infected count.
COVID-19 Immunity and social distancing
By Dr. John Campbell – 3/4/2020
As a Respiratory Therapy Tech and a RN who has worked all over the US as a traveling nurse……. our healthcare system will be overloaded and unable to support all those who may need ventilator or ICU support. Take responsibility for your and your family’s health! Be proactive and vigilant with your hygiene and social contact!
COVID-19 An Official Emergency
By Peak Prosperity – 3/4/2020
WHO’s PC, “Nothing to see here, move on” attitude clearly points to an agenda that is NOT human friendly!
Leftists Angry At Trump Donating Salary To Coronavirus Fight
By Steve Watson – 3/4/2020
“Hitler Never Took A Salary”
President Trump donated his fourth quarter salary to the Department of Health and Human Services this week in an effort to help fight the Coronavirus, but leftists are angry about it because… Orange man bad.
The donation of $100,000 is part of Trump’s promise to never take any salary while he is President. He has previously given away his salary to the Surgeon General’s office, border enforcement, and Veterans’ Affairs, to name but a few.
The move was no where near good enough for leftists though, who immediately compared the move to Hitler (an obvious starting point):
This one was furious that the Orange man’s salary would only pay for 50 coronavirus tests:
Presumably she has donated more money?
This one called it a ‘drop in the bucket’ and got angry about Trump owning property:
In an important counterpoint, these leftists want to know how “we” get back money Trump has spent on golfing:
This one flat out denied that Trump is donating anything. The proof? The check is dated January 29th:
Who’d have thought Trump could do something before announcing it?
And this one repeated a fake narrative spread by Democrats that Trump defunded pandemic response:
WHO officials make urgent plea for medical gear: ‘Supplies are rapidly depleting’
By Noah Higgins-Dunn
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The WHO estimates that each month 89 million medical masks, 76 million examination gloves and 1.6 million goggles will be required for the COVID-19 response.
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It said manufacturers need to increase personal protective gear supplies by 40% to meet the needs of the medical community.
World Health Organization officials called on medical supply manufacturers to “urgently increase production” to meet the global demand that is needed to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak rapidly spreading across the world.
“Supplies are rapidly depleting. WHO estimates that each month 89 million medical masks will be required for the COVID-19 response, 76 million examination gloves and 1.6 million goggles,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at the organization’s Geneva headquarters.
Tedros said manufacturers need to increase personal protective gear supplies by 40% to meet the needs of the medical community.
On Capitol Hill in Washington, Health and Human Services’ assistant secretary for preparedness and response, Dr. Robert Kadlec, said the U.S. has about 35 million N95 respirator masks. That’s about 10% of the 3.5 billion he estimates the U.S. will need if COVID-19 erupts into a full-blown pandemic.
World health officials have said that N95 face masks are effective in protecting health-care workers from the infection, prompting global demand for them to surge. In China, demand for face masks has depleted the country’s stockpile where doctors and nurses face shortages, according to the South China Morning Post.
WHO officials announced on Monday that the number of new coronavrius cases outside China was almost nine times higher than that inside the country in the previous 24 hours. They also increased the risk assessment of the coronavirus Friday to “very high” at the global level. In January, it declared the virus a global health emergency, while urging the public against overreacting to the virus.
“As one epidemic looks like ending, one front of the fight closing, another is becoming increasingly complex” Tedros said Tuesday. China reported 120 new cases in the last 24 hours, compared with 1,848 new infections in 48 countries, with most of those cases coming from Italy, Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran, he said. Emerging from Wuhan, China, more than two months ago, COVID-19 has already spread to more than 91,300 people across at least 73 countries, killing at least 3,110 — including at least six in the U.S.
“Iranian medical doctors and nurses have concerns that they don’t necessarily have enough equipment, supplies, ventilators, respirators, oxygen and all the things you’ve heard spoken about in many of the press conferences,” said Dr. Michael Ryan, who runs WHO’s emergency program. “Those needs are more acute for the Iranian health system than they are most any other health system.”
The organization has yet to classify the virus as a pandemic and has maintained that its attention is on containing the spread, although the virus has substantially moved beyond China and has now been found in nearly 60 countries.
Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Senate lawmakers Tuesday that the current outbreak already meets two of the three main criteria under the technical designation of a pandemic.
“It is a new virus, and it is capable of person-to-person spread,” she said in prepared testimony at a hearing. “If sustained person-to-person spread in the community takes hold outside China, this will increase the likelihood that the WHO will deem it a global pandemic.”
Epidemics have emerged in Iran, Italy, and South Korea, where the number of cases is rapidly increasing. The U.S. recorded its first six deaths from the virus since this weekend, while New York state confirmed a second case earlier Tuesday. Every country should prepare for its first case and no one should assume it won’t get any cases, Tedros said last month.
“This is a unique virus, with unique features. This virus is not influenza,” Tedros said. “We are in uncharted territory.”
Tedros shed more light on the virus Tuesday, saying it spreads similar to influenza, by small droplets of fluid from the nose and mouth of someone who’s sick.
“However, there are some important differences,” he said. “First COVID-19 does not transmit as efficiently as influenza from the data we’ve seen so far. With influenza, people who are infected but not yet sick are major drivers of transmission, which doesn’t appear to be the case with COVID-19.”
Tedros said last week that health officials would not “hesitate” to declare the outbreak a pandemic if “that’s what the evidence suggests.” On Friday at a press briefing, he said that most cases of COVID-19 can still be traced to known contacts or clusters of cases and there isn’t any “evidence as yet that the virus is spreading freely in communities.” That’s one reason why WHO hasn’t declared the outbreak a pandemic, Tedros said Friday.
Ryan said Monday scientists still don’t know exactly how COVID-19 “behaves,” saying it’s not like influenza. “We know it’s not transmitting in exactly the same way that influenza was, and that offers us a glimmer, a chink of light, that this virus can be suppressed and pushed and contained,” he said.
Ryan also said health officials think countries are being transparent, but “it’s very easy to be caught unaware in an epidemic situation.”
WHO officials on Friday increased the risk assessment of the coronavirus to “high” to “very high” at a global level. The world can still avoid “the worst of it,” but the increased risk assessment means the WHO’s “level of concern is at its highest,” Ryan said at the time.
Health officials have said the respiratory disease is capable of spreading through human-to-human contact, droplets carried through sneezing and coughing and germs left on inanimate objects. The virus appears to be particularly troublesome for older people and those with underlying health conditions. Symptoms can include a sore throat, runny nose, fever or pneumonia and can progress all the way to multiple organ failure or death in some severe cases.
Covid-19 – Only Tough Choices Remain
By Peak Prosperity 3/3/2020
Tom's Blog 