"A new study has begun recruiting at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, to determine how many adults in the United States without a confirmed history of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), have antibodies to the virus." This is an important step in "reopening" the economy. They're looking for 10,000 volunteers. (Grokked from Mary Lou)
"Ozone levels above the Arctic reached a record low for March, NASA researchers report. An analysis of satellite observations show that ozone levels reached their lowest point on March 12 at 205 Dobson units."
"Federal scientists announced Thursday that 2020 has nearly a 75% chance of being the warmest year on record for the planet Earth… Already, through the first three months of the year, it's the second-warmest on record, trailing only the El Niño fueled year of 2016, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said." We're boned.
"The total number of cases recorded in the city now stands at 50,333, with 3,869 deaths. The previous reported death toll for Wuhan was 2,579 -- so the revised figure marks a 50% increase in the number of deaths in the city from coronavirus." This is my shocked face. Also it's guess this is still a lower number than the actual infections and death toll.
"Even as President Donald Trump prepares to release his guidelines for how states can ease stay-at-home and social distancing restrictions, governors in California, New York and other states are starting to roll out their own ideas… Most of the scenarios focus on an easing of restrictions at the end of this month or in the first half of May. And the governors already are warning that a premature reboot could spell disaster without a clear sense of who is sick and where." We really need to have a robust testing scheme before that.
"Touting the federal government's response to the novel coronavirus, President Trump took something of a victory lap on Thursday, laying out guidelines for a phased 'reopening' of the country… The guidelines suggest that states with a 14-day 'downward trajectory' of cases can start to reopen by relaxing their levels of social distancing. But the guidance doesn't address other crucial targets that experts say states need to consider, such as widespread testing." At best coronavirus has hit its top in cities (note, if we've "flattened the curve" that means we will be here for a while), but it's just starting in the rural areas.
To all those who think Summer will magically make the coronavirus go away. "Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has fired his health minister as the country grapples with the biggest outbreak of the coronavirus in Latin America… Bolsonaro said Luiz Henrique Mandetta was leaving by mutual consent, but his departure follows weeks of acrimony between the two men over how to respond to the crisis." Whispers, Brazil is just entering their Fall season, this has all happened while they've been having Summer weather. "'Life is priceless, but the economy and employment need to return to normality,' said Bolsonaro, at a press conference on Thursday, after Mandetta announced his dismissal on Twitter." Life is priceless, but have you ever tried the rush of snorting 30% profit margins?
"'Africans living in China now being forced to sleep outside in the cold,' reads the caption at the top. A narrator in the video states that "Africans have become subject of racial profiling" as 'Chinese nationals blame them for the rising number of (new) coronavirus cases in the country.'"
"Responding on Wednesday to a question about the U.S. accusations, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, said, 'In the first weeks of January, the WHO was very, very clear… We alerted the world on January the 5th,' Ryan said."
The rules aren't for the rich. "Senior White House adviser and President Donald Trump's eldest daughter Ivanka Trump is facing criticism for going to a family resort in New Jersey earlier this month despite White House guidelines against discretionary travel… The New York Times first reported Thursday that she traveled to Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey with her husband, Jared Kushner and their three children to celebrate the first night of Passover, which was April 8."
"Protesters gathered in several state capitals this week to voice their opposition to stay-at-home orders issued to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus… Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina and Utah -- states led by both Republican and Democratic governors -- have all seen protests in recent days as people grow more concerned about the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic."
"'I am an optimist and am confident that Ohioans will also live up to the challenge of doing things differently as we open back up beginning on May 1,' (Ohio Gov. Mike) DeWine suggested during Thursday’s regular press conference."
We have always been at war with EastAsia. "The sense of disorientation that we all feel has been exacerbated by the avalanche of misinformation coming from the president of the United States, and it’s not likely to stop. Every time Donald Trump steps to the podium, it’s an assault on the memory. The timeline gets muddled, responsibility less clear. This, of course, is intentional… And the outline of the coming, perhaps biggest information battle of all, is starting to emerge: the death toll."
"President Donald Trump and some officials are flirting with a theory that coronavirus was set loose on the world by a Chinese lab that let it escape… Without presenting evidence, they are trying to blame China for sickness and death from COVID-19 in the United States." This has already been disproven.
"Emmanuel Macron has said that the European Union faces a 'moment of truth' as it reckons with the devastating financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, warning that 'the populists will win' and the bloc will splinter if is unable to unify in its response."
"The world’s second-richest man has reportedly become the No. 1 target of coronavirus conspiracy theorists… Theories linking Microsoft magnate Bill Gates to COVID-19 have exploded in recent months as right-wing conspiracists and anti-vaccine zealots accused him of using the virus to control the masses, the New York Times reported Friday."
"Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have kept a low profile since leaving their senior royal roles and relocating to Los Angeles… They've kept so quiet that they managed to sneak out and deliver meals to L.A. residents in need during the Covid-19 pandemic." They may not be "officially" royal, but that's a royal act.
"Procter & Gamble on Friday reported that its fiscal third-quarter U.S. sales surged 10% as consumers stocked up on staples like Charmin toilet paper and Bounty paper towels ahead of the coronavirus outbreak… But the consumer products giant cut its revenue forecast for fiscal 2020, citing headwinds from foreign currency."
"Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was ready to blame everyone but Donald Trump for America’s coronavirus calamity during a Thursday morning appearance on The View. That included China, the World Health Organization and, most notably, Dr. Anthony Fauci."
"President Donald Trump is making false and exaggerated claims about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Feb. 24 trip to San Francisco’s Chinatown. Pelosi urged people to shop and eat there at a time when tourism was suffering because of the novel coronavirus, which originated in China late last year… We could find no record that the video was ever posted on Pelosi’s Twitter account."
Welcome back, my friends to the show that never ends. We're so glad you could attend. Come inside! Come inside! "Donald Trump’s daily 5 p.m. show — officially described on the White House schedule as a press briefing by Members of the Coronavirus Task Force — was scheduled to start. It is at this surreal moment in American politics the only news event that really matters. The entire country is sitting at home looking for expert guidance. On some days, we get it… But they quickly descended into Trumpian theater."
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