Month: March 2020

U.S. Coronavirus Outbreak Widens: Rhode Island confirms its first case of the virus, while number of cases in King County, Wash., rises to six.

New cases of the novel coronavirus in Washington, California and Rhode Island on Sunday raised fears of a wider spread of the disease in U.S. communities, prompting federal officials to ramp up efforts to test for and fight the widening outbreak.

Health officials are focused on a cluster of confirmed cases in Washington state where some patients had no clear path to exposure, including the first death from the virus in the U.S. Those cases, and several others in Oregon and California signal that there might be wider spread of the virus in some American communities with many cases still undiagnosed.

 

Black Churchgoers in Selma turn their backs on Bloomberg during service.

Congregants at the historic Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, Alabama, silently protested 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg as he delivered remarks there Sunday, standing and turning their backs on the former New York City mayor.

Democratic Presidential Candidate Mike Bloomberg Campaigns Ahead Of Super Tuesday

The churchgoers remained standing through the end of Bloomberg’s remarks.

Before he spoke, Bloomberg was introduced by the Reverend Leodis Strong, a pastor for the historic church, which was a key meeting place for activists during the civil rights movement. Strong recalled first inviting the presidential candidate to appear before churchgoers and said Bloomberg initially declined the request, citing his campaign schedule.

“We’ll see who’s sleepy,” says Joe Biden, and then he calls Chris Wallace “Chuck.”

With those puffy eyes, SloJoe looks like he just barely made it out of bed. Whadda ya bet that shirt, tie & jacket are a one piece, zip up the back ensemble he’s wearing over his jammies.

BIDEN: “I can hardly wait to debate [Trump] on stage. I want people to see me standing next to him and him standing next to me. Heh heh heh. We’ll see who’s sleepy.”

WALLACE: “Mr. Vice President, thank you. Thanks for your time. Please come back in less than 13 years, sir.”

BIDEN: “All right, Chuck. Thank you very much.”

WALLACE: “Uh. All right. Uh, it’s Chris. But anyway.”

BIDEN: “I just did Chris. No, no, I just did Chuck. I tell you what, man. These were back to back. Anyway.

WALLACE: No, it’s okay.

BIDEN: I don’t know how you do it, early in the morning, too. Thank you, Chris.

So… we saw who’s sleepy. Or just an irreparable gaffe machine.

Stunning NASA images show drop in pollution over China amid coronavirus outbreak

I made the point earlier that the economic effects of this bug will probably over shadow the medical. Of course, cleaner air doesn’t hurt.

NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) pollution monitoring satellites have detected significant decreases in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) over China.

Coronavirus is clearing the air in China.

Stunning aerial images of Earth show a drastic decrease in pollution levels over northern China in the past month, as entire towns the size of New York City have been shut down amid the deadly outbreak.

The images, produced by NASA and the European Space Agency, compare air quality between Jan. 1 and Jan. 20 with pollution levels between Feb. 10 and 25 — and the difference in nitrogen dioxide concentration is stunning.

In a typical February, NO2 levels surge after Chinese New Year celebrations, as factories reopen and more vehicles take to the roads following the annual holiday.

This year was an exception, as the coronavirus emerged in mid-January, just as celebrations were getting underway.

“This is the first time I have seen such a dramatic drop-off over such a wide area for a specific event,” said NASA researcher Fei Liu, adding there was a similar change in air quality following the 2008 recession.

Coronavirus: Italian Virus Deaths Rise to 29, Number of Confirmed Cases Goes Above 1,000

Schools and universities will stay closed for a second consecutive week in three northern Italian regions in an effort to contain Europe’s worst outbreak of coronavirus, dashing any hopes of a swift return to normality.

The decision was taken as the death toll from the contagion rose by eight during the day to 29, while the total number of cases jumped by 240 to 1,128 — the vast majority in the wealthy regions of Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna.

Iranian Coronavirus Cases Jump as More Officials Infected

Iran’s coronavirus cases continue to spike, with more cases confirmed among government officials days before a high-ranking delegation is poised to attend a critical OPEC meeting in Austria.

There were 205 new coronavirus cases in the country, bringing the total count to 593 with 43 fatalities, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpour said. That’s the highest number of deaths from the virus outside of China.

The number of lawmakers infected rose to six on Saturday, after Masoumeh Aghapour said she had tested positive for the virus, the semi-official Tasnim news reported. So far 100 MPs have been tested and a growing number of current and former officials are being diagnosed. Previously, one of Iran’s vice presidents, Masoumeh Ebtekar, and deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi were confirmed to have the virus. Tasnim news agency reported that a lawmaker died of the flu, but said he had not contracted the coronavirus.

Washington state declares emergency after first patient dies from coronavirus in US

Washington state declared a state of emergency Saturday only hours after a man in his 50s with underlying health problems was identified as the first person in the U.S. to die from the coronavirus outbreak.

Washington state public health officials said two additional confirmed cases of the virus are associated with a longterm care facility in the state. Officials said 27 patients and 25 staff members at the Life Care Center of Kirkland had reported symptoms similar to the coronavirus. The facility has 108 residents and 180 employees.

The two additional cases include a facility staff worker in their 40s, who was in satisfactory condition, and a facility resident in their 70s, who was in serious condition.

The patient who died was identified by state and county health officials as a man in his 50s. The patient was being treated at EvergreenHealth Medical Center in Kirkland, Washington, with serious respiratory issues, according to hospital spokesperson Julia Irwin.

Coronavirus spreads to Washington nursing home

One of the patients, a woman in her 70s, is in serious condition, said Jeff Duchin, Seattle and King County health officer. The other patient is a woman in her 40s who is health care worker at the facility, Life Care Center of Kirkland…………

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sending a team of experts to help local officials investigate the cases. Officials have already found that 27 of 108 residents at the nursing home report some symptoms of respiratory illness, Duchin said, and 25 of the 180 staff do, too. Health officials are investigating these cases but they don’t yet know if the people are sick with coronavirus.