Cabinet approves nationwide lockdown at 7 p.m., curfew from Wednesday afternoon

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-april-7-2020/

According to new regulations approved by the cabinet, Jerusalem residents will be confined throughout the lockdown within their respective regions sketched out by government officials, dividing the city — which has the largest number of virus cases in the country — into seven portions.

Rich humans, some born in Israel, created coronavirus, Argentinian TV host says

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/278405

An Argentinean journalist apologized after saying that the coronavirus was created by rich Americans and Israelis during a prime-time news program.

Tomás Méndez, host of the popular ADN Tv, said on Wednesday that “bats are not responsible for the coronavirus, humans are.”

Those humans, he said, are “the richest of the world, some born in the United States, others in Israel and another in Europe,” who “are the owners of your life, who created this virus.” He singled out the Rothschild family, who often appear in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, and Bill Gates.

His comments triggered harsh criticism

 

US rabbis: Stay home for Passover, don't visit family even in your city

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/278408

Revising previous guidance, Orthodox groups say no shared Passover seders should take place.

 

Inside DOJ's nationwide effort to take on China

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/07/justice-department-china-espionage-169653

The department’s targets range from Chinese military officers to American college professors — evidence, its leadership says, that the Chinese government is targeting every sector of American public life. The Chinese government has denied allegations of state-sponsored theft, according to media reports, and its embassy in Washington did not respond to POLITICO’s requests for comment on this story. 

Last month in West Virginia, for instance, a former West Virginia University professor pleaded guilty to fraud. According to the charging document, he asked the university to give him time off so he could care for his newborn. But instead, he secretly used the time to work in China as part of its Thousand Talents Plan, an effort by the Beijing government to recruit and draw talented researchers to China that U.S. officials say is thinly disguised economic espionage.

 

Data shows nearly 1/3rd of all virus cases centered in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak

https://www.timesofisrael.com/data-shows-nearly-1-3rd-of-all-virus-cases-centered-in-jerusalem-and-bnei-brak/

Defense Ministry-led research shows three-quarters of capital’s carriers live in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, recommends hardest-hit areas be isolated from other portions of city

Millions of eggs land in Israel to ease pre-Passover scramble

https://www.timesofisrael.com/millions-of-eggs-land-in-israel-to-ease-pre-passover-scramble/

Fragile cargo strapped into passenger seats on El Al planes in bid to relieve national shortage that has left supermarket shelves bare ahead of coming festival

The Problem with Telling Children They’re Better Than Others

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-problem-with-telling-children-theyre-better-than-others/

When parents ask, “What grade did you get?” there is a common follow-up question: “So who got the highest grade?” The practice of making such social comparisons is popular in all corners of the world, research shows. Many educators select and publicly announce the “best student” in a class or school. Adults praise children for outperforming others. Sports tournaments award those who surpass others. Last year the Scripps National Spelling Bee awarded winners with $50,000 cash prize and their own trophy—just for being better than others. Most social comparisons are so common in daily life that they are usually glossed over.

 

Rivka and Yitzchok: Torah Shleima Bereishis 24:64

can anyone explain the comments at #237

A Federal Report Found Coronavirus Test Shortages at U.S. Hospitals. Trump Attacked the Author

 https://time.com/5816134/covid-us-hospitals-patients/

President Donald Trump on Monday disputed the veracity of a federal survey that found hospitals faced severe shortages of coronavirus test supplies, questioning whether its conclusions were skewed by politics.

With coronavirus cases rocketing toward their expected peak, the nonpartisan Health and Human Services inspector general’s office reported Monday morning that a shortage of tests and long waits for results were at the root of mounting problems faced by hospitals.

“Hospitals reported that severe shortages of testing supplies and extended waits for test results limited (their) ability to monitor the health of patients and staff,” the report said.

Three out of 4 U.S. hospitals told the inspector general’s office they are already treating patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, and they expect to be overwhelmed. The report did not criticize Trump administration actions.

Asked by a reporter about the survey’s finding on testing, Trump responded, “It is wrong.”

Hydroxychloroquine Questions Intensify as Journal Says Its Drug Study 'Did Not Meet Expected Standards'

https://www.newsweek.com/hydroxychloroquine-questions-intensify-journal-says-its-drug-study-did-not-meet-expected-1496459

In Monday's press briefing, President Trump would not allow his medical expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, to answer a question about the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, which has gotten a lot of attention recently as a possible treatment for COVID-19.

This particular question, posed by a CNN reporter, turns out to be especially pertinent: "What is the medical evidence?"

Three days before, on April 3, the publisher of the scientific paper that first brought the drug to the attention of public health experts--and President Trump—cast doubt on the reliability of the original research.

"The article does not meet the [publisher's] expected standard," said the International Journal of Anti-Microbial Agents in a statement. The journal, which published "Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a treatment of Covid-19: results of an open-label non-randomized clinical trial" on March 20 after an accelerated peer review, stopped short of retracting the article.

Jerusalem municipality to collect chametz for burning ahead of Passover

https://www.jerusalem.muni.il/he/residents/environment/sanitation/containers-for-pickling-chametz/

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/jerusalem-municipality-to-collect-chametz-for-burning-ahead-of-passover/ 

The Jerusalem municipality says it will be collecting chametz, or leaven products, to burn ahead of Passover.

Special trash bins will be distributed in each neighborhood and collected by Wednesday at 9 a.m.

The city will oversee the burning, it says.