Coronavirus: A problem unlike anything else Trump has faced

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51803890

From the outset of the coronavirus outbreak, Donald Trump has sought to play down its seriousness and overestimate America's preparedness. He said the spread was under control. It isn't. He's said that the number of cases may soon go down to zero. They haven't, and it was not the advice he'd been given. He suggested that people with symptoms should go to work if they felt well enough. They shouldn't.

He has also argued that he didn't want the benighted cruise liner, the Grand Princess, because it would add to the total of coronavirus cases in the US - when it's not his fault they were on a cruise liner. "I like the numbers being where they are. I don't need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn't our fault," Trump told Fox News. His concern from this seems not to be preserving the safety of American citizens (the thing he swears an oath to do at his inauguration), but keeping a lid on the numbers by keeping those with the virus - literally - at sea.

Last Friday, he went to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - the epicentre of the fight against the coronavirus - wearing a Keep America Great campaign hat, and said that there were tests available for every American who needed one. There aren't. So far, only around 1,500 Americans have been tested - compared to over 20,000 in the UK with a fifth of the population. Medical experts in the US believe that the real incidence of the coronavirus is far far higher than official figures reveal. But there seemed something jarring about the president, in the midst of a medical emergency, pitching up at the CDC with a campaign hat on. Was he there as a candidate for November 2020, or the Commander-in-Chief at a time of great uncertainty?

Take Mr Trump's tweet on Monday morning as Wall Street was in freefall. "So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!"

But while common influenza is most certainly a killer, experts estimate that the coronavirus is markedly deadlier. So at the same time as the president is tweeting this, officials are on the airwaves saying the crisis is real, that Americans need to respond, and it is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

CNN polled Americans about coronavirus. Here's what they said

Ellie and Nele: From she to he - and back to she again

https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-51806011

 Studies suggest that most people who transition to another gender do not have second thoughts. But after two trans men met and fell in love, their personal gender journeys took an unexpected turn, to a destination neither had foreseen.

New coronavirus restrictions

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/277101

The Health Ministry announced new guidelines and restrictions in response to the coronavirus outbreak Tuesday evening.

The ministry has tightened restrictions on large gatherings from gatherings of 5,000 people to banning gatherings of 2,000 or more people

 

Trump ally Graham and ex-aide Bolton voice concerns over Taliban deal

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/29/us-taliban-agreement-reaction-pompeo-trump-allies
 

John Bolton, Trump’s third national security adviser who was fired in September last year, was more damning.

“Signing this agreement with Taliban is an unacceptable risk to America’s civilian population,” he said in a tweet. “This is an Obama-style deal. Legitimising Taliban sends the wrong signal to [Islamic State] and al-Qaida terrorists, and to America’s enemies generally.”

The mention of Obama would have been particularly stinging to Trump, who has repeatedly sought to reverse his predecessor’s actions.

 

'I Didn’t Think We’d Get Out Like That.' Veterans Have Mixed Feelings As U.S. Withdraws Troops From Afghanistan

https://time.com/5799845/us-troops-afghanistan-veterans/

Trump’s embrace of the Taliban has landed like a gut punch to some of the men and women whose lives have been changed forever by the war. Even for veterans who think the U.S. should get out of Afghanistan, it looks a lot like Washington is backing the people who plunged Afghanistan back into the middle ages in the 1990s, harbored al-Qaeda as it plotted the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, and killed thousands of American troops since, instead of backing a modern Afghan government that holds elections, and allows women to vote, work outside the home, and ditch veils if they so choose.

 

The Trump Administration Is Stalling an Intel Report That Warns the U.S. Isn’t Ready for a Global Pandemic

https://time.com/5799765/intelligence-report-pandemic-dangers/

The final draft of the report remains classified but the two officials who have read it say it contains warnings similar to those in the last installment, which was published on January 29, 2019. The 2019 report warns on page 29 that, “The United States will remain vulnerable to the next flu pandemic or large-scale outbreak of a contagious disease that could lead to massive rates of death and disability, severely affect the world economy, strain international resources, and increase calls on the United States for support.”

Rush Limbaugh: Democrats want Trump to stop rallies because Democratic voters are attending -- not because of coronavirus

https://www.mediamatters.org/rush-limbaugh/rush-limbaugh-democrats-want-trump-stop-rallies-because-democratic-voters-are

 

RUSH LIMBAUGH (HOST): Democrats out the wazoo are showing up at Trump rallies. This is why they want these rallies stopped. This is why -- it’s not because of public safety, not because of public health. These people -- because as you point out, they’re not making an effort to shut down every other opportunity for people to congregate.

Joe: President Donald Trump Understands This Is Not The Flu | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Dangers From Coronavirus Beyond The Politics Of The Hour | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Cuomo clashes with CPAC chairman over Trump's lies

Where Does The U.S. Response To Coronavirus Stand? | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Stocks Plunge At Market Open, Dow Down 1800 Points | NBC News Special Report

Coronavirus testing kit shortages, delayed results adding to frustrations

https://www.foxnews.com/health/coronavirus-testing-kit-shortages-delayed-results

The country continues to grapple with the shortage of testing kits for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) amid the increasing number of those requiring one. Several governors have called for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expedite the production and shipping of additional test kits.

But test kit scarcity isn’t the only issue. The nation’s been struggling to turn around results at a fast-enough pace.