Tuesday, April 28, 2020

The shuttered neighborhood next door: Touring one of Israel’s virus hotspots

https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-shuttered-neighborhood-next-door-touring-one-of-israels-virus-hotspots/


As life returns to something like normal for many Beit Shemesh residents like me, some of the town’s Hasidic residents find themselves under a government lockdown

 

Bnei Brak mayor thanks soldiers for their help during virus lockdown

https://www.timesofisrael.com/bnei-brak-mayor-thanks-soldiers-for-their-help-during-virus-lockdown/


“This is the place to express on our behalf, and on behalf of all the residents of our city, thanks, appreciation and esteem for the hundreds of IDF soldiers and their commanders from diverse and excellent units, for the high quality and welcome actions for the welfare of 210,000 residents during the difficult days of the coronavirus epidemic,” said Rubinstein, who initially opposed the quarantine restrictions.
 

Fact check: Trump repeats false claims and Pence misleads on previous testing comments

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/27/politics/fact-check-trump-coronavirus-briefing-april-27/index.html

 President Donald Trump's Monday coronavirus news conference in the White House Rose Garden was shorter than usual and at least somewhat less acrimonious than many of the briefings he's held over the past month.
But Trump still made false and misleading claims, most of them repeats from past briefings. And Vice President Mike Pence accused a reporter of a misunderstanding about testing that Pence's own words had created weeks earlier.
Here are some fact checks from the briefing:
 

Trump returns to the stage with underwhelming testing promises

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/28/politics/donald-trump-testing-coronavirus-news-conference/index.html

Trump still thinks the best way to navigate out of the worst domestic crisis since World War II for which his administration has been exposed as unprepared and behind the curve is more Trump. But his routines of misrepresentation and overly optimistic assessments of the fight against the virus are doing little to build a convincing impression the President can find an exit strategy, or even is capable of keeping the nation heading in the same direction while one -- probably based on an elusive Covid-19 vaccine that is months away -- is found.

Monday, April 27, 2020

The President Walks Back Disinfectant Suggestion | Morning Joe | MSNBC


End all restrictions, they were unnecessary, Hebrew University researchers say

https://www.timesofisrael.com/end-all-restrictions-they-were-unnecessary-hebrew-university-researchers-say/

 
Israel should end all coronavirus restrictions and reopen the country to international travel, according to a Hebrew University research team that includes a prominent epidemiologist and two finance professors.
They crunched statistics from around the world and concluded in a newly published study that while lockdowns were necessary in London, New York and various other places, Israel didn’t need to confine people to houses or impose other strict rules.

Rabbis Edelstein and Kanievsky postpone beginning of yeshiva semester

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/rabbis-edelstein-and-kanievsky-postpone-beginning-of-yeshiva-semester-626099

On Sunday, a letter written by Edelstein and signed by Kanievsky stated that the semester should now begin with pupils remaining at home and conducting study partnerships and listening to lessons via the telephone.
The rabbis in their letter also requested that the teachers, educators, and rabbis of the various schools and yeshivas should speak with their pupils at least once a week to ensure that they have a study partner and are able to study. The rabbis also appealed to mothers and called on them to dedicate a room in the home so that their sons could study appropriately.

 

Exclusive: She's been falsely accused of starting the coronavirus. Her life has been turned upside down

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/27/tech/coronavirus-conspiracy-theory/index.html


Maatje Benassi, a US Army reservist and mother of two, has become the target of conspiracy theorists who falsely place her at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, saying she brought the disease to China.
The false claims are spreading across YouTube every day, so far racking up hundreds of thousands of apparent views, and have been embraced by Chinese Communist Party media. Despite never having tested positive for the coronavirus or experienced symptoms, Benassi and her husband are now subjects of discussion on Chinese social media about the outbreak, including among accounts that are known drivers of large-scale coordinated activities by their followers.
The claims have turned their lives upside down. The couple say their home address has been posted online and that, before they shut down their accounts, their social media inboxes were overrun with messages from believers of the conspiracy.
 

Trump, In His Own Twisted Way, Finally Owns Up to a Mistake

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-in-his-own-twisted-way-finally-owns-up-to-a-mistake

The Orange One’s humble shuffling off the stage Friday night without taking questions showed that even he reaches a point where he knows he blew it.

 

FDA issues warnings on chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine after deaths and poisonings reported

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/24/fda-issues-warnings-on-chloroquine-and-hydroxychloroquine-after-serious-poisoning-and-death-reported.html

 The agency also said it became aware of reports of “serious heart rhythm problems” in patients with the virus who were treated with the malaria drugs.
  • It said patients taking the drugs for approved reasons, including malaria or to treat autoimmune conditions like lupus, should continue taking their medicine as prescribed.

Ingraham: The truth about hydroxychloroquine


Ignorance Among Our Nation’s Leaders Is Not A Lonely Condition | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC


Trump offered a confusing coronavirus theory. Conservative pundits explained it for him.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/26/trump-coronavirus-conservatives-209325


The evolution of Trump’s idea that light might be used inside patients shows the symbiotic relationship between the president and his boosters.
 

Why Sweden rejected a coronavirus lockdown - BBC Newsnight