Netanyahu tells Israelis: Now it’s an order — you must stay at home

https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-tells-israelis-now-its-an-order-you-must-stay-at-home/

The regulations permit people to leave their homes only for the following activities:

1. Going to work and coming back;

2. Stocking up on food, medicine, necessary products and to receive essential services;

3. Receiving medical treatment;

4. Donating blood;

5. Participating in demonstrations;

6. Unorganized sports activity in groups no larger than five people;

7. Brief walks for a short time and to a place close to the person’s residence, without coming close to people they don’t live with;

8. Going to a wedding, funeral or for prayer;

9. Helping a person who due to their age, medical conditions or a disability, requires assistance;

10. Going out for a vital need that hasn’t been specified in articles 1-9.

During all those activities, people should maintain a distance of two meters, or six feet, from anyone, as much as possible. People staying in the same household do not need to keep that distance from one another.

In addition, no more than two people will be allowed to be in a car at any time, unless they live in the same household. The restriction will not be relevant for driving a person to and from a vital workplace.

Stock futures add to declines despite stimulus measures

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/stock-futures-add-to-declines-despite-stimulus-measures

The markets closed a bit higher at the end of the day, but the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all ended in the red.

U.S. equity futures are pointing to more selling on Wall St. on Thursday.

The major futures indexes are indicating a decline of 1.3 percent when trading begins.

The losses follow a more than 1,300 point, or 6.3 percent, decline Wednesday in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has now lost nearly all of its gains since President Trump's inauguration. The Dow closed at 19,898.92.

 

Coronavirus Did Not Originate in a Lab—It Is the Product of Natural Evolution, Scientists Say

https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-did-not-originate-labit-product-natural-evolution-scientists-say-1492912

The new coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, likely originated in nature according to the authors of a study questioning the idea it was manmade.

 

United Hatzalah founder hospitalized with suspected coronavirus

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/277475

United Hatzalah founder and President Eli Beer, who was scheduled to return to Israel, stayed in the United States to raise money to provide for the significantly increased demand for Hatzalah's services in Israel during the coronavirus crisis. He attended a Purim event in Miami, where many people became stricken with Covid-19 coronavirus.

 

Chris Wallace calls out Trump for causing dangerous crowding at airports

'Total lockdown inevitable' says Erdan as coronavirus patients reaches 433

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Gilad-Erdan-Total-lockdown-is-inevitable-security-forces-must-prepare-621396

 The goal is to "flatten the curve" and spread out cases over a longer period. Police would enforce required closures; Home Front Command would supply the public with essential products.

 

Ibuprofen exacerbates coronavirus disease

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/277457

The World Health Organization has recommended that people suffering from the symptoms of the virus avoid taking ibuprofen drugs such as Advil. Instead, the organization suggests taking paracetamol, such as Acamol (Tylenol).

china accused of truth shaping by pompeo - : is he really criticizing his boss?

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/17/politics/pompeo-coronavirus-presser/index.html

Iranian leaders have "lied about the Wuhan virus for weeks, the Iranian leadership is trying to avoid responsibility for their ... gross incompetence," Pompeo said, speaking to reporters at the State Department.

Pompeo has repeatedly made a point of avoiding the virus' formal name, choosing instead to refer to it as the "Wuhan coronavirus," in an apparent attempt to emphasize the pandemic's likely origins in China.

Speaking about Chinese leaders on Tuesday, Pompeo said, "the disinformation campaign that they are waging is designed to shift responsibility. Now is not the time for recrimination, now is the time to solve this global pandemic and work to take down risks to Americans and people all across the world."

4 arrested after ultra-Orthodox wedding violates coronavirus restrictions

https://www.timesofisrael.com/4-arrested-after-ultra-orthodox-wedding-violates-coronavirus-restrictions/

 Police arrested four people Tuesday night following an ultra-Orthodox wedding in the city of Beit Shemesh in which at least 150 people participated, violating Health Ministry guidelines limiting the number of people at gatherings to 10 and closing event halls and restaurants.

According to reports in ultra-Orthodox media sites, the four were the father of the groom, an American citizen, who arrived in Israel from the United States and was supposed to have been in quarantine; the father of the bride; the caterer; and a resident of Jerusalem who reportedly organized the wedding.

 

2020 Time Capsule #4: Trump Is Lying, Blatantly

https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2020/03/2020-time-capsule-4/608197/

During press questioning at the White House today, Donald Trump was asked whether his tone about the coronavirus challenge had suddenly changed. For weeks, he’d been mocking the virus threat—at rallies, in tweets, and in press remarks. But both yesterday and today, he’d suddenly shifted to warning that the public-health and economic problems were real, and would remain so for a long time.

What changed?

Trump denied there had been any shift in tone, and said (as you can see here):

“I have always known. This is a real pandemic. I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic....
“I’ve always viewed it as very serious.”

This is a flat-out lie.

Trump finally had a competent press conference on the coronavirus

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/3/16/21182247/trump-coronavirus-covid-19-press-conference

On Monday, President Donald Trump finally held a press conference in which he didn’t contradict the advice of experts and gave solid advice to Americans on the coronavirus pandemic — after weeks of a public response that experts have described as unhelpful and disturbing.

At the top of the conference, Trump talked up new guidelines by the federal government about what individuals should do to slow the spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

 

Trump finds his MAGA movement fracturing over coronavirus

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/16/trump-maga-coronavirus-movement-130831

Just two weeks after President Donald Trump rallied conservatives to focus on the threat of socialism, his followers are splitting over the coronavirus pandemic.

On one side are those like Bill Mitchell, who dismiss it as nothing worse than the flu, and the drive to eradicate it as “climate change 2.0” — as in, a media-lefty mass hysteria. On the other side are pro-Trump fixtures like Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller, who have been sounding alarms on the coronavirus since January, and are calling for harsher lockdowns and social distancing.

 

Don Lemon says Trump is gaslighting you and rolls the tape

Trump pretends he knew outbreak was serious all along in jaw-dropping moment

Trump dismissed coronavirus pandemic worry in January — now claims he long warned about it

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/trump-dissed-coronavirus-pandemic-worry-now-claims-he-warned-about-it.html

 President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday he has believed the coronavirus outbreak was “a pandemic, long before it was called a pandemic” — but in January, he explicitly played down concerns when asked about it.

Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations 'is working with police to prosecute child abuser'

https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/union-of-orthodox-hebrew-congregations-is-working-with-police-to-deal-with-child-abuser-1.498158

Speaking on behalf of the London Charedi umbrella organisation, solicitor Paula Jefferson disclosed the information on the opening day of an inquiry into abuse in religious communities on Monday. 

Answering claims that incidents of abuse were often kept within the Orthodox community, she said the Union was clear that “all allegations” should be reported to the appropriate authorities.

 

Trump and Beijing agree on the coronavirus crisis: It's someone else's fault

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/17/asia/trump-chinese-virus-tweet-intl-hnk/index.html

 

On Twitter, Zhao claimed -- without evidence -- that "it might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan" and demanded the US "Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!" Zhao also retweeted another Twitter user claiming baselessly that Redfield's statement "supports the claims made by Japanese scientists that the virus originated from the US but was covered up."

Zhao and his Foreign Ministry colleagues have refused to provide evidence for their claims, but they don't need to in order to achieve their goal. Creating confusion or disagreement over the origin of the virus could help push the blame away from China for its initial handling of the outbreak, just as Trump and other US officials' blaming of China helps move the conversation away from their own, highly criticized, response.

Ironically, just as he was boosting conspiracy theories about the virus' origin, Zhao also tweeted perhaps the best advice for all government officials in all countries, quoting a Chinese saying: "Turn inward (and) examine yourself when you encounter difficulties."

Fox Business host Trish Regan on hiatus after coronavirus comments

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2020-03-13/fox-business-host-trish-regan-on-hiatus-after-virus-comments

The Fox Business show hosted by Trish Regan is going on hiatus after controversial comments she made on the air Monday about the coronavirus.

The hiatus also applies to another host, Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery, who has her own program on the Fox Corp.-owned network. That move was related to staffing needs.

 

One dangerous coronavirus 'self-check test' is circulating on social media. Here's why you should avoid it.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/16/us/coronavirus-myths-debunking-holding-breath-10-seconds-trnd/index.html

 Contrary to what some may think, not everything on social media is rooted in fact.

Case in point: A recent viral coronavirus "simple self-check test," which medical experts say is completely inaccurate.

Written on what appears to be the iPhone notes app, the three-part post falsely claims that people can find out whether they have coronavirus simply by holding their breath for more than 10 seconds. If they can hold their breath without coughing, the test claims they don't have the virus.

Public transportation to stop early every night, won’t operate on weekends

https://www.timesofisrael.com/public-transportation-to-stop-early-every-night-wont-operate-on-weekends/

The Transportation Ministry announced Tuesday it was reducing public transportation to combat the coronavirus following the new Health Ministry directive that all Israelis remain at home unless absolutely necessary.

Public transportation (buses, trains and light rail) will cease operating at 10 p.m. Tuesday before resuming at its usual time Wednesday morning. Starting on Wednesday, public transportation will stop at 8 p.m. each evening.