Saying Kaddish from balconies and fasting: The Haredi response to coronavirus

https://www.timesofisrael.com/saying-kaddish-from-balconies-and-fasting-the-haredi-response-to-coronavirus/

Social distancing takes hold in the particularly communal ultra-Orthodox community; leaders come up with makeshift workarounds during an unprecedented halt to religious rituals

 

Hannity claims he’s “never called the virus a hoax” 9 days after decrying Democrats’ “new hoax”

https://www.vox.com/2020/3/20/21186727/hannity-coronavirus-coverage-fox-news

Sean Hannity’s coronavirus coverage underwent a remarkable transformation in just a week. And it’s not just him — the shift is emblematic of a broader trend at Fox News.

At first, Hannity took an antagonistic approach to coronavirus coverage, even using the word “hoax” as recently as 10 days ago. “This scaring the living hell out of people — I see it, again, as like, let’s bludgeon Trump with this new hoax,” Hannity said during his March 9 broadcast, during a segment in which he downplayed the risk of coronavirus to everyone except for people with compromised immune systems and older individuals.

He even cited “coronavirus hysteria” just two days after alleging a “hoax.”

 But Hannity is now singing a different tune. While he’s still singing the praises of Trump and trying to shift blame for the coronavirus onto China, Hannity is now urging his viewers to take the coronavirus seriously. Alluding to the social distancing guidelines recommended by the White House’s coronavirus task force and others, Hannity on Tuesday night told his viewers to “take the following crucial precautions over the next couple of weeks. Do it why? Because we love our grandmothers, our grandfathers, our older moms and dads. They are the most vulnerable. They are the most at risk.”

Fox News' dangerous hypocrisy on the coronavirus, exposed

 https://www.salon.com/2020/03/19/fox-news-dangerous-hypocrisy-on-the-coronavirus-exposed_partner/

Of all the shameful things that Fox News has done over the years, its most blatantly irresponsible might very well be the weeks its hosts spent claiming that coronavirus wasn't nearly as dangerous as liberals in the media were making it out to be and that Democrats exaggerated the threat in order to attack President Donald Trump. But Fox News, like Trump himself, has changed its tone — finally acknowledging the severity of coronavirus. And a video by the Washington Post, titled "How Fox's Coronavirus Has Shifted," shows how dramatic the change has been.

'I'm gonna go to work': How Andrew Cuomo and his press conferences contrast with President Trump

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/22/politics/andrew-cuomo-press-conferences/index.html

The pressers have turned into indelible split screen moments between Cuomo and President Donald Trump -- whose own news conferences often take place during or after those in New York -- unfolding in real time for those watching in New York City. For many viewers, they are a stark and jarring reminder of the broad chasm between the federal government's response to the coronavirus pandemic and efforts at the state level, where governors like Cuomo are increasingly taking stricter action -- and greater responsibility -- as they seek to stabilize both health infrastructure and ward off a public panic.

Khamenei: Coronavirus could have been made by the US

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/277663

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Sunday refused US assistance to fight the new coronavirus, claiming the virus could be man-made by America.

"I do not know how real this accusation is but when it exists, who in their right mind would trust you to bring them medication?" Khamenei said, according to The Associated Press. "Possibly your medicine is a way to spread the virus more."

He also alleged without offering any evidence that the virus "is specifically built for Iran using the genetic data of Iranians which they have obtained through different means."

65 Chabad hasidim diagnosed with coronavirus

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/277654

65 Chabad hasidim who arrived from the United States last week and were staying at the Dan Jerusalem Hotel were diagnosed with the coronavirus on Sunday evening.

In coordination with the Ministry of Health, it was decided that the patients would at this stage be transferred to the Shmuel Harofeh Hospital in Be'er Ya'akov.

 

Conspiracy theory that Jews created virus spreads on social media, ADL says

https://www.timesofisrael.com/conspiracy-theory-that-jews-created-virus-spreads-on-social-media-adl-says/

As coronavirus pandemic has impacted across the world, white nationalists have found a familiar bogeyman to blame online. But some of them also see an opportunity

Trump's 'Chinese' Virus Is Part of a Long History of Blaming Other Countries for Disease

https://time.com/5807376/virus-name-foreign-history/

“Research shows that when ordinary citizens see a disease threat as foreign, it can lead those ordinary citizens to not take action,” Dionne says. “So if someone sees this as a quote ‘Chinese’ virus, they might not be as likely to take up important hygiene behaviors like handwashing or social distancing.”

Shah thinks it’s particularly interesting that Trump and many of his allies are doubling down on COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus” at a moment when the disease is a global pandemic unconfined to any one region. Fear, he says, may be linked to a desire to fix the blame on someone else. That’s a repeating pattern in U.S. history—and so is the damage it can cause.

 

Coronavirus isn't a 'Chinese virus' no matter what Trump says

https://www.cnet.com/news/coronavirus-isnt-a-chinese-virus-no-matter-what-trump-says/

The counterargument Trump and many of his supporters make is that we've historically named viruses after locations. There's the Spanish flu and the Ebola and Zika viruses. So why the fuss now?

Let's take the Spanish flu, which many cite as an example of a virus being named after its place of origin. In reality, it got its name because Spain during World War I was the first to report that its citizens were dying from the flu, and other countries feared it might hamper their fundraising efforts for the war. The Spanish called it the French flu, and some researchers believe it may have originated in Kansas. 

Also, things have changed. We're a lot more aware of the consequences of being cavalier with our words. In 2015, the WHO established best practices for naming new infectious diseases. The guidelines address the fact that these previous labels carried negative effects on certain populations. (Here's the WHO guide on dealing with social stigma.)

 

Fact-Checking 5 Trump Administration Claims On The Coronavirus Pandemic

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/21/818932167/fact-checking-5-trump-administration-claims-on-the-coronavirus-pandemic

President Trump has made a lot of promises about actions that his administration is taking to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Not all of them have been exactly on the mark — and some have yet to pay off as advertised.

Trump dismisses report on early coronavirus warnings as 'inaccurate

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/21/trump-us-coronavirus-warning-china

On Saturday, Trump, who has made a habit of shooting the media messenger, attacked the Post without dealing with any of the substance of the allegations contained in the reporting.

“I think the Washington Post covers us very inaccurately, covers me very inaccurately,” he told reporters at the daily White House coronavirus task force briefing. “I saw the story. I think it’s a disgrace but it’s the Washington Post and I guess we have to live with it. It’s a very inaccurate –”

 As a journalist tried to interject, Trump raised his hand and snapped: “Quiet, quiet.”

How the Coronavirus Became an American Catastrophe

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/how-many-americans-are-sick-lost-february/608521/

A study published this week by Imperial College London predicted that unless aggressive action is taken, the coronavirus could kill 2.2 million Americans in the coming months. A day after that study was published, its lead researcher developed a dry cough and fever. He had COVID-19.

 

Coronavirus is revealing how badly the UK has failed its most vulnerable

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/22/uk/coronavirus-homeless-intl-gbr/index.html

 As the novel coronavirus rips through a stunned global population, it's becoming clear that no one can escape the impact it's having on society.

The past few weeks have shown that even the world's wealthiest and most powerful are as likely to contract the virus as anyone else. However, less attention is being paid to the most vulnerable members of society -- those in poverty, people living on the breadline and the homeless.

Washington Post: US intelligence warned Trump in January and February as he dismissed coronavirus threat

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/20/politics/us-intelligence-reports-trump-coronavirus/index.html

President Donald Trump ignored reports from US intelligence agencies starting in January that warned of the scale and intensity of the coronavirus outbreak in China, The Washington Post reported Friday.

Citing US officials familiar with the agencies' reports and warnings, the Post reported that intelligence agencies depicted the nature and global spread of the virus and China's apparent downplaying of its severity, as well as the potential need for government measures to contain it -- while Trump opted to dismiss or simply not address their seriousness.

"Donald Trump may not have been expecting this, but a lot of other people in the government were -- they just couldn't get him to do anything about it," the official noted to the Post. "The system was blinking red."

 

Coronavirus – A Torah Perspective, Rav Elya Brudny, Rav Yisroel Reisman & Rav Bin

A Torah Perspective on the Coronavirus | Rabbi Kelemen

ER Doctor: Trump Is ‘Not Listening To People On The Front Lines’ | The Last Word | MSNBC

Shields and Brooks on American life amid a pandemic

Senate Intel chairman asks Ethics Committee to review stock sales under scrutiny

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/19/politics/richard-burr-coronavirus-comments/index.html

 Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr is asking the Senate Ethics Committee to review his sale of up to $1.7 million in stocks last month ahead of the sharp market decline that's resulted from the novel coronavirus global pandemic, according to Senate documents.

Burr's stock sales have come under fire after he sold them off just days before the market began a downturn as a result of the coronavirus outbreak shutting down businesses and travel in the US and across the world.

Burr said Friday that he did not base his sales on any information he received as chairman of the Intelligence Committee.

There's no indication that the stock sales were made on the basis of any inside information Burr received as a senator, or that he broke any Senate rules by selling the stock. Congress passed the Stock Act in 2012 that made it illegal for lawmakers to use inside information for financial benefit. Burr was one of three senators to vote against the bill.

A 'Chinese Coronavirus'? Officials accuse Trump of stoking xenophobia and violence against Asian-Americans

https://www.newsweek.com/chinese-coronavirus-officials-accuse-trump-stoking-xenophobia-violence-against-asian-americans-1493546

 Organizations and lawmakers throughout California as well as nationally are condemning recent rhetoric by President Donald Trump describing the novel coronavirus. They say his words, intentionally or not, encourage prejudice and violence against people of Chinese or Asian descent. On Thursday a group of civil rights organizations announced the creation of a reporting center to track anti-Asian violence and discrimination in California and across the country. Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco), chair of the California Asian and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, told Capital & Main that the creation of the site was motivated by more than 300 recent incidents collected from media outlets and other organizations.

 

Is Hydroxychloroquine the Answer to COVID-19 Pandemic? Racing For a Cure

https://www.newsweek.com/2020/04/03/hydroxychloroquine-answer-coronavirus-pandemic-inside-race-find-covid-19-cure-1493349.html

 The antimalarial drug chloroquine, and its derivative, hydroxychloroquine, are also candidates for COVID-19 treatments. Researchers first began testing their ability to halt the spread of viruses during the battle against AIDS. The drugs are designed to interfere with "endocytosis," the process by which a virus or other microbe enters a cell. They have since been shown to have some success in the lab against a wide range of viral diseases including the common cold and the SARS virus. On March 16, Chinese public health officials announced that a clinical trial at 10 hospitals in Beijing, Guangdong and Hunan Provinces involving more than 100 patients showed a positive effect—patients who took chloroquine were more likely to show a reduction in fever, showed clearer lungs on CT scans and reduced the amount of time to recover.

Trump Irresponsible, Dangerous w/Lies & Happy Talk On Fed. Coronavirus Help | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

Gupta stunned by Trump-Fauci difference at briefing

Trump will be judged on one thing now -- and it won't be impeachment

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/21/politics/race-for-the-white-house-trump-impeachment-ford-carter-gore-bush/index.html

There's a worldwide pandemic and many Americans are confined to their homes as the US government tries to halt the spread of Covid-19.

So come November, despite being the first impeached President to appear on a presidential ballot afterward, Donald Trump will likely be judged by one thing: His response to the coronavirus.

 

President Trump: FDA is taking rapid steps to make items available for medical use

Trump rants at reporter asking about scared Americans

Coronavirus and chloroquine: Has its use been approved in US?

https://www.bbc.com/news/51980731

 President Trump claims a drug used against malaria has been approved in the United States to treat the new coronavirus.

Chloroquine is one of the oldest and best-known anti-malarial drugs.

So is the president right and what is known about its effectiveness?

Chloroquine has been around for decades. It's no longer recommended in much of Africa because of the resistance built up to it by the malaria parasites.

Some countries have introduced regulations to curb the use of the drug, but it has remained popular in those with an active private-sector drug market and is sold widely.

This is especially true in Nigeria where there have been reports of high demand for chloroquine in pharmacies leading to shortages, in part fuelled by Mr Trump's statement. 

  Chloroquine has not been approved for coronavirus

President Trump, at his daily press briefing, claimed that chloroquine had been approved for use in treating the coronavirus by the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). That is the body in charge of licensing medicines in America.

"We're going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately. And that's where the FDA has been so great. They've gone through the approval process - it's been approved."

However, the FDA has made it clear it has not been approved for treating those infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus.

"There are no FDA-approved therapeutics or drugs to treat, cure or prevent Covid-19."

However, the FDA does say that studies are under way to see if chloroquine can be effective in the treatment of Covid-19. It also says it has been directed by Mr Trump to set up a large clinical trial to investigate the drug.

 

Trump vs Fauci: President’s gut sense collides with science

https://apnews.com/432a37435f28015e8b45eeff710cd254

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a clash of gut instinct versus science, President Donald Trump and the government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, publicly sparred over whether a malaria drug would work to treat people with coronavirus disease.

Trump clung to his feeling that a malaria drug widely available could be the answer-in-waiting to an outbreak spreading around the nation, shutting down major parts of the economy, and posing the biggest challenge he has faced as president. Calmly and quietly, Fauci insisted that the science is not yet there to validate Trump’s hope. Neither man directly challenged the other.

The extraordinary scene played out on national television Friday during the White House briefing on the outbreak. Anxious for answers, Americans heard conflicting views.

Reporters asked both men — first Fauci, then Trump — if a malaria drug called hydroxychloroquine could be used to prevent COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. A day earlier, when Fauci wasn’t with him at that briefing, Trump had called attention to the drug.