Fox News anchors fail to challenge Trump as he misleads during coronavirus town hall

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/24/media/fox-news-trump-town-hall/index.html

But neither Hemmer, who is the chief breaking news anchor at Fox News and was broadcasting from the White House, nor Faulkner, who was broadcasting remotely from a studio, effectively pushed back on Trump during the two-hour event -— despite obvious misinformation peddled by the President.

Trump, for instance, repeatedly compared the coronavirus to the seasonal flu. "We've never closed down the country for the flu," the President said.

Hemmer, however, repeatedly failed to note that Covid-19 has a significantly higher mortality rate than the seasonal flu.

 

The World Health Organization has estimated the mortality rate to be 3.4%. And Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the United States, has estimated that it is about 2%. Fauci even previously told Fox News, "The mortality for seasonal flu is 0.1% so even if [Covid-19] goes down to 1% it's still 10 times more fatal."

At another point during the interview, Trump said he would "love" for the country to "open by Easter" on April 12.

Instead of challenging Trump, and noting that his deadline is at odds with what many medical professionals and infectious disease experts have said, Faulkner replied, "Oh wow. OK."

Hemmer added, "That would be a great American resurrection."

After being criticized online for his failure to follow up, Hemmer came back from a commercial break and asked Trump the question again: "You'd like to be back to normal by Easter Sunday. That's 19 days from now. Is that true? Is that possible?"

 

Trump replied to Hemmer, saying he believed it to be possible and once again compared it to the much less serious seasonal flu. Hemmer asked Trump how he could determine it might be safe, and Trump reiterated his belief that the country "has to get back to work."

 

 

Fox Goes Full Dear Leader With Coronavirus Coverage

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/03/fox-news-dear-leader-donald-trump-coronavirus-coverage

In the alternate reality of Fox News, the coronavirus pandemic is an overhyped invention of the mainstream media devised for the specific purpose of taking down Donald Trump. Unfortunately for the American public, the network also happens to be the president’s source for news on the spread of the virus, and where most White House officials have opted to appear while updating the public—in between segments casting it as an anti-Trump “hoax.”

“The chorus of hate being leveled at the president is nearing a crescendo as Democrats blame him, and only him, for a virus that originated halfway around the world,” Fox Business host Trish Regan said on Monday, labeling media coverage “yet another attempt to impeach the president.” The same night, Lou Dobbs, Trump’s favorite Fox Business host, accused “the national left-wing media” of “playing up fears of the coronavirus,” before reporting, without an ounce of self-awareness, that the virus has “now infected 113,000 people…in 111 countries and territories around the world.”

 

Trump tears into media at coronavirus briefing: They want economy to stay closed, 'would like to see me do poorly in the election'

https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-doubles-down-media-attack-coronavirus

President Trump doubled down Wednesday on his assertion that the media wants to keep the country closed in order to prevent his reelection during his daily coronavirus briefing at the White House.

After Trump had earlier slammed the "LameStream Media" on Twitter, CBS News correspondent Paula Reid asked the president if his recently announced goal of reopening the economy by Easter was solely a political strategy.

"Just so that you understand, are you ready? I think that there are certain people who would like it not to open so quickly, I think there are certain people that would like it to do financially poorly because they think that would be very good as far as defeating me at the polls," Trump told Reid. "And I don't know if that's so, but I do think it's so that there are people in your profession that would like that to happen."

Trump’s Boast About U.S., South Korea Coronavirus Testing Misses The Mark

https://khn.org/news/fact-check-trumps-boast-about-u-s-south-korea-coronavirus-testing-misses-the-mark/

Trump claimed that the United States has “done more tests in eight days than South Korea has done in eight weeks.”

The CDC has not put out comprehensive data on this. But independent work on the subject suggests the comparison is flawed. In eight days, the United States performed almost as many tests as South Korea did in eight weeks, but not necessarily more.

In addition, that statistic is relatively less important. The American rate of testing per capita is more than six times lower than South Korea’s. It’s certainly possible to catch up, but that hasn’t happened yet.

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/mar/25/donald-trump/trumps-boast-about-us-south-korea-coronavirus-test/

The president’s statement frames the data in a way that is misleading and doesn’t accurately represent the status of the American response to COVID-19. We rate it False.

Shocking coronavirus study says people could be locked down for 18 months

https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Shocking-coronavirus-study-says-people-could-be-locked-down-for-18-months-621609

The United States and United Kingdom received information from an Imperial College London coronavirus report that was published on March 16.

Dozens of experts had informed policy makers that modeling showed millions would die and that health systems would be overwhelmed, the report said. A fight against the virus could go on for 18 months, it said.

Israel Turns to Its Spy Agencies to Combat Coronavirus

https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-turns-to-its-spy-agencies-to-combat-coronavirus-11584735025

TEL AVIV—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has mobilized Israel’s intelligence agencies to help contain the new coronavirus, an effort that has involved an undercover purchase of testing kits from abroad and the use of antiterrorism phone-tracking technology to map infections.

 

נלחמים בקורונה: הישראלים שמדפיסים מכונות הנשמה

World Health Organization backs call to avoid ibuprofen for coronavirus

https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/World-Health-Organization-backs-call-to-avoid-ibuprofen-for-coronavirus-621408

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that people with COVID-19 symptoms avoid taking ibuprofen, after concerns were raised by French officials that it may make the virus more harmful.

A recent study in The Lancet medical journal, theorizing that an enzyme boosted by ibuprofen could enable and exacerbate COVID-19 infections, led France's Health Minister Olivier Veran to suggest via social media that the medicine be avoided.

Cuomo knocks Trump's claim about NY and ventilators

 https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cuomo-knocks-trumps-claim-ny-ventilators/story?id=69790191

After New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he needed 30,000 ventilators for the state of New York in order to be prepared for the "apex" of its caseload -- which his team predicted was two to three weeks away -- he criticized the federal government for offering up a fraction of that need.

"FEMA says, 'we're sending 400 ventilators.' Really? What am I going to do with 400 ventilators, when I need 30,000?" Cuomo said at a news conference.

 

Later, Trump announced he would supply another 4,000 ventilators to New York from the national stockpile, but he added a claim that Cuomo had turned down the chance to stock up on thousands of ventilators in 2015. 

"He had a chance to buy -- in 2015 -- 16,000 ventilators at a very low price and he turned it down. I'm not blaming him or anything else. But he shouldn't be talking about us. He's supposed to be buying his own ventilators. We are going to help," Trump said in a Fox News town hall held at the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday.

 Trump appeared to be dramatizing a report from a New York Department of Health task force in 2015 which predicted that, if faced with a pandemic like the 1918 Spanish flu, New York would run into a ventilator shortage to the tune of 15,000. The report was recently resurfaced by Betsy McCaughey, a former lieutenant governor of New York and supporter of Trump since 2016, who wrote an op-ed about it in the New York Post. Her op-ed was later picked up by the far-right blog Gateway Pundit.

The report, however, did not recommend that New York Health Department should have stocked up on ventilators, nor did it find a low-cost option to do so, as Trump indicated Tuesday. Instead, the 2015 report acknowledged that New York should instead prepare for a moderate scenario and rely on federal resources if faced with a severe scenario.

Trump to New York: You’ve Been Mean to Me, Drop Dead

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-to-new-york-youve-been-mean-to-me-drop-dead

“If you’re good and respectful to [Trump], he will treat you the same—it’s that simple,” said one senior White House official. “The president has always said that he fights back when he needs to, and the situation with [Cuomo] is no different. If you keep that in mind, their sort of seesaw relationship during [coronavirus] doesn’t come as a surprise.”

That was true on Tuesday, when Cuomo said the state is in need of 30,000 ventilators and was getting insufficient help from the federal government to acquire more. The Trump administration said later that it was in the process of shipping about 4,000 ventilators to New York. But the governor’s office is still desperate for more and has called on the president to implement the Defense Production Act and order private companies to make more for the open market.

The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 3/25/20[FULL] | MSNBC News March 25, 2020

A restless Trump wants to end the country's isolation -- and his own

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/24/politics/donald-trump-white-house-life-coronavirus/index.html

Antsy at being sealed off, with no visiting dignitaries and no large crowds, Trump has wondered aloud to aides when life will again return to normal -- not just for the nation, but for himself. The slowdown in his own life has led, in part, to Trump's strong desire to see the guidelines he offered on avoiding crowds and staying at home lifted quickly.

"I gave it two weeks," he said Tuesday during a virtual town hall aired on Fox News. "I guess, by Monday or Tuesday, it's about two weeks. And we will assess at that time."

 

The scariest aspects of the coronavirus are what we can't see on TV

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/25/media/coronavirus-television-reliable-sources/index.html

"The truth is, the sickest patients are terrifying," Choo said. "They are air hungry, dropping their oxygen, confused, distressed. We can never show that. But it is terrifying."

Meredith Case, an internal medicine resident at Columbia, took to Twitter on Wednesday because she said the press "does not reflect our reality." The deluge of patients "is here," she wrote in the morning. "Our ICU is completely full with intubated COVID patients." At night she signed off with this: "Today was the worst day anyone has ever seen, but tomorrow will be worse. We are on the precipice of rationing. Needless to say, these decisions run counter to everything we stand for and are incredibly painful..."

Mayor de Blasio Calls $1 Billion for NYC From Coronavirus Stimulus Bill 'Just Immoral'

https://www.newsweek.com/mayor-de-blasio-calls-1-billion-nyc-coronavirus-stimulus-bill-just-immoral-1494343

"We are one-third of the cases in this country right now," de Blasio said. "Someone do the math down there in Washington in the Senate Republican Majority. They gave us less than 1 percent of the money that they were giving out to cities and states and we have a third of cases in the nation. That is just immoral."

 

2019 Study Touted by Trump Showed Global Lack of Pandemic Readiness

https://www.newsweek.com/2019-study-touted-trump-showed-global-lack-pandemic-readiness-1494325

President Donald Trump referred to the GHS Index during a February news briefing, showing its 300-plus pages to reporters.

"The Johns Hopkins, I guess—is a highly respected, great place—they did a study, comprehensive: 'The Countries Best and Worst Prepared for an Epidemic.' And the United States is now—we're rated No. 1," Trump said. "We're rated number one for being prepared."

Roughly a month after that briefing, the U.S. was ranked No. 3 in the world for having the most confirmed cases of coronavirus with over 55,000 individuals confirmed to be infected by the virus.

Some countries that ranked poorly on the GHS index, such as Mauritania which came in on the list at No. 157, have a low occurrence of coronavirus. Currently, the country only has two reported cases of COVID-19.

"Just epidemiologically speaking," Nuzzo said, "I would expect all countries to be hit hard. Some countries may do better, the ones that are able to respond really quickly."

Trump Wants to Reopen America 'By Easter.' But That's (Mostly) Up to the States, Not the President

https://time.com/5809962/trump-coronavirus-easter/

 But even if Trump begins encouraging Americans to get back to work, it will be largely up to state and local leaders — especially governors — to chart their own courses. Governor Gavin Newsom of California has said his state’s social distancing measures could last two to three months, while New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said they could last as long as nine months in his state, home to the country’s worst outbreak yet.

 

Nearly 5% of UK virus dead are Jewish; community is just 0.3% of population

https://www.timesofisrael.com/nearly-5-of-uk-coronavirus-dead-are-jewish/

JTA — Nearly 5% of all coronavirus-related deaths in the United Kingdom are of Jewish people, who make up just 0.3% of the country’s population, The Jewish News of London reported.

According to the paper’s report Thursday, at least 22 Jewish families have lost loved ones to the disease, which has killed 465 people in the United Kingdom. The UK has about 66 million residents and 250,000 Jews.

 

White House abruptly transfers DHS official amid loyalty purge

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/25/white-house-dhs-heather-swift-loyalty-148856

The White House removed a top public affairs official at the Department of Homeland Security in a move that shocked many in the department as it takes a lead role in handling the coronavirus pandemic, according to two former senior DHS officials familiar with the matter.

Since taking over PPO, 29-year-old John McEntee has asked Cabinet agencies to probe the records of political appointees and ferret out any who might show signs of disloyalty to the president. McEntee, a former college quarterback known for his trick plays and a longtime Trump favorite, has also come under fire within the administration for recently hiring three college seniors for sensitive jobs.

Trump wants America reopened by Easter. That could send the US economy into depression

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/25/business/economy-recession-coronavirus-trump-easter/index.html

But there are massive risks involved with quickly reversing the social distancing policies. Not only would a premature re-opening of the economy defy the advice of health experts, but economists warn it would backfire.

Instead of a one-time blow, the economy could face repeated shutdowns over a prolonged period. 

"If the president decides to go 180 on us and open by Easter, that will create chaos and confusion. That is the prescription for a depression," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, told CNN Business. 

"If people are panicked because hospitals are overflowing and loved ones are dying, the hit to the economy will be even worse than if we remain in lockdown," said Zandi, who advised Republican presidential nominee John McCain in 2008. "It's a massive gamble -- and one without science on his side."

Netanyahu: Complete lockdown if numbers do not improve

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/277822

Addressing the citizens, Netanyahu said: "I say this most clearly: You must stay at home. Stay at home - stay alive. Everyone has to obey, no exceptions. And you must be very cautious with your safety. What it takes for anyone to obey is strict self-discipline. If you do not mobilize to look after yourselves and your families, there will be a disaster here. Do not leave home, stay inside the homes and follow the guidelines. These are not trifles, but matters of life and death."

 

Coronavirus may have infected half of UK population — Oxford study

https://www.ft.com/content/5ff6469a-6dd8-11ea-89df-41bea055720b

 New epidemiological model suggests the vast majority of people suffer little or no illness

If the results are confirmed, they imply that fewer than one in a thousand of those infected with Covid-19 become ill enough to need hospital treatment, said Sunetra Gupta, professor of theoretical epidemiology, who led the study. The vast majority develop very mild symptoms or none at all. 

The research presents a very different view of the epidemic to the modelling at Imperial College London, which has strongly influenced government policy. “I am surprised that there has been such unqualified acceptance of the Imperial model,” said Prof Gupta. 

The modelling brings back into focus “herd immunity”, the idea that the virus will stop spreading when enough people have become resistant to it because they have already been infected. The government abandoned its unofficial herd immunity strategy — allowing controlled spread of infection — after its scientific advisers said this would swamp the National Health Service with critically ill patients.

Trump Mocks Mitt Romney On Twitter | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein resigns

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/277790

Turning to the Knesset, Edelstein, who immigrated from the then USSR after being imprisoned as a refusenik (the term for Russian Jews who applied to immigrate to Israel during the days of the Iron Curtain and were refused), said: "Knesset members, as someone who has paid a heavy personal price, of years in prison and slave-like work, for the right to live as a citizen in the State of Israel, there is no need for explanations regarding how much I love the State of Israel and the nation of Israel. And so, as a democratic individual, as a Jewish Zionist, as someone who has fought against evil powers, and as the Speaker of this place, I will not allow Israel to deteriorate to anarchy. I will not play a part in a civil war."

Calling for a unity government, he added: "Knesset members, citizens of Israel, right now our nation needs unity, needs a unity government. In these days, when there is a plague that is endangering us from the outside, and divisions which tear us apart from the inside, we must all act with integrity, we must all strive to be better. We must all unite."

"Therefore, for the sake of the State of Israel, and in order to renew the national spirit in Israel, I hereby resign from my position as Knesset Speaker. We will pray, and we will work, for better days."

On Monday, Supreme Court judges unanimously ruled that Edelstein must convene the Knesset plenum as soon as possible to elect a permanent Knesset Speaker no later than Wednesday this week. The rightist bloc countered that this is not in the purview of the courts but is a matter for the legislature.

The court hinted that if he refused to do so, it would accept the appeal against him.

President Trump's Dangerous and Foolish Impatience on Coronavirus

https://time.com/5809260/president-trumps-dangerous-impatience-coronavirus/

Writing in response to rising impatience, former Trump FDA commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, had perhaps the best and most succinct response. “There is no such thing as a functioning economy,” he said, “so long as Covid-19 continues to spread uncontrolled in our biggest cities.” Lift the lid on the economy too soon, and all you do is increase the spread of the disease without restoring economic health.

Why? Again, Gottlieb’s words ring true: “[O]lder people will die in historic numbers, middle aged folks doomed to prolonged ICU stays to fight for their lives, hospitals will be overwhelmed, and most Americans terrified to leave homes, eat out, take the subway, or go to the park.”

Let’s make this practical and personal. So long as the virus continues to spread, will you go back to airports? Will you eat at restaurants? Will you ask your employer to keep working from home if work from home is at all possible? Some of you may answer with an enthusiastic yes. But many millions of Americans would answer no, and the number that would say no would increase as they watched more and more people become seriously ill. And as friends and loved ones get sick with a disease that often strikes much harder than the flu.

 Let’s not forget that the American economy is inextricably linked to the world economy, and most of the richest economies in the world are now facing their own deep challenges from Covid-19. Even if America decided all on its own to lift most of its restrictions and endure a vastly increased viral spread and death rate, it would still not enjoy the benefits of “normal” economic times.

Compounding the problem, Trump’s statements betray a fundamental ignorance about our nation’s federalist system. Simply put, the power to issue stay-in-place orders, ban large gatherings, and order business closings rests with state and local authorities, not with the president.

Synagogues and hotels are Israel's coronavirus hot spots

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SkPACtwII

 In one instance, no less than 17 members of the same synagogue contracted the virus after praying alongside a person who was infected.

 The next most common location for contracting the virus were hotels, which account for 15 percent of the confirmed cases.

World Health Organization: Coronavirus infections in Italy finally slowing

https://www.timesofisrael.com/world-health-organization-coronavirus-infections-in-italy-finally-slowing/

The World Health Organization has said that Italy’s coronavirus epidemic may peak this week, according to a report by the Italian wire service ANSA.

“The slowing in the pace of growth is an extremely positive factor, and in some regions I believe we are close to the drop-off point of the curve, therefore the peak may be reached this week and then fall away,” WHO deputy director Ranieri Guerra told Radio Capital.

New restrictions to take effect on Wednesday evening

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/277800

The Israeli government approved on Tuesday night emergency regulations to further restrict movement and curb the spread of coronavirus in Israel.

Regulations include further reducing forays into public space, imposing liability on employers, closing non-essential stores, and imposing restrictions on public transport.

The regulations will take effect on Wednesday at 5:00p.m. and will be in effect for a period of seven days.

 

AP FACT CHECK: Trump claims rising suicides if US stays shut

https://apnews.com/34f0d353e3cf9b507bed8815ff25b21b

 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is making a baseless claim of surging suicides if the U.S. economy remains mostly shut due to the spread of the coronavirus. There’s no evidence that suicides will rise dramatically, let alone surpass potential coronavirus deaths. Historically in a crisis, suicides tend to diminish as society pulls together in a common purpose.