Trump administration requires insurers to provide free antibody tests

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/11/trump-administration-requires-insurers-to-provide-free-antibody-tests-180009

The Trump administration said late Saturday it will require health insurers to provide free antibody tests that could provide better insight into the scale of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak.

Health experts agree that widespread antibody testing, which can detect who has developed immunity against the virus, is essential for being able to ease social distancing measures and allow healthy people to return to work.

 

How Coronavirus Fears Have Amplified a Baseless But Dangerous 5G Conspiracy Theory

https://time.com/5818574/5g-coronavirus-conspiracy-theory-inaccurate/

The unfounded conspiracy theories reportedly began when a Belgian doctor speculated to a national newspaper about 5G masts in Wuhan, China, where the new coronavirus originated. Despite the article being removed after a few hours because the comments were baseless, the narrative was picked up by conspiratorial Internet personalities and has spread across the Internet as the coronavirus fans anxieties around the world. (Contrary to the conspiracy theories, which say 5G’s high-frequency waves are harmful, the scientific community agrees they are beneath the wavelength that can damage human cells.)

Governors Plead for Help as Further Coronavirus Aid Faces a Partisan Split in Congress

https://time.com/5819576/coronavirus-aid-talks-congress/

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York said without federal intervention, states will be forced to confront “serious reductions in service … hampering public health, the economic recovery, and — in turn — our collective effort to get people back to work.”

 

Ex-Ambassador, Washington Gov. Says Trump Campaign 'Fanning Hatred' With New Ad

https://time.com/5819459/trump-campaign-biden-china-racist/

  Former U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke is denouncing President Donald Trump for a new campaign ad that seems to falsely imply Locke was a Chinese official.

Trump’s Republican reelection campaign released an ad Thursday that accused former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, of being too cozy with China. It featured an image of Biden and Locke on a stage with U.S. and Chinese flags in the background.

 

Health Minister Litzman: Stop singling out haredim for coronavirus

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Coronavirus-Jerusalems-restricted-zones-announced-take-effect-Sunday-624371

 The special ministerial committee on coronavirus has approved creating “restricted zones” in Jerusalem beginning at noon on Sunday until Wednesday.

The people in these areas cannot leave unless they are going to work, getting essential medical treatment, attending the funeral of a nuclear family member or transferring their children to an ex-spouse.

 In addition, they can attend legal proceedings or access other essential services with approval.

 Among the areas that will now be restricted: Har Nof, Ramot, Romema, Neve Yaakov, Mea Shearim and Geula.

Watch: Priestly blessing at Western Wall

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/278568

Traditional priestly blessing during Pesach takes place in a limited format in accordance with instructions. US ambassador participating.

In India, Coronavirus Fans Religious Hatred

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/world/asia/india-coronavirus-muslims-bigotry.html

In a global pandemic, there is always the hunt for blame. President Trump has done it, insisting for a time on calling the coronavirus a “Chinese virus.’’ All over the world people are pointing fingers, driven by their fears and anxieties to go after The Other.

He Could Have Seen What Was Coming: Behind Trump’s Failure on the Virus

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-response.html

An examination reveals the president was warned about the potential for a pandemic but that internal divisions, lack of planning and his faith in his own instincts led to a halting response.

His was hardly a lone voice. Throughout January, as Mr. Trump repeatedly played down the seriousness of the virus and focused on other issues, an array of figures inside his government — from top White House advisers to experts deep in the cabinet departments and intelligence agencies — identified the threat, sounded alarms and made clear the need for aggressive action.

President Trump is wrong in so many ways about hydroxychloroquine studies. Here are the facts

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/10/health/trump-wrong-about-hydroxychloroquine/index.html

 There are several treatments being studied to prevent or treat coronavirus, but President Trump has been a cheerleader for one in particular: hydroxychloroquine, a drug currently used to treat malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Over the past month, he's made many optimistic statements about hydroxychloroquine. CNN has fact-checked the president multiple times -- such as here, here, and here -- and found that he's being unrealistically enthusiastic.

 

Trump asked what metrics he's using. See his response.

'Liar': Trump Fact-Checked For Dangerous Coronavirus Claims | The Beat With Ari Melber | MSNBC

Trump Spent Years Disparaging the Administrative State. Then Coronavirus Hit

https://time.com/5817899/trump-administrative-state-coronavirus/

The efficiency of a small government has always been a dream in some corners of the Republican Party. As the anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist famously put it in a 2001, ‘I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.’

Bill Barr Accuses Media of 'Jihad' to Discredit Hydroxychloroquine After Trump Touts Drug as COVID-19 Treatment

https://www.newsweek.com/bill-barr-hydroxychloroquine-fox-news-ingraham-1497021

Attorney General William Barr has condemned the media for what he says are partisan attacks on President Donald Trump for touting the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a possible weapon against the novel coronavirus.

 

Nationwide lockdown eased, Bnei Brak restrictions relaxed amid cautious optimism

https://www.timesofisrael.com/nationwide-lockdown-eased-bnei-brak-restrictions-relaxed-amid-cautious-optimism/

Partial lockdown remains in place, with people only allowed to leave home for work or other essentials; Health Ministry tells Israelis to continue keeping social distancing rules