It is currently 03/28/24 5:24 am

All times are UTC - 6 hours




Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ... 61  Next   Page 3 of 61   [ 1507 posts ]
Author Message
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/08/20 8:16 pm • # 51 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 07/03/10
Posts: 1851
US specific tracker to see how close the virus is to you: https://infection2020.com/


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/10/20 3:34 pm • # 52 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 12/27/16
Posts: 10841
My Facebook page has been blowing up with articles about Trump's mishandling of the entire thing. But, for a change of pace, let's consider something completely different (we can return to trashing Trump later)

How AI May Prevent The Next Coronavirus Outbreak
Simon Chandler

AI detected the coronavirus long before the world’s population really knew what it was. On December 31st, a Toronto-based startup called BlueDot identified the outbreak in Wuhan, several hours after the first cases were diagnosed by local authorities. The BlueDot team confirmed the info its system had relayed and informed their clients that very day, nearly a week before Chinese and international health organisations made official announcements.

Thanks to the speed and scale of AI, BlueDot was able to get a head start over everyone else. If nothing else, this reveals that AI will be key in forestalling the next coronavirus-like outbreak.

BlueDot isn't the only startup harnessing AI and machine learning to combat the spread of contagious viruses. One Israel-based medtech company, Nanox, has developed a mobile digital X-ray system that uses AI cloud-based software to diagnose infections and help prevent epidemic outbreaks. Dubbed the Nanox System, it incorporates a vast image database, radiologist matching, diagnostic reviews and annotations, and also assistive artificial intelligence systems, which combine all of the above to arrive at an early diagnosis.

Nanox is currently building on this technology to develop a new standing X-ray machine that will supply tomographic images of the lungs. The company plans to market the machine so that it can be installed in public places, such as airports, train stations, seaports, or anywhere else where large groups of people rub shoulders.

Given that the new system, as well as the existing Nanox System, are lower cost mobile imaging devices, it's unsurprising to hear that Nanox has attracted investment from funds looking to capitalise on AI's potential for thwarting epidemics. This month, the company announced a $26 million strategic investment, led by Foxconn. It also signed an agreement this week to supply 1,000 of its Nanox Systems to medical imaging services across Australia, New Zealand and Norway. Coronavirus be warned.

Its CEO and co-founder, Ran Poliakine, believes that such deals are a testament to how the future of epidemic prevention lies with AI-based diagnostic tools. "Nanox has achieved a technological breakthrough by digitizing traditional X-rays, and now we are ready to take a giant leap forward in making it possible to provide one scan per person, per year, for preventative measures," he tells me.

Importantly, the key feature of AI in terms of preventing epidemics is its speed and scale. As Poliakine says, "AI can detect conditions instantly which makes it a great source of power when trying to prevent epidemics. If we talk about 1,000 systems scanning 60 people a day on average, this translates to 60,000 scans that need to be processed daily by the professional teams."

Poliakine also argues that no human force available today that can support this volume with the necessary speed and efficiency. Time and again, this is a point made by other individuals and companies working in this burgeoning sector.

"When it comes to detecting outbreaks, machines can be trained to process vast amounts of data in the same way that a human expert would," explains Dr Kamran Khan, the founder and CEO of BlueDot, as well as a professor at the University of Toronto. "But a machine can do this around the clock, tirelessly, and with incredible speed, making the process vastly more scalable, timely, and efficient. This complements human intelligence to interpret the data, assess its relevance, and consider how best to apply it with decision-making."

Basically, AI is set to become a giant firewall against infectious diseases and pandemics. And it won't only be because of AI-assisted screening and diagnostic techniques. Because as Sergey Young, a longevity expert and founder of the Longevity Vision Fund, tells me, artificial intelligence will also be pivotal in identifying potential vaccines and treatments against the next coronavirus, as well as COVID-19 itself.

"AI has the capacity to quickly search enormous databases for an existing drug that can fight coronavirus or develop a new one in literally months," he says. "For example, Longevity Vision Fund’s portfolio company Insilico Medicine, which specializes in AI in the area of drug discovery and development, used its AI-based system to identify thousands of new molecules that could serve as potential medications for coronavirus in just four days. The speed and scalability of AI is essential to fast-tracking drug trials and the development of vaccines."

This kind of treatment-discovery will prove vitally important in the future. And in conjunction with screening, it suggests that artificial intelligence will become one of the primary ingredients in ensuring that another coronavirus won't have an outsized impact on the global economy. Already, the COVID-19 coronavirus is likely to cut global GDP growth by $1.1 trillion this year, in addition to having already wiped around $5 trillion off the value of global stock markets. Clearly, avoiding such financial destruction in the future would be more than welcome, and artificial intelligence will prove indispensable in this respect. Especially as the scale of potential pandemics increases with an increasingly populated and globalised world.

Sergey Young also explains that AI could play a substantial role in the area of impact management and treatment, at least if we accept their increasing encroachment into society. He notes that, in China, robots are being used in hospitals to alleviate the stresses currently being piled on medical staff, while ambulances in the city of Hangzhou are assisted by navigational AI to help them reach patients faster. Robots have even been dispatched to a public plaza in Guangzhou in order to warn passersby who aren't wearing face-masks. Even more dystopian, China is also allegedly using drones to ensure residents are staying at home and reducing the risk of the coronavirus spreading further.

Even if we don't reach that strange point in human history where AI and robots police our behaviour during possible health crises, artificial intelligence will still become massively important in detecting outbreaks before they spread and in identifying possible treatments. Companies such as BlueDot, Nanox, and Insilico Medicine will prove increasingly essential in warding off future coronavirus-style pandemics, and with it they'll provide one very strong example of AI being a force for good.

SOURCE


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/10/20 3:44 pm • # 53 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 12/27/16
Posts: 10841
Back to our regular scheduled programming

Trump struggles to explain why he disbanded his global health team
According to Trump, "you can never really think is going to happen," but the NSC's team existed precisely because officials recognized the possible threat.

By Steve Benen

One of Donald Trump's most important missteps in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak happened before anyone had even heard of COVID-19. In fact, the president's first error came back in 2018.

It was two years ago when Trump ordered the shutdown of the White House National Security Council's entire global health security unit. NBC News had a good report on this recently, noting that the president's decision "to downsize the White House national security staff -- and eliminate jobs addressing global pandemics -- is likely to hamper the U.S. government's response to the coronavirus."

It was against this backdrop that a reporter asked Trump late last week about whether he was prepared to "rethink having an Office of Pandemic Preparation in the White House." The president replied:

Quote:
"I just think this is something, Peter, that you can never really think is going to happen. You know, who -- I've heard all about, 'This could be...' -- you know, 'This could be a big deal,' from before it happened. You know, this -- something like this could happen.... Who would have thought? Look, how long ago is it? Six, seven, eight weeks ago -- who would have thought we would even be having the subject? ... You never really know when something like this is going to strike and what it's going to be."

t's worth emphasizing that this is Trump's second explanation related to his decision to disband his global health security team. "I'm a business person," he explained two weeks ago in response to a similar question. "I don't like having thousands of people around when you don't need them. When we need them, we can get them back very quickly."

As it turns out, the administration cannot actually reassemble such a team "very quickly," though Trump, still unfamiliar with how much of the executive branch works, may not have known that.

It set the stage for this new argument: Trump dissolved the White House's pandemic team because he had no idea he might need a pandemic team.

Except, that's not an especially satisfying answer. The whole point of having a team focused on epidemiological threats is (a) viral outbreaks can happen; (b) one never knows when they'll happen; and (c) countries want to be prepared when they do happen.

According to the president, "you can never really think is going to happen," but the National Security Council's team existed precisely because officials recognized the possible hazard. Indeed, as the New York Times noted overnight that President Barack Obama established the Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense at the National Security Council after the 2014 Ebola outbreak, making clear that some folks were acutely aware of possibilities like these.

It's as if the president is unfamiliar with the idea of insurance on a conceptual level.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-sho ... m-n1153221


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/10/20 4:39 pm • # 54 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 01/16/09
Posts: 14234
nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/10/20 6:25 pm • # 55 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 05/05/10
Posts: 14091
A Newfoundlander is leading the global fight against COVID-19, and wants you to know the facts

....What we've seen is people are cherry-picking data. So they look at the lowest possible case fatality rates and say, 'Oh look, it's like seasonal flu.' Or they pick, 'Oh it doesn't spread so fast because of this,' or 'Oh it only affects the older ones, I'm safe.' And none of those propositions are true.

There's no reason to panic about this disease, but you have to be deeply concerned. This is not seasonal flu. It's an order of magnitude [with] tenfold — at least — higher mortality rate. Yes, it does strike vulnerable populations, but it can strike any age. Let's be very, very clear, especially between your 30s and 60s and the older population....

If the population understands all those things, it will play ball. And I find the single biggest challenge is the populations aren't always getting clear enough information.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/a ... GHf30Dwvsk


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/10/20 7:52 pm • # 56 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 12/27/16
Posts: 10841
“I Don’t Think the Virus Can Be Stopped Anymore”
In an interview, Harvard Epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch explains why the novel coronavirus is so dangerous – and the need for drastic measures to stop its spread.

Interview Conducted By Martin Schlak

DER SPIEGEL: You predict that up to 60 percent of adults could become infected with the novel coronavirus. Isn’t that alarmist?

Lipsitch: I don't think so. It's of course a projection and, like any projection, it could be wrong. But if you have a reproductive number of an infectious disease of around two, which seems to be the estimates that we're getting right now (Eds: meaning that, on average, each infected person transmits the disease to two other people), then at a minimum, half the adult population needs to become infected before the spread can stop permanently. This is not an ungrounded estimation, but simply the basic math of epidemics.

DER SPIEGEL: Back in 2003, the World Health Organization warned that SARS could become a global epidemic. In the end, however, there were significantly fewer cases than the coronavirus has already caused as of today.

Lipsitch: Yes, but there was the risk that it could have become an epidemic. However, with SARS, almost all transmissions seem to have been in symptomatic patients, so you could control the spread more easily. That seems to be different with the virus that causes COVID-19. And our job as epidemiologists is to think about worst-case scenarios so we can spur the right actions to stop an epidemic.

DER SPIEGEL: If your prediction turns out to be true, how many people will die from the coronavirus?

Lipsitch: I don't want to speculate at this time. We think that around 1 or 2 percent of the symptomatic people died, but we don’t know how many people are really infected. It’s like an iceberg with the severe cases at the top level and the asymptomatic ones underneath the surface. We won't know how big the latter part of the iceberg is - and thus the true fatality rate – until the outbreak is over.

DER SPIEGEL: Can the virus still be contained?

Lipsitch: I don’t think the virus can be stopped anymore. It’s too late for that. In the United States, but also in Germany, we see transmission that isn't linked to anything known. So, the virus has already spread locally. That does seem to be a sign of things in some areas being out of hand.

DER SPIEGEL: Does tracing the contacts of infected people and placing them under self-quarantine at home still make sense?

Lipsitch: I think it does, in combination with other control measures. Even if we don’t trace all contacts, we can reduce the number of infections. What China has done collectively in their cities is effective. In the end, the total number of infected people may be similar but we slow the spread of the disease down significantly.

DER SPIEGEL: Why does this matter?

Lipsitch: First of all, it’s important because hospitals and doctors have a certain capacity and we don't want to exceed it. And secondly, with every week we are learning more about which drugs might work and we’ll certainly have better treatment protocols. If you had the choice, you would rather get the disease in six months from now than today.

DER SPIEGEL: Japan closed schools nationwide, Italy closed its universities. Is that a good public health measure?

Lipsitch: It's really hard to know. We have never dealt with an epidemic where the role of children was so unclear. Most infected kids don’t show symptoms, but we don’t know if they are still infectious. Closing schools countrywide even where there aren’t a lot of cases seems to be a measure that is hard to sustain. But in places where we saw community spread, it definitely makes sense.

DER SPIEGEL: You did extensive research on the influenza pandemic between 1918 and 1920, which killed more than 650,000 people in the United States alone. What did we learn from the flu pandemic?

Lipsitch: American cities reacted quite differently then. Philadelphia didn't respond until two weeks after the first influenza case when it closed schools and canceled public events. St. Louis, on the contrary, put in interventions early on, after two days. The peak death rate in Saint Louis was only one-eighth that of Philadelphia. The study showed that if cities intervened early and implemented aggressive social distancing, the epidemic slowed down and was less deadly in general.

DER SPIEGEL: How long have these drastic measures to be in place?

Lipsitch: We learned from the years 1918 to 1920 that lifting bans too early can cause the number of cases to increase again and you get a second peak. This is because the virus is, of course, still there. However, disruptive measures can’t be in place forever. So, it’s necessarily going to be a trade-off.

DER SPIEGEL: Will the novel coronavirus be among us for a long time?

Lipsitch: That's a strong possibility. However, there is some hope. There could be a long period with not much transmission in one or two years simply because it will be so widespread by then that most people have become immune to it.

https://www.spiegel.de/international/wo ... a8f03a2f2b


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/11/20 4:36 am • # 57 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 12/27/16
Posts: 10841
It's Obama's fault

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=190975162319824


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/11/20 5:56 am • # 58 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 12/27/16
Posts: 10841
Just in case you thought the stupidity was limited to Trump and his administration

Quote:
British PM On Coronavirus: People Should “Take It On The Chin” And Just “Allow The Disease To Move Through The Population.”

https://mavenroundtable.io/theintellect ... 3syTCWZyRA


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/11/20 4:51 pm • # 59 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 01/16/09
Posts: 14234
must be the hair.


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/11/20 4:55 pm • # 60 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 06/18/16
Posts: 2164
Just heard on the news trump said he brought in Jared Kushner to be an advisor on his coronavirus team, as if that would make us worry less and have more confidence he knows what he is doing. This news alone is enough to make you sick :puke


Last edited by Karolinablue on 03/11/20 5:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/11/20 4:59 pm • # 61 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 12/27/16
Posts: 10841
Interesting if it holds up in broader trials ....

HIV medication was just used to ‘cure’ a man of the coronavirus, giving scientists ‘hope’

JOSH MILTON

As the coronavirus death toll continues to surge, a Spanish drug typically used to manage HIV was successfully used to ‘cure’ a man with COVID-19, giving health experts “hope”.

Scientists across the world have scrambled to source a vaccine for the deadly virus which started in the Wuhan province of China. As of Monday, more than 110,000 have acquired COVID-19 and nearly 4,000 people have died.

Yet, sending ripples across Seville in southern Spain, a patient was treated with lopinavir/ritonavir, a protease inhibitor, according to El País.

‘The results we have so far for the use of these drugs to “cure” coronavirus give us hope.’

“It’s an experimental usage of the drug that has given good results with other viruses,” said Albert Bosch, president of the Spanish Virology Society.

“One of the biggest advantages is that they are already approved for use, so there is little doubt about their safety.”

It comes off the back of Chinese health authorities naming the drugs as part of its treatment plans in the rush to develop a vaccine.

The two medications are sold under the brand name Kaletra by AbbVie and target specific enzymes in the body that both HIV and the coronavirus use to replicate themselves.

According to the medical journal Lancet, the lopinavir-ritonavir combination has had a positive outcome in two similar viruses – the SARS outbreak of 2003 and Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak of 2012.

The patient, Miguel Ángel Benítez, 63, received a dose of the drug paired with interferon beta, a signalling protein that cells produce when infected and that increases resistance to viruses.

“The results we have so far for the use of these drugs to treat coronavirus give us hope,” said Santiago Moreno, head of infectious diseases at Ramón y Cajal Hospital in Madrid.

Health chiefs stressed, however, that the success observed in the case will not necessarily translate to the fabled “cure”, and that caution will be exercised as further studies are conducted by medics.

The new pathogen first emerged in December 2019 and was tracked down to Wuhan’s busy seafood and livestock market.

COVID-19 quickly spread beyond China to France, Germany, Japan, the US, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, the UAE, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Canada and Nepal.

SOURCE


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/12/20 4:00 am • # 62 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 12/27/16
Posts: 10841
Coronavirus: Trump suspends travel from Europe to US

US President Donald Trump has announced sweeping new travel restrictions on Europe in a bid to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

But he said the "strong but necessary" restrictions would not apply to the UK, which has 460 cases of the virus.

A presidential proclamation issued later specified that only travellers from the 26 countries in the Schengen border-free travel area were barred.

This leaves a number of other European countries including Ireland unaffected.

"To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe," Mr Trump said from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening.

"The new rules will go into effect Friday at midnight," he added. The travel order does not apply to US citizens.

There are 1,135 confirmed cases of the virus across the US, with 38 deaths so far.

Mr Trump said the European Union had "failed to take the same precautions" as the US in fighting the virus.

A presidential proclamation, published shortly after Mr Trump's speech, specified that the ban applied to anyone who had been in the EU's Schengen border-free area in the 14 days before their arrival in the US.

The Schengen area, as defined in the proclamation, includes 26 European states, but does not include the UK or Ireland, which will not be subject to the ban.

Mr Trump initially said the travel suspension would also "apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo" coming from Europe into the US. He later tweeted to say that trade would "in no way be affected".

Quote:
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Hoping to get the payroll tax cut approved by both Republicans and Democrats, and please remember, very important for all countries & businesses to know that trade will in no way be affected by the 30-day restriction on travel from Europe. The restriction stops people not goods.

He also announced plans to provide billions of dollars in loans to small businesses, and urged Congress to pass major tax relief measures in an attempt to stymie the effect of the coronavirus outbreak on the economy.

The US president has faced criticism for his response to the virus.

Reacting to his speech, senior Democrats said it was "alarming" that President Trump did not address a shortage of coronavirus testing kits in the US.

"We have a public health crisis in this country and the best way to help keep the American people safe and ensure their economic security is for the president to focus on fighting the spread of the coronavirus itself," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement.

On the travel ban, Lawrence Gostin, a public health expert at Georgetown University, tweeted: "most of Europe is as safe as US. This will have no impact on US ... germs don't respect borders".

What's the situation in the US?

Officials had said the risk of infection was low for the general US public, but concern deepened after a number of new cases were confirmed earlier this month.

Containment efforts have begun in earnest. Troops have been deployed to New Rochelle, just north of New York City, where one outbreak is believed to have originated.

The governor of Washington state has also banned large gatherings in several counties. The north-western state is the focal point of the outbreak in the US, accounting for 24 of at least 38 deaths across the country.

And in an unprecedented move, the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that it would suspend the season after Wednesday night's games. The decision came after one player for the Utah Jazz tested positive for the virus.

Shortly after the NBA announcement, the Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks announced that he and his wife had contracted the virus in Australia.

Image


Dr Anthony Fauci, director the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Congress that the outbreak is "going to get worse", and that depended on the ability to contain those infected.

High medical costs make the virus particularly problematic - many Americans avoid doctor's visits because of unaffordable charges. A lack of paid sick leave is another concern, as are fears about the number of available tests.

But Vice-President Mike Pence, who is in charge of the task force co-ordinating the response to the crisis, has said that "any American can be tested, no restrictions, subject to doctor's orders", and that insurers had promised to offset the charges.

MORE>


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/12/20 6:24 am • # 63 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 12/27/16
Posts: 10841
Trump budget chief holds firm on CDC cuts amid virus outbreak
BY NIV ELIS

Russ Vought, the acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, on Tuesday doubled down on proposed cuts to health services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), despite the coronavirus outbreak.

Vought came under intense questioning from Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) at a hearing about President Trump’s 2021 budget request. It proposed ....

CONTINUED>

Live links and vid at site


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/12/20 9:23 am • # 64 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 12/27/16
Posts: 10841
Just when you thought he'd reached the limits of his stupidity ....

Quote:
Trump's coronavirus task force is reportedly awaiting 'research' from Jared Kushner before making an emergency declaration

https://www.businessinsider.com/jared-k ... ort-2020-3


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/12/20 9:42 am • # 65 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 01/16/09
Posts: 14234
we are getting to see that he is both clueless and a coward.

which is, needless to say, not good for the US.


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/12/20 10:04 am • # 66 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 12/27/16
Posts: 10841
Trump says doctors keep asking how he knows so much about the coronavirus

President Trump mused about a career path not taken Friday.

Speaking to reporters at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, about the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, which is spreading across the United States and throughout the world, Trump mentioned ...

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-says-docto ... 50773.html


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/12/20 10:22 am • # 67 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 01/16/09
Posts: 14234
shiftless2 wrote:
Trump says doctors keep asking how he knows so much about the coronavirus

President Trump mused about a career path not taken Friday.

Speaking to reporters at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, about the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, which is spreading across the United States and throughout the world, Trump mentioned ...

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-says-docto ... 50773.html


his every word betrays his profound ignorance on the subject.


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/12/20 10:29 am • # 68 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 12/27/16
Posts: 10841
macroscopic wrote:
shiftless2 wrote:
Trump says doctors keep asking how he knows so much about the coronavirus

President Trump mused about a career path not taken Friday.

Speaking to reporters at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, about the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, which is spreading across the United States and throughout the world, Trump mentioned ...

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-says-docto ... 50773.html

his every word betrays his profound ignorance on the subject.

If Coronavirus Disease was an STD he might have a point. :g


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/12/20 11:29 am • # 69 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 01/21/09
Posts: 3638
Location: The DMV (DC,MD,VA)
Perhaps it's the rhetorical "how do YOU know so much about coronavirus?" when he tries to tell the doctors they're wrong.


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/12/20 2:18 pm • # 70 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 01/16/09
Posts: 14234
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/politics ... Stories%29

if it were any other president, I would ask if this was an Onion piece.


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/12/20 5:45 pm • # 71 
Administrator

Joined: 01/16/16
Posts: 30003
F1 Australian GP cancelled.
NHL season postponed.
NBA season postponed.
Frozen Four cancelled.


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/12/20 6:46 pm • # 72 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 05/05/10
Posts: 14091
Good news for those without insurance (my oldest daughter). Rep. Porter had to hammer at him, but prevailed. If you can find the video of the exchange, it's great! She wasn't going to let up until he agreed. He has the authority.

Rep. Katie Porter gets CDC chief to agree to pay for coronavirus testing

CNN)Democratic Rep. Katie Porter successfully pressed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief during a congressional hearing on Thursday to agree that the agency will pay for testing for the novel coronavirus.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/politics ... index.html


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/12/20 6:47 pm • # 73 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 05/05/10
Posts: 14091
As an aside, supposedly Alabama has zero cases. Of course, they've only tested less than 20 people. :eyes


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/12/20 8:01 pm • # 74 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 02/09/09
Posts: 4713
The Worst Outcome

If somebody other than Donald Trump were in the White House, the coronavirus crisis would not be unfolding this way.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/trump-ensuring-worst-possible-outcome-coronavirus-crisis/607867/


Top
  
 Offline
 Post subject: Re: Coronavirus
PostPosted: 03/13/20 4:58 am • # 75 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 12/27/16
Posts: 10841
Quote:
Colorado's first drive in Cov-19 Testing facility opens - and it's free

https://www.koaa.com/news/coronavirus/c ... g-facility


Quote:
Republicans Think Basic Public Health Measures Are Part of a Radical Left-Wing Agenda
By JORDAN WEISSMANN

For a brief, relieving moment on Wednesday, it appeared that Republicans in Congress might get on board with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan to combat the coronavirus pandemic. “I think the things that will be put forth will not be controversial and I think they could become very bipartisan,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters.

The hopeful mood didn’t last. After Democrats unveiled their package late Wednesday night, GOP lawmakers whipped around and announced they would not in fact support the proposal, which they characterized as a sneaky plot to use a public health crisis to pass some long-standing liberal priorities. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called it an “ideological wish list” and accused House Democrats of choosing “to wander into various areas of policy that are barely related if at all to the issue before us.” Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama complained that the House bill was covered in “Christmas tree ornaments.” An anonymous White House official said, “This is Democrats letting fear surrounding coronavirus be a vehicle to push their radical left agenda.” Trump echoed the point. “There are things in there that had nothing to do of what we are talking about,” he said, “It is not a way for them to get some of the goodies they have been able to get for the last 25 years.”

Trump didn’t specify what “goodies” he was talking about. Notably, neither did most of the other Republicans who have complained about the bill. This is worrisome, since it suggests that the GOP still doesn’t appreciate the scale of what the United States is facing, and views common-sense public health and economic measures as some sort “radical” leftist agenda.

The House bill is, in fact, a wide-ranging and fairly comprehensive response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It would guarantee free coronavirus testing by requiring insurers to pay for it and having Medicaid foot the full bill for the uninsured. It would add funding for unemployment benefits (since we’re probably going to see a lot of layoffs soon). It provides more food aid for families (a lot of kids are going to be without lunch when schools close). It would temporarily increase the federal government’s share of funding for Medicaid, to give state budgets a little relief as caseloads likely swell.

And importantly it provides .....

CONTINUED

Shift's comment - I think this goes beyond them not "[appreciatimg] the scale of what the United States is facing". Recognizing the severity of the situation would be contradicting the message they (and their Supreme Leader) have been pushing since the start. That this is a minor inconvenience and they've got things under control. It's all about the election - the people be damned.


Top
  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  

Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ... 61  Next   Page 3 of 61   [ 1507 posts ] New Topic Add Reply

All times are UTC - 6 hours



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron
© Voices or Choices.
All rights reserved.