The Serious Side - part 7

I’ll bet that Trump has never seen ‘Gone With the Wind’ (too long for him to pay attention) or ‘Parasite’ (he can’t read). Yet he critiques both films. He is the most ignorant human that has ever set foot in the White House. And yet his peeps love him and believe every word that he says. I don’t know my country anymore.

Donnamarie - It's because he validates every fear-based, ignorant, hate-filled instinct they've ever had and gives them permission to act on it. I'd be willing to bet that his true base could keep the psychiatric industry busy for centuries.

From this side of the pond, I don't really understand the fact that his 'fans' appear to believe every word he says. Really?!!

Oh, and on the previous story, does Ric Grenell have any knowledge whatsoever about National Security?

(And if you haven't read The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis please do)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8029357/Eleven-13-high-risk-American-cruise-ship-evacuees-test-positive-coronavirus.html

[size=34]State Department IGNORED health officials’ warnings against flying coronavirus-infected evacuees back to the US alongside healthy passengers as CDC confirms 18 of them now have the virus that's now struck 35 Americans[/size]

• Fourteen of the 328 Americans evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan tested positive for coronavirus before their flights took off Sunday night
  
  
• CDC officials warned that they should not fly alongside uninfected passengers for fear of spreading the virus
  
  
• State Department officials overruled their objections and put the infected people in isolation pods on the cargo planes, the Washington Post reported 
  
  
• Now, 18 American evacuees from the ship are confirmed to have coronavirus, US officials said Friday 
  
  
• A State Department official defended the decision as one made in an 'emerging situation' and praised authorities on the ground for 'bringing them home' 
  
  
• CDC spokesperson Dr Nancy Messonnier warned that coronavirus is not yet spreading in US communities but said it's 'likely that it may happen' 
  
  
• Sixteen other Americans have been confirmed to have coronavirus, which has sickened more than 77,000
  
  
•  The cruise ship, by far the largest cluster of coronavirus cases outside China, has become the biggest test so far of other countries' ability to contain an outbreak that has killed 2,250 people worldwide 
  
  

By NATALIE RAHHAL ACTING US HEALTH EDITOR and MARY KEKATOS SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER and EMILY CRANE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 12:10 EST, 21 February 2020 | UPDATED: 16:03 EST, 21 February 2020

     



Health officials warned the State Department not to fly 14 American cruise passengers from the Diamond Princess who tested positive in Japan back to the US alongside healthy passengers, for fear the virus would spread. 
The State Department batted aside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) staunch warnings and flew all 328 evacuees back together on two planes. 
Now, 18 of those passengers are positive for the deadly coronavirus that's killed 2,250 people worldwide, CDC officials confirmed Friday.   
Sources involved in the decision told the Washington Post that CDC staunchly warned the State Department against transporting infected and uninfected people side-by-side, but were ultimately overruled. 

'It was like the worst nightmare,' said a senior US official involved in the decision, who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity. 
'Quite frankly, the alternative could have been pulling grandma out in the pouring rain, and that would have been bad, too.' 
Now, those 328 passengers are all back on US soil after spending more than two weeks on the cruise ship that's become the most densely infected place in the world outside China. 


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State Department officials defended their decision to fly the 14 people who tested positive for coronavirus in Japan back to the US with uninfected passengers against CDC warnings during a Friday press briefing, pointing to the 328 passengers who'd been evacuated from the Diamond Princess and were stuck waiting to go home on buses (pictured) 
Asked about the conflict between the two agencies during a Friday press briefing, CDC spokesperson Nancy Messonnier punted curtly to the State Department. 
'It's important to remember this was an emerging and unusual circumstance,' said Ian Brownlee, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Consular Affairs. 
'We had 328 people on buses, a plan to execute and we received lab results on people who were otherwise asymptomatic, un-ill people on a bus on the way to the airport. 
'The people on the ground did exactly the right thing...in bringing them home.'   
People who had tested positive were put into isolation units on board the two cargo planes, which then flew to Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland in Texas and Travis Air Base in California. 
Although officials reassured the press that the sick passengers were thoroughly contained and every precaution had been taken to ensure the safety of the healthy people onboard, reports later emerged that people on the flights had no idea they were sharing yet another even more confined space with infected individuals. 
When the planes landed at their respective destinations late Sunday night, six 'high risk' passengers from Lackland and seven from Travis were ushered onto an additional flight to Omaha Eppley Airfield in Nebraska. 
Eleven of the 13 American passengers evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan who were deemed 'high risk' for coronavirus have been confirmed to have the infection that's spread to nearly 77,000 people around the world. 
Twelve of those 13 passengers were being held at the National Quarantine Center in Omaha, Nebraska, while one was transferred immediately to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit because they had developed symptoms of the virus and had an underlying condition. 
All 11 new cases were confirmed Thursday by the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), while the other two passengers at UNMC tested negative. 
Meanwhile, 16 of the more than 300 other evacuees from the ship who were symptom-free and quarantined at Travis Air Force Base have now developed signs of the virus and been transferred to hospitals where they can be isolated, monitored and treated. 
Of those, test results came in from Japan showing that, in fact, 11 individuals were positive for coronavirus, but the results have not been confirmed by the CDC. Another five had not tested positive but had developed symptoms. 
Four people were transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, which is specially-equipped to handle dangerous infectious disease in the US and another two are expected to be brought in for isolation, spokesperson Christa Arguinchona told AP Thursday. 
With the additional 11 confirmed cases, there are currently an estimated 27 Americans with the coronavirus - an illness now called COVID-19 - that's sickened nearly 77,000 people around the world, and killed 2,250 since it emerged in Wuhan, China, in December.    


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Eleven of the 13 'high risk' evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan were brought to Nebraska for quarantine, including Carl Goldman (pictured), who developed symptoms has an underlying condition, and was transferred to a biocontainment unit, according to his wife. Now, 11 of the them have tested positive for coronavirus 


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The State Department confirmed that, after the evacuees had been placed on buses to the airport, 14 people who were not showing symptoms had tested positive for the virus - and were then placed into isolation chambers (pictured) 


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With 11 new confirmed cases among the Omaha, Nebraska evacuees, there are now 27 cases of coronavirus in eight US states 
Officials Monday morning confirmed that 14 of the passengers that were evacuated to the U.S. had tested positive for coronavirus, but would still be allowed to fly back - in isolation chambers - on board the same planes as passengers who were negative for the virus.  
One passenger has been transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit after the presented with a cough and lightheadedness after landing at Eppely Air Field. Local officials said that the person has a chronic health condition, but did not specify what sort. 
Later, Seratti-Goldman, an evacuee from California, claimed that that individual was her husband, Carl Goldman, who has Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disease and developed a fever on the plane and was then unable to walk when they landed. 
The biocontainment unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center is one of just three such facilities in the nation, deemed qualified to handle patients of the Ebola outbreak that infected 11 Americans in 2014. 
All 13 high risk passengers were re-tested stateside for coronavirus. Six were flown to Nebraska after landing at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California just before 11.30pm Sunday night and another seven were brought to the quarantine after landing at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, hours later. 
It's not yet clear what type of 'care' the patients have received while in isolation, although doctors in the US and abroad have been experimentally using antivirals, a drug designed to treat Ebola, supportive therapies (like IV fluids and ventilators) and, in China, plasma transfusions. 
Since arrival, the 12 quarantined passengers have been isolated in their rooms, said Shelly Schwedhelm, an official at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said in a press briefing. 
It also remains unclear what protocols have been applied to the remaining patients who tested positive for coronavirus - about four - before taking off from Japan over the weekend to flee the ship where more 454 people have now become infected with the potentially deadly virus after another 99 cases were confirmed Monday. 


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The Nebraska Biocontainment Unit is one of just three in the U.S. that were designated equipped to contain and treat patients with Ebola during the 2014 outbreak that struck 11 Americans, including one, seen here being transported into the facility 


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Staff at the Nebraska Biocontainment unit practice placing a subject (an Air Force service member) in one of the specialized chambers that one of  13 evacuees from the Diamond Princess at 'high risk' of coronavirus was placed in after arriving at Eppely Air Field in Omaha on Monday. The other 12 patients are in quarantine 
Fourteen of the evacuees were placed in isolation chambers on-board their evacuation flights when officials realized they had tested positive for the deadly virus. 
The first 747 plane touched down at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California just before 11.30pm on Sunday local time, before the second plane arrived at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas a few hours later. 
The passengers had all been deemed 'fit to fly' and were not showing symptoms before disembarking from the cruise ship. As the evacuees were being taken to the airport in Tokyo, results from tests carried out two to three days earlier came back and showed the 14 passengers had the infection. 
Despite the U.S. earlier saying no infected passenger would be allowed to leave, those who tested positive were still allowed to board the planes because they did not have symptoms. The State Department said they were being isolated separately from other passengers on the flights. 
Health officials at the CDC advised against transporting the 14 people positive for coronavirus, but the State Department eventually  
The U.S. said it arranged the evacuation because people on the Diamond Princess were at a high risk of exposure to the virus given more than 450 passengers have tested positive since the cruise liner was ordered to stay under quarantine on February 4.   
As countries extricated their respective citizens from the cruise liner, which is by far the largest cluster of coronavirus cases outside China, some 3,000 people who have spent the last two weeks or more in a high risk environment fanned out across the globe.  
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials have warned that people can be asymptomatic, test negative for coronavirus and still develop later. They and World Health Organization (WHO) experts have also cautioned that even asymptomatic people can have and transmit the virus. 
And that has some experts very worried. 
'There's a possibility that anyone who is infected and asymptomatic could start a chain of infection wherever they return to,' Dr Stanley Deresinkski, a professor and infectious disease specialist at Stanford University told Fortune. 
He was referring to passengers from the Westerdam cruise ship, currently in Cambodia but preparing to return home despite the fact that an 84-year-old American woman on board was diagnosed with coronavirus, but the same could certainly be true of the Diamond Princess, by far the largest cluster of coronavirus cases outside China. 
[size=10][size=18]Americans evacuated from Diamond Princess cruise land in Texas




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A second plane carrying Americans evacuated from the Diamond Princess ship arrives at Joint Base San Antonio in Texas after flying back from Tokyo


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One of two planes carrying 340 Americans back to the US from Japan where they spent almost two weeks under coronavirus quarantine on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship has landed at Travis Air Force Base in California (pictured)


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The sick passengers were allowed to continue on the flight but inside the isolation chambers (pictured), and will be taken for treatment separate to the other passengers after landing


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340 Americans decided to abandon ship and take the government charter flights back to the US, where they will be under additional quarantine on two military bases for another 14 days

DIAMOND PRINCESS SAGA: TIMELINE OF CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK 

February 4: Japan announced 10 people aboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner had been diagnosed with coronavirus.
The ship, carrying more than 3,700 passengers, was placed under quarantine.
February 15: U.S. authorities announced they would provide two planes to allow the 380 Americans on board the ship to return to the United States.
February 16: Officials revealed 454 passengers were now infected on the ship, including about 62 Americans.
Japanese authorities, dressed in head-to-toe protective suits, started transporting about 340 Americans to the airport in Tokyo on a convoy of 14 buses.
As the evacuees were being taken to the airport in Tokyo, results from tests carried out two to three days earlier came back and showed the 14 passengers had the infection.
Despite the U.S. earlier saying no infected passenger would be allowed to leave, those who tested positive were still allowed to board the planes in isolation because they did not have symptoms.
February 17: The two planes touch down at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California and Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
All of the passengers must go through another 14 days of quarantine at the military facilities - meaning they will have been under quarantine for a total of nearly four weeks.
February 19: The 14-day quarantine for the ship is scheduled to be lifted.  



Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, said Sunday that an infected person who shows minimal symptoms could still pass the virus to someone else. 
It came as Japanese officials confirmed 99 additional people had been infected by the virus aboard the quarantined cruise ship, bringing the total to 454. At least 62 Americans are among those infected but it is unclear if that figure includes the 14 who were evacuated. 
The United States was the first country to evacuate its passengers from the ship. Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Italy were planning similar flights of passengers. 
More than 73,000 people have now been infected with the virus worldwide, while 1,873 people have died from it. Overall, Japan has 419 confirmed cases of the virus, including one death. The United States has confirmed 15 cases within the country. Separately, one U.S. citizen died in China. 
U.S. authorities had announced on Saturday that they would offer the 380 Americans on board the option to leave the ship. The evacuation was not mandatory but the Americans who chose not to leave the ship were warned they wouldn't be allowed to return to the U.S. 'for a period of time' that will be determined later by the Centres for Disease Control. 
Those who arrived at Travis Air Force Base in California have been told they will be quarantined at the Westwind Inn on the base, which is the same place where those evacuated from Wuhan are being held. They will be kept in a separate part of the building to those who are already in quarantine. 
The Americans who did evacuate the ship said they were frustrated about the additional two-week quarantine in the U.S. because they believed they would be able to walk free from the Diamond Princess when the ship's quarantine is scheduled to be lifted on Wednesday.  
'It's like a prison sentence for something I did not do,' passenger Karey Mansicalco told CNN from her cabin. 'They are holding us hostage for absolutely no reason.'  
'On cargo plane. You cannot Imagine. Crazy or worst dream ever,' American evacuee Gay Courter wrote on Facebook after boarding one of the flights at Tokyo International Airport.
Her husband Philip added: 'Huge windowless B-747 cargo plane with some seats bolted in. Destination unknown at this time.' 
Americans Cheryl and Paul Molesky, a couple from Syracuse, New York, opted to trade one coronavirus quarantine for another, leaving the cruise ship to fly back to the U.S. Cheryl Molesky said the rising number of patients on the ship factored into the decision.
'We are glad to be going home,' Cheryl Molesky earlier told NHK TV in Japan. 'It's just a little bit disappointing that we´ll have to go through quarantine again, and we will probably not be as comfortable as the Diamond Princess, possibly.'
When they eventually boarded the plane with other Americans, Cheryl said: 'Well, we're exhausted, but we're on the plane and that's a good feeling. Pretty miserable wearing these masks though, and everybody had to go to the bathroom on the bus.'  
[size=18]Plane carrying quarantined cruise ship passengers arrives back in US




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Japan said that 340 Americans were taken to Tokyo's airport to be evacuated, while another those who had already been diagnosed were forced to stay behind for treatment. A handful of others opted to stay


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Passengers on board the 747 cargo airplane could be seen taking pictures as they arrived back in America, having been held on the cruise ship since February 3


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Buses carrying U.S. passengers who were aboard the quarantined cruise ship the Diamond Princess, seen in background, leaves Yokohama port, near Tokyo, early Monday. The cruise ship was carrying nearly 3,500 passengers and crew members


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Passengers are seen boarding one of two planes bound for the U.S. at Tokyo's Haneda airport late Sunday after they evacuated the Diamond Princess cruise ship


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A bus carrying U.S. passengers who were aboard the quarantined cruise ship the Diamond Princess arrives at Haneda airport in Tokyo, before the passengers board a Kalitta airplane chartered by the U.S. government
Other Americans on board the cruise ship declined to evacuate the Diamond Princess, despite being warned they will still have to wait two weeks and test negative for the virus before being allowed back to the United States.
They feared being on a long flight with other passengers who may be infected or in an incubation period.  



'My health is fine. And my two-week quarantine is almost over. Why would I want to be put on a bus and a plane with other people they think may be infected when I have spent nearly two weeks isolated from those people?' Matt Smith, an American lawyer on the ship with his wife, tweeted. 



He described a fellow American passenger standing on her balcony chanting 'USA, USA' as buses arrived to collect them.



'Of course, in contravention of the rules of quarantine, she's not wearing a face mask and she's talking with a passenger on the adjacent balcony... And you wanted me to get on a bus with her?' 
He said American officials in hazmat suits and face masks had visited his room to check if he would disembark but he said he wanted to stay. 
Later, when Smith had learned 14 infected passengers were still allowed to board the flights, he tweeted: 'OMG! US Gov't said they would not put anyone on the planes who was symptomatic, and they ended up knowingly and intentionally putting on 14 people who actually have the virus. Decision not to be evacuated = best decision ever!'  
Japanese authorities, dressed in head-to-toe protective suits, helped transport the Americans to the airport in Tokyo on a convoy of 14 buses.  


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Americans Cheryl and Paul Molesky, a couple from Syracuse, New York, said after boarding the flight: said: 'Well, we're exhausted, but we're on the plane and that's a good feeling. Pretty miserable wearing these masks though, and everybody had to go to the bathroom on the bus.'


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Americans who evacuated the cruise ship are pictured boarding one of the two planes that took them back to the U.S.


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Those Americans who chose to leave the Diamond Princess are seen in a chartered evacuation aircraft to fly back to the US


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Phil Courter, a U.S. passenger on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, wears a face mask on a chartered evacuation aircraft to fly back to the United States at Haneda airport in Japan


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Health officials in protective suits are seen ferrying passengers to board the evacuation flights in Tokyo
American Sarah Arana, a 52-year-old medical social worker, said there were no health checks when they passed through a makeshift passport control. 
She said the U.S. government should have acted 'much sooner, at the beginning'.
'I am happy and ready to go,' Arana told AFP before leaving the ship. 'We need a proper quarantine. This was not it.'  
Across mainland China, officials said the total number of coronavirus cases rose by 2,048 to 70,548. That was slightly more new cases than were reported on Sunday, but hundreds fewer than reported on Saturday. 


Chinese authorities say the stabilisation in the number of new cases is a sign that measures they have taken to halt the spread of the disease are having an effect.
However, epidemiologists say it is probably still too early to say how well the outbreak is being contained within China and its central Hubei province, where the virus first appeared.
China has responded to the COVID-19 virus by effectively locking down Hubei's provincial capital Wuhan, a megacity of 11 million people. 


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Medical workers in protective suits attend to a patient inside an isolated ward of Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak


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Medical staff members treating a patient infected by the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province

[size=34]Did coronavirus originate in Chinese government laboratory? [/size]

Chinese scientists believe the coronavirus may have started life in a research facility just 300 yards from the Wuhan fish market.
A new paper from the Beijing-sponsored South China University of Technology says the Wuhan Center for Disease Control (WHCDC) could have spawned the contagion in Hubei province.
The paper, penned by scholars Botao Xiao and Lei Xiao, claims the WHCDC kept disease-ridden animals in laboratories, including 605 bats.
It also mentions that bats - which are linked to coronavirus - once attacked a researcher and 'blood of bat was on his skin.'
The report says: 'Genome sequences from patients were 96% or 89% identical to the Bat CoV ZC45 coronavirus originally found in Rhinolophus affinis (intermediate horseshoe bat).'
It describes how the only native bats are found around 600 miles away from the Wuhan seafood market and that the probability of bats flying from Yunnan and Zhejiang provinces was minimal.
In addition there is little to suggest the local populace eat the bats as evidenced by testimonies of 31 residents and 28 visitors.
Instead the authors point to research being carried out withing a few hundred yards at the WHCDC.
One of the researchers at the WHCDC described quarantining himself for two weeks after a bat's blood got on his skin, according to the report. That same man also quarantined himself after a bat urinated on him.
He also mentions discovering a live tick from a bat - parasites known for their ability to pass infections through a host animal's blood.
'The WHCDC was also adjacent to the Union Hospital (Figure 1, bottom) where the first group of doctors were infected during this epidemic.' The report says.
'It is plausible that the virus leaked around and some of them contaminated the initial patients in this epidemic, though solid proofs are needed in future study.'



Concerns remain about the global transmission, especially on cruise ships which appear to have become especially virulent breeding grounds.
Fears are growing for passengers on the Westerdam cruise ship, who all received a clean bill of health when they disembarked in Cambodia - a staunch ally of Beijing.
An 83-year-old American woman was stopped by authorities in Malaysia over the weekend when she was detected with a fever and later diagnosed with the virus. 
There were more than 2,200 passengers and crew on the ship when it docked in Sihanoukville, many of whom have now dispersed around the globe. 
With tourism battered and global supply chains disrupted by the virus, experts are fretting about the toll it could take on a fragile global economy.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said there could be a cut of around 0.1-0.2 percentage points to global growth but stressed there was 'still a great deal of uncertainty.'
Japan, one of the hardest-hit countries outside China irrespective of the Diamond Princess, suffered its biggest economic slump in more than five years - even before the coronavirus crisis. Gross domestic product in the world's third-top economy shrank an eye-watering 1.6 percent in the three months to December - a much bigger contraction than economists had feared. 
It comes after Chinese scientists revealed the deadly virus may have started life in a research facility just 300 yards from the Wuhan fish market.  
A new bombshell paper from the Beijing-sponsored South China University of Technology says that the Wuhan Center for Disease Control (WHCDC) could have spawned the contagion in Hubei province.
'The possible origins of 2019-nCoV coronavirus,' penned by scholars Botao Xiao and Lei Xiao claims the WHCDC kept disease-ridden animals in laboratories, including 605 bats.
It also mentions that bats - which are linked to coronavirus - once attacked a researcher and 'blood of bat was on his skin.'
The report says: 'Genome sequences from patients were 96% or 89% identical to the Bat CoV ZC45 coronavirus originally found in Rhinolophus affinis (intermediate horseshoe bat).'

party animal - not! wrote:From this side of the pond, I don't really understand the fact that his 'fans' appear to believe every word he says. Really?!!

Oh, and on the previous story, does Ric Grenell have any knowledge whatsoever about National Security?

(And if you haven't read The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis please do)

PAN, his supporters will give a number of reasons why they’re with him 100%. But if you listen to them try to defend him they absolutely sound like cult followers.

Grenell has no knowledge or experience in national security. He is only supposed to be filling the position for a few weeks but make no mistake- he is there because he is a full-on Trumper.
I’ve read about how much he is disliked by German officials. Susan Rice was being interviewed this week and she said he was a hack, a shill and one of the nastiest and most dishonest people she’s ever come across. Kind of says it all. Oh, and he’s also been described as a narcissist. Someone Trump can truly appreciate!

I wonder how prepared the the hapless Trump administration is for the coronavirus if it should start spreading in the US. They don’t even listen to the CDC.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8032431/State-Department-blasts-Russia-spreading-disinformation-responsible-coronavirus.html

[size=34]State Department blasts Russia for 'spreading disinformation' that America is responsible for coronavirus - as South Korea, Singapore and Iran report 'untraceable' new infection clusters in sign that virus spread is uncontrollable[/size]

• Russian-linked social media accounts are spreading disinformation about coronavirus, officials say
  
  
• Disinformation campaign promotes unfounded conspiracy theories that US is behind the outbreak
  
  
• Meanwhile, three countries reported clusters of infected patients with no traceable source vector from China
  
  
• Doctors are unable to identify the source of coronavirus clusters in South Korea, Singapore and Iran
  
  
• Globally there are 76,796 confirmed cases and 2,247 deaths, with most in the Chinese epicenter 
  
  

By AFP and ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 12:00 EST, 22 February 2020 | UPDATED: 12:00 EST, 22 February 2020

     



Thousands of Russian-linked social media accounts have launched a coordinated effort to spread alarm about the new coronavirus, disrupting global efforts to combat the epidemic, U.S. officials say.
The disinformation campaign promotes unfounded conspiracy theories that the United States is behind the COVID-19 outbreak, in an apparent bid to damage the U.S. image by seizing on international health concerns, they said.
Meanwhile, alarm bells were sounding as three countries reported clusters of infected patients with no traceable source vector from China, the first sign that the virus is spreading uncontrollably and could reach pandemic levels.
Doctors are unable to identify the source of coronavirus clusters in South Korea, Singapore and Iran, the World Health Organization said Saturday.

WHO officials said China's crackdown on parts of the country bought time for the rest of the world to prepare for the new virus. But as hot spots emerge around the globe, trouble finding each source - the first patient who sparks every new cluster - might signal the disease has begun spreading too widely for tried-and-true public health steps to stamp it out. 


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In South Korea, medical workers wearing protective gear transfer a suspected coronavirus patient to another hospital from Daenam Hospital where a total of 16 infections have now been identified with the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Cheongdo county


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In Singapore, visitors wearing masks as a precaution against a new coronavirus arrive for the Singapore Airshow. The virus becomes more widespread, trying to trace every contact would be futile, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said


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In Iran, a young woman wearing a protective mask crosses a busy street in the capital Tehran on Saturday. Iran today reported one more death among 10 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths in the Islamic republic to five


'A number of spot fires, occurring around the world is a sign that things are ticking along, and what we are going to have here is probably a pandemic,' said Ian Mackay, who studies viruses at Australia's University of Queensland.
That worst-case isn't here yet, the WHO insists. It isn't convinced that countries outside China need more draconian measures, but it pointed to spikes in cases in Iran and South Korea to warn that time may be running out to contain the virus.
'What we see is a very different phase of this outbreak depending where you look,' said WHO's Dr. Sylvie Briand. 'We see different patterns of transmission in different places.'
The World Health Organization defines a 'global pandemic' as a disease spreading on two continents, though some public health experts would call an outbreak a pandemic if the spread is over a wide area or across many international borders.
The newest red flag: Iran has reported 28 cases, including five deaths, in just days. The cluster began in the city of Qom, a popular religious destination, but it's not clear how. Worse, infected travelers from Iran already have been discovered in Lebanon and Canada.
In South Korea, most of the hundreds of new cases detected since Wednesday are linked to a church in the city of Daegu and a nearby hospital. But health authorities have not yet found the 'index case,' the person among the church´s 9,000 followers who set off the chain of infections.
There also have been several cases in the capital, Seoul, where the infection routes have not yet been traced. In Europe, Italy saw cases of the new virus more than quadruple in a day as it grapples with infections in a northern region that apparently have spread through a hospital and a cafe.


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A map shows the spread of coronavirus worldwide, with untraceable clusters now in Iran, Singapore and South Korea


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People rest in a temporary hospital situated in the Tazihu Gymnasium in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on Friday. The epidemic-stricken city plans to build 19 more makeshift hospitals to ensure enough beds for COVID-19 patients


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Medical personnel work in a temporary hospital situated in the Tazihu Gymnasium in Wuhan on Friday. The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has so far killed more than 2,000 people
A cluster of cases isn't inherently worrying - in fact, it's expected as an infection that's easy to spread is carried around the world by travelers. The first line of defense: Isolate the sick to treat them and prevent further spread, and quarantine people who came in contact with them until the incubation period is over.
But as the virus becomes more widespread, trying to trace every contact would be futile, Singapore´s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong acknowledged earlier this month.
'If we still hospitalize and isolate every suspect case, our hospitals will be overwhelmed,' he said. So far, the city-state has identified five clusters of transmission, including two churches. But there remain eight locally transmitted cases with no links to earlier cases, or to China.
Viruses vary in how they infect. The new coronavirus - unlike its cousins SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, and MERS, or Middle East respiratory syndrome - spreads as easily as a common cold.
And it's almost certainly being spread by people who show such mild symptoms that no one can tell, said Dr. Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
'If that's the case, all of these containment methods are not going to work,' Adalja said. 'It's likely mixed in the cold and flu season all over the place, in multiple countries' and gone unnoticed until someone gets severely ill.
These milder symptoms are good news 'in terms of not as many people dying,' said Mackay, of Australia. 'But it´s really bad news if you are trying to stop a pandemic,' he added.


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Nurses distribute meals to patients at a temporary hospital situated in the Tazihu Gymnasium in Wuhan on Friday


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A doctor instructs recovered COVID-19 patients to be discharged from a temporary hospital in Wuhan on Friday
When Hong Kong reported it first death from the virus earlier this month, it also confirmed three locally transmitted cases with no known link to any previous cases or any travel history to China. Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Center for Health Protection warned then that 'there could be invisible chains of infection happening within communities.'
Officials in both South Korea and Japan have signaled in the past week that the spread is entering a new phase in their countries.
On Friday, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun said the government would have to shift its focus from quarantine and border control to slowing the spread of the virus. Schools and churches were closed and some mass gatherings banned.
Takaji Wakita, head of Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases, earlier urged people to work at home or in shifts to avoid being in a crowd, and refrain from holding non-essential and non-urgent meetings.
But Adalja cautioned that far-reaching measures like China instituted in the outbreak's epicenter of Wuhan - where citizens have been ordered to stay in their homes for weeks - can backfire. While it remains to be seen if the new virus is waning, that kind of lockdown makes it hard for people to get other critically important care, like fast treatment for a heart attack.


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In Beijing, a worker wears a protective suit in the Central Business District following a nationwide outbreak of coronavirus


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A man wearing a face mask and sunglasses sits in a deserted shopping street in Beijing on Saturday


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Motorcycle delivery worker Gao Yuchao, driving on an overpass to deliver goods ordered online along a street in Shanghai. China's armies of racing, swerving motorcycle deliverymen have been hailed as saviors during the coronavirus crisis, keeping shut-in citizens fed and stocked up. But it come with major adjustments for couriers like Gao Yuchao
There's no way to predict if the recent clusters will burn out or trigger widespread transmission.
For now, health officials should try and contain the infection for as long as possible while preparing for a change in strategy by preparing hospitals, readying protective equipment and bolstering laboratory capacity, said Gagandeep Kang, a microbiologist who leads India´s Translational Health Science and Technology Institute.
'Although the window of opportunity is narrowing to contain the outbreak, we still have a chance to contain it,' said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 'But while doing that, we have to prepare at the same time for any eventualities, because this outbreak could go any direction - it could even be messy.'
Malicious disinformation isn't helping as authorities attempted to inform the public, however. 
State Department officials tasked with combating Russian disinformation told AFP that false personas are being used on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to advance Russian talking propaganda about coronavirus in multiple languages.
'Russia's intent is to sow discord and undermine US institutions and alliances from within, including through covert and coercive malign influence campaigns,' said Philip Reeker, the acting Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia.
'By spreading disinformation about coronavirus, Russian malign actors are once again choosing to threaten public safety by distracting from the global health response,' he said.
The claims that have been circulating in recent weeks include allegations that the virus is a US effort to 'wage economic war on China,' that it is a biological weapon manufactured by the CIA or part of a Western-led effort 'to push anti-China messages.'


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US officials say that false personas are being used on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to advance Russian talking propaganda about coronavirus. Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen above


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A health worker disinfects an office in Daegu, South Korea on Saturday. South Korea's prime minister declared the southeastern cities of Daegu and Cheongdo as 'special care zones' after a cluster of COVID-19 cases has been reported


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A confirmed coronavirus patient is wheeled to a hospital at Chuncheon, South Korea on Saturday
[size=18]Coronavirus fears grow in South Korea as Seoul confirms first death




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US individuals including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, a philanthropist who has spent billions on global health programs, have also been falsely accused of involvement in the virus.
The disinformation campaign was identified by US monitors in mid-January after Chinese officials announced a third death from the new coronavirus in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.
More than 2,340 people have since died, mostly in China. The number of cases exceeds 76,000 and the virus has reached around 25 countries. Among them is Iran, which on Saturday ordered the closure of schools and universities in two cities, after a fifth death.
Several thousand online accounts -- previously identified for airing Russian-backed messages on major events such as the war in Syria, the Yellow Vest protests in France and Chile's mass demonstrations -- are posting 'almost near identical' messages about the novel coronavirus, according to a report prepared for the State Department's Global Engagement Center and seen by AFP.
The accounts -- run by humans, not bots -- post at similar times in English, Spanish, Italian, German and French and can be linked back to Russian proxies, or carry similar messages to Russian-backed outlets such as RT and Sputnik, it said.
Russian state-funded media started pushing anti-Western messages about the cause of the epidemic on January 20, with operators of the social media accounts beginning to post globally the following day, US officials say.
'In this case, we were able to see their full disinformation ecosystem in effect, including state TV, proxy web sites and thousands of false social media personas all pushing the same themes,' said Special Envoy Lea Gabrielle, head of the Global Engagement Center, which is tasked with tracking and exposing propaganda and disinformation.
During many past news events, the accounts would post actively for up to 72 hours. But messages about the new coronavirus have been uploaded every day over the past month -- a sign, US officials said, of Russia's investment in a story unlikely to disappear soon from the headlines.
'In the Russian doctrine of information confrontation, this is classic,' said another official from the Global Engagement Center.
'The number of coronavirus cases globally hasn't reached its apex, so the Russian strategy is to very cheaply but very effectively take advantage of the information environment to sow discord between us and China, or for economic purposes.'


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In Italy, ambulances and health workers are seen outside the Padua's hospital Saturday. A woman of Milan's Lombardy region has died after being infected with the coronavirus, becoming the second death following that of a 78-year-old man who died on 21 February. The new wave of cases in Italy's northern regions have triggered shut-downs of shops and offices


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Health workers respond to a suspected coronavirus case in northern Italy on Saturday
[size=18]Reported coronavirus cases spark fear in the north of Italy




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Experts saw parallels with previous conspiracy theories traced to Moscow, including a KGB disinformation campaign in the 1980s that convinced many around the world that US scientists created the HIV virus that causes AIDS.
US intelligence has also said that Russia interfered through social media manipulation in the 2016 election and seeks to do so again in 2020. The Kremlin has denied the charges and President Donald Trump has scoffed at suggestions of Russian help.
The US believes the latest Russian disinformation campaign is making it harder to respond to the epidemic, particularly in Africa and Asia, with some of the public becoming suspicious of the Western response.
The World Health Organization warned Friday that the window to stem the outbreak was narrowing, voicing alarm at a surge of cases with no clear link to China.
A State Department official said that Russian operatives appeared to have been given 'carte blanche' to attack the US reputation.
'Whether or not a particular theme is being directed at the highest levels doesn't matter. It's the fact that they have freelance ability to operate in this space to do whatever damage they can, which could have seismic implications.' 
Scientists believe the COVID-19 illness originated in late December in Wuhan at a market selling exotic animals for human consumption.
Bats are known carriers of this strain of the coronavirus, whose official name is SARS-CoV-2, but scientists think it spread to humans via another mammal species, possibly pangolins.
The US believes the latest Russian disinformation campaign is making it harder to respond to the epidemic, particularly in Africa and Asia, with some of the public becoming suspicious of the Western response.
The World Health Organization warned Friday that the window to stem the outbreak was narrowing, voicing alarm at a surge of cases with no clear link to China.
A State Department official said that Russian operatives appeared to have been given 'carte blanche' to attack the US reputation.
'Whether or not a particular theme is being directed at the highest levels doesn't matter. It's the fact that they have freelance ability to operate in this space to do whatever damage they can, which could have seismic implications.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8031839/Coronavirus-kills-two-Italy.html

[size=34]Coronavirus kills two in Italy as Lombardy is put on lockdown, health minister warns 'you can get it from anybody' and the residents of TWELVE towns are told to stay indoors as virus spreads through Unilever workers[/size]

• A 78-year-old man and an unidentified woman have died in north eastern, Italy 
  
  
• Deaths have triggered the shut-down of shops, offices and community centres 
  
  
• Covid-19 virus has now killed 2,253 people and infected 77,268 globally 
  
  

By ISABELLA NIKOLIC FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 04:29 EST, 22 February 2020 | UPDATED: 10:11 EST, 22 February 2020

     





Two coronavirus patients in Italy have today died from the Covid-19 disease that has now killed 2,253 people and infected more than 77,268 across the world. 
The two deaths have triggered a lockdown of twelve towns in the north eastern region of Lombardy and 50,000 people have been asked to stay indoors. 
The first to die, a 78-year-old father-of-three, passed away in a hospital in Padua on Friday evening.
Adriano Trevisan, a retired bricklayer, had been admitted to the hospital for another health issue ten days ago said local authorities.


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The first to die, Adriano Trevisan, 78, passed away in a hospital in north eastern Italy on Friday evening


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Two coronavirus patients in Italy have today died from the Covid-19 disease that has now killed 2,253 people and infected more than 77,268 globally. Pictured ambulances and health workers outside the hospital in Padua
[size=10][size=18]Reported coronavirus cases spark fear in the north of Italy




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The second patient to die was an elderly woman whose death has triggered the closing down of shops, offices and community centres in Casalpusterlengo, according to Italian news agency Ansa.  
The mayor of Milan, the business capital of Italy, shut down public offices.
Hundreds of residents and workers who came into contact with an estimated 54 people confirmed infected in Italy were in isolation pending test results. 
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte expressed his sympathies for the two deaths and said he had called an emergency meeting, as more than 50,000 people from about a dozen towns in two northern regions were asked to stay at home by the local authorities.  
The few people out on the streets were wearing coveted face masks, which were nearly impossible to find in sold-out pharmacies.
The president of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, said there were 39 confirmed cases in the region, where 10 towns received orders to suspend non-essential activities and services.
An elderly woman who died tested positive for the virus, though it wasn't clear if that is what caused her death. 
Health Minister Luca Zaia said Saturday that the contagion showed that the virus is transmitted like any other flu, and that trying to pinpoint a single source of infection or one with direct links to China is no longer effective.
'You can get it from anyone,' he told reporters. 
'We can expect to have cases of patients who had no contact' with suspected carriers. 
While the virus isn't particularly lethal, it can be for the elderly or people with existing conditions, he said. 
Mr Trevisan's daughter, Vanessa, had been Mayor of Vo' Euganeo, a small town of 3,300 inhabitants which is now under lockdown. 
Hundreds of people who came into contact with the roughly 25 people infected with the disease were in isolation pending test results. Civil protection crews set up a tent camp outside a closed hospital in Veneto to screen medical staff for the virus. 


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The second patient to die was an elderly woman whose death has triggered the closing down of shops, offices and community centres in Casalpusterlengo, according to Italian news agency Ansa. Pictured are medical workers outside a hospital in Padua


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Health workers and a patient are seen outside a hospital in Padua as ten towns in the region of Lombardy are under lockdown


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Residents of the northern towns of Codogno and Castiglione d'Adda are being urged to stay at home as medical tests continue
The first town to be shuttered was Codogno, with a population of 15,000, where three people tested positive for the virus, including a 38-year-old man and his wife, who is eight months pregnant.
The 38-year-old, who works for Unilever in Lodi, is believed to have contracted the virus after meeting a friend who had recently returned from China in a bar. 
He is now reportedly in a stable condition in hospital.  
A football friend of his from his running club, the son of a bar owner in Codogno, has also tested positive, along with three regulars at the bar. 


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The second patient to die was a woman whose identity is yet to be released and has triggered the closing down of shops, offices and community centres in Codogno and Castiglione d'Adda (pictured)


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A deserted street is pictured in Codogno, southeast of Milan, today after the cordons were put in place


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Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte at the Civil Protection headquarters for a meeting following the wave of coronavirus cases in northern Italy
Three others there have tested positive to a first novel coronavirus test and are awaiting their definitive results. 
The three, all of whom are retired, live in the small town of Castiglione d'Adda. 
Tests are underway on the 38-year-old's doctor, who made a house call on him, as well as on 120 people he worked with in the research and development branch of Unilever in Casalpusterlengo, said Lombardy regional health chief Giulio Gallera. 
Codogno mayor Francesco Passerini said the news of the cases 'has sparked alarm' throughout the town south of Milan.  
Five doctors and 14 other people tested positive for the virus in Lombardy, after apparently frequenting the same bar, with two other cases in Veneto, authorities said at a press conference.


Over 50,000 people have been asked to stay at home in the areas concerned.
Word of the contagion sparked fears throughout the region, particularly given the closure of the emergency room at the Codogno hospital.
'We are old and we are very concerned,' said 76-year-old Codogno resident Carmelo Falcone.


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A note reading 'no entry' hangs on the entrance door of the Codogno Hospital in Lodi


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A note reading in Italian 'Masks sold out' and 'pharmacy is open for urgencies but doors are closed', hang on the window of a pharmacy in Codogno


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A sign reading 'Closed by Municipal Decree, for any orders call the following numbers' is put up on a shop's window in Codogno
'I live on my own. I really don't know what to do.'
Italian health minister Roberto Speranza said Italy is now seeing the same sort of 'cluster' of cases that Germany and France have seen.
He signed an ordinance with Lombardy's regional president outlining measures to contain the cluster to the 10 towns so far affected: Codogno, Castiglione d'Adda, Casalpusterlengo, Maleo, Fombio, Bertonico, Castelgerundo, Terranova dei Passerini, Somaglia and San Fiorano.


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A general view shows a deserted street in Codogno, southeast of Milan today
The towns, which have between 1,000-15,000 residents each, are located around 37 miles southeast of Milan, Lombardy's capital and Italy's business centre.
The ordinance suspends public gatherings, commercial and business activity, sport, education, and other recreational activities throughout the region, Mr Speranza, the health minister, said.
He defended the precautionary measures Italy took previously, noting that Italy remains the lone European country to have barred flights to and from China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
'We had the highest measures in Europe,' he said. 
Individual cities outside the core cordon area, such as Cremona, issued their own restrictions cancelling school after confirming their own cases.
Streets in the towns were deserted, with only a few people seen abroad, and signs showing public spaces closed.
In Casalpusterlengo, where the second patient died, a large electronic message board outside the town hall read 'Coronavirus: the population is invited to remain indoors as a precaution'.


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An elderly person on a stretcher is taken to an ambulance by members of the Italian Red Cross wearing face masks, outside the Codogno Civic Hospital in Lodi, northern Italy
Residents of the northern towns of Codogno and Castiglione d'Adda are being urged to stay at home as medical tests continue.
Some 250 people were being placed in isolation after coming into contact with the new cases, according to the Lombardy region, and 60 worker at Unilever have been tested for the virus. 
The only other fatality in Europe was a Chinese tourist who died last week in France.  
Earlier today, 19 Italians who spent more than two weeks quarantined on a virus-stricken cruise liner in Japan landed at Rome's military Pratica di Mare airport. They had been stranded on the Diamond Princess since February 5.
Following the first health checks and decontamination process, the passengers were transferred to the military campus of Cecchignola where they will spend a 14-day isolation period. 
In Rome, doctors at the Spallanzani infectious disease hospital reported some good news in the otherwise bleak day: An Italian who tested positive for the virus two weeks ago is to be released, and a sickened Chinese tourist has tested negative for the first time. 
Spallanzani had been caring for these patients for more than two weeks, Italy's only cases until the clusters emerged in the north on Friday. 
The World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned about the number of coronavirus cases with no clear epidemiological link, although the total number of cases outside China remains relatively small, its director general said on Saturday.
Cases with no clear link include those with no travel history to China or contact with a confirmed case, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Twitter.


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A note reading 'no entry' hangs on the entrance door of the Codogno Hospital in Lodi


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In Casalpusterlengo, where the second patient died, a large electronic message board outside the town hall read 'Coronavirus: the population is invited to remain indoors as a precaution'


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Six Italians tested positive for the coronavirus yesterday (pictured is an ambulance transporting one of the patients) in the northern Italian region of Lombardy 


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Originating in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the new virus has infected more than 75,400 people inside China and 76,700 globally. In the picture above, a security staff member checks a passenger's temperature at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport on January 26
According to reports, the disease remained mild in 80 per cent of coronavirus patients, and was severe or critical in 20 per cent of patients, he said. In 2 per cent of reported cases, the virus was fatal.
'Our biggest concern continues to be the potential for COVID-19 to spread in countries with weaker health systems,' he said. 'We have also published a strategic preparedness and response plan, with a call for $675 million to support countries, especially those which are most vulnerable.'


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The novel coronavirus has killed at least 2,253 people and infected 77,268 globally


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Italian tourists from the cruise ship Diamond Princess arrive at Cecchignola Military headquarters after landing, in Rome


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Italian tourists from the cruise ship Diamond Princess arrive at Cecchignola Military headquarters after landing, in Rome


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An Italian military plane carrying European passengers who were evacuated from the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8033699/Chris-Matthews-compares-Bernie-Sanders-win-Nevada-Frances-defeat-Nazi-Germany-1940.html

[size=34]MSNBC's Chris Matthews sparks outrage for comparing Bernie Sanders' win in the Nevada caucuses to Nazi Germany's invasion of France in 1940[/size]

• While he did not inexplicably name Nazi Germany, it was clear that Matthews was equating the Democratic establishment to the French during World War II
  
  
• Chris Matthews' comments followed similarly antagonistic remarks from Democratic strategist James Carville after Sanders won the Nevada caucuses
  
  
• The Hardball host claimed that Republicans would be able to release research about what Sanders 'said in the past about world affairs, how far left he is' 
  
  
• Mike Casca, communications director for Sanders' campaign, took to Twitter to slam Matthews' incendiary remarks 
  
  
• Bernie Sanders was declared the winner of the Nevada caucuses Saturday despite only a fraction of the vote in
  
  
• Sanders had a formidable lead, taking 54 per cent of the delegates with 4 per cent of precincts reporting
  
  

By MATTHEW WRIGHT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM 
PUBLISHED: 21:20 EST, 22 February 2020 | UPDATED: 01:21 EST, 23 February 2020

     



MSNBC's Chris Matthews was having a tough time coming to terms with Senator Bernie Sanders' win in Nevada on Saturday, likening his victory to Nazi Germany's conquest of France in 1940. 
While he did not inexplicably name Nazi Germany, it was clear that Matthews was equating the Democratic establishment to the French during World War II.
'I was reading last night about the fall of France in the summer of 1940,' he said. 'And the general, Reynaud, calls up Churchill and says, "It's over." And Churchill says, "How can that be? You've got the greatest army in Europe. How can it be over?" He said, "It's over." So I had that suppressed feeling.'
Scroll down for video 


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While he did not inexplicably name Nazi Germany, it was clear that Matthews was equating the Democratic establishment to the French during World War II

Tom Elliott@tomselliott





[ltr]MSNBC’s Chris Matthews likens Sanders victory in Nevada to Nazi Germany overrunning France in 1940: “It’s too late to stop him … it’s over”[/ltr]











2,378
6:01 PM - Feb 22, 2020
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1,602 people are talking about this


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Matthews' comments followed similarly antagonistic remarks from Democratic strategist James Carville after Sanders dominated the Nevada caucuses
Matthews' comments followed similarly antagonistic remarks from Democratic strategist James Carville after Sanders dominated the Nevada caucuses.  
'It looks like Bernie Sanders is hard to beat right now,' the Hardball host said on Saturday. 'I'm with Carville all the way in terms of the dangers of what lies ahead in November. They're sitting on so much oppo research on Bernie.' 
The Hardball host claimed that Republicans would be able to release opposition research about things Sanders 'said in the past about world affairs, how far left he is,' adding that that would then 'kill him' by the time of the match-up against Trump in November.  
He then declared: 'But I think it's a little late to stop him.' 


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The Hardball host claimed that Republicans would be able to release research about what Sanders 'said in the past about world affairs, how far left he is'
Mike Casca, communications director for Sanders' campaign, took to Twitter to slam Matthews' remarks. 
'Never thought part of my job would be pleading with a national news network to stop likening the campaign of a jewish presidential candidate whose family was wiped out by the nazis to the third reich,' he said. 'But here we are.'
The sentiment was shared by other Sanders' supporters, along with several users on Twitter, who pointed out that MSNBC's Chuck Todd had made statements comparing supporters of the candidate to Nazis.   
'A few days ago, @chucktodd read a passage likening Bernie voters to Nazi brown shirts,' said speechwriter and Sanders advisor David Sirota. 'Now Chris Matthews is likening Bernie’s campaign to a Nazi invasion. Bernie is Jewish and his family was killed by the Nazis. None of this is OK.'


Share



Mike Casca, communications director for Sanders' campaign, took to Twitter to slam Matthews' incendiary remarks



'A few days ago, @chucktodd read a passage likening Bernie voters to Nazi brown shirts,' said speechwriter and Sanders advisor David Sirota. 'Now Chris Matthews is likening Bernie’s campaign to a Nazi invasion. Bernie is Jewish and his family was killed by the Nazis. None of this is OK'
Sara Nelson added: 'This is inexcusable, @MSNBC! Comparing the nomination of @BernieSanders to the fall of France to the Nazis??? @HardballChris needs to be taken off the air, go to confession, and immediately apologize to the candidate - who also happens to be Jewish - energizing the electorate.'
'Let’s try to detangle this,' stated Jeremy Scahill. 'Bernie, a Jewish man whose family members were killed in the holocaust, wins the Nevada caucus, and Bernie and his unprecedented diverse coalition are the Nazis and Chris Matthews, the DNC and MSNBC are now occupied France?'  
Bernie Sanders was declared the winner of the Nevada caucuses Saturday despite only a fraction of the vote in.
Sanders had a formidable lead, taking 54 per cent of the delegates with 4 per cent of precincts reporting.
Trump went ahead and congratulated Sanders before most networks had called the race.



The sentiment was shared by other Sanders' supporters, along with several users on Twitter






'Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada. Biden & the rest look weak, & no way Mini Mike can restart his campaign after the worst debate performance in the history of Presidential Debates,' Trump said. 'Congratulations Bernie, & don't let them take it away from you!' the president wrote.
Sanders is coming off a win in New Hampshire, with Pete Buttigieg coming in a close second in the Granite State. In Iowa, Buttigieg beat Sanders in the delegate count by a hair, while the Vermont senator won the popular vote. Biden finished in fourth place in Iowa and fifth place in New Hampshire.
Reporting for Nevada started to filter in the early afternoon Saturday, though stayed at 3 per cent for more than an hour, as Democrats tried to avoid having reporting problems like they did in Iowa thanks to a malfunctioning app. CNN reported that some precinct chairs had trouble calling in and reporting the results.
Despite the major momentum for the Vermont senator in the Silver State, the candidate had already left to campaign in Texas before the Nevada caucus sites adjourned.
Sanders is holding two campaign rallies in the Lone Star State Saturday, where a more moderate Democratic electorate could spell trouble for the democratic socialist. He'll also hold a Houston rally Sunday. Texas votes on March 3, with 13 other 'Super Tuesday' states.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8033523/Girl-16-charged-4-000-sent-hospital-mental-health-evaluation.html

[size=34]Parents outraged after daughter, 16, gets a $4,000 medical bill because a school counselor sent her for a mental health evaluation without their consent when she said she was 'having a bad day'[/size]

• A family from Colorado say they are planning to fight a bill they received for $4,000 their teenage daughter received from a local hospital
  
  
• The counselor at 16-year-old Ashley Gray's school decided to send her to the emergency room because she was 'having a bad day'
  
  
• Her parents were not told of the decision until she was almost at the hospital and were never informed of the potential cost of the mental health evaluation
  
  
• The hospital has refused to release a breakdown of the $4,233 bill 
  
  
• The parents say they are not going to pay and will happily take legal action if the school district doesn't pick up the tab 
  
  

By JAMES GORDON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM 
PUBLISHED: 20:49 EST, 22 February 2020 | UPDATED: 02:14 EST, 23 February 2020

     


A family from Colorado is fighting a medical bill for thousands of dollars for their teenage daughter which they say was never authorized.
Ashley Gray, 16, of Park County, near Denver, was sent to hospital in January for a mental health evaluation after she spoke with the counselor at her high school. 
'I was just having a bad day and I needed someone to talk to in the heat of the moment, so I went to our counselor,' Gray said to Q13Fox.
Before she knew it, Gray was leaving Platte Canyon High School and was whisked away in a squad car on a 45 minute drive to the Children's Hospital South Campus in Highlands Ranch.


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The counselor at 16-year-old Ashley Gray's school decided to send her to the emergency room because she was 'having a bad day'


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Her family from say they are planning to fight a bill they received for $4,000 that their teenage daughter received from a local hospital


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The hospital has refused to release a breakdown of the $4,233 bill
The family received a bill for $4,233 as a result of the time she spent at the hospital.
It was the first time her parents were made aware of the costly charges.  
'I couldn't believe it,' said dad, Maverick. 'They took it upon themselves to send my daughter to the hospital without my acknowledgement or permission, and then I get a $4,000 bill!'
The Children's Hospital has so far refused to explain how they came up with the charges and won't publish an itemized bill.
'They don't give breakdowns,' said Maverick to KDVR. 'It's just an emergency room visit, and that's the price.' 


Share


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Dad, Maverick Gray said he was not told of the decision until his daughter was almost at the hospital and they were never told of the cost of the mental health evaluation until the bill came


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Gray says he is not going to pay the bill will take legal action if the school district refuses to pick up the tab on their behalf
The family say they have no plans to settle the bill and plan to take legal action against the district.
'Platte Canyon School District needs to pay this bill,' said Maverick. 'That's obvious.' 
During her time at the medical facility, Ashley says she spoke with a nurse and another counselor over Skype.
She was released a few hours later. 


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'I was just having a bad day and I needed someone to talk to in the heat of the moment, so I went to our counselor,' 16-year-old Ashley Gray said
District Superintendent Mike Schmidt declined to comment on the bill, however a generic statement has been released:
'At Children’s Hospital Colorado, we take youth mental health very seriously. Suicide is the number one cause of death for youth ages 10 – 24 in Colorado.
'When patients present to the emergency department with verbal or behavioral indications that they’re a danger to themselves or others, we by law, must provide a comprehensive, safety-focused mental health assessment. These assessments, which are provided by mental health providers with special training in emergency pediatric psychiatry, are important to determine if the youth is in acute danger.
The hospital’s Financial Counseling department works closely with families to offer assistance in paying bills.'
Read more:

The carnival in Venice has been cancelled due to the Corona infections in the region.

Mm, I just saw that. Very sad for the city - and the economy. Was there this time last year. Amazing - but heaving.......

Meanwhile Mr Trump is having kittens because American quarantined patients from the cruise liner have returned to their country and he doesn't want them there!

He doesn't want to have to deal with the problem.

No, I think he's afraid he might catch it! I wonder if it'll make him change his plans for rallies all over the country. Maybe he'll make up some excuse and hunker down in the White House or, more likely, Mar a Lago, until it all blows over. Or maybe he'll wear a hazmat suit to protect his precious self!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8034547/Giorgio-Armani-cancels-Milan-fashion-coronavirus-killed-two-people-near-city.html

[size=34]Coronavirus strikes Italy: Austria blocks ALL trains crossing the border after THREE people die and more than 150 fall ill in outbreak - as Venice carnival is cancelled and Armani fashion show is axed, with 12 towns put into lockdown[/size]

• Authorities have halted all train traffic to and from Italy following fears that that passengers might be infected
  
  
• First train to be stopped was at Brenner Pass in the Alps over reports that two of those on board had a fever 
  
  
• Earlier in the day, Armani released a statement announcing its show would be streamed online instead 
  
  
• Retired bricklayer Adriano Trevisan, 78, and an unidentified woman, 77, have died in Italy since Friday 
  
  
• Elderly cancer patient became the third person known to be infected with the coronavirus to die earlier today 
  
  
• The Covid-19 virus has now killed a total of 2,470 people and infected 78,986 more across the globe
  
  

By RAVEN SAUNT and ISABELLA NIKOLIC FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 06:02 EST, 23 February 2020 | UPDATED: 17:17 EST, 23 February 2020


Austria has halted all train traffic to and from Italy following fears that passengers might be infected with the new Covid-19 coronavirus that has so far killed three people in its neighbouring country and sparked a lockdown in 12 towns.
The first train to be stopped was at the Brenner Pass in the Alps earlier today over reports that two of those on board had a fever, according to the interior ministry.
In a previous statement, the ministry confirmed: 'Tonight a train on its way from Venice to Munich was stopped at the Austrian border.
'The further procedure is currently being discussed together with the Italian authorities.'
But Austria has now taken the decision to ban all train traffic from the country.  
It comes after Italy was put on lockdown nationwide following a drastic rise in the number of coronavirus cases which led to the cancellation of Venice's flagship carnival celebrations as well as all other public events being postponed for at least one week.
Italian designer Giorgio Armani also announced he would be cancelling his Milan fashion show for the same reasons and was instead opting to stream it online.  


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Austria has halted all train traffic to and from Italy following fears that passengers might be infected. The first train to be stopped was at the Brenner Pass in the Alps earlier today (pictured) over reports that two of those on board had a fever


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In a previous statement, the ministry confirmed: 'Tonight a train on its way from Venice to Munich was stopped at the Austrian border. The further procedure is currently being discussed together with the Italian authorities.' But Austria has now taken the decision to ban all train traffic from the country


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Venice has cancelled its flagship carnival celebration and all other public events due to be held in the city for at least one week after the new Covid-19 coronavirus killed three people in Italy and sparked a lockdown in 12 towns


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Tourists wear protective face masks during the Carnival in Venice before authorities announced its cancellation 


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The final days of the carnival, which has already attracted thousands of visitors, will now be cancelled


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Italian designer Giorgio Armani (pictured presenting his SS19 collection) has cancelled his Milan fashion show after the new Covid-19 coronavirus killed three people near the city and sparked a lockdown in 12 towns


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Designer Giorgio Armani was photographed putting on a face mask as he arrived at the venue of the Autumn/Winter 2020 collection during Milan Fashion Week


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The fashion show will instead be live-streamed on the brand's website later today to prevent people from having to travel to Milan to watch it
Armani released a statement this morning announcing the cancellation of today's 4pm show which read: 'The show will be shown behind closed doors, due to the recent developments of coronavirus in Italy, live-streamed in front of an empty teatro on the Armani website, therefore please do not attend the show this afternoon.'  
Italian authorities also postponed three football matches in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto because of coronavirus fears, with the number of infections in the country now totalling 155. 
On orders from the government, the Italian league games that were set to be played today - Inter Milan v Sampdoria, Atalanta v Sassuolo and Hellas Verona v Cagliari - were called off. 
However three other matches in Genoa, Turin and Rome on Sunday were allowed to go ahead as scheduled with many fans wearing facemasks while sitting in the stands. 
[size=10][size=18]Police guard town on lockdown as Italy battles coronavirus outbreak




Lo[/size][/size]






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Members of the audience wear face masks as they attend the Dolce & Gabbana Autumn/Winter 2020 collection show during Milan Fashion Week today


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A general view during the Dolce e Gabbana fashion show as part of Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2020-2021 today


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Exterior view on the Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Biagio e Santa Maria Immacolata church in a deserted Codogno


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A dozen towns went into lockdown on Saturday, with 50,000 people were asked to stay indoors, after the deaths and a growing number of cluster cases with no direct links to the origin of the outbreak abroad. Pictured: Police blockade


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Casalpusterlengo Police implement roadblocks to prevent the spreading of coronavirus and have informed those who enter that they cannot leave


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A view of a deserted street in Codogno which is one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown due to the new coronavirus outbreak


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A view of a deserted street in Castiglione d'Adda, near Lodi, northern Italy, where the mayor ordered the closure of municipal offices and the municipal library


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Roma supporters wear protective face masks due to the Coronavirus COVID-19 epidemic prior to the Italian Serie A soccer match between AS Roma and US Lecce at the Olimpico stadium in Rome, Italy


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Lazio fans were also pictured wearing face masks during the Serie A match between Genoa CFC and SS Lazio that went ahead at Stadio Luigi Ferraris earlier today


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Medical staff transfers a patient to the hospital in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown due to the new coronavirus outbreak


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The fashion house released a statement this morning announcing the cancellation and saying it would be streamed on their website
The famed Le Scala theatre in Milan has similarly cancelled all its upcoming operas for the foreseeable future. 
A note left at the entrance, written in both Italian and English, read: 'The Teatro alla Scala's performances are suspended in relation to the spread of the coronavirus as a precautionary measure pending the provisions of the competent authorities.' 
A dozen towns went into lockdown on Saturday, with 50,000 people were asked to stay indoors, after the deaths and a growing number of cluster cases with no direct links to the origin of the outbreak abroad.  
The secondary contagions prompted local authorities in the Lombardy and Veneto regions to close schools, businesses and restaurants and to cancel sporting events and Masses.
The mayor of Milan, Italy's business capital and the regional capital of Lombardy, also shut public offices.  


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Carnival revellers wear protective face masks at Venice Carnival, which the last two days of, as well as Sunday night's festivities, have been cancelled


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Tourists wear protective face masks in a gondola, because of an outbreak of coronavirus, in Venice


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Masked carnival revellers wear protective face masks at Venice Carnival with Sunday night's festivities being cancelled because of an outbreak of coronavirus


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The last two days of the carnival in Venice, as well as Sunday night's festivities, have been cancelled because of an outbreak of coronavirus. Pictured: Attendee wearing a facemask


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Italians prepare for a weeks of quarantine as women wearing respiratory masks walked across Piazza del Duomo in central Milan earlier today
Italy became the first country in Europe to announce a death from coronavirus on Friday when retired bricklayer Adriano Trevisan, 78, died in a hospital in Padua after being admitted to the hospital for another health issue ten days ago, said local authorities.
His daughter, Vanessa, had been Mayor of Vo' Euganeo, a small town of 3,300 inhabitants which is now under lockdown.
A post-mortem of a 77-year-old woman in Lombardy also came back positive for coronavirus but it is not yet clear if it was the cause of her death.
Her death triggered the closing down of shops, offices and community centres in Casalpusterlengo, according to Italian news agency Ansa.
The third victim known to be infected with the coronavirus was an elderly female cancer patient who died earlier today, taking the death toll in Italy up to three.
The only other fatality in Europe was a Chinese tourist who died last week in France.


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The first to die was retired bricklayer Adriano Trevisan, 78, (pictured) who passed away in a hospital in north eastern Italy on Friday evening


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Three coronavirus patients in Italy have today died from the Covid-19 disease that has now killed 2,470 people and infected more than 78,986 globally. Pictured ambulances and health workers outside the hospital in Padua


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A notice on the entrance doors, written in Italian and English, advises that La Scala theatre performances are suspended due to the spread of coronavirus in Milan, Italy


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On orders from the government, the Italian league games set to be played today - Inter Milan v Sampdoria, Atalanta v Sassuolo and Hellas Verona v Cagliari - were called off. Pictured: Notice outside San Siro stadium
[size=18]Reported coronavirus cases spark fear in the north of Italy




[/size]




Hundreds of residents and workers in Italy who came into contact with those confirmed as infected are currently in isolation pending test results. 
Civil protection crews set up a tent camp outside a closed hospital in Veneto to screen medical staff for the virus.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte expressed his sympathies over the deaths and said he had called an emergency meeting following the sudden jump in the number of those infected.
He said: 'I was surprised by this explosion of cases. We will do everything we can to contain the contagion.' 
The few people that did leave their homes wore coveted face masks which have largely sold out in pharmacies.     


The president of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, said there were 110 confirmed cases in the region, where 10 towns received orders to suspend non-essential activities and services.
Health Minister Luca Zaia said on Saturday that the contagion showed that the virus is transmitted like any other flu and trying to pinpoint a single source of infection or one with direct links to China is no longer effective.
He said 'You can get it from anyone. We can expect to have cases of patients who had no contact (with suspected carriers).' 
The virus itself is not considered to be particularly lethal unless it is contracted by the elderly or people with existing conditions, he said. 


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Grocery stores in Casalpusterlengo, where the second patient died, have reportedly only been allowing shoppers (pictured) to enter in groups of 40 in 10-minute slots


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Empty shelves at Esselunga supermarket as people stockpile due to the fear of the new coronavirus


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Pictured is a police officer in Venice patrolling the canal after the announcement that the city would be cancelling its flagship carnival


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Tourists walk round Venice wearing face masks after the announcement that the city would be cancelling the last days of its renowned carnival


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An empty street is seen in the town of Castiglione D'adda, which has been closed by the Italian government due to a coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy


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A view of a deserted Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown due to the new coronavirus outbreak


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A general view shows an empty street on February 23, 2020 in the small Italian town of Codogno under the shadow of a new coronavirus outbreak
The first town to be shuttered was Codogno, with a population of 15,000, where three people tested positive for the virus, including a 38-year-old man and his wife, who is eight months pregnant.
The 38-year-old, who works for Unilever in Lodi, is believed to have contracted the virus after meeting a friend for a drink who had recently returned from China.
He is now reportedly in a stable condition in hospital.
One of his friends from a running club, the son of a bar owner in Codogno as well as three regulars at the bar have now also tested positive.
Tests are underway on the 38-year-old's doctor, who made a house call on him, as well as on 120 people he worked with in the research and development branch of Unilever in Casalpusterlengo, said Lombardy regional health chief Giulio Gallera.  


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A Carabinieri car patrols in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown due to the new coronavirus outbreak


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A person wearing a face mask rides a bicycle in the town of Codogno, which has been closed by the Italian government due to a coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy


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The second patient to die was an elderly woman whose death has triggered the closing down of shops, offices and community centres in Casalpusterlengo, according to Italian news agency Ansa. Pictured are medical workers outside a hospital in Padua


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Health workers and a patient are seen outside a hospital in Padua as ten towns in the region of Lombardy are under lockdown


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Residents of the northern towns of Codogno and Castiglione d'Adda are being urged to stay at home as medical tests continue


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Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala (right) and the Prefect of Milan Renato Saccone (left) during a press conference about the new coronavirus outbreak in Milan
Codogno mayor Francesco Passerini said the news of the cases 'has sparked alarm' throughout the town south of Milan.  
Five doctors and 14 other people tested positive for the virus in Lombardy, after apparently frequenting the same bar, with two other cases in Veneto, authorities said at a press conference.
Codogno resident Carmelo Falcone, 76, said: 'We are old and we are very concerned.
'I live on my own. I really don't know what to do.' 
Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said Italy is now seeing the same sort of 'cluster' of cases that Germany and France have seen.
He signed an ordinance with Lombardy's regional president outlining measures to contain the cluster to the 10 towns so far affected: Codogno, Castiglione d'Adda, Casalpusterlengo, Maleo, Fombio, Bertonico, Castelgerundo, Terranova dei Passerini, Somaglia and San Fiorano. 


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Cemetery closed due to Coronavirus emergency in Casalpusterlengo, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown


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The second patient to die was a woman whose identity is yet to be released and has triggered the closing down of shops, offices and community centres in Codogno and Castiglione d'Adda (pictured)


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A deserted street is pictured in Codogno, southeast of Milan, today after the cordons were put in place


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Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte at the Civil Protection headquarters for a meeting following the wave of coronavirus cases in northern Italy
The towns, which have between 1,000-15,000 residents each, are located around 37 miles southeast of Milan, Lombardy's capital and Italy's business centre.
The ordinance suspends public gatherings, commercial and business activity, sport, education, and other recreational activities throughout the region, according to Mr Speranza. 
He defended the precautionary measures Italy had previously taken and noted that Italy remains the lone European country to have barred flights to and from China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
He added: 'We had the highest measures in Europe.' 
Individual cities outside the core cordon area, such as Cremona, issued their own restrictions cancelling school after confirming their own cases.
Streets in the towns were deserted, with only a few people seen abroad, and signs showing public spaces closed. 


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A note reading 'no entry' hangs on the entrance door of the Codogno Hospital in Lodi


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A note reading in Italian 'Masks sold out' and 'pharmacy is open for urgencies but doors are closed', hang on the window of a pharmacy in Codogno


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A sign reading 'Closed by Municipal Decree, for any orders call the following numbers' is put up on a shop's window in Codogno
In Casalpusterlengo, where the second patient died, a large electronic message board outside the town hall read 'Coronavirus: the population is invited to remain indoors as a precaution'.
Grocery stores in the area have reportedly only been allowing shoppers to enter in groups of 40 in 10-minute slots. 
One police officer patrolling a checkpoint in the area said: 'We're going to quickly enforce a total blockade.
'We're letting people know that if they come in, they won't be able to leave.
'I have to admit they're taking it pretty well. You can see they were expecting it - that they were prepared in some way.'
Residents of the northern towns of Codogno and Castiglione d'Adda are being urged to stay at home as medical tests continue.
Some 250 people were being placed in isolation after coming into contact with the new cases, according to the Lombardy region, and 60 worker at Unilever have been tested for the virus.  


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A general view shows a deserted street in Codogno, southeast of Milan today


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An elderly person on a stretcher is taken to an ambulance by members of the Italian Red Cross wearing face masks, outside the Codogno Civic Hospital in Lodi, northern Italy
Earlier today, 19 Italians who spent more than two weeks quarantined on a virus-stricken cruise liner in Japan landed at Rome's military Pratica di Mare airport. 
They had been stranded on the Diamond Princess since February 5.
Following the first health checks and decontamination process, the passengers were transferred to the military campus of Cecchignola where they will spend a 14-day isolation period. 
In Rome, doctors at the Spallanzani infectious disease hospital reported some good news in the otherwise bleak day after an Italian citizen who tested positive for the virus two weeks ago gets set to be released.


+57


A note reading 'no entry' hangs on the entrance door of the Codogno Hospital in Lodi


+57


In Casalpusterlengo, where the second patient died, a large electronic message board outside the town hall read 'Coronavirus: the population is invited to remain indoors as a precaution'


+57



Six Italians tested positive for the coronavirus yesterday (pictured is an ambulance transporting one of the patients) in the northern Italian region of Lombardy 


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Originating in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the new virus has infected more than 75,400 people inside China and 78,572 globally. In the picture above, a security staff member checks a passenger's temperature at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport on January 26
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was concerned by the upsurge in new cases and a lack of clarity over its spread despite the number of cases outside China remaining relatively small. 
The European Regional Director Hans Kluge said on Twitter: 'I am sending a... team to Italy to work together to learn about virus spread and (how to) contain it.'
The Director General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also took to social media to say that cases with no clear link include those with no travel history to China or contact with a confirmed case.
The disease remained mild in 80 per cent of coronavirus patients but was severe or critical in 20 per cent of patients, according to reports. 
Mr Ghebreyesus added: 'Our biggest concern continues to be the potential for COVID-19 to spread in countries with weaker health systems.
'We have also published a strategic preparedness and response plan, with a call for $675million to support countries, especially those which are most vulnerable.' 


+57


Italian tourists from the cruise ship Diamond Princess arrive at Cecchignola Military headquarters after landing, in Rome


+57


Italian tourists from the cruise ship Diamond Princess arrive at Cecchignola Military headquarters after landing, in Rome


+57



An Italian military plane carrying European passengers who were evacuated from the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, is seen on the runway after it landed at the Pratica di Mare military airport
Elsewhere, seven countries have imposed bans on people entering from Iran after the country announced that eight people had died from the new Covid-19 coronavirus and 43 have been infected.  
These include Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Armenia.   
Similarly, officials in both South Korea and Japan have signaled in the past week that the spread is entering a new phase in their countries.
On Friday, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun said the government would have to shift its focus from quarantine and border control to slowing the spread of the virus.

LizzyNY wrote: No, I think he's afraid he might catch it! I wonder if it'll make him change his plans for rallies all over the country. Maybe he'll make up some excuse and hunker down in the White House or, more likely, Mar a Lago, until it all blows over. Or maybe he'll wear a hazmat suit to protect his precious self!

Love to see Trump in a hazmat suit! ... Even better if he was quarantined for the rest of his life. To protect us. I’ve read that he’s a germaphobe. It probably makes him crazy to think that some unrestrained virus could catch up to him.

He’s leaving for India tomorrow. I don’t think I’ve read about any coronavirus cases there yet.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he had tried to get out of that trip considering ...

Did you see the articles about how they're going to have to protect him from the monkeys on this trip? Wouldn't it be hilarious if a monkey got him? I can just imagine the headlines!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8037389/Beijing-warns-citizens-not-travel-unfair-treatment-amid-coronavirus-outbreak.html

[size=34]Beijing warns its citizens not to travel to the US after claiming Chinese tourists are suffering unfair treatment because of Washington's 'excessive measures' to prevent coronavirus[/size]

• China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued the travel warning today 
  
  
• The authority also cited America's 'domestic security situation' as a reason
  
  
• So far, 35 people in the United States have been diagnosed with the virus
  
  
• But public panic has led to attacks on those who look East Asian in the US
  
  
• Comes as Moscow ordered police raids to find Chinese people to stem the virus
  
  

By TRACY YOU FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 06:53 EST, 24 February 2020 | UPDATED: 09:01 EST, 24 February 2020

     



China has warned its citizens not to travel to the United States due to the 'excessive measures' Washington has taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Chinese tourists have received unfair treatment repeatedly in America as a result, Beijing claimed today.
The coronavirus epidemic has killed at least 2,628 people, infected more than 79,700 and spread to at least two dozen countries. 


+13



China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism also cited the 'domestic security situation' in the US as a reason for the travel warning today. The picture shows passengers wear face masks arriving on a flight from Asia at Los Angeles International Airport, California, on February 2


+13



Chinese health officials have said the virus likely emerged from a market in the central city of Wuhan that sold wild animals as food. The disease has killed at least 2,628 people globally  



China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism also cited the 'domestic security situation' in the US as a reason for the travel warning.
'The Ministry of Culture and Tourism reminds Chinese tourists to effectively raise safety awareness and be sure not to travel to the United States,' the Ministry said in a statement. 
The authority did not explain what kind of treatment Chinese tourists were given.
The US has temporarily barred entry to foreign nationals, other than the immediate family of US citizens and permanent residents, who have travelled in China within the last 14 days. 


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'The Ministry of Culture and Tourism reminds Chinese tourists to effectively raise safety awareness and be sure not to travel to the United States,' the Ministry said in a statement. Pictured, a security guard wearing a mask and protective gear measures a visitor's body temperature at the entrance to a bank in Guangzhou, China, on February 24


+13


A man gets his temperature checked outside a barricade where community members control who comes in and out of a residential street on February 24 in Beijing, China


+13


A woman wearing protective gear picks up mail outside of an apartment compound in Beijing
Originating in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the new coronavirus - known as COVID-19 - has infected more than 77,340 people inside China and 79,700 globally.
The public panic surrounding the virus has led to several attacks on those who look East Asian in the United States.
Earlier this month, a man was filmed attacking a woman wearing a face mask on the New York City subway and calling her a 'diseased b****'. Police were treating the case as a possible hate crime motivated by coronavirus fears.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese-American beauty blogger Michelle Phan had to remind her followers 'I'm American' as she hit back at the racist comments she had received.
Phan, 32, tweeted her disgust at the messages which accused Asian people of 'starting all sorts of diseases' because they 'eat creatures left, right and center'.
So far, 35 people in the United States have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. No deaths have been reported.  
The news comes as Moscow ordered police to raid hotels, dorms, apartment buildings and businesses in search of Chinese people as Russia attempts to stem the spread of coronavirus.
It also comes as a surge in untraceable clusters of new coronavirus patients around the globe has caused experts to warn that 'containment methods are not going to work'.


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An Italian soldier with a gun stands guard today outside the Duomo cathedral in Milan, which has been shut to tourists over coronavirus fears - as Italy confirmed its fourth death today 


+13


Masked Italian soldiers stand outside the Duomo cathedral amid a growing virus outbreak


+13


Italian armed personnel talk to drivers near Casalpusterlengo where one of the patients died 


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Tourists wearing masks walk across St Mark's Square in Venice with the city's carnival derailed
In South Korea, Singapore and Iran, clusters of infections are leading to a jump in cases of the new viral illness outside China.
World Health Organization officials said China's crackdown on parts of the country bought time for the rest of the world to prepare for the new virus.
But as hot spots emerge around the globe, trouble finding each source - the first patient who sparks every new cluster - might signal the disease has begun spreading too widely for tried-and-tested steps to stamp it out.
'A number of spot fires, occurring around the world is a sign that things are ticking along, and what we are going to have here is probably a pandemic,' said Ian Mackay, who studies viruses at The University of Queensland in Australia.














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Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus at a market in Bupyeong, South Korea


+13


South Korean tourists leaving Israel are pictured at a pavillon separated from the main terminal of Ben Gurion International Airport
Viruses vary in how they infect. Unlike its cousins SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome), the new coronavirus spreads as easily as a common cold.
And it's almost certainly being spread by people who show such mild symptoms that no one can tell, said Dr Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
Dr Adalja said: 'If that's the case, all of these containment methods are not going to work. It's likely mixed in the cold and flu season all over the place, in multiple countries and gone unnoticed until someone gets severely ill.'

[size=34]Moscow targets Chinese with police raids amid coronavirus fears [/size]

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Russian medical workers are pictured walking after carrying out health checks on a group of passengers who had arrived at Kievsky rail station in Moscow with a suspected coronavirus carrier on February 21
Moscow has ordered police to raid hotels, dorms, apartment buildings and businesses in search of Chinese people as Russia attempts to stem the spread of coronavirus.
Bus, underground and tram drivers have also been told to report if a Chinese person boards their vehicle before handing them a questionnaire asking why they are in the country and whether they quarantined themselves after arrival.
An email that leaked over the weekend suggested that police would also be alerted to Chinese nationals on public transport, though authorities claimed it was a fake.


+13


Russian medical workers are pictured disinfecting a room in a sanatorium in Bogandinsky in the Tyumen region on February 21
Moscow's mayor has also announced that the city will use facial recognition technology to ensure arrivals from China observe a two-week home quarantine.
Since the outbreak of the new virus that has infected more than 76,000 people and killed more than 2,300 in mainland China, Russia has reported two cases. Both patients, Chinese nationals hospitalized in Siberia, recovered quickly. 
Russian authorities nevertheless are going to significant - some argue discriminatory - lengths to keep the virus from resurfacing and spreading.

I guess it excessive when you come from a country where they don't care about you and others well being.

Here is some information from the Board of Health

Symptoms

The 2019 novel coronavirus may cause mild to severe respiratory symptoms like:

• cough
  
  
• fever
  
  
• trouble breathing and
  
  
• pneumonia
  
  

CDC believes at this time that symptoms may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 days after exposure to the virus.

How Does Novel Coronavirus Spread?

Most of the early reported cases had contact with a seafood and live animal market, suggesting an animal source of the outbreak. However, most cases are now likely to be spread from person to person by droplets when coughing. Since this virus is very new, health authorities continue to carefully watch how this virus spreads.

Prevention

While there is currently no vaccine to prevent this virus, these simple steps can help stop the spread of this and other respiratory viruses:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  
  
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
  
  
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
  
  
• Stay home when you are sick.
  
  
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
  
  
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
  
  

The avoid contact with people who are sick is easier said than done. You have to go out shopping or got to work. Sick people don't always stay at home.

Well, wouldn't it be nice if the  
Chinese Government banned the eating of virus-ridden live birds and cooking live dog?!

Then this wouldn't have happened in the first place!


https://twitter.com/EpsilonTheory/status/1230721583972356096

Pan I wonder if it actually came from bats, a doctor in china said that there is a lab near the market and he thinks it came from the lab not the bats. At this point anything is possible and let's be real China chose to not tell the rest of the world that this was happening.

It could be but people are actually eating them and it took a while for the Chinese authorities to finally ban the wild birds and animals markets and still no clear ban China-wide

https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/science-and-technology/2020/01/more-chinese-push-end-wildlife-markets-coronavirus-outbreak-grows

Thanks PAN for the Nat’l Geo link. I was pretty disturbed by the variety of wildlife the Chinese are willing to catch and eat. I was stunned that they actually catch and eat songbirds. That’s outrageous to me considering so many species are becoming extinct.

Not the worst thing they do in my book - putting live dogs on barbeques is another street market feature................

Pan that is horrible they really don't care about any kind of life.

I'd like to thank you ladies. I read this conversation just before going in to make dinner. Now I don't have to bother. My appetite is gone!

[size=34]Trump launches extraordinary attack on Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg over GOP Supreme Court 'bias' accusation and demands they RECUSE themselves on all matters related to his administration[/size]

• President Trump reacted to Fox News segment from Laura Ingraham's show on Monday about Justice Sonia Sotomayor's recent dissent
  
  
• Sotomayor criticized the high court for ruling in favor of Trump administration after it sought to circumvent the appellate process on the 'public charge' ruling 
  
  
• Trump angrily denounced Sotomayor for not criticizing Ruth Bader Ginsburg's 'faker' comments about the president from July 2016 
  
  
• Supreme Court lifted injunction new immigration policy denying green cards to immigrants likely to use benefits like Medicaid, food stamps, and vouchers 
  
  
• Trump administration has dramatically expanded the criteria for deciding who is or will become a public charge 
  
  
• The ruling was similar to a decision last month by the Court, which also lifted a nationwide injunction imposed by a federal judge in New York 
  
  
• Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to intervene 24 times on an emergency basis after it suffered defeats in lower courts 
  
  

By ARIEL ZILBER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 01:48 EST, 25 February 2020 | UPDATED: 02:52 EST, 25 February 2020

     


President Trump took to Twitter late on Monday and demanded that liberal Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor recuse themselves on ‘Trump-related matters’ that come before the bench.
The president was reacting to a segment on Monday’s Fox News program hosted by Laura Ingraham.
Ingraham devoted a portion of her show to discussing Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s scathing dissent last week after the high court ruled in favor of the Trump administration on its ‘public charge’ policy.
The Supreme Court lifted an injunction allowing the administration to move ahead with plans to deny would-be immigrants green cards if they are thought likely to use public services like Medicaid, food stamps, and vouchers.


+7


President Trump (seen above in New Delhi on Monday) lashed out at liberal Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Twitter


+7




+7



Trump slammed Sotomayor (left) and demanded that she and Ginsburg (right) recuse themselves 'on all Trump-related matters'


+7


Trump hit out at Sotomayor for a dissent she wrote last week after the high court ruled in the administration's favor on the so-called 'public charge' policy involving would-be immigrants



'I only ask for fairness, especially when it comes to decisions made by the United States Supreme Court!' Trump tweeted on Monday
Sotomayor blasted her conservative colleagues, accusing them of showing favoritism toward the administration by granting its request to lift the injunction.
Trump late Monday tweeted the title of the segment: ‘Sotomayor accuses GOP appointed Justices of being biased in favor of Trump.’
He then wrote: ‘This is a terrible thing to say. Trying to “shame” some into voting her way?
‘She never criticized Justice Ginsberg when she called me a “faker”.
‘Both should recuse themselves on all Trump, or Trump related, matters!
‘While “elections have consequences”, I only ask for fairness, especially when it comes to decisions made by the United States Supreme Court!’
Trump was referring to the comment made by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in July 2016, when the current president was locking up the Republican nomination.
Ginsburg said of Trump at the time: ‘He is a faker.
‘He has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment.
‘He really has an ego. ... How has he gotten away with not turning over his tax returns?
‘The press seems to be very gentle with him on that.’


+7


The president was reacting to a Fox News segment from Laura Ingraham's nightly show during which she discussed Sotomayor's dissent from last week

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Ginsburg was also quoted as saying of Trump: ‘I can't imagine what this place would be - I can't imagine what the country would be - with Donald Trump as our president.’
Days later, Ginsburg apologized, calling her comments ‘ill-advised.’
‘On reflection, my recent remarks in response to press inquiries were ill-advised and I regret making them,’ Ginsburg said in a statement.
‘Judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office. In the future I will be more circumspect.’
Sotomayor generated headlines over the weekend when she blasted the Trump administration as well as her conservative colleagues in a harsh dissent.
In a 5-to-4 ruling on Friday, the Court's conservative majority allowed the administration's 'wealth test' for would-be immigrants to go into effect while appeals wind their way through the legal system.
The ruling was similar to the one handed down by the high court last month, which was appealed by the administration after a federal judge in New York issued a nationwide injunction.
Friday's ruling by the Supreme Court lifted a limited injunction that applied only to Illinois.
Sotomayor, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, criticized the Trump administration for asking the Supreme Court to rule on its policies by claiming they were emergencies.


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The Trump administration on Friday was given the go-ahead by the Court to deny green cards to those who are thought likely to make use of public benefits like Medicaid, food stamps, and vouchers
The emergency applications by the administration are meant to circumvent 'the normal appellate process' while 'putting a thumb on the scale in favor of the party that won,' Sotomayor wrote in her dissent.
Sotomayor accused the conservative justices of granting preferential treatment to the administration, saying that 'most troublingly, the Court's recent behavior' has benefited 'one litigant over all others.'


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The other three liberals on the bench - Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Elena Kagan - also dissented, but did not join Sotomayor's opinion.
'Claiming one emergency after another, the Government has recently sought stays in an unprecedented number of cases,' Sotomayor said.
'It is hard to say what is more troubling - that the Government would seek this extraordinary relief seemingly as a matter of course, or that the Court would grant it.'
The administration, for its part, has argued that it has sought emergency rulings because the lower appellate courts are issuing broad preliminary injunctions that apply to states that weren't a party to the original lawsuit.

HOW NEW RULES WORK

The 'public charge' rules applies to roughly three-quarters of the 544,000 who apply annually for green cards, most of them for 'family reunification' or because of marriage. 
Immigrants who would be 'public charges' has long been a reason for refusing their application. 
For the last 20 years, only actual cash benefits - TANF and SSI - or institutionalization for long-term care at government expense disqualified applicants.
Now they can be disqualified for using:

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food stamps
  
• Public Housing
  
• Section 8 housing assistance
  
• Most forms of Medicaid
  
• Any state or local income assistance
  
• 12 uses in 36 months of any of the benefits above is enough to disqualify someone. 
  

Additionally immigration officers have to decide if someone might become a public charge, even if they haven't been in the past. To do that they can consider positive factors including:  

• do they have household income, assets, resources and support from a sponsor that amounts to 250% of the federal poverty guidelines for their household size. So a single person needs $31,3225 in income or savings; if they are part of a couple, their incomes or savings have to reach $42,275
  
• do they have private insurance not subsidized by Medicare?
  
• do they speak English?
  
• do they have a high school education or more?    
  

The ruling on the so-called 'public charge' rule will take effect on Monday while the case winds its way through the court system.
The new policy significantly expands what factors would be considered to make that determination, and if it is decided that immigrants could potentially become public charges later, that legal residency could be denied. 
Under the old rules, people who used non-cash benefits, including food stamps and Medicaid, were not considered public charges. 
'This final rule will protect hardworking American taxpayers, safeguard welfare programs for truly needy Americans, reduce the Federal deficit, and re-establish the fundamental legal principle that newcomers to our society should be financially self-reliant and not dependent on the largess(e) of United States taxpayers,' the White House said in a statement Saturday.
Sotomayor said that the conservative justices have helped the Trump administration, causing a 'breakdown in the appellate process.
She wrote that it was part of a 'now-familiar pattern.'
'The government seeks emergency relief from this Court' [after the lower courts decline to approve its rulings] and the high court 'has been all too quick to grant the government's reflexive requests.'
Sotomayor accused the conservative justices of being more eager to intervene on behalf of the Trump administration than inmates on death row.
'The Court often permits executions - where the risk of irreparable harm is the loss of life - to proceed, justifying many of those decisions on purported failures to 'raise any potentially meritorious claims in a timely manner',' she wrote.
'I fear that this disparity in treatment erodes the fair and balanced decision-making process that this Court must strive to protect.'
The public charge case is the 24th instance in which the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to lift an injunction issued by a lower court.
In contrast, the Obama and George W. Bush administrations did so a combined eight times, according to CNN.
Last month, Justice Neil Gorsuch, the conservative judge appointed by Trump, issued a concurrence explaining the court's ruling.
In voting to lift the nationwide injunction, Gorsuch issued an opinion criticizing lower courts' 'increasingly common' use of nationwide injunctions to halt government policies. Gorsuch urged the court to confront the issue.
'What in this gamesmanship and chaos can we be proud of?' Gorsuch asked.


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Sotomayor and the other three liberals dissented - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Elena Kagan. The justices are seen counterclockwise from top left: Neil Gorsuch, Sotomayor, Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito, Ginsburg, John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, and Breyer
'It has become increasingly apparent that this court must, at some point, confront these important objections to this increasingly widespread practice,' Justice Gorsuch wrote.
'As the brief and furious history of the regulation before us illustrates, the routine issuance of universal injunctions is patently unworkable, sowing chaos for litigants, the government, courts, and all those affected by these conflicting decisions.'
'I concur in the court's decision to issue a stay,' Justice Gorsuch continued.
'But I hope, too, that we might at an appropriate juncture take up some of the underlying equitable and constitutional questions raised by the rise of nationwide injunctions.'
Two other federal appeals courts previously lifted nationwide injunctions ordered by lower courts blocking the rule. 
[size=18]Trump's budget boosts defense but slashes social safety programs




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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8040487/Bill-Cosby-supports-Harvey-Weinstein-asking-wealthy-famous-men-fairness.html

[size=34]'A very sad day': Bill Cosby offers support to rapist Harvey Weinstein asking 'where do wealthy and famous men find fairness' and blasts #MeToo movement as racist[/size]

• Shamed comedian, 82, instructed his spokesman to issue a statement Monday 
  
  
• In it he called disgraced movie producer Weinstein's conviction 'a very sad day'
  
  
• Weinstein, 67, was found guilty by a New York jury on Monday of third degree rape and a criminal sexual act; he now faces up to 29 years in prison
  
  
• It was the most high-profile sex assault conviction in the US since Cosby was found guilty in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman 15 years prior 
  
  
• Cosby is serving a three to ten year sentence in Pennsylvania for sexual assault 
  
  

By LAUREN FRUEN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and WIRES
PUBLISHED: 22:11 EST, 24 February 2020 | UPDATED: 04:09 EST, 25 February 2020

     



Bill Cosby lent his support to rapist Harvey Weinstein on Monday, asking 'where do wealthy and famous men find fairness' before blasting the #MeToo movement as racist. 
The shamed comedian, 82, instructed his spokesman to issue a public statement, calling disgraced movie producer Weinstein's conviction 'a very sad day'. 
Weinstein was convicted by a New York jury of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in his apartment in 2006 and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in a hotel room in 2013. 
It was the most high-profile sex assault conviction in the United States since Cosby was found guilty in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman 15 years prior.
Cosby's spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, posted a statement to Instagram arguing 'there was no way Mr. Weinstein was going to receive a fair and impartial trial'. 
Wyatt said Cosby was outraged over Weinstein's conviction and called him repeatedly about it on Monday. 
Scroll down for video  


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+6



Bill Cosby, right outside court in 2017, lent his support to rapist Harvey Weinstein, pictured left on Monday, asking 'where do wealthy and famous men find fairness' before blasting the #MeToo movement as racist


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The shamed comedian, 82, instructed his spokesman Andrew Wyatt to issue a public statement, calling disgraced movie producer Weinstein's conviction 'a very sad day'
[size=10][size=18]Cosby confidant talks disgraced star's prison life




Loade[/size][/size]

The post continued: 'This is not shocking because these jurors were not sequestered, which gave them access to media coverage and the sentiments of public opinion. 
'There's no way you would have anyone believe that Mr. Weinstein was going to receive a fair and impartial trial. 
'Also, this judge showed that he wanted a conviction by sending the jurors back to deliberate, after they were hung on many of the counts.'


+6


Cosby is currently serving a three to ten year sentence in Pennsylvania for sexual assault
Cosby added: 'Here's the question that should haunt all Americans, especially wealthy and famous men...Where do we go in this country to find fairness and impartiality in the judicial system; and where do we go in this country to find Due Process?'
He ended his statement of support for Weinstein by blasting the #MeToo movement as racist. Cosby added: 'Lastly, if the movement isn't just about Becky [White women], I would challenge and ask them to go back 400+ years and tarnish the names of those oppressors that raped slaves. 
'This is a very sad day in the American Judicial System.'   
The Time's Up foundation, formed in the wake of the Weinstein case, celebrated the outcome as marking 'a new era of justice.'
'Abusers everywhere and the powerful forces that protect them should be on notice: There's no going back,' it said in a statement.
More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct since allegations against him ignited a global reckoning against men abusing positions of power in October 2017. 
But with many claims too old to prosecute, the jury considered charges related to just two: ex-actress Jessica Mann and former production assistant Mimi Haleyi.


The predatory sexual assault charges included testimony from 'The Sopranos' actress Annabella Sciorra, who said Weinstein raped her in her New York apartment in the winter of 1993-94.
Six women took the stand to say they had been sexually assaulted by Weinstein.  
Weinstein was convicted sexually assaulting Haleyi and raping Mann. He was acquitted of the two most serious counts of predatory sexual assault, which each carried a potential life sentence. 
He was also found not guilty of first degree rape in relation to Mann. 
Weinstein, who arrived at court using a walker for much of the trial, now faces a 29-year prison sentence, sealing his dizzying fall from powerful Hollywood studio boss to archvillain of the #MeToo movement. 
When the jury of seven men and five women handed down their verdict after five days of deliberations, Weinstein told his lawyer: 'I'm innocent. I'm innocent. How can this happen in America?' 
On Monday, following his conviction, Weinstein was rushed to Bellevue Hospital Center after suffering chest pains.  
[size=18]Weinstein convicted of rape in milestone verdict




[/size]











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Film producer Harvey Weinstein is handcuffed after his guilty verdict in his sexual assault trial


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In this courtroom sketch, Harvey Weinstein, center, is led out of Manhattan Supreme Court by court officers after a jury convicted him of rape and sexual assault on Monday 
Cosby is currently serving a three to ten year sentence in Pennsylvania for sexual assault. He was convicted of three counts of aggravated indecent assault in 2018 for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in his home in January 2004.
He has also been accused of rape and sexual assault by over 60 women.
This is not the first time Cosby has shared his thoughts from behind bars. 
Earlier this month he rushed to thank rapper Snoop Dogg for calling for his freedom as they slammed Gayle King for trying 'to tarnish the legacy of successful black men' after the CBS presenter brought up Kobe Bryant's rape allegations. 
Snoop Dogg responded to the thanks by saying 'Love u uncle bill' and reposted Cosby's comments along with a picture of them both. 
On Father's Day in 2019, he tweeted to say he is 'America's Dad' leading to plenty of backlash from angry Twitter users.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/25/coronavirus-closures-reveal-vast-scale-of-chinas-secretive-wildlife-farm-industry

Coronavirus closures reveal vast scale of China’s secretive wildlife farm industry

Animals farmed
Wildlife


Peacocks, porcupines and pangolins among species bred on 20,000 farms closed in wake of virus

Animals farmed is supported by
[size=9]About this content
Michael Standaert
Mon 24 Feb 2020 22.01 ESTLast modified on Tue 25 Feb 2020 07.08 EST
[/size]

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• [url=https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Coronavirus closures reveal vast scale of China%E2%80%99s secretive wildlife farm industry&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2020%2Ffeb%2F25%2Fcoronavirus-closures-reveal-vast-scale-of-chinas-secretive-wildlife-farm-industry%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw][/url]
  
  

 Freshly-slaughtered meat from wildlife and farm animals is preferred over meat that has been slaughtered before being shipped. Photograph: Visual China Group/Getty
[size=89]Nearly 20,000 wildlife farms raising species including peacocks, civet cats, porcupines, ostriches, wild geese and boar have been shut down across China in the wake of the coronavirus, in a move that has exposed the hitherto unknown size of the industry.
Until a few weeks ago wildlife farming was still being promoted by government agencies as an easy way for rural Chinese people to get rich.
But the Covid-19 outbreak, which has now led to over 1,800 deaths and more than 72,000 known infections, is thought to have originated in wildlife sold at a market in Wuhan in early December, prompting a massive rethink by authorities on how to manage the trade.
China issued a temporary ban on wildlife trade to curb the spread of the virus at the end of January and began a widespread crackdown on breeding facilities in early February.

Make ban on Chinese wildlife markets permanent, says environment expert

 
Read more


The country’s top legislative officials are now rushing to amend the country’s wildlife protection law and possibly restructure regulations on the use of wildlife for food and traditional Chinese medicine.
The current version of the law is seen as problematic by wildlife conservation groups because it focuses on utilisation of wildlife rather than its protection.
“The coronavirus epidemic is swiftly pushing China to reevaluate its relationship with wildlife,” Steve Blake, chief representative of WildAid in Beijing, told the Guardian. “There is a high level of risk from this scale of breeding operations both to human health and to the impacts on populations of these animals in the wild.”
The National People’s Congress released new measures on Monday restricting wildlife trade, banning consumption of bushmeat and sales of wildlife for meat consumption at wet markets between now and the time the Wildlife Protection Law can be amended and adopted. Untouched however, are breeding operations for traditional Chinese medicine, fur and leather, lucrative markets known to drive illegal poaching of animals including tigers and pangolins.
For the past few years China’s leadership has pushed the idea that “wildlife domestication” should be a key part of rural development, eco-tourism and poverty alleviation. A 2017 report by the Chinese Academy of Engineering on the development of the wildlife farming industry valued the wildlife-farming industry those operations at 520bn yuan, or £57bn.



Facebook[url=https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Coronavirus closures reveal vast scale of China%E2%80%99s secretive wildlife farm industry&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2020%2Ffeb%2F25%2Fcoronavirus-closures-reveal-vast-scale-of-chinas-secretive-wildlife-farm-industry%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-2%23img-2]Twitter[/url][url=http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=Coronavirus closures reveal vast scale of China%E2%80%99s secretive wildlife farm industry&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2020%2Ffeb%2F25%2Fcoronavirus-closures-reveal-vast-scale-of-chinas-secretive-wildlife-farm-industry%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-2%23img-2&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fd28e691380bfe9dcf2a32e00f9f01a1f35b0a276%2F0_0_1995_3000%2F1995.jpg]Pinterest[/url]
 Civet cats – thought to be potential carriers of Sars – are among the animals farmed for meat in China. Photograph: China Photos/Getty
Just weeks before the outbreak, China’s State Forestry and Grassland Administration (SFGA) was still actively encouraging citizens to get into farming wildlife such as civet cats – a species pinpointed as a carrier of Sars, a disease similar to Covid-19. The SFGA regulates both farming and trade in terrestrial wildlife, and quotas of wildlife products – such as pangolin scales – allowed to be used by the Chinese medicine industry.
“Why are civet cats still encouraged to [be eaten] after the Sars outbreak in 2003? It’s because the hunters, operators, practitioners need that. How can they achieve that? They urged the government to support them under the pretext of economic development,” Jinfeng Zhou, secretary-general of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF), told the Guardian.
On state TV the popular series Secrets of Getting Rich, which has aired since 2001, often touts these kinds of breeding operations – bamboo rats, snakes, toads, porcupines and squirrels have all had starring roles.
But little was known about the scale of the wildlife farm industry before the coronavirus outbreak, with licensing mainly regulated by provincial and local-level forestry bureaus that do not divulge full information about the breeding operations under their watch. A report from state-run Xinhua news agency on 17 February revealed that from 2005–2013 the forestry administration only issued 3,725 breeding and operation licenses at the national level.
But since the outbreak at least 19,000 farms have been shut down around the country, including about 4,600 in Jilin province, a major centre for traditional Chinese medicine. About 3,900 wildlife-farming operations were shuttered in Hunan province, 2,900 in Sichuan, 2,300 in Yunnan, 2,000 in Liaoning, and 1,000 in Shaanxi.



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 Breeding of animals such as rats has been seen as central to alleviating poverty in rural areas. Photograph: Zhang Ailin/Alamy
There is little detail available about the animals farmed across China, but local press reports mention civet cats, bamboo rats, ostriches, wild boar, sika deer, foxes, ostriches, blue peacocks, turkeys, quails, guinea fowl, wild geese, mallard ducks, red-billed geese, pigeons, and ring-necked pheasants.

Animals farmed: join us for monthly updates

 
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Neither do reports offer much detail about the shutdowns and what is happening to the animals, although Blake said he does not think animals are being culled, due to issues over compensation.
Chen Hong, a peacock farmer in Liuyang, Hunan, said she is concerned about her losses and whether she will get compensation after her operations were suspended on 24 January.
“We now aren’t allowed to sell the animals, transport them, or let anyone near them, and we have to sanitise the facility once every day,” Chen said. “Usually this time of year would see our farm bustling with clients and visitors. We haven’t received notice on what to do yet, and the peacocks are still here, and we probably won’t know what to do with [them] until after the outbreak is contained.
“We’re very worried about the farm’s future,” she added. “The shutdown has resulted in a loss of 400,000–500,000 yuan (£44,000–55,000) in sales, and if they decide to put an outright ban on raising peacocks, we’ll lose even more, at least a million yuan(£110,000).”



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 Peacock breeders use plastic bags to wrap up the birds in transit to stop their feathers falling off. Photograph: Visual China Group/Getty
On a visit to Shaoguan, Guangdong province, last year, the Guardian and staff from CBCGDF saw a caged facility previously used for attempted breeding of the notoriously hard-to-breed pangolin.
While there were no longer pangolin at the site, several locals near the facility confirmed the species had been raised there, along with monkeys and other wildlife.

Appetite for 'warm meat' drives risk of disease in Hong Kong and China

 
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Besides being used for Chinese medicine, much of the meat from the wildlife trade is sold through online platforms or to “wet markets” like the one where the Covid-19 outbreak is thought to have started in Wuhan.
“All animals or their body parts for human consumption are supposed to go through food and health checks, but I don’t think the sellers ever bothered,” said Deborah Cao, a professor at Griffith University in Australia and an expert on animal protection in China. “Most of them [have been] sold without such health checks.”
There have been calls for a deep regulatory overhaul to remove the conflicting duties of the forestry administration, and for a shift in government mindset away from promoting the utilisation of wildlife and towards its protection.



Facebook[url=https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Coronavirus closures reveal vast scale of China%E2%80%99s secretive wildlife farm industry&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2020%2Ffeb%2F25%2Fcoronavirus-closures-reveal-vast-scale-of-chinas-secretive-wildlife-farm-industry%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-5%23img-5]Twitter[/url][url=http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=Coronavirus closures reveal vast scale of China%E2%80%99s secretive wildlife farm industry&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2020%2Ffeb%2F25%2Fcoronavirus-closures-reveal-vast-scale-of-chinas-secretive-wildlife-farm-industry%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-5%23img-5&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F0ced757ec6b23654aee75ae2d30c405012ae1043%2F0_0_3640_2520%2F3640.jpg]Pinterest[/url]
 Zhangjiakou city has more than 1,500 firms processing furs from animals including foxes and racoons. Photograph: Greg Baker/Getty
“The ‘referee-player’ combination needs to be addressed and is the toughest [challenge],” Li Shuo, a senior campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia told the Guardian. “This goes back to the institutional identity [of the SFGA] which was established to oversee timber production. Protection was an afterthought.”
Proposals include fully banning trade in wildlife that is protected or endangered within and outside of China, plus bans on raising and selling meat from known carriers of diseases that can impact humans such as civets, bats and rodents.
There are concerns that in trying to prevent outbreaks authorities may go too far in the culling of wild animals that can carry disease.
“Some law professors have suggested ‘ecological killing’ of disease-transmitting wild animals, such as pangolins, hedgehogs, bats, snakes, and some insects,” Zhou said. “We believe lawmakers need to learn [more about] biodiversity before advising on the revisions to the law, or they’ll bring disaster.”[/size]

[size=34]Rush Limbaugh claims the deadly coronavirus is being 'weaponized' by China to tank the US economy and bring down Donald Trump ‘but is no worse than the common cold’[/size]

• The conservative radio host said the virus was created in a Chinese laboratory
  
  
• Limbaugh claimed the Chinese government wanted to 'scare people in business' 
  
  
• He spoke as the World Health Organization warned of a potential 'pandemic' 
  
  

By JAMES MILLS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 04:35 EST, 25 February 2020 | UPDATED: 08:57 EST, 25 February 2020

     



Rush Limbaugh claims the coronavirus is being 'weaponized' by the Chinese government to damage the US economy and bring down Donald Trump but is 'no worse than the common cold.'
The conservative radio host said the deadly virus was created in a Chinese government laboratory and was being used to 'scare people in business' and crash the stock market.
Limbaugh, 69, said on his podcast show yesterday: 'It looks like the coronavirus is being weaponized as yet another element to bring down Donald Trump.
'I want to tell you the truth about the coronavirus, the coronavirus is the common cold, folks.'
He added: 'I'm not trying to get you to let your guard down. Nobody wants to get any of this stuff. I mean, you never, I hate getting the common cold.


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Rush Limbaugh claims the coronavirus is being 'weaponized' by the Chinese government  


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The conservative radio host says the virus was created in a Chinese laboratory and 'it got out'. Pictured: A lab technician testing for the coronavirus this month in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak in China's central Hubei province



The coronavirus is on the brink of becoming a pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned
'You don't want to get the flu. It's miserable.
'But we're not talking about something here that's gonna wipe out your town or your city if it finds its way there.
'I'm telling you, the ChiComs are trying to weaponize this thing. The ChiComs obviously in their lab are doing something here with the coronavirus, and it got out.'
The coronavirus has now claimed more than 2,600 lives and the number of cases worldwide has soared above 80,000 with the World Health Organization (WHO) warning the world is on the brink of a 'pandemic.'
President Trump insisted yesterday that coronavirus is under control in the US as the White House sent lawmakers an urgent $2.5 billion plan to address the deadly worldwide outbreak.


Trump also reassured Americans via Twitter that the stock market is 'starting to look very good to me,' despite the Dow's 1,000 point plummet, for which coronavirus fears have been widely blamed. 
Limbaugh, who was given the Medal of Freedom by the President Trump at the State of the Union this month after announcing he had lung cancer, said the motive for spreading fear of the virus was to damage business.
He said the Chinese government wanted to 'scare the investors, to scare people in business, to scare people into not buying Treasury bills at auctions and to scare people into leaving, cashing out of the stock market.'
He said: 'It came from a country that Bernie Sanders wants to turn the United States into a mirror image of, Communist China. That's where it came from. 
'It didn't come from an American lab. It didn't escape from an American research lab. It hasn't been spread by Americans.
[size=18]Rush Limbaugh claims coronavirus is Chinese 'weapon' against Trump




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Limbaugh pictured with Melania Trump after he was given the Medal of Freedom at the State of the Union this month


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The radio personality is pictured speaking with President Donald Trump in 2018 

Did coronavirus originate in Chinese government laboratory? 

Chinese scientists believe the coronavirus may have started life in a research facility just 300 yards from the Wuhan fish market.
A new paper from the Beijing-sponsored South China University of Technology says the Wuhan Center for Disease Control (WHCDC) could have spawned the contagion in Hubei province.
The paper, penned by scholars Botao Xiao and Lei Xiao, claims the WHCDC kept disease-ridden animals in laboratories, including 605 bats.
It also mentions that bats - which are linked to coronavirus - once attacked a researcher and 'blood of bat was on his skin.'
The report says: 'Genome sequences from patients were 96% or 89% identical to the Bat CoV ZC45 coronavirus originally found in Rhinolophus affinis (intermediate horseshoe bat).'
It describes how the only native bats are found around 600 miles away from the Wuhan seafood market and that the probability of bats flying from Yunnan and Zhejiang provinces was minimal.
In addition there is little to suggest the local populace eat the bats as evidenced by testimonies of 31 residents and 28 visitors.
Instead the authors point to research being carried out withing a few hundred yards at the WHCDC.
One of the researchers at the WHCDC described quarantining himself for two weeks after a bat's blood got on his skin, according to the report. That same man also quarantined himself after a bat urinated on him.
He also mentions discovering a live tick from a bat - parasites known for their ability to pass infections through a host animal's blood.
'The WHCDC was also adjacent to the Union Hospital (Figure 1, bottom) where the first group of doctors were infected during this epidemic.' The report says.
'It is plausible that the virus leaked around and some of them contaminated the initial patients in this epidemic, though solid proofs are needed in future study.'



'It starts out in a communist country. Its tentacles spread all across the world in numbers that are not big and not huge, but they're being reported as just the opposite. Just trying to keep it all in perspective.'
Limbaugh added: 'The drive-by media hype of this thing as a pandemic, as the Andromeda strain, as "Oh my God, if you get it, you're dead."
'Do you know what the… I think the survival rate is 98 per cent - 98 per cent of people who get the coronavirus survive. It's a respiratory system virus.
'It probably is a ChiCom laboratory experiment that is in the process of being weaponized.'
The White House budget office said yesterday that urgent funds were being made available for vaccines, treatment and protective equipment. 
But the request was immediately slammed by Democrats as insufficient with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling it 'completely inadequate' to the scale of the emergency. 
White House budget office spokeswoman Rachel Semmel said: 'Today, the Administration is transmitting to Congress a $2.5 billion supplemental funding plan to accelerate vaccine development, support preparedness and response activities and to procure much needed equipment and supplies. 
'We are also freeing up existing resources and allowing for greater flexibilities for response activities.'
After a controversial decision to repatriate 14 American cruise passengers whose test results came back positive as they were boarding evacuation flights from Japan to the US, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials warned that the it is 'very likely' coronavirus will start to spread in US communities. 
Chinese scientists have revealed the deadly virus may have started life in a research facility just 300 yards from the Wuhan fish market.  
A new bombshell paper from the Beijing-sponsored South China University of Technology says that the Wuhan Center for Disease Control (WHCDC) could have spawned the contagion in Hubei province.
'The possible origins of 2019-nCoV coronavirus,' penned by scholars Botao Xiao and Lei Xiao claims the WHCDC kept disease-ridden animals in laboratories, including 605 bats.
It also mentions that bats - which are linked to coronavirus - once attacked a researcher and 'blood of bat was on his skin.'
The report says: 'Genome sequences from patients were 96% or 89% identical to the Bat CoV ZC45 coronavirus originally found in Rhinolophus affinis (intermediate horseshoe bat).'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8041467/Coronavirus-spreads-SOUTH-Italy-infected-tourist-north-visits-Sicily.html

[size=34]Coronavirus spreads to the SOUTH of Italy, with panic-buyers stripping supermarket shelves bare in Palermo and 59 new cases nationwide, bringing the total to 288[/size]

• Woman from Bergamo, in Italy's north, went on holiday to Sicily before her home region was put on lockdown 
  
  
• She then developed flu symptoms and went to a Palermo hospital where she tested positive for coronavirus
  
  
• Race is now on to find people she came into contact with as shoppers began panic-buying food and medicine 
  
  
• Italy confirmed 59 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, bringing the total to 288 with seven deaths from the virus
  
  
• Austria and Croatia declared their first cases in travellers from Italy, while Switzerland also reported first case
  
  

By CHRIS PLEASANCE  and PAUL THOMPSON IN LOMBARDY REGION, ITALY and NICK FAGGE FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 05:23 EST, 25 February 2020 | UPDATED: 11:08 EST, 25 February 2020





Italy has confirmed its first case of coronavirus in the south after a holidaymaker from the north fell sick while visiting Sicily with her husband and friends.
The 66-year-old woman, from Bergamo, travelled to the Sicilian capital of Palermo on Friday morning before her home region of Lombardy was put on lockdown following a surge in cases.
But she began showing flu-like symptoms around 2.30pm Monday and was quarantined to her room at the Mercure hotel in the city centre, before being taken to hospital after a test came back positive.    
Mayor Leoluca Orlando said the hotel remains open but the woman's room has been secured. Another 29 people who arrived with her from Bergamo have been quarantined in their rooms, while 20 staff are also on lockdown.
Authorities are in the process of tracking down airline passengers and other people she came into contact with during her visit, he told Palermo Today. Her husband is also suspected of having the disease.
News that the infection had spread south sparked panic-buying in Palermo on Tuesday as shoppers stripped supermarket shelves bare and raided pharmacies for medical supplies. 
Italy confirmed a total of 59 new cases of coronavirus across the country on Tuesday, bringing the total to 288 with seven deaths and one person recovered. The total is the largest outside of Asia. 
The Italian outbreak also jumped the border into Austria and Croatia, which reported their first cases in travellers from Italy. Barcelona also reported a case in a traveller from Italy, while Switzerland confirmed its first case.  


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Shoppers stripped shelves bare of food and other essentials in Palermo on Tuesday after the city's first case of coronavirus was confirmed after a sick woman visited from the north


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The woman travelled from Bergamo, in the now-quarantined Lombardy region, before the lockdown was put in place before falling ill in Palermo (pictured, empty supermarket shelves)


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Italy registered ten new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, but news that the disease has spread to the country's south will come as a hammer-blow to health officials trying to contain it (pictured, panic-buying in Palermo)


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Shoppers in the Sicilian capital raided shelves for supplies amid fears the region may be locked down to stop the spread of coronavirus, after the city's first confirmed case


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A pharmacist puts out a sign informing customers that they have sold out of protective masks and sanitising gel in Palermo


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The woman had been staying at the Mercure hotel, in Palermo city centre, along with her husband and friends. The building  has now been quarantined as guests are tested for the virus


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Visitors and health workers wear protective face masks outside the Cervello hospital in Palermo where the 66-year-old infected woman has been quarantined


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Two health workers wearing protective clothing speak to each other outside the hospital, where the woman in quarantined


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A weekend outbreak of coronavirus in northern Italy has now seen cases spread across the country - including to Palermo in Sicily - and jump the border to Austria, Croatia, mainland Spain and Switzerland
[size=10][size=18]People stock up on essentials amid coronavirus outbreak in Milan




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Swiss authorities did not immediately say where the case had come from, but public broadcasters said it occurred in the Italian-speaking region of Ticino - close to the Lombardy region of Italy. 
Austria's health authorities said two Italian citizens who were likely infected in Lombardy had tested positive in the province of Tyrol, while Croatia said a young man contracted the virus after visiting Milan. 
Authorities in Barcelona said a patient tested positive for the virus after visiting northern Italy in the last few days. 

[size=34]Virus sweeps Europe as Austria, Croatia, Switzerland and mainland Spain report cases [/size]

Switzerland, Austria, Croatia and mainland Spain have become the latest countries to declare their first cases of the coronavirus as it tightens its grip on Europe.
Four new cases – two in Austria, one in Croatia and one in Barcelona – are in young people who have travelled to northern Italy, which is in the grips of an outbreak.
Swiss officials have yet to confirm if their  case also originated in Italy - but did confirm that it occurred in the Italian-speaking region of Ticino, along the Italian border.

[size=16]
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Italy has seen a dramatic surge in cases since Friday, with the number of infections soaring from just six to 283. Seven people have died there.
More than 80,000 people across the world have been infected, while at least 2,700 are known to have died from the pneumonia-causing virus. [/size]



In total 20 Italian provinces have now reported cases, with most being concentrated in the Lombardy and Veneto regions in the north.
But the regions of Liguria, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, Trentino Alto Adige, Sicily and Lazio - where Rome is located - have also confirmed a limited number of cases.
Of the 288 cases, health authorities have confirmed that 109 people are in hospital and showing symptoms, 29 are in intensive care, and 137 have been told to isolate themselves at home. 
Italian authorities are still trying to figure out how they went from a few isolated cases of the virus to one of the worst-affected countries in the world in just a few days. 
Health officials have yet to identify patient-zero for the current outbreak, and without knowing where the infection started it is difficult to know how and why it spread so fast. 
As supplies ran low in affected regions, two prosecutors opened an investigation into price-gouging amid reports that face masks were selling online for 10 euros each, while bottles of hand sanitizer had rocketed overnight from 7 euros to 39 euros. 
Meanwhile Italy's deputy economic minister Laura Castelli warned that the country may need help meeting its EU budget commitments as its economy teeters on the brink of recession. 
Even before it was hit by a coronavirus outbreak, the Italian economy registered a contraction of 0.3 per cent in the last quarter of 2019.
On Monday the stock market plunged more than 5 per cent as the FTSE MIB recorded its largest single-day fall since 2016. The sell-off continued Tuesday morning, wiping out another 1 per cent of market value.
The market recouped most of those losses in the afternoon, but was still trending down by a fraction of a percent. 

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Lawmakers Matteo Dall'Osso, right, and Maria Teresa Baldini wear sanitary mask during a work session in the Italian lower chamber amid a coronavirus outbreak


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A cluster of 11 towns in Lombardy have been placed in a 'red zone', with roads closed and strict checks on all traffic in place


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Everyone trying to enter the quarantine zone must have paperwork allowing them to be there. All other travellers are told to find another way around


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Police turn back a truck driver attempting to find his way around the quarantined red-zone covering parts of Lombardy, in northern Italy


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Lombardy has been split into two regions - red and yellow - with those in the red zone confined to their houses with nobody allowed in or out, while those in the yellow zone have had their movements restricted


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A man walks across the street in one of the zones of Lombardy which has been hit with restrictions as health authorities try to contain the spread of coronavirus


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More than 80,000 people have been infected with coronavirus worldwide after cases began spreading from China's Wuhan region in December last year, and more than 2,500 people have now died from the disease
Shares in banks, most of which are located in the financial capital of Milan which is at the heart of the outbreak, were among the hardest hit.
Juventus football club, which has seen games postponed along with the rest of Serie A amid the outbreak, had to suspend trading in its shares after they fell 11 per cent.
If the economy posts another loss in the first quarter of 2020, it would mean the country is in recession. 
While Italy recorded just ten new cases of coronavirus overnight Monday, the fact that the disease has spread to the south will be a major concern to health officials.
Until now the outbreak had been confined to the north, where some 55,000 people have been placed on lockdown in 11 towns and villages that have been cut off in an attempt to stop the spread. 
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte blamed the management of a hospital in northern Italy for one outbreak, saying that protocols to stop the spread were 'not entirely appropriate'.

[size=34]Iran's deputy HEALTH minister tests positive for coronavirus after looking unwell at a press conference[/size]

Iran's deputy health minister has tested positive for coronavirus as the crisis deepened in the Islamic republic today. 
Iraj Harirchi was taken into quarantine just a day after sweating heavily at a press conference where he insisted that the outbreak was not as bad as feared.  
The virus's spread into the health ministry is the latest sign of Tehran's faltering efforts to contain the outbreak as the official death toll rose to 15 today. 
[size=10][size=18]Irraj Harirchi excessively sweats during press conference




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A map showing how the coronavirus outbreak has spread from Iran across the Middle East to countries including Kuwait and Iraq. All the cases shown above have been traced back to Iran 
The regime has refused to seal off the holy city of Qom at the centre of the crisis even as pilgrims spread the virus around the Middle East and Iranians face shortages of masks and testing kits. 
Even according to official figures, Iran has the worst virus outbreak in the Middle East with at least 95 people now infected - an increase of 34 since yesterday - and three new deaths bringing the toll to 15.  
However, there is strong suspicion that the true figures are much higher, with one lawmaker declaring yesterday that 50 people had died in the city of Qom.     
Qom, where the virus is believed to have arrived in Iran from China, is a major destination for Shi'ite pilgrims from around the Middle East. 
But despite the growing crisis, the governor of Qom declared last night that locking down the city was 'not an appropriate solution', Iranian media said. 
A series of Middle East governments have imposed travel bans after the virus spread across the region and Turkey today ordered a jet to be diverted on its way from Tehran to Ankara.  


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Three women and a police officer wear masks in Tehran on Sunday to guard against the coronavirus in Iran, which now has the worst outbreak in the Middle East 


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Women in Tehran wear masks to guard against the coronavirus, which is believed to have entered Iran from China where the outbreak began[/size]





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A cafe worker arranges sugar packets inside a shopping mall in Milan, which has been left almost-deserted after the city found itself at the centre of the latest coronavirus outbreak


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A shop worker arranges clothes inside the 'Il Vulcano' shopping centre in Milan despite a lack of customers on Tuesday


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Two people mill around the almost-deserted Il Vulcano shopping centre in Milan amid the coronavirus outbreak


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A fish vendor wears a protective face mask at his stall in a local market in the Corvetto district of Milan, Italy


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A woman wearing a face mask walks among stalls at street market on Viale Papiniano in Milan, which is typically bustling with midday crowds but is now significantly quieter
'That certainly contributed to the spread,' he said, without naming the institution concerned. 
What is clear is that the main centre of infection has been the town of Codogno, around 60 kilometres (35 miles) to the south of Milan.
Codogno and several other towns in northern Italy have been put under isolation measures in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus.
An officer at a roadblock stopping cars from entering Somaglia,one of the towns in lockdown, told Mail Online: ’We have had no trouble. 
'Everyone is cooperating and no one has attempted to drive out.
'We will arrest anyone who does try to leave, but I do not think people will be so foolish, They know this is very serious and will just have to wait.’
Hundreds of police have set up roadblocks around the towns with only medical staff, police and drivers delivering food and water supplies allowed to enter.
Driving around the deserted roads close to the town of Codogno – the epicentre of the outbreak – there is an eerie silence that is unnerving.


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A member of the cleaning service staff prepares to sanitize a train wagon at the Garibaldi station in Milan, which is at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy


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Sanitation of all public transport is among emergency measures being taken by authorities in Milan as Italy tries to halt the spread of coronavirus


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Garibaldi station in Milan is deserted after the region was placed on partial lockdown amid the rapid spread of coronavirus


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Garibaldi, typically bustling with commuters, was almost deserted on Tuesday as people stayed home amid coronavirus fears


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A pre-triage medical tent is set up in front of the Santa Maria Nuova hospital in Florence, Italy, after a 60-year-old businessman in the city was tested for coronavirus after returning from Singapore


+53


While most of Italy's coronavirus cases have been confined to the north, the disease has begun spreading south - amid fears that it could rapidly run out of control


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A worker wearing a face mask stands next to a pre-triage medical tent set up in front of the Santa Maria Nuova hospital in Florence, Italy

[size=34]Britons at Milan's airport arrive for flight with masks  [/size]

Travellers flying to London from Milan’s Linate Airport were taking no chances of catching the Coronavirus and arrived wearing face masks and protective gloves.
With nearly all flights from the Italian city operating as normal a steady stream of passengers began the check in process – but made sure they were fully protected.
At the British Airways check in desk two staff on duty did not have any protective masks.
But almost all passengers arriving for the 90 minutes flight made sure they had protective measures in place.

[size=16]
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Travellers at a BA check-in desk at Milan's Linate Airport arrived wearing face masks as they prepared to board a flight to London on Tuesday, amid fears about the spread of coronavirus


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A woman wearing a protective mask waits to board her flight to the UK from Milan's international airport on Tuesday
Micaele Micheri was returning to her West London home after a three day visit to her parents who live south of Milan.
She wore a protective mask and latex gloves and said she was being ‘over cautious’.
‘I know that I do not have the virus and have not come into contact with anyone who might have it,’ she told Mail Online.
‘This is just being overcautious and I am not worried. I came to visit my parents but we have spent the entire three days inside as we did not want to go out.’
Also in the check in queue was 12 year old Alex who was returning to his home in Weybridge, Surrey.
He wore a surgical mask and said he was being double cautious.’
‘I’m not too concerned but its better to be cautious,’ he said.
He was accompanied by a family friend, also called Alex, who said he wasn’t worried and chose not to take precautionary measures. ‘It has been blown out of proportion, ‘ he said.
At the airport the entrance to the pharmacy in the arrivals hall displayed a sign which said they had no anti bacterial handwash or face masks for sale.
A staff member said they had sold out two days ago and were not expected fresh supplies until later this week.
Inside Linate’s main terminal many other travellers wore masks as they sat in restaurants or waited to check in for their flight.
While all British Airways and EasyJet flights were operating as normal Alitalia, the national airline, cancelled numerous internal flights from Milan.


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At the airport the entrance to the pharmacy in the arrivals hall displayed a sign which said they had no anti bacterial handwash or face masks for sale[/size]



Roads that would be busy with cars are empty while side streets leading to rows of houses are deserted.
Shutters on most homes remain closed and in the space of an hour Mail Online only saw one person out walking.
Police wearing masks and blue surgical gloves are on the round the clock duty at the roadblocks.
What few cars have ventured out are flagged down and ordered to pull over to the side of the road.
A police officer approaches slowly but makes sure he keeps his distance from the rolled down window of the car.
Only those with paperwork allowing them entry into the quarantined zone are allowed through. All others are turned back.
At one checkpoint the driver of a German HGV lorry look exasperated as he held up his sat nav and sought help in trying to find a way around road blocks to drop off his delivery.
Despite pleading with the officers he was turned around and headed back towards the main A1 motorway that runs between Milan and Bologna.
Italian authorities have divided the region of Lombardy into two zones – red and yellow.
The towns where 50,000 people have been banned from leaving are in the red zone while others such as Lodi are considered ‘safe’ and fall in the yellow zone.
As a precaution all bars and clubs in the entire yellow region have been ordered to close at 6pm. No large gatherings are allowed for the next fortnight.


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A tourist from Taiwan wears stickers on her back announcing that she is not from China while visiting Milan's cathedral


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A man in a face mask feeds pigeons in Milan, as the country is hit by the coronavirus outbreak


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A couple wearing face masks is seen in the subway in Duomo underground station in Milan


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Women in a face masks are seen in Porta Venezia subway in Milan, as the country is hit by the coronavirus outbreak


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A pharmacy in the Chinese district of Milan displays a sign announcing that face masks have sold out 


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A man wearing a respiratory mask checks his smartphone next to a closed store in the Chinese district of Milan


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A sign that says 'as a consequence of the current health situation, our establishment has decided to suspend its activity from February 25 until March 1' in the Chinese district of Milan
In the town of Guardamiglio, about five kilometres from Codogno, a bar in the town had the paperwork ordering its closure after 6pm taped to the metal shutters.
Local resident Giancarlo Pulgia said: ‘It is something we have to accept. We are lucky not to be in the towns that have been put under quarantine. We are still able to go about our business, not that anyone is working. ‘
Schools have been closed and sports facilities shuttered for the duration while a Government decree allows people in the red zone to work from home and continue to be paid.
The town of Codogno became the epicentre after a 38-year-old man fell ill with the virus and was rushed to hospital. He is thought to have started the spread of the virus that has led to Italy having the third most cases after China and Singapore.
Inside the affected towns most resident are staying indoors and communicating via a WhatsApp group and email.
One resident, a middle aged woman, told local media: 'We are all waiting for news. There is confusion about food supplies. 
'Some people are going out to other supermarkets in towns that are within the red zone. That is allowed.
‘There are some terrible stories going round. We have heard that nurses have been prevented from ending their shifts. They are risking burn out’.


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Medical staff with protective suit walks at Dr. Fran Mihaljevic hospital for Infectious Diseases in Zagreb, where a young Croatian man infected with the virus after travelling to Italy is being quarantined


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Medical staff with protective suit gestures at Dr. Fran Mihaljevic hospital for Infectious Diseases in Zagreb


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A biohazard sign hangs on the railings outside a ward where Croatia's first coronavirus patient is being quarantined


+53


Senior staff at Innsbruck Hospital in Austria talk to the press after the country confirmed its first two coronavirus cases
Describing the town, she said:’ The place is empty and everyone is locked in their homes. There’s an unusual silence and we talk from behind closed front doors to exchange information.
‘We see ambulances coming and going to visit the sick and to check if it is another case of coronavirus.
'The A&E department at the hospital has been closed down. No one is allowed in and no one allowed out.’
Journalist Costanza Cavalli, who entered the town before it was placed in lockdown described the boredom she has endured while prevented from leaving.
She said she yearned for the noise of traffic and said after four days feels as if she is serving a 30-year jail sentence.
Luigi Toselli, a farmer from Codogno, is among hundreds of people who are escaping the quarantine to go shopping in towns outside the red zone.
He said: We must survive. The government on TV keeps saying that everything is fine. But here the situation is dramatic. The truth is we have been abandoned. 
'It’s not right to sentence 50,000 to isolation. We need to be helped. No one is doing this. So we are helping ourselves.'


+53



Italy's Stock Exchange, the Borsa Italiana, saw 5 per cent of its value wiped out Monday - the largest single-day fall since 2016


+53



Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte (centre) attends the first meeting of the standing committee between Ministers and Governors of the Italian Regions to face the coronavirus emergency 


+53


Mayor of Palermo Leoluca Orlando speaks to the media abouth the ongoing coronavirus emergency in the Sicilian capital


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A view of the almost-empty street market on Viale Papiniano in Milan, Italy, as police officers speak with market traders


+53


People wearing respiratory masks walk on a street of the Chinese district of Milan
Pietro Meazzi, a construction worker from Casalpusterlengo, said: 'In the red zone only pharmacies and small food shops are open. It takes hours to get into the shops and then you find that fresh food, masks and medicines are all out of stock.
‘It’s unacceptable and the older people cannot take it any more. We go grocery shopping in San Rocco [which is outside the red zone]. Alos for friends and relatives. It’s our duty to help others.’
Andrea Maiocchi, a shopkeeper from Castiglione, added:‘No one wants to infect anybody. But rules cannot ignore reality. Out of ten locked-down towns only four have people who are actually infected. 
'Even so within the red zone everyone goes wherever they want. It’s absurd. It’s like saying within the red zone you have a license to infect anyone.
‘While those in towns without any cases of coronavirus no one can go to work or get the essentials that have disappeared from local shops – soap, hand-sanitizer, washing powder, mineral water, pet food and cigarettes.’
A doctor in Codogno said: ‘There are not enough mouth swabs for everyone. Even I am waiting to be tested since Wednesday.
‘We are lacking nurses. With medical staff under quarantine basic medicine is collapsing. We are at the point where even those who have fever are not being tested because we don’t have enough mouth swabs.
‘Everyone knows that this is not the correct way to do things and that we are too late to fight this.’
Another doctor in Codogno added: 'There are six of us that got sick. No one warned us of the danger. No one gave us the adequate protection. Everyone if washing their white jacket at home but that’s it.
‘The authorities are blocking flights from China but one staff member got in and out of the hospital twice in four days. After we tested positive it was hours before we were given instruction to lock down the area.
‘We feel like we were sent in and now have been abandoned..
Four days into the lockdown police have not had to make any arrests for residents attempting to leave.
Despite the spread of the virus to the southern most tip of the Italy and new advice on self isolation flights to and from the UK have continued unchanged.
British Airways was operating 18 flights a day to and from Milan while other airlines such as Easyjet and Ryanair kept to their normal schedule. [/size]

You hear that George...     ... Los Angeles       I miss you here

Maybe not Cali for George and the family. There are 10 cases in California that have been treated.

[size=36]U.S. Coronavirus Cases[/size]
As of February 25, 2020 at 17:19 GMT, there have been 53 confirmed cases of patients infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the United States:

• 18 former passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.
  
• 10 in California
  
• 2 in Illinois
  
• 1 in Wisconsin
  
• 1 in Arizona
  
• 1 in Washington state
  
• 1 in Massachusetts
  
• 1 in Texas
  

More information on the 17 that do not include Diamond Princess cruise ship evacuee cases is presented in the table below:
[th]State[/th][th]Cases[/th][th]Sex[/th][th]Age[/th][th]Date[/th][th]Case #[/th][th]Location[/th][th]Source[/th]

Texas	1			Feb. 13	15th	San Antonio
Washington	1	M	30s	Jan. 21	1st	Snohomish	[7]
Illinois	2	F	60s	Jan. 24	2nd	Chicago	[8]
		M	60s	Jan. 30	6th	Chicago	[12]
California	2	unkn.	unkn.	Jan. 26	3rd,4th	Orange C., L.A.	[9]
	1	M	adult	Jan. 31	7th	Santa Clara C.	[17][18]
	1	F	unkn.	Feb. 2	9th	Santa Clara C.
	1	M	57	Feb. 2	10th	San Benito C.
	1	F	57	Feb. 2	11th	San Benito C.
	1	unkn.	adult	Feb. 11	13th	San Diego
	1			Feb. 13	14th
	1			Feb. 21	16th	Humboldt C.
	1			Feb. 21	17th	Sacramento C.
	Arizona	1	unkn.	student	Jan. 26	5th	Maricopa County
Massachusetts	1	M	20s	Feb. 1	8th	Boston	[16]
Wisconsin	1				12th	Madison

I don't think anywhere is safe from this virus all we can do is wait and see. I don't believe for one minute that there are no cases in New York.

Well here some news from your health chiefs!

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1232349619843162112

This is absolutely horrible , he has no clue about anything.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8042623/Donald-Trump-DENIES-Russia-interfering-attacks-intelligence-community-AGAIN.html

[size=34]'I want NO help from any country and I have NOT been given help from any country.' Donald Trump DENIES Russia is interfering to back him and attacks his intelligence community AGAIN[/size]

• Trump was asked about reports of Russian election interference
  
  
• He said he hadn't gotten 'any help from any country'
  
  
• He accused Rep. Adam Schiff of leaking information about an intelligence briefing
  
  
• Administration official reportedly briefed lawmakers it wants to support Trump 
  
  
• Bernie Sanders says he was briefed Russia wants to back his primary campaign 
  
  
• Trump was acquitted on an impeachment article of abuse of power over pushy by Trump and his allies to get Ukraine to investigate the Bidens 
  
  

By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:53 EST, 25 February 2020 | UPDATED: 11:33 EST, 25 February 2020

     



President Donald Trump has denied that Russia or any country interfered to help his election campaign, as he once again tore into Rep. Adam Schiff and accused him of leaking information about a classified security briefing.
Asked during a press conference in India whether he was briefed that Russia was acting to support him as well as Democratic primary contender Bernie Sanders, Trump responded: 'Nobody ever told me that.'
'I want no help from any country and I haven't been given any help from any country,' said Trump.
[size=10][size=18]Trump denies US Intelligence claim Russia meddling in 2020 election




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'I want no help from any country and I haven't been given any help from any country,' said Trump, when asked about Russian election interference
The U.S. intelligence community and the Mueller report concluded Russia hacked Democratic emails in the 2016 as part of an effort to boost Trump and sow discord in U.S. politics.
Trump wouldn't say directly whether he believed assessments that Russia wants to interfere in the 2020 elections, following explosive reporting that a top administration intelligence staffer briefed lawmakers that it did. 
He accused House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) of leaking the information that led to a New York Times report, although he didn't provide evidence to back up his suspicion. 
'Schiff leaked it in my opinion. He shouldn’t be leaking things like that. That’s a terrible thing to do,' Trump said.
'If they don't stop it, I can't imagine that people won't go after them,' he added. Schiff has denied the charge, and tweeted over the weekend after Trump leveled similar accusations. 'Nice deflection, Mr. President. But your false claims fool no one. You welcomed Russian help in 2016, tried to coerce Ukraine’s help in 2019, and won’t protect our elections in 2020. Now you fired your intel chief for briefing Congress about it. You’ve betrayed America. Again,' Schiff tweeted.


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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shakes ands with US President Donald J. Trump (L) after addressing the media after a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, 25 February 2020. US President Trump is on a two-day state visit to India


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Trump has long cast doubts on evidence Russia interfered in the 2016 elections, and said he hasn't been told they are interfering in 2020


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Trump accused Adam Schiff of leaking information on a classified briefing 
Trump also denied that he pushed out acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire over the briefing conducted by his subordinate. 
'Not at all. He was pushed out because frankly if he wasn't pushed out, he would have had to get out,' Trump said, noting the clock was ticking on Maguire's acting capacity.  
Trump also indicated his post-impeachment purge isn't over. 'We want to have people that are good for the country, are loyal to our country because that was a disgraceful situation,' he said. 
Trump drew fire last year when ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked if he would accept help from a foreign country. 'I think you might want to listen, there isn't anything wrong with listening,' Trump said. Trump was acquitted on an impeachment article of abuse of power over pushy by Trump and his allies to get Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.

party animal - not! wrote:Well here some news from your health chiefs!

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1232349619843162112

PAN - Welcome to our world. This is why I'm so fed up. Totally incompetent, clueless administration hacks incapable of giving a straight answer to any question. May all the ills they have inflicted on the world come back to roost on their own doorsteps.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8043325/Top-CDC-official-says-parents-need-prepare-tele-schooling-coronavirus-pandemic.html

[size=34]BREAKING: 'This might be bad': Top CDC official warns it's 'not a question of if but when' coronavirus spreads in the US and tells parents to prepare kids for school closures and 'significant disruption in our lives'[/size]

• Senior CDC official Nancy Messonier said coronavirus is moving closer to meeting the criteria of a pandemic
  
  
• She says she that it's not a question of if, but when, spread will occur in the US
  
  
• Dr Messonier said she called her children's school and asked if there are plans for tele-schooling if necessary and recommended parents do the same 
  
  
• More than 80,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 2,700 people have died
  
  

By MARY KEKATOS SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 12:57 EST, 25 February 2020 | UPDATED: 13:51 EST, 25 February 2020

     



It's no longer 'a question of if...but when' the coronavirus will spread in the US, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials said on Tuesday as they told parents to prepare their children for the possibility of school closures. 
The CDC said Americans may need to prepare for 'tele-schooling' should the virus continue to spread throughout the US. 
So far, 57 cases have been confirmed - 14 in the nation, 40 from citizens repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan and three evacuated from China.
And although the threat is currently low, Dr Nancy Messonier, CDC's director of the Center for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, says the public needs to prepare if the virus becomes a pandemic.
'It's not so much of a question of if this will happen in this country any more but a question of when this will happen,' she told reporters in a media call on Tuesday.
'We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad.' 


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Dr Nancy Messonier (pictured) of the CDC says the public needs to prepare if the coronavirus spreads in the US and suggested parents asks schools if they plans for doing classes over the Internet 


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Dr Messonier says that it's not a question of if, but when, spread will occur in the US as the virus continued to spread abroad. Pictured: Doctors look at a scan of a patient with coronavirus at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital, February 16
[size=10][size=18]World Health Organisation warns coronavirus has 'pandemic potential'




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Dr Messonier is so concerned that she suggested that parents call their children's schools and ask if there are plans for children to attend class over the Internet or via video chat should the buildings need to close.
In fact, she told reporters she has already called her own children's school to ask how it would handle closures due to the outbreak. 
Dr Messonier said although the threat of coronavirus in the US is currently slim, the infection's international spread abroad makes containment at the US border and within the nation increasingly difficult. 
Therefore, she suggested recommendations that the public could take if the virus reaches pandemic-like levels.


At a community level, this means reducing face-to-face contact in schools and officers and replacing in-person meetings with teleschooling and teleconferencing.
'I had a conversation with my family over breakfast this morning, and I told my children that - while I didn't think they were at risk - right now, we as a family, need to be preparing for significant disruption of our lives,' Dr Messonier said.  



Worldwide, more than 80,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 2,700 people have died
She said she called her children's school and asked if they are plans for tele-schooling if the building needs to close due to the virus.
'[Parents should] ask schools, are there plans for teleschool? You should think what you would do for daycare if schools close?' Dr Messonier said.
However, other health experts have advised parents not to overreact and pull their children out of school.
They cite that the number of infections among children are low and that when symptoms do appear, they're mild.  
'The literature is only reporting about 100 or so pediatric cases,' Dr Terri Lynn Stillwell, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan, told NPR.
Worldwide, more than 80,000 people have been infected with coronavirus and more than 2,700 people have died - mostly older patients with pre-existing conditions.


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The White House has requested $2.5 billion to fund better tracking of the virus, treatment development. Pictured: A doctor treats a patient infected with coronavirus at a hospital in Wuhan, February 24


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President Donald Trump said in a press conference in India on Tuesday (pictured) that be believes coronavirus is 'a problem that's going to go away'
[size=18]US officials update on coronavirus evacuation and quarantine plans




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During the media call, Dr Messonier also gave an update on test kits, some of which were flawed, that were sent to state and local health departments.   
Currently, 12 'states and localities' have working test kits, but it's unclear which states and cities have them.
'I am frustrated, like I know many of you are, that we have had issues with our test,' she said.
'I want to assure you that we are working to modify the kit and hope to send out a new version to state and local jurisdictions soon.'
She added that 400 samples were tested at the CDC on Monday night and that there is currently no backlog despite the defective tests.
Dr Messonier was also asked about President Donald Trump's comment on Tuesday at a press conference in India, in which he said: 'I think [coroanvirus is] a problem that's going to go away.'
She said that she and her colleagues are 'hopeful' that the virus could be a seasonal illness that is more virulent in the fall and winter, but there is no way of knowing right now.  
Meanwhile, the White House has requested $2.5 billion to fund better tracking of the virus, treatment development, and ramped-up production of a stockpile of 300 million facemasks and protective gear for US health care workers. 
'I'm deeply concerned we're way behind the eight ball on this,' said Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, during a Tuesday Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing.