- BusinessYahoo News
Trump coronavirus task force 'beginning to see glimmers of progress,' but models still show 100,000 U.S. deaths from virus
The Trump administration said Sunday that it was “beginning to see the glimmers of progress” in the fight to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the United States and across the globe. “We are beginning to see the glimmers of progress,” Vice President Mike Pence said during a hastily called briefing of the White House coronavirus task force, adding, “The experts will tell me not to jump to any conclusions, and I'm not.” Dr. Deborah Birx, a leading expert in infectious disease on the task force, said that there were encouraging signs in Spain and Italy, two countries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
- HealthYahoo News
Synthetic antibodies might offer a quick coronavirus treatment
Another approach is to harvest antibodies, protective substances produced in response to an infection, from the blood plasma of people who have been infected. Dr. Jacob Glanville, one of the researchers featured in the Netflix documentary “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak,” thinks he has found a shortcut. Glanville is the president of Distributed Bio, a computational immunoengineering group that focuses on making antibody therapeutics and vaccines.
- WorldAssociated Press
US sees coronavirus window to push Taiwan's global status
The Trump administration is seizing the opportunity of the coronavirus pandemic to push a cause that has long been an irritant in U.S. relations with China: Taiwan. The virus has added yet another dimension to U.S.-China tensions that were already wracked by a trade war and heated discussions over intellectual property, human rights and Chinese policies in Hong Kong and the South China Sea. And, while U.S.-China differences over Taiwan have waxed and waned for decades, they have persisted and are reaching new heights as the world grapples with the exponential spread of the COVID-19 virus.
- U.S.Business Insider
In leaked speech to sailors, Navy secretary blasted fired carrier captain, railed at media, and blamed China for coronavirus
Alex Brandon/AP Acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly made an impassioned speech to sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, days after he dismissed its commanding officer over a leaked letter. Modly, who visited the ship in Guam on Monday, made an all-hands call to the carrier's crew. Business Insider obtained a copy of the call and confirmed its authenticity.
- WorldReuters
Iran supreme leader approves tapping sovereign wealth fund to fight coronavirus
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has approved the withdrawal of one billion euros from the country's sovereign wealth fund to help fight the coronavirus epidemic, President Hassan Rouhani's official website said on Monday. Iran is the Middle Eastern country worst-affected so far by the coronavirus, with 3,739 deaths and 60,500 people infected as of Monday, official data showed. Shut out of international capital markets and facing a further hit to its finances with the collapse in global oil prices coming on top of U.S. sanctions, Iran is struggling to shield its economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
- WorldBBC
Coronavirus: Why China's claims of success raise eyebrows
China has reported no new deaths from coronavirus anywhere in the country, for the first time since the beginning of the outbreak. For months now, every morning at 03:00, officials in China have put together the latest figures on the spread of the virus to share with the world. World Health Organization Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed China for the "speed with which [it] detected the outbreak" and its "commitment to transparency".
- U.S.NBC News
U.S. coronavirus deaths top 10,000 as medical officials warn worst is yet to come
As the number people killed by the coronavirus in the United States topped 10,000 by Monday night, the country's top medical officials warned that the worst was yet to come. The number of cases has ballooned to at least 364,167 — nearly three times higher than in the second-worst hit country, Spain — with 10,772 people killed as of 7:30 p.m. ET, according to NBC News' tracker. At the center of the outbreak in the U.S., New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said critical medical supplies and personnel have been secured but warned that the magnitude of the crisis equals that of the 1918-19 flu and the Great Depression.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Wisconsin delays primary election despite Trump calling for it to go ahead
The governor of Wisconsin has issued an executive order to postpone the state's embattled elections on Tuesday for at least two months due to the coronavirus pandemic, following mounting criticism over the upcoming in-person vote. Governor Tony Evers (D-WI) delayed the presidential primary until 9 June, saying in a statement about the executive order: “Frankly, there's no good answer to this problem—I wish it were easy. I have been asking everyone to do their part to help keep our families, our neighbors, and our communities safe, and I had hoped that the Legislature would do its part—just as the rest of us are—to help keep people healthy and safe.
WorldAFPBrazil minister offends China with 'racist' virus tweet
China demanded an explanation from Brazil Monday after the far-right government's education minister linked the coronavirus pandemic to the Asian country's "plan for world domination," in a tweet imitating a Chinese accent. In the latest incident to strain ties between Brasilia and Beijing, Education Minister Abraham Weintraub insinuated China was behind the global health crisis. "Geopolitically, who will come out stronger from this global crisis?" he wrote on Twitter Saturday.
- WorldNational Review
India Cuts Off U.S. from Nearly Half of Its Hydroxychloroquine Supply
Trump said on Saturday that he had spoken to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and revealed that India is giving “serious consideration” to the release of shipments U.S. has already ordered. A Bloomberg News analysis found that 47 percent of the U.S. supply of hydroxychloroquine last year came from Indian manufacturers, including the top U.S. supplier, Zydus Pharmaceuticals Inc. which is a subsidiary of Ahmedabad, India-based Cadila Healthcare Ltd. It sold over 167 million units of the anti-malarial in 2019, and has supplied 28 million to the U.S. market so far this year.
PoliticsYahoo News VideoBirx recounts story of her granddaughter spiking 105-degree fever
Dr. Deborah Birx on Monday recounted the story of her granddaughter spiking a 105-degree fever.
- WorldAssociated Press
Mideastern burial traditions clash with fears of contagion
Mohammed al-Dulfi's 67-year-old father died on March 21 after a brief struggle against the new coronavirus, but it would take nine days for his body to find a final resting place in the Shiite holy city of Najaf in southern Iraq. On two occasions, the family rejected remote burial plots proposed by the government outside Baghdad for him and seven other coronavirus victims, al-Dulfi said. A fight broke out between the families and the Health Ministry's team.
- HealthBusiness Insider
Coronavirus treatments: A list of the most promising medical treatments for COVID-19
There are five active clinical trials testing remdesivir in COVID-19 patients in China, the US, and South Korea. Kaletra: One of the first repurposed drugs tested against COVID-19 was Kaletra, an HIV treatment sold by AbbVie. The HIV drug Kaletra did not show benefits in keeping patients alive, reducing the amount of virus in patients, or shortening their hospital stays, the researchers concluded in a New England Journal of Medicine article published on March 18.
- U.S.Reuters
Acting U.S. Navy secretary apologizes to carrier commander after rebuke
Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Thomas Modly issued an apology on Monday to the former commander of a coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier after sharply criticizing him in a speech to his crew, just days after firing him. "I do not think Captain Brett Crozier is naive nor stupid," Modly said amid calls for his removal, including from the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, a Democrat. The apology, which Modly also extended to the carrier's crew and Crozier's family, was a reversal from a statement the Navy's top civilian issued hours earlier that said: "I stand by every word I said."
- U.S.The Week
Inslee: 'Ludicrous' that there hasn't been a nationalized mobilization effort to fight pandemic
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Sunday called the next week of the novel COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic the modern era's "Pearl Harbor moment." In other words, it'll be the "hardest moment" of many Americans' lives, and Adams hopes every person in every state does their part to slow the spread. But while Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) may agree with most of that assessment, he told NBC's Chuck Todd during Sunday's edition of Meet The Press that he isn't sure why the federal government is so intent on remaining as a backup for the states, especially if the White House believes we're in a war-like moment.
- BusinessNBC News
U.S. reports 1,200 coronavirus deaths in one day as China lifts lockdown
At the start of what is expected to be the deadliest week of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, the White House tried to offer some hope that measures to contain the spread were working. The virus killed 1,264 over 24 hours in the U.S. as of 2:05 am ET on Tuesday, according to NBC New's tracker. Meanwhile in China, where the pandemic broke out, not a single new death was reported, and the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, where the new virus was first identified, prepared for lockdown measures to be lifted.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Coronavirus checks: White House halts Democrats' call for more cash payments
The Trump administration is pumping the brakes — for now — on calls for the Treasury Department to issue a second round of checks of up to $1,200 to American taxpayers to mitigate economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The administration's position puts it at odds with Democrats in Congress, who have been eager to begin negotiating a fourth bill aimed at economic "recovery," but is in lockstep with the argument from House and Senate Republicans that the government should first see how effective the $2.2trn "phase three" coronavirus stimulus package passed in late March is before authorising more direct cash payments. "Our job is to execute what we've got," Larry Kudlow, the president's top economic adviser, told reporters Monday.
- U.S.BBC
Coronavirus wreaks havoc in African American neighbourhoods
Stark statistics from Chicago health officials have underscored the heavy toll of coronavirus on black Americans. Black Chicagoans account for half of all coronavirus cases in the city and more than 70% of deaths, despite making up 30% of the population. Other cities with large black populations, including Detroit, Milwaukee, New Orleans and New York, have become coronavirus hotspots.
- African Americans seem to be disproportionately dying of the coronavirus in several states. A decades-old mistrust in government health services called the 'Tuskegee Effect' could be fueling the problem.Business Insider
More than half of Chicago's coronavirus cases are in African AmericansWLS – Chicago
WorldAFPItaly's virus deaths plunge to lowest since March 19
Italian officials said Sunday they may soon have to consider easing restrictions after seeing the daily coronavirus death toll plunge to its lowest in over two weeks. The 525 official COVID-19 fatalities reported by the civil protection service were the Mediterranean country's lowest since 427 deaths were registered on March 19. "The curve has started its descent and the number of deaths has started to drop," Italy's ISS national health institute director Silvio Brusaferro told reporters.
- WorldBloomberg
Japan Virus Emergency Counts on Citizens to Lock Themselves Down
The declaration would cover seven regions including Tokyo and Osaka and last for about a month. Due to civil liberties enshrined in Japan's postwar constitution, the government cannot send police to clear people off the streets, as has happened in places including France, Italy and the U.K. The country's strongest enforcement measure could be public obedience -- and it remains to be seen whether that will be enough. The prevalence of the virus varies widely among the country's 47 regions and prefectures, with Tokyo seeing a rapid surge and three regions yet to confirm any cases as of April 5.
- WorldAssociated Press
Bangladesh arrests fugitive killer of independence leader
Police in Bangladesh arrested a fugitive killer of the country's independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on Tuesday, nearly 45 years after the brutal assassination, the country's home minister said. Abdul Majed, a former military captain, was arrested in the capital, Dhaka, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said, adding that the arrest was “the biggest gift” for Bangladesh this year. Majed had publicly announced his involvement in the assassination after the killing and had reportedly been hiding in India for many years.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
Trump has a distant financial link to a pharma giant that makes the drug he's been pushing to fight COVID-19 — but it's probably worth less than $1,000
President Donald Trump has repeatedly endorsed chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine at his press briefings as an experimental treatment to fight COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Some of Trump's associates also have financial ties to Sanofi, according to The Times. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
- WorldReuters
North Indians turn on to Modi's 'lights off' call, South Indians less swayed
Power demand around India shows how many nationwide heeded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to switch off their lights on Sunday and burn candles instead to "challenge the darkness" of the coronavirus, with the north coming out clear winners. Data reviewed by Reuters shows that northern India's power demand fell almost twice as steeply as in the south in response to Modi's lights-off plan, indicating the north - a traditional stronghold for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party - was more enthusiastic in its support. Modi had appealed to Indians to display solidarity amid the coronavirus crisis by turning off their lights for nine minutes at 2100 on Sunday and light candles, lamps and flashlights instead.
- PoliticsThe Week
Pelosi reportedly tells Democrats next coronavirus relief package will top $1 trillion
During a private conference call with Democrats on Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said at least $1 trillion will be needed for the next coronavirus relief package. Last month, Congress passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package, and Pelosi said the next bill will build onto that, people on the call told Bloomberg News. Pelosi said there will have to be more direct payments to individuals, extended unemployment insurance, and additional funding for food stamps and the Payroll Protection Plan, which provides small business loans. One lawmaker told Bloomberg News Pelosi also said the bill should help state and local governments, particularly in areas with no more than 500,000 residents.
- U.S.NBC News
Illinois man who feared girlfriend had COVID-19 fatally shoots her, himself
All of the doors and windows were locked from the inside, according to the sheriff's office. Patrick Jesernik, 54, and Cheryl Schriefer, 59, were found dead in separate rooms with obvious signs of trauma to their heads, the sheriff's office said in a statement. The couple, who were not married, had been together for eight years, according to Cathy Hoffmeyer, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.
