Under the cover of COVID Hungary becomes a dictatorship.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...p-viktor-orban
Under the cover of COVID Hungary becomes a dictatorship.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...p-viktor-orban
And as usual, Tedros joins the party a few days late:
https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/compone...0-20200402.htm
Some positive news before we get into the doom and gloom.
Again, from The Guardian live blogs:
Global News:
US News:
- Known global cases pass 900,000. According to data collected by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, 932,605 people around the world have become infected, 46,413 of whom have died. They also count 193,031 people who have recovered.
- US intelligence accuses China of playing down crisis. American officials reportedly believe China has been underreporting the total number of cases and deaths. The conclusions of a classified report from the intelligence community to the White House were revealed to Bloomberg by three anonymous officials who declined to detail its contents.
- Trump said that the federal stockpile of personal protective equipment is nearly empty. “It is,†he said. “Because we’re sending it directly to hospitals.†Earlier, CNN reported that the “Strategic National Stockpile is deploying the last round of shipments in its inventory, depleting the bulk of its protective gear.â€
- The US states of Florida, Georgia and Mississippi issued stay-home orders. More than 280m people in at least 36 US states, as well in several dozen counties the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are now being told to stay home.
- Key UN climate talks, Cop26, that were due to take place in Glasgow in November have been postponed until 2021, it has been announced. The UN’s climate change chief, Patricia Espinosa has also called Covid-19 the “most urgent threat facing humanityâ€,
- The UK’s Ministry of Defence is calling up about 3,000 reservists to help with its pandemic response. That brings the number of armed forces personnel helping manage the crisis to about 23,000.
- Director of WHO “deeply concernedâ€. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the WHO, has said he was “deeply concerned about the rapid escalation and global spread of infectionâ€.
- UK death toll passes 2,300. The UK government has confirmed hundreds more deaths in hospitals, taking the total to 2,352. However, figures from the Office for National Statistics have already revealed that dozens more people have been dying as a result of the pandemic in care homes and other settings.
- Britons warned against complacency as figures continue to rise. People in the UK have been urged to stay at home as a recent acceleration in the number of cases being reported comes alongside data that suggest people are out and about in their cars more.
- New York City death toll passes 1,000. Deaths from the coronavirus reached 1,096 in New York City as an emergency field hospital opened in Central Park. Data released by the city’s health department showed the virus was having a disproportionate effect in certain neighbourhoods, mainly Brooklyn and Queens.
- Germany extends distancing measures. Physical distancing measures have been extended in Germany until at least 19 April, and will be re-evaluated on the Tuesday after Easter, Angela Merkel has said.
- Austrian unemployment jumps to highest level since 1946. Unemployment in Austria has jumped by 66% to the highest level since records began in 1946, despite a government bid to avoid mass lay-offs.
- Growth in Italy’s death toll slows. Another 727 people have died in Italy, taking the total to 13,155. That represents the smallest increase since 26 March.
- Spain passes 100,000 confirmed cases. Spain has crossed the threshold of 100,000 confirmed cases, health officials have said. According to official figures, it has had more cases than any country except Italy and the US.
Also, the US navy has opted to dock in Guam and use one of the many hotel/casinos as temporary shelter / medical facility
- Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi issued stay-home orders. The Republican governors of those states — especially Ron DeSantis of Florida — had drawn criticism for not taking decisive action as the number of cases in the southern states rose.
- Trump said that the federal government is considering districting domestic travel between coronavirus hotspots, but isn’t anticipating a nationwide shelter-in-place mandate. During another lengthy coronavirus briefing, the president often meandered, boasting about the souther border wall and hearkening back to “caravans... marching through Mexico.
- New York reported more than 83,000 cases of coronavirus and 1,941 deaths. Governor Andrew Cuomo also announced the closure of all New York City parks after residents failed to respect social distancing guidelines.
- The vice president compared the coronavirus situation in the US to Italy, which has seen the highest number of deaths linked to the virus. Italy has already reported more than 13,000 coronavirus fatalities, and that number continues to climb.
- The Dow dropped nearly 1,000 points as US markets continue to suffer amid the pandemic. Unemployment claims are also expected to jump in tomorrrow’s report after many major employers announced layoffs this week.
- Bernie Sanders called on Wisconsin to delay its presidential primary, which is scheduled to take place next week. Wisconsin Democrats and civil rights advocates have already sued the state to press officials to ease absentee voting requirements for the primary.
But this...So far, fewer than 100 of the nearly 5,000 sailors assigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt, now docked in Guam, have tested positive for the virus, but the Navy is moving sailors into various facilities and probably will begin using hotel rooms in the coming days. Navy leaders are talking with government officials in the U.S. territory to identify rooms for the crew members.
https://twitter.com/Rover829/status/1245508086904672256
From the NY Times:
The federal government’s supply of masks, gloves and gowns is nearly gone.
Last edited by shri; 02-04-2020 at 09:12 AM.
We have a new cluster in Australia.
https://twitter.com/JamieSmythF/stat...64785207980033
Nutjob in the US tries to crash a TRAIN into a hospital ship (seems like a bad plan on so many levels...). Apparently thought the hospital ship was part of a government takeover...a refreshing change from gun violence and an "A" for originality...
https://us.yahoo.com/gma/engineer-tr...opstories.html
Well, maybe wearing face masks is helpful all along:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/01/a...hnk/index.html
For a view from the 'frontline' in the US, I highly recommend reading the updates posted here. Far better than any media coverage I've seen/read.
https://columbiasurgery.org/news/cov...-dr-smith-4120
And there's no way Hong Kongers will get off their high horse about it.
@MABinPengChau was that article from yesterday? April Fools?