Coronavirus outbreak Health expert brands UK's coronavirus response 'pathetic'

Source: The Guardian

A leading public health expert has launched a devastating critique of the government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak in the UK, saying it is too little too late, lacks transparency and fails to mobilise the public.

Prof John Ashton, a former regional director of public health for north-west England, lambasted a lack of preparation and openness from the government and contrasted Britain’s response to that of Hong Kong.

“Right at the beginning of February, they [Hong Kong] adopted a total approach to this, which is what we should have done five weeks ago ourselves. They took a decision to work to three principles – of responding promptly, staying alert, working in an open and transparent manner,” he told the Guardian.

Read more: Link to source

JetBlue passenger on flight from JFK arrives in Palm Beach as positive coronavirus case: officials

Source: WPIX-TV

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A passenger aboard a JetBlue flight from New York's Kennedy Airport arrived at Palm Beach International Airport as a positive coronavirus case, Palm Beach Fire Rescue said early Thursday morning.

Flight 253 landed at 8:53 p.m. from JFK, but the plane remained on the tarmac instead of proceeding to gate C12. Passengers departed the aircraft around 10:45 p.m., according to PIX11 sister station WPTV.

"The person across the way from me was taken to the back of the plane. He was wearing masks and gloves. His wife was sitting in the same row as me and mentioned to others that he wasn't feeling well. She said he had gotten a phone call with his test results right before we had taken off, implying that he had a positive test but not actually saying it," passenger Scott Rodman told WPTV.

Read more: https://www.pix11.com/news/coronavirus/jetblue-passenger-on-flight-from-jfk-arrives-in-palm-beach-as-positive-coronavirus-case

Chelsea Manning hospitalized after suicide attempt

Source: Politico

The activist and whistleblower Chelsea Manning attempted suicide on Wednesday, her legal team said in a news release.

The statement came only a few days before Manning was scheduled to appear at a court hearing on whether sanctions imposed on her after she refused to comply with a grand jury investigation into WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should continue. Manning came to national attention after she leaked classified documents to WikiLeaks and was court-martialed for violating the Espionage Act.

Manning has claimed that the grand jury investigation was potentially open to abuse, writing in 2019 that it was “an effort to frighten journalists and publishers, who serve a crucial public good.”

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/11/chelsea-manning-suicide-126452

Donald Trump reverts to form...

Europe condemns the U.S. travel ban as more nations add restrictions.

Source: New York Times

The European Commission, the governing body of the European Union, issued a scathing statement condemning the move.

“The coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action,” it said. “The European Union disapproves of the fact that the U.S. decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation.”

The restrictions apply only to the 26 countries within the bloc’s Shengen free-travel zone and did not appear tied to the severity of outbreaks in individual countries. Britain and Ireland were not included in the ban.

Tens of thousands of Americans in Europe scrambled to figure out what they needed to do before the 30-day travel ban goes into effect on Friday, many unclear on the scope of the ban and worried that their flights home would be canceled. And airlines, hotels and scores of other industries — many of which had already been hurting from restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the virus — braced for even steeper declines.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/world/coronavirus-news.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

NBC News: Trump had to be talked into giving the Oval Office Address on COVID-19

...no doubt explaining the hostage video tone.

I was on a call with Tom Perez yesterday...there is NO plan to cancel an in-person Convention.

Coronavirus arrives on Capitol Hill: First Senate staffer diagnosed with covid-19

Source: Washington Post

A Washington staffer for Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, in what’s believed to be the first confirmed case of covid-19 on Capitol Hill, her office announced Wednesday night.

“The individual has been in isolation since starting to have symptoms,” the office said in a public notice. “On the advice of the Attending Physician, the senator has closed her Washington, D.C. office this week for deep cleaning and staff will be teleworking.”

According to the notice, the infected Senate staffer, who has not been publicly identified, “had no known contact with the senator or other members of Congress.”

“The senator is requesting that testing be done on any other staffers who have been in contact with the individual and show symptoms,” her office said.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/12/coronavirus-cantwell-staffer/

Novel Coronavirus Can Live on Some Surfaces for Up to 3 Days, New Tests Show

Source: Time

The new coronavirus can live in the air for several hours and on some surfaces for as long as two to three days, tests by U.S. government and other scientists have found.

Their work, published Wednesday, suggests that the virus can spread through the air as well as from touching things that were contaminated by others who have it, in addition to direct person-to-person contact.

Since emerging in China late last year, the new virus has infected more than 120,000 people worldwide and caused more than 4,300 deaths — far more than the 2003 SARS outbreak caused by a genetically similar virus.

For this study, researchers used a nebulizer device to put samples of the new virus into the air, imitating what might happen if an infected person coughed or made the virus airborne some other way.

Read more: https://time.com/5801278/coronavirus-stays-on-surfaces-days-tests/

After multiple clarifications about what Trump's Europe travel ban REALLY meant, Dow futures are at

...-1,400