February 29, 2020

Mexico Confirms First Case of Coronavirus

Source: WSJ

MEXICO CITY—Mexico confirmed Friday its first case of a person infected with the coronavirus, becoming the second country in Latin America after Brazil to report the presence of the virus.

The patient, a 35-year-old male, is only mildly ill with coldlike symptoms, Mr. López-Gatell said at a press conference. The quarantine is for epidemiological reasons, as the person affected wouldn’t need to be hospitalized for medical reasons, he added.

The virus was also detected by state health authorities in a second person, a 41-year-old man in the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa. Samples were sent to the government’s epidemiology institute Friday for corroboration, although the case is being treated as confirmed, Mr. López-Gatell said. Both people visited Italy in the third week of February, where they probably contracted the virus, he added.

Two other suspected cases are under observation in Mexico City and central Mexico state.

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/mexico-confirms-first-case-of-coronavirus-11582898181

February 28, 2020

38% of Americans avoiding Corona beer amid coronavirus outbreak: survey

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON/CNN) — Corona beer is apparently taking a hit as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread globally.

38% of beer drinkers said they would not under any circumstances buy Corona as the deadly virus continues to spread, according to a survey conducted by 5W Public Relations.

https://www.kxan.com/news/coronavirus/americans-avoiding-corona-beer-amid-coronavirus-outbreak-survey/

38% is right in the median approval rating...

February 28, 2020

Pence Orders CDC to Quadruple Thought and Prayer Capacity to Combat Coronavirus

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As his first official act in the capacity of overseeing the country’s response to a potential coronavirus update, Vice President High Priest Mike Pence has issued an order to the Centers for Disease Control for a dramatic increase in its capacity to stockpile thoughts and prayers. Pence, who was the governor of Indiana when an HIV outbreak occurred, in part because of his administration’s policies toward IV drug use, told the media today that he plans to ask Americans to “pray super-duper hard” for a quick end to any potential outbreak of the virus that is causing great concern and anxiety across the globe. The CDC announced this week that a coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. is all but inevitable.

At a press conference yesterday, Trump announced that he was putting Pence in charge of the task force that would oversee the nation’s preparation for, and response to, an outbreak. Arriving to work today, Vice President Pence asked Americans to “stay calm” but to “remember prayer is the only thing that can save us.” Pence warned against the “temptation to rely on so-called doctors and their so-called medicines and science.”

“I have asked the CDC to quadruple its ability to safely store our country’s thoughts and prayers because we’re going to need it,” Pence said. “In times like these, it might be quite tempting indeed to listen to the words of doctors and other scientists, but I must tell you how dangerous that is. Because all of the alleged knowledge they claim to have came from one place, and it wasn’t their textbooks in government indoctrination colleges. Their knowledge comes right from God himself.”

https://www.politicalgarbagechute.com/mike-pence-orders-cdc-to-quadruple-thought-and-prayer-capacity-to-combat-coronavirus/amp/

February 24, 2020

A Miami man who flew to China worried he might have coronavirus. He may owe thousands. Read more he

After returning to Miami last month from a work trip in China, Osmel Martinez Azcue found himself in a frightening position: he was developing flu-like symptoms, just as coronavirus was ravaging the country.

Two weeks later, Azcue got unwelcome news in the form of a notice from his insurance company about a claim for $3,270.

Hospital officials at Jackson told the Miami Herald that, based on his insurance, Azcue would only be responsible for $1,400 of that bill, but Azcue said he heard from his insurer that he would also have to provide additional documentation: three years of medical records to prove that the flu he got didn’t relate to a preexisting condition.

While Azcue’s experience shows the potential cost of testing for a disease that epidemiologists fear may develop into a public health crisis in the U.S., one insurance expert sees the episode as a cautionary tale about the potential risks associated with deregulation in the insurance market.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article240476806.html

February 9, 2020

You didn't let the man finish...

February 6, 2020

The Chinese doctor who sounded the alarm on the Wuhan coronavirus has died

Source: CNN

Beijing (CNN)The Chinese doctor who tried to warn others about the Wuhan coronavirus has died, according to several state media reports.

Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old doctor working in Wuhan, raised the alarm about the novel coronavirus in December, posting in his medical school alumni group on the Chinese messaging app WeChat that seven patients from a local seafood market had been diagnosed with a SARS-like illness and were quarantined in his hospital.

Soon after he posted the message, Li was accused of rumor-mongering by the Wuhan police. He was one of several medics targeted by police for trying to blow the whistle on the deadly virus in the early weeks of the outbreak, which has sickened more than 28,000 people and killed more than 560.

Li was hospitalized on January 12 after contracted the virus from one of his patients, and he was confirmed to have the coronavirus on February 1.

Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/06/asia/li-wenliang-coronavirus-whistleblower-doctor-dies-intl/index.html?utm_medium=social&utm_content=2020-02-06T16%3A10%3A14&utm_term=link&utm_source=fbCNN&fbclid=IwAR1gx7rfnTMQK97u_EEkf1t7NS_shtmLTJNTkthpT6jh_cUSYfkorOR2bFk&fbclid=IwAR3RhaUUJJNNLkYDe8G0BS7HexuuTuBFPj2HXgclynGy17RT1a-GuL_t-fM&fbclid=IwAR1JTbn03IUN6fg1CW4xOvsi7Ciq69JTqTC_n36-ZnlNAg7aqmMJU5v6wfc&fbclid=IwAR35YhIa-O6M_nehvBAmppPH-a32MdBsb3pIgcyiiRRH6SS51kcfcyzhGIc&fbclid=IwAR05-sk9KcJr8T3r8KS0DmlUTVP7ywFArjv4npJnHMGkn0eu9FNCiOqEzN0&fbclid=IwAR1ij7EKvQ_YEENWWeRXoXAIm5ziTo7ZLcYM0i2qhTfnHjc901HJyiBCn4w&fbclid=IwAR0k-snPx2aT6uQnSmABKyEmFNzz5geqiGcDuNqME2z3DVa6GcEKDsERabc&fbclid=IwAR0hButBXHSyhNDkLhjvw-BWggY7_3MbR0TNtSxSSCvSDf0VDu-Eav06Vw4

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Li was detained and repeatedly summoned by state officials and questioned about his early warning to colleagues...

February 6, 2020

In Private, Republicans Admit They Acquitted Trump Out of Fear

History has indeed taught us that when it comes to the instincts that drive us, fear has no rival. As the lead House impeachment manager, Representative Adam Schiff, has noted, Robert Kennedy spoke of how “moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle.”

My colleagues know they all just might. There’s an old Russian proverb: The tallest blade of grass is the first cut by the scythe. In private, many of my colleagues agree that the president is reckless and unfit. They admit his lies. And they acknowledge what he did was wrong. They know this president has done things Richard Nixon never did. And they know that more damning evidence is likely to come out.

So watching the mental contortions they perform to justify their votes is painful to behold: They claim that calling witnesses would have meant a never-ending trial. They tell us they’ve made up their minds, so why would we need new evidence? They say to convict this president now would lead to the impeachment of every future president — as if every president will try to sell our national security to the highest bidder.

They stop short of explicitly saying that they are afraid. We all want to think that we always stand up for right and fight against wrong. But history does not look kindly on politicians who cannot fathom a fate worse than losing an upcoming election. They might claim fealty to their cause — those tax cuts — but often it’s a simple attachment to power that keeps them captured.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/opinion/trump-senate-acquittal-impeachment.html

I have asked some of them, “If the Senate votes to acquit, what will you do to keep this president from getting worse?” Their responses have been shrugs and sheepish looks.

Cowards. The entire lot.