@TatinG. Yes or just spread out the arrivals to give more time to disembark. This will have major delays and fewer flight but seems to be more of a common sense approach… But common sense and the handling of this pandemic don’t seem to go hand in hand… Jokingly, I wouldn’t mind going to Germany right now and getting away from this mess, but of course can not.
NY and Florida are going to get bad, I fear.
National Institutes of Health announces first known employee to have COVID-19
From CNN’s Ross Levitt
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that it informed staff this morning of its first known case of COVID-19 among its workers.
NIH says the person did not have contact with patients and is at home and doing well.
“While this is an unfortunate development, it is not surprising, and NIH expects that there will be more cases of infection among NIH staff,” NIH said in a statement.
NIH says the person did not have symptoms while at work, but that it is notifying people who came in contact with this person and will screen those people for symptoms. They may also be asked to self-quarantine depending on their potential exposure.
“NIH commends the infected individual for following the NIH guidance, which has allowed us to take swift action,” the statement said.
Trump defends medical screenings at airports while long lines persist
From CNN’s Jason Hoffman
President Trump tweeted a response to the massive lines and wait times that have occurred at airports around the country as the US Customs and Border Protection screens passengers coming back to the United States.
Trump said that there are “precise medical screenings” being conducted and asked that people, “Pardon the interruptions and delays, we are moving as quickly as possible, but it is very important that we be vigilant and careful.”
Americans returning from countries included in the latest travel restrictions have to go through one of 13 US airports which has contributed to the long lines and delays.
Read Trump’s tweet:
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
We are doing very precise Medical Screenings at our airports. Pardon the interruptions and delays, we are moving as quickly as possible, but it is very important that we be vigilant and careful. We must get it right. Safety first!
50.6K
12:34 PM - Mar 15, 2020
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18.5K people are talking about this
[ I have no issue with medical screenings. They should be done and it is unfortunate they haven’t been done up until yesterday. I know for a fact, given family travel, they weren’t being done this past week from a very hot spot country. Nothing at all! Appalling! How does one not lose faith in our government’s ability to handle this when people can just pass through over the past week from a hot spot with no focus at all? And as far as the president’s tweet, let’s not blow it out of proportion here. A temperature check and asking a few questions isn’t “very precise”. We’re not testing people at the airports like several Asian countries are doing. ]
China might be safer right now.
Michigan governor signs executive order on price gouging
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order today that will temporarily impose enhanced restrictions on the excessive pricing of goods, materials, emergency supplies and consumer food items.
Executive order 2020-8 states that if a business or individual has acquired any product from a retailer, the business or individual must not resell that product in Michigan at a price that is in excess of the purchase price of the product, the governor’s office said in a news release.
“Additionally, a business or individual must not offer for sale or sell any product in Michigan at a price that is more than 20 percent higher than what the business or individual offered or charged for that product as of March 9, 2020, unless the business or individual demonstrates that the price increase is attributable to an increase in the cost of bringing the product to market,” the release said.
These restrictions go into effect on March 16 at 9 a.m. and will remain in place until April 13 at 11:59 p.m.
There are more than 3,000 coronavirus cases in the US
From CNN’s Amanda Watts
There are at least 3,010 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States, according to the state and local health agencies, governments and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the CDC, there are 70 cases from repatriated citizens. According to CNN Health’s tally of US cases that are detected and tested in the United States through public health systems, there are 2,940 cases in 49 states, Washington, DC, and territories, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases to 3,010.
In total, 61 people in the US have died.
West Virginia remains the only state yet to report a case of coronavirus.
A gathering at a mosque in Malaysia that attracted 16,000 attendees has been linked to a major spike in infections in the country, as well as clusters of cases elsewhere.
On Sunday, officials in Malaysia confirmed that 190 new patients had been identified, the biggest leap in cases in the country yet, making it the worst-hit nation in Southeast Asia. The majority of the new patients have been linked to the recent religious gathering, which drew people from several countries two weeks ago.
Health officials in Malaysia said on Friday that they were working around the clock to conduct mass testing of attendees, while other governments in the region have also urged citizens who were present to monitor for symptoms and get tested.
In Brunei, 40 people who traveled to the event are now reported to have the virus, while five attendees in Singapore are also infected. The news prompted the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore to close all mosques for at least five days to limit transmission and allow for cleaning.
Thailand has urged citizens who traveled to the gathering to get tested as soon as possible. Indonesia has told hundreds of its citizens who attended to monitor their health and get tested if they are ill.
Malaysia has so far managed to identify about 4,900 out of 14,500 citizens who attended the event, according to Bloomberg. The health and defence ministries will meet on Monday to discuss further measures to stop the spread of the virus, which has so far infected 428 people in the country. (Guardian)
All pubs and bars in the Republic of Ireland have been ordered to close from Sunday evening to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak.
In a statement, the government said: “Following discussions today with the Licenced Vintners Association (LVA) and the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI), the Government is now calling on all public houses and bars (including hotel bars) to close from this evening (Sunday 15th March) until at least 29 March.
“The LVA and VFI outlined the real difficulty in implementing the published Guidelines on Social Distancing in a public house setting, as pubs are specifically designed to promote social interaction in a situation where alcohol reduces personal inhibitions.
“For the same reason, the Government is also calling on all members of the public not to organise or participate in any parties in private houses or other venues which would put other people’s health at risk.”
Qatar plans to stop inbound flights to the capital Doha as of 18 March for 14 days, with the exception of cargo and transit flights.
All public transport in Doha has also been suspended as of Sunday night.
The country now has 401 cases of coronavirus.
[ population of about 2.6 million]
Colombia will restrict entry by all passengers who are not residents or citizens from Monday in a bid to control the outbreak of coronavirus, President Ivan Duque has said.
Colombian citizens and foreign residents who arrive from March 16 will be required to perform an obligatory 14-day period of self isolation, Duque said on Twitter.
Haiti is considering closing its airports and ports to travelers as well as the border with the neighbouring Dominican Republic in order to prevent the entry of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe said on Twitter.
Jouthe said that only goods could be permitted to enter Haiti, subject to evaluation.
The nation has so far not registered any cases of coronavirus infection.
The Dominican Republic has reported 11 cases.
Guardian
Just listened to Dr. Larry Brilliant, an epidemiologist who fought outbreaks abroad. Good, level-headed advice.
Look him up on Twitter.
** ITALY 
3,590 new cases totaling 24,757 and 368 new cases totaling 1,809.
Keep in mind that the really number of cases is higher. Italy reports net cases per day removing recovered people from the total.
The decline of the virus in China has been extraordinary. Sounds like the US could learn a thing or two from them.
My hope, in fact, is that governments and public health experts worldwide learn from this pandemic, fund studies, implement policies and services to help prevent and react to future outbreaks. Please let that not be a pipe dream.
This is the type of stuff that hospitals have been discussing where my lad is (in NYS). They are planning on converting rooms and staff within the hospital, but can only do so much. They’ve been fearful of it coming for a while now (relatively a while anyway). Now it’s begun in his area, so they’re quickly snapping into action (kudos to them). Only time will tell what happens (how bad it gets from this case or any others that come about), but having a bunch of kids exposed at school who then can take it back home definitely didn’t help. We don’t know if the teacher got it from a student or only potentially is giving it to them, but it’s a wide field. Church is also suspect.
We don’t have any known cases in our area of PA (yet), but I’m glad our schools and our church have cancelled. It gives our health care system better odds of handling the numbers if a case appears.
China had pre-existing authoritarian law and effective authoritarian infrastructure that allowed it to tightly control population movement when it decided that COVID-19 was a serious problem. Even more authoritarian-leaning Americans probably would not want to add something like article 51 in China’s constitution to the US constitution, nor have all of the population monitoring and control infrastructure that China’s government has implemented for normal use.
But then it is entirely possible that China and others could use its success in controlling COVID-19 as an argument to help it win hearts and minds in favor of authoritarianism and against freedom in the world.
Kenya imposes travel restrictions
From CNN’s David McKenzie in Johannesburg
Kenya’s government announced new travel restrictions Sunday after confirming two more cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the country’s total cases to three.
The government is denying anyone traveling to Kenya “from any country with reported coronavirus cases,” according to a press release from Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s office.
“Only Kenyan citizens, and any foreigners with valid residence permits will be allowed to come in provided they proceed on self quarantine or to a government designated quarantine facility,” the press release read.
These new measures will take effect in the next two days and will remain in place for the next 30 days, according to the press release.
The government is also shutting down all of Kenya’s schools beginning Monday and encouraging most employees to work from home. The president also advised citizens to avoid crowds and gatherings.
Kenya is also advising for citizens to use “cashless transactions,” to reduce risk of transmission of the coronavirus.
A fugitive boss of the calabrese Mafia was arrested, on Friday, thanks to the lockdown imposed by the Italian government to contain the coronavirus.
Cesare Antonio Cordì, 42, emerging boss of the Locri clan, in Calabria, has been wanted since last July and accused of fraudulent money transfer. The man was hiding in a villa in the countryside of Locri. The police have been busy, for days, on the checks to enforce the lockdown and the ban on going out, except in cases of extreme necessity. The day before, they stopped a man with shopping bags who justified himself saying he was only bringing the groceries to a friend who could not go out.
The police were suspicious of the fact that, in that area, almost all the villas were uninhabited. In the following hours, they followed him and found the shopping was destined for the boss Cordì.
To arrest him, the intervention of a special military unit was necessary. It consists of elite and highly trained soldiers, known as the Carabinieri Heliborne Squadron, or the Cacciatori, literally: the hunters.
According to investigators, Cordì is a mobster on the rise in the fierce Locri clan and the subject of a recent investigation by the Calabrian prosecutors.
Thousands of citizens have been reported for violating the ban on staying at home, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior.
In Sciacca, Sicily, a Covid-19 positive man who was forbidden from going out, was discovered by the police, while shopping. The Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation and accused the man of “aiding the epidemic”. If convicted, he faces 12 years in prison. (Guardian)
There is outrage in Brazil this afternoon after the country’s far-right leader, Jair Bolsonaro, ignored medical advice to leave his presidential palace and greet supporters outside - despite supposedly having been placed in isolation on Friday because he is waiting to take another coronavirus test.
At least four close Bolsonaro aides or officials have been diagnosed with the illness since returning from a trip to the US last week and Brazil’s president is set to take another test next week following confused reports last week that initially suggested he had tested positive for Covid-19.
Despite this, Bolsonaro decided to greet and touch supporters on Sunday during controversial anti-democracy protests which he has been promoting.
Bolsonaro also tweeted videos and photos egging on pro-Bolsonaro protests across the country - despite the risks of such gatherings given the spread of coronavirus in the South American country.
Bolsonaro’s decision sparked fury among opponents and ordinary citizens who are increasingly alarmed about the spread of coronavirus in Brazil. Major cities including Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo have begun announcing strict measures such as the closure of schools and cinemas in a bid to contain the crisis.
“President Bolsonaro is promoting corona day,” tweeted Vera Magalhães, a prominent journalist and political commentator.
“Bolsonaro must be detained immediately,” tweeted the rockstar Lobão, a former supporter who has become one of the president’s most ferocious critics.
In an editorial published on Sunday morning, a leading Brazilian newspaper lamented: “The major crisis Brazil now faces isn’t the stuttering economy or the threat of coronavirus. The real crisis is lacking a government when it is needed most”
All Dutch schools are to be closed from 16 March, while all restaurants and bars are to be closed from today (18:00 CET), the government announced at a press conference this afternoon.
Schools and childcare facilities through the Netherlands will not open tomorrow and the catering industry must close its doors from 6pm this evening.
Schools and nurseries will remain only to children of parents working in vital professions, such as health care.
Cafes, restaurants, sports clubs, saunas, sex clubs and coffee shops also have to close.
The measures will remain in force until 6 April.
Several African countries have closed borders, cancelled flights and imposed strict entry and quarantine requirements to contain the spread of the coronavirus, which has a foothold in 26 nations on the continent as cases keep rising.
The Kenyan government is suspending travel for anyone coming into Kenya from any country with reported cases, President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a televised address.
He added that anyone entering Kenya in the last 14 days should self-quarantine. The ban would take effect within 48 hours and last for at least 30 days.
Schools should close immediately and universities by the end of the week. Cashless transactions were encouraged.
Ghana will ban anyone has been to a country with more than 200 cases in the last 14 days, from Tuesday, unless they are an official resident or a Ghanaian national.
Namibia ordered schools to close for a month following two confirmed cases on Saturday.
Other nations have shut schools, cancelled religious festivals and sporting events.
Djibouti, which has no cases, announced it was suspending all international flights. Tanzania, which also has no cases yet, cancelled flights to India and suspended school games.
Guardian
We have to start implementing war-time strategies when it comes to finding places to put beds. Use empty buildings - use whatever you have to.
That will not, however, solve what will be our biggest problem - lack of breathing assistance devices.
There is no practical way to keep political implications completely out, since the leaders making important decisions are politicians. Even a neutral praise or criticism of a politician’s action will be assumed to be based on politically biased support of or opposition to that politician’s politics.
Other countries that are doing a better job slowing things down and stopping things have said testing is essential and that testing and contact tracing and isolating those who have it or been exposed is the most important step.
Louis Vuitton owner LWMH has said its cosmetics unit would manufacture large quantities of hand disinfectant gel to help stave off a nationwide shortage across France as the coronavirus continues to spread.
In a statement the company said: “LVMH will use the production lines of its perfume and cosmetic brands … to produce large quantities of hydroalcoholic gels from Monday.
“These gels will be delivered free of charge to the health authorities.” <3
The authorities of Italy’s Lombardy region, worst hit by the coronavirus, have accused the Civil Protection of having provided hospitals with “cheap masks that look like dust-cloths”.
On Friday, the Civil Protection provided 250,000 masks for doctors and nurses of Lombardy who refused to wear them citing they were “useless”. The regional authorities compared them to dust-cloths.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a national production of masks,” the head of civil protection, Angelo Borrelli, told the Sole24Ore newspaper.
Italy is running out of masks after the outbreak of the coronavirus. In the country’s pharmacies, the Fp2 and Fp3 masks are practically impossible to find.
Last week, the Guardian visited the open-air market, in Ballarò, in Palermo, where some street vendors had set up stalls selling packages containing 14 masks for five euros. From the photographs taken by the Guardian, it can be seen how the masks are the same as those the Civil Protection has provided to Lombardy doctors.
The police have already seized thousands of counterfeit masks in Italy, sold for tens of euros each.
Guardian
And medical staff. Might not be an issue now but it will be.
My friend from China felt safer in lockdown in Beijing, even going to the hospital to see a family member daily, than she does here because people are not wearing masks and many until recently were not taking any precautions.
According to BBC, Germany is “largely” closing the border with France, Austria and Switzerland tomorrow.
We’re seeing the collapse of the whole idea of the Schengen zone.
That’s true but there is a whole middle ground of things we could do (and could have done but didn’t do). It isn’t authoritarianism or nothing. We should learn what China and other countries have done right and copy those things that don’t involve extreme human rights abuses. Strong leadership encouraging people to voluntarily do these things would go a long way (versus spreading false hope that the virus will disappear, isn’t that big of a deal, etc, etc).
The old neighborhood watch groups that did so much bad during the Cultural Revolution were used to make sure people in China were fed and safe and those who needed care got medical care, diabetics got medicine, etc. It also ensured people who were sick and those who the people doing the neighborhood watching didn’t like got dragged from their homes, and beaten in some cases. China did lots of things, both good and bad. But from a scientific standpoint, we have much we can learn about what worked. Adding oxygen to people’s blood while it is running in tubes outside their bodies and then sent back into them to keep them alive and from suffocating is innovative treatment that was successful. Bringing in food to locked down districts so people could and would stay home worked. Checking temperatures helped reduce sick people spreading the disease. Closing down the most impacted areas helped slow the spread. Contact tracing and testing also helped a lot. Having enough masks and mandating their use also helped sick people not spread droplets to everyone else. We can learn from China without being authoritarian.