@amsunshine - how did they know to lock down Wuhan so quickly? Are we really so sure that this is what happened? If they really locked down Wuhan so well, why are Iranians and Italians dying all over the place? Shouldn’t it have spread to other provinces of China just as it spread to Tehran, Lombardia and Seattle? All I am saying is keep some skepticism.
US and Canada preparing to issue joint statement suspending non-essential travel between the two countries
From CNN’s Jeremy Diamond
The United States and Canada are preparing to issue a joint statement to suspend non-essential travel between the two countries in the next 24 to 48 hours, a Trump administration official tells CNN.
The agreement is not yet finalized and officials are still working to define “non-essential travel,” but the official stressed that the new restrictions will ensure that business and trade between the two countries can continue.
Part of the discussions involve what types of vehicles and individuals would still be allowed to travel between the two borders and for what purpose, the official said. The restrictions will likely allow for significant flexibility.
Unlike travel restrictions on Europe and China, this would be a mutual agreement between the two countries.
“The Canadians have been our friends throughout this and many other crises and they continue to be honest brokers,” the official said.
When Trump was asked at the coronavirus task force briefing whether he was considering closing the US land borders on Tuesday, he said, “I don’t want to say that, but we are discussing things with Canada and we’re discussing things with Mexico, quite honestly, and again, the relationship is outstanding with both, outstanding. We just signed our deal, the USMCA, and the relationship is very strong.”
Speculation is no basis for skepticism.
Florida cancels all remaining testing for state’s schools
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaking at a news conference Tuesday, said that all remaining testing for students K-12 has been canceled for the year.
Requirements for students who are readying for graduation will still be looked at, without the testing component.
Parents will have a choice to keep their children in the same grade for the 2020-2021 school year. There will be no K-12 grades calculated for the rest of this year, he said. (CNN)
WHO says ‘aggressive’ action needed in in south-east Asia
The World Health Organization called for “aggressive” action in south-east Asia to combat the fast-spreading coronavirus, warning Tuesday that some countries were heading towards community transmission of the deadly disease.
Infections have soared across the region in recent weeks, forcing several countries to introduce drastic measures ranging from closing their borders to foreign arrivals and imposing nighttime curfews to closing schools and cancelling sports events.
There are concerns that weaker public health care systems in many or the region’s countries will be unable to cope with a major outbreak.
“We need to immediately scale up all efforts to prevent the virus from infecting more people,” said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO’s regional director.
“We clearly need to do more, and urgently.” (Guardian)
You mean after squashing alarm for months and allowing the virus to spread all over the country and the world turning the world upside down, they get commended because they took draconian measure? The virus was noticed first in early December. For two months, they ignored, oppressed those who were voicing concerns. Isn’t there some kind of international protocol to notify other countries when you discover the first case of an infectious disease? If there is a case of cholera for example, don’t you have to announce it loud and clear? WHO dragged its feet, too.
No, I’m definitely not defending their initial response, which is just as bad, imo, as our administration’s initial response. Once they got their act together, they were fairly successful in preventing a much larger disaster.
Top 10 and some bigger movers today, overall or percentage-wise
CHINA - 13 new cases totaling 80,894 and 11 new deaths totaling 3,237.
930 new discharges, All but one of the new cases was imported. Total of imported cases is 155. 10 of the deaths were in Wuhan and only 1 outside.
ITALY - 3,526 new cases totaling 31,506 and 345 new deaths totaling 2,503.
Bergamo (Lombardy region) has run out of intensive care beds. Unions are demanding the closure of post offices after the deaths of 2 postal workers who were on their job until a few days ago
IRAN - 1,178 new cases totaling 16,169 and 135 new deaths totaling 988.
SPAIN - 1,884 new cases totaling 11,826 and 191 new deaths totaling 342.
GERMANY - 2,095 new cases totaling 9,367 and 9 new deaths totaling 26.
S. KOREA - 177 new cases totaling 8,413 and 9 new deaths totaling 84.
FRANCE - 1,097 new cases totaling 7.730 and 27 new deaths totaling 175.
**USA - 1,776 new cases totaling 4,667 and 23 new deaths totaling 109.
SWITZERLAND - 389 new cases totaling 2,742 and 8 new deaths totaling 27.
UK - 407 new cases totaling 1,950 and 16 new deaths totaling 71.
according to the NHS, those who died were aged between 45 and 93 and all had underlying health conditions
NETHERLANDS - 292 new cases totaling 1,705 and 19 new deaths totaling 43.
AUSTRIA - 314 new cases totaling 1,332 and 1new death totaling 4.
BELGIUM - 185 new cases totaling 1,243.
MALAYSIA - 107 new cases totaling 673 and first 2 deaths…
CANADA - 157 new cases totaling 598 and 4 new deaths totaling 8.
PORTUGAL - 117 new cases totaling 448.
CZECH REPUBLIC - 90 new cases totaling 434.
BRAZIL - 112 new cases totaling 346 and 1st death.
ISRAEL - 39 new cases totaling 337.
Israel urges its citizens to remain home and go out only for “vital needs and services”. Shopping for food is allowed only if no delivery option is available. Parks, beaches and malls will be off-limits. People will be allowed to exercise outdoors for 10 minutes if nobody is nearby.
FINLAND - 44 new cases totaling 322.
IRELAND - 69 new cases totaling 292.
ICELAND - 48 new cases totaling 247.
PAKISTAN - 63 new cases totaling 247. 1st death.
POLAND - 61 new cases totaling 238 and 1 new death totaling 5.
ROMANIA - 49 new cases totaling 217.
CHILE - 45 new cases totaling 201.
EGYPT - 30 new cases totaling 196 and 2 new deaths totaling 2.
PHILIPPINES - 45 new cases totaling 187.
LUXEMBOURG - 59 new cases totaling 140.
RUSSIA - 30 new cases totaling 93.
PERU - 31 new cases totaling 114.
ECUADOR - 53 new cases totaling 111.
URUGUAY - 21 new cases totaling 21.
FAROE ISLANDS - 29 new cases totaling 47.
ANDORRA - 25 new cases totaling 39.
KAZAKHSTAN - 23 new cases totaling 33.
1st cases confirmed - Montenegro (2) and Gambia.
New U.S. numbers released a few minutes ago: 6,010 cases; 104 deaths.
Source: MSNBC.
You are kidding, right? The adm did have many missteps but what Chinese did was far more than missteps.
JMO, but this isn’t the place for conspiracy theories.
We know why and how Wuhan was shut down so quickly (China shut down and shut down quickly, as is possible in an authoritarian state). We know why and how it spread to Italy, Iran, etc. (Travel, and those were just the two clusters afterwards. They will be overtaken by other countries. There will also hopefully be fewer cases and deaths as countries see what worked and didn’t in the early countries.)
These aren’t mysteries.
Request is being made that people who might have unopened masks at home donate them to hospitals. Same for construction masks.
No, I’m not kidding. Our administration continued to deny there was any problem from the time the first case appeared in mid January until last week.
eta: And frankly, I was under the impression our country was a democratic nation – where we hold ourselves to a higher standard of conduct than more authoritarian countries.
New York City may soon compel most people to stay in their homes except in emergencies or when shopping for essentials, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday, an order already imposed by San Francisco to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Any decision to issue the “shelter-in-place” order is likely to be made in the next 48 hours, but even if imposed, it would likely still allow more than 8 million residents to make necessary trips out to buy food or medicine, the mayor said as the number of confirmed cases in the city rose to 814.
City officials acknowledged on Tuesday they still did not have all the medical resources they were seeking and that they had been receiving protective equipment from the federal government that was past its expiry date.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he did not think sheltering in place would be effective. “I don’t think you can really do a policy like that just in one part of the state. So I don’t think it works,” he told CNN.
“As a matter of fact, I’m going so far that I don’t even think you can do a statewide policy,” Cuomo said.
The city has already asked New Yorkers to stay home when they can and has closed schools and limited bars and restaurants to takeout or delivery.
But if there is still not enough compliance, the city may soon enforce new rules restricting people to their homes unless they can prove they have a good reason to stay outside, Emergency Management Commissioner Deanne Criswell said in an interview. (Guardian)
Hawaii governor asks visitors to postpone their vacations
A US state heavily dependent on tourism dollars is making the extraordinary request for visitors to stay away due to the coronavirus.
Speaking at a news conference in Honolulu on Tuesday, Hawaii Gov. David Ige said, “I am strongly encouraging our guests to postpone their vacations for at least the next 30 days and reschedule it for a later date.”
Ige said additional steps are coming, as they will screen all passengers disembarking from cruise ships starting Friday. Physicians will check the temperature of each passenger and conduct interviews about their health. Ige said they intend to do the same screenings for airport arrivals as soon as possible.
The state is banning table service at restaurants, and the governor said all bars and clubs will be closed. Additionally, all gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited, including worship services. CNN
Nevada governor orders non-essential businesses to close for 30 days
The governor of Nevada is strongly advising as many residents as possible to stay home indefinitely to slow the spread of coronavirus.
In a news conference, Gov. Steve Sisolak said only businesses and organizations that serve food, gas and other essential items or social services can remain open as of noon Wednesday. Restaurants can only provide their services via delivery or carryout.
All casinos are ordered closed, as well as pubs and wineries that do not serve food. All gaming devices in any location must be shut down by midnight Tuesday night.
“Non-essential services such as beauty shops, barber shops [and] salons should close until further notice,” Sisolak said. “This is not the time for sleepovers, play dates, theater outings, or athletic events… it’s definitely not the time to go to the movies.”
Sisolak strongly suggested postponing weddings scheduled for the next month – especially those involving guests traveling from out-of-state, and even advised Nevadans to limit attendance at funerals. The order does not apply to houses of worship, but the governor said, “I strongly urge our faith leaders to find ways to deliver to their congregations without bringing them together in person."
“It’s incumbent upon the citizens of this state to take this seriously,” Sisolak said as he pounded the podium with his finger.
There is plenty of evidence of a new respiratory virus in the US months before official recognition of covid19 cases, but the system didn’t immediately recognize or identify it and its possible significance. As in Wuhan, understanding what’s new and dangerous isn’t easy.
I know someone very well who returned from Wuhan last summer with pneumonia. I wish there was a way she could get her blood tested for antibodies. Would that be scientifically useful?
Bolivia closes border to curb coronavirus spread
From CNN’s Abel Alvarado and Jackie Castillo in Atlanta
Bolivia’s borders will be closed due to the ongoing threat of coronavirus, Interim President Jeanine Áñez announced in a statement released by her office on Tuesday.
Effective Thursday, only Bolivian citizens and residents may enter the country, the statement said. Travelers entering the country must follow protocols implemented by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization.
International and national flights will be suspended starting Friday, the statement said. The transportation of goods will still be allowed into Bolivia.
In addition to border closures, work days will be shortened and markets will open for limited hours. The measures will be in place until March 31.
I think so. Whether or not it would be possible right now is the big question.
Good lord. Just a few hours ago it was 5,000 cases and 100 deaths.
Except there would no way to know when she came in contact with teh virus. Maybe she was ‘infected’ in early January and just had a bad cold, for example.