This situation is bringing out those that until now haven’t thought about medical equipement.
DS works for a 3D printing co. They are printing face masks and swabs. One of the big hurdles in the US are the legal hoops and loops based on the fact that something touches the body and the length of the contact.
For my fellow Washingtonians: keep up the good work; if all goes as planned, our hospital system will not get overloaded. Sadly, people will die.
This is terrible. Be safe, friends.
**USA - 17,166 new cases totaling 85,377 and 268 new deaths totaling 1,295.
New York: COVID-19 patients average time on ventilator: 11 - 21 days (vs. 3 - 4 days for non-COVID-19 patients). “We have patients that have been 20 days 30 days on a ventilator. The longer you are on a ventilator, the more likely you are not going get off a ventilator”
New York is testing more per capita than South Korea
CHINA - 55 new cases totaling 81,340 and 5 new deaths totaling 3,292.
ITALY - 6,203 new cases totaling 80,589 and 712 new deaths totaling 8,215.
SPAIN - 8,271 new cases totaling 57,786 and 718 new deaths totaling 4,365
GERMANY - 6,615 new cases totaling 57,786 and 61 new deaths totaling 267.
IRAN - 2,389 new cases totaling 29,406 and 157 new deaths totaling 2,234.
FRANCE - 2,929 new cases totaling 25,233 and 231 new deaths totaling 1,331.
SWITZERLAND - 914 new cases totaling 11,811 and 39 new deaths totaling 192.
*UK - 2,129 new cases totaling 11,658 and 115 new deaths totaling 578.
S. KOREA - 91 new cases totaling 9,332 and 8 new deaths totaling 139.
NETHERLANDS - 1,019 new cases totaling 7,431 and 78 new deaths totaling 434.
*AUSTRIA - 1,321 new cases totaling 6,909 and 18 new deaths totaling 49.
*BELGIUM - 1,298 new cases totaling 6,298 and 42 new deaths totaling 220.
CANADA - 634 new cases totaling 4,043 and 3 new deaths totaling 39.
*TURKEY - 1,196 new cases totaling 3,629 and 16 new deaths totaling 75.
PORTUGAL - 549 new cases totaling 3,544and 17 new deaths totaling 60.
NORWAY - 288 new cases totaling 3,372 and no new deaths totaling 14.
AUSTRALIA - 374 new cases totaling 3,050 and 2 new deaths totaling 13.
BRAZIL - 431 new cases totaling 2,985 and 18 new deaths totaling 77.
ISRAEL - 324 new cases totaling 2,693 and 3 new deaths totaling 8.
MALAYSIA - 235 new cases totaling 2,031 and 3 new deaths totaling 23.
*CZECH REPUBLIC - 271 new cases totaling 1,925 and 3 new deaths totaling 9.
DENMARK - 153 new cases totaling 1,877 and 7 new deaths totaling 41.
IRELAND - 255 new cases totaling 1,819 and 10 new deaths totaling 19.
*LUXEMBOURG - 120 new cases totaling 1,453 and 1 new death totaling 9.
ECUADOR - 192 new cases totaling 1,403 and 5 new deaths totaling 34.
JAPAN - 80 new cases totaling 1,387 and 2 new deaths totaling 47.
CHILE - 164 new cases totaling 1,306 and 1 new death totaling 3.
POLAND - 170 new cases totaling 1,221 and 2 new deaths totaling 16.
PAKISTAN - 138 new cases totaling 1,201 and 1 new death totaling 9.
THAILAND - 111 new cases totaling 1,045 and no new deaths totaling 4.
ROMANIA - 123 new cases totaling 1,029 and 6 new deaths totaling 23.
SAUDI ARABIA - 112 new cases totaling 1,012 and 1 new death totaling 3.
*SOUTH AFRICA - 218 new cases totaling 927.
President Cyril Ramaphosa issues “stay-at-home” order for 21 days
*INDONESIA - 103 new cases totaling 893 and 20 new deaths totaling 78.
*RUSSIA - 182 new cases totaling 840 and no new deaths totaling 3.
ICELAND - 65 new cases totaling 802 and no new deaths totaling 2.
INDIA - 70 new cases totaling 727 and 8 new deaths totaling 20.
PHILIPPINES - 71 new cases totaling 707 and 7 new deaths totaling 45.
SINGAPORE - 52 new cases totaling 683.
*PANAMA - 116 new cases totaling 674 and 1 new deaths totaling 9.
*ARGENTINA - 87 new cases totaling 589 and 4 new deaths totaling 12.
*PERU - 100 new cases totaling 580 and no new deaths totaling 9.
*ESTONIA - 134 new cases totaling 538.
EGYPT - 39 new cases totaling 495 and 3 new deaths totaling 24.
CROATIA - 53 new cases totaling 442.
*DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - 96 new cases totaling 488 and no new deaths totaling 10.
MEXICO - 70 new cases totaling 475 and 1 new death totaling 6.
SERBIA - 73 new cases totaling 357 and 3 new deaths totaling 7.
HONG KONG - 43 new cases totaling 454 and no new deaths totaling 4.
*IRAQ - 36 new cases totaling 382 and 7 new deaths totaling 36.
*NEW ZEALAND - 85 new cases totaling 368.
ALGERIA - 65 new cases totaling 367 and 4 new deaths totaling 25.
LITHUANIA - 25 new cases totaling 299 and no new deaths totaling 4.
*MOROCCO - 50 new cases totaling 275 and 5 new deaths totaling 11.
ANDORRA - 36 new cases totaling 224 and 2 new deaths totaling 3.
*UKRAINE - 51 new cases totaling 196 and no new deaths totaling 5.
*GHANA - 64 new cases totaling 132 and no new deaths totaling 4.
BOLIVIA - 29 new cases totaling 61.
1st confirmed case - Anguilla
I have people in my community printing mask for our hospitals on 3D printers. The challenge right now is finding MERVA 13 filter material for filters.
I was posting in another forum here with both parents and students and I was asking him how he could tell parent from student names. He did manage to pick out all te parent names there from the student names instantly without reading any of the posts in the thread. Then I showed him this thread quickly (just screen names) and he pointed out how very parenty the screen names are in a way that made me laugh a lot.
Increasing supply of necessary medical equipment for Covid-19 will not resolve the crisis, US surgeon general says
From CNN’s Gina Yu
Although the United States government is making every effort to provide necessary supplies in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, supplies will only help so much, Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said at a town hall for the American Society of Anesthesiologists on Thursday.
“We will not supply our way out of this problem,” he said.
The White House Coronavirus Task Force has provided 9 million N95 respirators from the Strategic National Stockpile, and it has worked with manufacturers to increase production of N95 respirators to 100 million a month, according to Adams.
He also said the national stockpile purchases 0.1% of all national supplies, while the remaining 99.9% are utilized by commercial and private markets.
“A lot of the capacity that folks are looking for is already out there. It’s sitting on shelves in surgery centers. It’s sitting in hospitals. It’s just misaligned,” Adams said. “I really want you all to think about how you can help us fix that misalignment.”
Other ways to increase supplies are elimination of elective surgeries and converting anesthesia ventilators to ICU ventilators, according to Adams.
He also talked about the importance of testing. “By this time next week, we expect to be close to two million tests,” he said.
Other than provision of medical supplies to areas that need them most, Adams reiterated the importance of the general public taking social distancing and good hygiene practices seriously. According to Adams, the disease runs its course about six to eight weeks after strict social distancing, as seen in China and other parts of Asia.
By decreasing the number of infected people, he explained, the demand for supplies would also decrease. “The way we get out of this crisis is to lower demand,” he said.
[ I’m not sure I’m buying all this. ]
24 detainees have tested positive for coronavirus in a Chicago jail
From CNN’s Brad Parks
At least 24 detainees at Cook County Jail in Chicago have tested positive for coronavirus, the sheriff’s office said in a statement Thursday.
The jail complex currently houses around 5,400 detainees. A total of 89 detainees exhibiting flu-like symptoms have been tested so far. Of those, 24 tested positive, two negative, while an additional 63 have pending test results.
Additionally, nine Cook County Sheriff’s Office employees have now tested positive for coronavirus.
Outbreaks have previously been reported in prisons and jails in China, and there have been calls for non-violent prisoners to be released in the US to reduce overcrowding and prevent the spread of the virus among detained populations.
“Nearly every school” in the US is considering early graduation for medical students
From CNN’s Minali Nigam and Gina Yu
Medical schools across the US are considering early graduation for their senior medical students to become doctors, as demand for health care providers rises due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On Tuesday, NYU became the first medical school in the country to offer this option.
“While the AAMC has not yet surveyed its member medical schools, the [Liaison Committee on Medical Education] has been working with several other schools that are considering or offering their students the option of graduating early. We are aware that nearly every school is considering early graduation as an option in our continued response to the pandemic,” said Dr. Alison Whelan, chief medical education officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges, in an email to CNN.
All four medical schools in Massachusetts – Tufts University School of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Boston University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School – are in discussions to have a fast-track option, said Massachusetts HHS Secretary Marylou Sudders on Thursday.
"We’ve been working with the deans of the medical schools in Massachusetts to graduate students early,” she said.
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in New Jersey also sent an email to its senior medical students on Thursday gauging interest and offering early graduation.
Designer Ralph Lauren donates $10 million to coronavirus relief efforts
From CNN’s Amanda Jackson
Fashion designer Ralph Lauren is committing $10 million toward coronavirus relief efforts through the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation, according to a letter from the Ralph Lauren Team.
The funds will go to employees facing special circumstances like medical needs, to the World Health Organization’s global response fund, and to other institutions like the cancer care Pink Pony Fund and the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
The company is also looking to help produce equipment like medical-grade masks and isolation gowns, it said in the letter.
It added that Ralph Lauren stores have closed in virus-hit regions, and employees are working from home where possible or needed.
Australia will quarantine all new arrivals for two weeks
In Australia, Morrison says “Today we have decided to take further actions targeted at our greatest area of concern. What we’re announcing today enables us to deal with the increasing pressure we have from Australians returning home.”
“Two thirds of the cases that we currently have are from an Australian who has come home. Two thirds… As time goes on, the risk of Australians coming home from other countries actually increases.”
Morrison says self-isolation measures for Australians returning from overseas will be strengthened.
He is showing the self isolation document signed by Australians returning home.
“Today we are going even further. In addition to the declaration and the support put in behind that…states and territories will be quarantining all new arrivals in hotels and other accommodations for two weeks before they are able to return to their home.”
Guardian
She then said that the 19 states (actually it’s 18 now) each have fewer than 200 confirmed cases. In other words, she’s talking about low absolute levels, not low per capita levels, because they are low population states like Vermont, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. If COVID-19 were a disease affecting cows, this would be good news, but COVID-19 affects people, and these states don’t have very many people.
This is absolute nonsense and she should be ashamed to have said it. If you look at the numbers in a sensible way, by cases per capita, some of these states don’t look good.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would not cancel the Republican National Convention in August in Charlotte, North Carolina, because of the coronavirus.
In an interview on Fox News, Trump said he believed the country will have rebounded from the coronavirus outbreak by then.
“We’re not going to cancel,” Trump said. “I think we’re going to be in great shape long before then.”
Trump also told Fox news host Sean Hannity that he pushed back his 9pm call with Chinese president Xi Jinping by an hour and a half so that he could appear on Hannity’s show.
Guardian
Singapore will jail and fine people who don’t keep 1-meter physical distance in public
People in Singapore who do not observe physical distancing of one meter in “non-transient” interactions can be fined up to 10,000 Singapore dollars ($6,985) or jailed up to six months, or both, the Ministry of Health said in a press release on Thursday. The regulations kicked in on Friday and will run till April 30.
The stiff penalties also apply to patients with acute respiratory symptoms issued with five days of medical leave who depart from their homes during that period. Residents who breach 14-day stay home notices issued to them after their return from another country will also have to comply or face fines and jail.
Singapore on Tuesday announced stricter measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. These include limiting gatherings outside of work and school to a maximum of 10 persons. Physical distancing of at least one meter is also required in public settings such as restaurants and queues. CNBC
China’s Xi calls for ‘international macro-economic policy coordination’
Chinese President Xi Jinping told world leaders that they need to coordinate their policy responses to counter the negative economic impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on the global economy.
“We need to enhance international macro-economic policy coordination,” Xi said at an emergency virtual G-20 Leaders’ Summit, according to an English translation of his speech posted by state news agency Xinhua.
“Countries need to leverage and coordinate their macro policies to counteract the negative impact and prevent the world economy from falling into recession,” Xi said, adding, that China will “increase its supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients, daily necessities, and anti-epidemic and other supplies to the international market.”
The outbreak, which was first reported in China, has disrupted production around the world as companies shut down factories to reduce the risk of exposure for their workers and there are growing worries over falling consumer demand.
Trump declares major disaster in Maryland
President Donald Trump on Thursday declared that a major disaster exists in Maryland, making federal funding available to the state and local governments in recovery efforts in the fight against the coronavirus. The declaration makes federal funding available to “State, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, for all areas in the State of Maryland impacted by COVID-19.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar says her husband is recovering after hospital stay for coronavirus
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said that her husband, John Bessler, is recovering at home after being hospitalized for severe symptoms from the coronavirus.
Klobuchar, who dropped out of the Democratic presidential primary race in early March, said on Twitter that Bessler “took a good turn, was just released & is now recovering at home!”
“Thanks to those who cared for him & for all front line health care workers,” she tweeted.
Alphabet’s Verily ramps up drive-through coronavirus testing with 1,000 Google volunteers
Alphabet’s life sciences business Verily now has close to 1,000 volunteers from sister-company Google working across its COVID-19 screening and testing platform as it readies for a ramp-up.
The company also released a video explaining the screening and testing process, including its “drive-thru” testing, manned by the volunteers.
The ramp-up comes after the company started on a much smaller scale than the nationwide access President Trump and Google CEO Sundar Pichai hinted at in mid-March. Verily, which is the life sciences company that sits under the Alphabet umbrella, has been working closely on a state-level with the governor’s office and is taking direction from public health officials as it scales.
CNBC
Also, all the “low risk, medium risk, high risk” analysis for different counties means absolutely nothing unless everyone stays in their county and stays home as well.
GM temporarily cuts pay by 20% for 69,000 salaried workers
General Motors told about 69,000 salaried employees globally on Thursday that it will temporarily cut 20% of their salaries as the automaker attempts to save cash amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The deferment, which will begin April 1, will be repaid in a lump sum with interest no later than March 15, 2021, according to the company
About 6,500 U.S. employees also will be essentially temporary laid-off, which the company is calling a “salaried downtime paid absence.” The workers will receive 75% of their pay, keep seniority and retain health care benefits.
Trump plan calls for classifying risk county by county
President Donald Trump laid out his vision for what he called the “next phase” in the war on the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the country.
In a letter to the nation’s governors, Trump said he and his administration planned to develop criteria to “help classify counties with respect to continued risks posed by” the deadly coronavirus. He said the use of “robust surveillance testing” will allow local governments to track the spread of the virus.
Counties would be divided into three low, medium and high “risk” levels, the president wrote. These categories will be accompanied by “new guidelines for state and local policymakers to use in making decisions” about whether to maintain, decrease, or increase their social distancing guidelines.
The president has made no secret of his desire to see U.S. businesses reopen, even as the virus is infecting thousands of people every day across the country. Trump has set upon the date of Easter, April 12, as the one by which he hopes to see large parts of the country “roaring” back into business.
Public health experts say that attempting to reopen businesses and loosen social distancing restrictions in a matter of weeks could mean tens of thousands of additional infections that could have been prevented by an extended campaign of mitigation. Trump, however, has suggested that experts who recommend extending the campaign are motivated by a desire to defeat him politically, and not by the desire to protect Americans from the life-threatening COVID-19 disease.
CNBC
There are now 25 sailors who have tested positive for coronavirus aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, a Navy official has confirmed to CNN.
The Navy says they expect there to be additional positive tests among the crew, with one official telling CNN there could possibly be “dozens” of new cases that emerge.
Despite the outbreak, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said in a statement, “We are confident that our aggressive response will keep USS Theodore Roosevelt able to respond to any crisis in the region.”
“We are in the process now of testing 100% of the crew of that ship to ensure that we’re able to contain whatever spread might’ve occurred,” Modly told reporters at the Pentagon at a briefing Thursday morning.
There are approximately 5,000 personnel onboard the carrier.
Could I just rant a little bit here? The DOD is not pausing in its usual military exercises and movements.
Is there anyone who believes that the Roosevelt’s 5000 personnel are not going to have extreme community transmission of Covid-19? Worse than a cruise ship with staterooms, most shipboard sailors sleep and work in very close, open quarters.
Those sailors will eventually be cared for in military treatment facilities. Our MTFs are losing providers - tasked to man the two hospital ships and several CASH tents, as well as the usual deployments to the Middle East which continue as they have for the past 19 years. Those providers (physicians, nurses, techs) have already been notified and are en route (or will be in the coming days) to the hospital ships and CASH units.
My husband’s medical center is losing 100 staff -to serve on one of the hospital ships. The MTF down the road is sending 50. This is in addition to the normal deployed personnel.
The military hospitals are already short staffed (the DOD is cutting 18,000 medical personnel over the course of the next few years. I’ve posted about that in the past.)
Military hospitals have canceled All but urgent clinics, canceled all elective surgeries and procedures, and have streamlined services to prepare for the Covid patients (active duty, dependents and retirees) who are beginning to arrive in the normal course of the pandemic.
Those sick sailors from the Roosevelt will be transferred to a military hospital for treatment, And now they will be sent to already understaffed hospitals and clinics.
The regular life of a soldier, sailor or airman has thus far continued without pause. Working in close quarters, training in close groups, etc. Despite pleas from medical personnel, there has been no social distancing, no cancelations of normal routines.
There will be extensive community transmission in the ranks!
The hospital ships which are being sent to New York and California are designed specifically for trauma injuries, and thus, are set up with large bays that hold multiple beds that can be monitored with fewer staff (think old fashioned wards) and many surgical suites. They are NOT designed for dealing with a pandemic.
I know the plan is to transfer non Covid patients to the hospital ships, but as we know, it is likely that many people (for example, a person with a gunshot wound) in New York may be infected but not yet symptomatic when they are brought to the ship. And because the ships are wide open, with beds close together, Covid will pass like wildfire to other patients and to the staff.
And let’s think about the medical reservists that governors are activating. They are physicians and nurses that are working in civilian practices already. When we pull them from their civilian practices we are leaving civilian hospitals short staffed.
It sometimes seems as though the general US attitude is that the military has a bunch of physicians, nurses and techs that are just hanging around not doing anything, just waiting to be called in to fill voids.
And under normal circumstances, when the emergency is in just one place - a hurricane or a specific massive, injury causing event - military medicine is absolutely happy to step in. But this pandemic affects every one of us. Military families are as likely to need treatment for Covid as any of us.
Rant over. No need to respond, I just needed to say this somewhere.
The DOD is not thinking this through well at all. It feels as though nobody in the Pentagon has ever studied anything about the 1918 flu pandemic.
Major cruise lines could be left out of the bailout
Cruise lines are among the businesses that have suffered the most fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. And the major ones could get left out of the bailout fund included in the $2 trillion stimulus bill the Senate passed Wednesday night.
The bill allocates $500 billion to distressed businesses that can apply for loans or guarantees from a fund overseen by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. To be eligible for that relief, however, a company must be “created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States” and “have significant operations in and a majority of its employees based in the United States.”
Several major cruise lines, however, are not incorporated in America. Carnival, for example, is incorporated in Panama, although it has a U.S. entity and a headquarters in Miami. Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Cruise lines also typically employ many foreign workers on their ships, who can be exempt from U.S. minimum wage requirements.
As of Thursday morning, there were indications that cruise lines themselves were uncertain whether the language in the bill excluded them from relief.
“My interpretation is that cruise lines may not qualify, but I’m taking a closer look to see whether that is really the case,” said Aaron Cutler, a partner in the government relations and public affairs department at influential international law firm Hogan Lovells.
CNBC
Los Angeles is closing all outdoor sports facilities
Los Angeles is closing all outdoor sports amenities to help people practice safe social distancing, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced today.
These include skate parks, tennis courts, baseball fields, basketball courts, golf courses, swimming pools, and popular hiking trails like Runyon Canyon and Bronson Canyon.
Most parks will still remain open for walking and running, but people must maintain a distance of at least six feet, Garcetti said.
“Our parks remain incredible resources for healthy activity — but we’ve seen too many people in unsafe crowds for outdoor activities during this emergency,” he said in a press release. “Angelenos are safer at home right now. When we go out for fresh air and exercise, it should be in our own neighborhoods and at a safe distance from other people.”
Some recreational public spaces are also being closed, like the Venice Pier, senior centers, playgrounds, and beach parking lots. Griffith Park as well as its amenities are also closed. (CNN)
G20 pledges $5 trillion to defend global economy against COVID-19
Leaders of the Group of 20 major economies pledged on Thursday to inject $5 trillion in fiscal spending into the global economy to blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus and “do whatever it takes to overcome the pandemic”.
Showing more unity than at any time since the 2008-2009 financial crisis that led to the G20’s creation, the leaders said they committed during a video conference summit to implement and fund all necessary health measures needed to stop the virus’s spread. (Al Jazeera)
Nursing home deaths make up a third of Spanish coronavirus toll
A total of 1,307 elderly residents of Spanish nursing homes have died from coronavirus, roughly one-third of the country’s total death toll, radio network Cadena Ser.
In the Madrid region alone, nursing home deaths totalled 855 since the start of the epidemic, the radio network said, citing data collected by its local stations across Spain.
Coronavirus triggers panic-buying of guns in US
Nursing homes, whose elderly residents are highly vulnerable to the disease, have been particularly hard hit.
The Spanish government said it was still collecting data from all regions about nursing home deaths and could not confirm or deny the report. The Madrid regional government said the report was “not official data”, which it would share when it was are ready. (Al Jazeera)
Anyone coughing at UK police, shop workers faces two years in jail
Anyone claiming to have coronavirus who deliberately coughs at emergency workers faces being jailed for two years.
Britain’s Director of Public Prosecutions Max Hill said there had been reports in recent days of people coughing in the faces of police, other emergency workers and shop staff. Those responsible could face charges of common assault, he said.
“Emergency workers are more essential than ever as society comes together to tackle the coronavirus pandemic,” Hill said in a statement.
Nine doctors die from coronavirus in Philippines
Nine doctors have died in the Philippines from the coronavirus, the country’s top medical association said, as hospitals were overwhelmed and medics complained about a lack of protection on the frontlines.
The announcement of the doctors’ deaths heightened fears that the scale of the health crisis in the Philippines is much worse than is being officially reported, with the confirmed virus death toll at just 38.
The Philippine Medical Association said a ninth doctor had died of the virus, and that health workers were not getting enough protection.
Polish priest offers drive-thru confessions to beat coronavirus
A parish priest in western Poland is offering his flock the possibility of Easter confessions from the comfort of their own car as social distancing to fight the coronavirus becomes the new norm.
“We’ve already done a practice run… I have an appointment with a family of five tomorrow and next week I’m due to hear a parishioner confess every sin from his entire life,” Father Adam Pawlowski told AFP news agency.
The priest from the western village of Rogalin plans to park his car in an alley by the church and will roll down his window for the parishioner parked at least 1.5 metres (five feet) away to avoid any potential coronavirus infection.
[ Fits in with the #stayhomebands theme - Dashboard Confessional 
]
Al Jazeera
That feels like legal karma to me. If you incorporate in Panama to get out of paying US taxes and having to following American employment laws you shouldn’t get the benefits of a taxpayer sponsored bailout.
Israeli leaders open up nuclear bunker in war on coronavirus
The Israeli government has opened up a war bunker in the Jerusalem hills to help coordinate its campaign against the spread of the coronavirus.
The bunker, called the “National Management Centre”, was built more than a decade ago because of concern about Iran’s nuclear programme and missile exchanges with Lebanon’s Hezbollah or Palestinian group Hamas.
According to Israeli officials, it includes living quarters and command facilities and can be accessed from the government complex in Jerusalem and the western foothills leading to Tel Aviv.
“This [bunker] is another tool for managing, controlling, oversight and tracking” the coronavirus, said an Israeli official who requested anonymity. “We understand that this crisis will accompany us for an extended period of time yet.”
Health supplies from China arrive in Indonesia
Indonesia’s flag carrier Garuda has returned from China on Friday carrying 40 tonnes of health supplies, which will be distributed immediately across the country where new coronavirus patients have surged in the past week.
Jodi Mahardi, the maritime and investment coordinating ministry’s spokesman, said the supplies included personal protective equipment and rapid test kits and masks.
They were donations from several Chinese investors in Indonesia to help the country in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak which could overwhelm the government’s healthcare system, as 78 people have died in the past three weeks and nearly 900 others tested positive.
The Indonesian government has planned to distribute about 500,000 test kits across the archipelago nation, home for nearly 270 million.
Al Jazeera
What should the Navy do to reduce or mitigate community transmission on board the ship?
That ship stopped in Vietnam. Perhaps they should not have allowed sailors to leave while in port? Perhaps before they left their original port they should have tested sailors?
The services have not paused in recruiting or in running boot camps. Perhaps they could do that for a month.
Perhaps the services could enforce social distancing or “stay at home rules” of the states in which they reside?
I don’t intend to get into a debate about national security here. I do believe that we can expect to see a lot of Covid-19 in our active duty troops in the coming months.
A child who attends our local elementary school has tested positive. We live in a small town. The child contracted it after schools were closed on March 13. This is the closest case to us that I know of.
The adult son of church friends tested positive last week. He lives in another state. He was improving but has now relapsed. From what I’ve read, that is very concerning.