The coronavirus epidemic

[Rewind]

The World Health Organization explains, "Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans."

The first cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were reported December 1 in Wuhan, China. The coronavirus has now spread to 56 countries, caused 2,876 deaths and infected more than 84,000 people. The mortality rate is around 3%. The WHO declares the global risk to be "very high" but is hesitant to call COVID-19 a pandemic.

[Rewind]

Like father, like son: Trump Jr. is spreading lies and outrageous accusations against Democrats. Welcome to Trumpworld.

Donald Trump Jr. accuses Democrats of hoping coronavirus 'kills millions of people'
Yahoo News, Feb 28 2020 1:01 PM

Amid growing fears of a coronavirus outbreak in the United States, Donald Trump Jr. accused Democrats today of hoping the disease kills millions of Americans to thwart his father's chances of reelection. "Anything they can use to try to hurt Trump, they will," Trump Jr. said on Fox & Friends. "Anything he does in a positive sense, they will not give him credit for. But for them to try to take a pandemic and seemingly hope that it comes here and kills millions of people so they could end Donald Trump's streak of winning is a new level of sickness.'

Congressional Democrats and some Republicans have criticized the Trump administration – which slashed spending for epidemic preparedness in its first budget – for lack of preparedness for the coronavirus outbreak, but there are no reports of Democrats rooting for people to die from it.

https://www.aol.com/article/news/202...ople/23936502/

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The COVID-19 virus passes from one person to another via respiratory droplets produced from the airways, often during coughing or sneezing. People are becoming so fearful and paranoid, they panic every time someone coughs or sneezes. Can you say "over-reacting"? I knew you could.

Air Transat kicked a family off a plane after their daughter started coughing, as airlines tighten measures against coronavirus

https://www.aol.com/article/news/202...irus/23936389/

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There are now 61 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States. Ninety-five perecent of the 2,876 deaths have occurred in China. The World Health Organization doesn't want to "alarm or scare people." Yeah, good luck with that. Millions of people are already alarmed and scared.

The coronavirus outbreak is at the WHO's 'highest level of alert'
CNN, Feb 28 2010 12:00 PM ET

The coronavirus outbreak has reached the "highest level" of risk for the world, the World Health Organization announced today. "Raising the risk to very high is essentially reflecting what's actually happening at a global level," said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, during a press briefing today in Geneva. He added that this is a "reality check" for governments to prepare. "We are on the highest level of alert, on the highest level of risk assessment in terms of spread and in terms of impact, but that is not in order to alarm or scare people," Ryan said. "We can avoid the worst of this but our level of concern is at its highest."

https://www.cnn.com/asia/live-news/c...3f59f4db825053

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I love this succinct letter from William Eaton of Banning in today's Los Angeles Times: "Maybe Trump will build a wall to keep the coronavirus out."

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The bad news: Amazon and Google are overreacting to the coronavirus epidemic. The good news: Freeways and airport terminals will be less crowded.

Amazon tells all 798,000 employees to halt travel, in US and internationally, over coronavirus fears

https://www.businessinsider.com/amaz...ovid-19-2020-2

Google employee tests positive for the coronavirus as the company further restricts employee travel

https://www.businessinsider.com/goog...-travel-2020-2

[Rewind]

King Donald the First does not believe climate scientists when they say earth is getting hotter. King Donald the First does not believe intelligence agencies when they say Russia is meddling in our elections. King Donald the First is now refusing to believe the World Health Organization when it says the risk of a coronavirus pandemic is "very high" and the virus could eventually spread to most, if not all, countries. Rather, King Donald the First is blaming Democrats and the news media for exaggerating the danger in order to instill fear and get him out of office. He went so far as to call Democrats' fears about the virus "a new hoax." Welcome to Trumpworld, the land of delusions.

Trump accuses media and Democrats of exaggerating coronavirus threat

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...at/ar-BB10xAL1

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US Surgeon General Jerome Adams tweeted this morning: "Seriously, people, STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!" Adams says the best protection is frequent washing of the hands with soap and water. Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy gives the same advice. He says Americans need "protection, not panic." The death toll is now 2,932 and more than 85,000 people have been infected.

At least 4 coronavirus cases in the US are not travel-related
Officials can't trace a high-school boy's infection as the World Health Organization increases its assessment of the risk of COVID-19 to 'very high at a global level.'

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/29/healt...day/index.html

Masks can't stop the coronavirus in the US, but hysteria has led to bulk-buying, price-gouging and serious fear for the future

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/29/healt...rnd/index.html

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The death toll from the COVID-19 virus is now 2,942. There are 86,021 confirmed cases in 63 countries and territories. The spread of coronavirus is slowing in China but growing in South Korea, where 800 new cases have been reported today.

First death from coronavirus in the United States confirmed in Washington state

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/29/healt...day/index.html

[Rewind]

David Ignatius, a crime novelist and foreign affairs columnist for the Washington Post, writes, "One of President Trump's failings is that he thinks he knows better than his experts – more about the military than his generals, more about the economy than his Fed chairman, more about intelligence than his spymasters and now, we fear, more about public health than his doctors. Trump made a bad mistake when he seemed to endorse a questioner's suggestion that the CDC was 'exaggerating' the threat." Trump also accused Democrats of "politicizing the coronavirus" in an effort to get him out of office. He called the virus "their new hoax." Instead of offering comfort and reassurance to the nation, Trump is downplaying the threat and contradicting the advice of health experts. Welcome to Trumpworld.

Opinion: Trump meets a new enemy

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/01/opini...ant/index.html