2020-03-18: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these ‘POSTEES’ on social media!

We’re In A Recession, And It’s Likely To Get Worse
Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-18
The coronavirus epidemic is creating an ongoing teachable moment that could be used to transform the US economy. COVID-19 and the oil war are triggers leading to a recession that has its roots in record corporate and personal debt, longterm low wages and an artificially-inflated stockmarket. The shortcomings of US economic policy, the healthcare system, and …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/03/were-in-a-rec…

Sanctions against Iran and Venezuela during a pandemic are cruel
Vijay Prashad | zcomm.org | 2020-03-18
Source: Independent Media Institute Swiftly moves the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), dashing across continents, skipping over oceans, terrifying populations in every country. The numbers of those infected rises, as do the numbers of those who have died. Hands are being washed, tests are being done, social distancing has become a new phrase. It is unclear how Read…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/sanctions-against-…

2.2 Million People in the U.S. Could Die If Coronavirus Goes Unchecked
Sharon Lerner | zcomm.org | 2020-03-18
The earlier viral outbreak known as SARS showed that patients living in areas with moderate air pollution were 84 percent more likely to die from that virus than patients in regions with low pollution, according to a 2003 study.
zcomm.org/znetarticle/2-2-million-people…

Biden’s Health Care Plan Abandons Older Americans
Mark Weisbrot | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-18
Joe Biden has surged since the South Carolina primary, and the received wisdom is that this was mainly because of the perception by his voters that he was the most electable candidate against President Donald Trump. But there are some potential pitfalls that have not yet surfaced, and some of them concern voters who are…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/18/bidens-healt…

Stop Tightening the Thumb Screws: A Humanitarian Message
Kathy Kelly | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-18
Protester’s sign decries sanctions, “a silent war” (Photo Credit: Campaign for Peace and Democracy, 2013) U.S. sanctions against Iran, cruelly strengthened in March of 2018, continue a collective punishment of extremely vulnerable people. Presently, the U.S. “maximum pressure” policy severely undermines Iranian efforts to cope with the ravages of COVID-19, causing hardship and tragedy while …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/03/stop-tighteni…

Would Joe and Donald Support Using Cuba Coronavirus Medicine?
Ted Glick | zcomm.org | 2020-03-18
We need to push hard on those politicians and media spokespeople who put ideology above the much-needed search for the truth and a cure, which we may already have…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/would-joe-and-dona…

Spain Locks Down & Nationalizes Private Healthcare
María Carrión | zcomm.org | 2020-03-18
Europe is the epicenter of coronavirus, and Spain now has the second most cases in Europe, with more than 2,000 new cases in 24 hours and the number of deaths doubled…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/1030904/

Trump Regime COVID-19 Guidelines Exclude Equitable Fiscal Measures for Ordinary Americans
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
In times of economic duress like now, US policymakers and the Wall Street owned and operated Fed throw hundreds of billions or trillions of dollars at business and investors to aid them and financial markets

When Available, COVID-19 Vaccines May be Hazardous to Human Health
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
In cahoots with government, Big Pharma is more concerned about profits than human health. | Drug companies see a potential bonanza by developing and marketing a COVID-19 vaccine once testing is completed

COVID-19 Close to Home
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
At a time like now, it’s especially vital to follow medically recommended guidelines for self-protection. | Until COVID-19 passes as a potential threat, there’s no choice but to adapt to a new reality that may be around for some time. | As …
globalresearch.ca/covid-19-close-home/57…

12 Ways the U.S. Invasion of Iraq Lives on in Infamy
Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J. S. Davies | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-18
While the world is consumed with the terrifying coronavirus pandemic, on March 19 the Trump administration will be marking the 17th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq by ramping up the conflict there. After an Iran-aligned militia allegedly struck a U.S. base near Baghdad on March 11, the U.S. military carried out retaliatory strikes…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/18/12-ways-the-…

Trump Administration in “Historic” Withdrawal of Troops from 3 Iraq Bases Amid Ongoing Rocket Attacks
Juan Cole | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
AFP is reporting that the US military is withdrawing US troops from 3 Iraqi bases. They are al-Qa’im in the far north on the Syrian border, Qayyarah near Mosul, and Kirkuk. | AFP quotes Coalition spokesman Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. …
globalresearch.ca/trump-administration-h…

[World Report] Health care in the Syrian conflict: 9 years on
Sharmila Devi | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
The conflict in Syria has been characterised by large numbers of attacks on health workers and medical facilities. Sharmila Devi reports.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30604-8/fulltext?rss=yes

Stock markets continue freefall into abyss despite governments’ massive rescue plans
rt.com | 2020-03-18
Asia-Pacific markets finished significantly lower on Wednesday again, shrugging off the stimulus pledges by world leaders. Investors fear the measures may still not be enough to protect economies though the crisis. | Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed down over four percent while China’s Shanghai Composite was off almost two percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading 1.68 percent lower. | Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was the worst performer in the region, dropping by almost seven percent. South Korea’s Kospi ended the day down 4.9 percent. | European stock markets have also felt the jitters, with the Stoxx 600 index f…
rt.com/business/483388-stock-market-cras…

[Comment] Are high-performing health systems resilient against the COVID-19 epidemic?
Helena Legido-Quigley, Nima Asgari, Yik Ying Teo, Gabriel M Leung, Hitoshi Oshitani, Keiji Fukuda, Alex R Cook, Li Yang Hsu, Kenji Shibuya, David Heymann | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
As of March 5, 2020, there has been sustained local transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan.1 Containment strategies seem to have prevented smaller transmission chains from amplifying into widespread community transmission. The health systems in these locations have generally been able to adapt,2,3 but their resilience could be affected if the COVID-19 epidemic continues for many more months and increasing numbers of people require services. We outline some of the core dimensions of these resilient health systems4 and their responses to the COVID-19 epidemic.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30551-1/fulltext?rss=yes

Common Decency Lives
John Peeler | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-18
As we slide inexorably into the tunnel of coronavirus fear and despair, here are some candles of hope. Back in the days of Andrew Jackson, the French scholar Alexis de Tocqueville toured this country and wrote a book called Democracy in America. Among the many remarkable things that he reported was his observation that, wherever…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/18/common-decen…

WTI Crude Oil Price Drops Below $25 For First Time Since 2002
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-18
For the first time since 2002, the price of WTI crude oil has dropped below $25, as the international petrol market continues to experience economic woes. | RELATED: | New U.S. Travel Restrictions Drop Oil Prices by More Than 5% | The stark drop in the oil price has been attributed to the decreased demand of petrol due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has caused thousands of deaths worldwide. | In addition to the coronavirus fears, the price of oil has also exper…
telesurenglish.net/news/WTI-Crude-Oil-Pr…

Canada: Coronavirus threatens to ravage Toronto’s swelling homeless population
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
Activists have warned that shelters and encampments, which provide inadequate makeshift housing for over 9,000 people in Toronto, will act like a “petri dish” for the spread of the coronavirus.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/toho…

Is murder still a crime, though? Philly introduces catch-and-release for looters & drug dealers until coronavirus crisis ends
rt.com | 2020-03-18
Cops in Philadelphia have stopped making arrests for an array of crimes

Russian senator calls for ALL unilateral SANCTIONS to be lifted to prevent coronavirus causing global economic crisis
rt.com | 2020-03-18
The spread of Covid-19 may send the global economy into a lengthy recession, but lifting sanctions that aren’t backed by the United Nations may help avoid a total catastrophe. That’s according to a senior Russian senator. | The drop in energy demand, unstable currency exchange rates, and the threat to people’s safety have put humanity at risk of a major economic crisis which “won’t spare anybody,” Konstantin Kosachev, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Russian Senate, warned. | Developing vaccines and working towards new agreements on oil prices are good measures to deal with the difficult situa…
rt.com/russia/483391-sanctions-coronavir…

[Comment] COVID-19: the gendered impacts of the outbreak
Clare Wenham, Julia Smith, Rosemary Morgan, Gender and COVID-19 Working Group | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Policies and public health efforts have not addressed the gendered impacts of disease outbreaks.1 The response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) appears no different. We are not aware of any gender analysis of the outbreak by global health institutions or governments in affected countries or in preparedness phases. Recognising the extent to which disease outbreaks affect women and men differently is a fundamental step to understanding the primary and secondary effects of a health emergency on different individuals and communities, and for creating effective, equitable policies and interventions.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30526-2/fulltext?rss=yes

How about help PEOPLE first? Boeing shredded for seeking ‘tens of billions’ in ANOTHER bailout amid coronavirus pandemic
rt.com | 2020-03-18
As the Covid-19 pandemic cripples airlines worldwide, Boeing is seeking billions in government handouts to weather the storm, but netizens insisted it would only reward years of mismanagement and fatally defective aircraft. | Despite spending the last seven years shoveling tens of billions into a share repurchase initiative to beef up its stock price

China Locked in Hybrid War with US
Pepe Escobar | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
Among the myriad, earth-shattering geopolitical effects of coronavirus, one is already graphically evident. China has re-positioned itself. For the first time since the start of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms in 1978, Beijing openly regards the US as a threat, as stated …
globalresearch.ca/china-locked-hybrid-wa…

US Economic Sanctions Exacerbate Toll of Coronavirus in Iran
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-18
U.S. sanctions against Iran, cruelly strengthened in March of 2018, continue a collective punishment of extremely vulnerable people. Presently, the U.S. “maximum pressure” policy severely undermines Iranian efforts to cope with the ravages of COVID-19, causing hardship and tragedy while contributing to the global spread of the pandemic. On March 12, 2020, Iran’s Foreign Minister Jawad Zarif urged member states of the UN to end the United States’ unconscionable and lethal economic warfare. | Addressing UN Sec…
truthout.org/articles/us-economic-sancti…

Facebook hit by software bug which marked coronavirus posts as spam
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-03-18
Facebook has confirmed a bug in its spam filter removed posts incorrectly from the social network, including legitimate news articles about coronavirus. | Multiple users reported receiving alerts from Facebook saying their posts

Biden’s Biggest Problem: Reaching Out to Sanders’ Support Base
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-18
Former Vice President Joe Biden outpaced candidate Bernie Sanders during the Democratic primary on Tuesday as he tried to ingratiate himself with his rival’s young supporters. | RELATED: | Coronavirus Takes Center Stage in Sanders, Biden Debate | Biden, after winning a majority of votes in Florida, Illinois, and Arizona on Tuesday, issued a statement from his home in Delaware to Sanders’ supporters. | “The U.S. Senator from Vermont is passionate about issues such as affordable health care, inco…
telesurenglish.net/news/biden-biggest-ch…

[Spotlight] Coronavirus epidemic: preparing for extracorporeal organ support in intensive care
Claudio Ronco, Paolo Navalesi, Jean Louis Vincent | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Zoonotic viral infections are more frequently crossing species to infect human populations. In 2003, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus was transmitted to humans from exotic animals in wet markets in China, and in 2015, the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) virus was transmitted from camels in Saudi Arabia. In both cases, and with the 2019 coronavirus outbreak in China, the original host of the virus is likely to be bats.
thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PI…(20)30060-6/fulltext?rss=yes

Dominic Raab Thanks Cuba for Coronavirus Assistance
Bruce Cumings | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
Dominic Raab, the UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, thanked the Cuban Government today in parliament for their assistance with the stricken British cruise ship the MS Braemar which had passengers with possible coronavirus infections. | He …
globalresearch.ca/dominic-raab-thanks-cu…

Beijing Believes COVID-19 Is a Biological Weapon
Lucas Leiroz de Almeida | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
From conspiracy theory to geopolitical realism, the possibility to treat COVID-19 as a biological weapon has been finally accepted in the public sphere. The recent statement by the Chinese spokesman Zhao Lijian, formally accusing the US of bringing coronavirus …
globalresearch.ca/beijing-believes-covid…

China Smothers Coronavirus as West Continues Hyperbole for Big Pharma Gain
Shane Quinn | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
There are firm indications that China has won its battle in suppressing the coronavirus, with daily cases in the country reduced to low double digit numbers. On 8 March 2020, a mere 40 new reports of coronavirus were recorded in …
globalresearch.ca/china-smothers-coronav…

Russians have crisis experience: Only 5% began stockpiling early for fear of coronavirus shortages
rt.com | 2020-03-18
Some recent scenes from British and Australian supermarkets have been shocking, with people fighting in the aisles over toilet paper, and the like. With the experience of past crises, Russians are a bit more chilled. | Despite some signs of panic buying in recent days, a survey conducted last week indicates that most residents waited until the final moments to stock up on essentials for Covid-19 social distancing. The online questionnaire, conducted by Nielson and shown to news agency RIA Novosti, reveals that despite the coronavirus being all over the news since early February, only 5 percent of Russians had…
rt.com/russia/483400-coronavirus-outbrea…

The Coronavirus Primaries Were Illegitimate Elections. Here’s Why
Kevin Gosztola | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-18
Multiple states postponed their primaries due to the coronavirus risk. Rather than respect the fact that states were trying to protect the health of voters and poll workers, the DNC decided to threaten them instead.
mintpressnews.com/coronavirus-primaries-…

[News] Coronavirus in China
Talha Khan Burki | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
On Dec 31, 2019, China alerted WHO to several cases of pneumonia associated with an unknown virus. The cases were concentrated in Wuhan City, in Hubei Province in central China, home to 11 million people. By Jan 7, 2020, there was confirmation that a new type of coronavirus had emerged. It was temporarily named 2019-nCoV. It is the seventh identified coronavirus that can cause diseases of the respiratory tract in humans. On Jan 9, there was the first reported death from 2019-nCoV–a 61-year-old man who had visited the now-closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, where the virus is thought to have originated.
thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PI…(20)30056-4/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Game consumption and the 2019 novel coronavirus
Justin | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
In December, 2019, the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infecting humans was first identified in Wuhan, China.1–3 As of Feb 3, 2020, the National Health Commission of China had reported 20‚Äà471 confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV infection in 34 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities, and special administrative regions).4 Cases have also been confirmed globally.
thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PI…(20)30063-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Toning down the 2019-nCoV media hype–and restoring hope
Giuseppe Ippolito, David S Hui, Francine Ntoumi, Markus Maeurer, Alimuddin Zumla | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
As the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak has revealed, the world has become increasingly susceptible to the emergence and outbreaks of new and re-emerging infectious diseases that can spread quickly due to the rapid movement of people globally.1 The appearance of a new infectious disease with pandemic potential usually ignites serious cross-cutting media, as well as scientific and political debate.2,3 The events surrounding the 2019-nCoV are no different, and for the past 5 weeks, 2019-nCoV has captured global media, political, and scientific attention.
thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PI…(20)30070-9/fulltext?rss=yes

[News] Australian Government releases face masks to protect against coronavirus
Tony Kirby | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
The Australian Federal Government has released 500‚Äà000 protective masks to general practitioners (GPs) and other health workers across the country to protect them from infection by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) following an appeal by the Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP). The college president, Dr Harry Nespolon, made the appeal because of the shortage of protective masks available to health-care workers due to the recent bushfire crisis engulfing the country.
thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PI…(20)30064-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Pandemic potential of 2019-nCoV
Robin Thompson | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
An important determinant of whether or not 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) will ultimately cause a global pandemic is its ability to become established upon its importation to a new country. Cases of 2019-nCoV infection have so far been reported in 24 countries, yet little human-to-human transmission outside of China has occurred.
thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PI…(20)30068-2/fulltext?rss=yes

Iran Temporarily Frees 85,000 Inmates As Pandemic Worsens
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-18
Iran has temporarily freed about 85,000 people from jail in response to the coronavirus epidemic, a judiciary spokesman said Tuesday. | RELATED: | Senior Iranian Cleric Reported Dead After Coronavirus Infection | “So far, some 85,000 prisoners have been released … Also in the prisons we have taken precautionary measures to confront the outbreak,” judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said. | Asked whether prisoners over so-called “political reasons” were among those free…
telesurenglish.net/news/Iran-Temporarily…

Chile Announces Strict Measures to Prevent Spread of COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-18
The President of Chile, Sebastián Pinera, announced on Wednesday that starting at midnight, the State of Constitutional Exception for Catastrophe will govern for 90 days amid the global outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19). | RELATED: | Chile To Postpone Constitutional Referendum Amid Pandemic | According to Pinera, who spoke from the Palacio de La Moneda, this move “aims to prepare us to face the stages that come in this pandemic well.” | “The coronavirus has become the greatest…
telesurenglish.net/news/Chile-Announces-…

As UAW keeps plants open, Indiana Fiat Chrysler and Lear workers take action over deadly coronavirus
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
The UAW announced Tuesday night that it had agreed to keep the Big Three plants open on a “rotating partial shutdown” basis, as the COVID-19 disease continues to spread.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/tipt…

‘You see a lot of suffering, but can do very little’: Italian nurse bursts into tears describing coronavirus struggle to RT
rt.com | 2020-03-18
The battle against the coronavirus is tough on medical staffs, not only physically but emotionally as well, as they witness so much suffering, an Italian nurse told RT’s Ruptly video agency. | The number of those infected keeps rising, which only increases pressure on the health workers, Francesca Rovati of Guglielmo Da Saliceto Hospital in Piacenza, the city at the heart of Italy’s Covid-19 outbreak, said. | Rovati said she almost went deaf from the sound made by the oxygen cylinders for patients suffering from respiratory failure due to the disease. And there’s not enough of this equipment for everybody who…
rt.com/news/483385-italy-piacenza-corona…

Modi feigns concern for regional cooperation to fight coronavirus, as pandemic spreads across South Asia
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
The poverty to which capitalism has condemned the majority of South Asia’s 1.9 billion people makes the region exceptionally vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/saar…

[Comment] COVID-19 and the anti-lessons of history
Robert Peckham | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
As the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China’s Hubei province continues and new cases of the disease increase globally,1 there is pressure on historians to show the value of history for policy. How can the past assist in the real-time management of the crisis? What insights can be gleaned from the ongoing epidemic for future disease preparedness and prevention? Lurking in the background of these interrogatives is a more or less explicit accusation: why haven’t past lessons been learned? The gist of some commentaries seems to be: “there is almost nothing surprising about this pandemic”.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30468-2/fulltext?rss=yes

Eurovision 2020 CANCELED due to Covid-19 pandemic
rt.com | 2020-03-18
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest has been canceled until 2021 due to coronavirus-mitigating measures implemented by participating countries, according to the organizers. | In a statement issued Wednesday, the European Broadcasting Union said that despite exploring “many alternative options” to allow the event to go ahead as planned, “the uncertainty created by the spread of Covid-19 throughout Europe

‘Unbelievable how rapidly this crisis is growing’: New York City mulls ‘shelter in place’ as US coronavirus death toll tops 100
rt.com | 2020-03-18
Covid-19 has infected more than 900 people in New York City, killing 10 in one of the country’s largest coronavirus hotspots, while city officials consider a ‘shelter in place’ order, and as fatalities in the US reach 108. | “The number’s gone up literally over a hundred cases in the course of the day. We’re at 923 cases at this hour tonight, 10 people who have passed away,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on MSNBC Tuesday evening, referring to the city alone. | It’s unbelievable how rapidly this crisis is growing right now. | Asked about the possibility for an emergency ‘shelter in place’ order for th…
rt.com/usa/483375-new-york-coronavirus-d…

[Correspondence] Protecting health-care workers from subclinical coronavirus infection
De Chang, Huiwen Xu, Andre Rebaza, Lokesh Sharma, Charles S Dela Cruz | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Health-care workers face an elevated risk of exposure to infectious diseases, including the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in China. It is imperative to ensure the safety of health-care workers not only to safeguard continuous patient care but also to ensure they do not transmit the virus. COVID-19 can spread via cough or respiratory droplets, contact with bodily fluids, or from contaminated surfaces.1 According to recent guidelines from the China National Health Commission, pneumonia caused by COVID-19 was included as a Group B infectious disease, which is in the same category as other infectious viruses such as s…
thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PI…(20)30066-7/fulltext?rss=yes

Europe surges past Asia with Covid-19 death toll of 3,421 – AFP tally
rt.com | 2020-03-18
Europe has now suffered more deaths from coronavirus than the whole of Asia, according to a new AFP tally, signalling that the pandemic could be spiralling out of control in the West as China finally manages to contain the virus. | Confirmed deaths in Europe reached at least 3,421 on Wednesday, AFP reported, passing the 3,384 documented fatalities in Asia, where the virus first began to spread. The death toll globally has surpassed 8,000, the news agency said. | The worrying benchmark comes as Johns Hopkins University said there are 200,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 worldwide. The number of confirmed infecti…
rt.com/news/483407-coronavirus-deaths-eu…

US military ‘did not give it to ANYBODY’, coronavirus came from CHINA: Trump gets involved in bioweapon conspiracy spat
rt.com | 2020-03-18
US President Donald Trump is refusing to stop using the name ‘Chinese virus’, despite or perhaps in spite of protests from Beijing and some US media outlets claiming that doing so is inappropriate or even racist. | Asked about his use of the term during a White House press conference on Tuesday, the US president said he will continue calling Covid-19 a “Chinese virus” because it came from China, and he did not appreciate attempts by Beijing to argue otherwise. | “China was putting out information, which was false, that our military gave this to them. That was false,” Trump said. “And rather than having an argu…
rt.com/usa/483371-trump-china-virus-cons…

Coronavirus has ‘overwhelmed the possibilities’ of world healthcare systems, says Italian doctor at epicenter of epidemic
rt.com | 2020-03-18
As the death toll from coronavirus surges in Italy, a doctor working on the frontlines in Milan explained to RT how the epidemic caught his country completely off-guard, despite its robust healthcare system. | Italy has seen more than 30,000 infections and 2,500 deaths from Covid-19, making it the worst-hit country after China, where the virus is believed to have originated. The massive death toll in Italy alone has pushed fatalities in Europe past those in Asia

Newborn baby tests positive for coronavirus in Norfolk
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-03-18
Another newborn baby has tested positive for Covid-19 in the UK.Health officials at the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk, said a baby is among three new cases identified.All patients are now being treated in isolation, the trust said on Wednesday.(PA Graphics)A hospital spokesperson said: “An extensive ‘contact tracing’ exercise is now under way by Public Health England to trace anyone who might have had close (face-to-face) contact.”Close contacts will be given health advice about symptoms and what to do if they become unwell in the 14 days after they had contact with the confirmed case.”Tha…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/20…

BMW & Toyota shut European plants as coronavirus pandemic rages across continent
rt.com | 2020-03-18
Germany’s BMW and Japan’s Toyota have joined the list of global carmakers closing their manufacturing plants across Europe due to the Covid-19 outbreak which has become a huge blow to the automobile industry. | “From today, we will shut down our European car factories and the Rosslyn factory in South Africa,” BMW’s chief executive, Oliver Zipse, said. The interruption could last until April 19, he explained. | BMW, which makes Minis at its Cowley plant near Oxford, said its 2020 profits will be significantly lower. The company is shutting factories that accounted for half of the 2.6 million cars it has built i…
rt.com/business/483408-bmw-toyota-suspen…

[Editorial] Challenges of coronavirus disease 2019
The Lancet Infectious Diseases | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Yet again, the world is experiencing a global viral epidemic of zoonotic origin. As of Feb 12, 45‚Äà204 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and 1116 deaths had been reported in 25 countries. The majority of cases and, at the time of writing, all but one death have been in China, despite efforts in the country to halt transmission through shutting down transport, quarantining entire cities, and enforcing the use of face masks. International flights have been cancelled and affected cruise ships quarantined.
thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PI…(20)30072-4/fulltext?rss=yes

Disaster Capitalism and the Real Culprit in the Italian Covid-19 Catastrophe
John Buell | zcomm.org | 2020-03-18
The Coronavirus pandemic will provide another opportunity for neoliberal elites to impose more of their right wing agenda on a citizenry scared and confused by this mysterious and dangerous disease…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/disaster-capitalis…

Which businesses can survive the greatest financial crisis of our lifetime?
rt.com | 2020-03-18
As countries close their borders to contain the coronavirus outbreak, the biggest disaster faced by businesses big and small is the shutdown of the global economy. | While Covid-19 has rattled financial markets, the real economy faces even worse problems, as many companies will be unable to survive without a government lifeline. | Which firms will be most seriously hit?: | Social distancing is one of the first and, apparently, most effective containment measures the countries have in their arsenal. However, the practice could bury small and medium-sized businesses, clearing the path for big corporation…
rt.com/business/483402-which-companies-s…

Escapism or China-bashing? US now left without harsh coronavirus options, but with broken healthcare & federal disarray
rt.com | 2020-03-18
Washington’s attempts to tackle Covid-19 appear to be bleak

[Comment] Looming threat of COVID-19 infection in Africa: act collectively, and fast
John N Nkengasong, Wessam Mankoula | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Because of the high volume of air traffic and trade between China and Africa,1 Africa is at a high risk for the introduction and spread of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); although only Egypt has reported the first case, from a non-national.2 The greatest concern for public health experts is whether COVID-19 will become a pandemic, with sustained year-round transmission, similar to influenza, as is now being observed in several countries.3 What might happen to Africa–where most countries have weak health-care systems, including inadequate surveillance and laboratory capacity, scarcity of publi…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30464-5/fulltext?rss=yes

An Economic Recovery Program–Theirs vs. Mine
Jack Rasmus | zcomm.org | 2020-03-18
The Coronavirus has been wrecking the US and global economies. While focus has been on addressing the biological devastation wrought by the virus, the economic devastation keeps growing. Failure to properly address the deepening economic impact of the coronavirus has been no less shocking to date than the obvious failure of politicians and policymakers to Read…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/an-economic-recove…

Going into lockdown, Europe overtakes China as coronavirus epicenter
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
Europe is set to soon have more coronavirus cases than China and already has seen more deaths: 3,401 people have died in Europe, and 3,226 have died in China.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/euro…

Merkel’s response to coronavirus: Draconian measures for German population, unlimited loans for corporations
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
While coronavirus tests are denied and workers are compelled, in spite of an immediate threat of infection, into the factories, the state is opening the treasury without restrictions to the financial oligarchy.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/merk…

[Corrections] Correction to Lancet Infect Dis 2019; 20: 275–76
thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Li J, Li J(J), Xie X, et al. Game consumption and the 2019 novel coronavirus. Lancet Infect Dis 2020; 20: 275–76–In this Comment, the date by which the wet market in Wuhan was closed after linkage to severe pneumonia was changed to Jan 1, 2020. Additionally, Jun (Justin) Li’s name was amended to the correct spelling. These corrections have been made to the online version as of Feb 26, 2020, and the printed version is correct.
thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PI…(20)30071-2/fulltext?rss=yes

London’s Imperial College predicts millions to die from coronavirus pandemic in UK and US
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
In addition to the mass casualty figures, the study’s authors estimated that the pandemic will continue through August.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/covi…

To Defeat Coronavirus, Media Need to Look at Real-World Examples, Not Play ‘Simulitis’
Jim Naureckas | zcomm.org | 2020-03-18
It’s hard to escape the impression that “flattening the curve” has been offered as a solution because any strategy that aimed at actually stopping the spread of the virus would necessarily have a ruinous economic impact…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/to-defeat-coronavi…

Biden sweeps three primaries amid coronavirus crisis
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
The former vice president extended his lead over Bernie Sanders to more than 300 delegates, while voter turnout plunged.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/dems…

[Correspondence] Therapeutic and triage strategies for 2019 novel coronavirus disease in fever clinics
Jinnong Zhang, Luqian Zhou, Yuqiong Yang, Wei Peng, Wenjing Wang, Xuelin Chen | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
In December, 2019, numerous unexplained pneumonia cases occurred in Wuhan, China. This outbreak was confirmed to be caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), belonging to the same family of viruses responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).1 The SARS epidemic in 2003 was controlled through numerous measures in China. One effective strategy was the establishment of fever clinics for triaging patients. Based on our first-hand experience in dealing with the present outbreak in Wuhan, we have established the following clinical s…
thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PI…(20)30071-0/fulltext?rss=yes

Mounting anger as workers demand protection from unsafe conditions
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
There is growing outrage among workers in the United States and internationally over the fact that they continue to be kept on the job in nonessential industries and workplaces amidst the spreading coronavirus pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/pers…

US service industry workers face unemployment as businesses close due to coronavirus
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
Millions of predominantly low-wage workers across the US find themselves suddenly without a source of income and must figure out how to survive without any emergency savings.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/serv…

Get ready for $20 oil & gold will rise again, economist predicts
rt.com | 2020-03-18
There is no way the global economy can avoid a recession, according to Roberto d’Ambrosio, the CEO of Axiory Global. He told RT that demand will come to a halt because the economy is now in a shutdown. | “All the related industries will be impacted and a lot of companies could really be out of business,” he said. The industries will get hit and shut down, “the global demand will go further down because people will be laid off and there will be no capacity [for] demand for goods.” | According to the economist, the coronavirus has impacted a situation that was “already showing some signs of weakness” ignited by…
rt.com/business/483425-oil-could-drop-to…

Australian workers face mass job cuts amid coronavirus crisis
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
Millions of workers, especially those employed on a casual basis, face financial ruin amid the collapse of the airline, hospitality and tourism sectors.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/ajob…

Trudeau confirms US border closure, promises aid to Canadians & businesses of up to C$27bn
rt.com | 2020-03-18
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has confirmed the US border will be closed to non-essential travel in the near future and previewed a hefty aid package to individuals and small businesses affected by the coronavirus epidemic. | Canadians “will no longer be able to cross the border for recreation and tourism,” Trudeau announced on Wednesday in a press conference, echoing the words of US President Donald Trump earlier that morning. Trudeau also stressed that “supply chains will not be affected” by the closure and that medicines, food, and other “critical” supplies would continue to flow between the countries. | Also…
rt.com/news/483426-trudeau-stimulus-cana…

US and Canada will close border to ‘nonessential’ traffic due to coronavirus – Trump
rt.com | 2020-03-18
The US will close its borders with Canada to all “nonessential” traffic, US President Donald Trump has announced, pledging that trade between the two countries will not be affected and promising more details to come. | Trump announced the impending closure by tweet on Wednesday morning, emphasizing the decision had been made “by mutual consent” with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and stressing that the move – which did not come with a planned date – would not impact trade. | Trudeau himself had closed the Canadian border to non-citizens on Monday due to the coronavirus epidemic, and Trump had said on Tuesday that…
rt.com/usa/483415-trump-close-border-us-…

Recession is here! World economy facing great uncertainty ahead, S&P says
rt.com | 2020-03-18
The novel coronavirus has severely disrupted global economic activity and the damage is about to get worse in the United States and Europe, according to international credit-rating agency S&P. | “The initial data from China suggests that its economy was hit far harder than projected, though a tentative stabilization has begun,” S&P Global chief economist Paul Gruenwald said. | “Europe and the United States are following a similar path, as increasing restrictions on person-to-person contacts presage a demand collapse that will take activity sharply lower in the second quarter before a recovery begins later in t…
rt.com/business/483380-coronavirus-world…

[Comment] Offline: A dangerous virus, but not the one you think
Richard Horton | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Perspective. It’s in short supply these days. Coronavirus has saturated the attention of politicians, policy makers, journalists, and even medical journal editors for several months now. There seems to be no end in sight. But while we wrestle with the difference between containment and delay, prospects for a vaccine, and the mental state of an American President who wilfully ignores the advice of his own Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we should not forget the threat posed by other viruses.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30602-4/fulltext?rss=yes

‘Shoot us! Kill us!’: Delhi airport chaos VIDEO is fake news say authorities
rt.com | 2020-03-18
A video which has swept across Indian social media, depicting visibly distraught passengers pleading with airport police to “shoot them,” is both old and not what it claims to be as fake news exacerbates coronavirus anxiety. | The footage began circulating on WhatsApp across India on Wednesday, purporting to show harrowing scenes of beleaguered passengers screaming “Shoot us!” and “kill us!” at authorities as they were trapped in the airport. | Big Chaos at New Delhi airport T3 today morning. They are taking the passport of the arriving passengers and not returning them till all the tests are done. Even Indian…
rt.com/news/483398-viral-video-delhi-air…

To Defeat Coronavirus, Media Need to Look at Real-World Examples, Not Play ‘Simulitis’
Jim Naureckas | fair.org | 2020-03-18
Every news outlet ought to have a chart like this one, from the Financial Times, featured prominently on their home page–because there is no more important question in the coronavirus crisis right now than how to get off the path led by Italy and onto the track of countries like Singapore. This Financial Times chart ( 3/16/20) indicates where countries are headed if they continue on their present pandemic path. | As the Financial Times notes, most Wes…
fair.org/home/to-defeat-coronavirus-medi…

Political leaders ‘underestimated’ virus threat, European Commission chief admits
rt.com | 2020-03-18
Political leaders “underestimated” the magnitude of the danger posed by the coronavirus, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said. Her statement came as the EU shut its borders. | “I think that all of us who are not experts initially underestimated the coronavirus,” she told Germany’s Bild newspaper in an interview published Wednesday. “But now it is clear that this is a virus that will keep us busy for a long time yet.” Von der Leyen added that “measures that seemed drastic two or three weeks ago, need to be taken now.” | The commission chief, however, rejected the language of Fren…
rt.com/newsline/483395-leaders-underesti…

Curveball–Germany’s role in the Iraq war–and the horrors of the concentration camp in Persian Lessons
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
Johannes Naber’s film is a political satire rooted firmly in evidence researched by the director and his team. Vadim Perelman’s work follows a man who has to invent an entire language to survive.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/berl…

[Comment] Use of negative pressure wound therapy on conflict-related wounds
Rex E Atwood, Matthew J Bradley, Eric A Elster | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
For the past 20 years of armed conflict in Afghanistan, Iraq, and neighbouring states, negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has played a crucial role in the management of extremity soft tissue injuries for US forces.1,2 After aggressive and prompt surgical debridement, NPWT was commonly used before evacuation from combat-theatre hospitals. Almost all US military casualties with extremity wounds, especially those needing delayed or complex reconstruction, arrive with NPWT in place on arrival to the USA for tertiary care.
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30041-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] International humanitarian norms in Hong Kong
A Spokesman, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government rejects claims made by Darren Mann.1 By the time Mann arrived at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on Nov 17, 2019, violent protests and riots had been taking place, and escalating, for 5 days at the campus, in surrounding areas and elsewhere in Hong Kong. The Government’s approach, including that of the police and other emergency services, was to resolve the standoff at the university peacefully and flexibly.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30369-X/fulltext?rss=yes

Stop Tightening the Screws: a Humanitarian Message on Sanctions
Kathy Kelly | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-18
U.S. sanctions against Iran, cruelly strengthened in March of 2018, continue a collective punishment of extremely vulnerable people. Presently, the U.S. “maximum pressure” policy severely undermines Iranian efforts to cope with the ravages of COVID-19, causing hardship and tragedy while contributing to the global spread of the pandemic. On March 12, 2020, Iran’s Foreign Minister…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/18/stop-tighten…

Stop Tightening the Thumb Screws, A Humanitarian Message
Kathy Kelly | zcomm.org | 2020-03-18
U.S. sanctions against Iran, cruelly strengthened in March of 2018, continue a collective punishment of extremely vulnerable people…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/stop-tightening-th…

Pregnant migrant teenager dies after falling from US border wall in southern Texas
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
Estefany Girón Luna from Guatemala fell nearly 20 feet as she attempted to scale the steel mesh border wall near Clint, Texas. Despite multiple surgeries, neither Girón Luna nor her child could be saved.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/immi…

[Editorial] Climate migration requires a global response
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
As a real, tangible anthropogenic climate crisis starts to alter centuries of patterns of human behaviour, migration is beginning to take on a different shape. Extreme weather events are becoming more common, contributing to pre-existing drivers of migration, and as temperatures worldwide rise, previous patterns of land use and habitation are becoming untenable. Climate migrants are already seen globally; according to the European Parliament, an average of 26 ∑4 million people around the world have been displaced by weather events every year since 2008.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30571-7/fulltext?rss=yes

The Taliban Scores a Coup
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
It threatened to disappear under the viral haze of COVID-19, but February 29 saw representatives from the US and Taliban, loftily acknowledged as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, sign the “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan”. After two decades of …
globalresearch.ca/taliban-scores-coup/57…

[Comment] Corticosteroids in acute respiratory distress syndrome: a step forward, but more evidence is needed
Kiran Reddy, Cecilia O’Kane, Daniel McAuley | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Debate continues about the potential role of corticosteroids as therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).1–3 In The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Jesús Villar and colleagues4 report the results from a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial investigating prolonged dexamethasone treatment in patients with established moderate-to-severe ARDS, which adds important new data to this debate. In this study, patients in the dexamethasone group had reduced duration of ventilation and mortality compared with those in the control group;4 the primary outcome, ventilator-free days at 28 days, w…
thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PI…(20)30048-5/fulltext?rss=yes

The Supreme Court is Set to Strike a Major Blow Against Social and Environmental Protections
Lee Price | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-18
In recent years, the Supreme Court has issued ruling after ruling awarding more power to large corporations. Most notably, the 2010 Citizens United ruling opened the floodgates to an unprecedented deluge of corporate cash in our elections. Now, however, the court’s right-wing majority appears prepared to offer an even bigger boon: A virtual blanket ban…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/18/the-supreme-…

Biden crushes Sanders in Florida & Illinois, projected to win Arizona, as Covid-19 keeps Americans distracted
rt.com | 2020-03-18
Joe Biden handily defeated Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in Florida’s primary vote, walking away with at least 130 delegates and a supermajority in the popular vote. He will likely take Illinois as well, based on projections. | With nearly 100 percent of the results reported in Florida on Tuesday night, Biden’s smash victory left him with twice as many delegates as the socialist stalwart, and more than 61 percent of the popular vote, further cementing his front-runner status. | In Illinois, with most of the votes tallied, Biden took a strong lead over Sanders, scoring 93 delegates to the senator’s 46, along w…
rt.com/usa/483373-biden-sanders-illinois…

Biden Is Winning, But Sanders’s Ideas May End Up Salvaging the Country
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-18
If we run last night’s events through the “Five W’s” of straight-up journalism, we don’t hit the reef until the end of the formula. Who? Joe Biden. What? Defeated Bernie Sanders in three key primaries. Where? In Florida, Illinois and Arizona. When? Last night. | Why? That’s the reef. | The numbers by themselves are stark. I…
truthout.org/articles/biden-is-winning-b…

The Socialist Specter in Present-Day US Politics
Victor Wallis | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-18
The US political scene is haunted by talk of socialism. The basis for this has been developing now for some years, especially since the financial meltdown of 2008, which many came to see as decisive proof that a capitalist economy does not serve the majority.
counterpunch.org/2020/03/18/the-socialis…

How the OAS Revived the Cold War in the Americas
Laura Carlsen | zcomm.org | 2020-03-18
An in-depth analysis of the actions of the Organization of American States reveals a disturbing political bias, a willingness to manipulate events and data for political purposes, and a pattern of double standards under the leadership of Secretary General Luis Almagro…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/how-the-oas-revive…

Washington Attempts to Intimidate Indonesia Not to Buy Russian Weapons
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
Correspondents from Bloomberg reported that under pressure from Washington, Indonesia will likely refuse to buy Russian and Chinese weapons. A U.S. State Department spokesman informed Bloomberg that the United States had asked all its allies and partners to abandon new …
globalresearch.ca/washington-attempts-in…

Boeing Seeks “A Minimum $60 Billion” Govt Bailout After Fully Drawing-Down $13Bn Credit Line
Zero Hedge | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
Update (2000ET): Boeing

The IPCC’s Worst Case Scenario
Robert Hunziker | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-18
A recent landmark study of massive ice loss in Antarctica and Greenland fulfills the “worst case” prognosis, as outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It’s a nightmare come true, as the impact of global warming on the planet’s most significant/biggest masses of ice multiplied six-fold in only 30 years. It wasn’t supposed…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/18/the-ipccs-wo…

The UK’s Part-Time Prime Minister
Kenneth Surin | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-18
The UK media are starting to refer to Boris “BoJo” Johnson as the “part-time prime minister” or “invisible man”. Immediately after he won the general election in December BoJo took off with his latest mistress, Carrie Symonds, for a 2-week break (paid for by an unknown donor) on a private Caribbean island. At the end…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/18/the-uks-part…

Exposing a Biden Staffer’s Connections to Troubled Israeli Spyware Firm
Jefferson Morley | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-18
After Sunday night’s Democratic presidential debate, Anita Dunn, senior adviser to Joe Biden’s campaign, defended the vice president’s performance in a briefing with reporters. Last year, Dunn, who served as communications director in Barack Obama’s White House, did a similar duty for NSO, the spyware firm founded by former Israeli intelligence officers. The NSO Group…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/18/exposing-a-b…

An International Virus Needs an International Response
Daniel Warner | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-18
On the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, with critics bemoaning a profound crisis of multilateralism, the COVID-19 pandemic poses a crucial moment for the international system. Newton’s third law of motion says that for every action there is a reaction. While many of the 17th century English physicist’s laws have been…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/18/an-internati…

Life in the California COVID-19 Lockdown
Manuel García, Jr. | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-18
How’s life under quarantine? I bust out daily (unless my wife strenuously objects) to try to get supplies. This is supposedly officially allowed by the Shelter In Place Order, to wit: For purposes of this Order, individuals may leave their residence only to perform any of the following “Essential Activities.” But people at high risk of severe illness…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/18/life-in-the-…

Cicero’s Lessons for Life
Mark Medish | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-18
My high school Latin teacher, Mr. McPherson, passed away recently, before his time. Joe’s death brought back memories of our class more than forty years ago translating Cicero, Ovid, Catullus and other Roman writers. Those old Latin lessons have a way of returning in new forms. Buried deep in the collective past are valuable fragments…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/18/ciceros-less…

The Fat Cats and Ronald Reagan: a Prelude to Donald Trump
William Hughes | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-18
“When it came to corporate greed, the Great Communicator [Ronald Reagan] was also the Great Enabler.”

Rouhani vows Iran will take further action to avenge US assassination of Soleimani
rt.com | 2020-03-18
Iran’s armed forces have valiantly defended their country against the United States, which has not yet been fully held accountable for its killing of General Qassem Soleimani, President Hassan Rouhani has said. | In a televised speech, Rouhani praised his country’s military for having “stood firm” against the US, state media reported. He said that notable advances have been made in Iran’s air defense capabilities, and that the Islamic Republic now boasts a strong military deterrence. | The Iranian leader also pledged to take further faction to avenge the US assassination of Soleimani, who was killed by a targe…
rt.com/news/483397-rouhani-iran-soleiman…

[Comment] Moving towards clean cooking in China
Renjie Chen, Haidong Kan | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Domestic use of solid fuels is a major source of household air pollution and a substantial contributor to ambient air pollution, particularly in developing global regions. Solid fuel use can increase risks for many cardiopulmonary diseases; in the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017, household air pollution from solid fuel use was estimated to account for about 1 ∑6 million deaths,1 and this number could be underestimated in areas with a high prevalence of solid fuel use.
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(19)30542-X/fulltext?rss=yes

UK: Johnson grants £350 billion COVID-19 handout to business and nothing for the working class
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
The unlimited support for business stands in grotesque contrast to the contempt and neglect toward working people forced to bear the brunt of the crisis.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/bail…

[Articles] Association between ethnicity and under-5 mortality: analysis of data from demographic surveys from 36 low-income and middle-income countries
Cesar G Victora, Aluisio J D Barros, Cauane Blumenberg, Janaina Calu Costa, Luis Paulo Vidaletti, Fernando C Wehrmeister, Bruno Masquelier, Lucia Hug, Danzhen You | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Significant ethnic disparities in child survival were identified in more than two-thirds of the countries studied. Regular analyses of ethnic disparities are essential for monitoring trends, targeting, and assessing the impact of health interventions. Such analyses will contribute to the effort towards leaving no one behind, which is at the centre of the SDGs.
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30025-5/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Preparing for the future implementation of respiratory syncytial virus vaccines
Thomas C Williams, Sonnie Kim, David J Spiro, Harry Campbell | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Respiratory illness caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is increasingly recognised as a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality globally. This increased awareness has led to the development of candidate RSV vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and therapeutics, some of which have reached phase 2 and 3 trials. We recently organised an international workshop titled RSV Genomic Diversity and the Development of a Globally Effective RSV Intervention, at the Fogarty International Centre, National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD, USA) in September, 2019.
thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PI…(19)30478-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Spotlight] Surviving sepsis and intensive care unit delirium: a remarkable recovery
Jules Morgan | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Waking shivering in the night, Michelle Bryden assumed she had flu, and took the following day off work. But then her feet and hands started to turn purple. In fact, she had contracted bacterial meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and was admitted to Howard County General (Columbia, MD), where she was eventually diagnosed with sepsis. At the time, in April 2019, Michelle was a healthy, active 48-year-old, with a passion for gardening, who worked at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (Laurel, MD, US) as an engineer.
thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PI…(20)30043-6/fulltext?rss=yes

Over 450 US Planes Carrying Weapons Landed in Shannon Airport in 2019
Ryan O’Rourke | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
Over 450 planes carrying weapons on board landed in Shannon Airport last year. | The Government approved 454 applications for “the carriage of munitions of war on civil aircraft” in Shannon Airport in 2019. | The practice has continued into 2020, with …
globalresearch.ca/over-450-us-planes-car…

[Editorial] Besting bullying
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Over the past month, reports have emerged detailing accusations by multiple complainants of bullying or harassment toward employees by high-profile leaders or senior staff in government positions and organisations across society. Common to all these cases have been pointed failures on the part of leadership to adequately address negative behaviours, such as those documented at UNAIDS and Save the Children UK.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30572-9/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Launching HIV self-testing in a multicultural setting in Cameroon
Franàßois-Xavier Mbopi-Kéou, Ginette Claude Mireille Kalla, Paulin Anankeu, Jean-Emmanuel Pondi | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
People living with HIV in western and central Africa are often unaware of their HIV status.1 To address this issue, HIV self-testing, an approach developed in 2014, should be incorporated into implementation strategies for a more efficient fight against HIV. On May 15, 2019, HIV self-testing was launched in Ngog Mapubi, a remote, rural health district of the Centre Region of Cameroon (figure). We aimed to evaluate the sociodemographic and behavioural factors associated with acceptability of supervised HIV self-testing among the local population, including students, using a specifically designed questionnaire.
thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PI…(20)30050-5/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Medical expenditures: not the only source of financial hardship
Knut Là∂nnroth | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Adam Wagstaff and Sven Neelsen’s composite service coverage and financial protection index (January, 2020)1 moves the universal health coverage (UHC) monitoring evolution forwards while the debate continues on what services to include and how to operationalise effective coverage.2 However, the question of what constitutes financial protection seems to receive much less attention. Wagstaff and Neelsen casually refer to the UHC aim to ensure that “families who get needed services do not suffer undue financial hardship” without raising the question of what financial hardship is or which of its dimensions UHC could m…
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30023-1/fulltext?rss=yes

[World Report] Rethinking period poverty
Sophie Cousins | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Efforts have focused on removing tampon taxes or providing free products, but stigma and society’s attitudes towards menstruation also need to change. Sophie Cousins reports.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30605-X/fulltext?rss=yes

Australian government to use “foreign interference” laws against China-linked targets
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
Under US pressure, the Morrison government is making Chinese people the initial victims of the legislation, to help create the conditions to more broadly outlaw anti-war and anti-government political activity.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/fori…

[Commentary] We all progress through progress towards gender equality
Pavel V. Ovseiko, Anand Ahankari | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Ubuntu

[Correspondence] Current awareness of palliative care in China
Yan Yan, Hongyan Zhang, Weijian Gao, Duanqi Liu, Motoki Endo, Gautam A Deshpande, Yuko Uehara, Daisuke Watanabe, Seiichiro Yoshikawa, Akio Mizushima | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Palliative care was introduced in China with the establishment of a hospice care research centre in Tianjin municipality in 1988. However, in a culture in which discussing death remains taboo, public education on death and dying has been scarce. Families of patients with terminal illnesses often feel pressure to opt for life-prolonging care. As such, palliative care has developed slowly in China, with the Economist Intelligence Unit ranking China 71 of 80 countries on palliative care in 2015.1…
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30006-1/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Antithrombotic treatment strategies after PCI
Thomas Gremmel, Kurt Huber | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
The meta-analysis by Pascal Vranckx and colleagues1 of findings from four non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC) trials that compared dual antithrombotic therapy (NOAC and a P2Y12 inhibitor) versus triple antithrombotic therapy (warfarin, a P2Y12 inhibitor, and aspirin) confirms the superior safety profile, in terms of major or clinically relevant non-major bleeding, of dual antithrombotic therapy in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30028-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Commentary] Extreme population exposure: Hurricane Dorian medical response in Great Abaco, Bahamas
Elizabeth Greig, Barth A. Green, Henri R. Ford, Didi Bertrand Farmer, Krista Marie Nottage, Zelde Espinel, James M. Shultz | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Hurricane Dorian’s ensemble of extreme winds, wave action, and pelting rains laid waste to exquisitely vulnerable human settlements throughout the Abaco islands in northwest Bahamas. Dorian, the strongest hurricane ever to impact the Bahamas, pulled a towering storm surge onshore. Combined with 20 inches of rain, vast expanses of Abaco islands were submerged. The system’s forward movement slowed to near standstill, creating one of the longest-duration population exposures to a hurricane in history [1].
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PI…(20)30018-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Commentary] Women empowerment is central to addressing the double burden of malnutrition
Isabel Madzorera, Wafaie Fawzi | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Women play a critical role in ensuring that their nutritional needs and those of their children and families are met. Women are also an integral part of delivering nutrition-sensitive interventions, and optimizing food systems to address the double burden of malnutrition characterized by the co-existence of nutritional deficiencies, underweight, and overweight and obesity in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this commentary, we highlight how women empowerment affects nutrition with a focus on nutrition-sensitive interventions, and identify research and implementation gaps that warrant greater attention.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PI…(20)30030-4/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Burden of disease in francophone Africa 1990–2017: the triple penalty?
Yap Boum, Yvonne Mburu | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Recently, several francophone countries in Africa have become the epicentre of major infectious disease outbreaks. In 2014, Guinea contended with Ebola, and currently the Democratic Republic of Congo is facing the world’s worst measles outbreak.1 Given this situation, it is worth taking a look at potential differences between anglophone and francophone regions. Such reflection can serve as a first step towards attracting the resources, partnerships, and commitments necessary to mobilise attention to francophone Africa’s disproportionately low rankings on all human development indices.
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30040-1/fulltext?rss=yes

Money for Something. Keep the Predatory Wall Street Firms Afloat
Philip A Farruggio | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
Isn’t it funny how whenever Uncle Empire needs to find some of that green to solve a problem THEY deem vital, they find it. | When they DON’T deem it necessary they don’t! | Go back 12 years or so when the …
globalresearch.ca/money-something/570657…

The Real Irish American Story Not Taught in Schools
Bill Bigelow | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
“Wear green on St. Patrick’s Day or get pinched.” That pretty much sums up the Irish-American “curriculum” that I learned when I was in school. Yes, I recall a nod to the so-called Potato Famine, but it was mentioned only …
globalresearch.ca/real-irish-american-st…

England’s Irish Slaves
Robert E. West | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
Global Research Editor’s Note | In 2008 (reposted in 2015), Global Research posted a short Oped article entitled The Irish Slave Trade: The Forgotten “White Slave”. This article which skimmed the surface of a complex historical process has been the object …
globalresearch.ca/englands-irish-slaves/…

Today We’re All Irish: Debt Serfdom Comes to America
Ellen Brown | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
First published by GR on March 15, 2008 | March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day, when people of all national origins raise a glass and declare, “Today we’re all a bit Irish!” This may be truer than we know. The Irish …
globalresearch.ca/today-we-re-all-irish-…

[Comment] HIV outbreak in children in Pakistan: localised or more widespread?
Mark F Cotton, Helena Rabie | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
The number of new HIV infections has increased since 2010 in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.1 Fatima Mir and colleagues present preliminary data for a HIV outbreak in Sindh, Pakistan, identified in 2019, which predominantly affects children and is linked to use of health care. Some of the key features of the outbreak in Sindh are that 763 (82%) of the 930 HIV-positive individuals were younger than 16 years, many non-immunisation injections were reported for 404 (89%) of 453 cases with data, and alarmingly only 39 (11%) of 371 of infected children with maternal HIV data had a HIV-positive mother.
thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PI…(19)30746-7/fulltext?rss=yes

Bolsonaro tells workers to work or starve as COVID-19 spreads in Brazil
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
After personally participating in a fascistic demonstration in defense of his government, Bolsonaro made clear his intention to defend the markets at the expense of the lives of Brazilian workers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/braz…

We Are Facing Economic Collapse on Top of a Pandemic. What We Do Now Matters
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-18
As the COVID-19 virus spreads, the U.S. economy has begun to crumble like a house of cards. | The sudden collapse of the economy is revealing how the “great economy” that Donald Trump has been boasting about on Twitter for the past three years was in fact a mirage caused by wild Wall Street rallies, and boosted by Trump’s massive tax cuts and deregulatory efforts, which rolled back all kinds of environmental standards with total disregard for the impact on public health and the climate crisis.
truthout.org/articles/we-are-facing-econ…

We’ve Worked From Home for 18 Years. Here Are Our Secrets
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-18
Has your workplace switched to working remotely over the past week? Truthout staff members have been working from home since our founding in 2001. We have developed some tips and tricks to stay as healthy as possible

Covid-19 Update: Taiwan Prohibits Foreigners From Entering
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-18
Update: 8: 00 | Taiwan prohibits foreigners from entering the island to contain COVID-19 | Taiwan’s Health Minister Chen Shih-Chung Wednesday announced that his country will prohibit the entry of foreign citizens from Thursday, except for those who possess residence certificates and diplomatic personnel. | He explained that this measure is necessary because an increase in the number of confirmed cases was detected among Taiwanese citizens who recently traveled abroad. | Taiwan has registered one death from Covid-19 pneumonia, 100 identified cases and 22 patients who have been discharged. | Minister Chen also re…
telesurenglish.net/news/Covid-19-Update-…

Colombian and Venezuelan Ombudsmen Unite Against COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-18
The Ombudsman offices of both Colombia and Venezuela announced on March 17 a collaborative working project to restrain the Covid-19 from spreading in both South American nations. | RELATED: | IMF Rejects Venezuela’s Request for $5B in Virus Aid | Both popular institutions confirmed their commitment to “promote fluid and constant dialogue with the purpose of watching over their common border, to prevent the virus from spreading and assume in an appropriate way the protection of people.” In…
telesurenglish.net/news/colombian-and-ve…

[Editorial] Entitled to a healthy, thriving future
The Lancet Global Health | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Since the start of the Sustainable Development Goal era, several impediments to health and wellbeing, including climate change and the commercial determinants of health, have substantially increased in urgency and scale. Today’s children are due to inherit these problems and to be most affected by them.
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30031-0/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Preparing for the dengue explosion in Kathmandu, Nepal
Sudeep Adhikari, Buddha Basnyat, Kripa Maharjan | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Dengue, a self-limiting viral illness of the tropics, appears to be the infectious disease of the 21st century in many countries because of its heavy disease burden and socioeconomic impact.1 It was first reported in Nepal in the southern plains in 2004. Since then, there have been frequent outbreaks in that region.2 Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, which is located higher north of the plains, faced its first outbreak during the monsoon in July, 2019. The city has become an ideal breeding ground for the Aedes vector mosquito because of climate change, relentless and haphazard urbanisation, brisk trade and transit…
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30007-3/fulltext?rss=yes

New Zealand government predicts COVID-19 recession, gives billions to business
wsws.org | 2020-03-18
The Labour Party-led government announced a $12.1 billion pro-business stimulus package on Tuesday, while declaring tens of thousands will lose their jobs due to the COVID-19 crisis.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/18/nzco…

Report from China: COVID-19 a tale of two systems
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-03-18
Guangdong, China – There is chaos in America right now surrounding COVID-19. Americans are receiving conflicting information every day about the virus, with no direction from the Trump administration. The Trump administration has decided that the best course of action is to do nothing, with Trump himself declaring “I don’t take responsibility at all.” When the Center for Disease Control (CDC) releases a report, Trump will directly contradict their findings in an attempt to downplay COVID-19’s immediate threat and bolster his own image. The resulting pandemonium has left Americans without guidance on how they shou…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/3/17/report-c…

[Comment] Planning for the next pandemic: a call for new guidance
Joe Brierley, Stephen Playfor, Samiran Ray | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
“Everything flows and nothing abides, everything gives way and nothing stays fixed”Heraclitus…
thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PI…(19)30357-1/fulltext?rss=yes

[Research Paper] Long-term clinical prognosis of human infections with avian influenza A(H7N9) viruses in China after hospitalization
Qianli Wang, Hui Jiang, Yun Xie, Tianchen Zhang, Shelan Liu, Shenggen Wu, Qianlai Sun, Shaoxia Song, Wei Wang, Xiaowei Deng, Lingshuang Ren, Tiantian Qin, Peter Horby, Timothy Uyeki, Hongjie Yu | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Patients who survived severe illness from A(H7N9) virus infection had evidence of persistent lung damage and long-term pulmonary dysfunction.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PI…(20)30026-2/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Balancing sensitivity and specificity of Zika virus case definitions
Gabriela Paz-Bailey, Christopher J Gregory | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
In a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Raquel Burger-Calderon and colleagues1 characterise the clinical profile of Zika virus infection and assess the performance of WHO and Pan American Health Organization case definitions in a large paediatric cohort from Nicaragua. They show that Zika disease primarily manifests with undifferentiated fever or afebrile rash, and that the occurrence of symptoms increases with age. As a result, Zika in children is likely to be missed by recommended case definitions more frequently than in adults.
thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PI…(19)30686-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Task-shifted psychotherapy for depression in people living with HIV
Eirini Karyotaki, John A Naslund | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
People living with HIV face high amounts of distress and are more likely to have common mental disorders compared with the general population.1 Psychological health problems, such as depression, are associated with delayed diagnosis of HIV, poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy, and increased likelihood of disease progression.2 Managing the symptoms of mental health problems in people living with HIV is imperative to improve the disease prognosis and reduce the risk of virus transmission.
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30010-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Kick and kill for HIV latency
Sharon R Lewin, Thomas A Rasmussen | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
The main reason why antiretroviral therapy (ART) cannot cure HIV is the long-term persistence of HIV in a latent form in resting and proliferating cells. Virus can emerge from these cells as soon as ART is stopped; therefore, elimination of latently infected cells and long-term immune-mediated control of HIV are needed to achieve a cure for HIV or ART-free remission. Several therapeutic strategies to achieve a cure are being actively investigated, including various forms of immunotherapy with vaccines and antibodies, gene therapy targeting either HIV itself or the HIV co-receptor CCR5 to protect cells from HIV in…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30264-6/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] The cost of eliminating hepatitis C in Pakistan
Zaigham Abbas, Minaam Abbas | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
In 2016, the World Health Assembly pledged to eliminate hepatitis C virus, a major public health threat, by 2030.1 To achieve this ambitious goal, 90% of all patients with hepatitis C must be diagnosed in a timely fashion and about 80% of all eligible patients must be treated with direct-acting antivirals. Pakistan has the second-largest burden of hepatitis C globally, with a nationwide prevalence of 4 ∑8%.2 Despite the availability of generic direct-acting antivirals in Pakistan and an accompanying reduced cost of treatment, the prevalence of hepatitis C remains persistent, with no evidence of decline.
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30036-X/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Enteroviruses–the famous unknowns
Maà´l Bessaud, Francis Delpeyroux | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Enteroviruses infect millions of people every year and have been associated with a wide spectrum of acute diseases, ranging from mild febrile illness to severe disease. Enteroviruses can also trigger chronic diseases through persistent infections.1 Historically, polioviruses were the important enteroviruses; they are responsible for poliomyelitis, one of the most feared diseases that paralysed hundreds of thousands of children every year until the discovery of vaccines. Conceived to specifically fight against poliomyelitis, the Polio Eradication Initiative began in 1988 and led to the creation of the Global Polio…
thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PI…(19)30636-X/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Hepatitis C virus infection in people who inject drugs in Africa
Jin Un Kim, Zameer Mohamed, Jessie Mbwambo, John Rwegasha, Maud Lemoine | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
We support Matthew Akiyama and colleagues’ study in highlighting the burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) among people who inject drugs (PWID) in sub-Saharan Africa.1 PWID represent a varied population across different regions and remain particularly stigmatised in sub-Saharan Africa. Harm reduction strategies are crucial in reducing HCV transmission, especially in settings where access to HCV treatment is insufficient.2,3 To reinforce the message raised by Akiyama and colleagues, who focused on Kenya, we provide an additional perspective from our work in Tanzania.
thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PI…(20)30051-7/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Hepatitis C virus infection in people who inject drugs in Africa
Rajiv Shah, Pauline Boucheron, Kishor Mandaliya, Alex Kattamaiyo, Stéphane Chevaliez, Yusuke Shimakawa, Elijah Songok, Maud Lemoine | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
We fully agree with Matthew Akiyama and colleagues1 that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in people who inject drugs (PWID) in sub-Saharan Africa is a neglected public health issue. This issue requires urgent interventions to increase coverage of harm reduction services as well as access to HCV screening and treatment.
thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PI…(20)30049-9/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Treating Ebola in eastern DRC
Amanda M Rojek, Shevin T Jacob, Jake Dunning | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Since the onset of the west Africa Ebola virus outbreak, there has been remarkable progress in efforts to provide patients with improved supportive care and access to experimental treatments. It is reasonable to explore the potential therapeutic value of both pathogen-directed antiviral therapies and host-directed therapies (eg, monoclonal antibody combinations). Given unacceptably high mortality rates among patients with Ebola virus disease, treatments shown to be safe and efficacious in clinical trials would be welcomed by clinicians and affected communities.
thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PI…(20)30046-3/fulltext?rss=yes

Selected Articles: Cuban Drug Could Save Thousands of Lives in Coronavirus Pandemic
Global Research News | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-18
Cuban Drug Could Save Thousands of Lives in Coronavirus Pandemic | By Steve Sweeney, March 17, 2020 | Cuban medicine could treat thousands of coronavirus patients as production of a “flagship” drug known to combat the disease is set to increase …
globalresearch.ca/selected-articles-cuba…

Bernie Sanders Proposal for $2 Trillion Coronavirus Emergency Plan Includes $2,000 Direct Monthly Payments to Every American
Jon Queally, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-03-18
As Democratic primary turns surreal amid infectious outbreak, Sanders lays out “Coronavirus Crisis Principles” for people-centered response and a national mobilization on “a scale not seen since the New Deal and World War II.” | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/news/2020/03/17/bernie-…

US Imposes New Iran Sanctions, Complicating Coronavirus
Jason Ditz | iranian.com | 2020-03-18
Last week, Iranian officials emphasized that US sanctions are making their reaction to the coronavirus outbreak much more difficult, leading to both Iran and China to urge the US to put those sanctions on hold for humanitarian reason. Not going after Iran for humanitarian reasons, needless to say, isn’t a policy that the administration considers, …
iranian.com/2020/03/17/us-imposes-new-ir…

Oakland to become dumping ground for coronavirus infected trash from Grand Princess ship
Lynda Carson | indybay.org | 2020-03-18
Statement of Rob Bonta: “I am very sensitive to the perception that the Grand Princess being docked and disembarked at the Port of Oakland- instead of in San Francisco – is wrong and unjust. Frankly, that was my first reaction. It is absolutely appropriate to view this through the historical context and lens of environmental racism and injustice in Oakland, specifically in West Oakland, including exposure to toxics, dirty air, and lead.” Assemblymember Rob Bonta may want to rethink his above statement, now that the powers to be have double-crossed the people of Oakland and are dumping the toxic coronavirus infect…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/15/1883155…

California senior citizens are on lock-down due to coronavirus
Lynda Carson | indybay.org | 2020-03-18
One can only wonder how long it will be before California becomes like the film called Wild In The Streets, where everyone 30 and older were locked up in prison camps, or like the film called Logan’s Run, where people 30 and older are hunted down and executed to make room for younger people!
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/15/1883156…

Curbside Communities Need Our Support During the Coronavirus Crisis
The Village Oakland | indybay.org | 2020-03-18
Most unhoused folks don’t have the privledge of washing hands all day long or self-quarantining.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/16/1883158…

Coronavirus Scares Tourists Away from Sausalito
Leon Kunstenaar | indybay.org | 2020-03-18
Formerly bustling tourist town almost deserted…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/16/1883156…

Update: Homeless and Housing Insecure Families Spend First Night In State-Owned Home
Posted by Lynda Carson | indybay.org | 2020-03-18
The Reclaimers include moms Martha Escudero and Ruby Gordillo, and senior Benito Flores. Impacted by the housing crisis, and feeling even more urgency in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, they were inspired by Moms 4 Housing

Webinar: How to Talk to Your Kids About Coronavirus (sponsor: Women’s March)
Women’s March | indybay.org | 2020-03-18
Webinar online…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/16/1883159…

San Fancisco’s Downtown Emptied by Pandemic
Leon Kunstenaar | indybay.org | 2020-03-18
On a regular workday, San Francisco’s Embarcadero, financial district, and Chinatown were almost deserted as the coronavirus attacks the US.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/17/1883161…