US government threatens families of Int’l Criminal Court staff if they try Americans for war crimes
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-20
The International Criminal Court approved an investigation into US war crimes in Afghanistan. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded by…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/20/us-threatens-…

The mutilated world is moved by the nurses and doctors
Vijay Prashad | mronline.org | 2020-03-20
SARS-Co-2 or COVID-19 moves swiftly across the planet, leaving no region untouched. It is a powerful virus, with a long enough incubation period to hide the symptoms and therefore to gather more and more people in its deadly arms. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/03/20/the-mutilated-wo…

Sanders Capitulates to Biden
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
Sanders capitulated before the race began. He’s yet to formally announce what’s coming, a repeat of 2016. | It’s just a matter of days or weeks before he officially concedes, ends his campaign, and endorses dirty business as usual advocate Biden …
globalresearch.ca/sanders-capitulates-bi…

Massive social disaster looms as worldwide job losses from coronavirus pandemic expected to reach 25 million
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
The COVID-19 pandemic is now metastasizing into an immense economic and social crisis.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/jobs…

China Retaliates Against Hostile Trump Regime Actions
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
Last month, the Trump regime designated five state-run Chinese media in the US as “foreign missions (sic).” | The hostile action requires them to register their locations, properties and staff, including US citizens if among them. | Affected media include Xinhua, China …
globalresearch.ca/china-retaliates-again…

Trump Should Have the Guts to Call His Middle East Troop Redeployments What They Are: a Retreat
Robert Fisk | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
Few can forget the words of Tony Blair’s government aide hours after the World Trade Center was destroyed on 9/11. “It is now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury,” wrote Jo Moore. Donald Trump obviously thought the same thing. As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps over America, he has ordered…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/trump-should…

What Will the Post-COVID-19 Global Economy Look Like?
Marshall Auerback | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
The coronavirus has now gone global, and economies are in freefall. The pandemic is clearly the precipitating cause of today’s crisis, but there’s an underlying disease that has been with us for a long time: neoliberal economics. Globalized travel and trade, multinational supply lines, offshoring and overly financialized economies that have prioritized banking interests, cartels…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/what-will-th…

Expert: US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during pandemic could be genocidal
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-20
Intensified US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during the COVID-19 pandemic could amount to genocide, a former UN expert warns. Iran…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/20/expert-us-san…

U.S. sanctions on Iran are making its coronavirus crisis worse
Michael Arria | zcomm.org | 2020-03-20
Ilhan Omar is calling for them to be suspended…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/u-s-sanctions-on-i…

Amazon Prime Will Lower Resolution to Prevent Internet Collapse
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-20
Amazon Prime Video announced this Friday that will reduce video quality in streaming platforms during Covid-19’s quarantine. | RELATED: | California Orders Quarantine for 40 Million People | The multi-service company joins YouTube and Netflix’s initiative to face demand uprising and avoid network collapse. Online videos demand upraised after Covid-19 affected nations implemented social isolation. This circumstance leads to higher streaming content consumption. | In an official communicati…
telesurenglish.net/news/amazon-prime-wil…

COVID-19 Will Devastate Gaza Unless the Blockade Is Lifted Now
Jewish Voice for Peace | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
It’s difficult enough to be in the U.S. during the COVID-19 outbreak. And when I think about the conditions in Gaza, I’m absolutely terrified for the Palestinians trapped there. | As of today, Israeli officials have only allowed 200 testing kits …
globalresearch.ca/covid-19-will-devastat…

Stop Tightening the Thumb Screws against Iran. A Humanitarian Message
Kathy Kelly | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
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 …
globalresearch.ca/stop-tightening-thumb-…

[Correspondence] Knowledge production in humanitarian crises: beware of the innovation trap
James Smith, Katherine Whitehouse, Karl Blanchet | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
Kadir and colleagues1 have outlined some of the challenges that affect the ability to accurately quantify the effect of conflict on mortality and health, and associated risk factors. However, they inaccurately suggest that mortality estimates “are based primarily on reports from combating parties, news media, and non-governmental organisations.” This might be the case for the Uppsala Conflict Data Program to which they refer, which draws from the media and reports from non-governmental organisations, as well as a smaller sample of other sources.
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30030-9/fulltext?rss=yes

Ecuador’s CONAIE Asks President To Restore Relations with Cuba
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-20
The main Indigenous organization of Ecuador CONAIE issued a statement Thursday urging the right-wing government of Lenin Moreno to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba so the population could have access to Cuban medicines and expertise to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | US Should Lift Sanctions to Avoid More Deaths From COVID-19 | “In such a global crisis, the humanity requires that all governments cease ideological stances and cooperate for the well-…
telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuadors-CONAIE-…

Mexico: One in Three Violent Attacks Are Against Land Defenders
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-20
In Mexico, one out of every three violent attacks is directed against environmental and land defenders, mainly those who oppose energy projects, according to study. | RELATED: | Mexico Mexican Gov’t Will Respect Contracts Prior to Energy Reform | Between 2012 and 2019, 83 environmental defenders died, while hundreds more were beaten and threatened. | Most of those killed were from rural and Indigenous communities affected by renewable energy mega-projects, the Mexican Center f…
telesurenglish.net/news/mexico-one-in-th…

South Africa to Build 40-Km Fence at Border to Halt Migration
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-20
The South African government will erect a 40-km barrier on the border with Zimbabwe to prevent migrants from entering the country without documentation. | RELATED: | S.African Court Acquits Pres. Ramaphosa of Corruption Charges | “The fence will also stop the spread of the new coronavirus in the country,” Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille said, even though no Covid-19 cases have been detected in Zimbabwe. | The fence will be erected at Beitbridge, a border town in Mata…
telesurenglish.net/news/south-africa-to-…

Canada To Return Asylum Seekers Crossing Border To US
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-20
Canada will no longer accept migrants trying to cross the shared border with the United States and will instead return them to U.S. authorities, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday. | RELATED: | Guatemala Suspends All US Deportation Flights Over COVID-19 | The move marks a significant change in tactics from the Liberal government, which earlier this week had said those traversing the frontier would be put into quarantine. | “This is a temporary measure which we’ll put in…
telesurenglish.net/news/Canada-To-Return…

Immigrants in US detention facilities plea for help as coronavirus pandemic spreads
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
The lack of medical care and the extremely close quarters in America’s detention camps create excellent conditions for the coronavirus to spread rapidly if even a single person catches the disease.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/coro…

Immigrants in US detention facilities plead for help as coronavirus pandemic spreads
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
The lack of medical care and the extremely close quarters in America’s detention camps create excellent conditions for the coronavirus to spread rapidly if even a single person catches the disease.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/coro…

The Federal Reserve Dictatorship Runs Amok Against Savers
Ralph Nader | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
If you are a saver in a money market account or in a bank, you’ve already noticed your dwindling interest income as interest rates have been at their lowest in modern American history. Well, brace yourself. Your saving account has just become little more than a lock box, thanks to the supreme dictatorship of the…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/the-federal-…

Global Depression Arrives, Only Its Depth and Duration Unknown
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
What’s ongoing worldwide suggests that a redefinition of global depression is in order. | According to classical economics, it’s a protracted economic downturn that lasts several years or longer, domestic or global GDP declining at least 10%. | While ongoing, consumer sentiment …
globalresearch.ca/global-depression-arri…

US Economic Relief Measure Enacted, Much More Needed
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
Temporary, longer-term, or permanent closure of business enterprises and mass cancellations of public events in cities and towns across the US is unprecedented

CIA veterans endorse Biden for president–and so does Tulsi Gabbard
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
The nominally antiwar congresswoman joined more than 80 former spies and intelligence agents in offering her “full support” to Biden.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/bide…

Spinning Fear and Panic Across America. Analysis of COVID-19 Data
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
The US media is relentlessly spinning fear, panic and despair, with the endorsement of “authoritative” American scientists. “The new coronavirus could kill millions across the United States”, according to Dr. Kathleen Neuzil a specialist in vaccines at the University of …
globalresearch.ca/spinning-fear-and-pani…

US House Rams Through Nicaragua Regime-change Bill with Zero Opposition
Ben Norton | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
Not one member of the House of Representatives spoke up against a bipartisan bill sponsored by hardliners that ramps up US economic warfare and regime-change measures against Nicaragua’s elected government. | *** | As the Donald Trump administration’s year-long coup attempt against …
globalresearch.ca/us-house-rams-through-…

12 Ways the U.S. Invasion of Iraq Lives on in Infamy
Medea Benjamin | zcomm.org | 2020-03-20
The U.S. invasion was a crime of aggression under international law, and was actively opposed by people and countries all over the world…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/12-ways-the-u-s-in…

Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue: Documentary about war crimes and historical revisionism in Japan
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
Miki Dezaki interviews revisionists from far-right circles in Japan, politicians and historians who have studied “comfort women,” as well as activists working for the recognition of the victimised women.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/shus…

It’s Been Open Season on Voting Rights Since SCOTUS Gutted Voting Rights Act
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-20
Election protection is increasingly seen as a critical issue in the US. Since the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court, there have been problems with voter purging, voter ID laws, what some call modern-day ‘poll taxes’, precinct closures, and difficulties with voting machines. Congress has noted serious attempts to hack into voting systems in the US based in partisan politics. Women Rising Radio joins two election protection activists to talk about threats to the U.S. electoral p…
truthout.org/audio/its-been-open-season-…

[Editorial] Peace and health in Afghanistan
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
After years of war and political instability, Afghanistan is at a potentially historic crossroads. On Feb 29, 2020, a peace deal was agreed between the Taliban and the USA. The anticipated resumption of talks between the Afghan Government and the Taliban could signal a new phase, but what this means for the Afghan people is unclear. Weak health systems and disrupted access to health care have left many in poor health for decades, but since the fall of the Taliban some extraordinary gains in health have occurred.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30643-7/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Corticosteroids in acute respiratory distress syndrome: a step forward, but more evidence is needed
Kiran Reddy, Cecilia O’Kane, Daniel McAuley | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
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

Iran’s IMF Request Shows Just How Desperate Tehran has Become
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
The combination of crippling American sanctions, the compliance with the aforesaid by the US’ “comprehensive global strategic partner” India (formerly one of Tehran’s top energy partners) out of fear of so-called “secondary sanctions”, the uncontrollable outbreak of COVID-19 in the …
globalresearch.ca/iran-imf-request-shows…

Coronavirus, Vaccines and the Gates Foundation
F. William Engdahl | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
Arguably, no one has been more active in promoting and funding research on vaccines aimed at dealing with coronavirus than Bill Gates and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. From sponsoring a simulation of a coronavirus global pandemic, just weeks …
globalresearch.ca/coronavirus-gates-foun…

What is ‘social democracy’?
Marx Memorial Library | mronline.org | 2020-03-20
GOOD question! Look up the term in a dictionary and you’ll find a definition something along the lines of “an ideology that advocates or supports political, social and economic interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a representative democracy and capitalist economy.” | Source…
mronline.org/2020/03/20/what-is-social-d…

15 Among Brazilian Delegation that Met with Trump Now Have Coronavirus
Zero Hedge | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
It’s been eleven days since the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his delegation met with Trump and many White House staffers at Mar-a-Lago on March 7. First it was Nestor Forster, Brazil’s Chargé d’Affaires in Washington, and Nelsinho Trad, …
globalresearch.ca/15-among-brazilian-del…

The capitalist pandemic, Coronavirus and the economic crisis
Éric Toussaint | mronline.org | 2020-03-20
The coronavirus pandemic is a serious public health problem and the human suffering caused by the spread of this virus will be enormous. If it massively affects countries of the Global South with very fragile public health systems that have been undermined by 40 years of neo-liberal policies, the death toll will be very high. […] | Source…
mronline.org/2020/03/20/the-capitalist-p…

The Kushner Family Could Be Getting Very Rich Thanks to the Coronavirus
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-20
The Kushner family’s ties to for-profit healthcare companies underscore the myriad of conflicts of interests that billionaire businessmen have, making them particularly unsuited to holding public office.
mintpressnews.com/kushner-family-getting…

The New York Times’ Insidious Ongoing Disinformation Campaign on Russia and Elections
Gareth Porter | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
For the past three years the new narrative of Russian interference in U.S. elections has bound corporate news media more tightly than ever to the interests of the national security state. And no outlet has pushed that narrative more aggressively …
globalresearch.ca/new-york-times-ongoing…

How to Crush a Bankers’ Dictatorship: A Lesson from 1933
Matthew J. L. Ehret | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-20
Amidst the current hysteria of the covid-19 pandemic, talk of general chaos and economic collapse have taken the forefront of peoples’ minds. Increasingly over recent months, western media has been hit with warnings of “financial Armageddon” and the need for a “global hegemonic synthetic currency” to replace the collapsing US dollar under a new system …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/03/how-to-crush-…

From Cluster Bombs to Toxic Waste: Saudi Arabia is Creating the Next Fallujah in Yemen
Ahmed Abdulkareem | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-20
From dumping toxic waste into the sea to littering Yemen’s farms with tons of unexploded cluster bombs, Saudi Arabia is creating a legacy so toxic in Yemen that experts believe it could take a century to undo.
mintpressnews.com/cluster-bombs-toxic-wa…

Here Is What Legendary Journalist John Pilger Said About Coronavirus Outbreak
The Week | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
Over the course of nearly three-and-a-half months, the novel coronavirus outbreak has infected over 127,000 and left over 4,700 dead. While this has sparked global panic and a WHO-declaration of a pandemic, then death toll is still a far cry …
globalresearch.ca/john-pilger-said-about…

Sanctions: Unilateral Coercive Measures for Regime Change in Venezuela
Nino Pagliccia | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
In discussing the issue of “sanctions” there are two main points that need to be made. One is the use of the correct terminology when referring to the government actions that the US, Canada and the EU take in order …
globalresearch.ca/sanctions-unilateral-c…

The US government’s ‘divide and conquer’ tactics in the Caribbean
Jeb Sprague | thecanary.co | 2020-03-20
Recent multilateral meetings in Kingston and Mar-a-Lago signal US attempts at intensifying divisions in the Caribbean. ‘Shithole countries’ (as president Donald Trump allegedly labeled Haiti and many other low-income countries) can be important allies for undermining those states targeted for regime change. In particular, Trump’s former national security advisor John Bolton has spoken openly about US and regional businesspeople benefiting finan…
thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2020/…

FRSO condemns the murder of Communist Party of the Philippines leader Julius Giron
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-03-20
Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) condemns the brutal government murder of the prominent Filipino communist Julius Giron, his wife Lourdes Tan Torres and their aide. We extend our condolences to his family, friends and our comrades of the Communist Party of the Philippines. | We are given to understand Julius Giron made a lifetime of huge contributions to revolutionary struggle of the people of the Philippines to end all oppression and exploitation. This cruel and cowardly killing, carried out by police thugs at 3 a.m., stands as an indictment of the Duterte regime and its imperialist masters. This crimi…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/3/19/frso-con…

Death at the Greek Border: Syrian Refugees Should Not Be Used as Political Pawns
Ramzy Baroud | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
In a surprising move, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced on February 29 that he will be re-opening his country’s border to Europe, thus allowing tens of thousands of mostly Syrian refugees into Greece and other European countries. Expectedly, over 100,000 people rushed to the Ipsala border point in the Edirne province separating Turkey from…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/death-at-the…

Death at the Greek Border
Ramzy Baroud | zcomm.org | 2020-03-20
Syrian Refugees Should Not Be Used as Political Pawns…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/death-at-the-greek…

A Tale of Two Foreign Policies: The Train-Wreck Abroad Is Bipartisan
Philip Giraldi | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
Now that the Democratic Party has apparently succeeded in getting rid of the only two voices among its presidential candidates that actually deviated from the establishment consensus, it appears that Joe Biden will be running against Donald Trump in November. …
globalresearch.ca/two-foreign-policies-t…

Australia Willing to be the U.S. Policeman in the Pacific
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
The U.S. is ramping up pressure on Australia to support hostilities against China in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. Last week in Sydney, the U.S. Ambassador to Australia, Arthur Culvahouse, said that “We’ll be pushing Australia to expand …
globalresearch.ca/australia-willing-u-s-…

Survive and Revolt
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
“I Don’t Take Responsibility at All” Millions of U.S. -Americans are no doubt aghast over the Supremely Dangerous Asshole (SDA) Donald Trump’s statement about the coronavirus crisis in the country: “Yeah, no, I don’t take responsibility at all…” None. Zero. Nada. No accountability. At all. Remember Harry Truman’s little much beloved line,…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/survive-and-…

US imperialism exploits coronavirus as a weapon of war
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
The maintenance and tightening of punishing economic sanctions against Iran as it confronts one of the world’s worst outbreaks of the coronavirus constitutes a US war crime.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/pers…

The COVID-19 Pandemic Is a Crisis of Capitalism
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-20
In a world in which the majority of human suffering is perpetrated by a small minority against the vast majority, a small silver-lining of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is that it seems to have us all on the same side. A scourge with the capacity to terrorize those in charge means that we are, ironically, both more scared and safer. We are increasingly made aware of, and given some of the best tools available to confront, the emergency of “life under COVID-19,” in a way that we are not for the everyday terror that is…
truthout.org/articles/the-covid-19-pande…

Syriza leader Tsipras offers collaboration with New Democracy against refugees and Turkey
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
Tsipras is signing off on a policy of brutal repression of refugees waged jointly by the government, fascist thugs who have benefited most from the stoking up of chauvinism and xenophobia, and the European Union.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/gree…

Africa, Latin America Fragile Targets for Coronavirus Spread
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-20
The West African nation of Mali has roughly one ventilator per 1 million people

Latin American Leaders Demand Continent’s Debt to Be Condoned
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-20
Ecuador’s former President Rafael Correa, Bolivia’s former Vice-President Alvaro Garcia Linera, Colombia’s former presidential candidate Gustavo Petro, and other progressive intellectuals Friday called on the international community to make multilateral financial institutions and other private creditors sensitive to the ongoing economic situation and forgive the Latin American countries’ sovereign external debt. | RELATED: | US, European Economists Predict Recession Due to COVID-19…
telesurenglish.net/news/Latin-American-L…

Colombia: President Duque Faces Investigation for Vote Buying
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-20
Congress’ Investigation Chamber Thursday presented the first inquiry document of the accusation process against Colombia’s President Ivan Duque due to vote-buying accusations. | RELATED: | Colombia to Suspend Entry for All Travelers From Abroad | This ‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äãact officially initiates the preliminary investigation against him after former congressw…
telesurenglish.net/news/colombia-officia…

Growing anger among Brazilian workers to response of government and unions to coronavirus crisis
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
In the Brazilian auto plants, the life of the workers is being put at risk on a daily basis to ensure that the corporations continue to extract profits.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/braz…

[Comment] How will country-based mitigation measures influence the course of the COVID-19 epidemic?
Roy M Anderson, Hans Heesterbeek, Don Klinkenberg, T Déirdre Hollingsworth | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
Governments will not be able to minimise both deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the economic impact of viral spread. Keeping mortality as low as possible will be the highest priority for individuals; hence governments must put in place measures to ameliorate the inevitable economic downturn. In our view, COVID-19 has developed into a pandemic, with small chains of transmission in many countries and large chains resulting in extensive spread in a few countries, such as Italy, Iran, South Korea, and Japan.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30567-5/fulltext?rss=yes

[Spotlight] Coronavirus epidemic: preparing for extracorporeal organ support in intensive care
Claudio Ronco, Paolo Navalesi, Jean Louis Vincent | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
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

“Chinese virus?” Trump’s petty name game puts lives at risk
Ian Goodrum | peoplesworld.org | 2020-03-20
What’s in a name? Quite a lot, it turns out–and President Donald Trump knows it. He’s invoked a great deal of anger by deliberately calling the novel coronavirus spreading throughout the world a “Chinese virus” or “China virus” in recent statements. This was preceded by the use of “Wuhan virus” or “Chinese coronavirus” by several …
peoplesworld.org/article/chinese-virus-t…

Examine Your Own Cultural Practices, Senator Cornyn
Lee Hall | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
Senator John Cornyn told reporters it’s “no coincidence” COVID-19 originated in China, given “cultural practices there.” What cultural practices did the senator list?
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/examine-your…

Examine Your Own Cultural Practices, Senator Cornyn
Lee Hall | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
Senator John Cornyn told reporters it’s “no coincidence” COVID-19 originated in China, given “cultural practices there.” What cultural practices did the senator list?
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/examine-your…

[News] Coronavirus in China
Talha Khan Burki | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
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

[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 | 2020-03-20
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

As Coronavirus Cases Spike Worldwide, We Need Global Cooperation to Halt Spread
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-20
As the worldwide death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has topped 10,000, with over 250,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, we speak with Stanford University’s global health expert Dr. Michele Barry, an infectious disease doctor. Italy has surpassed China in coronavirus deaths, and cases are rising in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, as the governor of California has ordered all 40 million residents to shelter in place. | TRANSCRIPT: | AMY GOODMAN: The worldwide death toll fr…
truthout.org/video/as-coronavirus-cases-…

As the US Blames China for the Coronavirus Pandemic, the Rest of the World Asks China for Help
Joe Penney | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
As the number of coronavirus infections spirals out of control, the U.S. and countries around the world have reported major shortages of ventilators, respirators, test kits, surgical masks, and other essential health equipment for dealing with the pandemic. On Wednesday, …
globalresearch.ca/us-blames-china-corona…

[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 | 2020-03-20
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

[Editorial] No time for complacency on the road to gender equality
The Lancet Global Health | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
International Women’s Day, on March 8, is a chance to look ahead to some crucial events later this year on the ongoing agenda to create an equitable world for women and girls. On March 9, the 64th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women was set to adopt a political declaration reaffirming commitments made in the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. That landmark document, the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30084-X/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Pandemic potential of 2019-nCoV
Robin Thompson | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
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

[Correspondence] Protecting health-care workers from subclinical coronavirus infection
De Chang, Huiwen Xu, Andre Rebaza, Lokesh Sharma, Charles S Dela Cruz | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
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

[Correspondence] Potential association between COVID-19 mortality and health-care resource availability
Yunpeng Ji, Zhongren Ma, Maikel P Peppelenbosch, Qiuwei Pan | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
The ongoing epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is devastating, despite extensive implementation of control measures. The outbreak was sparked in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province in China, and quickly spread to different regions of Hubei and across all other Chinese provinces.
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30068-1/fulltext?rss=yes

Fighting COVID 19 in Cuba, China and the United States
W. T. Whitney | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
Governments, according to Thomas Jefferson, are supposed to guarantee people’s rights to “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” COVID 19 has out people’s lives and health in the spotlight now. What kind of tools do governments have at their disposal to protect lives and health? Cuba has the advantages of forward-looking leadership, well-orchestrated state…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/fighting-cov…

Pakistan’s Position on the US-Afghanistan Settlement: Impact on China’s Belt and Road
Dr. Ejaz Akram | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
Zhao Lijian, the spokesman of the ministry of foreign affairs in China quite knowledgeably alleged that the US was behind the spread of Corona virus through its military personnel in Wuhan during Wuhan military games late last autumn, 2019. …
globalresearch.ca/pakistan-position-afgh…

[Correspondence] Mitigate the effects of home confinement on children during the COVID-19 outbreak
Guanghai Wang, Yunting Zhang, Jin Zhao, Jun Zhang, Fan Jiang | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, the Chinese Government has ordered a nationwide school closure as an emergency measure to prevent spreading of the infection. Public activities are discouraged. The Ministry of Education estimates that more than 220 million children and adolescents are confined to their homes; this includes 180 million primary and secondary students and 47 million preschool children).1 Thanks to the strong administrative system in China, the emergency home schooling plan has been rigorously implemented.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30547-X/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Game consumption and the 2019 novel coronavirus
Justin | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
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

[Correspondence] Full spectrum of COVID-19 severity still being depicted
Zhou Xu, Shu Li, Shen Tian, Hao Li, Ling-quan Kong | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
Chaolin Huang and colleagues1 first reported the clinical features of patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; previously known as 2019-nCoV), which emerged in Wuhan, China. Their study will contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Meanwhile, the conclusions have caused a certain degree of social panic.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30308-1/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] A distinct name is needed for the new coronavirus
Shibo Jiang, Zhengli Shi, Yuelong Shu, Jingdong Song, George F Gao, Wenjie Tan, Deyin Guo | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
An outbreak of unusual respiratory disease, initially dominated by pneumonia, in Wuhan, China, is caused by infection by a novel coronavirus. The new virus was initially named 2019-nCoV by WHO.1–3…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30419-0/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] A need to re-focus efforts to improve long-term prognosis after stroke in China
Simiao Wu, Craig S Anderson | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
The Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 estimated that one in four people across the world will have a stroke in their lifetime.1 For China, which constitutes a fifth of the world’s population, this figure is two in five, which, along with the high incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) associated with stroke, is another metric that reflects the heavy burden of stroke in this country.2 Yet, despite successful efforts to improve acute stroke care in China in the past two decades,3 and more recently in raising awareness of early symptoms and the need for rapid access to stroke centres,4 mu…
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30086-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Editorial] COVID-19: protecting health-care workers
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
Worldwide, as millions of people stay at home to minimise transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, health-care workers prepare to do the exact opposite. They will go to clinics and hospitals, putting themselves at high risk from COVID-2019. Figures from China’s National Health Commission show that more than 3300 health-care workers have been infected as of early March and, according to local media, by the end of February at least 22 had died. In Italy, 20% of responding health-care workers were infected, and some have died.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30644-9/fulltext?rss=yes

What COVID-19 Says About Us
John Feffer | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
A crisis, according to self-help and leadership books, reveals much about a person’s character. The same can be said of a nation’s character. Since the latest pandemic began to spread out of China in 2020, countries responded in very different ways to the challenge. There was ingenuity, inflexibility, incomprehension, and sheer incompetence. Diversity can be…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/what-covid-1…

Fighting COVID-19 in Cuba, China, and the United States
W. T. Whitney Jr. | peoplesworld.org | 2020-03-20
Governments, according to Thomas Jefferson, are supposed to guarantee people’s rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” COVID-19 has put people’s lives and health in the spotlight now. What kinds of tools do governments have at their disposal to protect lives and health? Cuba has the advantages of forward-looking leadership, well-orchestrated state planning, …
peoplesworld.org/article/fighting-covid-…

[Correspondence] Has China faced only a herald wave of SARS-CoV-2?
Antoine Flahault | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
The attack rate of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) calculated by mathematical models, from estimates of the basic reproduction number, R0, of 2–3, suggests that 50–60% of the population should eventually be infected because the population seems to be entirely naive to the new virus.1 The observed attack rate on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship remained slightly below 20% (705 of 3711 passengers and crew members became infected).1 It is of upmost importance to know whether the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in China is subsiding, as local authorities and the entire international…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30521-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Mass masking in the COVID-19 epidemic: people need guidance
Chi Chiu Leung, Tai Hing Lam, Kar Keung Cheng | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
As the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outside China is accelerating, we urge policy makers to reconsider the role of masking.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30520-1/fulltext?rss=yes

China’s Wuhan Marks No New Coronavirus Case, Success of Strict Measures
Xinhua | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
No new infections of the novel coronavirus were reported on Wednesday in Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic, marking a notable first in the city’s months-long battle with the deadly virus and sending a message of hope to the world …
globalresearch.ca/china-wuhan-marks-no-n…

[Editorial] Challenges of coronavirus disease 2019
The Lancet Infectious Diseases | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
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

Why Is the U.S. Bombing Iraq During a Pandemic?
Nina DeMeo | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
Even as coronavirus spreads rapidly across the globe, causing a health crisis of historic proportions, the U.S. military is engaging in new military attacks in the Middle East. The U.S. must cease all military interventions and redirect its military budget …
globalresearch.ca/why-u-s-bombing-iraq-d…

Iraqi Politics in a Storm, Heading Towards Instability and Chaos
Elijah J. Magnier | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
Following Iraqi president Barham Saleh’s nomination of Adnan al-Zarfi (Zurufi or Zurfi) as the new Prime Minister, Iraq has entered a critical stage. The Shia block is divided. The 30 days given to al-Zarfi to nominate his cabinet will lead …
globalresearch.ca/iraqi-politics-storm-h…

Bolivia: Coup-Born Regime Rejects Medical Cooperation From Cuba
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-20
Bolivia’s coup-born president Jeanine Añez and her Health Minister Erwin Viruez rejected the Cuban health cooperation amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã | RELATED: | Bolivia: Senkata and Sencaba Events Under Investigation | In an interview with local news media, Viruez affirmed that the Bolivian doctors have “the capacity to respond to this or any other contingency.” | “Cuban doctors we…
telesurenglish.net/news/bolivia-de-facto…

Sanders v. Warren: Why It Still Matters
Andrew Levine | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
When the body politic suffers severe trauma, here will be people yearning for a return to “normalcy.” Their efforts almost always turn out poorly. Voters who see in Joe Biden, of all people, a chance to return to the normalcy of the Obama era

Us Foreign Policy After the Election
Brian Cloughley | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
Former vice-president Joe Biden looks likely to be going to-to-toe with Trump for election in November, especially after the Primaries in Arizona, Florida and Illinois where Bernie got a whupping. At first glance, Biden seems a reasonable enough candidate, and it is interesting to examine what his foreign policy might be. There’s one major difference between…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/us-foreign-p…

Covid in the Web Of Generations: A Faint Hello From the “Only” Ones
Richard Eskow | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
The coronavirus has exposed the vulnerabilities in our world order, just as medical tests reveal vulnerabilities in our bodies. COVID-19 has bombarded this system with a kind of radiation. It’s some planetary imaging scan, illuminating every vessel and wire, every channel where blood and electricity should flow. But the flow is blocked. The prognosis is bad. This is the rest result you knew was coming. This system is dying, infected with a contagion as old as humanity: greed.
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/covid-in-the…

The Virus and Capitalism
Rob Urie | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
The U.S. is in the midst of a full-blown public health crisis made worse by systemic political dysfunction. The benchmark Imperial College study suggesting that up to two million people in the U.S. could die from the coronavirus epidemic assumes that the U.S. has an adequate healthcare system— that no one dies from not getting treatment. It doesn’t. Without one, expected deaths are much higher. Should the U.S. experience be similar to Italy or Wuhan to date, add another eleven million* dead to the worst case scenario.
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/the-virus-an…

Poverty in the Time of Corona: Victims of a Sickness That is Yet to Exist
Norbert Ross | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
In the days on COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, we sometimes forget that the virus is not a “natural disaster,” nor does it affect all people equally. While we can all get sick (which is why there is so much attention on COVID-19), the virus is in no way an equal opportunity perpetrator, meaning that…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/poverty-in-t…

You Have Heard That It Was Said, But I Tweet to You .
Rev. William Alberts | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
Donald Trump began his presidential campaign by declaring, “I know more than the generals.” That has been his mantra: claiming that he knows more than anyone else about war, law and order, healthcare and other critical issues facing Americans. Then along came the Coronavirus, presenting a grave health threat to the United States and the…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/you-have-hea…

Reading Camus’ The Plague in a Time of Pandemic
Jonah Raskin | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
“Each of us has the plague within him, no one, no one on earth is free from it. We must keep endless watch on ourselves lest in a careless moment we breathe in somebody’s face and fasten the infection on him.”

Triggering a Global Financial Crisis: COVID-19 as the Last Straw
Sabri àñncຠ| counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
Whether a black swan or a scapegoat, Covid-19 is an extraordinary event. Declared by the WHO as a pandemic, Covid-19 has given birth to the concept of the economic “sudden stop.” We need extraordinary measures to contain it. Initially referred to as the novel coronavirus 2019, the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) originated late in 2019 in Wuhan,…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/triggering-a…

Poverty in the Time of Corona: Victims of a Sickness That is Yet to Exist
Norbert Ross | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
In the days on COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, we sometimes forget that the virus is not a “natural disaster,” nor does it affect all people equally. While we can all get sick (which is why there is so much attention on COVID-19), the virus is in no way an equal opportunity perpetrator, meaning that…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/poverty-in-t…

Living at the End of the World
Howard Lisnoff | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
The coronavirus spreads like a kind of modern plague across the global landscape. The view from my study window is of the gently rolling hills of the Berkshires in the foothills of the Appalachians. Today, they are lightly dusted with snow that will vanish in the warmer air by mid afternoon. Here, looking toward my…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/living-at-th…

Manifesting Radical Feminism
Ron Jacobs | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
Webster’s defines a manifesto as “a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.” In her recently published book Burn it Down! Feminist Manifestos for the Revolution, editor Breanne Fahs notes that although the manifesto form began with nobles and kings who used them to tell their subjects how things were,…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/manifesting-…

A Women’s Police Town
Paul Bentley | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
Men have always fought their wars in the name of women’s liberation. The Trojan War was ostensibly fought to free Helen, “the face that launched a thousand ships.” But we all know that the real reason was to satisfy the ambition of Achilles, and that the “Trojan Women” were trampled on in the process. The…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/a-womens-pol…

Nature’s Revenge: Climate Change and COVID-19
Evaggelos Vallianatos | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
The corona virus pandemic is no accident. Like past global epidemics, it’s a warning that nature has had it with the ecocidal proclivities of man. These outrageous actions are changing climate and are warming and threatening planet Earth. Nature (the Earth) is fighting back. Climate change is sowing pandemic diseases. Corona virus in America No…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/natures-reve…

Considerations of the Post-Sanders Era
Louis Proyect | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
Just the other day, I was looking through the articles Kevin Coogan had written over the years. Kevin, a long-time commenter on my blog, died unexpectedly on February 27th and I was curious to review his take-downs of Lyndon LaRouche’s cult. A bit younger than me, Kevin was a former member and hoped to warn…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/consideratio…

If Neoliberalism is Crumbling, What Will Follow?
Pete Dolack | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-20
The biggest problem with the future is that you can’t know what it will be. When Ronald Reagan was elected United States president in 1980, we did not at the time realize a new era of capitalism had begun; that the ascension of Reagan in the U.S. and Margaret Thatcher in Britain a year earlier…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/20/if-neolibera…

[Comment] HIV outbreak in children in Pakistan: localised or more widespread?
Mark F Cotton, Helena Rabie | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
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

Without Adequate Protective Gear, Doctors Fear They’re Infecting Patients
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-20
Emergency room physician John Gavin can’t identify the exact patient from whom he contracted the coronavirus, but he’s confident he picked up the illness working one of his 12-hour shifts in Amite, Louisiana’s small, rural emergency room. | But Gavin, 69, is certain that before his coronavirus diagnosis on March 9, officials at Hood Memorial Hospital, where he works, hadn’t made any specific changes to protocols or procedures to protect doctors and nurses from contracting the disease. | “Not at th…
truthout.org/articles/without-adequate-p…

Here are the 51 Republican Senators Who Voted Against Expanding Paid Sick Leave
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-20
Republican senators on Wednesday teamed up to kill an amendment introduced by Democratic Sen. Patty Murray that would have expanded paid sick leave to millions of U.S. workers left out of a bipartisan coronavirus relief package. | Every Republican present for the vote, 51 in total, voted against the amendment while every Senate Democrat voted in favor. | Sens. Cory…
truthout.org/articles/here-are-the-51-re…

[Comment] Planning for the next pandemic: a call for new guidance
Joe Brierley, Stephen Playfor, Samiran Ray | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
“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

Iran Willing to Help Fight Coronavirus in the United States
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-20
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani Friday stated his willingness to support the United States with medical personnel in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | Iran Temporarily Frees 85,000 Inmates As Pandemic Worsens | “These are times of brotherhood. The best way to overcome the new coronavirus is through unity,” Rouhani said. | “While other nations are bent on endangering the lives of their citizens, Iran is ready to focus its efforts on ending the pandemic,” he added…
telesurenglish.net/news/iran-willing-to-…

Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
Workers in Iran and Italy, two countries heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, have staged job action over work exposure to the disease, while South African transport workers have issued a strike threat over failed contract talks.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/work…

What We Must Learn From Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong
Julian Vigo | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-20
One of the major concerns about COVID-19 in northern Italy after concern for the physically infirm and elderly is the impact treating patients will have on the healthcare system. The healthcare system in many northern Italian regions is already at a breaking point as within the first twenty days of the outbreak over 10,000 infections …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/03/what-we-must-…

[Articles] Feasibility of controlling COVID-19 outbreaks by isolation of cases and contacts
Joel Hellewell, Sam Abbott, Amy Gimma, Nikos I Bosse, Christopher I Jarvis, Timothy W Russell, James D Munday, Adam J Kucharski, W John Edmunds, Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Working Group, Sebastian Funk, Rosalind M Eggo | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
In most scenarios, highly effective contact tracing and case isolation is enough to control a new outbreak of COVID-19 within 3 months. The probability of control decreases with long delays from symptom onset to isolation, fewer cases ascertained by contact tracing, and increasing transmission before symptoms. This model can be modified to reflect updated transmission characteristics and more specific definitions of outbreak control to assess the potential success of local response efforts.
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30074-7/fulltext?rss=yes

Retired UK welfare advice worker Terry Craven: “If they are going to build a herd immunity, they already know it’s going to kill thousands of people”
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
Retired welfare advice worker Terry Craven contacted the WSWS to express his concerns about the lack of provision for people in the UK on social security benefits showing symptoms of Covid-19.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/crav…

[World Report] Canada and COVID-19: learning from SARS
Paul Webster | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
The 2003 SARS epidemic killed 44 people in Canada, and led to many proposals for reforms. Paul Webster looks at how the SARS outbreak has affected Canada’s COVID-19 response.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30670-X/fulltext?rss=yes

UK: Johnson government uses coronavirus crisis to seize dictatorial powers
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
Britain’s ruling elite is using the enormous danger to public health posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to implement a raft of anti-democratic measures they have long planned to impose.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/emer…

[Correspondence] Comorbidities and multi-organ injuries in the treatment of COVID-19
Tianbing Wang, Zhe Du, Fengxue Zhu, Zhaolong Cao, Youzhong An, Yan Gao, Baoguo Jiang | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
“We now have a name for the disease caused by coronavirus and it’s COVID-19”, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO on Feb 11, 2020.1 WHO recently updated the name novel coronavirus pneumonia, previously named by Chinese scientists,2 to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30558-4/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Deciphering the power of isolation in controlling COVID-19 outbreaks
Yan Niud, Fujie Xu | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
Isolation of cases and contacts has long been a strategy in the fight against infectious diseases; however, its effectiveness has varied. The modelling study by Joel Hellewell and colleagues1 qualitatively explored the parameters that determine whether isolation of cases and contacts can successfully contain COVID-19 outbreaks after importation of travel-related cases and initial transmissions.
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30085-1/fulltext?rss=yes

Cuba Sends 53 Doctors and Nurses to Fight Covid-19 in Italy
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-20
Cuban health authorities announced on Thursday that the country will send 53 health professionals to Lombardy, Italy, to help contain the new coronavirus pandemic. | RELATED: | Cuba UK Cruise Ship with 5 COVID-19 Cases Starts Evacuating in Cuba | The 53 doctors and nurses have experience in caring for these types of diseases. In 2014, they traveled to Sierra Leone in West Africa to fight the Ebola virus. | According to Cuban authorities, the arrival in Lombardy will take place…
telesurenglish.net/news/cuba-to-send-53-…

Covid-19: Social distancing could be needed ‘for at least most of a year’
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-03-20
Social distancing measures will need to be in place for most of a year at least in order to control the spread of Covid-19, scientists advising the government have agreed.The Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling agreed on Monday that, while the severity of measures could alternate during the period, “stricter” measures would need to be enforced for at least half of the year in order to keep cases at a level the NHS can cope with.The Government published the papers on Friday

[Editorial] Ebola in DR Congo: getting the job done
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
With the world’s focus on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, a good news story receiving far less attention is that of Semida Masika, the last person in DR Congo confirmed to have Ebola virus infection and discharged from care after her recovery on March 4. This important milestone is a remarkable achievement given the insecurity in DR Congo, which led to serious attacks on health-care facilities, workers, and patients, and a continual disabling of the outbreak response.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30645-0/fulltext?rss=yes

COVID-1: Toda a verdade tem três etapas
Larry Romanoff | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
A primeira, é ignorada. | A segunda, é amplamente ridicularizada. | A terceira, é aceite como evidente por si mesma. | Com o COVID-19, entramos agora na etapa 2. Inicialmente, a comunicaàßà£o mediática ignorou as alegaàßàµes e as análises de que o vírus …
globalresearch.ca/covid-1-toda-a-verdade…

[Perspectives] COVID-19: the medium is the message
Laurie Garrett | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
In a world of polarising distrust and trade tensions, the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), both within nations and internationally, is aided and abetted by misinformation that circumnavigates the planet in microseconds. Such misinformation is not all malevolent, although its impact can be devastating. The only bastion of defence against rising public panic, financial market hysteria, and unintended misunderstandings of the science and epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is agile, accurate, worldwide-available counter-information that takes the high moral grou…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30600-0/fulltext?rss=yes

Covid-19 Updates: Trump Sends Hospital Ship to New York Bay
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-20
Update: 1: 45 pm | United States: the USNS Comfort is deployed to New York | New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the hospital ship USNS Comfort, which has over a thousand rooms, will dock in New York Bay by a decision of President Donald Trump. | On Friday, one of the control towers at John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) closed its operations for several hours after a worker tested positive for coronavirus. | The person infected was on the premises on March 16 but did not enter the tower cabin. | “Still, as a precautionary measure, we have scheduled a cleanup of the tower cabin, equipment room, administrati…
telesurenglish.net/news/Covid-19-Updates…

Jim Naureckas on Covid-19, Dana Brown on Public Ownership of Pharmaceuticals
CounterSpin | fair.org | 2020-03-20
Media…
fair.org/home/jim-naureckas-on-covid-19-…

Imagining A New World on the Other Side of the Pandemic
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-03-20
At The Nation, Atossa Araxia Abrahamian has a provocative piece that imagines how future historians may come to write the story of the Covid-19 pandemic. The speculative history takes the form of a “best-case” scenario that serves as both a challenge and a salve, an inspirational fantasy to help balance out the more easily imagined …
truthdig.com/articles/imagining-a-new-wo…

Facing mask shortage, US doctors told to use bandanas
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
The CDC recommends that when facemasks are no longer available, health care workers may have to improvise, using scarves or bandanas to protect themselves when treating patients suspected of or confirmed with COVID-19.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/viru…

Workers and the Virus: Radical Lessons from Italy in the Age of COVID-19
Alessandro Delfanti | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
In the face of the mounting coronavirus crisis, we need to start asking a crucial question: who pays for the lockdown? The last three weeks have taught some hard lessons to Italian workers. Indeed, workers have been shouldering the …
globalresearch.ca/workers-virus-radical-…

New York City now the epicenter of coronavirus pandemic in the US
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is considering a “shelter in place” order in response to the skyrocketing COVID-19 case numbers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/nycc…

Covid-19 Update: Number of Confirmed Cases Doubled in 12 Days
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-20
Update 8: 00 | The number of cases doubled in just 12 days, WHO warns | The World Health Organization (WHO) Friday warned that the COVID-19 pandemic took three months to reach 100,000 cases but only 12 days to exceed 200,000. For this reason, this international institution asked governments to redouble efforts to “flatten the curve” and cut this worrying trend. | RELATED: | California Orders Quarantine for 40 Million People | The growth rate “unfortunately shows the typical upward curve of…
telesurenglish.net/news/Covid-19-Update-…

National interests stand in the way of a coronavirus vaccine
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
The dispute over the German biotech company CureVac shows how national and profit interests hinder the rapid development of a vaccine against COVID-19.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/vacc…

[Comment] Offline: COVID-19–a reckoning
Richard Horton | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
“To be clear we have one strategic aim: save lives.” So stated a UK Government health adviser in an email sent to me last weekend. It was an email filled with frustration. “Part of the considerable difficulty in managing this epidemic”, he wrote, “where we know a number of things but have some major gaps in knowledge (especially around asymptomatic transmission by age, which has major implications), is to do this in a way where we minimise the negative health impact of interventions on other aspects of health, both physical and mental…And try to think through the endgame from the start, where the endgame is qui…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30669-3/fulltext?rss=yes

Capitalism is killing us. We have to destroy it
Daniel Taylor | mronline.org | 2020-03-20
COVID-19 has challenged humanity: on what principles do you organise your society? The pandemic could have been defeated by cooperation, planning, transparency, and social solidarity. But instead, it was born into a society based on competition, secrecy, lies, and greed. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/03/20/capitalism-is-ki…

California governor issues statewide stay-at-home order to fight COVID-19
Marilyn Bechtel | peoplesworld.org | 2020-03-20
peoplesworld.org/article/california-gove…

The Coronavirus, Fear, and Elitist Driven Market Insanity
William J Murray | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
Fear is contagious: Fear is more contagious than any virus could ever be, and the media has really fed the fear factor when it comes to the coronavirus. | I am by no means playing down the deadly Covid-19 coronavirus. It …
globalresearch.ca/coronavirus-fear-eliti…

Italy’s Institute of Health (ISS) Report: 99% of Deaths Attributed to Covid-19 Deaths Had “Pre-existing Serious Illness”
Kit Knightly | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
Anything up to 99.2% of all of Italy’s recent Covid19-associated deaths could have been caused by pre-existing chronic conditions, according to a report released by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Italian Institute of Health, ISS) | The report was translated and …
globalresearch.ca/iss-report-99-covid19-…

Health Care Workers and COVID 19
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-03-20
truthdig.com/cartoons/health-care-worker…

[News] Australian Government releases face masks to protect against coronavirus
Tony Kirby | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
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

[Comment] Toning down the 2019-nCoV media hype–and restoring hope
Giuseppe Ippolito, David S Hui, Francine Ntoumi, Markus Maeurer, Alimuddin Zumla | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
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

The Baltic States Align Themselves with US-NATO against Russia ?
Lucas Leiroz de Almeida | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
In 2017, RAND Corporation published in its associated media Small Wars Journal an article by the researchers Marta Kepe and Jan Osburg, outlining a strategic defense plan for the Baltic countries in the event of a Russian invasion. The authors …
globalresearch.ca/baltic-countries-inter…

Coronavirus crisis cripples Italy’s health care system
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
Italy now counts more deaths from the coronavirus pandemic than any other country in the world.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/itco…

Qantas spearheads mass layoffs in Australia as pandemic worsens
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
The federal and state governments are handing billions of dollars to the banks and corporate elite as they unleash massive job losses.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/aust…

Lawmakers to HUD, landlords: Evictions make coronavirus pandemic worse
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-03-20
peoplesworld.org/article/lawmakers-to-hu…

Senators use advance coronavirus knowledge to enrich selves; hospitals becoming desperate
John Wojcik | peoplesworld.org | 2020-03-20
The American people’s confidence in the ability of their national leaders to steer the country through the coronavirus pandemic was shattered further today when it was revealed that several top U.S. senators on the intelligence committee used advance knowledge of the coming coronavirus disaster to dump stock they owned and rake in huge profits before …
peoplesworld.org/article/senators-use-ad…

[Comment] Recognising the substantial burden of neglected pandemics cystic and alveolar echinococcosis
Adriano Casulli | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
Cystic echinococcosis and alveolar echinococcosis belong to the diverse group of mainly parasitic, but also bacterial, viral, and fungal diseases currently listed among the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) for which WHO advocates control.1 As with most NTDs, cystic and alveolar echinococcosis affect rural and marginalised communities without voice, often distant from health-care settings. However, and in contrast to most NTDs, the prevalence of cystic and alveolar echinococcosis extends beyond tropical and subtropical regions to include worldwide pastoral and rural communities of medium-high income countries, i…
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30066-8/fulltext?rss=yes

Media blackout of wildcat strikes in US auto industry
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
Within hours after wildcat strikes in Fiat Chrysler plants in Michigan and Ohio forced a temporary shutdown of much of the North American auto industry during the coronavirus pandemic, the corporate media entered into full cover-up mode.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/medi…

The Tory Party donor charging £19.99 for Calpol
Steve Topple | thecanary.co | 2020-03-20
There’s been widespread public outcry over a group of pharmacies charging extortionate prices for products, like £19.99 for Calpol, during the coronavirus pandemic. But the owner of the chain happens to be a Conservative Party donor.Coronavirus: rancid profiteering: Many people on social media may have seen this tweet. It shows a Bath branch of Jhoots Pharmacy that’s been selling paracetamol for £9.99: | THIS! Today! Hiking pr…
thecanary.co/trending/2020/03/20/the-tor…

Ontario Toyota worker describes company inaction in the face of coronavirus pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-03-20
Toyota announced closures throughout North America, which will not take effect until Monday, only after the sudden growth of wildcat actions in the United States and Canada to force a halt to production.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/20/toyo…

GCSE and A-level grades to be awarded based on teacher assessments
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-03-20
GCSE and A-level students will be given grades based on teacher assessments, after exams were cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic. | The government said it is aiming for the calculated grades

Israeli MP Presents Bills to Annex Jordan Valley, Impose Death Penalty on Palestinians
Middle East Eye | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
A right-wing Israeli parliamentarian submitted two bills to the Knesset on Wednesday seeking to permanently annex the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea and the Hebron desert in the occupied West Bank to Israel, as well as impose the death …
globalresearch.ca/israeli-mp-presents-bi…

Chinese Swimmer Sun Yang Is a Victim of Confusion and Bias
Rick Sterling | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
Sun Yang is an Olympic Gold medalist and world record holding swimmer. He was recently ruled to be guilty of an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) and banned from competing for eight years. Unless his appeal to overturn the decision is …
globalresearch.ca/chinese-swimmer-sun-ya…

Washington Post Photographer Spots Crossed-Out ‘Coronavirus’ in Favor of ‘Chinese Virus’ in Trump Notes
Eoin Higgins | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-20
President Donald Trump’s use of the racist term “Chinese virus” when describing the global coronavirus outbreak is apparently counter to how his aides are presenting information to him to read to the public according to a photo taken Thursday by …
globalresearch.ca/washington-post-photog…

[World Report] Building bridges in Yemen
Sharmila Devi | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
20 million Yemenis lack health care. A new air-bridge scheme won’t help them all, but it could help to build trust. Sharmila Devi reports.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30672-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Democracy and implementation of non-communicable disease policies
Simon Wigley, Joseph L Dieleman, Tara Templin, Samantha Kiernan, Thomas J Bollyky | thelancet.com | 2020-03-20
In their Article in The Lancet Global Health, Luke Allen and colleagues1 found weak evidence for a positive association between democracy and the implementation of polices recommended by WHO to reduce the burden of premature non-communicable disease mortality.1 As Allen and colleagues note, that finding is in contrast with our research on the positive association between democracy and population health outcomes on non-communicable diseases.2 Accordingly, here we build on the important analysis of Allen and colleagues by closely examining the association between democracy and implementation of non-communicable dis…
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PI…(20)30039-5/fulltext?rss=yes