China: COVID-19 hospital construction worker's protest blog goes viral before being deleted
wsws.org | 2020-03-30
The worker described the wage theft and repressive conditions suffered by thousands of construction employees who build hospitals in Wuhan at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/30/chin-m30.html

Live Stream: Health Care Town Hall: Our Lives On The Line Series Kick-off
Health Care Voter, Indivisible, others | indybay.org | 2020-03-30
Live stream on Facebook…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/28/18831882.php

Twitter REMOVES posts by Brazil's Bolsonaro in crackdown on information that 'may increase risk' of Covid-19 spread
rt.com | 2020-03-30
In an unprecedented move, Twitter has yanked two posts by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, in which he took aim at coronavirus lockdowns as part of his controversial campaign to avoid a shutdown of the economy. | Bolsonaro has become the first ever head of state to have his tweets censored by the platform under recently-updated guidelines, requiring users to remove content that defies "global or local health authorities recommendations" aimed at halting the spread of the deadly disease that has already taken hold in the Latin American country. | I could be mistaken but I'm pretty sure these two tweets from…
rt.com/news/484441-bolsonaro-coronavirus-twitter-ban/

Iran's Covid-19 death toll reaches 2,757 with almost 41,500 identified cases
rt.com | 2020-03-30
There are 41,495 Covid-19 cases in Iran, the country's health officials reported in the latest update. The death toll from the pandemic has reached 2,757 in the Islamic Republic, a nation hit hard by the viral disease. | …
rt.com/news/484464-iran-covid19-death-toll/

'Now isn't the Time to Do That': US Congressman Again Slams Hillary Clinton Over Her Trump Jab
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-30
On Friday, Hillary Clinton shared a recent report from The New York Times about the US now leading the world in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, tweeting that President Trump "did promise 'America First'".
sputniknews.com/us/202003301078761038-now-isnt-the-time-to-do-that-us-congressman-again-slams-hillary-clinton-over-her-trump-jab/

#LETSLOVESUHO Trends Worldwide as EXO Leader's Solo Album, MV Released
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-30
The leader of the popular K-pop boy band EXO has finally made his solo debut, showing his warm and tender side.
sputniknews.com/viral/202003301078759906-letslovesuho-trends-worldwide-as-exo-leaders-solo-album-mv-released/

Chinese philanthropist sends medical aid to Europe
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-30
A Chinese businessman and philanthropist on Monday said his foundation will rush urgent medical aid to Europe, the new epicenter of coronavirus.In a tweet, Jack Ma, founder of China's Alibaba Group, called for unity in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed over 34,600 lives across the globe since last December."Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation will donate additional urgent equipment including 800 ventilators, 300,000 sets of protective gowns and 300,000 face shields to hospitals in Europe. #OneWorldOneFight," he tweeted.He previously sent medical aid to many countries in Asia and Afr…
yenisafak.com/en/news/chinese-philanthropist-sends-medical-aid-to-europe-3515419

US Teen Dies After Being Rejected by Clinic for No Insurance
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-29
A 17-year-old U.S. citizen with symptoms of coronavirus did not receive medical attention at an emergency clinic because he did not have health insurance, Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris said on March 25 in a video posted on YouTube. | RELATED: | Turkey Becomes Latest Victim of Coronavirus as Death Toll Soars | "He did not have insurance, so he was not treated," Parris said, adding that medical personnel at this emergency center, whose name was not released by authorities, advised…
telesurenglish.net/news/US-Teen-Dies-After-Being-Rejected-by-Clinic-for-No-Insurance-20200329-0002.html

'Not necessary': Trump says he will not impose quarantine on New York, New Jersey & Connecticut
rt.com | 2020-03-29
US President Donald Trump has apparently abandoned the idea of imposing a federal quarantine on the three US states hardest-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, including New York, saying a "strong" travel warning will be issued instead. | In an apparent about-turn, which came mere hours after he floated the idea of placing the coronavirus "hotspots" of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut under federally mandated quarantine, Trump took to Twitter, stating that such a robust measure would "not be necessary." | ….F…
rt.com/usa/484396-trump-quarantine-new-york-coronavirus/

Trump Announces Plan to Refuse Congressional Oversight of Corporate Bailout
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-29
Progressive lawmakers on Friday evening denounced President Donald Trump's intention to disregard provisions in the just-passed coronavirus relief bill that would provide crucial oversight of $500 billion in taxpayer money already poised to be a "Wall Street slush fund." | "This is unacceptable," Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) said on Twitter Friday. | t.co/QsP9dsR3kT |

ONE MUST PAY: Trump promises Harry & Meghan no free ride in US
rt.com | 2020-03-29
President Donald Trump has assured Britain's Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle that the US taxpayer won't be footing their security bill, after the absconding royals left Canada to settle in Los Angeles. | "I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen & the United Kingdom," Trump tweeted on Sunday. "It was reported that Harry and Meghan, who left the Kingdom, would reside permanently in Canada. Now they have left Canada for the US however, the US will not pay for their security protection. They must pay!" | I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen & the United Kingdom. It was reported that Harry and Megh…
rt.com/usa/484435-trump-harry-meghan-pay/

Turkey Becomes Latest Victim of Coronavirus as Death Toll Soars
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-29
In the past 24 hours in Turkey, 16 more people lost their lives due to COVID-19, raising the death toll to 108, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Saturday night. | RELATED: | Turkey Prosecutor Indicts 20 Saudi Suspects for Khashoggi Killing | The total number of novel coronavirus cases rose to 7,402 in Turkey, the minister tweeted, which is a significant rise in the total number of people infected by the illness. | A total of 7,641 tests were performed on Saturd…
telesurenglish.net/news/Turkey-Becomes-Latest-Victim-of-Coronavirus-as-Death-Toll-Soars-20200329-0001.html

Zarif warns US to stop aiding war crimes
IRNA | iranian.com | 2020-03-29
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a message referred to the US' background of sabotage and assassinations and warned Americans to stop aiding war crimes. twitter.com/JZarif/status/1244229089772224512 "The US has gone from sabotage & assassinations to waging an economic war & #EconomicTerrorism on Iranians–to #MedicalTerror amidst #covid19iran," Zarif wrote on his Twitter account on Sunday, adding: …
iranian.com/2020/03/29/zarif-warns-us-to-stop-aiding-war-crimes/

Run for the hills! Pentagon sends teams into MOUNTAIN BUNKERS as pandemic preparations go into full swing
rt.com | 2020-03-28
The US' Northern Command has sent teams of essential staff deep underground to wait out the Covid-19 pandemic. On the surface, more than a million grunts won't be quite as cocooned. | Air Force General Terrence O'Shaughnessy heads up the US' Northern Command, as well as the North American Aerospace Defense Command

NHS staff launch website to help colleagues working in 'scary' and 'heartbreaking' environments
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-03-28
Two friends have launched a free set of online resources to help NHS staff cope with the stresses of working during the coronavirus pandemic. | Trained cognitive behavioural hypnotherapists Slee Parrish and Alex James designed NHS in Mind after becoming concerned by the impact of the outbreak on the mental health of frontline workers. | The website contains instructions for a set of eight techniques, accompanied by simple YouTube videos, to help staff manage feelings of fear, anxiety and stress while they are at work. | This includes breathing exercises, guided meditatio…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/03/28/nhs-staff-launch-website-to-help-colleagues-working-in-scary-and-heartbreaking-environments/

'Open your STUPIDLY abandoned plant': Trump lashes out at GM & Ford over ventilator delay
rt.com | 2020-03-27
President Donald Trump has lost his patience with automakers who promised to produce ventilators to treat Covid-19 patients, threatening to invoke his emergency powers to force General Motors and Ford to live up to their pledge. | "They said they were going to give us 40,000 much needed Ventilators, 'very quickly,'" Trump tweeted on Friday. "Now they are saying it will only be 6000, in late April, and they want top dollar." | He added that it's "always a mess" with GM CEO Mary Barra, and that he will invoke the Defense Production Act, a piece of wartime legislation giving the president the power to order manuf…
rt.com/usa/484308-trump-gm-coronavirus-ventilators/

How austerity and anti-immigrant politics left Italy exposed to viral blitzkrieg
Conn Hallinan | peoplesworld.org | 2020-03-27
As the viral blitzkrieg rolls across one European border after another, it seems to have a particular enmity for Italy. The country's death toll has far surpassed China's, and scenes from its hospitals look like something out of Dante's imagination. Why? Italy has the fourth-largest economy in the European Union, and in terms of health …
peoplesworld.org/article/how-austerity-and-anti-immigrant-politics-left-italy-exposed-to-viral-blitzkrieg/

Our leaders are terrified. Not of the virus, of us!
Jonathan Cook | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-25
You can almost smell the fear-laden sweat oozing from the pores of television broadcasts and social media posts as it finally dawns on our political and media establishments what the coronavirus actually means. And I am not talking about the threat posed to our health. A worldview that has crowded out all other thinking for …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/03/our-leaders-are-terrified-not-of-the-virus-of-us/

Economist Jeffrey Sachs: Trump "Understands Nothing, Listens to Nothing" as Pandemic Surges in U.S
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-24
As #NotDying4WallStreet trends on Twitter, President Trump defies his top scientists and soaring infection rate, saying he will ease restrictions soon to jumpstart the economy. We speak with economist Jeffrey Sachs about the stimulus package that failed to pass again Monday, as Democrats called the measure a slush fund for corporations. Sachs also led the WHO's Commission on Macroeconomics and Health from 2000 to 2001 and played a key role in conceiving and establishing the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which helped distribute new medicines to fight infectious diseases.
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/24/jeffrey_sachs_congress_economic_relief_package

[Correspondence] COVID-19: consider cytokine storm syndromes and immunosuppression
Puja Mehta, Daniel F McAuley, Michael Brown, Emilie Sanchez, Rachel S Tattersall, Jessica J Manson, HLH Across Speciality Collaboration, UK | thelancet.com | 2020-03-16
As of March 12, 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been confirmed in 125 048 people worldwide, carrying a mortality of approximately 3 ∑7%,1 compared with a mortality rate of less than 1% from influenza. There is an urgent need for effective treatment. Current focus has been on the development of novel therapeutics, including antivirals and vaccines. Accumulating evidence suggests that a subgroup of patients with severe COVID-19 might have a cytokine storm syndrome. We recommend identification and treatment of hyperinflammation using existing, approved therapies with proven safety profiles to addre…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30628-0/fulltext?rss=yes