Tag: coronavirus

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House Passes Coronavirus Stimulus Package

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)
From CNN:

The House of Representatives on Friday approved a historic $2 trillion coronavirus response stimulus package, clearing the way for President Trump’s signature.

The far-reaching legislation stands as the largest emergency aid package in US history. It injects a massive financial boost into a struggling economy with provisions aimed at helping American workers, small businesses and industries grappling with the economic disruption.

Key elements of the package include sending checks directly to individuals and families, an expansion of unemployment benefits, money for hard-hit hospitals and health care providers, financial assistance for small businesses and $500 billion in loans for distressed companies.

The bill now heads to Donald Trump’s desk where he will sign it into law later today. As I previously reported, Rep. Thomas Massie went into the chamber with a pre-announced plan to call for a full vote by the House members. Because of that threat, hundreds of lawmakers were forced to return to Washington to ensure a quorum was present. When Massie asked for his voice vote, Rep. Anthony Brown, the presiding officer in the speaker’s chair, pointed out that not enough members stood up to back his request. House rules require one-fifth of lawmakers to stand up in support of such motions. Massie protested saying there was not a quorum of lawmakers present. And so, Brown called for a count of the lawmakers present in the chamber and galleries and found there were enough members present. “A quorum is present. The motion is adopted,” he ruled.

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Gay Man Becomes First Nurse To Die From Coronavirus In NYC

Kious Jordan Kelly (image via Mount Sinai Hospital)
As the number of coronavirus infections has surpassed over 20,000 in New York City, an openly gay man has become the first nurse to die there from COVID-19. Kious Jordan Kelly, 48, who worked as a nurse manager at Mount Sinai West in Manhattan, shared his diagnosis with his sister on March 18 from the intensive care unit via text message. He couldn’t call her because he was on a ventilator. “I’m okay. Don’t tell Mom and Dad. They’ll worry,” he wrote to his sister, Marya Patrice Sherron, according to the New York Times. He passed away less than a week later on Tuesday evening. Sherron took to Facebook to share the news of her brother’s death and express her anger. “His death could have been prevented,” wrote Sherron. “I’m angry, He was healthy.” Kelly’s co-workers also voiced their anger as well posting on social media channels that they didn’t have proper protective equipment (PPE) at their hospital as they worked with patients diagnosed with the virus. Nurses from Mount Sinai shared a photo of healthcare workers wearing black garbage bags as makeshift protective clothing with the caption, “NO MORE GOWNS IN THE WHOLE HOSPITAL. NO MORE MASKS AND REUSING THE DISPOSABLE ONES…NURSES FIGURING IT OUT DURING COVID-19 CRISIS.”
(image via Facebook/DianaTorres)
“Kious didn’t deserve this,” one colleague told the New York Post. “The hospital should be held responsible. The hospital killed him.” Nurses told the Post they were using the same protective equipment as they shifted from infected to non-infected patients since there weren’t any proper gowns available. Lucia Lee, a spokesman for the hospital disagreed telling the Times, “This crisis is straining the resources of all New York area hospitals, and while we do — and have had — enough protective equipment for our staff, we will all need more in the weeks ahead.” Mount Sinai issued a statement regarding Kelly’s death which read, “We are deeply saddened by the passing of a beloved member of our nursing staff.” “This growing crisis has already devastated hundreds of families and turned our frontline professionals into true American heroes,” the hospital network said. “Today, we lost another hero — a compassionate colleague, friend and selfless caregiver.” Friends and colleagues have set up a GoFundMe campaign to help ease the financial burden to his family of covering funeral and transport costs. (source: NY Times, NY Post)

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Trump Calls Out GOP Rep. Thomas Massie As “Third Rate Grandstander”

L-R Rep. Thomas Massie, Donald Trump
Donald Trump has now turned his ire on a member of his own party. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has issues with the Coronavirus Stimulus legislation that passed in the Senate earlier this week and now needs to be approved by the House. Massie has tweeted he plans to ask for a full vote of the House which will require members who are home in their own districts to travel back to Washington, D.C. which will cause the bill’s approval to be delayed. Trump took to Twitter to call the Republican out as a “third rate Grandstander:”

“Looks like a third rate Grandstander named @RepThomasMassie, a Congressman from, unfortunately, a truly GREAT State, Kentucky, wants to vote against the new Save Our Workers Bill in Congress. He just wants the publicity. He can’t stop it, only delay, which is both dangerous & costly. Workers & small businesses need money now in order to survive. Virus wasn’t their fault. It is “HELL” dealing with the Dems, had to give up some stupid things in order to get the “big picture” done. 90% GREAT! WIN BACK HOUSE, but throw Massie out of Republican Party!”

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News Round-Up: March 25, 2020

Dan Tai (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Dan Tai (above) asks, “So, you ever just have those days when you’re super productive? It was one of them! How was your day?” How about you, readers? Amid all this self-isolation, do you feel like you’re getting some of those tasks you’ve put off accomplished? • Outsports: Denis Finnegan is a champion. A national champion. And he’s been a national champion 10 times over. That’s some real dominance. Few people in the world, in any sport, can claim that many titles over a decade. Finnegan also happens to be gay. • CBS News: As unemployment claims surge, Starbucks CEO and President Kevin Johnson announced this week his commitment to pay all workers in the U.S. and Canada for the next 30 days, regardless of whether they come into work or the stores they work at temporarily close. • Song of the Day: For some reason, this song by Barbra Streisand, released in 1981, has been “coming in and out” of my mind as we all self-quarantine. Gorgeous vocals and it reminds we’ll all be back in each other’s lives in real person soon. Please take a moment to hit play and chill.

• People: In his new book, The Bachelor star Colton Underwood revealed that he questioned his sexuality through his teen years, after relentless bullying from teammates. Underwood says he remembers searching online “Am I gay?” as far back as Elementary School. • BBC: The Prince of Wales has tested positive for coronavirus, Clarence House has confirmed. Prince Charles, 71, is displaying mild symptoms “but otherwise remains in good health.” • Hollywood Reporter: In 2018 and 2019, booking Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was a top priority for producers at Fox News. So much so that one Fox News producer sought to reassure Devos’ press secretary that host Maria Bartiromo would go easy on the Secretary if she sat for an interview, which she did six days later. “Ps remember any question she doesn’t feel comfortable answering — she can choose to not answer and pivot the topic. This will be an easy interview and enjoyable.” • Gaily Grind: President Trump used his daily White House coronavirus briefing on Wednesday to rail against the press and Democrats, arguing that the main reason they oppose his idea to potentially reopen businesses by Easter is that they want the economy to fail to hurt his reelection prospects. #srsly Check out the exchange with CBS News journalist Paula Reid below.

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Drug Touted By Trump For COVID-19 Found To Be No More Effective Than Conventional Care

The first confirmed case of the omicron variant in the U.S. has been discovered in California.

Bloomberg News reports a prescription drug Donald Trump touted as a treatment for coronavirus, Hydroxychloroquine, was the focus of a small study that found it to be no more effective than conventional care.

The report published by the Journal of Zhejiang University in China showed that patients who got the medicine didn’t fight off the new coronavirus more often than those who did not get the medicine.

The study involved just 30 patients. Of the 15 patients given the malaria drug, 13 tested negative for the coronavirus after a week of treatment. Of the 15 patients who didn’t get hydroxychloroquine, 14 tested negative for the virus. The results of the study weren’t statistically significant.

Medical experts had said there was a chance the drug might have some efficacy against COVID-19 but insisted further testing was needed before being recommended. After the Trumpster praised the medication saying he had a “good feeling” about the drug’s effectiveness and that it was “already approved by the FDA” experts stepped up to clarify that Hydroxychloroquine has only been approved to treat malaria and not coronavirus. On Monday, the wife of an Arizona man who died after ingesting chloroquine phosphate (a version of the chemical) to protect himself from the novel coronavirus spoke out Monday to urge the public not to “believe anything” without first speaking to a healthcare professional.

“We saw Trump on TV — every channel — and all of his buddies and that this was safe,” the woman told NBC News. “Trump kept saying it was basically pretty much a cure.”

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Elton John To Head Up ‘iHeart Living Room Concert For America’ On Fox TV

Elton John
Deadline reports international pop star Elton John will host a celebrity TV concert on Fox TV this Sunday.

Fox TV and iHeartMedia are bringing out some big guns in the coronavirus relief effort. Elton John is to host Fox Presents The iHeart Living Room Concert for America, an hourlong special set to air commercial-free from 9-10 p.m. Sunday, March 29 — in the slot that had been set for the iHeartRadio Music Awards.

The program comes at a time when concerts have been sidelined by the COVID-19 outbreak and many artists are giving free concerts online. It will feature performances by such stars as Billie Eilish, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Tim McGraw, Backstreet Boys, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, and others — all filmed from their homes using their own audio and video equipment. The special will be simulcast on iHeartMedia stations nationwide and its app.

The iHeart Living Room Concert for America also will pay tribute to the front-line health professionals, first responders and local heroes who are putting themselves in harm’s way to help their neighbors and fight the spread of the coronavirus. It also will encourage viewers to support Feeding America and First Responders Children’s Foundation — two of the many charitable organizations helping victims and first responders during the pandemic.

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Ryan Murphy Donates ‘POSE’ Medical Props To Help Fight COVID-19

Writer/producer Ryan Murphy has announced the medical props used on the hit FX show Pose (featured in scenes related to the AIDS epidemic) are being donated to Mount Sinai Hospital to help fight the COVID-19 health threat. Murphy shared on his Instagram: “On my FX series POSE, one of our regular sets and locations is a hospital where in season 3 (spoiler) Blanca works as an AIDS/hiv counselor. Today we donated all our prop supplies to Mount Sinai hospital to help nurses and doctors battling the Covid outbreak. Let’s all keep giving when and where and how we can. More to come…”

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NY Post: COVID-19 Found On Cruise Ship 17 Days After Abandoned

The first confirmed case of the omicron variant in the U.S. has been discovered in California.

Very disconcerting news as it appears the COVID-19 virus may be able to live for not days but weeks on hard surfaces. From the New York Post:

Coronavirus stays on surfaces far longer than first thought — with traces found in cabins on the stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship 17 days after they were abandoned, according to alarming new research.

The potentially deadly bug was previously understood to live two to three days on some surfaces — but the new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it lasts more than five times as long.

The coronavirus “was identified on a variety of surfaces in cabins of both symptomatic and asymptomatic infected passengers up to 17 days after cabins were vacated on the Diamond Princess but before disinfection procedures had been conducted,” according to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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8 Men Arrested For Cocaine-Fueled Orgy During COVID-19 Lockdown

(stock photo)
Eight men were arrested on Friday, March 20, while hosting a sex party in Barcelona, Spain, which has been in lockdown due to the ongoing coronavirus threat. Since March 14, residents are being asked to leave home only for essential reasons including going to work, medical appointments or to buy food. EL PAÍS, one of the largest Spanish language news outlets in the world, reports police received a tip from someone who said they were invited to the gathering. According to reports, the hosts had extended the party invitation to 20-30 men. After receiving information regarding the time and place of the party, plain-clothes police officers arrived at the apartment located in a central area of Barcelona, which had been rented for one week. The Mossos d’Esquadra officers were allowed to enter the residence after identifying themselves where they found various party drugs including cocaine, crystal meth, speed, and “liquid ecstasy” (GHB). One of the attendees was coughing and underwent testing for the coronavirus. The test results were negative for COVID-19. All 8 of the men were arrested for possession of narcotic substances. While an overwhelming majority of LGBTQ people are heeding the advice of medical professionals to self-isolate and stay at home as much as possible, a new survey by Queer Voices Heard found 28 percent would still go on dates, and 16 percent of respondents would still engage in hook-ups. To state the obvious: a cocaine-fueled orgy is not a great idea during the current health threat. As the New York City Health Department recently recommended, “You are your safest sex partner.” The next safest person is someone you live with.

EL PAÍS reports that, to date, the death toll regarding COVID-19 infections in Spain has risen to 2,696, with 514 victims in the past 24 hours. The number of infections is nearing 40,000. In related news, organizers of the annual Gay Pride parade in Madrid announced on Tuesday that the event will be postponed until the “health and safety conditions are suitable.” Since 1978, the Gay Pride event has been held in the country’s capital on the first weekend of July drawing nearly one million attendees and generating more than €100 million for the Madrid region, according to regional authorities. (Source: EL PAÍS)

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Please Tell Coronavirus Trump Wants Economy ‘Reopened’ By Easter

(photo: public domain – Flickr/WhiteHouse)
Donald Trump has announced he wants the U.S. economy “reopened” by the Easter holiday on April 12. That’s much sooner than medical experts have previously indicated would be prudent. From the New York Times:

Even as nations from Britain to India declare nationwide economic lockdowns, President Trump said he “would love to have the country opened up, and just raring to go, by Easter,” less than three weeks away, a goal that top health professionals have called far too quick.

“I think it’s possible, why not?” he said with a shrug.

Participating in a town hall hosted by Fox News on Tuesday, he expressed outrage about having to “close the country” to curb the spread of the coronavirus and indicated that his guidelines on business shutdowns and social distancing would soon be lifted.

“I gave it two weeks,” he said, adding, “We can socially distance ourselves and go to work.”

Trump later amended his remarks saying, “This is a medical crisis, not a financial crisis,” and added his decisions will be based on health considerations and hard facts.