Article

2020-07-12 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

BREAKING: U.S. reports more than 70,000 new cases of coronavirus in 1 day for the first time https://t.co/Qs4encun9f
— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) July 11, 2020

More COVID-19 cases in Syria's overcrowded rebel enclave
[Al Ahram] At least two doctors in Syria's opposition-held northwest have been infected with the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)

coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)

...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
, according to a monitoring group Saturday, raising the total number of cases in the overcrowded rebel enclave to three.

The Syrian opposition and Death Eater groups control the Idlib area, which is home to more than 3 million people, most of them displaced by the war and living in tent camps and overcrowded facilities. Local health facilities have been targeted in Syrian government attacks that have recently displaced nearly a further million people.

The Early Warning and Alert Response Network, which reports on the virus, said the two doctors had been in touch with patient zero, another doctor who works in a hospital in Idlib. The first case was reported on Thursday and the hospital where the doctor works has since suspended its operations and quarantined patients and support staff to carry out testing.

The enclave is now under threat of losing crucial humanitarian aid

access. Moves by Russia, a major ally of the Syrian government, at the U.N. Security Council are threatening to shut down border crossing between the rebel-held enclave and ~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...
A divided U.N. Security Council failed for a second time Friday to agree on extending humanitarian aid deliveries to the area from Turkey as the current U.N. mandate to do so ended.

Russia and China vetoed a U.N. resolution backed by the 13 other council members that would have maintained two crossing points from Turkey for six months. A Russian-drafted resolution that would have authorized just one border crossing in the area for a year failed to receive the minimum nine ``yes'' votes in the 15-member council.

A new vote is expected Saturday. Germany and Belgium, who insist two crossings are critical especially with the first COVID-19 cases being reported in Syria's northwest, circulated a new text that would extend the mandate through the Bab al-Hawa crossing into Idlib for a year and the mandate for the Bab al-Salam crossing _ which Russia wants to eliminate _ for three months to wind up its activities.

#Egypt records 923 new #coronavirus cases, 67 deaths https://t.co/CyM7ETb4EA via @ahramonline
— Ahram Online (@ahramonline) July 11, 2020

#BREAKING: Iraq records 2,634 #coronavirus cases and 95 deaths from the virus, as well as 1,699 cases of recovery#BaghdadPost #Iraq pic.twitter.com/oa7MTjB7p1
— The Baghdad Post (@BaghdadPostPlus) July 11, 2020