[BBC] US President Donald Trump has said he is considering imposing a quarantine on New York in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus."We'd like to see [it] quarantined because it's a hotspot," he told reporters. "I'm thinking about that."
He spoke as confirmed cases in the state increased to more than 52,000, around half of the total in the US.
But the state's governor, Andrew Cuomo, said he had not discussed such measures with the president.
"I didn't speak to him about any quarantine," he told reporters shortly after he had spoken with Mr Trump by phone.
"I haven't had those conversations," he added. "I don't even know what that
| Subsequently, from the Times of Israel: |
The notion of a quarantine had been advocated by governors, including Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who sought to halt travelers from the heavily affected areas to their states. But it drew swift criticism from the leaders of the states in question, who warned it would spark panic in a populace already suffering under the virus.
Trump announced he reached the decision after consulting with the White House task force leading the federal response and the governors of the three states. He said he had directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “to issue a strong Travel Advisory, to be administered by the Governors, in consultation with the Federal Government.”
He added: “A quarantine will not be necessary.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has criticized the federal government’s response as his state became the country’s virus epicenter, said roping off states would amount to “a federal declaration of war.”
BREAKING: UK reports 2,510 new cases of coronavirus and 260 new deaths, raising total to 17,089 cases and 1,019 dead https://t.co/47MXF0XUJ0
— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) March 28, 2020
BREAKING: Spain reports 8,189 new cases of coronavirus and 832 new deaths since yesterday, raising total to 72,248 cases and 5,690 dead https://t.co/47MXF0XUJ0
— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) March 28, 2020
Sad news for the NYPD: The first New York Police Department detective has died from Coronavirus, according to multiple law enforcement officials.
— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) March 28, 2020
ER doctor who criticized Bellingham hospital's coronavirus protections has been fired
[SEATTLETIMES] An emergency room physician who publicly decried what he called a lack of protective measures against the novel 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...at his workplace, PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, has been fired.
Ming Lin, who has worked at the hospital for 17 years and became a local cause célèbre for his pleas for more safety equipment and more urgent measures to protect staff, was informed of his termination as he was preparing for a shift at the hospital Friday afternoon, he said.
"I got a message that said, ’Your shift has been covered,’" Lin told The Seattle Times. He phoned his supervisor and was told, "You’ve been terminated." Lin said he was told he would be contacted by human resources staff from his employer, TeamHealth, a national firm that contracts with PeaceHealth’s emergency department.
#Europe strengthens response: Calls for unity in #COVID19 fight
— The Baghdad Post (@BaghdadPostPlus) March 27, 2020
🟥Coronavirus cases top 531,000 globally#COVID19 #COVID2019 #Covid19Out #Europe pic.twitter.com/w6uQXrkj5p
Breaking: #Italy confirms 889 new #coronavirus deaths, raising toll to 10,023.
— The Baghdad Post (@BaghdadPostPlus) March 28, 2020
.#BaghdadPost #COVID19 #CoronaVirusUpdate pic.twitter.com/SjNoN7sd6v
Israeli doctor in Padua says Italy will ‘flatten the curve’ in weeks
[IsraelTimes] An Israeli doctor in Padua tells Zman Yisrael, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew-language sister site, about treatments that have been effective in Italy.
“In the past few days, people have begun to recover, in part due to new medications and also as a result of the fact that it takes some two weeks to recover from the virus,” says Carmi Sheffer.
He attributes the high death rates in Italy to the spread within geriatric hospitals. “The moment the virus arrives in a place where an elderly population is concentrated, it spreads like wildfire,” he says.
In Padua, the autoimmune medicine Tocilizumab has proven effective, but can only be used once established that no other viruses are present in the patients’ bodies, he says. The hospital where he works has also seen positive results from the antiviral drug Remdesivir, he says.
| Thank goodness they are no longer relying just on ibuprofen. |
UN donates 250,000 protective masks to New York City
There are stashes of necessary stuff all over the place, just waiting to be found. Three cheers for our monkey heritage!
[IsraelTimes] UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announces the donation of 250,000 protective face masks, which had just been located in United Nations storage facilities, to the United States for use in hard-hit New York City.The UN chief says: “These masks, in surplus to United Nations requirements, will be given to the medical professionals in New York City who have been working courageously, selflessly, and tirelessly in response to the spread of COVID-19 across the boroughs in the hope that they play some small role in saving lives.”
Guterres says the United Nations and the US Mission to the UN are working with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office to ensure swift delivery of the masks to medical facilities around the city.
“On behalf of the UN community and the diplomatic corps, we sincerely hope this modest donation makes a difference,” Guterres says.
Saudi Arabia reported 99 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, reported Saudi Gazette, while the number of virus-related deaths rose in the Kingdom rose to four.
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) March 28, 2020
Follow our live updates on #coronavirus here: https://t.co/vY4fVgAjuk