Big Time News Blog: 03/19/20

Thursday, March 19, 2020

EU asks Ecuador to guarantee airport access after runway blocked with trucks

The European Union on Thursday asked Ecuador to guarantee access to its airports to ensure it can airlift citizens out of the South American nation, following an unusual incident in which a city mayor sent trucks to block a runway.

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Bavaria head more popular than Merkel in midst of coronavirus crisis

The premier of the southern state of Bavaria, Markus Soeder, is Germany's most popular politician, a poll showed on Friday, boosting his chances of standing as the conservative chancellor candidate in the next election and succeeding Angela Merkel.

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Canada-U.S. border to close as early as Friday as Canadians overseas try to get home

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that he expected the closure of the U.S.-Canada border to take effect overnight on Friday and was working with domestic carriers to bring home citizens stranded overseas.

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Factbox: Latest on the spread of coronavirus around the world

The world's wealthiest nations poured unprecedented aid into the traumatized global economy on Thursday as coronavirus cases ballooned in the current epicentre Europe even as they waned at the pandemic's point of origin, China.

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Worldwide COVID-19 Cases Now More Than 220,000: Could Inexpensive Malaria Treatment be Key to Stopping Pandemic?

The number of worldwide coronavirus cases tops 220,000 as Chinese health officials claim for the first time they have no new domestic cases of the illness.

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Trump defends 'Chinese virus' comments

“It’s not racist at all,” the president said of his use of terms like “the Chinese virus” to refer to the coronavirus.

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Detained US veteran released on medical furlough in Iran: Pompeo

A US military veteran imprisoned in Iran was freed Thursday for medical reasons on condition that he stay in the country, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Michael White has been transferred for medical examinations to the Swiss embassy, which represents US interests in Tehran in the absence of diplomatic relations, Pompeo said. "The United States will continue to work for Michael's full release as well as the release of all wrongfully detained Americans in Iran," he added.

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Coronavirus: US doctors demand immediate release of prisoners and detainees to avert disaster

As doctors and medical workers across the US raise the alarm about the coronavirus’s risk to prison populations, thousands of medics have signed an open letter calling upon the immigration authorities to release individuals and families from detention.The letter, which at the time of writing had been signed by more than 3,000 people, is addressed to the director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In it, the undersigned medics implore the ICE “to release individuals and families from immigration detention while their legal cases are being processed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the harm of an outbreak”.

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Nearly half of U.S. coronavirus patients in intensive care are under 65, CDC reports

Older Americans are still at greater risk of death from the new COVID-19 coronavirus, but 38 percent of the U.S. patients known to have been hospitalized for COVID-19 were between age 20 and 54, and nearly half of those admitted to the intensive care unit were adults under 65, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. The report looked at 508 of the first 2,449 coronavirus patients in the U.S. The high rate of hospitalization for younger adults matches the statistics reported from France and Italy.The report showed that adults of all ages are at risk of getting sick from the coronavirus — of the 2,449 patients examined, 6 percent were 85 and older, 25 percent were 65 to 84, 29 percent were 20 to 44, and 5 percent were 19 and younger, the CDC said. People 20 to 44 — the millennial generation — accounted for 20 percent of those hospitalized and 12 percent of ICU patients."I think everyone should be paying attention to this," Columbia University epidemiologist Stephen S. Morse tells The New York Times. "It's not just going to be the elderly. There will be people age 20 and up. They do have to be careful, even if they think that they're young and healthy." And it's not just the health of younger people that has experts worried, adds Dr. Christopher Carlsten, the head of respiratory medicine at the University of British Columbia. "If that many younger people are being hospitalized, that means that there are a lot of young people in the community that are walking around with the infection," putting older and sicker people at risk.More stories from theweek.com Lindsey Graham is reportedly trying to talk Trump out of coronavirus relief checks for Americans 7 funny cartoons about coronavirus hoarding Daniel Dae Kim tests positive for coronavirus, slams 'Chinese virus' label: 'I got it in America'

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In Mexico, a cartel is taking over: Jalisco New Generation

Mexico’s fastest-rising cartel, the Jalisco New Generation gang, has a reputation for ruthlessness and violence unlike any since the fall of the old Zetas cartel. In parts of the country it is fighting medieval-style battles, complete with fortified redoubts, to expand nationwide, from the outskirts of Mexico City, into the tourist resorts around Cancun, and along the northern border. It is a promise that cartels in Mexico have long made, and always broken.

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Chile to postpone referendum on new constitution as coronavirus concerns grow

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Coronavirus: State Department tells Americans: 'Do not travel' abroad, come home if overseas

The U.S. State Department is set to issue its highest advisory for Americans traveling abroad Thursday, urging them to return home because of the coronavirus.

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Florida governor refuses to shut down beaches amid spread of coronavirus

Gov. Ron DeSantis said it's "not uniform throughout the state that you're seeing massive crowds at beaches," despite videos of gatherings in Tampa Bay.

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Virus whistleblower doctor punished 'inappropriately': Chinese probe

Police in China's virus epicentre Wuhan acted "inappropriately" by punishing a doctor who blew the whistle on the outbreak that has now killed more than 9,000 worldwide, a Chinese government investigation found Thursday. Li Wenliang, one of a group of doctors in Wuhan who shared posts on social media warning of a SARS-like virus spreading in the city in December, was reprimanded by police for sharing the information and made to sign a statement agreeing not to commit any more "law-breaking actions." Li's death from the virus in February prompted a national outpouring of grief as well as anger at the government's handling of the crisis, and bold demands for freedom of speech.

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A toilet paper shortage and increased cleaning might have caused a spike in raw sewage spills in California. Other regions are bracing for the same.

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted some to panic buy toilet paper, leaving stores sold out. Flushing wipes and other items can cause sewage spills.

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What's Happening: Hope in Wuhan, unequal access to US tests

The Chinese city of Wuhan, the original epicenter of the new coronavirus, reported no new homegrown infections on Thursday, in what was a sign of hope for the world and a lesson in the strict measures needed to halt its spread. The two milestones were a dramatic illustration of how much the global outbreak has pivoted toward Europe and the United States. Factories in China, struggling to reopen after the coronavirus shut down the economy, face a new threat from U.S. anti-disease controls that might disrupt the flow of microchips and other components they need.

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Africa talks tough against coronavirus but many wonder why

A growing number of African countries are announcing increasingly restrictive measures to try to halt the spread of the virus, which has infected more than 200,000 people globally and killed nearly 9,000. On Wednesday, Uganda banned religious gatherings and weddings, despite not having a single coronavirus case. South Africa strongly encouraged restaurants and bars to provide take-out services only.

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Tulsi Gabbard drops out of presidential race and endorses Joe Biden

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard leaves the Democratic presidential race. She endorses Joe Biden and praises Sen. Bernie Sanders.

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Venice canals clear as city tourist-free under coronavirus

The city of Venice is enjoying crystal clear waters in its world-famous canals due to a lack of debris from tourists and near-zero boat traffic under Italy's ongoing coronavirus lockdown. The clear waters are a tiny bright spot in the beleaguered but beautiful city, whose economy has been virtually wiped out since tourists fled the area beginning last month, spooked by the spread of coronavirus in the country's north. Images of the welcome change were first posted on a Facebook group "Venezia Pulita (Clean Venice)," with residents sharing photos of tiny fish swimming in usually opaque waters, or cormorant, egrets and other birds enjoying the lack of boat traffic in the city's canals.

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