Israel's deepening poverty, social inequality ignored in election campaign
wsws.org | 2020-02-29
According to Israel's National Insurance Institute, some 26 percent of households were in poverty or near poverty in 2018.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/29/isra…

Coonerty Appointee Bullies County Health Officer
Santa Cruz News Network | indybay.org | 2020-02-29
Damon Bruder, Santa Cruz County Supervisor Ryan Coonerty's appointee to the County's Syringe Services Program (SSP) Advisory Commission, has made harassing and bullying statements on social media directed at Rachel McCullough-Sanden, an Epidemiologist and HIV Surveillance Coordinator at the County Health Services Agency (HSA). On February 14, a disparaging screen capture of McCullough-Sanden taken from video of a Board of Supervisors meeting was posted to the Santa Cruz, CA: Keepin' It Real Facebook page. The photo was featured on the blog along with criticism of the County Health Department for being late in pos…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/27/1883108…

WHO says coronavirus danger is "very high"
wsws.org | 2020-02-29
The World Health Organization (WHO) has upgraded its assessment of the danger posed by the coronavirus to "very high," but stopping short of calling the outbreak a pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/29/coro…

SSP Commissioner Deletes Harassing Posts, Commits to "Professional Interactions" in Future
Santa Cruz News Network | indybay.org | 2020-02-29
Damon Bruder, Supervisor Ryan Coonerty's appointee to Santa Cruz County's Syringe Services Program (SSP) Advisory Commission, has deleted the harassing and bullying statements he made on on Facebook on February 14 about County Health officer Rachel McCullough-Sanden. Bruder, who was complaining about delays in the publication of the monthly public SSP report to the County's website, called McCullough-Sanden "daft" and made other harassing statements on social media posts that displayed a disparaging photo of her. McCullough-Sanden is an Epidemiologist and HIV Surveillance Coordinator at the Santa Cruz County Heal…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/29/1883115…

Sidelining Scientists Can Only Make COVID-19 Worse
Michael Halpern | zcomm.org | 2020-02-29
The politicization of information about COVID-19 will make people less trustful and compromise compliance with public health advice. And the only winner is the virus itself…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/sidelining-scienti…

Reuters issues correction, deletes tweet after backlash for reporting 'just 1 American with coronavirus in hospital: VP Pence'
rt.com | 2020-02-29
Reuters raised quite a few eyebrows, invoking a storm of online mockery after it posted an ambiguous tweet about Mike Pence's handling of the coronavirus crisis, prompting some to fear for the VP's health. | Punctuation is important, especially in the middle of a global health crisis, and Reuters learned this the hard way after it got pilloried by netizens for leaving too much room for interpretation in a recent tweet about the coronavirus situation in the US. | "Just one American with coronavirus still in hospital: Vice President Pence," the agency reported early on Saturday in an attempt to convey the words…
rt.com/usa/481984-reuters-pence-coronavi…

Against a Global Pandemic, Trump Keeps Militarizing America
Ashik Siddique | zcomm.org | 2020-02-29
Emergency funds to control the coronavirus outbreak are obviously necessary, but in the longer run we need to think much bigger. The people of this country don't need more militarized spending. We need Medicare for All…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/against-a-global-p…

Death toll from coronavirus in Iran hits 43
yenisafak.com | 2020-02-29
The death toll from coronavirus in Iran has climbed to 43 and the number of cases is now 593, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.A ministry spokesperson said nine more deaths and 205 new cases were reported across Iran over the past 24 hours."Most of the new cases were detected in Tehran, Golestan, Qom, Markazi, Mazandaran, and Ghilan," Kianush Jahanpur said at a press conference.He said there were many more suspected COVID-19 cases in the country, adding that between 10% to 15% of quarantined individuals tested positive so far.He said 100 lawmakers were also administered tests and only five of them were found…
yenisafak.com/en/world/death-toll-from-c…

Saudis urged to postpone Lebanon trips over coronavirus
yenisafak.com | 2020-02-29
Saudi Arabia on Saturday called on its citizens to postpone travel to Lebanon over fears of the novel coronavirus.In a statement, the Saudi Embassy in Beirut urged citizens to "postpone unnecessary travel plans to Lebanon in order to preserve their safety".It called on Saudi citizens in Lebanon to avoid crowded places and pursue the declared health measures for protection against the virus.On Friday, Lebanese health authorities reported the fourth case of coronavirus in the country.Known as COVID-19, the novel coronavirus has now spread to more than 45 countries worldwide, including the U.S., U.K., Singapore, Fr…
yenisafak.com/en/world/saudis-urged-to-p…

Qatar confirms first case of coronavirus
yenisafak.com | 2020-02-29
Qatar's Health Ministry reported the first case of the novel coronavirus in the country on Saturday.A 36-year old Qatari citizen who returned recently from Iran tested positive for the virus, the ministry said in a statement cited by the official QNA news agency.The ministry said the infected person was among Qatari nationals evacuated on Thursday from Iran, where 43 deaths were reported from the virus.Known as COVID-19, the novel coronavirus has now spread to more than 45 countries worldwide, including the U.S., U.K., Singapore, France, Russia, Spain and India.China, where the virus originated, is the worst-hit…
yenisafak.com/en/world/qatar-confirms-fi…

Death toll in China from coronavirus rises to 2,837
yenisafak.com | 2020-02-29
The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak in China has risen to 2,837 Saturday, according to the country's National Health Commission.The commission said 47 more people died in the past 24 hours while 427 new cases were detected by health authorities, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to more than 79,250.Forty-five of the deaths occurred in the epicenter of the outbreak, Hubei province, while two of them were in the capital Beijing and one in Hunan province.Around 58,200 people are currently under medical care, while the number of discharged patients has totaled some 39,000.Outside mainland Ch…
yenisafak.com/en/world/death-toll-in-chi…

Doctors Without Borders: Cheap Coronavirus Diagnostic Kits Needed in War-Torn Areas & Refugee Camps
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-28
Across the U.S., officials report a severe shortage of test kits for coronavirus. New York officials say they're preparing their own kits, after kits distributed by the Centers for Disease Control failed validation tests. Meanwhile, new cases of coronavirus continue to spring up worldwide, with Nigeria reporting its first case and one of Iran's vice presidents testing positive. We discuss how MSF USA, or Doctors Without Borders USA, is responding to coronavirus, with the organization's executive director, Avril BenoàÆt.
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/28/avril_ben…

'The Shillary Show?' Hillary Clinton is launching a podcast and Twitter isn't on board
rt.com | 2020-02-28
News that failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is planning to launch her very own podcast has been met with a collective eye roll and plenty of sarcasm on social media. | Clinton is planning to launch the podcast in late spring, "just in time for her to have a powerful new megaphone during the 2020 election," Politico reported on Thursday. | The show will be co-produced by iHeartMedia, which distributes a bevy of right-wing radio shows as well as the left-wing Joe Rogan Experience, which has endorsed Clinton's 2016 archrival Bernie Sanders for president. | As if a literal plague weren't bad enough, Hi…
rt.com/usa/481964-hillary-clinton-podcas…

Coronavirus COVID-19 risk increased to 'very high' but containment still possible
news.un.org | 2020-02-28
Countries must act quickly and robustly to contain the coronavirus COVID-19 epidemic, the World Health Organization said on Friday, as it raised the global risk assessment of the infection to "very high".
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1…

Corona and Flu in Beijing: a Report From the Chinese Capital
Tom Clifford | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-28
Beijing. There is no room for complacency or outright fear. The new coronavirus outbreak, COVID-19, sounds menacing and is. But there's another viral epidemic hitting countries around the world: the flu. COVID-19 has, since December, led to more than 75,000 illnesses and 2,000 deaths, primarily in mainland China. But, statistically the flu is more menacing. The Centers…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/28/corona-and-f…

'Mayhem' in Syria's Idlib amid ongoing violence, as Guterres urges immediate ceasefire
news.un.org | 2020-02-28
Rapidly escalating conflict in northwest Syria has created healthcare "mayhem", amid reports of displaced people moving closer to the Turkish border in search of shelter, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, as the UN Secretary-General appealed for all warring parties to "step back from the edge of further escalation."
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1…

Toxic Agriculture and the Gates Foundation
Colin Todhunter | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-28
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was launched in 2000 and has $46.8 billion in assets (December 2018). It is the largest charitable foundation in the world and distributes more aid for global health than any government. One of the foundation's stated goals is to globally enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty. The Gates Foundation …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/toxic-agricul…

French Authorities to Increase Measures to Prevent Covid-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-28
Due to a quick increase in confirmed cases of coronavirus, now at 57, French authorities have asked people to refrain from shaking hands to prevent infection. | RELATED: | Switzerland Suspends Public Events to Contain Covid-19 Outbreak | Two days ago, France reported the second death of a patient because of respiratory infection. Jerome Salomon, the country's director-general of health, told Al Jazeera that the diseased had tra…
telesurenglish.net/news/french-authoriti…

Trump touts biodefense strategy but slashes funding to detect and combat outbreaks like coronavirus
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-02-28
t the end of January, at a time when the coronavirus outbreak that began in China was dominating international headlines, The White House announced it was forming a new task force to address the growing crisis, one headed by the secretary of health and human services, Alex Azar. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/28/trump-touts-biod…

Experts: Government, business must step up fight against corona virus
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-02-28
WASHINGTON–Presenting solid facts and contradicting GOP President Donald Trump's rosy assurances, federal health officials are warning the country to take precautions against the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S.

A Message for Trump: Coronavirus Threat Is About Public Health—Not the Stock Market or Your Reelection
Amy Goodman, Denis Moynihan | commondreams.org | 2020-02-28
Larry Kudlow, the director of Trump's National Economic Council. (Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/28/messag…

Critics slam Johnson for being slow to act on coronavirus
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-02-28
Critics have accused Boris Johnson of failing to take a lead on the UK response to the coronavirus. Labour had labelled him a "part-time" prime minister for waiting until next week to chair his first emergency Government meeting into the deadly global virus. | Meanwhile, the PM has claimed that tackling the spread of coronavirus is a "top priority". He told reporters that he had met with the health secretary and chief medical officers to discuss the NHS's preparations. | As you can imagine, the issue of coronavirus is something that is now the Government's top priority. | I have just had a meeting with the chief…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2020/02/28/critics-slam-johnson-for-being-slow-to-act-on-coronavirus/

Switzerland Suspends Public Events to Contain Covid-19 Outbreak
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-28
Switzerland's Federal Council Thursday declared that the country is in a "special situation" and announced measures to contain the progress of COVID-19, a disease that has affected 15 people in this European country. | RELATED: | WHO Warns Against Danger of Complacency in Global Coronavirus Fight | "The Federal Council is aware that its decision has important consequences for the population but it will allow its effective protection," the Swiss authorities said and added t…
telesurenglish.net/news/Switzerland-Susp…

Congressman threatens Don Jr. with 'serious altercation' over claim Dems 'HOPE' people get coronavirus & die so as to derail Trump
rt.com | 2020-02-28
Democratic Rep. John Garamendi had some harsh words for Donald Trump Jr. after the president's son said Dems "seemingly hope" the coronavirus comes to the US and "kills millions." | The coronavirus is not only a pandemic, it's also now a political tool for Republicans and Democrats to lob across the aisle at each other. | California Congressman Garamendi perhaps went further than any politician has so far when he spoke about the disease and the political response to it in the US while appearing on MSNBC on Friday. Garamendi was particularly upset with Donald Trump Jr. over an earlier statement the president's…
rt.com/usa/481957-don-jr-coronavirus-gar…

Warren Accuses Trump of 'Bungling Every Aspect of This Crisis' as WHO Elevates Coronavirus Threat to Highest Level
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-28
The World Health Organization on Friday raised the global risk of the new coronavirus to its highest level and reiterated the necessity of worldwide containment efforts as U.S. President Donald Trump continued to face widespread criticism over how his administration has handled the public health crisis so far. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/28/warren-…

Prominent Iranian physician clears up misconceptions about outbreak & impact of sanctions
Sina Toossi | iranian.com | 2020-02-28
Prominent Iranian physician & member of the Health Ministry Minoo Mohraz has for her part defended the health ministry's data but has also said the number of people infected has been underreported because sanctions had blocked access to diagnostic kits: twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409214… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409467… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409591… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409679… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409919… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233410030… twitter.co…
iranian.com/2020/02/28/prominent-iranian…

The Fear Virus Pandemic. "Fake News"? "Look at the Numbers. It's not a Pandemic"
Manlio Dinucci | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-28
While they raise the greatest alarm for the coronavirus, they hide the fact that seasonal flu, a much more deadly epidemic, has caused in Italy during the 6th week of 2020

"Pence Is Not a Medical Expert": Is the Trump Admin Ready to Stop a U.S. Coronavirus Pandemic?
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-27
The coronavirus disease that was first diagnosed in China's Hubei province has now spread to at least 47 countries and every continent except Antarctica. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak an international health emergency. President Trump sought to play down the threat from coronavirus and announced Vice President Mike Pence would be his point person to coordinate government efforts to prevent a widespread outbreak. As Trump spoke, a new milestone in the novel coronavirus outbreak was reported, in a possible example of community spread: A person was diagnosed with the virus in Northern Calif…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/27/coronavir…

'Princess Diana would've been alive in America': Conservative speaker manages to offend both Brits & French in anti-medicare rant
rt.com | 2020-02-27
A speaker at CPAC claimed the late Princess Diana died not because of her tragic car accident, but because France's socialized medicine prevented her from getting proper medical care. | Conservative fears of socialized medicine

How the Climate Crisis Is Making the Spread of Infectious Diseases Like Coronavirus More Common
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-27
Sonia Shah is an investigative science journalist and author of "Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond." Her new book is titled "The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move" and will be published in June. She says the climate crisis is making outbreaks of infectious diseases more common, with the destruction of natural animal habitats and the changes in migration bringing humans and animals into ever-closer contact and making new pathogens more likely. Her latest article, published in The Nation, is titled "Think Exotic Animals Are to Blame for the Coronavirus? Th…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/27/climate_c…

No escape from low growth
C.P. Chandrasekhar | mronline.org | 2020-02-27
Discussions on the state of the world economy centre around the likely negative impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic and the potential positive effect of the truce reflected in the "phase 1" trade deal between China and India. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/27/no-escape-from-l…

Contradicting Trump, federal health officials warn of coronavirus spread
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-02-27
WASHINGTON–Presenting solid facts and contradicting GOP President Donald Trump's rosy assurances, federal health officials are warning the country to take precautions against the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S.–and a warning signal went up just after Trump's press conference. Health officials stressed common-sense precautions people can take to prevent the spread of infection: Thorough …
peoplesworld.org/article/contradicting-t…

No country should make 'fatal' mistake of ignoring COVID-19: Tedros
news.un.org | 2020-02-27
All countries should do more to prevent the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus and none should make the "fatal" mistake of assuming that it won't be affected, UN health agency chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Thursday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1…

'Defund racist border wall!' Warren's 'solution' to coronavirus crisis causes mass eye-rolling on Twitter
rt.com | 2020-02-27
Senator Elizabeth Warren announced a bill that would use funding for President Donald Trump's "racist border wall" to combat the coronavirus outbreak

COVID-19: More new virus cases outside China than in, 'no time for complacency', says UN health agency
news.un.org | 2020-02-26
The number of new COVID-19, or coronavirus, infections outside China has outpaced those inside the country for the first time, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1…

Trump Betrays His Promise to Protect and Fight for American Workers
Lawrence Wittner | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-25
Campaigning for the presidency in 2016, Donald Trump promised that, if he was elected, "American worker[s] will finally have a president who will protect them and fight for them." Has he kept this promise? When it comes to protecting workers' health and safety, his administration has been a disaster. Once in office, Trump packed the …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/trump-betrays…

Iran deputy health minister has coronavirus: Adviser
Sputnik News | iranian.com | 2020-02-25
Tehran previously stated that at least 95 people had been diagnosed with the dangerous disease. The majority of confirmed cases in the country come from the city of Qom – a centre of traditional pilgrimage for Shia Muslims, with at least 15 Iranians dying from the disease. Iran's Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi has tested …
iranian.com/2020/02/25/iran-deputy-healt…

Iran's government disputes report that 50 have died from the coronavirus
The Guardian | iranian.com | 2020-02-24
The Iranian government has denied trying to cover up the full extent of the coronavirus outbreak after reports suggested the death toll from the disease was more than four times higher than official figures claim. On Monday, a lawmaker from Qom

Trump Betrays His Promise to Protect and Fight for American Workers
Lawrence Wittner | zcomm.org | 2020-02-23
Campaigning for the presidency in 2016, Donald Trump promised that, if he was elected, "American worker[s] will finally have a president who will protect them and fight for them." Has he kept this promise? When it comes to protecting workers' health and safety, his administration has been a disaster. Once in office, Trump packed the Read…
zcomm.org/zblogs/trump-betrays-his-promi…