2020-06-23: News Headlines

The Canary (2020-06-23). Virus numbers surge globally as many nations ease lockdowns. thecanary.co The number of global coronavirus (Covid-19) cases has continued to surge in many large countries which have been lifting lockdowns, including the US, even as new infections stabilise or drop in parts of western Europe.In the UK, Department of Health figures for 22 June

Glenn Greenwald (2020-06-23). Bolsonaro Fraudulently Circumvented Trump's COVID-19 Immigration Ban. zcomm.org Smuggled His Scandal-Plagued Ex-Education Minister Into the U.S.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-23). Bolivia's de-facto president enacts law to hold general elections on September 6. peoplesdispatch.org The decision was celebrated by diverse sectors in Bolivia that have been mobilizing against de-facto government's handling of the health and economic emergencies intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic…

yenisafak (2020-06-23). Trials with Oxford COVID-19 vaccine start in Brazil. yenisafak.com Trials will count on 2,000 health workers volunteers in Sao Paulo and 1,000 people in Rio de Janeiro.Brazil's health regulator Anvisa approved human clinical trials for this potential vaccine, developed by Oxford and supported by AstraZeneca Plc, earlier in June. Brazil, where the disease is still rife, is the first country outside the United Kingdom to start testing the Oxford vaccine.Researchers expect to launch the vaccine by year-end.

yenisafak (2020-06-23). UK quarantine policy will be led by public health, says PM Johnson. yenisafak.com British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that any changes to the country's quarantine policy would be based on public health guidance and not a desire to open up the economy."We will have a policy on air bridges that is based on public health," he told lawmakers in parliament as he announced an easing of some lockdown measures in England on Tuesday.Britain has a 14-day quarantine policy in place for arrivals into the country from abroad, but the government has said it is looking at "air bridges" which would allow restriction-free travel between countries with low infection rates.

yenisafak (2020-06-23). French StopCovid app led to 1.8 million activations as of June 22. yenisafak.com France's state-supported "StopCovid" contact-tracing app has been downloaded by 1.9 million people, roughly 2% of the population, leading to 1.8 million activations as of June 22, digital affairs minister Cedric O said on Tuesday.The "StopCovid" smartphone app, which was launched on June 2, warns users if they have come into contact with anyone infected with the coronavirus to help to contain the epidemic as France emerges from lockdown.

imperial.ac.uk (2020-06-23). First volunteer receives Imperial COVID-19 vaccine. imperial.ac.uk The first healthy volunteer has now received a candidate coronavirus vaccine developed by Imperial researchers.

Health Care Voter (2020-06-23). Thursday 6/25: Our Lives on the Line: Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act Under Attack. indybay.org Online via livestream…

Stefan Bollinger (2020-06-23). Disease, Power and Capitalism. indybay.org Have you tried DeepL.com, academia.edu, grin.com or grammarly.com? Send me your comments and/or discoveries – as we await the reopening of the libraries and the Biden landslide! Will the great comedian Stephan Colbert be the dark horse candidate at the last moment? Marc…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-22). Health workers across Belgium demand structural refinancing of healthcare. peoplesdispatch.org Health workers hit the streets in several Belgian cities on Thursday June 18 demanding the structural refinancing of healthcare, along with increased staff, employment guarantees, and better wages. Mobilizations were carried out in Brussels, Liège, Charleroi, Ghent, Hasselt, Sint-Truiden, Namur, and others. According to reports, 1,500 people staged a protest in front of the university hospital in Leuven (UZ Leuven). The Workers Party of Belgium (PTB/PVDA) also expressed solidarity with the health workers' protest. | The PTB/PVDA stated, "the white coats have already succeeded in getting the government to swallow…

Cathy Rojas (2020-06-22). Building multinational unity for Black lives. liberationnews.org On June 14, a Black Lives Matter protest began in Jackson Heights, the most diverse urban area in the world, ending in the immigrant neighborhood of Corona, the epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic in New York City. The protest had an explicitly theme of "Multinational Unity for Black Lives," and united the multinational, largely immigrant …

Support HR 1384 Medicare for All (2020-06-22). Private Profit Kaiser v Protests. indybay.org Private profit Kaiser Permanente, a major medical provider in this backward country that still does not have socialized medicine unlike the rest of the industrialized world, sent an Email on June 20, 2020 at 1: 12 AM to its members telling us how to exercise our First Amendment right to protest. So that you know that this statement is not contrived, here is the outrageous blame-the-protest for failures of private profit medicine message:…

_____ (2020-06-22). Doctors launch High Court challenge against Government over PPE inquiry. truepublica.org.uk Doctors and campaigners have launched a High Court challenge against the Government over its refusal to hold an urgent public inquiry into PPE shortages amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Doctors Associations reports that scores of frontline healthcare workers have died while battling the Covid-19 crisis, while widespread complaints over PPE shortages for medics have been …

Sonali Kolhatkar (2020-06-22). If We're Going to Defund Militarized Police Departments, Why Not Add the Pentagon? counterpunch.org When Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced a resolution recently to cut $350 billion from the Defense budget, the only media outlets that covered her bill were independent progressive ones. In a statement on her website Lee said, "For years, our government has failed to invest in programs that actually keep our country safe and healthy.

WSWS (2020-06-22). World coronavirus cases rocket past 9 million as pandemic accelerates. wsws.org Public health expert warns that infections will not come in waves, but as "one very, very difficult forest fire of cases."

WSWS (2020-06-22). Western Massachusetts psychiatric units facing imminent closure. wsws.org Trinity Health plans to close the three inpatient units of Providence Behavioral Health Hospital, eliminating 202 jobs, 74 beds and the region's only pediatric unit.

news.un (2020-06-22). WHO reports largest single day increase in COVID-19 cases. news.un.org The World Health Organization (WHO) reported the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases over the course of Sunday, registering more than 183,000 new infections in 24 hours, bringing the total to some 8.8 million cases worldwide, with more than 465,000 deaths.

Natasha Hakimi Zapata (2020-06-22). How to Destroy a National Health Service. thenation.com How to Destroy a National Health Service…

Renee Parsons (2020-06-22). Colorado Adopts Mandatory Vaccinations for Children. globalresearch.ca Since the arrival of the coronavirus, the use of and familiarity with vaccines has dramatically increased prompting a more aware and questioning public. With little more than a 48 hour public notice, many Coloradans were enjoying a brilliant Sunday afternoon …

Ryan Cristián (2020-06-22). #ID2020 Defector Speaks On "Techno-Solutionism" With Immunity Passports & The Vaccine Deception. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (6/22/20). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …

Linda Reinstein (2020-06-22). Four Years of Failure on Toxic Chemicals. commondreams.org In the past four years, as we've waited for the EPA to use the new power the law granted them, nearly 160,000 people have died from preventable asbestos-related diseases and the United States. (Photo: Carterdayne via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Robert S. Becker (2020-06-22). Great mask furor: Monkey trials redux. Faith alone vs. science and reason. nationofchange.org How much disease and death is enough to force this nation to learn from failure, reject T.V. magic shows and return to sane science?

yenisafak (2020-06-22). 'No-swab' saliva test for coronavirus piloted in Britain. yenisafak.com A weekly coronavirus testing regime using a "no-swab" saliva test is being trialled in Southampton, southern England, and could result in a simpler and quicker way to detect outbreaks of the virus, the British government said on Monday."Saliva testing could potentially make it even easier for people to take coronavirus tests at home, without having to use swabs," said Health Secretary Matt Hancock."This trial will also help us learn if routine, at-home testing could pick up cases of the virus earlier."More than 14,000 doctors and health workers, other essential workers and university staff and their households wi…

yenisafak (2020-06-22). Turkish training plane crashes, 2 pilots survive. yenisafak.com According to Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), the Hurkus aircraft crashed during a test flight in Ankara's Beypazari district at around 12.30 p.m. local time (0930GMT).The two military pilots — one active duty, one retired — were taken to the hospital for health checks, said a TAI statement.Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), gendarmerie, and health teams went to the crash scene after learning of the incident.The cause of the crash is unknown and will be investigated, said the statement.Based in Ankara, TAI serves the aerospace and defense industries by manufacturing unmann…

yenisafak (2020-06-22). South Korea battling 2nd wave of coronavirus: Official. yenisafak.com Health authorities in South Korea on Monday urged for an amplified guard against coronavirus, saying that it was battling a "second wave" of the novel infection.The country has seen a rise in new virus cases for some time now. However, the latest number of cases i.e. 17, is the lowest since May 26.It has reported a total of 12,438 cases thus far, including 280 deaths, and 10,881 recoveries after successfully suppressing the first wave, which began this February."We originally predicted that the second wave to emerge in fall or winter," Yonhap News Agency quoted Jeong Eun-kyeong, chief of Korea Centers for Disease…

yenisafak (2020-06-22). No new coronavirus deaths in Netherlands as cases fall. yenisafak.com The Netherlands registered 69 new coronavirus cases on Monday, and no deaths from the disease, the country's health authorities said in their daily update.It was the first 24-hour period with no new deaths registered by the National Institute of Health (RIVM) since March 9.Dutch cases have declined gradually since reaching a peak at the start of April. Lockdown measures have been gradually phased out, though social distancing rules remain in place.

sputniknews (2020-06-22). Mr Bean Helps WHO Promote Social Distancing and Coronavirus Safety. sputniknews.com The World Health Organisation is looking to promote safety guidelines to keep people safe during the coronavirus pandemic. Rowan Atkinson and the writers of the famous Mr Bean comedy character have agreed to work with the international body and support their efforts.

en.mehrnews (2020-06-22). Iran ready to share anti-corona expertise with Afghanistan: official. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 22 (MNA) —Iran's Treatment Deputy of Health and Medical Education Ministry, Qasem Jan-Babaei said in a meeting with Afghanistan's Deputy of Public Health Ministry that Iran is ready to share some anti-corona successful expertise with Afghanistan.

imperial.ac.uk (2020-06-22). Urine test reveals quality of your diet — and whether it's best for your body. imperial.ac.uk Scientists have completed large-scale tests on a new type of five-minute urine test that measures the health of a person's diet.

Staff (2020-06-22). White House Defies Public Health Orders and Ends COVID Screening for Visitors. truthout.org Even though Tents, where staffers were running temperature checks and asking visitors questions over possible symptoms, were seen being brought down on Monday,…

Staff (2020-06-22). WHO Reports Largest Single-Day Increase in Confirmed Coronavirus Cases. truthout.org The World Health Organization (WHO) announced this week that Sunday saw the highest number of new cases of coronavirus across the globe since the pandemic began. |

_____ (2020-06-22). U.S. Threats Cannot Deter Cuba's Internationalist Approach. strategic-culture.org As the U.S. continues its defunding of international organisations, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) is next in line, as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared his country's funding conditional upon "U.S. values". The mismanagement of funds, particularly at UN institutions, is a well-known occurrence. However, the corruption existing at international institutions reflects the obscure, or non-existent process, of accountability, which capitalism encourages in order to maintain the monopoly over human rights rhetoric. | Under U.S. President Donald Trump, pointing out corruption is becoming a veneer…

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-06-22). House Dems Introduce Bill to Prevent Big Pharma Price-Gouging During Covid-19 Pandemic. commondreams.org On the heels of polling that showed 88% of Americans worry Big Pharma will exploit the ongoing pandemic to hike drug prices, House Democrats on Monday introduced two bipartisan bills to prevent price-gouging for Covid-19 treatments and vaccines and to strengthen oversight of federal spending on coronavirus research and development. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Vijay Prashad (2020-06-21). Ten-Point Agenda for the Global South after COVID-19. dissidentvoice.org Jorge González Morales (Mexico), Capitalism, 2020 Greetings from the desk of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. In 1974, the United Nations General Assembly passed a New International Economic Order (NIEO), which was driven by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The resolution laid out a clear plan for the structural transformation of the world system, which …

news.un (2020-06-21). Afghanistan: UN condemns attacks on healthcare amid COVID-19 pandemic. news.un.org Fifteen attacks on healthcare in Afghanistan were recorded during the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report published on Sunday by the UN Assistance Mission in the country, UNAMA.

teleSUR (2020-06-21). Global Experts Alarmed at Trump's Handling of COVID-19: Report. telesurenglish.net Global public health experts are aghast at United States President Donald Trump's comments that he will not call for more economic shutdowns even as COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise due to a reopening of the economy. | RELATED: | Ten states in the U.S. have reported this week their highest seven-day average since the pandemic started. Yet, Trump and other leaders are pushing citizens to return to work and their…

Candice Bernd (2020-06-21). 911 Services That Dispatch Mental Health Counselors, Not Cops, Gain Traction. zcomm.org "Abolition of police in the current moment that we're talking about, around defunding the police, does not get rid of other systems of oppression that people face"

news.un (2020-06-21). On International Yoga Day, UN spotlights power of ancient practice to help ease COVID stress. news.un.org The UN celebrates the sixth annual International Day of Yoga on 21 June, recognizing the ancient practice as a holistic approach to health and wellbeing, and a powerful tool for dealing with the myriad stresses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic…

teleSUR (2020-06-21). Bolivia: Hospitals Close Due to Staff Exposure With COVID-19. telesurenglish.net At least two hospitals in Bolivia closed Saturday as staff members had exposure with COVID-19 positive cases without proper protective gear and safety protocols. | RELATED: | "We closed the Viedma hospital because 90 people had contact with patients (who tested positive to the infections disease)," the Hospital Director Juan Jose Mendoza, told local media. | Viedma was designated to attend coronavirus cases but…

The Canary (2020-06-21). Doctors feeling increased levels of exhaustion, stress and concerns over NHS capacity. thecanary.co Doctors are feeling high levels of exhaustion and have little confidence they can manage the huge backlog of missed patient care, research shows. | A survey by the British Medical Association (BMA) of more than 7,000 doctors between June 16 and 18 showed an increase in stress levels among the workforce. | Many have little confidence in the NHS's ability to deal with the large backlog of missed, cancelled and postponed care, the union said. | Some also fear that the health service does not have the capacity to manage a second spike in coronavirus (Covid-19) infection levels. | There has been a slight increase in t…

yenisafak (2020-06-21). 'Difficult': Health workers on fatherhood in pandemic. yenisafak.com Balancing family life during the coronavirus pandemic is not easy. Yet some healthcare workers have been great role models to their children, and are also helping save the lives of COVID-19 patients.Dads in Turkey's southern Mersin province carry on with their devoted fight against the virus even on Father's Day.They continue to serve at the Mersin City Training and Research Hospital, and have to take extra care when meeting their families due to a possible risk of virus transmission. Mehmet Muku, 51, says it is hard to express the feeling of paternity, which he met in his later years.Responsible for the PCR lab…

yenisafak (2020-06-21). Virus death toll rises in Kuwait, Bahrain. yenisafak.com Kuwait confirmed six more fatalities due to the novel coronavirus on Sunday, while Bahrain registered one death. | In a statement, the Kuwaiti Health Ministry said 505 more infections and 513 recoveries were recorded over the past 24 hours. | The country's toll now rose to 39,650 cases, including 326 deaths, and 31,240 recoveries. | In Bahrain, the Health Ministry said one patient had died from the disease. | The Gulf state's infections now stand at 21,331, including 61 deaths, and 15,790 recoveries. | Since originating in China last December, the pandemic has claimed over 464,500 lives in 188 countries and regio…

en.mehrnews (2020-06-21). Iran still experiencing first wave of COVID-19: Health Min. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 21 (MNA) —Iranian Minister of Health and Medical Education, Saeed Namaki said that we are experiencing the first wave of coronavirus pointing to the increasing cases of patients in Iran.

Staff (2020-06-21). Your Boss's Personal Beliefs Should Not Dictate Your Health Care. truthout.org As a practicing OB/GYN, I have the privilege of taking care of patients seeking reproductive health care, including birth control. I have patients who have started on birth control pills because they don't want to be pregnant. I have patients who have decided to get a hormonal IUD to prevent pregnancy and treat heavy bleeding. I have patients with complex medical problems who make decisions that balance the management of their medical problems, consideration of the risks of pregnancy and the impact that d…

Joanna Palmer (2020-06-20). [Comment] Framing health stories: Highlights 2020 photography competition open for submissions. thelancet.com The video and pictures of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, USA, as police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck while he pleaded that he could not breathe, as well as photographs of subsequent anti-racism protests around the world, are some of the most powerful images this year. These pictures highlight the devastating impacts of structural racism and the deep inequities in our societies, and have given renewed urgency to the Black Lives Matter movement. This year has also brought moving and sometimes shocking photographs of health-care staff working in challenging conditions—too often…

Peter Baker, Alan White, Rosemary Morgan (2020-06-20). [Comment] Men's health: COVID-19 pandemic highlights need for overdue policy action. thelancet.com The COVID-19 pandemic is shining a cruel light on the state of men's health globally. In 38 out of 43 countries for which provisional data were available, as of June 10, 2020, more men than women have died from COVID-19 despite a similar number of confirmed cases in each sex.1 In several countries, including the Netherlands, Dominican Republic, and Spain, about twice as many men as women have died from COVID-19.1 International Men's Health Week on June 15—21 is an opportune time to focus attention on this issue and the need for a new and systematic approach to improve the health of men generally.

The Lancet (2020-06-20). [Editorial] Global governance for COVID-19 vaccines. thelancet.com The COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered serious gaps in the health-care systems of many nations. In particular, it exposes a fragmented global governance system that does not have the structures to coordinate the pooling and sharing of resources needed to combat pandemics. Since the early days of the pandemic, medical protectionism has emerged as nations scrambled for their own stocks of personal protective equipment and ventilators. COVID-19 vaccines could be the next example. Already there is a danger of a vaccine bidding war, with governments competing for a limited number of doses, well before a vaccine even reac…

Daniel Marchalik, Dmitriy Petrov (2020-06-20). [Perspectives] Seeing COVID-19 through José Saramago's Blindness. thelancet.com Some 6 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the emotional devastation, socioeconomic impacts, and pressures on front-line health-care workers continue to shape our world. While words cannot always do justice to the extent of individual suffering from this disease, fiction can sometimes offer a way to process the present moment, and this feels particularly true of Portuguese writer José Saramago's Blindness (1995).

Sharmila Devi (2020-06-20). [World Report] COVID-19 resurgence in Iran. thelancet.com Iran was one of the first countries to experience a COVID-19 epidemic, and began relaxing restrictions in April, but cases have since rebounded. Sharmila Devi reports.

Annelies Wilder-Smith, Steven W Lindsay, Thomas W Scott, Eng Eong Ooi, Duane J Gubler, Pamela Das (2020-06-20). [Comment] The Lancet Commission on dengue and other Aedes-transmitted viral diseases. thelancet.com The past 50 years have seen the emergence of epidemic arboviral diseases transmitted by the urban mosquito, Aedes aegypti. More than 120 countries are affected by frequent and cyclical dengue epidemics that result in an estimated annual 400 million infections and 100 million symptomatic cases.1 Chikungunya virus re-emerged in 2004 from east Africa and spread to Asia, the Pacific, the Americas, and Europe.2,3 Zika virus spread from sub-Saharan Africa through Asia and the Pacific to the Americas, where it caused a major outbreak associated with severe birth defects and neurological complications.