(2020-04-09). Gradual return to normality in Germany possible 'if infection trend continues'. rt.com 
German Health Minister Jens Spahn has said the country's coronavirus infection numbers are showing a "positive trend," and if that continues it will be possible to talk about a gradual return to normality after the Easter break. | He told the Handelsblatt newspaper that citizens sticking to the restrictions on public life over the Easter holiday was a necessary condition for a possible easing of the lockdown. | Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany will re-evaluate the situation after the Easter holiday. | The German Labor Office said on Thursday that some 650,000 companies had applied for short-time work…
(2020-04-09). 'Vitamin N' campaign to help people get daily dose of nature during lockdown. thecanary.co 
People are being encouraged to connect with nature to help boost their mental health from home during the coronavirus lockdown.A coalition of nature, environment and mental health organisations have launched a campaign to help people get their "Vitamin N" — a daily dose of nature which can maintain wellbeing.The campaign has drawn up a series of activities, from building a bug hotel on the doorstep to bird-watching from the window and learning nature-themed yoga poses, for those in lockdown to try. | #VitaminN! In partnership with @NFFNUK
(2020-04-09). Finnish govt extends coronavirus-related restrictions to May 13. rt.com 
Finland on Thursday extended most of its restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus by one month to May 13, the government said. | It extended its ban on public meetings of more than 10 people, and the closure of public services such as libraries and schools for most students. The government had previously decided to close all restaurants until the end of May. | On Tuesday, the country's public health authority said it would start tracking the spread of the new coronavirus in the population with randomized antibody tests. The results will be used to help the government decide what meas…
(2020-04-09). US pension funds are 'toxic waste dump of risk' — RT's Keiser Report. rt.com 
New York's working-class citizens, essential to the economy, are the most vulnerable amid the ongoing pandemic, due to poor healthcare services in the areas where they live. | Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert look at the supply chain of risk, in which risk gets dumped into pension funds and unsuspecting Main Streeters, who pay with inflation and taxes for the bad bets taken by Wall Street. | Max points to gerrymandering policies, where political subdivisions are created within a state or a region to allow for political manipulation, for the interests of the wealthy to be protected and the interests of the poor to…
(2020-04-09). Irish minister says people 'will have to live alongside the virus' at some point. rt.com 
Ireland's health minister expects to be advised on Friday to keep restrictions intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus in place for a period of weeks, but he suggests the country will have to move onto a "different terrain" after that. | "What's highly likely tomorrow is that the National Public Health Emergency Team will recommend that we continue with the very strict restrictions," Simon Harris told broadcaster Virgin Media. "I expect that to be a period of weeks," said Harris, who ordered citizens on March 27 to stay home until at least Sunday, according to Reuters. | "In relation to the roadmap, the…
(2020-04-09). Boris Johnson 'stable and improving' after 3rd night in ICU for Covid-19. rt.com 
British PM Boris Johnson remains in intensive care but is "stable" and "things are getting better," UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has said. Johnson was admitted to hospital four days ago, suffering from Covid-19. | Dowden said Johnson "sat up and engaged with medical staff" and that his health was "improving" after a third night spent in the ICU. Johnson was brought to St. Thomas's Hospital in London on Sunday, 10 days after testing positive for Covid-19 when his symptoms worsened. | He was moved into intensive care on Monday and was receiving oxygen support, but was not on a ventilator, Downing Street sa…
(2020-04-09). Russia's coronavirus tally surpasses 10,000 after record daily surge, 13 more deaths. rt.com 
The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases has broken the 10,000 barrier in Russia, with 1,459 more people testing positive in the past 24 hours, the national disease response team revealed on Thursday morning. | Officials reported that 13 more patients have died, bringing the nationwide death toll from the disease to 76. The tally of reported Covid-19 cases now stands at 10,131. | Worryingly, the curve is sharply upward. 1,175 fresh infections were recorded the previous day and 954 on Tuesday. | Of the new cases, 1,056 are in Moscow and its surrounding region, where there have been ten more deaths. Russia's secon…
(2020-04-09). Colonialism & coronavirus: 800,000 Haitians may die of COVID-19. thegrayzone.com Gutted by US-allied, neoliberal governments which have controlled the country since 2004, Haiti's healthcare sector braces for a potential catastrophe….
(2020-04-09). Police in Pakistan beat and arrest health care workers protesting over Coronavirus safety concerns, lack of PPE. wsws.org Police brutally attacked several hundred medical staff after they marched to the house of the Balochistan Chief Minister in Quetta to protest the lack of personal protective equipment or PPE.
(2020-04-09). Mayo Clinic Minute: Blood donations in demand. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Healthy adults are being asked to make an appointment to donate blood to help meet the ongoing demand for blood products. Dr. Justin Kreuter, a transfusion medicine specialist at Mayo Clinic, says donating blood is safe, and one blood donation can potentially save up to three lives. Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute youtu.be/ASSzPwnf2ow Journalists: Broadcast-quality …
(2020-04-09). Tips for connecting to Mayo Clinic using Patient Online Services. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org ROCHESTER, Minn. ? Telehealth is becoming more important as a way of delivering health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Video appointments are one form of telehealth that is seeing an increased usage. Patients also can take advantage of the telehealth offerings available through patient portals. Mayo Clinic's patient portal, Patient Online Services, offers its patients several …
(2020-04-09). Beware Government Secrecy in Times of Pandemic. counterpunch.org Every British Columbian should be nervous, and irritated, by the never-ending secrecy demonstrated by health officials. We are talking about COVID-19, where it is, and how we should be dealing with it. The withholding of information is characteristic of governments, B.C. being no exception. It is a widespread, long standing practice for government to keep
(2020-04-09). Pandemics, History, Science, Public Health, COVID-19 & Lessons For Today With Dr. Rutherford. indybay.org WorkWeek interviews Dr. George Rutherford who is a professor at UCSF and is a world expert on pandemics.
(2020-04-09). COVID-19 expert explains what soap does to SARS-CoV-2 virus. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Health experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to drive home the message that excellent hand-washing is the most effective way to prevent illnesses, such as COVID-19. Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and director of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, explains what soap does to SARS-CoV-2, and other viruses …
(2020-04-09). Iran confirms 1634 new COVID-19 infections. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 09 (MNA) — Iranian Health Ministry announced that during the past 24 hours, 1,634 COVID-19 cases have been detected across the country.
(2020-04-09). Social crisis looms in Pakistan as COVID-19 pandemic surges. wsws.org Pakistan's health authorities expect the outbreak in the country will increase rapidly this month to hit 50,000 cases by April 25.
(2020-04-09). Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: CDC recommends wearing cloth masks in public. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends that Americans wear wearing cloth masks in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. The CDC considers cloth masks an additional, voluntary public health measure. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Gregory Poland, a …
(2020-04-09). ILWU Seattle Workers & Boss Worked on Contaminated SSA Seattle Terminal. indybay.org Seattle ILWU longshore workers were forced to work with a sick SSA manager who might have been infected with Covid-19 and were not informed of the health and safety dangers.
(2020-04-09). Connecting Community: Keeping Healthy, Keeping Positive by Women's March (10am & 1pm). indybay.org Online via Zoom @ 10 AM & 1 PM (2 separate sessions)…
(2020-04-09). Autonomous shuttles help transport COVID-19 tests at Mayo Clinic in Florida. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ? For the first time in the U.S., autonomous vehicles are being used to transport medical supplies and COVID-19 tests at Mayo Clinic in Florida. At a time when health care resources and staff are stretched thin, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) has partnered with Beep and NAVYA to use autonomous vehicles to …
(2020-04-09). 5 reasons the world needs WHO, to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. news.un.org The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN's health agency, has played a crucial role in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, ever since the first cases were identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December. At a press conference on Wednesday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, outlined five ways the agency is leading the global response.
(2020-04-09). Six ways home-based cardiac rehab keeps patients safe, healthy during COVID-19. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org ROCHESTER, Minn. ? COVID-19 presents evolving challenges to health care, in part because it is a new viral disease. People do not have natural immunity and a vaccine hasn't yet been developed. Patients with heart disease are at increased risk of cardiac-related complications and death, and are more likely to develop severe complications from COVID-19. …
(2020-04-09). How US can keep death toll far below the 100,000 projection. zcomm.org During the coming weeks we must build up the public health systems across the nation…
(2020-04-09). Wisconsin's pandemic election: A public health disaster. wsws.org The decision to hold an election in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak which has already killed tens of thousands of people is a criminal act by both parties which will guarantee more infections and deaths in the US.
(2020-04-09). Mayo Clinic Q&A: Plan for healthy meals, fewer trips to the grocery store during pandemic. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org DEAR MAYO CLINIC: During the COVID-19 outbreak, I'm trying to limit trips to the grocery store. But I want to continue to eat healthy meals. What foods should I consider stocking up on, knowing that I probably won't be buying anything fresh for a couple of weeks? ANSWER: Most people are in the habit of …
(2020-04-09). We Are Living (And Dying) in Poe's "Masque of the Red Death" counterpunch.org Edgar Allan Poe's 1842 tale "The Masque of the Red Death" is a story about class. Poe's tale contrasts the fates of rich and poor during a plague even more lethal than the coronavirus. Poe's characters—a thousand members of the aristocracy and their hangers-on—repair to one of the "crenellated abbeys" of the wealthy Prince Prospero.
(2020-04-09). Could COVID-19 Count Fox News Among Its Victims? counterpunch.org It is hard to find good news in these dark days of the growing pandemic COVID-19. Stuck between a choice of going bankrupt and dying of a highly contagious, and yes, quite deadly, disease, the so-called Other (the so-called poor) is turning out to be all of us. Built on a house of cards, the
(2020-04-09). Rapid growth of COVID-19 in eastern Pennsylvania. wsws.org The owners of low-wage production and transportation facilities refuse to curtail production during the pandemic, causing the disease to spread.
(2020-04-09). COVID-19: Mayo Clinic expert answers questions about masks after CDC updates its recommendation. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending people wear nonmedical cloth masks while in public to decrease the risk of COVID-19 transmission from person to person. The cloth masks should: Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face.Be secured with ties or ear loops.Include multiple layers of fabric.Allow for breathing …
(2020-04-09). How does COVID-19 affect the heart? newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org The effects of COVID-19 on the lungs are well-known. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, more information is becoming available about the role the virus, called SARS-CoV-2, has on the heart. "Individuals with known cardiovascular disease are at an increased risk of more severe complications from respiratory viral illnesses, including the flu and COVID-19," says Dr. …
(2020-04-09). Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: COVID-19 update. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org On today's Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, shares the latest information on the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Poland discusses antibody testing, immunity, and how the scientific and research communities are collaborating to fight this disease. Click the player below: Mayo Clinic Q&A is available …
(2020-04-09). COVID-19 expert answers questions about the do's and don'ts of social distancing. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Countries, states and cities are encouraging people to stay home and practice social distancing by implementing various restrictions to help curb the spread of COVID-19. Some areas have implemented certain restrictions, such as stay-at-home orders. The rules vary in different areas, which is why Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, an infectious diseases expert, says it's important that …
(2020-04-09). Science Saturday: The importance of antibody testing in addressing COVID-19. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org If there's one thing the world has learned so far in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's the important role of testing for the disease. The ability to know who has the virus and who doesn't provides critical information for people and entire regions. Early testing involved collecting cells from the back of the …
(2020-04-09). India Must Fight 'the Virus of Racism': North-Easterners Allege Discrimination Amid COVID-19 Fears. sputniknews.com New Delhi (Sputnik): The coronavirus pandemic has prompted racist attacks on the people of India's north-eastern states – known as the seven sisters — often targeted by other Indians because of their 'Chinese"- like features and suspected as host of the disease.
(2020-04-09). Iran's President Says IMF Rejection of $5bn COVID-19 Loan Request Would be 'Unacceptable'. sputniknews.com Numerous countries and intellectuals stated the IMF must fulfil its duties and Iran has "not asked the [IMF] anything" in over 50 years, the high-level official said on Thursday amid US opposition to Tehran's request for an essential loan to tackle the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.
(2020-04-09). Coronavirus cases in Japan surge past 5,000. yenisafak.com The total number of the coronavirus cases in Japan surpassed 5,000, local media reported.The number of confirmed cases has climbed to 5,292 after new 320 cases were found, according to public broadcaster NHK.Most of the new coronavirus cases were found in the capital Tokyo, where total number has crossed 1,500.On late Tuesday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency in seven prefectures, including Tokyo.The infected people included 96 Health Ministry and quarantine officials. The death toll in the country has reached 117
(2020-04-09). Closure of wildlife markets 'crucial' to stem pandemics. yenisafak.com Closure of high-risk wildlife markets is "crucial" to preventing future pandemics, according to an international environmental group."As we rightly focus our efforts now on the health and safety of the most vulnerable among us, we also need to reassess how we prevent or reduce the risk of viruses and other diseases passing from animals to humans," World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said in a statement on Thursday.Reiterating the WHO's report that points out animals as a source of the coronavirus, the group stressed that, illegal wildlife markets provide a fertile environment for viral diseases such as the COVID-19…
(2020-04-09). Italy may relax some coronavirus measures by end of April, says Conte. yenisafak.com Italy may start gradually lifting some restrictions in place to contain the new coronavirus by the end of April, provided the spread of the disease continues to slow, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told the BBC on Thursday."We need to pick sectors that can restart their activity. If scientists confirm it, we might begin to relax some measures already by the end of this month," Conte told the British broadcaster.Conte warned, however, that Italy could not lower its guard and restrictions would only be eased gradually.There were 542 deaths from COVID-19 in Italy on Wednesday, lower than the 604 the day before, takin…
(2020-04-08). Medicare for All — If not now, when? peoplesworld.org 
What passes for a health care system in America is an incredibly expensive and complicated proposition that has never really worked. Many millions continue to be, as they always have been, uncovered by health insurance in the U.S. President Trump asked last year, "Who knew that health insurance could be so complicated?" Well, the coronavirus …
(2020-04-08). Journalist on Wisconsin Election: Republicans Are Letting People Die in Order to Hang On to Power. democracynow.org 
Lines stretching city blocks, hours-long waits and polling officials in hazmat suits. That's the scene voters in Wisconsin encountered as they braved the polls Tuesday amid the coronavirus pandemic. Despite growing outcry about the risks to public health and safety that in-person voting would pose, on Monday the state Supreme Court blocked Democratic Governor Tony Evers's ruling to delay the election until June. At least 92 people in Wisconsin have died from exposure to COVID-19. In Milwaukee — the most diverse city in Wisconsin — the number of polling stations went from 180 to five. We speak with Jes…
(2020-04-08). Bernie Sanders Drops Out of Presidential Race. therealnews.com 
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is suspending his presidential campaign. Sanders' campaign—which had embraced taking on the Democratic party establishment and taxing the wealthy to fund social programs like universal healthcare—struggled after former Vice President Joe Biden's decisive victory on Super Tuesday, and after suspending virtually all in-person campaigning in the coronavirus pandemic. Even though Sanders…
(2020-04-08). "They Don't Care if You Die": Immigrants in ICE Detention Fear the Spread of COVID-19. aclu.org 
Mario Rodas, Sr. first found out there was a deadly virus spreading through the country while he was watching television at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts. In early March, Rodas had been pulled over and arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while driving to the supermarket with his wife, a legal resident and the mother of his three U.S. citizen children. Since then, he'd been in the custody of ICE, mostly at Plymouth. | The more Rodas heard about the disease, the more fearful the 59-year-old became. | "I was scared for my health," he told the ACLU. "I was worr…
(2020-04-08). Pompeo says 'no sanctions' prevent Covid-19 aid to Iran, as US blocks $5bn IMF loan & ignores calls to lift penalties. rt.com 
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a raft of US sanctions do not stop humanitarian aid from reaching Tehran, even as the UN and rights groups say the penalties are crippling Iran's healthcare system. | "I've heard people talking about sanctions. The world should know there are no sanctions that prevent humanitarian assistance, medical supplies, pharmaceuticals from going to Iran," Pompeo told reporters at a White House briefing on Wednesday, adding that the US offered to send aid but Iran refused. | Tehran has repeatedly slammed the US pressure campaign — which makes effectively impossible the bank trans…
(2020-04-08). Still too early to ease Covid-19 lockdown, warn ministers. thecanary.co 
Ministers have cautioned it is still too soon to begin lifting the coronavirus lockdown, after Boris Johnson spent a second night in intensive care undergoing treatment for the disease.The prime minister's condition remains "stable", according to the latest bulletin from Downing Street issued on Tuesday evening.He is undergoing "close monitoring" at St Thomas' Hospital in London after his condition worsened on Monday.Johnson had been due to oversee a three-week review of the lockdown rules — brought in last month to curb the spread of the disease.However with the number of cases continuing to rise, health mi…
(2020-04-08). What did they know, exactly? US intel warned of 'cataclysmic' coronavirus pandemic in NOVEMBER 2019, report claims. rt.com 
US military intelligence tried to raise the alarm about the coronavirus epidemic in China when it was still embryonic in November, inside sources claim — raising questions of what they knew and who ignored, or squashed the report. | Not only had the coronavirus epidemic begun spiraling out of control in Wuhan by November 2019, but military analysts were already warning it "could be a cataclysmic event" for both China and the US, four sources familiar with the briefings told ABC on Wednesday. Analysts at the National Center for Medical Intelligence, a subsidiary of the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agen…
(2020-04-08). Family plans to survive Covid-19 apocalypse by spending YEARS in underground bunker while virus ravages the world. rt.com 
Some Americans have taken extreme measures to avoid the global pandemic by moving into converted former military shelters in South Dakota, saying: "We've got life insurance and car insurance… now we've got TOTAL insurance." | Most of us hope the Covid-19 lockdown is over within weeks and life returns to normal. But one family in the USA is prepared and ready to spend YEARS underground to ride it out. | The Gembalas purchased a former military bunker, made of concrete and steel, in South Dakotathree years ago. There are 575 such bunkers in the fortress, which was used to store bombs and munitions until 1967.
(2020-04-08). Prisons: Breeding Grounds for Disease. Julian Assange's Life in Danger. globalresearch.ca The US gulag prison system is the world's largest by far, the largely unreported in the mainstream shame of the nation. | Official numbers significantly understate the true number of incarcerated inmates annually. | According to a Prison Policy Initiative analysis, nearly …
(2020-04-08). Wisconsin FRSO condemns April 7 election farce. fightbacknews.org Milwaukee, WI – Wisconsin Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) spokesperson Ryan Hamann blasted the April 7 statewide election, stating, "Wisconsin FRSO condemns the forced vote in the midst of a global pandemic. Despite the CDC recommendations that people stay home as much as possible and avoid any kind of mass congregation, legislators in Wisconsin and members of the U.S. Supreme Court determined that did not apply when it came to voting in a presidential primary." | Hamann continued, "Meanwhile, the city of Milwaukee, populated by nearly 700,000 people, cut polling stations by 99%, from 180 to five. Unde…
(2020-04-08). Headlines for April 8, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Daily Death Toll Nears 2,000 as Hundreds of COVID-19 Deaths Go Uncounted, Trump Announces Hold on U.S. Funding for World Health Organization, Then Reverses Stance, New WH Press Secretary Said Recently, "We Will Not See Diseases Like the Coronavirus Come Here", Trump Fires Inspector General Tasked with Overseeing $2 Trillion Stimulus, China Lifts Lockdown in Wuhan, Where Coronavirus Pandemic Began, EU Coronavirus Stimulus Talks Fail as Deaths Surge in Spain and France, Libyan Rebels Attack Hospital for COVID-19 Patients; Chadian Ex-Dictator Released from Prison, International Labour Organization: Pandemic Cou…
(2020-04-08). Venezuela Receives Humanitarian Aid From UN, WHO, Russia. telesurenglish.net Venezuela received Wednesday about 90 tons of humanitarian aid from the United Nations, World Health Organization, PanAmerican Health Organization, and Russia. | RELATED: | "On behalf of President Nicolas Maduro, we thank the United Nations, the director of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Russian Federation led by Ambassador Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov, who has strengthened bilateral relations, for this hum…