Doctor Dies of Coronavirus After Leaving Retirement to Fight the Pandemic

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A retired British doctor who returned to work to help battle the country’s coronavirus outbreak died of the disease this week, according to new reports.

Dr. Alfa Saadu, 68, died Tuesday morning after suffering from the infection for two weeks, his son Dani said in a social media post, Metro UK reported.

He worked at the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, until his passing.

“‘My dad was a living legend, worked for the NHS for nearly 40 years saving people’s lives here and in Africa,” Dani wrote. “Up until he got sick, he was still working part-time saving people.”

Dani told Huffington Post UK that his father was “a very passionate man, who cared about saving people.” (Read more from “Doctor Dies of Coronavirus After Leaving Retirement to Fight the Pandemic” HERE)

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Chinese Student Disappears After Demanding XI Jinping Resign

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A Chinese student who called for Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping to step down in a message posted to social media on Monday has gone missing. On Tuesday, reports suggested he was in police custody for his remarks.

Zhang Wenbin, a university student in eastern Shandong province, wrote on social media on March 30 that the police had already summoned him for the post, and that he would be detained for five days. Since then, he has not made any further posts. On March 31, he was no longer accessible via social media. . .

On Monday, Zhang posted a video of his message, which has been viewed 175,200 times so far.

In the video, Zhang says he was once a young supporter of the ruling CCP, referring to himself as a former “little pink,” a term to describe youths indoctrinated by the regime. However, after bypassing the government’s internet censorship, he discovered the truth about the CCP and its “sinister” history. In his statement, Zhang referred to his enlightenment as scaling the “Great Firewall” of CCP internet censorship:

Since I scaled the Great Firewall, I gradually came to the realization that the Chinese Communist Party has extended its dragon claws into every corner of the world, including the collective farming [1950s], the Cultural Revolution [1966-1976], the Great Famine [1958-1961], the One-Child Policy, the Tiananmen massacre [1989], as well as the persecution of the Falun Gong [spiritual movement], and the peoples of Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

(Read more from “Chinese Student Disappears After Demanding XI Jinping Resign” HERE)

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Donald Trump Responds to Illegals Not Getting Stimulus Checks; Trump Administration Urged to Release Illegal Aliens

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By Breitbart. President Donald Trump was asked by a reporter on Wednesday about “undocumented” immigrants not getting a stimulus check from the government as part of the coronavirus economic rescue package.

“Well, you know, you are saying undocumented, meaning they came in illegally,” Trump said. “A lot of people would say that we have a lot of citizens right now that won’t be working, so what are you going to do?” . . .

“It’s a very sad question, I must be honest with you, but they came in illegally and we have a lot of people that are citizens in our country that won’t be able to have jobs,” Trump said. (Read more from “Donald Trump Responds to Illegals Not Getting Stimulus Checks” HERE)

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Trump Administration Urged to Release Illegal Aliens Amid Coronavirus

By New York Post. The Trump administration is facing a looming deadline to figure out whether it will continue to hold illegal immigrant detainees at migrant detention centers amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus.

Over the weekend, a federal judge ordered the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to either release illegal migrant minors in their custody or explain why they must remain detained amid the virus outbreak.

The judge also warned that ICE officials will be given a week to show the court that three specific family detention centers are providing adequately hygienic conditions for migrants being housed there.

The judge described conditions at those centers as “hotbeds of contagion.” (Read more from “Trump Administration Urged to Release Illegal Aliens Amid Coronavirus” HERE)

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Chinese Scientists Seeking Potential COVID-19 Treatment Find ‘Effective’ Antibodies

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By Reuters. A team of Chinese scientists has isolated several antibodies that it says are “extremely effective” at blocking the ability of the new coronavirus to enter cells, which eventually could be helpful in treating or preventing COVID-19.

There is currently no proven effective treatment for the disease, which originated in China and is spreading across the world in a pandemic that has infected more than 850,000 and killed 42,000.

Zhang Linqi at Tsinghua University in Beijing said a drug made with antibodies like the ones his team have found could be used more effectively than the current approaches, including what he called “borderline” treatment such as plasma.

Plasma contains antibodies but is restricted by blood type.

In early January, Zhang’s team and a group at the 3rd People’s Hospital in Shenzhen began analysing antibodies from blood taken from recovered COVID-19 patients, isolating 206 monoclonal antibodies which showed what he described as a “strong” ability to bind with the virus’ proteins. (Read more from “Chinese Scientists Seeking Potential COVID-19 Treatment Find ‘Effective’ Antibodies” HERE)

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Top NY Blood Center Doctor Says Plasma Coronavirus Treatment Looking ‘Promising’

By Fox News. r. Beth Shaz, chief medical and scientific officer at the New York Blood Center, joined “The Story” Wednesday night to discuss “promising” efforts to treat coronavirus using the blood plasma of recovered patients.

“Right now we have a handful [of donors],” Shaz told host Martha MacCallum. “You have to be at least 14 days after [having] symptoms. With the first cases in the New York area [confirmed] on March 1, we are just beginning to get there.”

Prior to bringing Shaz on the show, MacCallum spotlighted a New York Post report about Long Island mother Diana Berrent, who became one of the first people in New York to donate her blood plasma for treatment efforts.

“Take my blood. Take my plasma,” Berrent said in the first-person story. “Swab my nasal passage over and over again. If it can potentially save a single life it would be nothing less than a miracle. (Read more from “Top NY Blood Center Doctor Says Plasma Coronavirus Treatment Looking ‘Promising'” HERE)

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President Trump Tweets That Iran Is Planning a ‘Sneak Attack’ on U.S. Forces

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By The Blaze. President Donald Trump reported in a tweet Wednesday afternoon that “Iran or its proxies” are preparing to launch a “sneak attack” on U.S. troops or assets stationed in Iraq.

Trump also warned the Iranian government and its partners in the region that if such an attack were to take place, the U.S. would retaliate.

“If this happens, Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed!” the president wrote.

In the tweet, Trump did not cite any specific evidence or elaborate on the details of the alleged forthcoming attack. (Read more from “President Trump Tweets That Iran Is Planning a ‘Sneak Attack’ on U.S. Forces” HERE)

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Trump Claims Iran or Its Proxies Planning a ‘Sneak Attack,’ Warns of a ‘Heavy Price’

By Washington Post. . .The saber-rattling from Trump comes as Iran-backed militias are becoming more audacious in attacking U.S. personnel in Iraq, with rocket strikes on military bases occurring more frequently and, for the first time, in broad daylight.

U.S. officials say they are receiving near-daily reports of “imminent” attacks planned against U.S.-linked military or diplomatic facilities. . .

Asked about his comments later Wednesday at a White House briefing, Trump declined to share more specifics about a potential threat but vowed a robust response if an attack were carried out, saying, “It’s going to be very painful for the other side.” (Read more from “Trump Claims Iran or Its Proxies Planning a ‘Sneak Attack,’ Warns of a ‘Heavy Price’” HERE)

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Recovering Fairbanks COVID-19 Patient Speaks out as a Cautionary Tale

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A Fairbanksan who is recovering from the novel coronavirus is speaking out about her experience. Miriam Braun was one in the first handful of cases in Fairbanks, and is now on the mend. Those who get the virus can have a range of symptoms and experiences and Braun talked about what it was like for her.

She says on March 13, she started to have a bad headache and neck ache that felt like the flu. “I have some other health conditions so I wasn’t sure if I was having a flare or if it was just a bad head and neck ache, and it just kept getting worse. Then about three days later I developed a fever and the fever was relentless, I mean it lasted for a long time,” said Braun. She said the fever lasted from March 16 to March 27.

Braun says she went to urgent care and they were able to give her fluids, which helped since she was having difficulty drinking and eating. She says they tested her for the flu, but that came back negative and about a week after she started having symptoms, someone from the state’s health department called telling her she had been exposed to COVID-19 when she had gone to a previous doctor’s appointment. After five days, the test came back positive. (Read more from “Recovering Fairbanks COVID-19 Patient Speaks out as a Cautionary Tale” HERE)

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Jobs Melting Away Fast as Coronavirus Wreaks Havoc on Economy

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. . .Layoffs have skyrocketed, nearly half of all U.S. companies expect to announce furloughs, and 37% have begun a hiring freeze as the virus reaches into every nook and cranny of commercial life.

Gap on Monday announced that it was shutting its doors across North America and Europe on April 1 and would furlough their workers. The company will halt wages but pay “applicable benefits” until stores reopen, it said.

Other prominent retailers announced massive layoffs in recent days. Macy’s and Kohl’s announced Monday that they furloughed staff and closed their doors.

They’re unlikely to open again until late spring or until the virus is checked. It has already infected more than 184,180 people in the United States and killed at least 3,720, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, said Tuesday that the expected peak of infection and death is still some two weeks away.

The White House recommended that everyone practice social distancing for another month, and stay home if possible. More and more states are issuing stay-at-home orders and extending them further into the future, meaning that all nonessential businesses will remain closed. (Read more from “Jobs Melting Away Fast as Coronavirus Wreaks Havoc on Economy” HERE)

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Jim Jordan Presses Jerry Nadler to Hold Hearing on FISA Abuse Following Another Damning IG Report

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Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, called on House Democrats to invite Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz to testify about his investigations of the FBI’s abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the committee, has resisted requests to invited Horowitz to testify about his office’s report of the FBI’s mishandling of surveillance against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

Jordan renewed his request of Nadler after Horowitz released the preliminary results of an audit his office conducted of a sample of 29 applications that the FBI submitted to a federal court in order to spy on American citizens.

“Because of the pervasiveness and seriousness of the FISA application deficiencies — and the pending reauthorization of FISA — we renew our request that you invite Inspector General Michael Horowitz to testify at a public hearing promptly when the House returns to session,” Jordan wrote in a letter to Nadler obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Horowitz’s investigators found problems in all 29 applications selected for audit. A memo that Horowitz sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray said FBI agents failed to complete a series of procedures — called Woods Procedures — that are in place to ensure that investigators verify every piece of evidence that is cited in FISA applications. (Read more from ” (Read more from “Jim Jordan Presses Jerry Nadler to Hold Hearing on FISA Abuse Following Another Damning IG Report” HERE)

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WATCH: Nancy Pelosi Dismissed Coronavirus Threat in February Chinatown Visit: ‘Everything Is Fine Here’

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to investigate President Trump for his actions in the lead-up to the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., but in February, she dismissed the threat with a visit to San Francisco’s Chinatown.

KPIX documented Pelosi’s February 24 visit to a fortune cookie factory and retailers:

“She has been talking to people along the way, a lot of business owners, a lot of community leaders here in Chinatown who have been concerned about the optics of the coronavirus,” reporter Anne Makovec said as the live shot showed Pelosi shaking hands with locals.

“She has been going around to show that it is perfectly safe to be here,” Makovec said.

“We want to be vigilant about what is out there in other places,” Pelosi said to reporters as her entourage packed the sidewalk. “We want to be careful about how we deal with it, be we do want to say to people, ‘Come to Chinatown. Here we are. We’re careful, safe. Come join us.’”

(Read more from “WATCH: Nancy Pelosi Dismissed Coronavirus Threat in February Chinatown Visit: ‘Everything Is Fine Here’” HERE)

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Hospital Workers Threatened With ‘Termination’ for Voicing Coronavirus Shortages

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By Washington Examiner. Reminiscent of steps taken by the Chinese Communist Party after doctors attempted to warn the world about the coronavirus, some American hospitals are instructing workers to keep quiet about conditions at the facilities or face termination.

“Hospitals are muzzling nurses and other healthcare workers in an attempt to preserve their image,” Ruth Schubert, a spokeswoman for the Washington State Nurses Association, told Bloomberg on Tuesday. “It is outrageous.”

In an email sent to workers at NYU Langone Health on Friday, executive vice president of communications Kathy Lewis said employees cannot speak with the media unless authorized, or else they will be “subject to disciplinary action, including termination.” Jim Mandler, a spokesman for the hospital, followed up by saying the measures follow guidelines already in place that protect the privacy of patients and staff.

The message is similar to those received by healthcare workers in Washington and Illinois, who have been punished for voicing concerns about the lack of protective equipment available to staff.

Lauri Mazurkiewicz, a Chicago nurse who was fired by Northwestern Memorial Hospital after warning colleagues about a lack of protective equipment, is suing the hospital, claiming she was fired for speaking out. (Read more from “Hospital Workers Threatened With ‘Termination’ for Voicing Coronavirus Shortages” HERE)

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Are Hospitals Seeing a Surge of Coronavirus Patients? Some Officials Aren’t Saying

By NPR. With tests scarce, epidemiologists are looking at hospitalizations as an indicator of how the novel coronavirus is spreading. But in some of the areas of the country worst-hit by COVID-19, states and counties aren’t releasing that data.

The result is an incomplete picture of where the pandemic is surging, even in hotspots such as Washington and California.

“So as long as people aren’t being turned away, we must focus on hospitalizations and ICU cases,” says Steven Goodman, an epidemiologist and Stanford University’s associate dean of Clinical and Translational Research. “The more reliable numbers, aside from the number of deaths, are how many people get sick enough to be in the hospital and in the ICU. That’s what we need to know.” . . ,

Still, other hotspots aren’t releasing numbers at all, either because public health officials are overwhelmed by the crisis and are still compiling the numbers or for reasons they declined to explain, even though they are compiling the numbers internally. (Read more from “Are Hospitals Seeing a Surge of Coronavirus Patients? Some Officials Aren’t Saying” HERE)

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