Monday, May 4th, 2020

Russia reports a record 10,633 new cases of COVID-19 and 58 more deaths from the virus in the last 24 hours, bringing the country’s total cases to 134,686 and 1,280 deaths. Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin says the peak has still not been reached, warning residents to remain indoors. (BBC)

Trump is ‘very confident’ there will be a coronavirus vaccine ‘by the end of the year’  President Trump on Sunday participated in a virtual town hall with Fox News at the Lincoln Memorial, telling moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum that he is “very confident” that “we’ll have a vaccine by the end of the year. We’ll have a vaccine much sooner rather than later.” Trump said he is not concerned by how fast the human trials have to move for this to happen, because “they’re volunteers. They know what they’re getting into. … They want to help the process.” Last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said a coronavirus vaccine by January is “doable if things fall in the right place.” Health experts have said it could take 18 months at the earliest to have a vaccine ready to go. Source: Fox News

Birx calls Michigan protests ‘devastatingly worrisome’  Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, said on Fox News Sunday she is concerned that people who attended protests at the Michigan Capitol last week could have picked up the coronavirus and brought it back to their families. Many were not wearing masks, and Birx said that was “devastatingly worrisome to me personally because if they go home and infect their grandmother or their grandfather who has a co-morbid condition and they have a serious or unfortunate outcome, they will feel guilty for the rest of our lives. So we need to protect each other at the same time we’re voicing our discontent.” She also reminded viewers to continue to social distance and “practice scrupulous hand-washing.” Source: Fox News

FDA grants Roche coronavirus antibody test emergency use approval  The Food and Drug Administration cleared a coronavirus antibody test produced by Swiss diagnostics giant Roche for emergency use, the company said Sunday. The test identifies via blood samples antibodies made by the body to fight off the coronavirus. It could therefore determine whether a person had been infected with the virus in the past, even if the infection subsided. There are questions about the accuracy of many available commercial antibody tests so far, but they’re considered crucial for better understanding both the true extent of the pandemic, as well as possible length of immunity to the virus. Roche says its test has proven 100 percent accurate at detecting antibodies in the blood and 99.8 percent accurate at ruling out the presence of those antibodies. Source:  The Guardian

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-records-highest-daily-death-toll-states-start-reopening-economy-2020-5

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-causes-strokes-inflammation-in-blood-vessels-clots-2020-4

https://www.businessinsider.com/anti-quarantine-protesters-mewe-facebook-groups-conspiracy-theorists-social-media-2020-5

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-03/pompeo-says-enormous-evidence-links-virus-to-wuhan-laboratory?srnd=premium

 

Sunday,  May 3rd, 2020

Fauci blocked from testifying before House committee The White House confirmed Friday it is blocking Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease who has taken on a prominent role in the Trump administration’s coronavirus response, from testifying before the Democrat-led House Appropriations Committee about the pandemic next week. White House spokesman Judd Deere said “it is counterproductive” to have someone like Fauci, who is heavily involved in the government’s efforts to re-open the American economy and expedite a coronavirus vaccine, step away from those tasks and testify. Deere did say the White House would work with Congress to find a more “appropriate time” for Fauci to testify. Fauci, who at times has dissented from President Trump on certain coronavirus-related matters, will reportedly appear before the Republican-led Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee the following week. Source:  CNN

European countries begin to ease some coronavirus restrictions Coronavirus restrictions continued to ease Saturday in some European countries, including Spain, one of the world’s hardest-hit nations. Adults were allowed outside to exercise for the first time in seven weeks, prompting runners and cyclists to hit the pavement, though social distancing guidelines remain in place. In Madrid, a field hospital set up by the military at a convention center was closed, as was a makeshift morgue established at an ice rink. Spain has more than 213,000 cases of COVID-19 with 24,543 deaths. Elsewhere, museums, zoos, and playgrounds were permitted to open for the first time in several weeks in Germany. Italy will begin loosening some restrictions Monday. Source: BBC

Newsom says California could ease restrictions in a matter of days Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Huntington Beach, south of Los Angeles, on Friday to protest California Gov. Newsom’s (D) decision to close beaches throughout the state as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, claiming the measure was a breach of individual liberties. Many of the protesters were reportedly not wearing masks. But during his Friday press conference, Newsom said he is hopefully just “days” away from lifting some restrictions in California’s stay-at-home order, which is one of the strictest in the country. The governor hinted that restaurants may soon be able to re-open for table service with some safety measures, but people will need to continue to shelter at home in the meantime before any changes come to fruition. Source: Reuters

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reports that leader Kim Jong-un attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a fertilizer plant today, in his first official appearance since his disappearance last month. (Reuters)

North and South Korean soldiers exchange gunfire at a South Korean guard post, but no injuries are reported. (Reuters)

At least 10 members of the Popular Mobilization Forces are killed by ISIL militants in attacks in the town of Mekeeshfa and the city of Balad. Iraq and the paramilitary forces’ official media report that scores of others were wounded. (Al Jazeera)

President of Palau Thomas Remengesau Jr. condemns the exclusion of Taiwan from the World Health Organization, saying that it “endangers, not only Taiwanese people, but people everywhere”. Palau remains one of Taiwan’s few political allies in the Pacific. (RNZ)

Inmates take seven guards hostage at a prison in Manaus, Brazil, during an attempted escape. A raid later frees the guards and ends the prisoner’s rebellion. (Global News)

 

Saturday,  May 2nd, 2020

The government of Sudan criminalises female genital mutilation. (The New York Times)

A riot over food shortages at the overcrowded Los Llanos prison in Guanare, Portuguesa, Venezuela, leaves at least 46 people dead and dozens more injured, including the prison’s director, according to the military. (BBC)

Syrian businessman and Syriatel owner Rami Makhlouf makes an “unprecedented” public appeal to his cousin, President Bashar al-Assad, on Facebook, saying a “cadre of officials” are seeking to seize his assets. Makhlouf, who was a part of President al-Assad’s inner circle, says he will pay the President himself but not the state. (The Washington Post)

This Week In Virology

Saturday,  May 2nd, 2020

FDA approves emergency use of remdesivir for COVID-19 treatment  The Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized the emergency use of the antiviral remdesivir on COVID-19 patients. Gilead Sciences revealed promising study results involving remdesivir on Wednesday, and the Trump administration announced the authorization, which sidesteps the usual testing required to approve a drug’s usage, during a Friday Oval Office meeting between President Trump, Health and Human Services Secretary Alexander Azar, FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, and Gilead Sciences CEO Daniel O’Day. In Gilead’s trial, at least 50 percent of patients treated with remdesivir improved, though the study wasn’t evaluated against a control group, and it’s unclear if those recoveries were natural. As clinical trials continue, doctors can use remdesivir on some patients. O’Day said Gilead is working to rapidly increase its supply. Source: NBC News

Canada bans all assault-style weapons  Canada on Friday banned the use and sale of all assault-style weapons, effective immediately, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced. The ban comes after a deadly shooting in Nova Scotia in April that ended with 22 people dead. The Associated Press writes the ban affects “over 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms, including two weapons used by the [Nova Scotia] gunman as well as the AR-15.” Trudeau said the weapons are unnecessary for hunting, and said “There is no use — and no place — for such weapons in Canada.” It is “no longer permitted to buy, sell, transport, import or use military-grade, assault weapons in this country,” said Trudeau, but it is not illegal to own the weapons. Source: The Associated Press

Biden denies Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegation  Former Vice President Joe Biden on Friday addressed for the first time former staffer Tara Reade’s allegation that he sexually assaulted her in 1993. “I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago,” Biden said in a statement. “They aren’t true. This never happened.” Biden said Reade’s story “has changed repeatedly in both small and big ways,” and he said he is asking the National Archives to identify a record of a complaint Reade says she filed in the Senate and release it to the press “if there was ever any such complaint.” Biden had been facing calls to personally address Reade’s allegation after his campaign previously denied it. Source: The Washington Post

North Korean state media: Kim Jong Un makes first public appearance in 20 days  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 20 days on Friday, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reports, citing state media. Kim reportedly made his appearance for the completion of a fertilizer plant north of Pyongyang. Kim was out of the public eye for weeks, sparking rumors he was in ill health or even dead. CNN reported in April that the U.S. was monitoring intelligence that Kim was “in grave danger after undergoing a previous surgery,” though South Korean officials disputed that report, saying he was “alive and well” and likely simply mildly sick or “being isolated because of coronavirus concerns.” While North Korean state media reported Kim’s appearance, few details were verifiable regarding his presence or his health. Source: Yonhap News Agency, The Associated Press

 

The End