WHO officials warn US President Trump against calling coronavirus 'the Chinese virus'

Source: CNBC

World Health Organization officials warned against calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus” as U.S. President Donald Trump has done, saying that it could unintentionally lead to racial profiling.

“Viruses no know borders and they don’t care about your ethnicity, the color of your skin or how much money you have in the bank. So it’s really important we be careful in the language we use lest it lead to the profiling of individuals associated with the virus,” Dr. Mike Ryan, the executive director of WHO’s emergencies program, said at a press conference Wednesday when asked about Trump’s comments inciting violence against Asians.

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“It’s not racist at all,” Trump said, “No, not at all.”

Trump was asked about his persistent use of the term “Chinese virus” despite reports that dozens of incidents of bias against Chinese-Americans who have been blamed for allegedly spreading the coronavirus.

“Because it comes from China,” Trump said to the reporter who asked him that question. “That’s why.”

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/18/who-officials-warn-us-president-trump-against-calling-coronavirus-the-chinese-virus.html?__source=sharebar|twitter&par=sharebar

Dow wipes out gains under Trump's presidency, still slightly positive since his election

Source: CNBC

President Donald Trump has long touted market gains under his administration as an endorsement of his economic policies and, on multiple occasions, boasted about the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s gains under his tenure. That was before he was blindsided by an invisible microbe.

With the coronavirus spreading economic mayhem across the globe, the Dow’s 1,500-point 7% drop on Wednesday pushed the 30-stock index below the level where it closed on Jan. 19, 2017, the day before Trump took office. The sell-off is part of a historic market meltdown that has wiped out years of gains in a matter of weeks.

The blue-chip index is still more than 800 points, or 4.4%, above where it closed on Nov. 8, 2016, when Trump won his improbable election. His victory fanned a surge of investor optimism in anticipation of his business-friendly policies.

The Dow was last at 19,084, more than 600 points below its close of 19,732.40 a day before Trump’s inauguration.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/18/dow-wipes-out-gains-under-trumps-presidency-still-slightly-positive-since-his-election.html

Chicago woman in her 60s is Illinois' first COVID-19 related death

Source: WGN

CHICAGO — Gov. JB Pritzker announced the first COVID-19 related death in Illinois.

"I'm deeply saddened to share the news that I have dreaded since the earliest days of this outbreak," Pritzker said at a news conference Tuesday.

Pritzker said the patient was a woman in her 60s with an underlying condition who resided in Chicago, and was diagnosed earlier this month. He said she was not a resident in a nursing home.

Additionally, Illinois health officials reported 55 new cases of COVID-19 in the state. In total, there are now 160 cases of COVID-19 in 15 Illinois counties. Cases have occurred in ages 9 to 91.

Read more: https://wgntv.com/news/coronavirus/woman-in-her-60s-is-illinois-first-covid-19-related-death/

Pompeo calls Iranian regime 'an accomplice' amid deepening coronavirus outbreak

Source: CNBC

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the nation’s top diplomat, called out the Iranian regime on Tuesday for a lack of transparency amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

“Instead of focusing on the needs of the Iranian people and accepting genuine offers of support, senior Iranians lied about the Wuhan virus outbreak for weeks,” Pompeo said during a press briefing at the Department of State.

“The Iranian leadership is trying to avoid responsibility for their grossly incompetent and deadly governments. The Wuhan virus is a killer and the Iranian regime is an accomplice,” he added.

The virus — which has already killed more than 7,167 people and infected more than 183,000 people around the world — is spreading as the Iranian regime deals with intensifying U.S. sanctions.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/coronavirus-pompeo-calls-iranian-regime-an-accomplice-amid-crisis.html

Coronavirus Test Developed, And Available, At Evanston (IL) Hospital, With Results In Just Hours

Source: CBS Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS) — As the United States desperately scrambles to find enough tests for COVID-19, a hospital in Evanston has developed one that can provide results in just a few hours.

The test, created in the Molecular Lab at North Shore University Health System, Evanston Hospital, was first used last Thursday. The lab has conducted 400 tests to day, with 10 percent testing positive for COVID 19. The hospital aims to be able to test 1,000 by next week. It has been used mostly for their hospital patients, but it has been made available for some patients at other hospitals as well.

“We started in January watching this knowing that we would not have enough tests,” said Dr. Karen Kaul.

Many patients, even if they can get a test, have to wait days for results. The Evanston Hospital test is much faster with results in four to six hours. Researchers take a swab specimen from deep inside the patient’s nose and are able to determine whether it contains DNA from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Evanston is one of only a handful of hospitals in the United States that has developed a diagnostic test for COVID 19. Researchers there also developed a test for H1N1 during that outbreak 12 years ago.



Read more: https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/03/16/coronavirus-test-developed-and-available-at-evanston-hospital-with-results-in-just-hours/?fbclid=IwAR0ELLN6KhadJIQennP05kpgTkHKU39gs0UCZtswqZVTNkNb8mU5Lquu7Bg

(IL Gov) Pritzker orders all bars and restaurants to close to dine-in customers by end of day Monday

Source: Chicago Sun Times

llinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will order all Illinois bars and restaurants to close at the end of the business day on Monday.

“We are working with restaurant owners and food delivery services across the state to see if restaurants can safely keep their kitchens open, so the restaurants can continue food delivery to people at their homes,” Pritzker said at a news conference Sunday at the Thompson Center in the Loop.

“The time for persuasion and public appeals is over. The time for action is here. This is not a joke. No one is immune to this, and you have an obligation to act in the best interests of all the people of this state.”

Pritzker also urged people not to hoard food.

Read more: https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2020/3/15/21180375/coronavirus-bars-restaurants-closed-pritzker-trump-pence-cdc-covid-19

"They know nothing. We know more than they do, and that's not acceptable either"

Trump says markets are going to be 'just fine' as stocks crater amid coronavirus worry

Source: CNBC

President Donald Trump said that markets will be “just fine” Thursday, as stocks sold off in yet another dramatic session fueled by worries over the coronavirus outbreak and the administration’s response to it.

Futures started selling off Wednesday night during Trump’s address to the nation from the Oval Office, in which he labeled the coronavirus as a “foreign virus” and instituted a ban on foreign individuals traveling from 26 European countries into the U.S. for 30 days. Trading was halted briefly Thursday morning as the market plummet triggered a “circuit breaker.” The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid more than 2,000 points.

While Trump, who was meeting with Irish leader Leo Vardakar, attempted to reassure the country that markets would recover from the impact of the virus, lawmakers on Capitol Hill signaled that a partisan fight was coming over a new emergency aid package. The Democrats’ latest bill, unveiled to the public Wednesday night, is “unworkable” in its current form, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/12/trump-says-markets-will-be-fine-as-stocks-crater-on-coronavirus-worry.html

Trump says he sees 'no reason' to be tested for the coronavirus

Source: The Hill

President Trump on Tuesday said he sees “no reason” to get tested for the novel coronavirus but suggested he would be open to doing so if he were given such advice.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal. I would do it. I don’t feel any reason. I feel extremely good. I feel very good, but I guess it’s not a big deal to get tested and it’s something I would do,” Trump told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon after a meeting with Senate Republicans.

Trump said that the White House physician advised him he didn’t need to take the test, even though the president made contact with lawmakers who have since self-quarantined because they had contact with a person who tested positive for the coronavirus.

“I spoke to the White House doctor — terrific guy, talented guy — he said he sees no reason to do it. There’s no symptoms, no anything,” Trump said. The president added lightheartedly that reporters would be “the first to know it” if he had symptoms.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/486857-trump-says-he-sees-no-reason-to-be-tested-for-the-coronavirus

Gohmert returns to Congress despite possible coronavirus exposure after physician recommendation

Source: The Hill

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) returned to Congress on Monday, despite potentially being exposed to the coronavirus, saying he was advised by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) physician that going into self-quarantine isn't necessary.

Gohmert said a House physician informed him that he could have been exposed to the virus at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), in a Twitter statement posted Monday.

The Texas representative said he was then contacted by a CDC physician who said he could go back to Washington.

“We discussed all the specific circumstances of which he was aware along with my circumstances, including that I was and am asymptomatic, he said that all things considered, I was cleared to return to Washington,” Gohmert tweeted.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/486703-gohmert-returns-to-congress-despite-possible-coronavirus-exposure-after