Coronavirus lockdowns cause drop in air pollution across Europe

MyPillow’s founder Mike Lindell encouraged Americans to pray during the pandemic during a visit to the White House. Lindell was among the CEO’s who had been invited by Trump to speak on their efforts to produce sanitizer, masks and other gears for health workers. Lindell started off speaking about his company’s efforts to produce face masks, and then, unexpectedly, ventured into religious matters.

The 2020 Detroit Auto Show, which was scheduled to take place next month, has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus. The show’s venue in downtown Detroit will be used to become a field hospital by the US government’s Federal Emergency Management Administration.

Italy government said Monday that the lock down to contain the spread of COVID-19, due to end on Friday, will be extended to atleast until Easter. The decision was announced amid reports that the number of new infections have declined. Italy saw an increase of 4,050 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the lowest increase since March 17. However, the death toll rose by 812 reversing 2 days of declines.

Those who are uninsured are less likely to seek medical help, fearing high out-of-pocket costs after a visit to the ER or to a healthcare professional. The good news is that the uninsured will not be turned away from urgent care or the ER. However, a caveat is that upon receiving treatment the bills may begin stacking up.

Rich Latin Americans are bringing the virus from Europe and infecting others. The first person to die of COVID-19 in Rio was a housekeeper whose employer brought the disease back from Italy and didn’t tell her the employer was ill. The wealthy get tested and access to high-quality medical care while the poor live in crowded housing and have no access to care. Homeless in US also vulnerable.

As per Sky News, Carluccio’s the casual dining chain, was on Friday lining up FRP Advisory to handle an insolvency process that would threaten more than 2,000 jobs after being forced to close its restaurants amid the coronavirus pandemic. The prospects of finding a buyer for the business without an insolvency process during a period when the company is not generating revenue are remote.

Michael Gove, British minister, has blamed the Chinese government of misinformation regarding coronavirus numbers increasing diplomatic tension between the two countries. When asked about low test numbers in UK despite knowing about the disease since December, he brought up unclear Chinese information about ’scale, nature and infectiousness’.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease expert on President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force, said that Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of New York needed to be given the ventilators he needed as New York struggles with the biggest coronavirus outbreak seen across the country. Mr. Cuomo has requested for 30,000 ventilators as the number of patients increase in New York.

As per reports, a dozen students at Virginia’s Liberty University have indicated being sick with symptoms consistent with COVID-19. No cases of the virus have yet been confirmed on the school’s campus. Liberty was in the news last week after students began returning to campus despite an increase in the number of coronavirus cases across the nation.

Moscow’s mayor announced strict isolation rules for the city from Monday, despite the Russian government’s claims that the country is not facing a coronavirus epidemic. Moscow residents will only be allowed to go out to buy food or medicines, get urgent medical treatment, walk the dog or take out the bins. A special pass will be issued that will allow people to leave their homes for work.

New York Gov. Cuomo’s favorability rating is at its highest point in more than seven years, according to the Siena College poll released Monday. Cuomo’s favorability rating jumped to 71 per cent, up from 44 percent in February, driven by overwhelming support for his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Cuomo’s response received bipartisan support from New Yorkers.

An infant in Illinois diagnosed with COVID-19 may be the first baby killed in the US by the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the infant’s death on Saturday. However the cause of death is yet to be confirmed. ’If you haven’t been paying attention, maybe this is your wake-up call’, said the state’s Department of Public Health Director.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that the US could have ’millions of cases’ of COVID-19 and more than 100,000 deaths. The US has so far reported 123,828 cases with 2,231 deaths and 3,238 recoveries. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, predicts 100,000-200,000 deaths. Fauci added that he would only support a rollback of social distancing in lesser-impacted areas.

The state finance minister of Germany’s Hesse region has been found dead. Authorities say Thomas Schaefer, 54, appears to have killed himself as despair over the fallout from the coronavirus crisis. Schaefer’s body was found Saturday on railway tracks at Hochheim, near Frankfurt. The state governor said Schaefer was worried about failing in fulfilling the population’s expectations amid the crisis.

Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary of the United States said that citizens of the country might receive a part of the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package in the next three weeks. The money will be transferred either by a direct deposit or through a check in the mail, Mr. Mnuchin further said.

As respirators are in short supply worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic, several European hospitals are using snorkeling masks for sports and adapt them using 3D printing. The idea was originally developed in Italy and is spreading to more nations. These devices are used in intensive care units to keep those patients worst hit by coronavirus alive.

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday that the city hospitals only have enough supplies to last a week as the coronavirus cases in the city mount to over 30,000. ’We have enough supplies to get to a week from today, with the exception of ventilators,’ the mayor said, adding, ’...we’re going to need at least several hundred more ventilators very quickly,’ de Blasio said.

Thirty-six critically-ill coronavirus patients have been transferred across France in two specially adapted TGV high-speed trains and a German military plane to ease the pressure on overwhelmed hospitals in eastern France. The Grand Est in northeastern France was the first region to be hit by coronavirus before the pandemic moved west and began to engulf the Paris area.

Instacart workers are planning to strike on Monday over ’a lack of protection and adequate compensation for their risky trips to grocery stores’ . Instacart workers had asked for proper protection, hazard pay of $5 for each order and an extension of benefits to workers affected by the virus. Instacart agreed with some of the demands however the workers said the new measures were not enough.

A tornado destroyed the house of Dr. Jared Burks, who gained popularity following a viral photography which showed him standing behind a glass door, separated from his son. Dr. Burks has been at the forefront, battling the coronavirus pandemic that has crippled life across the United States.

The deputy chief medical officer for England, Dr Jenny Harries, has said that the restrictions put in place because of the virus outbreak could last for up to 6 months and only be gradually lifted. She said that the government is anticipating a worsening of the situation in the next 2 weeks and only after that a review of the restrictions will be undertaken.

Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States will reportedly talk about the planned fourth coronavirus response bill, during a news conference call. Ms. Pelosi will also talk about the need to meet worker and patient safety needs, her office confirmed.

The economic fallout from the coronavirus may compel Apple to delay the release of the iPhone 12. There’s a concern that demand for the device will be remarkably low as millions of people have been stuck at home, unemployment is at an all-time high, and non-essential businesses will remain closed for foreseeable future. Hence, consumers today have less disposable income than they did a month ago.

In an interview Sunday, Joe Biden, in a message for President Trump, said ’We should be telling the American people the truth’. Biden stressed that Trump ought to listen to qualified experts about COVID-19, else the American public ’don’t hear a consistent message nationally’. In an interview Monday, Trump took a swipe at Biden, saying NY Gov. Cuomo ’probably’ would make a better Dem candidate.