I read the same thing. The MCAS system only works when the plane is being flown manually. This is another media attempt to link any anomaly with the MCAS system.
Exactly, lets say the autopilot broke THAT day in the report but the MCAS was working normally. When the nose dropped, pilot switches off Autopilot and flies normally, and MCAS does its job normally that day.
The reported incident might be an entirely different failure than what happened to Lion and Ethiopia. That pilot’s experience may have zero to do with those other two.