Free Republic

China announced Thursday it would temporarily restrict most foreigners from entering the country to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. The measures go into effect Saturday, March 28, with no given end date, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry. The country will not allow foreigners to enter even if they hold valid visas or temporary residence permits, including Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation cards. The policy includes short-term visa holders and foreign tour groups from Hong Kong, Macao, Hainan and Shanghai as well as Association of Southeast Asian Nations tourist groups. Foreigners seeking to engage in important business, trade,...

Diamond posted a video on Twitter of himself and his dog sitting next to the fireplace, which in and of itself is calming enough. But he picked up a guitar and told viewers, “I know we’re all going through a tough time right now. But I love you and I think if maybe we sing together, well, we’ll feel a little bit better.” Diamond then began singing “Sweet Caroline” which ironically (or tragically if you think about it) seems to predict something is about to happen. “Where it began, I can’t begin to knowing/But then I know it’s growing strong,”...

Los Angeles residents will be confined to their homes until May at the earliest, Mayor Eric Garcetti told Insider on Wednesday. "I think this is at least two months," he said. "And be prepared for longer."

1/ This is a remarkable turn from Neil Ferguson, who led the @imperialcollege authors who warned of 500,000 UK deaths - and who has now himself tested positive for #COVID; https://www.newscientist.com/article/2238578-uk-has-enough-intensive-care-units-for-coronavirus-expert-predicts/ … 2/ He now says both that the U.K. should have enough ICU beds and that the coronavirus will probably kill under 20,000 people in the U.K. - more than 1/2 of whom would have died by the end of the year in any case bc they were so old and sick. 3/ Essentially, what has happened is that estimates of the viruses transmissibility have increased - which implies...

Alright @TeamJoe, join us for Happy Hour. Watch our virtual round table on the issues that matter to young folks: https://t.co/pFhYghw5dt— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 25, 2020

National coordinator of coronavirus response charms the press. By Jennifer Harper - The Washington Times - Wednesday, March 25, 2020 One member of the White House coronavirus task force is warranting very positive coverage from a wide range of news organizations. Tasked with coordinating the national response to the pandemic, Dr. Deborah Birx has maintained a helpful, steadfast public presence during daily media appearances before a national audience. The press has taken notice. Both CNN and The Guardian called her a global health “legend” while the New York Times described Dr. Birx as “tough and disciplined” and busy “running what...

A lot of these hospitals that say they have nothing are run by the city of New York They just showed Elmhurst in Queens on Fox News...

Back in January the English-language version of the Global Times — a publication controlled by China’s ruling Communist Party — passed along some footage of the drone warnings after they were shared on China’s popular Weibo social network. In the viral video, residents of a village in Inner Mongolia are startled when they hear a disembodied voice from a hovering drone admonishing them for not wearing face masks outside. “Yes, Auntie, this is the drone speaking to you — you shouldn’t walk about without wearing a mask,” the voice announces to an elderly woman. In another segment, the drone warns...

The Health and Human Services Department's watchdog will investigate the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus outbreak. A spokesperson for the HHS inspector general told the Washington Examiner that investigators will carry out at least five reviews “related to HHS’s planning and response of the COVID-19 outbreak.” The inquiries will scrutinize issues such as nationwide hospital responses, quarantine procedures, the training and protective gear provided to front-line health workers, nursing home standards amid a disease with an exponentially more deadly effect on the elderly and the already ill, and the ability to care for illegal border crossers and refugees during...

The number of cops calling out sick jumped again Wednesday with more than 3,000 officers out ill as the coronavirus spreads in the NYPD. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said on MSNBC Wednesday morning the number of cops taking sick time was three times the normal rate — and currently sitting at about 3,200 officers ill. “The backup plans are already underway. We are certainly making adjustments,” Shea said, without outlining the plan. “We are a very well-resourced department. But make no mistake we are going to get through this and the New York City police department is going to lead...

Thread #27 here: http://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3828191/posts?page=1

Former “throuple” Rep. Katie Hill says she has been “exposed” to the coronavirus — and is showing all the symptoms of being sick from the potentially deadly disease. “I was exposed to COVID-19. Here’s what happened,” wrote the former California congresswoman, who resigned in October under the intense spotlight on her three-way relationship with her husband and a female staffer. “My dad found out Saturday afternoon that he’d spent a lot of time with a person who tested positive for COVID-19,” she wrote in a three-tweet thread online. “I was exposed to my dad, but I could have been way...

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), along with other pro-choice groups, filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton and several other state officials over a temporary ban on elective abortion during the coronavirus pandemic. The ban was issued as part of an executive order by Abbott aimed at conserving medical equipment and the capacity of the health care system after warnings from health care professionals that patients sick with the coronavirus might overwhelm hospital capacity and deplete supplies, such as personal protective equipment for doctors and nurses. Pro-choice activists say the ban was issued...

The requirement for Americans to obtain a Real ID for travel will be delayed one year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Thursday. Americans will now have until Oct. 1, 2021 to get Real ID Act compliant identification needed to board commercial flights, enter federal buildings or gain access to American nuclear plants. President Trump recommended the delay earlier this week to ease crowding at Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) offices. SNIP

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday claimed that Democrats “won the day” in obtaining what they wanted from the Senate’s $2.2 trillion coronavirus response stimulus package, while hinting at other items she would like to see included in a forthcoming bill. Pelosi described the negotiations as a “jiu-jitsu” moment in securing legislation that she described as worker-first instead of corporate-focused, but still said Democrats walked away with “not getting everything we want” out of the bill. “As I’ve said, there are so many things we didn’t get in any of these bills yet in a way that we need to,”...

Congress must begin drafting a fourth relief package to deal with the impact of the coronavirus, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday.

Guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases and their management in England. Last updated 21 March 2020 — see all updates From: Public Health England Status of COVID-19 Status of COVID-19 As of 19 March 2020, COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a high consequence infectious diseases (HCID) in the UK. The 4 nations public health HCID group made an interim recommendation in January 2020 to classify COVID-19 as an HCID. This was based on consideration of the UK HCID criteria about the virus and the disease with information available during the early stages of the outbreak. Now...

Robert Levinson, a former FBI special agent who disappeared while traveling on Iran’s Kush Island in 2007, has “died while in Iranian custody,” his family announced Wednesday. ---SNIP--- “Those who are responsible for what happened to Bob Levinson, including those in the U.S. government who for many years repeatedly left him behind, will ultimately receive justice for what they have done,” the announcement said. That’s a reference to President Barack Obama’s administration, which did not secure Levinson’s release despite years of negotiating with Tehran in the lead-up to the implementation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

WEST TEXAS (KOSA) -- A 5.0 magnitude earthquake has been reported in West Texas on Thursday morning. According to the U.S Geological Survey, the earthquake happened west of Mentone around 10:16 a.m. That's one of the strongest quakes in the last 30 years. Viewers in Alpine, McCamey, Midland and Odessa all reached out to CBS7 to say they felt an earthquake around this time. Earlier Thursday morning at 3:52 a.m. a 3.8 magnitude earthquake was reported in the same area. The third quake, according to the USGS, happened near where the first one was centered, but it wasn't as deep.

The German government said it was barring entry to seasonal workers from abroad from Wednesday to stem the coronavirus outbreak, potentially leaving farmers with a dire shortage of manpower to harvest crops. “Seasonal and harvest workers will no longer be allowed to enter Germany within the framework of our border controls,” a spokesman for the interior ministry told a Berlin press conference. The ban will apply from 5pm and will be in place “until further notice”, he said, and includes people from EU countries. Around 300,000 seasonal workers come to Germany each year, mainly from Poland and Romania, to help...