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I’m concerned about the possible temptation to inflation the number of co-vid deaths to obtain increased tax subsidies (along with renewed socialized-medicine push) now and down the road. Hospital administrators (along with nurses union Bosses) could get “sloppy” with the reporting. An inflated number would allow hospitals to claim we have an “extraordinary outbreak” here – and rent seek for more federal and state dollars and additional programs.

Are you or an immediate (i.e., household, close-relationship) friend/family member a patient with COVID-19? Are or have been positive? Please join the discussion!

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has come under increased pressure to lift his executive order prohibiting pharmacists from dispensing the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine outside a hospital or inpatient setting to treat the novel coronavirus. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Sunday that he recently witnessed an elderly man with a high fever arrive at Mount Sinai Hospital, “and the first thing they did before they even talked to him was give him hydroxychloroquine.” “Why is the governor banning it?” asked Mr. Giuliani, President Trump’s personal lawyer, on “Sunday Morning Futures.” “Everything shows that it works.” Touted by Mr....

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II delivers a special broadcast to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in relation to the coronavirus outbreak. The Queen has promised the nation that better days are ahead, during a special address on Sunday. In a rare speech, she acknowledged the grief and financial hardships Britons are facing during the coronavirus pandemic. Echoing the words of the Vera Lynn wartime song, she said that “we will meet again”.

Every city resident is being directed to wear masks when out in public and a citywide curfew is being instituted between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. said Boston Mayor Martin Walsh Sunday, as he noted his continued frustration with outside gatherings while coronavirus cases rise in Boston.

From Europe to South America, U.S. allies are complaining about the superpower's "Wild West" tactics in outbidding or blocking shipments to buyers who have already signed deals for vital medical supplies. In France and Germany, senior officials said the United States was paying far above the market price for medical-grade masks, on occasion winning contracts through higher bids even after European buyers believed a deal was done, and Brazil's health minister reported a similar incident. "Money is irrelevant. They pay any price because they are desperate," one high-level official in German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling CDU/CSU group told Reuters. A...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to a hospital after suffering from coronavirus symptoms 10 days after testing positive, his office announced Sunday. Downing Street said Sunday the hospitalization was a "precautionary step" and he remained in charge of the government. A spokesperson said: “On the advice of his doctor, the prime minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests. This is a precautionary step, as the prime minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus 10 days after testing positive for the virus. The prime minister thanks [National Health Service] staff for all of their incredible hard...

Former Vice President Joe Biden is planning to host a "virtual fireside chat" fundraiser in April, sources tell The Hill. Biden, who has spent the last few weeks sidelined in his Wilmington, Del., home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been looking for ways to connect more intimately with voters and donors. “There’s nothing cozy about a virtual fundraiser but they’re trying to make it a little more palatable,” said one donor. The virtual fundraiser, which is set to take place on April 16, will be hosted by Jed Katz, a venture capitalist. Katz helped put together another in-person fundraiser...

I find these guys really funny. They have a bunch of videos about the frustrations of modern life. But you can see some of their other videos at https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tripp+and+Tyler I'm so tired of reading about Coronacircus and Democrats and how we're all doomed that I thought I would draw your attention to some of these videos. I do get a kick out of many of these. I hope alla y'alls do too. Have a fun Sunday nite.

Speaking Sunday morning on ABC News, a barely coherent Joe Biden, the former vice president turned-Democrat presidential front-runner, offered President Donald Trump some odd advice on handling the global coronavirus pandemic. “I would just tell them what we found is important to do when we went through, not as bad, but a similar crisis, and that is to — you have to move swiftly,” he said. “And we have to move more rapidly. You have to implement the Defense Production Act, empower a supply commander, create a Defense Production Act for banks that get out small business loans, ramp up...

Statement from the Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas B. Modly, regarding the relief of the Commanding Officer of USS Theodore Roosevelt. --------------- Good afternoon. Thank you again for your diligence and courage in keeping the American people informed as we all deal with the profound ramifications, and rapid developments, associated with this crisis. I am here today to inform you that today at my direction, the Commanding Officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, Captain Crozier, was relieved of command by the Carrier Strike Group Commander, Rear Admiral Stuart Baker.

There's the "novel coronavirus"—and then there's the "novel legal theory" concerning it floated by Joy Reid, pursuant to which Fox News could somehow be legally liable for the death of its viewers from the virus. So much for all the alarm in the liberal media about legal punishments for news organizations in the Trump era. On her MSNBC show today, Reid played a clip from her March 29th show in which longtime Fox foe and MSNBC contributor Gabriel Sherman (now a correspondent for Vanity Fair) claimed that Fox News "insiders" had told him that: "There's a real concern inside the...

Breaking

The number of coronavirus-related deaths in New York is dropping for the first time, Gov. Cuomo said Sunday during his daily press briefing. However, Cuomo emphasized that it's "too early to tell" whether the drop is significant. The governor added that ICU admissions are also down, daily intubations are slightly down, and the hospital discharge rate is "way up.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden said this week that he wants to speak with President Donald Trump in the hope that the president can “learn some lessons” from the Obama administration on how to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. “We’ve been through this in a slightly different way in the past, and I hope they can learn some lessons from what we did right and maybe what we did wrong,” the former vice president said during a virtual press briefing on Thursday. Biden’s aides have said they’re working to arrange a phone call with Trump to discuss his coronavirus response.

Nitric oxide is emerging as a potential treatment for COVID-19, and doctors around the world are testing it again after it had shown to kill another coronavirus, SARS. "It's a pretty remarkable drug," Massachusetts General Hospital critical-care specialist Dr. Lorenzo Berra, who is leading a trial, told the L.A. Times. "It has a risk profile that is minimal." . . . . Dr. Berra said nitric oxide was also found to kill a coronavirus that leapt from bats to humans, University of Leuven in Belgium researchers found in 2004, according to the report. "The story ended there," Berra told the...

Recent data for Covid-19 cases and tests alongside state population size, along with deaths from 2017-2018 flu, with options for more rates. The Covid-19 data is from Politico via The COVID Tracking Project as of 4-05-20 AM of positive cases per state, and the # of tests done (the more tested, the more cases are found), the increased number of tests done since last week, and the # of deaths, alongside the total population of each state (you must do the math for the percentages left out), plus death rates for the 2017-18 flu. There are clear contrasts between states...

Are we overreacting to Coronavirus? The answer is hell yeah! At this time, the United States is seeing what very well may be the peak in deaths from the latest human Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. The media reporting and governmental response to this viral outbreak are unprecedented. But what is more concerning than the virus itself is our American collective response to it. It is no less than tragic. If it is not seen for what it is, it very well may mean the end of the American experiment and will lead to new totalitarianism that will harm and...

Issued March 24, the guidance tells hospitals to list COVID-19 as a cause of death regardless of whether or not there’s actual testing to confirm that’s the case. Instead, even if the coronavirus was just a contributing factor or if it’s “assumed to have caused or contributed to death,” it can be listed as the primary cause.

The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri will soon have a new bishop. The Rev. Deon Johnson officially will become the 11th bishop of the diocese when he is consecrated on June 13. Johnson’s transition into the role is historic: He’s the first openly gay bishop to lead the Diocese of Missouri. He and his husband and their two kids moved to St. Louis in February with hopes of getting adjusted to the region. That was put on hold as the coronavirus pandemic grew. St. Louis Public Radio’s Marissanne Lewis-Thompson spoke with Johnson about his new role and how he’s approaching the...