Saturday, 25 April 2020

Panama coronavirus cases rise to 5,538, deaths reach 159

Confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in Panama reached 5,538 on Saturday, a rise of 200 from the previous day, while related deaths increased by five to 159, the health ministry said.


from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2S8WrcF

An alarming number of Americans believe a coronavirus vaccine exists and is being withheld

An alarming number of Americans believe a coronavirus vaccine exists and is being withheldNearly a third of Americans believe that it is either "probably" or "definitely" true that a coronavirus vaccine exists and is being withheld, according to a new study by the Democracy Fund and the UCLA Nationscape Project, in partnership with USA Today. "To see about a third of people give that some level of, 'Yeah, that might be true,' that was pretty shocking to me," said Robert Griffin, the research director at the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group. "That's a pretty dark type of thought to be floating around the public."While there are as many as 150 different vaccines in various stages of development at this point, a COVID-19 vaccination will only be ready in 12 to 18 months "if we're really lucky," Seth Berkley, the head of the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, a global immunization partnership, told AFP on Friday. He added that "one of the challenges" of this particular pandemic is that "we don't know if we can make a vaccine … we have no proof of concept yet."Still, the Democracy Fund/UCLA Nationscape Project study found that many such unfounded beliefs have become widespread among the American electorate, including that some 44 percent of voters think it is probable that the virus was created in a lab, while another 48 percent think the U.S is "concealing" the true number of COVID-19 deaths, a belief that is held by more than half of Democrats."Not all of this is necessarily conspiracy-thinking," argued Griffin. "Some of it might just might purely be misunderstanding or things that people don't know yet, a lack of education."The survey was conducted as part of a large-scale survey of the American electorate, which will be ongoing through the 2020 election cycle. The latest results came from a sampling of 6,300 Americans between April 2 and 8, and has a margin of error of 2.2 percent. You can read more of the results here.More stories from theweek.com Cuomo says New York's coronavirus situation is back to where it was 21 days ago The president is unwell Trump wants praise for his coronavirus response. Here it is.




Trump says he was being 'sarcastic' about injecting coronavirus patients with disinfectant

Trump says he was being 'sarcastic' about injecting coronavirus patients with disinfectantSpeaking to reporters after signing a $484 billion coronavirus relief package into law, President Trump was asked about the idea of injecting coronavirus patients with a disinfectant, something he floated during Thursday’s coronavirus task force briefing. He claimed he was being sarcastic.




World leaders launch plan to speed COVID-19 drugs, vaccine; U.S. stays away

World leaders launch plan to speed COVID-19 drugs, vaccine; U.S. stays awayWorld leaders pledged on Friday to accelerate work on tests, drugs and vaccines against COVID-19 and to share them around the globe, but the United States did not take part in the launch of the World Health Organization (WHO) initiative. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa were among those who joined a video conference to launch what the WHO billed as a "landmark collaboration" to fight the pandemic. The aim is to speed development of safe and effective drugs, tests and vaccines to prevent, diagnose and treat COVID-19, the lung disease caused be the novel coronavirus - and ensure equal access to treatments for rich and poor.




Lebanon bank attacked with explosive amid economic crisis

Lebanon bank attacked with explosive amid economic crisisAssailants lobbed an explosive device at a bank in Lebanon Saturday, in the latest attack on financial institutions in a country facing its worst economic crisis in decades. The official National News Agency said the night-time assault targeted a branch of Fransabank in the southern port city of Sidon, damaging its glass facade. The attack came a day after Prime Minister Hassan Diab said Lebanese bank deposits had plunged $5.7 billion in the first two months of the year, despite curbs on withdrawals and a ban on transfers abroad.




A 57-page memo urged GOP campaigns to blame China for the coronavirus pandemic and insist the term 'Chinese virus' isn't racist

A 57-page memo urged GOP campaigns to blame China for the coronavirus pandemic and insist the term 'Chinese virus' isn't racistThe memo said Republicans shouldn't defend Trump's handling of the pandemic but should shift the conversation to blaming China.




New York man and girlfriend quarantining in Mexico are shot and killed

New York man and girlfriend quarantining in Mexico are shot and killedPolice said at least 20 gunshots were fired at the couple's car as they were driving down a street in Juarez.