RationalWiki:What is going on with the coronavirus?/April 2020

April 2020
There will be absolutely no professional sports events at all in France, not even behind closed doors, until September. Armed terrorists protesters entered the Michigan capitol building, demanding access to the visitor's gallery, which is closed due to coronavirus. Lawmakers ultimately rewarded weeks of bad behavior by refusing to extend a state of emergency declaration and authorizing a legal action by the House to challenge Governor Whitmer's authority and actions regarding her coronavirus response. The stay at home order, which just survived a lawsuit questioning its constitutionality, brought by 4 residents and a business owner, is not impacted by this, and still expires on 15 May. Not happy just killing people via coronavirus, Georgia's suspending in-person driving portion of examinations. Basically teenagers who have their 40 supervised hours behind the wheel (which is done via honor system) and a valid instruction permit, they can just obtain a full driver's license... Yeah, can't see anything going wrong here. One of the Covid19 vaccine being developed has shown promising results after protecting monkeys from infection As Amsterdam’s Museum of Bags and Purses announces its permanent closure, The Dutch Museums’ Association reports that as many as 1 in 4 museums many small and medium, may end up permanently closed by the end of the year. South Korea has said that apart from 4 imported cases, it has no more local cases of COVID-19. This is the first time it has happened in 72 days. Although Sweden isn't under lockdown, authorities in the city of Lund don't want tens of thousands of people to gather in the park, as usual, to celebrate. That's why they're spreading a ton of chicken manure on the park. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon thinks it's a good idea for all people to cover their faces while in shops and on public transport. The House of Representatives had decided not to return on 4 May, and is now discussing its options for carrying out its duties remotely. The Senate will reconvene on 4 May in person. [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52435273 Italy's strict lockdown is set to ease a little from the start of May onward. Parks, factories and building sites will reopen. Schools will remain closed and, much to the displeasure of Roman Catholic bishops, so will churches.] [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52436330 Chile will issue certificates to people who have recovered from the coronavirus declaring them to be "virus free" and able to return to work. The World Health Organization strongly opposes this as it's not yet known if people who've had the virus are immune to it.] All those Irish maidens that are “lovely and fair“ are going to be disappointed, as the organisers have cancelled this year’s Rose of Tralee.

Boris Johnson [http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52439348 is back at work after being off sick with the coronavirus for three weeks. Although Boris might have recovered, he's certain the country hasn't yet. He says it's not yet time to ease the lockdown and urges the public not to lose patience.] New Zealand reports free of undetected community transmission as it slightly loosens its lock-down - non-essential businesses will now be allowed to operate as long as they can maintain social seperation for staff and customers. [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52439926 Although wearing masks in public has become compulsory in most parts of the country, lockdown is starting to ease in Germany. It's starting to ease in the Czech Republic and Switzerland too.] A video of a massive house party (a clear violation of social-distancing guidelines and common sense) in Chicago draws international ire during COVID-19 crisis. Donald Trump cancels his daily coronavirus press briefing by posting on Twitter, "What is the purpose of having White House Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions. & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!" For the first time in six weeks, children under 14 are allowed to step outside of their homes in Spain. Ramadan is a bit weird this year. Young and middle-aged people, barely sick with covid-19, are dying from strokes(paywall) Mark Grenon, “archbishop” of Genesis II, pushers of murdering your autistic children with industrial bleach Miracle Mineral Supplement (MMS), pushed the dangerous idea of "curing" the coronavirus with their "miracle cure" in letters he sent to Trump. It's worth noting the just obtained a court order last week, to stop the group attempting to murder people by drinking industrial bleach saying their product 'cured coronavirus', because it doesn't.  [http://time.com/5822240/watch-taiwan-baseball-live-free/ Taiwan, not under lockdown, is currently the only place in the world where professional baseball is being played. Games are, however, played behind closed doors in stadiums filled with robots and cardboard cutouts.] Now that hydroxychloroquine is a bust, Trump suggests injecting disinfectant as a potential treatment for Covid-19.. Update: It was a joke, bro. (Sure it was.) Vice President Mike Pence states the United States of America could largely have the epidemic under control by June.

Human trials for a Coronavirus vaccine have been given the green light in the UK and Germany, but warnings have been issued that a vaccine will not likely be available this year. British coronavirus deaths estimates is approximately 41,000 according to a Financial Times study, double the government's figures Oktoberfest cancelled for the first time since WWII. Prime Minister's Questions goes virtual for the first ever time. So, remember that magical drug that Trump claimed would save us all? Yeah, in the least shocking development ever: reports in a study that not only does hydroxychloroquine have no meaningful impact on coronavirus, patients on it had a higher rate of death than those not on the drug. The federal government has erected a blockade stopping states and hospitals from getting PPE Not only is Zimbabwe having to cope with COVID-19, they have the double whammy of possibly having of the worst malaria outbreaks in years in the country in a damaged health system. Following Trump's all-caps "liberate" tweets, information security professionals have analyzed the creation of many new internet domains starting with the word "reopen" and have traced many to astroturfing campaigns run by right wing, gun rights, Republican Party, and other conservative and religious groups. John McDaniel, who railed against Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's quarantine order, has died of COVID. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin takes the fall for President Trump over the check signature like a good crony. It remains to be seen if Mnuchin will leave due to this like so many others before him. Officials in the city of Sakura, Chiba Prefecture have beheaded the city's 800 000 beloved tulips to prevent crowds from congregating around them. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz have agreed to form a national unity government in response to the COVID-19 crisis Idaho State Representative, Republican (of course) Heather Scott compares the state's lockdown in response to the coronavirus to Jews being sent to the concentration camps. Governor Cuomo is temporarily allowing resident New Yorkers to get marriage licenses remotely and to married by Zoom video conference. Trump (Mar 22): "I’ve felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.” Trump (Apr 16): I was angry, because this [epidemic should have been told to us. It should have been told to us early. It should have been told to us a lot sooner."] The lawyer of Pastor Tony Spell, who is defying Louisiana's stay at home rule by continuing to hold services, AND who wants you to send him your stimulus check, has tested positive for coronavirus, after attending a church gathering. Doctors are noticing a new symptom for COVID-19 especially for young adults, chilblain-like sores on the hands and feet. The and its followers has refused calls by the government in Kyiv to stop all church services during the important Easter holidays, despite it being a major COVID-19 hotspot. The Michigan Tea Partier group currently making a public nuisance against reasonable public health procedures is an astroturfing organization founded by the political advisor to Betsy DeVos's family. End Times pastor and woo supplement vendor Jim Bakker closed out his television program on April 14 by begging viewers to financially support his ministry using checks, as his network has reportedly been unable to process credit card transactions ever since it came under fire for promoting the silver solution it sold as a cure for the COVID-19 coronavirus 99 year old army veteran Tom Moore raises more than 4 million pounds for the NHS for promising to walk 100 laps in his garden before the end of the month, when he turns 100. UPDATE: The amount is currently (2020-04-15 19:49 UTC+1) is nearly £9 million. 2nd UPDATE: The amount is now (2020-04-16 19:13 UTC+1) over £15 million! There are so many coronavirus myths that even Snopes can’t keep up Florida man uses his powers as governor to declare prowrestling as an essential service Trump halts WHO funding over covid-19 - says WHO "failed its basic duty". Irony meter blows up. Puerto Rico bans journalists from public press briefings about COVID-19 While the USNS Comfort stands nearly empty in New York, the USNS Mercy, in Los Angeles, is battling a coronavirus outbreak among its own crew. Trump administration's inept and dishonest response to covid-19 is destroying the already tarnished image of the USA. "Translation: FAQ per subject/education/exams" In the Netherlands the requirements to get a high school diploma are due to the coronavirus not based on the national exams (Central exams), but rather the local school exams. In addition, the requirement to score at least an average of 5.5 across all exam courses has been dropped to scoring at least a 4.0. Students who were relying on the national exams to improve their grades are able to take two or three (depending on course difficulty) extra exams, which if higher than their existing grades will become 50% of their exam score. For the nerds here, remember how you had to learn how to program the John H Conway's game of life? Yeah. America first! as all fifty states implement a disaster declaration for the first time ever, and the US overtakes Italy as the country with the most coronavirus-related deaths. In the same article, The Guardian reports that Republican Senator Tom Cotton is pushing a conspiracy theory for the origin of the virus based on his "common sense". "This germ is so brilliant antibiotics can’t keep up with it." Just in case you were wondering how Trump's handling of the pandemic is going. It's pretty obvious that Trump and his broken crony administration is directly responsible for the death of thousands of American citizens Amidst a pandemic, landlords are asking (mostly female) tenants for sex in exchange for rent. The Hawai state government establishes an online guide to help female tenants and provide guidance on emergency rent NYPD's agressive policing risks spreading Covid-19 further As agricultural labourers are declared "essential workers," the White House and DoA plan to cut the wages of foreign guest workers (who make up just 10% of the workforce), to "help U.S. farmers struggling during the coronavirus." On a day when the US suffers it's worst coronavirus-related death toll of over 2,000, Trump posts a tweet, seeming to show that he still thinks Warren and Sanders are in the Dem primary race. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have informed Alex Jones that his InfoWars webshite offers products for sale that claim to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19, in violation of multiple federal statutes. New York now burying unclaimed corpses in mass graves on Hart Island. We'll just make our own lockdown, with hookers and blackjack! Today, in How the Coronavirus is Bringing Out the Worst in Conservatives, Brit Hume claims death statistics are being inflated, before Bill O'Reilly jumps in to say those dying from it, were "on their last legs anyway." Hospitals say FEMA is seizing crucial medical supplies for unknown reasons Wuhan's 78-day strict lockdown has come to an end. New England Patriots are bringing 1.2 million n95 masks in their team plane to Massachusetts. Why are they doing this and not the government? Because the feds will seize the PPE of any state whose governor does not sufficiently praise the Fuhrer After David Icke blathered all over YouTube about 5G and coronavirus, the content provider deleted the interview and has banned all conspiracy theory videos falsely linking coronavirus symptoms to 5G networks Grocery workers, considered essential after decades of demonization, are dying of COVID-19 while in Chicago, 70% of reported deaths are black Israel's rabidly homophobic & orthodox health minister, who claimed the Messiah would cure the coronavirus epidemic, has... you know where this is going, right? Netanyahu and other top ministers forced to go into quarantine. Riley County, Kansas Commissioners' Republican Chairman Marvin Rodriguez says his state's coronavirus outbreak has been minimal, because "Italy has a lot of Chinese people, and we don’t have that problem here." Boris Johnson is in ICU as coronavirus symptoms worsen. The Orange Order has cancelled all its 12th July parades in Northern Ireland. News Corp Australia is stopping the presses of 60 of the company’s local newspapers due to COVID-19, with media experts predicting that it is highly unlikely they would be starting again. Former family doctor Taoiseach [prime minister] Leo Varadkar has re-appointed himself on the medical register so that he can do one day a week medical assistance. The Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy can carry on doing their business in New Zealand during the pandemic because Prime Minister Jacinda Arden has declared them "essential workers". Let's hope she doesn't have to say the same about Santa Claus Oligarch Elon Musk earns free good publicity by donating ventilators that can't be used on patients with Covid-19 Dr. Catherine Calderwood, Scotland's chief medical officer, resigns after failing to follow her own advice by making the one hour trip to her second home on two consecutive weekends and receiving a police warning for breaking the lockdown. A female tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City has tested positive for COVID-19, the first non-human to test positive in the United States. British prime minister Boris Johnson has been taken to hospital as his condition worsens. A doctor stopped covid-19 treatment because she was afraid her patient could gain weight. Incompetent vote-suppressing buffoon of a Georgia governor Brian Kemp forces local authorities to reopen beaches. Perhaps this will speed the Rapture along. Conspiracy theorists who believe 5G causes Coronavirus are attacking cellular phone towers in the UK. NHS England's medical director, Stephen Powis, called out idiots like Amanda Holden and Woody Harrelson for spreading the asinine theory. The NHS [http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52150598 Nightingale Hospital, capable of accomodating 4,000 patients and the first of several such planned hospitals only for coronavirus sufferers, opens in London. It was officially opened via video link by] Prince Charles, who is himself recovering from the coronavirus. Portuguese government implements temporary policy of treating residents as full citizens, granting them access to the national healthcare system and social services A 2017 military report warned not just of a threat of a novel influenza, but of the consequent scarcity of ventilators, face masks and hospital beds Researchers have released a report in the journal Nature which says that the COVID-19 outbreak most likely started in infected Malayan pangolins from Guangxi and Guangdong provinces, which were later trafficked and sold in the Wuhan wet market. Another accusation of American “theft” of face masks, this time from a Thai plane heading to Germany which was destined for Berlin police. Wonder why you don’t hear anything about coronavirus in Turkmenistan? Easy, mentioning anything about it even the word lands you in hot water, with people being taken away by plainclothes police in the street. Face masks from China intended for France were 'hijacked' by the US at the last minute. This happened after the Americans heard about the masks and made a cash offer for them of double that of the French. A UN conference on climate change due to take place in Glasgow, Scotland in November has been postponed. Wimbledon is cancelled for the first time since World War II. A man is charged with train wrecking, after he allegedly drove a locomotive full speed off the end of the tracks, near the. He told the FBI, "he did it out of the desire to 'wake people up,'" and "he thought that the U.S.N.S. Mercy was suspicious and did not believe 'the ship is what they say it’s for.'" among other conspiracy theory type statements. The Saudi government has said it may ask Muslims to forego doing the Hajj pilgrimage this year due to the COVID-19. This is the first time that Hajj has been stopped temporarily for over 200 years. To keep the homeless magazine The Big Issue running after stopping street sales, it's going to be available in limited branches of Sainsbury's supermarkets and McColl's newsagents for the first time.