Good morning, I’m Molly Blackall with today’s essential stories.
Trump non-committal on public health measures as deaths near 600
Donald Trump refused to confirm last night whether he would follow the advice of public health authorities to introduce further restrictions on movement, despite the economic threat posed by isolation measures. Instead, he insisted he would “open up” the US economy as soon as possible. Much attention at yesterday’s briefing focused on the absence of Dr Anthony Fauci, the immunologist who has been advising the government on the pandemic. Fauci has been openly critical of Trump’s regular sidelining of fact and apparent shunning on public health priorities.
Economy over elderly. The lieutenant governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, said he would rather die of coronavirus than allow the pandemic to damage to the economy – and claimed that lots of older people would agree with him. Speaking on Fox News, the 69-year-old Republican praised the president’s focus on the economy at Monday’s briefing and said it had “lifted” his heart, asking, “do we have to shut down the entire country for this?”
Death toll nears 600. The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US has reached 46,450, with 593 deaths. Track developments in the US with our interactive map of coronavirus cases.
Abortion clinics in Ohio and Texas ordered to stop ‘non-essential’ surgical procedures
Clinics in Ohio and Texas have been instructed to stop ‘non-essential’ surgical abortions in order to conserve medical supplies for the coronavirus outbreak, arguing that they are not medically necessary. It spurred anti-abortion groups to call for a nationwide ban on the majority of abortions, on the grounds they were not essential. Planned Parenthood in Ohio insisted they could continue to provide abortions, despite risking fines of up to $1,000 or 180 days in jail.
Frontline health workers beg for PPE
Frontline health workers in the US have launched a crowdfunding website to urgently request more personal protective equipment. One anaesthesiologist had worn a plastic bag over his head during a procedure after face masks ran out. Seamstresses have been asked to make masks for hospital workers, while construction companies have been asked to donate their supplies of respiratory masks.
Hubei province begins to emerge from lockdown
Millions of Chinese residents living in Hubei province, where the coronavirus outbreak originated, will be able to resume travel from Wednesday. The measures will allow people to travel within and outside of Hubei after months of lockdown indoors, but they will first need to be approved by China’s controversial monitoring app to ensure they are not infectious. The city of Wuhan, however, which was long the centre of the virus, will remain in lockdown. There was some easing of the measures on Monday, with small groups of Wuhan residents allowed to leave their homes, and some workers in the province taking a train back to Wuhan to work.
One-fifth of the world in lockdown. Almost 20% of the global population have been ordered to stay at home due to coronavirus, an estimated 1.7 billion people.
China cases slowing. The Hubei relaxing comes after the number of new cases in China continues to decline, with the country reporting few or no new domestic cases in recent days. However, some in China have cast doubt on the figures.
And in other news…
Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock
The US will cut $1bn from its aid package to Afghanistan due to the failure of President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival to create a unity government. The announcement came after the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, made a surprise visit to Kabul on Monday, and warned that a further $1bn could be cut next year if a deal cannot be made.
A California power company will plead guilty to manslaughter over the 2018 fire that destroyed the town of Paradise. The fire began under a Pacific Gas & Electric transmission line in Sierra Nevada and destroyed 18,000 buildings, covering 150,000 acres of land. The now-bankrupt utility company will pay millions in fines, water access for residents, and in reimbursing the cost of the investigation.
Death squads in Colombia are using the coronavirus lockdown to kill rural activists, NGOs in the country have warned. The warning follows the death of three social leaders during the local quarantine measures introduced last week, and activists claim that more murders will occur during the national lockdown expected to be imposed on Wednesday.
Fossil-hunters claim to have found a new early relative of humans. A team discovered the 555m-year-old fossils in the rocks on the South Australian outback, and say they provide one of the earliest examples of a bilateral organism (animals with features on their front and back, like humans, pigs, and butterflies).
Must reads
Homeless families reclaim empty homes
Families in Los Angeles who had been living in cars and shelters have set up homes inside 13 empty government houses to find safe accommodation during the coronavirus outbreak. The homeless families and their supporters call themselves ‘the Reclaimers’, and intend to stay in the houses as long as possible.
The hotel thieves
From silver platters to marble fireplaces, Rene Chun discovers the unusual loots of frequent flyer hotel thieves in the latest article in her Strange sins column.
“I took every risk possible”: Drag Race judge Michelle Visage
The RuPaul’s Drag Race judge talks Madonna, LGBTQ+ allyship, and childhood as an “awkward and chunky” teen. The Celebrity Big Brother and Strictly Come Dancing contestant is interviewed by Emine Saner.
Life around loss
The head of the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath, England, whose father was a funeral director, reveals how no amount of academic or childhood experience with death could prepare her for the loss of her sister. This long read explores the experience of losing a loved one, for someone whose life has revolved around death.
Opinion
Donald Trump’s plans to restart the US economy at the expense of public health shows he is unqualified to handle the enormous responsibility of a pandemic, writes David Smith, as he describes the atmosphere in the White House press briefing room on Monday night.
To watch Trump talk himself into this rash action in real time from a seat 30 feet (10 metres) away was to witness the awesome and terrifying power of the American president over life and death.
