More than 130 Secret Service agents who protect President Donald Trump, the White House and the first family have been ordered to isolate because they caught COVID or were in close contact with someone who was infected with the virus.
The spread of the highly contagious disease has sidelined about 10 per cent of the agency’s core team, The Washington Post reported, and the infection rate is believed to be linked to the numerous campaign rallies Trump held before the election - 14 in the last three days of campaigning alone.
At these rallies, agents stand between the president and his supporters, many of whom are not wearing face masks and who don’t practice social distancing. While Trump stands on a stage above and away from the crowd, several agents stand in the pit between the stage area and supporters. They also fan out to work the perimeter.
President Trump has begun speaking at the White House, giving an update on Operation Warp Speed - the plan to create, make and distribute Covid-19 vaccines and treatments.
Trump starts by praising the success of Operation Warp Speed. “Operation Warp Speed is unequalled and unrivaled anywhere in the world,” he said. "It’s been an incredible effort.“No medical breakthrough of this scope or magnitude has ever been achieved this rapidly,” he said, giving credit for the development of the drug giant Pfizer vaccine to his administration. He would authorise the vaccine for emergency use, Trump said.
Trump said: “This administration will not be going to a lockdown.”
Some states make up their own minds:
The US states of Oregon and New Mexico have announced strict measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 as the country faces growing outbreaks of the disease.
Officials have ordered most non-essential businesses to close and urged people to limit their social interactions.
Data shows that the majority of the country has rising “community spread” of the virus - situations where people get the virus without any known contact with a sick person.
In recent weeks, the Midwestern US has been the centre of the outbreaks, with cases rising in states like Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois.
US sees record 184,000 new daily Covid cases as Trump politicises vaccine effort
According to Johns Hopkins University, 184,514 new cases were recorded on Friday, up from 153,496 on Thursday. More than 10.7 million cases have been recorded in total and more than 244,000 people have died. Deaths are also increasing: 1,431 were reported on Friday, the highest toll in 10 days if more than a thousand less than the highest such toll, from April.
At the White House, in his first remarks since losing the election to Biden, Trump said he expected a vaccine developed by Pfizer to receive emergency use authorisation “extremely soon”, and to be available to the general population by April.
He also said the federal government would not deliver the vaccine to New York, because its governor, Andrew Cuomo, “doesn’t trust where the vaccine is coming from”. Trump and Cuomo have clashed frequently during the pandemic.
Cuomo told MSNBC: “None of what he said is true, surprise surprise. We’re all excited about the possibilities about a vaccine.”
Trump also took a shot at Pfizer, saying its statement that it was not part of Operation Warp Speed, the federal vaccine effort, was “an unfortunate misrepresentation” *. Pfizer did not receive support for research or manufacturing of the vaccine, but has agreed to sell its vaccine to the federal government. A spokeswoman said the company was proud to be part of Operation Warp Speed “as a supplier of a potential Covid-19 vaccine”.
Mr Trump’s supporters were due to kick off the rally about noon local time (17:00G) near Freedom Plaza, just east of the White House.
They are using different names for the event, including Million MAGA March - using the acronym for Mr Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan - as well as the March for Trump and Stop the Steal DC.
It is expected to bring more mainstream Trump supporters together with neo-Nazis, far-right militias and conservative commentators, including prominent conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and white nationalist Nicholas Fuentes.
Mr Trump said on Friday he may “try to stop by and say hello”. His motorcade passed the gathering demonstrators on Saturday morning and did a circuit of Freedom Plaza, but carried on to his golf club in Sterling, Virginia. It was unclear if he planned to make a further appearance.
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk says he “most likely” has a “moderate case” of Covid-19 but has been “getting wildly different results from different labs”.
The boss of Tesla and SpaceX, who is 49, tweeted his symptoms were those of a “minor cold”. On Friday he said he had been tested four times, with two positive and two negative results.
Musk appeared to play down concerns about the pandemic when it first hit. Back in March, Mr Musk had tweeted to his 32 million followers on Twitter: “My guess is that the panic will cause more harm than the virus.”
Politically, Musk is a ditherer - he’s been a Republican and a Democrat donor but supported Kanye West’s independent run for president in July 2020 - but I’ll include him as a Trump mug (not a chump) because of his ignorance regarding COVID-19 … as a public figure, his ill-informed opinion would have swayed many other mugs in the US … :!:
The US recorded 166,555 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, down from more than 184,000 on Friday but still its second-highest daily total and a 12th day in a row above 100,000.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the overall US caseload is now nearly 10,900,000 and more than 245,000 have died. On Saturday, 1,266 people died. Hospitalisations are rising.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious diseases expert, said it was “possible” the country would see 200,000 deaths in the next four months, which would put the toll of the pandemic above 400,000 in slightly more than a year.
Trump’s Legacy will surely be over 500,000 dead by next year …
On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom said he was pulling the “emergency brake”, bringing more than 94% of the population under the strictest coronavirus guidance. In these counties, indoor restaurant spaces, worship spaces and gyms will be closed. Mr Newsom said he is also considering a state curfew to help slow the spread.
With Thanksgiving approaching, on 26 November, expert opinion is that “community spread” will, inevitably, raise the infection rates and the death toll … :!:
The potential cost at home of the President’s obstinacy and failure to sign off on millions of dollars of transition funding, access to government agencies and briefings for Biden’s team is becoming ever more clear.
Hugely encouraging news about the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines expected to be available to all Americans next year cannot disguise growing anxiety among medical experts at the failure to read the next administration into the program.
The vaccine effort will be one of the most complicated logistical and public health undertakings ever. Any delays in manufacturing and distributing the vaccine could result in thousands of unnecessary deaths.
Growing desperation about the worsening human toll of Covid-19 prompted several big US medical groups to call for cooperation between the outgoing and incoming administrations on Tuesday.
Trump’s neglect is having a devastating impact as hospitalizations from Covid-19 reach record levels and the virus blasts through Midwest and Mountain West states where Republican governors and voters bought into Trump’s minimization of the pandemic and contempt for masks and social distancing.
Trump’s lack of concern will kill a million US citizens …
US records quarter of a million deaths from coronavirus
The US has recorded more than 250,000 deaths from Covid-19, a bleak marker as cases soar once again across the country.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the country has now reported 250,029 deaths and nearly 11.5 million cases.
It has more infections and a higher death toll than any other country worldwide.
And cases have once again started to soar throughout the US, hitting new daily highs in the last week.
Meanwhile, Trump is hunkering down in his bunker at the White House, oblivious to the real world, like many a dictator when they’re on the losing end … :!:
WASHINGTON – Corey Lewandowski, a top adviser to President Donald Trump’s reelection effort, has tested positive for COVID-19, the latest member of the president’s inner circle to contract the illness in recent weeks. He tested positive earlier this week after working in Pennsylvania on the president’s efforts to challenge that state’s election results.
Lewandowski was present on election night at the White House for a gathering after initial results showed Trump ahead in several states. Meadows and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, who were also present at the gathering, also tested positive in recent days.
Ther must be dozens from that “gathering” infected and/or isolating by now … :!:
US President Donald Trump’s oldest son has tested positive for coronavirus, according to his spokesman.
Donald Trump Jr, 42, was diagnosed at the start of this week and has been quarantining at his cabin since the result, according to the spokesman.
“He’s been completely asymptomatic so far and is following all medically recommended Covid-19 guidelines,” said the statement.
It is unclear whether his partner, Kimberly Guilfoyle, has been affected.
Ms Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host, tested positive for the disease in July, and recovered. Mr Trump Jr apparently did not contract the infection at the time.
Earlier on Friday, Andrew Giuliani, a special assistant to President Trump, announced he had tested positive for coronavirus.
Mr Giuliani - who is the son of the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, tweeted that he was experiencing mild symptoms after receiving his positive test on Friday morning.
CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, has confirmed that at least four other White House aides have tested positive for Covid-19 in the latest outbreak there.
Across the US, the daily death toll linked to Covid-19 has passed 2,000 for the first time since May.
The country has now more than 12,000,000 million confirmed infections, with more than 255,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Trump’s response to COVID-19 has resulted in the deaths of 255,000 people - the population of Plymouth, UK … :shock:
Covid-19: FDA allows emergency use of antibody drug Regeneron
The drug, developed by Regeneron, will be allowed for use in people who have tested positive for the virus and are at risk of severe illness.
Studies suggest the therapy is effective when administered early after diagnosis, the company says.
Emergency authorisation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows use of a treatment while studies are carried out to determine safety and effectiveness.
The Regeneron treatment is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies - potent, laboratory-made antibodies - which mimic our own immune response. They physically stick to the coronavirus so they cannot get inside the body’s cells.
Regeneron said it expected to have enough doses for about 80,000 patients by the end of this month and 300,000 in total by the end of January. The treatment will be provided for free but patients may have to pay for having it administered.
The FDA said the treatment was not authorised for Covid patients who are in hospital or require oxygen.
With those limited numbers, I would guess that the cost of “administration” will limit the drug’s availability to the wealthy only:
US Housing Secretary Ben Carson said he believed he was “out of the woods” after being “extremely sick” following his positive Covid diagnosis earlier this month.
On Facebook, Mr Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, said Trump “cleared me for the monoclonal antibody therapy that he had previously received, which I am convinced saved my life”. As with Trump, the role the drug played in his recovery is unclear.
El Paso inmates help move bodies into morgues as Covid deaths soar in Texas
In footage which spread rapidly on social media, nine inmates wearing the striped jumpers of the El Paso county jail helped move bodies into mobile morgues.
The sheriff’s office said the use of the inmates began on 9 November, on a volunteer basis. El Paso county said the inmates were tested and provided with personal protective equipment by the medical examiner’s office, and would face a two-week quarantine once the program was over. They were being paid $2 an hour.
“It was just a temporary focus, and we’re waiting for the Texas national guard to help us out with that,” said Samaniego, in response to outcry on social media over the use of inmates rather than trained medical professionals.
A spokeswoman for the El Paso county sheriff’s office told the Guardian the inmates’ work would “end when the national guard arrives”. Samaniego, however, wasn’t sure those troops were coming. “It has not been confirmed that they would be able to take over the demand that we have at this time,” he said.
The El Paso county public health department has confirmed more than 800 deaths since March. Another 400 are under investigation. El Paso has called in more mobile morgues in recent days, up from six to 10.
Authorities in El Paso fear a dire situation could get much worse. Facilities are overwhelmed: 1,100 people are hospitalized with Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Trump is hunkered in his bunker, oblivious to the chaos that he’s allowing to happen and the deaths that are overwhelming the US … :!:
Trump news – live: Another Giuliani contact tests Covid positive
Boris Epshteyn was at the Trump legal team’s press briefing less than a week ago after which Rudy Giuliani’s son tested positive. Trump’s lawyers have a “hearing” scheduled this lunchtime at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
