South Korea grappling with growing elderly patients, untraceable Covid-19 cases, East Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

Richway is a door-to-door sales company that organizes marketing events targeting elderly people, such as health seminars and recreational activities, so as to sell products to them.

The number of cases traced back to the cluster has grown to 169, including 41 who had personally visited the company.

Source: South Korea grappling with growing elderly patients, untraceable Covid-19 cases, East Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

‘Black Lives Matter’ banner removed at US embassy in Seoul, East Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

A large “Black Lives Matter” banner draped on the front of the US embassy in Seoul was removed on Monday (June 15) after it was brought to the attention of President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, according to people familiar with the matter.

Pompeo and Trump were both displeased about the banner, the people said. A large, multicoloured “pride” banner recognising lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people was also removed on Monday.

Source: ‘Black Lives Matter’ banner removed at US embassy in Seoul, East Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

Open Thread | How Much More Do You Need To See Before You Take COVID-19 SERIOUSLY 🤨🤨

Too many leaders think they are exempt from dying, so they risk the death of tens of thousands and don’t lose sleep at night. They need to look at the coffins!

I take it seriously. I don’t think a nice chunk of you do 🤨🤨😒😒

 

 

The US has performed its first double lung transplant for lung damage caused by #COVID19. The recipient is a 20 yr old woman. She remains on a ventilator at this time. The damage inflicted by #SARSCoV2 is stunning. Via @nytimes https://t.co/SrJG56VOlR pic.twitter.com/sAAB0Z8V4W

— Tatiana Prowell, MD (@tmprowell) June 11, 2020

Like I said…

To work.

Back home.

That’s all the energy that I have.

The imperative for policymakers isn’t shutdown vs no shutdown; it’s securing public confidence and safety. There’ll be no recovery as long as people remain worried about their safety; and it’ll only come with measures that control spread and empower people to protect their health https://t.co/kMW8HF41O5

— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) June 14, 2020

Today half of US states have moved to red = trending poorly.
These 5 are the most concerning.
Arizona’s positive test rate now >18%, South Carolina >13%
Data https://t.co/BuuW28dyJl
Yesterday’s summary belowhttps://t.co/F6UpiyFoLt pic.twitter.com/5p1RDKA6wI

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) June 13, 2020

If you look to positivity rate in testing, you can also detect countries or states which aren’t testing a lot (and hence don’t report many #COVID19 cases).

Then suddenly #Iran and #India also had high values when they reopened, but #Arizona also remains in the top of the list. pic.twitter.com/kTzbb1HBXM

— GHoeberX (@ghoeberx) June 13, 2020

“Where is it going to end?” Dr. Fauci asked. “We’re still at the beginning of really understanding.” https://t.co/01yWmZqZkw

— NYT Health (@NYTHealth) June 13, 2020

Terrific interpretation of the latest @CDCgov #Covid19 numbers from former CDC director @DrTomFrieden.
It’s not gone, please. Magical thinking isn’t a forcefield we can throw around ourselves. https://t.co/1q4wmyRArx

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) June 13, 2020

your blood thick as hell. Or that you may have to be on oxygen for the rest of your life. COVID is designed to kill. It is a highly intelligent virus and it attacks everything. We will run out of resources if we don’t continue to flatten the curve.

I’m exhausted.

— Cherie Antoinette (@sheriantoinette) June 14, 2020

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Tulsa Health Official Warns Trump Rally Could Swamp Local Hospitals’ COVID Capacity

“A large indoor rally with 19-20,000 people is a huge risk factor today in Tulsa, Oklahoma,” he said before suggesting Trump could fall ill as a result of his own event. “I’m concerned about our ability to protect anyone who attends a large, indoor event, and I’m also concerned about our ability to ensure the president stays safe as well.”

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The top public health official in Tulsa wishes Donald Trump would stay away next week. When the president recently announced he would resume his in-person arena rallies after they were put on pause because of the coronavirus pandemic, his first scheduled stop was set for the Oklahoma city on June 20. While the campaign plans to fill a 19,000-person indoor stadium there, health officials are cautioning that the rally could have deadly consequences.

“COVID is here in Tulsa, it is transmitting very efficiently,” warned Dr. Bruce Dart, director of Tulsa’s City-County Health Department, in the Tulsa World. “I wish we could postpone this to a time when the virus isn’t as large a concern as it is today.” On Saturday, Oklahoma reported 225 new infections, a new daily high. As of Sunday, Oklahoma was reporting more than 8,000 infections and 359 deaths.

“It’s an honor for Tulsa to have a sitting president want to come and visit our community, but not during a pandemic.”

Dr. Dart blames the spike in infections on several factors, including quarantine fatigue, and warned that a large outbreak had the possibility of overwhelming the county’s health system. “A large indoor rally with 19-20,000 people is a huge risk factor today in Tulsa, Oklahoma,” he said before suggesting Trump could fall ill as a result of his own event. “I’m concerned about our ability to protect anyone who attends a large, indoor event, and I’m also concerned about our ability to ensure the president stays safe as well.”

“I think it’s an honor for Tulsa to have a sitting president want to come and visit our community, but not during a pandemic,” Dart added, telling the newspaper he was concerned infections touched off by travelers and crowds attending the rally could swamp local treatment capacity. 

Several states that, like Oklahoma, were spared the worst in the early days of the pandemic are now recording a surge in infections and hospitalizations. On Saturday, 22 states reported increases in their daily cases. Relaxing restrictions aimed at stemming the virus’s spread have prompted health experts to warn that the country could see more outbreaks, spurred along by growing indoor gatherings.

But the president is prepared to go ahead with the rally, after rescheduling it from June 19, the day the Juneteenth holiday is celebrated marking Black people’s liberation from slavery. (Critics had pointed out the insensitivity of hosting a rally on that day, especially given the city’s history as a site of a major 20th century anti-Black massacre.)

Despite his track record of downplaying the seriousness of the disease, fumbling the federal response, and shunning masks, Trump and his campaign know they are subjecting his fans to risk by holding the rally: attendees must submit a form agreeing to not sue the campaign if they contract COVID-19. 

Florida coronavirus: State hiding total number of cases in nursing homes | WFLA

It’s clear COVID-19 can spread like wildfire inside a nursing home. That’s why 8 On Your Side has fought to get the state to release data on COVID-19 cases in those facilities. Now, a Sarasota attorney says the state is not telling us the whole story.

Source: Florida coronavirus: State hiding total number of cases in nursing homes | WFLA

Florida coronavirus: State tallies 2,581 more COVID-19 cases, largest spike recorded | WFLA

TAMPA (WFLA) – The Florida Dept. of Health reported over 2,500 more positive cases of COVID-19 Saturday, the largest single day spike of cases since the department started counting. New numbers released by state health officials Saturday morning show the state has a total of 73,552 cases, up 2,581 since Friday. Florida has seen an increase of […]
— Read on www.wfla.com/community/health/coronavirus/florida-coronavirus-state-tallies-2581-more-covid-19-cases-48-deaths/

I could have been George Floyd but I lived: Former Detroit police chief

If my uniform, badge and education cannot protect me from anti-black violence, what can? Now is the time to get to the heart of the matter: There must be a major effort to fundamentally restructure police departments so that they actually do what they promise: Serve and protect all people.

This should include a change at all levels. Here’s what we must do to get started:

►Require higher aptitude and fitness standards for incoming recruits.

►Require regular mental health check-ups to deal with the stress and challenges of law enforcement.

►Develop a nationwide database of all officers to prevent bad officers from jumping departments to avoid marks on their permanent record.

►Stop promoting officers to become supervisors who have multiple disciplinary complaints, particularly, to positions of first-line leaders like sergeants and lieutenants.

►Rehabilitation within police unions. Their intransigence makes it almost impossible to fire and hold officers accountable for breaking the law and the public’s trust.

Source: I could have been George Floyd but I lived: Former Detroit police chief

Lawmakers Push to Invest Billions in Semiconductor Industry to Counter China

Corporate welfare again! First, they gave green light to fly from US to China to avoid labor unions, environment and human safety laws. So along with tax breaks, aka-bribes, relaxed rules on: labor unions, environment and human safety next?

New legislation aimed at supporting the semiconductor industry is a sign of shifting consensus in Washington, where industrial plans are now in vogue