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After scientists warned that the United States would become the hardest-hit country by the coronavirus crisis, we now lead the world in confirmed cases of COVID-19 with over 86,000 people infected. While New York City is still the hardest hit area, cases are exploding in New Orleans–where the virus is thought to have been brought to the city by Mardi Gras visitors.
Why This Matters: The city’s poverty rate, lack of healthcare and affordable housing, and high rates of residents with preexisting medical conditions are facilitating the spread and are also indicative of many of the shortcomings in other U.S. regions soon to be inundated with the virus.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to spearhead a coordinated effort to prevent a global economic collapse and pledged that China would supply international markets with key medical supplies.
Counting Beans: A winner in this whole mess? Bean growers, who have long been overlooked at farmers markets.
Fact Check: Read CNN’s line-by-line fact check of the President’s latest coronavirus press conference.
Green Stimulus: Though Democrats weren’t able to get the green provisions in the stimulus that they wanted, 2020 Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden suggested that Congressional Democrats don’t give up. As the National Review reported, Biden suggested passing climate-change legislation as part of economic aid packages amid the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re going to have an opportunity, I believe, in the next round [of economic aid] here to use…my Green Deal to be able to generate both economic growth as consistent with the kind of infusion of monies we need into the system to keep it going,” Biden said in a live-streamed briefing on the coronavirus crisis.
More Stimulus:Stacey Abrams warns that there “is no do-over of the November election, the Constitution does not permit a delay” and said that we need to be ready for a pandemic that disrupts our elections. We can’t be caught flat-footed and need to start bolstering our national capacity to vote by mail.
What It’s Like: If you develop mild coronavirus symptoms but your partner becomes more ill and you have to be their primary caretaker, are you prepared? Since ERs around the country are at-capacity, read this tweet thread for an idea of how to administer care:
I was mildly sick for a few days w/ covid symptoms. Then my 29 yr old healthy boyfriend got really sick. 13 days later, after a relentless fever, awful nausea, pneumonia in both lungs + a reluctant trip to ER, he is finally turning a corner today. Some things I learned:
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has required PFAS, cancer-causing chemicals used in manufacturing, in firefighting gear for years despite cancer being the leading killer of firefighters. An extensive investigative two-part story by E&E News’ Ariel Wittenberg reveals not only the dangers of current equipment standards but the lengths the NFPA has gone to hide them.
Why This Matters: A study of 30,000 firefighters from 2010 to 2015 found that firefighters have an increased risk of many different cancers including: leukemia, malignant mesothelioma, bladder and prostate cancers, lung cancer, brain cancer, and digestive and oral cancers.
by Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer World Health Organization expert Dr. Peter Ben Embarek revealed this week that the organization’s team of researchers have found two scenarios that could have transferred COVID-19 to humans. He acknowledges that COVID-19 could have been transmitted through frozen products at the Wuhan fish market, but the most likely scenario […]
By Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer A new study published Monday has found that a second, sneezier plague is ramping up. Allergy seasons have increased in duration by an average of 20 days since 1990. Why? Rising temperatures and an abundance of atmospheric carbon are increasing the amount of pollen in the air, and researchers say the […]
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