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Friday 24 April 2020 13:40
Donald Trump has promoted the idea that both sunlight and “something like” an injection of disinfectant could help to tackle the Covid-19 coronavirus – prompting pushback from his own medical advisers and uproar from independent professionals.
Speaking at his daily briefing on Thursday night, the president told reporters that a vaccine is “very close” – despite assurances from America’s top infectious disease official, Anthony Fauci, who said such a treatment will take 18 months to develop.
His comments come ahead of the signing of a bill to release $500bn of funding for coronavirus relief across the country as unemployment is expected to continue to rise in the face of economic struggles and lockdown measures.
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The UK prime minister’s has dismissed Donald Trump’s suggestion that injections of disinfectant could treat coronavirus, saying “it’s not something that’s being looked at here”.
Pressed on whether it was responsible for Mr Trump to make such comments, the spokesperson said: “We can only speak for the UK’s response”.
More below:
One out of every four American adults say someone in their household has lost a job to the coronavirus pandemic, but the vast majority expect those former jobs will return once the crisis passes, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The economic devastation writ by Covid-19 is clear: 26.4 million people have lost their job in the past five weeks, millions of homeowners are delaying mortgage payments and food banks are seeing lines of cars that stretch for miles. Forty-six percent of all Americans say their household has experienced some form of income loss from layoffs, reduced hours, unpaid leave or salary reductions.
And yet, the survey finds a majority of Americans still feel positive about their personal finances. One possible reason: Among those whose households have experienced a layoff, 78% believe those former jobs will definitely or probably return. Another positive sign: The percentage of workers who say their household has lost a source of income is not significantly different from a few weeks ago.
Seventy-one per cent of Americans now describe the national economy as poor, up from 60 per cent three weeks ago and 33 per cent in January. At the same time, 64% call their personal financial situation good — a number that remains largely unchanged since before the virus outbreak began.
The Environmental Protection Agency is reminding people to only use disinfectant on surfaces following the president’s comments.
In a statement the EPA said, “Never apply the product to yourself or others. Do not ingest disinfectant products.”
William Bryan of the Department of Homeland Security said at a White House briefing on Thursday “emerging results” from new research suggest solar light has a powerful effect in killing the virus on surfaces and in the air.
But he said there was no consideration of internal use of disinfectants.
The presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, has said he believes Donald Trump will postpone November’s election amid the coronavirus pandemic to boost his chances of re-election.
“Mark my words, I think he is gonna try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can’t be held,” said Mr Biden during an online campaign event, according to a pool report.
“That’s the only way he thinks he can possibly win.”
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Yesterday the House voted to create a Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis, setting up what is certain to be a contentious new forum for partisan battles over the Trump administration’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The panel will be chaired by Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, a longtime ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
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A string of recent polls show troubling signs for Donald Trump with older voters, a group central to his reelection effort that appears to be drifting away from him amid a pandemic that has been especially deadly for the elderly.
Former vice president Joe Biden, whose support from older voters helped him lead the primaries, appears to be carrying over some of that appeal into the general election.
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Two top household brands in the UK and US, Dettol and Lysol, have issued a statement cautioning against the use of their cleaning products to treat coronavirus ‘in no circumstances’ after Donald Trump claimed that disinfectant could be used to weaken the disease.
The US president has been condemned after he suggested it would be “interesting to check” whether a disinfectant injection could help combat coronavirus.
More below:
Donald Trump will be holding a signing ceremony later today for a bill providing a nearly $500 billion infusion of coronavirus spending, rushing new relief to employers and hospitals buckling under the strain of a pandemic that has claimed almost 50,000 American lives and one in six US jobs.
The measure passed Congress almost unanimously yesterday, but the lopsided tally belies a potentially bumpier path ahead as battle lines are being formed for much more ambitious future legislation that may prove far more difficult to maneuver through Congress.
Lawmakers’ face masks and bandannas added a somber tone to their effort to aid a nation staggered by the health crisis and devastating economic costs of the pandemic
Last night Donald Trump said he believes reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is gravely ill were made up by CNN, as he launched an angry attack on one of the network’s reporters at a White House briefing on the coronavirus pandemic.
Asked if he heard any more about the condition of the dictator, whom he has previously said he “loves”, the president said: “I think the report was incorrect, let me just put it that way.”
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The cracks are beginning to show in a seven week congressional truce that has led Republicans and Democrats together to spend $3trillion on coronavirus relief – with aid for cities and states sticking as the dividing line.
Spurred on by governors and local officials, Democrats have put out the word that they want to provide a sizeable rescue package as part of a broader bill – one that could total at least $2 trillion in coming weeks.
Their agenda has some Republicans seething, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell telling conservative talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday that he “would certainly be in favor” of letting states enter bankruptcy rather than send them cash.
The leading US Democrat, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, shot back on Thursday, saying: “Oh really? What made you think that was a good idea?”
Some governors called it a recipe for collapsing the US economy if congress allowed states such as Michigan and Illinois to declare bankruptcy.
Reckitt Benckiser, the company behind the disinfectant Dettol, has urged that no one apply their products to the human body.
“Due to recent speculation and social media activity, RB (the makers of Lysol and Dettol) has been asked whether internal administration of disinfectants may be appropriate for investigation or use as a treatment for coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)”, the firm said in a statement.
“As a global leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route).
“As with all products, our disinfectant and hygiene products should only be used as intended and in line with usage guidelines. Please read the label and safety information.”
FDA commissioner Dr Stephen Hahn, who himself sits on the government’s coronavirus told CNN that he “certainly wouldn’t recommend the internal ingestion of a disinfectant”; on the same discussion panel, Baltimore health commissioner warned viewers: “Do not try these things at home, and follow your doctor’s advice and follow good public health guidance.”
Dr Eugene Gu, a politically active physician with a large social media following, tweeted bluntly that “Injecting disinfectant into your body will kill you.
“While it feels completely unnecessary to even say this, people drank fish tank cleaner containing chloroquine because of what they heard from rumors about the substance. We must fight deadly misinformation no matter how stupid.”
Read more below:
Researchers convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine have told the White House it would not be fair to assume humidity and temperature are linked to reductions in virus cases – despite the assertions of the president.
The group, who analysed studies done so far to test virus survival under different laboratory conditions as well as tracking where and how Covid-19 has spread so far, wrote in response to the White House Office of Science and Technology: “Given that countries currently in ‘summer’ climates, such as Australia and Iran, are experiencing rapid virus spread, a decrease in cases with increases in humidity and temperature elsewhere should not be assumed”.
They noted that during 10 previous flu pandemics, regardless of what season they started, all had a peak second wave about six months after the virus emerged.
Donald Trump, a businessman by training and trade, floated more trial medical balloons on Thursday night – repeatedly suggesting disinfectant be injected into the bodies of humans to cure coronavirus patients while doubling down on his claims that sunlight kills the deadly virus, write John T Bennet.
Read more on a press conference of trial balloons and troubling suggestions below:
Australia’s prime minister has levelled criticism against the World Health Organisation – but stopped short of siding with the US decision to withdraw funding from the body.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters: “What happens at the upper echelons of these organisations, and how they operate, I think is in need of change.”
“Australia will continue to advocate for that change with like-minded countries who share our concerns”, he added.
“What ultimate decision the United States ultimately takes on funding will be a matter for them. We will certainly want to see an improved set of arrangements at the WHO, and we’ll continue to push for that through the forums as a participant, as a member, as someone who understands and publicly states the value of the work that it does on the ground. So, I think that’s a constructive but not uncritical partner,
Donald Trump is facing pushback after asking if “something like” disinfection could be injected into the lungs to treat the virus.
“And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because, you see, it gets on the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it’d be interesting to check that. So that you’re going to have to use medical doctors, but it sounds — it sounds interesting to me.”
Dr. Vin Gupta, a pulmonologist told NBC news: “This notion of injecting or ingesting any type of cleansing product into the body is irresponsible, and it’s dangerous,”
“It’s a common method that people utilise when they want to kill themselves.”
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