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By Sanwar Ali:
President Donald Trump continues to spark controversy over his views on coronavirus COVID-19. Due to the current situation the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recently advised Americans to wear a mask. Trump seems to disagree with this.
President Trump had the following comments to make about the wearing of masks on Friday:
“The CDC is advising the use of non-medical cloth face covering as an additional voluntary public health measure…”
“This is voluntary. I don’t think I’m going to be doing it.”
Melania Trump the First Lady appeared to disagree with Donald Trump and had the following to say:
“As the weekend approaches I ask that everyone take social distancing & wearing a mask/face covering seriously.”
The US has more infections than any other Country in the World with 300,000 people infected and over 8,000 deaths; New York is the worst affected area in the US with over 3,000 deaths. The US is now making it easier for some migrant physicians to gain entry to the US to help with the coronavirus pandemic. There are also concerns that migrants in the US are receiving less help dealing with the coronavirus pandemic than US citizens.
Disagreement on the use of masks in the US
Jerome Adams, the US surgeon general, commented in a tweet at the end of February that people should “STOP BUYING MASKS”. He insisted that they were not effective in protecting the general public.
Adams seems to have changed his mind on this and now has following to say:
“In light of this new evidence, CDC recommends, and the task force recommends, wearing cloth-based coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. These includes places like grocery stores and pharmacies.”
Migrants in US ICE jail want to go home
Illegal immigrants are also being affected by the coronavirus situation. Detainees in a US immigration jail want to be released due to a potential Covid-19 exposure. They would much rather be deported than continue to face the bad conditions in prison. Concerns that ICE jails may become death traps.
The Guardian reported that three men at the Winn correctional center in a remote part of Louisiana said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has isolated 44 of them together. Some of the detainees are so desperate to leave that they are seeking voluntary deportation. Detainees complain that their demands for masks, hand sanitizer, gloves and cleaning supplies have been ignored. Older detainees are especially at risk.
300,000 infected in US and over one million people Worldwide infected by coronavirus
The US is the Country with the highest number of infections at 300,000. Italy has the highest number of deaths with over 15,000 deaths. Around the World the number of people with coronavirus COVID-19 is more than 1.1 million. The number of deaths Worldwide is more than 59,000. In the UK recently in one day the deaths increased by 700. These figures may actually be misleading. The real figures for the number of people infected and deaths may well be far higher.
Donald Trump has offered to help Iran
Trump seems to be taking a more conciliatory view towards Iran than was the case before the coronavirus pandemic:
"They have a very big case of virus. A very, very big case. One of the worst on Earth if you believe what you're reading and I happen to believe what I see and what I know. If they want help, we will give them help."
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