2019-nCoV

Now that the number of new people infected with the coronavirus in China is slowing down, the country's Communist Party is ratcheting up threats against the West, with a particularly nasty warning about access to life-saving drugs aimed at the United States.

In an article in Xinhua, the state-run media agency that's largely considered the mouthpiece of the party, Beijing bragged about its handling of COVID-19, a virus that originated in the city of Wuhan and has spread quickly around the world, killing nearly 5,000 people and infecting thousands more. The article also claimed that China could impose pharmaceutical export controls which would plunge America into "the mighty sea of coronavirus."

The disturbing threats made during a global pandemic as well as the scary consequences if that threat becomes real highlight just how tight China's grip is on the global supply chain. Already, the Food and Drug Administration has announced the first drug shortage related to the coronavirus. Though it did not disclose which drug was in short supply, the FDA did say it could not access enough raw components needed because they are made in China.
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Though the United States is a global leader in research, much of the manufacturing of life-saving drugs has moved overseas. The last American manufacturing plant to make a key component in penicillin shuttered in 2004. Since then, Chinese pharmaceuticals companies have moved in and taken over, supplying between 80 percent and 90 percent of U.S. antibiotics, 70 percent of acetaminophen and about 40 percent of heparin, according to Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

If China makes good on its threat to cut off the United States, Rubio believes the results could be crippling.
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FiEND said:

thats why i didnt get tested. whats the point, i would just do what i am doing now. reading TW listening for the grim reaper moving about my house. prob get me in the tub, that's where im most vulnerable.

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samUwell said:

China is publically calling out the US.

Fun times.

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An Islamic scholar who ranted about how the Coronavirus was an “act of Allah” and “Divine Punishment against the Chinese” for their treatment of Muslims in the west of the country has been treated for the deadly covid-19 coronavirus.

Shi’ite Iraqi Islamic scholar Hadi Al-Modarresi, from Qom, Iran, in a February 28 video spoke about how the virus was providential retribution for China’s appalling treatment of their minority Muslim population, was reportedly diagnosed with the coronavirus a few days later.
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samUwell said:

‘Where was your patient zero?’ Chinese official speculates AMERICANS may have infected Wuhan at army games & calls to ‘come clean’


Fun times.

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Around 400 National Guard personnel have been activated across six states to support operations to stem the spread of novel coronavirus, the National Guard Bureau said in a press release.

The governors of Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, New York, Rhode Island and Washington have all activated components of their Army and Air National Guard. Guardsmen in California and Maryland are also expected to join their states’ efforts today.

“The National Guard is fully involved at the local, state, and federal level in the planning and execution of the nation’s response to COVID-19,” a National Guard Bureau spokesperson said in the release. “In times of emergency, the National Guard Bureau serves as a federal coordinating agency should a state require assistance from the National Guard of another state.”

“At the national level, Guard members are training personnel on COVID-19 response, identifying and preparing National Guard facilities for use as isolation housing, and compiling state medical supply inventories,” the release continued. “National Guard personnel will provide assistance to the states that include logistical support, disinfection/cleaning, activate/conduct transportation of medical personnel, call center support, and meal delivery."

While the number currently stands at under 500, the National Guard Bureau said those numbers “will rapidly change,” as the agency “expect that number to approach 1,000” by the end of the day.

Currently, 33 states have declared states of emergencies to mobilize greater resources and streamline responses to the new coronavirus outbreak, the bureau noted.
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Hellsfury said:

Yeah... That seems probable... lets cripple the place where our economy makes everything...

That's probably a great excuse for "Made in America"... if American Industry was based in America instead of "Designed in California/Made in China".. .when China gets the sniffles, it doesn't grind the world economy to a halt.

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StapleMammal1 said:

The virus is basically the flu

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HelenKeller said:

lol

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Skipperlipicus said:

well let's say you get tested and the result is positive. it'd hopefully prompt you to contact others who you may have spread it to and warn them to self isolate as well so as to contain the spread.

one the biggest dangers of this thing is how easily it spreads. people with minor symptoms think they just have a cold. instead of playing it safe they go about their day as usual helping to spread the virus. this is happening all over the United States right now. We're just behind Italy right now.

If you aren't aware - the situation in Italy is frighteningly grim. Hospitals are in triage mode - straight up turning away patients that need ventilators so they can focus on younger patients who might have longer lives to live. People are dying in their homes, and those that live there are stuck with the corpse because no one is coming around to pick up the dead.

If you have the opportunity to work from home and self isolate, now is the time to do so. If you have any sort of a leadership role in your work, now is the time to start forcing your employees to work from home.

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