The Daily Moth 3-11-2020
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Wednesday, March 11. Ready for news?
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Coronavirus now a “global pandemic”
The World Health Organization officially declared the spread of coronavirus as a “global pandemic.” It shows that the WHO is escalating how they classify the virus.
Here’s a mini vocabulary lesson. An outbreak is when there are many infected people within a small geographic region. An epidemic is when there are many infected within a large region, such as a state or a country. A pandemic is when a virus is moving through multiple countries and around the world, which is what is happening with COVID-19.
WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he is deeply concerned by the levels of spread and inaction by other countries.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that two-thirds — 60% to 70%— of the country’s population was likely to be infected with coronavirus. There are about 1,200 people who are infected in Germany out of a population of over 82 million people, so it is a very concerning prediction.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that they would require everybody entering the country to be isolated for 14 days. There are at least 82 Israelis who have tested positive for COVID-19. Israel is now banning indoor gatherings of over 100 people.
The number of coronavirus cases in the United States has now gone above 1,000 with at least 31 deaths.
Three TSA workers at the Mineta San Jose International Airport in California have tested positive for COVID-19.
The E3, which is the largest video game convention in North America, announced they would cancel their convention that was scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles — because of concerns with coronavirus.
The U.S. Treasury Department is considering delaying the April 15 deadline for tax payments to help with the economic impact of the virus.
A top U.S. official on infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said he recommends sports leagues at both the collegiate and professional level to no longer allow fans into stadiums for games. He said large crowds increases the risk of the virus spreading.
Dr. Fauci warned in a congressional hearing that we will see more cases in the U.S. and that things will get worse than they are right now. He also said that the COVID-19 is at least ten times more lethal than the common flu.
Reuters reported that the White House has ordered any top-level coronavirus meetings to be considered classified. This means that only those who have security clearances can participate. Reuters quoted anonymous officials as saying that there were many meetings that were considered secret since the middle of January. The sources criticized the decision by saying it was unnecessary and delayed the public response to the virus.
Vice President Mike Pence announced that the CEOs of major health insurance companies have agreed to not charge people for copays when they get tested for coronavirus.
President Trump tweeted that America has the best scientists, doctors, nurses and health care professionals who are putting in a policy to prevent, detect, treat, and create a vaccine against coronavirus to save lives in America and the world. He said “Together, we will PREVAIL!” He also tweeted that he was fully prepared to use the “full power of the Federal Government” to deal with our current challenge of coronavirus.
U.S. stocks had another terrible day today. The DOW Jones closed down 1,465 points. It erased yesterday’s gain of over 1,100 points. It means that we are now in a bear market, which is when we are 20% below our most recent high.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/03/11/coronavirus-live-updates/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-secrecy-exclusive/exclusive-white-house-told-federal-health-agency-to-classify-coronavirus-deliberations-sources-idUSKBN20Y2LM
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Gallaudet University to move all classes online for rest of semester due to coronavirus
Gallaudet University’s President Roberta “Bobbi” Cordano and other top university officials announced in a public livestream video that due to concerns with coronavirus, all classes that were conducted on campus would be moved to an online, remote setting starting March 23, which is the first Monday after their spring break next week. The remote format will continue for the rest of the spring semester, which ends on May 4.
Gallaudet students who live in on-campus residence halls will be asked to go home. There will be some students who will be allowed to stay on campus if they meet a certain criteria. On-campus cafeterias will still be open and serve food, but on a smaller scale.
The university will not be closed, but classes will be done remotely. Events that have more than 25 people will not be allowed.
Gallaudet officials emphasized that the coronavirus crisis is not just a Gallaudet issue, but a global issue. Cordano said they are doing what they can to help slow down the spread of the virus.
Cordano said there was a “scare” yesterday with rumors of a student who was infected with COVID-19, but that there are no known cases on campus.
Many people online asked about the status of their financial aid or if they would get a refund for room/board payments. Gallaudet officials said they are still assessing those areas.
Cordano said it is an emotional time because many students are losing that day-to-day interaction, their social life, and access to a bilingual environment. She encouraged the Class of 2023 to be creative in how they would conduct the rat funeral, a treasured springtime tradition.
Plans for this year’s commencement (graduation) are still in the discussion stage. Officials said they would make an announcement in the future.
Cordano said it is their intention to have in-person classes in the fall.
More information and updates is available on coronavirus.gallaudet.edu.
Gallaudet is not the only university to respond to the coronavirus crisis in this way. Yesterday I reported that Harvard University was moving all classes online and would ask their students to move out of on-campus residence facilities.
The New York Times reported that American University in Washington D.C., Syracuse University in upstate New York, the University of Maryland, Ohio State University, and Rice University in Houston were cancelling in-person classes. Many more educational programs have shifted to an online approach.
https://www.facebook.com/gallaudetu/videos/605837016936908/https://coronavirus.gallaudet.edu/
https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-closings.html
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Joe Biden dominant on “Big Tuesday”
Yesterday six states voted in Democratic primaries and Joe Biden had another dominant night by winning four states: Mississippi, Missouri, Michigan, and Idaho.
Bernie Sanders won North Dakota.
Washington state is almost split between Biden and Bernie with votes still being counted.
What we learned from “Big Tuesday” is that Joe Biden is the definitive frontrunner in the Democratic race. He has overtaken Bernie since winning South Carolina and the majority of delegates on Super Tuesday.
We also learned that Bernie appears to be in a weaker position than he was in 2016 — because he narrowly won Michigan and easily won Washington over Hillary Clinton. Now we are seeing that Bernie has lost Michigan and is struggling with Biden with Washington state.
Biden now has 857 delegates to Bernie’s 709. 1,991 delegates are needed to win the Democratic nomination this summer and represent the party against Republican Donald Trump for the nationwide election in November.
Which states will vote next? On Tuesday, March 17, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio will vote.
Former Democratic candidate Andrew Yang announced last night on CNN that he is endorsing Joe Biden because to him, the math is clear that Biden will be the nominee.
Biden said in a speech last night that he wanted to thank Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their tireless energy and their passion and said that “together we will defeat Donald Trump… We’re going to bring this nation together.”
Bernie said today in a speech that last night was not a good night for his campaign from a delegate point of view. He said he would stay in the presidential race and emphasized that he has the most votes from younger people. He said he looks forward to debating Biden on Sunday night in Arizona.
Now, I’m announcing that DPAN.TV will livestream the debate and provide ASL interpreters. I’ll be co-hosting it with Kriston Pumphrey. You can tune in on DPAN.TV at 7:45 pm. I’ll share the debate on Moth Facebook.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/politics/bernie-sanders-campaign/index.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/11/joe-biden-speech-trump/
DPAN.TV: https://bit.ly/2TXfl6v
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Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in prison
Former film producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York. He was convicted by a jury in New York City of first degree criminal sexual act and third degree rape two weeks ago.
He was charged after “The New Yorker” and “The New York Times” published investigative reports in 2017 that detailed accusations of sexual assault levied against him from multiple women in the film industry, which sparked the #MeToo movement.
Weinstein, who is 67 years old, has been detained at Rikers Island while awaiting his sentencing, and will now be imprisoned for a long time.
He has another criminal case in Los Angeles with charges of rape and sexual battery and could get 28 more years in prison. He may be extradited to California to face those charges.
Weinstein was once one of Hollywood’s most powerful producers with films linked to his companies winning a combined total of 81 Academy Awards, but it is said that it was an “open secret” that he would sexually exploit aspiring actresses.
https://www.axios.com/harvey-weinstein-sentenced-prison-693aedaa-3f3b-461b-adfb-fb4e6c29cf0a.html
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/us/harvey-weinstein-sentence/index.html
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!