Archives of “April 2020” month

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US President Trump re hydroxychloroquine drug – “strong signs” it works on the coronavirus

  
  Analysis
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White House press briefing on coronavirus, Trump remarks

  • Trump says they’ve bought a “tremendous amount” of hydroxychloroquine
  • claims there are “strong signs” it works on the coronavirus
Trump says has a bought 29m doses of the drug
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Note:
Anthony Fauci, America’s most respected infectious disease expert, and others emphasize that it hasn’t been proven safe/effective
Fauci pictured here behind Trump at an earlier briefing.
White House press briefing on coronavirus, Trump remarks  

Japan press reports a state of emergency to be declared on Tuesday or before

  
  Analysis
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In that post some alarming developments from Tokyo over the weekend:
  • Tokyo Metropolitan government confirmed 143 new coronavirus infections on Sunday
  • that’s the highest rate of increase on record
  • total in Tokyo now is 1,034
  • The daily infection rate has more than tripled in just a week
Japan had been ahead of the curve on the outbreak but have since let their guard slip.

US embassy in Japan warned US citizens to make arrangements to return to the US now

  
Analysis, Politics
  Tags

An ICYMI from Japan, the US embassy there has said to US citizens in Japan they should

  • either return home now or be prepared to remain abroad for an indefinite period
  • “If U.S. citizens wish to return to the United States, they should make arrangements to do so now
  • The Japanese Government’s decision to not test broadly makes it difficult to accurately assess the COVID-19 prevalence rate”
This comes amidst a resurgence of cases in Tokyo specifically
  • Tokyo Metropolitan government confirmed 143 new coronavirus infections on Sunday
  • that’s the highest rate of increase on record
  • total in Tokyo now is 1,034
  • The daily infection rate has more than tripled in just a week

Japan offers Avigan for free to countries fighting coronavirus

  
  Analysis
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The flu drug Avigan will be made available at no cost to countries that ask for it to treat the novel coronavirus, the Japanese government announced Friday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that about 30 countries have sought Avigan through diplomatic channels. “We are making arrangements to provide it for free,” he said.

Doing so will help expand clinical research into the drug, Suga said. At 2,617 cases as of Friday, Japan has relatively few of the more than 1 million infections worldwide, making broad clinical trials difficult.

Indonesia ordered 2 million doses of Avigan on March 20, and the country plans to begin clinical testing once the shipment arrives. The country has seen coronavirus cases there surge to 1,986, after going weeks without confirming infections in the early stages of the epidemic. Indonesia now has 181 deaths, placing it higher than South Korea, and second only to China in Asia.

Japan has also received a request from Turkey. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca met with Akio Miyajima, the Japanese ambassador to Ankara, last month and inquired about acquiring Avigan, diplomatic sources told the Nikkei Asian Review. (more…)

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