Coronavirus Latest: Cleaning Companies Beg, 'Do Not Inject Disinfectant' After Trump Bizarre Suggestion
Saturday: Las Vegas Mayor offers citizens as COVID death 'control group'; environmental laws to be cut
Morning! It’s Saturday, April 25. Here’s today’s ‘5+5: coronavirus edition’.
Each day I’m bringing you 5 things to know about the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak + 5 non-corona things to start your day off.
If you haven’t already, please sign up above ^^ to get this every day in your emails.
You can email me at joshb2@protonmail.com if you have tips, feedback, ideas or want to chat
You can also find me on Twitter at @joshbutler; on Facebook; or on Instagram
Wash your hands and sneeze into your elbow. Practise physical distancing - at least 1.5 metres of separation. “Stay the fuck at home”.
Latest Australian stats: as of 6am Saturday, Australia has 6687 reported cases of COVID-19 (that’s +20 since the day before), with 5273 reported as ‘recovered’; there have been 79 deaths; and more than 487,000 tests have been done, according to the latest federal Department of Health stats. Full global stats breakdown below
5 CORONAVIRUS THINGS
Trump’s bizarre disinfectant idea
Important: Do not inject yourself with bleach. It’s 2020 and I can’t believe I just had to write that, but it’s also a warning coming from the world’s leading cleaning product companies. As you may have seen yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump asked some of his top science advisors “is there a way we can do something like [disinfectant] by injection inside or almost a cleaning?” (my story here)
Needless to say, do not inject yourself with bleach.
Australia’s chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, was asked about this and laughed it off at a Canberra press conference soon after. But others were not laughing, with cleaning corporations quickly distancing themselves from the idea.
“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),” said a statement from the Reckitt Benckiser Group, which produces Dettol and Lysol.
Right-wing media outlets soon began covering for Trump, when it was quickly realised that his remarks did not go over well — some claimed he was merely “suggesting” research be done, not actually recommending it, while others said he didn’t literally mean “injection” (despite literally saying “injection”).
But Trump soon blasted them all out of the water, claiming he was being “sarcastic” and wanted “just to see what would happen” regarding the responses of the journalists in the room (story here).
It didn’t exactly sound very sarcastic, but see what you think:
To add one more twist to the story, The Guardian reported today that “The leader of the most prominent group in the US peddling potentially lethal industrial bleach as a “miracle cure” for coronavirus wrote to Donald Trump at the White House this week.”
Again, and I can’t stress this enough people, do not inject yourself with bleach.
Las Vegas mayor offers city as “control group” for corona death rates
This is a wild one so hold on. Carolyn Goodman — mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada — went on CNN to talk about her desire to “reopen” the famous gambling and holiday strip ASAP, amidst the coronavirus pandemic (story here).
It goes without saying that all the things Vegas is famous for — hotels, big crowds, drinking in bars, sharing meals — are very much frowned upon during this time of contagion. Nevada has more than 4000 COVID cases, and around 200 deaths.
But the mayor told host Anderson Cooper she’d be happy to offer her city as a “control group” to see how many people die without social distancing.
Really.
It’s bonkers.
At points, Cooper just rubs his eyeballs with his palms in disbelief (side note, you’re also not meant to do that during corona, don’t touch your face and wash your hands people!)
Government plans to slash environmental laws to help corona recovery
Many green groups feared the horrendous economic downturn from coronavirus would prompt governments (or give them an excuse) to wind back already sketchy plans to tackle climate change. It’s already happening in Australia, with the federal government planning to cut “green tape” or environmental laws which can slow down or block development.
The Guardian reports the government may move to change laws before the findings of a review into the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, with environment minister Sussan Ley saying she wanted to see laws reformed to “prevent unnecessary delays and improve environmental standards”. The Australian’s report — headlined ‘Green tape to be cleared for recovery’ — claims “restrictive environmental regulations have grown 4½ times since 2000 and threaten to hamper the economic recovery.”
Trump ‘could lose election’ because his voters are dying
A study in the U.S. found that “[coronavirus-linked] deaths of 65-and-older Republican voters in several swing states will far exceed those of Democrats” and could swing the election against Trump. Politico admits the study was published in “a little-noticed public administration journal — Administrative Theory & Praxis” but the prediction follows trends in the U.S. and worldwide, that those dying from COVID are usually older, heavier and less healthy — that’s Trump country.
Politico reports “demographic shifts alone could be enough to swing crucial states to Joe Biden in the fall.”
Today’s stats:
The latest stats from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (as of 7.30am AEST Saturday) report 2,790,986 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide. There have been 195,920 deaths.
The United States has 890,524 confirmed cases, with Spain next but far behind on 219,764, then Italy (192,994). The U.S. has the most deaths (51,017), then Italy (25,969) and Spain third on 22,524. France and the United Kingdom are not far behind.
In Australia, the latest federal stats (as of 6am Saturday) show 6687 cases, 5273 people recovered, 79 deaths, and 487,000 tests.
The latest Australian graph:
5 NON-CORONAVIRUS THINGS
It’s Anzac Day, and of course there are no big public services — but people standing in their driveways before sunrise, holding candles, marked the solemn day in about the only way they could now.
Tonight there’s a huge “virtual gig” happening with the likes of Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly, Vance Joy, Tones & I, The Wiggles, Tim Minchin, Tame Impala, Bliss N Eso and stacks more. It’s on Channel 7 from 7.30pm.
The cast of Parks & Rec is reuniting for a live special on April 30, which is good news for me personally, a big fan of this show and someone who is currently re-watching it for the fifth time. It will be coronavirus-themed — Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope “is determined to stay connected to her friends in a time of social distancing” while the show “will help raise money for Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund.”
Sydney beaches reopened this week — but were quickly closed again because people didn’t follow the rules and insisted on behaving exactly how eastern suburbs people do.
Still not a lot of word on how the NRL will look this year — but it will be at least a 15-round season, with State of Origin to be played on three consecutive weeks after the grand final, the Daily Telegraph reports.
IMPORTANT EVERY DAY
You “must” stay home at all times unless to shop for essential supplies; get medical care; exercise alone or with one other person; or work and education (more info here).
be hygienic; wash your hands properly, at least 30 seconds with soap and water, multiple times a day (here’s how you need to do it, plus a handy Dr Karl video tutorial); sneeze and cough into your elbows.
Listen to only official information from the World Health Organisation and legitimate health bodies — Don’t share dodgy stuff on Facebook. If it looks too good (or bad) to be true, it often is.
World Health Organisation latest statistics here
Australian government latest statistics here
Signing off - stay safe, be healthy, look after yourself and others
Josh