buzzfeednews--2020-04-07--A Brooklyn YMCA Employee Who Knew Everyone By Name Has Died Of The Coronavirus

“ Those kids just light up when they come in the door and see her.
” All the staff at the YMCA in Brooklyn 's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood knew that when cleaning up an event — such as the famous Halloween parties or summer camp sign-up events — all the balloons were to be bundled up and given to Miss Janice at the front desk .
Janice Rodman , 52 , then personally handed out the balloons to every child who passed her .
“ Those kids just light up when they come in the door and see her , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA .
“ She just loved up on everybody.
” In mid-March , Rodman started getting sick , her daughter told BuzzFeed News .
Her family and doctor believed it was bronchitis , an illness she ’ s had regularly , and cared for her at home , but hospital staff later told the family it was COVID-19 , the disease caused by the novel coronavirus .
“ She didn ’ t know she was as sick as she was , ” her daughter Jasmine Thornton said .
On March 30 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pale — a sign of a lack of oxygen — and decided to seek medical attention as her mother was struggling to walk down the stairs due to shortness of breath .
`` We took her to the hospital , and they told us everything , and we found out what it was , '' said Thornton .
Rodman was placed on a ventilator , her lungs already damaged from years of bronchitis .
At 4 a.m. the following day , Thornton received a call that her mother had undergone cardiac arrest twice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hour later , she received another call that her mother had died .
`` It was the biggest punch to the stomach , '' said Thornton .
Rodman worked full time during the week at Sterling National Bank in Manhattan .
But for the last 13 years , at least once a week she sat behind the front desk of the Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA — greeting gymgoers ( including this reporter ) , enrolling people in classes , and gently scolding anyone who hadn ’ t shown up for a while .
“ This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ service , ” said Atherly , who worked with Rodman for a decade .
“ It ’ s a distinction between her job and her work.
” Thornton , 22 , was so inspired by her mother ’ s love of the YMCA that she now works as a youth counselor at another Brooklyn location .
“ Seeing how hard she worked made me want to work hard ; seeing her spread love and positivity made me want to spread it , ” she said .
“ She was so warm and loving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ She really cared about each and every last person she came in contact with at the Y.
” To the kids and families she greeted at the YMCA , she was Miss Janice .
To her close family in North Carolina , she was JP or Shining Star , because she was always a bright light .
As a child , Rodman moved from the south to Bed-Stuy , a historically black and close-knit neighborhood .
The family still lives in a three-story brownstone together .
Rodman and her daughter lived on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the second floor , her parents lived on the first floor ( until they relocated back to North Carolina permanently ) , and her sister lives in the basement apartment .
“ So many memories in this house — with her friends and girlfriends , having barbecues outside , block parties , ” said Thornton .
“ Everyone knows my mom on this block.
” Her mom loved ’ 90s R & B — Naughty by Nature , Carl Thomas — and would sing along to every word .
Often Rodman would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sundays .
“ My mom had such a great voice , ” said Thornton .
Photos of Rodman — who grew up with three sisters and two brothers — showed her as a fun party girl in 1990s Brooklyn , her nails always immaculate .
“ She definitely was a bad mama jama , ” said her daughter , laughing .
Every Mother ’ s Day , the family would return to North Carolina for days of celebrations .
Just recently Rodman traveled to North Carolina for a surprise 70th birthday for her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We played music and took a million photos , ” said Thornton .
Her mother wanted to be buried in North Carolina — although Thornton wants to hold a service in Brooklyn first , as there are a lot of people who want to say goodbye .
It ’ s unclear how she 'll be able to host a memorial during the pandemic when gatherings are not allowed in the city .
“ Janice ’ s roots in the Bed-Stuy community made her a master connector of new to old neighbors , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ YMCA .
“ She remembered everyone by name , kids ran through the door to greet her , and if you needed a special favor with registration , she was your go-to person.
” She would remind parents “ don ’ t forget to register my baby , ” said Atherly , who said she ’ d regularly get calls or texts at home from Rodman , who would beg her to help one of “ my families ” who had missed a cutoff date for classes and plead on their behalf : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spot .
I ’ ve been knowing him since he was a baby .
We ’ ve got to get him ; he ’ s good at basketball .
He ’ ll catch up.
” In a neighborhood that ’ s undergone rapid gentrification in the last decade , people like Rodman help build bridges .
“ She was loving and welcoming to everybody .
It did n't matter who you are and where you 're from , ” said Atherly .
Dozens of comments on Facebook and in email threads between YMCA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rodman was and how special she made their children feel .
“ I can ’ t imagine what is going to happen when eventually things get righted again .
I can ’ t , ” said Atherly , her voice cracking .
“ When the kids come in the door , they ’ re going to ask for Miss Janice .
It ’ s not going to be the same .
I can ’ t imagine what we ’ re going to tell those kids .
”

All the staff at the YMCA in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood knew that when cleaning up an event — such as the famous Halloween parties or summer camp sign-up events — all the balloons were to be bundled up and given to Miss Janice at the front desk.
Janice Rodman, 52, then personally handed out the balloons to every child who passed her.
“Those kids just light up when they come in the door and see her,” said Sonia Atherly, executive director of Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA. “She just loved up on everybody.”
In mid-March, Rodman started getting sick, her daughter told BuzzFeed News. Her family and doctor believed it was bronchitis, an illness she’s had regularly, and cared for her at home, but hospital staff later told the family it was COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
“She didn’t know she was as sick as she was,” her daughter Jasmine Thornton said.
On March 30, Thornton noticed her mother's lips getting pale — a sign of a lack of oxygen — and decided to seek medical attention as her mother was struggling to walk down the stairs due to shortness of breath.
"We took her to the hospital, and they told us everything, and we found out what it was," said Thornton.
Rodman was placed on a ventilator, her lungs already damaged from years of bronchitis. At 4 a.m. the following day, Thornton received a call that her mother had undergone cardiac arrest twice but was stable. Just over an hour later, she received another call that her mother had died.
"It was the biggest punch to the stomach," said Thornton.


buzzfeednews--2020-04-23--These Are The People Who Will Be Affected By Trump's New Immigration Ban

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
President Trump signed a presidential order Wednesday temporarily banning green cards for certain groups of people outside the United States , a sweeping move that implements restrictions on legal immigration by presidential proclamation .
The proclamation suspends access to green cards for family members of permanent residents who are outside of the United States , parents and siblings of US citizens abroad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the country as part of a lottery system for 60 days .
Trump has previously derided the lottery program , which provides 50,000 green cards annually to those from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the US , as a “ horror show.
” “ The people that are sent to our country are not the people that we want , ” Trump said in early 2019 .
“ They come in through the lottery .
They come in through chain migration.
” The practical impact of the order , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Because of the coronavirus pandemic , the State Department has already suspended routine visa services at embassies and consulates across the world .
The proclamation , however , includes a section that requires administration officials to recommend whether Trump should extend the order .
The policy will not apply to those coming to the country temporarily , such as agricultural workers or students , or to minor children or spouses of citizens who are outside of the US and applying for green cards .
Nor does it apply to those who had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also carved out exceptions for certain specialized workers , like nurses or doctors , along with foreign investors who spend money in the US and apply for green cards .
“ I have determined that , without intervention , the United States faces a potentially protracted economic recovery with persistently high unemployment if labor supply outpaces labor demand , ” Trump wrote in the proclamation .
“ Excess labor supply affects all workers and potential workers , but it is particularly harmful to workers at the margin between employment and unemployment , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an economic expansion and ‘ first out ’ during an economic contraction .
”

President Trump signed a presidential order Wednesday temporarily banning green cards for certain groups of people outside the United States, a sweeping move that implements restrictions on legal immigration by presidential proclamation.
The proclamation suspends access to green cards for family members of permanent residents who are outside of the United States, parents and siblings of US citizens abroad, and thousands of people who come to the country as part of a lottery system for 60 days.
Trump has previously derided the lottery program, which provides 50,000 green cards annually to those from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the US, as a “horror show.”
“The people that are sent to our country are not the people that we want,” Trump said in early 2019. “They come in through the lottery. They come in through chain migration.”
The practical impact of the order, for now, appeared to be limited. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the State Department has already suspended routine visa services at embassies and consulates across the world. The proclamation, however, includes a section that requires administration officials to recommend whether Trump should extend the order.
The policy will not apply to those coming to the country temporarily, such as agricultural workers or students, or to minor children or spouses of citizens who are outside of the US and applying for green cards. Nor does it apply to those who had the visas before Wednesday.
The administration also carved out exceptions for certain specialized workers, like nurses or doctors, along with foreign investors who spend money in the US and apply for green cards.
“I have determined that, without intervention, the United States faces a potentially protracted economic recovery with persistently high unemployment if labor supply outpaces labor demand,” Trump wrote in the proclamation. “Excess labor supply affects all workers and potential workers, but it is particularly harmful to workers at the margin between employment and unemployment, who are typically ‘last in’ during an economic expansion and ‘first out’ during an economic contraction.”


buzzfeednews--2020-04-23--A Chinese Journalist Who Went Missing While Reporting On The Coronavirus Has Reappeared In An Online

A Chinese Journalist Who Went Missing While Reporting On The Coronavirus Has Reappeared In An Online Video

Li Zehua , who livestreamed his detention , had traveled to Wuhan after another citizen journalist disappeared .
The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
A Chinese journalist who went missing two months ago after being pursued and detained while reporting on the coronavirus in Wuhan has reappeared in a video posted online .
Li Zehua was last seen on Feb. 26 when he posted a video where he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He livestreamed his detention later that day when security officials entered the apartment he was staying in .
Li traveled to Wuhan , the city where the coronavirus was first detected in December 2019 , after contact was lost with another citizen journalist , Chen Qiushi .
On Wednesday a new video was posted on Li ’ s Twitter , Weibo , and YouTube profiles , where the 25-year-old explained that he had spent much of the last two months in quarantine .
In the video , Li , standing in front @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a calm tone , says that when men entered his apartment on Feb. 26 he was told he was being investigated on charges of disrupting public order .
Although he was not charged , he was quarantined — first in Wuhan but then later in his hometown — because he had visited “ sensitive areas.
” Li said his devices were taken from him while in quarantine , but that he was given plenty of food and allowed to watch Chinese news programs in the evenings .
`` During this stretch of time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rest and food , civilly and in accordance with the law .
They really cared for me , '' he says in the video .
`` Thank you to all the people who looked after me and cared about me .
I hope all the people who are suffering in this epidemic can recover their health soon .
God bless China .
I hope the world can come together.
” The words are quite different from how Li , who briefly worked for state broadcaster CCTV in the past , spoke in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including reports on efforts to cover up new infections and interviews with overworked crematorium employees .
China has a track record of airing forced confessions on state TV , although this video differs because it was posted directly on to Li 's own social media profiles .
“ There are too many things we don ’ t understand .
We want to know more .
We have to understand what ’ s going on .
But they don ’ t want us to know what we want to know ; they want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to know , ” he said in his first video from Wuhan in February .
“ This is why I ’ m here.
” Li ’ s videos have been watched millions of times online , on Weibo but also YouTube and Twitter .
Chen , the journalist who disappeared before Li ’ s arrival in Wuhan , is still missing , according to a Twitter account run by friends .
The whereabouts of another journalist from Wuhan , Fang Bin , are also still unknown .

A Chinese journalist who went missing two months ago after being pursued and detained while reporting on the coronavirus in Wuhan has reappeared in a video posted online.
Li Zehua was last seen on Feb. 26 when he posted a video where he was being chased by a white SUV. He livestreamed his detention later that day when security officials entered the apartment he was staying in.
Li traveled to Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus was first detected in December 2019, after contact was lost with another citizen journalist, Chen Qiushi.
On Wednesday a new video was posted on Li’s Twitter, Weibo, and YouTube profiles, where the 25-year-old explained that he had spent much of the last two months in quarantine.
In the video, Li, standing in front of a white background and speaking in a calm tone, says that when men entered his apartment on Feb. 26 he was told he was being investigated on charges of disrupting public order.


buzzfeednews--2020-04-22--Two Antibody Studies Say Coronavirus Infections Are More Common Than We Think. Scientists Are Mad.

In California , two of the nation ’ s first big antibody surveys estimated that the true number of coronavirus infections is significantly higher than believed .
But scientists are skeptical .
Over the last week , two overlapping teams of scientists in California released the first results of big antibody surveys to determine how many people have already been infected with the coronavirus .
Their estimates were jaw-dropping .
In Silicon Valley , the true number of coronavirus infections could be 50 to 85 times higher than the number of reported ones .
And in Los Angeles County , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more people infected than the official count .
The numbers , covered in the national press and shared widely on social media , suggested that far more people than previously realized have “ hidden ” infections .
If that many people have already gotten sick , it also changes the calculation about how frequently the virus can lead to death .
In the US , death rates of confirmed cases are over 5 % , a high number driven in part by a lack of diagnostic testing .
But the new numbers out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kill a much smaller portion of the wider pool of diagnosed and undiagnosed cases , in this case around 0.12 % to 0.2 % .
That would be closer to the death rate for the flu , which is about 0.1 % .
Right-wing and libertarian sites immediately seized on the findings , arguing that the economic shutdown has not been worth the public health gains .
Most experts agree there are far more coronavirus infections in the world than are being counted .
But almost as instantly as the California numbers were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saw as significant problems with , or at least big questions about , how the scientists had arrived at them .
Chief among their concerns was the accuracy of the test underpinning both studies , and whether the scientists had fully accounted for the number of false positives it might generate .
“ I think the authors of the above-linked paper owe us all an apology , ” Andrew Gelman , a statistics and political science professor at Columbia University , wrote on his blog last weekend in reference to the study out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tech giants like Apple and Google .
He added , “ I think they need to apologize because these were avoidable screw-ups .
They ’ re the kind of screw-ups that happen if you want to leap out with an exciting finding and you don ’ t look too carefully at what you might have done wrong.
” The two antibody surveys , led by researchers at Stanford University and the University of Southern California , are the largest conducted in the US to date .
Scientists worldwide are counting on widespread use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as serological tests , to eventually answer important questions about the pandemic , from who might be immune to reinfection to exactly how widespread the disease is .
Such studies are underway around the world , from Germany to Italy to New York .
“ These are extremely valuable studies , and when they ’ re done right , they ’ re going to tell us really important things , ” Marm Kilpatrick , an infectious disease researcher at the University of California at Santa Cruz , told BuzzFeed News .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done in careful ways , they can mislead us about what ’ s actually happening.
” Kilpatrick worries that the results of these two studies could in turn erode public trust in the need for lockdowns .
“ If that ’ s based on faulty information , that would be terrible , ” he said .
Here are some of the biggest criticisms about the studies .
Criticism # 1 : The scientists sought media attention before having supporting data .
The pandemic has kicked academic publishing into warp speed , and scientists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day , bypassing the normal checks of peer review in favor of quickly sharing information .
Even so , both research teams — who share a member , Neeraj Sood of USC — have moved at a pace that ’ s raised some eyebrows in the scientific community .
They floated the possibility of scores of uncounted infections to the media before presenting data to back it up , leading some observers to question whether they had rushed to prove a preconceived theory .
On March 17 in Stat , before the antibody @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ioannidis bemoaned the lack of reliable data about the virus , a “ fiasco ” that “ creates tremendous uncertainty about the risk of dying from Covid-19.
” The next week , in a Wall Street Journal op-ed titled “ Is the Coronavirus as Deadly as They Say ?
, ” two other Stanford faculty argued that “ projections of the death toll could plausibly be orders of magnitude too high.
” Last Friday , a team led by those three researchers uploaded a preliminary draft , or a preprint , about their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ April , there were 956 confirmed cases there .
But based on their serological study of 3,300 people , the researchers concluded that the actual number of infections was between 48,000 and 81,000 .
On Medrxiv , the preprint server where their results were posted , readers have left 300 comments and counting .
Asked to comment for this story , Jay Bhattacharya , a Stanford professor of medicine and the paper ’ s senior author , acknowledged by email Monday night that his team had “ received a vast number of comments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They are planning to soon release a revised version “ incorporating many of the suggestions , ” with a new appendix “ addressing many of the most important criticisms we have heard , ” he wrote .
“ This is exactly the way peer review should work in science , ” he added .
And on Monday afternoon , the Los Angeles results were shared in a press conference staged by health officials from Los Angeles County and Sood , vice dean for research at USC ’ s Price School of Public Policy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In early April , the county had reported nearly 8,000 cases .
But according to the new serological study of 863 people , the researchers estimated the true number of infections was between 221,000 and 442,000 .
Those figures , according to an accompanying press release , suggest that the fatality rate is “ much lower ” than thought .
In an unexpected twist later that night , Sood said he then learned that a draft of his paper , which had not been released as part of the press conference , had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right-wing blog .
The site took it down upon his request — though not before a few scientists found it .
In an interview Tuesday afternoon , Sood said he had no idea how the report wound up online without his permission .
“ It ’ s just upsetting to me that it was done , because I really tried to make sure that something like this doesn ’ t happen , ” he told BuzzFeed News .
( BuzzFeed News has a cached copy but is not discussing it here . )
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to release the numbers under county rules , because anything the public health department is involved with must be disclosed to the county ’ s leaders .
“ But we clearly couched those results as ‘ these are preliminary findings , ' ” he said .
Sood said he plans to eventually post a paper online , but only once it has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication .
“ I do n't want ‘ crowd peer review ’ or whatever you want to call it , ” he said .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ d rather have a more formal peer review process.
” Still , skipping the traditional step of data sharing didn ’ t go over well with some scientists .
“ You can ’ t report the conclusions without providing scientific evidence — or you shouldn ’ t , ” said Natalie Dean , a University of Florida biostatistician .
Criticism # 2 : The antibody test ’ s accuracy rates may be shakier than presented .
One of scientists ’ biggest concerns is that the researchers were overly confident in their test @ @ @ @ @ @ @ account for the likely possibility that it could be lower or higher — a potential difference that would dramatically affect the studies ’ conclusions .
Tests like these look for antibodies formed by the immune system in response to a past infection , and differ from the nasal- and throat-swab diagnostic tests that spot current infections .
Antibodies are usually an indicator of immunity against infectious diseases , but since this virus has only existed for about four months , scientists don ’ t yet know how long such protection might last .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ as key to identifying who might be safe from reinfection and could help reopen the economy .
To increase their availability , the FDA is letting them be sold without checking the accuracy rates advertised by their manufacturers .
As a result , only four have “ emergency ” authorization from the agency and more than 120 others have varying — and unverified — degrees of accuracy .
Both California studies used tests from Premier Biotech , a Minnesota-based company .
These tests were used because they were donated and their accuracy claims @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said in an interview last week .
Before being deployed in Northern California , Premier ’ s test kit was run against a total of 401 samples known to be coronavirus-negative : 371 in the manufacturer ’ s testing , 30 in Stanford ’ s testing .
Across the two sets of results , Premier ’ s test reported that 399 of the 401 were negative .
The researchers interpreted this to mean that it most likely had a false-positive rate of 0.5 % , according to the report .
At the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between 0.1 % and 1.7 % , according to the researchers ’ “ confidence interval , ” a statistical term that accounts for a range of possible errors .
That matters because the Santa Clara study found antibodies in 50 of the 3,330 participants , or 1.5 % .
Since the test ’ s false-positive rate could be as high as 1.7 % , it is possible that many of the so-called positives were not , in fact , positive .
“ Literally every single one could be a false positive , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all of them were , but the problem is we can ’ t actually exclude the possibility.
” That possibility is even harder to rule out in situations when the number of actual infections is low .
If only a minority of Santa Clara County residents are infected , the test would have a higher likelihood of turning up false positives .
In their analysis , the researchers adjusted for this range of rates while calculating their infection estimates .
But given the small number of samples used to validate the test , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is almost as new as the virus , critics say it ’ s possible that the true false-positive rates could be even higher than presented .
The test also generates a large percentage of false negatives , 20 % , with a possible range of up to 28 % , according to the combined validation efforts .
“ There ’ s more uncertainty than they ’ ve accounted for , ” Dean said .
The wide range in estimates for infections in Santa Clara County in early April — from 48,000 to 81,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rates calculated for the test across the two times it was validated .
Using the manufacturer ’ s rates to correct for the total , 2.5 % of the county was infected .
Using Stanford ’ s , about 4.2 % were .
As for the Southern California study , there isn ’ t yet full data to analyze .
But researchers there found antibodies in about 35 out of 836 people , or 4.1 % of those tested .
So far , serology tests across the world have produced a wide variety @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus infections , with those from the California studies on the lower end .
At Wuhan ’ s Zhongnan Hospital , 2.4 % of its 3,600 employees were found to have antibodies .
Tests on 500 residents of a German town turned up antibodies in 14 % of them .
And a study near Boston found that 32 % of 200 people had been previously infected .
On Monday , WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus maintained that the prevalence was low , “ not more than 2 to 3 percent.
” Even slight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positives matter because , in such a small sample , they could make a big difference in the estimated infections across the population .
Sood said that he and the Stanford team had done their best to adjust for the test ’ s false positives and false negatives , while acknowledging that they were taking a second look at their confidence intervals .
“ As new data comes in about these tests , we will update these results , ” he said .
None of this means that testing shouldn ’ t have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shouldn ’ t have published their data .
The error , observers say , was in not being more upfront about how little the numbers could be trusted .
“ The fact that they made mistakes in their data analysis does not mean that their substantive conclusions are wrong ( or that they ’ re right ) , ” Gelman said by email .
“ It just means that there is more uncertainty than was conveyed in the reports and public statements.
” Criticism # 3 : The Santa Clara County study picked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Another aspect of the Santa Clara County study that has been flagged as a major problem is how it found participants : Facebook ads .
Spreading the word about tests through social media , the researchers said , helped the study get off the ground quickly and allowed organizers to target people by zip code and demographic characteristics like sex , race , and age .
Then they had people drive through three testing sites .
One potential downside of this approach , though , is that since testing is so scarce in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ test may have drawn disproportionate numbers of people who ’ d had COVID-19 symptoms but weren ’ t able to get tested .
That could have inflated the number of positive results .
It ’ s unclear by how much : The researchers said they collected data about symptoms but didn ’ t describe how many of the positive testers had symptoms or what the symptoms were .
This recruiting resulted in a group that was markedly different from Santa Clara County ’ s overall population in a couple ways : Certain zip @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Latino and Asian people were underrepresented .
Given they were Facebook users , the test likely didn ’ t include people without internet access .
When calculating the estimated infections , the researchers accounted for these differences as well as the test ’ s accuracy rates in order to try to make their results representative of the county .
They didn ’ t adjust for age , though , even though some of the age groups were also not representative : 5 % of participants were over 64 , compared with 13 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they did not have enough participants across age groups to adjust for age .
All these decisions , among others , influenced the final estimate of infections .
When the demographic and geographic differences were adjusted for , the percentage of positive results across the population , 1.5 % , nearly doubled .
Kilpatrick believes the researchers did themselves a disservice by not recruiting a more representative group from the get-go .
“ If the group that did the Stanford study had asked any of the scientists who do these studies all the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of recruiting on Facebook , ’ we ’ d say , ‘ Don ’ t do it , ’ ” he said .
An ideal way to recruit , Kilpatrick said , would be to use a county database of addresses and send letters to a subset of random addresses , making sure that any one neighborhood isn ’ t overrepresented .
Of course , he acknowledged , there ’ s always the chance that lots of people wouldn ’ t respond anyway .
Other serology studies have taken their own approaches to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Chelsea , researchers pinpricked the fingers of random passersby in Bellingham Square .
Starting this week , New York is testing more than 3,000 people in supermarkets across the state .
For the Los Angeles County study , Sood said he and his team went a different way : They enlisted a market research firm with a proprietary database of thousands of emails and phone numbers of county residents .
They invited a random subset to participate in a study “ about COVID , ” but didn ’ t say it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recruiting people to fulfill quotas for race/ethnicity , age , and so on , based on the county ’ s demographics .
Once a subgroup ’ s quota was met , they stopped enrolling people .
To make sure they were reaching underrepresented groups , the market research firm made follow-up calls to people in those categories .
Participants were then invited to drive through six testing sites on a recent weekend .
Staff also went to some respondents ’ homes to do testing there .
Even though Sood says they went to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the population , he acknowledged that there is no “ perfect ” recruitment strategy .
Of the Santa Clara County study , he said the team had done their best with limited resources .
“ We still thought it was worthwhile doing it even though we fully recognize our methods were not anywhere close to perfect , ” he said .
“ We still thought it would provide useful information and it would add to the debate about what ’ s going on.
” Few people would turn down the chance to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus .
But Dean questioned whether , from a public health messaging standpoint , it is helpful to fixate on these infection estimates when they are so preliminary .
No matter how many people may or may not be infected — numbers that scientists won ’ t be able to pin down for a long time — the real numbers that matter right now , in terms of conveying the threat of the disease , are those of the bodies ending up in ICU beds and funeral homes .
“ Either way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of people being hospitalized and dying , ” she said .
“ Everyone needs to keep that part in mind .
”

Over the last week, two overlapping teams of scientists in California released the first results of big antibody surveys to determine how many people have already been infected with the coronavirus. Their estimates were jaw-dropping.
In Silicon Valley, the true number of coronavirus infections could be 50 to 85 times higher than the number of reported ones. And in Los Angeles County, there might be 28 to 55 times more people infected than the official count.
The numbers, covered in the national press and shared widely on social media, suggested that far more people than previously realized have “hidden” infections. If that many people have already gotten sick, it also changes the calculation about how frequently the virus can lead to death. In the US, death rates of confirmed cases are over 5%, a high number driven in part by a lack of diagnostic testing.
But the new numbers out of Northern California suggest the virus may kill a much smaller portion of the wider pool of diagnosed and undiagnosed cases, in this case around 0.12% to 0.2%. That would be closer to the death rate for the flu, which is about 0.1%.
Right-wing and libertarian sites immediately seized on the findings, arguing that the economic shutdown has not been worth the public health gains.
Most experts agree there are far more coronavirus infections in the world than are being counted. But almost as instantly as the California numbers were released, critics called out what they saw as significant problems with, or at least big questions about, how the scientists had arrived at them. Chief among their concerns was the accuracy of the test underpinning both studies, and whether the scientists had fully accounted for the number of false positives it might generate.
“I think the authors of the above-linked paper owe us all an apology,” Andrew Gelman, a statistics and political science professor at Columbia University, wrote on his blog last weekend in reference to the study out of Santa Clara County, home to tech giants like Apple and Google. He added, “I think they need to apologize because these were avoidable screw-ups. They’re the kind of screw-ups that happen if you want to leap out with an exciting finding and you don’t look too carefully at what you might have done wrong.”
The two antibody surveys, led by researchers at Stanford University and the University of Southern California, are the largest conducted in the US to date. Scientists worldwide are counting on widespread use of these blood-based tests, also known as serological tests, to eventually answer important questions about the pandemic, from who might be immune to reinfection to exactly how widespread the disease is. Such studies are underway around the world, from Germany to Italy to New York.
“These are extremely valuable studies, and when they’re done right, they’re going to tell us really important things,” Marm Kilpatrick, an infectious disease researcher at the University of California at Santa Cruz, told BuzzFeed News. “I just think if they’re not done in careful ways, they can mislead us about what’s actually happening.”
Kilpatrick worries that the results of these two studies could in turn erode public trust in the need for lockdowns. “If that’s based on faulty information, that would be terrible,” he said.
Here are some of the biggest criticisms about the studies.
Criticism #1: The scientists sought media attention before having supporting data.
The pandemic has kicked academic publishing into warp speed, and scientists are uploading discoveries to the internet every day, bypassing the normal checks of peer review in favor of quickly sharing information. Even so, both research teams — who share a member, Neeraj Sood of USC — have moved at a pace that’s raised some eyebrows in the scientific community. They floated the possibility of scores of uncounted infections to the media before presenting data to back it up, leading some observers to question whether they had rushed to prove a preconceived theory.


buzzfeednews--2020-04-23--A Nurse Had Bleach Thrown At Her As She Walked Home After A Shift Treating Coronavirus Patients

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
MEXICO CITY — After another 12-hour shift , José Arturo Vera , an ER doctor in northern Mexico , was eager to get home .
Six of his colleagues were down with COVID-19 and he was exhausted .
But when Vera got to the police roadblock at the entrance to his town in Monclova , in Coahuila State , on April 16 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was coming from .
When Vera told her he was a doctor , she said he needed to turn around .
But a soldier standing nearby waved him through and Vera drove the rest of the way home .
Shortly after , a patrol car pulled up at Vera ’ s driveway and the officers inside started taking photographs of his house .
Vera was furious and started taking pictures of the cops in response .
One of them slapped his phone out of his hand and another , said Vera , threw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on his shoulders , arms , and knees .
A scuffle ensued while Vera ’ s children and his neighbors begged the cops to stop .
It was of no use .
The officers handcuffed Vera , who was still wearing his scrubs , and drove him to the station on the back of their truck .
“ They treated me like a criminal , ” Vera told BuzzFeed News , who was released from the police station after an hour .
Whereas in the US , Spain , and Italy , some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , people have rallied around medical staff , banging pots and pans in tribute , dozens of hospital workers in Mexico have become targets of discrimination and abuse from strangers and authorities who fear they are spreading the novel coronavirus .
“ It hurts to talk about what is being done to our people , ” Fabiana Zepeda , head of nursing for the Mexican Social Security Institute ( IMSS ) , said during a press conference on Monday , her voice breaking .
“ We aren ’ t carriers walking around in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to get anyone sick.
” The attacks on health workers come as the federal government is trying to recruit retired doctors and nurses to rejoin the workforce .
On Tuesday , health authorities announced the country had entered “ phase three ” of the pandemic , in which the rate of contagion is expected to grow rapidly .
As a result of his injuries during his detention last week , Vera hasn ’ t been able to work .
He has filed a report with the Coahuila State Human Rights Commission .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ unanswered .
These days , Vera keeps busy putting together the paperwork he needs to get temporary disability benefits .
He thinks it will be another week before he can get back to his job .
At least 21 nurses across Mexico have been verbally or physically assaulted since the coronavirus pandemic began , according to the IMSS .
One of them , Blanca Imelda , was walking home from the hospital in the city of Culiacán , in Sinaloa State , earlier this month when a young man threw a bag filled @ @ @ @ @ @ @

MEXICO CITY — After another 12-hour shift, José Arturo Vera, an ER doctor in northern Mexico, was eager to get home. Six of his colleagues were down with COVID-19 and he was exhausted.
But when Vera got to the police roadblock at the entrance to his town in Monclova, in Coahuila State, on April 16, an officer asked him where he was coming from. When Vera told her he was a doctor, she said he needed to turn around. But a soldier standing nearby waved him through and Vera drove the rest of the way home.
Shortly after, a patrol car pulled up at Vera’s driveway and the officers inside started taking photographs of his house. Vera was furious and started taking pictures of the cops in response. One of them slapped his phone out of his hand and another, said Vera, threw him against the car and hit him on his shoulders, arms, and knees. A scuffle ensued while Vera’s children and his neighbors begged the cops to stop.
It was of no use. The officers handcuffed Vera, who was still wearing his scrubs, and drove him to the station on the back of their truck.
“They treated me like a criminal,” Vera told BuzzFeed News, who was released from the police station after an hour.
Whereas in the US, Spain, and Italy, some of the hardest-hit countries by the pandemic, people have rallied around medical staff, banging pots and pans in tribute, dozens of hospital workers in Mexico have become targets of discrimination and abuse from strangers and authorities who fear they are spreading the novel coronavirus.
“It hurts to talk about what is being done to our people,” Fabiana Zepeda, head of nursing for the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), said during a press conference on Monday, her voice breaking. “We aren’t carriers walking around in public, and we’re not going to get anyone sick.”
The attacks on health workers come as the federal government is trying to recruit retired doctors and nurses to rejoin the workforce. On Tuesday, health authorities announced the country had entered “phase three” of the pandemic, in which the rate of contagion is expected to grow rapidly.
As a result of his injuries during his detention last week, Vera hasn’t been able to work. He has filed a report with the Coahuila State Human Rights Commission.
Calls to the local police station went unanswered.
These days, Vera keeps busy putting together the paperwork he needs to get temporary disability benefits. He thinks it will be another week before he can get back to his job.
At least 21 nurses across Mexico have been verbally or physically assaulted since the coronavirus pandemic began, according to the IMSS.
One of them, Blanca Imelda, was walking home from the hospital in the city of Culiacán, in Sinaloa State, earlier this month when a young man threw a bag filled with bleach and water at her.


buzzfeednews--2020-04-23--Elizabeth Warren's Oldest Brother, Donald Herring, Has Died From The Coronavirus

Elizabeth Warren and her brother Donald Herring in an ad for her campaign .
The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
Donald Reed Herring , a Vietnam veteran and the oldest brother to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren , died on Tuesday from COVID-19 , the disease caused by the coronavirus , the former 2020 presidential candidate announced .
`` He joined the Air Force at 19 and spent his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and a half years off and on in combat in Vietnam , '' the senator wrote on Twitter .
`` He was charming and funny , a natural leader . ''
Like many families who have had loved ones die during this pandemic , Warren has had to grieve in isolation in order to continue social distancing .
“ I ’ m grateful to the nurses and other front-line staff who took care of my brother , but it is hard to know that there was no family to hold his hand or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one more time .
And now there ’ s no funeral for those of us who loved him to hold each other close , ” she wrote .
“ I will miss my brother .
”

Donald Reed Herring, a Vietnam veteran and the oldest brother to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, died on Tuesday from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, the former 2020 presidential candidate announced.
Herring was 86.
"He joined the Air Force at 19 and spent his career in the military, including five and a half years off and on in combat in Vietnam," the senator wrote on Twitter. "He was charming and funny, a natural leader."
Like many families who have had loved ones die during this pandemic, Warren has had to grieve in isolation in order to continue social distancing.
“I’m grateful to the nurses and other front-line staff who took care of my brother, but it is hard to know that there was no family to hold his hand or to say ‘I love you’ one more time. And now there’s no funeral for those of us who loved him to hold each other close,” she wrote. “I will miss my brother.”


buzzfeednews--2020-04-22--A 5-Year-Old Girl Fell Ill With A Headache And Fever. Weeks Later, She Died Of The Coronavirus.

Skylar Herbert was a bubbly , affectionate young girl .
When she died Sunday , she became the youngest known victim of the coronavirus in Michigan .
In theory , Skylar Herbert was not someone who was likely to have contracted the coronavirus .
Far younger than those considered vulnerable to COVID-19 , the 5-year-old girl did not leave her house in Detroit for weeks ; though both her parents are first responders , neither of them had tested positive for the virus when she started feeling ill .
The first sign of something wrong was a headache so painful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On March 23 , her parents , Ebbie and LaVondria Herbert , took her to the pediatrician .
There , Skylar tested positive for strep throat and was given antibiotics , according to the Detroit News .
But she cried all night , enduring a headache that would n't let up .
Worried , her parents took her to the emergency room .
Skylar tested positive for the coronavirus .
Doctors said the headache and fever were side effects of COVID-19 , the disease caused by the novel coronavirus .
Days later , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the ICU at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak , Michigan , where doctors found that she had a rare form of meningitis , a complication from the coronavirus , and that her brain was swelling .
On April 3 , Skylar was put on a ventilator .
After staying on the ventilator for two weeks , Skylar died in the hospital on April 19 , becoming the youngest known person who died from the coronavirus in Michigan , according to state data .
`` We are heartbroken that COVID-19 has taken the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospital said .
`` We extend our deepest sympathy to Skylar 's family and all others who have lost a loved one to this virus . ''
Skylar 's parents did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News .
But LaVondria Herbert , a police officer of 25 years , told the Detroit News she and her husband decided to take Skylar off the ventilator because her condition was no longer improving .
Doctors also told them that , by that point , she might have been brain-dead .
`` We basically just knew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us , ” LaVondria said .
Now her parents are urging others to take the state 's safety measures seriously .
Ebbie Herbert , a firefighter of 18 years , told NBC News that the coronavirus outbreak in the US , where confirmed cases have surpassed 800,000 , has `` gotten out of hand . ''
Ebbie said they want people to know that `` it does n't matter what age you are , it 's coming for you . ''
Skylar was a bubbly , outgoing girl who wanted to be a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Herberts told NBC News .
She was affectionate too — she `` would run up to you and jump in your arms and hug you , '' her mom told the Detroit News .
`` It didn ’ t matter what she was doing ; she would stop what she was doing and tell me she loved me like 20 times a day , '' LaVondria said .
In a statement to BuzzFeed News , the Detroit Police Department said they are deeply saddened by Skylar 's death .
`` Skylar was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family and her loss was felt by all of us , '' the statement said .
`` We are grieving with [ her parents ] and Skylar will truly be missed . ''
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan called Skylar `` a real daughter of the city of Detroit , '' and Michigan Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer said in a press conference that she 's reached out to the Herberts .
`` They ’ ve been on the front line , and they ’ ve served with honor and integrity , and they did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this virus , '' Whitmer said .
`` Nobody does . ''
So far , Michigan has 32,967 confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,700 deaths .
Whitmer 's stay-at-home order , issued in late March , has drawn protests over the past week as residents demand she allow businesses to reopen .
But the Herberts said they support the stay-at-home order .
Ebbie told NBC News the coronavirus does n't discriminate .
`` It does n't care what color you are .
It does n't care about your nationality .
It does n't care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
`` It 's just a monster that is trying to destroy whatever is in its way . ''

In theory, Skylar Herbert was not someone who was likely to have contracted the coronavirus. Far younger than those considered vulnerable to COVID-19, the 5-year-old girl did not leave her house in Detroit for weeks; though both her parents are first responders, neither of them had tested positive for the virus when she started feeling ill.
The first sign of something wrong was a headache so painful that Skylar couldn't stop crying. On March 23, her parents, Ebbie and LaVondria Herbert, took her to the pediatrician. There, Skylar tested positive for strep throat and was given antibiotics, according to the Detroit News.
But she cried all night, enduring a headache that wouldn't let up. Worried, her parents took her to the emergency room. Skylar tested positive for the coronavirus. Doctors said the headache and fever were side effects of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Days later, she had a seizure and was admitted to the ICU at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, where doctors found that she had a rare form of meningitis, a complication from the coronavirus, and that her brain was swelling. On April 3, Skylar was put on a ventilator.
After staying on the ventilator for two weeks, Skylar died in the hospital on April 19, becoming the youngest known person who died from the coronavirus in Michigan, according to state data.
In a statement, Beaumont Health called Skylar's death a "tragedy."
"We are heartbroken that COVID-19 has taken the life of a child," the hospital said. "We extend our deepest sympathy to Skylar's family and all others who have lost a loved one to this virus."


buzzfeednews--2020-05-11--As The White House Scrambles To Contain COVID-19 Positive Staffers, Donald Trump Changes The Subject

As The White House Scrambles To Contain COVID-19 Positive Staffers, Donald Trump Changes The Subject To #Obamagate

In the face of a coronavirus outbreak that has now reached the White House , the president , his supporters , and Fox News are blustering about Barack Obama .
On the night of Saturday , May 9 , President Donald Trump tweeted five Fox News clips : One from Sean Hannity ’ s Hannity , two from Jeanine Pirro ’ s Justice With Judge Jeanine , and two from Jesse Watters ’ Watters ’ World .
All of the clips were about a supposed “ coup d ’ état , ” as the Fox anchors called it , committed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the 2016 presidential election .
`` Obamagate , that 's the subject of tonight 's 'Watters Words ' '' segment , Watters said .
`` The Obama people got caught this week and it looks like it goes straight to the top . ''
But just what is Obamagate ?
Although the # Obamagate hashtag has been popular across all major platforms , it has also elicited confusion from people not tapped into the inscrutable narratives of Trump ’ s fervent online base .
And the president did little to clear up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Monday afternoon : `` Obamagate , it 's been going on for a long time , it 's been going on from before I even got elected , ” the president said .
Asked specifically what crime he was accusing Obama of , the president declined to answer .
`` You know what the crime is .
The crime is very obvious to everybody .
All you have to do is read the newspapers , except yours , '' he said .
While no one can read the president 's mind , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hashtag to mean came from former national security adviser Michael Flynn ’ s attorney during a Fox segment on Sunday , where she claimed that the declassified memos proved FBI agents tried to entrap Flynn , then a campaign adviser to Trump , on the order of President Barack Obama .
“ The whole thing was orchestrated and set up within the FBI , Clapper , Brennan , and in the Oval Office meeting that day with President Obama , ” Flynn ’ s lawyer , Sidney Powell , told host Maria @ @ @ @ @ @ @ referring to was last week 's delivery of 6,000 pages of newly declassified transcripts of interviews conducted by the House Intelligence Committee in 2017 and 2018 from the new acting intelligence director , Richard Grenell , to Attorney General William Barr .
In reality , the newly public documents provide little more than a few extra details into what special counsel Robert Mueller released in his April 2019 report on Russian interference into the 2016 election .
According to Fox News , however , they were something else : a smoking gun that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Trump 's campaign .
`` Sources are telling Watters ' World that Attorney General Bill Barr was just given a trove of smoking gun documents that could point directly at former president Barack Obama , revealing his powerful connection to 'Spygate ' and the Russia hoax , '' Watters said on Saturday .
“ At the core , the thing that scares Obama and Biden is the truth , ” former House Oversight Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz then said during a Fox News interview Monday .
“ It ’ s hard to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ direct acknowledgment and direction from the president of the US to the FBI director , who then does things a couple of weeks later that is totally unprecedented in storming , in that the White House , putting this ambush together , and going after General Flynn like we ’ ve never seen before.
” The declassified documents were released a day after the Department of Justice dropped charges against Flynn , who pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the former Russian ambassador during the presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Trump during the campaign — and when he was under federal investigation for secret lobbying work on behalf of the Turkish government .
Despite Obama telling Trump on Nov. 10 , 2016 , not to hire Flynn , Trump made Flynn the national security adviser .
Just days before taking that job , Flynn spoke to Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak about how the United States planned to retaliate against Russia for interfering in American elections , a call intercepted by US intelligence and reviewed by Obama advisers .
Flynn went on to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 , when reports that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about the Kislyak conversations forced him from office .
“ Yesterday was a BIG day for Justice in the USA , ” Trump tweeted on Friday morning , after the charges against Flynn were dropped .
“ Congratulations to General Flynn , and many others .
I do believe there is MUCH more to come !
Dirty Cops and Crooked Politicians do not go well together !
” Flynn walking free seemed to prove to Trump ’ s supporters that there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump campaign during the 2016 election .
“ Remember that time when Flynn was fully exonerated and all the Russia hoaxers disgraced by their own words on the same day , ” right-wing news anchor Jack Posobiec tweeted on Thursday .
“ The Justice Department just said they are DROPPING it ’ s criminal case against General Flynn !
He has been totally exonerated , ” Ryan Fournier , founder of Students for Trump , tweeted .
“ Now he needs to be rehired by the Trump Administration !
” “ There is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free , ” Obama said in a private meeting on Friday .
“ That ’ s the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic — not just institutional norms — but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk .
And when you start moving in those directions , it can accelerate pretty quickly , as we ’ ve seen in other places.
” Despite the former president 's remarks , the declassified transcripts and the dropped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporters , and Fox News plenty to talk about .
And they had plenty of reasons to change the subject .
Last Thursday , a valet to the president tested positive for the coronavirus .
On Friday , Pence spokesperson Katie Miller , a regular attendee of coronavirus task force events , was announced to have tested positive , sparking fears that the virus was spreading at the White House .
Three members of the White House coronavirus task force , including Dr. Anthony Fauci , announced they ’ d be self-quarantining .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials have been asked to wear masks , a directive that will not apply to the president .
But as the White House scrambled to contact-trace which members of the administration had been exposed to infected staffers , Hannity , Pirro , and Watters banged the “ Obamagate '' drum .
According to the Fox anchors , the “ satchel '' of declassified documents proved true a long-running right-wing conspiracy theory , often referred to as “ Spygate , ” or “ Russiagate.
” Though there has still yet to be any evidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republicans like California Rep. Devin Nunes and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows have suggested that the Obama administration embedded a spy in Trump 's 2016 presidential campaign .
The claim received its moniker on May 23 , 2018 , when Trump tweeted `` SPYGATE could be one of the biggest political scandals in history ! ''
The declassification of the transcripts this week was the work of Grennell , who has been a close Trump ally .
Before taking the position , Grennell did consulting work on behalf of an Eastern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vladimir Plahotniuc , who is now a fugitive and barred from entering the US under anti-corruption sanctions .
Contradicting a report from US intelligence , in March 2020 , Grenell ’ s office told lawmakers that Moscow was not “ directly aiding any candidate ’ s re-election or any other candidates ’ election ” during the 2020 election .
According to data from BuzzSumo , stories about the dropped charges against Flynn have been a major talking point on right-wing social media , but stories about the declassified documents had n't been causing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ and Trump ’ s Saturday-night blitz , when the story started to trend via the # Obamagate hashtag .
According to an anonymous data scientist on Twitter , the # Obamagate hashtag was promoted by midsize right-wing influencers such as @ AKA_RealDirty and the QAnon-affiliated @ SheepKnowMore and started to trend after it was amplified by Brazilian former Olympic volleyball player Ana Paula Henkel , who has an active second life as a right-wing influencer on Twitter .
`` Everything has exploded now .
This is journalism , '' she tweeted in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
After Henkel ’ s tweet , supporters of Brazil ’ s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro ran with Obamagate .
There was no evidence of bot activity promoting the hashtag initially .
Declining further comment , Conspirador Norteño told BuzzFeed News that everything their team found in their research was in the thread .
Once the hashtag was trending , US-based Twitter accounts piled on , including more mainstream influencers like longshot California Republican congressional candidate Errol Webber .
And according to Twitter metrics site twXplorer , two of the most popular hashtags @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and # wwg1wga , illustrating promotion from QAnon accounts , who believe Trump is waging a secret war against the deep state .
According to Twitter ’ s Trending Topics page , the # Obamagate hashtag had been used over 3 million times since Saturday night , briefly becoming one of the top trending topics in the world .
And as is often the case , right-wing influencers claimed without evidence that Twitter was censoring the hashtag .
Twitter told BuzzFeed News that the company had looked into accusations that the hashtag had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was taken to prevent # Obamagate from trending .
The hashtag has led some right-wingers to suggest on social media that Obama and members of his administration will be investigated and prosecuted .
One of the most popular memes about # Obamagate — one shared by Trump ’ s own Instagram page — reads “ hope you had fun investigating me now it ’ s my turn.
” The # Obamagate Facebook posts are full of Trump supporters ecstatic that an investigation into what they see as Democratic corruption is imminent .
Whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Fox News have already achieved something else : a weekend during which Trump supporters could flood the platform with content about Obama and the minutiae of the 2016 election just when the coronavirus crossed a total of 1.3 million cases and 80,000 deaths in the United States .

On the night of Saturday, May 9, President Donald Trump tweeted five Fox News clips: One from Sean Hannity’s Hannity, two from Jeanine Pirro’s Justice With Judge Jeanine, and two from Jesse Watters’ Watters’ World.
All of the clips were about a supposed “coup d’état,” as the Fox anchors called it, committed by the Obama administration during the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. "Obamagate, that's the subject of tonight's 'Watters Words'" segment, Watters said. "The Obama people got caught this week and it looks like it goes straight to the top."
But just what is Obamagate?
Although the #Obamagate hashtag has been popular across all major platforms, it has also elicited confusion from people not tapped into the inscrutable narratives of Trump’s fervent online base.
And the president did little to clear up the confusion in a press conference on Monday afternoon: "Obamagate, it's been going on for a long time, it's been going on from before I even got elected,” the president said. Asked specifically what crime he was accusing Obama of, the president declined to answer. "You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everybody. All you have to do is read the newspapers, except yours," he said.
While no one can read the president's mind, the clearest distillation of what his followers believe the hashtag to mean came from former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s attorney during a Fox segment on Sunday, where she claimed that the declassified memos proved FBI agents tried to entrap Flynn, then a campaign adviser to Trump, on the order of President Barack Obama.
“The whole thing was orchestrated and set up within the FBI, Clapper, Brennan, and in the Oval Office meeting that day with President Obama,” Flynn’s lawyer, Sidney Powell, told host Maria Bartiromo.


buzzfeednews--2020-05-11--Americans Are Really Scared About Their Economic Future

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After weeks cooped up at home or working in essential jobs that expose them to the coronavirus , people in the United States are experiencing record levels of anxiety about the future .
Released Monday , the New York Federal Reserve Bank 's April Survey of Consumer Expectations found that consumers — especially those earning low incomes — are expecting their lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ probability of losing one ’ s job reached a new series high for the second consecutive month .
Expected earnings , income , and spending growth each reached series lows.
” Notably , 31.6 % of respondents expected their households to be worse financially a year from now , and 21.9 % expected their household income would decrease over the next year .
Each month for seven years , the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has asked people how much they expect their income to rise or fall over the next year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people said they thought their earnings would increase by only 1.8 % over the coming year — the lowest number ever recorded in the series .
The outlook was best among those who earn over $ 100,000 and worst among those who earn less than $ 50,000 .
The average person thought there was a 20.9 % chance they would lose their job in the next 12 months , another survey record .
Those who earned less than $ 50,000 had a worse outlook , saying there was a 25 % chance they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of people said they would be able to find a job within three months if they lost their current job .
Last month , that number was 53 % ; the decline is the largest month-to-month drop recorded by the survey .
The survey was taken by 1,300 people between April 2 and April 30 , giving it a margin of error of approximately 3 % .
The fears that the survey reported are real .
The US unemployment rate rose to 14.7 % in April , and women and people of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rates than white men .
The unemployment rate has begun to affect basic spending .
An Apartment List survey released on Thursday found that fewer people were able to pay their May rents on time than they were in April .
Twenty-two percent of renters made no payment at all , while 11 % of renters made a partial payment .
And most renters who were late on their April rents were also unable to pay all or part of their May rents on time .
“ Lower-income families continue to struggle the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 25,000 per year , delinquencies rose from 31 % in April to a staggering 41 % in May , ” read the Apartment List report .

After weeks cooped up at home or working in essential jobs that expose them to the coronavirus, people in the United States are experiencing record levels of anxiety about the future.
Released Monday, the New York Federal Reserve Bank's April Survey of Consumer Expectations found that consumers — especially those earning low incomes — are expecting their lives to get grim: “The perceived probability of losing one’s job reached a new series high for the second consecutive month. Expected earnings, income, and spending growth each reached series lows.”
Notably, 31.6% of respondents expected their households to be worse financially a year from now, and 21.9% expected their household income would decrease over the next year.
Each month for seven years, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has asked people how much they expect their income to rise or fall over the next year. In this month's survey, people said they thought their earnings would increase by only 1.8% over the coming year — the lowest number ever recorded in the series. The outlook was best among those who earn over $100,000 and worst among those who earn less than $50,000.
The average person thought there was a 20.9% chance they would lose their job in the next 12 months, another survey record. Those who earned less than $50,000 had a worse outlook, saying there was a 25% chance they will lose their job. And 47% of people said they would be able to find a job within three months if they lost their current job. Last month, that number was 53%; the decline is the largest month-to-month drop recorded by the survey.
The survey was taken by 1,300 people between April 2 and April 30, giving it a margin of error of approximately 3%.
The fears that the survey reported are real. The US unemployment rate rose to 14.7% in April, and women and people of color have lost their jobs at higher rates than white men.
The unemployment rate has begun to affect basic spending. An Apartment List survey released on Thursday found that fewer people were able to pay their May rents on time than they were in April. Twenty-two percent of renters made no payment at all, while 11% of renters made a partial payment. And most renters who were late on their April rents were also unable to pay all or part of their May rents on time.
“Lower-income families continue to struggle the most. For those making less than $25,000 per year, delinquencies rose from 31% in April to a staggering 41% in May,” read the Apartment List report.


buzzfeednews--2020-04-02--“Silent Carriers” Are Helping Spread The Coronavirus. Here’s What We Know About Them.

People with no COVID-19 symptoms may be spreading the disease — but big questions remain about how much they are driving the pandemic .
The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
Fever , a dry cough , fatigue : By now , these have become the telltale signs of COVID-19 .
But can it be unwittingly spread by people with no symptoms ?
In late January and early February @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread outside China , leading health officials , including the World Health Organization , told the public that transmission from asymptomatic people was likely “ rare , ” based on information available at the time .
“ In all the history of respiratory-borne viruses of any type , asymptomatic transmission has never been the driver of outbreaks , ” Dr. Anthony Fauci , director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , said on Jan. 28 .
Those assessments were based on early data out of China , where the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ months later , as the coronavirus has afflicted more than 1 million people worldwide and killed 51,000 of them , scientists know a lot more about how the virus spreads .
And an emerging body of data suggests that there are probably a significant number of infected people who don ’ t have symptoms but are likely to be transmitting the virus .
Since they may not know that they ’ re sick , they may be taking fewer precautions than people with symptoms .
Researchers still don ’ t know how common @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are driving the pandemic .
On Monday , the director of the CDC told NPR that the number of asymptomatic individuals “ may be as many as 25 % .
” Here ’ s what we know so far about these so-called silent carriers .
1 .
First , it ’ s important to keep in mind that “ asymptomatic ” is different from “ presymptomatic.
” Being presymptomatic means you ’ ve been infected and don ’ t feel any symptoms at the time you get tested , but will develop them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people never have any symptoms during the course of their infections at all .
That difference matters for the scientists who are racing to identify and count cases to study the spread of the virus .
If you ’ re truly asymptomatic , you ’ re probably not going to get tested and would therefore never be counted by the health care system .
But you may still be contributing to the virus ’ s spread .
Alternatively , suppose you are symptom-free when you test positive , only to later develop a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t report to your doctor .
You might be mistakenly counted as asymptomatic rather than presymptomatic .
“ Previously we had commonly used asymptomatic to include both groups so it 's tough to break out of that thinking and lexicon , ” Tara Smith , an epidemiologist at Kent State University , said by email .
“ But I think this pandemic has shown that there may be nuance between those who are not YET symptomatic and those who might NEVER show symptoms , and that seems to be important here.
” To @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Columbia University , the simpler and more important distinction is between “ documented ” versus “ undocumented ” cases — the latter being all infected people who aren ’ t diagnosed .
Those could include a person who is very sick but “ hates to go to the hospital or see a doctor and toughs it out at home , ” he told BuzzFeed News .
It ’ s more likely that a lot of these undocumented COVID-19 cases have symptoms mild enough that they don ’ t feel the need to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around in the world anyway , he said .
The slight differences in these terms matter .
“ They ’ re not all the same thing but are getting conflated , ” Smith said .
2 .
Estimates for how many “ silent carriers ” there are vary .
For asymptomatic cases , estimates range from 18 % to 30 % of all infections .
It ’ s tough to quantify the number of asymptomatic people , because they ’ re unlikely to seek testing on their own .
But the coronavirus outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ researchers a unique chance to study this — even if it was a nightmare for the 3,700 passengers and crew members trapped off the coast of Japan .
Held under quarantine over two weeks in February , many of the people on board were repeatedly tested and their symptoms , or lack thereof , were tracked .
CDC researchers found that 46.5 % of infected people did not have symptoms at the time of testing .
Many eventually did develop symptoms , but statistical models suggest that 18 % of infected cases remained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passengers were older than the general population .
Elderly people are more likely to be severely affected or killed by COVID-19 , while younger people are more likely to develop mild symptoms .
Because of the skewed demographics , Gerardo Chowell , a Georgia State University mathematical epidemiologist who led a study about asymptomatic cases aboard the Diamond Princess last month , thinks the true number of asymptomatic people in the world is around 30 % or 40 % .
“ We know there ’ s a substantial fraction of asymptomatic ” cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ researchers have produced estimates in this ballpark .
One recent report said 29 % , but was based only on a group of two dozen people in China .
Another reported 30 % of COVID-19 patients may not have symptoms , based on screenings of 565 Japanese citizens evacuated out of Wuhan in February .
CDC director Robert Redfield offered up yet another percentage this week , telling NPR , “ One of the [ pieces of ] information that we have pretty much confirmed now is that a significant number of individuals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That may be as many as 25 % .
” He did not cite what that figure was based on .
Part of why it has taken a while for scientists to realize the outsize role that people without symptoms may play in spreading the disease may be because of how the initial data out of China was reported .
As of Feb. 11 , the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention was reporting that of more than 72,000 reported cases in mainland China , about 1.2 % were asymptomatic .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from mid-February , stated , “ The proportion of truly asymptomatic infections is unclear but appears to be relatively rare and does not appear to be a major driver of transmission.
” But last week , the South China Morning Post reported that , according to confidential Chinese government data , more than 43,000 people in China had tested positive for the virus by the end of February “ but had no immediate symptoms.
” These people were not included in the government ’ s official tally , according to the news outlet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ therefore be as high as one-third of those who test positive .
Researchers told BuzzFeed News that this estimate seemed plausible .
Putting aside the presence or absence of symptoms , low testing rates , especially in the US , mean that we do not know about a large proportion of people with COVID-19 .
Shaman , the Columbia infectious disease expert , thinks the proportion of undocumented cases — infected people who are not officially diagnosed — could be as high as 86 % in some places , meaning that these “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That estimate , published last month , was based on projected activity in Wuhan in the weeks before China imposed strict travel restrictions to stem transmission .
Since the virus has spread beyond Wuhan , Shaman said , “ We ’ re seeing increasing evidence that there ’ s a lot of virus out in the community , a lot of infections out there , much more so than are being confirmed.
” More precise numbers won ’ t be possible to determine without health-care systems that can treat and diagnose lots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in developing countries — and robust , widespread testing .
The US was slow to start testing compared to countries like South Korea and still has not scaled it up to a level that public health experts say is necessary .
The most definitive testing would include running blood antibody tests on everybody , which could detect whether they ever had the virus even if they didn ’ t show symptoms .
Singapore has been using these tests to trace infections , and the United Kingdom is preparing to roll them out as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transmit the virus for a few days before they have symptoms , studies suggest .
The virus ’ s incubation period — the time between getting infected and showing symptoms — is about five days .
That ’ s similar to that of the coronavirus that caused SARS .
( For COVID-19 , virtually everyone who develops symptoms does so by day 12 . )
The problem is that people seem to be unwittingly spreading the new virus before they have symptoms , research suggests , and this presymptomatic transmission is happening at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with SARS .
With COVID-19 , such transmission may even be happening more frequently than transmission from those with symptoms , researchers from Japan said in a study in late February .
“ This suggests that a substantial proportion of secondary transmission may occur prior to illness onset , ” they wrote .
Other research also supports the idea that presymptomatic transmission can happen for a few days before symptoms kick in .
On Wednesday , the CDC released data about such cases in Singapore from late January to mid-March .
In these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to someone before they themselves developed symptoms , with no evidence that the second person had been exposed to anyone else who was infected .
In cases where researchers were able to confirm the dates of exposure , transmission happened one to three days before the originally infected patient developed symptoms , according to the report .
Scientists are still figuring out exactly when someone crosses the threshold from being infected to being able to infect others .
The CDC says that someone can transmit the virus up to 48 hours before symptoms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t know with certainty that asymptomatic people are spreading the virus — though they probably are .
Completely symptom-free people can still carry around substantial amounts of the virus , also known as a person ’ s “ viral load , ” evidence suggests .
For example , researchers in China recently reported on one coronavirus patient who never developed symptoms , but whose viral load was similar to that of 17 others who did have symptoms .
This “ suggests the transmission potential of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic patients , ” according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ England Journal of Medicine last month .
There have been other individual cases of asymptomatic transmission seeming to happen , as reported by researchers in China in February .
But it still hasn ’ t been definitively proven that these people are giving the virus to others .
Proving that would mean checking asymptomatic people to see if they were actually excreting live virus , and therefore were infectious .
Antibody tests , which can be done after an infection ends , would also confirm they were truly infected .
Right now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if people who are truly asymptomatic can transmit or not , ” said Smith of Kent State University .
5 .
All of this reinforces the importance of staying home as much as you can ( and , some say , of wearing a mask ) .
The possibility that people can unknowingly spread the virus has inspired a heated debate over whether everyone should be wearing masks in public — including homemade , nonmedical ones — to help avoid getting sick as well as to prevent infecting others .
The CDC currently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but is reconsidering that guidance .
How well a mask wards off infection varies depending on the setting , use , and fabric , studies show .
But Chowell , among other experts , is pro-mask all the time .
“ We all should be wearing some sort of mask whenever you go out and have to interact with other people , ” he said .
Whether you cover your face or not , it ’ s still important to help prevent transmission by practicing socially distancing , which means staying 6 feet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home as much as possible , and avoiding crowded places , according to public health experts and the CDC ’ s national guidelines .
In a further attempt to reduce transmission , at least 30 states are issuing shelter-in-place orders that have closed schools , offices , parks , and nonessential businesses .
Until the virus is under control , we likely won ’ t fully understand what role non-diagnosed cases are playing in the outbreak .
“ We know we have a problem , ” said Juan Gutierrez , a mathematics professor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the University of Texas at San Antonio .
“ We have a hint of what could be the size of the problem .
And a story will emerge many months from now when we have widespread testing in the population and we can start ascertaining , ‘ Who got affected ?
’ and then asking people , ‘ did they ever get symptoms ?
’ ”

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus. To help keep this news free, become a member and sign up for our newsletter, Outbreak Today.
Fever, a dry cough, fatigue: By now, these have become the telltale signs of COVID-19. But can it be unwittingly spread by people with no symptoms?
In late January and early February, when the disease had begun to spread outside China, leading health officials, including the World Health Organization, told the public that transmission from asymptomatic people was likely “rare,” based on information available at the time. “In all the history of respiratory-borne viruses of any type, asymptomatic transmission has never been the driver of outbreaks,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Jan. 28.
Those assessments were based on early data out of China, where the virus originated in late December. A few months later, as the coronavirus has afflicted more than 1 million people worldwide and killed 51,000 of them, scientists know a lot more about how the virus spreads. And an emerging body of data suggests that there are probably a significant number of infected people who don’t have symptoms but are likely to be transmitting the virus. Since they may not know that they’re sick, they may be taking fewer precautions than people with symptoms.
Researchers still don’t know how common these cases are or how much they are driving the pandemic. On Monday, the director of the CDC told NPR that the number of asymptomatic individuals “may be as many as 25%.”
Here’s what we know so far about these so-called silent carriers.
1. First, it’s important to keep in mind that “asymptomatic” is different from “presymptomatic.”
Being presymptomatic means you’ve been infected and don’t feel any symptoms at the time you get tested, but will develop them later on. In contrast, asymptomatic people never have any symptoms during the course of their infections at all.
That difference matters for the scientists who are racing to identify and count cases to study the spread of the virus. If you’re truly asymptomatic, you’re probably not going to get tested and would therefore never be counted by the health care system. But you may still be contributing to the virus’s spread.
Alternatively, suppose you are symptom-free when you test positive, only to later develop a fever and cough that you don’t report to your doctor. You might be mistakenly counted as asymptomatic rather than presymptomatic.
“Previously we had commonly used asymptomatic to include both groups so it's tough to break out of that thinking and lexicon,” Tara Smith, an epidemiologist at Kent State University, said by email. “But I think this pandemic has shown that there may be nuance between those who are not YET symptomatic and those who might NEVER show symptoms, and that seems to be important here.”
To Jeffrey Shaman, an infectious disease expert at Columbia University, the simpler and more important distinction is between “documented” versus “undocumented” cases — the latter being all infected people who aren’t diagnosed. Those could include a person who is very sick but “hates to go to the hospital or see a doctor and toughs it out at home,” he told BuzzFeed News.
It’s more likely that a lot of these undocumented COVID-19 cases have symptoms mild enough that they don’t feel the need to see a doctor, but are walking around in the world anyway, he said.
The slight differences in these terms matter. “They’re not all the same thing but are getting conflated,” Smith said.


buzzfeednews--2020-04-02--This Idaho Chiropractor Was Running Ads On Facebook Falsely Claiming Silver Prevents The Coronavirus

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
An Idaho chiropractor who previously posted videos advocating against vaccinations has been running Facebook ads falsely claiming his products can prevent infection from COVID-19 , the deadly disease caused by the novel coronavirus .
Steven Baker said on his Facebook page that he was “ uncovering controversial content , educating the masses , ” but the videos he has posted go against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the pandemic .
In one promoted video , titled “ How to PREVENT COVID-19 Virus from infecting you… ” he wears a white baseball cap backward and advises people to use a “ silver spray ” instead of hand sanitizer .
The spray does not contain alcohol and is ineffective protection against the virus — but he does sell it .
The ad included links to his website .
Or at least he did until recently .
His homepage claimed that the website managing company Shopify removed one of his products .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ inquiry from BuzzFeed News .
“ Shops listing medical products or making medical claims must be substantiated by our merchants , and failure to do so results in account suspension or termination , '' a spokesperson for Shopify told BuzzFeed News .
`` False or deceptive promotion of listed products is a violation of Shopify ’ s Acceptable Use Policy and not aligned with our mission to make commerce better for everyone . ''
The Shopify spokesperson also said the company has removed over 5,000 stores related to COVID-19 from its platform for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ requests for comment .
“ These videos violate our policies , ” a Facebook spokesperson told BuzzFeed News .
“ We ’ ve disabled this ad account and removed this page .
We remove misinformation about COVID-19 that makes false claims about cures , treatments , the availability of essential services or the location and severity of the outbreak — this includes ads .
”

An Idaho chiropractor who previously posted videos advocating against vaccinations has been running Facebook ads falsely claiming his products can prevent infection from COVID-19, the deadly disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Steven Baker said on his Facebook page that he was “uncovering controversial content, educating the masses,” but the videos he has posted go against the scientific consensus on how to behave during the pandemic.
In one promoted video, titled “How to PREVENT COVID-19 Virus from infecting you…” he wears a white baseball cap backward and advises people to use a “silver spray” instead of hand sanitizer. The spray does not contain alcohol and is ineffective protection against the virus — but he does sell it. The ad included links to his website. Or at least he did until recently. His homepage claimed that the website managing company Shopify removed one of his products. The shop was removed entirely after an inquiry from BuzzFeed News.
“Shops listing medical products or making medical claims must be substantiated by our merchants, and failure to do so results in account suspension or termination," a spokesperson for Shopify told BuzzFeed News. "False or deceptive promotion of listed products is a violation of Shopify’s Acceptable Use Policy and not aligned with our mission to make commerce better for everyone."
The Shopify spokesperson also said the company has removed over 5,000 stores related to COVID-19 from its platform for violating policies.
Baker did not return requests for comment.
“These videos violate our policies,” a Facebook spokesperson told BuzzFeed News. “We’ve disabled this ad account and removed this page. We remove misinformation about COVID-19 that makes false claims about cures, treatments, the availability of essential services or the location and severity of the outbreak — this includes ads.”