buzzfeednews--2020-05-29--More Than 180 Scientists Are Demanding To See The Data Behind A Massive Hydroxychloroquine Study

Update : On June 4 , the study was retracted from The Lancet due to serious concerns over its data .
Read our new story about the study ’ s retraction here .
A massive study that raised serious health concerns about hydroxychloroquine , the malaria drug President Donald Trump has reportedly taken as a coronavirus preventive , is now under scrutiny from more than 180 scientists worldwide who are asking the research team to release its data for outside analysis .
When the study was published last week in the Lancet , a high-profile medical journal , it drew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News .
Its massive dataset — consisting of 96,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients across six continents — seemed to offer the most definitive examination to date of hydroxychloroquine ’ s inability to fight the coronavirus , and also linked it to a higher risk of death .
But the letter , which went online on Thursday , raises questions about some seemingly inconsistent data in the paper .
Among the scientists ' 10 concerns are that the average daily doses of hydroxychloroquine were higher than the FDA-recommended amounts and that data reportedly from Australian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the Australian government .
This week , the Guardian reported that it could not confirm with several of that country ’ s health agencies that they provided data to the study .
The study 's authors , led by Mandeep Mehra of Harvard Medical School , have repeatedly declined to release their underlying data .
On Friday , the study ’ s research team corrected some of its data but said its conclusions remained the same .
Not only did the study find no evidence that the malaria drug effectively combats the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drug to serious heart problems .
Several other studies have previously reached similar conclusions , and the FDA has acknowledged the cardiac risks of this and a related drug , chloroquine , warning that the drugs not be used outside of a hospital setting .
For the first time , the Lancet study also found a link with a higher rate of deaths , finding that hospitalized patients who were given hydroxychloroquine were at least 33 % more likely to die than those who did not receive the treatment .
In the wake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hydroxychloroquine clinical trials — one by the World Health Organization , another in the United Kingdom — were put on pause .
And the governments of France , Belgium , and Italy banned the drug from being used as a coronavirus treatment .
“ Everything points to a drug that has no efficacy , ” said Eric Topol , a cardiologist at the Scripps Research Translational Institute , who hasn ’ t signed the letter but has expressed skepticism publicly about the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment .
“ There ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We know it has significant side effects that are worrisome , ” including cardiac arrest and a dangerously rapid heart rate called ventricular tachycardia .
Even so , scientists found aspects of the Lancet study that didn ’ t seem to add up .
One of the biggest concerns of the letter 's signatories was that the authors had not released their code or data , even though the Lancet has signed a pledge to share COVID-19–related data .
“ Many of us in the scientific community were just very angry at seeing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in The Lancet , given loads of publicity , and then having a hugely negative impact on carefully planned clinical trials around the world , ” said James Watson , a Thailand-based statistician with the University of Oxford ’ s Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health , who led the drafting of the letter , in an email to BuzzFeed News .
In response to the correction issued on Friday , Watson said , `` The authors have not addressed the other nine points referred to in the letter . ''
According @ @ @ @ @ @ @ data came from electronic health records , supply chain databases , and financial records .
It was collected by Surgisphere , a Chicago-based health data analytics company led by Sapan Desai , one of the study ’ s coauthors .
Surgisphere says its data use agreements prevent it from sharing individual patient data and the names of its hospital customers , though it can conduct analyses and share aggregate findings .
“ Our strong privacy standards are a major reason that hospitals trust Surgisphere and we have been able to collect data from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Desai told BuzzFeed News by email .
But the signatories on the letter say the researchers should at least share aggregated patient data at the hospital level .
They are also asking for an independent analysis and for the Lancet to release the peer review comments made about the study prior to publication .
Topol , the cardiologist at Scripps , said he had never heard of Surgisphere before the study .
“ The main thing they haven ’ t done is release the data for others to analyze , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I think they should do that.
” In the correction issued Friday , the study ’ s authors fixed the numbers of participants from Australia and Asia .
One hospital tagged as belonging to the Australia region should have instead been assigned to the Asia region , according to the notice .
Other corrections were also issued , but the notice stated that none of the changes altered the paper 's conclusions .
Lancet spokesperson Jessica Kleyn said the journal will soon publish responses to the study and a response from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s lead author , said he stands by the research .
He and his team used Surgisphere ’ s data “ in the absence of a large , robust and publicly available dataset on hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine , and the lack of scientific evidence regarding the safety and benefits of these treatments for hospitalized Covid-19 patients , ” said Mehra , medical director of the Brigham and Women ’ s Hospital Heart and Vascular Center and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School , through a spokesperson .
Mehra , Desai , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a study published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine about cardiovascular disease in COVID-19 patients .
Watson , the researcher organizing the letter , has criticized some of that paper ’ s supplementary data about age and mortality rates .
Mehra and Desai did not answer questions about this additional study .
Jennifer Zeis , a New England Journal of Medicine spokesperson , said that the publication was looking into the questions raised .

A massive study that raised serious health concerns about hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug President Donald Trump has reportedly taken as a coronavirus preventive, is now under scrutiny from more than 180 scientists worldwide who are asking the research team to release its data for outside analysis.
When the study was published last week in the Lancet, a high-profile medical journal, it drew widespread media attention, including from BuzzFeed News. Its massive dataset — consisting of 96,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients across six continents — seemed to offer the most definitive examination to date of hydroxychloroquine’s inability to fight the coronavirus, and also linked it to a higher risk of death.
But the letter, which went online on Thursday, raises questions about some seemingly inconsistent data in the paper. Among the scientists' 10 concerns are that the average daily doses of hydroxychloroquine were higher than the FDA-recommended amounts and that data reportedly from Australian patients did not seem to match data from the Australian government. This week, the Guardian reported that it could not confirm with several of that country’s health agencies that they provided data to the study.
The study's authors, led by Mandeep Mehra of Harvard Medical School, have repeatedly declined to release their underlying data.
On Friday, the study’s research team corrected some of its data but said its conclusions remained the same.
Not only did the study find no evidence that the malaria drug effectively combats the coronavirus, but it also linked the drug to serious heart problems. Several other studies have previously reached similar conclusions, and the FDA has acknowledged the cardiac risks of this and a related drug, chloroquine, warning that the drugs not be used outside of a hospital setting.
For the first time, the Lancet study also found a link with a higher rate of deaths, finding that hospitalized patients who were given hydroxychloroquine were at least 33% more likely to die than those who did not receive the treatment.
In the wake of the Lancet study, two major hydroxychloroquine clinical trials — one by the World Health Organization, another in the United Kingdom — were put on pause. And the governments of France, Belgium, and Italy banned the drug from being used as a coronavirus treatment.
“Everything points to a drug that has no efficacy,” said Eric Topol, a cardiologist at the Scripps Research Translational Institute, who hasn’t signed the letter but has expressed skepticism publicly about the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment. “There’s no sign that it helps anyone. We know it has significant side effects that are worrisome,” including cardiac arrest and a dangerously rapid heart rate called ventricular tachycardia.
Even so, scientists found aspects of the Lancet study that didn’t seem to add up.
One of the biggest concerns of the letter's signatories was that the authors had not released their code or data, even though the Lancet has signed a pledge to share COVID-19–related data.
“Many of us in the scientific community were just very angry at seeing a poorly written and executed study published in The Lancet, given loads of publicity, and then having a hugely negative impact on carefully planned clinical trials around the world,” said James Watson, a Thailand-based statistician with the University of Oxford’s Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, who led the drafting of the letter, in an email to BuzzFeed News.
In response to the correction issued on Friday, Watson said, "The authors have not addressed the other nine points referred to in the letter."
According to the Lancet study, the patient data came from electronic health records, supply chain databases, and financial records. It was collected by Surgisphere, a Chicago-based health data analytics company led by Sapan Desai, one of the study’s coauthors.
Surgisphere says its data use agreements prevent it from sharing individual patient data and the names of its hospital customers, though it can conduct analyses and share aggregate findings. “Our strong privacy standards are a major reason that hospitals trust Surgisphere and we have been able to collect data from over 1,200 institutions across 46 countries,” Desai told BuzzFeed News by email.
But the signatories on the letter say the researchers should at least share aggregated patient data at the hospital level. They are also asking for an independent analysis and for the Lancet to release the peer review comments made about the study prior to publication.
Topol, the cardiologist at Scripps, said he had never heard of Surgisphere before the study. “The main thing they haven’t done is release the data for others to analyze,” he said. “That is important, and I think they should do that.”
In the correction issued Friday, the study’s authors fixed the numbers of participants from Australia and Asia. One hospital tagged as belonging to the Australia region should have instead been assigned to the Asia region, according to the notice. Other corrections were also issued, but the notice stated that none of the changes altered the paper's conclusions.
Lancet spokesperson Jessica Kleyn said the journal will soon publish responses to the study and a response from the authors.
Mehra, the study’s lead author, said he stands by the research. He and his team used Surgisphere’s data “in the absence of a large, robust and publicly available dataset on hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, and the lack of scientific evidence regarding the safety and benefits of these treatments for hospitalized Covid-19 patients,” said Mehra, medical director of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart and Vascular Center and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, through a spokesperson.
Mehra, Desai, and other researchers also used Surgisphere data in a study published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine about cardiovascular disease in COVID-19 patients. Watson, the researcher organizing the letter, has criticized some of that paper’s supplementary data about age and mortality rates.
Mehra and Desai did not answer questions about this additional study. Jennifer Zeis, a New England Journal of Medicine spokesperson, said that the publication was looking into the questions raised.


buzzfeednews--2020-05-06--A Nominee For A Powerful Appeals Court Defended His Embrace Of “Brett Kavanaugh’s America”

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To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
WASHINGTON — A nominee for a powerful federal appeals court on Wednesday defended a speech he gave earlier this year embracing “ Brett Kavanaugh ’ s America ” and a refusal to “ surrender while you wage war on our work , or our cause , or our hope , or our dream.
” US District Judge Justin Walker , facing criticism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political for a sitting judge and , now , a nominee to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit , said his speech in March reflected that he was “ unabashed ” in his “ defense of the rule of law ” and his embrace of judicial decision-making that focuses on the text of laws — a hallmark of the conservative legal movement .
“ Justice Kavanaugh and [ former justice Anthony ] Kennedy are mentors of mine .
I will defend both of them , ” Walker said .
Walker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Supreme Court ’ s 2012 decision upholding the Affordable Care Act “ indefensible.
” He told Senate Democrats who expressed fear about how he might rule on healthcare issues during the coronavirus pandemic that he was referring to the legal analysis of the Supreme Court ’ s ruling on the ACA , not the substance of the law itself .
He spoke about his mother ’ s own health issues and said he hoped that “ every American is able to get the medical care they need.
” But he said that as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go where the law leads ” and not base decisions on policy preferences .
It was an answer that did nothing to win support from Democrats , who insisted that his record showed he would use a seat on the DC Circuit — the main forum for legal fights over federal regulations — to undermine the ACA if given the chance .
Walker said he would follow the Supreme Court decision as binding precedent .
Walker , born in 1982 , is set to become one of the youngest federal appeals court judges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ model of the type of young conservative judges whom Trump and Senate Republicans have sought to put on the federal bench .
He clerked for Kavanaugh when the justice was still on the DC Circuit ; he held leadership posts in the Federalist Society , the country ’ s preeminent conservative lawyers group , and his path to the judiciary has been personally backed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell .
Walker has only been a federal judge since October , and when his nomination for the Kentucky court was pending , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nominees rated him “ not qualified , ” citing his lack of legal experience .
Less than a year later , however , a majority of the committee voted him “ well qualified ” for the DC Circuit seat , noting the different job that an appeals court judge performs compared to a trial judge .
Other members of the committee voted him “ qualified ” and “ not qualified.
” Walker was a fervent and public advocate for Kavanaugh ’ s Supreme Court nomination in 2018 , and Democrats pressed him on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ceremonial swearing-in event in March — a ceremony that McConnell and Kavanaugh attended — that attacked “ critics ” of the conservative legal movement .
“ In Brett Kavanaugh ’ s America , we will not surrender while you wage war on our work , or our cause , or our hope , or our dream , ” Walker said in his speech .
Senate Republicans and conservative legal advocates have backed Walker ’ s nomination since the White House announced it in early April .
That support only deepened after he ruled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a church in Louisville , Kentucky , that sued to challenge a local prohibition on drive-in church services during the pandemic for Easter Sunday .
In the 20-page decision , Walker wrote an impassioned defense of the church to the delight of Republicans and dismay of opponents , who called it an “ audition ” for his DC Circuit nomination .

WASHINGTON — A nominee for a powerful federal appeals court on Wednesday defended a speech he gave earlier this year embracing “Brett Kavanaugh’s America” and a refusal to “surrender while you wage war on our work, or our cause, or our hope, or our dream.”
US District Judge Justin Walker, facing criticism from Democrats that the speech was inappropriately political for a sitting judge and, now, a nominee to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, said his speech in March reflected that he was “unabashed” in his “defense of the rule of law” and his embrace of judicial decision-making that focuses on the text of laws — a hallmark of the conservative legal movement.
“Justice Kavanaugh and [former justice Anthony] Kennedy are mentors of mine. I will defend both of them,” Walker said.
Walker on Wednesday also defended calling the US Supreme Court’s 2012 decision upholding the Affordable Care Act “indefensible.” He told Senate Democrats who expressed fear about how he might rule on healthcare issues during the coronavirus pandemic that he was referring to the legal analysis of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the ACA, not the substance of the law itself.
He spoke about his mother’s own health issues and said he hoped that “every American is able to get the medical care they need.” But he said that as a judge his job was to “go where the law leads” and not base decisions on policy preferences. It was an answer that did nothing to win support from Democrats, who insisted that his record showed he would use a seat on the DC Circuit — the main forum for legal fights over federal regulations — to undermine the ACA if given the chance. Walker said he would follow the Supreme Court decision as binding precedent.
Walker, born in 1982, is set to become one of the youngest federal appeals court judges confirmed under Trump. He is a model of the type of young conservative judges whom Trump and Senate Republicans have sought to put on the federal bench. He clerked for Kavanaugh when the justice was still on the DC Circuit; he held leadership posts in the Federalist Society, the country’s preeminent conservative lawyers group, and his path to the judiciary has been personally backed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Walker has only been a federal judge since October, and when his nomination for the Kentucky court was pending, the American Bar Association committee that vets judicial nominees rated him “not qualified,” citing his lack of legal experience. Less than a year later, however, a majority of the committee voted him “well qualified” for the DC Circuit seat, noting the different job that an appeals court judge performs compared to a trial judge. Other members of the committee voted him “qualified” and “not qualified.”
Walker was a fervent and public advocate for Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination in 2018, and Democrats pressed him on Wednesday about comments he made at his ceremonial swearing-in event in March — a ceremony that McConnell and Kavanaugh attended — that attacked “critics” of the conservative legal movement.
“In Brett Kavanaugh’s America, we will not surrender while you wage war on our work, or our cause, or our hope, or our dream,” Walker said in his speech.
Senate Republicans and conservative legal advocates have backed Walker’s nomination since the White House announced it in early April. That support only deepened after he ruled shortly after his nomination in favor of a church in Louisville, Kentucky, that sued to challenge a local prohibition on drive-in church services during the pandemic for Easter Sunday. In the 20-page decision, Walker wrote an impassioned defense of the church to the delight of Republicans and dismay of opponents, who called it an “audition” for his DC Circuit nomination.


buzzfeednews--2020-05-06--A Top Democrat Says The State Department Has Sent Republicans Thousands Of Pages For Their Biden Inv

A Top Democrat Says The State Department Has Sent Republicans Thousands Of Pages For Their Biden Investigation While Ignoring Democratic Requests

“ Glad to see Sen. Wyden agrees that despite Pres .
Obama ’ s assertions , congressional review of federal agency records in the interest of government oversight is worth pursuing , ” Taylor Foy , a spokesperson for Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley , said in a statement Wednesday .
“ There ’ s nothing wrong with asking questions , and every senator has an obligation to ask questions they deem important .
That said , it is wrong to leak details of ongoing investigations , as Senate Democrats have done repeatedly.
” In February , Wyden accused the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for records over those from Democrats in Congress , which led Republicans to accuse the senator of leaking sensitive information .
The next month , former president Barack Obama privately condemned the investigation , BuzzFeed News first reported on Tuesday .
The letter adds to Wyden 's criticism of the Trump administration ’ s willingness to cooperate with the Republican-led inquiry and underscores the tension between Republicans and Democrats involved in the probe .
“ It is wholly inappropriate for the State Department to dedicate its limited resources to voluntarily complying with Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effort to respond to Democratic requests , ” Wyden wrote in the letter , which his office provided to BuzzFeed News .
Meanwhile , Wyden says the department has neither produced any of the documents he requested nearly three months ago nor “ communicated with [ his ] office in any way about the request.
” In a letter to the State Department on Wednesday , Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said the department has provided Senate Republicans with more than 4,000 pages of records — including 1,000 pages in early April as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government work .
WASHINGTON — The State Department has continued to turn over thousands of pages of records to Republican senators investigating former vice president Joe Biden and Ukraine during the coronavirus outbreak , prompting outcry from the top Democrat on one of the committees running the probe .
Wyden has previously accused Grassley and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson — the other Republican leading the investigation — of trying to hurt Biden ’ s presidential campaign against President Donald Trump , whose calls for Biden to be investigated were at the heart of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Grassley and Johnson have maintained that they ’ re conducting legitimate oversight into whether the Obama administration ’ s policy toward Ukraine was improperly affected by Biden ’ s son Hunter serving on the board of a corrupt Ukrainian energy company .
Grassley and Johnson first requested documents on Hunter Biden from the State Department in November , as their investigation took hold .
On Feb. 20 , two weeks after the Senate acquitted Trump in two articles of impeachment , the department “ voluntarily produced ” more than 3,000 pages of records @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s letter said .
On April 8 , the department sent an additional 1,000 pages in response to the Republican requests , he wrote .
“ Since the State Department 's initial production , the United States has become embroiled in a devastating global pandemic , ” Wyden said .
“ To date over 70,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 1 million have been infected .
The pandemic has disrupted the lives of nearly every American and over 30 million Americans find themselves unemployed .
The pandemic has also limited the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some services are only available for Americans ‘ with a qualified life-or-death emergency.
’ ” Wyden ’ s letter renews his request from February , which demanded a wide range of records on the relationship between the Obama and Trump administrations , as well as people cited in the impeachment inquiry .
Wyden said the State Department shouldn ’ t respond to additional Republican requests until his request is fulfilled .
Wyden also said the records that the department has turned over so far were only from the Obama administration , and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the productions , too .
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment .
Wyden ’ s letter noted that the National Archives has also turned over thousands of pages of Obama administration records in response to a request from Grassley and Johnson — a request that Obama criticized but ultimately approved .
Wyden said the records included “ voluminous spreadsheets and guest lists from official White House events.
” “ All that said , nothing I have seen affects the conclusion that U.S. policy toward Ukraine — policy that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change while Hunter Biden was on the board of Burisma , ” Wyden said in a statement to BuzzFeed News .
But Republicans are continuing their work .
As part of the inquiry , Johnson and Grassley have asked a range of individuals — from former State Department officials to a Democratic lobbying firm — for documents and interviews .
It ’ s unclear when those interviews might occur , with the coronavirus complicating the process .
One potential witness , speaking on background to BuzzFeed News , said their communications with committee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been “ slower and more sporadic ” than before .
Johnson has also said he plans to issue an interim report on the investigation sometime this summer .
Asked about that report , an aide said Democrats will “ be prepared to correct the record if necessary , ” warning that they wouldn ’ t “ allow the Senate to be used to advance foreign election interference efforts .
”

WASHINGTON — The State Department has continued to turn over thousands of pages of records to Republican senators investigating former vice president Joe Biden and Ukraine during the coronavirus outbreak, prompting outcry from the top Democrat on one of the committees running the probe.
In a letter to the State Department on Wednesday, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said the department has provided Senate Republicans with more than 4,000 pages of records — including 1,000 pages in early April as the coronavirus crippled the country and halted some government work.
Meanwhile, Wyden says the department has neither produced any of the documents he requested nearly three months ago nor “communicated with [his] office in any way about the request.”
“It is wholly inappropriate for the State Department to dedicate its limited resources to voluntarily complying with Republican requests without also making a good faith effort to respond to Democratic requests,” Wyden wrote in the letter, which his office provided to BuzzFeed News.
The letter adds to Wyden's criticism of the Trump administration’s willingness to cooperate with the Republican-led inquiry and underscores the tension between Republicans and Democrats involved in the probe.
In February, Wyden accused the Treasury Department of prioritizing Republicans' requests for records over those from Democrats in Congress, which led Republicans to accuse the senator of leaking sensitive information. The next month, former president Barack Obama privately condemned the investigation, BuzzFeed News first reported on Tuesday.
“Glad to see Sen. Wyden agrees that despite Pres. Obama’s assertions, congressional review of federal agency records in the interest of government oversight is worth pursuing,” Taylor Foy, a spokesperson for Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, said in a statement Wednesday. “There’s nothing wrong with asking questions, and every senator has an obligation to ask questions they deem important. That said, it is wrong to leak details of ongoing investigations, as Senate Democrats have done repeatedly.”


buzzfeednews--2020-05-06--Hospitals Expect To Lose $202.6 Billion Because Of The Coronavirus

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To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
“ It is a catastrophic number , ” Aaron Wesolowski , the AHA ’ s vice president of policy research , analytics , and strategy , told BuzzFeed News .
“ It ’ s clear there are going to be serious financial consequences for hospitals and health systems.
” The country ’ s hospitals and health systems are expected to lose $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 30 , according to a new report from the American Hospital Association , which is advocating for federal relief funds for hospitals .
The United States ' health care industry is losing billions of dollars every week during the coronavirus pandemic , resulting in widespread layoffs and furloughs as waiting rooms lie paradoxically empty during an unprecedented health crisis .
Other than treating the coronavirus , hospitals have come to a virtual standstill during the outbreak .
Governors around the country have asked hospitals to cancel nonessential procedures and elective surgeries , operations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospital revenues .
Meanwhile , stay-at-home orders have discouraged people from making doctors ’ visits .
As a consequence , hospitals around the country have announced layoffs , reduced hours , and furloughs of doctors , nurses , technicians , administrative staffers , and other workers to offset the losses .
The AHA said hospitals are also racking up expenses , such as purchasing personal protective equipment and supporting frontline workers ' childcare , transportation , housing , and screening and treatment for COVID-19 .
Those impacts are being felt in other parts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just hospitals .
Across the industry , employment declined by 1.4 million jobs in April , according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , including large job losses in offices of dentists ( 503,000 ) and physicians ( 243,000 ) .
“ It ’ s been pretty devastating to nurse practitioners .
Many have been furloughed , ” Sophia Thomas , president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners , who also works as a nurse practitioner in New Orleans , told BuzzFeed News .
“ Most nurse practitioners work in the outpatient @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slow right now .
They ’ re trying to switch to telehealth , but in certain places it ’ s been very slow on the uptake primarily due to the technological limitation of patients.
” Federal stimulus money could prop up the industry and stanch the bleeding but might not be able to do more .
The bills passed in the wake of the pandemic allocated $ 175 billion to hospitals and other health care providers , but the losses have “ exceed [ ed ] the funds hospitals have received in relief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than the total amount of potential relief payments for them as well , ” said Wesolowski .
A report released Tuesday by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security drew a similar conclusion : “ Until there is a vaccine , there will be ongoing public fear of contagion at healthcare settings , which may result in sustained decreases in patient volume beyond the immediate response and recovery to the pandemic .
It is not clear that the funds authorized so far are enough to cover all the losses incurred to date , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health sector will continue to experience.
” Wesolowski said : “ I think it ’ s reasonable to expect that it ’ s going to take a while to rebound .
When hospitals start offering elective surgeries again , all of that volume won ’ t come back in at once .
And it depends on whether there are subsequent waves [ of the coronavirus ] .
” Like the pandemic , the financial toll has not been evenly distributed across the country .
Rural hospitals , which had been struggling financially for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of their revenue when they suspended elective procedures and outpatient care .
Alan Morgan , CEO of the National Rural Health Association , told BuzzFeed News that the federal stimulus money was helping , but only barely .
“ Rural hospitals nationwide now are able to keep their doors open through the end of June , '' he said .
It 's still unclear how the pandemic will play out in the rest of 2020 ; there could be sustained small outbreaks or a large second wave .
Health systems may take a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increased availability of testing .
Eric Toner , senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security , told BuzzFeed News hospitals could make more informed decisions about if and when to cancel nonessential and elective procedures .
“ The problem was in , say , rural Texas , you canceled elective surgeries and for two months the hospitals were empty , '' he said .
`` There was nothing for their staff to do , so they ended up furloughing them . ''
With increased testing capacity , “ they could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in their communities before they cancel those surgeries .
”

Other than treating the coronavirus, hospitals have come to a virtual standstill during the outbreak. Governors around the country have asked hospitals to cancel nonessential procedures and elective surgeries, operations that account for a significant share of hospital revenues. Meanwhile, stay-at-home orders have discouraged people from making doctors’ visits.
As a consequence, hospitals around the country have announced layoffs, reduced hours, and furloughs of doctors, nurses, technicians, administrative staffers, and other workers to offset the losses. The AHA said hospitals are also racking up expenses, such as purchasing personal protective equipment and supporting frontline workers' childcare, transportation, housing, and screening and treatment for COVID-19.
Those impacts are being felt in other parts of the health care sector, not just hospitals. Across the industry, employment declined by 1.4 million jobs in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, including large job losses in offices of dentists (503,000) and physicians (243,000).
“It’s been pretty devastating to nurse practitioners. Many have been furloughed,” Sophia Thomas, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, who also works as a nurse practitioner in New Orleans, told BuzzFeed News. “Most nurse practitioners work in the outpatient setting, and those clinics are very slow right now. They’re trying to switch to telehealth, but in certain places it’s been very slow on the uptake primarily due to the technological limitation of patients.”
Federal stimulus money could prop up the industry and stanch the bleeding but might not be able to do more. The bills passed in the wake of the pandemic allocated $175 billion to hospitals and other health care providers, but the losses have “exceed[ed] the funds hospitals have received in relief payments to date, and are larger than the total amount of potential relief payments for them as well,” said Wesolowski.
A report released Tuesday by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security drew a similar conclusion: “Until there is a vaccine, there will be ongoing public fear of contagion at healthcare settings, which may result in sustained decreases in patient volume beyond the immediate response and recovery to the pandemic. It is not clear that the funds authorized so far are enough to cover all the losses incurred to date, much less the ongoing losses that the health sector will continue to experience.”
Wesolowski said: “I think it’s reasonable to expect that it’s going to take a while to rebound. When hospitals start offering elective surgeries again, all of that volume won’t come back in at once. And it depends on whether there are subsequent waves [of the coronavirus].”
Like the pandemic, the financial toll has not been evenly distributed across the country. Rural hospitals, which had been struggling financially for decades, lost up to 80% of their revenue when they suspended elective procedures and outpatient care. Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association, told BuzzFeed News that the federal stimulus money was helping, but only barely. “Rural hospitals nationwide now are able to keep their doors open through the end of June," he said.
It's still unclear how the pandemic will play out in the rest of 2020; there could be sustained small outbreaks or a large second wave. Health systems may take a different approach at that time due to increased availability of testing.
Eric Toner, senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told BuzzFeed News hospitals could make more informed decisions about if and when to cancel nonessential and elective procedures.
“The problem was in, say, rural Texas, you canceled elective surgeries and for two months the hospitals were empty," he said. "There was nothing for their staff to do, so they ended up furloughing them." With increased testing capacity, “they could wait until they saw evidence of COVID in their communities before they cancel those surgeries.”


buzzfeednews--2020-05-27--Trump’s Campaign And Fox News Are Attacking A Twitter Employee Because They Think He Fact-Checked Th

Trump’s Campaign And Fox News Are Attacking A Twitter Employee Because They Think He Fact-Checked The President. They Have The Wrong Guy.

“ No one person at Twitter is responsible for our policies , ” a Twitter spokesperson told BuzzFeed News .
“ It 's unfortunate to see individual employees targeted for company decisions.
” Right-wing media and Trump supporters are targeting a Twitter employee after the platform fact-checked President Donald Trump for the first time on Tuesday , applying its label for misleading tweets from world leaders to two tweets he sent about mail-in ballots in California .
Yet according to the company , it was not that employee 's responsibility to fact-check the tweet .
Trump ’ s tweets claimed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voter fraud — which Myrna Pérez , director of the Brennan Center 's Voting Rights and Elections Program , told BuzzFeed News there was no evidence for .
Twitter added a label below the tweets that said , `` Get the facts about mail-in ballots . ''
Upon clicking the link , people would see the following message : `` Trump makes unsubstantiated claim that mail-in ballots will lead to voter fraud . ''
The Trump fact-check set off fury from Republicans .
“ Yep .
It ’ s pretty simple : if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to editorialize and censor and act like traditional publishers , they should be treated like traditional publishers and stop receiving the special carve out from the federal government in Section 230 , ” Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley tweeted on Wednesday morning , following a similar complaint from Florida Sen. Marco Rubio the previous night .
As the right-wing criticisms of the site grew , conservatives settled on a single scapegoat : Twitter 's head of site integrity , Yoel Roth .
On Tuesday night , three-year-old anti-Trump tweets of Roth ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York Post reporter Jon Levine .
“ This person is the ‘ head of site integrity ’ at Twitter , ” Levine tweeted , sharing Roth ’ s old tweets , which included : “ I ’ m just saying , we fly over the states that voted for a racist tangerine for a reason '' and “ Yes , that person in the pink hat is clearly a bigger threat to your brand of feminism than ACTUAL NAZIS IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
” Levine ’ s tweet has been retweeted over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's son Eric Trump , far-right actor James Woods , and Fox News host Brit Hume .
Roth has also been written about by the Daily Mail , Breitbart News , and the Daily Wire .
And ire against him has spread past the site for which he works : According to social metrics site CrowdTangle , his name has driven 32,000 interactions on Facebook since Tuesday .
A Fox News article about him was shared to “ X22 Report [ Geopolitical ] , ” one of the larger QAnon groups on Facebook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ retweeted Levine ’ s post and then tweeted about Roth twice more on Wednesday .
But the coverage and complaints about Roth are based on a basic misunderstanding of his job : He 's not the person who decided to fact-check the president .
A spokesperson for Twitter on Wednesday told BuzzFeed News that Roth was not responsible for fact-checking Trump ’ s tweets , adding that he would not be put on leave or reprimanded in any way .
“ No one person at Twitter is responsible for our policies or enforcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see individual employees targeted for company decisions , ” the spokesperson said .
The spokesperson said Roth was not available to comment , due to the deluge of abuse he ’ s currently getting online .
Roth has worked at Twitter since 2015 and currently heads the platform ’ s Site Integrity team , which deals with platform manipulation , bots , and foreign interference campaigns — not fact-checking — although it is a sub-team of the Trust and Safety team , which was the group that made the decision on Tuesday .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dorsey said he took responsibility for the Trump fact-check , tweeting , `` Fact check : there is someone ultimately accountable for our actions as a company , and that ’ s me .
Please leave our employees out of this .
We ’ ll continue to point out incorrect or disputed information about elections globally .
And we will admit to and own any mistakes we make . ''
Roth ’ s tweets were embedded in a Fox News story devoted entirely to painting him as an anti-Trump activist secretly pulling the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mentioned his name during a Fox & Friends segment Wednesday morning .
During a different Fox & Friends segment , White House adviser Kellyanne Conway spelled out his name and Twitter handle .
“ Somebody in San Francisco will wake him up and tell him he 's about to get a lot more followers , ” Conway said .
Her remarks were then reported in a different Fox News story about Roth .
And Conway threat materialized : As of Wednesday morning , Roth ’ s account was flooded with abuse .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that # LIAR , '' one person tweeted .
During its shareholder meeting on Wednesday , Twitter General Counsel Sean Edgett said the decision to fact-check the president 's tweets was made by a group of employees .
`` We have a group and committee of folks who take a look at these things and make decisions on what 's getting a lot of visibility and interaction , and where there 's a lot of conversation , and where we feel like we should be applying a label , '' he said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ third-party organization that works with the platform .
Twitter 's trust and safety team reviewed the tweets to decide if they violated the company 's policies and needed to be pulled down .
The president 's tweets were left up , but it was decided they would include a misleading information label .
Senior executives were informed of the decision , after which Twitter 's broader public policy team and the communication teams were informed .
That decision came after weeks of pressure mounting to label tweets from the president that contained misinformation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had tweeted six times , most recently over Memorial Day weekend , about a decades-old conspiracy theory that falsely claimed that MSNBC host Joe Scarborough was involved in the 2001 death of Lori Klausutis , a staffer who worked in his Florida office when he served in Congress .
Last week , Klausutis 's widower , T.J. Klausutis , wrote a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey asking him to remove the president 's tweets , but Twitter refused .
A spokesperson for Twitter told BuzzFeed News on Tuesday that the fact-checked Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ processes and were labeled to provide additional context around mail-in ballots .
It was the first time the site had taken action against content unrelated to COVID-19 since it launched the tool on May 11 .
`` This decision is in line with the approach we shared earlier this month , '' the spokesperson said .

Right-wing media and Trump supporters are targeting a Twitter employee after the platform fact-checked President Donald Trump for the first time on Tuesday, applying its label for misleading tweets from world leaders to two tweets he sent about mail-in ballots in California. Yet according to the company, it was not that employee's responsibility to fact-check the tweet.
Trump’s tweets claimed that mail-in ballots would lead to increased voter fraud — which Myrna Pérez, director of the Brennan Center's Voting Rights and Elections Program, told BuzzFeed News there was no evidence for. Twitter added a label below the tweets that said, "Get the facts about mail-in ballots." Upon clicking the link, people would see the following message: "Trump makes unsubstantiated claim that mail-in ballots will lead to voter fraud."
The Trump fact-check set off fury from Republicans. “Yep. It’s pretty simple: if Twitter and Google and the rest are going to editorialize and censor and act like traditional publishers, they should be treated like traditional publishers and stop receiving the special carve out from the federal government in Section 230,” Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley tweeted on Wednesday morning, following a similar complaint from Florida Sen. Marco Rubio the previous night.


buzzfeednews--2020-05-27--This Top UK Official Attended A Massive Horse-Racing Festival Right As The Coronavirus Pandemic Was

This Top UK Official Attended A Massive Horse-Racing Festival Right As The Coronavirus Pandemic Was Exploding

The Cheltenham Festival welcomed in hundreds of thousands of spectators even as other major sports around the world were closing their doors .
The UK ’ s seniormost public official attended a massive horse racing festival in mid-March that experts have linked to an increased spread of the coronavirus , BuzzFeed News has learned .
Sir Mark Sedwill , the powerful cabinet secretary and head of the civil service , was one of 250,000 spectators at the four-day Cheltenham Festival .
The festival ran from March 10 to March 13 — the week that many of the world ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the NBA suspending its season , the NCAA canceling March Madness , and many European soccer leagues canceling matches .
A new analysis released this week suggests that the British government ’ s decision to allow the Cheltenham Festival to go forward `` caused increased suffering and death . ''
Sedwill oversees the UK ’ s 400,000 civil servants — permanent government employees who hold no political position — and is the country ’ s most influential unelected official .
As cabinet secretary and Boris Johnson ’ s national security adviser , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discussions over whether and how to introduce lockdown restrictions .
Asked about Sedwill ’ s attendance at the Cheltenham Festival , a government spokesperson said that its approach to mass gatherings “ has been guided by the latest science , taking the right decisions at the right time.
” The spokesperson added that the “ decision to go ahead with the festival was taken by the racecourse , operating within clear public health guidance at the time.
” The Cabinet Office declined to say whether Sedwill paid for his tickets , or whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The revelation comes in the midst of a firestorm over alleged lockdown breaches by another influential figure , Dominic Cummings , Johnson ’ s top aide , who drove 260 miles from his home in London to stay on his parents ’ property when restrictions were at their tightest .
There were no lockdown restrictions in place when Sedwill attended the Cheltenham Festival .
But many mass gatherings were being canceled around the world while Cheltenham continued to operate .
On March 11 — the same day the World Health Organization declared a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced sweeping new travel restrictions — an NBA game in Oklahoma City was abandoned right before tipoff after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus .
The BBC reported this week that scientists working on the UK 's largest COVID-19 tracking project found coronavirus `` hot spots '' that arose shortly after the festival , as well as a Champions League soccer match between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid on March 11 , which also was not canceled or played behind closed doors .
Tim Spector , a professor of genetic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told the BBC local rates of cases `` increased several-fold '' after the two events .
“ People will have probably died prematurely , ” Spector said .
According to the BBC , the scientists gathered data from millions of volunteers .
It shows that in the last week of March , Liverpool and Cheltenham were among the areas with the highest number of suspected coronavirus cases in England .
The analysis chimes with other studies elsewhere , which have similarly found that mass events acted as “ superspreaders ” of the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racegoers who suffered from COVID-19 symptoms in the weeks following the event .
Health officials have since called for an inquiry into whether the four-day festival should have gone ahead .
As the festival kicked off on March 10 , the government said there was `` no reason for people not to attend such events or to cancel them at this stage . ''
Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a daily press briefing the UK was following `` scientific advice '' and said that `` banning such events will have little effect on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the day after the races , the government had started briefing UK media outlets that it was planning to halt large gatherings from the following week .
Britain eventually went into lockdown on March 23 .
By that date , many other countries in Europe — including Austria , Italy , Spain , Greece , Denmark , much of Germany , and France — had already introduced stringent measures .
California ordered people to stay at home on March 19 ; New York did the same on March 22 .
On the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had officially recorded 10 coronavirus deaths .
The UK 's death toll is now approaching 38,000 and is one of the highest in Europe .
The UK government has repeatedly claimed that its decision to go into lockdown later than other European countries was about following the science .
But the government ’ s scientific advisory group had already reached a consensus by March 2 that it was `` highly likely '' that there was already a sustained transmission of COVID-19 in the UK , according to a document later published by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that while individual measures such as closing schools or strict social distancing were unlikely to contain an outbreak on their own , deploying these measures in tandem would likely have `` a greater impact . ''
The Sunday Times reported this weekend that the government was warned in early March by its two main modeling teams that without a tougher approach , about 250,000 people could die .
But it took the government three weeks to act on those warnings , according to the newspaper .
And even once the projections were accepted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nine days to deliberations over how and when a lockdown should be introduced .
A scientific adviser to the government confirmed the central claims of the Sunday Times account to BuzzFeed News .
The adviser , speaking on condition of anonymity , said those projections were made in two separate papers .
Those documents have not been made public , but their existence has been listed in this spreadsheet of document titles published by the government ’ s scientific advisory group .
The adviser said the early figures and other similar estimates had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Health Service .
“ It took 2–3 weeks for the UK government to be persuaded that there was no ‘ controlled epidemic ’ scenario which would lead to anything other than hundreds of thousands of deaths and the NHS falling over , ” the adviser told BuzzFeed News .
The British broadcaster ITV revealed last month that Sedwill had the coronavirus at about the same time as the prime minister , who tested positive in late March .
The government later confirmed that Sedwill developed symptoms around April 2–3 .
It is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus , though the festival was held more than two weeks before those dates .

The UK’s seniormost public official attended a massive horse racing festival in mid-March that experts have linked to an increased spread of the coronavirus, BuzzFeed News has learned.
Sir Mark Sedwill, the powerful cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, was one of 250,000 spectators at the four-day Cheltenham Festival. The festival ran from March 10 to March 13 — the week that many of the world’s largest sports screeched to a halt, with the NBA suspending its season, the NCAA canceling March Madness, and many European soccer leagues canceling matches.
A new analysis released this week suggests that the British government’s decision to allow the Cheltenham Festival to go forward "caused increased suffering and death."
Sedwill oversees the UK’s 400,000 civil servants — permanent government employees who hold no political position — and is the country’s most influential unelected official. As cabinet secretary and Boris Johnson’s national security adviser, Sedwill would have been intimately involved in discussions over whether and how to introduce lockdown restrictions.
Asked about Sedwill’s attendance at the Cheltenham Festival, a government spokesperson said that its approach to mass gatherings “has been guided by the latest science, taking the right decisions at the right time.” The spokesperson added that the “decision to go ahead with the festival was taken by the racecourse, operating within clear public health guidance at the time.” The Cabinet Office declined to say whether Sedwill paid for his tickets, or whether he received them as a gift.
The revelation comes in the midst of a firestorm over alleged lockdown breaches by another influential figure, Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s top aide, who drove 260 miles from his home in London to stay on his parents’ property when restrictions were at their tightest.
There were no lockdown restrictions in place when Sedwill attended the Cheltenham Festival. But many mass gatherings were being canceled around the world while Cheltenham continued to operate. On March 11 — the same day the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic, and President Donald Trump announced sweeping new travel restrictions — an NBA game in Oklahoma City was abandoned right before tipoff after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus.


buzzfeednews--2020-05-27--New Zealand Is Celebrating A Bunch Of Good News About The Coronavirus

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`` We are really well-placed , and we are making good progress , '' Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a Facebook Livestream on Wednesday .
The country has had a total of 1,504 confirmed or probable cases of the virus and only 21 deaths .
There are just 21 remaining active cases of COVID-19 among New Zealand 's 4.8 million people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is the first time , at least probably in a couple of months , that we have n't had somebody in hospital , '' he said , `` so that 's another good position to be in . ''
Ashley Bloomfield , the head of the country 's health ministry , told reporters that the last patient with a confirmed case of COVID-19 had been discharged from Auckland 's Middlemore Hospital .
New Zealand no longer has a single person being treated in a hospital for the coronavirus , health officials there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ five consecutive days of no new cases of the virus .
Patrons enjoy their drinks at a bar in Christchurch , New Zealand , as bars reopened , May 21 .
A relatively remote nation of islands in the Pacific Ocean , New Zealand moved swiftly in mid-March by imposing a nationwide lockdown of more than one month and shutting its borders to noncitizens and nonresidents .
It also worked to improve its testing and contact tracing capabilities .
Michael Baker , professor of public health at New Zealand 's University of Otago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country has been working to eradicate the virus completely , not just reduce the number of infections .
`` You actually throw everything at the pandemic early on , '' he said .
`` So at the point that we had 100 cases , no fatalities , around the 23rd of March , a decision was made to go for this elimination approach , and that meant putting the whole country into this very intense lockdown for the best part of six weeks . ''
`` It 's a pretty harsh approach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there was very little virus being transmitted , '' he said .
New Zealand has gradually eased the restrictions and is currently at Alert Level 2 , which allows businesses to reopen to customers but still restricts most gatherings to fewer than 10 people .
Prime Minister Ardern told New Zealanders on Wednesday that the country is working hard to reopen travel with Australia , which has also seen a declining number of cases .
`` Australia has had a few more cases over a period of weeks but still very , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the right track , '' she said .
`` New Zealand , none for some days now . ''
`` So we just want to make sure we 're both in the right spot where we can have travel between us without requiring quarantine because that 's the key , '' said Ardern .
`` I doubt anyone would want to travel for short periods of time if they 're spending two weeks of their holiday in a hotel . ''
Such a move could provide an economic boost for both countries .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ most popular outbound travel destination for Australians and the second most popular for inbound travel ( second only to China ) .
Just over 100 people have died in Australia of the virus , among a population of roughly 25 million people .
On Tuesday , the country recorded its youngest victim of COVID-19 , with a 30-year-old mine worker dying in the state of Queensland .

A relatively remote nation of islands in the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand moved swiftly in mid-March by imposing a nationwide lockdown of more than one month and shutting its borders to noncitizens and nonresidents. It also worked to improve its testing and contact tracing capabilities.
Michael Baker, professor of public health at New Zealand's University of Otago, told Democracy Now this week that the country has been working to eradicate the virus completely, not just reduce the number of infections.
"You actually throw everything at the pandemic early on," he said. "So at the point that we had 100 cases, no fatalities, around the 23rd of March, a decision was made to go for this elimination approach, and that meant putting the whole country into this very intense lockdown for the best part of six weeks."
"It's a pretty harsh approach, but at the end of that, there was very little virus being transmitted," he said.
New Zealand has gradually eased the restrictions and is currently at Alert Level 2, which allows businesses to reopen to customers but still restricts most gatherings to fewer than 10 people.
Prime Minister Ardern told New Zealanders on Wednesday that the country is working hard to reopen travel with Australia, which has also seen a declining number of cases.
"Australia has had a few more cases over a period of weeks but still very, very low numbers, so absolutely on the right track," she said. "New Zealand, none for some days now."
"So we just want to make sure we're both in the right spot where we can have travel between us without requiring quarantine because that's the key," said Ardern. "I doubt anyone would want to travel for short periods of time if they're spending two weeks of their holiday in a hotel."
Such a move could provide an economic boost for both countries. In 2018, New Zealand was the most popular outbound travel destination for Australians and the second most popular for inbound travel (second only to China).
Just over 100 people have died in Australia of the virus, among a population of roughly 25 million people.
On Tuesday, the country recorded its youngest victim of COVID-19, with a 30-year-old mine worker dying in the state of Queensland.


buzzfeednews--2020-05-27--Disney World Is Reopening In July — But It Will Look Very Different With Coronavirus Safety Measures

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Disney World is planning for a phased reopening of its Florida theme parks in July , Jim MacPhee , senior vice president of operations at the park , said Wednesday .
The Magic Kingdom and Disney 's Animal Kingdom parks will reopen Saturday , July 11 .
Epcot and Disney 's Hollywood Studios will reopen Wednesday , July 15 .
But the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different than before the coronavirus .
At an Orange County economic recovery task force meeting announcing the reopenings on Wednesday , MacPhee laid out new safety protocols for the parks .
These include requiring guests to wear face coverings and have their temperatures screened before entering .
The parks will also have more handwashing and sanitizing stations installed .
`` We will temporarily suspend parades , fireworks , and other events that create crowds , '' MacPhee added .
In an effort to reduce contact between guests and employees , Disney World will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and character meet and greets and play areas will be temporarily on pause .
Park capacities will also be significantly reduced so that people can practice physical distancing more easily on attractions , at restaurants , and in stores .
Guests will be required to place a reservation for park entry before their visit .
Many of these new safety protocols were similarly implemented at Shanghai Disneyland , which reopened on May 11 .
Though measures to curb the coronavirus like wearing masks and social distancing have been ubiquitous around the world in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at doing so .
MacPhee said he hopes park guests embrace the new regulations .
`` We hope everyone will do their part to bring the magic of Walt Disney World back into this new environment , '' MacPhee said .
The Walt Disney Company announced the closures of a number of its US parks in March as nonessential businesses across the country were ordered to shutter over the coronavirus outbreak .
Disney Springs was the first park to reopen at Walt Disney World Resort , the company 's flagship destination in Orlando @ @ @ @ @

Disney World is planning for a phased reopening of its Florida theme parks in July, Jim MacPhee, senior vice president of operations at the park, said Wednesday.
The Magic Kingdom and Disney's Animal Kingdom parks will reopen Saturday, July 11. Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios will reopen Wednesday, July 15. But the experience at these parks will be markedly different than before the coronavirus.
At an Orange County economic recovery task force meeting announcing the reopenings on Wednesday, MacPhee laid out new safety protocols for the parks. These include requiring guests to wear face coverings and have their temperatures screened before entering. The parks will also have more handwashing and sanitizing stations installed.
"We will temporarily suspend parades, fireworks, and other events that create crowds," MacPhee added. In an effort to reduce contact between guests and employees, Disney World will ramp up mobile food ordering options, and character meet and greets and play areas will be temporarily on pause.
Park capacities will also be significantly reduced so that people can practice physical distancing more easily on attractions, at restaurants, and in stores. Guests will be required to place a reservation for park entry before their visit.
Many of these new safety protocols were similarly implemented at Shanghai Disneyland, which reopened on May 11.
Though measures to curb the coronavirus like wearing masks and social distancing have been ubiquitous around the world in recent months, some Americans have balked at doing so. MacPhee said he hopes park guests embrace the new regulations.
"We hope everyone will do their part to bring the magic of Walt Disney World back into this new environment," MacPhee said.
The Walt Disney Company announced the closures of a number of its US parks in March as nonessential businesses across the country were ordered to shutter over the coronavirus outbreak.
Disney Springs was the first park to reopen at Walt Disney World Resort, the company's flagship destination in Orlando, on May 20.


buzzfeednews--2020-04-09--My Parents Are Stuck In India While It's On Lockdown. They're Not The Only Ones.

My mom has a small cough .
She gets it now and then , usually allergies , likely made worse by the fact that she ’ s in Kashmir right now and spring is foisting pollen into her sinuses .
No big deal .
But of course , when I FaceTimed her a week ago and heard her soft wheeze , I burst into tears and started crying so hard that my husband had to take the phone and investigate further : Do you have a fever ?
How often do you cough ?
Is it a dry cough ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ was the last time you left the house ?
Has anyone else been in the house ?
Are you washing your hands and have you been touching your face ?
I spiraled into a panic attack and started to gently scream , loud enough that she could hear , until she replied , “ Oh , calm down .
I ’ m not going to die !
” She and my dad laughed while I tucked my head between my legs and took some deep breaths .
My parents left Canada for India @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was supposed to last just under a month .
After a number of airlines began canceling flights because of the coronavirus outbreak , I called them and said that maybe it was time to come back early .
But they declined because my parents are stubborn ( I come by it honestly ) — my dad still wanted to go to Jaipur to stay with his sister for a while and they had plans to continue traveling .
They also didn ’ t leave because they weren ’ t fully aware of how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become ; their limited access to the internet and media in Jammu didn ’ t paint a full picture of the risk of staying .
When their original return flight , for March 30 , was canceled , I wanted them to get on an earlier flight as soon as possible , but again , they refused .
I called again after stay-at-home orders were implemented in New York on March 20 , but by then , it was too late : On March 24 , India implemented their own lockdown measures , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have experienced in Canada had they gone home : Domestic and international travel is barred , airlines can ’ t operate , trains are halted , and though pharmacies and grocery stores are open , people are sometimes beaten by the police for going outside .
They haven ’ t left my uncle ’ s house in 30 days at this point , since even before the lockdown , except once when my dad went to refill my mom ’ s arthritis medication and to get his insulin .
My mom is unable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same one everyone ’ s been taking because they think it helps cure COVID-19 , and now my brother and I are trying to figure out how to send it to her even though the people I ’ ve spoken to in India say there hasn ’ t been any incoming international mail since the lockdown .
( Through a Twitter callout , we ’ ve been able to locate one of her drugs , but we ’ re still struggling to find the hydroxychloroquine that makes her pain bearable . )
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the most stress I ’ ve ever experienced , largely because I have absolutely no control over anything .
And also because everything with my parents feels so precarious , like their lives are little wires that could get snipped at any minute .
I wouldn ’ t even see it coming .
I wouldn ’ t even be able to get to them in time to see it happen .
I don ’ t sleep anymore .
With my parents in an opposite time zone from me , I sleep only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ waking in order to check my phone for bad news .
So far they ’ re fine , and always annoyed about how overprotective I ’ m being .
But at nearly 7,000 miles away , there ’ s very little I can do if they get sick , or worse .
India , though the country where my entire family is from , recently denied me a visa for entry , so I wouldn ’ t even be able to reach them if I wanted to , COVID-19 or not .
Sometimes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York and Jammu on Google Maps and marvel at the distance between us .
It seems insurmountable in every way .
When I try to click for directions , Google reminds me it ’ s not possible : “ Sorry , we could not calculate walking directions from ‘ New York ’ to ‘ Jammu Cantonment.
’ ” I ’ m waiting for good news .
We ’ ve called the consulate , the embassy , and members of the provincial and federal government in Canada on my parents ’ behalf to no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a member of parliament finally responded to my repeated attempts to get help as a private citizen .
My parents have a flight scheduled home on the 21st , the fifth we ’ ve booked since their previous flights were all canceled , and one we hope they ’ ll be able to take unless the national lockdown in India continues beyond its scheduled April 14 conclusion .
But , they ’ re also four hours away from the airport they need to get to in order to leave the country .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ I can ’ t figure out why , and then I remember it ’ s because I don ’ t feel whole right now .
Instead , I feel like my heart is walking around outside my body , in another country , indefinitely lost , weakened by the environment , wantonly touching things and then touching its own face .
A few days ago , I called my 10-year-old niece and asked her to call her grandfather for a few minutes .
“ He ’ s bored over there , ” I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a bit sad.
” “ Yeah , well , ” she said .
“ We ’ re all a bit sad.
” There are — literally — thousands of other families like mine trying to get their relatives home .
In India alone , as of April 1 , there were an estimated 15,000 Canadians and more than 2,000 Americans stranded and trying to return home .
The US State Department estimates they have repatriated more than 50,000 Americans globally thus far since January .
“ At our Embassies and Consulates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the clock to identify transportation options for US citizens seeking to return to the United States , ” a State Department spokesperson told me in an email .
“ We must stress that these repatriation flights will not be available long term .
If a US citizen wishes to return to the United States , it is important to take advantage of these flights now , or be prepared to remain where they are overseas for an indefinite period.
” Neither Global Affairs Canada nor the Immigration , Refugees and Citizenship Canada @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Kirthan Aujlay , 35 , based in Windsor , Ontario , is currently trying to bring her 69-year-old father home .
Her father has stage 4 prostate cancer and Type 2 diabetes , and is stuck in a small village in Punjab called Isharwal , which has a population of around 1,200 .
She says he visits every year , but the village is an eight-hour drive from Delhi , the closest city where the Canadian government is chartering commercial flights to get citizens home .
Worse , maybe , is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with that one-way ticket , which only drops citizens off in three cities in Canada .
( Round-trip travel from Toronto to Delhi typically costs around $ 1,500 .
If you wanted to book a one-way ticket on April 30 , you could get it for under $ 1,000 USD , assuming that it somehow doesn ’ t get canceled .
Any way you cut it , nearly $ 3,000 is an exorbitant price . )
The Canadian government is keeping track of citizens stuck abroad with ROCA , the Registration of Canadians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be receiving regular communication on what the government is doing to bring them home through repatriation flights .
My parents are receiving some of these emails , including one that asked them to provide their passport numbers and personal information in a Google Form .
( It included the unnerving warning that “ the information will temporarily reside on servers outside of the purview of the Government of Canada , as such , we can not guarantee that it will not be accessed by Google or its affiliates.
” ROCA initially told us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every 24 hours ; the last email we got from them was on March 31 .
Some people are reporting having never received any information from ROCA despite being registered .
Twenty-three-year-old Jasmine Chauhan is trying to get her 76-year-old grandfather and 72-year-old grandmother home from Achharwal , Punjab .
“ [ ROCA ] sends these huge emails with repetitive information and you have to read through it for that one sentence that ’ s new , ” she says .
“ I get it .
It ’ s a really restricting lockdown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s been disappointing and absurd .
This response has been really disorganized .
It definitely lacks compassion and care.
” Like my mother , Chauhan ’ s grandfather takes hydroxychloroquine for his arthritis , which is seemingly no longer available in any pharmacies in India .
He has three weeks of the drug left before he ’ ll run out .
“ Do we risk them getting the virus and coming home and getting really sick ?
” she says .
“ If we wait it out and if we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , what if they do get sick in India ?
We don ’ t know what the right answer is.
” Like Chauhan , Aujlay told her dad to come home early because of the pandemic , but once the world started taking it seriously , it became harder and harder to actually get him an earlier flight .
Aujlay ’ s father had a flight scheduled for March 19 , but that got canceled , along with his rescheduled flight on the 24th , due to India ’ s countrywide lockdown .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” she says .
“ I don ’ t know how any of this is going to work.
” ( In fact , her father didn ’ t even find out his flight home was canceled until he had traveled the eight hours to Delhi ’ s airport and was notified there .
He said a riot nearly broke out ; he turned back around to travel back to the village and wait for a new flight . )
Aujlay ’ s real concern , though , is that despite having his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ India , her father ’ s health may decline the longer he is unable to return home for treatment .
“ My fear is he will come back and be too weak to start chemo and then the cancer ’ s just going to spread and take him much sooner than it would have , ” Aujlay says .
“ My mom said when she spoke to him , she was like , ‘ Now I can kind of hear the concern in his voice.
’ He ’ s starting to get how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 22 and based out of Toronto , is currently trying to get her father and his uncle back from Goa , India , where they ’ ve been since late February .
Like a lot of children of boomers , in March she asked him to come home early once the virus had started to spread more aggressively .
“ At that time , he was not as concerned as we were down here .
He doesn ’ t have access to as many news sources as we do .
He didn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she says .
“ It ’ s really hard .
I ’ ve never understood how limited I am when I ’ m this far away from someone , until this moment.
” Lobo ’ s father , Anthony , who ’ s 61 , and his uncle , who ’ s 85 , both have diabetes .
And despite being registered with the Canadian government as citizens abroad , her relatives haven ’ t gotten consistent communication about repatriation flights .
His uncle only has another week of his heart medication @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard in India to find refills of certain drugs — plus there ’ s the added risk of going outside to get to the pharmacy .
“ There ’ s always the question of what if it gets worse ?
It ’ s hard .
It ’ s just hard .
I miss my dad so much , ” Lobo says .
“ Our fridge just broke and it ’ s very stressful because none of us know what to do .
If he was here , life would be better .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fridge.
” Since Lobo and I first spoke , her father , Anthony , and his uncle have now been scheduled on a government flight back to Canada from Mumbai .
They ’ re currently at the airport waiting to take off , and hopefully , this flight won ’ t get canceled .
“ I swear , when [ the travel representative ] called , it just knocked you out , ” Anthony tells me .
“ Just to hear the guy ’ s voice , because you were so desperate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nice to hear somebody say that they ’ re coming with the cavalry to come and save you.
” And though the cost for him and his uncle to get home is steep , it was the best of very limited options for two retired men .
“ Three thousand dollars is insane .
But honestly , it didn ’ t matter .
You ’ re desperate .
If you ’ re desperate , you ’ ll pay anything.
” The Canadian government , for at least Aujlay , Lobo , and myself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When contacted for comment by BuzzFeed News , neither Global Affairs Canada nor the Immigration , Refugees and Citizenship Canada responded .
When I reached out to it as a private citizen , pleading for my parents ’ return , it ignored my emails or sometimes sent me boilerplate in response , the same language that countless others have received .
( When it comes to Global Affairs , it ’ s clear its staff are not entirely reading my emails or tweets ; sometimes they reply as if I ’ m the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , not realizing I ’ m talking about my parents . )
It ’ s agony , and it feels endless .
“ Every time we tried to find a new way for my dad to come home , we ended up with some new unexpected barrier , ” Aujlay says .
Since we first published this story , a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada contacted us with a brief statement .
“ We continue to work with local authorities in India to coordinate transportation to help Canadians travel to New Delhi or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it said in part .
“ As is the case with the other flights that we have facilitated in other parts of the world , these are commercial flights , facilitated by the Government of Canada .
The costs reflect the complexity of the situation and the commercial arrangement that has been made.
” To date , the Canadian government has brought home 744 Canadians .
There are still 26,405 Canadians registered with ROCA in India .
In response to a BuzzFeed News callout asking people to share their stories about trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from many adult children trying to get their parents home .
Every story feels familiar and devastating : dads without their insulin , a constant parade of canceled flights , mothers rationing their medication in order to make it last .
Reading them feels like sinking into quicksand that I ’ m already upsettingly acquainted with .
“ There ’ s always the worry deep down , ” wrote one woman whose family is also stuck in India , “ that we will never see each other again.
” Everyone ’ s parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I know this .
When my parents get sick , I think about what it would be like to get the news , and what it would be like to keep moving through the world without them .
Who will listen to me list off all the things I ate for lunch that week ?
Who will I visit on Shivaratri ?
The anxiety here is in the hopelessness , and not having any control over what happens to them .
I know I never had it to begin with , but the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stark , discomfiting perspective .
When my mom ’ s cough started , I wailed : Is this how they die ?
Trapped in India , a place they always want to go back to but now seem to be stuck in forever , away from most of the family and without health insurance and nervous about so much as walking on the driveway ?
It ’ s not a scenario I ever played out in my head .
This , even for me , seemed too dramatic to consider .
Death by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ small town on the other side of the world with limited Wi-Fi and barely enough medication ?
Get outta here .
My friend Isaac has this saying : “ Every day above ground.
” When I first noticed he used it all the time , I thought , Am I supposed to cheer for every day that I don ’ t die ?
It seemed ridiculous to me , the mantra of a blind optimist .
I ’ m not very good at optimism .
Now , I repeat it to myself a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days ) or a few times an hour ( on bad ones ) .
When my dad called one evening at 11 p.m. , my heart jumped — but it turns out he just wanted to ask what the weather was like in New York .
In that moment I said it to myself : He ’ s got another day above ground , before politely reminding him he has a phone and can look up the weather himself instead of scaring the shit out of me .
I say it when my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I get chippy with each other , stuck in our little apartment waiting for something good to happen : Everyone is above ground .
My parents text me good morning and good night , every day , no matter what .
And when my mom answers my calls in the morning and quizzes me on my Hindi , as if it matters anymore , I say it again : She ’ s still above ground .
( Maybe my Hindi teacher can tell me how to say that .
Har din jameen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ niece calls me to show me her lunch , her long eyelashes , her nail polish .
I never thought I would just be grateful for the continued existence of these few people , even so far away from me .
But that gratitude is all I feel I have anymore .
I say it to myself again and again and again , an incantation I never thought I would one day rely on in order to keep my body upright and my heart pumping : Every day , we ’ re all @ @ @ @

My mom has a small cough. She gets it now and then, usually allergies, likely made worse by the fact that she’s in Kashmir right now and spring is foisting pollen into her sinuses. No big deal. But of course, when I FaceTimed her a week ago and heard her soft wheeze, I burst into tears and started crying so hard that my husband had to take the phone and investigate further: Do you have a fever? How often do you cough? Is it a dry cough? Are you having trouble breathing? When was the last time you left the house? Has anyone else been in the house? Are you washing your hands and have you been touching your face? I spiraled into a panic attack and started to gently scream, loud enough that she could hear, until she replied, “Oh, calm down. I’m not going to die!” She and my dad laughed while I tucked my head between my legs and took some deep breaths.
My parents left Canada for India on March 1, a trip that was supposed to last just under a month. After a number of airlines began canceling flights because of the coronavirus outbreak, I called them and said that maybe it was time to come back early. But they declined because my parents are stubborn (I come by it honestly) — my dad still wanted to go to Jaipur to stay with his sister for a while and they had plans to continue traveling. They also didn’t leave because they weren’t fully aware of how bad the virus’s spread had become; their limited access to the internet and media in Jammu didn’t paint a full picture of the risk of staying.
When their original return flight, for March 30, was canceled, I wanted them to get on an earlier flight as soon as possible, but again, they refused. I called again after stay-at-home orders were implemented in New York on March 20, but by then, it was too late: On March 24, India implemented their own lockdown measures, far stricter than what my parents would have experienced in Canada had they gone home: Domestic and international travel is barred, airlines can’t operate, trains are halted, and though pharmacies and grocery stores are open, people are sometimes beaten by the police for going outside. They haven’t left my uncle’s house in 30 days at this point, since even before the lockdown, except once when my dad went to refill my mom’s arthritis medication and to get his insulin. My mom is unable to get one of her drugs, the same one everyone’s been taking because they think it helps cure COVID-19, and now my brother and I are trying to figure out how to send it to her even though the people I’ve spoken to in India say there hasn’t been any incoming international mail since the lockdown. (Through a Twitter callout, we’ve been able to locate one of her drugs, but we’re still struggling to find the hydroxychloroquine that makes her pain bearable.)
This is, suffice it to say, the most stress I’ve ever experienced, largely because I have absolutely no control over anything. And also because everything with my parents feels so precarious, like their lives are little wires that could get snipped at any minute. I wouldn’t even see it coming. I wouldn’t even be able to get to them in time to see it happen.


buzzfeednews--2020-04-08--Joe Biden Unceremoniously Became The Presumptive Nominee For President Today

This couldn ’ t have been how Joe Biden imagined his first public appearance as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president : speaking from his Delaware basement to a tiny audience scattered across the country as networks carried President Donald Trump on live TV .
But that was Biden ’ s reality Wednesday night , sticking to a virtual town hall that was planned before Bernie Sanders , his last significant rival , suspended his campaign earlier in the day .
There was no rallying cry , no call to join him in his effort to defeat Trump this fall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California ’ s primary results clinched the nomination for Hillary Clinton , she addressed 3,600 supporters beneath a glass ceiling , a symbolic setting worthy of her historic moment as the first woman to be a major party ’ s candidate for president .
Biden , seated in front of some bookcases , peaked at about 1,700 viewers , according to a YouTube counter .
It was another striking example of how the coronavirus has preempted a national election .
Biden ’ s moment wasn ’ t much of one .
The only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ top of his 45-minute event , when he offered kind , prepared words for Sanders before quickly pivoting to the pandemic .
“ Bernie ’ s always been a passionate voice for progress , ” Biden said , echoing sentiments he had shared hours earlier in an emailed statement and on Twitter .
“ He put his heart and soul not only into running for president but also the causes and issues he has been dedicated to his whole life .
He ’ s inspired and energized millions of supporters , especially young @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a progressive vision for our country .
He didn ’ t just run a political campaign ; he created a movement .
And that ’ s a good thing for the nation and for our future.
” Biden ’ s campaign picked other spots to acknowledge the presumptive inevitability of his nomination this summer , whenever and however Democrats conduct their national convention .
“ It ’ s Joe Biden , and I will be your Democratic nominee for president , ” read a fundraising text message sent to the former vice president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hall event .
Earlier on Wednesday , at a virtual fundraiser , Biden ’ s wife , Jill , expressed relief .
“ Thank goodness we can finally get to work , ” she said , according to a pool report .
“ We could never presume that before .
This has all been all brand-new and happened so , so quickly.
” Everything is virtual and online now for the foreseeable future .
Biden has been addressing the country via video for several weeks , talking mostly about the coronavirus and criticizing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The approach has yielded limited attention for a candidate who , because he has no official capacity to assist with the crisis , is not liable to make much news .
Until Wednesday , his biggest breakthrough , played to full dramatic effect by bored political reporters , was a back-and-forth over whether he ’ d call Trump to discuss the issue .
( They spoke Monday .
Judging by their respective accounts , it was an uneventful exercise . )
In practice , Sanders ’ departure didn ’ t change much for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a heads-up that he planned to start his search for a running mate .
Greg Schultz , Biden ’ s first campaign manager who was replaced last month by Jen O ’ Malley Dillon , already had been making plans to transition into a role at the Democratic National Committee , where he ’ s expected to coordinate general election efforts between the campaign and party .
Rather than explicitly declare victory over Sanders , Biden kept with the plan Wednesday night : a discussion with union workers moderated by Yvanna Cancela , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ topic was “ unemployment and issues facing working families ” — something Biden talks about as a candidate , but an area that was more central to Sanders ’ campaign .
The discussion was pegged specifically to the job losses and economic hardships related to the coronavirus , and Biden traded on his more folksy mannerisms .
Two of the women who asked questions addressed the former vice president by his first name .
“ You ’ re going to get through this , kiddo , ” Biden told Lovette Jacobs , an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Boston .
As he closed the town hall , Biden made a pitch clearly intended for Sanders ’ young supporters — a cohort he ’ s been aiming to reach in the weeks since his hold on the nomination strengthened .
“ This millennial generation , of which you ’ re a part , has gone through a hell of a circumstance over the last 15 years , ” he told Cancela as he winded up an argument for partial forgiveness of student loans .
“ They ended up in a situation where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the previous administration before us , they ended up in a situation where they were behind the 8-ball.
” Biden continued .
“ Now you have this so-called new generation , Z generation , coming along , and they ’ re missing out on so much .
… They ’ re not having their graduation parties .
They ’ re not having their prom .
They ’ re not having commencement .
They ’ re having to give up on an awful lot of things.
” Outreach to younger Sanders voters has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thing for Biden .
A recent poll from ABC News and the Washington Post found that 15 % of Sanders ’ supporters would vote for Trump over Biden .
His first statement on Sanders ’ departure Wednesday acknowledged the weight their movement carries .
“ While the Sanders campaign has been suspended , ” Biden said in the initial remarks emailed by his campaign , “ its impact on this election and on elections to come is far from over .
”

This couldn’t have been how Joe Biden imagined his first public appearance as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president: speaking from his Delaware basement to a tiny audience scattered across the country as networks carried President Donald Trump on live TV.
But that was Biden’s reality Wednesday night, sticking to a virtual town hall that was planned before Bernie Sanders, his last significant rival, suspended his campaign earlier in the day.
There was no rallying cry, no call to join him in his effort to defeat Trump this fall. Nearly four years ago, when California’s primary results clinched the nomination for Hillary Clinton, she addressed 3,600 supporters beneath a glass ceiling, a symbolic setting worthy of her historic moment as the first woman to be a major party’s candidate for president. Biden, seated in front of some bookcases, peaked at about 1,700 viewers, according to a YouTube counter.
It was another striking example of how the coronavirus has preempted a national election. Biden’s moment wasn’t much of one.
The only mention of the race came at the top of his 45-minute event, when he offered kind, prepared words for Sanders before quickly pivoting to the pandemic.
“Bernie’s always been a passionate voice for progress,” Biden said, echoing sentiments he had shared hours earlier in an emailed statement and on Twitter. “He put his heart and soul not only into running for president but also the causes and issues he has been dedicated to his whole life. He’s inspired and energized millions of supporters, especially young voters, to join him in championing a progressive vision for our country. He didn’t just run a political campaign; he created a movement. And that’s a good thing for the nation and for our future.”
Biden’s campaign picked other spots to acknowledge the presumptive inevitability of his nomination this summer, whenever and however Democrats conduct their national convention.
“It’s Joe Biden, and I will be your Democratic nominee for president,” read a fundraising text message sent to the former vice president’s supporters before the virtual town hall event.
Earlier on Wednesday, at a virtual fundraiser, Biden’s wife, Jill, expressed relief. “Thank goodness we can finally get to work,” she said, according to a pool report. “We could never presume that before. This has all been all brand-new and happened so, so quickly.”
Everything is virtual and online now for the foreseeable future. Biden has been addressing the country via video for several weeks, talking mostly about the coronavirus and criticizing Trump’s handling of it. The approach has yielded limited attention for a candidate who, because he has no official capacity to assist with the crisis, is not liable to make much news. Until Wednesday, his biggest breakthrough, played to full dramatic effect by bored political reporters, was a back-and-forth over whether he’d call Trump to discuss the issue. (They spoke Monday. Judging by their respective accounts, it was an uneventful exercise.)
In practice, Sanders’ departure didn’t change much for Biden. He already had given Sanders a heads-up that he planned to start his search for a running mate. Greg Schultz, Biden’s first campaign manager who was replaced last month by Jen O’Malley Dillon, already had been making plans to transition into a role at the Democratic National Committee, where he’s expected to coordinate general election efforts between the campaign and party.
Rather than explicitly declare victory over Sanders, Biden kept with the plan Wednesday night: a discussion with union workers moderated by Yvanna Cancela, a state senator in Nevada. The topic was “unemployment and issues facing working families” — something Biden talks about as a candidate, but an area that was more central to Sanders’ campaign. The discussion was pegged specifically to the job losses and economic hardships related to the coronavirus, and Biden traded on his more folksy mannerisms. Two of the women who asked questions addressed the former vice president by his first name. “You’re going to get through this, kiddo,” Biden told Lovette Jacobs, an electrical worker who appeared via video from Boston.
As he closed the town hall, Biden made a pitch clearly intended for Sanders’ young supporters — a cohort he’s been aiming to reach in the weeks since his hold on the nomination strengthened.
“This millennial generation, of which you’re a part, has gone through a hell of a circumstance over the last 15 years,” he told Cancela as he winded up an argument for partial forgiveness of student loans. “They ended up in a situation where … because of the financial crisis in the previous administration before us, they ended up in a situation where they were behind the 8-ball.”
Biden continued. “Now you have this so-called new generation, Z generation, coming along, and they’re missing out on so much. … They’re not having their graduation parties. They’re not having their prom. They’re not having commencement. They’re having to give up on an awful lot of things.”
Outreach to younger Sanders voters has been and will continue to be a tricky thing for Biden. A recent poll from ABC News and the Washington Post found that 15% of Sanders’ supporters would vote for Trump over Biden. His first statement on Sanders’ departure Wednesday acknowledged the weight their movement carries.
“While the Sanders campaign has been suspended,” Biden said in the initial remarks emailed by his campaign, “its impact on this election and on elections to come is far from over.”