An Illinois man killed his girlfriend, then himself, because he suspected that she might have the coronavirus.
An autopsy report found that the couple, Patrick Jesernik, 54, and Cheryl Schriefer, 59, both tested negative for the virus.
A press release from the Will County Sheriff’s Office said that someone had called them on Thursday to check on Jesernik because they had not heard from him. When deputies arrived at the home they saw the couple laying on the ground with severe trauma to their heads.
“A loaded revolver, containing two spent shell casings and three live rounds were located near Patrick’s body. There were no signs of a struggle, and the home was neat and orderly,” the press release said.
When family members arrived at the scene they explained that Jesernik had feared that both him and Schriefer had contracted the virus. She had been tested two days prior to the murder/suicide, but they had not yet got the results back. The results would have shown them that she was negative.
“Both subjects died as a result of a single gunshot wound to the head. Cheryl Schriefer was shot in the back of the head at close range, and her death is ruled as a homicide. Patrick died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and his death is ruled as a suicide. Both Cheryl and Patrick tested negative for the COVID-19 virus,” the press release continued.
The sheriff’s office also wrote that “during the current COVID-19 pandemic, the vast majority of service calls that Deputies have been responding to, involve domestic disputes and crisis intervention calls. As a reminder, if anyone is a victim of a domestic violence situation, the Will County Courthouse remains open for individuals in need of obtaining an order of protection.”
A tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for the new coronavirus, in what is believed to be the first known infection in an animal in the U.S. or a tiger anywhere, federal officials and the zoo said Sunday.
The 4-year-old Malayan tiger named Nadia — and six other tigers and lions that have also fallen ill — are believed to have been infected by a zoo employee who wasn’t yet showing symptoms, the zoo said.
The first animal started showing symptoms March 27, and all are doing well and expected to recover, said the zoo, which has been closed to the public since March 16 amid the surging coronavirus outbreak in New York.
The test result stunned zoo officials: “I couldn’t believe it,” director Jim Breheny said.
He hopes the finding can contribute to the global fight against the virus that causes COVID-19.
“Any kind of knowledge that we get on how it’s transmitted, how different species react to it, that knowledge somehow is going to provide a greater base resource for people,” he said in an interview.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which confirmed Nadia’s test result at its veterinary lab, said there are no known cases of the virus in U.S. pets or livestock.
“There doesn’t appear to be, at this time, any evidence that suggests that the animals can spread the virus to people or that they can be a source of the infection in the United States,” Dr. Jane Rooney, a veterinarian and a USDA official, said in an interview.
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The USDA said Sunday it’s not recommending routine coronavirus testing of animals, in zoos or elsewhere, or of zoo employees.
Still, Rooney said a small number of animals in the U.S. have been tested through the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories, and all those tests came back negative except Nadia’s.
The coronavirus outbreaks around the world are driven by person-to-person transmission, experts say.
There have been a handful of reports outside the U.S. of pet dogs or cats becoming infected after close contact with contagious people, including a Hong Kong dog that tested positive for a low level of the pathogen in February and early March.
Hong Kong agriculture authorities concluded that pet dogs and cats couldn’t pass the virus to human beings but could test positive if exposed by their owners.
Some researchers have been trying to understand the susceptibility of different animal species to the virus, and to determine how it spreads among animals, according to the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health.
The American Veterinary Medical Association and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been recommending that out of an abundance of caution, people ill with the coronavirus should limit contact with animals — advice that the veterinary group reiterated after learning of the tiger’s test result.
In general, the CDC also advises people to wash their hands after handling animals and do other things to keep pets and their homes clean.
At the Bronx Zoo, Nadia, her sister Azul, two Amur tigers and three African lions developed dry coughs, and some of the cats exhibited some wheezing and loss of appetite, said Dr. Paul Calle, the zoo’s chief veterinarian.
The staff figured there could be a relatively routine explanation for the cats’ symptoms but tested Nadia for coronavirus out of “due diligence and an abundance of caution,” Breheny said.
Only Nadia was tested because it takes anesthesia to get a sample from a big cat, and she had already been knocked out to be examined.
Calle said the test was different from the one used for people and was carried out by a veterinary school laboratory, not one that handles human samples.
“There is no competition for testing between these two very different situations,” he said.
The seven sickened cats live in two areas at the zoo, and the animals had contact with the same worker, who is doing OK, zoo officials said.
They said there are no signs of illness in other big cats on the property.
Staffers who work with the cats will now wear infection-protection garb, as primate keepers have done for years because of the animals’ closer genetic ties to human beings, Breheny said.
A Democrat state representative from Detroit, Michigan, has given credit to hydroxychloroquine and President Donald Trump for saving her life as she battled the deadly coronavirus.
Michigan state Rep. Karen Whitsett, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, said she began taking hydroxychloroquine once her doctor prescribed it to her on March 31 after she and her husband sought treatment on March 18 for an array of symptoms.
Whitsett said she experienced shortness of breath, swollen lymph nodes, and somewhat of a sinus infection. According to Whitsett, “It was less than two hours” when she started to feel relief.
The representative also said she was familiar with “the wonders” of hydroxychloroquine after an earlier battle with Lyme disease, but claims she would not have thought to ask for it if President Trump had not touted its benefits as a possible coronavirus treatment.
“It has a lot to do with the president … bringing it up,” Whitsett said. “He is the only person who has the power to make it a priority.”
Whitsett went on to say that she believes her husband, who works as an engineer at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, was exposed to the virus at work. Whitsett’s husband has not yet received the results of his coronavirus test.
“This is a very uncertain time,” Whitsett said. “As a lawmaker, I want to be sure, but I’m not always sure.”
“There have been pandemics before, so we do know that there will be an end to it,” she added.
The Michigan state representative also stated that people in Detroit are not taking the quarantine seriously. “I see it in my own community — not being quarantined and still having house parties,” Whitsett said.
Whitsett also credited Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan for his relationship with President Trump for helping to get Detroit what it needs to fight the virus more effectively.
President Trump highlighted Whitsett’s recovery Monday evening.
Congratulations to State Representative Karen Whitsett of Michigan. So glad you are getting better! https://t.co/v6z46rUDtg
The Brennan Center for Justice, which is heavily financed by George Soros, is advocating the use of outside drop boxes to deposit ballots on voting day this November as part of a suggested overhaul of the U.S. voting system due to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.
With other Soros-financed groups, the Brennan Center has been leading a campaign advocating a “vote by mail” system in the upcoming presidential election, citing fears that coronavirus makes it too dangerous to vote in person. Some of the groups are using the coronavirus crisis to push permanent changes to the way Americans vote.
Analysts have posited that such proposals help the Democratic Party. Republicans specifically fear the prospect of voter fraud, since mail-in voting would be harder to authenticate.
Now Brennan has released a preliminary $2 billion budget that breaks down the costs of a implementing the organization’s blueprint for voting reform during the pandemic. The blueprint that has been widely cited by news media as making a central argument for a universal vote-by-mail option, while Democrats have used Brennan’s plan to push voter reform legislation.
Part of Brennan’s budget calls for jurisdictions to “offer secure drop boxes in accessible locations for voters to drop off ballots directly.”
The estimate allocates $82 million to $117 million for drop box purchase and installation and some $35 million to $47 million for operation and maintenance.
“Drop boxes must be equipped with adequate security measures, such as cameras,” the budget states without providing more specifics about security for the boxes.
The plan doesn’t delineate rules for where such drop boxes could be located. Already California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington use drop boxes statewide and have various locations set up that are not located at official in-person balloting stations.
The Brennan Center’s plan calls for a “universal vote-by-mail option for all voters.” The budget estimates $54 million to $89 million for increased ballot printing and $413 million to $593 million for extra postage costs.
To alert the public about changes to the voting method, the Brennan Center wants a $252.1 million public education campaign which “must include advertising in non-English languages.”
Brennan also wants $85.9 million to bolster online voter registration and it advocates implementing same-day registration. The Brennan blueprint allows for mail-in ballots to be processed prior to the close of polls on Election Day.
The document lobbies for polling place modification and preparation including “same-day registration, real-time address updates, and provisional balloting for certain individuals.” Brennan doesn’t define which “certain individuals” should receive same-day registration.
Brennan also advocates expanded early voting, with states offering at least two weeks of early in-person voting or a minimum of five days.
“This would be a massive undertaking but I think it’s absolutely necessary to make sure that we are prepared to run our elections in November, and I think all the problems we have been having in primaries in the last few weeks is evidence we need to start now,” said Lawrence Norden, the director of Election Reform at the Brennan Center and one of the report’s authors.
Democrat Sens. Amy Klobuchar (MN) and Chris Coons (DE) cited the Brennan Center’s coronavirus voting plan in a letter to House and Senate leaders, urging extra funding for the scheme. Klobuchar and Coons are among over a dozen Democrat senators who introduced a bill last month to allow for the widespread mail-in ballots, along with other updated voting measures for the upcoming presidential election. Democrat Reps. Suzan DelBene (WA), Earl Blumenauer (OR), and Jamie Raskin (MD) introduced a companion bill in the House.
The Brennan Center for Justice, located at NYU School of Law, is heavily financed by Soros’s Open Society Foundations and is the recipient of numerous Open Society grants.
Breitbart News previously reported the Brennan Center was listed in leaked Open Society Foundations documents as receiving funds specifically earmarked for “litigation to expand access to registration and improve ease of voting.”
Alongside the Brennan Center are a slew of progressive groups tied to Soros money that are working overtime to push mail-in voting.
The Soros-funded Brennan Center’s mail-in ballot plan was weaponized by the Stand Up America activist group, which launched a nationwide program urging Americans to nudge Congress to fund the voting changes. The group’s activities reportedly resulted in more than 19,000 calls to congressional offices in one day alone.
Stand Up America is funded by the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which is managed by the shadowy Arabella Advisors, a for-profit consultancy funded by far-left donors. The Soros-funded Democracy Alliance recommended that donors invest several million dollars into Sixteen Thirty Fund.
The massively Soros-funded American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which routinely partners with Brennan, has been pumpingmaterialsurging coronavirus voting legislation that pushes mail-in voting.
Soros’s Open Society Foundations donated $50 million to the ACLU. The Brennan Center has been the recipient of numerous grants from Soros’s Open Society Foundations totaling over $7,466,000 from 2000 to 2010.
Meanwhile, a coalition of progressive groups are reportedly mounting a multimillion-dollar campaign to not only change the presidential election system to mail-in voting during coronavirus, but to keep the mail-in balloting as part of the permanent way Americans will vote in the future.
The other groups in the mail-in advocacy coalition include the National Association of Non-Partisan Reformers, Public Citizen, Common Cause, National Vote at Home Institute and the Center for Secure and Modern Elections.
Common Cause is funded by Soros’s Open Society Foundations. So is Public Citizen.
The Center for Secure and Modern Elections is a project of the left-leaning New Venture Fund, which doesn’t disclose its donors.
The National Vote at Home Institute is partnered with the Soros-funded League of Women Voters, as well as the Soros-funded Common Cause.
The National Association of Non-Partisan Reformers lists its founding organization members as including FairVote. FairVote is a project of the Soros-funded Center for Voting and Democracy.
A recent Washington Postoped by election experts cited a study finding “people who vote by mail are significantly more likely to make mistakes than those who vote in person… Of course, people who vote in person may make mistakes — but they can more easily ask for help in correcting their ballots.” Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow.
Joshua Klein contributed research to this article. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein_
"Immunity Certificates" Are Coming – COVID-Survivors To Get ‘Special Passports’ Enabling Return To ‘Normalcy’
Update: Even more prophetically, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman tweeted about his "optimism" and the need for
"…Hydroxychloriquine and antibiotics appear to help. There is increasing evidence that the asymptomatic infection rate could be as much as 50X higher than expected.
If this is true, the severity and death rate could be much lower than anticipated, and we could be closer to herd immunity than projected. Highly accurate antibody tests are scaling production and distribution which will definitively answer this question hopefully soon.
One could imagine a world in the next few months where everyone is tested and all but the immune-compromised go back to a socially distanced but more normal life.
We wear bracelets or carry a phone certificate which indicate our status, and track infections where they emerge…"
Yay, let’s all cheer for antibody-based freedom.
* * *
The rollout of immunity certificates across the world will likely be government-issued to first responders and citizens who have developed resistance to COVID-19.
People who have contracted the virus and have recovered, normally develop antibodies to fight the virus, could be their golden ticket to escape regions that have strict social distancing measures and or lockdowns.
Just imagine, immunity certificates granted by governments to people who have recovered or have developed resistance to the virus could be considered special passports that will allow them to freely travel across states, countries, and or the world — while everyone else remains hunkered down in their homes or doomsday bunkers.
Some of the first talks of this has originated in the UK. The government could roll out immunity passports to Britons who have already contracted and recovered from the virus so they can reenter the economy, reported The New York Times.
"(An immunity certificate) is an important thing that we will be doing and are looking at but it’s too early in the science of the immunity that comes from having had the disease," health minister Matt Hancock said at a Downing Street press conference.
"It’s too early in that science to be able to put clarity around that. I wish that we could but the reason that we can’t is because the science isn’t yet advanced enough," Hancock said.
UK Health Secretary: "We are looking at an immunity certificate. How people who have had the disease, have got the antibodies, and therefore have immunity, can show that, and so get back… as much as possible to normal life." pic.twitter.com/SVLV8U2YwG
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said Britain was completing due diligence in how feasible immunity passports would be.
Hancock said a blood test was in development that could test whether people already had the virus or had the antibodies that would make them resistant to the infection.
In Germany, researchers are preparing a study that would see if people already immune to the virus could reenter the workforce and be granted immunity passports.
In Italy, the conservative president of the northeastern Veneto region has proposed an immunity passport for people who possess antibodies that show they are resistant to the virus.
The former prime minister, Matteo Renzi, has called it a "Covid Pass" for the uninfected who can return to their normal lives.
Immunity passports and "intermittent lockdowns" could become a reality in the months, quarters, or at least in the next several years – as the virus could be sticking around a lot longer than many have anticipated.
Talk of these special passports surfaced in American politics last week when House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Stewart called on Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to implement an "Immunity Certificate" for first responders and healthcare professionals.
Stewart said first-responders who have the antibodies and are immune to the virus should be shifted onto the frontlines.
"We need to get the resources in place to test all of our healthcare workers so we know which ones can work without fear of COVID-19 and which ones need maximum protection against the VIRUS," Stewart said.
And for more confirmation that immunity passports are going to be the next big thing in the Western world, or maybe across the globe. Here is Bill Gates on March 24, giving a 50-minute interview to Chris Anderson, the Curator of TED, the non-profit that runs the TED Talks.
Right at 34:14, Gates discussed how the future in a post-corona world would be. He said:
Eventually what we’ll have to have is certificates of who’s a recovered person, who’s a vaccinated person…
…Because you don’t want people moving around the world where you’ll have some countries that won’t have it under control, sadly.
You don’t want to completely block off the ability for people to go there and come back and move around.
So eventually there will be this digital immunity proof that will help facilitate the global reopening up.
Chinese state media has been flooding Facebook and Instagram with undisclosed political ads blaming President Donald Trump for the Wuhan coronavirus. Facebook said in a statement that it was an “error” that the ads were not classified as political and is correcting them.
The Telegraphreports that Chinese state media has been posting undisclosed political ads to Facebook and Instagram in an attempt to downplay China’s role in the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic and blaming President Donald Trump. Three Chinese state media outlets, Xinhua, China Central Television, and the Global Times, have targeted ads towards users across the world in English, Chinese, and Arabic.
The ads have reportedly been seen millions of times and extol China’s efforts to fight the coronavirus while downplaying the countries domestic outbreak. The articles portray President Trump as misguided and racist and suggest that the virus may have originated in the United States. “[China] has taken stringent and forceful measures, and turned the tide on coronavirus,” said one ad. Another states: “Trump’s disruption to China has severe consequences.”
All of the ads initially ran without a political disclaimer which allowed them to hide information about who the ads were targeting and where they originated from. Several of the articles focused on President Trump’s use of the term “Chinese virus” to describe the coronavirus while others highlighted statements from Chinese president Xi Jinping.
The Telegraph reached out to Facebook about the ads, the social media network stated that it was an error that the ads were not classified as political and has since corrected the issue. A spokesperson also stated that many of the ads are running in countries where Facebook requires no disclosure making it difficult to determine how much more propaganda may have gone unnoticed on the site.
The Facebook spokesperson told the Telegraph that it was choosing to label media outlets instead of banning them because it prefers greater transparency, adding that all Facebook’s services must follow local laws and that those who violate its policies can be temporarily banned.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolanor contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
US Hospitals Face ‘Severe’ Shortages Of Tests And Protective Equipment: Inspector General
As the US death toll from coronavirus tops 10,000 – the third highest in the world, an inspector general report from the Department of Health and Human Services has found that the country is experiencing serious shortages of tests and personal protective equipment (PPE).
The Monday report described the test kit shortages as "severe" and shortfalls in PPE as "widespread" – compounding an already dangerous situation.
"Hospitals reported that widespread shortages of PPE put staff and patients at risk," reads the report, which consists of interviews with administrators from 323 hospitals chosen at random from across the country between March 23 and 27.
To make due, healthcare providers are turning to homemade or construction masks, as inadequate government supplies have resulted in desperate measures.
Hospitals said they are turning in some cases to construction masks or homemade masks, which they worried put staff at risk.
Supplies from government stockpiles did not always help. One hospital reported receiving 2,300 crucial N95 masks from a state stockpile, only to find they were not usable because the elastic bands had rotted. Another hospital said its last two shipments from a federal agency contained protective equipment that had expired in 2010. –The Hill
"The level of anxiety among staff is like nothing I’ve ever seen," said one hospital administrator.
Administrators also report disarray and rising prices due to so many entities competing for limited supplies of equipment.
"Hospitals often stated that they were in competition with other providers for limited supplies, and that government intervention and coordination could help reconcile this problem at the national level to provide equitable distribution of supplies throughout the country," the report reads, adding: "Hospitals reported that severe shortages of testing supplies and extended waits for test results limited hospitals’ ability to monitor the health of patients and staff," it added – while noting that test results for COVID-19 often take seven days or more, meaning hospitals are using beds and equipment for potentially negative patients while waiting on the results.
What’s more, care facilities have been receiving conflicting guidance from state and federal authorities.
Lastly, and similar to what we’ve seen in Italy – anticipated ventilator shortages are going to force hospitals to limit who gets to use one.
"Hospitals anticipated that ventilator shortages would pose difficult decisions about ethical allocation and liability, although at the time of our survey no hospital reported limiting ventilator use," reads the report.
Liberal billionaire George Soros’s millions are still being used to exploit the coronavirus in an attempt to damage President Donald Trump’s chances for re-election. A new report by Advertising Analytics found that the Soros-funded lefty group Priorities USA Action’s ad “Hoax” again dominated the TV airwaves with a whopping 1,485 airings between March 28- April 3. This again makes the group the “top advertiser for the week” for the second week in a row. When reached for comment, Advertising Analytics said that “Hoax” has aired an…
Monday on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria,” Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus said instead of impeaching President Donald Trump. Congress should have been investigating the coronavirus pandemic in China in January.
Marcus said, “I think that look this president has been hit with something that no president has ever had to deal with. I just resent the people that are going after him now. They are already talking about another impeachment. I hate to tell you that, that Adam Schiff is already investigating this.”
Bartiromo said, “You are hitting on something that is really important because, for three years, Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff were looking for ghosts of Russia collusion. In doing so in terms of getting the country all crazy over the potential of collusion between the president and the Russians, they completely missed the bigger, much more dangerous actor, and that is China. China has been eating our lunch. We’ve got all this stuff produced in China that we need right now, including our active ingredients from prescription drugs. So now they want to do another investigative process of this president and yet throughout the Ukraine impeachment trial as well as the Russian collusion for three years all that time they missed so much that actually impacted Americans.
“Most importantly, in my view, is China. That is the story of the day. They are continuing to eat our lunch, and downplay this virus from the get-go,” she continued.
Marcus responded, “I could tell you this; this whole country was tied up for two and a half months on the impeachment. Nobody Congress was doing what they had to do. Their eyes were not on where it should have been. They should have been investigating what was happening with this pandemic had started in China. They were not aware of it because so they were so focused — The New York Times, and The Washington Post and everybody else was so focused on the impeachment, and you know, I think that everybody including the president, his eyes were focused on it also. I think that we lost sight of what was really happening around the corner, now it caught up with us.”
