Teen whose death may be linked to coronavirus denied care for not having health insurance, mayor says
A teenager in Lancaster, California, who may have died from the coronavirus last week, was turned away from an urgent care because he did not have health insurance, the city’s mayor said.
In a video posted to YouTube on Wednesday, Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said the 17-year-old had been sick for a few days and had no previous health conditions.
“The Friday before he died, he was healthy. He was socializing with his friends,” Parris said. “By Wednesday, he was dead.”
Parris said the teen went to an urgent care March 18.
“He did not have insurance, so they did not treat him,” Parris said, adding the boy was sent to a hospital.
En route, he went into cardiac arrest, according to the mayor. When the teen got to the hospital, he was revived and kept alive for six hours. But, it was too late, the mayor said.
“We’ve learned that once you go into respiratory issues, you have trouble breathing, you’re short of breath and you have a fever, that is the time to get medical treatment without delay,” Parris said.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health initially said the teen died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, but later backtracked. In a statement Tuesday, public health officials said his death will require further evaluation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Though early tests indicated a positive result for COVID-19, the case is complex and there may be an alternate explanation for this fatality,” the statement said. “Patient privacy prevents our offering further details at this time.”
Parris did not immediately return a request for an interview Friday.
NBC News was referred by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office to the county’s office of emergency management for comment on the teen’s cause of death. A spokesman said a cause of death would be determined by the CDC.
More than 4,000 cases of the coronavirus had been reported in California as of Friday afternoon.
Photo Credit: independent.co.uk
Fox Business lets go anchor who called coronavirus ‘impeachment scam’
Trish Regan, who was pulled from her prime-time slot on Fox Business Network after calling the coronavirus an “impeachment scam,” will not be returning to the channel.
Fox Business — the sister channel of Fox News — issued a statement Friday saying it has parted ways with the host, who had been with the channel since 2015.
“We thank her for her contributions to the network over the years and wish her continued success in her future endeavors. We will continue our reduced live primetime schedule for the foreseeable future in an effort to allocate staff resources to continuous breaking news coverage on the coronavirus crisis,” the company said in a statement.
Regan, 47, also acknowledged her departure.
“I have enjoyed my time at Fox and now intend to focus on my family during these troubled times,” she said in a statement. “I am grateful to my incredible team at Fox Business and for the many opportunities the network has provided me. I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my career.”
Regan had been a staunch supporter of President Trump on her nightly prime-time opinion program. But her tenure was apparently doomed by her March 9 commentary in which she said described the coronavirus as a scam being used by the Democrats in attempt to politically damage the president.
Regan’s remarks occurred after other Fox News opinion hosts had shifted away from downplaying the seriousness of the pandemic. She was pulled off the air after her March 13 telecast. The company called it a “hiatus” so that Fox Business Network resources could be used to cover the volatile stock market during the day.
Fox News — which has seen its viewership surge during the crisis — has been under fire for some of the commentary it has aired on the issue, but Regan is the first host on any network to lose a job over it.
While Fox News has covered the crisis thoroughly and has frequently interviewed Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, some of its conservative opinion hosts initially downplayed the severity of the outbreak and have taken contrarian views on how to combat the novel coronavirus.
Fox News Channel host Steve Hilton said on his Sunday program that a prolonged economic shutdown imposed to curtail the spread of the virus risks more damage than the pandemic itself. “You know that famous phrase the cure is the worst than the disease?” he said. “That’s what we’re hurtling toward…poverty kills.”
Trump and other conservative commentators adapted Hilton’s points during the week, with the president even suggesting to Fox News that the country could reopen for business on Easter, which is April 12.
Fox News opinion hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham have also been pushing the use of two antimalarial drugs, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, as treatment for the coronavirus. Fauci has called the drugs’ effectiveness in treating virus “anecdotal.”
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/xandr/fox-business-anchor-called-coronavirus-211408128.html
Photo Credit: currently.att.yahoo.com
Pierce Transit drastically cuts back bus service amid coronavirus crisis
Pierce Transit will reduce weekday bus service by 28 percent starting Monday, March 30, as ridership plummets during the coronavirus crisis.
Weekday routes will start and end around the same time, but buses will run less frequently. Weekend routes will remain the same, spokesperson Rebecca Japhet said in a press release.
At least one route, Route 102 in Gig Harbor, will stop completely, because there are other routes connecting to Tacoma, Japhet said.
Service reductions were planned to minimize impact on customers and ensure people still have early and late trips available to access jobs and other life needs.
Ridership has plummeted by 57 percent compared to this time last year. Gov. Jay Inslee has issued several orders in the past week, closing non-essential business, and calling everyone apart from essential personnel to stay at home to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Pierce Transit CEO Sue Dreier said she is aware many depend on the bus to get to critical-service jobs, obtain food or make a medical appointment.
“Pierce Transit ridership is down significantly, but we are still committed to providing this essential service during this challenging time for our community,” Dreier said.
Rides on Pierce Transit buses are now free to protect the safety of bus drivers. Riders are asked to board the bus using the back door.
By Friday, March 27, the new routes will be posted to Trip Planner, and riders can plan ahead. They can also sign up for route text alerts by visiting PierceTransit.org/StayConnected.
Other options for getting information about Pierce Transit’s services include:
Toll-Free Line: 1.800.562.8109
Bus or SHUTTLE paratransit TTY for hearing impaired: 711
PierceTransit.org/StayConnected for route-specific text alerts and general information
Read more here: https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/coronavirus/article241530271.html#storylink=cpy
Toll-Free Line: 1.800.562.8109
Bus or SHUTTLE paratransit TTY for hearing impaired: 711
PierceTransit.org
PierceTransit.org/StayConnected for route-specific text alerts and general information
Riders can look for the next bus by:
Texting 253-533-7084 from their bus stop and entering the bus stop number found on the pole.
Using a bus locator app, such as Transit or One Bus Away.
FOLLOW MORE OF OUR REPORTING ON FULL COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN WASHINGTON
Brits using spatulas, brooms as sex toys during coronavirus lockdown
With much of the globe under virtual house arrest due to the coronavirus pandemic, people are getting inventive with their DIY fixes — and Brits are using random utensils, appliances and cleaning supplies to spice up their sex lives.
London-based EOT Cleaning Services Company surveyed 1,668 people about which household objects they found most worthy of being used as sex toys.
“With recent events taking the world by storm, it looks like we are going to spend the majority of our time indoors,” the company says in a statement. “To keep things creative, Brits have admitted to resorting to new ways of spicing things up in the bedroom . . . !”
At the top of the list: a spatula, with 89 percent of respondents admitting they’ve used a hamburger-flipper for kinky purposes.
Rope was favored by 85 percent of survey-takers, followed by plastic gloves (82 percent), dusters (81 percent), broomsticks (55 percent), vacuum cleaners (41 percent) and glass-top tables (39 percent).
It appears that the folks who volunteered for EOT’s poll are especially kinky, with 75 percent admitting to having a fetish.
“Why spend your money on expensive whips and paddles when you can pop into the other room and get yourself a ‘home-made’ one?” asks the cleaning company’s press release.
Meanwhile, on this side of the pond, the NYC Department of Health issued graphic guidance Saturday on ways to stay COVID-19-free when the birds and bees beckon.
The bottom line: Self-love is the best — and safest — kind of love.
“You are your safest sex partner,” the document reads. “Masturbation will not spread COVID-19, especially if you wash your hands (and any sex toys) with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after.””Vagina Whisperer” wants couples to have more sex during the coronavirus quarantinePlay Video
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol and ensuring the correct amount of gel is applied. However, sanitizer should only be used in situations where the ultimate germ fighter isn’t readily available.
Photo Credit: nypost.com
21-year-old who bragged about not social distancing gets coronavirus
A 21-year-old Tennessee woman who bragged on social media about not taking the coronavirus outbreak seriously has been diagnosed with the deadly illness, according to a report.
Ireland Tate joked about not following instructions to stay home and practice social distancing amid the pandemic just days before she fell sick, news station WZTV reported.
In a social media video, the Nashville resident told her followers that she’s “aware that we’re supposed to be self-quarantining and social distancing” to “keep everyone safe” — but that she wasn’t worried.
“Cool. I get it. I just don’t think that I’m going to get the virus,” Tate said in the video.
But just days later, Tate found herself suffering from symptoms associated with the dangerous bug and tested positive.
“It feels like someone is sitting on my chest at all times,” she said. “It’s really hard to breathe. I’ve coughed until my throat has bled.”
Tate said she likely got the virus from a pal in her group of friends and she’s now warning other young people to stay home.
“While it may not be affecting you, you could be affecting someone’s grandma or grandpa or aunt or uncle or sister,” Tate told the outlet.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/03/26/21-year-old-who-posted-about-not-social-distancing-gets-coronavirus/
Photo Credit: WZTV
SCARFACE HAS TESTED POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS
Houston rapper Scarface said he has tested positive for the coronavirus during a livestream interview with his longtime Geto Boys bandmate Willie D Thursday.
The rapper, whose real name is Brad Jordan, described a multi-week ordeal that started with an itch in his throat and included multiple stays in the hospital, pneumonia in both of his lungs, kidney failure and a fever that ran as high as 103 degrees. He also noted that, despite everything, he only officially got his positive COVID-19 test result Wednesday night. “I been to the point where I felt like I was going to die,” he said.
Jordon said the respiratory issues associated with the coronavirus were particularly brutal because he also has asthma. He said he could barely breathe and that it “felt like there was an elephant sitting on my chest.”
The rapper said he wasn’t sure where he picked up the virus, noting he hasn’t been traveling lately and lives a fairly sedentary life. To that end, he urged people to take the pandemic seriously, saying, “I don’t see how nobody can even want to play them games, I don’t want to have fun that bad, where it could take my life.”
Jordon said he was still in quarantine at his house, but believed he was finally recovered from the virus. With the end in sight after such an excruciating experience, he joked, “I’m finna go fucking live now, man! Like skydiving and shit, I’m gonna go do that. We’ll go on a safari trip.”
Multiple musicians and other celebrities have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent weeks. One of the first, and most notable, was Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, while others include Idris Elba, Jackson Browne and Kevin Durant.
via: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/geto-boys-scarface-coronavirus-positive-test-973856/
Photo Credit: the source
The dirty truth about disinfecting wipes
Always clean surfaces with soap and water first then use your disinfecting wipes or spray.
Cops arrest group that planned orgy amid coronavirus lockdown in Spain
Undercover cops in coronavirus-battered Spain have rounded up eight people accused of violating the lockdown by organizing a drug-fueled orgy in Barcelona, according to a report.
Over 3,600 people have died in Spain from COVID-19, but that apparently did not prevent the suspects from planning the sex bash, which was organized online, according to The Sun.
Amid a twang of remorse, one of the would-be revelers tipped off the authorities, who seized drugs including cocaine and liquid ecstasy from an apartment that had been rented for a week, the news site reported.
Twenty other people had planned to show up for the romp, according to local reports.
The suspects were expected to be fined for violating the strict lockdown rules, which over 31,000 people have so far also flouted, The Sun reported.
On Wednesday, police officials said 55 people have been arrested across the country and more than 6,000 fined for violating the rules.
Photo Credit: AP/Emilio Morenatti