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Medieval depictions of the bubonic plague often illustrated a “dance of death,” portraying peasants, noblemen, and clergy all equally afflicted by the plague. The current pandemic affects people of all classes too. It made front page news when actor Tom Hanks (net worth approximately $400 million) announced he and his wife had contracted COVID-19. Public opinion about Hanks, a beloved entertainer, is almost universally sympathetic, but attitudes toward the rich as a whole haven’t changed during the pandemic. Wealthy people remain easy targets for social prejudice and mistrust. The headlines say it all. In GQ last month: “How Are Rich...

The great waves of plague that twice devastated Europe and changed the course of history had their origins in China, a team of medical geneticists reported Sunday, as did a third plague outbreak that struck less harmfully in the 19th century.

Nicole Griggs, has been a teacher at Steinert High School in New Jersey for the last 15 years and today she made it on the headlines for all the wrong reasons. She was caught on camera telling students who were playing football in the park that they should “die a long, painful death” from the coronavirus. From the Trentonian: A math teacher at Steinert High School was caught on video this week shouting at a group of teenagers playing football in the park that they should “die a long, painful death” from the coronavirus. The teacher was identified by multiple...

he COVID-19 pandemic has brought the global economy to a halt. The geopolitical upheavals yet to come will dramatically change world history, in unpredictable ways. The United States is only three months into its struggle with coronavirus, and is experiencing an Icarus-like plummet from the economic heights. The tiny coronavirus will ravage the nations, and may even cause empires to fall. We have been here before. In his 2017 book The Fate Of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire, Oklahoma University historian Kyle Harper examined the roles that climate instability and plague played in weakening the Roman...

A cardiologist has blamed the food industry for ‘normalising’ ultra-processed junk food as more evidence emerges suggesting poor diet is the root cause behind increased mortality from Covid-19. ~snip

Blue states lied: thousands of nursing home patients died. Over 7,000 of the country’s coronavirus deaths emerged out of nursing homes. Of the 4,377 coronavirus deaths in New Jersey, over 1,700 died due to infections in nursing homes. That nearly 40% of coronavirus deaths in one of the hardest hit states took place in nursing homes casts a stark light on the misplaced priorities of blue states battling the pandemic by locking down houses of worship and small businesses, while putting few to no resources into protecting nursing home residents. New Jersey’s coronavirus deaths were part of the coronavirus outbreak...

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told "Hannity" Thursday that he knows many Americans are angry at China over the Beijing government's handling of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan and disclosed "I know that the president feels the same way." "China caused an enormous amount of pain, loss of life and now a huge challenge for the global economy and the American economy as well by not sharing the information they had," Pompeo said.

Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda claims the country suffered a relative handful of infections during the coronavirus pandemic compared to other countries around the world and has all but eradicated the virus across most of China, but state media this week tacitly admitted the disease is still raging and told readers to prepare for preventive measures remaining necessary far into the future. The Global Times on Tuesday wrote an editorial quoting the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) warning that “the worst is yet ahead of us.” The primary thrust of the editorial was to chastise American and European officials who want...

Joe Biden said Thursday he advised his family to stay off airplanes and subways because of the new swine flu, a remark that forced the vice president's office to backtrack and prompted one airline official to complain about "fear-mongering." (April 30)

The one and only accomplishment I can list for last week technically belongs in this week’s column as I didn’t complete the task until yesterday. But since I started working on it a week ago Sunday I’m counting it as last week’s achievement. What sort of onerous task took a whole week you ask? Fixing my mobile phone after a system “update” that’s what. In addition to all the normally annoying things a Samsung update does – turns your notification offs, mutes the ringer, etc., etc. – this time it reset the alarm times on my clock as well. It’s...

The World Health Organization (WHO) is claiming that there is “no evidence” that natural antibodies can protect individuals from coronavirus, setting the stage for a widespread vaccination push as the only solution to the pandemic. WHO leaders are telling governments across the world not to rely on tests that indicate whether or not an individual has contracted coronavirus at some point because they believe theses people could be reinfected even after they had the virus previously. “Nobody is sure whether someone with antibodies is fully protected against having the disease or being exposed again,” said Mike Ryan, the executive director...

Vice President Mike Pence said President Trump is “not happy” with China over its early fumbles in disclosing the coronavirus that erupted in Wuhan but stopped short of outlining consequences Sunday, saying the administration is looking into it. “The president’s made it clear he’s not happy,” Mr. Pence told “Fox News Sunday.” “We’re going to make proper inquiries into this at the proper time.” Mr. Trump is highlighting China’s culpability in failing to contain a virus that’s raced around the globe, sickening 2.3 million people and killing 161,400 people, including nearly 40,000 deaths in the U.S. “If they were knowingly...

If you or your loved one has just had a diagnosis of COVID-19, your chances of surviving the illness will depend on your ability to gather your resources, make a plan, and adapt. As told to her daughter, Carrie Severino. This article is personal information, not medical advice. Please consult your doctor with any health questions and decisions.The past two weeks have been a rollercoaster as my husband and I celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary, learned we were both COVID-positive, spent multiple nights we thought could be our last ones together, and finally received a surreal email from the Kent...

Plans for a lockdown in Malawi have been scuppered at the last minute, after a court injuction ordered it be delayed by at least seven days, lawyers say. It was due to begin on Saturday. The news will come as a relief to traders who have fiercely opposed a lockdown because of the serious threat they say it poses to their livelihoods.

Just a short walk from downtown Rochester, Minnesota sits one of the largest hospitals in North America. Established by the Sisters of St. Francis, St. Marys has 200 ICU beds and 50 operating rooms. A century ago a few of the nuns were stricken while treating patients of the Spanish Flu (pardon the culturally insensitive title). If you are seriously ill, Saint Marys is one of the best places in the world to be treated. Today, she stands virtually empty. Almost all staff (including doctors and administrators) are receiving pay cuts and/or furlough notices. These front line healthcare workers...

When reports of a new virus circulating in China’s Hubei province first began to emerge, I was cautious about overreacting. I’ve reported on health long enough to know that just because a pathogen is new doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a crisis. Of course, I quickly realized this isn’t just any virus. We’re currently battling a global pandemic unlike any we’ve seen in over a century. But it’s also not the first modern virus we’ve faced. In the past two decades, the world battled Ebola, SARS and more than one major flu outbreak. Those left tragedies in their wake but didn’t...

The new unemployment numbers are out and there's really no way to butter this biscuit, folks. Unless America's economic engine is restarted, we will be plunged into a Great Depression. Since the global pandemic hit our shores, more than 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits. And the only way to stop this economic death spiral is for every freedom-loving citizen to embrace their constitutional rights, take to the streets and demand that their state leaders reopen this nation. As I wrote in "Culture Jihad: How to Stop the Left From Killing a Nation," the time has come for...

Some of America's most beautiful spaces -- our colleges and university campuses -- are closed and empty these days. Schools have canceled their spring semesters and commencements because of the COVID-19 virus; classrooms, dormitories and athletic facilities have been closed. Students at many institutions are told that they can continue to access instruction online. But exams and grades have been canceled in many cases, and one suspects that online viewership will be sporadic and concentration intermittent. But students shouldn't hover around their home mailboxes waiting for an envelope with a tuition rebate check. And students -- and parents -- who...

OK. Let's get to the chase. I'm a pilot. I've been flying almost 45 years. I know many commercial pilots who work for the big carriers. Some do international flights, the Far East, Europe, etc. At least four of them now have told me they have had this crap, some as early as November of last year. High fever, bad dry cough, and body aches. They all said they were sicker than a dog. They told me they have flown boatloads of people from China and Europe to here before the travel ban. They tell me they passed it around...

India has brought charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the head of a Muslim seminary for holding a gathering last month that authorities said led to a big jump in COVID-19 infections, police said yesterday. The headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat group in New Delhi has been sealed and thousands of followers — including some from Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh — have been placed in quarantine after it emerged that they attended meetings there in the middle of last month. Police initially filed a case against Tablighi Jamaat head Muhammad Saad Kandhalvi for breaching a ban on...