7. Letting prisoners out because of the coronavirus
- In a letter, Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee requested that due to the coronavirus, Attorney General William Barr “release as many prisoners as possible.” This comes after the first coronavirus death of a federal prisoner.
- Those who sent the letter include U.S. Representatives Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Karen Bass (D-CA). At first, the letter specifically asks Barr “release medically-compromised, elderly and pregnant prisoners,” but then goes on to say “as many as possible.”
6. Private industry is fighting the coronavirus, too
- Multiple corporate entities have announced that they will be making products that will help in dealing with the supply-chain issues that are affecting the fight against the coronavirus.
- 3M is making more masks, MyPillow has converted a factory to make cloth masks, as is Under Armour, GM and Ford are making ventilators. All of this is in addition to the massive medical leaps being made in testing.
5. America buying more ventilators
- The Pentagon is buying 8,000 ventilators from Hamilton Medical, VyAire Medical, Zoll Medical Corp and Combat Medical Systems. It’ll cost $84.4 million, with 1,400 ventilators being delivered by May.
- President Donald Trump has already compelled General Motors to make ventilators through the Defense Production Act. There are about 153,000 coronavirus cases worldwide and almost 3,000 deaths.
4. UAB preparing to test a coronavirus vaccine
- The University of Alabama at Birmingham is working to start preclinical testing of one of the potential coronavirus vaccines, which will begin first with mice.
- This first step in testing the potential vaccine is important for there to be human testing later this year, which will be done by Altimmune Inc. based in Maryland.
3. Even the pandemic is about abortion
- The American Civil Liberties Union is representing a doctor in Huntsville who provides abortion care and three clinics and is challenging the Alabama Department of Public Health order that would suspend all non-emergency medical procedures.
- According to the court filing, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall will not clarify “the scope of the order other than to make plain that in its view some — and perhaps most — abortions are not permitted.” Currently, abortion clinics in the state have to close down to comply with the health order and reschedule any procedures for a later date.
2. Projection puts Alabama’s coronavirus deaths at 1,700
- A few weeks ago, irresponsible members of Alabama media promoted the idea that 25,000 (or 97,000) Alabamians could die because of the coronavirus, but a new study vastly downplays those numbers to 1,700, with the state expected to see 57 death at its peak on April 20.
- The numbers were always a worst-case scenario, but there seems to be some thought that says restrictions on movement and social distancing is leading to fewer fevers, a leading indicator, and fewer hospitalizations.
1. Ivey asking people to socially distance, still hasn’t issued a statewide lockdown
- Governor Kay Ivey has released a video where she urges people to “please consider staying safe at home,” but she is yet to issue a statewide lockdown.
- Ivey also clarifies in the video that staying home means avoiding contact with other people, not using it as an opportunity to catch up with friends. This video comes just after President Donald Trump has approved the State of Emergency for Alabama.
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