This frustrated Michigan pilot gives a literal flying you-know-what about his governor’s lock-down order.

Ed Frederick, 45, spent about an hour charting a path over Grand Rapids that spelled out this message for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: “F U,” with an arrow pointing directly over the governor’s mansion.

Frederick said he was inspired to hop in a propeller plane Friday morning after Whitmer announced an extension of the state’s emergency lockdown order through May 28.

“It’s a power trip,” Frederick told The Post.

“The government, no matter Democrats or Republicans, always seem like they’re trying to do something just to prove they’re doing something, without weighing the ramifications.”

Frederick, who lives just outside Grand Rapids, said he owns a small business with his sister, and explained that he believed a lockdown was unnecessary for the entire state, considering the largest concentration of cases were in the southeast region around Detroit.

“That’s been an issue for a lot of people in the rural counties,” he added. “There are 82 counties, but really only four need to be locked down.”

Frederick believes Whitmer, a Democrat, has settled with a “draconian” statewide lockdown because a limited lockdown around the major city wouldn’t sit well with her base.

“[Whitmer] says this is for the safety of Michigan, but I think it’s for the safety of her keeping her votes, because the southeast is highly democratic,” he said.

Frederick said he was still getting by, yet sympathized with “the people walking that precipice, living paycheck-to-paycheck.”

But Whitmer and health experts have argued that state lockdowns help contain the spread of the coronavirus. She noted Thursday that counties of northern and western Michigan have begun seeing cases double within a week’s time.

“We must all continue to be diligent, observe social distancing and limit in-person interactions and services to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Whitmer said in a statement urging residents to “work together.”

“Michigan now has more than 40,000 cases of COVID-19. The virus has killed more Michiganders than we lost during the Vietnam war. Extending this order is vital to the health and safety of every Michigander.”

Frederick’s flight came a day after armed protestors stormed the Michigan statehouse. A licensed gun owner himself, Fredrick said he supported the message but felt protestors should have left their weapons at home because it’s “not painting them in a good light.”

“We have an open carry, but just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean you should do it — it’s sort of like [the virus],” he added.

“I don’t need the government to wipe my tushie every two minutes,” he said. “Let me know what the problems are going to be and let me know what the ramifications are; I’m responsible for myself.”

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2020/05/01/flight-path-curses-michigan-governor-over-coronavirus-lockdown/

China has not invited the World Health Organization to take part in an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak, according to the global health authority’s representative in the country.

Dr. Gauden Galea told Sky News on Friday: “We know that some national investigation is happening but at this stage, we have not been invited to join.”

“The origins of virus are very important, the animal-human interface is extremely important and needs to be studied,” he added. “The priority is we need to know as much as possible to prevent the reoccurrence.”

Galea said he expected to get an update from the Chinese government soon, but had not so far been asked to collaborate.

The news comes amid a growing international dispute over how the pandemic began in China late last year.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump said he was confident the coronavirus may have originated at the state-backed Wuhan Institute of Virology, but declined to describe the evidence.

“Yes, yes I have,” he said, declining to give specifics. “I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that.”

The Wuhan Institute of Virology has dismissed similar allegations, and other U.S. officials have downplayed their likelihood. Most experts believe the virus originated in a market selling wildlife in Wuhan and jumped from animals to people.

During the Sky News interview, Galea said the WHO had not been given access to laboratory logs at the institute or at the Wuhan Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Friday, May Day, is a public holiday in China and Chinese officials were not immediately available for comment on Galea’s comments.

Trump has questioned China’s handling of the crisis and cast doubt on its official death toll — comments which were challenged this week by a senior Chinese government official, who criticized the United States’ response to its own outbreak.

Trump has also attacked the WHO for its handling of the crisis, and announced April 14 that he was halting funding to the organization pending a review of its response to the initial coronavirus outbreak in China.

Galea added weight to doubts over the Chinese figures. Referring to the low number of coronavirus cases China reported between Jan. 3-16, he said: “Is it likely that there were only 41 cases for that period of time? I would think not.”

Australia has also called for a public inquiry into the origin of the outbreak.

Galea declined NBC News’ request for comment but the WHO said in a statement that the evidence pointed toward COVID-19 having an animal source and not being human-made, and called for more investigation.

“It is our understanding that a number of investigations to better understand the source of the outbreak in China are currently underway or planned… WHO is not currently involved in the studies in China.

“WHO would be keen to work with international partners and at the invitation of the Chinese Government to participate in investigation around the animal origins.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/who-official-says-agency-not-invited-take-part-china-s-n1197516

BLAINE, Wash. — In his decades of beekeeping, Ted McFall had never seen anything like it.

As he pulled his truck up to check on a group of hives near Custer, Wash., in November, he could spot from the window a mess of bee carcasses on the ground. As he looked closer, he saw a pile of dead members of the colony in front of a hive and more carnage inside — thousands and thousands of bees with their heads torn from their bodies and no sign of a culprit.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html

BLAINE, Wash. — In his decades of beekeeping, Ted McFall had never seen anything like it.

As he pulled his truck up to check on a group of hives near Custer, Wash., in November, he could spot from the window a mess of bee carcasses on the ground. As he looked closer, he saw a pile of dead members of the colony in front of a hive and more carnage inside — thousands and thousands of bees with their heads torn from their bodies and no sign of a culprit.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html

BLAINE, Wash. — In his decades of beekeeping, Ted McFall had never seen anything like it.

As he pulled his truck up to check on a group of hives near Custer, Wash., in November, he could spot from the window a mess of bee carcasses on the ground. As he looked closer, he saw a pile of dead members of the colony in front of a hive and more carnage inside — thousands and thousands of bees with their heads torn from their bodies and no sign of a culprit.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html

This frustrated Michigan pilot gives a literal flying you-know-what about his governor’s lock-down order.

Ed Frederick, 45, spent about an hour charting a path over Grand Rapids that spelled out this message for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: “F U,” with an arrow pointing directly over the governor’s mansion.

Frederick said he was inspired to hop in a propeller plane Friday morning after Whitmer announced an extension of the state’s emergency lockdown order through May 28.

“It’s a power trip,” Frederick told The Post.

“The government, no matter Democrats or Republicans, always seem like they’re trying to do something just to prove they’re doing something, without weighing the ramifications.”

Frederick, who lives just outside Grand Rapids, said he owns a small business with his sister, and explained that he believed a lockdown was unnecessary for the entire state, considering the largest concentration of cases were in the southeast region around Detroit.

“That’s been an issue for a lot of people in the rural counties,” he added. “There are 82 counties, but really only four need to be locked down.”

Frederick believes Whitmer, a Democrat, has settled with a “draconian” statewide lockdown because a limited lockdown around the major city wouldn’t sit well with her base.

“[Whitmer] says this is for the safety of Michigan, but I think it’s for the safety of her keeping her votes, because the southeast is highly democratic,” he said.

Frederick said he was still getting by, yet sympathized with “the people walking that precipice, living paycheck-to-paycheck.”

But Whitmer and health experts have argued that state lockdowns help contain the spread of the coronavirus. She noted Thursday that counties of northern and western Michigan have begun seeing cases double within a week’s time.

“We must all continue to be diligent, observe social distancing and limit in-person interactions and services to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Whitmer said in a statement urging residents to “work together.”

“Michigan now has more than 40,000 cases of COVID-19. The virus has killed more Michiganders than we lost during the Vietnam war. Extending this order is vital to the health and safety of every Michigander.”

Frederick’s flight came a day after armed protestors stormed the Michigan statehouse. A licensed gun owner himself, Fredrick said he supported the message but felt protestors should have left their weapons at home because it’s “not painting them in a good light.”

“We have an open carry, but just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean you should do it — it’s sort of like [the virus],” he added.

“I don’t need the government to wipe my tushie every two minutes,” he said. “Let me know what the problems are going to be and let me know what the ramifications are; I’m responsible for myself.”

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2020/05/01/flight-path-curses-michigan-governor-over-coronavirus-lockdown/

BLAINE, Wash. — In his decades of beekeeping, Ted McFall had never seen anything like it.

As he pulled his truck up to check on a group of hives near Custer, Wash., in November, he could spot from the window a mess of bee carcasses on the ground. As he looked closer, he saw a pile of dead members of the colony in front of a hive and more carnage inside — thousands and thousands of bees with their heads torn from their bodies and no sign of a culprit.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html

BLAINE, Wash. — In his decades of beekeeping, Ted McFall had never seen anything like it.

As he pulled his truck up to check on a group of hives near Custer, Wash., in November, he could spot from the window a mess of bee carcasses on the ground. As he looked closer, he saw a pile of dead members of the colony in front of a hive and more carnage inside — thousands and thousands of bees with their heads torn from their bodies and no sign of a culprit.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html

This frustrated Michigan pilot gives a literal flying you-know-what about his governor’s lock-down order.

Ed Frederick, 45, spent about an hour charting a path over Grand Rapids that spelled out this message for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: “F U,” with an arrow pointing directly over the governor’s mansion.

Frederick said he was inspired to hop in a propeller plane Friday morning after Whitmer announced an extension of the state’s emergency lockdown order through May 28.

“It’s a power trip,” Frederick told The Post.

“The government, no matter Democrats or Republicans, always seem like they’re trying to do something just to prove they’re doing something, without weighing the ramifications.”

Frederick, who lives just outside Grand Rapids, said he owns a small business with his sister, and explained that he believed a lockdown was unnecessary for the entire state, considering the largest concentration of cases were in the southeast region around Detroit.

“That’s been an issue for a lot of people in the rural counties,” he added. “There are 82 counties, but really only four need to be locked down.”

Frederick believes Whitmer, a Democrat, has settled with a “draconian” statewide lockdown because a limited lockdown around the major city wouldn’t sit well with her base.

“[Whitmer] says this is for the safety of Michigan, but I think it’s for the safety of her keeping her votes, because the southeast is highly democratic,” he said.

Frederick said he was still getting by, yet sympathized with “the people walking that precipice, living paycheck-to-paycheck.”

But Whitmer and health experts have argued that state lockdowns help contain the spread of the coronavirus. She noted Thursday that counties of northern and western Michigan have begun seeing cases double within a week’s time.

“We must all continue to be diligent, observe social distancing and limit in-person interactions and services to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Whitmer said in a statement urging residents to “work together.”

“Michigan now has more than 40,000 cases of COVID-19. The virus has killed more Michiganders than we lost during the Vietnam war. Extending this order is vital to the health and safety of every Michigander.”

Frederick’s flight came a day after armed protestors stormed the Michigan statehouse. A licensed gun owner himself, Fredrick said he supported the message but felt protestors should have left their weapons at home because it’s “not painting them in a good light.”

“We have an open carry, but just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean you should do it — it’s sort of like [the virus],” he added.

“I don’t need the government to wipe my tushie every two minutes,” he said. “Let me know what the problems are going to be and let me know what the ramifications are; I’m responsible for myself.”

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2020/05/01/flight-path-curses-michigan-governor-over-coronavirus-lockdown/

BLAINE, Wash. — In his decades of beekeeping, Ted McFall had never seen anything like it.

As he pulled his truck up to check on a group of hives near Custer, Wash., in November, he could spot from the window a mess of bee carcasses on the ground. As he looked closer, he saw a pile of dead members of the colony in front of a hive and more carnage inside — thousands and thousands of bees with their heads torn from their bodies and no sign of a culprit.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html

BLAINE, Wash. — In his decades of beekeeping, Ted McFall had never seen anything like it.

As he pulled his truck up to check on a group of hives near Custer, Wash., in November, he could spot from the window a mess of bee carcasses on the ground. As he looked closer, he saw a pile of dead members of the colony in front of a hive and more carnage inside — thousands and thousands of bees with their heads torn from their bodies and no sign of a culprit.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html

China has not invited the World Health Organization to take part in an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak, according to the global health authority’s representative in the country.

Dr. Gauden Galea told Sky News on Friday: “We know that some national investigation is happening but at this stage, we have not been invited to join.”

“The origins of virus are very important, the animal-human interface is extremely important and needs to be studied,” he added. “The priority is we need to know as much as possible to prevent the reoccurrence.”

Galea said he expected to get an update from the Chinese government soon, but had not so far been asked to collaborate.

The news comes amid a growing international dispute over how the pandemic began in China late last year.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump said he was confident the coronavirus may have originated at the state-backed Wuhan Institute of Virology, but declined to describe the evidence.

“Yes, yes I have,” he said, declining to give specifics. “I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that.”

The Wuhan Institute of Virology has dismissed similar allegations, and other U.S. officials have downplayed their likelihood. Most experts believe the virus originated in a market selling wildlife in Wuhan and jumped from animals to people.

During the Sky News interview, Galea said the WHO had not been given access to laboratory logs at the institute or at the Wuhan Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Friday, May Day, is a public holiday in China and Chinese officials were not immediately available for comment on Galea’s comments.

Trump has questioned China’s handling of the crisis and cast doubt on its official death toll — comments which were challenged this week by a senior Chinese government official, who criticized the United States’ response to its own outbreak.

Trump has also attacked the WHO for its handling of the crisis, and announced April 14 that he was halting funding to the organization pending a review of its response to the initial coronavirus outbreak in China.

Galea added weight to doubts over the Chinese figures. Referring to the low number of coronavirus cases China reported between Jan. 3-16, he said: “Is it likely that there were only 41 cases for that period of time? I would think not.”

Australia has also called for a public inquiry into the origin of the outbreak.

Galea declined NBC News’ request for comment but the WHO said in a statement that the evidence pointed toward COVID-19 having an animal source and not being human-made, and called for more investigation.

“It is our understanding that a number of investigations to better understand the source of the outbreak in China are currently underway or planned… WHO is not currently involved in the studies in China.

“WHO would be keen to work with international partners and at the invitation of the Chinese Government to participate in investigation around the animal origins.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/who-official-says-agency-not-invited-take-part-china-s-n1197516

This frustrated Michigan pilot gives a literal flying you-know-what about his governor’s lock-down order.

Ed Frederick, 45, spent about an hour charting a path over Grand Rapids that spelled out this message for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: “F U,” with an arrow pointing directly over the governor’s mansion.

Frederick said he was inspired to hop in a propeller plane Friday morning after Whitmer announced an extension of the state’s emergency lockdown order through May 28.

“It’s a power trip,” Frederick told The Post.

“The government, no matter Democrats or Republicans, always seem like they’re trying to do something just to prove they’re doing something, without weighing the ramifications.”

Frederick, who lives just outside Grand Rapids, said he owns a small business with his sister, and explained that he believed a lockdown was unnecessary for the entire state, considering the largest concentration of cases were in the southeast region around Detroit.

“That’s been an issue for a lot of people in the rural counties,” he added. “There are 82 counties, but really only four need to be locked down.”

Frederick believes Whitmer, a Democrat, has settled with a “draconian” statewide lockdown because a limited lockdown around the major city wouldn’t sit well with her base.

“[Whitmer] says this is for the safety of Michigan, but I think it’s for the safety of her keeping her votes, because the southeast is highly democratic,” he said.

Frederick said he was still getting by, yet sympathized with “the people walking that precipice, living paycheck-to-paycheck.”

But Whitmer and health experts have argued that state lockdowns help contain the spread of the coronavirus. She noted Thursday that counties of northern and western Michigan have begun seeing cases double within a week’s time.

“We must all continue to be diligent, observe social distancing and limit in-person interactions and services to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Whitmer said in a statement urging residents to “work together.”

“Michigan now has more than 40,000 cases of COVID-19. The virus has killed more Michiganders than we lost during the Vietnam war. Extending this order is vital to the health and safety of every Michigander.”

Frederick’s flight came a day after armed protestors stormed the Michigan statehouse. A licensed gun owner himself, Fredrick said he supported the message but felt protestors should have left their weapons at home because it’s “not painting them in a good light.”

“We have an open carry, but just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean you should do it — it’s sort of like [the virus],” he added.

“I don’t need the government to wipe my tushie every two minutes,” he said. “Let me know what the problems are going to be and let me know what the ramifications are; I’m responsible for myself.”

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2020/05/01/flight-path-curses-michigan-governor-over-coronavirus-lockdown/

BLAINE, Wash. — In his decades of beekeeping, Ted McFall had never seen anything like it.

As he pulled his truck up to check on a group of hives near Custer, Wash., in November, he could spot from the window a mess of bee carcasses on the ground. As he looked closer, he saw a pile of dead members of the colony in front of a hive and more carnage inside — thousands and thousands of bees with their heads torn from their bodies and no sign of a culprit.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html

A damning dossier leaked from the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance claims that China lied to the world about human-to-human transmission of the virus, disappeared whistleblowers and refused to hand over virus samples so the West could make a vaccine.

The bombshell 15-page research document also indicated that some of the five intelligence agencies believe that the virus may have been leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a claim initially dismissed as a conspiracy theory because Chinese officials insisted the virus came from the local wet markets, according to the Australian Daily Telegraph.

At the same time, a senior intelligence source told Fox News that while most intelligence agencies believe COVID-19 originated in the Wuhan lab, “it was thought to have been released accidentally.”

The report from the intelligence-sharing alliance of the five leading English-speaking countries, the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada called China’s shady handling of the virus “an assault on international transparency.”

The paper described how China downplayed the outbreak around the world while wildly scrambling to bury all traces of the disease at home, including bleaching wet market stalls, censoring the growing evidence of asymptomatic carriers of the virus and stonewalling sample requests from other countries.

Beijing started censoring search engines as early as December to stop Internet surfing related to the virus, according to the report. The World Health Organization went along with China’s claims and also denied human-to-human transmission of the virus despite concern from neighboring countries.

Intelligence gathering showed that China had “evidence of human-human transmission from early December,” but continued to deny it could spread this way until January 20, according to the dossier.

The document pointed out China imposed travel bans on people traveling throughout the nation, but continued to tell the rest of the world travel bans were unnecessary.

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2020/05/02/intelligence-report-says-china-lied-about-origin-of-coronavirus/

This frustrated Michigan pilot gives a literal flying you-know-what about his governor’s lock-down order.

Ed Frederick, 45, spent about an hour charting a path over Grand Rapids that spelled out this message for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: “F U,” with an arrow pointing directly over the governor’s mansion.

Frederick said he was inspired to hop in a propeller plane Friday morning after Whitmer announced an extension of the state’s emergency lockdown order through May 28.

“It’s a power trip,” Frederick told The Post.

“The government, no matter Democrats or Republicans, always seem like they’re trying to do something just to prove they’re doing something, without weighing the ramifications.”

Frederick, who lives just outside Grand Rapids, said he owns a small business with his sister, and explained that he believed a lockdown was unnecessary for the entire state, considering the largest concentration of cases were in the southeast region around Detroit.

“That’s been an issue for a lot of people in the rural counties,” he added. “There are 82 counties, but really only four need to be locked down.”

Frederick believes Whitmer, a Democrat, has settled with a “draconian” statewide lockdown because a limited lockdown around the major city wouldn’t sit well with her base.

“[Whitmer] says this is for the safety of Michigan, but I think it’s for the safety of her keeping her votes, because the southeast is highly democratic,” he said.

Frederick said he was still getting by, yet sympathized with “the people walking that precipice, living paycheck-to-paycheck.”

But Whitmer and health experts have argued that state lockdowns help contain the spread of the coronavirus. She noted Thursday that counties of northern and western Michigan have begun seeing cases double within a week’s time.

“We must all continue to be diligent, observe social distancing and limit in-person interactions and services to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Whitmer said in a statement urging residents to “work together.”

“Michigan now has more than 40,000 cases of COVID-19. The virus has killed more Michiganders than we lost during the Vietnam war. Extending this order is vital to the health and safety of every Michigander.”

Frederick’s flight came a day after armed protestors stormed the Michigan statehouse. A licensed gun owner himself, Fredrick said he supported the message but felt protestors should have left their weapons at home because it’s “not painting them in a good light.”

“We have an open carry, but just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean you should do it — it’s sort of like [the virus],” he added.

“I don’t need the government to wipe my tushie every two minutes,” he said. “Let me know what the problems are going to be and let me know what the ramifications are; I’m responsible for myself.”

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2020/05/01/flight-path-curses-michigan-governor-over-coronavirus-lockdown/

BLAINE, Wash. — In his decades of beekeeping, Ted McFall had never seen anything like it.

As he pulled his truck up to check on a group of hives near Custer, Wash., in November, he could spot from the window a mess of bee carcasses on the ground. As he looked closer, he saw a pile of dead members of the colony in front of a hive and more carnage inside — thousands and thousands of bees with their heads torn from their bodies and no sign of a culprit.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html

BLAINE, Wash. — In his decades of beekeeping, Ted McFall had never seen anything like it.

As he pulled his truck up to check on a group of hives near Custer, Wash., in November, he could spot from the window a mess of bee carcasses on the ground. As he looked closer, he saw a pile of dead members of the colony in front of a hive and more carnage inside — thousands and thousands of bees with their heads torn from their bodies and no sign of a culprit.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html

When it comes to the coronavirus, all curves are not created equal.

Rising curves are good news when it comes to the number of tests being performed, and we all know now they’re bad when it comes to tracking infections.

Over the last few weeks, the Bay Area’s curves have been a lot more desirable than L.A.’s.

A Bay Area News Group analysis shows most Bay Area counties are testing for the coronavirus at higher rates than Los Angeles County, even as the number of cases there appears to be soaring.

By the end of April, Los Angeles County had tested about 1,423 people per 100,000 residents and confirmed about 226 cases per 100,000 residents of the deadly disease. By comparison, San Francisco had tested nearly 2,109 of every 100,000 residents and confirmed only about 168 cases. In in just the last three days, LA had averaged more than a thousand positive cases a day, as it inches toward recording nearly half of California’s more than 50,000 cases.

“With testing, it can inform us to help us make interventions that can change the slope of the curve,” said John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vaccinology at UC Berkeley.

If a community tests robustly, like in San Francisco, he said, they are likely to have fewer problems than a community that has tried to respond to a public health crisis without as much information.

“Without testing, they don’t know where they are,” Swartzberg said. “The only way you solve the problem is to find out where it is and attack it. And the only way you find out where it is, is by testing.”

Los Angeles County recently announced some changes that could provoke a change in future data. Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that all county residents will have access to free coronavirus testing — even those without symptoms. So far, about 14 percent of people tested have been positive. In San Francisco, about 9 percent have come back positive.

Warner Greene of the Gladstone Institutes of Virology and Immunology suspects the fact that many people in Los Angeles and the rest of Southern California, where weather has warmed up, are tired of being told to stay home may also be leading to more new cases. Huge crowds along the coast in Orange County prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to announce beaches closures there, which on Friday sparked angry protests as backlash.

“It’s quite possible that there’s just less social distancing,” Greene said. “I think there’s a lot of COVID-19 fatigue.”

Santa Clara County has a testing rate — roughly 1,469 people per 100,000 — just slightly higher than Los Angeles County, but a dramatically lower case rate that has remained largely flat for more than a week. San Mateo is in the middle, with a higher testing rate than Santa Clara and more positive cases per 100,000 residents, but still far fewer than in Los Angeles County.

While Santa Clara County’s public health department might have been at the forefront, officials across the Bay Area ordered residents to shelter in place, set up testing sites and took other steps early on that have helped prevent an overwhelming surge in cases.

“We acted early and we acted aggressively,” Swartzberg said. “They deserve a lot of credit for that.”

Still, Greene said, the fight against the virus that has killed more than 2,000 people in California, is nowhere near over.

“We’ve done a really good job,” he said. “I just worry about are we going to continue to do a really good job? We’re in a different phase of fighting this virus and there’s a lot of fatigue and a lot of mixed messaging. But until we have a vaccine, the only thing we have are public health measures like social distancing.”

Source Article from https://www.mercurynews.com/why-the-bay-areas-coronavirus-curves-look-better-than-las

China has not invited the World Health Organization to take part in an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak, according to the global health authority’s representative in the country.

Dr. Gauden Galea told Sky News on Friday: “We know that some national investigation is happening but at this stage, we have not been invited to join.”

“The origins of virus are very important, the animal-human interface is extremely important and needs to be studied,” he added. “The priority is we need to know as much as possible to prevent the reoccurrence.”

Galea said he expected to get an update from the Chinese government soon, but had not so far been asked to collaborate.

The news comes amid a growing international dispute over how the pandemic began in China late last year.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump said he was confident the coronavirus may have originated at the state-backed Wuhan Institute of Virology, but declined to describe the evidence.

“Yes, yes I have,” he said, declining to give specifics. “I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that.”

The Wuhan Institute of Virology has dismissed similar allegations, and other U.S. officials have downplayed their likelihood. Most experts believe the virus originated in a market selling wildlife in Wuhan and jumped from animals to people.

During the Sky News interview, Galea said the WHO had not been given access to laboratory logs at the institute or at the Wuhan Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Friday, May Day, is a public holiday in China and Chinese officials were not immediately available for comment on Galea’s comments.

Trump has questioned China’s handling of the crisis and cast doubt on its official death toll — comments which were challenged this week by a senior Chinese government official, who criticized the United States’ response to its own outbreak.

Trump has also attacked the WHO for its handling of the crisis, and announced April 14 that he was halting funding to the organization pending a review of its response to the initial coronavirus outbreak in China.

Galea added weight to doubts over the Chinese figures. Referring to the low number of coronavirus cases China reported between Jan. 3-16, he said: “Is it likely that there were only 41 cases for that period of time? I would think not.”

Australia has also called for a public inquiry into the origin of the outbreak.

Galea declined NBC News’ request for comment but the WHO said in a statement that the evidence pointed toward COVID-19 having an animal source and not being human-made, and called for more investigation.

“It is our understanding that a number of investigations to better understand the source of the outbreak in China are currently underway or planned… WHO is not currently involved in the studies in China.

“WHO would be keen to work with international partners and at the invitation of the Chinese Government to participate in investigation around the animal origins.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/who-official-says-agency-not-invited-take-part-china-s-n1197516

BLAINE, Wash. — In his decades of beekeeping, Ted McFall had never seen anything like it.

As he pulled his truck up to check on a group of hives near Custer, Wash., in November, he could spot from the window a mess of bee carcasses on the ground. As he looked closer, he saw a pile of dead members of the colony in front of a hive and more carnage inside — thousands and thousands of bees with their heads torn from their bodies and no sign of a culprit.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html