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COVID-19 kills mainly Black non-medical hospital workers in New York
While the state of New York has failed to compile a list of those who have died from exposure while working in hospitals, the New York Times expose’ reveals that most of the non-medical staff who succumbed to the COVID-19 disease as a result of being infected, were overwhelmingly Black.
According to the article, at least 32 Black and Brown people who worked in New York hospitals as; medical records clerks, greeters, orderlies who deliver patients from one place to the other, custodians, chefs, food preparers, medical waste removers, and hospital security, have died from COVID-19.
Some of the workers, who handed out hospital supplies, including N95 respirators, also fell victim to the disease.
Apparently being in the hospital environment where there were diseased patients proved fatal, as these workers were left totally unprotected with no PPE at all, even as some of them delivered
the life- saving equipment to others.
Georgia re-opens: COVID-19 cases surge
The number of coronavirus cases in Georgia has surpassed 27,000 with nearly 1,000 new cases reported in a 24 hour period immediately after the state reopened, according to the state’s
Department of Health.
The Georgia Department of Health reported 27,134 cases, up from 26,175 recorded on the previous day. The majority of the state’s cases are in the metro Atlanta area.
At least 1,147 Georgia residents have died as a result of COVID-19
Atlanta: New Air Jordans are apparently worth risking one’s health
After Georgia Governor Kemp opened up the state for business as usual, in Atlanta crowds of Black people gathered to buy the new Air Jordan’s without face masks, or practicing social distancing.
People anxious to purchase the new Air Jordan 5 “Fire Red” sneakers caused a massive crowd at the Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta. People formed long lines to buy the shoes on Saturday. The lines
stretched from the entrance of the Jimmy Jazz store inside the mall, all the way to the outside where a considerable number of people waited for their chance to own a pair of the
shoes.
Real Bloodsuckers: Companies profiteering from donated blood
Upon hearing that blood from those who have survived COVID-19 could help those struggling to overcome the disease, survivors have stepped up to donate blood. But what they did not know is
that while they donated blood to a company that advertised that it was helping distribute it, the company was making an enormous profit from selling the blood.
One such company, Cantor BioConnect, has been selling the donations to laboratories and test at prices ranging from $350 up to $40,000 for a rare sample from a single donor, according to a
New York Times report last week.
When one of the donors was informed about the profiteering, according to the NY Times, she said she would donate in the future to a non-profit clinic. “Anyone trying to take advantage of a pandemic,” she said, “I think that’s really sad and wrong.”
Ironically, selling blood and plasma has been big business in the US and other developed countries for quite some time. In 2015, the business netted over $20 billion worldwide.
The average pint of plasma costs less than $150 to collect and produce but sells for $500.
Iowa Governor Reynolds threatens to prevent workers from drawing unemployment benefits
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has drawn a hard line on workers who fear returning to work because of unsafe conditions on their job, especially meatpacking jobs. Reynolds declared that workers have to report to work even under those conditions or they will be denied
unemployment benefits.
The Des Moines Register reported that Iowa is warning furloughed workers that they will lose their unemployment benefits if they refuse to return when their employer calls them back to work. Iowa Workforce Development wrote that failing to return to work out of fear of catching the virus will be considered a “voluntary quit,” which disqualifies workers from receiving unemployment benefits.
“Workers may be essential, but they are never expendable,” said Charlie Wishman, secretary-treasurer with the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, responding to workers’ concerns about
the Iowa decision. “Workers that are considered essential take pride in their work, but they are nervous and they are anxious. They are willing to do their job if they are properly protected.”
Whose idea was this?
Clearly the U.S. government did not think through the decision to have the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform flyovers in major cities to salute frontline medical personnel.
Ironically, while the CDC and the government’s health officials instruct Americans to continue to practice social distancing and to wear masks when in public, the government’s decision to put
on an airshow caused the gathering of crowds in Baltimore, Washington D.C and Atlanta.
In D.C., crowds gathered in the National Mall in the thousands. In all of the cities that watched the air display, people gathered without any consideration of social distancing, nor were they wearing masks or protective covering!
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