Beijing Admits Coronavirus Didn't Start in Wuhan Food Market – Senator Cotton Tweets Vindication…

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) now admits to an internal report showing the Coronavirus did not originate from the Huanan food market as they initially stated.
Senator Tom Cotton has previously questioned the origination claim because there is a level-4 biological weapons lab in Wuhan, China, where the Huanan market is located.  Tonight Senator Cotton tweets vindication toward his original suspicions:
(Via Global Times) A new study by Chinese researchers indicates the novel coronavirus may have begun human-to-human transmission in late November from a place other than the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan.
The study published on ChinaXiv, a Chinese open repository for scientific researchers, reveals the new coronavirus was introduced to the seafood market from another location, and then spread rapidly from market to market. The findings were the result of analyses of genome-wide data, sources of infection and the route of spread of 93 samples of the novel coronavirus collected from 12 countries across four continents.
The study believes that patient zero transmitted the virus to workers or sellers at the Huanan seafood market. The crowded market facilitated the further transmission of the virus to buyers, which caused a wider spread in early December 2019.
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Senator Tom Cotton Discusses Latest on Coronavirus: "Situation is Very Grave"…

Senator Tom Cotton appears on Fox News to discuss the latest on the troubling issues with the Coronavirus.  China has approximately 70 million people in quarantine during their effort to contain the spread of the virus.
Senator Cotton has been a leading voice in the U.S. warning about the potential risks from Coronavirus spread.  Interestingly Mr. Cotton explains the origination of the virus did not come from the food market initially blamed. However there is a level-4 bio-lab within a few miles of the Wuhan market. Occam’s razor? Interesting information.


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Peter Navarro: Coronavirus Highlights Need for U.S. to Make Our Own Medical Products Again…

White House manufacturing policy advisor Peter Navarro has an important discussion with Maria Bartiromo about the consequences of the Coronavirus which includes the need for U.S. companies to return manufacturing to the United States on key medical products and pharmaceuticals.   A very important subject.
Both Navarro and Bartiromo note that our dependency on Asia for medical products is a problem when a global virus erupts, global demand for those products peaks, and the supply of those products becomes most urgent.


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It would seem obvious (to me) that medical products and pharmaceuticals would be two sectors for the Commerce Department (Sec. Wilbur Ross) where a national security review would be well worth the time & effort.  The multinationals would fight the administration, but it might be worth this fight.
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Coronavirus as a Financial Contagion – Chinese Markets Suffer Steep Losses Upon Opening…

Even before the Coronavirus surfaced in China there was lower manufacturing factory activity within the Chinese economy.  The necessary response within China to control the spread of the Coronavirus has been to shut down most commerce.  Factories, schools &  businesses throughout China are empty as various containment measures are underway.

The direct result of this response is a severe drop in economic activity.  Many analysts are speculating about how this cessation of production might impact supply chains that use Chinese component goods.  Obviously, with manufacturing facilities closed any downstream multinational company relying on those products may have supply issues as soon as existing inventories deplete.
There is a natural lag before the manufacturing void hits the consumer market; however, the financial markets are forward looking and they are already reflecting severe drops in stock prices, depending on the dependency/exposure of the company and/or sector.

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese stock and commodity markets fell heavily on Monday as the death toll from a coronavirus epidemic in China rose to 361 and investors retreated into safe-haven assets in the first trading session after an extended Lunar New Year break.

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White House Coronavirus Task Force – Press Briefing on U.S. Response Status – Video and Transcript…

Earlier today the federal Coronavirus Task Force established by President Trump held a press conference to explain the U.S. response status and answer media questions.
The task force is being led by HHS Secretary Alex Azar and includes:  Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health; Ken Cuccinelli, Acting Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security; Matthew Pottinger, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor.
[Video and Transcript Below]


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[Transcript] – SECRETARY AZAR: Well, good afternoon, everyone. I’m Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Chairman of the President’s Task Force on the Novel Coronavirus.

I’m going to start by turning things over to Dr. Robert Redfield, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to discuss the current situation on the novel coronavirus. Dr. Redfield.

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President Trump Establishes Coronavirus Response Task Force – Headed by HHS Secretary Alex Azar…

In response to potential health risks; and anticipating multiple agency aspects of the U.S. government would need a unified approach; President Trump has assembled a unified task force to coordinate all response efforts across the totality of government.

[White House] – President Donald J. Trump announced the formation of the President’s Coronavirus Task Force. Members of the Task Force have been meeting on a daily basis since Monday. At today’s meeting, which the President chaired, he charged the Task Force with leading the United States Government response to the novel 2019 coronavirus and with keeping him apprised of developments.
The Task Force is led by Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, and is coordinated through the National Security Council. It is composed of subject matter experts from the White House and several United States Government agencies, and it includes some of the Nation’s foremost experts on infectious diseases.
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Coronavirus Cases Rise Globally – First U.S. Cases Detected…

The Coronavirus was first first diagnosed in China less than a month ago. On Thursday (U.S.) / Friday (Beijing) the Chinese government stated they have confirmed cases of 830 patients and the death toll has risen to 25.
The virus has infected more than a dozen people outside China around the world, mostly in Asia. However, the first U.S. case has been reported in Texas who traveled to the epicenter of the outbreak, Wuhan City, China.

A total of 18 million people are now under quarantine in China.

(Via CNBC) […] Local authorities in China have quarantined Wuhan and Huanggang, which have a combined population of 17 million. Including Wuhan where the virus was first identified, travel bans were in effect Thursday for at least eight cities.
[…] The previously unknown, flu-like coronavirus strain is believed to have emerged from an animal market in central Wuhan city.

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Cummings Criticizes Border Conditions – President Trump Reminds Cummings of His Home District…

Charity begins at home; so too does good governance.  President Trump confronts Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings with the reality of his own district in Baltimore, Maryland, and the blight that’s been neglected for decades.

It is worth remembering that Nancy Pelosi changed the House Rules last year, and specifically changed the role of Elijah Cummings.  Within the Pelosi rules [page #2], the House Oversight Committee was modified to drop all other areas of government oversight, and focus exclusively on the White House.
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Black Death Resurfaces in Multiple Northern Arizona Counties…

The plague, also known as “the Black Death” killed somewhere between 75 and 200 million people as a result of international trade, commerce and transnational shipping. The disease was thought to be spread by fleas and parasites carried by rats.  The global population took over 400 years to recover.

Deadly Arizona Parasites

ARIZONA – Officials in two Arizona counties are warning the public after fleas in the region tested positive for the plague, the infamous infectious disease that killed millions during the Middle Ages.
Navajo County Public Health officials confirmed on Friday that fleas in the area have tested positive for the rare disease. The public health warning follows a similar notice from Coconino County Public Health Services District in Arizona warning of the presence of plague in fleas found there too.
Both counties are situated in the northern part of Arizona.

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Stunning CDC Statistic: “25% of Puerto Ricans Infected With Zika Virus”….

Based on current Zika virus spread in Puerto Rico the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) now has the following projection:

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[…]  “If current trends continue, thousands of pregnant women will get infected with Zika,” said Frieden. “And there could be between dozens and hundreds of children with microcephaly born [there] in the next year.”

The CDC estimates 25 percent of the island’s population could be infected with Zika in its first year of spread there. Puerto Rican women give birth to about 32,000 babies a year. (link)

Transferring the current rate of spread for the virus to the citizenry of greatest impact, based on proximity and travel, the CDC is projecting the strongest U.S. outbreaks in: (more…)