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Secret recording reveals top GOP senator privately warned of deadly coronavirus weeks ago — even as he kept the public in the dark

Image via Screengrab.
Written by Alex Henderson March 19, 2020
 

Three weeks ago in late February, right-wing media — from radio host Rush Limbaugh to Fox News and Fox Business — was full of Republicans and supporters of President Donald Trump insisting that the mainstream media were exaggerating the threat of coronavirus in order to harm Donald Trump’s presidency (Fox, like Trump, has since shifted its tone). But it was also three weeks ago, on February 27, that Sen. Richard Burr, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, was privately warning about how dangerous coronavirus was. And National Public Radio (NPR) has obtained a recording of Burr’s disturbing assertions.

According to NPR’s Tim Mak, Burr addressed the COVID-19 threat at a private luncheon organized by a North Carolina group called the Tarheel Circle. And Burr, in the recording, is heard warning that coronavirus is “much more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we’ve seen in recent history. It’s probably more akin to the 1918 pandemic.”

Burr’s comments, according to NPR, “raise questions” about why that private audience was getting a “a more frank assessment than the general public” was getting at the time. The recording, Mak noted during a March 19 appearance on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” was provided by “an attendee who became alarmed about Burr’s dire warnings” and “began to record.”

Mak explained, “Sen. Burr warned well in advance that the coronavirus could be very destructive. A lot of the things he warned about have actually come to pass: 13 days before the State Department began to warn against travel to Europe and 15 days before the Trump Administration banned European travelers to the U.S., Burr warned those in that room to reconsider.”

In the recording, Burr is heard saying, “Every company should be cognizant of the fact that you may have to alter your travel. You may have to look at your employees and judge whether the trip they are making to Europe is essential or whether it can be done on video conferencing. Why risk it?”

In other words, Burr was giving the Tarheel Circle crowd the type of warning that Democrats and health officials were offering at the time — only to be demonized for it by Limbaugh and many of the far-right pundits at Fox News.

“Morning Edition” said that it wanted to “be careful” about the “timing” of Burr’s Tarheel Circle remarks. Asked what Burr was saying publicly at the time, Mak replied, “Nowhere in press statements or other remarks did Sen. Burr provide warnings about how bad he worried the coronavirus crisis would become. I think what’s interesting about this story is that Burr was providing a stark assessment about coronavirus to a small audience of constituents — which as an elected official, he never told the general public. This story raises questions about whether Burr was truly frank with the public about how bad the coming weeks might be, in his opinion.”

Mak added, “His comments at the luncheon contradicted the president’s then-rosy outlook. That same date, here’s what the president said about the coronavirus”:

It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle — it will disappear. And from our shores, we’ve — you know, it could get worse before it gets better. It could maybe go away. We’ll see what happens.

Burr, Mak noted, has considerable knowledge on biohazards and pandemics — yet when it came to coronavirus, Burr “didn’t speak out about his assessment” publicly in late February.

 

 
 
 
 
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Read an Italian town tested everyone, whether they were symptomatic, exposed etc.  Found 90% of those who tested positive had no symptoms.  Second round of testing had that number drop drastically.  So it tells us that wide spread testing and quarantine works.  Problem in the US (and even Canada) is lack of testing.

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During remarks at the White House on Thursday about the ongoing coronavirus crisis, a keen photographer for the Washington Post captured a revealing glimpse of President Donald Trump’s notes.

The photo showed that, despite the fact that whoever typed up the comments Trump was to read had written the phrase “Corona Virus,” the word “Corona” had been crossed out and replaced by the word “Chinese.”

Jabin Botsford posted the image on Twitter:

 

Close up of President @realDonaldTrump notes is seen where he crossed out "Corona" and replaced it with "Chinese" Virus as he speaks with his coronavirus task force today at the White House. #trump #trumpnotes

 
 
 

 

The note appeared to be in a sharpie and written in Trump’s characteristic all-caps handwriting.

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4 hours ago, Tracker said:

During remarks at the White House on Thursday about the ongoing coronavirus crisis, a keen photographer for the Washington Post captured a revealing glimpse of President Donald Trump’s notes.

The photo showed that, despite the fact that whoever typed up the comments Trump was to read had written the phrase “Corona Virus,” the word “Corona” had been crossed out and replaced by the word “Chinese.”

It's a distraction, a troll to energize his people. People will get upset that Trump is saying things the wrong way and that's something that will give his base massive grievance boners, as we've seen here. 

Edited by johnzo
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Dr. William Haseltine, president of the global health think tank ACCESS Health International who recently chaired the U.S.-China Health Summit in Wuhan, where the virus likely originated, has a theory.

“There are four ways,” he told The Daily Beast. “One, it peters out with the weather. Two, everybody gets infected, so it’s got no new places to go... so it ends—but that’s a pretty horrible ending. Three is a vaccine, which is about a year away. Fourth way is the most likely: We’re going to have a few drugs, within a few weeks to a few months, that prevent people from getting infected—like PrEP for HIV—and for treatment.”

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/four-ways-experts-say-coronavirus-nightmare-could-end/ar-BB11gpxW?ocid=spartandhp

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On 2020-03-18 at 3:00 PM, SpeedFlex27 said:

I can't believe they actually went ahead with this. The event took place last weekend! That was after the CFL cancelled all of its combines & FA workouts & the NHL, NBA & MLB suspended their seasons & the same day schools were closed indefinitely in Alberta. 

 

 

https://canadafootballchat.com/fpc-west-showcase-2020-mvps-preview-video-podcast/

The Chief Medical Officer for Alberta announced today that the first fatality in Alberta from the Covid virus has occurred. Another 22 new cases in the past 24 hours brings the the total up to just under 150. (I don't have exact figures). She also announced that last  weekend up in Edmonton there was a curling bonspiel with about 75 or 80 doctors playing along with a private banquet after when it was wrapped up. Two physicians including the Chief Medical Officer for Saskatchewan became infected with Covid-19. A physician who had returned from Las Vegas appears to be the culprit. Now everyone at that bonspiel & all the people these physicians & spouses were in contact with have to go into 14 day quarantine. These are freaking doctors who should know better than to have played that event. Meanwhile, this football tournament in the Lower Mainland took place at the exact same time. Even though every sports league, professional or otherwise had already shut down earlier in the week. Just total irresponsibility going ahead with it & putting coaches, players, parents & families at risk. 

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