The coronavirus threatens NATO. Let’s move to protect the alliance. – DefenseNews.com

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The global fight against COVID-19 has devastating economic consequences which might soon be felt in the defense sector. First estimates by OECD and national institutions conclude that the initial economic impact of the measures to fight the virus will by far exceed that of the 2008 financial crisis. The severe socio-economic consequences may tempt European governments to prioritize immediate economic relief over long-term strategic security and defense considerations. The good news is: there is no automatism it remains fundamentally a political decision.

If European governments do decide to slash defense spending as a result of the current crisis, it would be the second major hit within a decade. Defense budgets have only just begun to recover towards pre-2008 crisis levels, though capabilities have not. Nationally, as well as on an EU and NATO level, significant gaps still exist. European armies have lost roughly one-third of their capabilities over the last two decades. At the same time, the threat environment has intensified with an openly hostile Russia and a rising China.

With European defense budgets under pressure, the United States might see any effort to balance burden-sharing among allies fall apart. A militarily weak Europe would be no help against competitors either. The US should work with allies now to maintain NATOs capabilities.

Improve coordination to avoid past mistakes

Europes cardinal mistake from the last crisis was uncoordinated national defense cuts instead of harmonized European decisions. In light of the looming budget crisis, governments could be tempted to react the same way. This would be the second round of cuts within a decade, leaving not many capabilities to pool within NATO. If domestic priorities trump considerations about procurement of equipment for the maintenance and generation of military capabilities the system-wide repercussions would be severe. NATO defense, as well as the tightly knit industrial network in Europe, will suffer. Capabilities that can only be generated or sustained multinationally like effective air defense, strategic air transport or naval strike groups - could become even more fragile; some critical ones may even disappear.

If Europeans cut back on capabilities like anti-submarine warfare, armored vehicles of all sorts and mine-warfare equipment again, they could endanger the military capacity of nearly all allies. Ten years ago, such capabilities for large-scale and conventional warfare seemed rather superfluous, but today NATO needs them more than ever. This outcome should be avoided at all costs, because rebuilding those critical forces would be a considerable resource investment and could take years. Europe would become an even less effective military actor and partner to the US, resulting in more discord about burden-sharing.

Uncoordinated cuts would also affect the defense industry, as development and procurement programs would be delayed or cancelled altogether hitting both European and American companies. Moreover, their ability to increase efficiency through transnational mergers and acquisitions and economies of scale is limited due to continued national sentiments in Europe. Companies might decide to either aggressively internationalize, including massive increase of defense exports, or leave the market as national armed forces as otherwise reliable clients drop out. Technological innovation would suffer from a shrinking defense industrial ecosystem and duplicated national research and development efforts, risking the foundation of security for the next generation of defense solutions.

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To safeguard NATOs strategic autonomy, lean on lead nations

In order to prevent the loss of critical capabilities and infrastructure within NATO, the US should immediately start working with its European partners to preemptively plan for increasingly tight budgets. NATO should take stock of existing capabilities and offer alternatives for consolidation. Based on a coordinated effort to redefine NATOs level of ambition and priorities, it should offer plans for maintaining the military capacity to act while retiring unnecessary and outdated resources. Such a coordinated effort should include close cooperation with the European Union.

Building on the NATO Framework Nations Concept, the United States should work with a network of larger member states, better equipped to weather the economic shock of the current crisis, to act as lead nations. These countries could safeguard critical defense capabilities and provide a foundation of essential forces, enabling smaller partners to attach their specialized capabilities. Such an arrangement allows for a comparatively good balance of financial strain and retention of military capacity. Additionally, NATO should look beyond the conventional military domain and build on lessons learned from hybrid warfare and foreign influence operations against Europe.

The way ahead is clear: As ambitions for European strategic autonomy become wishful thinking in light of the current crisis, allies should focus on retaining NATOs strategic autonomy as a whole. For the foreseeable future, both sides of the Atlantic have to live by one motto: NATO first!

The authors are analysts at the Berlin-based German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP).

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The coronavirus threatens NATO. Let's move to protect the alliance. - DefenseNews.com

What way for NATO? Hungary follows Turkey down the authoritarian path | TheHill – The Hill

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Critics claim Hungary has turned into an elective dictatorship, with parliament voting to give Prime Minister Viktor Orban power to rule by decree. This follows Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who effectively rules by decreeas well as manipulates elections and arrests critics. What is NATO, an alliance focused on supposedly democratic Europe, going to do?

A better question would be, why should the U.S. continue to underwrite the transatlantic alliance?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization began in 1949 with 12 members. A more accurate name would be North America and the Others. Now up to 30 membersthe comedic Duchy of Grand Fenwick became a member in late March, in the guise of North Macedoniathe alliance long has been notable for enabling military free-loading by a continent whose wealth matches and population exceeds that of America.

By a vast margin the biggest spender with the largest military and greatest combat capabilities is the U.S. Only eight other governments meet NATOs official objective of military outlays reaching 2 percent of GDP. Four of them barely hit the line. Only Bulgaria is significantly above that level. Greece makes this elite group because it is arming against fellow alliance member Turkey, not Russia or any other outside threat.

The 2 percent goal is not new: it was set in 2006, when seven members total met that level. Most significant, even now only one of the continents major powers, the United Kingdom, makes it across the line, staggers really, with a bit of fiscal legerdemain (expanding the definition of military outlays). France comes close. Expenditures by Germany, Italy, and Spain fall abysmally short.

Admittedly, the 2 percent standard is arbitrary, merely indicating military effort. Nevertheless, it represents important evidence of a countrys commitment to defend itself and its region. Apparently most Europeans cant be bothered to do so.

Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the states viewed as most at risk seemingly view the floor as a ceiling. Poland spends 2.0 percent, Latvia 2.01 percent, Lithuania 2.03 percent, and Estonia 2.14 percent. All claim to feel frightened by possible Russian aggression, yet is that all they believe their independence and freedom are worth? Even the very nations that proclaim themselves to be most at risk prefer to rely on Washington than devote their own resources to their defense.

Of the other 29 members only two have genuinely capable militaries, France and the United Kingdom. Germany, despite a storied past, when its prodigious battle skills were put to ill ends, has been embarrassed for years by reports of minimal readiness. Small nations such as Denmark and the Netherlands have contributed forces to allied endeavors (losing lives in the process) but would be marginal players in any continental conflagration. And mini-states, such as North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, and Croatia, are merely geopolitical ornaments, increasing allied defense responsibilities but not capabilities.

The basic problem is two-fold. Most European nations, certainly those constituting old Europe, as Donald Rumsfeld referred to it, have little fear of Russia. Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinOvernight Energy: Trump says US will cut oil production to secure global deal | Green groups press Biden on climate plans after Sanders exit | EPA looks to suspend hazardous waste cleanups during outbreak Trump says US will cut oil production to secure global deal Trump, Putin speak for second consecutive day MORE is a nasty authoritarian, not a foolish megalomaniac. Martians are more likely than Russians to invade the continent. European peoples know that and offer little support for a military build-up to satisfy Washingtons threat conceptions.

Equally important, NATO members assume Washington would deal with any crisis, so ask, why spend more money on the military? Moscows assault on Ukraine has spurred a small but steady spending increase by some members. However, despite constant whining by Washington, expressed more vociferously by President Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpCalifornia governor praises Trump's efforts to help state amid coronavirus crisis Trump threatens to withhold visas for countries that don't quickly repatriate citizens Trump admin looks to cut farmworker pay to help industry during pandemic: report MORE, the substantive impact is and will remain small. After all, even as U.S. officials insisted that Europe must do more, they repeated reassurances of Americas commitment to the continent and increased funding for and placement of men and materiel in Europe. Congress even approved more military subsidies as part of The European Reassurance Initiative (since renamed The European Deterrence Initiative).

What incentive does any European government have to do anything more than the minimum necessary to reduce Washingtons complaining?

Now even alliance advocates are appalled by Hungarys authoritarian move. Yet Turkey has gone much further down this path, wrecking a democratic order, crushing dissent, threatening fellow NATO member Greece as well as Cyprus, aiding the Islamic State and other Islamic radicals in Syria, and moving close to Russia, even purchasing weapons from Moscow. Who seriously believes that Turkey would go to war with Russia over a threat to, say, Estonia?

Still, the more fundamental issue is whether the transatlantic alliance serves Americas interests. Orbans power play should trigger a review of Americas, not Hungarys, membership in NATO. The U.S. should turn responsibility for Europes security over to Europe, which could take over NATOs leadership or create an organization tied to the European Union. Washington still should cooperate with the Europeans but need not guarantee the security of nations well able to defend themselves.

The EU has 10 times the economic strength and three times the population of Russia. With America so busy elsewhere in the worldfighting endless wars in the Middle East and confronting a rising China in AsiaEuropean governments should do what all governments normally are supposed to do, defend their peoples. It is time for burden-shedding, not just burden-sharing.

Alliances should be a means to an end, enhancing U.S. security. In Washington, NATO has become an end, even as it undermines U.S. security. Hungarys transformation is forcing an alliance rethink, which is long overdue. In the midst of a viral pandemic and debt explosion, Americans cannot afford to provide military welfare for the rest of the world, especially populous and prosperous Europe. The Europeans should take over that responsibility.

Doug Bandow is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. A former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is author of Foreign Follies: Americas New Global Empire.

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What way for NATO? Hungary follows Turkey down the authoritarian path | TheHill - The Hill

NATO welcomes its 30th member, strengthening the ties that bind | TheHill – The Hill

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The United States has a new ally. North Macedonia is now the 30th member of NATO and, as of last week, its flag now flies over NATO headquarters in Brussels. On March 27, the State Departments acting assistant secretary for Europe, Philip T. Reeker, met the Spanish ambassador to Washington, Santiago Cabanas, who handed over at arms length and without a handshake, in these days of COVID-19 the final bilateral ratification of North Macedonias membership for filing this latest accession to the Treaty of Washington.

It has been a long process. North Macedonia began its membership drive in 1995 when it joined NATOs partnership for peace, but it was continually blocked from achieving full membership because of Greeces objection to the name Republic of Macedonia. When Macedonia agreed in 2019 to change its official name and add the word North a modifier designed to differentiate the country from the province of Macedonia in Greece North Macedonia was on its way to membership.

During its 25-year wait, successive Macedonian governments decided that even though the country was not a full-fledged member, it would act as if it had become one, including through participation in NATO out-of-area deployments and facilitating NATO movements. It has not been easy. During NATOs action in Kosovo in 1999, then-NATO Commander Wesley K. Clark asked Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov if he would agree to store war materiel in the event that NATO needed to invade Kosovo with ground troops.

President Gligorov listened carefully, and replied to Gen. Clark: Would this mean that Macedonia is a member country? Before the general could finish explaining that membership is a much broader question that could be solved at his level, Gligorov continued in his deliberative style, I ask because, if we are to help in the invasion of our neighbor, we need to bear in mind that the Serbs have long knives but even longer memories.

Membership for North Macedonia provides another land link that helps connect the 30 NATO countries to each other in this case, a direct route from the Adriatic to the Black Sea. It also helps take what was known for centuries in Balkan history as the Macedonia Question and reinforces the answer. With only Bosnia and Serbia to go, membership for North Macedonia represents an important step toward completing the mission of a Europe that is whole, free and at peace.

North Macedonias membership comes at an important time for Europe and the worlds premier military and security organization. More than any other single institution, NATO has bound the United States to Europe. The United States left Europe during a period of isolationism, which ended when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor while Adolf Hitler in solidarity with his Japanese allies declared war on the United States. Over the course of four bloody years, Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, with an assist post-war from an extremely aggressive and belligerent Soviet Union, set the U.S. on a course that made it an essential element in European security.

When the Balkans exploded into bloody conflict in the 1990s, the United States and Europe came together in Bosnia, and later in Kosovo, to reestablish peace and bring that part of Europe into European institutions where it belongs. In Afghanistan, NATO states deployed under NATO command and fought a long, difficult war to make sure that country did not, as it was before, become a breeding ground for terrorism with global reach.

With countries such as North Macedonia, the complex task for NATO has been to maintain military standards while also insisting on standards for internal behavior and democratization. These latter expectations at times have proven more difficult to achieve than the military standards. North Macedonia has done well so far. It has succeeded in the important task of holding elections in which the government changed peacefully. As a former Macedonian prime minister said to me upon learning that his party had lost an election, One of the greatest tests of a democracy is not just the behavior of the government, but also the behavior of the opposition. We will do our part.

NATOs future rests on a myriad of factors. Will new members understand the responsibilities of membership? Will military standards be strengthened and better shared? Will a broad commitment to democracy and NATOs values be sustained? Can consensus decision-making be maintained with 30 members? These are all valid questions as NATO moves forward.

Ultimately, however, a great deal rests on U.S. understanding of this vital element of its security. An active U.S. presence in Europe, far from being a drain, has made the U.S. stronger and more influential. The fact that North Macedonia is now a member speaks to a U.S. commitment to collective defense that still holds. But, like many things in the world, it requires constant and relentless effort.

Christopher R. Hill is a retired foreign service officer who was a four-time ambassador, including to Macedonia from 1996-1999. He was Assistant Secretary of State for Asia/Pacific affairs from 2005-2009, and currently is a professor of the practice of diplomacy at the University of Denver and a senior nonresident fellow at the Carnegie Institute. Follow him on Twitter @ambchrishill.

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NATO welcomes its 30th member, strengthening the ties that bind | TheHill - The Hill

NATO acknowledges Turkish aid to Bosnia and Herzegovina – Anadolu Ajans

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ANKARA

NATOs strategic military command on Thursday acknowledged Turkey for sending aid to Bosnia and Herzegovina among other Balkan countries, saying "we are stronger together."

Turkey provided aid to Bosnia and Herzegovina to assist in the fight against #COVID19, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) said on Twitter.

NATO Allies and partners continue to support each other during this pandemic and show we are Stronger Together."

Ankara on Wednesday sent medical supplies to five Balkan countries to help fight COVID-19, the virus that has infected almost 1.5 million people in 184 countries and territories.

Masks, overalls, and test kits prepared by Turkeys Health Ministry have been delivered to Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo upon the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The virus, since its inception in China late last year, has killed nearly 90,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University's latest data.

The epicenter has now shifted to the U.S. and Europe, which lead in the number of cases and deaths worldwide.

The most common symptoms of the virus include cough, fever and difficulty in breathing.

To slow the spread of the disease, governments have implemented lockdowns or partial curfews, advising people to stay at home and practice social distancing.

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NATO acknowledges Turkish aid to Bosnia and Herzegovina - Anadolu Ajans

NATO increasingly involved in battling Covid-19 with its military resources – Rinkevics – Baltic Times

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RIGA - NATO is getting increasingly involved in battling the Covid-19 pandemic with its military resources, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics (New Unity) told LETA.

Rinkevics indicated that NATO foreign ministers held a video conference to discuss the steps taken by NATO allies in providing mutual support for countering COVID-19. "This is already happening. NATO's military planes airlift gravely ill Covid-19 patients from one country to another where lung ventilation equipment is more readily available," the minister said.

Also, NATO is helping with various materials, military transport and logistics. During their meeting, the ministers repeatedly affirmed that NATO has to keep performing these functions.

NATO also has to take care of its soldiers' safety. Cases of Covid-19 infections among NATO soldiers have been reported in Lithuania and Latvia. "Work is under way also on this issue," Rinkevics said.

During the video conference it was underlined that despite the Covid-19 crisis, all NATO operations and contributions, for instance, to strengthening Baltic security, remain in force and there will be no weakening of any functions. "NATO continues to do its job in full," Rinkevics said, adding that the ministers also discussed concrete support mechanisms for the alliance's partners Ukraine and Georgia.

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NATO increasingly involved in battling Covid-19 with its military resources - Rinkevics - Baltic Times

Boxoffice Pro LIVE Sessions: NATO’s John Fithian on the State of the Cinema Industry During the COVID-19 Crisis – Boxoffice Pro

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In the first edition of our LIVE Sessions webinars, Boxoffice Pro hosted National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) president & CEO John Fithian and chief communications officer Patrick Corcoran. On April 3, Boxoffice Pro executive director Daniel Lora and deputy editor Rebecca Pahle moderated the live webinar, with over 600 attendees tuning in from 30 different countries, in a conversation that covered the state of theatrical exhibition during the COVID-19 crisis.

The discussion opened with NATO providing insights on its three top priorities during the crisis: providing economic assistance to affected cinema workers through government and private funds, keeping exhibitors afloat and viable by lobbying for liquidity sources during this pause, and keeping the public safe by following the guidelines and recommendations of local agencies in regards to business operations.

Of those three priorities, Fithian highlighted the importance of protecting cinema workers through public and private fundraising efforts. We are encouraging governments to help the workers by compensating for their lost wages, he says. We live in a business that is mainly hourly employees. Unlike big businesses with salaried employees, were a place where first workers come to get their first job. First and foremost, we are trying to help cover our workers so that they can pay their rent and can have groceries during the interim.

Fithian notes that liquidity is crucial for companies to stay afloat during this crisis and to welcome their workers back as quickly as possible. We have to have liquidity for our members to weather the storm, he says. They have ongoing fixed costs and no income coming in. The various loan programs being established in the United States, the various government subsidies and tax breaks that are happening around the world, are intended to get our members to the other side of this storm.

The president and CEO of NATO stressed the importance of the industry working together during this difficult period, noting the voluntary closure of many cinemas before they were legally mandated to suspend operations. Were trying to do our part to keep everybody safe, says Fithian. We shut down all of our cinemas very, very quickly. Were working with all of our governments as they support the healthcare efforts, because the faster we can get through this crisis, the faster we can get back up and running.

NATO is hoping for theaters to begin reopening in June. That would mean a two to two-and-a-half month shutdown of the theatrical exhibition industry in the United States, depending on how effective current containment measures are in slowing down the spread of the virus. NATOs chief communications officer, Patrick Corcoran, notes that timeframe could change. It depends on how the situation changes and if the curve bends downward on this pandemic. Were looking at possibly being open at the end of May, early June, in a limited way. Then ramping up to major releases, if thats possible, in July.

The reopening strategy will be inspired by efforts from different countries around the world, as each country is at a different stage in dealing with the crisis. The lessons are very similar, the timelines are very different, says Fithian. China shut down in January and Western Europe and North America didnt shut down until mid-March, so were learning from each other. Were comparing notes on how long the virus takes, on what you do to ramp back up once the virus has gone, what kind of film programming we can have when we get back up and running.

What that reopening campaign could look like depends largely on the guidance of health officials. NATO is consulting with the Center for Disease Control as well as local health departments in the United States on issues like social distancing, cleanliness, and sick employees staying home. Whether we open back up location-by-location, region-by-region, nation-by-nation remains to be seen, depending on what the health officials say is the cessation of the threat, says Fithian.

Everyone should stay in touch with their local health officials first and foremost about their recommendations and then prepare to ramp back up in steps. We anticipate that when we first open cinemas anywhere in the world well have social distancing elements involved. The 50 percent seating capacity issue is one way to address that so that people have a chance to come to the cinema but have some space between themselves. Obviously, well return to very intense cleaning procedures and anything else that health officials recommend, so that when were opening back up people know that we are careful with their health as they come to our cinemas.

In an audience poll conducted during the webinar, a majority of attendees highlighted the importance of a coordinated, industry-wide marketing campaign to encourage a return to cinemas as their most desired initiative in the coming months.

B&B Theatres executive vice president Bobbie Bagby Ford joined the conversation by emphasizing the importance of an industry-wide recovery effort to get audiences comfortable to return to cinemas. Its important that we all get our heads around that messaging so we have a united front, she says, suggesting incorporating a social media hashtag once cinemas are ready to reopen. All of us are in this industry for a reason, and if we can find a way to be united and jump forward with that messaging, its vitally important. It can be that sweet spot in American and in worldwide culture about how its time to be together. Youve been alone, youve been quarantined: now lets get out and enjoy our communities and our movie theaters.

Another major concern is content availability, particularly when it comes to the theatrical exclusivity window. With some studios moving titles whose theatrical runs were curtailed by the onset of the crisis to digital outlets, exhibitors are worried more titles might forgo a theatrical release entirely in favor of a straight-to-streaming launch. Fithian, however, believes most studios and distributors will abide by their original theatrical commitments for future films. The model is not broken. The model is simply on hold, he says.

A related problem is the availability of release dates as titles get pushed further down the schedule. This could potentially create a bottleneck for titles and crowd the marketplace. Fithian doesnt believe this will be the case, as the impact of COVID-19 is also affecting production schedules: titles originally slated for release in 2021 will likely get bumped to later dates until production can resume. Im very confident that for most distributors, almost all their movies are going to be postponed for a later theatrical release where theyll have an adequate and robust theatrical window, says Fithian.

Ultimately, once cinemas are deemed safe to reopen, NATO is confident audience demand will be there to welcome the return to business. My family is watching a lot of content at home right now, just like everybody elses. Thats the only place where you can get entertainment as people are following the right steps to stay home, stay safe, and to reduce the spread of the virus, says Fithian. All that means is they still love movies and they still love content. Its good to keep people connected to that content while theyre stuck in their homes, because once theyre out they will want to come back [to cinemas]. We strongly believe there will be a rush to cinemas to see all kinds of movies, just as people will want to reconnect with their friends and family through social experiences.

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Boxoffice Pro LIVE Sessions: NATO's John Fithian on the State of the Cinema Industry During the COVID-19 Crisis - Boxoffice Pro

Top US commander in Afghanistan meets with Taliban to discuss reduction in violence – Task & Purpose

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Commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan U.S. General Austin S. Miller attends a meeting in the Kandahar Governor's Compound in Kandahar, Afghanistan, October 18, 2018.

(Reuters photo)

KABUL (Reuters) - The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan met Taliban leadership in Doha to discuss the need to reduce violence in the war-torn country, spokesmen for both sides said on Saturday, as continued clashes threaten to derail a fragile peace process.

The meeting between Taliban leaders and General Scott Miller, commander of U.S. forces and the NATO-led non-combat Resolution Support mission in Afghanistan, took place on Friday night. It came as the insurgent group accuses U.S. forces of breaching an agreement signed between the two sides in February.

"General Miller met with Taliban leadership last night as part of the military channel established in the agreement," a spokesman for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan told Reuters. "The meeting was about the need to reduce the violence," he said.

The February pact between the United States and the Taliban, under which international forces will withdraw in phases in exchange for Taliban security guarantees, is the best chance yet of ending the 18-year U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan.

The spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Doha also said on Twitter that the meeting discussed implementation of the agreement.

The Taliban last week accused U.S. forces of supporting Afghan security operations in some parts of the country, and warned that such support could jeopardize the agreement.

The spokesman for the U.S. forces described the latter's actions as defense of Afghan forces.

The Taliban are to sit for negotiations with an inclusive Afghan delegation as part of the agreement, but a prisoner exchange preceding the talks has hit snags.

The Afghan government released a total of 200 Taliban prisoners on Wednesday and Thursday, but the insurgent group had walked away from the exchange process saying its demand on who was to be released first was not met.

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Top US commander in Afghanistan meets with Taliban to discuss reduction in violence - Task & Purpose

One NATO country is using the coronavirus as a weapon of war – The Canary

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Across the world, countries are struggling to deal with coronavirus (Covid-19). But one NATO country, Turkey, is using the pandemic as a weapon of war and a tool of repression.

Both domestically and in its war in the North East of Syria (aka Rojava), the Turkish state is seizing the opportunity of coronavirus to continue its war against majority Kurdish communities.

On 3 April,Kurdistan 24 reported that:

Shelling by Turkish-backed armed groups on Thursday caused severe damage to a water pipeline, one of their many recent intentional actions to block the crucial resource for some 460,000 civilians in Syrias northern Hasakah province

Meanwhile, UNICEFs representative in Syria Fran Equiza warned that:

The interruption of water supply during the current efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus disease puts children and families at unacceptable risk. Handwashing with soap is critical in the fight against COVID-19.

Coronavirus is already present in Syria. And a tweet from theRojava Information Centerhighlights how dire the situation is for those living there:

According a Human Rights Watch 2019 report on Turkey:

An estimated 8,500 peopleincluding elected politicians and journalistsare held in prison on remand or following conviction for alleged links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK/KCK) and many more on trial but at liberty, although official figures could not be obtained.

And Reporters Without Borders describes Turkey as:

the worlds biggest jailer of professional journalists.

But not only is Turkey excluding political prisoners from its plans to release 90,000 prisoners due to the pandemic, its also using the virus as a threat. The Morning Star reported that the Arrested & Convicted Families Law Solidarity Associations Federation (Med Tuhad-Fed) claimed authorities told prisoners:

You have to obey the rules, otherwise we will bring in someone who has the coronavirus.

And as theMorning Star stated, Med Tuhad-Fed warned that:

A lack of cleaning and a refusal to refer prisoners displaying symptoms to medical units is risking a serious outbreak of Covid-19 among Turkeys bulging prison population.

The pandemic also hasnt stopped what many people would consider the normal repression communities face in Turkey. On 3 April,ANF News reported that musician Helin Blek had died as a result of undertaking a death fast. Blek was part of Group Yorum, a popular music group that had faced harassment and repression from the Turkish state.

ANF News provided background to the case:

Over the last three years, the police have raided at least eight times the dil Cultural Center in stanbul, where the band carries out its activities. During the raids, musical instruments of the band were either broken or taken away, music books damaged. According to a statement by the band, the police arrested a total of 30 people in these raids. Band members initiated a hunger strike in June 2019 in protest of these attacks. The band demands the release of its arrested members, removal of arrest warrants against some other members, termination of incessant police raids into the dil Cultural Center, and an end to arbitrary bans on their concerts and cultural events.

But mourners were not even allowed to grieve by the Turkish states. Reports on Twitter show people attacked the funeral with tear gas and water cannons:

While coronavirus means many forms of mobilisation are not available to people, there is still resistance. In particular, on 4 April, social media users took the opportunity of his 71st birthday to remind people of Kurdish leader Abdullah calans situation.

calanco-founded the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought for Kurdish freedom and autonomy since the 1970s. He was given a life sentence and has been imprisoned by Turkey for over 20 years and is held in solitary confinement on mral prison island.

AsThe Canary previously reported:

Turkey has now fought against the PKK for decades. And there have been biglosseson both sides (as in most conflicts, civilians were oftencaught in the middle). Today, however, the PKK and its alliescondemnall attacks on civilians. Yet since 2015, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoan has sought torepressall of his political opponents by labelling them either terrorists or terrorist sympathisers (andkillingor arresting them accordingly). European courts havecriticisedthis tactic insistingthat the PKKis aparty to an armed conflict and not a terrorist organisation. The PKK has alsoreportedlynever attacked Western targets.

London Kurdistan Soldiarty put his confinement in the context of the isolation many of us are currently experiencing:

And it reminded people of the ongoing criminalisation of Kurdish communities and solidarity activists in the UK. It also demanded the release of Daniel Burke, currently on remand in the UK, accused of terrorism for attempting to travel to Rojava:

Using coronavirus as a weapon and a threat is hideous. Although given Turkeys humanitarian record, its perhaps unsurprising. And it means that now, more than ever, we need to raise our voices for those in prisons, and for those being repressed, killed, and threatened by the Turkish state.

Featured image via Wikimedia

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One NATO country is using the coronavirus as a weapon of war - The Canary

‘Kiss the Son, lest He be angry’ | Columns – Weatherford Democrat

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The title is taken from Psalm 2:12. The Psalmist gave this directive considering the reality of the sovereignty of God. He asked a question, which is as relevant today as it was when the Psalmist wrote it. Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? (Psalm 2:1)

I confess that over the recent weeks I have been angry, first with myself, then with those who profess to know the truth and live ignoring it. I ask, Have I failed to adequately teach Gods people about biblical worship? There appears to be little understanding of our need to gather for worship and whom we worship.

Our spiritual dilemma of faithfulness to Gods word versus civil directives appears to have clouded our, even my, thinking. Of course, we dont want to put others at risk for most activities, that is, except those physical needs considered essential.

The answer: confess my sins daily and constantly remind myself of the God whom we love. The one to whom we bow before in worship, our Redeemer who is the King and Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ!

I believe that our fundamental problem is our desire to be autonomous. We think that we are the center of the universe and certainly the most important thing is our physical health. Charles Darwin, for example sought to eliminate mans need of the Creator God. His theory was purposed in proving that all creation came about through chance and natural selection. He supposed that if his theory of evolution was true then man could assume the place of God.

Most have rejected pure Darwinism. Over the years there have been many caveats made to Darwins original theory. As we have learned more about Gods wonderful and marvelous Creation, pseudo intellectuals have modified Darwins theory to accommodate the observed intricacies of our Universe.

Darwin wrote of one of the weaknesses of his theory. He admitted that the theory of evolution could not explain the complexities of the human eye. He was sure that as technology advanced, those complexities would eventually be explained in evolutionary terms. Today the functions of the human eye are known but the eyes ability to do all that it can still points to the sovereign purpose of God. As we learn more about ourselves and the world around us, Psalm 139:14a gives us great assurance that we are fearfully and wonderfully made by a sovereign Creator.

Still men suppress the truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18) This is precisely the Psalmists point in Psalm 2. Faced with our true place as creatures before a sovereign Creator, we seek to be god and think that we can make ourselves safe. Especially during times such as these, Christians must remind themselves that God is sovereign. He is sovereign over everything. There is nothing that comes to pass that He hasnt ordained. But He is not the author of evil.

Gods word reveals the reality of living in Christ in all circumstances. Psalm 2: 11-12, Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way. For his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Serving the Lord begins with worship. Worship is humble submission to God. The New Testament calls believers to offer themselves as living sacrifices that are holy and pleasing to God because that is our reasonable worship Romans 12:1. I pray that the Church will seek Gods deliverance so that we might again gather to worship and praise Him as He has commanded.

The Psalmist declared what was at stake for failure to know the truth. He said that Jesus anger, judgment and wrath would be experienced by those who persist in thinking themselves to be God. The most evident testimony that one acknowledges Christ before men is to bow before Him in worship.

This is not news. Yet, we have allowed the world to shape our behavior. Weve succumbed too often to the elevated worth of those who rule over us rather than govern us as we have elected them to do.

Jesus said to fear the one who can destroy both our bodies and souls in hell. Dont be deceived, Jesus is the Sovereign Lord. Fear Him trusting in His deliverance. He will have the final say. Christian, persevere in being a true disciple of Jesus. Remain in His word. Kiss the Son!

Lou Tiscione is the pastor of Weatherford Presbyterian Church.

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'Kiss the Son, lest He be angry' | Columns - Weatherford Democrat

Strongman Medicine: The Countries That Still Claim to Have No Coronavirus Cases. – Slate

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Photo illustration by Lisa Larson-Walker. Photo by KCNA/Reuters.

Welcome toStrongman Medicine, a weekly column looking at how governments around the world are taking advantage of the pandemic for censorship, surveillance, and repression. Slate is making its coronavirus coverage free for all readers. Subscribe to support our journalism.Start your free trial.

After weeks of downplaying the crisis, Russia has shifted into full lockdown mode as the number of cases in the country has exceeded 10,000. There are numerous media reports of police using their new authority to detain and harass citizens. In one egregious case, a doctor who had criticized the governments response to the crisis was detained while attempting to deliver medical supplies. Anastasia Vasilyeva of the Doctors Alliance, a group backed by opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, was arrested on April 2 along with several colleagues while bringing masks and other equipment to the Novgorod region as part of a nationwide tour to assess the preparedness of health facilities. She had previously posted videos on YouTube and given media interviews criticizing the governments response. Vasilyeva was charged with violating the governments quarantine restrictions. According to Amnesty International, she was choked and punched in the abdomen while being detained in a police station overnight.

New legislation signed by President Vladimir Putin this week punishes spreading false information with up to five years in prison and violating quarantine orders with up to sevenboth rules that are rife with opportunities for abuse.

An outspoken property tycoon and member of the ruling Communist Party has been put under investigation for publishing an essay that criticized the Chinese governments handling of COVID-19.* Ren Zhiqiang, who has not been since in public since mid-March, when he posted the essay, said the virus had revealed a crisis of government and referred to Chairman Xi Jinping as a clown with no clothes on who was still determined to play emperor. Ren, the former head of a state-owned company and son of a prominent official, has courted controversy before. His party membership was suspended for a year in 2016 after he criticized Xis handling of the state media.

Human Rights Watch this week criticized the government of Uganda for a police raid on a homeless shelter serving LGBTQ people in Kampala. Like many other countries, Uganda is currently prohibiting public gatherings of more than 10 people, but that does not apply to a residence or shelter. Nonetheless, 20 people in the shelter were sent to prison, likely putting them at greater risk for the disease and ensuring they were unable to meet with lawyers because of the lockdown. Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda, and while the infamous 2014 law that would have punished it with life in prison has been annulled, discrimination is still rampant. Police searched the shelter for evidence of homosexuality but eventually decided to charge the residents with coronavirus-related offenses.

Cambodias government passed a new emergency law that human rights groups say could allow autocratic Prime Minister Hun Sen to run the country by fiat. The law creates new crimes, punishable by multiple years of jail time, of obstructing operations during a state of emergency and not respecting measures ordered by the government to address the emergencyboth of which could easily be abused to punish government critics. The country has already arrested more than a dozen people for spreading information about the disease outbreak. Hun Sen, who even before the outbreak had been criticized for clamping down on the media under the guise of fighting fake news, is one of a number of leaders, including Hungarys Viktor Orbn and the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte, using the coronavirus as pretext to assume sweeping emergency powers.

COVID-19 has touched nearly every corner of the globe, but there are still a handful of countries reporting no cases. Most are small island nations where travel bans have been effective at keeping cases out. Other examples are more suspicious.

North Korea still says it has no cases, a claim that U.S. officials describe as impossible. The Hermit Kingdoms isolation may work to its advantage here, but given the level of cross-border trade with China, it does seem very unlikely that there are no cases at all. U.S. President Donald Trump sent a letter to Kim Jong-un in March offering assistance in fighting the disease and told reporters that North Korea is going through something, though its not clear quite what he was referring to.

Tajikistan, which borders hard-hit Iran, also claims to not have a single case, though it has quarantined more than 6,000 people who traveled abroad. The virus could wreak havoc in a poor country with a weak health system, yet dictator Emomali Rahmon has taken almost no steps to institute social distancing, and held a massive public celebration for the Nowruz holiday in late March.

Then theres Turkmenistan, where even discussing the coronavirus is banned; where President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, a former dentist and health minister, has suggested that his recently published book on herbal remedies could help COVID patients; and where a 7,000-person bike ride was held on Tuesday to celebrate World Health Day.*

Maybe these countries really are just extremely lucky.

Correction, April 10, 2020: This piece originally misidentified the Chinese Communist Party as the Community Party. This piece also misstated the date when Turkmenistan held a 7,000-person bike ride to celebrate World Health Day. It was Tuesday, April 7, not April 8.

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Strongman Medicine: The Countries That Still Claim to Have No Coronavirus Cases. - Slate

Jewish Ethics in Medicine | The Jewish – The Jewish News

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By Jill Gutmann, Special to the Jewish News

Chloroquine, the anti-malarial drug, has been in the news as a possible cure for COVID-19. The efficacy of this drug is unproven. Only one promising study out of France has suggested that the drug, in combination with an antibiotic, might prove effective. Later studies have not confirmed these findings and, in fact, have shown no statistically significant change between current treatments and the drug combination. So we should not count our chickens before they hatch. In fact, there has actually been harm done through suggesting this is a cure: Two people used the drug to treat themselves, with one dying and another in serious condition. Physicians are hoarding the drugs, and people who need the pharmaceuticals for known treatments are not able to get it.

In this pandemic that is unsettling the world, all hands are on deck to find a cure and a vaccine. The question is whether Jewish people can use experimental treatments. To answer this, one must first understand the Jewish view of medicine.

Be fruitful and multiply: fill the Earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky and every living thing that moves on the Earth (Genesis 1:28). The obligation to subdue it, and rule over [it] empowers us to seek medical assistance (The Lonely Man of Faith by R. Soloveitchik).

In fact, the Talmud goes further, describing the need to seek medical intervention: In danger, one must not rely on miracle (BT, Kiddushin 39b). The implication of these warnings is clear that one must do whatever is available and possible to try to intervene with known medicine and treatments. There is an inherent duty as a Jew to seek medical attention that is preventative and curative.

Rabbinic scholars divide treatment into two categories: those that are refuah bedukah (treatment where efficacy is proven) and refuah sheeinah bedukah (treatment where efficacy is unproven). Proven treatments must always be used. For example, a person with strep throat must take appropriate medicine to cure strep throat.

On the other hand, experimental treatments are not required to be used, as there is no known efficacy. The rabbis of the Talmud and later authorities believe a person should not intentionally place himself in danger; but if a person is going to die, the calculus shifts. In this case, experimental treatments are permissible but not mandatory.

Patients must be informed of the risks and benefits in order to make an informed decision on whether to partake in experimental treatments.

In these trying times, we might hope for the miracle of a cure, but we must be careful not to cause harm through rash action. This is going to be a marathon and not a sprint for our physicians, nurses and researchers. Our Jewish values direct us to put our trust in researchers and scientists following best practices regarding experimental treatments, with the hope of finding a treatment that is refuah bedukah.

Jill Abromowitz Gutmann is a Jewish bioethicist, Rebbetzin of Temple Kol Ami and mom to four daughters.She has worked as an ethicist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the IsraeliMinistry of Health and the Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has taughtJewish Ethics for Melton International, the Florence Melton School of Metro Detroit and of Auckland, New Zealand.

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How UW Medicine, small business and Amazon combined to airlift key testing kits from China in coronavirus fight – Seattle Times

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With his car keys, Geoff Baird attacked a box that had justcomefrom China to the parking lot at a UW Medicine office in Seattles Northgate neighborhood. Baird, who manages UW Medicines laboratories, ripped greedily into the cardboard.

Tubes and swabs! he called out, holding a vial with hot-pink liquid sloshing inside.

Amazon workers unloaded another 83 boxes filled with critical COVID-19 testing kits. Baird rushed to his lab to verify their quality.

Hopefully its not Q-tips and Kool Aid, he said.

The unboxing was a climactic scene in a frenzied, weekslong global logistics project involving Anita Nadelson, a Seattle businesswoman who typically imports items like dry erase boards; a mystery doctor who is a brother-in-law of the boss of Strawberry, a Chinese saleswoman and business contact of Nadelson; and Jeff Wilke, one of the most powerful executives at Amazon.

Their story and the international cast of characters brought together for this public-health mission illustrates the lengths authorities and scientistsare willing to take to increasetesting, perhaps the most important metric as officials consider lifting social- and physical-distancing restrictions.

If you loosen up before you have the ability to really ramp up your testing and case finding and contact tracing, this epidemic can rebound quite vigorously, said Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer at Public Health Seattle & King County.

But without test kits, laboratories cant produce more results.

For weeks, Washington state has been short on testing kits containing nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs anda liquid that preserves specimens for diagnostic testing.

Baird, the interim chair of the University of Washington Department of Laboratory Medicine, said the UW Medicine Virology Lab can process some 5,000 specimens a day. On Tuesday, the lab processed just 1,953, according to the labs Twitter account.

We can do more testing than what we are doing, Baird said, adding that in recent weeks he had been barraged with requests from health officials and hospitals for testing kits. Its an important bottleneck.

The solution he sought underscores just how fragile the medical supply chain remains, how competitive the market for has become.

The nationwide shortages of testing materials fall into two main categories: the supplies needed to take a sample and transport it to the laboratory, and the items needed for analysis.

Its like everyone is trying to bake a cake at the same time, said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a professor of health research and policy at Stanford Medicine. There are shortages of everything in the recipes.

NP swabs thin sticks with furry tips that medical professionals stick up a persons nose until they can scrape the palate where the nasal and oral cavities meet are running low nationwide.

Once the sample is taken, its placed into a vial with a solution called viral transport media, meant to keep the specimen from drying and disintegrating.

Right now, orders for transport media are backlogged. To make up for the shortage, some labs have been producing their own solution. Nonetheless, many hospitals are still lacking.

Even though anyone can get tested, people who have test kits are essentially rationing them to patients with the most severe symptoms, said Cassie Sauer of the Washington State Hospital Association.

On the analysis side, a chemicals shortage has plagued testing nationally for about a month, said Omai Garner, the lab director of clinical microbiology for UCLA Health.

It has been a constant struggle, a constant negotiation with vendors, said Garner, whose lab performs about 800 COVID-19 tests a day.

Under the initial test procedure approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), labs needed a particular chemical to extract RNA from the virus, Garner said. Supplies quickly dwindled.

The federal governments approval of more types of tests partially closed that gap. Now, labs depend on commercial-testing manufacturers to provide kits with a proprietary assortment of solutions or chemicals, collectively known as reagents. The manufacturers themselves are now running short on reagents. Thats slowed the production of lab test kits.

If companies dont have enough manufacturing capabilities to meet the need, then that has to be addressed at the federal level, Garner said.

In Washington state, hospitals have mostly had to fend for themselves in the marketplace for testing supplies, Sauer said, although the state has been procuring some materials. Theres no central way to monitor facilities testing inventory in the state.

Shortages have been nearly constant. Less than a week after the COVID-19 outbreak was first identified at a King County nursing facility, local health officials already were asking for testing kits.

Public Health Seattle & King County on March 4 sent state officials a list of supplies it needed for the Life Care Center of Kirkland staff, asking for 200 nasal and throat swabs, and the same number of test tubes to transport the specimens,according to records reviewed by The Seattle Times.

During roughly two weeks in March, government agencies and healthcare organizations submitted at least 45 requests for swabs or testing supplies, according to a Times review of Washington state Military Department request logs.

The path toward new swab supplies began with a simple gesture from a friend.

Been asking my factories in China to try to get N95 masks, Nadelson, co-owner of a design firm, texted Baird on March 16. A supplier had offered 30. Is that worth having sent, or wait for more?

Better to wait, Baird wrote. N95 respirators are needed by the thousands.

The real shortage nationally is nasopharyngeal swabs, he told Nadelson, launching her on a quest.

Nadelson began by scrolling through Alibaba, the online Chinese commerce giant, then contacting and whittling down the factories she thought could provide equipment whiletexting Baird for technical advice.

We work with 25 factories in China, Nadelson said of her company, Three By Three Seattle. I know how to get anything made.

She soon settled on the most promising manufacturing prospect, and asked a trusted sales contact known to Nadelson as Strawberry, who works nearby in Shenzhen, to check out the plant.

Strawberry collected sample test kits, but struggled to ship the liquid. With air freight disrupted, it would take weeks for samples to arrive in Seattle.

Then, Strawberry hit on a promising lead. Her boss had a family connection to a doctor in Hubei, the Chinese province hardest hit by COVID-19. The doctor, whose identity is not known to Nadelson or Baird, could place an order for swabs with the factory, which also supplied health workers in Wuhan. Were they interested?

Geoff decided early on he was going to take this big leap of faith, Nadelson said. They put in an order for 80,000 kits for UW Medicine, hoping to distribute the kits throughout the state, and Seattle Childrens added to their order another 20,000 kits.

Nadelson fronted $125,000 later to be reimbursed by UW Medicine.

But layers of red tape, customs regulation and international shipping logistics problems complicated by COVID-19s impact on worldwide freight and supply chains remained troublesome, and Baird wanted the tests stateside, and fast.

He fired off an email to Jeff Wilke, CEO of Worldwide Consumer at Amazon, whose contact information Baird had from a mutual connection.

Amazon has made a humanitarian and a public relations push to source and deliver medical supplies in COVID-19s wake.

On the afternoon of March 30, Baird asked if we had any resources in China that could fly them here in a hurry, Wilke said in a statement to The Seattle Times. Amazon found space on a chartered flight last Saturday.

Baird obsessively tracked the flights progress to Seattle.

It could be the great Shanghai airlift of 2020, Baird said, while the supplies were airborne. Or, I could have bought 100 grand in packing peanuts.

After the jubilant unpacking and back at the UW Medicine Virology laboratory, the mood shifted. A crestfallen Baird met in the laboratory lobby with Dr. Jason Love, a pathologist for MultiCare hospitals in the Tacoma area.

Instead of NP swabs, the Chinese factory had sent nasal swabs, for use in the nostrils.

Cotton, Baird said, as if it were a dirty word, fearing the swabs contained material not suited for COVID-19 testing.

Im disappointed, Love said, trying to figure out how he could stretch strained supplies further.

But spirits for both men lifted on Monday amid new developments.

Baird determined both the nasal swabs, which were actually polyester, and the transport media were acceptable for COVID-19 testing.

Its going to work for us and help a lot of people, Baird said.

And a new preliminary preprint study of about 500 patients at the Everett Clinic, who sampled themselves inside their vehicles, showed that nasal swabs could be effective.

Sample collection for new coronavirus tests with nasal swabs were nearly as accurate as sampling as the NP swabs, according to test results from a study published Monday on the preprint server medRxiv, which has yet to be peer-reviewed. The preliminary study did not examine asymptomatic patients.

The Food and Drug Administration added the nasal swab sampling for COVID-19 to its clinical guidelines on March 23 and the CDC followedMarch 24.

Dr. Yuan-Po Tu, the lead author of the preprint, said sampling with nasal swabs could help preserve key personal protective equipment. Medical professionals must wear protective equipment when administering NP swabs because patients often cough or sneeze during the more invasive procedure.

By having the patient collect the specimen themselves, all you need is a surgical paper mask and you just stand back and you watch, Tu said.

Michael Teng, an associate professor in internal medicine at the University of South Florida who was not involved in the preliminary report, said its findings track with similar studies of other respiratory viruses, and added that nasal swabs could be less effective at detecting the virus in people without symptoms, an important consideration as public health strategies increasingly rely on broader testing.

Baird said there is no perfect sampling method. All tests have false negative rates because the virus lives in the lungs primarily.

Also on Monday, experts began to suggest COVID-19 cases may have crested in volume and started to trend downward. That eases demand on test kits.

Love on Wednesday said he was feeling more optimistic about swab supply because his lab was no longer maxing out its machinerys capability. COVID-19 testing needs have fallen off at his hospitals significantly.

Duchin said health officials would take 20,000 of the swabs procured by Baird and Nadelson, saying they would fill gaps in supply at places like shelters and long-term care facilities.

Also on Monday, a package arrived that buoyed Bairds mood. It included samples of NP swabs from one of the first factories Nadelson contacted in March.

Theyre perfect, Baird said. I think weve opened up a supply line.

Staff reporters Ryan Blethen and Daniel Gilbert contributed to this report.

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How UW Medicine, small business and Amazon combined to airlift key testing kits from China in coronavirus fight - Seattle Times

As India Exports Hydroxychloroquine, Punjab Faces Acute Shortage Of The Medicine Due To Panic Buying – Outlook India

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Ever since rumours started floating around that Hydroxychloroquine could help improve immunity against Covid-19, Patients of joint pain and malaria diseases which it actually cures -- are not getting enough tablets of the medicine in Punjab, due to acute shortage at stores and short supply from the manufacturing companies.

Chemist associations and the drug control department have admitted that the medicine has been completely sold out at majority of medical stores as people bought it in bulk, believing that it is a magic pill to protect them against Coronavirus.

I have been getting calls from chemists from all over Punjab for its supply but I am not able to help them. Most of the shops have run out of the medicine. The lockdown has also severely hit the supply chain across the state, which is causing a lot of trouble, said Surinder Duggal, President, Punjab Chemist Association.

Duggal says that Zirakpur city, which supplies 90 per cent of the medicines in Punjab, doesnt have enough labourers to load and unload the medicines. Besides, the stock available with the whole-sellers is very limited, he added.

Pradeep Mattu, Drug Controller of Punjab, blames panic buying for the shortage. By the time government imposed restrictions on its sale, people had already hoarded it like anything. If one person buys 200 tablets without any ailment, thinking that it will improve his immunity against COVID-19, scarcity is natural, Mattu said.

The union government imposed restrictions on the sale of Hydroxychloroquine onMarch 25, 2020, when it realised that the medicine was overselling due to the misconception that it can improve immunity against Coronavirus. The government immediately regulated its sale with a provision that no chemist can sell it without a doctors prescription.

After reports that Hydroxychloroquine showed positive effects on COVID-19 infected patients in France, and a consequent tweet from the US President, calling it a game-changer, the news went viral on social media. It is a generic drug which was available over the counter, so people have gone for crazy buying it, said T.V. Narayana, National President, Indian Pharmaceutical Association.

He said that if an individual takes this medicine, thinking that it improves immunity, he or she is completely mistaken as this can cause adverse side-effects.

The Centre has already assured that India has enough raw material and manufacturing capacities to meet the domestic demand for Hydroxychloroquine. The United States has requested India to export Hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID 19 patients in the country. The Centre has reportedly decided to export the medicine to friendly countries to fulfil their needs.

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As India Exports Hydroxychloroquine, Punjab Faces Acute Shortage Of The Medicine Due To Panic Buying - Outlook India

Clinical trial launches to evaluate antimalarial drugs for COVID-19 treatment – Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

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Cigna/Express Scripts provided the drugs; open to COVID-19 patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital

Antimalarial drug, hydroxychloroquine is one of the drugs being tested in COVID-19 patients.

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is launching a clinical trial for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The trial will investigate the effectiveness of different combinations of the antimalarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin in treating ill patients infected with the novel coronavirus.

Express Scripts, a Cigna company, has donated these medications to the School of Medicine in an effort to accelerate research for a COVID-19 treatment.

The Food and Drug Administration recently gave emergency approval for hospitals across the country to use the two antimalarial drugs to treat severe cases of COVID-19. However, this treatment strategy remains unproven.

There have been only a few small studies that have evaluated chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in patients with COVID-19 infection, and the results are unclear, said infectious disease specialist Rachel M. Presti, MD, PhD, an associate professor of medicine who is co-leading the trial. We need additional trials to understand whether the drugs are effective. We are pleased to be able to offer this clinical trial to patients with COVID-19 in the St. Louis region. Were grateful to Cigna and Express Scripts for the generous donation of these drugs. Our goal is to determine if any of these medications, alone or in combination, decrease the severity or duration of respiratory symptoms.

Respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 include dry cough and shortness of breath. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people should seek medical attention if symptoms progress to difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, confusion or inability to arouse, and bluish lips or face. This trial is only for patients who are ill enough to be admitted to the hospital. The researchers plan to enroll 500 patients over the course of the study.

To accelerate research for a COVID-19 treatment, we are supporting one of the top medical schools in the country in their efforts to quickly implement a clinical trial, said Steve Miller, MD, chief clinical officer, Cigna. This trial will help to establish whether these drugs are effective and, if so, to determine the optimal doses to help minimize the symptoms of COVID-19.

Patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 who choose to enroll in the trial will be randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: One group will receive chloroquine alone; a second group will receive hydroxychloroquine alone; a third group will receive chloroquine and azithromycin; and a fourth group will receive hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin.

All three medications are generic formulations long used to treat other conditions. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are used for the prevention and treatment of malaria. They also are prescribed, often in combination with other medications, for autoimmune disorders, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Azithromycin is an antibiotic used to treat many types of infections caused by bacteria, including respiratory, skin, ear and eye infections.

In past research, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine showed some effectiveness against related coronaviruses MERS and SARS. All three drugs have side effects that are well-known. Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in particular can cause heart rhythm problems. Presti said patients will be carefully screened for abnormal heart rhythms before being administered these drugs. These drugs also have been associated with vision loss and psychiatric side effects, but Presti said such effects are not typically seen in short-term use of the drugs.

Presti is co-leading this clinical trial with Jane OHalloran, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine at Washington University. All COVID-19 related research is coordinated by the COVID task force appointed by David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and the George and Carol Bauer Dean of the School of Medicine. The task force is led by Jeffrey Milbrandt, MD, PhD, the James S. McDonnell Professor and head of the Department of Genetics; William G. Powderly, MD, the J. William Campbell Professor of Medicine and director of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS); and Sean Whelan, PhD, the Marvin A. Brennecke Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Molecular Microbiology.

The clinical and translational research related to COVID-19 at the School of Medicine harnesses a breadth of resources of the ICTS, which were deployed to bring this study forward in less than two weeks. Washington Universitys ICTS is part of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) nationwide network funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).

This work is supported by The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital; and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant number UL1TR002345.

Washington University School of Medicines 1,500 faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, ranking among the top 10 medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

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Stanford researchers devise treatment that relieved depression in 90% of participants in small study – Stanford Medical Center Report

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There was a constant chattering in my brain: It was my own voice talking about depression, agony, hopelessness, she said. I told my husband, Im going down and Im heading toward suicide. There seemed to be no other option.

Lehmans psychiatrist had heard of the SAINT study and referred her to Stanford. After researchers pinpointed the spot in her brain that would benefit from stimulation, Lehman underwent the therapy.

By the third round, the chatter started to ease, she said. By lunch, I could look my husband in the eye. With each session, the chatter got less and less until it was completely quiet.

That was the most peace theres been in my brain since I was 16 and started down the path to bipolar disorder.

In transcranial magnetic stimulation, electric currents from a magnetic coil placed on the scalp excite a region of the brain implicated in depression. The treatment, as approved by the FDA, requires six weeks of once-daily sessions. Only about half of patients who undergo this treatment improve, and only about a third experience remission from depression.

Stanford researchers hypothesized that some modifications to transcranial magnetic stimulation could improve its effectiveness. Studies had suggested that a stronger dose, of 1,800 pulses per session instead of 600, would be more effective. The researchers were cautiously optimistic of the safety of the treatment, as that dose of stimulation had been used without harm in other forms of brain stimulation for neurological disorders, such as Parkinsons disease.

Other studies suggested that accelerating the treatment would help relieve patients depression more rapidly. With SAINT, study participants underwent 10 sessions per day of 10-minute treatments, with 50-minute breaks in between. After a day of therapy, Lehmans mood score indicated she was no longer depressed; it took up to five days for other participants. On average, three days of the therapy were enough for participants to have relief from depression.

The less treatment-resistant participants are, the longer the treatment lasts, said postdoctoral scholarEleanor Cole, PhD, a lead author of the study.

The researchers also conjectured that targeting the stimulation more precisely would improve the treatments effectiveness. In transcranial magnetic stimulation, the treatment is aimed at the location where most peoples dorsolateral prefrontal cortex lies. This region regulates executive functions, such as selecting appropriate memories and inhibiting inappropriate responses.

For SAINT, the researchers used magnetic-resonance imaging of brain activity to locate not only the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, but a particular subregion within it. They pinpointed the subregion in each participant that has a relationship with the subgenual cingulate, a part of brain thatis overactive in people experiencing depression.

In people who are depressed, the connection between the two regions is weak, and the subgenual cingulate becomes overactive, said Keith Sudheimer, PhD, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and a senior author of the study. Stimulating the subregion of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex reduces activity in the subgenual cingulate, he said.

To test safety, the researchers evaluated the participants cognitive function before and after treatment. They found no negative side effects; in fact, they discovered that the participants ability to switch between mental tasks and to solve problems had improved a typical outcome for people who are no longer depressed.

One month after the therapy, 60% of participants were still in remission from depression. Follow-up studies are underway to determine the duration of the antidepressant effects.

The researchers plan to study the effectiveness of SAINT on other conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, addiction and autism spectrum disorders.

The depression Lehman woke up to almost two years ago was the worst episode she had ever experienced. Today, she said, she is happy and calm.

Since undergoing SAINT treatment, she has completed a bachelors degree at the University of California-Santa Barbara; she had dropped out as a young woman when her bipolar symptoms overwhelmed her studies.

I used to cry over the slightest thing, she said. But when bad things happen now, Im just resilient and stable. Im in a much more peaceful state of mind, able to enjoy the positive things in life with the energy to get things done.

Graduate student Katy Stimpson and Brandon Bentzley, MD, PhD, a medical fellow in psychiatry and behavioral sciences, are also lead authors.

Other Stanford co-authors are former lab manager MerveGulser; graduate students Kirsten Cherian, Elizabeth Choi, HaleyAaron and AustinGuerra; Flint Espil, PhD, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences; research coordinators Claudia Tischler, Romina Nejad and Heather Pankow; medical student Jaspreet Pannu; postdoctoral scholars Xiaoqian Xiao, PhD, James Bishop, PhD, John Coetzee, PhD, and Angela Phillips, PhD; Hugh Solvason, MD, PhD, clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences; research manager JessicaHawkins; BooilJo, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences; Kristin Raj, MD, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences; CharlesDeBattista, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences; JenniferKeller, PhD, clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences; and AlanSchatzberg, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

The research was supported byCharles R. Schwab, the Marshall and Dee Ann Payne Fund,the Lehman Family Neuromodulation Research Fund, the Still Charitable Fund,the Avy L. and Robert L. Miller Foundation, a Stanford Psychiatry Chairmans Small Grant, the Stanford CNI Innovation Award, the National Institutes of Health (grants T32035165 and UL1TR001085), the Stanford Medical Scholars Research Scholarship, the NARSAD Young Investigator Awardand the Gordie Brookstone Fund.

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Stanford researchers devise treatment that relieved depression in 90% of participants in small study - Stanford Medical Center Report

Preventive medicine specialists position themselves against the olgico serological passport ‘| Society – The Union Journal

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The Spanish Society of Preventive Medicine, Public Health and Hygiene (Sempsph) has positioned itself this Friday against any form of ser serological passport that identifies who has passed the coronavirus infection. This can be known through a test that reveals whether the person has the antibodies that protect him against the pathogen because he has already been in contact with it.

There are several public and legal health criteria, but one of the most important is that this type of passport encourages people to become infected, summarize Sempsph sources.

The document calls on administrations not to propose measures that suppose a stratified limitation of freedoms and fundamental rights for health reasons; attending to the constitutional principles of non-discrimination, to the principles of equality, relevance and proportionality .

In a document published on its website, the society that groups Spanish preventivists recalls the confidential nature of any clinical information and that the legislation protects workers from companies when it comes to being required on whether they have past the disease.

Only in the case of healthcare employees, nursing homes and similar equipment should their serological status be taken into account and always for the purposes of better care.

The community of Castilla y Len, as well as some researchers, have advocated in recent days for the creation of this type of certificate, a safe-conduct that would allow its holders to return to normal life before the rest of the population.

The Ministry of Health, however, has been opposed to this type of initiative that is now beginning to be considered in light of the relaxation of the isolation measures that will follow the decrease in cases and deaths registered after a month of confinement.

At the moment, it is not known how long people who have recovered from infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, are immune to the virus. In the first SARS, which disappeared after causing nearly 800 deaths two decades ago, it would approach 10 years. MERS, another coronavirus that mainly strikes the Middle East, this period is shorter, about two years.

The Sempsph considers that the decreasing trend of new cases in Spain advises the planning of progressive de-escalation of some of the isolation measures adopted by the Government. The document avoids establishing stages and deadlines and opts for an adaptive response that allows accelerating or regressing back to normal according to the evolution of the disease and a hypothetical upswing in cases.

Regarding the use of masks by the population, the document recommends them when considering that the available evidence with SARS supports their use: The use of any type of mask reduced the transmission of infection [del SARS] in the general population. Also, the evidence seems to indicate that a use by the general population, instead of only symptomatic people, can reduce community transmission of the infection.

Among other measures in the field of care, the 54 pages of the document call on the authorities to adopt a series of measures before beginning the de-escalation of isolation, including having the capacity, including staffing, to double the number of patients treated in the ICU if necessary .

It also calls on the Government to have the ability to evaluate large numbers of symptomatic patients safely in facilities such as outdoor tents or vehicles. Likewise, to have sufficient Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for all health workers and socio-sanitary centers and a sufficient number of surgical masks to provide all patients, in both cases even if they were duplicated the cases.

In terms of public health, preventivists consider that administrations must have the means to recover and generalize the progressive tracking of contacts of those infected and have facilities such as medicalized hotels for those infected who are not hospitalized who cannot comply with insulation measures in the home .

Society also requires administrations to organize in order to carry out rapid tests on possible cases and symptomatic contacts in the first 24 hours after the patient detects the onset of symptoms.

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Preventive medicine specialists position themselves against the olgico serological passport '| Society - The Union Journal

Dr. Trump’s medicine show: Why is he pushing an unproven drug? Follow the money – Salon

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Donald Trump only cares about Donald Trump. He doesn't care about you or the country.He only cares about exploiting this crisis to bail out his business and to get himself re-elected, thereby shielding himself from a series of indictments thatsurely awaithim if he loses. The sooner we embrace this easily-observable fact about Trump, the better equipped we'll be to evaluate his decisions during these overlapping health and financial calamities.

The "Trump is all about Trump" maxim goes a long way to explaining his obsessive beer-funneling of a malaria drug called hydroxychloroquine down the gullets of COVID-19 victims.

So far, there have been two public appearances by Trump that have genuinely rattled me. There was his seemingly endless and deeply disturbing CPAC address in early March of 2019: a herky-jerky, stream-of-consciousness creepshow a Willy Wonka ride into the dark, twisted world of Trump's increasingly haunted and demented brain. I've never seen a presidential speech more harrowing and unnerving than that one until the Saturday, April 4, episode of the Trump Show.

There was one particular chunk of Saturday's fact-free campaign commercial, aired across all the major networks, that rivaled anything from his CPAC remarks of more than a year ago. About an hour into Trump's delusional attempt to frame himself as competent, the president craned his head forward and, using a high-pitched whisper-voice, begged COVID-19 victims to take hydroxychloroquine as if his life depended on it.

It was one of the most bizarre moments not just in the history of this wobbly wacky-shack presidency, but in the entire history of presidential politics. Trump's pupils were dilated, punctuating his bugged-out eyesand, as usual, his hands were flapping back and forth as if to squeeze an invisible accordion to the tune of a dissonant polka played at half speed. The sound of his voice could best be compared with a greasy Aqualung weirdo in an unmarked van coaxing children into the back with the promise of candy bars if they acquiesce.

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"What do you have to lose?" the president rationalized in that breathless tone, "I'll say it again: What do you have to lose? Take it. I really think they should take it. But it's their choice and it's their doctor's choice, or the doctors in the hospital. But hydroxychloroquine try it, if you'd like."

There was much more to it, and the text alone doesn't do justice to the freakishness of the moment. But as I watched the president disintegrating into a cartoonish back-alley drug dealer from a 1980s after-school special, two thoughts occurred to me: 1) We're completely screwed if this shell of a man is re-elected, and 2) Why is he so obsessed with selling this malaria drug?

The corollary to the "Trump only cares about Trump" rule is that he's done nothing to earn the benefit of the doubt, so our negative assumptions about his motives ought to be considered accurate until proven otherwise. As I've said from the beginning, I absolutely hope I'm wrong about Trump, but so far, he's proved many of my worst concerns about his poseur presidency to be true. So, in this case, if Trump's pushing an unproven cure with this much vigor, then he's very likely benefiting financially somehow.

Trump is always engaged in one con or another, so he's certainly wired for a scam like this. Andthe downturn in the economy due to the pandemic has reached the books of the Trump Organization where Eric Trump and DonaldJr. are racing around like the Skipper and Gilligan struggling to guide the USSMinnow out of that freak Pacific storm. We learned the other day that the Trumps are laying off 1,500 workers, an unemployment bloodbath, while closing 17 locations mainly hotels and restaurants. Likewise, the Trumps are desperately begging their creditors to back off, creditors that includeDeutsche Bank and Palm Beach County, to whom the Trump Organization owes a pile of money.

SoTrump's businesses are under duress like everyone else's, motivating him to grab whatever cash is nearby. Apparently there's good money in pharmaceuticals.

The top manufacturer of hydroxychloroquine is Novartis. Back in early 2017, soon after the inauguration, Novartis agreed to pay Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney-slash-fixer, $100,000 per month for lobbying access to the new president. The cash payouts were sent to Cohen's shell company, Essential Consultants, which was also a reputed slush fund for Trump. You might recall thatthe president used Essential Consultants as an intermediary foralleged hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Indeed, some of those checks were signed by Trump while in the White House.

Andno, this isn't somekooky conspiracy to frame Trump. Novartis executives admitted to lobbying Trump with cash payments after they, along with AT&T and several others, were exposed publicly.

All told, Novartis paid Trump more than a million dollars during the year-long agreement, paid out throughCohen's dubious company. Novartis is one of the primary manufacturers of hydroxychloroquine. Two-plus-two equals "what do you have to lose?"

All this is just for starters. The question now is whether Trump has entered into another agreement with a different pharmaceutical corporation, or whether Trump is priming the pump for a renewal of the old one with Novartis. There might be another angle we haven't considered yet. It's difficult to tell at this point, but the history is there. The players, including Cohen and Novartis, have confessed publicly and apologized.

Trump is treating this drug like he's the national spokesman, paid on commission, yet to date there isno peer-reviewed evidence that hydroxychloroquine actually works against COVID-19. In fact, it could have serious side effects contradicting Trump's whispery, "What do you have to lose?" pitch. Of course it's possible that Dr. Trump's snake oilmight work for some patients. We simply don't know. But there's a lot to lose for thosewho might experience a series of horrendous side effects taking the wrong medication for the wrong illness has a tendency to do that. Knowing all this, it's ludicrous that the U.S. government under Trump has already invested in 29 million pills, absent any clear information that they're usefulagainst the current plague.

No wonder Trump wouldn't allow Dr. Anthony Fauci, ofthe National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to answer a reporter's question about the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine during Sunday's Trump Show. He knew that Fauci might, at the very least, contradict Trump's drug-dealer-ish rationalizations, and, as you know, coffee's for closers.

Meanwhile, we learned on Mondaythat the White HouseCOVID-19 task force erupted into an argument over the drug recently, with economic adviser Peter Navarro presenting Trump with several shoddy studies thatFauci observedwere "anecdotal" and unscientific, largely due to thelack of control groups. Who should we believe? The scientist with 40 years of experience in his current role, orTrump and Navarro, two guys with zero experience in science, one of whom hasa known history of taking money from the one of the drug's primary manufacturers? The answer is obvious to anyone outside the Trump death cult. But as Amanda Marcotte wrote on Monday, the Trump teamcould be setting up Fauci as a scapegoat for this entire pandemic, in allthis, so we shouldn't expect the actual expert to win the debate over Trump's snake oil.

In case you're wondering why the United States has the greatest number of COVID-19 victims worldwide, and nearly 11,000 deaths as of Tuesday morning, it might be because the president has prioritizedhis side hustle over actually doing the job, relentlessly pitching an unproven drug like the world's most annoying late-night infomercial host. To be clear, he's never been capable of doing the job in the first place, so his various side hustles are all he's got. Consequently, he's wedging his cumbersome bulk between doctors and patients, urging people without medical degrees to second-guess the experts.

Trump's No. 1 priority is always Trump, and he's turning hydroxychloroquine into the new "freedom fries." If you're a member of the cult, you're being commanded to take the drug. Maybe it's to own the libs, maybe it's so Trump can get paid. Either way, take it. It'll make you feel good and all the cool kids are doing it. But if it doesn't work and you die, it'll be someone else's fault. What do you have to lose?

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Dr. Trump's medicine show: Why is he pushing an unproven drug? Follow the money - Salon

Medicine delivery offer – The Tribune India

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Chandigarh

Shruti Choudhry, former Congress MP from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, has launched an initiative to deliver medicines to the people. The cost of medicines and expenses on delivery are being borne by her. She said she had started the service for people of Dadri, Bhiwani and Mahendragarh. Those in need could WhatsApp their prescription on the number 09812195558 with name, address and contact number, she said. In a video posted in several WhatsApp groups, she said, With this lockdown, it is not possible for everyone to have stock of medicines in villages. With public transport shut, they cannot go out and procure these from far-off places. In case anyone in Dadri, Bhiwani and Mahendragarh is in need of medicines, I will get medicines delivered on their doorstep. TNS

AMBALA

Timings for services fixed

Ambala City SDM Gauri Midha has fixed timings for those providing essential services. As per the order, door-to-door supply of milk and newspapers has been allowed till 8 am and shops providing essential services and commodities, including chemists, will remain open from 9 am to 5 pm. Home delivery of essential items has been allowed and chemists operating in hospitals and nursing homes can remain open 24x7. The order has stipulated opening of fruit and vegetable market till 9 am. The mandi will remain closed to the general public. Milk dairies and vendors can remain open for the public from 9 am to 5 pm. The order will remain in force till April 14. tns

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Medicine delivery offer - The Tribune India

French Medicine Academy: How to make Covid-19 mask The French National Academy of Medicine, an – The Connexion

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It advises (after washing hands with soap or hydroalcholic gel) simply folding a paper napkin intoan accordion shape and placinga rubber band at each end, over which the edge of the towel is folded beforebeingstapled.

You can watch this step-by-step video to make yours:

Many videos are available on the internet to make a mask but most of them require sewing, unlike this one.

Professor Daniel Garin from the Academy and former head of virology for France's army health service said:"The principle of this mask is not to filter, but simply to prevent the spread in the air of saliva particles that are potentially contaminated by the virus."

As soon as it becomes wet, the maskshould be thrown awayand since it could be infected, itshould only be touchedby the elasticbands.

The Academy (Acadmie nationale de mdecine) also stressed that the FFP2 mask, commonlyknown asduck beakmasksshould be reserved for medical staff asthis type of maskprotectsagainst catchingCovid-19, while the classic surgical mask only protects the environmentaround the wearer.

Professor Garin added: "If everyone wears a mask, it will prevent contamination around you."

Recommendations on wearing a mask(or not)have evolvedin Franceduring the Covid-19 epidemic.

The mask shortage has also influenced the decisions of the government, which saidthe wearing of masks by the general public served no purpose and that masks were only useful formedical staff at the beginning of the epidemic.

However, in the last few days, the government, and health minister Olivier Vran has said that France needs to make more masksand there has been debate about the widespread wearing of masks for all being part of deconfinement.

Some cities such as Nice or Canneshave said they want to make the wearing of masks obligatory but the Interior Minister, Christophe Castaner has asked all the prefects to withdraw these orders. He said that this was "a problematic subject" and the usefulness of masks has not been medically proven.

The Academy of Medicine recommends that public authorities make the wearing of masks compulsory for everyone for short outings during the period of confinement or for future outings at the end of confinement.

The governmentspokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye said: "We will take a decision on the possible extension of the wearing of masks to the entire population as soon as we can build it on a scientific consensus."

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French Medicine Academy: How to make Covid-19 mask The French National Academy of Medicine, an - The Connexion

IU School of Medicine student shares COVID-19 experience to warn young people they arent invincible – Fox 59

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- A 27-year-old, soon-to-be doctor, has a warning for all young adults: You are not invincible to COVID-19.

Hes sharing his story in hopes that people who are not taking this seriously begin to realize they too are at risk.

As a fourth-year medical student, David Vega says he prioritized his health. He thought he was invincible to COVID-19, but his outlook changed one month ago.

Very, very scary and the most sick Ive ever felt in my life, Vega explained.

Vega says he could have done more to protect himself. He wrote about his experience for his fellow Indiana University students and staff, to let them know this is serious.

I felt that it would be good to share my story, he added, Especially after seeing there are a lot of young people who are not taking it seriously.

As he detailed his experience, he stated, Sure, Ill wash my hands, Ill social distance after that party, I thought. Looking back, there were too many opportunities for me to have caught this virus. I did not take my health seriously.

After returning from his two-month long global medicine elective in Africa and a week stay in Florida with friends, he knew something wasnt right.

My main symptoms were fever, chills, fatigue, complete muscle and body aches. This lasted about a week, week and a half, and I think thats the scary part, said Vega.

He first thought, maybe its just a bad case of the flu, but he was wrong. He tested positive for COVID-19 and the next 13 days were unimaginable.

Were seeing more and more people admitted to the hospital between ages of 20-44. A lot of those are going to the ICU and being put on ventilators, explained Vega, A lot of them are dying, I was one of the lucky ones.

He continued to detail day by day the symptoms and what he was feeling in his story for the university. He wrote, After waiting SEVEN ENTIRE DAYS in self-quarantine, I finally received my results: positive for COVID-19, continue self-quarantine for another seven days. Ironically, this arrived an hour before receiving my Match Day residency assignment for emergency medicine at the University of Miami. March 20th was certainly a big day of results for me.

Vega wishes he would have listened, but hes not alone.

This is serious business, its a serious infection and it can kill people, said Dr. John Christenson, a Clinical Pediatrics Professor at IU School of Medicine.

Christenson added that hes witnessed young people believing theyre untouchable by congregating, not wearing masks, and barely social distancing.

When you look at the number of cases in Indiana, there are more than 4,000 people who have been infected and a large number of people who have died from this. If you look at hospitals nationwide, youll find adolescents admitted to those hospitals, in intensive care on ventilators, said Christenson.

As for Vega, he will soon begin his residency and he has plans to take his battle with COVID-19 as a learning experience as he prepares to help his own patients.

Seeing the need and seeing now that I have experienced it myself, I understand a lot more about it and have developed some sort of immunity to it, I would say it confirmed my calling even more, said Vega.

According to the CDC, one out of five people hospitalized from COVID-19 are young adults.

Click here to read Vegas full warning to young people.

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IU School of Medicine student shares COVID-19 experience to warn young people they arent invincible - Fox 59