It’s Wednesday, April 8th, A.D. 2020. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus.
By Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
New York reported 731 deaths Tuesday
New York state reported 731 new COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, its biggest jump since the start of the outbreak, dampening some of the cautious optimism officials have expressed about efforts to stop the spread of the virus, reports the Associated Press.
The state’s death toll grew to 5,489. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo reflected on the news.
CUOMO: “That’s 731 people who we lost. Behind every one of those numbers is an individual. There’s a family, there’s a mother, there’s a father, there’s a sister, there’s a brother. So, a lot of pain again today for many New Yorkers.”
Franklin Graham: “This pandemic result of a fallen world”
In a Saturday night interview with Fox News Channel’s Jeannie Pirro that mostly focused on the emergency field hospital Samaritan’s Purse is operating in New York City’s Central Park, Franklin Graham gave a Biblical answer to the spiritual questions that people are asking amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, reports the Christian Post.
GRAHAM: “Man has turned his back on God. We have sinned against Him. And we need to ask for God’s forgiveness. And that’s what Easter is all about. It’s about God so loving the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save the world. And if we will put our faith and trust in Him, He’ll forgive our sins and will heal our hearts and He’ll change the course of our lives.
“This pandemic, this is a result of a fallen world, a world that has turned its back on God. I would encourage people to pray. Let’s ask God for help.”
Acts 3:19 says, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
Navy Secretary resigns after firing USS Theodore Roosevelt capt.
After Capt. Brett Crozier of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, pleaded with the Navy to help protect the 5,000 sailors aboard after 100 became sick with COVID-19 after a port visit to Vietnam, his memo was reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Soon afterwards, Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly fired Captain Crozier, and, on Monday, flew 8,000 miles to Guam to give a 15-minute speech over the intercom chastising sailors who enthusiastically cheered for their captain.
MODLY: “In my view, your captain compromised critical information about your status intentionally to draw a greater attention to your situation. That was my judgment and I judged that it cannot be tolerated from a commanding officer of a nuclear aircraft carrier.
“I cannot control or attempt to change whatever anger you have with me for relieving your beloved [Commanding Officer] … What your captain did was very, very wrong in a moment when we expected him to be the calming force on a turbulent sea.”
After Modly apologized for calling Captain Crozier “naïve” and “stupid”, the Acting Navy Secretary resigned yesterday after audio of his speech became public, reports Task and Purpose.
Idahoans defy stay-at-home orders, insist on right to assemble
Inside an old factory building north of Boise, Idaho, a few dozen people gathered last week to hear from Ammon Bundy, the man who once led an armed takeover of an Oregon wildlife refuge, reports the New York Times.
The meeting, which appeared to violate orders by Gov. Brad Little of Idaho to avoid group gatherings, was an assertion of what Mr. Bundy said was a constitutional right to peacefully assemble. But Mr. Bundy said he also hoped to create a network of people ready to come to the aid of those facing closure of their businesses or other interference from the government as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Los Angeles bus drivers are scared
At least 16 Metropolitan Transportation Authority employees in Los Angeles have tested positive for COVID-19 – and bus drivers say they’re scared, reports CBS Los Angeles.
Bus drivers say MTA isn’t doing enough to keep them safe. They’re worried about their safety as well as passengers.
BUS DRIVER 1: “We’re putting our health at risk. Are we happy? No we’re not.”
Another bus driver thinks that perhaps MTA should shut down the whole system.
BUS DRIVER 2: “If you don’t have a solid plan to keep us safe, not only us but the public, then yes, definitely shut it down.”
16-year-old flies medical supplies to rural hospitals
And finally, T.J. Kim can’t play lacrosse in McLean, Virginia. COVID-19 took the sport away. And at age 16, he can’t drive alone.
But Kim can fly. And he’s turned his flying lessons into missions of mercy, bringing desperately needed supplies to rural hospitals in need. He calls it Operation S.O.S. — Supplies Over Skies, reports FOX 5.
Each week, he carries gloves, masks, gowns and other equipment to small hospitals. When he made his first delivery, on March 27 to a 25-bed hospital in Luray, Virginia, he was taken aback by the reception.
He said, “They kind of conveyed to me that they were really forgotten about. Everyone was wanting to send donations to big city hospitals. Every hospital is hurting for supplies, but it’s the rural hospitals that really feel forgotten.”
His most recent flight carried 3,000 gloves, 1,000 head covers, 500 shoe covers, 50 non-surgical masks, 20 pairs of protective eyewear and 10 concentrated bottles of hand sanitizer to Winchester, Virginia to help supply a hospital in nearby Woodstock.
The goal, he said, is to make deliveries to all seven rural hospitals in Virginia defined as critical access hospitals.
Acts 20:35 says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, April 8th in the year of our Lord 2020. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I’m Adam McManus. (adam@TheWorldview.com) Seize the day for Jesus Christ.
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In January, Trump advisor warned virus could kill 500,000 Americans
In late January, President Trump’s economic adviser Peter Navarro warned his White House colleagues that the novel coronavirus could take more than half a million American lives and cost close to $6 trillion, according to memos obtained by Axios.
Navarro’s grim estimates are set out in two memos — one dated Jan. 29 and addressed to the National Security Council, the other dated Feb. 23 and addressed to the president. The NSC circulated both memos around the White House and multiple agencies.
In the first memo, which the New York Times was first to report on, Navarro makes his case for “an immediate travel ban on China.”
The president quickly restricted travel from China, moved to delay re-entry of American travelers who could be infected, and dispatched his team to work with Congress on stimulus funds.
But Trump was far slower to publicly acknowledge the sort of scenarios Navarro had put in writing.
Tylenol is preferred medicine for virus fevers
Dr. Parham Eftekari is a nephrologist and an internal medicine physician. He said Tylenol is preferred for fever over non-steroidal, anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen, reports CBS Miami.
“It is safer to give Tylenol or acetaminophen for fever,” he said. “Try to stay away from the non-steroidal. Non-steroidals are good for arthritis, headaches, migraines sometimes, but prolonged use of it definitely has adverse outcomes for the heart, the kidney and now, recent evidence shows, possible immune system.”
Eftekari said research is still being done, but initial research shows drugs like ibuprofen could make COVID-19 worse for some patients.