People are spooked after 5,000 respirator masks were found in a crypt underneath a cathedral

Greg Evans in news THE INDEPENDENT 3/27/2020

iStoc

Masks might not have been the must-have item on every fashionista's list but they have quickly become an essential for many people when it comes to trips outdoors, in an attempt to protect us from coronavirus and to prevent its spread.

That being said, they have become quite hard to come by as everyone has tried to grab whatever they could to cover their face. It's now become so bad that care workers and first responders around the world do not have access to the masks, leading companies to donate supplies to those who need it the most.

This is all well and good but the last thing we expected to be writing about in mask-related news, was a crypt underneath a cathedral in Washington DC, being full of respirator masks.

A crypt in the foundations of the Washington National Cathedral, which belongs to the Episcopal Church, was discovered to have at least 5,000 N95 respirator masks, which had been placed there more than a decade ago, during the bird flu outbreak.

Thankfully, they were still in good condition and considering the shortage of masks at the moment they have been removed and distributed to the Children's National Hospital and Georgetown University Hospital.

However, the excavation of the masks from underneath a chuch has people, who were not aware of the entire story, a little freaked out and thinking that this could actually be a plot from a Nicolas Cage movie.  

The story doesn't end there either. Despite housing all of those masks, the crypt is also notable for being the burial place of a few famous faces including former president Woodrow Wilson and author Helen Keller. Martin Luther King Jr also spoke at the cathedral (although he isn't buried there). This place truly has it all going on.

Muslim and Jewish paramedics pause to pray together. One of many inspiring moments in the coronavirus crisis


By Oren Liebermann and Michael Schwartz, CNN  March 26, 2020


Jewish paramedic Avraham Mintz faces Jerusalem, his prayer shawl hanging off his shoulders. Muslim paramedic Zoher Abu Jama kneels facing Mecca, his prayer rug unfurled before him.

Jerusalem (CNN)There was barely any time to pause.

Avraham Mintz and Zoher Abu Jama just finished responding to a call regarding a 41-year-old woman having respiratory problems in the southern Israeli city of Be'er Sheva.
Before that, they were checking on a 77-year-old man. There would be more calls ahead. Of that, there was no doubt.

As the clock neared six in the afternoon, Mintz and Abu Jama realized it may be their only break of the shift. The two members of Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's emergency response service, paused to pray. Mintz, a religious Jew, stood facing Jerusalem, his white and black prayer shawl hanging off his shoulders. Abu Jama, an observant Muslim, knelt facing Mecca, his maroon and white prayer rug unfurled underneath him.

For the two paramedics, who routinely work together two or three times a week, the joint prayer was nothing new. For so many others, it was an inspiring image in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic.

A picture of the two men snapped by a co-worker quickly went viral, garnering thousands of likes on social media and appearing in international media coverage. One user responded on Instagram: "I'm proud of all of the rescue services, it doesn't matter from what community or religion." On Twitter, another user said: "One fight! One victory! Let's unite."

"The fact that it is so simple makes it so powerful. I believe that Zoher and I and most of the world understand that we have to raise our heads and pray. That's all that's left," Mintz told CNN. A father of nine who lives in Be'er Sheva, the 42-year-old is a full-time MDA worker who trains volunteers.

For the colleagues, the joint prayer was nothing new. For others, it was an inspiring image.
Abu Jama, a father of seven from the nearby Bedouin city of Rahat, was one of those volunteers. He left his job as a driving instructor to help out as much as possible now. "In terms of belief and personality we believe in the same things and we have something in common," the 39-year-old told CNN. "I believe he is a person that gives and takes the feeling of honor and that is important."

Across Israel, MDA teams have fielded 100,000 calls on peak days, more than 10 times their normal volume, according to Zaki Heller, a MDA spokesman.

In addition to the normal work of paramedics and EMTs, MDA teams are responsible for getting coronavirus patients to hospital or to designated quarantine hotels, carrying out coronavirus tests, collecting blood donations and more. Earlier this month, they even staffed polling stations for those in self-quarantine.

MDA Director General Eli Bin beamed with pride when talking about his team, comprised of 2,500 full-time employees and 25,000 volunteers. "The people of MDA are facing the virus, looking it in the eye. The workers of MDA are working with their hands and their gloves and their masks," he told CNN. "We are the heroes of Israel."

If Mintz and Abu Jama see themselves as heroes, they certainly didn't let it show. They know their job, and they know their faith. "Everyone is afraid of the virus," said Mintz. "So are we, but we have the belief that everything is under the control of God, blessed be He. We both believe this."

Abu Jama echoes his partner. "I believe that God will help us and we will get through this. We should all pray to God to get us through this, and we will get through this world crisis."
The two prayed for about 15 minutes. Then it was back into the ambulance. And back to work.

WHAT IS SURPLUS VALUE? MEMES

SMART PHONE MEME

PANDEMIC LOSERS AND WINNERS MEMES

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said G-7 foreign ministers agreed with him in a virtual meeting Wednesday that China is waging a "disinformation" campaign about the coronavirus pandemic.

LIKE HIS BOSS, POMPEO LIES G7 DID NOT AGREE (SEE BELOW)

"Every one of the nations that were at that meeting this morning was deeply aware of the disinformation campaign that the Chinese Communist Party is engaged in to try and deflect from what has really taken place here," Pompeo told reporters.

Pompeo said that some Chinese government sources implying the virus is an American bio-weapon was "Crazy Talk."

"China was the first country to know about the risk to the world from this virus," Pompeo said. "And they repeatedly delayed sharing that information with the globe."

"We desperately want to work with every country around the world -- this is a global pandemic. This is something the United States wants to work wit ever core, including China, to keep as ay people alive ad healthy, and then to restore or economies that have been decimated by the Wuhan virus."

"Today is not the day for recriminations and accountability. We need to make clear the information available to everyone in the world," he said. "We still need good information from the Chinese communist party about what has taken place there... but there will be a right time after we manage to address this crisis."

Pompeo attacks Chinese virus campaign at G7 as Europeans seek cooperation

AFP / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks after virtual Group of Seven talks to journalists, who are spaced out in line with COVID-19 precautions

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that the Group of Seven powers were united in opposing China's coronavirus "disinformation," but European allies emphasized cooperation to fight the global pandemic.

Foreign ministers from the major industrialized democracies spoke about the crisis by videoconference, scrapping a meeting scheduled in Pittsburgh, but any hope of showing a common front was eroded by the absence of a joint statement.

Pompeo, a sharp critic of Beijing who has gone on the offensive over what he calls the "Wuhan virus," said he shared a common view with the top diplomats of the other G7 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

"Every one of the nations that were at that meeting this morning was deeply aware of the disinformation campaign that the Chinese Communist Party is engaged in to try and deflect from what has really taken place," Pompeo told reporters.

Pompeo said that China "has been and continues to be engaged in" a campaign through social media that has included conspiracy theories of US involvement.

"This is crazy talk," he said.

AFP / STR

A man wearing a face mask in Hangzhou, China walks past a bus with a message supporting Italy in its efforts against the COVID-19 coronavirus


A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman infuriated President Donald Trump's administration by suggesting on Twitter that US troops brought the virus to Wuhan, the metropolis where it was first detected late last year.

Scientists widely believe the COVID-19 virus came from a Wuhan meat market that butchered exotic animals.

The virus has killed more than 21,000 people globally, but Beijing has appeared to bring it under control and has sent aid overseas -- including 40 tons of medical supplies to US ally Italy, which has the world's highest death toll.

Pompeo minimized China's efforts and pointed to a US Air Force cargo plane's aid delivery to Italy as well as private US charity efforts.

China is "now making small sales of product around the world and claiming that they are now the white hat in what has taken place," Pompeo said.

But he also said the United States sought cooperation, including with China. The two countries' leaders are set to take part in a virtual summit on the crisis Thursday of the Group of 20 major economies.

"We desperately want to work with every country around the world. This is a global pandemic," Pompeo said.

- France warns not to 'exploit' crisis -

AFP/File / RYAD KRAMDI

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, seen here on a March 12, 2020 visit to Algeria, has warned not to "exploit" the coronavirus pandemic

The German magazine Der Spiegel, quoting anonymous diplomats, said that the joint statement was scuttled by Pompeo's insistence that it use the term "Wuhan virus" -- a formulation frowned upon by medical professionals who say it is stigmatizing.

Pompeo did not deny the report when asked about it, saying that each minister would speak separately but that they had a "common understanding" on the health and economic crisis caused by the "Wuhan virus."

France and Germany issued statements on the G7 talks that made no mention of China. Canada said China was raised in "broader discussions."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian "underscored the need to combat any attempt to exploit the crisis for political purposes," a statement said, in likely a veiled response to Pompeo.

Le Drian "expressed the view that the unity of all in order to effectively combat the pandemic must now take precedence over any other considerations," it said.

France called for the G7 to find ways to assist Africa, warning that both the continent's healthcare system and economies were ill-equipped for the global crisis.

Pompeo has accused China of putting the world at risk by initially suppressing news of the virus. Beijing in turn has accused the Trump administration of seeking a scapegoat for its own failures.
SEE

G-7 agreement stalled over Pompeo’s insistence on labelling illness ‘Wuhan virus’

Foreign ministers refuse to go along; WHO has rejected geographic name because of its global reach

U.S. insisting that the U.N. call out Chinese origins of coronavirus

International Criminal Court says Pompeo threatened staff

Trump uses China as a foil when talking coronavirus, distancing himself from criticism

They call it the “Wuhan virus.” 

Trump aides pound on China. Health experts say: Please stop.

Trump officials emphasize that coronavirus 'Made in China'

FINALLY
Trump uses Defense Production Act to require GM to make ventilators WEEKS LATE

MISOGYNIST TRUMP ATTACKS GM'S FEMALE CEO

BY BRETT SAMUELS - THE HILL 03/27/20


President Trump on Friday used the Defense Production Act to compel General Motors (GM) to produce ventilators to combat the coronavirus after days of hesitating to use the powers in the law.

The president in a statement said the federal government had abandoned negotiations with the automaker on ventilator production, complaining that the automaker was "wasting time."

"Our negotiations with GM regarding its ability to supply ventilators have been productive, but our fight against the virus is too urgent to allow the give-and-take of the contracting process to continue to run its normal course," Trump said.

"GM was wasting time," the president asserted. "Today’s action will help ensure the quick production of ventilators that will save American lives."

The Trump administration had reportedly been negotiating with GM to make tens of thousands of ventilators, but talks broke down due to concerns that the price tag would exceed $1 billion.

The president turned his ire on the automaker earlier Friday, singling out CEO Mary Barra for criticism.

"As usual with 'this' General Motors, things just never seem to work out," Trump tweeted. "They said they were going to give us 40,000 much needed Ventilators, 'very quickly'. Now they are saying it will only be 6000, in late April, and they want top dollar. Always a mess with Mary B."

Trump in a separate tweet called on GM to reopen a Lordstown, Ohio, plant that the company shuttered last year and sold in November.

The use of the Defense Production Act gives Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar authority to determine how many ventilators are appropriate. The department has not responded to requests for comment about whether they have taken an inventory of the devices.

It was not immediately clear how quickly GM would be able to scale up ventilator production. The company said in a news release earlier Friday that it was partnering with medical device maker Ventec to convert an Indiana GM facility into a ventilator production plant.

The companies said they expected the first ventilators will be available next month with the ability to produce more than 10,000 per month after that.

State leaders have warned they are running dangerously low on the breathing machines as hospital capacity fills up in areas dealing with significant outbreaks. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has projected the state will need 30,000 ventilators, while Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) has indicated the state will run out in early April.

"We desperately needed the Defense Production Act invoked to ensure the production of life-saving ventilators. We are relieved that just happened. Lives depend on it," Cuomo tweeted Friday afternoon.

Trump invoked the act last week, which gives the president extraordinary powers to compel private companies to manufacture critical supplies in times of crisis. But he had yet to actually use it to ramp up production of masks, ventilators and other materials that hospitals and state leaders have said are dangerously scarce.

The president and his aides had insisted in recent days that the DPA effectively provided leverage and that private companies were producing sufficient supplies. Trump earlier this week also expressed a reluctance to use the act because he worried that doing so amounted to "nationalizing" industries.

Trump on Thursday night questioned some of the requests for ventilators coming from state leaders.

"I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers that are being said in some areas are just bigger than they’re going to be," Trump said on Fox News.

"I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators," he added. "You know, you go into major hospitals, sometimes they’ll have two ventilators. And now all of a sudden they're saying, 'Can we order 30,000 ventilators?'"

But as the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. has risen, the need has become more dire. The U.S. has more cases than any other nation with more than 97,000. Roughly 1,500 Americans had died from the virus as of late Friday afternoon.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/489909-trump-uses-defense-production-act-to-require-gm-to-make-ventilators

Trump presses GM, Ford over ventilators

BY BRETT SAMUELS - 03/27/20 THE HILL

President Trump on Friday lashed out at General Motors, pressing it and Ford in a tweet that they should be churning out ventilators to be used to treat patients with the coronavirus.

Trump issued a series of tweets that spurred confusion about his use of the Defense Production Act and muddled his messaging on the need for the breathing machines one day after he questioned whether states were overestimating how many they would need in the coming months.

"General Motors MUST immediately open their stupidly abandoned Lordstown plant in Ohio, or some other plant, and START MAKING VENTILATORS, NOW!!!!!! FORD, GET GOING ON VENTILATORS, FAST!!!!!!" Trump tweeted, referring to a shuttered GM plant that the company sold late last year.

The president in a separate tweet appeared to confirm a New York Times report that the government and GM negotiated a deal that would lead to the production of up to 80,000 ventilators but that it fell through due to unease with a price tag of more than $1 billion.

"As usual with 'this' General Motors, things just never seem to work out. They said they were going to give us 40,000 much needed Ventilators, 'very quickly'. Now they are saying it will only be 6000, in late April, and they want top dollar. Always a mess with Mary B," Trump tweeted, swiping at CEO Mary Barra.

General Motors said in a news release Friday that it is partnering with medical device maker Ventec to convert an Indiana GM facility into a ventilator production plant. The companies said they expect the first ventilators will be available next month with the ability to produce more than 10,000 per month after that.

Barra had faced intense criticism from Trump and lawmakers in both parties in late 2018 and early 2019 after GM announced it would close the Lordstown plant in Ohio, along with four other North American factories. Trump praised Barra in May 2019 as a deal to sell the Lordstown plant to an electric truck company emerged.

A Ford spokesperson said Friday afternoon that the automaker was in contact with the Trump administration seeking guidance on manufacturing and distributing certain products, including ventilators.

Trump added "Invoke 'P'" to the end of one of his Friday tweets, which he later clarified was a reference to the Defense Production Act (DPA). The president last week invoked the DPA, which allows him to compel companies to manufacture critical supplies in times of crisis.

But he has resisted actually using the act to direct companies to make ventilators, masks and other personal protective equipment, even as hospitals and state and local officials warn they are in desperate need of the supplies.

The president has argued that the companies are already producing enough and that the DPA can be used as leverage. His tweets on Friday did not appear to change that stance.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump added that the federal government had purchased "many Ventilators from some wonderful companies," saying that he would disclose more information later Friday. The White House coronavirus task force is scheduled to hold its daily briefing at 5 p.m. EDT. Trump often speaks at the briefings.

The tweets amounted to something of an about-face from Trump's comments on Fox News late Thursday when he cast doubt on the need for mass production and distribution of ventilators to states dealing with coronavirus outbreaks.

"I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators," Trump said. "You know, you go into major hospitals, sometimes they’ll have two ventilators. And now all of a sudden they're saying, 'Can we order 30,000 ventilators?'"

The U.S. has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases of any country in the world, with more than 86,000 as of Friday morning. More than 1,300 Americans have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Updated at 2:12 p.m. Sylvan Lane contributed.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/489849-trump-lashes-out-at-gm-ford-over-ventilators


Trump 'doesn't believe' hospitals really need the ventilators they're asking for and haggles over price instead 

Moya Lothian-McLean THE INDEPENDENT 3/27/2020

During the coronavirus crisis, it seems one of the primary problems countries are facing is the lack of ventilators available.

A shortage has struck nations across Europe like Italy, Germany and the UK (who have been criticised for their handling of the issue).

The US is also suffering from a lack of the life-saving machines.

Although the government has a stockpile of 16,000 ventilators, a sharp increase in cases means many more are thought to be needed.

A projection from the American Hospital Association said that up to 960,000 could require ventilators, although not all at the same time.

In New York State alone, Governor Andew Cumo said they need 30,000 more.

And now reports are emerging that Donald Trump’s administration has paused a deal for up to 80,000 ventilators in order to allegedly “haggle” over the price.

The New York Times reports that a joint venture between General Motors and Ventec Life Systems has been called off after the Federal Management Agency said it “it needed more time to assess whether the estimated cost was prohibitive”.

The estimated price tag was $1.5bn ($18,000 per ventilator).

Ventilators were going to be produced by General Motors plants using Ventec’s technology.

Initial projections of 20,000 ventilators produced in the first run were reduced to 7,500, according to the Times.

And Trump’s administration apparently couldn’t decide how many ventilators it wants – or at what price.

Instead of closing the deal, FEMA is apparently still “weighing competing offers”.

Or, as New York Magazine put it: “haggling”.

Trump himself seems confused over the demand for ventilators.

In an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity on the 27 March, he said he “[didn’t] believe” that hospitals needed 30,000 ventilators.

“A lot of equipment is being asked for that I don’t think they will need,” he told Hannity.

I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers that are being said in some areas are just bigger than they are going to be. I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. You know, you go to major hospitals, sometimes they’ll have 2 ventilators. And now all of a sudden they’re saying, ‘Can we order 30,000 ventilators?’

This comment was swiftly challenged by people who pointed out New York is currently so overwhelmed it’s putting two people to every one ventilator.

And others chimed in with their concern regarding the suspended ventilator deal.

At an intensely worrying time, the last thing the country needs is the self-proclaimed ‘deal maker’ doing his worst.

---30---

VICE reporter: Stimulus bill not enough for gig workers

Edward Ongweso, a technology reporter at VICE, said on Hill.TV’s "Rising" show Thursday morning that the $2 trillion stimulus package passed in the Senate late Wednesday does little to alleviate the burdens put on gig workers, particularly those who work for ride share companies such as Uber and Lyft.

He noted that in China, DiDi, an Uber competitor in the country, suspended service in the country's Wuhan province and created a fleet just for healthcare workers that was disinfected routinely.

“In the United States Uber did nothing,” he said. “Uber only started to take any sort of action in the last three or four weeks after a massive stock sell-off crashed it to its lowest point.”

Ongweso said Uber classifies its drivers as contractors to avoid spending on employee benefits, claiming that it offers flexibility in return. He said that Uber has acknowledged that if California and New York move to change classification of Uber drivers they will have to change their business model.

Under the Senate stimulus bill, drivers will qualify for at least $1,200 a one-time rebate check. Ongweso noted that apart from seeing a drop in income while still having to work, drivers have more expenses, such as insurance and possible car rental fees.

“I don't think the stimulus package goes far enough. In other countries, they’re covering 60, 70, 80 percent of people’s incomes as another facet of the social distancing effort. Here, $1,200 is not going to do much for two weeks of unemployment.”

---30---

Neil Young: Trump 'A Disgrace to My Country'

Neil Young poses for a portrait at Lost Planet Editorial

 in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP)

NEWLY MINTED AMERICAN SPEAKS HIS MIND 

ENDORSES BERNIE

NEWSMAX

Neil Young on Wednesday released an open letter ripping President Donald Trump as a “disgrace,” saying his “mindless destruction of our shared natural resources, our environment, and our relationships with friends around the world is unforgivable.”

Young, who recently became a U.S. citizen, objected to the the use of his song “Rockin’ in the Free World” at Trump’s rallies, where it’s frequently played. He wrote that despite his lack of legal recourse, it “is not a song you can trot out at one of your rallies. Perhaps you could have been a bass player and played in a rock & roll band. That way you could have been onstage at a rally every night in front of your fans, if you were any good, and you might be …”

He added, “Every time ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ or one of my songs is played at your rallies, I hope you hear my voice. Remember it is the voice of a tax-paying U.S. citizen who does not support you. Me.”

Young ends the letter with a message expressing his support for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

“One of your opponents has the answers I like,” he writes. “He is aiming at preserving our children’s future directly. He is not popular with the Democratic establishment because, unlike all the other candidates, he is not pandering to the industries accelerating Earth’s Climate Crisis, the end of the world as we know it.

 He is truly fighting for the USA. 

His initials are BS. Not his policies.”

Neil Young: US Citizenship Held Up Over Marijuana Use

Neil Young on Dana Loesch: 'I'm Glad I Got Under Her Skin'

JUST WHAT TRUMP WANTED

EPA suspends enforcement of environmental laws amid coronavirus

IT'S BECOME THE ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AGENCY UNDER TRUMP

BY REBECCA BEITSCH THE HILL - 03/26/20

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a sweeping suspension of its enforcement of environmental laws Thursday, telling companies they would not need to meet environmental standards during the coronavirus outbreak.

The temporary policy, for which the EPA has set no end date, would allow any number of industries to skirt environmental laws, with the agency saying it will not “seek penalties for noncompliance with routine monitoring and reporting obligations.”

Cynthia Giles, who headed the EPA’s Office of Enforcement during the Obama administration, called it a moratorium on enforcing the nation's environmental laws and an abdication of the agency's duty.

“This EPA statement is essentially a nationwide waiver of environmental rules for the indefinite future. It tells companies across the country that they will not face enforcement even if they emit unlawful air and water pollution in violation of environmental laws, so long as they claim that those failures are in some way 'caused' by the virus pandemic. And it allows them an out on monitoring too, so we may never know how bad the violating pollution was,” she wrote in a statement to The Hill.

The EPA has been under pressure from a number of industries, including the oil industry, to suspend enforcement of a number of environmental regulations due to the pandemic.

“EPA is committed to protecting human health and the environment, but recognizes challenges resulting from efforts to protect workers and the public from COVID-19 may directly impact the ability of regulated facilities to meet all federal regulatory requirements,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement.

In a 10-page letter to the EPA earlier this week, the American Petroleum Institute (API) asked for a suspension of rules that require repairing leaky equipment as well as monitoring to make sure pollution doesn’t seep into nearby water.

Other industries had also asked to ignite the “force majeure” clauses of any legal settlements they had signed with the EPA, allowing for an extension on deadlines to meet various environmental goals in the face of unforeseen circumstances.

But Giles and others say the memo signed Thursday goes beyond that request, giving industries board authority to pollute with little oversight from the agency.

“Incredibly, the EPA statement does not even reserve EPA's right to act in the event of an imminent threat to public health,” Giles said.

“Instead, EPA says it will defer to states, and ‘work with the facility’ to minimize or prevent the threat. EPA should never relinquish its right and its obligation to act immediately and decisively when there is threat to public health, no matter what the reason is. I am not aware of any instance when EPA ever relinquished this fundamental authority as it does in this memo.”

The memo says companies should try to minimize “the effects and duration of any noncompliance” with environmental laws and should also keep records of their own noncompliance, along with identifying how the coronavirus was a factor.
The EPA on Friday pushed back against characterization of the memo as a waiver of environmental rules.

"During this extraordinary time, EPA believes that it is more important for facilities to ensure that their pollution control equipment remains up and running and the facilities are operating safely, than to carry out routine sampling and reporting," agency spokeswoman Andrea Woods told The Hill by email.

"If a facility has exceedances of limits on pollution the policy does not offer any no action assurance. We retain all our authorities and will exercise them appropriately. It is a temporary policy and will be terminated when this crisis is past.”

Critics say it's not unreasonable to refrain from environmental enforcement on a case-by-case basis when companies are unable to comply with the letter of the law, but many were alarmed by the breadth of Thursdays memo.

“It is not clear why refineries, chemical plants, and other facilities that continue to operate and keep their employees on the production line will no longer have the staff or time they need to comply with environmental laws,” Eric Schaeffer, a former director of civil enforcement at the EPA who is now with the Environmental Integrity Project, wrote in a letter signed by a number of environmental groups in anticipation of the memo.

The letter writers also criticized the requests from the API, arguing nearby communities would face prolonged exposure to a number of air and water pollutants that might be expelled through oil production — something they say would have “a very specific impact on public health and safety.”

The diminished compliance requirements for industry comes at a time when the EPA has refused to budge on deadlines for comments as they proceed with a number of deregulatory actions.

Environmental and public health groups had argued that those with science and health backgrounds who would normally weigh in on such regulations have been pulled into the coronavirus fight, leaving them unable to divert their attention.

“The Environmental Protection Agency has not shown the same concern for the impact the coronavirus has had on the ability of community and public interest groups to respond to various proposals to weaken environmental standards,” Schaeffer wrote in the letter.

But the EPA has argued exceptions were not needed.

“We’re open and continuing our regulatory work business as usual,” an EPA spokesperson told The Hill in a statement. “As regulations.gov is fully functioning, there is no barrier to the public providing comment during the established periods.”

Updated at 9:44 a.m. Friday. 3/27/2020