A truck bearing Weld County insignia sits outside the administrative office entrance at JBS USA in Greeley, Colo., Wednesday, April 8, 2020. 

Health officials are investigating working conditions the beef plant in northern Colorado where dozens of employees have tested positive for COVID-19. 

Officials said concerns at the JBS USA facility include the proximity of workers to each other and employees working while they are sick.(Alex McIntyre/The Greeley Tribune via AP)

SEE  

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=SMITHFIELD

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=TYSON

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=MEAT+PACKING

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=COVID19

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=JBS

Crime drops around the world as COVID-19 keeps people inside

In this April 9, 2020, photo, amid concerns of the spread of COVID-19, Dallas ISD police officers Mylon Taylor, left, and Gary Pierre push a car that ran out of gas while waiting in line for the weekly school meal pick up for students in Dallas. The coronavirus pandemic that has crippled big-box retailers and mom and pop shops worldwide may be making a dent in illicit business, too. (AP Photo/LM Otero)


CHICAGO (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic that has crippled big-box retailers and mom and pop shops worldwide may be making a dent in illicit business, too.

In Chicago, one of America’s most violent cities, drug arrests have plummeted 42% in the weeks since the city shut down, compared with the same period last year. Part of that decrease, some criminal lawyers say, is that drug dealers have no choice but to wait out the economic slump.

“The feedback I’m getting is that they aren’t able to move, to sell anything anywhere,” said Joseph Lopez, a criminal lawyer in Chicago who represents reputed drug dealers.

Overall, Chicago’s crime declined 10% after the pandemic struck, a trend playing out globally as cities report stunning crime drops in the weeks since measures were put into place to slow the spread of the virus. Even among regions that have the highest levels of violence outside a war zone, fewer people are being killed and fewer robberies are taking place.

Still, law enforcement officials worry about a surge of unreported domestic violence, and what happens when restrictions lift — or go on too long.

It’s rare for a city to see a double-digit drop in crime, even over a much longer period. During New York City’s 1990s crime decline, one of the biggest turnarounds in American history, crime dropped about 40% over three years. That makes the drop-offs occurring now — in a period of just a couple of weeks — even more seismic.

Across Latin America, crime is down to levels unseen in decades.

“Killings are down, and the gangsters aren’t harassing so much,” Eduardo Perdomo, a 47-year-old construction worker, said while getting off a bus in San Salvador. “I think they’re afraid of catching the virus, and they aren’t going out.’’

El Salvador reported an average of two killings a day last month, down from a peak of 600 a day a few years ago.

Much of the decrease has taken place because of tougher security policies and gang truces. But the imposition of near-total limits on movement is likely driving it down further, according to analysts and national statistics.

In Peru, where crime levels fell 84% last month, Lima mortician Raúl González usually has as many as 15 bodies a day — many are homicide victims. This week he napped on a bench after six hours without a client.

There are almost no killings or car accidents these days,” González said.

In South Africa, police reported a stunning decline during their first week of lockdown measures. Police Minister Bheki Cele said reported rapes were down from 700 to 101 over the same period last year. Serious assault cases plummeted from 2,673 to 456, and murders fell from 326 to 94.

The U.S. virus epicenter in New York saw major crimes — murder, rape, robbery, burglary, assault, grand larceny and car theft — decrease by 12% from February to March. In Los Angeles, 2020 key crimes statistics were consistent with last year’s figures until the week of March 15, when they dropped by 30%.

“There’s a lot fewer opportunities for criminals to take advantage of,” said Joe Giacalone, a former New York Police Department sergeant who now teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “Most burglars, they wait for you to leave the house.”

Policing has also changed in the face of the pandemic. Officers are increasingly getting sick; the NYPD, the country’s largest department with more than 36,000 officers, has more than 7,000 officers out and more than 2,000 diagnosed with COVID-19.

And U.S. authorities say they’re issuing citations instead of making low-level arrests, policing social distancing and putting detectives into patrol cars — which could, in turn, bring down crime rates.

While departments are unlikely to announce they’ve backed off policing certain crimes, “that’s going to be the case,” said Bowling Green State University criminologist Philip Stinson.

In this April 10, 2020, photo, Detroit Police Capt. Jevon Johnson, right, talks with Lt. Pride Henry outside the TCF Center, in Detroit. The coronavirus pandemic that has crippled big-box retailers and mom and pop shops worldwide may be making a dent in illicit business, too. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

“In many respects, over the next weeks, they’re really in survival mode,” he said.

But while narcotics arrests are down, drug sales continue, with dealers likely forced to change their strategies, said Rodney Phillips, a former gang member in Chicago who now works as a conflict mediator in the city.

“These guys already face poverty and death in these areas,” he said. “They might be selling more online now. But they aren’t going to give up just because of the coronavirus.”

A Maryland man accused of operating a Darknet store selling prescription opioids boasted on his vendor page: “Even with Corona Virus the shop is running at full speed.”

He told an undercover FBI agent he was just waiting for a shipment because “this corona virus (sic) is (expletive) up inventory,” according to court documents.

Other crimes, however, may be fueled by shutdown orders.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said the city’s aggravated assaults were up 10% in the last three weeks, and half of those were domestic violence, a significantly higher proportion than normal. Calls to Missouri’s child abuse and neglect hotline dropped by half as the virus first struck the state. Advocates said the calls aren’t made because the kids aren’t in school.

And Chicago did see a spike in gun violence this week, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, which reported 60 shootings — 19 fatal — between Sunday and Thursday.

San Jose, California, Police Chief Eddie Garcia hopes the downward trend will continue after the pandemic is over. But his officers are preparing for the worst.

“The longer we’re in a lockdown,” he said, “the more we’re playing with fire.”

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for others, especially older adults and people with health problems, it can cause severe symptoms like pneumonia. More than 1.5 million cases have been diagnosed worldwide.

In this April 9, 2020, photo, a Tesla police car sits in front of the City/County Building after red and white lights were illuminated to show support and gratitude for first responders and medical personnel during the outbreak of the new coronavirus in Denver. The coronavirus pandemic that has crippled big-box retailers and mom and pop shops worldwide may be making a dent in illicit business, too. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Dazio reported from Los Angeles, Briceno from Lima. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Marcos Aleman in San Salvador, Jake Bleiberg in Dallas, Don Babwin in Chicago, Michael R. Sisak in New York, Don Thompson in Sacramento, Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia, Colleen Long in Washington, and Gerald Imray in Cape Town.

AP 4/11/2020

Human Rights Watch calls for arrests in killings of protesters in Sudan


Sudanese celebrate an agreement to dissolve the former ruling National Congress Party in November 2019. A human rights group called on the current government to bring those who killed protesters to justice. Photo by Marwan Ali/EPA-EFE

April 10 (UPI) -- Human Rights Watch on Friday called for Sudan's transitional government to take action against those who have attacked and killed peaceful protesters who demanded changes in the country's leadership and government.

Longtime President Omar al-Bashir stepped down April 11, 2019, after months of protests over bread and fuel prices. Protests continued for the military to hand over power to a civilian government.

By some estimates, more than 100 people have died during the demonstrations.

"Scores of protesters, including teenagers and children, paid with their lives to force al-Bashir out, but a year on, the families of those killed are still searching for justice," Jehanne Henry, East Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "Sudanese authorities should step up their efforts to do right by these victims. Justice should not be denied or delayed.

The report said little has been done so far to bring perpetrators of those protesters killed to justice. It charged the government with using lethal and excessive force to disperse some crowds.

"It is very disappointing to protesters, victims, and their families, to see that justice is not moving one step further one year after ousting al-Bashir," said Rifat Makkawi, a human rights lawyer and director of PLACE legal aid center.

The report also called on Sudan to cooperate with the International Criminal Court in its Darfur investigation, which has an arrest warrant for al-Bashir and two others who are in prison for crimes in Darfur.

"Sudan's leaders should not let protesters' sacrifices be in vain," Henry said. "They need to step up efforts at investigating and prosecuting those responsible for killings and other crimes against protesters, including officials at the highest levels."

Navajo leaders self-quarantine after COVID-19 exposure

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez broadcast via a virtual town hall Thursday during self-quarantine in his home after he was exposed to COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Navajo Nation.

April 10 (UPI) -- As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps through the Navajo Nation reservation, the tribe's president and vice president announced they have gone into voluntary quarantine at their homes after being exposed to a first responder who tested positive for the virus.

The total number of positive cases on the reservation is 558, with 22 deaths, said President Jonathan Nez, speaking at a virtual town hall Thursday. Almost 2,400 negative tests were tallied, the Navajo Department of Health said.

A total lockdown with a 56-hour curfew is planned for the weekend, starting Friday night, Nez said. Tickets to violators will be issued, and those found guilty could face 30 days in jail or a fine of $1,000 or both, he said.

Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer said they wore gloves and masks while on a tour of the tribal region Tuesday, adding they are "feeling healthy and doing fine."

RELATED Navajo Nation reservation COVID-19 outbreak strains hospitals

"No one is immune from COVID-19. You may be young and in good health, but this virus can infect anyone," Nez said.

"This is not to be taken lightly," he said. "The good news is that the majority of people are testing negative for COVID-19."

About 175,000 people live on the reservation, which overlaps the state boundaries of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. About 40 percent of reservation residents have no access to running water, which makes following federal recommended practices for coronavirus hand washing and hygiene a challenge.

RELATED Solar-powered cisterns bring running water to Navajo homes

Many tribal residents are older and also have chronic health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus, including diabetes, cancer, heart disease and asthma.

The tribe's government signed an order in March blocking non-residents from visiting. Tribe-operated casinos also closed in New Mexico and Arizona.

The Indian Health Service runs 13 facilities, most of them clinics. About 170 hospital beds and 50 isolation rooms and 30 ventilators are available for the entire population.

RELATED As coal dwindles, Southwest tribal solar farms pump out power

Emergency teams from Arizona National Guard and FEMA built a temporary 50-bed field hospital in March near the town of Chinle to expand capacity for patients.

Tribal leaders have proclaimed April 10 to 13 as Navajo Nation Family Prayer Weekend, in observance of Good Friday and Easter.

The leaders have asked families to pray together for family members, neighbors, health care workers, governing officials and those who are sick, as well as the families who have lost loved ones due to COVID-19.

"Let's not lose hope, but let's face the reality that this virus is going to be around for several more months," Nez said. "We have to deal with it by making smart decisions and with prayer."

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=NAVAJO

Crowdfunding fills gaps for virus-displaced workers

AFP/File / SETH HERALDAs unemployment rises due to virus-related closings, more people are turning to crowdfunding efforts to make ends meet

The coronavirus pandemic threatened game over for Endgame restaurant near Seattle.

It shared its plight online at crowd support platform GoFundMe, where donations eclipsed the restaurant's $5,500 goal to stay in business.

"All donations will go to expenses until we are able to resume normal operations," Michael Lamere and Austin Sines said in an online plea for help.

Musicians, podcasters, writers, strippers and others denied income by the coronavirus pandemic are turning to the power of online community spirit to make ends meet.

The health crisis and its massive economic impact have stirred increased interest in crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe and membership platforms such as Patreon.

"The generosity we are seeing is rather incredible and unprecedented," said GoFundMe chief executive Tim Cadogan.

The crowdfunding platform, which allows anyone to launch a campaign, has seen more than two million individual donations to coronavirus-related efforts, amounting to about $120 million, according to Cadogan.

COVID-19 related GoFundMe campaigns reflect evolving needs, from raising money to get supplies for health care professionals to supporting local restaurants barred from seating diners to helping the jobless pay rent.

A Coronavirus Rent Relief Fund launched about two weeks ago is raising money to help those left jobless avoid eviction.

"Coronavirus (COVID19) has created one of the most difficult moments in world history, a moment we will surely look back on," wrote the New York fund organizer, who raised some $220,000.

A journalists' furlough fund raised some $46,000 and a Miami campaign has collected $11,000 for struggling restaurant workers.

The platform has some more modest campaigns including a $1,000 effort for dancers -- the Burlesque Community COVID-19 Response Fund in Los Angeles.

"I felt it imperative to help my community of dancers who are already underpaid and have effectively lost any way to make income," said organizer Veronica Voss, who boasts being Miss Hollywood Burlesque 2019.

Many campaigns however fall short, with demands rising and an estimated 17 million newly unemployed in the United States.

In one example, a campaign for the Just Oxtails Soul Food Restaurant in Texas raised just $1,700 toward a goal of $150,000.

- Desire to act -

GETTY IMAGES/AFP/File / Misha FriedmanLuba Drozd makes protective shields for health workers in her apartment on her 3D printers, having raised money for supplies in a GoFundMe campaign

Large operations are also turning to GoFundMe, which relies on "tips" from donors to sustain its business and collects fees that go for credit card processing.

Frontline Responders Fund started by logistics giant Flexport and other companies is among top fundraisers at GoFundMe, having collected more than $6 million to get masks, gowns, gloves and other critical supplies to health care workers fighting the pandemic.

An Americas Food Fund at GoFundMe launched by Leonardo DiCaprio, Laurene Powell Jobs and Apple, along with the Ford Foundation, has raised more than $13 million.

- Going behind the scenes -

AFP/File / VALERIE MACONThe pandemic has forced the closing of thousands of businesses including Universal Studios Hollywood, adding to the jobless rolls

Meanwhile, some 50,000 new artists launched on Patreon last month.

The appeal to patrons goes beyond performers showing off their crafts to paying for inside glimpses their lives, particularly at this stressful time, said Patreon chief financial officer Carlos Cabrera, himself a musician.

"Orchestras are getting hit so hard; for them it is a double-whammy," he said.

"They depend on in-person events, and the majority of their demographic are older folks who are at high risk."

Cabrera said that he feared financial hardships caused by the pandemic would cause Patreon pledges to plummet but the opposite has happened.

"Way more patrons are creating pledges and raising pledges," Cabrera told AFP.

More than 150,000 artists use Patreon to generate income by offering exclusive content to four million patrons in over 180 countries, according to the San Francisco-based platform established seven years ago.

AFP/File / CHARLY TRIBALLEAUMusicians unable to perform during the pandemic have been hit hard, and many have turned to online platforms for support

The biggest category at Patreon is YouTube video creators, with podcasts in fast-growing second place ahead of illustrators such as artists who draw web comics and authors who release novels by the chapter.

Cabrera is seeing top music talent from around the world who, unable to tour, are recording at home and building Patreon pages to make money.

"I've seen artists go out for a walk in nature and hang out virtually with their fans," Cabrera said.

Jane Goodall says 'disrespect for animals' caused pandemic

AFP/File / Fabrice COFFRINI

World-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall pleaded  

for humanity to learn from past mistakes

World-renowned British primatologist Jane Goodall says the coronavirus pandemic was caused by humanity's disregard for nature and disrespect for animals.
Goodall, who is best known for trail-blazing research in Africa that revealed the true nature of chimpanzees, pleaded for the world to learn from past mistakes to prevent future disasters.

During a conference call ahead of the release of the new National Geographic documentary "Jane Goodall: The Hope", the 86-year-old also said everyone can make a difference.


- How do you view this pandemic? -

Goodall: It is our disregard for nature and our disrespect of the animals we should share the planet with that has caused this pandemic, that was predicted long ago.

Because as we destroy, let's say the forest, the different species of animals in the forest are forced into a proximity and therefore diseases are being passed from one animal to another, and that second animal is then most likely to infect humans as it is forced into closer contact with humans.

It's also the animals who are hunted for food, sold in markets in Africa or in the meat market for wild animals in Asia, especially China, and our intensive farms where we cruelly crowd together billions of animals around the world. These are the conditions that create an opportunity for the viruses to jump from animals across the species barrier to humans.


- What can we do about these animal markets? -

It's really good that China closed down the live wild animal markets, in a temporary ban which we hope will be made permanent, and other Asian countries will follow suit.

But in Africa it will be very difficult to stop the selling of bush meat because so many people rely on that for their livelihoods.

It will need a lot of careful thought on how it should be done, you can't just stop somebody doing something when they have absolutely no money to support themselves or their families, but at least this pandemic should have taught us the kind of things to do to prevent another one.


- What can we hope for? -

We have to realise we are part of the natural world, we depend on it, and as we destroy it we are actually stealing the future from our children.

Hopefully, because of this unprecedented response, the lockdowns that are going on around the world, more people will wake up and eventually they can start thinking about ways they can live their lives differently.

Everyone can make an impact every single day.

If you think about the consequences of the little choices you make: what you eat, where it came from, did it cause cruelty to animals, is it made from intensive farming -- which mostly it is -- is it cheap because of child slave labour, did it harm the environment in its production, where did it come from, how many miles did it travel, did you think that perhaps you could walk and not take your car.

(Also consider) ways that you could perhaps help alleviate poverty because when people are poor they can't make these ethical choices. They just have to do whatever they can to survive -- they can't question what they buy, they must buy the cheapest, and they are going to cut down the last tree because they are desperate to find land on which they can grow more food.

So what we can do in our individual lives does depend a little bit on who we are, but we all can make a difference, everybody can.

11APR2020

HK$310 million Japanese bank swindle biggest of year so far for Hong Kong police’s online crime specialists

Anti-deception unit manages to intercept about 80 per cent of the involved funds before scammers can transfer it out of city bank accounts

While the number of reported email cases for January and February does not vary greatly from 2019, the amounts involved have more than doubled

Clifford Lo Published: 11 Apr, 2020

Officers from Hong Kong’s Anti-Deception Coordination Centre managed to intercept HK$250 million of the funds stolen from a Japanese bank before it was transferred out of the city. Photo: Shutterstock

The US branch of a Japanese bank has been tricked into transferring HK$310 million (US$40 million) into five Hong Kong bank accounts – one of the city’s biggest email scams of the year.

A force insider said officers from the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre managed to intercept nearly HK$240 million of the money before it was transferred out of the scammer-controlled bank accounts, but the international fraudsters still managed to bag about HK$70 million.

The sting was one of 139 reported cases of commercial email fraud in the first two months of the year. The cases involved nearly HK$700 million, more than double the HK$288 million from January and February 2019’s 113 cases.

Hong Kong police’s anti-deception team halted more than HK$4.45 billion payments tied to online or phone scams between July 2017 and December 2019. Photo: Shutterstock

The Japanese case came to light in January, when the bank made a report to Hong Kong police.

Scammers impersonating one of the bank’s customers had made the money transfer requests, according to one police source.

“Bank staff realised it was a scam when they contacted the genuine client,” the source said. The anti-fraud officers were then tasked with tracking down the money.

Email scammers typically gain access to a company’s sensitive information by embedding a virus inside an email, such as a job application with a résumé attached. Opening the document allows the virus to infect a company’s servers, giving crooks access to information about the business, its top executives and clients.

Scammers then use the information to impersonate their victims and order money transfers.


About 12 months ago, fraudsters impersonating a business partner of a Uruguayan investment firm tricked the company into transferring US$18 million into two bank accounts in Hong Kong.

The firm’s staff later realised it was a scam and reported it to police through a lawyer. City officers were able to freeze the money in the bank accounts before it was siphoned off.

Including the HK$250 million from the year’s largest case, officers from the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre have frozen HK$920 million tied to different deception cases through April 8.

The squad, set up in 2017 to pool police resources for tackling online scams, halted 1,174 payments worth more than HK$4.45 billion to international fraudsters between July 2017 and December 2019. About two-thirds of that amount was intercepted in 2019.

The victims, many of whom lived outside Hong Kong, were defrauded via a range of deceptions, including online romance scams, bogus investment schemes and phone scams. Local police became involved because the money was transferred to bank accounts in the city.

In Hong Kong, the number of deception cases skyrocketed 99 per cent to 2,475 in the first two months of 2020, up from 1,241 in the same period a year ago, according to police.

Obtaining property by deception carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, while those convicted of money laundering face 14 years behind bars and a HK$5 million fine.

In global war on coronavirus, civil rights become collateral damage

Experts agree that extraordinary measures are needed to tackle the pandemic, but some fear the erosion of hard-won rights will not be reversed afterwards

There is a tendency for among governments to keep extraordinary powers on their books long after the threat they were introduced to tackle has passed

Reuters Published: 11 Apr, 2020

In Armenia, journalists must by law include information from the government in their stories about Covid-19. In the Philippines, the president has told security forces that if anyone violates the lockdown they should “shoot them dead”. In Hungary, the prime minister can rule by decree indefinitely.

Across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and the Americas, governments have introduced states of emergency to combat the spread of the new coronavirus, imposing some of the most stringent restrictions on civil liberties since the attacks of September 11, 2001, lawyers and human rights campaigners said.

While such experts agree extraordinary measures are needed to tackle the deadliest pandemic in a century, some are worried about an erosion of core rights, and the risk that sweeping measures will not be rolled back afterwards.

“In many ways, the virus risks replicating the reaction to September 11,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, referring to the welter of security and surveillance legislation imposed around the world after the al-Qaeda attacks on the
United States that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Smoke billows above New York City after terrorist attack on the 

World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001. Photo: AFP

“People were fearful and asked governments to protect them. Many governments took advantage of that to undermine rights in ways that far outlasted the terrorist threat,” he said.

Roth was speaking about legislation in countries including the United States, Britain and
EU states which increased collection of visa and immigrant data and counterterrorism powers.

Some measures imposed in response to a crisis can become normalised, such as longer security queues at airports as a trade-off for feeling safer flying. In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, similar trade-offs may become widely acceptable around issues such as surveillance, according to some political and social commentators.

South Korea’s use of mobile phone and other data to track potential carriers of the virus and impose quarantines has been a successful strategy and is a model that could be replicated around the world to guard against pandemics, they say.

Medical staff wearing protective suits take samples from a person 

with suspected coronavirus symptoms in South Korea. Photo: AP

Political consultant Bruno Macaes, a former Portuguese minister, said people’s obsession with privacy had made it harder to combat threats like pandemics, when technology to trace the virus could help.

“I am more and more convinced the greatest battle of our time is against the ‘religion of privacy’. It literally could get us all killed,” he added.

As the virus has spread from China across the world, with more than 1.5 million people infected and 100,000 dead, governments have passed laws and issued executive orders.

The first priority of the measures is to protect public health and limit the spread of the disease.


“It’s quite an extraordinary crisis, and I don’t really have trouble with a government doing sensible if extraordinary things to protect people,” said Clive Stafford-Smith, a leading civil rights lawyer.

The US-headquartered International Centre for Not-For-Profit Law has set up a database to track legislation and how it impinges on civic freedoms and human rights.

By its count, 68 countries have so far made emergency declarations, while nine have introduced measures that affect expression, 11 have ratcheted up surveillance and a total of 72 have imposed restrictions on assembly.

In Hungary for example, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose party dominates parliament, has been granted the right to rule by decree to fight the epidemic, with no time-limit on those powers and the ability to jail people for up to five years if they spread false information or hinder efforts to quell the virus.

Hungary’s Viktor Orban has been given the power to

 rule by decree. Photo: DPA

The Hungarian government said the law empowered it to adopt only measures for “preventing, controlling and eliminating” the coronavirus. Spokesman Zolan Kovacs said nobody knew how long the pandemic would persist, but that parliament could revoke the extra powers.

In Cambodia, meanwhile, an emergency law has been drafted to give additional powers to Hun Sen, who has been in office for 35 years and has been condemned by Western countries for a crackdown on opponents, civil rights groups and the media. The law is for three months and can be extended if needed.

The Cambodian government did not respond to a request for comment. Hun Sen defended the law at a news conference this week, saying it was only required so that he could declare a state of emergency, if needed, to stop the virus and saving the economy.

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former coup leader who kept power after a disputed election last year, has invoked emergency powers that allow him to return to governing by decree. The powers run to the end of the month, but also can be extended.


“The government is only using emergency power where it is necessary to contain the spread of the coronavirus,” said Thai government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat.

In the Philippines, the head of police said President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to shoot lockdown violators was a sign of his seriousness rather than indicating people would be shot.

Neither the presidential spokesman nor the cabinet secretary responded to a request for comment.

For Roth and other human rights advocates, the dangers are not only to fundamental freedoms but to public health. They say restrictions on the media could limit the dissemination of information helpful in curbing the virus’s spread, for instance.

India’s Narendra Modi has been accused of trying

 to muzzle the country’s press. Photo: AFP

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, criticised in the media for a lack of preparedness including inadequate protective gear for health workers, has been accused by opponents of trying to muzzle the press by demanding that it get government clearance before publishing coronavirus news, a request rejected by India’s Supreme Court.

The Indian government did not respond to a request for comment, while the Armenian government said it had no immediate comment. Both have said they want to prevent the spread of misinformation, which could hamper efforts to control the outbreak.

Carl Dolan, head of advocacy at the Open Society European Policy Institute, warned about the tendency for some governments to keep extraordinary powers on their books long after the threat they were introduced to tackle has passed.

Dolan proposed a mandatory review of such measures at least every six months, warning otherwise of a risk of “a gradual slide into authoritarianism”.

‘An epidemic of hate’: Asian-American starts anti-racism campaign to counter abuse over coronavirus

TV producer Valerie Chow launched her Be Cool 2 Asians campaign to push back against fellow Americans who blame Asians for the coronavirus pandemic

While planning the video campaign highlighting Asian-Americans’ place in US society and on Covid-19 front lines, she was attacked and told ‘go back to China’

Kavita Daswani Published: 11 Apr, 2020

US TV producer Valerie Chow is behind the Be Cool 2 Asians campaign, designed to eradicate harmful notions that Asians should be blamed for the coronavirus pandemic. While planning the campaign she was attacked walking her dog on a street in Los Angeles and told “go back to China”.

Valerie Chow, a television producer in Los Angeles, had just started planning a series of videos to address Covid-19-related anti-Asian sentiment in the United States when she experienced it first-hand.

“I was out walking my dog when a homeless man started yelling at me, ‘nasty b****, go back to China’, throwing punches and trying to kick my dog,” recalls Chow, who has produced unscripted shows for Netflix and the Food Network.

“I ran back towards my building but he chased me, still screaming. It was like that cliché in every murder scene where the victim’s hand is trembling, and she drops her keys. That was me in that moment.”

The incident further galvanised Chow, who subsequently launched her
Be Cool 2 Asians campaign, designed to eradicate harmful notions that Asians should be blamed for the coronavirus pandemic.

Members of the Asian American Commission hold a press conference on the steps of the Massachusetts State House to condemn racism towards the Asian-American community because of the coronavirus on March 12 in Boston. Photo: Getty Images

“I had been hearing anecdotally that there was a rise in anti-Asian sentiment,” says Chow. “It started with [US President Donald] Trump calling it the China virus, and escalated from there. It’s now an epidemic of hate.”

The campaign currently consists of a video showing that many of those on the front lines of the pandemic are Asian-Americans; according to American business magazine Forbes, 17 per cent of doctors and 10 per cent of nurses in the US are Asian.

The video pulls together footage of health care professionals, firefighters, police officers and grocery store workers introducing themselves, interspersed with disturbing ripped-from-the-headlines posts, such as a doctor in the state of Indiana being refused service because of his race, and a news story stating that 100 racist attacks against Asians are reported every day in the US – with women three times more likely to be victimised.

“The fact that I personally had this experience while living in a culturally diverse bubble in LA really hit home,” says Chow.

“I saw how increasingly dangerous it is for the 21 million Asian-Americans in the US.”

Actress Kelly Hu will appear in an upcoming Be Cool 2 Asians video. Photo: Getty Images

In mid-March, a trio of organisations – the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, Chinese for Affirmative Action, and San Francisco State University’s Asian-American Studies Department – formed the Stop AAPI Hate reporting centre to support Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in the country.

In the space of three weeks it received 1,135 reports of verbal harassment, shunning and physical assault, according to a news release. The incidents are taking place largely in grocery stores, pharmacies and department stores – essentially the only venues people are allowed in while the nation is largely in lockdown mode.

The reporting centre said that women are harassed at twice the rate of men.

“The flood of incidents related to anti-Asian hate – over 1,100 and counting – reflects the hostile environment that Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders face during this pandemic,” Dr Russell Jeung, chair and professor of Asian-American Studies at San Francisco State University, said in a statement.

My social media is flooded daily with stories from Asians telling me about all varieties of conflict. I’m not sure that the 100 a day that are being reported across the country is an accurate numberValerie Chow

“The data helps us respond to specific community needs and make targeted policy recommendations. These include providing mental health resources to bullied youth and ensuring that stores provide safe access for AAPIs to their goods and services.”

The assaults are felt across Asian communities – Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai – and mirrors what South Asian and Middle Eastern communities in the US experienced after the September 11 attacks.

Chow says she intends for her Be Cool 2 Asians campaign to hit at a grass-roots level, helping to educate the ignorant.

“Historically, Asians have always been seen as foreigners, and not as Americans,” she says. “There have been Chinese people in America for 400 years. Part of the campaign is to dispel the belief that Asians are foreigners.”

She has teamed up with entertainment colleagues, such as actresses Kelly Hu and Elisabeth Rohm, to front additional videos in the coming weeks.

Actress Elisabeth Rohm will front an upcoming video 

for the Be Cool 2 Asians campaign. Photo: Getty Images
Chow has also partnered with LA chef Michael Hung, who is providing free groceries and meals to local families and children from low-income areas who rely on school lunches, and is helping to mobilise a programme offering free mental health services to health care workers of any ethnicity who are feeling especially stressed right now.

Chow believes the 1,000-plus reports received by the Stop AAPI Hate centre are not representative of actual numbers.

“My social media is flooded daily with stories from Asians telling me about all varieties of conflict,” she says.

“I’m not sure that the 100 a day that are being reported across the country is an accurate number. Asians tend to be more reticent. They find these incidents embarrassing and painful to talk about.

“So if we are hearing it’s 100 a day, the number of unreported cases is astronomically higher.”



Kavita Daswani was born and brought up in Hong Kong and was the fashion editor of the South China Morning Post before relocating to Los Angeles. She continues to contribute features to the publication, and also writes for the Los Angeles Times, The Real Deal, Prestige, Hashtag Legend and Crave magazines. She has also published eight novels.

Coronavirus: how Asian-Americans are fighting back against race hate in Covid-19 era

Asian-Americans are using social media to organise and fight back against racially motivated attacks

Critics say Donald Trump made things worse by calling Covid-19 the ‘Chinese virus’


Associated Press Published: 5 Apr, 2020





Kyle Navarro was recently unlocking his bicycle when an older

 white man called him a racial slur and spat at him. Photo: AP

Kyle Navarro was kneeling down to unlock his bicycle when he noticed an older white man staring at him. Navarro, who is Filipino, tried to ignore him, but that soon became impossible.

The man walked by, looked back and called Navarro a racial slur. He “spat in my direction, and kept walking,” Navarro said.

Navarro, a school nurse in San Francisco, already had anxiety about racism related to the coronavirus, which emerged in China and has Asian people facing unfounded blame and attacks as it’s spread worldwide. Now, he was outraged

“My first instinct was to yell back at him in anger. But, after taking a breath, I realised that would have put me in danger,” Navarro said.

Instead, he took to Twitter last week to turn the ugly moment into an opportunity for a conversation about racism, generating thousands of sympathetic comments.

Asian-Americans are using social media to organise and fight back against racially motivated attacks during the pandemic, which the FBI predicts will increase as infections grow. A string of racist run-ins in the last two weeks has given rise to hashtags – #WashTheHate, #RacismIsAVirus, #IAmNotCOVID19 – and online forums to report incidents. Critics say President Donald Trump made things worse by calling Covid-19 the “Chinese virus”.
For a group with a history of being scapegoated – from Japanese Americans detained during World War II to a Chinese-American man killed by autoworkers angry about Japanese competition in the ‘80s – there’s urgency to drown out both bigotry and apathy.

To that end, the California-based groups Chinese for Affirmative Action and the Asia-Pacific Planning and Policy Council set up a hate reporting centre last month. New York’s attorney general also launched a hotline.

“We kind of just knew from history this was going to snowball,” said Cynthia Choi, co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action. “With the rising stress and anxiety, we knew we’d see a rise in hate incidents.”

Coronavirus prompts surge of hate speech toward Chinese on Twitter
28 Mar 2020


The centre has fielded more than 1,000 reports from across the US, ranging from people spitting to throwing bottles from cars. An FBI report distributed to local law enforcement predicts the attacks will surge and pointed to the stabbing of an Asian-American man and his two children at a Sam’s Club in Texas last month, ABC News reported. According to the report, the 19-year-old suspect said he thought they were “infecting people”. The victims have recovered.

Amid the explosive climate, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang drew backlash for urging fellow Asian-Americans to display more “American-ness”. In a Washington Post editorial Wednesday, he called on them to avoid confrontation and do acts of goodwill like volunteering and helping neighbours.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang drew 

backlash for his comments. File photo: AP

“Being ‘the good Asian’ has not fared well for Asian Americans,” Choi said. “We don’t have to prove our worth and that we belong, that we’re exceptional. And we certainly don’t have to believe that this is something that we should ignore.”

Yang’s spokesman declined to comment.

Meanwhile, Trump has walked back on calling Covid-19 the Chinese virus, saying at a media briefing and on Twitter last week that Asian-Americans should not be blamed “in any way, shape or form”.

Democrats in the US Senate and House worry the damage has been done and have introduced resolutions to condemn anti-Asian racism.

“His followers continue to double-down on that term,” said US congresswoman Judy Chu of California, chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Some of the reports received by the advocacy groups describe harassment that appears to parrot Trump, Choi said.

A White House spokesman declined to comment and referred to Trump’s remarks at the March 23 briefing.

The president’s words also drew some Asian-Americans in entertainment and fashion to the #WashTheHate social media campaign last month. Celia Au, star of the Netflix show Wu Assassins, and others posted videos showing them washing their hands and talking about the effect of racism.

“It comes from the top down at the end of the day,” Au said. “Our top leader is not doing the job, so it’s time for us to step up.”

People turning against Asian-Americans in an uncertain time and sputtering economy echoes the climate in 1982, when Vincent Chin was killed in Detroit as laid-off autoworkers blamed a recession on Japanese competition.

“At that time, I knew I had to watch out and be careful – who I was around, how they looked at me,” said Helen Zia, a Chinese-American author and journalist from Oakland, California, who lived in Detroit at the time. “I think we’re in that stage now.”

Two white autoworkers beat Chin to death with a bat outside a strip club during his stag night simply because they thought he was Japanese. The 27-year-old’s attackers were convicted of manslaughter and got just three years of probation.

Zia said she and others contacted advocacy groups, churches and Chinese-language media about protesting the sentence. Relying only on mail and telephones, they found allies in the NAACP and Anti-Defamation League and launched demonstrations nationwide.

“It was a watershed moment,” Zia said. “We were drowning, and we had to organise to change what we saw going on around us.”

Thanks to social media, younger generations of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders are speaking up during what could be another seminal moment. Choi hopes they will rally non-Asians to see the wave of racist attacks in the Covid-19 era as their issue, too. Groups like the NAACP and Council on American-Islamic Relations have condemned anti-Asian rhetoric.

With attacks escalating, Zia can’t help but fear the pandemic could result in another tragedy like Chin’s death.

“The level of anger … it’s already here,” Zia said. “For Asian Americans, there’s the virus of Covid-19 and there’s the virus of hate. The hate virus is also going to get much worse.”