North Korea tech workers earn $20M for regime, U.N. report says

North Korean companies under U.N. Security Council sanctions are active overseas, a new report says. 

April 21 (UPI) -- North Korea is deploying freelance IT workers around the world to earn foreign currency for the regime, according to a recent report from the United Nations Security Council's North Korea sanctions committee.

The annual report from a panel of eight experts covers the period from Aug. 3, 2019 to Feb. 7, 2020. As Pyongyang adjusts to conditions under heavy sanctions, the regime could be turning to more creative ways to circumvent the economic embargoes, according to Voice of America's Korean service on Tuesday.

The 267-page report includes evidence North Korea has been deploying high-skilled workers in IT and construction, mainly to China, but also to Vietnam, where Kim Jong Un met with U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019.

The Vietnam-based North Koreans are affiliated with the Sobaeksu Trading Co. Other IT workers service customers in China, Russia, Canada and the United States on an online basis, and without revealing their identities to clients, according to the U.N. report.

North Korean IT workers earn an average of $5,000 per month. Of that amount, workers are obliged to submit about $1,700 to the North Korean government. Annually the state makes about $20.4 million from tech workers, the report says.

Construction is another significant source of income for Pyongyang. The Mansudae Overseas Development Group, currently under U.N. sanctions, has been active in Senegal. The North Korean enterprise has been involved in public construction and building factories for major food processors, according to the report.

China is a receiving point for North Korean nationals, despite international laws against North Korean guest workers. The world's second-biggest economy has hosted 2,000 North Korean nationals who stay on short-term visitor visas.

North Korea's Choson Computer Center, also known as Korea Computer Center, is the ultimate company responsible for operations at the Dandong Haotong Commercial Trading Co. North Korea's military is also overseeing the operations of the Yanbian Unsong Network Technology Co. in China's northeast, the report says.

North Korea's athletes abroad also earn income for the regime. Football players in Austria and Italy have been bringing in foreign currency used toward nuclear and ballistic missile programs, according to Yonhap.

WHO: Coronavirus likely came from animal, not a laboratory

By Don Jacobson & Darryl Coote

Pedestrians in Beijing, China, continue to wear face masks on Tuesday although the government has declared the coronavirus threat has largely passed. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

April 21 (UPI) -- The coronavirus disease that's disrupted life for billions of people around the world probably came from an animal and was not created in a laboratory, the World Health Organization said in an update Tuesday.

All evidence so far has indicated COVID-19 was not "manipulated or constructed" in a lab or anywhere else, WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told reporters at a briefing in Geneva.

"It is probable, likely that the virus is of animal origin," she said.

Chaib said the WHO's analysis concluded there had "certainly" been an intermediate animal host, most likely bats, by the time the virus infected humans.

By Tuesday, the number of cases reported worldwide so far approached 2.5 million and the death toll was close to 172,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the most cases, 788,000.

Earlier, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that his nation will move to gradually lift its lockdown starting May 4. He promised details of the plan by the end of this week and "a reasonable prediction."

"Let's stop being strict with our country," he wrote in a Facebook post. "The whole world is struggling. We can be proud of how we are facing this very hard test."
RELATED Trump to suspend U.S. immigration in fight against COVID-19



Italy's population of 60 million were placed under lockdown March 9 when it had fewer than 10,000 cases. Restrictions were tightened two weeks later to prohibit movements within Italy and close all non-essential businesses.

Conte said his government can't "abandon the line of maximum caution" to "indulge" public opinion, industry and companies that have demanded the lockdowns be lifted.

"We need to reopen on the basis of a program that will consider all details and cross-cross all the data."
RELATED White House provides governors with maps of coronavirus testing locations



In Spain, organizers on Tuesday canceled the San Fermin Fiesta this summer in Pamplona, best known for its "running of the bulls." The annual event typically attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors. Organizers said it's not possible to stage the festival safely this year.

In Germany, officials said the famed Oktoberfest has also been canceled. It was scheduled to start Sept. 18.

Bavarian Minister President Markus Soder and Munich's Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter said staging the festival would be too risky.
RELATED Georgia, S.C., Tennessee governors say they'll reopen some businesses



"We are living in different times," he said. "And living with corona means living carefully."

Russia interfered in 2016 to help elect Trump, Senate Intel report says

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairs the bipartisan committee, undercutting Trump's claims that the U.S. intelligence findings were a "hoax" led by Democrats.
The Senate Intelligence Committee's report Tuesday confirmed Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal to help elect Donald Trump. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo

April 21 (UPI) -- A Senate Intelligence Committee report confirmed Tuesday the U.S. intelligence finding that Russia interfered in the 2016 election with the goal to help Donald Trump become president.

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairs the bipartisan committee, undercutting Trump's claims that the U.S. intelligence findings were a "hoax" led by Democrats.

The January 2017 U.S. intelligence report provided "specific intelligence reporting to support the assessment that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and the Russian government demonstrated a preference for candidate Trump," the Senate Intelligence Committee found in its report Tuesday.

The committee also found that "specific intelligence" along with other assessments supported the finding that Putin "approved and directed aspects" of the Russian government's interference efforts.

The 158-page report was heavily redacted, but it was clear that it supported the reasoning behind the intelligence committee's findings.

"The committee found no reason to dispute the intelligence community's conclusions," Burr said in a statement, adding that the intelligence community's findings showed "sound analytical reasoning."

There was "no reason to doubt that the Russians' success in 2016 is leading them to try again in 2020," Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., the committee's vice chairman, warned.

Warner also praised the agencies reviewing the matter for their "unbiased and professional work."

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., added that the report also negated "false assertions" that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 elections.

"The report also provides additional evidence against Donald Trump's false assertions regarding Ukraine," by delving further into Russia's inference in Democratic National Committee networks, Wyden said. The committee confirmed the U.S. intelligence community's findings, which are "fundamentally incompatible with Trump's conspiracy theories about Ukrainian involvement."

The report is the fourth of five committee reports on the Russian government's interference in the 2016 presidential election campaign.

"Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Secretary [Hillary] Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency," the January 2017 assessment found.

The fifth and final report will address allegations that Trump campaign officials coordinated with Russian operatives.

Former special counsel Robert Mueller said last year that he did not find collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign before the 2016 election, but there were several "episodes" where Trump may have obstructed justice with attempts to disrupt the investigation.

Former British spy Christopher Steele's unverified claims about Trump's ties to Russia are also expected to be addressed in the fifth and final report.

A release date for the final report has not been set yet.

Workers open the first batch of Anheuser Busch hand sanitizer after it arrives at a distribution center in St. Louis on April 17. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

Poll: Face mask use in U.S. rises to more than 60 percent

Firefighter Mark Nagel wears a protective mask while on a call Wednesday in St. Louis, Mo. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

April 17 (UPI) -- The use of face masks by U.S. residents rose dramatically in one week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended them in public, a new survey showed Friday.

Gallup said it found face mask use increased from 38 percent before the CDC advice to 62 percent the week after. Another 24 percent said they are now considering wearing a mask outside the home, while 14 percent said they would not.

Seventy-one percent of people living in cities and 72 percent living in the West said they're wearing masks in public.

Those less likely to wear them are those in the Midwest (46 percent), Republicans (48 percent) and those living in small towns or rural areas (52 percent), the poll said.

"Those in the Western and Northeastern regions of the U.S. where the outbreaks have been worst are significantly more likely than those in the Midwest and South to have donned face coverings in public," Gallup's Megan Brenan said. "Likewise, residents of cities and suburbs are more likely than those in more rural areas to have worn masks."

Gallup interviewed 2,400 adults for the survey, which has a margin of error of 4 points

THE NUMBER GALLUP INTERVIEWED IS GREATER THAN THE PROTESTERS 

AT STATE CAPITALS PROTESTING THE LOCK DOWN.

20 attorneys general call on 3M to prevent price gouging of N95 masks


A healthcare workers wears an N95 respirator as she consults with a patient who arrives to be tested for coronavirus in Yonkers, N.Y., on April 17. Twenty attorneys general urged 3M to take steps to prevent price gouging on the respirators. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

April 21 (UPI) -- The attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday called on 3M to do more to fight price gouging on its N95 respirator masks, part of the critical equipment healthcare workers need to battle the coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter sent to CEO and board Chairman Michael Roman, the states's top law enforcement officials praised the work 3M has done to boost its production of the face masks. The officials, though, said the Saint Paul, Minn.-based manufacturer should do more to fight price gouging so health facilities, nurses and doctors can better access them.


The attorneys general said their offices have been "flooded" with complaints and "excessive prices" for the respirators.

"As you know, there have been critical shortages of N95 respirators and other [personal protection equipment] due to the increased use and demand worldwide as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic," the letter reads. "While 3M has committed to maintain the same prices for N95 respirators, others in the marketplace are charging unconscionable prices."

The letter urged 3M to publish its policies prohibiting price gouging and refrain from doing business with distributors who violate those policies. The attorneys general also asked the company to submit a database of its N95 inventory to government officials and make it transparent how the inventory is distributed.

N95 respirators are among the most critical PPE items in use by doctors and nurses during the COVID-19 crisis. They are specially designed to filter out most airborne particles and liquid. A shortage of the devices has left healthcare workers relying on less-protective surgical masks or even reusing N95 respirators while treating multiple patients.

Gallup: Americans more concerned with getting COVID-19 than economic fallout
By Danielle Haynes

A healthcare worker with George Washington University Hospital administers a COVID-19 test during the coronavirus pandemic in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

April 21 (UPI) -- The coronavirus pandemic tops the list of the most important problems facing Americans, a poll released Tuesday indicates.

The Gallup poll found that 45 percent of Americans find COVID-19 to be the biggest problem facing the United States, up from 13 percent in March. The pollster didn't ask about the virus prior to the March survey.

The second-most important problem facing the United States is the government and poor leadership at 20 percent, down from 27 percent in March. The government was the top concern in February with 32 percent.

The remaining responses were healthcare and the economy in general at 6 percent each; unifying the country and unemployment at 3 percent each; and immigration, the environment/climate change/pollution, ethics/morals, lack of respect for each other, the media, and the gap between rich and poor at 2 percent each.

Concerns about unemployment rose from 1 percent in February to 3 percent in April, while immigration dropped from 8 percent in February to 2 percent in April.

While economic and job concerns have risen since February, the poll results indicate Americans are more concerned with getting the virus than the financial fallout from the pandemic, Gallup said.

"Since February, mentions of the economy or unemployment have ticked up slightly. But even with unemployment soaring, economic confidence tumbling, and seven in 10 Americans saying the U.S. economy is in a recession or depression, government is seen as more of a problem than the economy," the pollster said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there were more than 816,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, with a death toll of at least 43,000, according to Johns Hopkins University

The coronavirus pandemic might make buildings sick, too

William Rhoads, Research Scientist, Virginia Tech, Andrew J. Whelton, Associate Professor of Civil, Environmental & Ecological Engineering, Purdue University, and Caitlin R. Proctor, Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellow, Purdue University,
The Conversation•April 21, 2020

Discolored water can be caused by heavy metals, such as iron or copper. Iron can also act as a nutrient for organisms to grow in the pipes. Kyungyeon Ra/Purdue University, CC BY-ND

While millions of people are under orders to stay home amid the coronavirus pandemic, water is sitting in the pipes of empty office buildings and gyms, getting old and potentially dangerous.

When water isn’t flowing, organisms and chemicals can build up in the plumbing. It can happen in underused gyms, office buildings, schools, shopping malls and other facilities. These organisms and chemicals can reach unsafe levels when water sits in water pipes for just a few days. But, what happens when water sits for weeks or months?

There are no long-term studies of the risks and only minimal guidance to help building owners prepare their water for use again after a long shutdown.

As researchers involved in building water safety, we study these risks and advise building owners and public officials on actions they can take to reduce the potential for widespread waterborne disease. A new paper highlights these issues and our concerns that the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders may increase the chance of harmful water exposure when people return.
What happens when water gets old?

Just like food that sits in a refrigerator for too long, water that sits in a building’s pipes for too long can make people sick.

Harmful organisms, like the bacteria that cause Legionnaire’s disease, can grow. If not maintained, devices like filters, water tanks, heaters and softeners can become organism incubators.

With certain pipe materials, water can accumulate unsafe levels of lead and copper, which can cause learning disabilities, cardiovascular effects, nausea and diarrhea.

Copper can leach from plumbing pipes and valves, as it did in this hotel bathtub. Ingesting water with high levels of copper can cause illnesses. Andrew Whelton, CC BY-ND

Drinking this water is a problem, but infections can also result from inhaling harmful organisms. This occurs when water splashes and becomes an aerosol, as can happen in showers, hot tubs and pools and when flushing toilets or washing hands. Some of these organisms can cause pneumonia-like diseases, especially in people who have weakened immune systems.

Water inside a building does not have an expiration date: Problems can develop within days at individual faucets, and all buildings with low water use are at risk.
Keep the water flowing

To avoid water issues, “fresh” water must regularly flow to a building’s faucets. Most U.S. water providers add a chemical disinfectant to the water they deliver to kill organisms, but this chemical disappears over time.

Medical facilities, with their vulnerable populations, are required to have a building water safety plan to keep water fresh and prevent growth. Schools, which have long periods of low use during the summer, are advised to keep water fresh to reduce water’s lead levels.

Health agencies in the U.S., Canada, England, Europe and some states have released recommendations in recent weeks, advising that building water be kept fresh during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. There’s some debate over the best way to do that, but the core message is the same: Do not let water sit in buildings.


If water isn’t being used in a building, intentionally flushing the building to replace all the old water with new water can be done at least weekly. It also helps remove sediments that accumulate along pipe walls.

Faucets, water heaters and softeners, appliances such as refrigerators, toilets and other water systems, including cooling towers, all need to have water turnover. Some of these can require specialized attention. Faucet aerators should be removed because they accumulate materials and slow down the flow.

How long flushing takes depends on the building’s piping design, devices and the speed of water exiting the faucets. All buildings are different.

It took more than 80 minutes of flushing to draw fresh water to the farthest faucet of one 10,000-square-foot building. In another building, it took 60 minutes just to get fresh water from the water meter to the basement of a building 30 feet from the street. A single large building may take hours or days to clear.
Easier to avoid contamination than clean it up

For building managers who haven’t been running the water during the pandemic, the water sitting in pipes may already have significant problems. To perform flushing, safety equipment, including masks, currently in short supply, might be needed to protect workers.

A slow “ramp-up” of the economy means buildings will not reach normal water use for some time. These buildings may need flushing again and again.

Shock disinfection, adding a high level of disinfectant chemical to the plumbing to kill organisms living in it, may also be necessary. This is required for new buildings and is sometimes done when water in new buildings sits still for too long.

Cut-open shower pipes reveal a biofilm with metal deposits. Caitlin Proctor/Purdue University, CC BY-ND

Inexpensive chemical disinfectant tests can help determine if the water is “fresh.” Testing for harmful organisms is recommended by some organizations. It can take several days and requires expertise to interpret results. Metals testing might be needed, too. Public health departments can provide specific recommendations for all of these actions and communication of risks.

The need for standards and water safety

Water left sitting in the pipes of buildings can present serious health risks.

Standards are lacking and very much needed for restarting plumbing and ensuring continued water safety after the pandemic passes.

Right now, building managers can take immediate action to prevent people from becoming sick when they return.

[You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help. Read The Conversation’s newsletter.]

Este artículo se vuelve a publicar de The Conversation, un medio digital sin fines de lucro dedicado a la diseminación de la experticia académica. Lee mas:

• Is your drinking water safe? Here’s how you can find out
• The coronavirus pandemic is making the US housing crisis even worse

Caitlin R. Proctor receives funding from Purdue University College of Engineering, the National Science Foundation, and Warm Springs Foundation.

Andrew J. Whelton receives funding from the US National Science Foundation (CBET 2027049), US Environmental Protection Agency (R836890), Warm Springs Foundation, and Water Research Foundation.

William Rhoads receives funding from the National Science Foundation (CBET 1706733). He is affiliated with the American Waterworks Association.

Higher death rate for malaria drug touted by Trump: coronavirus study

April 21, 2020 By Agence France-Presse
A malaria drug widely touted as a potential cure for COVID-19 showed no benefit against the disease over standard care — and was in fact associated with more deaths, the biggest study of its kind showed Tuesday.

The US government funded analysis of American military veterans’ treatment courses was posted on a medical preprint site and has not yet been peer reviewed.

The experiment had several important limitations, but adds to a growing body of doubt over the efficacy of the medicine that counts President Donald Trump and right wing news channel Fox News among its biggest backers.

Researchers looked at the medical records of 368 veterans hospitalized nationwide who either died or were discharged by April 11.

Death rates for patients on hydroxychloroquine were 28 percent, compared to 22 percent when it was taken with the anti-biotic azithromycin — a combination favored by French scientist Didier Raoult, whose study on the subject in March triggered a surge of global interest in the drug.

The death rate for those receiving only standard care was 11 percent.

Hydroxychloroquine, with or without azithromycin, was more likely to be prescribed to patients with more severe illness, but the authors found that increased mortality persisted even after they statistically adjusted for higher rates of use.

Other drawbacks include the fact that the study did not assign people randomly to groups, because it was a retrospective analysis meaning it looked back on what had already happened.

In addition, the results are hard to generalize because the population was highly specific: most of the patients were male, with a median age over 65, and black, a group that is disproportionately affected by underlying illnesses like diabetes and heart disease.

There was no added risk of being on ventilator among the hydroxychloroquine only group, leading the authors to suggest that increased mortality among this group might be attributable to side-effects outside the respiratory system.

Previous research has found that the medicine is risky for patients with certain heart rhythm issues and can cause blackouts, seizures or at times cardiac arrest in this group.

Hydroxychloroquine and a related compound chloroquine have been used for decades to treat malaria, as well as the autoimmune disorders lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

They have received significant attention during the novel coronavirus pandemic and have been shown in lab settings to block the virus from entering cells and prevent it replicating — but in the pharmaceutical world, “in vitro” promise often fails to translate into “in vivo” success.

The true answer can only be determined through very large, randomized clinical trials that assign patients to receive either the drug under investigation or a placebo.

Several of these are underway, including notably in Europe, Canada and the United Kingdom.

© 2020 AFP

QUACK
Top GOP senator calls for clinical trials in response to study finding hydroxychloroquine doubles COVID-19 death rate

 April 21, 2020 By David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement

Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn is calling for clinical trials of a malaria and lupus drug touted for weeks by President Donald Trump as a possible cure for coronavirus. Cornyn’s comments are in response to a study that found the use of hydroxychloroquine more than doubles the death rate of COVID-19 patients. There have been no valid studies that show the drug is effective in helping patients suffering from the virus that has killed 176,910 people around the world, including more than 45,000 across the U.S.

“How about real clinical trials?” Cornyn tweeted, quoting an AP report stating the study “was not a rigorous experiment, but it is “the largest look so far of hydroxychloroquine with or without the antibiotic azithromycin for COVID-19.” Given this and other studies clinical trials would likely lead to increased deaths.

A study of chloroquine in Brazil was stopped after patients suffered heart problems. A French study found hydroxychloroquine offered no benefits.

Earlier in the day Cornyn tweeted about a separate study he said that “showed that 9 of 10 patients had an underlying medical condition.”

#COVIDー19 The data showed that 9 of 10 patients had an underlying medical condition, including:
—Hypertension: 49.7%
—Diabetes: 28.3%
—Chronic lung disease: 34.6%
—Cardiovascular disease: 27.8%
—Obesity: 48.3% https://t.co/YjabN89Bwc
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) April 21, 2020

His remarks were not met with praise.

What is your point here. That those people deserved to die?
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) April 21, 2020


wow, sucks to be them, right, senator?
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 21, 2020


Well, luckily none of these things exist in Texas, which has the highest % of ppl lacking health insurance in the country (nearly 1 in 5), a number you’d like to make much, much larger by trying to eliminate the ACA pre-existing-condition protections
— Cliff Schecter (@cliffschecter) April 21, 2020


So 40+% of Americans are pretty much asking for it, Senator? https://t.co/2hQnKCej0K
— Daniel Summers, MD (@WFKARS) April 21, 2020



Dude…https://t.co/BtTLELQSod
— Leah McElrath

 

(@leahmcelrath) April 21, 2020

‘Listen… and take action’: In front of White House, nurses read names of colleagues who have died from Covid-19

April 21, 2020 By Jake Johnson, Common Dreams


“We are here because our colleagues are dying. I think that right now people think of us as heroes, but we’re feeling like martyrs. We’re feeling like we’re being left on the battlefield with nothing.”

Dozens of nurses gathered outside the White House Tuesday and—while wearing face masks and adhering to social distancing guidelines—read aloud the names of 50 fellow healthcare workers who have died of Covid-19 in an effort to pressure Congress and President Donald Trump to provide frontline workers with adequate protective equipment.


“We’re tired of being treated as if we are expendable.”
—Deborah Burger, National Nurses United

“We’re demanding that the Trump administration and the U.S. Congress listen to these names, all dedicated nurses who have left families, friends, and colleagues behind,” said Melody Jones, a member of National Nurses United (NNU), the union that organized the demonstration. “Listen to their names and take action.”


“Let us remember and honor the ultimate sacrifice these nurses paid, mourn their passing, and recommit ourselves to fight like hell for the living,” said Jones.

This morning nurses protested for PPE – in front of the White House.


They read the names of healthcare workers who have given their lives trying to save others from COVID-19.

And the list felt endless.

This situation is unacceptable. We need to support our nurses. Now. pic.twitter.com/jKl4JpKP3L
— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) April 21, 2020

Rest of the segment where nurses read names, first vid is incomplete: pic.twitter.com/svyQPrB571
— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) April 21, 2020

NNU, the largest nurses union in the U.S., has for weeks been urging the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to enact an emergency temporary standard to ensure that all healthcare workers have the protective equipment they need to do their essential jobs safely. The Labor Department agency has thus far refused to act on the nurses’ demand.

“We are here because our colleagues are dying,” one nurse who participated in Tuesday’s demonstration told MSNBC. “I think that right now people think of us as heroes, but we’re feeling like martyrs. We’re feeling like we’re being left on the battlefield with nothing.”


Nurses hold a protest at the White House to call attention to healthcare workers nationwide who have been infected with COVID-19 and demanding the Trump administration provide more protective gear. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo


An analysis released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that more than 9,200 healthcare workers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus as of April 9. The CDC acknowledged that the number “is likely an underestimation.”

“We’re tired of being treated as if we are expendable,” NNU president Deborah Burger told the Washington Post. “If we are killed in this pandemic, there won’t be anybody to take care of the rest of the sick people that are going to come.”

“Everybody says they love nurses, they want to protect us,” said Burger, “but we still don’t have the safety gear that we need.”

Watch the demonstration:

Nurses protest in front of White House

The National Nurses United union protested at the White House on Tuesday calling for President Donald Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act to produce more PPEs, including N95 masks.

Nurses hold photos of fellow healthcare workers who have died from COVID-19. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

Nurses protest for protective equipment at White House

April 21 (UPI) -- Nurses protested Tuesday at the White House to demand President Donald Trump use the Defense Production Act to produce personal protective equipment in response to COVID-19.

The nurses are members of National Nurses United, the largest nurses union in the United States.


While practicing social distancing, they read aloud the names of U.S. nurses who have died of COVID-19.

The protest aims "to call attention to the tens of thousands of health care workers nationwide who have become infected with COVID-19 due to lack of personal protective equipment," the union said in the statement.

In response, nurses have been demanding that "Trump use his authority under the Defense Production Act to order the mass production of PPE, including N95 respirators, face shields, gowns, gloves and shoe coverings, as well as ventilators and COVID-19 testing kits," the union said. "NNU is calling on Congress to mandate the DPA's use to produce the equipment and supplies health care workers need to care for COVID-19 patients as well as to conduct mass testing that is required to control the spread of the virus."

Trump invoked the DPA in late March to push General Motors to produce ventilators and has also used it more recently for COVID-19 testing swabs, but he has urged hospitals and states to take the lead in getting other supplies.

The NNU petitioned the Trump administration's Occupational Safety and Health Administration in early March for an emergency temporary standard to provide healthcare workers "optimal PPE," the union added, but never received a response.

RELATED N.Y. nurses sue state, hospitals for 'inadequate' coronavirus protections

"With no federal health and safety standard, nurses and other health care workers in many hospitals across the country have not been provided with adequate PPE to protect them from exposure to the virus," the union statement said.

Now, "the NNU is demanding Congress include a mandatory OSHA emergency standard in its next COVID-19 legislative package," the union statement said.