WDBD FOX 40 Jackson MS Local News, Weather and Sports

WDBD Television for Jackson, MS

Victor Garcia

FDA commissioner on why wearing a cloth face covering in public ‘might be helpful’ to combat coronavirus

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn appeared on “Watters’ World” Saturday and addressed the issue of wearing a mask or a “cloth facial covering,” as he preferred to call it, to combat the coronavirus.

“So, when this outbreak started, the big question was could masks in the normal happenstance of the world — not in the medical care settings you’re describing, but just walking down the street, could a mask help prevent a person from getting the disease?” Hahn told host Jesse Watters.

“And there really aren’t good data or evidence to suggest that’s the case for routine use. But what’s happened is we’ve learned more about this illness [in] that there are a fair number of people who are probably asymptomatic but have the virus and just don’t know that they have it.”

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

“Unlike some other viruses, that seems to be the case, and wearing a mask might be helpful if you don’t know you have it, preventing you from spreading it to someone else,” Hahn added.

President Trump on Friday announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending Americans wear facial coverings made of cloth while out in public to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

During the press conference, Trump called the recommendation “voluntary” and said he wouldn’t do it himself.

Surgeon General Jerome Adams addressed the confusion over masks on Friday, saying the task force has “evolved” on the issue but pleaded with Americans who are not sick to leave the N95 and surgical masks for medical professionals and instead make homemade cloth coverings if they decide to use them.

Fox News’ Alex Pappas contributed to this report.

California women start mask matching service to support health care workers across US

Mask-Match.com co-founders Liz Klinger and Chloe Albert joined “America’s News HQ” on Saturday to discuss their website and mission to get masks to medical professionals who need them in the battle to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

“My mom’s life-long nurse and when I spoke to her a few weeks ago, I found out that she was being forced to work on her floor without a mask,” Klinger told co-host Eric Shawn. “And I was terrified that she was going to die, quite frankly. And I learned that she was not the only one experiencing this and that there are tens of thousands of people who are just like her all around the country.”

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE  CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Klinger then connected with Albert, who works in health care supplies and said there was a two- to three-week delay in getting supplies shipped out.

“And what we realize is that the best source of masks that we could mobilize the fastest were masks that people like you and I had in our homes,” Albert said. “[Our website is] where people could sign up to get matched with a health care worker and then they could then ship those masks directly to them without ever leaving their homes.”

The women, based in Oakland, Calif., set up donors with health care workers nearby.

“Basically, we send a donor an address to the health care worker near them and the donor can schedule a USPS pickup shipment without having to even leave their homes,” Klinger explained.

“So we’ve set this up so it can be as simple as possible to get masks directly into the hands of the health care workers who are on the frontlines right now.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The website is focusing on mid-size hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and urgent care facilities.

“We have 273 volunteers doing all this around the clock and so far we’ve shipped over 63,000 masks to over 1,700 hospitals all around the country,” Klinger said. “And we’re actually currently processing a 165,000 mass donation right now and distributing it to over 100 health care centers around the U.S. and counting.”

Steve Forbes says coronavirus hit US economy like ‘a sledgehammer’

Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, reacted Friday on “The Ingraham Angle” to U.S. unemployment climbing as coronavirus spreads and its effects on the economy if the shutdown continues.

“[The] devastation is going to be very real. You’ve already saw in that 10 million [unemployment] number in the last two weeks. That’s going to get worse,” Forbes told host Laura Ingraham. “In effect, we’ve done the economic equivalent of a medical shutdown of the economy — a coma, induced coma.”

MARK CUBAN: NATION WILL FACE ‘SOCIAL UNREST’ IF MONEY DOESN’T GO OUT QUICKLY TO STRUGGLING AMERICANS

Forbes called for ramped up testing in order to help the economy.

“So this gets to where economics and health care intertwine, and that is we have to massively step up the testing. For example, [Abbot] laboratories, has a test that can tell you in five or 15 minutes whether you have this horrific disease,” Forbes said. “They’ve only produced 5,000 kits. They should be producing 50,000 a day. They should be licensing and the government should push them to do it. Other manufacturers we should be doing not 100,000 tests a day for a country our size, experts tell me we should be doing at least 500,000 a day to find out who already has immunities.”

“We’ve got to do massive testing so by the end of April we can have large parts of this economy starting to function again,” Forbes added.

Forbes also said media opposition to hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug that President Trump has supported as a coronavirus treatment, was largely steeped in anti-Trump sentiment.

“The real push [against] hydroxychloroquine is the fact that Donald Trump liked it. If Donald Trump said the sun came up in the morning, they’d say, ‘Oh no, that’s a Chinese lightbulb in the sky. It just is perverse.”

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Forbes argued that another stimulus won’t fix the problem and that the economy needs time to recover.

“If you take a sledgehammer to the American economy, it’s going to take time to bring it back. It’ll recover quickly,” Forbes said. “As long as we have a benign environment which gets to the election, hopefully next year we’ll have that benign environment. Then you’ll really see things really start to turn.”

Surgeon general warns facial covering does not replace social distancing

Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams spoke with Sean Hannity Friday to discuss the Trump administration’s plan to stop the spread of coronavirus and the confusion over masks.

“It’s important for the American people to know that the task force always makes recommendations based on the science, and the science originally told us that people who wear a mask are not protecting themselves from the virus,” Adams said on “Hannity.” “We actually recommend that people who have symptoms or people who think they may have a disease to wear a mask so they don’t spread it to others.”

CORONAVIRUS: WHAT TO KNOW

Adams explained to Hannity what has changed recently that made the task force change course on their facial-covering recommendation.

“What’s changed is we found that there are a significant number of people who have asymptomatic spread of the virus. And so the CDC changed its recommendations today,” Adams explained. “And they now suggest that the general public consider wearing masks when they’re going out in public so as not to spread disease to other people, particularly in situations where they may be closer than six feet from each other.”

The doctor made it clear that the facial-covering recommendation does not replace social distancing.

“A couple of really important points that I want you to know. Number one, this does not replace social distancing. The most important thing to do is still to stay home,” Adams said. “If you’re going to wear a facial covering, please make sure you don’t touch your face and that you wash your hands so you weren’t contaminating yourself.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Adams also told people to leave N95 and surgical masks to the health care professional.

“They need them to take care of high-risk patients. A cloth facial covering is what the CDC recommends,” Adams said. “That works just fine to protect other people from you. Because we’re all in this together.”

Immunologist says he has a possible cure for the coronavirus

Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.

Distributed Bio co-founder and CEO Dr. Jacob Glanville joined “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Friday to talk about his company’s laboratory engineering a therapeutic antibody to combat the coronavirus.

“So what we have done is we’ve engineered neutralizing antibodies that go and block the virus. The coronavirus, if you were to zoom in on it, you would see a series, a ring of spikes, and it uses those spikes to invade human cells,” Glanville said. “We’ve identified a series of super potent antibodies that block those spikes and therefore make the virus no longer infectious.”

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Glanville explained the power of antibodies, saying it helped during the Ebola epidemic.

“This is the thing that turned the tide against Ebola. The Ebola used to be a death sentence, about 50 percent mortality rate,” Glanville said. “And then once a good antibody neutralizing solution was made, then I think 94 percent of people can walk away.”

“So that transformed Ebola from a dangerous crisis to a manageable treatment,” Glanville added.

The doctor also spoke about the advantages of antibodies over vaccines.

“We’ve also got antibodies to treat rabies. We’ve got antibodies to treat RSV in babies. Antibodies are used to for anti-venom. So this is extremely well-established platform technology. It has the advantage,” Glanville said. “You can produce antibodies much faster than you can make a vaccine. And as I’d heard you mentioned previously on all that modeling, every day counts. We’re venting an incredible amount of money out of our economy and risking lives. And so you want to have a medicine as quickly as possible.”

CORONAVIRUS CASES STATE BY STATE

Glanville outlined the process, hoping to go toward human trial this summer.

“Our next move is we hand this off to the U.S. military, a consortium from the Gates Foundation and some private groups. And all of them are going to test the potency of neutralization of our therapeutic. We’re also working with Charles River Laboratories that runs safety and talks to make sure the stuff safe to put into people,” Glanville said. “And we’re going to go into a scaled up manufacturer. So at that point, what you do as you do a phase one last two human trial, and that’s we’re aiming to do that towards the end of the summer around August.”

Bret Baier on possible national lockdown: Trump ‘is balancing out basically a nuclear bomb on the U.S. economy’

Tucker Carlson invited “Special Report” anchor Bret Baier on Friday night to discuss the possibility of a federal lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic, with the host calling that type of a measure “extreme.”

“I do think that the president is leaning towards letting the governors in this federal society decide these, make these decisions on ‘shelter-in-place’ rules. And as you mentioned, he is balancing out basically a nuclear bomb on the U.S. economy,” Baier said on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce — and you can say what you want about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the data that it puts out — but [it] said that one in four small businesses is either closed or … teetering on closing. You have efforts to salvage these things, but for another month alone, let alone talk about a year.”

SCIENTISTS OFFER HOPEFUL NEWS ON COVID-19 VACCINE BASED ON VIRUS’ MUTATION RATE

“You’re talking about major devastation, the economy, and that is a policy decision that goes beyond the medical decision,” Baier added.

Carlson earlier commended White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci for his work and his record, but the host questioned whether or not the idea of a national lockdown was an extreme measure.

“I don’t understand why that’s not happening,” Fauci said on CNN Thursday night of the national lockdown.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Baier noted that Fauci was open to different areas of the country having different restrictions than hot spots like New York before commenting on the impact of the data.

“When pressed on it, experts say the models are only as good as the data you put in, right. So the data that they’re getting from Spain and Italy and these countries all abroad,” Baier said. “And now here in New York and New Orleans and Washington, they’re putting that in. It could change that curve. And once you start going down, maybe it changes the trajectory.”

HHS testing czar Adm. Brett Giroir says coronavirus rapid response test weeks away

Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) testing czar and assistant secretary for health, Adm. Brett Giroir, M.D., appeared on “The Story with Martha MacCallum” on Friday to discuss the rapid response COVID-19 test, saying it’s availability to the country is weeks away.

“We only have about 50,000 of those tests that could be done per day. So right now, we don’t want you being healthy and not sick to get this kind of test,” Giroir explained. “It really is a precious resource that we really want to use for the most important groups of our patients, like someone in the hospital that we need to make a treatment decision or let’s say in a nursing home, if there’s someone sick in a nursing home or exposed.”

CORONAVIRUS IN THE US: STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN

Trump announced the new rapid test kit from Abbott Laboratories earlier this week, days after the company said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had given them emergency clearance to produce the cartridge-based test. The company says the test delivers a negative result in 13 minutes when the virus is not detected.

MacCallum asked Giroir when the test would become available.

“So you’re saying very soon,” MacCallum said. “So that’s within a matter of weeks, if I understand you correctly.”

“That is correct,” Giroir said.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

The host also asked Giroir how people would get the tests, and whether it would be through their doctors.

“We’re working on those concepts right now. But you can bet that there’s going to be many public options. Just think of going to your pharmacy for your immunization. You’re not sick. You can go in and have time with your pharmacist. You can get it at any doctor’s offices, any public health [sic],” Giroir said. “They’ll be sort of mass screening programs. So this is really a whole different situation than dealing with sick people with PPE [personal protective equipment]. This is a whole different ball of wax. And you will see this rolled out in a very effective, widespread manner.”

Fox News’ Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Cardinal Dolan on coronavirus’ impact on Holy Week: ‘Remember the essence of Easter’

Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the archbishop of New York City, joined “Bill Hemmer Reports” to talk about the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the churches.

“The ordinary things we relish in human contact and embrace. A handshake, a kiss on the cheek. We can’t do any more,” Dolan said Friday. “For us as Catholics, it’s tough because we’re very tactile religion.”

“We’re into signs of peace. We’re in the holy water. We’re into bread and wine,” Dolan added. “We’re … into being together next to each other in worship. So it is a very difficult time.”

CORONAVIRUS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Catholic leader, who had been streaming services from inside an empty St. Patrick’s Cathedral, said the idea of an empty church during Easter Sunday is “tough” but that he reflects on the holiday’s message.

“Remember the essence of Passover? Remember the essence of Easter is that transition from darkness to light. You’ve got the people of Israel who were in oppression, darkness, slavery down in Egypt, pass, passing over to new life and hope. You got Jesus in the midst of darkness and Good Friday, raw evil that seems to have conquered passing over to new life, resurrection on Easter, which he shares with us,” Dolan said. “So in some ways, the climate that we’re in … with this dreadful virus is in a way providing us a bit of an ambience to express our faith in the message the Passover and Easter is all about.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE STORIES ON FAITH

Dolan said like other’s he’s “bristling” and “chafing” to get back to work.

“I’m just bristling to get out there. I’m bristling to visit the sick. I’m chafing to be with my people. I’m eager to see them all in front of me and with me at Mass on Sunday. So there is that frustration,” Dolan said. “And most of all, there’s that deep abiding concern for those who are suffering. Those who are attending to them so generously and those who are worried about it.”

Victor Davis Hanson: Dems have ‘weaponized’ coronavirus crisis to push radical agenda

Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.

Fox News contributor Victor Davis Hanson ripped Democrats for trying to manipulate the coronavirus crisis in order to institute their own agenda as America continues to deal with the pandemic.

“We’re right in the middle of people dying. And so people are advocating to manipulate the crisis and more importantly, to enact an agenda that didn’t have 50 percent support or we saw that in Democratic primaries,” Hanson said on “The Ingraham Angle” Thursday.

“Nobody wanted the Green New Deal or Medicare-for-all or open borders.”

“And then [they] also presume that things were bad before,” he continued, “but the reason that we’re weathering this disaster, the way we are is that we have the world’s best economy.”

TRUMP WANTS NEW INFRASTRUCTURE BILL

Hanson was reacting to Democratic politicians pushing a progressive agenda in coronavirus economic stimulus legislation.

“We need it big, we need it bold and we need it futuristic, which means green,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said about infrastructure in “phase four” package.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., rejected criticism that she tried to squeeze the Democrats’ wish lists into the recently passed stimulus bills, saying “that isn’t so.” She said proposals to help states implement “vote by mail” and boosting Postal Service funding are needed to safely conduct elections amid the pandemic.

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

“This crisis has been weaponized,” Hanson told Ingraham on Thursday. “And it’s a tragedy because we’re going to come out of it pretty well.”

“But there are people who feel that they have to emphasize the downside to enact an agenda that otherwise would not be enacted without this popular depression and anger,” he added.

“And yet political correctness says that we can’t really identify it and condemn it, because to do so, ironically, would be to be partisan in our reaction to what is clearly a partisan manipulation of the disaster,” he noted.

Dr. Joshua Gordon shares tips on looking after your mental health under coronavirus quarantine

Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox.  Sign up here.

Dr. Joshua Gordon, the director of the National Institute of Mental Health, joined the “Fox News Rundown” podcast Friday to discuss how people should look after their mental health while under quarantine.

“First and foremost, you need to do things that are aimed at taking care of yourself,” Gordon told host Lisa Brady. “So for many of us, we’re staying on top of the news, we’re trying to understand what’s going on, and that’s great.

CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK STATE BY STATE

“But you also need to take breaks from the news,” Gordon added. “Set aside periods of time each day when you turn off your social media feed, [and] you turn to a program on the television or on Netflix. That’s all about something fun, something to enjoy.”

SUBSCRIBE AND DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS RUNDOWN

Gordon’s second key to taking care of your mental health is looking after your physical health.

“Take care of your body. Make sure that you eat regular, well-balanced meals, get some physical activity,” Gordon advised. “Try to avoid using alcohol or drugs, especially if you’re using to escape. That’s not as helpful as one might think. And importantly, give yourself a full night’s sleep.”

The doctor also advised people to “connect” even if they are in isolation.

“Take some time to connect with others. Talk with people that you trust about your concerns about how you’re feeling, but also just about the everyday,” Gordon said. “And it’s fortunate that in this day and age we have lots of digital tools that we can use to help.”

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Gordon also related some optimisim to people about the current state of the country.

“I would say two things. Number one, this will not last forever. We don’t know how long it will last, but we will get through it to the other side,” he said. “The second thing I would say is that it is working. There is enough evidence out there that the social distancing that we are all engaging in is starting to have an effect in terms of reducing the impact of the pandemic.”

To hear the full interview, subscribe and download The FOX News Rundown on your favorite podcast player.

The FOX NEWS RUNDOWN is a news-based daily morning podcast delivering a deep dive into the major and controversial stories of the day.