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Iranian Cyberattack Tried to Damage Israel’s Water Supply

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By Brian Freeman (NEWSMAX)

Iran is behind an attempted cyberattack last month on Israeli water infrastructure, foreign intelligence officials told The Washington Post on Sunday.

The attack was quickly detected and thwarted before it caused any damage.

But Axios reported that Israeli officials say the government, which reportedly held a top secret meeting on the issue in recent days, views the attempt as a major escalation by Tehran, and the crossing of a red line because the target was civilian water supplies.

The Iranian attempt to harm the water supplies comes amid an increased number of airstrikes on Iranian and Iranian-backed militias in Syria attributed to Israel in the past few weeks in a continued attempt to prevent Tehran from further entrenching itself in Syria and using its presence there as a way to up its threats on Israel, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Investigators discovered that the hackers who carried out the cyberattack routed their attempted sabotage through computer servers in the United States and Europe, which is  a common technique used by enemies of the West, The Washington Post reported.

Foreign intelligence officials described the attempt as a coordinated attack, although it was not particularly sophisticated.

Iran denies that it was involved in the attack.

 

Read more: Iranian Cyberattack Tried to Damage Israel’s Water Supply | Newsmax.com

Giuliani: Barr May Have Treason Case on Comey, Brennan

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By Solange Reyner   (NEWSMAX)

Rudy Giuliani suggested that Attorney General William Barr has enough information to build a case against former FBI director James Comey and former CIA director John Brennan for treason in their attempts to overthrow President Donald Trump.

My “inexperienced prosecutors hypothesis … I think Brennan ran this damn thing,” Trump’s personal lawyer told host John Catsimatidis during an appearance on “The Cats Roundtable” on AM 970 in New York.

“I particularly think Brennan ran the Papadopoulos-Carter Page part of it. Because that’s a very elaborate counterintelligence plan. Kind of a stupid one. Brennan is smart. But if he goes overboard, he makes a lot of mistakes, which is why he was in trouble all his career … Who the hell would’ve done it in the CIA but a screwball like Brennan?”

Giuliani also told Catsimatidis he thinks Barr’s office has evidence it can use against Comey.

“I think they have Comey,” he said. “I believe that Attorney General Barr was saving it for the really good case, the one that comes pretty close to treason. Because what they did after [Trump] was elected — I don’t say it was treason, it was as close to treason as you can get. They wanted to take out the lawfully elected president of the United States and they wanted to do it by lying, submitting false affidavits, using phony witnesses. In other words, they wanted to do it by illegal means.

“What is overthrowing the government by illegal means? Treason.”

Trump late last week hinted at the release of additional DOJ documents that would show high-level Obama administration involvement in the origins of the Russia probe.

NY Corona Update: Lowest Deaths Since March, COVID Related Children’s Illness Appears

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Governor Andrew Cuomo delivers daily briefing on the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.

(NEWSMAX) New York reported the lowest number of new deaths from Covid-19 — 207 — since the end of March. Other indicators also began to show the virus outbreak nearing where it was at the start of what Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday called “this hellish journey.”

The total number of new coronavirus cases in New York rose on Sunday 2,273, for a total of 335,395.

The number of new deaths dropped from 226 the day before, the lowest since March 27, and marked the 10th straight day of new deaths at a plateau in the 200s. New and total hospitalizations, as well as intensive care cases, continued to drop.

The total number of new coronavirus cases in New York rose on Sunday 2,273, for a total of 335,395.

New and total hospitalizations, as well as intensive care cases, continued to drop.

He said he would release on Monday more details on how New York would begin to reopen — and confirmed that some areas upstate would be ready to slowly open after the official lockdown ends on May 15.

Cuomo gave no indication that New York City or the surrounding areas are anywhere near being able to reopen.

He also reported another 12 cases, for a total of 85, of a newly-recognized, Covid-related illness that afflicts children and has killed three in New York. The condition is called pediatric multi-system inflammatory disease, and it can cause dangerous inflammation, including to the heart.

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The Governor also announced he will issue an Executive Order mandating that all nursing homes and adult care facilities test all personnel for COVID-19 two times per week and report any positive test results to the State Department of Health by the next day. The Executive Order also mandates that hospitals cannot discharge a patient to a nursing home unless that patient tests negative for COVID-19.

All nursing home and adult care facility administrators will be required to submit a plan on how they will accomplish this testing and a certificate of compliance with this Executive Order to the State Department of Health by Friday May 15th.

Any nursing home or adult care facility found to be in violation of the Executive Order may have its operating certificate suspended or revoked or may be subject to a penalty for non-compliance of $2,000 per violation per day. Additionally, any personnel who refuse to be tested for COVID-19 will be considered to have outdated or incomplete health assessments and therefore will be prohibited from working in the nursing home or adult care facility until testing is performed.

New York has the highest population of nursing home residents of any state in the country – 101,518 residents – and yet New York’s percentage of deaths in nursing homes is the 34th highest percentage of any state.

The Governor also announced that the Department of Health and Human Services is distributing a promising treatment called Remdesivir that has been shown to help patients infected with COVID-19 recover more quickly. The Department of Health and Human Services has sent New York enough antiviral to treat 2,900 people at 15 hospitals and will send more doses in the coming weeks to treat 500 more patients, including children, at additional New York Hospitals.

On Mother’s Day, Leaders seek some Optimism amid Pandemic

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By FRANK JORDANS and NOMAAN MERCHANT  (AP)

As families in the U.S. and elsewhere marked Mother’s Day in a time of social distancing and isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic, world leaders balanced optimism they could loosen lockdowns that have left millions unemployed against the threat of a second wave of infections.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin predicted the American economy would rebound in the second half of this year from unemployment rates that rival the Great Depression. Another 3.2 million U.S. workers applied for jobless benefits last week, bringing the total over the last seven weeks to 33.5 million.

“I think you’re going to see a bounce-back from a low standpoint,” said Mnuchin, speaking on “Fox News Sunday.”

But the director of the University of Washington institute that created a White House-endorsed coronavirus model said states’ moves to re-open businesses “will translate into more cases and deaths in 10 days from now.” Dr. Christopher Murray of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation said states where cases and deaths are going up more than expected include Illinois, Arizona, Florida and California.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a modest easing of the country’s coronavirus lockdown, saying those in the construction or manufacturing industries or other jobs that can’t be done at home “should be actively encouraged to go to work” this week.

Johnson, who has taken a tougher line after falling ill himself with what he called “this devilish illness,” set a goal of June 1 to begin re-opening schools and shops if the U.K. can control new infections and the transmission rate of each infected person. The country has recorded the most virus deaths in Europe at over 31,900.

“We will be driven not by mere hope or economic necessity,” he said. “We’re going to be driven by the science, the data, and public health.”

He also said he would soon impose a quarantine for some air travelers entering the U.K., but gave no start date or other specifics.

Germany, which managed to push new infections below 1,000 daily before deciding to loosen restrictions, has seen regional spikes in cases linked to slaughterhouses and nursing homes.

German officials expressed concerns about the growing number of large demonstrations, including one in the southwestern city of Stuttgart that drew thousands. Police in Berlin stepped in Saturday after hundreds of people failed to respect social distancing measures at anti-lockdown rallies.

France, which has a similar number of infections as Germany but a far higher death toll at over 26,300, is letting some younger students go back to school Monday after almost two months out. Attendance won’t be compulsory right away, allowing parents to decide if it’s safe or not.

Italian hotel owners, tour guides, beach resorts and others who depend heavily on tourism are pressing to know when citizens can travel across the country. In a newspaper interview, Premier Giuseppe Conte promised that the restriction on inter-regional movement would be lifted, but only after authorities better determine how the virus outbreak evolves.

Residents in some Spanish regions will be able to enjoy limited seating at bars, restaurants and other public places Monday, but Madrid and Barcelona, the country’s largest cities, will remain shut down. Spain reported 143 new deaths from the virus, the lowest daily increase since March 19.

Russia, in contrast, is still reporting rising infections. Figures on Sunday recorded 11,012 new cases, the highest one-day tally yet, for a total of nearly 210,000 cases and 1,915 reported deaths. Russian officials attribute the sharp rise in part to increased testing, but health experts say Russia’s coronavirus data has been significantly under-reported.

China reported 14 new cases Sunday, its first double-digit rise in 10 days. Eleven of 12 domestic infections were in the northeastern province of Jilin, prompting authorities to raise the threat level in one of its counties, Shulan, to high risk, just days after downgrading all regions to low risk.

Authorities said the Shulan outbreak originated with a 45-year-old woman who had no recent travel or exposure history but spread it to her husband, three sisters and other relatives. Train services in the county were suspended.

“Epidemic control and prevention is a serious and complicated matter, and local authorities should never be overly optimistic, war-weary or off-guard,” said Jilin Communist Party secretary Bayin Chaolu.

Jilin also shares a border with North Korea, which insists it has no virus cases, much to the disbelief of international health authorities.

South Korea reported 34 more cases as new infections linked to nightclubs threaten its hard-won gains against the virus. It was the first time that South Korea’s daily infections were above 30 in about a month.

The U.S. has seen 1.3 million infections and nearly 80,000 deaths — the most in the world by far, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Many families celebrated Mother’s Day weekend from afar, delaying or changing their normal plans. A nursing home in Miami held a Mother’s Day parade on Saturday, with children and grandchildren driving past the windows and waving at loved ones inside. Others grieved for those victims of the virus that has caused particular suffering for the elderly and previously sick.

Matilda Cuomo, the mother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, called into her son’s daily briefing so he and his three daughters could wish her a happy Mother’s Day.

“I am so blessed as many mothers today are,” she said.

Andrew Cuomo, whose state is the deadliest hot spot for the virus in the U.S., said he looked forward to getting back to normal. “We’re going to have fun, and then you can spend more time with me. I know I am your favorite,” he said in a playful dig at his siblings.

Cuomo also announced two policy reversals a day after an Associated Press report in which residents’ relatives, watchdog groups and politicians from both parties alleged he was not doing enough to counter the surge of deaths in nursing homes, where about 5,300 residents have died. Nursing home staff in New York will now have to undergo COVID-19 tests twice a week and facilities will no longer be required to take in hospital patients who were infected.

Three members of the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, placed themselves in quarantine after coming in contact with someone who tested positive.

Worldwide, 4 million people have been reported infected and more than 280,000 have died, over half of them in Europe, according to Johns Hopkins.

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COVID-19 Infections Would Plummet If 80% Of Americans Just Wore Masks Says UC Berkeley Study

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A worker at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, April 2, 2020. Photo by Nati Shohat/Flash90

Vanity Fair notes:

The day before yesterday, 21 people died of COVID-19 in Japan. In the United States, 2,129 died. Comparing overall death rates for the two countries offers an even starker point of comparison with total U.S. deaths now at a staggering 80,252 (as of 5/10/20) and Japan’s fatalities at 577. Japan’s population is about 38% of the U.S., but even adjusting for population, the Japanese death rate is a mere 2% of America’s.

This comes despite Japan having no lock-down, still-active subways, and many businesses that have remained open—reportedly including karaoke bars, although Japanese citizens and industries are practicing social distancing where they can. Nor have the Japanese broadly embraced contact tracing, a practice by which health authorities identify someone who has been infected and then attempt to identify everyone that person might have interacted with—and potentially infected. So how does Japan do it?

One reason is that nearly everyone there is wearing a mask,” said UC Berkeley computer scientist De Kai, the chief architect of an in-depth joint study with Hong Kong University.

Kai’s study suggests that every one of us should be wearing a mask – be it homemade, surgical, scarf or bandana, like the Japanese are doing along with other (mostly East Asian) countries

80% of Americans were to wear a mask, COVID-19 infections would drop by more than 90%.

Kai built a forecasting computer model called the masksim simulator, which uses sophisticated models used by epidemiologists to track outbreaks of various pathogens such as SARS, Ebola and COVID-19, and simulate the effect of wearing masks on infection rates

This is a very informative  piece, you  can read the article in detail here 

In  general the numbers  from Japan are impressive, 126.5 million people,  16,000 cases,  624 deaths. Without a lock-down or disruption of their economy, the masks just might be the deciding factor

Hamas MP Calls for Murder of Jews, says Israeli Annexation violates Allah’s will

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(JNS) Hamas MP Yunis al-Astal said in a parliament session last week that Israeli annexation of parts of Judea and Samaria would constitute a crime against the will of Allah, and called for the parliament to recommend the murder of Jews “wherever they may be found.”

In the May 6 session, which aired on Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV, al-Astal said that the Jews were “the most corrupt of Allah’s creatures,” and that annexation went against Allah’s will for them, which was that they suffer “humiliation, misery and wrath.” The Jews, he said, are more dangerous than the coronavirus, and are planning to eventually occupy parts of the Arabian Peninsula, including Medina.

The solution, he said, “was that the Jews should be treated according to Allah’s decree about them. Allah decrees [in the Quran]: Kill them wherever you may find them, and drive them away from wherever they drove you away.”

Report: China President Xi Pressured WHO Leader To Hold Back On Virus Warning

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World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands in Beijing on Jan. 28, 2020, ahead of their meeting to discuss how to curb the spread of a new pneumonia-causing coronavirus. (Kyodo via AP Images) ==Kyodo

By Cathy Burke  (NEWSMAX)

China’s President Xi Jinping reportedly pressured the director of the World Health Organization in January to hold off issuing a global warning about the coronavirus outbreak.

German media outlet Der Spiegel, citing intelligence from the country’s intelligence service, Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), reported the pressure came in a Jan. 21 call to WHO leader Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The BND estimated China’s action to conceal information resulted in a loss of four to six weeks in the fight against COVID-19.

The WHO denied the claim as “unfounded and untrue.”

“Dr. Tedros and President Xi did not speak on January 21 and they have never spoken by phone. Such inaccurate reports distract and detract from WHO’s and the world’s efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic,” the organization tweeted.

The WHO also tweeted China confirmed human-to-human transmission to the UN health agency on Jan. 20 and the WHO “publicly declared” two days later that “data collected … suggests that human-to-human transmission is taking place in Wuhan.”

President Donald Trump has condemned China for holding back critical information about the virus to the world, including failing to accurately report on the number of cases — and called WHO a “pipe organ” for China’s communist party last month.

US virus Patients and Businesses Sue China over Outbreak

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By CURT ANDERSON (AP)

Before the coronavirus outbreak, Saundra Andringa-Meuer was a healthy 61-year-old mother of six who never smoked or drank alcohol. Then she became seriously ill with the disease after traveling from her Wisconsin home to help her son move from college in Connecticut.

She was hospitalized in March, ending up in a coma and on a ventilator for 14 days. Doctors told her family she had a slim chance to live. When she emerged, she was told she was the sickest COVID-19 patient they had seen survive.

Now Andringa-Meuer has joined with dozens of other American virus patients and some U.S. businesses in taking a new legal step: They are attempting to sue China over the spread of the virus, which has killed at least 75,000 people in the United States.

I do feel that they hid it from the world and from Americans,” she said. “I don’t feel we had to have the loss of life. I don’t think we had to have the economy shut down. It disrupted all of American lives. I do believe we need to right some of these wrongs.”

So far, at least nine lawsuits have been filed in the U.S. against China claiming authorities there did not do enough to corral the virus initially, tried to hide what was happening in the outbreak center of Wuhan and sought to conceal their actions and what they knew.

Eight of the lawsuits are potential class actions that would represent thousands of people and businesses. One was filed by the attorney general of Missouri, which is so far the only state to take legal action against China.

The cases face several hurdles under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which states that foreign governments cannot be sued in the U.S. unless certain exceptions are met. And those are not easy to prove, experts say.

“We think it’s going to be an uphill battle for them to ultimately take advantage of those exceptions,” said Robert Boone, an attorney in Los Angeles who specializes in class action cases.

One exception involves commercial activity that directly affects the U.S. Another is misconduct inside the U.S. under certain circumstances that is traceable to a foreign government. A third exception is whether the foreign entity explicitly waived its immunity, such as through language in a contract.

Attorneys who have filed the lawsuits say they can prove those claims, and, if they win, find some method of collecting damages, perhaps by seizing Chinese bank accounts or other assets in the U.S. if the Chinese refuse to pay.

In one case filed in Miami federal court on behalf of Andringa-Meurer and many others, attorneys Matthew Moore and Jeremy Alters are suing the Chinese Communist Party as an entity separate from the Chinese government.

“They have their own assets. They are recognized as an independent organization. We are going to argue they are not a part of the government,” Moore said. “There has been personal injury that happened in the United States.”

Added Alters: “They’re going to have to pay … We can say, ‘We’re not going to do business with you anymore.’ When you hit them in the (gross domestic product), it hurts.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang defended his country’s record of fighting the virus. He said the lawsuit filed by the Missouri attorney general is “very absurd and has no factual and legal basis.”

Since the outbreak began, China has proceeded in an “open, transparent, and responsible manner,” and the U.S. government should “dismiss such vexatious litigation,” he said.

Efforts are underway in Congress and in some state legislatures to make it easier to sue China and other countries. One bill was introduced by Republican U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Martha McSally of Arizona, and GOP U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas in the House.

“The Chinese government must be held accountable for the pain it’s inflicted across the United States,” McSally said in a statement. The proposed legislation “will give the U.S. a piece of justice.”

In New Jersey, three Republican state lawmakers introduced a resolution urging President Donald Trump and Congress to pass a bill letting citizens sue China for “mishandling” the pandemic.

State Sen. Jim Holzapfel and Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and John Catalano said in a statement that they believe Chinese leaders did little to stop the spread of the virus and that residents and local governments should be legally allowed to recover some of what they lost financially.

It’s not clear if any of the legislation will pass. If the bills were enacted, legal experts say they could open the floodgates for hundreds more lawsuits against China.

“If that immunity were stripped, it’s going to produce a gigantic burden on the court system,” said Boone, the class action lawyer. “That’s a factor that will need to be weighed in deciding whether to pass it.”

As for Andringa-Meurer, she said she’s still somewhat frail but getting better all the time.

“I’m weak, but I’m fabulous. I’m alive,” she said. “I want to give back, not only to the doctors and nurses who gave me the opportunity to live. They are the heroes. But also to all of the Americans who were affected by this.”

Virus Cases Rise in China, South Korea; Obama Bashes Trump

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People watch a TV screen showing the live broadcast of South Korean President Moon Jae-in during a news conference to mark the third anniversary of his presidency at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, May 10, 2020. President Moon Jae-in urged citizens not to lower their guard down, but said there's no reason to be panicked amid worries about a new surge in the coronavirus outbreak in the country. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

By: Nicole Winfield, Vanessa Gera & Amy Forliti

Both China and South Korea reported new spikes in coronavirus cases on Sunday, setting off fresh concerns in countries where local outbreaks had been in dramatic decline.

Former President Barack Obama, meanwhile, harshly criticized President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as an “absolute chaotic disaster,” while  states began gradually reopening, even as health officials are anxiously watching for a second wave of infections.

China reported 14 new cases on Sunday, its first double-digit rise in 10 days. Eleven of 12 domestic infections were in the northeastern province of Jilin and one in Hubei, whose capital Wuhan was the epicenter of the global pandemic. The Jilin cases prompted authorities to raise the threat level in one of its counties, Shulan, to high risk, just days after downgrading all regions in the country to low risk.

Authorities said the Shulan outbreak originated with a 45-year-old woman who had no recent travel or exposure history, but spread it to her husband, her three sisters and other family members. Train services in and out of the county were being suspended through the end of the month.

Responding to the latest, cases, the Jilin Communist Party secretary, Bayin Chaolu, the province’s highest official, told local media that “epidemic control and prevention is a serious and complicated matter, and local authorities should never be overly optimistic, war-weary, or off-guard.”

Jilin also shares a border with North Korea, where the virus situation is unclear but whose vastly inadequate health system has been offered help by China in dealing with any outbreak.

South Korea on Sunday reported 34 additional cases as a spate of transmissions linked to clubgoers threatens the country’s hard-won gains in its fight against the virus. It was the first time that South Korea’s daily jump has marked above 30 in about a month.

On Sunday, President Moon Jae-in said citizens must neither panic nor let down their guard, but warned that “the damage to our economy is indeed colossal as well.”

Around the world, the U.S. and other hard-hit countries are wrestling with how to ease curbs on business and public activity without causing the virus to come surging back.

During a conversation with ex-members of his administration, Obama said combating the virus would have been bad even for the best of governments, but it’s been “an absolute chaotic disaster” when the mindset of “what’s in it for me” infiltrates government, according to a recording obtained by Yahoo News.

The United States has suffered nearly 80,000 deaths from COVID-19, the most of any nation.

In Australia, Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government supports a European Union motion for an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19 in China, a proposal stiffly resisted by Beijing, Australia’s No. 1 trading partner.

“We support the EU motion which includes an independent investigation, regulatory work on wet markets and also the potential for independent inspection powers,” Hunt told Sky News on Sunday.

Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU’s executive arm, said last week she would like to see China work together with her organization, and others, to determine how the virus emerged.

While the virus is believed to have originated in Wuhan, most scientists say it was most likely transmitted from bats to humans via an intermediary animal such as the armadillo-like pangolin. That has placed the focus on a wet market in the city where wildlife was sold for food.

However, Trump and allies have expressed confidence in an unsubstantiated theory linking the origin of the outbreak to a possible accident at a Chinese virology laboratory in Wuhan, something Chinese officials and state media have called an attempt to divert attention from U.S. failings through the dissemination of groundless accusations.

China says its too early to launch an investigation into the virus’ origin and angrily rejects accusations that it covered up the initial outbreak and didn’t do enough to prevent the global pandemic.

In New York, the deadliest hot spot in the U.S., Gov. Andrew Cuomo said three children died from a possible complication of the coronavirus involving swollen blood vessels and heart problems.

Three members of the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

Worldwide, 4 million people have been confirmed infected by the virus, and more than 279,000 have died, including over 78,000 in the U.S., according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Spain, France, Italy and Britain have reported around 26,000 to 32,000 deaths each.

Businesses in the U.S. continue to struggle as more employers reluctantly conclude that their laid-off employees might not return to work anytime soon.

Some malls have opened up in Georgia and Texas, while Nevada restaurants, hair salons and other businesses were able to have limited reopenings Saturday or once again allow customers inside after nearly two months of restrictions.

About 1,500 opponents of Washington’s stay-at-home order to slow the coronavirus rallied again Saturday at the state Capitol, while some residents who reported stay-at-home violators said they’ve received threats after far-right groups posted their personal information on Facebook. Such protests have drawn relatively small crowds in several states despite encouragement from the White House, which is anxious to see the economy reopen.

The federal government said it was delivering supplies of remdesivir, the first drug shown to speed recovery for COVID-19 patients, to six more states, after seven others were sent cases of the medicine earlier this week.

In the U.S. Southwest, some small Native American villages are embracing extraordinary isolation measures such as guarded roadblocks to turn away outsiders as the virus ravages tight-knit communities.

Italy saw people return to the streets and revel in fine weather and Rome’s Campo dei Fiori flower and vegetable market was also bustling in Rome. But confusion created frustrations for the city’s shopkeepers.

In Spain, certain regions can scale back lockdowns starting Monday, with limited seating at bars, restaurants and other public places. But Madrid and Barcelona, the country’s largest cities, will remain shut down. (Associated Press)

 

Hezbol-Law: Behind Germany’s Long-Awaited Ban of the Terrorist Organization

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Pro-Hezbollah supporters at a rally in Germany. Source: Screenshot.

The move to ban the Iranian-backed Shi’ite terror group was more than a decade-long process in the famously bureaucratic Germany.

By: Orit Arfa

On April 30, Germany officially banned all Hezbollah activities in Germany. In a dramatic demonstration of its execution, authorities raided four mosques believed to have ties to the Lebanese terror group.

Critics of Germany’s reluctance to make a distinction between the political and military wing of Hezbollah, such as the German Jewish community and the Israeli government, praised it as a long-overdue policy. Others called it a partial step.

“Germany has taken a major step, and we’re glad they’ve done so,” U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell told JNS. Along with his embassy staff, he has made blacklisting Hezbollah a top priority. The U.S. State Department designated Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has long pushed for Germany to outlaw the group.

 

The road to banning Hezbollah

 

The move to ban the Iranian-backed Shi’ite terror group was over a decade-long process in the famously bureaucratic Germany.

The first move to sanction the organization came in 2008, when Germany restricted Hezbollah’s al-Manar satellite station. In 2014, the country banned an alleged charity that was a front for the Martyrs Organization of Hezbollah and the following year, Germany’s Supreme Court ruled that Hezbollah was an organization that “disrupted global peace.”

Despite this, the Germany government and its major political parties seemed to delay a full ban on the terror group.

At a Bundestag debate last June led by the right-wing Alternative for Deutschland (AfD), which introduced a motion to ban Hezbollah’s political arm, German lawmakers stated collective disdain for Hezbollah’s genocidal, anti-Semitic aims but argued the ban might cause instability in Lebanon (where Hezbollah is a central political player) or that it should be a pan-European initiative. The E.U. only recognizes Hezbollah’s so-called “military wing” as a terror organization. Yet other European and E.U. countries, such as the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, list the entire organization as a terror group.

However, the push to outlaw began to gain momentum in December 2019, when the ruling coalition parties, the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Socialist Union and the Socialist Democrats, as well as the Free Democrats (FdP) passed their own non-binding resolution calling on the government to ban Hezbollah’s activities.

“It’s good that, following the clear decision of the joint motion in the Bundestag in December 2019, the Federal Ministry of the Interior has finally become active and brought about the ban on activity,” said MP Strasser, who said he and his party, the Free Democrats (FDP) spearheaded and pushed the motion.

Ban on Hezbollah had to be ‘legally airtight’

Behind the scenes, Grenell and his embassy staff were also working to encourage the Germans to make the ban. Ultimately, the decisive logic employed by the U.S. embassy focused less on ethical, historical and political considerations, but on legal ones.

According to a U.S. official, embassy personnel had extensive discussions with German officials about how the ban fits under the parameters of German federal law, the same laws that justified the banning of ISIS and Al-Qaeda. Any ban on Hezbollah had to be legally airtight to avoid being challenged in court, which could effectively, and permanently, overturn it.

“They did everything that they could under the law, and they’re not going to operate outside the law,” said the U.S. official.

Keeping the letter of the law—i.e., freedom of assembly—has ostensibly prevented Berlin authorities from forbidding the annual Hezbollah-affiliated Al Quds march, which is permitted under strict prohibitions against hate speech, the burning of Israeli flags, and the waving of Hezbollah flags. One the same day that Germany’s Interior Ministry banned Hezbollah, the Al Quds organizers canceled the scheduled May 14 anti-Israel rally, conveniently blaming the Corona pandemic.

According to Berlin’s Interior department, the office had already begun examining, prior to the cancellation, which legal measures could be invoked to get it off Berlin’s streets.

Berlin’s Interior Senator, Andreas Geisel, who participated in counter-demonstrations, said in a statement: “I do not want such anti-Semitic events to take place in Berlin. We are therefore exhausting all constitutional possibilities to make something like this impossible in our city.”

The true test of Germany’s application of the 40-page Hezbollah ban towards the Al Quds rally will therefore be next year (assuming no pandemic).

The AfD, which credits itself as the parliamentary champion of Hezbollah’s demise in Germany, called the move insufficient.

“The German law makes the difference between a ‘Betätigungsverbot’ (Prohibition to Act) and an ‘Organisationsverbot’ (Prohibition of the Organization),” said AfD’s MP Beatrix Von Storch, the sponsor of the June anti-Hezbollah motion. “The German government introduced only a ‘Betätigungsverbot’ for the Hezbollah. That prohibits the Hezbollah to act, but this will not lead to the end of the Hezbollah organization in Germany. But it is necessary to destroy the Hezbollah organization, seize the property and force its extremist members to leave Germany.”

According to the U.S. official, a ban on the activity and the organization are essentially one and the same given that Hezbollah does not exist as a legal entity in Germany (as is the case with ISIS and Al-Qaeda.) The Hezbollah ban on activity subsumes any and all legally incorporated associations, transactions, and assets with proven links to Hezbollah, including those in the digital sphere.

‘Not the beginning of the end’ for Hezbollah in Germany

The question now becomes how vigorously Germany will enforce the ban, said Michael Rubin, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute specializing in Iran.

“Hezbollah will play Three-card Monte with shell organizations and front groups, much like the Muslim Brotherhood does,” Rubin told JNS. “This is the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end. German authorities will need to show their seriousness by continuing to close front groups as they try to open.”

“I consider it absolutely necessary that the Federal Government does not now sit back and do nothing,” said FDP’s Strasser. “It must use the German E.U. Council Presidency in the second half of 2020 to arrive at a new assessment of Hezbollah at European level as well.”

According to Benjamin Weinthal, fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who has covered the matter extensively, the next step would be to sanction Hezbollah’s chief sponsor, Iran. “That means pulling out of the deeply flawed Iran nuclear, joining U.S. sanctions targeting Tehran, and not agreeing to allow Iran to buy arms after the weapons embargo on the rogue nation expires in October,” he said, adding that Germany should next outlaw the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, another U.S.-designated terrorist entity.

While Israel and the Jewish community, in addition to several German lawmakers, have rallied for the ban, the credit, said Weinthal, goes to Grenell’s efforts, which won’t stop here. Next up: the European Union.

“But now it’s time for the rest of the E.U. to follow through and take a similarly strong stance,” said Grenell. “There can be no doubt Hezbollah is a global threat. Germany has recognized this, and it’s time to make sure this terrorist organization doesn’t have safe haven anywhere in Europe.” (JNS.org)

 

A Distinct Possibility: ‘Temporary’ Layoffs May Be Permanent

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Foxwoods Hotel & Casino in Connecticut. Photo Credit: AP

By: AP

In late March, Britney Ruby Miller, co-owner of a small chain of steakhouse restaurants, confidently proclaimed that once the viral outbreak had subsided, her company planned to recall all its laid-off workers.

Now? Miller would be thrilled to eventually restore three-quarters of the roughly 600 workers her company had to let go.

“I’m being realistic,” she said. “Bringing back 75 percent of our staff would be incredible.”

Call it realism or pessimism, but more employers are coming to a reluctant conclusion: Many of the employees they’ve had to lay off in the face of the pandemic might not be returning to their old jobs anytime soon. Some large companies won’t have enough customers to justify it. And some small businesses won’t likely survive at all despite aid provided by the federal government.

If so, that would undercut a glimmer of hope in the brutal April jobs report the government issued Friday, in which a record-shattering 20.5 million people lost jobs: A sizable majority of the jobless — nearly 80 percent — characterized their loss as only temporary.

That could still turn out to be the case for some. The federal government may end up allocating significantly more financial aid for people and small businesses. And more testing for the coronavirus, not to mention an eventual vaccine or an effective drug therapy, would make more Americans comfortable returning to the restaurants, shops, airports and movie theaters they used to frequent. That, in turn, would lead companies to recall more laid-off workers.

Yet Congress remains sharply divided about additional aid, with some Republicans expressing concern about escalating federal debt. President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said Friday that negotiations have “paused.”

If most layoffs become permanent, the severe recession the economy has slid into would likely last longer, the recovery would be slower and the toll on laid-off workers would be harsher, economists say. Unemployment soared to 14.7 percent in April — the highest rate since the Great Depression — and analysts predict it will rise still further in May. It could remain in double-digits into next year.

“For a lot of those furloughed workers, a non-trivial number will have no job to go back to, because the company they worked for will have failed or will need fewer workers than they used to,” said Claudia Sahm, a former Federal Reserve economist who is now director of macroeconomic policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

In March, MGM Resorts let go 63,000 employees and described them as furloughed, meaning temporarily laid off. Yet this week, the company acknowledged that many of those people will become permanently laid off by August 31. The hotel and casino operator didn’t provide precise figures.

“We were optimistic at the time of the initial layoff in March that we would be able to reopen quickly,” Laura Lee, head of human resources, said in a layoff notice letter to the state of Michigan. “However, we have had to reassess our reopening date, given the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In some ways, Miller, the restaurant owner, is more hopeful than she was when the shutdowns began: The states her company operates in — Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee — have begun to gradually reopen portions of their economies. Customers are phoning to see when they can make reservations. She hopes to reopen the five Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouses and two other restaurants the company operates by early June.

Yet business won’t be returning to what it was before. In Kentucky, the restaurants will be limited to 33 percent of capacity. They are putting 6 feet between tables in all their restaurants, thereby limiting seating. Miller estimates that the company’s revenue will plunge by half to three-quarters this year.

And expenses are rising because the company must buy face masks and other equipment for the workers it does recall and restock its food, drink, and equipment supplies.

If many of the job losses do prove only temporary, it would raise the possibility of a relatively swift economic recovery. It’s much easier for someone out of work to return to a former job than retrain for a new one or shift to a new industry. After the previous three recessions, the vast majority of people who were laid off lost their jobs permanently. Some were essentially replaced by new software or factory robots. In other cases, their employers folded or entered new lines of business.

After those recessions, the unemployment rate took so long to fall back to normal levels that economists began applying a chilling label: “Jobless recoveries.”

If a substantial number of small businesses are forced into bankruptcy, a similar dynamic could emerge this time, economists warn. Most job cuts by small companies in this recession have occurred because the business has shut down, whether by government order or from lack of demand, according to research released this week by Tomaz Cajner at the Federal Reserve and seven other economists. If those companies can’t reopen, those layoffs will become permanent.

Research by the JPMorgan Chase Institute has found that only half of all small businesses have enough cash on hand to last a month without revenue.

Even after government closure orders are lifted, many consumers won’t likely be comfortable shopping, eating out or attending concerts, movies or sporting events, especially as they used to — as part of tightly seated crowds. Not until the virus is well under control can a full economic recovery likely happen, economists say.

In the meantime, structural changes in the economy might help make many temporary layoffs permanent. It’s not clear, for example, when restaurants will need anywhere near as many workers they did before the virus struck.

Nelis Rodriguez has worked as a server at the M Restaurant & Lounge in the Warwick Hotel in downtown Chicago for 21 years. But revenue at the restaurant steadily disappeared as conventions that are critical for spring sales were canceled. She received two days’ notice of her layoff before the restaurant closed March 15.

Rodriguez, 45, never thought she’d be thrown out of work, so she’d never thought about finding another job. But now she fears that as the coronavirus lingers, she might be laid off again and again.

“I think I will try to get out of the restaurant business altogether because I am afraid now,” she said. (AP)

 

Agudath Israel Releases Roadmap & Instructions To Reopen Shuls & Minyanim

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The goal of this comprehensive document is to lay out a plan to return to davening b’tzibbur in a safe and halachically sanctioned way. 

Edited by: JV Staff

On Motzei Shabbos (Saturday night), the Yeshiva World News web site reported that: “We are all encouraged to see several states ease, or begin talks of easing, the long and difficult quarantine which has successfully slowed the progress of COVID-19. We pray that the trajectory witnessed in several states continue its downward trend until this menace is totally eradicated.”

Notwithstanding our eagerness to “return to normal,” Agudath Israel of America reminds our constituents that the road to recovery will, and should be, deliberate. Easing restrictions abruptly and without closely monitoring its impact risks forfeiting the gains achieved by enduring this difficult quarantine.

For this reason, at the direction of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah, Agudath Israel has worked closely with prominent rabbonim and infectious disease specialists to develop A Roadmap for Rabbonim and Community Leaders to Safely Reopen Our Kehillos.

The goal of this comprehensive document is to lay out a plan to return to davening b’tzibbur in a safe and halachically sanctioned way. Even if your state – like New York – has not yet eased restrictions, there should be a clear, advance game plan for how to move forward when it does. The Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah-approved guidelines contained in the Roadmap are designed to achieve this purpose.

Yeshiva World News also reported that on Friday afternoon, the Orthodox Union and the Rabbinical Council of America issued guidelines to synagogues and communities regarding reopening.

This document presents thirteen principles that should guide the decisions and planning of synagogues and communities throughout the country. They focus primarily on the eventual reopening of communal davening. Guidance on other matters will follow. As made clear within the document, the issuance of this guidance does not imply that any reopening should be done at this point.

The situation continues to evolve and thus these recommendations and guidelines are formulated based solely on currently available information and advice. As always, shuls and communities must strictly follow the guidelines provided by local and national authorities, including the CDC and local health departments. (YWN)

 

 

White House Virus Task Force Members Face Quarantine

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(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

By: Kevin Freking

Three members of the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, another stark reminder that not even one of the nation’s most secure buildings is immune from the virus.

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of the task force, has become nationally known for his simple and direct explanations to the public about the coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease it causes. Also quarantining are Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn.

Fauci’s institute said that he has tested negative for COVID-19 and will continue to be tested regularly. It added that he is considered at “relatively low risk” based on the degree of his exposure, and that he would be “taking appropriate precautions” to mitigate the risk to personal contacts while still carrying out his duties. While he will stay at home and telework, Fauci will go to the White House if called and take every precaution, the institute said.

Redfield will be “teleworking for the next two weeks” after it was determined he had a “low risk exposure” to a person at the White House, the CDC said in a statement Saturday evening. The statement said he felt fine and has no symptoms.

Just a few hours earlier, the Food and Drug Administration confirmed that Hahn had come in contact with someone who tested positive and was in self-quarantine for the next two weeks. He tested negative for the virus.

All three men are scheduled to testify before a Senate committee on Tuesday. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the panel, said the White House will allow Redfield and Hahn to testify by videoconference, a one-time exception to the administration’s policies on hearing testimony. The statement was issued before Fauci’s quarantine was announced.

Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. White House officials had confirmed Thursday that a member of the military serving as one of Trump’s valets had tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide as spokeswoman Katie Miller, said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.

Miller had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president and had tested negative a day earlier. She is married to Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser. The White House had no immediate comment on whether Stephen Miller had been tested or if he was still working in the White House.

The CDC and FDA would not disclose the identity of the person who had tested positive and with whom the agency leaders had come in contact.

Redfield sought to use the exposure as a teachable moment. The CDC statement said if he must go to the White House to fulfill any responsibilities as part of the coronavirus task force, he will follow CDC practices for critical infrastructure workers. Those guidelines call for Redfield and anyone working on the task force to have their temperature taken and screened for symptoms each day, wear a face covering, and distance themselves from others.

Trump has resisted wearing a mask, and in a meeting with the nation’s top military leaders Saturday evening, he did not wear a mask during the brief portion that reporters were allowed to view. The generals around Trump also did not wear a mask, but participants did sit a few feet away from each other.

FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Caccomo said Hahn tested negative for the virus after he learned of the contact. He wrote a note to staff on Friday to alert them.

Six people who had been in contact with Miller were scheduled to fly with Pence on Friday to Des Moines, Iowa, on Air Force Two. They were removed from the flight just before it took off, according to a senior administration official.

None of those people was exhibiting symptoms, but all were asked to deplane so they could be tested “out of an abundance of caution,” a senior administration official told reporters traveling with Pence. All six later tested negative, the White House said.

The official said staff in the West Wing are tested regularly but much of Pence’s staff — which works next door in the Executive Office Building — are tested less frequently. Katie Miller was not on the plane and had not been scheduled to be on the trip.

Pence, who is tested on a regular basis, was tested Friday. Miller tweeted she was “doing well” and looked forward to getting back to work.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the administration was stepping up mitigation efforts already recommended by public health experts and taking other unspecified precautions to ensure the safety of the president. He said the White House was “probably the safest place that you can come,” but the he was reviewing further steps to keep Trump and Pence safe.

The White House requires daily temperature checks of anyone who enters the White House complex and has encouraged social distancing among those working in the building. The administration has also directed regular deep cleaning of all work spaces. Anyone who comes in close proximity to the president and vice president is tested daily for COVID-19.

Trump’s valet’s case marked the first known instance where a person who has come in close proximity to the president has tested positive since several people present at his private Florida club were diagnosed with COVID-19 in early March. (AP)

 

Poll: Majority of Israelis Support Annexation of Judea & Samaria Among right-wing Israelis, 71 percent support declaring sovereignty.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made declaring sovereignty a central campaign promise. (Flash90/Yonatan Sindel)

By: David Isaac

With the pieces falling into place for an Israeli declaration of sovereignty over some 30 percent of Judea and Samaria, a new poll shows the majority of Israelis are in favor of applying Israeli law over those territories.

According to the Israeli Voice Index for April 2020, 52 percent of Jewish Israelis support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy of extending Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. That number jumps when surveying Jewish Israeli right-wing voters (71%).

If Israel were to go forward with extending its sovereignty, only 20 percent of Israelis polled say that Palestinians in the areas affected should be granted full citizenship while 37 percent said that their legal status should remain unchanged.

Nevertheless, only 32 percent says Israel will in fact move forward with this step in the coming year.

Curiously, among Arab Israelis, less than half say they should be made full citizens of Israel, (47%) with 9 percent saying that Palestinians should not be given any political status beyond what they have today. Four and a half percent say they should be granted the status of residents, and 39 percent did not know or refused to answer the question.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on April 26 that in “a couple of months,” Israel will establish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.

Netanyahu had campaigned on a promise to annex parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley. That promise took on greater meaning when it was included in the unity agreement between the Likud and Blue and White.

Netanyahu and the Likud insisted that the agreement include a provision allowing them to bring forward in Israel’s parliament the issue of annexation by summer.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said that America would support Israel’s sovereignty move.

Israel’s erstwhile peace partner the Palestinian Authority condemned the move.

The European Union Minister for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell is reportedly weighing ways to punish Israel if it declares sovereignty.

The Israeli Voice Index is a monthly survey conducted by the Guttman Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute. (World Israel News)

Read more at: worldisraelnews.com

Largest Real Estate Deal Since Coronavirus Pandemic Hit NYC – Joseph Chetrit Gets $25M for Luxury UES Pad

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The top floor of this luxury pad that has a glass-enclosed gym that overlooks a 36-foot long swimming pool. Photo Credit: Brian Wittmuss/VHT Studios

Edited by: JV Staff

While the world is caught up in the news pertaining to a nightmarish pandemic that has taken hold of our lives, the good news is that other significant events are taking place in the world of real estate.

According to the Mansion Global web site, renowned and highly respected real estate investor Joseph Chetrit has netted approximately $25 million for a townhouse that he owned in Manhattan. What makes this real estate transaction so unique in that this deal is one of the largest in New York City to close since the Cornoavirus outbreak began in March, according to the Mansion Global web site.

Chetrit is a name that is well known in Brooklyn’s Sephardic Jewish community. As both a savvy investor and philanthropist, Chetrit came from humble beginnings in Morocco. Chetrit was born in Morocco to Simon and Alice Chetrit. He has four brothers: David, Meyer, Jacob and Juda Chetrit. The Chetrit family made their initial fortune in textiles and shipping.

In 2013, Chetrit and his partner David Bistricer, purchased the Sony Tower in New York City for $1.1 billion, according to a Wikipedia report, with plans to convert the building into condominiums.  In 2016, they halted the project due to fears of an over-supply of luxury housing; instead selling the building for $1.4B+ to the Olayan Group of Saudi Arabia. Additional projects include the renovation of the Temple Court Building and Annex with Charles Dayan; and the $290 million 2005 purchase along with partners Charles Dayan and Yair Levy of the 800,000 square foot historic 620 5th Avenue and its 2011 sale to RXR Realty, LLC for $500 million.

As an investor who made his primary wealth from buying low in a downturn and selling high later, Chetrit’s strategy has been market timing rather than development. He typically selects structures with flexible zoning (which broadens the pool of future purchasers) in areas seeing a downturn and thanks to his minimal use of debt, he has the ability to wait the market out. 

The Mansion Global reported that a person familiar with the deal who chose to remain anonymous said that Chetrit’s Upper East Side pad had been in contract for a much larger amount of money. Due to the sudden emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unsteadiness of the stock market, the selling  price of the eight-bedroom, 32-foot-wide townhouse on East 76th Street had to be renegotiated.  

Originally, the selling price for the apartment that has six floors and is approximately 13,000 square feet in size was going for $39 million when it was placed on the market in 2017. Other swanky amenities include an elevator, a rooftop garden and a cigar bar, according to the Mansion Global report.  The top floor of this luxury pad that has a glass-enclosed gym that overlooks a 36-foot long swimming pool, according to the Douglas Elliman listing with Tal Alexander and Richard Steinberg.    

So, how did this property land in Chetrit’s hands to begin with? According to the Mansion Global report, Chetrit plubked down a cool $26 million back in 2007 when he purchased this property from Lenox Hill Hospital in 2007, according to the Mansion Global web site. The property was one of the three townhouses created from the combination of six brownstones, as was reported by the Mansion Global site.    

The site reported that he facades of the original buildings were preserved while the interiors were completely reconstructed. Another one of the houses was purchased for $40.25 million in 2018 by the late David Koch, the prominent investor and Republican donor, and his wife Julia Koch.

Iconic Jersey Shore Boardwalk Reopens; Long Branch Gets Ready for Memorial Day Weekend

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Long Branch's boardwalk, adjacent roadway and promenade will reopen following its recent coronavirus closure. (Google Earth)

Edited by: JV Staff

Good news for New Jersey residents who are just itching to get out of their homes and into the great outdoors. So, after almost two months of scrupulously adhering to the self-isolation and quarantine guidelines offered by Garden State Governor Phil Murphy, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it now appears that among the restrictions that are in the process of being eased is the opening of the iconic Long Branch, New Jersey boardwalk. 

As of 6 am on Saturday, May 9th, the boardwalk, adjacent roadway and promenade all opened. The closures of the boardwalk and its amenities began on March 31st due to the  rapid spread of the Coronavirus in places like New York and New Jersey.   

Due to health concerns the bathrooms on the boardwalk will stay closed, and social distancing rules will continue to apply.  Wearing protective masks and latex gloves are encouraged if social distancing is not possible.

Long Branch Mayor John Pallone decided to announce the closures in March to prevent a surge of visitors who would likely gravitate there with the upcoming warm weather. The beaches, however, have remained open for residents, sightseers and tourists.     

Long Branch is complete with sandy beaches, oceanfront promenades, delicious food and plenty of summertime events. The town also hosts parades, antique shows, holiday events and great live theatre. And, of course, the annual Oceanfest, the biggest Independence Day celebration anywhere in New Jersey.

According to the Patch.com web site, New Jersey county officials have worked with mayors on gradually reopening their cities and towns.

“I have been working closely with the governor’s office on beaches reopening and I hope to have more guidance next week,” said Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone. “I am in constant communication with our shore town mayors and I would like to see the beaches open by Memorial Day weekend.”

According to a recent report on the nj.com web site, in his strongest indication yet, Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday “optimism is high” that New Jersey’s beaches will be reopened by Memorial Day weekend, with some strict measures, even as the coronvirus continues to grip the state.

Murphy had signaled Thursday evening of potentially opening up the beaches for the holiday, which is only a little over two weeks away.

The nj.com report also indicated that Cape May County officials sent Murphy a plan earlier this week to incrementally reopen beaches, boardwalks, bars and other staples of the county’s tourism industry over the next two months.