WHO Special Envoy On COVID Reiterates Caution Against Lockdowns As Primary Virus Plan

As the nations of Germany and France brace to hunker-down under fresh new lockdown measures to combat the spread of COVID-19, a Special Envoy of the World Health Organization has reiterated previous caution of using lockdowns as a primary method of combating the virus.

WHO’s special envoy on COVID-19, Dr. David Nabarro, cautioned in a Thursday interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today that full national lockdowns should be used only as a “reserve” measure to control the coronavirus, describing such actions as very extreme.

Nabarro, who was appointed in February as one of six special envoys tasked to deal with the corona virus response, warned that national lockdowns are “a very extreme restriction on economic and social life” that temporarily “freezes the virus in place.”

“You don’t want to use those as your primary, and I stress that, primary, means of containment. Because in the end living with the virus as a constant threat means maintaining the capacity to find people with the disease and isolating them,” Nabarro said.

The British doctor went on to recommend a robust test, trace and isolation system as the priority for government response with lockdown being “the reserve that you use to take the heat out of the system when things are really bad.”

In early October, Nabarro also cautioned against lockdowns in an interview with the Spectator, saying, “we in the World Health Organization do not advocate lockdowns as the primary means of control of this virus.”

“The only time we believe a lockdown is justified is to buy you time to reorganize, regroup, rebalance your resources, protect your health workers who are exhausted, but by and large, we’d rather not do it.”

Perhaps the most jarring part of his warning was when he described the economic impact of imposing strict lockdowns.

“Lockdowns just have one consequence that you must never, ever belittle, and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer,” he said.

The Special Envoy’s warning came as the World Bank detailed how the disruptions caused by COVID-19 could push an additional 88 million into extreme poverty.

It appears Nabarro’s words have fallen on deaf ears with some world leaders as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel announcing fresh lockdowns measures on their citizens on Wednesday.

France will head into a nationwide lockdown on Friday under which citizens can only leave home to go to work, to go to school, for a medical appointment, to give assistance to loved ones, for essential shopping or for physical exercise.

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/who-special-envoy-covid-reiterates-caution-against-lockdowns-primary-virus-plan

Russian Blitz in Syria Warns Turkey to Back Off in Caucasus

In an unprecedented show of strength, Russian warplanes this week reportedly launched devastating attacks on a Turkish-backed militant stronghold in northern Syria, killing up to 100 fighters. It was a stunning blow to Ankara’s proxy military assets in the Arab country.

The airstrikes marked the end of a seven-month ceasefire which Russia had negotiated with Turkey to maintain a de-escalation zone in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province. The Russian-brokered truce was seen as a brake on an offensive by the Syrian army to rout retreating militants in the border region with Turkey whom Ankara has sponsored during the nearly decade-long war in Syria.

In the attacks this week, it was reportedly a joint operation between Syrian armed forces and their Russian ally. That suggests that Moscow is giving Damascus a green light to resume its offensive to reclaim all its territory from Turkish-backed rebels. The gloves are coming off again, it seems.

The target was reportedly the main training camp of Islamist group Faylaq al Sham, which is also known as the Sham Legion. The Western media refer to the group as “moderate rebels” but it is in league with known terror affiliates, such as Ahrar al Sham and Jaysh al Islam. It is also associated with the Jihadist propaganda outfit, the so-called White Helmets.

The Sham Legion is reportedly Turkey’s go-to Islamist group in Idlib through which it networks with other militants. It is therefore a lynchpin in Turkey’s illicit covert operations in Syria.

For Russia and Syria to launch such a pulverizing blitz against an important Turkish asset can only be seen as an emphatic warning to Ankara.

A warning over what? It doesn’t seem to have been triggered by anything happening in Syria of late. Rather, the shock-and-awe attack seems to have been Moscow’s way of telling Ankara to stop pushing aggression in the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Russia’s South Caucasus region.

The eruption of the Azeri-Armenian war on September 27 over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory has been an alarming security concern for Russia. Hundreds if not thousands have been killed in the past four weeks in what is the worst episode of violence since the two sides ended a six-year war in 1994 which saw a death toll of some 30,000.

There is little doubt that Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan is fueling the conflict. Ankara’s belligerent rhetoric about liberating Nagorno-Karabakh from ethnic Armenians has emboldened Azerbaijan to pursue a military solution.

Turkey has armed its historic ally Azerbaijan with advanced weaponry, such as missiles and drones, as well as supplying F-16 fighter jets. There are credible reports that Turkey has transferred thousands of its mercenary assets from northern Syria to fight alongside Azeri forces.

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/10/28/russian-blitz-in-syria-warns-turkey-back-off-in-caucasus/

Following U.S. Secretary Of Defense Around And Making Rioting Easier: Pre-Election America

On the evening of September 22nd, a black Chevrolet Suburban SUV with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper and his security officer left the Pentagon.

In the tail of the car, another passenger car pulled up, which closely followed the SUV, making dangerous maneuvers.

The driver of the head of the defense department managed to “shake off his tail” and escape from pursuit.

According to NBC, immediately after the incident, senior officials of the CIA, FBI and Pentagon were informed about the security threat against them directly in the United States.

According to speculations citing ‘anonymous sources in intelligence services’, this could be an attempt at possible attacks by Iran in response for the death of IRGC General Qasem Soleimani as a result of an American drone strike in January 2020.

The incident with the Secretary of Defense was investigated by the FBI. As a result, it became known that the driver is from Iran, has contacts at home and in Afghanistan, but does not show radical views.

To a large extent, the secrecy of Mark Esper’s recent visits to Bahrain, India and Israel is associated with security issues and the results of the briefing.

Journalists traveling with Esper were not allowed to report on his visits to Bahrain or Israel until after he left each country, although he spent two nights in Bahrain.

Previously, similar restrictions were imposed during Donald Trump’s visits to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Furthermore, a video was shared which showed BLM / Antifa rioters attacked police in Washington with an improvised explosive device. Several security officials were injured.

The police in the Portland have been fighting the BLM/Antifa rioters for more than four months.

We are making it easier for rioters to riot? WHAT THE CRAP IS GOING ON?!?

— Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) October 29, 2020

The employees, unlike other protest regions, are equipped and armed as in war, a sort of non-lethal war.

In response to the clashes, Philadelphia’s council reportedly voted 14-3 to prohibit use of the crowd-control tools during protests. The legislation will be enacted once it’s signed by Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney, who has tried to appease demonstrators this week by blaming the unrest on “systemic racism” and promising actions to “bring true equity to our city.”

We are working with @PhillyPolice and @PhilaDAO to release the body-worn camera footage and the 911 call. We’ve reviewed the footage with Mr. Wallace’s family, and we hope to release it publicly soon.

— Jim #MaskUpPHL Kenney (@PhillyMayor) October 29, 2020

BREAKING: Police release numbers on arrests overnight. They also tell us 23 officers were hurt overnight and all are ok. A total of 53 police officers have been injured since Monday’s police-involved shooting of Walter Wallace. No word on injuries to civilians. @CBSPhilly pic.twitter.com/s3Y2ar0z7J

— Joe Holden (@JoeHoldenCBS3) October 28, 2020

https://southfront.org/following-u-s-secretary-of-defense-around-and-making-rioting-easier-pre-election-america/