California Reports Record COVID Cases and Deaths—Despite Strict Lockdown

Sadly, but perhaps predictably, government regulations do not appear to be slowing down the coronavirus.

On December 4, a bipartisan group of California legislators sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a letter urging him to reconsider his order closing outdoor playgrounds as part of his regional stay-at-home order.

“While we must appropriately consider best practices to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, we also must ensure the children across the state are not unfairly deprived of their opportunities for outdoor access and play,” the legislators wrote.

Today, we sent another letter to the Governor urging him to reconsider the full closure of playground structures. The local playground may be the only opportunity for some families to “get outdoors,” as advised for physical & mental health. pic.twitter.com/2FB8Oe1CgQ

— Lorena Gonzalez (@LorenaSGonzalez) December 4, 2020

Newsom’s order closing outdoor playgrounds—a response many see as senseless and ineffective, which prompted the governor to rescind it—is just one example of the hardline approach California public officials have taken in their attempt to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

Other restrictions include a 10 p.m. curfew, bans on outdoor dining and religious gatherings, as well as school closures. Surveys in recent months have shown California’s restrictions are some of the strictest in the US.

Sadly, but perhaps predictably, the regulations do not appear to be working. State data show California is smashing its previous highs in both COVID-19 cases and deaths.

“California broke its statewide records for both coronavirus cases reported and deaths reported in a single day on Wednesday,” The Hill reports. “The state reported 51,724 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, breaking the previous record of 42,088 cases, which was just set on Monday, according to a Los Angeles Times tally.”

To put these numbers into perspective, the number of deaths California reported on Wednesday was more than double the daily high in any previous month.

State data show CA is smashing previous highs in #Covid_19 cases & deaths, despite having the strictest lockdown in the country.

The total number of deaths yesterday (407) was more than 2x daily high in any other month. pic.twitter.com/RQJ3RqCWBP

— Jon Miltimore (@miltimore79) December 17, 2020

California is hardly the only state suffering from a sharp rise in COVID-19 mortality. But the figures reinforce emerging evidence that suggests lockdowns and other government restrictions are doing little to tame the coronavirus.

As I recently noted, an abundance of academic research suggests there is little to no correlation between lockdown stringency and COVID mortality rates. This includes a study published on July 21 in The Lancet, research from Tel Aviv University published in October, and a study published in Frontiers in Public Health in November

https://fee.org/articles/california-reports-record-covid-cases-and-deaths-despite-having-the-strictest-lockdown-in-the-us/

White House Splits Over Special Counsel, Martial Law Amid Aftermath Of SolarWinds Breach

Arguments between Senior White House staff and prominent Trump staffers erupted in the Oval Office on Friday.

The rift between members of the Senior White House staff is now as public as it is wide, after an Oval Office meeting between top Trump staffers, including Trump Campaign Attorney Matt Morgan, Attorney Sidney, Powell and General Michael Flynn, the de-facto leaders of the grassroots movement fighting for election integrity, included arguments over a possible voter fraud Special Counsel investigation and martial law to restore election integrity.

Matt Morgan has previously been blamed for the campaign’s lackluster initial handling of the numerous claims of election fraud in the early hours of Wednesday, November 4.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone were present at the meeting and reportedly pushed back against the notion of naming Powell as special counsel to investigate the widespread evidence of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election.

According to CNN, the conversation also included discussions on the possibility of enacting martial law to ensure election security, an idea that General Flynn suggested earlier this week on Newsmax. Some individuals in the room reportedly argued against it.

The idea of enacting an executive order to access and inspect US voting machines was also discussed in the meeting. This could possibly be a reference to President Trump’s 2018 executive order titled Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election.

“I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that the ability of persons located, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States to interfere in or undermine public confidence in United States elections, including through the unauthorized accessing of election and campaign infrastructure or the covert distribution of propaganda and disinformation, constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States…”

“…In recent years, the proliferation of digital devices and internet-based communications has created significant vulnerabilities and magnified the scope and intensity of the threat of foreign interference, as illustrated in the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment. I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with this threat.”

These developments arise amid the aftermath of the devastating SolarWinds cyber attack. As the unprecedented breach made its way into public view, DNI John Ratcliffe announced a delay in the release of the official report on foreign election interference due to new intelligence surrounding Chinese operations information, as National File reported:

Gateway Pundit reported that the FBI, Texas Rangers, and US Marshals had allegedly raided SolarWinds headquarters in Austin, Texas, but this has not been confirmed, although John Basham clarified later on Twitter that “They Had A Building Full Of Agents, Rangers, & Deputy Marshals (Primarily FBI Agents).”

https://nationalfile.com/breaking-white-house-splits-over-special-counsel-martial-law-amid-aftermath-of-solarwinds-breach/

Explosion at Chinese Chemical Plant Leaves at Least 3 Killed, 4 Injured, Reports Say

At least three people have died and four others were injured as a result of an explosion at a chemical plant in China's northeastern province of Heilongjiang, the Xinhua news agency reports.

The blast occurred in the workshop of a chemical company in the city of Anda on Saturday at around 12:46 a.m., local time (16:46 Friday, GMT). Following the blast, the plant caught fire, and was not extinguished until later that morning, according to Xinhua.

Initially, one person was confirmed dead and two were reported missing. On Sunday, Xinhua said that the death toll from the explosion had gone up to three and that the bodies of two others previously considered missing had been found.

Four people were wounded by the blast, two of them sustaining serious injuries.

A task force of the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment has begun examining the site of the explosion to determine if there were any leaks of dangerous chemical substances into the environment.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation.

https://sputniknews.com/asia/202012201081513987-explosion-at-chinese-chemical-plant-leaves-at-least-3-killed-4-injured-reports-say/

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