Death toll nears six million as pandemic enters its third year

The official global death toll from COVID-19 is on the verge of eclipsing six million — underscoring that the pandemic, now entering its third year, is far from over.

The milestone is the latest tragic reminder of the unrelenting nature of the pandemic even as people are shedding masks, travel is resuming and businesses are reopening around the globe.

The death toll, compiled by Johns Hopkins University, stood at 5,997,994 as of Sunday afternoon.

Remote Pacific islands, whose isolation had protected them for more than two years, are just now grappling with their first outbreaks and deaths, fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant.

Hong Kong, which is seeing deaths soar, is testing its entire population of 7.5 million three times this month as it clings to mainland China’s “zero-COVID” strategy.

As death rates remain high in Poland, Hungary, Romania and other Eastern European countries, the region has seen more than one million refugees arrive from war-torn Ukraine, a country with poor vaccination coverage and high rates of cases and deaths.

And despite its wealth and vaccine availability, the United States is nearing one million reported deaths on its own.

Death rates worldwide are still highest among people unvaccinated against the virus, said Tikki Pang, a visiting professor at the National University of Singapore’s medical school and co-Chair of the Asia Pacific Immunisation Coalition.

“This is a disease of the unvaccinated — look what is happening in Hong Kong right now, the health system is being overwhelmed,” said Pang, the former director of research policy and cooperation with the World Health Organisation.

“The large majority of the deaths and the severe cases are in the unvaccinated, vulnerable segment of the population.”

https://www.9news.com.au/world/coronavirus-update-global-death-toll-nears-six-million-three-years-into-pandemic/b0f0110e-e1a5-4d5c-9e6c-a4788692564c

Idaho House Votes to Ban Vaccine Passports

The Idaho House has passed a bill to ban vaccine passports in the state.

In a statement from House Republicans, they said that the aim of the bill is to “ensure that all Idahoans, regardless of vaccination status, can access state services, buildings, or jobs.”

“Our government exists to serve every single Idahoan – regardless of the medical choices they make,” Assistant Majority Leader Jason Monks said in a statement. “This bill will make sure that our government is accessible to everyone equally. The Legislature has made absolutely clear that we’re not going to allow vaccine passports or mandates in Idaho; this bill codifies that policy into law.”

The text of House Bill 708 states that it “amends existing law to provide that a person shall not be required to be vaccinated for coronavirus or have a vaccine passport to apply for or receive government services, to enter or remain in a government venue, or to be hired by the state or maintain employment with the state.”

It says that no person shall be required to receive a coronavirus vaccination, have a vaccine passport, or provide proof of any other form of coronavirus immunization or negative laboratory test result for coronavirus in order to:

(a) Apply for or receive services provided by the state or a political subdivision of the state;

(b) Enter or remain in a government venue during a time when the venue is accessible to the general public; or

(c) Be hired by the state or maintain employment with the state. An employee of the state or a political subdivision of the state may not be discriminated against on the basis of such employee’s immunization status, including decisions relating to promotion, compensation, or job duties.

However, the state may require:

(i) An employee who has previously tested positive for coronavirus to provide a negative laboratory test result for coronavirus in order to return to work;

(ii) An employee to be tested for coronavirus if the employee was potentially exposed to coronavirus during the course and scope of

employment; or

(iii) Coronavirus vaccination for an employee whose job duties include:

1. Travel to a state, territory, or country that requires such vaccination; or

2. Entry into a private location that requires such vaccination.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/03/idaho-house-votes-ban-vaccine-passports/

U.S. to send $10 billion in aid to Ukraine: lawmakers

The funds will supply defensive equipment for Ukraine, but also humanitarian assistance, one senator said.

While balking at a request from Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenskyy to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, the U.S. is primed to send more military aid to the embattled country, lawmakers said.

Emergency funds soon will be approved, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said on Sunday.

The money will place "$10 billion into both defensive equipment for Ukraine, but also humanitarian assistance to get civilians out," Murphy said while appearing on "Fox News Sunday."

The approval will come after members of Congress spoke to Zelenskyy, who has asked for a no-fly zone over Ukraine. That request was met with sympathy amid caution.

"If I were President Zelenskyy, I would be asking for a no-fly zone," Murphy said. "The problem is, there is no such thing as a no-fly zone over Ukraine."

Such an act would mean World War III, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) Florida said on Sunday.

"I think there are a lot of things we can do to help Ukraine protect itself," Rubio said while appearing on ABC’s "This Week." But, he added, "I think people need to understand what a no-fly zone means."

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) did not openly oppose a no-fly zone.

"I would take nothing off the table," Manchin said on NBC’s "Meet the Press."

https://justthenews.com/government/security/us-send-10-billion-aid-ukraine-lawmakers

Schiff: Justice Department ‘Ought to Be Investigating’ Trump’s Actions After the 2020 Election

Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that the Justice Department should be investigating former President Donald Trump for violating federal laws after the 2020 presidential election.

Partial transcript as follows:

MARGARET BRENNAN: Before I let you go, I want to ask about the January six committee. There was a development this week, a court filing claiming there is now evidence that President Trump broke the law in his efforts to overturn the election in 2020. Do you think that the attorney general is moving fast enough with his enforcement?

SCHIFF: What we made clear in our filing to the court is we believe there’s a good faith basis to conclude that the former president and his campaign may have violated any number of federal laws, including obstructing an official proceeding, the joint session, and defrauding the American people. And I do think that the Justice Department ought to be looking at these issues and ought to be investigating in particular just to give one very graphic example the former president on the phone with the secretary of state in Georgia demanding that he find 11,780 votes that didn’t exist, but the precise number he would need to overtake President Biden. I think if anyone else had engaged in that conversation, they would be under investigation and it should be no different for the former president. So I think the department is diligently pursuing those who attack the Capitol that day. But there were multiple lines of effort to overturn the election that may have violated the law, which also should be investigated.

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2022/03/06/schiff-justice-department-ought-to-be-investigating-trumps-actions-after-the-2020-election/

None stayed to fight | Chaotic retreat of Ukrainian troops