As many of the United States prepare to reopen, Florida officially kicked off the first phase of their movement this past Monday. As expected, the decision was not without its share of controversy. According to a report from Business Insider, a top coronavirus researcher named Rebekah Jones was fired over an unwillingness to tamper with COVID-19 related data. As she explained to CBS12 News, she claimed the firing occurred because she refused to "manually change data to drum up support for the plan to reopen."
The development is of particular significance as Jones was responsible for designing Florida's COVID-19 dashboard, which helped keep track of cases, deaths, and hospitalizations. Now that she has been involuntarily dismissed, Jones worries that the same attention to detail will not be retained. "As a word of caution, I would not expect the new team to continue the same level of accessibility and transparency that I made central to the process during the first two months," she explains. "After all, my commitment to both is largely (arguably entirely) the reason I am no longer managing it."
Should the allegations that Jones is speaking of prove to be true, it certainly paints an unsettling picture for Florida residents. Especially for those who prioritize health over the economy. It wouldn't be surprising for this to have some fallout, especially if word gets out that statistics and information is being deliberately manipulated. For the record, Florida's reopening plan allows for "gyms, stores, grooming services, and restaurants" to open at fifty percent capacity.
Cannabis Might Be Able To Prevent Coronavirus, New Study Says
A new study from the University Of Lethbridge in Calgary, Canada has explored the benefits of cannabis in relation to coronavirus.
Though the cannabis industry, like many other industries, has suffered from the coronavirus pandemic, there have been reports of increased consumption. A study conducted by americanmarijuana.org found that 49% of 990 participants stocked up on cannabis during the pandemic. Out of that 49%, the study reveals that 55% of consumers stockpiled on weed to calm their anxiety during the pandemic.
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According to the Calgary Herald, a Canadian researcher discovered that there could be even bigger benefits of cannabis to fight against the coronavirus pandemic, aside from easing the anxiety. Dr. Igor Kovalchuk went through 400 strains of cannabis to find about a dozen that could potentially block breeding grounds for the virus to. Now, researchers at the University of Lethbridge are looking to concentrate those strains to explore the possibilities that they can actually prevent COVID-19.
“A number of them have reduced the number of these (virus) receptors by 73 percent, the chance of it getting in is much lower,” said Kovalchuk. “If they can reduce the number of receptors, there’s much less chance of getting infected.”
There are still a few barriers they face in this discovery including going through a clinical trial due to the impact of social distancing on the cannabis economy. However, under Health Canada’s license, they’ve used artificial human 3D tissue to find out how cannabis can block the virus from finding hosts in intestines, lungs, and oral cavity.
“It would be cheaper for people and have a lot less side-effects,” he said. “Our work could have a huge influence — there aren’t many drugs that have the potential of reducing infection by 70 to 80 per cent.” It should be noted that if this proves to be an effective method to combat coronavirus, it wouldn’t be consumed through regular smoking methods but rather through mouth wash, gel caps, gargle, or inhalants.
Coronavirus Isolated By Canadian Research Team
Canadian researchers have officially isolated the coronavirus, a breakthrough that can lead to a solution.
Researchers from two Ontario universities and the Sunnybrook Research Institute in Canada have successfully isolated and grown multiple copies of the novel coronavirus, officially identified as COVID-19. The disease which allegedly began in Wuhan, China in Dec. 2019, has now become a worldwide pandemic that has severely affected countries like Italy and Iran, forcing government officials overseas to quarantine millions of citizens. And now, COVID-19 has rapidly infiltrated the continent of North America and South America causing many gatherings such as sporting events and festivals to be indefinitely postponed. However, a team of Canadian researchers might have provided the first step in containing the life-threatening illness due to their tenacious studies of COVID-19 in the midst of global turmoil. 
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According to corona.help, the number of confirmed coronavirus infections is over 141,000 patrons around the globe (as of March 12), the amount of confirmed death due to the virus is currently at 5,371, and the amount of those who contracted the disease and successfully recovered is at 70,654. After successfully isolating the virus the Sunnybrook Research Institute released a press statement detailing their discoveries, it states:
“Thanks to nimble collaboration, the team was able to culture the virus from two clinical specimens in a Level 3 containment facility. (Isolating the virus) can help scientists in Canada and around the world to ‘develop better diagnostic testing, treatments, and vaccines,’ and also understand it a bit better in terms of its biology and evolution.”
Dr. Samira Mubareka, an infectious diseases physician at Sunnybrook, continued:
“While the immediate response is crucial, longer-term solutions come from essential research into this novel virus.”
The two additional Ontario universities with researchers on the team include McMaster University and the University of Toronto. Arinjay Banerjee, a researcher from McMaster University involved in the isolation process of the infectious disease specializes in coronaviruses and bats. Banerjee took to the McMaster University website to detail his involvement with the research stating:
“I’d always told my friends, ‘When I grow up, I want to be a guy who gets called in if there’s an outbreak,’ What’s happening with the outbreak is sad, but I’m glad I can contribute to the process of understanding this and controlling this outbreak.”
Last month, it was revealed that a vaccine for the coronavirus had already been developed. Unfortunately, it takes approximately fifteen years to properly test a vaccine of this magnitude on people and measure its effectiveness. Until then, no matter where you are, remain calm, remain cleanly, continuously sanitize your living spaces, wash your hands, and continue to live your lives to the best of your abilities.
Research Shows Americans Trust Google & Amazon More Than Tom Hanks
The uncultured commoners of America fail the masses again, putting more faith in Google than Tom Hanks.
Tom Hanks, the star in such masterpieces of cinema like Forrest Gump, Castaway, Saving Private Ryan, and more. Tom Hanks, the father of the young patois-speaking god Chet Hanks himself. Tom Hanks, the two-time Oscar-winning actor is reportedly less trustworthy than multi-billion dollar companies such as Google and Amazon according to market research firm, Morning Consultant.
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The firm recently compiled a list of the 'most trusted brands' after noticing a common theme of societal distrust between citizens, large corporations, and other public entities. The research showed that approximately 50% of Americans fully trust their 'primary care doctors' while 44% of Americans fully entrust the military.
39% of Americans trust Amazon, while 38% of Americans trust Google. However, only 30% of Americans trust the living legend and national treasure that is Tom Hanks. Ironically, both Amazon and Google have higher trust ratings than extreme weather warnings (36%), teachers (35%), and health warnings (23%).
While the Toy Story voice actor did rank higher than religious leaders, the government, Oprah, the media, and the ideal known as capitalism, these research results are wildly disappointing. Protect the industry phenom, Tom Hanks at all cost and be on the lookout for his self-produced Sammy Davis Jr. miniseries coming sometime in the near future.
