So often current events have a weird tinge of paranormal oddity..
Today, as the school districts shut down in the five county Philadelphia area because of Covid-19, or coronavirus, fears, news also emerged that there is a suddenly urgency in the White House to ensure the health and safety of the President and Vice President.
WHITE HOUSE FEARS
The New York POST is reporting,
The White House is holding meetings on how to reduce the threat of coronavirus infecting President Trump and his staff after quietly tightening visitor rules last month, The Post has learned.
In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the White House has mandated that guests disclose all countries visited in the past 30 days. And further steps are under review by a group led by Tony Ornato, White House deputy chief of staff for operations.
The fear may be worthwhile..Because in 2018 a simulated drill took place where a near governmental decapitation took place..
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THE 2018 DRILL
This from the Washington POST on May 30, 2018:
In the simulation, a bipartisan group of current and former high-ranking U.S. government officials played a team of presidential advisers faced with a host of real-world policy, political and ethical dilemmas. The actors included former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), who played the Senate majority leader, and Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.), who played herself. They had to react as the outbreak unfolded according to a script provided by Johns Hopkins, with no advance knowledge about how the mock disaster would play out.
They faced difficult questions throughout the exercise: Should the United States impose an entry ban on flights from Germany and Venezuela? If not, they faced the problem of explaining that decision to the American public and Congress in the face of political pressure to act. Should the United States send troops to Jordan, where a major outbreak has occurred and the key Middle East ally is requesting assistance? Once a vaccine is developed, who should get it first? Should priority go to officials, to ensure continuity of government, or to children and pregnant women? Or should there be a lottery?
There were no easy answers. That was the point of the day-long exercise, held in a darkened hotel ballroom before a rapt invitation-only audience of about 150 people and live-streamed on Facebook. There were experts from academia and think tanks, and officials from across the U.S. government, including the White House, defense and intelligence communities, health and security agencies and Congress.
And more:
The fictional outbreak kept getting worse. It had a 10 percent fatality rate, about the same as the SARS virus that traveled around the world in 2002-2003. Because the virus in the drill was new, no one had previous immunity to it, and it spread quickly in large cities. As it killed more than 100 million people globally, health-care systems collapsed, panic spread, the U.S. stock market crashed, and the president, members of Congress and the Supreme Court were incapacitated.
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THE 2019 DRILL
Back in October 2019, another drill took place where a simulated pandemic killed 65 million people worldwide..
How did we fare out in that one? Not well.
The scenario ended after 18 months with 65 million people dead.
The Event 201 website sums it up that state of the pandemic a year and a half in:
The pandemic is beginning to slow due to the decreasing number of susceptible people. The pandemic will continue at some rate until there is an effective vaccine or until 80–90% of the global population has been exposed. From that point on, it is likely to be an endemic childhood disease.
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ALL ABOARD!! THE BOAT BOUT
We all now know that a cruise ship could be the worst place to be during a pandemic *(nursing homes come in second??)*..
There was a drill for that too!
Individuals suspected of having the flu should be separated from other passengers and crew as much as possible, and should wear a face mask to prevent the airborne spread of the virus. If the sick individual shares a cabin with someone else, the healthy person should be moved to another cabin. To prevent the spread of the virus on board, spend as little time as possible with the sick person and limit the number of people who visit the ill person. When possible, assign one person to deliver meals, medication and all other deliveries, and be sure the person delivering care wears a disposable mask and gloves.
The Vatican
Several days ago, people were worried that Pope Francis had the virus.. According to Vatican officials, Francis has tested negatives for Covid-19.. But now there are reportedly fears over Ratzinger!
Pope Francis’ present sickness was described today by the Holy See as “just a slight indisposition”and the focus of the Italian media has suddenly moved on to Pope Benedict the Pope Emeritus. Ratzinger has been forced by the Papal Household to interrupt receiving all visitors due to the threat of COVID-19. The old pope, who is in his 90s, was already living like a prisoner since he moved back from Castel Gandolfo, and now he will be in complete isolation because of the growing fear of contracting COVID-19.
The Vatican is said to be on lockdown at the moment with several priests and senior Vatican officials in quarantine in the Vatican City State, who are worried because of the old age of most of its citizens. There is an unprecedented sense of panic in the air with almost no visitors in site, even at the Vatican Museums. The whole area was described by the local media as desolate, empty, and even a bit spooky, missing the usual long lines of tourists that one would normally find in St. Peters Square, often surrounded by vendors and homeless people positioned at the beginning of Via Della Conciliazione.
Italy has been hit incredibly hard when it comes to numbers.. thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths from COVID-19..
Meanwhile, about the Holy Sea, this is what CATHOLIC DAILY reports,
An official at the pontifical commission told Catholic News Service March 4 that the catacombs will remain closed for the time being, and the office will continue to monitor developments related to the spread of the virus.
The unfortunate timing of Pope Francis’ cold, which led to him cancel several meetings as well as his participation in the annual Lenten retreat with members of the Roman Curia, also forced the Vatican to address concerns and hold off the local media from pushing the panic button.
Following a report from Il Messaggero that alleged the pope tested negative for COVID-19, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni released a statement March 3 saying the pope was merely suffering from a cold that was “running its course, without symptoms linked to other pathologies.”
Bruni neither confirmed nor denied that the pope was tested for the virus.
While the Vatican health care system has not made public any directives for combatting the virus, the Diocese of Rome announced now-familiar measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in parishes: emptying holy water fonts, omitting the sign of peace and requesting that the faithful receive Communion in the hand.
REALITY has suddenly changed for America..
Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly told CNBC on Thursday that the company has lost several hundred million dollars in a week’s time thanks to a decline in bookings amid increasing fears over COVID-19. Kelly added that the drop-off was “noticeable” and “precipitous” and has continued declining on a daily basis.
When prompted by CNBC’s Phil LeBeau over whether the drop was reminiscent of former dips in demand spurred by the 2003 SARS outbreak or the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Kelly said the new coronavirus outbreak was more like the latter.
“It has a 9/11-like feel,” Kelly said.
This from This is the front page of Drudge today..
A sign of what is occurring in our daily lives. A moment in time.
