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Louie Gohmert: Anti-mask Republican tests positive for coronavirus after attending Barr testimony

A Texas Republican who has refused to wear a mask while walking through the halls of Congress and attending high-profile hearings with members of the White House administration tested positive for Covid-19, according to reports.

A Texas Republican who has refused to wear a mask while walking through the halls of Congress and attending high-profile hearings with members of the White House administration tested positive for Covid-19, according to reports.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R—Tx), who just attended a congressional hearing with Attorney General William Barr on Tuesday, tested positive for the novel coronavirus while being screened during a White House procedure on Wednesday morning,Politico reported.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler scolded Republicans at the hearing for taking off their masks — an issue that has sowed controversy on Capitol Hill, with several members of the GOP refusing to wear face coverings while on the job. A growing list of lawmakers have meanwhile tested positive for Covid-19, including Senator Rand Paul (R—Tn), Rep. Tom Rice (R—SC), Rep Mario Diaz Balart (R—Fl) and several others.

Before testing positive for the virus, Mr Gohmert was reportedly set to fly with Mr Trump to Texas, one of the states currently battling a major spike in coronavirus cases as the pandemic continues taking a deadly toll on much of the southern US.US Republicans pandemic recovery plan could cut unemployment paymentsThe 66-year-old has been an outspoken opponent of wearing a mask throughout the pandemic, telling CNN in an interview in June: “I keep being tested and I don't have it. So I'm not afraid of you, but if I get it I'll wear a mask."

The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has urged everyone to wear a face covering “when they have to go out in public” and “take preventive measures to protect yourself and others” on its website. Studies have also shown that wearing masks in the US could prevent as many as 33,000 deaths by October.

And yet Mr Gohmert has continued to go about his business in Washington without wearing a face covering on several occasions, most recently seen at Mr Barr's congressional hearing this week. While he was not one of the

Republicans Mr Nadler reprimanded during the hearing, Mr Gohmert was seen without a mask at the blockbuster testimony. Several lawmakers who sit on the House Judiciary Committee are above the age of 65, potentially exposing them to further risk of complications if they were to contract the novel virus.

Reference: Independent:Chris Riotta 2 hrs ago: 29th July 2020

Black Women Were Tortured To Develop Gynaecology Methods. Midwives Want Them Remembered

Anarcha Westcott was a teenager who had just given birth for the first time when she was forcibly separated from her baby and subjected to brutal experimental gynaecological surgery without an anaesthetic.Anarcha Westcott was a teenager who had just given birth for the first time when she was forcibly separated from her baby and subjected to brutal experimental gynaecological surgery without an anaesthetic.

Her torturer, Dr James Marion Sims, is widely regarded as the “father of modern gynaecology” – but the trauma through which he put Westcott and other unconsenting, enslaved Black women while developing his techniques has been largely forgotten.

Now modern-day midwives have launched a campaign to commemorate Sims’ victims, who between 1845 and 1849 endured some 30 procedures as Sims perfected his method of fistula surgeries. Heidi Downes, an NHS midwife in

London, is lobbying for a monument to be dedicated to these women as Black Lives Matter campaigners topple slaver statues around the country. It is hoped the tribute will be placed at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London.

“The campaign started a year ago. My colleague Sam attended a conference and heard the wonderful Dr Amali Loukgamage talking about obstetrics and gynaecology, where she mentioned Anarcha, [and two of the other women] Lucy and Betsey. She then came back and told me,” Downes told HuffPost UK.

“I was shocked that I’d never heard of them in all of my years of practice and decided to start the petition.” However, support has been relatively slow. “I was shocked that it didn’t take off at first,” she said. “I thought: ‘Where are midwives? Where are the people disgusted with this?’ If I’m honest, i’ve found that along the way.

“I remember speaking to a friend who said: ‘It’s not a pretty subject. People don’t want to discuss this.’ This was before the recent wave of Black Lives Matter protests. For me, because it wasn’t in all of the newspapers, or headline news, people haven’t really picked up on this campaign with it.”

a group of people standing in a room: Anarcha Westcott© Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Pearson Museum Anarcha WestcottI remember speaking to a friend who said: 'It’s not a pretty subject – people don’t want to discuss this.'Heidi DownesIn his autobiography The Story of My Life, Sims describes in vivid detail how he treated Black women as medical guinea pigs.

“I made this proposition to the owners of the negroes: if you will give me Anarcha and Betsey for experiment, I agree to perform no experiment or operation on either of them to endanger their lives, and will not charge a cent for keeping them, but you must pay their taxes and clothe them.”

He also bragged, in his memoirs, that “my patients are all perfectly satisfied with what I am doing for them” – which is doubtful, given that they were slaves who were stripped of all autonomy and viewed as property. There was also belief at the time that Black people did not feel pain, or indeed function, in the same way as their white counterparts.

Despite his inhumane practices, Sims perfected his operations on Black women and later established a women’s hospital where he performed procedures on white women – only this time with their consent, and the use of anaesthesia.

He also invented the modern speculum, Sims’s position for vaginal exams, which he first used on slaves and which has gone on to be used widely within healthcare. As such, Sims is viewed favourably by many historians and has several worldwide monuments, despite his brutality.

A statue of a man standing next to a tree: Parks Department workers place a harness over a statue of James Marion Sims before it is taken down from its pedestal at Central Park and East 103rd Street on April 17, 2018 in New York City.© Spencer Platt via Getty Images Parks Department workers place a harness over a statue of James Marion Sims before it is taken down from its pedestal at Central Park and East 103rd Street on April 17, 2018 in New York City.That said, in 2018 New York officials removed a sculpture of Sims from Central Park following eight years of sustained protests from Black activists. It had been there for 80 years.

“I have been a midwife for nearly six years and prior to this trained for three years. In this time I did not know of Anarcha and the suffering she and the other enslaved women endured but I was aware of the Sims speculum,” Downes wrote on the Change.org campaign page.

“How was this crucial part of obstetrics history not part of the national curriculum and how was it not passed onto myself and my fellow colleagues and students? Anarcha and the other women who were treated in this barbaric way deserve to be put on the same pedestal that Sims, rightly or wrongly, has been placed upon.”

Downes said she had discussed the campaign with the president of Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Edward Morris, as well as Dr Christine Ekechi, an NHS consultant in early pregnancy and acute gynaecology. Both have shown interest in supporting. 

J. Marion Sims wearing a suit and tie: James Marion Sims© Universal History Archive via Getty Images James Marion SimsDownes, who is white, has passionately driven the campaign forward, speaking about it regularly and writing a double-page feature in support of the cause for the British Journal of Midwifery.

In this spread, she wrote: “The Nursing and Midwifery Council code asks that those receiving care from us are treated with respect, that their rights are upheld and that any discriminatory attitudes and behaviours towards those receiving care are challenged.

“I feel that, as a profession, we have let down a group of women and left them in the shadows of time, never to be honoured as they deserve.” Still, Downes told HuffPost UK: “Even after my article was published in October 2019 [...] that still didn’t get the petition numbers up! Sometimes you need to keep pushing – you can’t just sit back. I’ve spoken to students at universities, spoken on podcasts. 

“As a white woman who has never had to deal with racism personally: it’s not just the job of Black women to push for this statue. Yet all I’ve come across, when I look at all the other amazing women who have come before me campaigning for representation, are Black women! I feel like this is wrong – we should be out there together.

“I’m someone who’s just appalled by something. Why has this not been done before? Why are we still fighting for this in 2020?”

The midwife has approached white NHS colleagues for support and said she’s been disappointed with the lack of support – something she puts down to lack of racial diversity in the organisation. It’s not just the job of Black women to push for this statue.

Heidi Downes“We need more Black women in management in midwifery. If this is my very small experience of going to someone and not being listened to about this campaign, what’s it like for Black women who may suffer actual racism in the NHS and have no one to go to?” she said.

A spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists told HuffPost UK: “We are making plans to develop a new exhibition to recognise women’s involvement in the history of obstetrics and gynaecology. “This will include many courageous women who contributed willingly, and sadly also women such as Anarcha who were not in a position to give consent to medical research.

“We also hope to offer an events programme, and digital resource through our website, that can highlight some of these important yet rarely recognised contributions from women.“Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has delayed our work, but we hope to make progress over the coming year to ensure the stories of these women are not forgotten.”

Reference: Huffpost: Nadine White 2 hrs ago: 28th July 2020

Coronavirus infections spike in Manchester as Oldham put under tough measures

New data shows an alarming rise in the Covid-19 infection rates in parts of Greater Manchester - as tough new restrictions are put in place in Oldham.New data shows an alarming rise in the Covid-19 infection rates in parts of Greater Manchester - as tough new restrictions are put in place in Oldham.

Figures from Public Health England reveal that Trafford and Manchester have each seen large increases in the seven days up to Saturday.

It comes as 250,000 people in Oldham were told they could not have "social visitors" in their homes after a spike in cases.

People who are shielding have been told they must continue to do so beyond Friday until the rate goes down.

In Blackburn with Darwen, England's worst-affected area, the rate is broadly unchanged at 79.2 cases per 100,000 in the seven days to July 25, compared with 79.9 in the seven days to July 18.

A total of 118 new cases have been recorded.

Second on the list is Leicester, where the rate continues to fall.

It is now down from 75.2 to 56.0, with 199 new cases.

In third place is Oldham, where the rate has jumped from 14.9 to 53.9, with 127 new cases.

Trafford has seen its rate rise from 8.9 to 34.3, with 81 new cases, while Manchester is up from 13.5 to 22.5.

Sandwell in the West Midlands has also seen a rise, from 22.9 to 28.7.

a group of people walking in the rain holding an umbrella: Ministers have warned more places could be put back in lockdown© Andy Commins / Daily Mirror Ministers have warned more places could be put back in lockdownIt comes after warnings more towns could follow the East Midlands city of Leicester into a local lockdown.

Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire and Luton in Bedfordshire were both on high alert due to local infection rates.undefined. Oldham was not on the public health watch list in recent weeks.

However it was announced earlier this month that the town had been chosen as one of four pilot sites in the country testing people who do not have symptoms of Covid-19, especially people working in "high-contact occupations" such as taxi drivers, hairdressers and food outlet workers.

a group of people walking down the street: New data shows where infection rates are on the rise© Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror New data shows where infection rates are on the riseIts actions comes 10 days after local councils were granted powers to close shops and pubs, and restrict gatherings or events, if there is “a serious and imminent threat to public health relating to coronavirus ”.

Areas where the number of cases per 100,000 is above 10, in the seven days to Saturday followed by the seven days before that

Reference: Mirror: Ian Jones & Dave Burke 16 hrs ago: 28th Juky 2020

Miami Marlins season on hold after 15 players, 2 coaches test positive for coronavirus

Major League Baseball appears to have at least a temporary plan to handle the fallout from the Miami Marlins' coronavirus outbreak, which now includes 15 players and two coaches.Major League Baseball appears to have at least a temporary plan to handle the fallout from the Miami Marlins' coronavirus outbreak, which now includes 15 players and two coaches.

The Marlins' season will be put on hold at least through Sunday in an effort to regroup and bring in replacement players by early next week. Their previous opponent, the Philadelphia Phillies, will also take a few days off out of caution, and the Marlins' and Phillies' opponents, the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees, will instead play each other Wednesday and Thursday after a bit of reshuffling.

It's a bit complicated but seems to make sense for now, especially since the unique season has a balanced schedule in which teams play only their divisional opponents and teams in the other league's correlating geographical division. That should make rescheduling easier, but the league also reportedly won't try to force every team to play all 60 games. Instead, if there's no way to make up games, winning percentage could determine playoff seeding.

The Marlins' situation is worrisome for reasons that go beyond baseball, but there are some encouraging signs from the rest of the league — MLB said Tuesday it has conducted more than 6,400 tests of on-field personnel since Friday and there have been no new positives among any of the other 29 clubs, including the Phillies. 

The Marlins' situation is worrisome for reasons that go beyond baseball, but there are some encouraging signs from the rest of the league — MLB said Tuesday it has conducted more than 6,400 tests of on-field personnel since Friday and there have been no new positives among any of the other 29 clubs, including the Phillies.

 Cases could still show up in subsequent tests since the virus' lengthy incubation period means some people could be carrying it while testing negative, but — for the time being — the Marlins appear to be the only squad facing an outbreak.

One key fact in here: No positive tests since last Friday among any of other 29 clubs. Just Marlins. undefined.

Reference: The Week: — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 28, 2020