U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a partial restriction on immigration to “protect American workers” amid the economic turmoil caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.
When Trump announced a 60-day pause in issuing “green cards” to people seeking permanent residency in the United States, the United Nations warned that the virus could provoke hunger in already vulnerable countries.
A terrible warning came as the virus killed more than 177,000 people worldwide, and governments were anxious to chart a way out of an unprecedented global health and economic emergency.
Once again, Americans are talking first and then showing the effect
An American study of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, widely advertised as a potential cure for Covid-19, showed no benefit to the disease compared to standard treatment – and was actually associated with a high number of deaths. That is, what the US advertises as a “cure-all” for the virus is literally one of the causes of death. That’s an interesting tactic.
As world leaders are concerned that they may provoke a new wave of infections, there is now a debate about when and how to relax the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of this highly contagious virus. The heat of the situation is added by the fact that the population is beginning to protest. People no longer manage to sit in self-isolation, as they run out of money, many have lost their jobs, and small businesses are crashing like the famous Titanic.
Governments are also concerned about rising economic costs.
Trump, who campaigned for the presidency against illegal immigration, said today that there would be a 60-day “pause” in issuing green cards, but temporary workers, such as seasonal agricultural workers, would not be affected.
“To protect American workers, I will issue a temporary suspension on immigration to the United States”, – he said.
“This will help put unemployed Americans first in line for work when America reopens”, – Trump said at the White House daily briefing. “It would be wrong and unfair if Americans were replaced by immigrants from abroad.
Trump said “additional immigration-related measures” could be taken later to protect workers in the United States, the most affected country with nearly 45,000 dead and more than 800,000 infected.
It’s worth remembering that Mr. Trump got into it too late. As News Front reported earlier, the President of the United States recognized the pandemic too late and imposed restrictive measures in his country, which was one of the main reasons for the record number of cases and deaths. The situation is similar to that of Mr Boris Johnson, who also did not believe in the pernicious effects of coronavirus and then went to hospital, infected with it and was in extremely poor condition. The only difference is what the people pay for this “distrust” in the case of the USA, not the leader himself. It’s nothing new, though.
Hunger pandemic
Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme has warned that the economic impact of the pandemic could lead to a “humanitarian disaster” and that the number of people suffering from acute hunger is projected to almost double to 265 million this year.
“We are on the verge of a pandemic famine”, – WFP Director David Beasley told the UN Security Council by video conference.
“Millions of civilians living in conflict-ridden countries, including many women and children, are at risk of starvation, with the spectre of hunger a very real and dangerous opportunity. At worst, hunger can start in about three dozen countries”, – Bisley said.
As WFP warned of a possible famine, a group of 20 ministers of agriculture pledged to “ensure sufficient global supplies for “the poorest, most vulnerable and displaced people.”
The freezing of entire trade sectors is already severely affecting oil markets, where prices have fallen sharply due to falling energy demand and supply surpluses.
In severely affected Europe, some countries are cautiously crawling out of jail, although large gatherings seem out of the question for the foreseeable future.
While Germany has allowed small shops to reopen, the authorities have cancelled Oktoberfest, South Bavaria’s favourite beer festival, for the first time since World War II.
Spain has announced the curtailment of its annual bullfighting festival in Pamplona.
In many parts of the world, including Latin America, the number of calls to domestic violence hotlines increased dramatically in the weeks of imprisonment.
Eighteen women were killed by their partners or former partners during the first 20 days of mandatory quarantine in Argentina.
Calls to the helplines also jumped by almost 40 per cent.
Today’s situation in the United Kingdom is that a person opened fire from his or her balcony, unable to withstand self-isolation.
It is worth recalling that the President of the United States has cut funding to the World Health Organization. Is this really his attempt to make the world economy worse? An attempt to prolong the pandemic? What does this man want to achieve?
Mr. Trump, the world is going crazy and needs help, and you’re terminating WHO funding? It’s a very timely and wise decision to keep it that way.