U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an unannounced visit Monday to Kabul where he is expected to push both for advancing Afghan peace talks and for a resolution to a political crisis following the country’s presidential election. Pompeo’s schedule includes separate and combined talks with President Ashraf Ghani and rival Abdullah Abdullah. Ghani was declared the official election winner, while Abdullah has challenged the result.  Each man held his own swearing-in ceremony. Pompeo’s visit also comes a day after the United States and Qatar helped Afghan and Taliban officials hold their own talks through video conferencing. Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. peace envoy for Afghanistan, said both the Afghan and Taliban sides “conveyed their strong commitment to a reduction of violence, intra-Afghan negotiations, and a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire,” while agreeing to hold more talks during the next two days. The United States and Taliban reached their own peace deal that called for a reduction in U.S. forces in Afghanistan and for the Taliban to engage in peace talks with the Afghan government. 
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New Yorkers are fighting the coronavirus in any way they can: respecting the government directives, recommendations by health authorities and trying to stay strong in the face of calamity as they did in the wake of September 11, 2001  terrorist attacks.  Many New Yorkers, like people around the world, derive strength from their families. So, it is not surprising that some couples refused to postpone their wedding plans and took their vows wearing gloves or protective masks in ceremonies performed by an official standing at a distance.  Unseasonably warm weather Friday drew many New Yorkers to parks for jogging, riding bicycles and playing outdoor with their children.People gather in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park as state and city officials urge residents to maintain social distancing to control the growing COVID-19 outbreak, Sunday March 22, 2020, in New York.But the city’s life is far from normal, said scholar Kannan Srinivasan who has been doing a lot of research at a specialized department of the New York Public Library.“I knew this place might shut down any day, so I went through an elaborate procedure to check out the books that I normally use there, and brought them home so I could continue working,” Srinivasan told VOA in an email. “But a lot of my time has been wasted on watching the news, trying to follow precautions and so on. So, I’ve done very little work,” he said, adding that his wife also will have to start working from home this week and he is worried they might get on each other’s nerves.  A surgical mask is placed on The “Fearless Girl” statue outside the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, March 19, 2020, in New York.But Srinivasan told VOA both he and his wife are impressed with the response by their governor, Andrew Cuomo, and mayor, Bill de Blasio.The numbers are growing by the hour. New York state had nearly 16,000 confirmed cases, up from 5,100 confirmed Friday and 800 just more than a week ago.The United States has more than 33,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with more than 400 confirmed deaths, 117 of them in New York state, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine on Sunday night.Cuomo, New York state’s governor, has placed a lot of blame on the slow response by the Trump administration, especially a delay in approving COVID-19 tests.  Cuomo confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in New York City on March 1.  The federal government authorized New York City to create its own test on March 11.  Since then New York has conducted 45,000 tests.New York Governor Andrew Cuomo delivers remarks at a news conference regarding the first confirmed case of coronavirus in New York State in Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 2, 2020.In an effort to curb the spread, Cuomo ordered workers in nonessential fields to stay at home, starting Sunday night. Essential businesses that will remain open include grocery stores, pharmacies and public transit. Schools have been closed across the country as well as in New York.The New York restrictions came as some hospitals struggled with shortages of safety masks, breathing ventilators and other health supplies.De Blasio, the city’s mayor, Sunday called on U.S President Donald Trump to turn the making and distributing of medical supplies over to the U.S. military.“I can’t be blunt enough. If the president doesn’t act, people will die who could have lived otherwise,” de Blasio told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”Hours later, Trump said he had ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ship mobile hospital centers to Washington, California and New York. For New York, that would mean another 1,000 hospital beds. The president also ordered one of the U.S. Navy’s hospital ships to New York Harbor.On Sunday, New York surpassed Washington state in the number of fatal cases.And the governor told hospitals to find a way to expand the number of beds by half because predictions from health officials are that COVID-19 cases needing advanced medical care will top 100,000 in New York state in the coming weeks.
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New York City was hit by the nation’s largest coronavirus jail outbreak to date this week, with at least 38 people testing positive at the notorious Rikers Island complex and nearby facilities — more than half of them incarcerated men, the board that oversees the city’s jail system said Saturday.Another inmate, meanwhile, became the first in the country to test positive in a federal jail.In a letter to New York’s criminal justice leaders, Board of Correction interim chairwoman Jacqueline Sherman described a jail system in crisis.She said in the last week, board members learned that 12 Department of Correction employees, five Correctional Health Services employees, and 21 people in custody at Rikers and city jails had tested positive for the coronavirus.And at least another 58 were being monitored in the prison’s contagious disease and quarantine units, she said.“It is likely these people have been in hundreds of housing areas and common areas over recent weeks and have been in close contact with many other people in custody and staff,” said Sherman, warning that cases could skyrocket. “The best path forward to protecting the community of people housed and working in the jails is to rapidly decrease the number of people housed and working in them.”New York officials have consistently downplayed the number of infections in its prisons and jails, The Associated Press has found in conversations with current and former inmates.Late Saturday, the city’s Department of Corrections acknowledged 19 inmates had tested positive — two fewer than in the board’s letter — and 12 staff members. On Friday, department said just one inmate had been diagnosed with coronavirus, along with seven jail staff members.Earlier this week, Juan Giron was transferred to Rikers Island from an upstate facility after his sentence was vacated because the judge had failed to consider him for youthful offender treatment. After going through intake, where he underwent health screening, he was taken to a dormitory that housed more than two dozen men, their beds lined up next to one another, spaced a few feet apart.“This is like a shelter. So everybody is out and about. You’re talking to people, mingling” Giron said. “Last night, a guy is brought in at around 6 p.m., and a few hours later, two police officers come in with masks and gloves on and try to give the guy a mask. They looked scared, didn’t even want to touch him. They told him to pack up, so he packed up and they took him out. It was crazy.”“We asked one of the officers and they said, ‘That’s the process we are doing now for guys who have the virus,’” Giron said, adding that others who had had contact with the man have not been questioned or notified about his status.More than 2.2 million people are incarcerated in the United States — more than anywhere in the world — and there are growing fears that an outbreak could spread rapidly through a vast network of federal and state prisons, county jails and detention centers.It’s a tightly packed, fluid population that is already grappling with high rates of health problems and, when it comes to the elderly and the intern, elevated risks of serious complications. With limited capacity nationally to test for COVID-19, men and women inside worry that they are last in line when showing flu-like symptoms, meaning that some may be infected without knowing it.The first positive tests from inside prisons and jails started trickling out just over a week ago, with less than two dozen officers and staff infected in other facilities from California and Michigan to Pennsylvania.Sherman wrote to Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Correction, the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, New York’s Acting Commissioner, and district attorney asserting that those who are at higher risk from infection, including people over 50 or with underlying health conditions, should be considered for early release. So should people detained for administrative reasons, like parole violations, she wrote.Mayor Bill de Blasio earlier this week said prosecutors were working to identify candidates and by Friday night, prosecutors in New York City agreed to release 56 Rikers inmates on their own recognizance.Bianca Tylek, executive director of the national criminal justice advocacy organization of Worth Rises, said that wouldn’t cut it.“There are nearly 1,500 people incarcerated on Rikers Island for low level offenses or technical parole violations who can be released immediately,” she said. “Releasing them would reduce their risk of infection, reduce the risk for all those who remain incarcerated, and reduce the spread of the virus into the public.”A man incarcerated in New York City, meanwhile, became the first confirmed case in the federal prison system on Saturday.The man, who is housed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, complained of chest pains on Thursday, a few days after he arrived at the facility, the federal Bureau of Prisons told the AP. He was taken to a local hospital and was tested for COVID-19, officials said.He was discharged from the hospital on Friday and returned to the jail, where he was immediately placed in isolation, the agency said, adding medical and psychiatric staff were visiting him routinely.Others housed with the man are also being quarantined, along with staff members who may have had contact with him.There have been two positive cases among BOP staff members: an employee who works at an administrative office in Grand Prairie, Texas, and another employee who works in Leavenworth, Kansas, but who officials said did not have contact with inmates since becoming symptomatic.Ronald Morris, who leads the union for correctional officers at FCC Oakdale in Louisiana, said Sunday that two inmates at the federal prison complex had tested positive. One was hospitalized and the other was being isolated in the prison’s special housing unit, he said. Staff members were having their temperature taken and some were sent home after they didn’t pass the screening, Morris said.The Bureau of Prisons referred the AP to their website, which had not been updated since Saturday.The Bureau of Prisons has temporarily halted visitation at all 122 federal correctional facilities across the U.S., including both social and legal visitation, though officials have said some exceptions could be made for legal visits.For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and even death.The vast majority of people recover from the virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe cases may take three to six weeks to recover.
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Senator Rand Paul confirmed Sunday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 – the first U.S. Senator to do so.  “Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19. He is feeling fine and is in quarantine,” a tweet from the Kentucky Republican’s account read.  The Senator said that he was asymptomatic and had not been in contact with any known carriers of the novel coronavirus but was tested out of an “abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events”.  Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19. He is feeling fine and is in quarantine. He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events. He was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 22, 2020 The Senator’s office began operating remotely ten days ago, so it affirmed that “virtually no staff” had been in contact with him.  As many Americans across the United States struggle to get tested for COVID-19, many critics have taken to social media questioning how and why the senator was able to be tested if he was asymptomatic and had no known contact with a carrier.  The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has said that testing abilities in the United States are expected to increase. 
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The coronavirus pandemic is leading to information overload for many people, often making it difficult to separate fact from fiction and rumor from deliberate efforts to mislead. Already, text messages predicting a nationwide lockdown have circulated, along with social media posts telling people that one way to get tested for the virus is by donating blood or warning that mosquitoes can carry it. All are untrue. Such falsehoods can endanger public health, sow confusion and fear, and prevent important information from reaching people during a crisis. The Associated Press has debunked many such claims, including one about bananas supposedly preventing people from catching the virus and another on “Harry Potter” actor Daniel Radcliffe testing positive. COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, has stricken thousands across the globe but usually presents only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For older adults and people with other health problems, it can cause complications or sometimes death. Most people recover. Here are some things you can do to separate fact from misinformation: Look for the source We are more likely to believe things our friends tell us — that’s human nature. It’s why rumors spread and why misinformation travels on social media. It’s also why the chain text message warning of a nationwide lockdown worked so well: Everyone heard it from a friend of a friend who “knows someone.” Be wary of important-sounding information that is not coming from a clear, authoritative source, such as local government agencies and health departments, or national and international public health institutes such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. Posts may also claim that a politician said or did something. You can check that information through legitimate news outlets or the candidates’ own verified social media accounts. CDC and the WHO The top public health institutes in the United States and other countries, along with the WHO, are some of the most trusted sources of information about the outbreak. They provide the latest statistics, advisories and guides on everything from sanitizing your home to managing stress. Dr. Jessica Justman, an infectious disease expert at Columbia University, said the sheer amount of information online about the coronavirus pandemic can quickly become overwhelming. That’s one reason she encourages people to check the websites of the CDC and the WHO. “It’s not just misinformation, it’s also a lack of good information,” Justman said. “There’s so much information out there that many people are just saying ‘I can’t read it, it makes me too anxious.’” “Go straight to the source,” she said. “The CDC has been putting out great information.” At the same time, be mindful of scammers taking advantage of the CDC’s and other organizations’ trusted names. Act like a journalist  “Everyone right now is trying to figure out: What is going on? What do I need to know? Who can I trust?” said John Silva, director of education at the News Literacy Project, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit that works with educators to teach students how to navigate the news. Silva said anyone searching for accurate information about the virus needs to act a little like a journalist by verifying suspicious claims. Be wary of information from groups or news organizations you don’t know — in some cases the groups behind misinformation create websites and social media accounts that look like a legitimate news organization. Remember that there’s a difference between news stories and opinion pieces. News stories should include the source of the information. If there’s no source or attribution, be suspicious. In addition to seeking authoritative sources, journalists also seek to confirm information from multiple sources. Even if a news outlet is at first alone in reporting a big development, others will soon follow. If this doesn’t happen, it could be a red flag. Pause, take a breath  A 2018 study by MIT researchers found that false news travels faster than real news — often much faster. That’s because it’s often designed to grab people’s attention by connecting with their emotions, such as fear or outrage. The researchers, who studied how false news travels on Twitter, also found that misinformation spreads quickly because people retweet it, not due to bot activity. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and retweet a terrifying headline before reading the accompanying article. But pausing before reposting can save you from embarrassment and prevent falsehoods from spreading farther. Don’t believe everything you see  Bad actors and trolls looking to exploit people’s fears around coronavirus are using a variety of techniques to sow confusion. False news articles are just a small part of this. Photos and videos can be edited and altered, and real images can be presented out of context. Again, it helps to look for the source. Google’s reverse image search can help find the origins of a photo. For videos, take a look at who uploaded it — was it a random user? A news outlet? The CDC? Americans have a duty not to add to an already anxious time by spreading misinformation that could alarm others — or put them at risk, said Dr. Ruth Parker, a physician at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and an expert on health literacy. “It’s a scary time,” Parker said. “We don’t want to add fuel to the fire. Good information won’t cure us, but it will help to calm us.” 
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