Covid Timeline Wiki Project: February 4, 2020

Help me remember what happened on this day four years ago. Please add info/corrections in the comments.

NYT TOP HEADLINES (above the fold)

• China Foresees ‘Test’ as World Shuts Its Doors - Coronavirus Death Toll in Nation Tops SARS

• Tensions in Iowa Over Long Delays in Caucus Tallies - Rocky start in Voting

• Back from Wuhan, Facing Quarantine and Fear - Informants and Leaks Trail Travelers With Ties to the City

NYT FRONT PAGE PHOTO

NYT OPINION SECTION

Nothing virus-related

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

First daily briefing on novel coronavirus by WHO Director General

“We are also increasing our communications capacity to counter the spread of rumours and misinformation, and ensure all people receive the accurate, reliable information they need to protect themselves and their families.

And we plan to hold daily media briefings.

FDA and HHS

• First declaration of emergency as basis for issuance of Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Covid - but not for any specific product, just in general. February 7th is first actual product EUA. The February 4th date is possibly retro-fitted?

  Learn more about EUA for Covid vaccines here.

• PREP Act, which was actually first declared on March 17, is retro-dated to February 4th.

  “The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to issue a Declaration to provide liability immunity to certain individuals and entities (Covered Persons) against any claim of loss caused by, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from the manufacture, distribution, administration, or use of medical countermeasures (Covered Countermeasures), except for claims involving “willful misconduct” as defined in the PREP Act.”

RESEARCH ON POTENTIAL TREATMENTS

Letter in Cell Research, “Remdesivir and chloroquine effectively inhibit the recently emerged novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in vitro”. One of the authors is “bat woman,” Shi Zhengli.

“Our findings reveal that remdesivir and chloroquine are highly effective in the control of 2019-nCoV infection in vitro. Since these compounds have been used in human patients with a safety track record and shown to be effective against various ailments, we suggest that they should be assessed in human patients suffering from the novel coronavirus disease.” [BOLDFACE ADDED]

BIOWARFARE RESEARCHERS/VACCINE DEVELOPERS

Jeremy Farrar, Anthony Fauci, Francis Collins, Eddie Holmes circulate an early draft of the Proximal Origin paper and continue to work on getting the WHO to assemble a group of scientists to look into virus origins.

US Right to Know has a good summary of these goings-on.