February 1 – NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, while speaking about the coronavirus at a presser, states, “New Yorkers should go about our lives. Continue doing what we do.” (Did you know de Blasio has changed his name several times? I didn’t.)
February 2 – The first COVID death outside of China is reported in the Philippines.
- New York City Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot states in a televised press conference, “The risk to New Yorkers for coronavirus is low, and that our preparedness as a city is high… There is no reason not to take the subway, not to take the bus, not to go out to your favorite restaurant, and certainly not to miss the parade next Sunday.”
- NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, one week after his first press briefing on the coronavirus, says in regard to the coronavirus and surfaces, “We understand some things about this disease… What is clear is the only way you get it is with substantial contact with someone who already has it. You don’t get it from a surface. You don’t get it from very temporary contact, based on what we know now.” Actually, the CDC’s advice on being able to catch the disease from surfaces was, “It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.” Update (5/13/21): The CDC has updated their page on “How COVID-19 Spreads.” In regard to surfaces, the page now states, “COVID-19 spreads when an infected person breathes out droplets and very small particles that contain the virus. These droplets and particles can be breathed in by other people or land on their eyes, noses, or mouth. In some circumstances, they may contaminate surfaces they touch. People who are closer than 6 feet from the infected person are most likely to get infected.”
February 3 – A study is published online revealing the Wuhan coronavirus is closely related to two other viruses (CoVZC45 and CoVZXC21) sampled in bats from Zhoushan by the People’s Liberation Army. The study states there is an 89.1% nucleotide similarity with CoVZC45, and they “even exhibit 100% amino acid similarity in the nsp7 and E proteins.” These bat coronaviruses, or Zhoushan viruses, are nearly identical to this new coronavirus and were originally discovered by military researchers in Nanjing in 2018. Having a 100% amino acid similarity means this virus is not something that occurred naturally via genetic mutation and then jumped species, but instead was created in a lab through a reverse-engineering process. The same study also indicates “The major differences in the sequence of the S gene of 2019-nCoV are the three short insertions in the N-terminal domain as well as changes in four out of five of the key residues in the receptor-binding motif compared with the sequence of SARS-CoV… Whether the insertions in the N-terminal domain of the S protein of 2019-nCoV confer sialic-acid-binding activity as it does in MERS-CoV needs to be further studied. The close phylogenetic relationship to RaTG13 provides evidence that 2019-nCoV may have originated in bats.” The bats from Zhoushan? Either way, there were no bats at the Huanan seafood market.
- Dr. Wu Xiaohua blows the whistle and states poor lab management by Shi Zhengli may have led to the virus escaping from a laboratory. Since 2010, Zhengli has been pioneering the study of bat coronaviruses, specifically how the “S” protein could allow these illnesses to jump to humans. She has produced a lot of research over the years, and worked at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. There she had access to very technologically advanced capabilities to experiment with the genetic sequencing of coronaviruses. In June of 2010, Zhengli and her team produced a paper showing how their research led to the discovery of a passageway for coronaviruses to enter the human body. This 55-minute documentary details all of this and provides a lot of additional information about the origin of this new coronavirus.
- The White House announces Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) is ramping up the production of coronavirus diagnostic testing kits.
February 4 – WHO Director General Dr. Tedros criticizes Trump’s travel ban for people coming from China stating, “Such restrictions can have the effect of increasing fear and stigma, with little public health benefit.”
- Chairman of Chinese electronics company Xu Bo blows the whistle and states the Wuhan Institute of Virology is suspected of manufacturing and leaking the virus (info contained here).
- The US Food and Drug Administration eases restrictions of coronavirus test kit development procedures to expedite the production of testing kits.
- President Trump makes a reference to the COVID during the State of the Union Address before Crypt Keeper of the House Nasty Pelosi tears up her copy of the speech (backup link) on national television. Trump stated about the virus, “Protecting Americans’ health also means fighting infectious diseases. We are coordinating with the Chinese government and working closely together on the coronavirus outbreak in China. My administration will take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from this threat.” Maybe Pelosi should worry more about her constituents than playing politics all the time as San Francisco has turned into a giant, open air toilet bowl. An excerpt from the linked article: “Dog owners complain they have to wash human feces from the legs of their pets after a walk.”
- China begins to use drones to enforce the wearing of masks and to get people off the streets.
February 5 – CDC issues a public statement saying, “While we continue to believe the immediate risk of 2019nCoV exposure to the general public is low, CDC is undertaking measures to help keep that risk low.”
- Shi Zhengli, in response to accusations the virus came out of the Wuhan lab, makes this statement to Caixin News, “Conspiracy theorists don’t believe in science. I hope that the national professional department will investigate and give us an innocence.” I am usually pretty skeptical in general, but even more so when I see people using the term “conspiracy theorist” in response to serious questions.
February 6 – New York City Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot states in an interview with NY1’s Spectrum News, “The important thing for New Yorkers to know is that in the city currently their risk is low and our city preparedness is high. And so we know this virus can be transmitted from one individual to another, but that it’s typically people that live together, that there’s no risk at this point in time – we’re always learning more – about having it be transmitted in casual contact. Right. So we’re telling New Yorkers ‘go about your lives, take the subway, go out and enjoy life, but practice every day precautions’ …we also know that if it were likely to be transmitted casually we would be seeing a lot more cases.” Oh, they’re coming.
- Shipping of CDC coronavirus test kits begins.
February 7 – Chinese whistleblower Li Wenliang dies from his exposure to the novel coronavirus.
- Biochemical Expert of the People’s Liberation Army, Chen Wei, officially assumes control of the level 4 lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
February 8 – The first death of a US citizen from coronavirus occurs in Wuhan, China.
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers a speech at a meeting of the National Governors Association in which he talks about the Chinese Communist Party’s infiltration of American institutions at all levels, public and private, and their determination to destroy American values. This has been going on for quite a while. Remember the Campaign Finance Scandal of 1996 (also see this) and the 2018 revelation that California Senator Diane Feinstein had been employing a Chinese spy for 20 years? And she was one of the biggest Russia hoaxsters!
February 9 – Death toll in China rises above that of the 2002-03 SARS epidemic (811).
- New York City Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot Tweets: “Today our city is celebrating the #LunarNewYear parade in Chinatown, a beautiful cultural tradition with a rich history in our city. I want to remind everyone to enjoy the parade and not change any plans due to misinformation spreading about #coronavirus” (the misinformation being spread by her). Update (8/19/20): This Tweet now appears on the new NYC Health Commissioner’s Twitter page even though David A. Chokshi did not Tweet this. Chokshi was not appointed until August 4, 2020, the same day Barbot resigned. It’s likely he just changed the handle on the preexisting Twitter account of the NYC Health Commissioner. There is, however, a big gap in Barbot’s personal Twitter account timeline which now skips from February 13th to March 5th. Update (3/15/22): NYC Health Commissioner Tweets will now appear as if they were written by the new commissioner, Ashwin Vasan, though Vasan just took over the job today.
- Chair of the New York City Council Health Committee Mark D. Levine Tweets about how “huge crowds gathering in NYC’s Chinatown” was a “powerful show of defiance of #coronavirus scare” tweeting several images of large groups of people gathered to celebrate the occasion. Levine also added, “If you are staying away, you are missing out!” Oh, you’re missing out all right…
February 10 – Based on data from windy.com (a wind map and weather forecast site) it is reported there were abnormally high levels of sulfur dioxide being released into the atmosphere on the outskirts of Wuhan, China, indicating to some that perhaps bodies were being burned in mass.
February 11 – WHO announces the official name of the Wuhan Red Death to be COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019).
February 12 – COVID cases begin to rise dramatically in South Korea.
February 13 – New York Slimes columnist Max Fisher runs a piece in which he uses “smug psychology” to explain why everyone is freaking out about coronavirus when a “serious threat” like the seasonal flu is much deadlier.
- China announces they will begin trials using high-dose intravenous vitamin C treatments for coronavirus. Patients will receive 24,000 mg/day for seven days.
February 14 – NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, while addressing the coronavirus during an interview on MSDNC, states, “This should not stop you from going about your life. This should not stop you from going to Chinatown and going out to eat.”
- Chinese President Xi Xinping calls for the accelerated establishment of a biosecurity law which had been drafted in October. “The draft focused on protecting the security of China’s biological resources, and preventing and prohibiting the use of biological agents or biotechnology that may harm national security.” Also see this. On a side note, it is believed this lab was also producing adrenochrome.
February 15 – The Wuhan Institute of Virology disputes the accusation that graduate student Huang Yanling was patient zero and had died. Removed from their website was her photo, curriculum vitae and thesis, leaving only her name on co-authored work. Also see this article for a summary.
February 16 – A group of Chinese doctors advocate for high-dose, intravenous vitamin C (IVC) treatments to be used for treating coronavirus. Their summary reads in-part, “Coronaviruses, influenza viruses and many other pandemic viral infections are usually associated with an increased oxidative stress leading to oxidative cellular damage resulting in multi-organ failure. Antioxidants administration therefore has a central role in the management of these conditions, in addition to the standard conventional supportive therapies. Preliminary clinical studies and case reports show that early administration of high dose IVC can improve clinical conditions of patients in ICU, ARDS and flu. It needs to be pointed out that pandemics like 2019-nCov will happen in the future. Specific vaccines and antiviral drugs R&D take a long time to develop and are not available for the current nCov epidemic and won’t be ready when the next pandemic strikes. IVC and other antioxidants are universal agents for ARDS that can be rapidly applied clinically. Given that high dose IVC is safe, can be effective, we call on the involved leadership and healthcare professionals to look into high dose IVC without further delay.” Why are we not using IVC treatments in the US?
February 17 – Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks with a reporter from USA Today and states, “I don’t think people should be frightened. I mean, uh, the risk right now today currently is really rather low for the American public, but that could change because what’s going on outside of the United States, particularly obviously in China, and in other countries in which there are travel-related cases, that this could evolve – and I think it would be unrealistic to deny that – this could evolve into a global pandemic.” So don’t worry about the coming pandemic? In regard to the wearing of masks, Fauci stated, “If you look at the masks that you buy in a drug store, the leakage around that doesn’t really do much to protect you. People start saying, ‘Should I start wearing a mask?’ Now, in the United States, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to wear a mask.” The Twerp also referred to the risk of the average American contracting the COVID as “just minuscule.” Full story here.
February 18 – The CDC reaffirms the “risk to Americans from coronavirus is low.”
February 19 – The President of EcoHealth Alliance, Peter Daszak, and others issue a statement of support for the “scientists, public health professionals, and medical professionals of China combatting [sic] COVID.” The statement reads in part, “We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin.” When we are told to not look at something that has been labeled a “conspiracy theory” we should always do the opposite. Moreover, it was Daszak’s EcoHealth Alliance serving as the go-between when the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (which Fauci has been the head of since the 1980s) began sending money to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for gain of function research in 2014. Update (1/16/21): Emails acquired legally by US Right to Know show Daszak was involved in pushing the conspiracy theory narrative, specifically advising “it would be good to be specific about the bioengineered virus conspiracy theory, but we I think we should probably stick to a broad statement… because there are other conspiracy theories out there.” Who do these people think they’re fooling?
- Coronavirus outbreak begins in Iran.
February 20 – Trump administration raises travel warnings to their highest level for Japan and South Korea.
February 21 – Coronavirus outbreak begins in Italy.
- China approves a third high dose, intravenous vitamin C treatment for use in patients to fight COVID.
February 24 – Nasty Pelosi visits San Francisco’s Chinatown and says the following to a KPIX5 reporter, “We want to be vigilant about what is out there in other places, we want to be careful about how we deal with it, but we do want to say to people ‘come to Chinatown, here we are.’ We’re again, careful, safe, come join us.” When the people there start getting sick she’ll say it’s Trump’s fault.
February 26 – The first case of suspected local transmission in the United States is announced by the CDC.
- President Trump names Vice President Mike Pence to lead the Coronavirus Task Force.
February 27 – Pence chooses Dr. Deborah Birx (aka “The Scarf Lady”) to serve as the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator.
- Zhong Nanshan, a pulmonologist, says at a press conference “the coronavirus first appeared in China but may not have originated in China.” Other Chinese officials will soon begin repeating or implying the same message. This could mean several things including the virus was stolen and reverse engineered to produce COVID-19, and that allowing western scientists to examine it would cause this to be discovered. It could also mean after a moratorium was put on gain of function research in our country, we funded the same research in China and there was an accident. Perhaps they were working on a vaccine for this man-made virus, a vaccine the entire world would be forced to purchase from them, and there was an accident. Or it could mean other things such as the deep state, along with the Chinese Communist Party, did this intentionally.
February 28 – The laboratory in Shanghai where Zhang Yongzhen and his team produced the original genetic makeup of COVID-19 and shared it with the world was ordered closed by Chinese authorities for “rectification” in early January, the day after the findings were published online. This severely limited additional research into the disease.
February 29 – The first death from COVID-19 is recorded in the United States.
- President Trump halts travel with Iran.
- Dr. Anthony Fauci appears on NBC’s weekend Today show and states, “Right now, at this moment, there is no need to change anything that you are doing on a day-to-day basis. Right now the risk is still low, but this could change, I’ve said that many times.” What kind of statement is this? At the start of the segment the NBC anchor falsely claimed that president Trump called the coronavirus a “hoax” at a campaign event the night before, and asked Fauci his thoughts on their made up bullshit (the writing displayed in the lower third to start the segment read “Contagion or Hoax? Should Americans Be Concerned About Coronavirus” – which was dishonest and misleading). Fauci seemed somewhat miffed about the question and refused to make a comment. Even pro-establishment and politically biased “fact checkers” like Snopes and Factcheck.org had to say this claim is untrue. Politifact even called out Joe Biden for continuing to make this bogus claim and for editing Trump’s words in a dishonest political ad he was running, stating, “Biden’s video is inaccurate. We rate it False.” For the full story and Trump’s full statement see here. This is quite reminiscent of the claims still being made by the media that Trump said the white supremacists who attended and caused trouble at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017 were “fine people.” This lie has been continuously pushed in the media, and even perpetuated by Creepy Uncle Joe Biden at the start of his campaign for president. Fake news truly is the enemy of the people.
- The US Surgeon General Tweets, “Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk! http://bit.ly/37Ay6Cm.” The thread continued, “The best way to protect yourself and your community is with everyday preventive actions, like staying home when you are sick and washing hands with soap and water, to help slow the spread of respiratory illness. Get your #FluShot– fewer flu patients = more resources for #COVID19.” This is not true as the seasonal flu vaccine makes people more vulnerable to respiratory illnesses like COVID-19. The US Surgeon General should probably know that. Update (2/24/23): I noticed today Jerome Adams’ Tweet has been taken down. I don’t know when it was taken down, but it’s gone… So I’ve added screenshots. We cannot let these awful people act as if they weren’t completely inept while they try to re-write history. And while I’m at it, I might as well add this article titled “Former US Surgeon General Jerome Adams runs for cover when challenged” into the record!
