CHICAGO (AP) – The U.S. moved closer to overtaking Italy for the highest death toll in the world from the coronavirus Saturday as Chicago and other cities across the Midwest braced for a potential surge in victims and moved to snuff out smoldering hot spots of contagion before they erupt.
  
With the New York metropolitan still deep in crisis, fear mounted over the spread of the virus into the nation’s heartland. Twenty-four residents of an Indiana nursing home hit by COVID-19 have died. Chicago’s Cook County has set up a temporary morgue that can take more than 2,000 bodies. And Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been going around telling groups of people to “break it up.”
  
Around the world, meanwhile, European countries used roadblocks, drones, helicopters, mounted patrols and the threat of fines to keep people from traveling over Easter weekend. 
  
And with infections leveling off in Italy, Spain and other places on the Continent, governments took tentative steps toward loosening the weeks-long shutdowns of much of public life. 
  
Glorious weather across Europe posed an extra test of people’s discipline.
  
“Don’t do silly things,” said Domenico Arcuri, Italy’s special commissioner for the virus emergency. “Don’t go out, continue to behave responsibly as you have done until today, use your head and your sense of responsibility.”
  
Italian authorities set up roadblocks on main thoroughfares in and out of Milan and along highway exits to discourage people from going on holiday trips. British police kept a close watch on gatherings in parks and at the seaside on what was set to be the hottest day of the year. France deployed some 160,000 police, including officers on horseback who patrolled beaches and parks.
  
“It’s useless to pack your bags for a vacation,” the Paris police headquarters tweeted.
  
The pandemic’s center of gravity has long since shifted from China to Europe and the United States, which now has by far the largest number of confirmed cases, with more than half a million. 
  
As of midday Saturday, the U.S. death toll reached over 18,850, while Italy reported that the number of dead there had climbed to nearly 19,500.
  
Over the past week, the number of new deaths each day has been about three times higher on average in the U.S. than in Italy. Deaths have risen more than 9,000 for the week in the U.S. compared with fewer than 3,000 in Italy.
  
About half the deaths in the United States were in the New York metropolitan area, where hospitalizations were nevertheless slowing down and other indicators suggested social distancing is “flattening the curve” of infections.
  
But with authorities warning that the crisis in New York is far from the over, the city announced that its 1.1 million-student school system will remain closed for the rest of the academic year.
  
Some countries are already planning small first steps out of the shutdown, even as public health authorities warned the virus could come back with a vengeance if people aren’t careful enough.
  
Austria aims to reopen small shops on Tuesday. Spain, with more than 16,300 dead, plans to start rolling back the strictest of its measures Monday, when it will allow workers in some nonessential industries to return to factories and construction sites after a nearly complete two-week stoppage.
  
Spanish authorities said they will distribute 10 million face masks at major train and subway stations.
  
“We think that with these measures we will prevent a jump in infections,” Health Minister Salvador Illa said.
  
Italy continued to include all nonessential manufacturing in an extension of its national lockdown until May 3. But Premier Giuseppe Conte held out hope that some industry could re-open earlier if conditions permit.
  
Arcuri said that the exit from the lockdown will include increased virus testing, the deployment of a voluntary contact-tracing app and mandatory blood tests as Italy seeks to set up a system of ‘’immunity passports.’’
  
India extended its lockdown of the nation of 1.3 billion people by two more weeks. But Iran reopened government offices and businesses outside the capital after a brief nationwide lockdown to help contain the worst outbreak in the Middle East. Businesses in Tehran will be allowed to reopen next weekend.
  
Britain on Saturday reported 917 more deaths, down from the peak of 980 recorded a day earlier. The country’s overall death toll neared 10,000. At the same time, data suggest that the number of hospital admissions in Britain is leveling off.
  
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the first major world leader confirmed to have COVID-19, continued to recover at a London hospital, where he was able to take short walks between periods of rest, according to his office.
  
Worldwide, confirmed infections rose above 1.7 million, with over 100,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Close to 400,000 people have recovered. 
  
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for others, especially older adults and people with health problems, it can cause severe symptoms like pneumonia. 

Copyright 2020. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 

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Seven high-risk patients in Israel suffering from COVID-19 are recovering after receiving treatment from a plant-based therapy product.

The Jerusalem Post reports that Pluristem Therapeutics Inc., an Israeli medicine company that specialized in cell therapy products, treated patients at three different Israeli medical centers for one week.

Those patients treated with its allogeneic placental expanded (PLX) cells saw improvement with severe symptoms, like respiratory distress. The company’s preliminary data showed a 100 percent survival rate for all seven patients.

Pluristem CEO and president Yaky Yanay said, “We are pleased with this initial outcome of the compassionate use program and committed to harnessing PLX cells for the benefit of patients and healthcare systems.”

“Pluristem is dedicated to using its competitive advantages in large-scale manufacturing to potentially deliver PLX cells to a large number of patients in significant need,” he added.

And the company is reviewing its options for an international clinical trial for treating patients with symptoms related to the coronavirus. 

@Pluristem treated first three #Covid_19 patients in #Israel under #compassionate use program. In addition to Israel we are in discussions with regulators in the #USA and #Europe to define our clinical strategy: https://t.co/zKpsIqJILF

— Pluristem (@Pluristem) March 30, 2020

Pluristem is working with authorities in the US and Europe to “define our clinical strategy for COVID-19,” Yanay said.

“We have a lot of evidence that a good portion of the mechanism of action is the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory capability of the cells. It seems to be like a perfect fit. We are very confident in the safety profile of the product,” he added.

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In the middle of a pandemic, Christians celebrate Holy Week, a story that has the power to change the Church and the world.

Holy Week has begun for Christians around the world who are looking towards Easter and the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the grave.

Denise Godwin of International Media Ministries (IMM) paints a picture of that week. “I’ve been thinking about how Jesus entered Jerusalem. And He came in controversial and exciting times. The Romans were ruling Jerusalem. It was a situation that was less than ideal for the Jews. The tide would turn quickly this week for Jesus and people didn’t understand Him, necessarily.”

Holy Week can feel like a dark week, and many this year feel that even more keenly as a coronavirus pandemic has swept across the planet, affecting billions of people. Churches have closed and people are shut in their homes, away from their family and friends.

Godwin says the stories of Holy Week in the New Testament confront Christians living today. “It’s a great time to think about, ‘Who are we? who are we in Christ? How does our faith change who we are day in and day out when we are in hardship, when we are in challenges, and when we’re uncomfortable?’”

To this end, Godwin says IMM is working on a special project. “We are taking some stories that we already had on hand from the Gospels, people who met Jesus both positively and negatively. And we’re featuring those for our friends in the US or in the English-speaking world. We don’t usually do that. We’re usually working on translations. But we thought it was an important time to think about these stories in the New Testament and how they inspire us and challenge us [about] who we are in Christ.”

SOURCE: Mission Network News, 

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The National Council for Trauma reports that nearly 70 percent of adults in the US have experienced trauma in their lives – that’s approximately 223.4 million people. The number grows exponentially worldwide. Since trauma is such a widespread affliction, how should the Body of Christ respond to its impact on the lives of millions of people worldwide?

Glenn Dunn, Director of Domestic Ministries at Set Free Ministries, an organization dedicated to ministering to people who have suffered from trauma, explains the shared role of both the individual and the Church in the healing process. 

Simply having a desire for healing is not enough. It is equally as important for trauma victims to seek healing as it is for the Church to be open to serving them, Glen explains. “It would be wonderful if we could just simply sit on our couch, ask him to do all the work. But we wouldn’t find that relationship.” 

God does not necessarily “take away” the effects of trauma or illness because we ask him to – instead, Glenn notes, the process of healing begins with Jesus and leads to further healing. This is a central part of Set Free Ministries and guides their mission of service. 

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Nathaniel

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Christians in northern Kenya face a dual threat of the coronavirus and a terrorist organization demanding that they leave.

It can seem like the world has stopped in its tracks the last few weeks, but that is not the case. In Kenya, terrorist group Al-Shabaab has demanded that Christians leave three northern provinces.

Greg Musselman of Voice of the Martyrs Canada says we can’t forget about our brothers and sisters in Kenya who are suffering.  He says, “Al-Shabaab [has] of course lost ground in Somalia, which is where they come from, so they’re hitting other Eastern African areas like Kenya and Ethiopia. And the sad part is that the Somalis that have gone to Kenya are trying to flee groups like Al-Shabaab.”

Christians in Kenya help these people by setting up schools and access to medicine, But Al-Shabaab doesn’t want that to happen. They even incited these refugees from Somalia against the Christians and other teachers and workers. The terrorist group claims these people are taking the jobs of Muslims.

But ironically, the absence of teachers will hurt the economy of the region. Musselman says, “Again, this is the kind of situations that Christians are facing every day, along with some of the issues with the virus as well.”

“These guys are not that patient,” Musselman says. “They will want to act on it. We are hearing some things that are going on in the area, [and] it’s making the people nervous.”

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Kevin Zeller

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More coronavirus complications unfold this week as infection rates continue to rise across the U.S.  Read our full coverage here.

Data from COVIDtracking.com shows nearly 6,000 deaths and over 33,000 people have been hospitalized in the U.S.  However, Dr. Deborah Birx says ongoing shortages mean “big picture” data is incomplete and the situation remains extremely fluid.  Birx serves as response coordinator for the national Coronavirus Task Force.

Last week’s $2 trillion stimulus bill designates an additional $1 billion for the Indian Health Service and $8 billion in relief funds for tribal governments, Huffington Post reports. Yet critical awareness, infrastructure, and funding needs remain.

“We’re seeing reports on the news every night on just about every aspect of the coronavirus crisis, except about the First People of this continent,” Brad Hutchcraft from Ron Hutchcraft Ministries says.

“Most of America has no idea what’s going on in Native America.”

More Native America headlines here.

Experts say the pandemic exacerbates challenges faced by most tribal health care systems – things like outdated technology, provider shortages, and a general lack of resources. As described here, COVID-19 will impact reservations differently than the wider community.

“A snapshot of how hard this can hit Native America can be found on the Navajo Nation,” Hutchcraft says.

“The beautiful Navajo people make up 2% of Arizona’s population, but they’re representing 11% of Arizona’s COVID-19 cases right now.”

Realities outside of the medical field pose a challenge, too.  In many cases, Native culture prioritizes community, which makes social distancing and isolation difficult.  Furthermore, accessing daily necessities like food and medicine can be problematic for those who live in remote areas.  Even if transportation becomes available, finances present another restriction.

“The poverty rate in Native America is over two times the national average… and can be over four times the average in a lot of these communities,” Hutchcraft says.

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Katey Hearth

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It’s been a tough week for Saudi Arabia.  Forecasters predict a record low global oil demand due to coronavirus restrictions that will directly affect the country’s already-struggling economy.  Oil is responsible for 63-percent of national revenue, according to the IMF.

Now, Saudi Arabia is expanding its efforts to contain COVID-19 and deterred Hajj tourism could deal another difficult financial blow. The Hajj and Umrah, another Muslim pilgrimage, account for 20 percent of Saudi Arabia’s non-oil GDP, as noted here.

Use this Prayercast video to pray into the coronavirus pandemic. Stay informed by reading the latest updates here, or sign up for our daily email.

Total coronavirus infections in Saudi Arabia are approaching 2,000, and the death toll is up to 21. Kingdom officials put a 24-hour curfew on the holy cities of Mecca and Medina this week, and they’re asking Muslims to delay Hajj bookings. Each year, between one and two million Muslims journey to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, a ritual that Islam requires every follower to do at least once.  Learn more here.

When Saudis leave Islam and turn to Christ, it sets them free from things like the Hajj.

However, for believers like Deena*, it doesn’t make life easier  Social distancing takes on new meaning because, if revealed, her faith in Jesus could get her killed.

Saudi Arabia is deeply rooted in Islam, and strict Islamic laws govern every aspect of public life. All Saudi citizens are expected to be Muslims, and leaving Islam is punishable by death. Religious freedom doesn’t exist, as described here by Open Doors:

Saudi believers must keep their faith completely secret. Christians from other countries risk arrest or being deported if they share their faith with Muslims. Some Saudis have had dreams and visions of Jesus; many others have responded to Christian content on TV or the internet.

Pray for Saudi Arabia here.

Deena began following Christ several months ago, and it’s been a lonely journey.

“Deena has been a believer for less than two years, and she has never met another believer,” JoAnn Doyle tells MNN. Doyle began Not Forgotten, a division of Uncharted Ministries.

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Katey Hearth

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Welcome to A Christian Manifesto Today episode #42. My name is Daniel Whyte III, president of Torch Leadership Foundation.

Pastor and Christian philosopher, Francis A. Schaeffer, warned us and created the war plan that we as Christians need today to deal with a society that is increasingly moving away from God, the Bible, and moral principles. He wrote “A Christian Manifesto” over 33 years ago and its words are just as relevant today as they were back then.

Our Christian Manifesto Today Passage from the Word of God today is Acts 5:26-29 which reads: “Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”

Our Christian Manifesto Today quote today is from William Einwechter. He said: “When in his God-ordained role of civil magistrate (Rom. 13:1-6) man is called upon to make positive law for the governance of the body politic, the laws he enacts ought to be based on the commands and principles of God’s law. If the law is not based on the righteousness revealed in biblical law, then the law is not only unjust, it is also a usurpation of God’s sovereignty by man. No man or institution has authority to legislate anything that is contrary to God’s law. The state is not the creator of law, but the custodian of God’s law for the civil sphere. As God’s servant, the duty of the state is to interpret and apply biblical law to the circumstances of its own day within the sphere of its own jurisdiction (Deut. 1:16-17; 16:18-20; 2 Chron. 19:6-7).”

In this podcast, we are using as our text: “A Christian Manifesto” by Francis A. Schaeffer.

Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer writes in “The Limits of Civil Obedience” (Part 2):

The civil government, as all of life, stands under the Law of God. In this fallen world God has given us certain offices to protect us from the chaos which is the natural result of that fallenness. But when any office commands that which is contrary to the Word of God, those who hold that office abrogate their authority and they are not to be obeyed. And that includes the state.

Romans 13:1-4 says

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

God has ordained the state as a delegated authority; it is not autonomous. The state is to be an agent of justice, to restrain evil by punishing the wrongdoer, and to protect the good in society. When it does the reverse, it has no proper authority. It is then a usurped authority and as such it becomes lawless and is tyranny.

In 1 Peter 2:13-17 we read:

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

Peter says here that civil authority is to be honored and that God is to be feared. The state, as he defines it, is to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right. If this is not so, then the whole structure falls apart. Clearly, the state is to be a ministry of justice. This is the legitimate function of the state, and in this structure Christians are to obey the state as a matter of “conscience” (Romans 13:5).

But what is to be done when the state does that which violates its legitimate function? The early Christians died because they would not obey the state in a civil matter. People often say to us that the early church did not show any civil disobedience. They do not know church history. Why were the Christians in the Roman Empire thrown to the lions? From the Christian’s viewpoint it was for a religious reason. But from the viewpoint of the Roman State they were in civil disobedience, they were civil rebels. The Roman State did not care what anybody believed religiously; you could believe anything, or you could be an atheist. But you had to worship Caesar as a sign of your loyalty to the state. The Christians said they would not worship Caesar, anybody, or anything, but the living God. Thus to the Roman Empire they were rebels, and it was civil disobedience. That is why they were thrown to the lions.

Francis Legge in volume one of his book Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity from 330 B.C. to A.D. 330 writes: “The officials of the Roman Empire in times of persecution sought to force the Christians to sacrifice, not to any heathen gods, but to the Genius of the Emperor and the Fortune of the City of Rome; and at all times the Christians’ refusal was looked upon not as a religious but as a political offense.”

The bottom line is that at a certain point there is not only the right, but the duty, to disobey the state.

Lord willing, we will continue looking at this topic in our next episode.

Let’s Pray.

* * * * * * * *

Dear friend, if you are listening today, and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, allow me to show you how:

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9-13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Until next time, my friend, continue to stand for the Lord and his Word. God bless you!

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