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Hobby Lobby Stays Open During Coronavirus Outbreak, Forces Sick Employees to Work; Mexicans Demand Americans Stop Crossing Border; and The United States Becomes Number One in Confirmed Coronavirus Cases.
The United States-based arts and crafts store, Hobby Lobby, has said it will remain open during the coronavirus outbreak. They are refusing sick pay to employees who become sick, even if they fall ill from COVID-19.
In a letter sent to all employees on March 19, CEO and founder David Green said, “To help ensure our company remains strong and prepared to prosper once again when this passes, we may all have to ‘tighten our belts’ over the near future.”
Green, well-known for being a conservative, devout Christian with a net worth of $6bn, added: “I cannot adequately express how much I appreciate each one of you.”
He also wrote that his wife, Barbara, prayed for guidance the week beforehand, saying, “God put on [her] heart three profound words to remind us that he’s in control: Guide, Guard, and Groom.”
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“While we do not know for certain what the future holds, or how long this disruption will last, we can all rest in knowing that God is in control.”
However, a memo soon followed on March 23 to store managers from store operations vice president Randy Betts.
Betts wrote that the business would “make every effort to continue working the employees.” Sick employees must use unpaid or personal paid leave.
With Mexico having fewer than 600 confirmed COVID-19 cases and the United States having almost 86,000 cases, residents in Sonora, south of Arizona, are blocking traffic into Mexico.
The residents wore face masks and held up signs telling Americans to “stay at home” for a second day after closing a checkpoint on Wednesday to nonessential business. Although essential business is allowed to pass, the protestors say that no testing is being done by authorities and little enforcement is involved.
Members of the group Sonorans for Health and Life led the blockade, and they are calling for medical testing for anyone who tries to cross the border from the United States into Mexico.
“There are no health screenings by the federal government to deal with this pandemic,” said Jose Luis Hernandez, a group member, to the Arizona Republic. “That’s why we’re here in Nogales. We’ve taken this action to call on the Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to act now.”
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Many have criticized the Mexican president for his lack of response to the pandemic.
The group is also asking for a ban on all Mexican and American tourism for medical reasons. This includes those who cross the border to work in the United States or attend school there.
Scientists have been warning that the United States would soon become the hardest-hit country by the coronavirus. On Thursday, that moment arrived.
After a series of missteps, the United States now has almost 86,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. That is more than any other country has experienced. This includes China, who has a population of 1.3 billion, compared to 330 million residents in the United States.
Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University in New York, said, “This could have been stopped by implementing testing and surveillance much earlier. For example, when the first imported cases were identified. If these are the cases we’ve confirmed, how many cases are still missing?”
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The many failures by the United States to properly contain the virus include:
Videos leaked by cellphones in China showed rows of unattended coffins outside of crematories. They also showed doctors crying out in frustration and dead bodies on hospital floors. China was able to slow the spread of the virus by acting quickly and taking drastic measures.
