Farewell to Dr. Ronald VERRIER

Dr. Ronal Verrier

On April 8, 2020, the Promotion Fritz G. Sam has been shaken to its core when the dreadful news came about Dr. Ronald Verrier admitted to ICU in critical conditions due to COVID-19.  Multiple groups gathered here and there to pray....expecting another miracle as it happened 6 years ago for this beloved colleague who became very sick while vacationing in the Bahamas.

Valedictorian of his class, Dr. Verrier had a brilliant mind to pair with his golden heart. He built a reputation for being passionate about medicine and excelled in his area of expertise: he was a trauma critical surgeon who practiced first in Cornell University Hospital in Manhattan after emigrating from Haiti over 20 years ago, then in St Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx.  There he was a core faculty and contributed to the education of hundreds of residents.  Many referred to him as the doctor with “gifted hands “.  He was so bright!  So talented!  And whoever got close to him realized quickly that surgery was just a stepping stone to reach out to others.  He was always present where needed as a friend, counselor, and companion.  A close friend who knew Ronald quite well described him as being “ a network by himself!”  He was so resourceful in helping anyone in the community.  An amazing storyteller, the center of attention in any gathering, he grew to become larger than life, which explained why everyone was stunned when the news came on the evening of this April 8, 2020, that Ronald had taken his last breath somewhere in a hospital in New York.

What terrible news that left his colleagues numb!  What a loss for his native country, Haiti!  What a void now in the scientific world!  We can’t even fathom what this means for his beloved wife and his children and all his relatives!  Ronald for so many was seen as a rock, a strong pillar, and a guiding voice.



Dr. Ronald Verrier will be sorely missed by his family and relatives, his Samist brothers and sisters - dear colleagues for the past 33 years since their graduation from the Hôpital de l’ Université d’Etat d’Haiti (HUEH). The medical community has lost a brilliant mind and humankind a golden heart.  

May his soul Rest In Peace.

Reposes en Paix Ronald. MC

Joël Hilaire, MD/Pastor/Poet &Author

Promotion Fritz G. Sam



Source: AMHE

Boris Johnson n'est pas encore «tiré d'affaire»

Atteint par le nouveau coronavirus, le chef de l'Exécutif britannique est sorti de l'unité des soins intensifs hier jeudi. Mais il doit rester sous étroite surveillance, confie son père.

Boris Johnson photographié avant son infection par le Covid-19

Le Premier ministre britannique Boris Johnson n'est pas encore «tiré d'affaire» et doit «prendre le temps» de se reposer pour se remettre de son infection au Covid-19, a insisté vendredi son père, Stanley Johnson, sur la BBC.

Le dirigeant conservateur de 55 ans est sorti jeudi soir des soins intensifs où il se trouvait depuis lundi. Il a été transféré vers un autre service de l'hôpital londonien de St Thomas et placé «sous surveillance étroite pendant la phase initiale de sa guérison», selon son porte-parole.

«Il doit se reposer. Tel que je le comprends, il a été transféré des soins intensifs vers une unité de récupération, mais je ne pense pas qu'on puisse dire qu'il soit tiré d'affaire», a indiqué son père, un ancien fonctionnaire européen.

Prendre le temps

«Il doit prendre le temps. Je ne peux pas croire que vous vous en sortiez et retourniez directement à Downing Street et repreniez les rênes sans une période de réajustement», a-t-il ajouté.

Diagnostiqué positif au Covid-19 fin mars, Boris Johnson est à ce jour le seul chef de gouvernement d'une grande puissance à avoir été contaminé par le virus, qui a fait près de 8000 morts au Royaume-Uni, un des pays européens les plus durement touchés.

Source: ats

Bernie Sanders drops out of 2020 presidential race

Bernie Sanders dropped out of the Democratic primary race

Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out of the Democratic primary race Wednesday, paving the way for Joe Biden to be officially declared the party’s nominee.

Addressing supporters in a livesteam, the self-described Democratic socialist, 78, said the decision to suspend his presidential campaign was “difficult and painful” but he understood there was no path forward.

Still, he said, he will stay on the ballot in the remaining primary states to push his ideological agenda at the Democratic National Convention.

The announcement comes after the former vice president trounced the Vermont independent in three primaries.

It also comes as the nation grapples with the coronavirus pandemic and growing calls for primaries to be postponed to avoid big social gatherings, especially with no clear path to victory left for Sanders.

Biden defeated Sanders in Florida, Illinois and Arizona last month and holds a large delegate lead, 1,217 to Sanders’ 914.

A candidate needs to gather 1,991 delegates to be nominated at July’s Democratic National Convention.

The senator’s campaign looked all but finished when he suffered a heart attack on the campaign trail in October.

But Sanders stayed in the race and became the front-runner after a series of razor-thin victories in the early states of Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.

However, Sanders lost his large lead when the Democratic Party rapidly coalesced against the self-described Democratic socialist outsider in early March to boost Biden’s ailing campaign.

Biden, 77, made a pitch to Sanders’ supporters during a livestreamed speech last month after thumping the Vermont senator in the last round of primaries, forecasting the fate of his upstart campaign.

“Sen. Sanders and I may disagree on tactics, but we share a common vision for the need to provide affordable health care for all Americans, reduce income inequality that has risen so drastically, to tackling the existential threat of our time, climate change,” he said.

“Sen. Sanders and his supporters have brought a remarkable passion and tenacity to all of these issues. Together, they have shifted the fundamental conversation in this country,” Biden added.

“So let me say, especially to the young voters who have been inspired by Sen. Sanders: I hear you. I know what’s at stake. I know what we have to do.”

Source New York Post

Trump’s press secretary Stephanie Grisham steps down: White House

Stephanie Grisham,  who never held a single press briefing in the White House
stepped down Tuesday.                                                                                         

President Donald Trump's chief spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham, who never held a single press briefing in a White House where Trump runs much of the communications himself, stepped down Tuesday.

The White House said Grisham would now work solely for Trump's wife Melania.

"First Lady Melania Trump is today announcing that Stephanie Grisham will be rejoining the East Wing full time as chief of staff and spokesperson," a statement said.

A replacement as White House press secretary will be announced in "the coming days," Grisham said.

Grisham took up the once high profile job in June last year but has been largely invisible, amid Trump's relentless campaign against what he considers unfairly critical journalists.

Grisham's departure could also signal the start of a wider personnel shake-up by Trump's new chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Meadows is the fourth person in that crucial job while Grisham was the third press secretary, having taken over from Sarah Sanders.

The longtime presidential tradition of daily West Wing press briefings held by the press secretary all but died under Sanders, who had a combative relationship with most journalists covering the White House.

Under Grisham, not a single such event took place, largely reflecting her boss' transformation of presidential public relations and his tempestuous relationship with the media.

Most of her public appearances took place in the shape of softball interviews on Fox News, which increasingly serves as the White House's conduit for getting its message to the country.

Trump tweets daily, sometimes well over a dozen times a day, putting out everything from random thoughts on politics to announcing major policies or personnel changes.

He also gives lengthy, frequent interviews to openly loyal hosts on Fox News.

But unlike previous presidents, he takes frequent questions from White House journalists before flying on the Marine One helicopter or during what used to be drama-free photo opportunities in the Oval Office.

Ironically, the abandoned White House briefing room has been given new life by Trump himself during the coronavirus crisis.

He now appears at the podium daily for marathon question and answer sessions.

During the briefings Trump is not accompanied by his press advisors and largely runs the events himself, choosing which reporters will speak and commenting on the supposed fairness of their questions.

Trump has made lashing out at journalists a pillar of his political brand, regularly calling reporters "fake" or "disgraceful" or "second rate" before television audiences of millions.

At his campaign rallies, he routinely encourages the large crowds to turn and boo the small group of journalists covering the event.

(Source: AFP)

UK Prince Harry says Trump is one of the 'sick people' running the world

Britain’s Prince Harry has blasted US President Donald Trump
during a hoax call from prankster  ...                                                

Britain’s Prince Harry has blasted US President Donald Trump during a hoax call from pranksters, saying the US leader has "blood on his hands" and is one of the "sick people" running the world, according to British media.

Russian hoaxers impersonating Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and her father, Svante, telephoned the prince on two separate occasions earlier this year at his luxury home in Vancouver Island, Canada, according to The Sun newspaper.

The two phone conversations between Harry and Russian hoaxers Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov took place on New Year's Eve and January 22, according to the British newspaper.

Harry reportedly slammed Trump for his environmental policies, stating, "I think the mere fact that Donald Trump is pushing the coal industry is so big in America, he has blood on his hands." 

"Unfortunately the world is being led by some very sick people so the people like yourselves and younger generation are the ones that are going to make all the difference," he added.

Harry also told the fake Greta that she could "outsmart" the US president.

Greta has been asked to speak at several high-profile events, including at the United Nations (UN) and the US Congress, to urge immediate action against what she describes as a global climate crisis.

Back in December, the 16-year-old activist said talking to Trump at the UN Climate Change Summit in September would have been a waste of time since he would not have paid any attention.

Trump has dismissed climate change and is pulling the United States out of the 2015 Paris Agreement on global warming. Trump ridiculed the teenage activist in December after she was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2019.

Trudeau says government will warn against international travel and tighten border to stop spread of COVID-19

Prime minister's wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, has tested positive for coronavirus

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is speaking to Canadians about the spread of COVID-19. Earlier today he said the federal government is considering closing the border to some international travellers. 0:00

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will warn Canadians against all international travel and is considering tightening the border to some international travellers.

During an interview with Radio-Canada's Montreal morning show on Friday, Trudeau said the government is not closing the door to any idea and is assessing the situation on a day-to-day basis.

Asked if the government will close the Canadian border, Trudeau said: "We are in the midst of looking at this."

"We're in the midst of evaluating day-to-day what to do," he said. 

"As you've seen, there are recommendations not to travel outside of Canada. We're in the midst of co-ordinating with the Americans, obviously, on our borders, on our actions. We'll continue to evaluate what we can do and how we can keep Canadians in security and we won't close the door on any idea."

Federal ministers and health officials are providing an update on Canada's response at 11:30 a.m. ET. CBCNews.ca is carrying it live.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday evening that the U.S. was banning travellers from most parts of Europe, the same day the World Health Organization declared the global outbreak a pandemic.

The State Department also issued a global health advisory cautioning U.S. citizens to "reconsider travel abroad" due to COVID-19.

There are now 160 presumed or confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada. Trudeau is in self-isolation at home because his wife, Sophie, has tested positive.

Trudeau also said the government is looking at a set of common national guidelines to limit the spread of the coronavirus across the country.

On CBC Radio's The Current, Trudeau said the government will make a recommendation to Canadians not to travel internationally right now. An announcement on that will likely come later today, he said.

Trudeau said the government is also considering income-support measures to ensure people aren't worried about money when concerned about their own health and the health of their loved ones.

"We're going to be putting in place measures to support people to make sure that they can make ends meet, that they can focus on their families while we're going through a very difficult time economically," he told host Matt Galloway.

Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam confirmed that Canada is now advising against all international travel to limit the spread of the virus. She warned that travellers could be subject to another country's travel or quarantine restrictions, and if they become sick, could be in a health care system that is inferior to Canada's system.

On the border, Trudeau said steps that have been taken to date have "worked quite well" in limiting the number of cases; additional measures may now be required.

Reportage de HCN sur les manifestations du 4 octobre 2019 en Haïti