China reported the number of infected medical workers for the first

time.
China disclosed on Friday that 1,716 medical workers have contracted the virus and six of
them have died.

The announcement was the first official confirmation about the number of infected medical
workers, and is likely to ratchet up fears about the spread of the virus.

Zeng Yixin, deputy director of the National Health Commission, said the numbers of
infected workers represent 3.8 percent of China’s overall confirmed infections. The victims
represent 0.4 percent of all deaths nationwide.

Mr. Zeng said that Hubei, the province at the center of the outbreak, recorded 1,502 cases
of infected medical workers, with 1,102 of them in Wuhan, the provincial capital. He added
that further research was needed to ascertain whether the infections spread throughout
the hospital or within the community.

“I think it’s quite concerning,” said Benjamin Cowling, a professor of epidemiology at the
University of Hong Kong. “Healthcare workers face the challenge of caring for a substantial
number of patients in Wuhan. It’s worrying to discover that a number of them have been
infected.”

Medical workers in Hubei, already working round the clock, face a shortage of personal
protective equipment such as masks, gowns and safety goggles. They have resorted to
begging from friends, putting out frequent calls for donations, and using tape to patch up
torn masks and gowns. Many doctors and nurses there say they eat only one meal a day
because going to the restroom means removing and discarding safety gowns that they
would not be able to replace.

During the SARS outbreak of 2002-2003, 961 medical workers were infected, representing
18 percent of all infections, according to government data. About 1 percent of the medical
workers infected with SARS died, the medical expert Xu Dezhong told Xinhua, China’s
official news agency.
Trump says he would vote for a gay presidential candidate
The president's comments came up in the context of Buttigieg's barrier-breaking candidacy.

President Donald Trump said he would vote for a gay presidential candidate, a question revived
by the success of former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s White House bid.

In a wide-ranging interview on Fox News personality Geraldo Rivera’s podcast, the president
also said he thinks it's possible that American voters could one day elect a gay candidate to the
White House.

“I think so. I think there would be some that wouldn't, and I wouldn't be among that group to be
honest with you,” Trump told Rivera, pointing to Buttigieg’s top-two finishes in both of the first
two Democratic presidential contests.

“I think that, yes, I think that it doesn't seem to be hurting Pete Boot-edge-edge as you say, as
you would call him,” he argued, using the phonetic pronunciation that Buttigieg’s campaign has
deployed. “It doesn't seem to be hurting him very much but ... there would be a group that
probably wouldn't. But you or I wouldn't be in that group."

Buttigieg’s barrier-breaking candidacy has once again become the subject of mainstream
discussion as the former mayor has surged in polling. In the Iowa caucuses last week, a contest
that is undergoing a recanvass, Buttigieg narrowly beat out Sen. Bernie Sanders in the delegate
count, and came within striking distance of the senator in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary,
the senator’s own backyard.

Trump has previously praised the historic nature of Buttigieg's White House bid, calling it a
"sign of great progress" in an interview with Fox News earlier this year.

While Trump has at times sought to fashion himself as an ally of the LGBTQ community, he's
faced blowback for enacting and promoting a number of policies that would harm LGBTQ
Americans or roll back protections the community.

Most recently LGBTQ rights advocates flayed Trump for awarding the Presidential Medal of
Freedom — the highest civilian honor — to divisive talk show host Rush Limbaugh in the
middle of his State of the Union address.

Days later, Limbaugh, who has a history of making racist, sexist and anti-LGBTQ remarks on his
show, came under fire again for a homophobic rant during which he mocked Buttigieg's
masculinity and concluded of his candidacy: "America’s still not ready to elect a gay guy kissing
his husband on the debate stage president.”

The comments sparked immediate blowback from LGBTQ rights supporters, some of whom
accused Trump of legitimizing Limbaugh's point of view. The president himself has not weighed
in on Limbaugh's remarks, aside from his indirect disagreement Thursday.