Under 10 Percent of Americans Have Covid-19 Antibodies, Study Finds – The New York Times

Officials this week released statistics showing that the positivity rate in some Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods had grown to anywhere from 3 percent to 6 percent, significantly more than the citys overall rate of between 1 percent and 2 percent. Officials are especially worried about the positivity rates in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Borough Park, Midwood and Gravesend, which they have referred to as the Ocean Parkway Cluster.

Mr. de Blasio said on Friday on the Brian Lehrer radio show that the city had closed four yeshivas over violations of social distancing rules. This is an indicator of something well be fighting for a little while here, he said.

The uptick in these neighborhoods amounts to the first major virus challenge for the city after months of declining or flat numbers. The concern now is that if the outbreak spreads further in the Orthodox community, it could begin to take hold elsewhere, with even more serious consequences. If the citys overall positivity rate hits 3 percent, that would trigger a new lockdown, including the closing of public schools.

Visits to Borough Park showed how the rules are often ignored. The outbreak devastated New Yorks Orthodox Jewish community in March and April, but this week, there was hardly a face mask in sight, as if the pandemic had never happened.

In other U.S. news:

In rural Minnesota, a coronavirus survey was stopped after multiple occurrences of residents intimidating and shouting racial and ethnic slurs at workers going door-to-door, the states health department said. The state has reported an average of nearly 900 cases per day over the past week, according to a New York Times database.

Joining a growing number of colleges that have taken disciplinary action against Greek organizations that violate health rules, Indiana University has forced a fraternity to shut down through next summer because it held a large event at which people did not wear face masks or socially distance. The fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi, agreed to close its chapter house in Bloomington.

Two former leaders of a Massachusetts veterans home were indicted on charges of criminal neglect in connection with the coronavirus deaths of at least 76 residents at the facility, the states attorney general said on Friday. Bennett Walsh, 50, and Dr. David Clinton, 71, were indicted Thursday by a state grand jury on charges related to their work at the Holyoke Soldiers Home in Holyoke, Mass. Each man was indicted on five counts, and the specific charges were for caretakers who wantonly or recklessly permit or cause bodily injury and abuse, neglect or mistreatment of an older or disabled person.

The major U.S. stock indexes all rose on Friday, but the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average still recorded their fourth straight week of losses. The Dow closed with a 1.34 percent gain for the day, but was down 1.8 percent for the week, and the S&P 500 ended the 1.6 percent higher, but with a 0.6 percent loss for the week. The Nasdaq, which rose 2.26 percent on Friday, gained 1.1 percent for the week after ending the previous three weeks with declines.

Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia said on Friday that he and his wife, Pamela Northam, had tested positive for the virus. Mr. Northam, a Democrat, said that he felt fine, while his wife was experiencing mild symptoms. Gov. Mike Parson of Missouri, a Republican, announced Thursday that he and his wife, Teresa, had tested positive. Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, also a Republican, contracted the virus in July.

A federal judge barred the Trump administration from ending the 2020 census a month early, the latest twist in years of political and legal warfare over a contested population count that was delayed for months because of the pandemic. In U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Judge Lucy H. Koh issued a preliminary injunction on Friday preventing the administration from winding down the count by Sept. 30, a month before the scheduled completion date of Oct. 31.

In Boulder, Colo., public health officials have banned social gatherings of any size and issued a stay-at-home order for all people aged 18 to 22. The measure attributed a recent surge in cases to the reopening of the University of Colorados Boulder campus on Aug. 24, noting that 78 percent of new virus cases in the county were among that age group. The mandate will remain in effect until at least Oct. 8.

Less than a week before indoor dining resumes in New York City, Mayor de Blasio said that the citys outdoor dining program would be made permanent and year-round. Restaurants will have the option of enclosing their outdoor areas, but if they do, they will have to adhere to indoor dining restrictions of 25 percent capacity, the mayor said.

Reporting was contributed by Livia Albeck-Ripka, Hannah Beech, Pam Belluck, Choe Sang-Hun, Emily Cochrane, Karen Crouse, Johnny Diaz, Ben Dooley, Michael Gold, Emma Goldberg, Joseph Goldstein, Antonella Francini, Matthew Futterman, Rebecca Halleck, Winnie Hu, Makiko Inoue, Mike Ives, Isabel Kershner, Juliana Kim, Andrew E. Kramer, Dan Levin, Donald G. McNeil Jr., Sarah Mervosh, Raphael Minder, Saw Nang, Richard C. Paddock, Azi Paybarah, Bryan Pietsch, Daniel Politi, Alan Rappeport, Simon Romero, Julie Shaver, Dera Menra Sijabat, Mitch Smith, Liam Stack, Daniel E. Slotnik, Anna Schaverien, Eliza Shapiro, Jeanna Smialek, Mitch Smith, Eileen Sullivan, Michael Wines, Elaine Yu, Mihir Zaveri and Karen Zraick.

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Under 10 Percent of Americans Have Covid-19 Antibodies, Study Finds - The New York Times