If you have fever, cough or shortness of breath, call your doctor or healthcare provider to discuss your concerns or get medical care. You can also use MUSC Healths virtual visit by using the promo code "COVID19.". For general questions about COVID-19, the DHEC Care Line is here to help.
Continuity of Operation guidance:COVID-19 for Business.
There are things businesses should be doing now to stay informed and be prepared.
All businesses should plan for how they would prevent further spread of illness and limit the impact of an infectious respiratory illness (like novel coronavirus) in the event of an outbreak in the US. Key priorities should include:
Its also a good idea to prepare for possible increased numbers of employee absences due to illness in employees and their family members, dismissals of early childhood programs and K-12 schools due to high levels of absenteeism or illness.
Coordinate with local public health as the local public health authority, we are closely monitoring novel coronavirus. We are available to consult on disease prevention and control strategies. You can reach our on-call staff at healthinfo@mesacounty.us
HOUSTON A Houston-based genetic engineering company says its ready to start animal testing of its COVID19 vaccine candidate.
When will we have the vaccine? That's the one everybody wants to know, said Greffex President and CEO John Price.Nobody wants to wait 18 months. Nobody.
Price said a vaccine candidate is a vaccine that still has to go through testing in order to be widely available.
In terms of the timeline, Price is referring to the 12- to 18-month window some scientists suggested as possible timing to have the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 vaccine available. The typical timeline for something like that is about 5 years.
Price said Greffex could make a vaccine faster than 18 months, but funding is a major factor.
Price said it takes millions of dollars to do the testing and produce the vaccine. Hes hoping federal dollars and private funding will come through. Price said hes reaching out to Congressmen and Senators to secure funding.
I'm begging, Price said.
Federal dollars, like the $8.3 billion given by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump recently, can take months to get.
KHOU 11 reached out to The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on March 12 to find out how the money will be distributed and when. As of this writing, the Department has not responded.
In a press release from March 4, HHS said it will give money to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award tens of millions of dollars to some state and local jurisdictions dealing with COVID19. The press release didnt list specific states or agencies that will receive the money, nor did it outline a timeline for the distribution.
In September 2019, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded Greffex an $18.7 million contract.
NIAID told KHOU 11 the money was for Greffex to develop its plug-and-play technology to speed up production of vaccine candidates for biodefense and emerging infectious diseases to target emerging infectious treats, whether natural or man-made.
NIAID said it didnt provide funding for Greffexs work on the COVID19 vaccine.
Price told KHOU 11 the $18.7 million was earmarked for specific work, and based on federal contract rules, cant be used for COVID19 development.
Price said he was confident the funding will come through for Greffex to make the vaccine.
I have ultimate faith that we will (get the funding), Price said. That mana who will appear, (we) will figure out how to do it.
Tom Kowalski, President of Texas Healthcare & Bioscience Institute, told the Texas House Committee on Public Health Committee on March 10 that multiple scientists, including those at Greffex, were working to develop the COVID19 vaccine.
San Antonio-based Texas Biomedical Research Institute has a portfolio of COVID19 projects underway, Kowalski said. The Woodlands-based VGXI announced it will start a production of a DNA vaccine against the coronavirus. They received that from a $9 million grant from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations that will fund the vaccine development, manufacturing and early stage clinical trial testing. Dallas based ISLA Pharmaceuticals is involved with the therapeutic development for the virus.
Kowalski also mentioned Austin-based pure MHC as another biotech company working on COVID19-related projects.
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12:07 P.M. UPDATE:
TOWN OF DICKINSON (WBNG) -- Broome County Executive Jason Garnar signed two executives orders Monday morning in relation to the counties response to the coronavirus.
The first executive order mandates that all mass gatherings of over 50 people are prohibited.
The county executives' office says this includes: conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings and other assemblies.
This order does not apply to the day-to-day operations of schools, "institutes of higher learning" and businesses, Garnar's office says.
The second executive order directs daycare facilities in the county to open new slots for children of "essential employees.
Garner's office says essential employees are those with responsibilities that deal with the public's health, safety and welfare.
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TOWN OF DICKINSON (WBNG) -- Broome County Executive Jason Garnar is expected to sign two new executive orders in relation to the coronavirus.
The county executives' office announced it will hold a news conference at 11:30 a.m. at the Emergency Operation Center.
More details will be released as information becomes available.
More more coverage of the coronavirus, click here.
Computer viruses are likely to spread as malicious hackers make the most of the COVID-19 panic. ... [+] (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Cybercriminals and nation state-sponsored spies didn't take long to catch onto the coronavirus panic. Research released Thursday shows crooks and snoops have been rapidly registering vast numbers of potentially-malicious websites and sending out masses of scam emails as they try to make money from the pandemic.
A report from cybersecurity company Recorded Future noted a significant rise in website registrations related to the COVID-19 virus, some of which it believes are being used to either pilfer information from recipients or infect them with malware.
Lindsay Kaye, director of operation outcomes at Recorded Future, specifically called out the following domains as potentially dangerous:
Forbes also had Bernardo Quintero, founder of the Google-owned malware repository and anti-virus testing service VirusTotal, take a look at the domains reported by Recorded Future. He said the following websites also showed signs of malicious behavior, as theyre being detected by anti-virus software:
To avoid any risk, avoid visiting any of those websites. If you see any emails coming from such domains (e.g. those sent from @coronavirusstatus[.]space addresses) or if theyre linked in any emails, its worth taking extra precautions. Dont click on any links within the email and dont open any attachments. Simply close the email and delete to avoid further risk.
A significant number of additional coronavirus-related domains have been registered in recent days, and whilst they hadnt yet been linked to criminal activity, they may do in the coming weeks, said Kaye.
There are, for instance, domains registered that appear to come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), when in fact theyre from dangerous spammers. Researchers have already found one malware that was spread via the legitimate-looking email address CDC-Covid19@cdc[.]gov. And, as previously reported, there is at least one malicious coronavirus map that secretly installs malware that can steal information from victim PCs.
It is advisable to treat all emails regarding the COVID-19 outbreak with caution, wrote Recorded Future.
Cybersecurity company FireEye provided Forbes with a handful of example spam emails. Often such scams will ask you to click on a link or attachment so that you can get more information about protecting yourself from coronavirus.
Again, if you see anything that looks like they following, its wise to close and delete the email, and not click on links or attachments.
A criminal phishing email seeking to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic.
Another malicious phishing email seeking to take advantage of the coronavirus panic.
FireEye also looked at some of the attachments being sent in COVID-19 phishing emails. If youve downloaded something similar to this, run your antivirus and any other security tools that can help you check for infection.
A "lure" document that FireEye believes a Chinese group of hackers used to try to infect targets in ... [+] an espionage operation.
Its not just opportunistic scammers whore making the most out of coronavirus. Espionage groups associated with China, North Korea and Russia have been seen sending out spear phishing emails trying to find routes onto business networks.
Entire industries are being targeted. In February, cybersecurity company Proofpoint noted Coronavirus-themed email attacks tried to play on concerns about disruptions to global shipping. The hackers behind the operation were exclusively targeting industries that are particularly susceptible to shipping disruptions including manufacturing, industrial, finance, transportation, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic companies.
In late February and early March, FireEye suspected a group of Chinese hackers had sent malware-laden documents to targets in Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan. The documents included legitimate statements by political leaders and advice from official sources, but hidden underneath was data-slurping spyware. As reported by Forbes Thursday, a Chinese hacking crew has been linked to coronavirus-led attacks on Mongolians.
FireEye also reported that an espionage group called TEMP.Armageddon, which acts in support of Russian interests, sent a spear phishing email with a malicious, coronavirus-themed document to Ukrainians. And the companys researchers said theyd seen South Korea NGO targeted with a Korean-language lure entitled Coronavirus Correspondence. Though theyre still probing the attack, the analysts have already noted some similarities to previously-seen North Korean hacks.
If youre a potential target for cybercrime or international spies - which means you are a human being who uses the internet - be careful with what emails are trying to stoke the fire of your coronavirus fears.
