Category: Corona Virus

By Spencer Custodio | 16 hours ago

Orange County has moved back to the most restrictive tier of the states business reopening system as the second Coronavirus wave is hitting the county and increasingly sending more people to hospital beds.

OC now sits in the Purple Tier, the most restrictive level.

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That means an end to indoor operations at restaurants, gyms, places of worship and movie theaters, while further limiting indoor operations in the rest of the businesses. Most college classes except lab classes will also be moved back to video conferences.

Elementary, junior high and high schools that have already reopened wont be affected by OCs move back to the Purple Tier.

We are seeing community spread, broadly, now throughout the state of California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a Monday news conference.

State public health officials removed a two-week wait period before counties either advance or fall back in the tiering system because of the rapid spread of virus cases across the state.

All of Southern Californias counties now sit in the Purple Tier.

The cases are spiking so fast, Newsom said theyre entertaining the idea of a potential statewide curfew.

The notion of a curfew we are assessing that as well, Newsom said.

He said officials studying curfew effects from France, Germany and Saudi Arabia.

What does a real curfew mean in terms of certain types of industries and business sectors, he said. We really want the data to bear out.

Secretary of the state Health and Human Services Agency, Dr. Mark Ghaly, said it could be months before the current case spikes stabilize.

Hopefully by the end of December, we are seeing case rates come down and we can move forward in the tier system, Ghaly said at Mondays news conference.

He said todays spikes in cases means a surge in hospitalizations is around the corner.

Tracing the data over many many months, shows that cases today will end up in the hospitals in two to three weeks, Ghaly said, adding roughly 14% of newly infected people will end up in a hospital bed.

Meanwhile, Orange Countys increased case rates have led to a steady increase in hospitalizations.

As of Monday, 257 people were hospitalized, including 85 in intensive care units.

Thats the highest number of hospitalizations since early September, when OC was still reeling from the Summer case spikes.

State public health officials warn the new cases across the state are increasing faster than the Summer wave, which saw over 700 people hospitalized in Orange County at one point in July.

The number of new cases per day has increased dramatically since the beginning of November, said acting state Health Officer Dr. Erica Pan at a Friday news conference.

She said compared to the summer spike, this is almost a 20 percent faster rate of rise and the fastest rate of rise we have seen in California.

And the second wave could be worse than the first, she said.

We did see a peak in July and our concern with this rapid rate of rise, the peak could be even higher, Pan said.

Local epidemiologists also share Pans concerns.

Since the pandemic began in March, the virus has now killed 1,526 people out of 65,605 confirmed cases, according to the county Health Care Agency.

The virus has already killed nearly three times as many people as the flu does on average in Orange County.

For context, Orange County has averaged around 20,000 deaths a year since 2016, including 543 annual flu deaths, according to state health data.

According to those same statistics, cancer kills over 4,600 people, heart disease kills over 2,800, over 1,400 die from Alzheimers disease and strokes kill over 1,300 people.

Ghaly is urging people to rethink large Thanksgiving dinners this year.

Many of us have COVID fatigue, Ghaly said at the Friday news conference. The safest gatherings remain those that happen at home with members of your own household.

State public health officials also released guidelines for Thanksgiving dinners Friday, which calls for no more than three households to join the dinner, wear masks as much as possible and try to eat outside.

Officials are also urging a two-week travel quarantine for people traveling to California.

Travel, having others travel to your home, could potentially cause increased transmission, Ghaly said. It isnt a restriction, this is an advisory.

Officials are also asking people to not travel out of state or even to other counties as the virus cases are surging.

Were encouraging Californians to stay close to home. To avoid non essential travel to other states, other countries and frankly across the state, Ghaly said.

Yet state public health officials werent considering issuing a stay home order, as of Friday.

We are not looking today at a statewide stay at home order. We know that many Californians are fatigued and tired, Ghaly said Friday.

But that could change.

This is a quickly, rapidly evolving situation and we will do whatever it takes to properly protect the health of the California population, he said.

Heres the latest on the virus numbers across Orange County from county data:

Infections | Hospitalizations & Deaths | City-by-City Data | Demographics

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State Officials Shut Down More OC Businesses as Second Coronavirus Wave Increases Hospitalizations - Voice of OC

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Iqra Beg is one of dozens of Texas tourists who were stranded in Peru in March, after the South American country abruptly shut its borders because of the burgeoning coronavirus pandemic.

Under a military-enforced curfew, the Texans spent days frantically trying to contact the unresponsive U.S. embassy and consulate, spending hundreds of dollars extending their hotels and Airbnbs and growing increasingly panicked when they couldnt find open flights back to the U.S. to their jobs and families.

They thought the nightmare was over when government-chartered planes arrived to fly them to Miami.

Months later, the bills arrived.

The U.S. State Department has sent letters to Texans like Beg in recent weeks asking for repayment for the repatriation flights and threatening to withhold tax refunds or social security payments if the debt goes unpaid for months. Many of the tourists signed promissory notes before boarding the flights back promising to pay, without knowing exactly how much they would owe until they received the bill.

Those Texans are among the more than 100,000 citizens and permanent residents the State Department has helped bring back during the coronavirus pandemic, with less than half taking government chartered-flights and agreeing to pay the cost, a department official said. Most of the remainder bought tickets for commercial flights and, in rare cases, a U.S. military or government aircraft was used, according to the official.

Lawmakers in Congress have tried unsuccessfully to waive payments for the repatriated Americans with U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat, saying for many, getting home meant thousands of dollars in unanticipated expenses incurred through no fault of their own.

But a bill co-sponsored by Masto and six other lawmakers none from Texas has failed to pass.

The Texas Tribune interviewed or reviewed bills received by a half-dozen Texans marooned in Peru, most of whom was charged around $1,300 for an evacuation flight, and said the cost was higher than they expected. Interest will be added if they dont pay within a month of the due date, and they could be placed in the crosshairs of a private debt collection agency, have their credit damaged or their wages garnished if the debt goes unpaid long enough, the letters say. Their payments are due in October and November.

The reimbursement amount established is the reasonable commercial air fare immediately prior to the events giving rise to the evacuation, or the cost of the charter divided by the number of passengers, whichever is lower, the letters say.

Beg, a Dallas educator, said she hadnt expected the bill to come seven months later and to be so high, after she already spent hundreds of dollars to extend her hotel in Cusco, pay for an overnight stay in Miami and then a domestic flight from there to her home in Dallas. She had tried to cancel her March visit to Machu Picchu as coronavirus concerns grew but was told by her travel company that the $1,000 all-inclusive trip would not be refunded. Her original return flight, also booked through the travel company, was not refunded, she said.

The State Department is required by law to seek reimbursement for evacuation assistance up to what would be considered reasonable commercial airfare in a normal time, the official said. It has sent some 24,000 billing notices worth about $41.4 million and received about $21.5 million in payments so far, according to data provided by the State Department official. It had received approximately 25,700 promissory notes as of last week.

Though some Americans had raised concerns about the pricing of return flights, the official said the State Department did not set or control the prices, does not have authority to do so and that private carriers who did determine the bills stepped up to offer commercial rescue charters under extraordinary circumstances from difficult locations.

These are not business as usual commercial flights during normal times, and they cost significantly more to operate, the official said. Financial risk assumed by the airline and the fact that one leg of the planes journey would be without passengers are factors that could drive up the cost, the official said.

Airline executives have said the last-minute nature of the flights and routes through places where they may not usually fly leaves them with little time to negotiate prices and contract with vendors who load baggage, clean aircrafts, and the like.

Latam, the airline that flew Beg and several other Texans interviewed by the Texas Tribune, did not answer questions before publication.

Texans who received the bills said its the latest episode in a disorganized government effort to retrieve citizens stranded abroad. The State Department warned Americans to avoid all international travel on March 19, several days after the Peruvian borders were sealed.

President Donald Trump initially seemed to blame the tourists for being stuck in Peru, and some said they felt abandoned as other nations came to retrieve their citizens. Beg and others holed up in hotels or hostels, traded information and worried about those who were missing work or running low on medicine as the days ticked by. Armed officers patrolled the streets, and the Americans were instructed to only leave to go to make essential visits, like to get food or medical care.

Nine days after the border closed, Beg saw an email from the U.S. embassy at 6 a.m. It said a flight from Cusco to Miami was scheduled for that morning and that she should be outside the airport in two and a half hours.

She walked 2 miles to get there, with a half-dozen other Americans including an elderly man who had been cutting his pills in half each day to make them last, Beg said.

You're just in such a desperate state to get out. Youre like: If I miss this flight, will I be able to get another one? she said.

Jana Miller, a 34-year-old from Richardson, found temporary housing at a hostel in Peru when the borders closed and after failing to find any available flights out of the country, she resigned herself to staying and waiting out the lockdown.

But on March 25, a woman Miller befriended at the hostel another Texas resident was notified there was a government-chartered flight out. She raced to the airport walking four miles before dawn to get there and told Miller to follow and see if she could get on the flight. She did.

Miller said just a bag of chips was served on the roughly 8-hour flight, which made a stop in Lima. She ate a foot and a half worth of Subway sandwiches after landing and spent the night in the Miami airport waiting for a morning flight to Dallas.

She was prepared to pay but expected the bill would be for a reasonable amount, she said.

Flights were averaging, like $350. And so my thought was: This is a one way ticket. Surely it's not going to be so extravagant that it's going to be unmanageable, she recalled.

When a bill for $1,300 arrived seven months later, she sent a photo of it to her coworkers and jokingly told her roommate shed be eating a lot of Ramen noodles in the days ahead. Her coworkers surprised her by pooling together enough money to pay it off.

Jonathan Du, a student at the University of Texas at Austins LBJ School of Public Affairs, said the repatriation process could have been handled better and that the confusion over the bills was a case study in government bureaucracy and the effect of the coronavirus.

He reached out to the State Department to get answers when he returned, worried that the bill would get lost in the mail and go into default and leave him with interest payments or unable to renew his passport. He never got an email back from the department, he said. He eventually spoke to an official on the phone in October after initially only reaching a voicemail and gave them his credit card information.

The State Department official said the agency is processing an unprecedented volume of bills and that its website notes there are a huge number of emails due to the large-scale nature of the repatriation efforts.

But Du said he can't imagine what it's like for people unable to pay thousands of dollars right away, or who "might have missed their bill or aren't at the same address anymore or just don't even know it's coming.

That might have happened to Lauren McKinney, a junior at the University of Texas at Austin. She thinks her bill was sent to her old apartment because her sister who was in Peru volunteering before becoming stranded with McKinney already got one for around $1,300. She has requested that a bill be sent to her virtually and is hoping to work out a payment plan with the government as she doesnt have the ability to pay that amount of money. Her sisters bill is due in mid-November, McKinney said.

I was hoping since there's a pandemic still going on and people are still asking for stimulus checks... Not that this would be waived, but it just seems a little odd that it's so clear that so many Americans are struggling financially currently, and this is the time they chose to send the bill, she said.

Disclosure: University of Texas at Austin and University of Texas at Austin - LBJ School of Public Affairs have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

Excerpt from:

Texans stranded abroad during coronavirus are billed by U.S. government - The Texas Tribune

Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered an update on California's response to coronavirus, including many counties moving back to the most restrictive tier and the announcement of a potential curfew. You can read highlights below or watch the full video above.

California's daily COVID-19 cases have doubled in the last 10 days, the fastest increase seen in the state since the start of the pandemic. A slide in Newsom's presentation read, "We are sounding the alarm."

The highest rate seen previously was in June, when there was a one-week 39.2% increase between Nov. 1 and Nov. 7, there was a 51.3% increase.

AN "EMERGENCY BRAKE" ON REOPENING; STATE CURFEW UNDER CONSIDERATION

There were previously 13 counties in the most restrictive purple tier there are now 41 of the state's 58 counties in purple. This includes all of Southern California, though L.A. County was still in purple before this announcement. There are 11 counties remaining in red, 4 in orange, and 2 in the lowest yellow tier.

Ghaly said that, hopefully, rates will start coming down by the end of December and forward movement on reopening can begin again.

Newsom announced that the state is "pulling an emergency brake" as part of the state's reopening blueprint, and they are now tightening restrictions.

The governor said that a statewide curfew is also under consideration. He is looking at curfew strategies from other countries, states, and cities.

Counties will now move back into a more restrictive reopening tier after 1 week of data that doesn't meet standards for being in a lower tier, rather than 2 weeks.

Some counties are set to move multiple tiers backwards at one time.

Counties that move back have to make changes to businesses/industries in a 24-hour period instead of after three days as has been the practice previously. Enforcement will be phased in.

Due to the urgency, Newsom said, changes are being announced today rather than waiting for California Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly's weekly Tuesday press conference. The state will also assess tiers for different counties again mid-week.

Ghaly said that the reason for this shift is that the state's health care system is coming under stress. He expressed the importance of keeping transmission low to prevent flooding the system, as well as the importance of keeping health care workers safe during the winter as cases increase.

More updates on restrictions will be coming in "real-time" going forward, rather than waiting for Newsom's Monday press conferences and Dr. Ghaly's Tuesday press conferences, Newsom said.

CALIFORNIA'S PREPARATION FOR THIS SURGE, FOR THE VACCINE

There are 11 health care surge facilities throughout the state, Newsom said. There is also the abiliity to set up more within 24-96 hours, with a total capacity if needed of 1,872 beds. The first of those surge facilities being put into use is in Imperial County.

Newsom expressed optimism about the vaccine, noting that it moves the response to COVID-19 "from a marathon to a sprint." The state is planning for safe, equitable, and transparent distribution of COVID-19 vaccine, as well as working on preparing for unknowns. They've also set up expert committees on safety and distribution. Newsom noted that one of those experts, as well as other Californians, have joined President-Elect Joe Biden's national team.

California has already been working with both Pfizer and Moderna ahead of the release of their vaccines. Some of the timelines are behind schedule, according to Newsom, but the effectiveness of those vaccines is significantly higher than some preliminary projections.

The state has an inventory of 180 million N95 masks, as well as 342 million surgical masks, along with a stockpile of other personal protective equipment (PPE).

HOW TO KEEP TRANSMISSION LOW

Ghaly stressed the importance of wearing a mask while in public. He noted that, when gathering with people you don't live with in any setting, transmission can be caused by lowering your mask for any reason.

The state has been tracking "household transmission," which is where someone transmits COVID-19 to others in their home, potentially due to working outside the household. Between a third and a half of family members get infected. He said this was something to take particular note of if you live with someone who is older or more vulnerable to COVID-19, even if you're asymptomatic.

The state put out guidance for gatherings last week. Ghaly emphasized that:

Ghaly also talked about the travel advisory issued last week. It is not a ban, but the state is discouraging non-essential out of state travel.

For those that do travel out-of-state (or have guests from out-of-state), California is asking them to do a 14-day self-quarantine after returning to the state (or after their guests leave). This is especially true when traveling to places with a higher rate of transmission, including in the middle of the country. Ghaly encouraged Californians to stay local, perhaps keeping travel within a two-to-three-hour drive.

The state plans to issue additional guidance on wearing a mask and other ways people can protect themselves and others as more activity moves from outside to inside as the weather gets colder.

LATEST COVID-19 CASE NUMBERS

There were 9,890 new COVID-19-positive cases in the most recent reporting period the seven-day average is 8,198 cases.

There is a 4.6% positivity rate over the past 14 days, up 1.4% in those two weeks the 7-day rate is 5%. This compares with a national rate of 9.8%. But, Newsom said, the rate of increase is still alarming.

There has been a 48% increase in COVID-19-positive hospitalizations over the past 14 days. There are currently 3,852 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in California, which makes up 5% of the state's capacity. He noted that there are other states where more than 50% of the state's hospital capacity is being used by COVID-19 patients.

There has been a 38.8% increase in COVID-19-positive admissions to ICU beds in the past 14 days. They occupy 13% of the state's ICU beds, with 20,707 ventilators still available.

The state is currently at an average of 164,345 COVID-19 tests being conducted per day. There were 202,000 tests conducted in the most recent reporting period.

NEWSOM APOLOGIZES FOR GOING TO FRIEND'S BIRTHDAY PARTY AT RESTAURANT

Ahead of questions from reporters, Newsom apologized for going to a friend's 50th birthday party. It was outdoors at the French Laundry restaurant in Napa, which was in the orange restriction tier. He gathered with a number of other couples.

The event started at 4 p.m., but Newsom said that he arrived a little late at 4:30 p.m.

"As soon as I sat down at the larger table, I realized it was a little larger group than I had anticipated. And I made a bad mistake," Newsom said. "Instead of sitting down, I should have stood up, and walked back, got in my car, and drove back to my house."

While it may have been OK under the county guidelines, Newsom said, he knows it wasn't in the spirit of where the state is at with COVID-19. He said that he needs to practice what he preaches, and added that he's been at three dinners outside the household since the pandemic began. Two were with just his wife this was the first with those from other households, Newsom said.

JANUARY BUDGET: CALIFORNIA REVENUE HIGHER THAN EXPECTED

The state has taken in $11.4 billion more in revenue than expected, and that in the January budget proposal, Newsom said that supporting California's businesses will be a top priority. Newsom said that he will be working with the new Biden administration and Congress on a new stimulus to support both individuals and small businesses.

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LA Will Ramp Up Enforcement Of Coronavirus Restrictions, Begin Testing At LAX - LAist

Airbnb filed for an initial public offering on Monday, released its prospectus, and indicated it will trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol ABNB.

The prospectus gives a deep look at Airbnbs business, particularly just how hard the platform has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic. As part of the filing, Airbnb says its business will continue to be affected by people scaling back travel as the virus continues to spread. Under risk factors, the company said the pandemic and the impact of actions to mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic have materially adversely impacted and will continue to materially adversely impact our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

The company has seen annual net losses every year since its launch and says it may not be able to achieve profitability. It went from a net loss of $70 million in 2017 to a net loss of $674.3 million in 2019, on revenue of $4.81 billion. For the nine months ending on September 30th, it saw a net loss of $696.9 million on revenue of $2.52 billion, compared to a loss of $322.8 billion for the same period last year.

So far in 2020, Airbnb has sold $17.9 billion in gross bookings, a drop of 39 percent from the year prior.

Our revenue growth rate has slowed, and we expect it to continue to slow in the future, the company said.

Last quarter, Airbnb had revenues of $1.34 billion, down 19 percent from $1.65 billion in revenue in the year-ago quarter. But it reported $219 million in profit for the third quarter, as its business began to bounce back from the effects of the pandemic travel slowdown.

In early 2020, as COVID-19 disrupted travel across the world, Airbnbs business declined significantly, according to the prospectus. But within two months, our business model started to rebound even with limited international travel, demonstrating its resilience. People wanted to get out of their homes, the company added, but didnt want to stay in hotels. Its domestic travel rebounded quickly and was affected by the number of people opting to work remotely from an Airbnb rather than their homes.

We believe that the lines between travel and living are blurring, and the global pandemic has accelerated the ability to live anywhere, the company said.

Airbnb had previously planned to go public in August even though it was in the midst of pandemic-related cancellations, which saw its valuation drop from its 2017 high of $31 billion to around $18 billion. In May, the company laid off about 25 percent of its staff or about 1,900 people. Executive salaries were also reduced for a temporary six-month span.

Also under its risk factors, the company noted that its business model relies on hosts, the homeowners who use the platform to rent their properties. If we fail to retain existing hosts or add new hosts, or if hosts fail to provide high-quality stays and experiences, our business, results of operations, and financial condition would be materially adversely affected, Airbnb said, adding that further decline or disruption in travel and hospitality or other economic downturn would materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Original post:

Airbnb lost millions in revenue due to the coronavirus, IPO filing reveals - The Verge

WASHINGTON In recent months, churches in California and Nevada asked the Supreme Court to lift government restrictions on attendance at religious services meant to address the coronavirus pandemic. The churches lost.

The vote in both cases was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joining what was then the courts four-member liberal wing. One of those liberals, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, died in September. Her successor, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined the court last month.

It will not take long to assess the significance of that switch.

On Thursday, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn filed an emergency application asking the Supreme Court to lift restrictions imposed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York. The case is broadly similar to the earlier ones. The outcome, even as the pandemic is worsening, may be quite different.

The general question in all of the cases is whether government officials or judges should calibrate responses to the public health crisis.

One view, expressed by Chief Justice Roberts in a concurring opinion in the California case, is that officials charged with protecting the public should not be subject to second-guessing by an unelected federal judiciary, which lacks the background, competence and expertise to assess public health and is not accountable to the people.

A few hours after the diocese filed its application, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered a slashing speech to a conservative legal group that expressed the opposite view. He had dissented in both of the earlier cases, and his speech echoed points he had made in the one from Nevada.

Whenever fundamental rights are restricted, the Supreme Court and other courts cannot close their eyes, Justice Alito said on Thursday, rejecting the view that whenever there is an emergency, executive officials have unlimited, unreviewable discretion.

The court is likely to rule on the dispute from Brooklyn in the next week or so. The case may be the first in which Justice Barretts vote changes the courts direction.

The restrictions in Brooklyn are severe. In shifting red zones, where the coronavirus risk is highest, no more than 10 people may attend church services. In slightly less dangerous orange zones, attendance is capped at 25. This applies even in churches that can seat more than 1,000 people.

The measures were prompted in large part by rising cases in Orthodox Jewish areas. But the restrictions applied to all houses of worship.

Even as he ruled against the diocese, Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the Federal District Court in Brooklyn praised it as an exemplar of community leadership that had been enforcing stricter safety protocols than the state required.

Lawyers for Mr. Cuomo agreed, telling an appeals court that the diocese has introduced laudable social-distancing and hygiene measures.

The diocese has said it intends to continue to limit attendance to 25 percent of its churches capacities and would accept other limitations, such as doing away with singing by congregants and choirs.

Judge Garaufis, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, said the case was a difficult one. But he concluded that he would defer to the governor. If the court issues an injunction and the state is correct about the acuteness of the threat currently posed by hot spot neighborhoods, the judge wrote, the result could be avoidable death on a massive scale like New Yorkers experienced in the spring.

In refusing to block the governors order while the dioceses appeal went forward, a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit drew on Chief Justice Robertss concurring opinion in the California case. Since the restrictions on churches were less severe than those on comparable secular gatherings like theaters, casinos and gyms, the majority wrote in an unsigned opinion, they did not run afoul of constitutional protections for religious freedom.

The members of the majority were Judge Raymond J. Lohier Jr., who was appointed by President Barack Obama, and Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who ordinarily sits on Federal District Court in Manhattan and who was appointed by Mr. Clinton.

Judge Michael H. Park, who was appointed by President Trump, dissented. He said Governor Cuomos order discriminated against houses of worship because it allowed businesses like liquor stores and pet shops to remain open without capacity restrictions.

In asking the Supreme Court to step in, lawyers for the diocese argued that its spacious churches were safer than many secular businesses that can open without restrictions, such as pet stores and brokers offices and banks and bodegas. An hourlong Mass, the dioceses brief said, is shorter than many trips to a supermarket or big-box store, not to mention a 9-to-5 job.

Lawyers for Mr. Cuomo said gatherings like those at churches and theaters were different from shopping trips. The states limits on mass gatherings have consistently recognized that the risk of transmitting Covid-19 is much greater at gatherings where people arrive and depart at the same time and congregate and mingle for a communal activity over an extended period of time, the governors appeals court brief said.

Judge Park, the dissenting appeals court judge, twice served as a law clerk to Justice Alito, once on the federal appeals court in Philadelphia and once on the Supreme Court. His dissent anticipated the remarks his former boss delivered on Thursday.

The pandemic, Justice Alito said, has resulted in previously unimaginable restrictions on individual liberty.

This is especially evident with respect to religious liberty, he added. It pains me to say this, but in certain quarters religious liberty is fast becoming a disfavored right.

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Case on Churches, Cuomo and Coronavirus Arrives at Supreme Court - The New York Times

For the second time this month, theres promising news from a COVID-19 vaccine candidate: Moderna said Monday its shots provide strong protection, a dash of hope against the grim backdrop of coronavirus surges in the U.S. and around the world.

Moderna said its vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data from the companys still ongoing study. A week ago, competitor Pfizer Inc. announced its own COVID-19 vaccine appeared similarly effective news that puts both companies on track to seek permission within weeks for emergency use in the U.S.

Dr. Stephen Hoge, Modernas president, welcomed the really important milestone but said having similar results from two different companies is whats most reassuring.

That should give us all hope that actually a vaccine is going to be able to stop this pandemic and hopefully get us back to our lives, Hoge told The Associated Press.

It wont be Moderna alone that solves this problem. Its going to require many vaccines to meet the global demand, he added.

A vaccine cant come fast enough, as virus cases topped 11 million in the U.S. over the weekend 1 million of them recorded in just the past week. The pandemic has killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide, more than 245,000 of them in the U.S.

Still, if the Food and Drug Administration allows emergency use of Modernas or Pfizers candidates, there will be limited, rationed supplies before the end of the year. Both require people to get two shots, several weeks apart. Moderna expects to have about 20 million doses, earmarked for the U.S., by the end of 2020. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech expect to have about 50 million doses globally by years end.

Modernas vaccine, created with the National Institutes of Health, is being studied in 30,000 volunteers who received either the real vaccination or a dummy shot. On Sunday, an independent monitoring board broke the code to examine 95 infections that were recorded starting two weeks after volunteers second dose and discovered all but five illnesses occurred in participants who got the placebo.

The study is continuing, and Moderna acknowledged the protection rate might change as more COVID-19 infections are detected and added to the calculations. Also, its too soon to know how long protection lasts. Both cautions apply to Pfizers vaccine as well.

But Modernas independent monitors reported some additional, promising tidbits: All 11 severe COVID-19 cases were among placebo recipients, and there were no significant safety concerns.

The main side effects were fatigue, muscle aches and injection-site pain after the vaccines second dose, at rates that Hoge characterized as more common than with flu shots but on par with others such as shingles vaccine.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts, companys vaccine is among 11 candidates in late-stage testing around the world, four of them in huge studies in the U.S.

Both Modernas shots and the Pfizer-BioNTech candidate are so-called mRNA vaccines, a brand-new technology. They arent made with the coronavirus itself, meaning theres no chance anyone could catch it from the shots. Instead, the vaccine contains a piece of genetic code that trains the immune system to recognize the spiked protein on the surface of the virus.

The strong results were a surprise. Scientists have warned for months that any COVID-19 shot may be only as good as flu vaccines, which are about 50% effective.

Another steep challenge: distributing doses that must be kept very cold. Both the Moderna and Pfizer shots are frozen but at different temperatures. Moderna announced Monday that once thawed, its doses can last longer in a refrigerator than initially thought, up to 30 days. Pfizers shots require long-term storage at ultra-cold temperatures.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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2nd coronavirus vaccine appears to be 95% effective - WFLA

One doctor, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are confidential, said she and her partner had already been talking with the nearby hospital nearby about buying their pediatric practice before the pandemic arrived in the United States.

Although federal aid has helped, patient visits are still 15 percent below normal, she said, and they are continually worried about making payroll and having enough doctors and staff to see patients. As the number of virus cases balloons in the Midwest, her employees must deal with increasingly agitated parents.

Theyre yelling and cussing at my staff, she said. Working for a telemedicine firm might be an alternative, she added. Its a hard job to begin with, to own your own business, she said.

The coronavirus crisis has amplified problems that doctors were already facing, whether they own their practice or are employed. A lot of physicians were hanging on by a thread from burnout before the pandemic even started, said Dr. Susan R. Bailey, the president of the American Medical Association.

In particular, smaller practices continue to have difficulty finding sufficient personal protective equipment, like gloves and masks. The big hospitals and health care systems have pretty well-established systems of P.P.E., she said, but smaller outfits might not have a reliable source. I was literally on eBay looking for masks, she said. The cost of these supplies has also become a significant financial issue for some practices.

Doctors are also stressed by the never-ending need to keep safe. There is a hunker-down mentality now, Dr. Bailey said. She is concerned that some doctors will develop PTSD from the chronic stress of caring for patients during the pandemic.

Even those who are not responsible for running their own practices are leaving. Courtney Barry, 40, a family nurse practitioner at a rural health clinic in Soledad, Calif., watched the cases of coronavirus finally ebb in her area, only to see wildfires break out. Many of her patients are farmworkers and work outside, and they became ill from the smoke.

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Doctors Are Calling It Quits Under Stress of the Coronavirus - The New York Times

France

The country announced a second lockdown from 30 October after daily Covid-related deaths reached their highest levels since April. Due to last at least a month, it is having a limited effect: new infections and hospital admissions dropped sharply at first only to increase sharply at the end of last week. , health ministry data showed

People are allowed to leave home only for essential work and medical reasons; restaurants and bars have been told to close but schools and factories can remain open. All non-essential travel has been banned and the countrys external borders are closed (although journeys are still permitted inside the EU). Travellers must be tested on arrival.

Austria

Yesterday, Vienna ordered a three-week lockdown starting on Tuesday to bring a surge in Covid-19 cases under control in time for Christmas. Austria now has one of Europes highest infection rates per capita. Daily new cases hit a record of 9,586 on Friday, nine times higher than at the peak of the first wave.

A current night-time curfew will become an all-day requirement to stay at home, with a few exceptions such as shopping or exercise. Working from home should happen wherever possible. Non-essential shops will close, as will service providers such as hairdressers. Secondary schools have already switched to distance learning; primary schools and kindergartens will continue to provide childcare.

Early this month, Germany began a circuit-breaker national lockdown to try to stop a sharp rise in cases, closing restaurants, bars, cinemas and gyms, and banning leisure travel. Schools remain open, and worship and protests are still allowed.

But daily infections have continued to increase, hitting a record 23,542 on Friday, and officials have dampened hopes that restrictions would be lifted at a meeting on Monday, when the effect of the lockdown will be discussed. Winter events such as office Christmas parties were unlikely to be allowed, the health minister said.

The country is having a second wave that is worse than its first, and in response has brought in one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe, with a nightly curfew and weekend shutdowns in nearly 200 municipalities, home to more than three-quarters of the population. People have been urged to work from home if they can, though schools, shops and restaurants are still open. In affected areas, people must stay at home from 11pm to 5am, or from 1pm at weekends.

The country has recorded a comparatively low 191,011 cases and 3,181 deaths, but last Saturday daily infections rose to over 6,600.

Since the start of the pandemic, Sweden has opted for a light-touch, anti-lockdown approach. There were hopes that this could mitigate a second wave by producing a higher level of immunity, but studies so far show that the national health agency has been over-optimistic about levels of antibodies in the population. In recent days, infections and hospital admissions have surged, and several regions have brought in tighter controls though people are asked, rather than legally obliged, to comply with most measures. On Friday, the country registered 5,990 new cases, the highest since the start of the pandemic.

But shops, bars, restaurants and gyms have stayed open throughout, and wearing a face mask is still not an official recommendation outside hospitals. The countrys death rate per capita is far higher than that of its Nordic neighbours, but lower than in countries such as Spain.

The headline to this article was amended on 15 November 2020. An earlier version referred to borders being closed; while France, for example, has closed its external borders, internal EU borders are open with a regime for restriction measures in place.

The rest is here:

Bars and shops closed as Europe battles second wave of coronavirus - The Guardian

The governor has announced several statewide restrictions to help curb the spread of coronavirus. These restrictions go into effect on Monday and go until Dec. 14.

OLYMPIA, Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee has announced new statewide restrictions to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, which includes closing indoor service for restaurants and bars and prohibiting indoor social gatherings.

These rules will mostly go into effect on Monday at 11:59 p.m. and will remain in effect until Dec. 14.

The announcement comes following days of increasing COVID-19 cases.

The impacted industries/areas are:

During an 11 a.m. press conference, Inslee announced $50 million for aid to businesses who have been impacted.

Watch the press conference below or by clicking here.

For the second day in a row Saturday, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reported a record number of daily cases, with 2,233 new cases in a trend officials describe as alarming.

"This puts us in as dangerous a position as we were in March, when we first stayed home to stay healthy. And it means, unfortunately, the time has come to reinstate restrictions on activities statewide to preserve the publics well-being, and to save lives," Inslee said.

The latest update brings the states totals to 127,731 cases and 2,519 deaths, according to the DOH. Officials also reported that 9,281 people have been hospitalized in the state because of the virus.

"A pandemic is raging in our state. Left unchecked, it will assuredly result in grossly overburdened hospitals and morgues; and keep people from obtaining routine but necessary medical treatment for non-COVID conditions. Left unchecked, our economic devastation will be prolonged, and, most importantly, we will see untold deaths. We will not allow this to happen," Inslee said.

At this point, schools that have in-person learning will not be asked to close unless directed by local health authories.

Inslee also issued a travel advisory on Friday, urging anyone entering the state to self-quarantine for 14 days to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued similar advisories Friday.

The advisories urge the public to avoid non-essential out-of-state travel and encourage residents to stay close to home.

The governor and his wife, Trudi, also made a televised address on Thursday pleading with people to reconsider holiday gatherings because of the jump in cases.

"We have to rethink these holidays so that we may be thankful when we don't lose more lives to COVID," Inslee said during the address.

"We are optimistic that Thanksgiving 2021 will be the best ever, but this year, it's just too dangerous to gather together indoors where the virus can spread so easily," he said.

Washington businesses have warned they may not survive another shutdown.

During a briefing on Friday, the Washington Hospitality Association released their latest estimates that show hospitality sales are down 45%.

When you talk about 35% of restaurants going out of business, each one of those is a story, said Anthony Anton, president and CEO of the Washington Hospitality Association.

A statewide stay-at-home order was issued in March because of coronavirus. When businesses shut their doors, the hospitality industry lost 191,000 jobs, according to the association. Anton said as Washington has slowly reopened, 100,000 of those jobs came back.

"If we have to shut down again, that means we're going to lose those 100,000 jobs, Anton said.

The industry is urging the public to take coronavirus seriously and follow health protocols so businesses don't have to move backwards.

Original post:

Governor Inslee announces closures of indoor dining, other restrictions to curb COVID-19 - KING5.com

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The morgue in El Paso is so overwhelmed by the number of people dying from COVID-19 that inmates from the countys detention facility are being brought in to assist with the overflow of bodies awaiting autopsy.

While the work these inmates do in the community typically goes unpaid, Chris Acosta, a spokesperson for the El Paso County Sheriffs Office, said trustees refused to work unless they were compensated. Theyre making $2 per hour.

Between four and eight inmates from the detention facilitys trustee program are volunteering daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The inmates doing the work are misdemeanor offenders and those in minimum custody. The shifts started Monday, Acosta said.

Acosta said she couldnt speak to the exact nature of the work the inmates are doing at the morgues, but she said that the inmates, one deputy and two detention officers are given personal protective equipment and are required to wear it.

Images and video show the trustees moving bodies to the eight, soon to be 10, mobile morgues set up outside the medical examiners office.

Its a temporary assignment, Acosta said, while the county awaits the arrival of the National Guard.

The number of hospitalized coronavirus patients in the far West Texas city has shot up nearly tenfold since the start of September. Earlier this month, the Department of Defense sent medical teams to help and local funeral homes are readying extra refrigerated storage space.

El Paso County recorded a total of 45 new deaths Thursday and Friday caused by the virus. About 1,105 people are hospitalized, including 319 in intensive care, according to the latest city statistics.

Attempts by city and county officials to shut down nonessential businesses to try to slow the spread of the virus have bounced around in the courts, sowing confusion, Acosta said.

A lot of the businesses have been calling my office, 'Do I shutdown or not shutdown?' The people are very confused. We're just trying to follow the judge's ruling and follow the law, she said.

Late Friday, a state appeals court again blocked El Paso Countys shutdown of nonessential businesses that was scheduled to last until Dec. 1. El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego issued the shutdown order Oct. 29 in an effort to slow the latest outbreak of COVID-19 here, but a group of local restaurants and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton quickly sued to block it.

Asked about the precautions taken to keep the jail population safe, given trustees exposure to the virus, Acosta said anyone entering a county building is screened, which includes asking about symptoms and taking their temperature.

Ivan Pierre Aguirre contributed to this report.

See more here:

As COVID-19 deaths overwhelm El Paso, inmates drafted to work in morgue - The Texas Tribune