Category: Corona Virus

For the Fourth of July weekend, a new analysis of cell phone data suggests even more people hit the road among 10 coronavirus hotspots, despite warnings from health experts.

Mobility, experts say, is one driver of transmission of the novel coronavirus.

For the Fourth of July holiday weekend, the data show that the numbers of people traveling were generally higher overall than Memorial Day weekend. The July 4 weekend was generally recognized as Friday, Saturday and Sunday, while Memorial Day weekend in May was Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Cuebiq focused on the number of visitors to and from 10 metro area hotspots from a week prior to the July 4 weekend.

The metropolitan areas had been ranked by the percent positive Covid-19 tests the week prior in a presentation by the White House Coronavirus Task Force. The analysis included the Houston; Austin, Texas; Phoenix; Dallas; San Antonio; Orlando; Tampa, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; Miami; and Atlanta areas.

Local leaders were concerned that gatherings over the July 4 holiday could spread the virus. States put an end to some celebrations. California Gov. Gavin Newsom urged cities struggling with the virus to cancel fireworks. Beaches and parks in Miami were closed over the holiday. Some beaches in South Carolina canceled their fireworks shows. In Texas, tubing was canceled on some rivers. Some places celebrated with livestreamed events.

Still, the draw of a three-day summer weekend with long-awaited get-togethers and newly reopened attractions worried health experts.

"It's set up a perfect storm: the combination of travel, the combination of reopening -- perhaps in some cases, too early -- and the combination of people not necessarily following some of these preventive guidelines," Dr. Joshua Barocas, an infectious disease physician at Boston Medical Center, said before the holiday.

Metro areas with the most movement

Despite the warnings, nearly all of the metro areas Cuebiq analyzed saw an increase in the proportion of visitors over the Fourth of July weekend, when compared to either Memorial Day weekend or the two-week prior average. The sole exception was the Phoenix area, which saw a slightly higher percentage of visitors during Memorial Day weekend, but whose locals traveled elsewhere in greater numbers over Fourth of July weekend.

Among them, two hotspot cities saw the highest proportions of vacationers: Orlando saw the largest increase in visitors compared to the weeks leading up to the holiday weekend and Charleston saw the highest percentage of visitors among the 10 metro areas. In both areas, roughly 1 in 5 devices was determined to be a visitor, according to Cuebiq's analysis. Visits have been steadily increasing in Charleston through June, the company's data showed.

Travelers tended to visit cities in their own state or region, but some traveled further. About 3.7% of visitors to the Miami area came from New York, and another 3.9% came from the Atlanta area. Of the people who visited Phoenix, 16.3% came from just three metro areas in Southern California -- those including Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego. Others came from areas around Chicago and Dallas -- about 2% of Phoenix visitors in each case.

Of these 10 areas, Atlanta area residents were the most likely to travel. About 20% of the resident devices the company tracked had left the state and traveled to another city during the July 4 weekend. Many went to Florida.

'When we see social mobility going up ... we see a rise in cases'

Mobility doesn't equal infection; maintaining physical distance and wearing masks can reduce the risk of the coronavirus spreading. It could be weeks before states notice an increase in cases linked to holiday getaways, if they happen. But with travel, there are a lot more opportunities for people to come into contact with someone who can make them sick.

"When we see social mobility going up, in seven to ten days later, we see a rise in cases, and then we see a bigger rise, as we are starting from a higher starting point. These models are really useful to help us prepare," Salgado said.

She said Charleston is a beautiful tourist destination and she understands why so many people would want to visit. Plus, it is "pretty much wide open," as far as restaurants and bars. People are asked to wear a mask when they can't social distance.

"Some people are being very responsible, but some aren't unfortunately," she said. "I have always sort of said, human beings, if things are open for them, they will go do them."

Salgado said there have been moments in the pandemic when she has been proud of people for staying home, but she has also felt some disappointment and frustration.

"I worry mostly about the vulnerable population who don't have a choice and are somewhat victims of what other people decide to do," Salgado said.

She said she can see why sometimes people will see that more is reopening and start to think it is safe to go out or to travel, especially in the summer vacation season. But she said they definitely have seen mini outbreaks tied to travel.

"We sure will keep a close eye on it every day," Salgado said. Typically, hospitalizations won't spike for another few weeks.

"It's still quite early, but we'll prepare and be ready for it."

CNN's Michael Nedelman contributed to this report.

Read more from the original source:

Cell phone data show Americans hit the road over July 4, even as coronavirus surged - CNN

If you thought COVID-19 symptoms couldn't get worse, doctors say a new symptom has emerged. Hallucinations. USA TODAY

A spiking COVID-19 case countis straining Florida's hospital system as nearly half of its intensive care units are at least 90% full.

Mississippi has also seen a recent strain on its hospitals. Five of the largest medical centers have no ICU bed space for new patients COVID-19 or otherwise and are being forced to turn patients away.

Meanwhile, some states are scaling back reopening guidelines or adding new requirements: Some bars in Nevada will be closing again Friday and restaurants can no longer serve parties more than six people.Kentucky will join the growing list of states that require face coverings in public, too.

In New Mexico, indoor dining at restaurants and breweries will be restricted again starting Monday, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham halted high school sports and said state parks will be closed to out-of-state residents.

Here are some recent developments:

Today's stats:The U.S. has surpassed 3.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. More than133,000deaths have been confirmed, according toJohn Hopkins University data. Globally, there have been 12.3 million cases and over 556,000deaths.

What we're reading:ThreeArizona teachers shared a classroom for summer school.They thought they were being "very careful."All threecontracted COVID-19, and one died.The teachers who survived say their colleague's death is a stark reminder of the risks teachers will face if school reopens too soon.

Our live blog will be updated throughout the day. For first-in-the-morning updates,sign upfor The Daily Briefing.

R-0 may be the most important scientific term youve never heard of when it comes to stopping the coronavirus pandemic. USA TODAY

The Pac-12 will use a conference-only playing schedule for all fall sports should teams be able to compete in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, a personwith direct knowledge of the league's decision told USA TODAY Sports on Friday.

The person requested anonymity because the league had not made an announcement.

In doing so, thePac-12 joins the Big Ten in becoming the second Power Five conference to make a decisionthat could foreshadow similar changes across the entire Bowl Subdivision.

Paul Myerberg

Schools should prioritize safety and rely on local authorities inschool reopening plans, ajoint statementfrom associations of pediatricians, educators and superintendents says.

"Returning to school is important for the healthy development and well-being of children, but we must pursue re-opening in a way that is safe," says the statement from The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Federation of Teachers, the National Education AssociationandThe School Superintendents Association. "Science should drive decision-making on safely reopening schools."

The statement follows a push fromTrump to open schools across the nation andamid a nationwide debate over whether children should return to the classroom.

In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Californiastate prisons, upto 8,000 currently incarcerated people could be released by the end of August, the state's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Friday.

"Too many people are incarcerated for too long in facilities that spread poor health. Supporting the health and safety of all Californians means releasing people unnecessarily incarcerated and transforming our justice system,"Jay Jordan, Executive Director ofCalifornians for Safety and Justice, said in a press release.

Since the start of the pandemic, the state has releasedabout 10,000 people, according to the state'sDepartment of Corrections.

Activists have repeatedly called on the governor to address the outbreak atSan Quentin prison, where more than 200 staff and more than 1,300 prisoners have active cases, and at least six inmates have died, according to local news reports.

Amid a resurgence of COVID-19 in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Friday that the state will reactivate its makeshift coronavirus hospital at a convention center in Atlanta.

The 200-bed temporary hospital at theGeorgia World Congress Centerwas constructed in April but wound down operations at the end of May.

Nearly 3,000 people have died and more than 111,000 people have tested positive for the virus in the state.

At least 47 students at UC Berkeley tested positive for the coronavirus in just one week, and most of the new cases stem from a series of Greek life parties, university officials said.

In a message to the campus community, UniversityHealth Services Medical Director Anna Harte and Assistant Vice Chancellor Guy Nicolette said it was "becoming harder to imagine bringing our campus community back in the way we are envisioning."

"Generally, these infections are directly related to social events where students have not followed basic safety measures such as physical distancing, wearing face coverings, limiting event size, and gathering outside," the officials wrote.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott begged Texans to mask up in a Friday interview with eastern Texas TV station CBS19, saying face coverings were "the only way"businesses could stay open.

"Its disappointing"that some local officials are refusing to enforce the states mask order, Abbott said. "If we do not all join together and unite in this one cause for a short period of time it will lead to the necessity of having to close Texas back down."

Abbott's ordereffective July 3 requires face masksin public spaces in counties with 20 or more active COVID-19 cases.The order does not apply to people eating,drinking, swimming orexercising or those under 10 years old.

Joel Shannon

West Virginia is among states with the fewest COVID-19 cases, but the state now has the highest coronavirus transmission rate in the country, the head of the state's coronavirus response said Friday.

"The virus is spreading faster person to person in West Virginia right now than in any other state in the country,"Dr. Clay Marsh.The state's "RT value" the average number of people who become infected by an infectious personis the highest in the nation, at 1.37, Marsh said. "We can see that COVID is starting in that logarithmic phase, that compounding phase."

The state has doubled its number of active cases in the last 10-14 days.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday expanded Michigan's mask-wearing requirements, effective Monday, saying that wearing masks is the best way to reverse an increase in coronavirus cases.

The order requires the use of face coverings in crowded outdoor spaces and reiterates that individuals are required to wear a face covering whenever they are in an indoor public space. The mandate also requires any business that is open to the public to refuse entry or service to people who refuse to wear a face covering, with limited exceptions.

Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press

Shutting down states in the early days of the US COVID-19 outbreak prevented at least 250,000 deaths and as many as 750,000-840,000 hospitalizations, a new study found. Shelter-in-place orders took about two weeks to show an effect on hospitalizations and three weeks to limit the number of deaths, according to the study by researchers at the University of Iowa and National Bureau of Economic Research.

The authors, who published their results in the journal Health Affairs, also found that deaths from causes other than COVID-19 might have increased if hospitals had become overwhelmed; slowing cases saved those lives, as well, they said.

"These estimates indicate that [stay in place orders] played a key role in flattening the curves not only for cases, but also for deaths and hospitalizations, and eased pressure on hospitals from avoided COVID-19 admissions," the authors conclude.

Karen Weintraub

All 50 states had visitors from Floridathis week, according to data that 15 million U.S. mobile device users provided to the data company Cuebiq. Applying Cuebiqs sample to the whole population, approximately 1.5 million Floridians are now setting up shop in other states.

Residents have left the state in increasing numbers at a time when the crisis there got worse. In early June, just 5% of the states residents appeared in other states. That number has ticked up every week.

Cuebiqs data, which is based on cell phone locations, shows that most interstate visitors from Florida appeared in other parts of the South. About 38% of the states travelers were in Georgia at least once during the week, for example. Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee also topped the list of destinations for visitors from the hard-struck state.

States outside the region saw big Florida influxes as well. New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio all had more than 50,000 visits from Florida residents in the most recent week of data, based on an extrapolation of the cell phone location data.

Matt Wynn

New data on the experimental drug remdesivir confirms it can shorten the course of COVID-19 infections and suggests it also can save lives.

Gilead Sciences, Inc., a California pharmaceutical company that makes the drug, revealed data Friday about nearly 400 patients in its late-stage clinical trial.

According to the results, 74% of patients treated with remdesivir had recovered by their 14th day of hospitalization, compared to 59% of those who did not get the drug. Nearly 8% of the patients on remdesivir had died by day 14, versus more than 12% of patients who did not receive it.

The study also found patients who took the drug hydroxychloroquine along with remdesivir fared worse than those on remdesivir alone. The company recommended against using the drugs in combination.

Remdesivir, an antiviral initially developed to treat Ebola, has not yet been approved for widespread use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but it has been given emergency use authorization to treat COVID-19 patients.

Karen Weintraub

Congestion, runny nose, nausea and diarrhea are the four most recent COVID-19 symptoms that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added to its growing list of potential signs of the novel coronavirus.

The CDC previously said symptoms include chills, fever, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and a new loss of taste or smell. The agency now lists 11 symptoms on its website.

The additions come as health experts continue to learn more about the disease, and care for very ill COVID-19 patients is improving. Even so, the CDC states the current list doesn't include all possible symptoms for the virus.

Wyatte Grantham-Philips

Fifty-eight Major League Baseball players tested positive for the coronavirus upon reporting to their team, while an additional 13 tested positive after workouts began, according to data released by MLB on Friday.

Perhaps most disconcerting is that 10 teams reported positive test results during what MLB is calling "monitoring testing," meaning one-third of the league's teams had an infected player or staff member after workouts began last week.

Several teams have had workouts halted or curtailed while awaiting test results, and besides those testing positive, players who have come in contact with those testing positive have been temporarily sidelined, as well.

Gabe Lacques

As COVID-19 cases spikeacross, multiple states have taken measures to scale back their reopening plans. Here are some of the last moves:

Read more about states that arepause reopening or take new steps to slow the spread.

A Los Angeles Times report says that researchers are working on an upper-arm injection that would deliverantibody-rich blood plasma of COVID-19 survivors to provide potentially months of protection from the virus.

The approach is similar to one used for other diseases likehepatitis A and could be widely available across the United States, the Times reported.

However, the proposal has received push back from the federal government and pharmaceutical companies, who argue efforts in plasma-based therapy should focus on treating sick people rather than preventing infection, the Times report says.

Dr. Anthony Fauci told the newspaper that the research was promising but more work is needed to show thatcoronavirus antibodies work.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said Friday he has not briefed President Donald Trump in at least two months and not seen him in person at the White House since June 2, despite a coronavirus resurgence that has strained hospitals and led several states to pause reopenings.

Fauci told the Financial Times he was "sure" his messages were sent to the president even though the two have not been in close contact in the past several weeks.

The comments from the Trump administration's director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases came as Trump has been critical of Fauci and spoken openly about issues on which they disagree.

In a Thursday interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Trump said Fauci had "made a lot of mistakes" but called him a "nice man." Trump also said "most cases" of coronavirus would "automatically cure. They automatically get better."

Fauci also in the FT interview said Trump was incorrect in claiming 99% of coronavirus cases were "harmless" and may have conflated some statistics.

Nicholas Wu

COVID survivors' main symptoms can linger for weeks or even months, causing pain, trouble breathing, nightmares and even organ failure. USA TODAY

Two scientists from the World Health Organization are traveling toBeijing on Friday to lay the groundwork for an investigation into the origins of the new coronavirus.

The researchers,an animal health expert and an epidemiologist, will work with counterparts in China to "look at whether or not it jumped from species to humanand what species it jumped from," WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris said.

The team will determine the logistics, locations and participantsfor a WHO-led international mission.

The virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. Scientists believe the novel virusoriginated in bats, transferred to another mammal then jumpedto humans.

The Trump administration this week officially began withdrawing the United Statesfrom the WHO, of which President Donald Trump and his advisers have been sharply critical.

Americans are three times as likely to know someone in their community who has been sick with the coronavirus than they did in March, according to a new survey.

More than one-third of Americans (36%) say someone they know outside of their immediate family or work has been sick with the coronavirus, according to a new survey from the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project. That number is more than triple the number in mid-March, when it was 11%.

The survey also showed Black (11%) and Latino (11%) Americans are more likely than white Americans (7%) to have had an immediate family member get sick, according to the survey. These racial differences were not apparent in the survey from March.

Rebecca Morin

Nearly half of Florida's intensive-care units are at least 90% full, and more than 1 in 5 are completely full, according to state data.

Hospitals are increasingly strained under COVID-19, andhospitalizations across the state have jumped more than 13% just since July 1. More than 17,100 Floridians have been hospitalized for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

A total of 95 hospital ICUs were at least 90% full Thursday, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. That's nearly half the 207 ICUs that the agency is tracking. At least 45 hospital ICUs were at capacity, and 46 others had only one bed available in the units.

At least 4,111 people in Florida have died from the virus, according to the state a figure that would have made it the ninth leading cause of death in Florida last year, according to Florida Department of Health statistics. Florida set a one-day record Thursday with 120 deaths. The previous high, 83, was in late April.

Frank Gluck, Fort Myers News-Press

The five largest medical centers in Mississippi have no ICU bed space for new patients coronavirus or otherwise and are being forced to turn patients away, even as COVID-19 continue to surge.

In some cases, patients are being sent to facilities out of state and as far away as New Orleans. In many hospitals, patients admitted to the ER are being forced to spend the night before they receive treatment.

"(Wednesday), five of our biggest hospitals in the state had zero ICU beds. Zero," State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said. "Our biggest medical institutions who take care of our sickest patients have no room."

The transition from shelter-in-place to where we currently stand, with the highest number of hospitalizations since the first reported case of the coronavirus virus on March 11, has left the state "wide open," said Dr. Louann Woodward, UMMC vice chancellor for health affairs.

Justin Vicory, Mississippi Clarion Ledger

California is set to become the first state to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over anew policy that prevents international students from staying in the U.S. if their college or university switches to online-only classes in the fall because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement comes a day after some colleges and universities filed similar lawsuits or announced plans to do so.

The Trump administration revealed its new guidelines in a memo issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday. It says that international students will have to leave the country, or face possible deportation, if their schools switch to remote learning, which many have planned to do amid the pandemic.

President Donald Trumps attack on his own health experts guidance for safely reopening schools cracked open for public display a power strugglewithin the administration that has been building for months.

Trump blasted the guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday as very tough & expensive and asking schools to do very impractical things.

But CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said on Thursday the guidance would stand, and his staff would provide some new documents to clarify the recommendations.

Theflare-up punctuates a conflict escalating for months, with the nations top scientists publicly sidelined in the Trump administrations initial coronavirus response. Earlier disagreements delayed the release of the reopening guidance for schools and businesses.

Public health leaders who worked at the CDC under prior presidents said they had never seen anything like this weeks open discord."It underminesleadership for everyone involved, said Dr.JeffreyKoplan, a former CDC director."It's public health malpractice to say, 'Open without worrying about anything.'"

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Coronavirus updates: California to release 8,000 inmates; masks 'only way' to prevent another shutdown, Texas Gov. says - USA TODAY

As Texas continues a weeks-long streak of setting grim coronavirus records, the most somber one was reached Friday: The virus has killed 3,013 people, according to the Department of State Health Services.

Among the recent deaths were a Northeast Baptist Hospital patient in San Antonio who was in his 30s, a Grand Prairie man in his 40s, a Garland woman in her 60s who had no underlying conditions, a 73-year-old man who was about to go home from a prison rehabilitation program and a baby boy in Corpus Christi who wasnt 6 months old yet.

Their deaths come as counties prepare for a surge in fatalities, some by requesting trailers to expand their hospital and county morgue capacities.

"That's why we're asking people to wear face masks," Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales told NBC-affiliated KRIS-TV. "I am now having to order additional body bags and morgue trailers. People have to understand how real it is."

In that county, which includes the city of Corpus Christi, the morgue is already full. County medical examiner Dr. Adel Shaker has requested an extra morgue trailer, provided by FEMA to local authorities. The refrigerated truck has a temperature-control system and can accommodate up to 40 more bodies, adding to the current 12-body capacity located inside the morgue building itself.

The county and the city of Corpus Christi reported 29 deaths from Monday to Friday, or nearly 70% of their total of 42 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. A morgue trailer was in place at the beginning of the pandemic, but it was released early, Shaker said.

We have seen very few deaths for the first few months of the pandemic, so the FEMA trailer was placed in another city. But the need is here now, he said.

Unlike other states, Texas does not publicly report probable coronavirus deaths, which means patients who have died without testing positive for COVID-19 could go uncounted. More Houston residents are also dying at home before they can make it to a hospital. That means the death toll is likely higher than the states official count.

The rate of deaths in Texas has been accelerating. On Friday, the state surpassed 3,000 deaths 24 days after 2,000 deaths were reported. It took 53 days to get from the first death to 1,000 deaths and 39 days to get from 1,000 to 2,000 deaths.

Nearly 40% of Texas fatalities were residents of long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Other hotspots include prisons and meatpacking plants.

The death rate is a lagging indicator and has not yet followed the same steep curve as new cases and hospitalizations, but experts warn the worst could come. On average over the past week, 63 people have died daily, with a peak of 105 people on Thursday. The week prior, on July 3, this 7-day average was 35.

Austin and Travis County are in the process of procuring a refrigerated truck to face the surge in COVID-19 deaths, Travis County public information officer Hector Nieto said.

The mobile morgue will be placed where there is space for it and where it is needed the most, whether closer to hospitals or to the county morgue. Nieto could not confirm when the unit will arrive.

Cameron County is also preparing for a worst-case scenario and bought a 53-foot refrigerated trailer in case morgues become full, Juan Martinez, the local emergency management departments operations section chief told The Valley Morning Star.

Our hope is we never have to use it, he told the newspaper.

Hidalgo County also said on Friday that they will share a refrigerated FEMA trailer with neighboring Cameron County.

Im going to let them take this one, because they are in dire need," Ricardo Saldaa, Hidalgo County emergency management coordinator, said.

People who die in hospitals or in nursing homes under a doctors care dont usually go through the medical examiners office and will not go to the county morgue.

In Houston, a spokeswoman at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences insisted that no extra capacity is needed at the county morgue right now. But individual hospitals are also counting on refrigerated trucks to expand their morgues capacity. HCA Healthcare Northwest confirmed to the Houston Chronicle that a refrigerated trailer is being used as temporary storage before the transfer from the hospital to funeral homes.

Williamson County had assembled a mobile morgue to be prepared, but it was returned to its vendor around June 1, given that the county has not seen large volumes of deaths in a short period of time. Their capacity is currently 50 bodies, between hospitals, funeral homes and the county morgue. A mobile unit would be quite easy to add, if the toll gets dire, county Judge Bill Gravell said.

Gravell also said such preparations are the part of the story no one wants to talk about.

Its difficult, complicated and incredibly painful for families, he said.

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Texas coronavirus deaths soar and morgues are filling up - The Texas Tribune

So far two M.L.S. clubs have been forced to withdraw from its tournament after multiple players tested positive after arriving at the site. FC Dallas had 10 players and one coach test positive before competition began. On Thursday, the second day of the tournament, Nashville SC was forced to pull out of the event after nine players on its team tested positive.

Binney said the coronaviruss incubation period, which normally lasts around three to five days but can be up to two weeks, probably made it tough to catch cases over a short period of testing. It would be another few days before the league could be sure that the virus had not spread to others there.

That is why Briana Furch, an infectious disease specialist who has informally advised a number of N.B.A. players this summer, has urged athletes to continue to exercise caution even upon arrival in a bubblelike environment. She said they should wear masks, practice social distancing and wipe down surfaces, whenever possible.

In a bubble it can still spread like wildfire, she said.

The early success of the National Womens Soccer Leagues restricted campus might provide a sense of hope for other sports. The teams there have shown no positive cases since play began on June 27.

They have had a few factors working in their advantage. They did have an outbreak within a team, but were lucky that this cluster of infections 10 positive cases among the players and staff of the Orlando Pride, which ruled the team out of the competition on June 22 happened before the individuals arrived at the site in Utah. They have fewer people there, meaning there are fewer opportunities for infection. And the virus around the world, in general, seems to be hitting men harder than women.

But on a basic level, Binney said, The N.W.S.L. bubble is a proof of concept that a bubble can work.

Infections, particularly in the South and West, have been surging for the past month. And experts reiterated that no matter how tightly controlled a sports leagues restricted space might be, it will still exist within, and be affected by, a larger surrounding ecosystem.

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A Lot of Athletes Seem to Have the Coronavirus. Here Are Some Reasons. - The New York Times

The BDN is making the most crucial coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact in Maine free for all readers. Click here for all coronavirus stories and here for the free collection. You can join others committed to safeguarding this vital public service by purchasing a subscription or donating directly to the newsroom.

Another 13 cases of the new coronavirus have been detected in Maine, health officials said Friday.

There have now been 3,499 cases across all of Maines counties since the outbreak began here in March, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Thats up from 3,486 on Thursday.

Of those, 3,110 have been confirmed positive, while 389 are likely positive, according to the Maine CDC.

No new deaths were reported Friday, leaving the statewide death toll at 111. Nearly all deaths have been in Mainers over age 60.

So far, 366 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 15 people are currently hospitalized, with seven in critical care and four on ventilators.

Meanwhile, 30 more people have recovered from the coronavirus, bringing total recoveries to 2,931. That means there are 457 active and likely cases in the state, down from 474 on Thursday.

Heres the latest on the coronavirus and its impact on Maine.

An inmate at the York County Jail has tested positive for the new coronavirus. The Portland Press Herald reports that the person was arrested Wednesday and tested after being admitted into the Alfred facility. The test came back positive on Thursday. Its the second positive coronavirus case to appear in Maines county jails since the start of the outbreak here in March. The other case was discovered in the Cumberland County Jail in Portland on June 29. Christopher Burns, BDN

This week Gov. Janet Mills issued an executive order to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. The goal is to boost enforcement of a previous statewide order to wear face coverings in public when physical distancing is difficult. The order requires businesses to enforce the face covering mandate, but it applies only to certain businesses in certain counties and cities. Some Mainers who work in health care say the patchwork approach does not go far enough. Patty Wight, Maine Public

Maine has made strides in its ability to test people for the coronavirus since the pandemic first arrived here in March, but state health officials still see a need to keep expanding that capacity so that new outbreaks of the infection can be quickly detected and contained. Charles Eichacker, BDN

For some Mainers who found themselves stuck at home, cleaning out attics, closets and more was a good way to pass time this spring. However, the same pandemic that was keeping them at home had also led thrift shops and relief agencies to temporarily shut their doors and stop accepting donated items. If you are one of those who now has piles of clothing, furniture, toys, dishes or other household items ready to be donated, you arent alone. But you can do something about it now. Julia Bayly, BDN

As of Friday evening, the coronavirus has sickened 3,163,505 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 133,885 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

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July 10 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine - Bangor Daily News

Lt. Travis Stokes, a firefighter in Richmond, Va., is helping to lead an effort to distribute protective equipment to residents of low-income and minority neighborhoods. Sarah McCammon/NPR hide caption

Lt. Travis Stokes, a firefighter in Richmond, Va., is helping to lead an effort to distribute protective equipment to residents of low-income and minority neighborhoods.

Around the country, communities of color continue to be among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. So in many of these communities, local leaders are stepping in to try to help solve a problem they say is years in the making.

In Richmond, Va., crews of local firefighters and volunteers have been fanning out across the city, going door to door with plastic bags filled with masks, hand sanitizer and information about staying healthy.

Local health officials say African Americans and Latinos make up the lion's share of positive cases here, and 23 out of 29 local deaths from the virus so far have been among those groups.

On a recent visit to a public housing complex, Lt. Travis Stokes with Richmond's fire department said that result was sadly and entirely predictable.

"It's always gonna affect the lower-income communities and the minorities, just for the simple matter of fact that they've been dealing with things for many, many years," Stokes said. "It hasn't gone away; it's still here."

Richmond's coronavirus data mirrors national statistics that show the vastly disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on communities of color. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, Black Americans are hospitalized at about five times the rate of white Americans. For Hispanics, the rate is four times that of whites.

Stokes, who recently completed a doctoral degree in health sciences, is helping lead the effort, which targets areas with high rates of poverty and preexisting health conditions and with significant numbers of residents who are racial minorities. All are groups considered at heightened risk for the coronavirus.

Richmond is partnering with the Commonwealth of Virginia to distribute tens of thousands of bags of personal protective equipment to help address the racial gaps.

Dr. Danny Avula, Richmond's public health director, said another goal is building trust with people who might be fearful of government officials after a long history of oppression.

"Our response to that was, OK, we've got to be on the ground more; we've got to engage in more face-to-face conversation, and we have to find credible voices and faces in those communities to be able to carry the message," Avula said.

Leaders and activists around the country are grappling with similar challenges as they try to reach the people at greatest risk.

In Massachusetts, officials are hiring local workers from community health centers to work as contact tracers who can, in many cases, literally speak the language of the people they're trying to reach.

Michael Curry, an official with the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and a member of the NAACP's national board of directors, said that's important at a time when many people are trying to navigate complicated and sometimes conflicting messages from health officials.

"It's all so confusing and it makes people very distrustful even more so distrustful of the system hence why you need to be very intentional about who communicates with them," Curry said.

In Mississippi, NAACP leaders say they've been distributing masks to people living in hot spots for the virus.

Dr. Oliver Brooks, president of the National Medical Association, a group representing Black physicians, said efforts like these are a good start.

"It's really important, because literally right now, people are dying, so you need to have an acute response," Brooks said.

But Brooks said preventing another crisis like this one will require substantial, systemic changes to improve access to food, housing, employment and health care for people of color.

"We have to address the social determinants of health. That is what is putting us at higher risk for poor outcomes," he said. "It's the same old story, but that's what needs to be done."

Angel Dandridge-Riddick, 34, has worked as a nurse and sometimes visits her mother in the public housing complex in Richmond called Creighton Court. On the day of the supply distribution, she said she appreciated the effort to provide protective equipment to people here, but cautioned that it's only a small start.

Creighton Court, a public housing complex in Richmond, is among the neighborhoods targeted for distribution of masks, hand sanitizer and leaflets with information about staying healthy during the coronavirus pandemic. Sarah McCammon/NPR hide caption

Creighton Court, a public housing complex in Richmond, is among the neighborhoods targeted for distribution of masks, hand sanitizer and leaflets with information about staying healthy during the coronavirus pandemic.

"What they're doing is great but to have one hand sanitizer and a few masks if you have three other people in their home that work in different areas, they're gonna need their own hand sanitizer. One bottle's probably gonna last you a week," Dandridge-Riddick said.

What's more, she said, it's hard for many of her neighbors to stay healthy during a pandemic, when they often lack basic health care.

"I'm just being honest. A lot of people out here in Creighton Court don't know anything about health care coverage; all they know is Medicaid," she said. "And if they can't get it, they don't have anything."

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said the problems that have compounded this pandemic for many people of color have been around for a long time, and without major structural changes, they will still be around when the pandemic is over. Stoney said he hopes this crisis gives way to long-term change.

"We can't go back to where we were pre-COVID-19; we've gotta go to a different place that ensures that each and every citizen of this country gets the best," Stoney said. "No matter what neighborhood they live, or the color of their skin."

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In Minority Neighborhoods, Knocking On Doors To Stop The Spread Of The Coronavirus - NPR

A surge in coronavirus cases in and around Tulsa, Okla., is probably connected to the campaign rally President Trump held there last month, the citys top health official said on Wednesday.

Tulsa County reported 206 new confirmed cases on Tuesday and 261 a record high on Monday, and Dr. Bruce Dart, the director of the Tulsa Health Department, said at a news conference that it was reasonable to link the spike to the rally and related events.

The past two days weve had almost 500 cases, and we know we had several large events a little over two weeks ago, which is about right, Dr. Dart said. So I guess we just connect the dots.

The county has more infections right now than any other in Oklahoma, and weve had some significant events in the past few weeks that more than likely contributed to that, he added.

Dr. Dart spent much of the news conference pleading with Tulsans to wear face masks which most attendees at Mr. Trumps rally did not and said the department would recommend requiring masks if we continue to see an exponential rise in cases, which frankly we expect over the next few days.

Asked whether contact tracing had confirmed a link between the rally and the increase in cases, Leanne Stephens, a spokeswoman for the health department, said it will not publicly identify any individual or facility at risk of exposure, or where transmission occurred.

Ms. Stephens said this week that contact tracers had been completely inundated trying to track down dozens of close contacts for thousands of confirmed cases, a task that can take hours for each person.

Karen Keith, a county commissioner in Tulsa who oversees the area where the rally occurred, said in an interview on Wednesday that contact tracers were struggling to persuade people to reveal where they had been, frustrating local officials.

She added that a surge in cases in rural parts of the state was most likely another indication that the rally could be responsible for the most recent outbreaks. Dr. Dart told The Tulsa World newspaper that he had examined Google mobility data for rally attendees, which offered a ballpark idea of where they had settled after the event.

The countys seven-day rolling average of new cases dipped briefly at the end of June before rising again, and has been increasing fairly steadily since July 2. Mr. Trump held his rally on June 20, and because of the incubation period between when people are infected and when they start showing symptoms, it can take around two weeks for a change in infection rates to become apparent.

Health officials were worried from the start about Mr. Trumps decision to hold a large rally indoors a much riskier environment than outdoors in terms of coronavirus transmission in a state where coronavirus cases were already spiking.

A few days before the event, Dr. Dart urged the president to cancel, calling the rally a perfect storm of potential over-the-top disease transmission.

When he said that, Tulsa County had just recorded 89 new cases in a day, a record high at the time. This week, the daily totals have been more than twice that.

Originally posted here:

Coronavirus Surge in Tulsa More Than Likely Linked to Trump Rally - The New York Times

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With cases of the new coronavirus and related hospitalizations rising at alarming rates, Gov. Greg Abbott expanded his ban on elective medical procedures Thursday to cover more than 100 counties across much of the state.

Surgeries and other procedures that are not immediately, medically necessary which have already been on hold in many of the states biggest cities and several South Texas counties are now barred in much of the state, from far West Texas to much of Central Texas, Southeast Texas and the Gulf Coast.

Those procedures can still take place in some, mostly rural parts of the state, including the Panhandle and the South Plains, as well as much of North and Northeast Texas, excluding Dallas County.

"We are freeing up more resources to address upticks in COVID-19 related cases, Abbott said in a statement. The State of Texas will continue to do everything we can to mitigate the spread of this virus and support our hospitals and health care professionals as they care for their fellow Texans.

Abbott's order makes an exception for procedures that, "if performed in accordance with the commonly accepted standard," would not deplete hospital capacity needed for battling the coronavirus.

As of Wednesday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized with the virus had reached a record high of 9,610 twice as many as there were June 25. But the pressure on hospitals is not evenly distributed around the state. Hospital capacity is most taxed around the states biggest cities, as well as most of South Texas.

Earlier this spring, when Abbott first barred elective procedures in an effort to conserve medical resources, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton interpreted that order as prohibiting abortions a position that sparked a federal lawsuit. The state's near-ban on abortions disappeared when hospitals proved to have plenty of capacity and the elective procedure ban was lifted.

Abbott's new ban on elective procedures, first issued in late June as cases began to surge and expanded this week to dozens more counties, has so far not sparked a similar legal battle over abortion. The governor's March order applied broadly to "all licensed health care professionals and all licensed health care facilities," whereas the more recent order more specifically targets hospitals.

A tiny fraction 3% of Texas abortions were provided at hospitals in 2017, according to the reproductive rights research organization the Guttmacher Institute.

The governors new order on elective procedures applies to 11 of the states 22 trauma service areas: J, K, M, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U and V, as well as Dallas County.

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Texans elective surgery ban expanded in response to coronavirus - The Texas Tribune

EDINBURGH, Scotland There was nothing particularly festive about Nicola Sturgeons recent visit to the Cold Town House, a newly reopened Edinburgh pub, but maybe that was the point. Sipping coffee and surveying plexiglass dividers, Ms. Sturgeon, the leader of Scotlands government, warned customers not to expect the jolly, sweaty intimacy of nightlife before the coronavirus pandemic.

No beer garden or cafe should feel the same as it did before, she said as a drenching rain fell, obscuring the stony ramparts of Edinburgh Castle that tower above this once-teeming establishment.

As Scotland emerges from a three-month lockdown, it is moving more carefully than neighboring England, a divergence that owes a lot to Ms. Sturgeons cautious style and her conviction that England, under its more freewheeling leader, Boris Johnson, is taking too many risks in a headlong rush to resume public life.

For now, Scotlands approach has made it a bright spot in coronavirus-ravaged Britain. New cases have dwindled to a handful a day, and deaths to a trickle. If Scotland maintains this progress a big if, given its open border it could stamp out the epidemic by the fall, public health experts say. Such a goal seems fanciful in England, which is still reporting hundreds of new cases and dozens of deaths every day.

But what happens in England inevitably spills over into Scotland. In the case of the virus, the stark contrast in daily numbers has reanimated old grievances for the Scots, who voted against leaving the United Kingdom in 2014 but overwhelmingly rejected Britains vote to leave the European Union two years later.

Nationalist sentiment has surged during the pandemic: Fifty-five percent of Scots now favor independence, according to a recent poll a solid majority that analysts said reflected a perception that Scotlands nationalist-led government has handled the crisis better than Mr. Johnson and his pro-Brexit ministers have.

Scotland imposed its lockdown on March 23, the same day as England did, but has lifted the restrictions more selectively. It kept pubs closed a few days longer. It requires people to wear face masks in shops, which England does not. And unlike England, it left Spain, a popular holiday destination, off a list of countries to which Scots can travel without isolating themselves when they return.

Were quite stubborn and steadfast because Nicola has handled it elegantly and weve seen how England is flapping around, said Katy Koren, the artistic director of Gilded Balloon, a company that stages outdoor performances during the Edinburgh Festival, which has been canceled this summer.

So far, she said, Scots have given Ms. Sturgeon, 49, the benefit of the doubt because she has been willing to make tough decisions and has convinced people that her overriding goal is the public health. Her no-nonsense briefings have become a reassuring daily ritual, even providing grist for comedians.

Ms. Sturgeons fans liken her to New Zealands prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, who has come closer than perhaps any other leader to stamping out the virus. The unspoken contrast is to Mr. Johnson, who has been all over the map in his response and has often seemed reluctant to deliver bad news.

Men like to be popular, said Ms. Korens mother, Karen, who runs the festival company with her daughter. For women, its not about ego.

But it is, inescapably, about politics.

Ms. Sturgeons Scottish National Party is committed to independence and a return to the European Union. As she has diverged from the British government a process that broke into the open in late May when she stuck with the slogan Stay Home and rejected Mr. Johnsons more permissive Stay Alert she is building a powerful new case for Scotlands ability to go it alone.

Under the terms of limited self-government in the United Kingdom, the Scottish authorities are responsible for matters like health and education, while the British government handles immigration, foreign policy and, crucially, the fiscal rescue packages to protect those who lost their jobs in the lockdown.

That has enabled Ms. Sturgeon to slow-walk Mr. Johnsons steps to ease the lockdown, which she complains are often foisted on her without advance notice. She clucked over pictures of revelers jamming the streets of Soho in London after he opened pubs a spectacle that she avoided by scheduling Scotlands reopening for a Monday rather than a Saturday.

To some, particularly those who do not share her nationalist politics or are eager to get their businesses running again, there is more than a whiff of point-scoring.

She is a fantastic politician, said Nic Wood, the owner of the Cold Town House, who invited her to visit his pub. But a lot of what she now does is all about getting independence. Her talents would be better used if she could just lead the country.

Hotel and restaurant owners were alarmed when Ms. Sturgeon declined to rule out a quarantine for visitors from England after Mr. Johnson lifted a 14-day quarantine for people traveling to and from 59 countries. She expressed concern that visitors could carry the virus into Scotland from third countries.

We cant afford any inference that the English arent welcome in Scotland, said Marc Crothall, the chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, who noted that 70 percent of Scotlands tourism revenue comes from visitors within the United Kingdom.

Ms. Sturgeons threat also provoked Mr. Johnson, who typically says the differences between Scotland and England are overblown. He described it as astonishing and claimed, There is no such thing as a border between England and Scotland.

Over the last three months, Ms. Sturgeon, who declined a request for an interview for this article, has developed strong ideas about how to combat the pandemic. She convened a group of scientific advisers separate from the British governments panel, and they consulted a German health official for best practices.

Scotland honed its test-and-protect program, which is less dependent on private contractors than the system in England and recruits its contact tracers from communities all of which, officials say, make it more effective.

Weve been really pleased to see the case numbers fall the way they have, said Dr. Janet Stevenson, who coordinates the program for the Edinburgh region, though she acknowledged that it will be harder to control cases as more outsiders start flowing into Scotland from England. Its a leaky old border, she said.

Devi Sridhar, who runs the global health governance program at the University of Edinburgh, noted that the two countries took radically different approaches from the start: Englands priority was to prevent its hospitals from being overrun, while Scotlands was to drive cases down to zero. If not for imported cases from the south, Dr. Sridhar said, Scotland could come close to that goal by the end of the summer.

If we were an island, we could eliminate it entirely, she said. Thats why cooperation is needed in global health.

Other experts say elimination is a quixotic target under any circumstances. To achieve it, Scotland would have to keep in place measures that are economically untenable and would cause other health-related problems. Even New Zealand has been struck with new cases imported from England, as it happens.

Some also question whether Scotlands performance is all that remarkable compared with Europe as a whole.

Its reported death rate of 46 per 100,000 is far lower than the 71 per 100,000 in England. But it is on a par with France and higher than Northern Ireland. England has 56 million people, compared with Scotlands 5.4 million. It is sparsely populated, without a metropolis like London, where the outbreak exploded in early March. Fortunate timing may have spared it the worst.

Scotland was six or seven days behind London, said Mark Woolhouse, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh. That is a very long time, if the epidemic is doubling every three or four days. Scotlands experience, he added, was not particularly better or worse than other European countries.

For many in Scotland, however, what matters is not how their country fared relative to the rest of the world, but how it stacks up to England. Ms. Sturgeons approval ratings have risen to above 80 percent, while Mr. Johnsons ratings have declined. That could embolden her to press him to allow another independence referendum something he has so far ruled out.

They might still say no, said Nicola McEwen, a professor of politics at the University of Edinburgh. But it will be more difficult. She is emerging from this, at least so far, with more authority and more respect.

At the Cold Town House, where a handful of customers sipped pints on a chilly day earlier this week, there was a stoic pride in Scotlands disciplined response to the pandemic. The cobbled streets of Edinburghs Royal Mile, which usually throb with festival goers at this time of the year, were nearly deserted. From the castles ghostly ramparts, residents contemplated their becalmed city.

Theres a conservatism in Scotland, where doing the sensible, rational stuff outweighs the more emotional response to things, said Tom Harries, an entrepreneur who is originally from Bristol, England, and runs a start-up that has helped businesses find ways to survive during the lockdown.

There is also, he said, one-upmanship.

As an Englishman, I myself am thinking, What a mess, he said. How does this reflect on England? It feels a bit shameful.

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In Tackling Coronavirus, Scotland Asserts Its Separateness From England - The New York Times

Gov. Jared Polis said Coloradans need to be better about limiting their exposure to other people as he announced Thursday that the incidence of coronavirus is growing in the state.

The latest from the coronavirus outbreak in Colorado:

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Polis said there has been an increase in cases over 11 of the past 14 days in Colorado. The states R naught number, the rate of the virus spread, is now more than one, meaning that each infected person is, on average, spreading the disease to more than one other person.

The bottom line: The number of people with COVID-19 in Colorado is growing, Polis said.

We need to be more responsible, Polis said at a news conference at the governors mansion in Denver. We need to wear masks more. We need to avoid gatherings more.

He added: We need to make changes in the way we live.

Polis said this will be the summer of no parties as he encouraged people younger Coloradans, in particular to gather only in small groups or not at all. At most, he said, people should be gathering with three or four others.

MORE: Colorado counties plead for compliance as coronavirus cases rise among younger people across the state

The statereported 452 cases between Tuesday and Wednesdayand the percentage of people tested who test positive for the virus reached its highest level 5.1% since June 1 on Tuesday.

Coronavirus hospitalizations, at 202 on Thursday, are at their highest level since June 7.

We are losing right now in Colorado, Polis said. Were not losing as bad as our country. Were not losing as bad as hotspots in Arizona and Texas.

The governor said, however, that between 50,000 and 100,000 Texans and Arizonans visited Colorado last weekend for the July 4 holiday.

Polis warned that if the trend of increasing cases continues, restrictions on Coloradans movement could be put back in place.

Hopefully we can reverse this trend here before it gets so bad that larger changes and actions are needed, he said.

As of Thursday the states R naught value was between 1.2 and 1.3, Polis said. Hed like to see that drop down to 0.9, which is where it was at the start of June as cases in Colorado were going down.

This is a small, mid-course correction, Polis said. People have to do a little better. We dont have to radically change how we live, we just have to go back to how we were in early June and hopefully well be OK.

Polis applauded the move by counties and cities across Colorado to implement mask requirements, but he once more stopped short of issuing a statewide mandate himself.

I dont think theres too many people sitting around saying: I wont wear a mask until theres a piece of paper,' he said, adding that he doesnt think the state could enforce such a requirement.

Polis made a similar argument against issuing a statewide stay-at-home order in late March before reversing course and locking Colorado down for more than a month.

A growing number of states, including Texas, which has resisted coronavirus restrictions, have implemented statewide mask-wearing rules.

Polis said he could not be more clear that people should be wearing a mask whenever they are in public and that it shouldnt take a mandate for Coloradans to cover their faces.

Wear a damn mask, he said emphatically.

MORE: Colorados governor thinks its stupid to not wear a mask. So why isnt he requiring you to do it?

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Polis decision not to mandate mask-wearing has clearly irked members of the medical community, as seen during a Thursday meeting of a medical advisory group to the Governors Expert Emergency Epidemic Response Committee.

The advisory group mostly made up of doctors and other health professionals had gathered online to discuss plans for how to fairly distribute emerging coronavirus medications and vaccines.

But, by the end of the meeting, the members had shifted to debating whether they should ask the full GEEERC to recommend a statewide mask mandate to Polis.

Most members of the group were adamantly in favor, decrying the tomfoolery one members word of people refusing to wear masks. But Dr. Matthew Wynia, the the director of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, offered a counterpoint. Though Wynia said he would ultimately be in favor of a mask mandate, he said there is research to suggest that mandates may not be as effective as strong, consistent encouragement.

When something is mandated, Wynia said, people may reflexively rebel and push for the mandate to end as soon as possible. When strongly encouraged but not forced to wear a mask, people may feel it is their choice to make the right decision.

The governors approach is not entirely irrational, Wynia said.

The advisory group adjourned without making a decision on a mandate recommendation, vowing to continue the discussion before taking it to the full GEEERC, which is made up of health leaders from across the state who provide guidance to Polis on how to respond to the epidemic.

Polis would not commit either way on a mask mandate and he sidestepped a question about whether a recommendation from GEERC would lead him to enact a statewide requirement.

I havent ruled anything out, he said.

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We need to be more responsible": Colorado governor says incidence of coronavirus is growing - The Colorado Sun