Category: Corona Virus

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Emily Stillman, left, talks about mask wearing, as she and Thomas Ilyevsky walk down Main Street, Thursday, May 7, 2020 in Lafayette.(Photo: Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier)

LAFAYETTE Face masks. Necessary coronavirus pandemic attire or justa suggestion?

We always try to wear a mask when were out in a closed area," Emily Stillman said as she and Thomas Ilyevsky both of whom are in the mid-20s enjoyed a walk Thursday afternoonin downtown Lafayette without their masks.

But when we go out and walk, we always try to cross the street before we see anybody. We always try to avoid people as were out walking," Stillman said.Anytime we go to the grocery store, well have a mask on."

Technically, Indiana's Back on Trackplan onlyrecommends face masks for people when social distancing is difficult, such as in grocery stores, although some businesses require customers to don face masks in order to enter the store.

Michael Greenan of Lafayette looks through a book while shopping at Von's Shops, Monday, May 4, 2020 in West Lafayette. (Photo: Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier)

Starting June 14, the masks for the public are optional, according tothe governor's five-phase plan.

Certain employees restaurant servers and staff, gym employees and hair dressers will be required to wear face masks when they open either Monday or on May 24.

Most of the people out and about in downtown Lafayette in Thursday's sunshine and spring temperatures chose not to wear masks. A few did.

Two other twenty-somethings Andrew Sanders and Lucy Doyle strolled around downtown Thursday without masks.

Were not really around people. Open space," Doyle said when asked why they chose not to wear a mask during theirwalk. "Everybodys being cautious staying away from each other.

But do they wear a mask to the grocery store?

She encourages me to do it, Sanders said, hinting he's not as serious about mask wearing as Doyle.

Yeah. We do, Doyle said, more firm in her convictions.

Sanders confessed the reason for his relaxed attitude about wearing a face mask.

I feel like Im pretty healthy and wouldnt have a problem with it, honestly, Sanders said of catching the virus.But if I was around older people ... Id put it on.

Most conronavirus deaths are in people who have underlying health conditions and tend to be older, according to statistics compiled by the Indiana State Department of Health.

Im a little more cautious because I have asthma, Doyle said.

When the pandemic started in March,the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initially did not recommend faces masks for everyone. The logic, repeated early on by Tippecanoe County Health Department officials: Masks gave a false sense of security about blocking the virus. There also were concerns about people hoarding medical masks.

But in mid-April, theCDC amended its recommendation, stating that the public should wear a cloth covering over their faces when in confined areas where social distancing is challenging. The reason: Masks help prevent a person from spreading coronavirus when in close quarters.

Shyanna Herubin, talks about masks for her and her 4-year-old triplets, Carson, Norah and Raylan McCloskey, Thursday, May 7, 2020 in Lafayette.(Photo: Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier)

The change in recommendations causedShyanna Herubin, 26, to abide by the earlier recommendation.

"I just feel like they say it doesnt do anything," she said, "and then they say you should (wear a mask). I just decide not to.

I guess I dont really have a good reason," she said about not wearing a mask.I worry about it. I think about it. It gives me anxiety."

She washes and sanitizes her hands and takes precautions to avoid public places during high-traffic hours, as well as social distance when she and her 4-year-old triplets arein public areas during their family walks.

I guess I feel whatevers going to happen is going to happen, she said.

Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski stressed wearing a mask during Wednesday's community briefing with the health department.

That becomes a very important piece of our line of defense here," Roswarski said.

As we open up and there is more potential interaction, were going to have to work harder ...to make sure that we keep this under control, (that) we dont overwhelm our health care facilities and we allow this to continue in a way thats safe.

Dr. Daniel Wickert, vice president of medical affairs at Franciscan Health Lafayette, took time during an April 15 community briefing to inform people how to safely wear a mask.

The challenge is that most individuals are not used to wearing masks for any period of time, so what they tend to do is fuss with it or manipulate it," Wickert said last month.

Recognize where is it potentially contaminated? Its on the outside of the mask, he said.

Every time peopletouchtheir mask orreadjusttheir mask, they risk contaminating themselves with whatever germs or virus is on the outside of the mask, Wickert said.

Every time I touch my mask, I would need to wash my hands or use a disinfectant, he said.

Those wearing masks also risk contamination when they remove their mask and touch the outside of it, he noted.

For those who hang the mask from one ear or from a pin in a pocket like a Christmas ornament,that also increases the likelihood of contamination.

Wearing a mask is important. Wearing it incorrectly does not protect us to the degree that we could, WIckert said last month.

Stillman andIlyevsky said they plan to continue to wear their face masks.

Stillman said she has no idea how long that will be.

As long as the curve stays flat for a while, Ilyevskysaid of his metric of when to put the masks away.

Reach Ron Wilkins at 765-420-5231 or at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

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Coronavirus: To wear a mask or not to wear a mask? That is the question some are asking - Journal & Courier

Couples who have been unable to get married because of the coronavirus lockdown have had their wedding insurance claims rejected in some cases despite being assured they were covered before buying their policy.

The Guardian has heard from people who have lost thousands when claims were turned down by provider WeddingPlan Insurance.

Lidia and her partner Adam were due to get married on 4 April, after the lockdown had begun.

They became concerned that their plans would be affected in early March and looked for insurance that would offer cover against cancellation due to coronavirus. After checking with WeddingPlan that they would qualify, they bought a 57 policy and made payments to caterers and other suppliers.

On 21 March the venue told us they would not be able to hold our wedding because they couldnt guarantee the safety of staff, Lidia says. Then on 23 March came lockdown, and everything was officially shut down.

They asked about a new date next summer, but the price will be much higher. The caterers said they had prepared most of the food and they will not survive if they give a refund.

The couple, who marked their planned wedding day with drinks in the garden and a Zoom call with friends and family, made a claim for just under 10,000 to cover costs they cannot recover. Emails seen by Guardian Money show they were told they could make a claim if the wedding had to be cancelled as a result of an infectious disease. The rejection says they wont pay out because the venue was closed as a result of a government act, she says. But the cancellation was made before the legislation went through.

Others have had their claims turned down. Debenhams wedding insurance customers appear to be in the same position, as both brands are operated by UK General. Many bought their policies last year but others paid on the basis that they would get coronavirus cover.

The competition watchdog has warned venues over refusing refunds, but some of those claiming have been told that expenses already accrued cannot be reimbursed.

Screengrabs suggest WeddingPlan changed its advice. In an FAQ section on its website in late March, it said: If the government or relevant body cancels all public gatherings due to coronavirus, would the cancellation or postponement of my wedding be covered?. The response is: Yes, if the venue was closed due to general outbreak of infectious disease, where the government issues a notice, this would fall under closure of the venue by the relevant authority.

Many, like Lidia, had also been reassured by email and phone.

Annie was due to get married on Saturday 21 March before the lockdown began but the day after the government announced pubs and hotels would have to close. The photographer pulled out because he was in the vulnerable group, and the guests were dropping like flies, she says. So they checked with WeddingPlan, and were assured they would be able to claim.

After setting up the venue on the Friday, they watched the press briefing announcing the first round of closures, and at 7pm got a call to say the venue would have to close. The couple had planned a church wedding and, with family gathered for the event, they called the insurer to ask if they could still claim for loss of the reception if they went ahead with the legal part of the day. Thanks to a vicar with a tape measure, they were allowed to marry, but with none of the celebrations.

We arent claiming for a photographer, because we had pictures of the ceremony. We are claiming for flowers for the table, but not for the bouquets. But it was too late to postpone, so we had to pay for the food and the venue.

Their 20,000 claim has also been rejected because the insurer said the venue was forced to close by a government act. They contest that, saying the law did not come into effect until after their wedding date, and that the insurers website initially said it would take claims in these circumstances. We havent had the wedding we planned, and we have paid full price for it.

UK General says it did not underwrite the policies and was a distributor of a number of insurance products so we do not have the final say in whether or not a claim is paid.

It adds: We acknowledge that our customers expect to be able to make a claim on their wedding insurance policy as a result of having to postpone their wedding, and when their claim is turned down it is extremely upsetting ... A pandemic cover, for situations such as for Covid-19, was not written into wedding policies, and policies were thus not priced to cover pandemics. The policy is intended to cover localised issues, such as a local authority closing a specific venue following an outbreak of food poisoning. A government-imposed lockdown is not, and was never intended, to be part of the cover provided under this policy.

UK General says anyone who has had a claim turned down can use its complaints process and the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Couples who put down deposits for weddings that have had to be cancelled due to the lockdown have faced aggressive demands from venues to pay their final bills which can easily be 12,000-17,000 for a wedding that can no longer take place.

Faced with such a demand what should you? James Cronin, a director at the Cheltenham law firm Eight Legal, advises couples against handing over any more money. Instead, he says, they may want to argue that the original contract to provide the wedding venue has been frustrated.

If a contract exists for a wedding or holiday which is now impossible to perform in a way that resembled the original terms agreed between the parties in any meaningful way, a letter arguing that the contract has been frustrated and referring to the Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943 may well help, he says.

Frustration applies when an unforeseeable event would make it impossible to perform the contract at all or on terms which bore any real commercial resemblance to those agreed between the parties. If one party has benefited considerably prior to the frustrating event covid cancellation - a judge is allowed to apportion some or all of the benefits to the other party if this would result in a fair outcome.

Consumer rights group Which? says it has received complaints from couples about wedding venue cancellations.

It is unacceptable that some venues are refusing to provide any refund of couples significant upfront deposits or charging customers extortionate fees, particularly when it is not the couples decision to cancel, said Adam French, consumer rights editor at Which?.

While many businesses will be struggling during this difficult time, it does not seem fair for customers to be charged fees or left thousands of pounds out of pocket for a service the venue cant deliver.

Miles Brignall

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Weddings and coronavirus: couples forced to cancel but face massive bills - The Guardian

Poll worker Patty Piek-Groth, left, helps fellow poll worker Jerry Moore, center, put on a mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus, as the polls open for the presidential primary election at the Janesville Mall in Janesville, Wis., on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. Hundreds of voters in Wisconsin are waiting in line to cast ballots at polling places for the state's presidential primary election, ignoring a stay-at-home order over the coronavirus threat. (Angela Major/The Janesville Gazette via AP)

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67 got COVID-19 after visiting polls in state's April 7 election but tie to voting unclear - Madison.com

Coronavirus: Pence aide tests positive for Covid-19 as it happened  Financial Times

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Coronavirus: Pence aide tests positive for Covid-19 as it happened - Financial Times

Ventilators have become the single most important piece of medical equipment for critically ill coronavirus patients whose damaged lungs prevent them from getting enough oxygen to vital organs. The machines work by forcing air deep into the lungs, dislodging the fluid and accumulated pus that interfere with the exchange of oxygen, a process orchestrated by tiny air sacs known as alveoli.

Lungs are complex organs that deliver oxygen to the bloodstream and keep organs functioning.

Human lungs are spongy vessels made up of millions of microscopic, balloon-shaped air sacs called alveoli, the workhorse of the respiratory system where the exchange of gases takes place.

A single alveolus, no bigger than the width of a human hair, is ringed by a mesh of tiny capillaries that transport oxygen to the bloodstream.

A single alveolus, no bigger than the width of a human hair, is ringed by a mesh of tiny capillaries that transport oxygen to the bloodstream.

A single alveolus, no bigger than the width of a human hair, is ringed by a mesh of tiny capillaries that transport oxygen to the bloodstream.

Ventilators are not a cure for Covid-19 patients, but mechanical breathing assistance can keep patients alive while they battle the infection.

Critical care ventilators are more than just air pumps. They are finely tuned machines with software that must be constantly adjusted by skilled medical workers to ensure that patients receive the right combination of oxygen level, pressure, breath volume and breathing rate.

Non-coronavirus patients on ventilators have about a 50 percent survival rate. The mortality rate for coronavirus patients on ventilators is not yet clear in part because, with no proven method of treatment for the virus, coronavirus patients are often being kept on these machines for weeks in order to keep them breathing long enough to give their lungs a chance to heal.

Exhaled air is filtered for viral particles

Air supplied to the patient

contains 21-100% oxygen

Air supplied to the patient

contains 21-100% oxygen

Exhaled air

is filtered

for viral particles

Intubation is fraught. Patients must be heavily sedated to allow doctors to insert a breathing tube into the lungs and to prevent them from waking up and pulling out the tubes. Because too much air pressure can damage the lungs, intubated patients must be constantly monitored.

Fears of a ventilator shortage in New York and the poor prognosis for intubated patients have helped spur innovations for sustaining patients without relying on critical care ventilators.

Health care providers have embraced a maneuver that has long been used for ventilated patients periodically turning them on their stomach to increase lung capacity. Proning, as its called, opens up areas of the lungs that are normally compressed by the weight of the heart when lying on ones back. Doctors are currently studying whether using proning for some patients in respiratory distress can allow them to recover without being placed on ventilators.

Flipping over patients in acute respiratory distress, doctors have discovered, can markedly increase oxygenation. The process can be labor-intensive, however, requiring staff to turn over patients several times a day.

Medical workers have increasingly turned to CPAP and BiPAP machines, inexpensive air pumps used by millions of Americans with sleep apnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other breathing disorders. Hospitals have been repurposing unused machines and using them both with or without intubation to send pressurized air into the lungs of coronavirus patients.

Soft and transparent plastic helmet

holds positive pressure inside

Room oxygen

supply option

Soft collar

seals helmet at the neck

Plastic helmet

holds positive

pressure inside

Room oxygen

supply option

To reduce the risk of infection for hospital workers, doctors have also been fitting patients with jury-rigged helmets that deliver oxygen via CPAP machines while filtering out exhaled viral particles. The helmets were pioneered by Italian doctors forced to improvise because of a shortage of intensive care ventilators.

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In the Fight to Treat Coronavirus, Your Lungs Are a Battlefield - The New York Times

Written by Amitabh Sinha, Edited by Explained Desk | Pune | Updated: May 9, 2020 2:22:04 pm Fridays Coronavirus count of new cases was a little less than the previous day, and it is now the first time in two weeks that the daily count has declined for two consecutive days.

Odisha saw its highest single-day surge of Coronavirus cases so far, reporting as many as 78 new cases on Friday to take its tally to 287. The state had been reporting low numbers of Coronavirus infections till now, but in the last two days 107 cases have been discovered, mainly amongst the migrant workers returning from other states, triggering an alarm in Bhubaneswar.

More than 80 per cent of the states cases, 240 of the 287, are concentrated in the five districts of Ganjam, Khurda, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Baleshwar. These are the areas that have received maximum number of returning migrant workers. About 8000 workers have returned to Ganjam in the last few days, and suddenly, the districts Coronavirus count has shot up. 79 of the 83 cases in Ganjam, now the worst affected district in Odisha, were discovered in the last three days.

In the country as a whole, 3340 new cases were discovered on Friday, taking the total count of confirmed Coronavirus infections to 59,564. Fridays count of new cases was a little less than the previous day, and it is now the first time in two weeks that the daily count has declined for two consecutive days, even though by a small amount. On Thursday, India had added 3355 new cases, which was 175 less than the previous day, and Fridays count was 15 less than Thursday. Coronavirus LIVE Updates

Kerala discovered its first case in three days, just one patient in Ernakulam. The state now has 503 confirmed cases, 484 of whom have already recovered.

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Tamil Nadu continued to add new cases in large numbers. On Friday, the state discovered 600 new cases to take its tally to 6009. The number of cases has tripled in the last ten days, from 2058 on April 28 to 6009 now, thanks to the discovery of the Koyambedu market cluster in Chennai, and the states aggressive testing in the last few days. Tamil Nadu overtook Maharashtra on Thursday to emerge as the state that has conducted the most number of tests in the country. On Friday, it consolidated its lead further, carrying out 13,980 tests to Maharashtras 10,245. Tamil Nadu has now done 2.16 lakh tests, while Maharashtra, which has three times greater caseload, has done 2.12 lakh.

At least 95 deaths were reported from the country on Friday, 39 of them from Maharashtra and 24 from Gujarat. The death toll in the country has now crossed 1950. Some doubts have been raised about the number of deaths being reported by Delhi, after a few hospitals in the Capital reported many more deaths than officially acknowledged so far. According to data put out by Delhi government, there have been 68 deaths in the Capital so far. But the total of the numbers reported from five of the biggest COVID hospitals in Delhi add up to at least 116. Delhi government bulletins have reported only 33 deaths from these hospitals. Delhi government officials maintained that a death audit committee set up by it was investigating every death, and was reporting the data accurately and transparently.

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Coronavirus numbers explained: Why Odisha is seeing a spike in new cases - The Indian Express

"You may," responds a Hong Kong official, who is still wearing his mask.

Moments later, Rana and I exchange rings, sign government documents, and share a brief kiss. Amid the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic, Rana and I have just gotten married.

On the other side of the planet, our families and friends in the US, Lebanon and elsewhere watch the little civil ceremony in Hong Kong streamed live on Instagram, sprinkling the video with hearts and emojis and other social media expressions of happiness.

Before leaving the wedding registry, we put on his and hers surgical masks adorned with the titles "Mr." and "Mrs."

This was not what we expected, when I first asked her to marry me on a freezing night in New York City last December.

At the time, we were both jet-lagged after the long flight from Hong Kong, where we live and work. We were also deliriously happy, posing in front of a glowing fountain alongside my sister and brother-in-law, who conspired with me to take surprise photos of the occasion.

Basking in that happy moment, we had little clue that a deadly new strain of pneumonia had just been discovered in a city called Wuhan in China -- and the next four and a half months of our lives became our Engagement with Coronavirus.

Neither of us are strangers to crisis.

Rana grew up in Beirut in a civil war. At a young age, she suffered the loss of her father, one of many tragic victims of that conflict.

While my childhood was much more comfortable, 20 years of reporting overseas exposed me to the grim realities of war, natural disaster and political instability.

Still, neither of us had ever been confronted by a modern-day plague of global proportions.

The wake-up call came at the end of January, when the Hong Kong administration canceled schools, shut down public recreation centers and issued work-from-home orders to civil servants. The coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan had spread across China, and the first cases had been detected in the semi-autonomous cities of Hong Kong and Macau.

Hong Kongers didn't mess around. Immediately, the whole city started wearing masks.

We did too, when we went to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registrations Office in early February to apply for a date to get married.

Friends and family back home called to express concern about our health. But they spoke about the epidemic as if it was some distant threat, an "Asian" problem that would never reach their shores.

As Rana became more and more worried, I remained naively optimistic -- until a reporting assignment in South Korea at the end of February.

At that stage, South Korea had the most confirmed coronavirus cases outside mainland China. In early March, thousands of Koreans were testing positive on a daily basis. Governments increasingly imposed international flight restrictions. Seemingly overnight, my hotel in Seoul became eerily empty.

On March 10, the only way to get from South Korea back home to Hong Kong was to fly absurdly long distances via London. On the flight from South Korea, CNN cameraman Tom Booth and I were shocked to see British Airways crews operating without any protection. No one checked our temperature during the layover at London's Heathrow Airport. Britain apparently behaved as if this deadly disease wasn't happening.

Upon arrival in Hong Kong, health authorities put me on two-week mandatory medical surveillance. I was to check my temperature twice daily and report immediately if I came down with symptoms. Though authorities advised against it, Rana insisted on staying by my side throughout the 14 days. Fortunately, neither of us got sick.

Making the best of it

Then, throughout March, Covid-19 spread like wildfire across the Middle East, Europe and North America. Suddenly, Rana and I were far more worried about our parents in the US and Lebanon, than we were for ourselves in Hong Kong.

For two people who have lived almost all of our adult lives overseas, a sickening realization set in -- we could no longer count on jumping on a plane to fly home to our loved ones in the event of an emergency.

Yet amid the anxiety and fear, a silver lining emerged.

In this pandemic, we had each other. Social isolation meant a pause in business travel and long work deployments.

With our little rescue cat, our small family settled in for weeks of working from home in pajamas followed by cozy home-cooked dinners.

The coronavirus forced us to stop and count our blessings. The entire world has been taught a giant lesson in humility, a reminder that we are subject to forces and events that we cannot control. Nothing -- neither our health, the roof over our heads, nor the food on our table -- can be taken for granted.

At the same time, life must go on.

"After all, your grandparents got married during World War II," my mom pointed out.

She is very right. My grandparents, two refugees from the civil war in Russia, started a family amid the horrors of Nazi-occupied France.

Compare that to me and Rana, who spent much of our engagement on the couch watching "Tiger King" (among other things).

So far, we have had it so easy. A week before the wedding, however, disaster struck. Rana's 84-year old grandmother suffered a stroke. She was taken to intensive care in Beirut and had brain surgery.

There was nothing we could do. Even if there was some way to fly to Lebanon, Rana would not dare exposing her family if she picked up an illness on the plane.

Thankfully, Rana's teta stabilized after the operation. She's a tough lady.

Finally, our wedding day arrived in May. We wore surgical masks with "bride" and "groom" written on them in marker to the registry.

The city's coronavirus guidelines allow up to 20 guests at a wedding. We had eight.

There is no time for vows to be exchanged during the 15-minute civil ceremony -- although in some ways, we didn't need them.

After our engagement with coronavirus, we know we will be there for each other, no matter what the future may bring.

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Engaged in December and married by May, coronavirus shaped our relationship ... and our wedding - CNN

Researcher Francois Balloux of the University College London Genetics Institute and his colleagues in the United Kingdom pulled viral sequences from a giant global database that scientists around the world are using to share data.

They looked at samples taken at different times and from different places, and said they indicate that the virus began infecting people at the end of 2019.

"Our results are in line with previous estimates and point to all sequences sharing a common ancestor towards the end of 2019, supporting this as the period when SARS-CoV-2 jumped into its human host," the team wrote in a report, published in the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution.

Balloux told CNN his team is "really, really, really confident" about when the host jumped.

They also found genetic evidence that supports suspicions the virus was infecting people in Europe, the United States and elsewhere weeks or even months before the first official cases were reported in January and February.

One US community is checking to see whether there were cases there that went undiagnosed in 2019.

In Chicago, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said it will review deaths involving heart attacks and pneumonia for indications of Covid-19 as far back as November, Cook County spokesperson Natalia Derevyanny told CNN.

The first known coronavirus death in the county was March 16.

The office will look at viral pneumonia cases along with heart attacks caused by arteries being blocked (arterial thrombosis), as opposed to cases brought on by heart failure.

"The goal is to see if this virus was present before we knew of it," Derevyanny said.

While Derevyanny called the decision to look back to November an arbitrary timeframe, if a positive case is discovered it will prompt the office to look back even further.

The investigation may include additional testing of preserved tissue samples, Derevyanny said.

Cuomo: It comes down to how much you value life

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday said debates on how soon states should ease social distancing restrictions come down to the value of human life -- and that policymakers are avoiding saying so explicitly.

"The fundamental question, which we're not articulating, is how much is a human life worth?" Cuomo said at a news conference.

"The faster we reopen, the lower the economic cost. But, the higher the human cost, because (of) more lives lost," Cuomo said in a news conference. "That ... is the decision we are really making."

But easing restrictions now may come with a heavy price.

"It's the balance of something that's a very difficult choice," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's leading infectious disease expert, told CNN Monday night. "How many deaths and how much suffering are you willing to accept to get back to what you want to be some form of normality, sooner rather than later?"

At least 42 states will have eased restrictions by Sunday, ranging from simply opening state parks to allowing some businesses to restart. That includes California -- the first state to implement a sweeping stay-at-home order -- where some stores will be allowed to reopen this week.

So far, the US has recorded more than 1,200,000 infections and at least 71,043 deaths.

Poll: Majority prioritizes preventing illness over economy

A majority of Americans who answered a Monmouth University poll, meanwhile, indicated they prioritize preventing illnesses over long-term economic concerns.

In the poll, conducted Thursday though Monday, adults were asked which should be the more important factor in deciding whether to lift outbreak restrictions -- ensuring as few people as possible get sick from the coronavirus, or ensuring the economy doesn't enter a deep and lengthy downturn.

About 56% answered the former; 33% said the latter; 9% said both equally. The poll of 808 adults in the United States has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points, Monmouth said Tuesday.

More vaccine candidates tested in the US

Researchers continue to race for a potential coronavirus vaccine -- and another group of candidates is being tested on people in the United States.

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech have begun testing four coronavirus vaccine candidates in humans in New York and Maryland, the companies said Tuesday.

The first stage of the US trial will enroll up to 360 healthy adults, starting with ages 18 to 55 and eventually including ages 65 to 85, the companies said.

These companies aren't the first with a vaccine program this far along.

The World Health Organization says 108 potential Covid-19 vaccines are in development around the world -- up from 102 on April 30. Eight of the potential vaccine programs have been approved for clinical trials, WHO says.

How governors are moving forward

California was one of the states where crowds gathered over the weekend as thousands of protesters descended on the state's Capitol and an Orange County beach to protest social distancing orders.

The governor on Monday announced retail shops in the state -- including clothing stores, florists and bookstores -- can begin to reopen Friday, after health officials said the state was meeting important metrics including sufficient test and tracing capacity.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he didn't think his city would reopen this week, saying Monday that despite the governor's announcement, different parts of the state may see different timelines for reopening.

In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the lockdown will continue "until at least May 15," warning that reopening the state too soon could lead to a second shutdown.

Reeves' plan also allows dining service in restaurants, as long as the institutions follow guidelines provided by the state, including a mandatory deep cleaning.

"I don't want to wait if there are steps that we believe we can safely take now to ease the burden on Mississippians fighting this virus," he said.

Protests against masks

CNN's Frederick Pleitgen, Jacqueline Howard, Elizabeth Cohen and Jennifer Henderson contributed to this report.

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New evidence indicates coronavirus was infecting people in Europe and the US before the first official cases were reported - CNN

Winter is a 4-year-old chocolate-colored llama with spindly legs, ever-so-slightly askew ears and envy-inducing eyelashes. Some scientists hope she might be an important figure in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

She is not a superpowered camelid. Winter was simply the lucky llama chosen by researchers in Belgium, where she lives, to participate in a series of virus studies involving both SARS and MERS. Finding that her antibodies staved off those infections, the scientists posited that those same antibodies could also neutralize the new virus that causes Covid-19. They were right, and published their results Tuesday in the journal Cell.

Scientists have long turned to llamas for antibody research. In the last decade, for example, scientists have used llamas antibodies in H.I.V. and influenza research, finding promising therapies for both viruses.

Humans produce only one kind of antibody, made of two types of protein chains heavy and light that together form a Y shape. Heavy-chain proteins span the entire Y, while light-chain proteins touch only the Ys arms. Llamas, on the other hand, produce two types of antibodies. One of those antibodies is similar in size and constitution to human antibodies. But the other is much smaller; its only about 25 percent the size of human antibodies. The llamas antibody still forms a Y, but its arms are much shorter because it doesnt have any light-chain proteins.

This more diminutive antibody can access tinier pockets and crevices on spike proteins the proteins that allow viruses like the novel coronavirus to break into host cells and infect us that human antibodies cannot. That can make it more effective in neutralizing viruses.

Llamas antibodies are also easily manipulated, said Dr. Xavier Saelens, a molecular virologist at Ghent University in Belgium and an author of the new study. They can be linked or fused with other antibodies, including human antibodies, and remain stable despite those manipulations.

This antibody is a genetic characteristic llamas share with all camelids, the family of mammals that also includes alpacas, guanacos and dromedaries.

Sharks have these smaller antibodies, too, but they are not a great experimental model, and are a lot less cuddly than llamas, said Daniel Wrapp, a graduate student affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin and Dartmouth College, and a co-author of the new research. Dr. Saelens said that llamas are domesticated, easy to handle and less stubborn than many of their camelid cousins, although, if they dont like you, theyll spit.

In 2016, Dr. Saelens, Mr. Wrapp and Dr. Jason McLellan, a structural virologist at the University of Texas at Austin, and other researchers looked to llamas and, specifically, Winter to find a smaller llama antibody that could broadly neutralize many different types of coronavirus, Dr. McLellan said.

They injected Winter with spike proteins from the virus that caused the 2002-03 SARS epidemic as well as MERS, then tested a sample of her blood. And while they couldnt isolate a single llama antibody that worked against both viruses, they found two potent antibodies that each fought separately against MERS and SARS.

The researchers were writing up their findings when the new coronavirus began to make headlines in January. They immediately realized that the smaller llama antibodies that could neutralize SARS would very likely also recognize the Covid-19 virus, Dr. Saelens said.

It did, the researchers found, effectively inhibiting the coronavirus in cell cultures.

The researchers are hopeful the antibody can eventually be used as a prophylactic treatment, by injecting someone who is not yet infected to protect them from the virus, such as a health care worker. While the treatments protection would be immediate, its effects wouldnt be permanent, lasting only a month or two without additional injections.

This proactive approach is at least several months away, but the researchers are moving toward clinical trials. Additional studies may also be needed to verify the safety of injecting a llamas antibodies into human patients.

There is still a lot of work to do to try to bring this into the clinic, Dr. Saelens said. If it works, llama Winter deserves a statue.

Follow this link:

Hoping Llamas Will Become Coronavirus Heroes - The New York Times

As the Defense Department negotiates its way through the coronavirus pandemic and its fallout, military entrance processing stations are working with new guidance when it comes to bringing COVID-19 survivors into the services.

A past COVID-19 diagnosis is a no-go for processing, according to a recently released MEPCOM memo circulating on Twitter.

During the medical history interview or examination, a history of COVID-19, confirmed by either a laboratory test or a clinician diagnosis, is permanently disqualifying ... the memo reads.

The memo is authentic, Pentagon spokeswoman Jessica Maxwell confirmed to Military Times.

Specifically, it lays out guidelines for MEPS staff to deal with potential, as well as confirmed, coronavirus cases. That starts with screening at all MEPS, which includes taking a temperature and answering questions about symptoms and potential contact.

If an applicant fails screening, according to the memo, they wont be tested, but they can return in 14 days if theyre symptom-free. Anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 will have to wait until 28 days after diagnosis to report to MEPS.

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Upon return, a diagnosis will be marked as permanently disqualifying for accession. Recruits can apply for waivers for all permanently disqualifying conditions, including surviving COVID-19. However, without any further guidance for exceptions dealing with COVID-19, a review authority would have no justification to grant a waiver.

Maxwell declined to explain why a coronavirus diagnosis would be permanently disqualifying, compared to other viral, non-chronic illnesses that do not preclude military service.

However, given the limited research on COVID-19, there are likely a few factors that military medical professionals are trying to hash out when it comes to recruiting survivors: Whether respiratory damage from the virus is long-lasting or permanent, and whether that can be assessed; the likelihood of recurring flare-ups, even if someone has had two consecutive negative tests; and the possibility that one bout of COVID-19 might not provide full immunity for the future, and could potentially leave someone at a higher risk to contract it again, perhaps with worse complications.

The move comes as the services prepare for a surge of post-graduation recruits during the summer and fall high season.

In recent weeks, new trainees have been 100-percent tested for COVID-19 before starting training. So far, clusters have been discovered at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, the Army and Marine Corps biggest initial entry training installations.

See more here:

Coronavirus survivors banned from joining the military - Military Times