Category: Corona Virus

President Trump a new coronavirus economic aid package, largely targeted to support small businesses, in the Oval Office on Friday. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

President Trump a new coronavirus economic aid package, largely targeted to support small businesses, in the Oval Office on Friday.

Updated on Friday at 12:33 p.m. ET

President Trump has signed off on an additional $484 billion in coronavirus relief efforts, which Congress passed earlier in the week. Here's what's in the legislation:

The inclusion of funding for testing is a win for congressional Democrats, who had blocked an earlier version of the bill for not including funds for that or for hospitals and states. Republicans were, however, successful in delaying discussions of money for state and local governments, which Democrats had hoped to include.

Trump tweeted his support for the bill on Tuesday and said that he expects to begin discussions on state support during the next wave of relief funding. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., vowed on Friday that "there will not be another bill without state and local government" resources in it.

The additional cash infusion adds to an already-historic rescue package meant to cushion the blow of the economy-crushing pandemic. An earlier $2 trillion measure, known as the CARES Act, included cash payments for individuals, as well as funds for small businesses, corporations and public health.

Read the full text of the bill below:

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What's In The Latest Coronavirus Relief Bill? SBA Loans, Testing Funding - NPR

Coronavirus has been detected on particles of air pollution by scientists investigating whether this could enable it to be carried over longer distances and increase the number of people infected.

The work is preliminary and it is not yet known if the virus remains viable on pollution particles and in sufficient quantity to cause disease.

The Italian scientists used standard techniques to collect outdoor air pollution samples at one urban and one industrial site in Bergamo province and identified a gene highly specific to Covid-19 in multiple samples. The detection was confirmed by blind testing at an independent laboratory.

Leonardo Setti at the University of Bologna in Italy, who led the work, said it was important to investigate if the virus could be carried more widely by air pollution.

I am a scientist and I am worried when I dont know, he said. If we know, we can find a solution. But if we dont know, we can only suffer the consequences.

Two other research groups have suggested air pollution particles could help coronavirus travel further in the air.

A statistical analysis by Settis team suggests higher levels of particle pollution could explain higher rates of infection in parts of northern Italy before a lockdown was imposed, an idea supported by another preliminary analysis. The region is one of the most polluted in Europe.

Neither of the studies by Settis team have been peer-reviewed and therefore have not been endorsed by independent scientists. But experts agree their proposal is plausible and requires investigation.

Previous studies have shown that air pollution particles do harbour microbes and that pollution is likely to have carried the viruses causing bird flu, measles and foot-and-mouth disease over considerable distances.

The potential role of air pollution particles is linked to the broader question of how the coronavirus is transmitted. Large virus-laden droplets from infected peoples coughs and sneezes fall to the ground within a metre or two. But much smaller droplets, less than 5 microns in diameter, can remain in the air for minutes to hours and travel further.

Experts are not sure whether these tiny airborne droplets can cause coronavirus infections, though they know the 2003 Sars coronavirus was spread in the air and that the new virus can remain viable for hours in tiny droplets.

But researchers say the importance of potential airborne transmission, and the possible boosting role of pollution particles, mean it must not be ruled out without evidence.

Epidemics of infectious diseases behave in different ways but the1918 influenza pandemicthat killed more than 50 million people is regarded as a key example of a pandemic that occurred in multiple waves, with the latter more severe than the first. It has been replicated albeit more mildly in subsequent flu pandemics.

How and why multiple-wave outbreaks occur, and how subsequent waves of infection can be prevented, has become a staple of epidemiological modelling studies and pandemic preparation, which have looked at everything from social behaviour and health policy to vaccination and the buildup of community immunity, also known as herd immunity.

Is there evidence of coronavirus coming back elsewhere?

This is being watched very carefully. Without a vaccine, and with no widespread immunity to the new disease, one alarm is being sounded by the experience of Singapore, which has seen a suddenresurgence in infectionsdespite being lauded for its early handling of the outbreak.

Although Singapore instituted a strong contact tracing system for its general population, the disease re-emerged incramped dormitory accommodationused by thousands of foreign workers with inadequate hygiene facilities and shared canteens.

Singapores experience, although very specific, has demonstrated the ability of the disease to come back strongly in places where people are in close proximity and its ability to exploit any weakness in public health regimes set up to counter it.

What are experts worried about?

Conventional wisdom among scientists suggests second waves of resistant infections occur after the capacity for treatment and isolation becomes exhausted. In this case the concern is that the social and political consensus supporting lockdowns is being overtaken by public frustration and the urgent need to reopen economies.

The threat declines when susceptibility of the population to the disease falls below a certain threshold or when widespread vaccination becomes available.

In general terms the ratio of susceptible and immune individuals in a population at the end of one wave determines the potential magnitude of a subsequent wave. The worry right now is that witha vaccine still months away, and the real rate of infection only being guessed at, populations worldwide remain highly vulnerable to both resurgence and subsequent waves.

Peter Beaumont

Prof Jonathan Reid at Bristol University in the UK is researching airborne transmission of coronavirus. It is perhaps not surprising that while suspended in air, the small droplets could combine with background urban particles and be carried around.

He said the virus had been detected in tiny droplets collected indoors in China.

Setti said tiny droplets between 0.1 and 1 micron may travel further when coalesced with pollution particles up to 10 microns than on their own. This is because the combined particle is larger and less dense than the droplet and can remain buoyed by the air for longer.

The pollution particle is like a micro-airplane and the passengers are the droplets, said Sett. Reid is more cautious: I think the very small change in the size of the [combined] particles is unlikely to play much of a role.

Prof Frank Kelly at Imperial College London said the idea of pollution particles carrying the virus further afield was an interesting one. It is possible, but I would like to see this work repeated by two or three groups.

Another expert, Prof John Sodeau at University College Cork, in the Republic of Ireland, said: The work seems plausible. But that is the bottom line at the moment, and plausible [particle] interactions are not always biologically viable and may have no effect in the atmosphere. He said the normal course of scientific research might take two or three years to confirm such findings.

Other research has indicated correlations between increased Covid-19 deaths and higher levels of air pollution before the pandemic. Long-term exposure to dirty air is known to damage lung health, which could make people more vulnerable to Covid-19.

Coronavirus and volunteering: how can I help in the UK?

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Coronavirus detected on particles of air pollution - The Guardian

WARREN, Mich. There's loud humming and sounds of soft metal stamping as you walk into a bright white area of a decades-old transmission plant owned by General Motors just outside of Detroit.

But the sounds, almost white noise, aren't of auto parts being produced, they're large reels of fabric running through machines and employees using laser welders to make medical face masks.

In less than a week, GM converted31,000 square feet of the 2.7 million-square-foot plant, which was decommissioned last year, from producing transmissions to the personal protection equipment for first responders and health care workers on the frontlines of combating the coronavirus pandemic.

"I never thought I'd be a mask maker but there's a lot of stuff we're doing that we'd never thought we'd do," Robert Portugaise, a lead GM production engineer, said Thursday standing in the middle of the operations. "We continue to work and try to make improvements."

GM initially aimed to make 20,000 masks in the first days of production, which started April 6. It quickly doubled that number and, as of Wednesday, had producedmore than 620,000 masks. Asecond shift also was added this week to assist in producing masks, include some for GM employees in preparation of auto production eventually reopening.

General Motors is beginning to produce N95 masks at a former transmission plant outside Detroit. The manikin head is being used to test the fit of the masks prior to production for distribution beginning.

Michael Wayland / CNBC

Engineers on Thursday afternoon also were preparing a new production line to begin making much-needed N95 masks, which still need to be tested and certified.

"There's quite a bit to it. N95 masks are a little bit more complicated,"Portugaise said, adding there's more welding, fabric layers and a folding process that needs to be done. "We're still in the debug phase."

Once fully operational, the machine should be able to produce 12,000 masks a day, according toPortugaise, whose day job is executive director of manufacturing engineering for propulsion systems at GM.

Making medical-grade level 1 face masks isn't as simple as it may seem. It's particularly challenging to do in a week, which the automaker did. More than 30 engineers, designers, buyers and members of the manufacturing team were asked to help with product development, sourcing materials and equipment as well as planning the production process.

In less than a week, GM converted 31,000 square feet of the 2.7 million-square-foot plant, which was decommissioned last year, from producing transmissions to face masks for first responders and health care workers on the frontlines of combating the coronavirus pandemic.

Michael Wayland / CNBC

The needed materials included metal nose pieces, elastic straps and blown, non-woven fabric filter material. Simultaneously, GM collaborated with Michigan-based companies JR Automation and Esys Automation to design and build the custom machinery needed to assemble the masks.

For the project, the team also built an ISO Class 8-equivalent cleanroom at the plant. The team cleared the area and crews then installed new electrical service lines to power the production equipment and assembly stations, according to GM.

"The team out there, they're inspired in how they're engineering and how they're engaging with the work teams out there to increase production, and ramp-up, and scale up, and install," Gerald Johnson, GM executive vice president of global manufacturing, said in an interview at the facility Thursday afternoon.

General Motors Executive Vice President Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations Gerald Johnson (middle) watches as engineers and technicians set-up and test the machines that will be used to manufacture Level 1 face masks at a plant in Warren, Michigan.

Photo by John F. Martin for General Motors

The mask production is being done by paid volunteers, including hourly workers with the United Auto Workers union as well as salaried employees, in two 10-hour shifts a day.

Some of the process uses repurposed materials and machines that the automaker utilizes in auto production, including the material from an insulation supplier, a line-feeding and cutting machine and scanners used for quality control.

The face mask production process begins with the thin material on large spools being fed into a machine that welds three layers of the product into one; crimps the front of the masks; and inserts its metal line, or nose wire. The machine then cuts the fabric and spits the masks out faster than an ATM machine dispensing bills.

Face masks are cut by a machine and spit out faster than an ATM machine dispensing bills. The machine ultrasonic welds three layers of the material into one, crimps the front of the masks and inserts the metal line, or nose wire, in the mask.

Michael Wayland | CNBC

A worker at the end of the line does a quick product check, followed by a more in-depth inspection at another workstation. At full speed, the machine can produce 40,000 per shift, according toPortugaise.

From there, the masks are lined in small plastic bins and workers laser weld the ear loops onto the masks, which is one of the most labor-intensive parts of the process.

Currently, employees have to spot weld all four corners individually by hitting a foot pedal, somewhat like a sewing machine operates, on the floor. A light indicates when each weld is done. Soon, the company hopes to be able to do two welds at once with new machines that are still being tested.

A GM worker laser welds the ear loops onto the face masks, which is one of the most labor-intensive parts of the process.

Michael Wayland | CNBC

To encourage employees to work quickly, each person receives a metal cog for every 100 masks the complete on a shift. Portugaise said the double welding machines should significantly increase welding production. Some workers can produce as many as 300 masks in one hour, he said.

There's another quality check for each batch of 100 masks, which are then stored in sterilization boxes or rooms. Some of the sterilization units were donated by the Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and an equipment manager for the Detroit Red Wings. The machines are typically used to sterilize equipment in hockey.

Once sterilized, 10 masks are placed in a bagging machine that also puts instructions and precautions with GM's logo on the bags for shipping.

Once the face masks are sterilized, they are placed placed in groups of 10 into a bagging machine that also puts instructions, precautions and the GM logo on the bags for shipment.

Michael Wayland | CNBC

The face mask production is one of the efforts GM has committed to during the coronavirus pandemic, which has shutdown its U.S. manufacturing operations since mid-March.

GM ismanufacturing other personal protective equipment, including latex-free face shields, protective gowns and aerosol boxes. It's also producing critical care ventilators, in partnership with Washington-based Ventec Life Systems at a plant in Kokomo, Indiana.

The automaker expects to produce about 600 ventilators by the end of this week, according to GM's Johnson. He said the company is on track to deliver30,000 ventilators for the national stockpile by the end of August.

"There's a mixed emotion. Obviously no one's happy about Covid-19 virus and many lives are being affected by it and were concerned about everybody's health and well-being," Johnson said. "Similarly though, I am extremely proud of what I see the teams pull together here in amazing timeframes That's been inspiring."

In less than a week, GM converted 31,000 square feet of the 2.7 million-square-foot plant, which was decommissioned last year, from producing transmissions to face masks for first responders and health care workers on the frontlines of combating the coronavirus pandemic.

Michael Wayland / CNBC

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We went inside the GM plant making coronavirus face masks. Here's what it looked like - CNBC

Spains football league had told its clubs on Friday it will delay testing of all its professional football players for Covid-19 because the resumption of training sessions is going to be delayed.

In a lettersentto the clubs, obtained and published by Spanish media, La Liga said it wont start testing players, coaches and medical staff for the virus until the Spanish government approves a protocol for that.

All league football, including for the giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, stopped when Spains state of emergency went into effect on March 14.

La Liga president Javier Tebas confirmed sending the letter to the clubs to CNN. In a video press conference on Friday night, he said: If we consider that well have the protocol in the coming days, maybe next week, well, from April 28 until May 11, 12, 13, or 14, to start the training again, thats a lot of days for the players to wait, after testing.

Prioritize frontline workers: La Ligas announcement came hours after the Spanish Footballers Association (AFE) said it sent two more letters to the government, again expressing the concern of first and second division team players about the Covid-19 tests and a resumption of training.

The association said the players think those decisions should be made by the government and it added the players consider there are other groups that need the tests more at this time, along with access to health care supplies.

Jordi Figueras, player for Racing Santander in the second division, told CNN the decision was the right one. His team issued a statement last Thursday stating their priority was to finish the tournament, but added that tests should first be available for frontline workers.

Without knowing when training would exactly resume, there is no point to get testedsoon," he said.

Some Spanish media reported that La Liga had hoped to start Covid-19 testing of players as early as next week, as a first step before a resumption of training.

Spains state of emergency is due to end on May 9, after almost two months. But government officials said re-opening the country will be a gradual process so as to avoid a second wave of infections.

Read this article:

The CNN and Sesame Street coronavirus town hall has begun - CNN

He's wearing an N95 mask -- something he never imagined he'd have to do in his own home.

His wife, Hibist Legesse, has been telling him their baby's kicking like crazy. He wishes he could reach over and feel it, too.

But Legesse is sitting across the room on a couch more than 10 feet away. And for weeks, this is as close to each other as they've been able to get.

Gore's just stopping by to pick up a package. Then he'll head back to the apartment where he's staying, and Legesse will get back to work.

In a matter of hours last month, they returned from the joy of a beach vacation to a jarring reality.

The city they call home has become a hotspot in a pandemic with no end in sight, and in very different ways, both of them are on the frontlines.

He's an emergency room doctor racing to save lives. She's a restaurant owner scrambling to keep her business afloat. And soon, they'll be parents for the first time.

He's fighting to save patients' lives

Code 99...Code 99...Code 99

For Gore, it's a reminder of the danger lurking at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, where intensive care units have been packed with more people on ventilators than he's ever seen.

In hospital parlance, "Code 99" means cardiac arrest. These days, Gore says it's likely to mean that someone has died, because Covid-19 has killed them.

Gore pushes forward, compartmentalizes his fears and stays focused on his patients. When he's in the ER, he knows any distraction could be the difference between life and death.

The virus wasn't a threat in a faraway place anymore. It was personal.

Gore grew up in Fort Greene and Flatbush. His elementary school is just down the street from the hospital where he works. And it seems like every day he gets a text message from a friend asking for help

Can you check on my father?

Can you check on my mom?

My aunt's there.

My neighbor's there.

We just want somebody we know to check on him.

Now Gore says health disparities are playing out in another devastating way, as marginalized communities are disproportionately impacted by the novel coronavirus.

"You can take any disease process on the planet, and if you put it in a poor, underdeveloped, unsupported area, it's going to manifest and it's going to devastate that entire community," he says, "and that's what we're seeing here in the United States right now."

But this isn't the only battle he has to fight.

They're searching for answers together

As Gore saw coronavirus cases spiking in the ER, anxiety over how the illness could affect his family was soaring at home.

It wasn't long before Gore and Legesse settled on a solution: He would move into an Airbnb. It was a difficult decision, but they took it in stride. He wouldn't be far away, only about a 10-minute drive from their home. They knew they were lucky to have the option. And at the time it seemed like such a temporary thing.

Then one week became two, and two weeks became three, and three weeks became four, and four weeks became who-knows-how-many more.

He lived in a few Airbnb locations, then switched to renting an apartment as the days wore on.

Through it all, questions keep popping up in Gore's mind.

Will I get sick?

Is it happening to me?

When can I get back to my family?

When is this going to end?

Legesse has been grilling her husband with questions of her own.

When he went back to the ER after their vacation, she was terrified he'd get sick. She asked if he was doing enough to protect himself.

In a Facetime call, he showed her all the protective gear he had.

Two masks, a face shield, goggles, a jumpsuit, booties and a cap covering his head.

Seeing it helped, even from afar. Legesse says she's proud of the way he's serving the community and worrying less now about whether he'll get sick.

Lately she's been thinking more about everything he's missing during their time apart.

They've postponed plans to set up a nursery. They're swapping baby name ideas in text messages. He's not home to feel the kicking or to see the way her body's changing every day.

Their baby boy is due in July. She hopes by then they'll all be together.

She's fighting to keep her restaurant afloat

At first, they were both so busy they barely noticed the strain of separation.

Legesse, a co-owner, has been scrambling to help employees she's known for years file for unemployment. And she's spent days applying for numerous state and federal grants and loans.

The normally packed restaurant's 12 tables are sitting empty. Only one full-time employee remains: a cook who's still serving up take-out and delivery orders.

But Legesse says the money the restaurant is making right now isn't enough. Without support from financial relief programs, she says at the end of the month she won't have enough left over to pay rent.

"We're completely stuck, with no answers, no help. From the beginning, the government was saying, 'Small businesses will not be left behind. They are the backbone of the economy,'" she says. "That positive feeling that you have is turning into fear now. As the days turn into weeks and months, you don't know if you're going to reopen. You don't know what life is going to be like for your business."

More than a decade later, she's hoping lessons she learned during the restaurant's opening days will help her weather this new crisis.

"When you're doing something during such a challenging time, you're not going to die from it. You're going to come out of it strong. You're going to figure it out. You're going to problem solve," she says. "The recession showed us -- we were definitely worried that people were not going to want to come in and spend money, but they did, and it was busy right from the start."

And for Legesse, it has. It's a business she's lived and breathed and loved for years. And she's determined to save it.

The restaurant has brought her employees and customers who she feels are like family. And unexpectedly, it brought her a husband, too.

Bati is where she and Gore first met.

He dined there frequently. And what started as a simple hello after a friend introduced them one day blossomed into a romance neither one of them expected.

They're fighting to keep their baby safe

These days, being apart is getting tougher, even though Gore and Legesse know they're lucky to be able to visit from time to time.

It's been more than four weeks since they last embraced. His check-ins from the front stoop have become less frequent as work in the ER intensifies. When they do meet, it's something to savor.

So on this Friday evening, when Gore stops by to pick up a package, that's exactly what he's trying to do. He's in the doorway. She's sitting on the couch. And he's drinking it in.

He loves seeing her and hearing how laser-focused she is on making sure the restaurant can stay open. Some people would crumble under the stress, but she just gets more organized.

Usually this is the time when he'll pull out his phone and snap a quick photo of Legesse from across the room.

He wants to remember these moments, and the way her womb is growing. It seems like she looks different every time he sees her, even when only a few days have passed.

But on this day, something different happens as Gore stands there, the front door wide open behind him.

Legesse hears the sound that's been giving her goosebumps for weeks.

Cheers and applause are erupting around the neighborhood.

Gore's never been home before to hear it.

Legesse gets up off the couch.

And she starts clapping.

She has tears in her eyes. She thinks her husband does, too, though it's hard to see his face very clearly behind the mask.

After a few minutes, the noise dies down. They stand there, a room apart -- overwhelmed by the emotion of the moment.

They don't know their baby's name yet.

They don't know what the world he's born into will look like.

They don't know whether he'll be able to go to daycare -- whether there will even be daycare.

They don't know when they'll be back to living under the same roof.

But they do know this: They are together right now -- and every day -- even when they are 10 feet or a 10-minute drive apart. And their community is with them, too.

This is the story they will tell their son someday -- the story of standing together.

See more here:

A family on the frontlines - CNN

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Indian policemen stand guard on a deserted road in New Delhi as India remains under lockdown over the coronavirus. Yawar Nazir/Getty Images hide caption

Indian policemen stand guard on a deserted road in New Delhi as India remains under lockdown over the coronavirus.

Cowering in the grass, a young Muslim man begs for his life.

He's shaking. His hands and face are bloody. His attackers beat him and threaten to douse him with fuel and set him on fire. They accuse him of intentionally trying to spread the coronavirus.

The man, identified later by authorities and neighbors as 22-year-old Mehboob Ali, was on his way home from a Muslim missionary conference in central India when he came under attack April 5 in his village of Harewali, on the northwest edge of India's capital. Ali managed to escape and was treated at a local hospital.

The assault, video of which has been shared widely in India on social media, is part of a wave of violence against Indian Muslims in recent weeks. The country's biggest religious minority, Muslims number nearly 200 million in Hindu-majority India. They have long faced abuse and violence, particularly under the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The coronavirus crisis appears to have exacerbated that. The Muslim missionary group Ali is affiliated with, Tablighi Jamaat, was criticized for holding another conference in New Delhi, which turned into one of India's biggest coronavirus hot spots. But even Muslims unaffiliated with the group say they have faced increased discrimination, harassment and attacks. The violence has been fueled, victims and observers say, by right-wing Hindu nationalist TV channels, misinformation on social media and statements from ruling party politicians.

In early March, Tablighi Jamaat an Islamic movement with tens of millions of followers worldwide held a conference at its Delhi headquarters in violation of social distancing rules. Authorities believe attendees caught COVID-19 there and then returned home, spreading the virus across India. While testing is not widespread, the Health Ministry has said about 30% of India's total COVID-19 cases have been traced to people who attended the event. Tens of thousands of people who came in contact with them have been quarantined.

On April 16, India charged one of the movement's leaders, Muhammad Saad Kandhalvi, with culpable homicide. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison. Kandhalvi remains in hiding, but his spokesman Musharraf Ali Khan issued a video statement urging followers to cooperate with police.

"Turn yourself in if you've spent time at any Jamaat events," he said. "Cooperate with police, who are trying to contact-trace you. There's no need to hide or misbehave."

His plea came amid reports of Jamaat members behaving badly. At a quarantine facility in Delhi, they reportedly spat on doctors. In neighboring Uttar Pradesh, they allegedly made inappropriate comments and dropped their pants in front of female nurses. A hospital in the same state reportedly removed female staffers from duty after Jamaat members allegedly "misbehaved" with them.

Some such reports have turned out to be untrue. But anger has nevertheless exploded across India.

"These are dangerous people, these lockdown cheats!" Arnab Goswami, a news anchor on India's popular Republic TV, shouted in a March 31 broadcast. "They have compromised us all!"

One official from Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party suggested that Jamaat members should be shot. Another, however, issued a warning.

"Nobody should speak a word against Muslims," Karnataka's chief minister, B.S. Yediyurappa, told local TV. "If anyone blames the entire Muslim community for some isolated incident, I'll take action against them."

On Sunday, after the Organization of Islamic Cooperation expressed "deep concern" over what it called "Islamophobia within political and media circles" in India, Modi tweeted a plea for "unity and brotherhood."

"COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or borders before striking," the prime minister wrote. "We are in this together."

Various other religious events, including a Hindu chariot-pulling festival, have been held across India in violation of lockdown rules. But none has garnered as much public outrage as Jamaat's Delhi conference.

The #CoronaJihad hashtag is trending on Twitter in India, implying Muslims are using the virus as a form of Islamic "holy war." It's often accompanied by videos purportedly showing Muslims spitting on food and sneezing.

"The right wing has found all these old videos and is circulating them to insinuate that Indian Muslims are knowingly spreading coronavirus and that it is equivalent to terrorist activity," explains Pratik Sinha, co-founder of AltNews, an Indian website that debunks fake news.

Sinha has been investigating such videos and says most of them are misleading.

For example, a video recorded in July 2018 before the coronavirus outbreak depicts Muslims licking plates and utensils.

"There's a sect of Muslims called the Bohra Muslims, and they have this extreme practice where they believe no food should be wasted," Sinha told NPR. "So a bunch of young boys were licking all the plates and spoons after some event and that went viral, claiming these are Muslims trying to spread coronavirus."

Muslim vendors have since been blocked from selling food, and beaten up. A cancer hospital was forced to apologize after refusing to admit Muslims unless they undergo a coronavirus test. In the southern city of Bengaluru, Muslim volunteers came under attack with cricket bats when they distributed food to the poor.

A member of that volunteer group, Zia Nomani, told NPR that men approached him at a charity food drive and identified themselves as members of the RSS the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh a Hindu group with close ties to India's government. They singled him out as a Muslim because of his clothes.

"They saw me wearing a [Muslim style of] kurta [tunic], and they started saying that we should be taught a lesson and all, and it's time you leave from here," Nomani, 28, recalls.

Another volunteer recorded the confrontation on his cellphone, and Nomani tweeted footage. He left before the argument could turn violent.

At an April 9 briefing, Vikas Swarup, an Indian government official, denied there have been any retaliatory attacks against Muslims amid contact tracing of Jamaat attendees.

"I do not think this has anything to do with a particular community," he told international reporters via video. "It has to do with contagion that has been spread as a result of an irresponsible gathering."

NPR producer Sushmita Pathak contributed to this report from Mumbai.

See original here:

In India, Muslims Are Attacked And Blamed For Spreading Coronavirus - NPR

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Air pollution has dropped to unprecedented levels across the world as major cities and countries impose lockdown measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

More than 2.6 million cases of Covid-19 and at least 183,820 deaths have been documented worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.

As humans stay inside, the environment is temporarily changing: wild animals are roaming the streets and some typically smog-filled skies are clear.

People in Punjab, India say they can see the snow peaks of the Himalayas, a view that for decades has been blocked by air pollution. New Delhi alone has recorded a 60% drop in fine particulate matter, the world's deadliest air pollutant.

Los Angeles, the traffic-congested city with some of the highest smog levels in the U.S., has seen nitrogen levels drop significantly andrush-hour traffic essentially vanish.

Despite the rare glimpse of natural beauty like snow-crested mountains and clearer skylines,scientists warn against celebrating anyshort-term benefits from the decline in air pollutionsince levels will reboundonce global restrictions lift.

Narayan Maharjan | NurPhoto | Getty Images

The Langtang range is visiblefrom Kathmandu during the sixth day the nationwide coronavirus lockdown in Nepalon March 29.The restrictionshave decreased air pollution in Kathmandu Valley, which consistently ranks among the most polluted areas in the world.

The top picture shows the India Gate war memorial on October 17, 2019, months before the nationwide lockdown. The bottom picture shows the memorial after air pollution levels began to drop during the lockdown in New Delhi on April 8.

Araya Diaz | Getty Images

Smog has cleared up over downtown Los Angeles during the coronavirus pandemic on April 17. The skyline is usuallyobscured by air pollution, but nitrogen levels have plummeted in the city since the beginning of quarantine.

Willy Kurniawan | Reuters

The top picture shows a typical view of high-rise buildings covered by smog in the Indonesian capital on July 4, 2019. The bottom picture shows the same view of Jakarta during the pandemic on April 16.

David McNew | Getty Images

Traffic plummeted on highways in Los Angeles once the virus restrictions were imposed at midnight on March 20.

Herman Lumanog | Pacific Press | LightRocket via Getty Images

In Philippines' capital city,fine particulate matter the world's deadliest air pollutantdropped by 180% since quarantine measures were imposed in Metro Manila on March 16, according tothe Environmental Pollution Studies Laboratory of The Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology.

ESA | Handout via Reuters

Satellite imagery distributed by the European Space Agency shows the decline inaverage nitrogen dioxide concentrations from air pollution across Spain from March 14 to March 25.

The Eiffel Tower is seen clearly from the Parisian suburb of Saint-Cloud on April 22.

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Photos show impact of temporary air pollution drops across the world from coronavirus lockdown - CNBC

Researchers are still trying to determine whether a positive antibody result means the patient is now immune to COVID-19.

MERIDIAN, Idaho On Wednesday, Crush the Curve Idahoannounced results for its first 48 hours of antibody and COVID-19 testing in the Treasure Valley.

A testing site is currently set up at Meridian Crossing. There, health professionals can administer a nose swab test to see if people have COVID-19. Those who believe they're already had the virus can get a small blood draw test to check for antibodies.

In its first 48 hours of testing, Crush the Curve tested 1,946 patients for antibodies. 34 patients, or 1.75%, of those tests came back positive.

Crush the Curve also tested 1,598 patients for the novel coronavirus. Of those, 49 patients, or 3.1%, came back positive.

All antibody tests were run through the University of Washington's virology lab, with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 99.6%.

Tommy Ahlquist, CEO of Saltzer Health and spokesman for Crush the Curve, explained to KTVB in a previous interview what those terms mean. The sensitivity percentage is the confidence that the test will pick up even small traces of the virus. Specificity is the confidence that it can rule out the presence of COVID-19 antibodies.

Dr. John Kaiser, chief medical officer at Saltzer Health, said right now they aren't sure what a positive result on antibodies means for patients.

The answer is we dont know with 100% certainty," he said. "We dont know with 100% certainty that its protected from re-infection. We also dont know how long that immunity if it is present how long it will last. Those are things were going to find out as we go through understanding this disease more.

That's why testing like Crush the Curve is doing is beneficial. It offers more data for health professionals to learn more about the disease.

The testing I believe is the key to our ability to continue the process of opening up and helping people understand where were at," Kaiser said. "I also think that with testing you can convince someone that you know where the disease state is at and you can take all these precautions because we arent to a point where we can just let our guard down.

Health professionals with Crush the Curve say the antibody tests are not meant to give a false sense of security. And no matter people's results, it shouldn't change their behavior and they should continue safe social distancing and sanitization practices.

Mike Boren with Clearwater Analytics, which is also part of Crush the Curve initiative, said the first wave of results is not a scientific sample. It's mean to be a starting point for data collection about the disease in Idaho.

These particular results are a small sample of people in the Treasure Valley only and are not an overall representation of the population.

"It's not a perfect, scientific example," Boren said. But let me be clear - were not going for perfection here. Were going for a better idea than we had and hopefully some good data so we can make better decisions we might not otherwise make without good data.

Boren said what these results do show so far is that there is less disease in the state than expected. It also shows that social distancing measures are working to slow the spread of the virus to more people.

Kaiser added that the results show Idaho is a long way from developing herd immunity to COVID-19.

Because the goal of the testing is to get better data about where the level of disease is in the state, Kaiser said results can also help Idahoans prepare to go back to work - and "do it wisely."

Crush the Curve plans to test 18,000 more Idahoans for antibodies by May 1. To do that, more testing sites will be set up statewide, including in Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Lewiston, Post Falls and Blaine County.

In some areas like Blaine County, Boren said the goal is to test a large majority of the population.

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Crush the Curve Idaho announces first wave of coronavirus antibody test results - KTVB.com