Category: Covid-19

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The University of Notre Dame announced on Tuesday that it would move to online instruction for at least the next two weeks in an attempt to control a growing coronavirus outbreak and would shut down the campus entirely if those measures failed to stop the spread.

If these steps are not successful, we will have to send students home, as we did last spring, Notre Dames president, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, said in a video address to students, noting that he had been inclined to take that step before consulting with health officials.

The school will also close public spaces on campus and restrict dormitories to residents.

On Tuesday, the school reported that at least 147 people on campus had tested positive since students began returning on Aug. 3 for the start of classes a week later. Eighty of those confirmed cases were added on Tuesday.

The virus is a formidable foe, Mr. Jenkins said. For the past week, it has been winning.

On Monday, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill became the first large university in the country to shut down classes after students had returned. The school moved all undergraduate courses online after 177 students tested positive and another 349 students were forced to quarantine because of possible exposure.

U.N.C., with 30,000 students, started classes on Aug. 10, the same day that courses resumed at Notre Dame, a campus of 8,600 students near South Bend, Ind. Notre Dame tested all of its students before they returned to campus, with 33 positive results.

On Tuesday, Ithaca College in upstate New York said that it would extend remote learning through the fall semester, despite initial plans to bring students back to campus in waves starting this month. In a statement, Shirley M. Collado, the president of the college, called the reversal an agonizing decision but said that bringing students here, only to send them back home, would cause unnecessary disruption in the continuity of their academic experience.

Michigan States president sent a letter Tuesday telling undergraduate students who had planned to live in campus housing to stay home. He said the university would make all of its courses available online before school starts in two weeks, with exceptions for some colleges and graduate students. And Virginia Techs president, Tim Sands, sent a letter to students pleading with them to be responsible or risk outbreaks like those on other campuses.

Across the United States, Greek life has come under particular scrutiny amid reports of outbreaks at fraternities and sororities. On Tuesday, health officials in Riley County, Kan., reported a new outbreak of cases associated with the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Kansas State University 13 members tested positive and recommended quarantine for anyone who had been in contact with those infected.

In the last few days, widely circulated images of young people congregating without masks near campus in Tuscaloosa, Ala., home of the University of Alabama, and around Dahlonega, Ga., home of the University of North Georgia, have raised concerns about students cavalier attitudes to social distancing measures

A Notre Dame spokesman said a significant number of its cases were connected to two off-campus parties where students, mostly seniors, did not wear masks or practice social distancing. Most of those who have tested positive live in off-campus housing, the spokesman, Paul Brown, said.

Both North Carolina and Notre Dame said athletic teams were unaffected. Notre Dame is ordinarily an independent in football but is planning to play this fall in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which also counts North Carolina as a member. Unlike the Pac-12 and the Big Ten, the A.C.C. has not yet abandoned its fall season.

Beyond the immediate matter of whether sports like football should be played this autumn, this weeks approach by North Carolina could ultimately factor into debates over players rights and whether the hyphen in student-athlete might be more properly replaced with or.

The optics arent very good, if you take the principle that all college athletes are students first, said Walter Harrison, a former president of the University of Hartford who once was chairman of the committee that evolved into the N.C.A.A.s top governing body.

More speakers at the Democratic National Convention discussed the pandemic.

In virtual addresses leading up to the formal nomination of Joseph R. Biden Jr. for the presidency on Tuesday night, the party faithful who spoke on the second night of the Democratic National Convention expanded the events focus beyond the coronavirus crisis.

But while the bulk of the speeches addressed themes like national security, presidential accountability and continuity between past and future leaders of the party, the virus still made a few high-profile cameos:

Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee invited Democrats to come to his city once the coronavirus crisis had passed. Unlike the president, we never made fun of face masks, he said. We understand why we cant be together this week, and we hope you do too.

Former President Bill Clinton accused President Trump of downplaying the virus crisis, and of collapsing under the pressure of a real management challenge. At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command center, he said. Instead, its a storm center. Theres only chaos. Just one thing never changes his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. The buck never stops there.

Jill Biden, Mr. Bidens wife and a former high school English teacher, expressed heartache over the losses from the coronavirus, as well as the frustration and fear it was inspiring among parents of schoolchildren. Like so many of you, Im left asking, How do I keep my family safe? she said.

The conventions central event its roll call vote was drastically revamped to accommodate the constraints imposed by the pandemic. This year, it consisted of a series of pretaped recordings of delegates listing their vote tallies, replacing the iconic and photogenic ritual of delegates shouting their states numbers into a hand-held microphone.

Earlier this summer, Trump administration officials hailed a new strategy for catching coronavirus infections: pooled testing.

The decades-old approach combines samples from multiple people to save time and precious testing supplies. Federal health officials like Dr. Anthony S. Fauci and Adm. Brett Giroir said pooling would allow for constant surveillance of large sectors of the community, and said they hoped it would be up and running nationwide by the time students returned to school.

But now, when the nation desperately needs more tests to get a handle on the viruss spread, this efficient approach has become worthless in many places, in part because there are simply too many cases to catch.

Pooled testing only works when the vast majority of batches test negative, among other drawbacks with the procedure. If the proportion of positives is too high, more pools come up positive requiring each individual sample to then be retested, wasting precious chemicals.

Nebraskas state public health laboratory, for example, was a pooling trailblazer when it began combining five samples a test in mid-March, cutting the number of necessary tests by about half.

But the lab was forced to halt its streak on April 27, when local positivity rates the proportion of tests that turn up positive surged past 10 percent. With that many positives, there was little benefit in pooling.

Its definitely frustrating, said Dr. Baha Abdalhamid, the assistant director of the laboratory. In combination with physical distancing and mask wearing, pooling could have helped keep the virus in check, he added. But the pooling window, for now, has slammed shut.

Still, the strategy has made significant headway in some parts of the country. In New York, where test positivity rates have held at or below 1 percent since June, universities, hospitals, private companies and public health labs are using the technique in a variety of settings, often to catch people who arent feeling sick, said Gareth Rhodes, an aide to the governor and a member of his virus response team. Last week, the State University of New York was cleared to start combining up to 25 samples at once.

Elsewhere in the U.S.:

More than 43,200 new cases and more than 1,340 new deaths were reported across the country on Tuesday. Officials in Kentucky reported 19 additional deaths today, a single-day record, for a total of 859 deaths in that state since the pandemic began.

After an outcry over cost-cutting moves at the Postal Service that prompted allegations that the Trump administration was trying to disenfranchise voters who planned to mail in their ballots for the 2020 election, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said Tuesday that those operational changes would be suspended until after the 2020 election. Mr. DeJoy, a major donor to President Trump, said in a statement that he was suspending the changes to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail. The changes included reducing post office hours, removing postal boxes and eliminating overtime for mail carriers.

Idaho, one of the states where new cases peaked this summer, is doing the least amount of testing in the country necessary to understand and contain the virus, according to a New York Times database. The United States is testing 52 percent of what it should be to slow the spread of the virus, according to a model developed by Harvard researchers, and Idaho is hitting just 16 percent of the daily testing it needs to be doing.

The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Tuesday, a remarkable display of investor optimism despite an economic decline that has sent unemployment soaring. Technology stocks played a big role in the gains, which were also fueled by the trillions of dollars pumped into financial markets by the Federal Reserve and enormous spending by the government to protect American workers and businesses from the worst of the downturn.

Senate Republicans on Tuesday began circulating text of a narrow coronavirus relief package that would revive extra unemployment benefits at half the original rate, shield businesses from lawsuits related to the virus and provide funding for testing and schools. The draft measure appears to be an effort to break through the political stalemate over providing another round of economic stimulus to Americans during the pandemic. But it is unlikely to alter the debate in Washington, where Democrats have repeatedly rejected previous Republican offers as insufficient. The new bill would spend less money, in fewer areas, than those earlier offers.

Covid-19 strike teams apply an emergency response model traditionally used in natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires to combating outbreaks in long-term care facilities. Composed of about eight to 10 members from local emergency management departments, health departments, nonprofits, private businesses and at times, the National Guard the teams are designed to bring more resources and personnel to a disaster scene.

The eight N.B.A. teams that did not qualify for the seasons restart at Walt Disney World in Florida last month can create bubbles and hold voluntary group workouts at their team facilities beginning in mid-September, the league and its players union announced on Tuesday. The announcement by the league is an indication that the N.B.A. has faith in its approach and feels comfortable expanding it, even as the pandemic continues to affect lives daily in the United States.

Australia signs a deal for a coronavirus vaccine, promising free doses for all citizens.

The Australian government has signed a deal with the drugmaker AstraZeneca to secure a potential coronavirus vaccine, and promised to offer it free to its 25 million citizens if clinical trials were successful.

The vaccine, a partnership between the British-Swedish drug maker and Oxford University, is in Phase III clinical trials. As of July, more than 10,000 participants in Britain, Brazil and South Africa had received doses.

The Oxford vaccine is one of the most advanced and promising in the world, and under this deal we have secured early access for every Australian, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement on Wednesday.

He added that the vaccine doses would be manufactured domestically for its citizens, and that his office was working to secure early access for countries in Southeast Asia and those in Australias Pacific family.

Australia has also signed a $17.9 million deal with the U.S. medical technology company Becton Dickinson to supply needles and syringes.

Mr. Morrison said that Australia had so far invested $185 million in coronavirus vaccines, but did not specify the value of the AstraZeneca deal. Local news reports have estimated that the countrys overall plan to acquire vaccines would be worth billions of dollars.

The partnership between Oxford and AstraZeneca is among the most closely watched coronavirus vaccine efforts in the world. It was also the first to enter Phase III trials, and several countries including Britain and the United States have already agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for a total of two billion doses even before the vaccines efficacy has been proven.

On Wednesday, Mr. Morrison cautioned that there was no guarantee that this, or any other, vaccine will be successful, and that his government was casting its net wide to find a vaccine.

Australia has reported 23,773 cases and 438 deaths. A recent outbreak in Melbourne, the countrys second-largest city, led to a lockdown with some of the toughest restrictions in the world.

The Philippines largely reopened for business on Wednesday, against the advice of some health experts.

The Philippines has nearly 170,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, including nearly 30,000 that were reported in the past week, according to a New York Times database. Its total caseload is the highest in Southeast Asia.

Under the rules that took effect on Wednesday, more industries were allowed to open, limited church services were allowed to resume, and restaurants welcomed dine-in customers. The rules apply in and around Manila, the capital, and several outlying provinces, a region that has been under various stages of lockdown since March.

Almost all industries will reopen, except for those that attract mass gatherings like amusement parks, said Harry Roque, a spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte.

The easing of the lockdown was designed to revive a flagging economy that has taken a beating from the virus and that has officially slipped into recession in the second quarter. Mr. Dutertes government has insisted that the majority of those infected in recent weeks have shown mild symptoms.

But health experts have warned that lifting lockdowns too quickly would lead to more cases and deaths. Nearly all of Manilas hospitals are under severe strain.

Its really counterintuitive to reopen the economy amidst the steep rise of cases and the presence of fully loaded hospitals, Dr. Anthony Leachon, a former adviser to Mr. Dutertes government on the pandemic, said in an interview.

Businesses are caught in the middle, and some are now reopening again in desperation.

We need to survive, said Ben Razon, the owner of the Oarhouse restaurant and bar in central Manila, as he reopened on Wednesday. He last closed for a lockdown that began on Aug. 3.

Mr. Razon said the restaurants regular crowd had evaporated in recent months because of nighttime curfews, forcing him to adjust to daytime dining.

I have had to assist my own crew from savings out of my own pocket in order for us to stay together as a small enterprise and be able to resume once regular operating hours resume, he added. In the meantime, we have to help each other.

In other developments around the world:

South Korea reported 297 new infections on Wednesday, its highest daily rise since March. Kim Gang-lip, a senior health official, warned that new infections in and around Seoul, the capital, could lead to massive nationwide transmission. The country of about 51 million people has reported more than 16,000 confirmed infections during the pandemic, including more than 1,300 in the past week, according to a Times database.

Sweden has temporarily recalled its diplomats from North Korea, citing increasing difficulties with travel and diplomatic postings, in part because of the pandemic. The Swedish embassy remains open with local staff, and Sweden is engaged in dialogue with North Korea on these subjects, a spokesman for the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs said.

A tropical cyclone that passed near Hong Kong on Tuesday night created an added complication for travelers, disrupting flights and delaying the results of virus tests that are conducted on arrival before passengers begin their compulsory 14-day quarantine. Collection points for the saliva samples that people are required to take on their 10th day in quarantine were also suspended.

Greece has locked down two facilities for migrants where new infections have been traced, after another overcrowded reception center was put under lockdown last week, the government said. The infections are part of a recent spike in the number of cases in Greece, which has weathered the pandemic relatively well so far, with just over 7,200 confirmed cases and 230 deaths. But the authorities this week introduced new restrictions to address local outbreaks and have warned of more measures if the upward trend continues.

Countries putting their own interests ahead of others in trying to ensure supplies of a possible coronavirus vaccine are making the pandemic worse, the director general of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. No one is safe until everyone is safe, the agencys leader, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said during a briefing in Geneva. The organization also said the pandemic was now being driven by young people, many of whom were unaware they were infected, posing a danger to vulnerable groups.

Teachers in at least six Tennessee public school districts who may have been exposed to coronavirus can be required to teach in person anyway, under policies approved by their districts.

The districts, located in six counties in eastern and central Tennessee, are adapting C.D.C. guidelines for essential workers, according to Beth Brown, president of the Tennessee Education Association, a teachers organization. District officials did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Under C.D.C. guidelines, most people are supposed to go into quarantine for 14 days after possible exposure. But the school districts say teachers may be expected to forego quarantine and keep working as long as they do not show symptoms, provided that additional precautions are implemented to protect them and the community.

Researchers have found that people who have caught the virus can spread it before they show symptoms, or without ever developing them.

John C. Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, another teachers organization, said he expected more districts to adopt the same policies, because of a shortage of substitute teachers to cover for any who are quarantined. And he said he expected to see some teachers quit their jobs because of the policies.

Teachers are afraid, Mr. Bowman said. You can open up the school buildings all day long thats the easy part. But without healthy educators and staff available, theyre just buildings.

Some schools in Tennessee have been open for almost three weeks, and a few have seen virus-related disruptions. In Putnam County, at least 80 students have been quarantined because of a potential coronavirus exposure, and a middle school and a high school in Maury County postponed reopening by a few days because teachers were in quarantine.

The Tennessee Departments of Health and Education issued a joint letter to school superintendents in the state on Tuesday requiring that school districts adhere to mandatory measures for critical infrastructure school staff who have been exposed to the coronavirus. The measures include wearing a face covering at school, maintaining six feet of distance from others, and quarantining when not attending school.

With more than 400 shops, the Singapore Changi Airport would be the fourth-largest mall by the number of tenants if it were in the United States.

The combination of an often affluent and captive audience has made airport commercial square footage some of the most lucrative in the world. But the pandemic has crushed the commercial calculus at airports, and no one is sure what comes next.

The leading airport for concession and retail sales in the United States is Los Angeles International, with revenue of $3,036 a square foot, according to a 2018 report from Airport Experience News. By comparison, the average mall retailer is around $325 per square foot, according to 2017 data from CoStar.

But thats all gone now, said Alan Gluck, a senior aviation consultant at ICF. In general, sales are in the toilet, he said.

The very amenities that once made airports a standout for profit are the same things that are proving to be challenging.

So far, the pandemic has not paused terminals planned or in progress in the United States. Projects already underway, including at La Guardia Airport in New York and in smaller markets like Lafayette, La., are moving ahead, but taking a wait-and-see approach on adjustments.

New terminal construction should focus on space not just for the coronavirus but other respiratory illnesses, said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

New terminals needed to allow enough space for people to spread out, offer high-efficiency particulate air filtration and distribute free masks. He would also like to see more health screening at airports.

You cant throw up your hands and say it is impossible, Dr. Fauci said.

The number of known deaths in prisons, jails and other correctional facilities among prisoners and correctional officers has surpassed 1,000, according to a New York Times database tracking deaths in correctional institutions.

The number of deaths in state and federal prisons, local jails and immigration detention centers which stood at 1,002 on Tuesday morning has increased by about 40 percent during the past six weeks, according to the database. There have been nearly 160,000 infections among prisoners and guards.

The actual number of deaths is almost certainly higher because jails and prisons perform limited testing on inmates, including many facilities that decline to test prisoners who die after exhibiting symptoms consistent with the coronavirus.

A recent study showed that prisoners are infected at a rate more than five times the nations overall rate. The death rate of inmates is also higher than the national rate 39 deaths per 100,000 compared to 29 deaths per 100,000.

The Timess database tracks coronavirus infections and deaths among inmates and correctional officers at some 2,500 prisons, jails and immigration detention centers.

The nations largest known virus cluster is at San Quentin State Prison in California, where more than 2,600 inmates and guards have been sickened and 25 inmates have died after a botched transfer of inmates in May. Its the perfect environment for people to die in which people are, said Juan Moreno Haines, an inmate at San Quentin.

After a substantial reduction in cases, the virus roars anew in France.

Faced with a recent resurgence of cases, officials in France have made mask wearing mandatory in business spaces across the country, pleading with people not to let down their guard and jeopardize the hard-won gains made against the virus during a two-month lockdown this spring.

The government on Tuesday announced the mandate for mask wearing in business spaces, building on mask policies that had been in place. France cannot wait for the health situation to get worse, Elisabeth Borne, the French labor minister, wrote on Twitter. With our business partners, we want to take every precaution to avoid the propagation of the virus, to protect workers and guarantee the continuity of economic activity.

The signs of a new wave of infection emerged over the summer as people began resuming much of their pre-virus lives, traveling across France and socializing in cafes, restaurants and parks. Many, especially the young, have visibly relaxed their vigilance.

In recent days, France has recorded about 3,000 new infections every day, roughly double the figure at the beginning of the month, and the authorities are investigating an increasing number of clusters.

Thirty percent of the new infections are in young adults, ages 15 to 44, according to a recent report. Since they are less likely to develop serious forms of the illness, deaths and the number of patients in intensive care remain at a fraction of what they were at the height of the pandemic. Still, officials are not taking any chances.

Updated August 17, 2020

The indicators are bad, the signals are worrying, and the situation is deteriorating, Jrme Salomon, the French health ministry director, told the radio station France Inter last week. The fate of the epidemic is in our hands.

France has suffered more than 30,400 deaths from the virus one of the worlds worst tolls and experienced an economically devastating lockdown from mid-March to mid-May. Thanks to the lockdown, however, France succeeded in stopping the spread of the virus and lifted most restrictions at the start of summer.

The course of the pandemic in Europe has followed a somewhat similar trend, with Spain also reporting new local clusters. But important disparities exist among countries. In the past week, as France reported more than 16,000 new cases, Britain reported 7,000, and Italy 3,000, according to data collected by The Times.

The young people crowded into the pool, standing shoulder to shoulder, as they listened to a D.J. No one was wearing a mask, and no one seemed to care.

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Covid-19: Live Updates - The New York Times

According to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, today were all still wearing masks and watching the pandemics body count rise because the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] failed in its promises to the world. This was the most prominent recent example of the Trump administration blaming China, particularly the Chinese Communist Party, for the COVID-19 pandemic that surfaced in Wuhan, Hubei Province at the end of 2019. China, in turn, has accused the United States of mismanagement and failure to take the pandemic seriously.

The Chinese party-state did mishandle aspects of the initial outbreak. But based on what we now know about COVID-19s early and asymptomatic transmission and many countries ineffective responses, it is not clear that greater transparency in the first weeks would have prevented its spread overseas. Given both this uncertainty and that COVID-19 is the most devastating global health and economic crisis since World War II, the United States and China should end the blame game over the pandemic, collaborate to conquer it, and lay the groundwork for more effectively handling future outbreaks.

Beginning December 27, doctors in Wuhan reported several cases of an unusual pneumonia, seemingly associated with a wet market selling wild animals. Wuhan health authorities quickly investigated and, amid social media leaks, publicly announced details about the outbreak on December 31, closing the suspect market on January 1. National health authorities took control over the investigation, and Chinese scientists rapidly identified a new coronavirus, preliminarily confirmed it as the cause of the atypical pneumonia, completely sequenced its genome in record time, developed testing kits, and published multiple sequences through globally-accessible databases on January 11, thereby enabling health facilities around the world to detect cases and manage spread.

But Chinese authorities mismanaged public risk communication about the outbreak. They did not immediately notify the World Health Organization (WHO) as required of its member states, although the WHO obtained information on December 31 from other sources. Chinese authorities rebuffed requests for samples and offers to assist with epidemiological investigations from the WHO and U.S. government. Initially focused on a theory of animal-borne disease, they downplayed though never denied the possibility of highly-infectious human-to-human transmission. In updates during the outbreaks first critical weeks, Wuhan officials advised residents to guard against seasonal infectious diseases by wearing masks, avoiding closed or crowded spaces, and seeing a doctor if experiencing fever or respiratory symptoms, but did not highlight increased potential risk from the outbreak.

Moreover, Chinese health authorities prohibited unauthorized disclosure by doctors and researchers, reported no new cases for almost two weeks while Wuhan held local political meetings, and censured individuals including the posthumously exonerated whistleblower Dr. Li Wenliang, who died from the virus for sharing information concerning its emergence and spread. Health experts continued to publicly characterize the risk of sustained human-to-human transmission as low, even after a Wuhan-related case in Thailand prompted national health authorities to convene a January 14 teleconference with provincial officials that acknowledged internally the virus potential human-to-human transmission. Officials activated, but did not publicize, a top-level public health emergency on January 15, despite concurrently strengthening containment measures in Wuhan and launching a nationwide case detection effort. By January 20, when Chinas leaders announced a national offensive to contain the disease, and publicly confirmed its spread through human-to-human transmission, Wuhan hospitals were overwhelmed, and the first U.S. case was confirmed.

Beijing insists China acted with transparency and responsibility in its fight against COVID-19. After acknowledging the epidemic, authorities instituted daily COVID-19 briefings; periodically updated the U.S., the WHO, and other overseas counterparts; demanded timely information disclosure domestically; and collaborated on scientific contributions with other countries. Chinese President Xi Jinping has, however, conceded weak links in, and called for improving, Chinas public health emergency system, including early warning and direct reporting of infectious diseases and ensuring prompt and transparent epidemic information release. Regardless, Beijings initial understating of the possibility of human-to-human transmission, refusal of repeated offers of assistance from the U.S. and others, early and continued non-disclosure and suppression of relevant information, and resistance to calls for an independent investigation into the origins and development of COVID-19 in China both eroded international trust in Chinas data and transparency and contributed to the downward spiral in U.S.-China relations.

Earlier transparency by Chinas health authorities about COVID-19 and earlier willingness to take measures to inhibit its transmission might have slowed its spread and saved lives, especially within Wuhan, which bore the brunt of Chinas COVID-19 infections and deaths. A retrospective study estimates that, if China had taken such measures three weeks before Wuhans lockdown on January 23 by which time four million travelers had already departed Wuhan for Chinese New Year infections could have been reduced by 95%, and by 66%, if taken just one week earlier.

However, greater initial transparency from China would not necessarily have prevented the worldwide spread of the disease. With relatively few confirmed patients in the first weeks and not yet understanding that up to 80% of COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic, or have mild symptoms, it seems unlikely that officials would have restrained people without suspicious symptoms from traveling, or have locked down Wuhan, before the outbreak exploded in late January.

Moreover, retrospective studies indicate the virus was silently circulating abroad before Wuhan doctors first detected it, including in France by November 16 and in Italy by December 18. Doctors who re-tested samples from respiratory patients in France speculate that the virus dispersed sporadically after the first case in mid-November, accelerated during year-end holiday events, and took off in epidemic proportions after a late February religious gathering. A similar pattern of slow spread with limited detection, followed by acceleration and explosion, played out in the U.S. and other countries.

More importantly, while some countries performed well, many other countries, including the United States, did not adopt aggressive testing, contact tracing, social distancing, and other measures that China successfully deployed to contain spread outside Wuhan, even after Chinese authorities and scientists confirmed human-to-human transmission on January 20, locked Wuhan down on January 23, and warned in a January 24 Lancet paper of a novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern.

Chinas political environment, which emphasizes social stability and control of information and speech through the CCPs comprehensive leadership, was a likely factor in official reluctance to admit the possibility of human-to-human transmission or permit public discussion of the evolving disease. Politics may also explain why no new cases were reported during Wuhans political meetings in mid-January. Other parts of the story reportedly include near-universal scientific and bureaucratic caution, marginalization and lack of autonomy of scientific and medical expertise, and concern about prematurely precipitating a public panic, triggering economic impacts and disrupting Chinas family-oriented national holiday.

China certainly mishandled information about COVID-19 in the early days. But the U.S. government also mishandled information it had. Despite all the evidence by the time of the Wuhan lockdown, the U.S. government downplayed the threat and failed to prepare for the near-certain spread of the disease here. The fact that the United States suffers the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the world is in large part the result of our own leaders actions and inactions. Blaming China without also blaming ourselves is not an honest reckoning.

The more important point, however, is that the blame game has been and remains a serious distraction from the essential and difficult work needed to control this terrible disease. The COVID-19 pandemic is incredibly complex, as are the political, economic, and social factors at play in Chinas and other countries responses. A full, official reckoning covering Chinas conduct when COVID-19 first emerged and the United States failure to combat COVID-19 as effectively as it could have must wait until the pandemic subsides.

The blame game has been and remains a serious distraction from the essential and difficult work needed to control this terrible disease.

Meanwhile, rather than engaging in mutual accusations, the U.S. and China should call a truce and work together through diplomatic and private channels to develop effective COVID-19 diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines. In line with Chinas call to depoliticize the pandemic and let the scientists figure out how COVID-19 emerged, a joint U.S.-China investigation of the origin of the pandemic, preferably coordinated with or as part of the WHO initiative now under development with China, might remove COVID-19 from the list of issues driving the two countries apart. Such cooperation is supported by a majority of the American public, despite a rise in unfavorable sentiment toward China, and would be welcomed by the scientific and international communities.

We are all trying to figure out how this new and insidious disease impacts our bodies, societies, and economies, and what a post-COVID-19 world and world order will look like. We can learn much from the successes and failures of China and the rest of the world dealing with COVID-19, as well as the re-opening process. Going forward, the United States and the world will greatly benefit if the U.S. and China work together to strengthen public health systems and to better address future pandemics.

James Haynes assisted with research and editing for this piece.

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Lets end the COVID-19 blame game: Reconsidering Chinas role in the pandemic - Brookings Institution

(CNN) Sitting squeezed between a number of strangers on board an aircraft might feel like a risky position during these uncertain times.

But according to some experts who point to the very few documented cases of in-flight transmission, the chances of catching Covid-19 while on board a flight are actually relatively slim.

Fear of flying during the pandemic has drastically reduced global air traffic, which has also been restricted due to border closures. If new scientific claims are borne out, the perceived heightened risk of boarding an airplane could be unfounded.

And while there have certainly been cases of infected passengers passing the virus on to an airplane's crew or fellow travelers in recent months, the transmission rates are low.

Two passengers developed infections after flying with a group of tourists who had come into contact with an infected hotel manager and also became infected, according to researchers from the Institute for Medical Virology at Goethe University in Frankfurt.

The two who may have been infected were seated at the back of the aircraft, directly across the aisle from seven passengers who had unknowingly picked up the virus.

Meanwhile, various new protocols have been implemented, such as face-coverings for both passengers and crew, which is mandatory on most airlines, temperature screenings, as well as more intensive cabin cleaning and limited movement in the cabin during flight.

Arnold Barnett, a professor of statistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, tried to quantify the odds of becoming infected with the virus while on board a short flight in a recent study that looked at the benefits of the empty middle seat policy.

Low transmission risk

The odds of a passenger catching Covid-19 on a flight and dying from the virus are less than one in half a million.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

According to his findings, based on short haul flights in the US on aircraft configured with three seats on either side of the aisle, such as the Airbus 320 and the Boeing 737 -- and assuming everyone is wearing a mask -- the risk of catching the virus on a full flight is just 1 in 4,300. Those odds fall to 1 in 7,700 if the middle seat is vacant.

"Most things are more dangerous now than they were before Covid, and aviation is no exception to that," he tells CNN Travel.

"But three things have to go wrong for you to get infected (on a flight). There has to be a Covid-19 patient on board and they have to be contagious," he says. "If there is such a person on your flight, assuming they are wearing a mask, it has to fail to prevent the transmission.

"They also have to be close enough that there's a danger you could suffer from the transmission."

Barnett says he took all of these probabilities into account before determining an overall transmission risk.

The odds will be lower for flights taken in parts of the globe with few cases and higher for long haul flights as "the ratio of proximity is a factor along with the existence of proximity," he says.

Barnett goes on to state that there isn't much of a difference in terms of risk between passengers sitting in an aisle seat on a full flight and those in the window seat.

However, the chances of becoming infected are ever so slightly higher for those in aisle seats, because they simply have more people around them.

"You're endangered by the people sitting next to you in the same row," he says. "And to a lesser extent, the people in the row behind and the row ahead.

"Statistically, the window seat is a little safer than the middle seat or the aisle seat on a plane that's full. But it's not a big difference."

Fewer fliers

Many major airports around the world are still almost empty due to the impact of the pandemic.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Barnett's research is based on the assumption that flights are operating at full volume, but it's worth noting that many are still running at reduced capacity.

"Screening, face coverings and masks are among the many layers of measures that we are recommending," Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's Director General and CEO said in an official statement released last month. "Leaving the middle seat empty, however, is not."

De Juniac goes on to suggest that an effective Covid-19 test that can be administered at scale, and immunity passports could also be included as temporary biosecurity measures if they become available.

"We must arrive at a solution that gives passengers the confidence to fly and keeps the cost of flying affordable," he adds. "One without the other will have no lasting benefit."

Although different airlines have slightly different measures in place, the overall guidance for passengers is to wear a mask, wash their hands regularly and check in online to minimize the risks of in flight transmission.

Enhanced protection

Some experts have suggested that passengers should wear a shield as well as a mask for greater protection.

Raul Sifuentes/Getty Images

However, Barnett recommends that travelers take things one step further by wearing a shield.

"There are various things that can be done to take the risk, which is small, and make it even smaller," he says.

"Because it (a shield) covers your eyes, nose and mouth, it lessens the risk of others infecting you.

"The science is changing every day, but my understanding is, if you wear a mask, it greatly reduces the chance of you infecting others. But it doesn't protect you all that much, whereas a shield will protect you.

"If I were flying now, I would certainly wear a shield."

This view is somewhat supported by a new research report from the UK's University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University, which concludes that using plastic barriers called personal protection seat shields will reduce the risk of Covid-19 contamination significantly, provided they are worn with face masks.

It recommends that aircraft seats be fitted with personal protection windows (PPW,) clear plastic barriers designed by UK-based aircraft interior and exterior specialist RAS Completions, which can be secured to the back and sides of any seat on an airplane.

"Our recommendation is that airlines should make face masks mandatory, and if used in conjunction with PPW and regular cleaning of PPW, Covid-19 contamination risk is kept to a minimum," say the report's co-author Dr. Cathal Cummins, an assistant professor at Heriot-Watt University, also in Edinburgh.

"If all three measures are mandatory, together with good personal hygiene, airlines can increase passenger protection."

High-risk groups

In July, Qatar Airways became the first airline to make it compulsory for passengers to wear a face shield in addition to a face mask or face covering.

The shields, which are supplied by the carrier, are obligatory for economy class passengers, unless they're eating or drinking, while those traveling in business class can wear them "at their own discretion, as they enjoy more space and privacy."

However, all passengers must wear them during boarding and deplaning.

Before boarding their flight, customers traveling with the Middle East carrier will be issued with protection kits -- including face shields, hand sanitizer, a surgical face mask and disposable gloves.

Barnett stresses that it will take the development of a vaccine or a change in the care available to Covid-19 patients for those anxious travelers to feel comfortable flying again, regardless of how many safety measures are put in place.

"I miss it quite a bit," he admits. "I think flying is beautiful and under normal circumstances inordinately safe.

"But these are not normal circumstances."

CNN Health's Naomi Thomas contributed to this story

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The odds of catching Covid-19 on an airplane are slimmer than you think, scientists say - CNN

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47-year-old father of three died just days after COVID-19 diagnosis - KMOV.com

The West Virginia Department of Health andHuman Resources (DHHR) reportsas of 10:00 a.m., on August 18, 2020, there have been 365,551 total confirmatory laboratory results receivedfor COVID-19, with 8,731 total cases and 164 deaths.

DHHR has confirmed the deaths of a 90-yearold male from Logan County, an 80-year old male from Raleigh County, a 74-yearold male from Raleigh County, and an 86-year old male from Kanawha County. Wemourn the heartbreaking loss of these West Virginians and send our deepestsympathies to their loved ones, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary.

CASESPER COUNTY: Barbour (33), Berkeley (745), Boone(123), Braxton (8), Brooke (79), Cabell (466), Calhoun (7), Clay (18),Doddridge (6), Fayette (175), Gilmer (18), Grant (131), Greenbrier (96),Hampshire (90), Hancock (113), Hardy (64), Harrison (245), Jackson (169),Jefferson (310), Kanawha (1,113), Lewis (28), Lincoln (110), Logan (374),Marion (202), Marshall (130), Mason (75), McDowell (66), Mercer (244), Mineral(129), Mingo (204), Monongalia (1,001), Monroe (20), Morgan (33), Nicholas(40), Ohio (285), Pendleton (43), Pleasants (14), Pocahontas (42), Preston(131), Putnam (227), Raleigh (306), Randolph (217), Ritchie (3), Roane (20),Summers (19), Taylor (84), Tucker (11), Tyler (15), Upshur (40), Wayne (220),Webster (6), Wetzel (44), Wirt (7), Wood (285), Wyoming (47).

Pleasenote that delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from thelocal health department to DHHR. As case surveillance continues at the localhealth department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain countymay not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual inquestion may have crossed the state border to be tested.Such is the case of Hancock,McDowell, Wayne, and Wyoming counties inthis report.

Thedashboard located at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov has been updated to include theschool alert system, a 7-day trend and a cumulative summary among many otherfeatures.

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COVID-19 Daily Update 8-18-2020 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

Researchers have learned a lot about the new coronavirus in the 233 days since officials in China reported cases of a then-unknown disease to the World Health Organization. Much of what theyve learned upended their early assumptions about the virus. The changes arent just hard to keep track of; they also make it hard to adjust to new recommendations.

Initially, researchers thought it spread almost entirely through droplets of mucus or spit between people in close proximity. Now, we know it can spread through the air. Researchers thought that it was mostly passed between people with obvious symptoms. Now we know that people can contract the virus and never be visibly sick.

During an emergency like a pandemic, its entirely normal for conclusions to change quickly as new information emerges. But even though its normal, it can feel like whiplash trying to keep up with the research. Its even harder because people are prone to grabbing on to the first piece of information they learn about a topic. Once they do, that initial impression is hard to dislodge. Its a phenomenon called anchoring bias.

We tend to kind of seize on the first bit of information that we get, and then that becomes a reference point against which we judge all other information, says Bradley Adame, an associate professor of communication at Arizona State University.

Psychological phenomena like this are supposed to be helpful. They give us shortcuts to think through problems, saving time. It takes less mental energy to make a decision based on information you already have than it would to make one without that context. But the bias becomes a problem in situations like a pandemic when the best thing to do is constantly adjust your thinking based on new information. If someone anchors on to the first set of details, they might be less likely to follow or understand recommendations based on an update.

In the early weeks and months of the pandemic, for example, US experts and the WHO said that people shouldnt wear masks in their day-to-day lives. At the time, most people thought the coronavirus spread through close contact with people who were sick and that only people who showed symptoms could spread the disease. Some people were in favor of masks, but most major public health organizations recommended against them in part because they were worried about shortages.

Then research started showing that the virus spreads through tinier particles that lingered in the air, and that people who didnt feel sick could still be contagious. Under that updated paradigm, masks were important and could help stop the spread of disease. Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that people should wear cloth masks in public settings.

But the early message that masks werent necessary was hard to dislodge. People pick up the very first version of the guidelines, and the perception that masks actually are not that effective, and they stick to that, says Taha Yasseri, an associate professor of sociology at University College Dublin. Its very hard to update that information.

Another sticky idea was that most cases of COVID-19 were mild and that symptoms would pass in a week or two. As the months passed, though, some people with mild cases that didnt require hospitalization started reporting that theyd had debilitating symptoms for months. So-called long-haulers are slowly getting more recognition, but many say they have a hard time getting help or even recognition from doctors because the early narrative that the illness would pass is still pervasive.

People also continue to cite the fatality rate of COVID-19, which is around 1 percent, as a reason to not worry about its impact, Adame says. People seem to anchor onto that piece of information and use it to make all sorts of other judgements, he says. They dont consider the raw number of people who have died or the long-term effects of catching (but not dying from) the disease. All of that is neglected when we anchor to that seemingly low death rate. That low number is a mischaracterization of whats actually happening, Adame says.

Statistics and numbers like the fatality rate are particularly easy to anchor on, Yasseri says. Messaging should avoid emphasizing them because they change frequently and can be misleading. Perceptions get formed around the first numbers, he says, and it takes a lot of mental effort to constantly update those numbers within a mental store of information.

Just knowing that anchoring bias exists isnt enough to stop it from happening. Experiments show that, even when people are told that theyll probably anchor on an early bit of information, they still do it. Its a very powerful cognitive process, Adame says.

What can dislodge anchors are other psychological factors that we use to make decisions. If we hear a message from a source we find trustworthy, that information is sticky, too. And if we hear the same message repeated from multiple trustworthy sources, that also helps scrape away outdated information and replace it with updated facts. Most people are then inclined to follow that lead, Adame says. Those supersede the anchoring bias.

The US response to the pandemic, though, has been characterized by mixed and contradictory messaging, and public health groups that most people find trustworthy (like the CDC) have been sidelined. What we have is inconsistent messaging, sometimes from the same source, Rob Blair, an assistant professor of political science and international and public affairs at Brown University, told The Verge in April.

Without trustworthy, strategic messaging, theres nothing to overpower the initial anchoring bias people instinctively have when they get new information. If we had leaders who were motivated to protect people, they could unify as a singular voice, Adame says. All of a sudden, that bias is mitigated.

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For COVID-19 facts, first impressions matter - The Verge

The West Virginia Department of Health andHuman Resources (DHHR) reportsas of 10:00 a.m., on August 19, 2020, there have been 369,546 total confirmatory laboratory results receivedfor COVID-19, with 8,801 total cases and 166 deaths.

DHHRhas confirmed the deaths of a 72-year old female fromCabell County and a 69-year old female from Kanawha County. Each deathreported is a solemn reminder of the seriousness of this disease, said Bill J.Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary. We send our sympathy to these families andurge all West Virginians to continue following the guidelines to protect eachother.

CASESPER COUNTY: Barbour (33), Berkeley (748), Boone(124), Braxton (10), Brooke (79), Cabell (478), Calhoun (7), Clay (18),Doddridge (6), Fayette (178), Gilmer (18), Grant (131), Greenbrier (95),Hampshire (90), Hancock (115), Hardy (64), Harrison (247), Jackson (172),Jefferson (309), Kanawha (1,122), Lewis (28), Lincoln (111), Logan (380),Marion (203), Marshall (131), Mason (77), McDowell (67), Mercer (245), Mineral(128), Mingo (204), Monongalia (1,003), Monroe (22), Morgan (33), Nicholas(40), Ohio (284), Pendleton (47), Pleasants (14), Pocahontas (42), Preston(131), Putnam (228), Raleigh (310), Randolph (218), Ritchie (3), Roane (20),Summers (19), Taylor (86), Tucker (11), Tyler (15), Upshur (40), Wayne (221),Webster (7), Wetzel (45), Wirt (7), Wood (290), Wyoming (47).

Pleasenote that delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from thelocal health department to DHHR. As case surveillance continues at the localhealth department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain countymay not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual inquestion may have crossed the state border to be tested.Such is the case of Greenbrier,Jefferson, Mineral, and Ohio counties inthis report.

Thedashboard located at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov has been updated to include theschool alert system, a 7-day trend and a cumulative summary among many otherfeatures.

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COVID-19 Daily Update 8-19-2020 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney among those in attendance

CHARLESTON, WV Prior to his regularly scheduled COVID-19 press briefing today, Gov. Jim Justice hosted Dr. Deborah Birx, Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, at the West Virginia Capitol to discuss efforts being made to combat the spread of COVID-19 and safely reopen the state.

Dr. Birx, you see her on TV all the time, she is amazing, Gov. Justice said. She has incredible energy and unbelievable knowledge. She's traveled all across the country. The great work that shes doing and her dedication to West Virginia and this nation is amazing. And I can very proudly say that she was tickled to death with the things were doing in West Virginia.

In an interview with members of the media following a roundtable with state leaders at the Culture Center, Dr. Birx praised West Virginia for executing an effective virus response.

We really wanted to hear how West Virginia got it right and continues to get it right, Dr. Birx said. I think what Ive been convinced is its really a partnership and teamwork, coming together to create self-sufficiency through innovation, and its really been translating to every West Virginian, putting them first and then communicating how important every West Virginian is to each other.

Dr. Birx specifically commended Gov. Justice and state leaders for developing what she called a remarkable plan to safely reopen schools across the state. The plan uses a scientific metric to evaluate the safety level in each county and a color-coded map system to let parents, students, teachers, and faculty know what precautions will be taken to ensure the safety of their communities.

Were going to put it in our governors report next week and Im worried that West Virginia is going to get a call from another 49 governors, Dr. Birx said. To really lay out the metrics of where every county is, making that visible to every single parent, and linking that to school choice and then very clear guidances of what to do depending on what your category is.

I was very excited to talk about this and take this to other governors, Dr. Birx continued. I think the reason why I like it is its practical, its something that every county and every state can do, its understandable, and most importantly, its implementable. And thats really what I got from this visit, is this attention to detail but not detail for the having of detail but detail that translates into better service for West Virginians.

West Virginia represents exactly what we want to see across the country a common sense approach based on the data, local data, that people use to keep themselves safe and that they understand, Dr. Birx said.

Gov. Justice and Dr. Birx were joined by U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Congressman Alex Mooney for a discussion at the Governor's Mansion and the follow-up roundtable at the Culture Center.

Among those also in attendance for the discussions with Dr. Birx were West Virginia Coronavirus Czar Dr. Clay Marsh, DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch, State Health Officer Dr. Ayne Amjad, State Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch, West Virginia National Guard Adjutant General Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, and several of the states leading experts in medicine, education, business and more.

After the conclusion of the discussions with Dr. Birx, Sen. Capito and Rep. Mooney joined Gov. Justice for his latest COVID-19 press briefing.

Weve had an incredible experience this morning by hearing Dr. Birx, who is a terrific health leader at the COVID Task Force with the Vice President, Sen. Capito said. Weve all seen her on TV, but I can tell you theres nothing like seeing her in person and seeing how inspirational she is and the message that shes led in this country. She said shes thrilled to be coming to West Virginia because its a green state, she hasnt been able to see too many green states and she wanted to know what was the key to our relative success, and I think she came away with a couple things: the Governors leadership, constant communication.

Thank you, Governor, and your team for your leadership in this important time, Rep. Mooney said. We should all be encouraged that West Virginians from across our state are supporting, protecting, and standing by one another during this unprecedented time.

Dr. Birx also praised the Governor's indoor face covering requirement, the state's expansive collection of COVID-19 data, the state's commitment to full testing residents and staff at every nursing home in West Virginia, the Governor'sCOVID-19 Advisory Commission on African AmericanDisparities, and the development of innovative products like reusable masks and sanitization equipment.

WEST VIRGINIA UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DROPS AGAIN; REMAINS BELOW NATIONAL AVERAGE Also during his briefing Wednesday, Gov. Justice announced that West Virginia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 9.9% for the month of July.

The national unemployment rate for July was 10.2%.

Since April, when state unemployment levels reached 15.9%, more than 47,000 jobs have been recovered across West Virginia.

Before the pandemic, West Virginia had historic economic growth that led to a 4.7% unemployment rate statewide.

GOVERNOR ADDS SELF-EMPLOYED, SOLE PROPRIETORS TO THOSE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS Also on Wednesday, Gov. Justice announced that he is opening up hisWest Virginia CARES Act Small Business Grant Programto sole proprietorships and self-employed individuals in West Virginia.

Any sole proprietor or self-employed person, in operation on or before March 1, 2020, is now able to apply for up to $2,000 in grant funding.

Meanwhile, any West Virginia-based small businesswith 1-35 employees, in existence on or before March 1, 2020 is still able to apply for up to $5,000 in grant funding. Over 2,300 of these applications have been submitted to date, with more than $9.5 millionbeing awarded so far.

Businesses planning to apply must first be registered as a vendor with the State to be eligible. Guidelines for the grants and instructions on how to apply are available atGrants.wv.gov.

The application will remain open until Sept. 30, 2020.

MON COUNTY BARS TO REOPEN ON AUG. 31 Gov. Justice also announced that, after one final extension to countywide bar closure in Monongalia County, these facilities will be able to open at the end of this month, provided that they adhere to a list of additional safety guidelines.

On Wednesday, Gov. Justiceissuedan executive order, extending the closure of all bars in Mon County for an additional 11 days.

The extension was requested by West Virginia University and the Monongalia County Commission, with WVU students returning to campus in Morgantown this week.

The new order extends the countywide bar closure until Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, at 12:01 a.m. Gov. Justice pledged that this will stand as the reopening date, barring amajor uptick in case numbers or another unforeseen circumstance and provided that all safety guidelines are properly followed.

We're not going to have dance floors, we're not going to have live entertainment, and we're going to have to expand the ability to go outdoors, Gov. Justice said.

Click here to view the safety guidelines that will be required for the reopening of bars in Monongalia County.

The countywide bar closure was originally established underExecutive Order 52-20, first extended underExecutive Order 55-20, further extended underExecutive Order 58-20, and extended again under Executive Order 60-20.

The order keeps all Monongalia County bars closed for the on-premises consumption of food or drinks or occupancy by the general public. However, customers are still permitted to pick up food or drinks to be taken away.

The order maintains that patrons are allowed to be seated, for dining, at tables and bar tops within "bar areas" of restaurants, hotels, and other similar facilities, subject to the same limitations that are in place for restaurants.

FUNDING BEING SENT TO VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS Also on Wednesday, Gov. Justice announced that the $4.19 million that he pledged to support West Virginia'svolunteer fire departments is now ready for distribution.

Each of the state's 419 VFDs will receive $10,000.

Our firefighters have all meant so much to us during this pandemic, but especially the ones who do so on a voluntary basis, Gov. Justice said. I love being able to get this money out because, at the end of the day, this is going to help us save more lives.

GOV. JUSTICE DIRECTS WORKFORCE WEST VIRGINIA TO APPLY FOR LOST WAGE ASSISTANCE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FUNDS Additionally Wednesday, Gov. Justicedirected WorkForce West Virginia to apply for the Lost Wages Assistance Payments grant through the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA).

As I have said, we cannot let our people that are sitting out there with no job not knowing how in the world theyre going to pay rent, or keep from being evicted, or making their car payment, or putting food on the table just sit out there and wilt on the vine, Gov. Justice said. "We've got to get some money flowing to help West Virginians in need."

Upon approval by FEMA, this grant will allow WorkForce West Virginia to provide an additional $400 per week in assistance payment to those receiving Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits due to COVID-related impacts. FEMA disaster relief funds will cover $300 of the new weekly payment and the other $100 will come from West Virginias allocation of the federal CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund. Lost Wage Assistance was established after Congress did not reauthorize the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program, which provided an extra $600 payment to eligible UI claimants.

Click here to read more

COVID-19 CASE NUMBERS UPDATE Additionally Wednesday, Gov. Justice reported modest improvement once again in some of West Virginia's COVID-19 case numbers, announcing that the number of active cases and COVID-19-related hospitalizations continue to trend down.

Meanwhile, West Virginias statewide rate of COVID-19 transmission also known as Rt is currently tied for the 8th-best such rate in the country,dropping to 0.90 today. If a given statesRt value is above 1.0, it means the virus will spread quickly, while values under 1.0 mean infections are slowing. West VirginiasRt has remained under 1.0 every day since July 6, 2020; the same day that the Governor instituted hisStatewide Indoor Face Covering Requirement.

Click here to view the latest COVID-19 data

UPDATE ON CHURCHES, LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES Also Wednesday, Gov. Justice announced that church-related outbreaks remain active in three counties across West Virginia: Cabell, Taylor, and Wood counties. These outbreaks account for about 44 total cases combined.

The Governor added that there are now 26 outbreaks in long-term care facilities across the state, with extra attention being paid toGrant Rehab and Care Center in Grant County,Cedar Ridge Center in Kanawha County,Trinity Healthcare in Logan County,Princeton Healthcare Center in Mercer County,Pine Lodge Nursing Home in Raleigh County, andRosewood Nursing Home in Taylor County.

When it comes to our nursing homes, all of our people have been unbelievable, from the staff, to the National Guard, to the DHHR running to the fire and doing testing, Gov. Justice said. But Ill say again, weve just got to be super careful about going out of state and bringing this stuff back to these vulnerable populations.

FREE COVID-19 TESTING Gov. Justice also updated the schedule of upcomingfree community COVID-19 testingevents taking place over the next several weeks at various dates and times in multiple counties across the state.

The effort is part of a plan to provide free optional testing to all residents in several counties that are experiencing higher rates of COVID-19 transmission. It targets residents who have struggled to be seen by a physician or do not have insurance to pay for testing. However, other residents, including those who are asymptomatic are welcome to be tested.

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COVID-19 UPDATE: Gov. Justice hosts Dr. Deborah Birx, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, to discuss West Virginia virus response - West...

Trends are now "going in the right direction," Adm. Brett Giroir, the Trump administration physician overseeing US coronavirus testing, said Wednesday during a telebriefing. He attributed the decline in part to safety protocols such as masks and social distancing.

State leaders who have reported a leveling of new cases also attribute it to adherence to safety guidelines. In Washington state, where health officials say the rate of new cases is slowing, "face coverings have made a difference," Secretary of Health Dr. John Wiesman said.

Despite the hopeful signs, now isn't a time to ease measures, Giroir cautioned.

"This could turn around very quickly if we're not careful," Giroir said. "We saw that early on after Memorial Day and the couple weeks afterward that sort of started the current outbreak."

Though case rates have dropped in recent weeks, daily deaths -- which experts say can spike weeks after a jump in new cases -- have recently been at a relatively elevated level.

The country's seven-day average for daily Covid-19 deaths has been above 1,000 for 24 straight days as of Wednesday, after seven weeks of below 1,000.

Texas, Mississippi and Georgia report most new infections per capita across a week

Texas led the country per capita with the most average cases per day over a week as of Wednesday, followed by Mississippi and Georgia.

"If we're the highest (per) capita in the state right now, that's because Texas and Florida and Arizona and some of the states that were peaking a week or two ago are on the downclimb," Kemp told reporters.

Georgia's seven-day average of new daily cases was around 2,500 Wednesday -- down from a plateau of around 3,700 daily in late July, Johns Hopkins data show.

How schools are responding

Colleges in at least 15 states have reported Covid-19 cases on campus, with outbreaks traced to off-campus gatherings, athletics, Greek life, dorms or move-in testing.

The University of Mississippi said Wednesday that 15 student-athletes and one employee tested positive for the virus. Of the athletes, 11 are on the same team, but the university did not say which sports the positive tests came from.

At the University of Connecticut, several students were removed from their on-campus housing after the university found they held an "unapproved gathering in a residence hall room."

Fourteen Drake University students were asked to leave campus for two weeks after violating an agreement signed by students outlining safety protocols.

The University of Notre Dame said all undergraduate classes will be remote for the next two weeks as it tries to control a spike in cases. Michigan State University has announced the year will start remotely for undergraduate students. In New York, Ithaca College said remote instruction will be extended through the fall semester.

Dr. Ali Khan, dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Center's college of public health, said Thursday that schools should reopen for in-person classes only when community transmission of Covid-19 is very low.

"Until then ... we'll do this sort of back and forth where they go to school, (then the schools) shut down" for a little bit, resume, and then close for the year, Khan told CNN's "New Day."

Wait a few weeks after exposure before testing for anitbodies, group says

People who want to know whether they have antibodies after being exposed to Covid-19 should wait a few weeks after exposure before getting an antibody test, experts said during a briefing Thursday.

A panel of the Infectious Diseases Society of America recommends "against using antibody testing in the first one or two weeks after exposure to infection, because many patients haven't developed antibodies yet," said panel chairwoman Dr. Kimberly Hanson.

The society reviewed several studies on antibody testing.

"Three to four weeks after the onset of symptoms -- this is the sweet spot, this is where the tests have the highest sensitivity and the highest specificity," Dr. Angela Caliendo said during the briefing.

Antibody tests are used to see whether a person was infected with Covid-19 in the past -- not to be confused with diagostic tests, which are meant to determine whether someone is infected now.

CNN's Jason Hanna, Amanda Watts, Jill Martin, Melissa Alonso, Annie Grayer, Elizabeth Stuart and Andy Rose contributed to this report.

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New Covid-19 cases are declining across the US, official says, but that could quickly change if people aren't careful - CNN

UPMC, the largest healthcare provider in the Pittsburgh region, says it lost $150 million in patient revenue in the final two weeks of March before receiving one of the countrys largest COVID-19 aid packages.

Patient volumes dropped in response to directives from various elected officials to attempt to quell the spread of the disease, the healthcare giant reported in its most recent quarterly report on May 29.

To blunt the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare providers, the federal government awarded Pittsburghs largest employer more than $1.1 billion in grants and loans. UPMC was one of only 25 organizations nationwide to receive more than $1 billion in aid. The aid included $363 million in grant money from the Provider Relief Fund and nearly $800 million in loans that UPMC will have to pay back by the end of next year.

But some critics say that the money was awarded in accordance with a formula favoring providers that least needed the aid. They say the money shouldve been prioritizing facilities that would struggle to stay open without help and providers serving residents most likely to be impacted by the pandemic.

The federal government awarded the money to healthcare organizations across the country based on how much money each had generated from Medicare patients, in particular, and in part based on their revenue from all sources in 2018. The aid worked out to about $130,000 per hospital bed in the UPMC system and about 5% of their operating revenue last year.

This aid package UPMC received was one of the largest of any business or nonprofit, in any industry. Across the country, 25 healthcare providers received more direct grant funding, and about half of those were in New York and New Jersey, which were the hardest hit by COVID-19 early on, and some of which were eligible for additional funding. Most of the others were national providers with locations spanning between six and 22 states.

Only nine non-healthcare organizations received more grant funding than UPMC, including a handful of the countrys largest airlines, airports and universities. The funding for these loans and grants came from different programs in the CARES Act and the funding for the loans for healthcare providers came from a program that is normally used to provide advanced payment to disaster victims from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Neil Mahoney, a professor of economics at Stanford University who studies health care, said that healthcare funding hasnt received the same level of scrutiny as funding for unemployment, for example. This is money that goes to these large institutions, and the dollar value is huge so I do think its important that [were] paying attention to this, he said.

Initially, Congress required recipients of this healthcare aid to report how it spent this money quarterly, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has since said the recipients dont have to report how they spent the money until February. On Aug. 27, UPMC will release financial information about how the company was able to weather the downturn between April 1 and June 30. A spokesperson didnt answer a question about whether it will explain in detail how its spent the more than $1.1 billion in federal funding.

If UPMCs finances are like other local providers, next weeks financial statement could have some bad news. The Allegheny Health Network, the second largest provider in the region, has already reported losing $116 million the first six months of the year due to lost revenue from COVID-19.

UPMC did not make anyone available for an interview for this article. Susan Manko, the vice president of public relations for UPMC, responded by email to a list of 15 questions about UPMCs finances by referring to its quarterly report released in May. Manko responded to only one of those questions directly, an inquiry about whether UPMC had instituted any layoffs, cutbacks or adjusted executive pay.

UPMC did not and does not plan to institute any pay cuts, furloughs or staffing reductions related to COVID-19, Manko wrote. Flexible work arrangements and alternate assignments have been put in place where possible.

The federal government has allocated $175 billion in grants to help healthcare providers and has already spent more than $100 billion of it.

To get the initial money out quickly, the federal government allocated the initial $50 billion based on two factors: how much money providers had received from Medicare in 2018 and how much money overall it received from all sources. Since then it has also distributed some aid to areas hit hard by COVID-19, rural providers and providers that serve low income and children without insurance.

In the past couple of years, UPMC providers received nearly two-thirds of their revenue from the government-run healthcare programs, Medicare and Medicaid.

An analysis by the Kaiser Health Foundation showed that the initial formula used to distribute the aid meant hospitals with the highest rates of private insurance revenue, actually received more funding. At UPMC that means the largest share of grant money went to UPMC Presbyterian, UPMC Mercy and UPMC Pinnacle in central Pennsylvania.

Although the money was broadly intended to go toward COVID-19 efforts, its not clear how it was distributed. Allison Hydzik, a spokesperson for UPMC, said the hospital chain has 750 ICU beds and could potentially double that amount if needed. UPMC has conducted over 146,000 COVID-19 tests, including 7,300 positive tests, Hydzik wrote in an email. She said UPMC has served those patients who tested positive directly in person or through outpatient video visits, but she didnt have data on the total number of COVID-19 patients UPMC has served in its hospitals.

Mahoney, the economist at Stanford, said that large hospital systems like UPMC didnt really need the government funding to withstand the pandemic because they have so much money already. UPMC touted in a May press release that its $7 billion cash and investments provide for long-term sustainability.

These institutions have rainy day funds and built up assets for this very reason and now is the time to rely on those rainy day funds, he said.

But according to some federal officials at the time, organizations like UPMC were in danger because they were delaying so many non-essential procedures.

Healthcare providers are making massive financial sacrifices to care for the influx of coronavirus patients, said Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, when the loan funds were distributed in April. They shouldnt be penalized for doing the right thing. Amid a public health storm of unprecedented fury, these payments are helping providers and suppliers so critical to defeating this terrible virus stay afloat.

In addition to its own financial reserves, UPMC was able to draw on more than $2.3 billion in private financing to help its cash flow during the pandemic, according to its most recent financial statements.

The private lenders are not going to lend to somebody who is going to go under, Mahoney said. So the fact that [UMPC] can get a large amount of funding on the private market means they arent at any serious risk of closure.

Encompass Health Corporation, by contrast, which operates facilities in 37 states, returned the $237 million it received from the CARES Act because its CEO said it had enough private funding and sources of capital, and it was worried about the requirements that might come with the funds.

Mahoney thinks that the federal money should be focused on helping healthcare providers most at risk of going under. In its most recent disbursements, the government spent more than $11 billion on rural facilities, which is a step in the right direction, he said.

UPMC has another reason it may not be as severely impacted as other providers: It sells health insurance to nearly 4 million people, and health insurance providers have been posting record profits during the pandemic. Thats because many of the patients insurers thought they would have to pay claims for never showing up for the procedures. UPMC said it wouldnt release its data until next week.

Highmark Health, for example, reported more than $600 million in profits for the first half of 2020, so much money that it legally is required to send back more than $100 million of it to customers. The Allegheny Health Network received around $300 million in grants and loans through CARES Act and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid programs.

During the first three months of the year, UPMC reported that its insurance profits had actually gone down compared to last year because it was paying out more money in claims than usual. That report, however, only included two weeks of post-lockdown life.

UPMC has also received funding for a number of research trials and is developing a couple of potential vaccines that could prove lucrative if they work out. One of UPMCs vaccines in development has had some initial success producing antibodies, but it isnt one of the vaccines that the federal government has already paid billions of dollars in advance for supplies.

UPMC has been preparing for the possibility of losses. The final cumulative impact of COVID-19 is not known and will most likely be material to UPMC, UPMC wrote in its last quarterly statement.

Marshall Chin, a professor of healthcare ethics at the University of Chicago, said the initial Provider Relief Fund payments were lacking for another reason: It didnt require the fund to prioritize groups that are most impacted by the virus, including racial and ethnic minorities, people in poverty and the elderly in nursing homes. He wants to know whether UPMC and other healthcare organizations have prioritized those groups in the money they received.

Since then, he noted some money has been set aside for providers that target vulnerable residents. In the second round of funding, $15 billion was targeted to organizations that serve low-income residents and uninsured children.

Chin thinks any additional funding should address the underlying systemic issues driving COVID-19 inequities, to change the incentives for UPMC and others. He says providers need to more fully address the holistic needs of vulnerable patients, such as their housing and nutritional needs. Even nonprofits like UPMC are not doing this enough now, he said.

They have to maintain financial solvency and are playing by the rules that are set up and the current financing mechanisms and what they incentivize, he said. And as a whole, they largely incentivize medical care that doesnt address the social factors that impact patients.

Oliver Morrison is PublicSources environment and health reporter. He can be reached at oliver@publicsource.org or on Twitter @ORMorrison.

This story was fact-checked by Matt Maielli.

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UPMC received one of the country's largest COVID-19 aid packages. Did it need it? - PublicSource