Category: Covid-19

BALTIMORE (WJZ) New research suggests parents of school-aged kids are drinking more during the pandemic, Maryland researchers found.

Their research suggests the stress of parents teaching or assisting their kids with distance learning may be driving some into unhealthy habits.

Baltimore parent Dan Brown recalled the stress the pandemic has placed on his family.

Were both working from home and the kids are not going anywhere anytime soon, he told WJZ while on a walk with his twin girls in Patterson Park on Monday.

Parents of only children, I definitely see the strains, he said. Its just pent-up energy for the parents, I guess, as well.

Another parent-child pairing quarantining together happens to be the research team of Elyse Grossman and Susan Sonnenschein. The duo surveyed hundreds of parents during the pandemic and found people are drinking more now than before COVID-19.

Drinking alcohol suppresses the immune system, making people more vulnerable to fighting off a virus.

They also showed significant increases as far as how much people are consuming, Grossman, a policy fellow at Johns Hopkins Universitys School of Public Health, said.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES:

More concerning, they said, were their findings that parents are engaging in more risky behavior like binge drinking. Parents are twice as likely, research showed, to be stressed because of distance learning.

The parents of elementary school-aged children are doing a lot of actual teaching, Sonnenschein said.

Sonnenschein, a child development professor with the University of Maryland Baltimore County, said theyre still sorting out whether thats a stressor that leads to increased drinking.

Grossman studies public policy and said she hopes more time to prepare for distance learning takes some of the learning pressure off parents this fall.

We need the school systems to provide guidance to the teachers to then provide guidance to the parents, she said.

For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Departments website or call 211. You can find all of WJZs coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.

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Parents Of School-Aged Kids Drinking More During COVID-19 Pandemic, Maryland Researchers Find - CBS Baltimore

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) The South Dakota Department of Health said Monday a cluster of COVID-19 cases has been traced to Camp Judson in Keystone but there are fewer than 10 cases.

Its possible the number of cases could increase as well as the number individual who may need to isolate because of close contact, said state epidemiologist Dr. Josh Clayton.

Clayton said the impact of the COVID-19 camp cases depends in part on the close contact between those at the camp. Close contact is contact of more than 15 minutes and distance of less than six feet, he said.

Camp Judson is a religious camp that offers overnight camps for youth, young adults and families, according to its website. Most of the camps and programs start after July 4.

The camp announced in a July 23 Facebook post that it was cancelling junior high camp this summer. With great sorrow, many prayers, countless hours of discussion, and many tears, we have decided to cancel Jr High Camp this summer, the Facebook post said.

Junior Camp ran from July 19-25 for grades four through six. The trail camp ran from July 19-25 for youth in grades seven through 12 but was limited to 20 registrants, according to the camps website. Both were overnight camps but the trail camp participants camped at Lake Sheridan for five of the seven days, according to the website. High school camp ran from July 12-18.

A family camp from Aug. 2-8 is listed a future camp on the camps website.

The state does not release specifics about cluster areas of COVID-19 but Clayton said some of the individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 were campers.

In a letter posted on the Camp Judson Facebook page on June 2 and addressed to friends, camp director Tracy Koskan said the camp would be taking additional precautions this summer because of the cornavirus pandemic.

Campers were asked to forgo camp if the camper or the friend of the camper were sick or had COVID-19 symptoms, or exposed to someone with COVID-19 within the last two to 14 days or has major health issues, according to the letter.

Clayton said the Centers for Disease Control has guidelines for camps that include dividing campers into modules to limit contact and maintain social distancing.

The June 2 Camp Judson letter said would take necessary precautions such as temperature screenings at check in, increased cleanings, additional soap dispensers and hand sanitizers and others.

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DOH traces COVID-19 cases to Camp Judson in the Black Hills - KELOLAND.com

TRENTON Rutgers University's RUCDR Infinite Biologics is providing 30,000 of its rapid-response saliva-based coronavirus tests daily to bolster the state's COVID-19 testing, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday during his 100th pandemic response media briefing.

"Having these tests means we now have 30,000 tests a day, and they come with a 48-hour turnaround," Murphy said. "As test turnaround has lagged nationally given the flare ups all around the country, this is welcome news."

Murphy said the tests will be deployed first to priority populations including front-line workers and vulnerable resident populations.

New Jersey reported 446 new positive COVID-19 cases as of Monday, bringing the statewide total to 179,812. The daily positivity rate is 1.72%, but the rate of transmission has increased to 1.09. However, positivity rates in South Jersey are triple that of North Jersey.

Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said that as of July 23, North Jersey reported a daily positivity rate of 1.09%, Central Jersey 1.60% and South 3.30%

Murphy said that the increase in new positive cases and rate of transmission is likely due to a "lab catch up" over the last few days due to a backlog in reporting results.

"We know there are flair-ups," he added, citing a recent house party in Middletown that resulted in 20 new cases.

The state had previously reported that there were problems in contact tracing related to that party, but Murphy said Monday that parents have been cooperating.

He told CNN Monday morning that he thought parents feared repercussions for possible underage drinking in that incident, but assured them otherwise.

"We don't condone underage drinking or any illegal behavior, but this is not a witch hunt," Murphy said. "This is about controlling the virus."

He said that in Middletown alone, there were 65 new positive cases, with 52 between the ages of 15 and 19.

He also addressed the recent report of an outbreak among Long Beach Island lifeguards due to a house party, an outbreak among Rutgers University football players, and another house party in Jackson Township with a reported 700 attendees, quipping "must have been quite a house."

"This is among us folks," Murphy said, urging residents to take precautions especially when gathering indoors or in close proximity.

Persichilli said the in relation to the lifeguard outbreak there were 35 cases related to one common social gathering, so far.

"Although they don't experience what we would call severe illness as often, young people can still transmit COVID-19 to those that they love," she said.

Murphy reported 17 new COVID-19 related deaths Monday and a positive trend in some metrics, with hospitalizations at 695, down from a high of more than 7,000 hospitalized in mid-April.

He also spoke about the upcoming school year and urged some "in-person" component, as well as compassion.

"This will not be a normal school year, there's no way it can be," he said. "It will be a challenge for everyone, so lets acknowledge that and commend everyone who is working so hard to provide a path forward."

Murphy said the state's reopening guidance was designed with flexibility to let each district make decisions based on its needs, and noted that health and safety, education and equity were its guiding principles.

"If done safely, I believe we must try to include at least some aspect of in person education this fall," he said, adding that remote learning is easier for affluent communities and their families who have more resources. "All of this must be a part of our thinking as we move to September."

On the federal stimulus package currently being debated in Congress, Murphy told CNN that it was "completely irresponsible" and "unfathomable" that the Senate Republicans' bill does not include more cash assistances for states.

"I don't know what country they're looking at," he said, adding that the stimulus bill shouldn't be a political debate.

"There's no politics, these are people's lives," Murphy said during Monday's news briefing.

He said he has had conversations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California.

Murphy also said Monday that he has made the case to both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence that more funds for the states are good for everyone.

Atlantic County's Division of Public Heath reported no new deaths, but 17 new positive cases of COVID-19 on Monday.

This is the third consecutive day without a fatality in the county.

The new positive cases in Atlantic County include seven men, ages 22-71, and 10 women, ages 29-71 in the following locations: five in Galloway Township, three in Pleasantville, and one each in Absecon, Atlantic City, Brigantine, Egg Harbor City, Egg Harbor Township, Hammonton, Linwood, Northfield and Ventnor.

Monday's new reported COVID-19 cases bring the countywide total to 3,418, of whom 1,911 have been cleared as recovered and 229 have died.

Testing will continue on Tuesday at the county's drive-thru facility in Northfield at Route 9 and Dolphin Avenue. The test site is now available for both symptomatic and asymptomatic county residents with or without a doctors prescription.

If available, appointments can be made online at aclink.org.

Cumberland County reported an additional 18 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing its countywide total to 2,648, and one new death, as of 4 p.m. Sunday. The total number of residents who died from COVID-19 in Cumberland County is 143.

Eight new positive cases of COVID-19 infection were announced Monday by the Cape May County Department of Health.

The municipalities were the new cases were found break down as follows: three cases each in Upper Township and Sea Isle City and two cases in Lower Township, the county said.

Total positive cases of COVID-19 infection in Cape May County is now 959 including 81 deaths, the county said.

Additionally, there are two new out of county positive cases, the county said.

New Jersey has 179,812 total COVID-19 positive cases and 13,884 deaths, the county said.

Also, the Cape May County Department of Health and CompleteCare Health Network, CCHN, are partnering to open drive-thru COVID-19 testing clinics, said Freeholder Jeff Pierson.

The first drive-thru will be held starting at 8 a.m. Thursday by appointment only at the Cape May County Fire Academy, 171 Crest Haven Rd, Cape May Court House, the county said.

Other testing dates will be scheduled based on community need.

Persons requesting COVID-19 testing will need an appointment with a CCHN provider

Persons requesting a COVID-19 test will be screened by the CCHN provider

Persons requesting COVID-19 tests can be tested whether they have COVID-19 symptoms or COVID-19 exposure and No-symptoms. Many people have had some type of exposure and although they have no symptoms, wish to be tested and that is acceptable.

Appointments for screenings can be requested by visiting CompleteCareNJ.org and clicking the Request an Appointment tab or calling 609-465-0258. To help save time, using the website is recommended.

Once your appointment request is received, you will receive a call back from a CompleteCare representative to help you schedule your visit. If testing is required, your prescription will be sent to the Health Department who will then call you to schedule your drive-thru testing time.

The full process for scheduling an appointment for COVID-19 drive-thru testing and more information about the virus can be found at CompleteCareNJ.org/COVID19.

Two signature downtown Vineland events have fallen victim to the current COVID-19 situation, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Main Street Vineland has announced the cancellation of this years Cruise Down Memory Lane and the Food Truck Festival on the Ave.

This would have been the 29th year for Cruise Down Memory Lane, South Jerseys largest car show. Scheduled for October 10, it had already been postponed from June. The event committee felt, however, that the event could not be pulled off, and, at the same time, comply with the current restrictions placed on outside events by Governor Murphy.

The third annual Food Truck Festival on The Ave was scheduled for August 23. The event, which brought thousands of people to The Ave, almost two dozen food trucks, and day-long entertainment would not be able to be held in todays situation, even with efforts to scale it down this year.

Along comes a light at the end of the tunnel by means of Newfield National Bank. The bank, which was to be the major sponsor for both events has committed itself to switching that sponsorship to two Main Street Vineland events that are still scheduledthe second annual Run The Ave 5K and the annual Pumpkin Patch Party on The Ave.

The Run The Ave 5K, Cumberland Countys premier road race and held in conjunction with Second Capitol Running, is scheduled for September 13. It brought over 100 runners to downtown Vineland last year and put downtown Vineland on the map for runners throughout the area.

The Pumpkin Patch Party, scheduled for October 31, brings almost 100 children and parents to the mini-park at Landis Avenue and the Boulevard for an afternoon of fun, games, and fellowship.

It was with deep regret that we had to cancel the Cruise Down Memory Lane and the Food Truck Festivaltwo of our most successful downtown events," said Main Street Vineland Executive Director Russell Swanson.

We do not take such actions lightly, but we face unusual times this year, and we always believe safety and health come first, Swanson said.

We want to thank Newfield National Bank, a longtime supporter of Main Street Vineland and its initiatives for maintaining that loyalty through these difficult times," Swanson said.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland and Salem Counties (BBBS) recently received a $2,000 grant from the United Way of Delaware as part of the Salem County COVID-19 Emergency Response Initiative, a nonprofit collaborative response to the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic. The grant will help BBBS fund their programs.

We want to thank the United Way of Delaware for the $2,000 grant that will help us continue our mentoring programs, said Donna Bennett President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland and Salem Counties. We are glad the Salem County COVID-19 Emergency Response Initiative is not only helping our mission but also the missions of other Salem County nonprofits during this time.

Source: State of New Jersey Department of Health

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LIVE UPDATES: Rutgers providing 30,000 COVID-19 tests, Murphy says - Press of Atlantic City

TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of 5:00 p.m., on July 27,2020, there have been 265,892 total confirmatory laboratory resultsreceived for COVID-19, with 6,054 total cases and 106 deaths.

In alignment with updated definitions fromthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dashboard includes probablecases which are individuals that have symptoms and either serologic (antibody)or epidemiologic (e.g., a link to a confirmed case) evidence of disease, but noconfirmatory test.

CASESPER COUNTY (Case confirmed by lab test/Probable case):Barbour (28/0), Berkeley (598/22), Boone (68/0), Braxton (8/0), Brooke(49/1), Cabell (277/9), Calhoun (6/0), Clay (17/0), Doddridge (2/0), Fayette(118/0), Gilmer (14/0), Grant (42/1), Greenbrier (82/0), Hampshire (64/0),Hancock (84/5), Hardy (50/1), Harrison (163/1), Jackson (153/0), Jefferson(279/5), Kanawha (694/13), Lewis (24/1), Lincoln (50/2), Logan (92/0), Marion(155/4), Marshall (107/2), Mason (41/0), McDowell (16/1), Mercer (91/0),Mineral (96/2), Mingo (102/2), Monongalia (822/16), Monroe (18/1), Morgan(24/1), Nicholas (26/1), Ohio (229/0), Pendleton (27/1), Pleasants (6/1),Pocahontas (39/1), Preston (98/22), Putnam (149/1), Raleigh (132/4), Randolph(202/4), Ritchie (3/0), Roane (14/0), Summers (5/0), Taylor (38/1), Tucker(8/0), Tyler (11/0), Upshur (34/2), Wayne (174/2), Webster (3/0), Wetzel (40/0),Wirt (6/0), Wood (218/11), Wyoming (17/0).

As case surveillance continues at thelocal health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certaincounty may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individualin question may have crossed the state border to be tested.Such is the case of Boone,Cabell, Marion, Mineral, Ohio, Summers, Taylor, Wayne, and Wetzel counties inthis report.

Pleasenote that delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from thelocal health department to DHHR.

Please visit thedashboard at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more detailed information.

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COVID-19 Daily Update 7-27-2020 - 5 PM - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of 10:00 a.m., on July 25,2020, there have been 255,089 total confirmatory laboratory results receivedfor COVID-19, with 5,772 total cases and 103 deaths.

In alignment with updated definitions fromthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dashboard includes probablecases which are individuals that have symptoms and either serologic (antibody)or epidemiologic (e.g., a link to a confirmed case) evidence of disease, but noconfirmatory test.

CASESPER COUNTY (Case confirmed by lab test/Probable case):Barbour (28/0), Berkeley (589/19), Boone (69/0), Braxton (7/0), Brooke(45/1), Cabell (258/9), Calhoun (5/0), Clay (17/0), Fayette (112/0), Gilmer(14/0), Grant (38/1), Greenbrier (81/0), Hampshire (55/0), Hancock (81/4),Hardy (49/1), Harrison (154/1), Jackson (153/0), Jefferson (274/5), Kanawha (648/12),Lewis (24/1), Lincoln (44/2), Logan (72/0), Marion (149/4), Marshall (94/1),Mason (40/0), McDowell (13/1), Mercer (81/0), Mineral (89/2), Mingo (81/2),Monongalia (799/15), Monroe (18/1), Morgan (24/1), Nicholas (22/1), Ohio(227/0), Pendleton (27/1), Pleasants (6/1), Pocahontas (39/1), Preston (95/22),Putnam (135/1), Raleigh (121/4), Randolph (201/4), Ritchie (3/0), Roane (14/0),Summers (4/0), Taylor (39/1), Tucker (8/0), Tyler (11/0), Upshur (33/2), Wayne(173/2), Webster (3/0), Wetzel (41/0), Wirt (6/0), Wood (211/10), Wyoming(15/0).

As case surveillance continues at thelocal health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certaincounty may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individualin question may have crossed the state border to be tested.Such is thecase of Braxton County in this report.

Pleasenote that delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from thelocal health department to DHHR.

Please visit thedashboard at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more detailed information.

Link:

COVID-19 Daily Update 7-25-20 - 10 AM - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

Hurricane Hanna is the first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. NASA/NRL hide caption

Hurricane Hanna is the first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season.

Updated at 5:15 a.m. ET Sunday

South Texas is braced for flooding after Hurricane Hanna began battering the state. The first hurricane of the season made landfall twice Saturday as a Category 1 storm.

The first landfall happened at around 5 p.m. about 15 miles north of Port Mansfield, which is about 130 miles south of Corpus Christi, according to the National Weather service. The second landfall took place nearby in eastern Kenedy County. The storm arrived with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph.

Forecasters early Sunday downgraded Hanna to a tropical storm. But Chris Birchfield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Brownsville, told The Associated Press that residents needed to remain alert. Hanna's winds weakened, but the storm's real threat remained heavy rainfall.

"We're not even close to over at this point," Birchfield added. "We're still expecting catastrophic flooding."

The storm is expected to bring heavy rainfall to Texas' southern coast with the potential for "life-threatening flash flooding," according to the National Weather Service.

The center warned of storm surges as high as 5 feet along Texas' southern coast and said the upper coasts of Texas and Louisiana could expect 3-5 inches of rain. Isolated tornadoes could also appear.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said earlier in the week that the Texas Division of Emergency Management was preparing teams to help communities affected by the storm. He urged residents in the region to avoid roads that flood and listen to local warnings.

On Saturday, prior to the storm making landfall, Abbott issued a disaster declaration and said he had requested an emergency declaration from President Trump and FEMA.

"As Hurricane Hanna approaches, the Lone Star State is taking swift action to support the communities in the path of the storm," Abbott said. "We are closely monitoring the situation and working with local officials to help ensure they have the resources they need to keep Texans safe. I urge Texans in the region to take all necessary precautions and follow the guidance of local officials. I ask our fellow Texans to keep these communities in their prayers as they brace for this storm."

The city of Corpus Christi in Nueces County, which is already dealing with a spike in confirmed coronavirus cases, was among the communities bracing on Saturday for Hanna's arrival. On Friday, Nueces County reported 175 new cases of the coronavirus and five deaths. Of the county's 129 COVID-19 deaths, 119 of them have come in July, according to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

Ahead of the storm's landfall, the city closed at least one drive-through testing site through Tuesday, according to The Texas Tribune.

As Hurricane Hanna approaches, Corpus Christi Mayor Joe McComb said he felt certain that the region is prepared to handle both the storm and the pandemic.

"Don't feel like since we've been fighting COVID for five months that we're out of energy or we're out of gas. We're not. We can do these two things together and we're going to win both of them. And so, we'll get through this," McComb told The Associated Press.

But McComb's comments also reflected the realities of the pandemic as he urged residents to take masks with them if they have to evacuate and stay with others.

"We don't want to expose anyone during this storm. ... Even when you're in the house, I recommend wearing a mask if you're in crowded conditions" McComb told The Texas Tribune.

To the south of Corpus Christi in Cameron County, Judge Eddie Trevio told the AP that if families are evacuated to shelters, there are plans in place to make sure they are socially distanced from one another.

As the storm continues to make its path in south Texas, two other storms are being watched closely. Hurricane Douglas is in the Pacific and is expected to either pass nearby or over the main Hawaiian islands sometime Sunday. The National Hurricane Center warned of a "triple threat of hazards," including heavy rainfall and flooding, damaging winds and dangerously high surf.

Farther to the east and south of the Gulf of Mexico, Tropical Storm Gonzalo was downgraded to a depression Saturday afternoon. The system brought gusty wind to the southern Windward Islands on Saturday morning. The National Hurricane Center also warned of heavy rainfall with the potential for "life-threatening flash flooding" in the area.

Earlier this year, forecasters from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted an above-average hurricane season with at least three to six major hurricanes in 2020.

Read more:

Hurricane's Fallout Batters Texas As The Region Confronts A COVID-19 Spike - NPR

A health worker puts a nasal swab sample into a tube in a tent at a COVID-19 testing site at St. John's Well Child and Family Center in Los Angeles. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

A health worker puts a nasal swab sample into a tube in a tent at a COVID-19 testing site at St. John's Well Child and Family Center in Los Angeles.

For the fifth consecutive day, there were more than 1,000 deaths from the coronavirus in the United States and infections haven't shown signs of significantly slowing, according to the COVID Tracking Project. More than 145,000 people in the country have died from the virus and more than 4,000,000 people have been infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New daily cases are increasing in 46 states. Among them are California, which reported its highest number of single-day deaths on Thursday. In Indiana there were 934 new cases and 11 deaths on Saturday and Montana reported its highest daily number of cases on Saturday with 224 new cases.

Louisiana reported more than 2,000 new cases, 29 deaths and 15 hospitalizations on Friday alone, NOLA reported. In total, there are more than 103,000 cases and 3,600 deaths in the state, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. In response to the increase, Gov. John Bel Edwards extended phase two of the state's reopening for another 28 days.

"It is clear that COVID is alive and well in Louisiana, and as we see more people testing positive and admitted to hospitals, we simply are not ready to move to the next phase, and ease restrictions further as businesses open widely," Edwards said in a statement.

Mississippi, another state experiencing an uptick of cases, imposed a mask mandate on multiple additional counties, on top of the original 13 counties that already had mask mandates, this week. On Saturday, the state saw 1,434 new cases and 17 new deaths. In total, the state has more than 49,000 cases and 1,400 deaths.

"We are still in the middle of our most painful period of COVID-19 spread to date," Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Friday, according to the Sun Herald. "We have to slow the spread to prevent our health care system from becoming overwhelmed."

Over the past 24 hours, there have been nearly 2,000 additional cases in Alabama. Currently, there are more than 76,000 cases in the state and 1,400 deaths, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, Nevada just had its deadliest week from the virus. In total, there have been 41,816 cases and 732 deaths in the state, according to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.

Arizona reported more than 3,700 new COVID-19 cases and 144 more deaths on Saturday. On average, the state has seen some decline in the number of cases since spikes in June and early July.

Continue reading here:

COVID-19 Cases Continue To Surge In States Across The U.S. - NPR

TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of 5:00 p.m., on July 24,2020, there have been 253,040 total confirmatory laboratory results receivedfor COVID-19, with 5,695 total cases and 103 deaths.

In alignment with updated definitions fromthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dashboard includes probablecases which are individuals that have symptoms and either serologic (antibody)or epidemiologic (e.g., a link to a confirmed case) evidence of disease, but noconfirmatory test.

CASESPER COUNTY (Case confirmed by lab test/Probable case):Barbour (28/0), Berkeley (585/19), Boone (69/0), Braxton (8/0), Brooke(42/1), Cabell (248/9), Calhoun (5/0), Clay (17/0), Fayette (111/0), Gilmer(14/0), Grant (37/1), Greenbrier (81/0), Hampshire (55/0), Hancock (80/4),Hardy (49/1), Harrison (152/1), Jackson (153/0), Jefferson (273/5), Kanawha (641/12),Lewis (24/1), Lincoln (36/2), Logan (66/0), Marion (148/4), Marshall (94/1),Mason (38/0), McDowell (13/1), Mercer (79/0), Mineral (87/2), Mingo (79/2),Monongalia (797/15), Monroe (17/1), Morgan (24/1), Nicholas (22/1), Ohio(217/0), Pendleton (27/1), Pleasants (6/1), Pocahontas (39/1), Preston (94/21),Putnam (132/1), Raleigh (119/4), Randolph (201/4), Ritchie (3/0), Roane (12/0),Summers (4/0), Taylor (37/1), Tucker (8/0), Tyler (11/0), Upshur (33/2), Wayne(173/2), Webster (3/0), Wetzel (41/0), Wirt (6/0), Wood (209/11), Wyoming(15/0).

As case surveillance continues at thelocal health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certaincounty may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individualin question may have crossed the state border to be tested.Such is thecase of Greenbrier, Lincoln, Monroe and Upshur counties in this report.

Pleasenote that delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from thelocal health department to DHHR.

Please visit thedashboard at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more detailed information.

Additional report:

To increase COVID-19 testing opportunities, the Governor's Office,the Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs, WV Department of Health andHuman Resources, WV National Guard, local health departments, and communitypartners today provided free COVID-19 testing for residents in counties withhigh minority populations and evidence of COVID-19 transmission.

Todays testing resulted in 250 individuals tested in BrookeCounty. Please note these are considered preliminary numbers.

Testing will be held tomorrow in Brooke and Logan counties inthese locations.

Follow this link:

COVID-19 Daily Update 7-24-20 - 5 PM - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

Robert and Janice Beecham have been married for 46 years, and this year they are happy to be recovering after a spring full of turmoil.

"It's a blessing to be here because a lot of people didn't make it," Janice told CNN.

Robert Beecham said he and Janice had been following the safety rules but he started to feel symptoms of Covid-19. A week and a half later he still wasn't feeling well so the couple got tested for the virus.

The next day, on March 25, he called his son and agreed to be taken to the hospital.

"He knew me agreeing without a fight meant that I was feeling pretty terrible," he said.

His anniversary was a motive to get home

Robert was admitted to Parkland Hospital in Dallas alone, and found out the next day that he was COVID-19 positive. He was moved to another floor and started his road to recovery, a feat he attributes to his doctor, Satyam Nayak.

"Dr. Nayak and I would open up casual conversations and it would take my mind off the virus," he said.

Robert told the doctor about having two strokes, one in 2012 and 2016, and missing out on an anniversary. He found himself in the same situation this year, so Nayak decided to use that as motivation to get him home.

Nayak came up with a plan where Robert could go home and get the care he needed from his wife. He made it home in time for their April 15 anniversary.

Janice has a positive test of her own

Meanwhile, Janice had just recovered from having surgery in February after finding out about a second battle with breast cancer and a new diagnosis with ovarian cancer. She also tested positive for COVID-19, but luckily, she told CNN, her symptoms were mild.

"Once I got home, and we did the quarantine, I was getting progressively better but Janice still had issues with her health," Robert said.

"We're best friends, it was just tough," Robert told CNN.

Because of her diagnosis, Janice had not yet started the chemo treatments required for her cancer diagnoses.

Now, after surviving two surgeries, two coronavirus diagnoses, chemo and being declared cancer free, the Beechams only have one thing to say.

"It would have been impossible to make it with all the odds against you without God, and he has been our help, all these many years," Robert said.

Janice still has preventative radiation coming up, but the two said they are blessed to be alive and blessed to have celebrated another year together.

See original here:

They have been married 46 years and just overcame Covid-19, cancer and chemo together - CNN

On January 8th, I asked The Verges science team to keep an eye on early reports of a new virus that had recently emerged in China. When I dropped an article about that new virus from The Washington Post in Slack, someone joked that 2020 was off to a strong start, clearly jinxing the entire year for the rest of humanity. Whoops.

Jokes aside, this past decade, year, six and a half months has featured a disturbing flood of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad news. More than half a year in and not only do we still not know when this will all end, were also seeing a tsunami of new cases in the US and record-high hospitalizations.

Theres so much we still dont know, but we do know that this is going to keep going for a long, long time. Weve got to pace ourselves if were going to make it. Thats why were starting with a weekly format for this column instead of bombarding you with a daily dose of news. Hopefully we can give you some context for the big headlines and help you keep track of our collective scientific progress as we stumble our way toward the future. Its still an experiment, but these are a few things well keep an eye on:

We might also throw in a bit of non-coronavirus news just to remind you that there are other things going on in the world. Lets get started.

Immunology experts have also been cautious, and so have other pharmaceutical executives. I think when people tell the public that theres going to be a vaccine by the end of 2020, they do a grave disservice to the public, Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier said in an interview hosted by Harvard Business School last week. I think at the end of the day, we dont want to rush the vaccine before weve done rigorous science.

Want to help researchers find a vaccine? The National Institutes of Health (NIH) created a new network called the COVID-19 Prevention Trials Network (COVPN) that will help connect volunteers with some of the large clinical trials that are needed to test potential coronavirus vaccines.

Each of the Phase 3 clinical trials that the COVPN will conduct will require thousands of volunteers, NIH director Francis Collins said in a statement. Community engagement, particularly with the communities most vulnerable to COVID-19s severe outcomes, will be critical to the success of this research endeavor.

If you want to volunteer, youll be asked to complete a short survey of personal questions, including where you live. If youre a good candidate for one of the many studies going on across the country, a researcher will reach out to you and give you more information on the study. You can then decide whether you want to participate.

Lopez drives to his fourth stop of the day, a body in the back, a cigarette in his hand. Hes reflecting on the virus and how the calls to pick up bodies started coming all of a sudden, one after the other. He takes his job personally. It could be one of my family members, it could be a friend of mine.

Shannon Najmabadi and Miguel Gutierrez Jr. report for The Texas Tribune on what its like to be one of last responders in the Rio Grande Valley, where deaths and case numbers remain high.

To the more than 15,762,392 people worldwide who have tested positive, may your road to recovery be smooth.

To the families and friends of the 640,278 people who have died worldwide 145,556 of those in the US your loved ones are not forgotten.

Stay safe, everyone.

Read more from the original source:

Antivirus: A weekly digest of the latest COVID-19 research - The Verge