Category: Covid-19

The current crisis has revealed a sobering truth: the global economic shutdown, which has been achieved at a devastating social cost, has barely dented our carbon emissions. The latest analysis, by the International Energy Agency (IEA), expects this years annual emissions to be down by just 6-8%. Such a small drop in emissions would have no measurable effect on the worlds carbon concentration, or its warming potential. Indeed, 2020 is currently on track to be the hottest year ever recorded.

Youd need about a 10% drop to have a noticeable effect on the rising CO2 concentrations, but even then concentrations would still be rising, says Richard Betts, head of climate impacts at the Met Office. The rate of rise of CO2 varies from year to year anyway, as the natural carbon sinks get stronger and weaker because of natural processes, like El Nio. During an El Nio event, tropical forests dont take up as much carbon, so the atmospheric CO2 rises a bit faster. And in La Nia, the opposite occurs. That effect is probably more important than the small drop in emissions were seeing now.

Considering that emissions have to fall by at least 7.6% every year to 2050 in order to keep global warming below 1.5C (above pre-industrial levels), this internationally agreed target now feels alarmingly unachievable.

It shows that the challenge of avoiding dangerous climate change and getting to zero emissions is unbelievably hard, says Simon Evans of climate science website Carbon Brief. Even something which seems to be having seismic implications for the global economy, at least in the short term, like the current crisis, is something of a drop in the ocean compared to that challenge.

And yet, the cleaner air, burgeoning urban wildlife, and our sudden, dramatic shift to a less carbon-intensive lifestyle reveal the scope of what we can achieve in just days. This is something to cling to as we navigate the twin storms of Covid-19 and climate. We know that the climate crisis will not wait for a more convenient time; we must deal with it and the pandemic crisis concurrently. It is, however, the killer disease that has provoked the strong and urgent response. Governments have been forced to step in and deal with the catastrophe in a way that is unprecedented, including supporting business and industry, and public and private infrastructure.

Individual action driving your car less, attending a meeting via Zoom, not taking a flight is not going to be enough

Across the world, government has never been bigger. Many experts argue that this provides us with a huge opportunity to also deal with the other crisis: to make a transformational leap towards a sustainable society that enables us to keep the world below dangerous warming. How we respond to this unique opportunity could set our climate trajectory for thousands of years to come.

These behavioural changes weve experienced some of which may become ingrained permanently, meaning travel and consumption patterns become more responsible are helpful in reducing pollution, just as hand-washing helps in the pandemic. But what the expected 8% emissions reduction figure shows us is that individual action driving your car less, attending a meeting via Zoom rather than taking a business flight is not going to be enough. Equally, it shows that moving to a no-growth economy is not the answer, as some have argued. Instead, systemic transformative action is required at international and state level to get the effective reductions in atmospheric carbon that will bring us to net zero.

It means we cant be fiddling around the edges, says Betts. If we are going to have a substantial impact on long-term CO2 concentrations, we need huge, lasting changes in energy systems and other things that rely on fossil fuels.

Its worth noting that the IEA analysis was based on the expectation that human activity will return to some approximation of normal within months, so the shutdown period itself is likely to produce a far steeper drop in emissions CO2 emissions in China fell by an estimated 25% during its February lockdown, for example. India, meanwhile, recorded its first ever annual emissions fall for the year ending March, and is expected to show a 30% drop in emissions for the month of April. But what were seeing at the moment is, for the most part, very temporary, Evans says. When we drive again, the car still burns petrol.

Instead, structural change could mean people swapping their combustion engines for electric vehicles. More fundamentally, Evans says, it would involve reimagining the way our cities are built and organised, so that going without a car becomes easier, through how roads are laid out, and how provision for walking and cycling and public transport is changed.

All of those things go far beyond the individual choices we make in our everyday lives. Our choices are bounded by society, Evans says, so a shift towards a low-carbon society cant happen via individual action alone.

Cities have been leading this transition with innovative buildings and infrastructure projects. Some are already banning cars and trucks as a temporary measure. Others are going further: Milan is reallocating 35km of street space to cyclists and pedestrians; Brussels is creating 40km of new cycle paths; and France is tempting cyclists out with subsidies. In the UK the government has announced a 2bn infrastructure scheme to encourage more walking and cycling and the mayor of London has unveiled measures to create car free bridges and streets. Many cities are exploring some form of a circular economy, in which waste is minimised with resources kept in use as long as possible through recycling and reuse.

The economist Kate Raworth says: We live in a world that is complex, deeply interconnected, and human health and planetary health are woven into one. So governments need frameworks and ways of thinking that can hold that complexity that can think about climate and health and jobs and financial stability and inequality in one space.

For instance, quite apart from the pleasure of experiencing cleaner air, the coronavirus pandemic has revealed how deadly pollution is. One recent study found that a tiny increase in particulates was associated with a 15% increase in the Covid-19 death rate, almost certainly contributing to the terrible rates seen in cities. In Italy, the high death rates seen in the north of the country correlate with the highest levels of air pollution. Reducing air pollution would lower the general health burden and may also help prevent future pandemics from being so deadly.

We have created a framework, which invites a place to answer: how can our cities be home to thriving people in this thriving place, while respecting the wellbeing of all people and the health of the planet? Raworth says. She is working with the city of Amsterdam to apply her doughnut model of a socially and environmentally sustainable economy to the Dutch capitals post-pandemic recovery.

The Amsterdam project, like many others, predates Covid-19. Momentum for environmental protection has been building over the past few years, and it may be that this crisis proves a tipping point in public consciousness, leading to a meaningful shift in policy. For one thing, the pandemic has shown us how valuable expertise is, and now were all au fait with the role of infectious disease modellers in guiding public health policy, it should help us appreciate the role climate modellers could play in guiding economic policy.

Just as we have seen that early action to deter the spread of the virus was far more effective than trying to contain the damage after the virus already spread, transforming our energy system now to prevent the spread of excessive heat over our planet will be far more effective than trying to adapt to the consequences of this excessive heat later, says Ken Caldeira at the Carnegie Institution for Science, which is based in Washington DC.

Government is not there just to fix the same system, but to shape the kind of economy and society we want to live in

City initiatives can only go so far. Ultimately, this is the time for governments to forge a new relationship with the private sector, to produce a sustainable economy. As industry, businesses and individuals plead for state aid, government has never been in a stronger position to push a sustainable agenda, and its vital this is not squandered on kneejerk bailouts. Weve already seen the US and UK bailing out oil giants, and the UK giving supermarket giant Tesco a business rates holiday, only for it to pay a dividend to shareholders. What the government should be doing is thinking about the interest of the public that it represents, that it was elected for, and not simply giving out money that benefits private interest, says economist Mariana Mazzucato at University College London. This is not about helping business make money. Its about giving them that cashflow to survive, but also helping them transform themselves to be a more functioning part of society, she says.

The government will never have the negotiating hand it has now. Theres trillions being poured into the economy, given the tragedy. So, this can be used as a way to make sure that the public private partnerships actually become a symbiotic mutualistic partnership, not a parasitic one, as weve had in the health sector for a long time, Mazzucato says.

Governments, she says, must take the long view and use stimulus packages to actively mould a cleaner economy, something that South Korea has pledged, for instance. Government on its own cannot solve climate change, or create an equitable production system. It needs the private sector, and the private sector needs the public sector.

Mazzucato and others argue that theres a danger otherwise that we will repeat the mistakes that were made in the aftermath of the 2008/9 financial crisis (during which emissions also fell), by not attaching conditions to the bailouts. Goldman Sachs was back making record profits after it was given a $10bn bailout, she says.

We need to learn that government is not there just to do bailouts to fix the same system, but to really co-create to shape the kind of economy and society we want to live in. We know thats not a fossil fuel-driven economy; we know its not a financialised one; we know its not an unequal one. But thats not going to happen on its own. It needs to be embedded inside the policies, Mazzucato says. Governments need to put strong conditions into bailout contracts, which require investment, innovation, transformation of industry, but also in society more broadly, to help us achieve these longer-term objectives.

Ending state subsidies to fossil-fuel companies would be an easy win. The plunge in oil prices, rather than spurring a rush in fossil-fuel investment, as has happened in the past, now makes oil a volatile, uncertain commodity to invest in, especially when nations are worried about foreign dependency. The dip in oil prices may actually hasten the end of domestic extraction of all fossil fuels. So it now makes sense to shore up local renewable infrastructure, especially as costs are getting cheaper and theres long-term certainty in the market. The scope for public sector jobs and growth in this decentralised industry could prove transformative as we stare down the tunnel of a long recession.

The IEA believes that renewable investment could power recovery with global GDP gains of almost $100 trillion (80tn) between now and 2050. Meanwhile, the economic risks of not meeting the globally agreed greenhouse gas emissions targets could be severe, according to research published in Nature.

There is a risk, though, that while we are so preoccupied with the pandemic, the environmental movement, which made significant progress over the past year through the activities of striking schoolchildren, Extinction Rebellion and the leadership of Greta Thunberg, falls off the agenda. The much-anticipated 2020 UN climate change conference, which sets out how nations will meet the UN climate emissions targets agreed in Paris in 2015, has been postponed from November to early 2021. In the meantime, we might forget the deadly wildfires that ravaged Australia mere months ago, or the extreme weather that displaced some 7 million people last year, or the near-record Arctic melting.

Environmental campaigners are sanguine, though, preferring to wait until the world is less distracted by the pandemic. With the US presidential elections due this year, next years climate talks could now get the chance to benefit from an enlightened leader ready to engage with the crisis.

As environmentalists we have a role even during the lockdown, for instance in opposing the aviation bailout, says Alice Bell from Possible, an organisation campaigning for a zero-carbon society. For now, weve shifted to community action, people have made new relationships within their communities, and weve been looking at, say, the debate around park closures. This pandemic is going to profoundly change the way we live and how we work.

Global problems require global collaboration, and despite the nationalistic responses of some states, the pandemic has revealed that its solutions are international: scientists and medics have been sharing data, resources and equipment, and have been advising and supporting each other as never before, united in the quest for effective treatments, tests and vaccines. This same spirit of international cooperation is essential in producing solutions for our energy and economic transitions, and the technology and pace of information sharing make it possible. Wouldnt it be great if wealthy nations collaborated with resource-rich (poor) nations in an inclusive global economic programme? Sustainable production of crops and minerals in the global south could help fuel the rich worlds low-carbon transition. Instead of unsustainable industrial expansion, the post-pandemic economy could be steered in a way that protects people and the planet from the kind of ecological destruction that produces new diseases, and the climate disaster that threatens us all.

In the Netherlands, for instance, 170 Dutch academics have put together a radical five-point manifesto for economic change, which includes investment in critical public sector areas, clean energy, education and health, and radically scaling back the oil, gas, mining and advertising sectors; debt cancellation, especially for workers and small business owners and for countries in the global south; and redistribution, with universal basic income, reduced working hours and the recognition of care work.

Perhaps because weve experienced a cleaner, quieter and kinder alternative, most people dont actually want to get back to normal (one poll found only 9% of Britons wanted to return to pre-pandemic conditions). We should perhaps recognise this as a mandate for change, and look at the alternative to normal, taking lessons from this catastrophe to create a better world from its broken parts.

Gaia Vince is the author of Transcendence: How Humans Evolved Through Fire, Language, Beauty and Time (Allen Lane 20)

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After the Covid-19 crisis, will we get a greener world? - The Guardian

In mid-March Paul Garner developed what he thought was a bit of a cough. A professor of infectious diseases, Garner was discussing the new coronavirus with David Nabarro, the UKs special envoy on the pandemic. At the end of the Zoom call, Nabarro advised Garner to go home immediately and to self-isolate. Garner did. He felt no more than a little bit off.

Days later, he found himself fighting a raging infection. Its one he likens to being abused by somebody or clubbed over the head with a cricket bat. The symptoms were weird as hell, he says. They included loss of smell, heaviness, malaise, tight chest and racing heart. At one point Garner thought he was about to die. He tried to Google fulminating myocarditis but was too unwell to navigate the screen.

Garner refers to himself wryly as a member of the Boris Johnson herd immunity group. This is the cluster of patients who contracted Covid-19 in the 12 days before the UK finally locked down. He assumed his illness would swiftly pass. Instead it went on and on a rollercoaster of ill health, extreme emotions and utter exhaustion, as he put it in a blog last week for the British Medical Journal.

There is growing evidence that the virus causes a far greater array of symptoms than was previously understood. And that its effects can be agonisingly prolonged: in Garners case for more than seven weeks. The professor at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine says his experience of Covid-19 featured a new and disturbing symptom every day, akin to an advent calendar.

He had a muggy head, upset stomach, tinnitus, pins and needles, breathlessness, dizziness and arthritis in the hands. Each time Garner thought he was getting better the illness roared back. It was a sort of virus snakes and ladders. Its deeply frustrating. A lot of people start doubting themselves, he says. Their partners wonder if there is something psychologically wrong with them.

Since his piece was published, Garner has received emails and tearful phone calls from grateful readers who thought they were going mad. Im a public health person, he says. The virus is certainly causing lots of immunological changes in the body, lots of strange pathology that we dont yet understand. This is a novel disease. And an outrageous one. The textbooks havent been written.

According to the latest research, about one in 20 Covid patients experience long-term on-off symptoms. Its unclear whether long-term means two months, or three or longer. The best parallel is dengue fever, Garner suggests a ghastly viral infection of the lymph nodes which he also contracted. Dengue comes and goes. Its like driving around with a handbrake on for six to nine months.

Prof Tim Spector, of Kings College London, estimates that a small but significant number of people are suffering from the long tail form of the virus. Spector is head of the research group at Kings College London which has developed the Covid-19 tracker app. This allows anyone who suspects they have the disease to input their symptoms daily; some 3 to 4 million people are currently using it, mostly Britons and Americans.

Spector estimates that about 200,000 of them are reporting symptoms which have lasted for the duration of the study, which is six weeks. There is good clinical data available for patients who end up in hospital. Thus far the government is not collecting information on those in the community with ostensibly mild but often debilitating symptoms a larger group than those in critical care.

These people may be going back to work and not performing at the top of their game, Spector says. There is a whole other side to the virus which has not had attention because of the idea that if you are not dead you are fine.

He adds: We are the country that invented epidemiology. We havent produced any epidemiological studies other than the app. Its kind of embarrassing.

As more information becomes available, the governments Covid model seems increasingly out of date. Many Covid patients do not develop a fever and cough. Instead they get muscle ache, a sore throat and headache. The app has tracked 15 different types of symptoms, together with a distinct pattern of waxing and waning. Ive studied 100 diseases. Covid is the strangest one I have seen in my medical career, Spector says.

Scientific explanations for what is happening are still at an early stage. Lynne Turner-Stokes, professor of rehabilitation medicine at Kings College, says Covid is a multi-system disease which can potentially affect any organ. It causes microvascular problems and clots. Lungs, brain, skin, kidneys and the nervous system may be affected. Neurological symptoms can be mild (headache) or severe (confusion, delirium, coma).

Turner-Stokes says its uncertain why the illness is sometimes so protracted. One explanation is that the bodys immune system goes into overdrive, with an ongoing reaction. Another is that the symptoms are virus-driven. Either way, she says there can be a recrudescence of symptomatology. Or, as she also puts it using more colloquial language, the whole caboodle comes back.

Researchers are now collaborating across borders. They are examining the latest data from European countries ahead of the UK in pandemic terms, such as Italy and Spain, as well as China. They are seeking to work out what support may be needed for severe and chronic patients, with Covid posing similar challenges to HIV/Aids a generation ago.

Meanwhile Covid long-termers have been comparing notes via a Slack support group. It has #60plus-days and #30plus-days chat groups. The dominant feeling is relief that others are in the same grim situation, and that their health problems are not imaginary.

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'Weird as hell: the Covid-19 patients who have symptoms for months - The Guardian

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) -- Despite reporting the second highest number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases since the first day in May, the percentage of total tests that are coming back positive remains low.

Thats because the Department of Health Services reported the results of more tests Thursday than any day previously.

The agencys daily coronavirus tracker showed 5,860 tests were recorded in the past day. Of those, 373 new cases were confirmed. Only the May 1 and May 8 reports showed more new positive tests, 460 and 375 respectively. However, because of increasing testing the percentage of total tests on both days was significantly lower. On May 1, that percentage stood at 12.7 percent, while on May 8, it was 8.1 percent.

The jump in new confirmed cases, however, reversed a week-long trend in which the rolling 14-day average number of news cases decreased. Between May 6 and May 13, that average slid from 340 per day to 286 per day, before ticking up to 294 on Thursday.

Thirteen more deaths were reported statewide, bringing the total number of deaths from complications related to COVID-19 to 434.

With the latest numbers, 11,275 confirmed cases have been tallied and nearly 2,000 patients have been hospitalized.

County data

Number of cases and deaths per county, according to the DHS:

Adams : 4 / 1Brown: 1,999 / 21Columbia: 34 / 1Crawford: 18 / 0Dane: 494 / 22Dodge: 83 / 1Grant: 71 / 10Green: 39 / 0Green Lake: 10 / 0Iowa: 11 / 0Jefferson: 56 / 2Juneau: 21 / 1Lafayette: 15 / 0Marquette: 3 / 1Milwaukee: 4,387 / 242Richland: 13 / 2Rock: 393 / 14Sauk: 74 / 3Waukesha: 444 / 23

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Wisconsin's daily average of new COVID-19 cases went up for the first time in a week - WMTV

SALT LAKE CITY Beginning Saturday, businesses in most parts of Utah will be allowed to open, as well as swimming pools and team sports, so long as social distancing can be maintained.

I like the trend, I like the numbers. I like whats taking place, Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday. It gives me hope and optimism about the future.

He said it is time to turn the dial incrementally to get closer to full economic recovery.

Herbert said the majority of the state will move from a moderate health risk to a low-risk designation, as outlined in the Utah Leads Together 2.0 plan, at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Areas that will remain under tighter restrictions include Grand, Summit and Wasatch counties, Salt Lake City and West Valley City.

Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said she had hoped the entire county because it has experienced a higher positive case rate over the past several weeks would remain under stricter guidelines for an additional 10 days. She said more time is needed to assess the impact of the states plan to reopen in phases.

The virus doesnt understand municipal boundaries and therefore, countywide caution and prudence will still be essential for success, Wilson said, adding that face coverings and social distancing is still the most effective way to keep the community safe. Now, more than ever, we need to be united in the commitment to those safe practices.

The governors Public Health and Economic Emergency Commission made the recommendation Thursday based on closely tracked data involving transmission rates, hospital capacity, positive-test rate and tracking the exposure sources after the virus is detected.

SLC zip codes 84116 and 84104 have continuously shown some of the highest COVID-19 numbers in the state, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall tweeted Thursday afternoon. She seemed wary of lifting restrictions when the city hasnt yet seen a decline in cases.

Lets continue taking care of one another so that we can ensure our city is on solid footing before we move to the next phase of recovery, Mendenhall said.

Dr. Michael Good, dean at the University of Utahs School of Medicine and a member of the states commission, said 99% of infected Utahns are recovering from coronavirus and 92% recover at home, without needing to be hospitalized. Still, he added, people over age 65 and those with existing medical conditions or otherwise compromised immune systems remain at high risk of complications should they acquire the virus.

Coronavirus is a bully, Good said. It finds and attacks at-risk individuals. Coronavirus finds and attacks older members of our communities. Coronavirus finds and attacks those that have other medical conditions.

In addition to age, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that lung disease or asthma, serious heart conditions, immunocompromised states, severe obesity, diabetes, kidney disease and liver disease, all increase the likelihood of a person needing a hospital bed should they contract COVID-19.

Even though the death rate is only 1%, those are the individuals likely to be beaten by coronavirus, he said. Good encouraged all Utahns to protect anyone at risk.

Another 129 cases of COVID-19 were reported by the Utah Department of Health on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases to 6,749. The state has tested more than 160,119 people and has had 558 hospitalizations since the start of the outbreak. Ninety-nine people are currently hospitalized with the novel coronavirus in Utah, the health department reports.

No new deaths were reported in Utah Thursday, and state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn said the coronavirus mortality rate is about 1.1% in the state.

In all, 75 people, with an average age of 74, have died with COVID-19 in Utah since March.

Herbert said the same protocols that have been in place, including wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing, should continue.

All of us need to still be careful and cautious, he said. This is individual responsibility and common sense combined, and they still apply as we go forward with this new designation.

Herbert said schools that were close to summer break anyway, will remain closed. Driver education will become available for new drivers in the state, as well as opportunities to travel throughout Utah.

Team sports will resume, though spectators must maintain social distance, and swimming pools can open so long as people dont congregate in large groups. Gatherings that have been limited to up to 20 people will be allowed up to 50 people under the new low-risk designation.

We are slowly opening the valve, Herbert said. We hope if we handle this right, we will not have a surge. Then again, if it happens, we will be ready.

On Wednesday, Dunn said that because the virus has impacted different areas of the state differently, it would make sense that they reopen at different times. She said then she would not recommend transitioning to yellow anywhere along the Wasatch Front, where pockets of new cases still exist.

Were not going to go back to normal for some time, she said Wednesday, adding that no model can predict the future of COVID-19 in Utah, or elsewhere. She also noted that because around 5% have become infected so far here, it is important to maintain capacities and sustain the energy to manage the virus until a vaccine is available.

On Thursday, Dunn said these decisions arent always made in a public health silo.

Herbert anticipates full economic recovery in the state by the end of the year.

This is a great day, Herbert said. Its an opportunity to move forward little by little. There is reason to be hopeful and optimistic. The proof will be in how we act in this time.

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COVID-19 restrictions easing in most of Utah - Deseret News

The Oregon Convention Center and two Portland Parks& Recreation community centers have served as emergency shelters as COVID-19 required officials to rethink the amount of space required to safely shelter homeless people.

Now the Joint Office of Homeless Services will prepare for the next phase of the pandemicby movingshelter beds from group settings to hotels or other housing that allows separate bedrooms, particularly for people who are older or have medical conditions and are therefore more at risk of complications from COVID-19.

"Reopening means folks are going to be out and about," says Joint Office spokesman Denis Theriault. The risks, he adds, "may even grow for folks who are vulnerable."

Thereare no details yet on when exactlythe Joint Office will close the Convention Center shelterand the Charles Jordan and East Portland community centersor which motels or housing will replace those spaces.

But people won't be packed into existing shelters. Homeless shelters throughout the cityintendto maintain lower numbers to allow for social distancing.

The tent villages set up in Old Town and the central eastside will remain in operation, as will the shelters that existed before COVID-19.

"No one currently staying in the affected physical distancing shelters will lose a bed," says Theriault. "So long as funding remains available, our goal continues to be maintaining overall shelter bed capacity.

"If and when we shift beds from any of our current emergency sites, we plan to do so only when replacement sites are ready to accommodate that capacity, and we will provide transportation for those guests."

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Oregon Convention Center, Other Emergency COVID-19 Shelters to Close Over Coming Weeks - Willamette Week

An Amazon warehouse worker in Indianapolis, Indiana, has died of COVID-19, the company confirmed.

The death brings the known total of COVID-19 deaths at Amazon warehouses to seven, but Amazons process for notifying workers makes the true number difficult to determine. Several workers at IND8 first learned of the death through rumors and say management began informing employees more widely only after being confronted.

They werent going to say anything if it wasnt for people asking questions, says a worker at IND8, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution.

Amazon has repeatedly declined to say how many warehouse employees have been diagnosed with or died from the virus. In an interview on 60 Minutes that aired Sunday, Amazon senior vice president of worldwide operations Dave Clark called statistics on infections not a particularly useful number. On Tuesday, 13 state attorneys general wrote to Amazon requesting data on the number of workers who had contracted or died of COVID-19.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company was made aware of the Indiana employees death on April 30th and immediately notified all employees within the building. We are saddened by the loss of an associate at our site in Indianapolis, IN, the company said in a statement. His family and loved ones are in our thoughts, and we are supporting his fellow colleagues in the days ahead.

In March, Amazon workers criticized the company for failing to notify employees when their colleagues were diagnosed with the virus. The company now sends text alerts or automated calls when a worker is diagnosed, but the alerts often refer only to multiple new cases, so workers have been left to tally alerts themselves to figure out the prevalence of the coronavirus at their facility. At IND8, workers believe the number is around a dozen. Jana Jumpp, an Amazon warehouse worker in Indiana, has been collecting alerts sent to workers around the country and says at least 800 Amazon warehouse workers have been diagnosed with the virus.

The Indianapolis case is the second known death of an Amazon warehouse worker in the state, after a worker was confirmed to have died in Jeffersonville, and its the seventh in the US. Workers have also died in Staten Island, New York; Bethpage, New York; Waukegan, Illinois; Hawthorne, California; and Tracy, California. Its unclear how the worker contracted the virus, and the employees name hasnt been released. Amazon says he was last in the building on April 19th.

Amazon has been determined to maintain something resembling normal operations throughout the pandemic. Faced with a surge of orders, it hired 175,000 new workers and resisted closing US warehouses where workers tested positive. (So far it has closed only one in the US, a returns-processing facility in Kentucky, after the governor ordered it shut.) After temporarily stopping deliveries of nonessential goods to its warehouses, it has now lifted restrictions and says delivery times have begun to fall to their pre-pandemic levels.

But workers, activists, and lawmakers have raised concerns about the safety of the companys warehouses. Starting in late March, warehouse employees staged walkouts, calling for facilities to be closed and cleaned after employees tested positive for the virus. Amazon fired several workers who raised safety concerns, and last week, senators wrote a letter demanding information on the terminations. Earlier this month, a senior engineer and vice president resigned over the firing of workers who called for improving warehouse conditions.

Amazon has instituted new safety measures, including temperature checks, face masks, and increased cleaning. Our top concern is ensuring the health and safety of our employees, and we expect to invest approximately $4 billion from April to June on COVID-related initiatives to get products to customers and keep employees safe, the company said in a statement. The company also says infection rates at its warehouses are at or below the rates in the communities where they are located.

But workers at IND8 and elsewhere say cleaning has been uneven and conditions are often too crowded to allow for proper social distancing. Many worry that recent policy changes put them at greater risk. This month, Amazon reversed a policy it instituted at the onset of the pandemic that allowed workers to take unlimited time off without pay. (Amazon is set to end another coronavirus policy, an additional $2 per hour of hazard pay, on June 1st.) The leave policy had allowed workers who feared for their safety and could afford to go without a paycheck to stay home without being fired for overdrawing their quarterly allotment of 20 hours of unpaid time off. When the policy ended on May 1st, workers say their facilities became far more crowded.

Before we had the unlimited UPT [unpaid time off] so if people didnt feel safe, they didnt have to come to work, said a worker at IND8. When that went away, we went from having one hundred twenty five people back to four to five hundred people per shift. Its really crowded.

That worker and others are concerned the end of the time-off policy is pushing people who feel sick to come to work. Amazon offers paid leave for people diagnosed with COVID-19, and partial pay for people with fevers but no test results, but no general sick leave. This week, workers at IND8 were sent home early when a worker on the floor received a positive COVID-19 test result.

The facility was cleaned, but the next shift came in as usual. For the IND8 workers, the risk feels particularly unwarranted, because they process returned merchandise rather than sending out goods to homebound customers. Were not essential, said a worker. Everyones like, why are we not shut down?

That worker has received six notifications about positive cases at the facility, but its unclear how many people those alerts represent. Trying to get a sense of the risk, she wrote on the Voice of the Associate board, a bulletin for workers to request changes and ask questions, exactly how many cases there have been at the warehouse. She has received no response.

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Seventh Amazon worker dies of COVID-19 as the company refuses to say how many are sick - The Verge

But if the vice president is also incapacitated, there is no way to use Sections 3 or 4. When Congress drafted the Twenty-Fifth Amendment in 1965, members acknowledged this gap but consciously decided not to fill it. The amendment was already extraordinarily wordy, and the risk of double incapacity seemed minimal. Fifty-five years later, though, that risk is easier to imagine.

So what would happen if Trump and Pence were so sick that neither could function? Article II of the Constitution lets Congress provide for the Case of Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed. In other words, Congress can pass line-of-succession statutes. And it has, most recently in 1947. That law still stands, and it puts the speaker of the House next in line, followed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, followed by members of the Cabinet.

Ronald J. Krotoszynski, Jr.: States are using the pandemic to roll back Americans rights

However, Article II provides no procedures for determining inability. Imagine that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, believing that Trump and Pence are too ill to function, cites Article II and declares herself acting president. If Trump or Pence replied that no inability existed, control of the White House would be thrown into doubt. Courts could settle the matter in due time, but just a few hours of uncertainty could be perilous.

But even if Trump and Pence were undeniably incapacitated, the country could still face a meltdown. As a matter of both policy and law, it is highly problematic that the speaker and president pro tempore are in the line of succession.

The biggest policy problem is that these congressional leaders are often members of the party opposed to the president. A line of succession statute would ideally provide continuity, because a sudden transfer of presidential power from one party to the other would be jarring. The new acting president would struggle for legitimacy (imagine power suddenly shifting from Trump to Pelosior, if that doesnt trouble you, from President Barack Obama to Speaker Paul Ryan). Avoiding such a transfer would produce perverse incentives for White House staff and other members of the presidents political party to cover up or sugarcoat the presidents and vice presidents medical conditions.

During Watergate, after Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned and before Gerald Ford was confirmed to replace him, no one held the office for eight weeks. Democratic Speaker Carl Albert promised that if something happened to President Richard Nixon and Albert became acting president, he would appoint a Republican vice president, then resign. From the standpoint of todays poisonous politics, such nonpartisan sacrifice seems inconceivable.

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The Very Real Problem of Both Trump and Pence Getting COVID-19 at the Same Time - The Atlantic

Hydrochloroquine and azithromycin will be the focus of a clinical trial enrolling 2,000 participants. (UW Medicine Photo)

One of the treatments touted by President Donald Trump for COVID-19, a combination of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine and the antiviral drug azithromycin, is the subject of a nationwide study with UW Medicine playing a role.

The Phase 2b clinical trial, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease at the National Institutes of Health, will involve 2,000 outpatients who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are in the early stages of treatment.

We know from a number of different other kinds of infections that if antiviral treatment is going to be effective, it tends to be most effective if its given very early on, Ann Collier, a professor at the University of Washingtons School of Medicine, said in a video about the study.

The two drugs have been the subject of other studies including a complementary 630-patient trial in which UW Medicine is also involved. That smaller trial is designed to focus on the effect of the drugs on viral shedding, while the larger trial will focus on clinical outcomes.

Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin are attractive drug candidates for treating COVID-19 because theyve already undergone extensive testing for other medical applications, such as treating malaria and autoimmune diseases such as lupus.

However, the interest shown by Trump in hydroxychloroquine and a similar drug, chloroquine, has led to shortages for patients who need those drugs for other types of treatment. Moreover, the studies conducted to date have raised questions about the drugs efficacy.

There have been a number of publications looking at outcomes in hospitalized patients given this treatment, Collier said. But none of them have been [conducted using] the rigorous study design that is usually used to determine whether treatments are effective.

In addition to UW, 30 other sites across the country associated with the AIDS Clinical Trials Group will be enrolling patients for the randomized, controlled study. Half the participants will receive the drug combination for seven days, while the other half will receive placebos. Therell be six months of follow-up afterward.

Hydroxychloroquine carries a risk of causing heart problems but Collier said the drug dosage has been adjusted to address the Food and Drug Administrations concerns, and patients will be closely checked for signs of toxicity.

In a news release, NIAID Director Anthony Fauci said the study should provide definitive answers about the drug combinations effects.

Although there is anecdotal evidence that hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin may benefit people with COVID-19, we need solid data from a large randomized, controlled clinical trial to determine whether this experimental treatment is safe and can improve clinical outcomes, Fauci said.

The trial is open to outpatients aged 18 or older who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are experiencing symptoms, but have no need for hospitalization. The first dose of study treatment is to be administered within 96 hours of the positive test. Those interested in participating in the trial should email actg.communications@fstrf.org or actu@uw.edu, or call or text 206-773-7129.

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UW Medicine ramps up study of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for COVID-19 treatment - GeekWire

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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A majority of U.S. adults believe that preventing the spread of the coronavirus is more important than protecting people's medical privacy. Amid the growing use of digital medical data to track COVID-19 infections, 61% of Americans prioritize these preventative efforts, even if that means people have to reveal sensitive medical information.

As more cities and states loosen stay-at-home restrictions and businesses reopen during the COVID-19 crisis, some experts and officials are pushing for expanded contact tracing. Contact tracing -- identifying and informing people who may have come into contact with an infected person -- involves releasing personal information to local authorities and, in some countries, to the broader public when new cases are confirmed, using medical and cellphone location data.

Majorities of all age groups; of city, suburban and rural residents; and of working and nonworking people prioritize taking steps to contain the spread of COVID-19 over protecting medical privacy.

Majority of Americans Think Preventing the Spread of the Coronavirus Is More Important Than Protecting Medical Privacy

If you had to choose, which of the following do you think is more important? Protecting people's medical privacy, even if it makes it harder to limit the spread of the coronavirus, or preventing the spread of the coronavirus, even if that means people have to reveal sensitive medical information?

These results are from an April 27-May 10 web survey, collected using a probability-based sample of 8,564 U.S. adults from the Gallup Panel. More than seven in 10 older adults -- those aged 65 and older -- believe preventing the spread of the coronavirus is more important than protecting medical privacy. Older adults, who are at higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness, are more likely to prioritize efforts to prevent COVID's spread (72%) than adults 18-44 (58%) and 45-64 (56%).

Residents of cities are highly likely to say that preventing the spread of the coronavirus is more important than protecting people's medical privacy (69%). However, a majority of residents from suburbs (62%) and small towns/rural areas (55%) also think doing so is more important.

A majority of employed adults (57%) say that preventing the spread of the coronavirus is more important, even if that means people have to reveal sensitive medical information. However, employed adults are more likely than those not working to prioritize protecting people's medical privacy. This is notable because some employers are ramping up contact tracing and strictly enforcing social distancing in the workplace, sometimes using apps to track how close employees get to each other.

Republicans are the most likely of all party groups to think that protecting people's medical privacy is paramount -- 57% say protecting people's medical privacy is the more important goal, versus 42% of independents and 23% of Democrats. More than three-quarters of Democrats (77%) think that preventing the spread of the coronavirus is more important.

These findings reflect an ongoing partisan divide in most attitudes about the coronavirus situation in the U.S. However, Republicans are far from unified on the privacy question because 43% believe it is more important to prevent the spread of the virus, even if that means jeopardizing medical privacy.

As more businesses reopen and Americans return to the workplace, shop in retail stores and visit other places closed because of the COVID-19 crisis, there will likely be increasing calls for health surveillance, including rigorous contact tracing, to prevent additional outbreaks. Such efforts will require new tools and practices that could weaken safeguards for digital medical data and privacy laws. The options range from mobile contact tracing apps and so-called "immunity passports" that certify someone has recovered from COVID-19 to digital tools to enforce quarantines and public disclosure of personally identifiable information about those who have tested positive.

Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a central role in many contact tracing and predictive applications. According to a 2019 study by Northeastern University and Gallup, Democrats and Republicans had similarly high levels of concern about their personal privacy related to AI. Seventy-two percent of Republicans and 67% of Democrats reported worrying very often or often that their personal information is at risk when using products or services that employ AI.

The COVID-19 crisis has caused public health concerns to outweigh these privacy worries for a majority of Americans, particularly Democrats. As public officials and employers weigh the costs and benefits of exposing sensitive information and restricting privacy to curb new cases, a majority of Americans are willing to accept these negative consequences for patient confidentiality. However, as with many policy choices related to the COVID-19 recovery, there is little consensus by party. While nearly eight in 10 Democrats prioritize these efforts to stop the virus' spread, a majority of Republicans think that protecting people's medical privacy is more important.

Learn more about how the Gallup Panel works.

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Americans Rank Halting COVID-19 Spread Over Medical Privacy - Gallup

WHOs latest World Health Statistics reveal that low-income countries reported the biggest gains in life expectancy, which rose by 11 years between 2000 and 2016.

Other achievements during this period include a dramatic scale-up in access to services to prevent and treat HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. Child mortality was also halved thanks to better maternal and child healthcare.

However, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the COVID-19 pandemic could further thwart progress.

The new statistics shine a light on one of the key drivers of this pandemic: inequality, he said during the agencys latest update on the crisis.

Tedros reported that more than one billion people worldwide spend at least 10 per cent of their household budgets on healthcare, while more than 55 percent of countries have fewer than 40 nursing and midwifery personnel, per 10,000 people.

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing a significant loss of life, disrupting livelihoods, and threatening to undo much of the progress we have made, he said.

While the coronavirus is an unprecedented shock to the world; through national unity and global solidarity, we can save both lives and livelihoods and ensure that other health services for neglected diseases, child vaccination, HIV, TB and malaria continue to both function and improve.

WHO also highlighted the challenge of preventing COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities: an unfortunate phenomenon that has occurred across the world, according to the agencys Executive Director.

Dr. Michael Ryan said residents are vulnerable to the respiratory disease because they tend to be older, and many have underlying health conditions.

He added that there already is a long list of countries where more than half of all COVID-19 cases were found in these settings.

I think this is something thats going to have be dealt with as countries now emerge from the high incidence phase, he said.

Not only is it a tragedy that this disease is occurring and killing so many people in those facilities. Ifthat disease remains in those facilities, it will come back out into communities through the workers who work there and families who visit.

Dr. Ryan also explained that long-term care facilities are not like hospitals as settings vary around the world.

Some can have many, many residents who are served by a relatively small number of staff. Furthermore, these workers may or may not have been fully trained in areas such as healthcare provision or infection prevention and control.

Dr. Ryan called for continued vigilance against COVID-19 but also action to protect older citizens in long-term care facilities, citing the example of hospitals twinning with these institutions to support infection prevention and control, diagnostics and rapid testing.

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COVID-19 threatens to undo global health progress - UN News