Category: Covid-19

State officials are planning to substantially increase testing for COVID-19 in Hidalgo County beginning Tuesday, according to a county news release issued Tuesday.

There have been 394 cases of COVID-19 reported in Hidalgo County, with more than 6,000 individuals who have been tested thus far. Its unclear what the rate of testing will be, however.

Tuesdays announcement follows Gov. Greg Abbotts mandate that 100% of residents and staff from nursing homes in Texas will get tested for the virus across the state.

Several factors are converging in Hidalgo County that will result in a greater number of people locally having the opportunity to be tested, Cortez said in the release, which stated that testing efforts will greatly expand.

Cortez added, This will give us a more accurate picture of how effective our mitigation efforts have been and allow us to make more informed decisions about relaxing controls in the county.

Drive-thru testing will begin Wednesday at Hargill Elementary, located at 13394 Fourth St. in Hargill. Testing will continue on Thursday at Monte Alto ISD, at 25149 First St. in Monte Alto; and Dr. Javier Saenz Middle School, at 39200 Mile 7 Road in Mission.

Abbott has previously indicated that he wants 2% of the Texas population to be tested as part of his Open Texas efforts.

The Texas National Guard, the Texas Military Department and the Texas Department of Health and Human Services have begun negotiating with emergency management officials in Hidalgo County to set up as many as 18 new drive-through testing sites in unincorporated areas of the county.

The testing will be free, but people who wish to be tested must first consult with health officials and make an appointment 24 hours prior to the test date.

People will be screened for fever and/or chills, sore throat, cough (dry or productive), headaches, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, body aches, muscle or joint pain, nasal congestion, shortness of breath, and loss of taste and/or smell.

Visit http://www.txcovidtest.org or call (512) 883-2400 to initiate the testing process.

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COVID-19 testing efforts to 'greatly expand' in Hidalgo County - Monitor

A new strain of Coronavirus, COVID 19, is spreading around the world, causing deaths and major disruption to the global economy.

Responding to this crisis requires global cooperation among governments, international organizations and the business community, which is at the centre of the World Economic Forums mission as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.

The Forum has created the COVID Action Platform, a global platform to convene the business community for collective action, protect peoples livelihoods and facilitate business continuity, and mobilize support for the COVID-19 response. The platform is created with the support of the World Health Organization and is open to all businesses and industry groups, as well as other stakeholders, aiming to integrate and inform joint action.

As an organization, the Forum has a track record of supporting efforts to contain epidemics. In 2017, at our Annual Meeting, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was launched bringing together experts from government, business, health, academia and civil society to accelerate the development of vaccines. CEPI is currently supporting the race to develop a vaccine against this strand of the coronavirus.

1. How COVID-19 is impacting the globe

2. Smallpox proves a vaccine alone cannot conquer COVID-19: WHO briefingOn the 40th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, World Health Organization (WHO) officials shared lessons learned from conquering that disease, including the importance of global cooperation.

That same solidarity...is needed now more than ever to defeat COVID-19," said Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a briefing in Geneva Friday.

Officials in South Korea raised concerns recently after recovered patients tested positive for coronavirus, Reuters reported. Research has found, however, that these cases are likely "false positives" caused by non-infectious bits of the virus still in these patients' lungs. According to the findings, those who appear to have relapsed are actually still in the recovery process.

Costa Rica has successfully suppressed cases in part thanks to a strategy that has relied on a swift response from the government and cooperation from the people. The country banned mass gatherings in early March and by mid-March had closed its borders and told most workers and students to operate remotely.

Weve had a very controlled transmission, the countrys health minister, Daniel Salas, told The Tico Times in April. Thats in large part to the actions taken at the appropriate moment, but also due to the very favourable response from a population that understands the challenge were facing.

This is how coronavirus has progressed in Costa Rica.

Image: Tico Times

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with our Terms of Use.

Written by

Linda Lacina, Digital Editor, World Economic Forum

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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COVID-19: What you need to know about COVID-19 on 9 May - World Economic Forum

European countries will be advised to open borders to countries with similar coronavirus risk profiles under a plan to bolster the ailing tourist industry being discussed in Brussels.

On Wednesday the European commission will recommend a phased approach to reopening borders that means EU countries with similar overall risk profiles on the pandemic will open to tourists from each others countries, according to a leaked draft paper seen by the Guardian.

Restrictions on travel should first be lifted in areas with a comparable epidemiological situation and where sufficient capabilities are in place in terms of hospitals, testing, surveillance and contact tracing capacities, the paper said. The draft was first reported by the website Euractiv.

The EU executive has previously voiced unease about tourism corridors, whereby member states make bilateral deals to open to each others tourists, but now appears ready to accept such arrangements in practice.

The EU includes some of the countries worst hit by the pandemic notably Spain and Italy along with others such as Greece and the Czech Republic that have so far limited its impact.

Officials are scrambling to rescue Europes tourism industry, which accounts for 10% of EU economic output more in Italy, Spain, Croatia and Greece.

Austrias chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, announced last week that he intended to open the borders to visitors from safe countries, such as Germany and the Czech Republic, as part of efforts to protect the Alpine states tourism industry.

Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia will reopen their borders to each other from 15 May, creating a Baltic travel bubble.

We showed a good example by stating, very clearly, that only countries which successfully dealt with the situation can open themselves up, Lithuanias prime minister, Saulius Skvernelis, has said.

Greece, among nine countries that have notched up low infection rates so far - and have formed the Smart Covid-19 management group has proposed that tourism ministers also meet to discuss the idea of travel corridors among the alliance.

With around one million people almost a quarter of its workforce employed in the industry, Greece is keen to capitalise on its unexpectedly successful handling of the pandemic.

In proposals made ahead of the talks, Athens has suggested that travellers be tested for Covid-19 three days before departure. Given that testing people upon arrival at airports will be difficult, the idea of socalled PCR tests being conducted to determine a persons status, say 72 hours before travelling, has been discussed, one insider told the Guardian.

Greece hopes the sector can be rebooted by 15 June with the nation opening to foreign tourists by 1 July.

The countrys tourism minister, Harry Theoharis, confirmed on Tuesday that if progress was not made on Wednesday Athens would pursue measures that would allow air travel by striking bilateral agreements with other countries. Germany, Austria, Israel and Cyprus have already begun discussing travel corridors with Greece, along with Bulgaria and other Balkan states to its north.

Senior EU officials acknowledge they cannot stop governments from striking such bilateral or trilateral deals, but argue against selective treatment. If Austria opens to Germany, it would be expected to permit entry to all residents in Germany.

The commissions acceptance of national border controls contrasts with earlier unease. Member states cannot open borders for citizens from one EU country, but not from others. This is essential, the EU home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson, told MEPs last week.

Separately, Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron have agreed to work on appropriate border measures. A UK government spokesperson neither confirmed nor denied a report by the Sun that the two leaders were planning a travel corridor aimed at allowing British tourists to visit France in the summer and vice versa. The spokesperson referred to Foreign Office advice against all non-essential travel worldwide.

The British government has exempted travellers from France from having to go into a 14-day quarantine that will apply to most international visitors.

A European commission spokesperson welcomed all arrangements that bring us back to normality but called on the British government to apply the same rules to other EU countries where the virus is under a similar level of control as France.

Quarantine restrictions on visitors are also determined by national governments, and the EU executive is taking a similar approach, calling for equal treatment for countries with a similar infection rate. We would also expect member states that follow certain measures in quarantine would apply the same rules towards other member states if they have similar epidemiological situations, the spokesperson said.

By the peak summer season, travellers across the EU will be able to check an interactive map drawn up by the European commissions science service that will provide information on the latest border controls and travel conditions, under the commission plans.

The EU executive will also urge member states to construct preparedness plans in case of a second wave of coronavirus. It suggest countries should only lift travel restrictions when virus containment measures, such as physical distancing, can be followed throughout a journey.

The World Health Organization (WHO) guidance on face masks has remained consistent during the coronavirus pandemic. It has stuck to the line that masks are for healthcare workers not the public.

Wearing a medical mask is one of the prevention measures that can limit the spread of certain respiratory viral diseases, including Covid-19. However, the use of a mask alone is insufficient to provide an adequate level of protection, and other measures should also be adopted, the WHO has stated.

Nevertheless, as some countries have eased lockdown conditions, they have been making it mandatory to wear face coverings outside, as a way of trying to inhibit spread of the virus. This is in the belief that the face covering will prevent people who cough and sneeze ejecting the virus any great distance.

There is no robust scientific evidence in the form of trials that ordinary masks block the virus from infecting people who wear them. There is also concerns the public will not understand how to use a mask properly, and may get infected if they come into contact with the virus when they take it off and then touch their faces.

Also underlying the WHOs concerns is the shortage of high-quality protective masks for frontline healthcare workers.

Nevertheless, masks do have a role when used by people who are already infected. It is accepted that they can block transmission to other people. Given that many people with Covid-19 do not show any symptoms for the first days after they are infected, masks clearly have a potential role to play if everyone wears them.

Sarah BoseleyHealth editor

Travel bans, grounded planes and closed borders caused by the pandemic response are proving disastrous for Europes tourism industry, which supports 27m jobs 12% of all employment in the union.

In an interview with the Guardian and other European newspapers, the European commissioner for the economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said Europes tourism industry would lose 40% of its income in 2020. It is obviously the hardest hit sector, he said, predicting a gradual recovery after Marchs total losses.

The commission will set out recommendations to promote hygiene in hotels and resorts on Wednesday. We will have a tourism season in summer, but with safety measures and limitations that [will make it] quite different from previous summer seasons, he said.

Gentiloni said countries faced different situations. His home country, one of the hardest hit by the virus, has already lost some of the biggest earning months of the year. In Italy, for example, the peak season was lost, because the richest part of tourism is frequently the tourists going for cultural trips to cities, and this is specially done from March to May, and then in September to October.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization predicted in March that global visitor numbers could fall by 20-30% in 2020, leading to losses of $450bn (362bn), but the impact on Europe is expected to be greater. Around half of all the worlds tourists visit Europe.

The commission has pledged to prioritise tourism in an EU recovery plan that is still being prepared.

Meanwhile, the commission has declined to back a call by more than a dozen EU member states calling for a relaxation of passenger rights rules that would allow cash-starved airlines to reimburse people with vouchers rather than money for cancelled flights.

The commission is expected to say customers should retain the right to a cash refund, but will propose common rules for vouchers to make them as attractive as possible.

More here:

EU could reopen borders to tourists in Covid-19 recovery plan - The Guardian

The Indiana State Department of Health reported Tuesday that566 additional residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The number includes the results reported tothe health department over multiple days.In Tuesdays information, it stated that the results were between March23 and May 11 from tests conducted from March 17 to May 11.

The total number of Indiana residents known to have COVID-19 is now 25,127.

Marshall Countys number increased to 36 positive COVID-19 cases, according to Tuesdays report. Pulaski County reported 34 positive cases and Starke County reported an increase to 23 positive cases. La Porte County reported 325 positive cases of COVID-19.

The numbers provided are a running total. Information on how many people have recovered from COVID-19 is not available in the report.

The 33 additional deaths reported occurred over the last fewdays which brought the total to 1,444 in the state. Probable deaths total 134. A probable death is reported based on a clinicaldiagnosis, but no positive test.

The Westville Correctional Facility reported 92 staff members and 175 offenders who have tested positive for COVID-19. Statistics provided on the Department of Correction website show that a majority of the patients have recovered.

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Number of Local Positive COVID-19 Cases Increases WKVI Information Center - wkvi.com

Story

Gov. Jay Inslee announced the extension of three proclamations today in response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

A May 11, 2020, letter from the Legislature extends proclamations 20-28 and 20-31 until May 31, 2020.

The statutory waivers and suspensions cited in 20-33.1 are extended until May 18, 2020.

Public and constituent inquiries | 360.902.4111Press inquiries | 360.902.4136

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Inslee extends three proclamations relating to COVID-19 | Governor Jay Inslee - Access Washington

The coronavirus has devastated economies around the world and disrupted life in ways that were unimaginable just a few months ago. The world will never be the same. But at some point, industries will start coming back online and people will start going out again.

We asked travel industry experts for their thoughts on what willrestore confidence for people to begin traveling once theCovid-19 pandemic finally recedes. In the latest installment of our series "The Next Normal," we look at where and how we'll actually travel once we're willing to hit the road again.

***

A road trip to a national park or other attraction in a neighboring state.

A week-long stay at a sanitized vacation rental property nearby.

How does that sound? Your next outing might be booked through a travel advisor and insured, too.

That's what a typical family vacation might look like in the U.S. once travel and tourism starts to pick up again post-pandemic, say industry experts. Just when that might happen is up in the air, yet it could be as soon as early fall or as late as next spring or beyond.

The hypothetical trip incorporates several trends coming to the travel business going forward. These include traveler preferences for domestic destinations reachable by car and stays at private rental properties instead of crowded hotels and resorts.

What seems sure is that any rebound in travel and tourism, brought to a screeching halt by the coronavirus pandemic, will start slowly and stay closer to home. A recent study from Longwoods International found that 82% of travelers polled had changed their travel plans for the next six months.

More from Personal Finance:Cooking more under quarantine? How to trim your grocery billsHere are the world's best attractions and worst tourist trapsHow Americans plan to spend their stimulus checks

"Tourism recovery typically begins locally," said Elizabeth Monahan, spokesperson for Tripadvisor.com. "Travelers tend to first venture out closer to home, and visit their local eateries, stay local for a weekend getaway or travel domestically before a robust demand for international travel returns."

Omer Rabin, managing director, Americas, for Guesty, agreed. Guesty is an Israeli-founded property management software that enables users with properties across Airbnb, Booking.com and other travel sites to automate and streamline operations. "There will be a lot of demand for domestic travel," he said. "I think that's clear to everybody in the industry right now.

"We see a much better recovery and occupancy for drive-to destinations," he added. "People say 'we don't know what's going to happen with flights, but we do know that we're going to be able to get in the car and drive for three hours and have our own place and stay there for two weeks.'"

In fact, the Longwoods survey found that of those that had changed their travel plans for this year, nearly a quarter, or 22%, had switched to driving from flying . Aviation industry group Airlines for America says U.S. airlines have idled 3,000 aircraft, or half the nation's fleet, due to the downturn, while the number of passengers passing through TSA checkpoints at airports is down 93% over last year.

"Our clients are a little hesitant to get on an airplane right now," said Jessica Griscavage, director of marketing at McCabe World Travel in McLean, Virginia. "We're already preparing for the drive market for the remainder of the year, and probably into 2021."

For its part, online travel insurance comparison site InsureMyTrip is finding that the continental U.S. is indeed the top draw for future client travel but it's also tracking some interest in domestic destinations like Hawaii, as well as the Bahamas and Caribbean destinations like Jamaica.

"When people get more comfortable, they'll continue to go farther and farther away from home, starting with domestic and then moving to international, long-term," said Cheryl Golden, director of e-commerce at the Warwick, Rhode Island-based firm. (To wit, Sandals Resorts reportedly will open most of its Sandals and Beaches properties across the Caribbean June 4, and those in the Bahamas July 1.)

There is a small degree of interest in flying from die-hard bargain seekers.

"We've heard from a number of travelers that the low airfares available along many routes are tempting," said Tripadvisor's Monahan, although she cautions those willing to book flights that "airlines continue to adjust their cancellation and change policies for travelers across the globe in response to Covid-19."

Until the virus is under control and efficient systems are in place to restore confidence in travel, it's simply too soon to tell when people can expect to start booking again.

Erika Richter

senior communications director, American Society of Travel Advisors

"Every day and every week, it just seems like things are changing and it's really dynamic," said Golden. "It's hard for us to say right now when we think people will be ready to travel but travel will come back."

Erika Richter, senior director of communications at the American Society of Travel Advisors, said a new normal is probably necessary before bookings will pick up again. "We're still in that wait-and-see mode, because until the virus is under control and efficient systems are in place to restore confidence in travel, it's simply too soon to tell when people can expect to start booking again."

And when they do, things will be different, thinks Anne Scully, a certified travel counselor and president of McCabe World Travel. "Travel's going to come back [but] we'd need a crystal ball to say when," she said. "It will be changed, I think, at least for the next 12 months."

In the meantime, Scully's colleague Griscavage said she seeing a "standstill" in the agency's bookings through the holiday season meaning little in new business but not many cancellations, either. "Those [trips] are still bought, they are not cancelled yet, though it's just too soon to tell," she said. "I'm personally not seeing a surge in [holiday] travel bookings just yet though I think that can change very quickly as states are starting to open up."

There's been good news at Guesty, however, said Rabin. In the last two weeks of April, more reservations than cancellations came in.

Noel Hendrickson/Getty Images

"The most interesting thing is that there are more future reservations for the holidays right now than we have seen in that point of time in April 2019 for the holiday season last year," said Rabin. "Which means there's a lot of optimism and people are planning ahead."

Reservations for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's stays are up 38%, 40% and 23%, respectively, compared to the same time in 2019, Guesty found. "This also means that a lot of people are unable to take summer vacations or don't feel comfortable making bookings and travel plans for June, July, August," said Rabin, so are planning for later in the year. New flexibility in vacation-rental cancellation policies is helping, too, he added.

"Travel has changed," said Scully at McCabe World Travel. "It changed after 9/11, and it changed after the economy blew up in 2008-09." Yet travel advisors then showed clients it was still possible to travel despite any economic or geopolitical changes, and perhaps "better than ever," she said.

Griscavage said she foresees a big surge in family and multi-generational travel once people are willing to book trips again. "They didn't get their spring breaks, they're unsure of their summer trips," she said. "Maybe you didn't get to go to Mom and Dad's 50th anniversary or Grandma's 80th birthday.

"All of these families haven't been able to be together," she added. "I think we're going to see a lot of family and multi-gen travel but in a different way, a safer way."

How so? Accommodations perceived as cleaner and more isolated will find greater favor. "The question on every traveler's mind will be 'what are resorts doing to make us feel safe?'" Griscavage said. "I think we're going to see a big increase [in bookings of] villas and private homes and less crowded experiences moving forward."

Scully suggested that traditional hotel properties may pivot to operate more like private villas, selling entire floors staffed "not so much with a butler but a handler who could go down to pool, for example, and make sure the lounge chairs are separated." Hotel rooms may also sit empty for several days and be completely disinfected before a new guest can check in.

"These are going be not only game-changers but maybe a healthier way for us moving forward," Scully mused. "You've probably seen ridiculous shows on TV where they ask 'Is that hotel bedspread really clean?' Well, I bet now that it's really going to be spotless."

Rabin agreed that sanitization will be "a very big thing." Many of Guesty's vacation home hosts are installing automatic locks that can be opened via cellphone app, are arranging for contactless food deliveries to guest units and space out rental periods, "sometimes for days," to ensure complete unit disinfecting, he said.

There's a definite move toward vacation homes over hotels, Rabin said. "People feel much more comfortable staying short-term rentals like vacation homes," he said. "Hotels have a lot of turnover of guests, a lot of volume, a lot of people at check-in and check-out and in the dining room."

The trend is even influencing how hosts market their rental units. "If you search today for apartments on Airbnb, you will see that a lot of the hosts will put in the name of the property 'Sanitized, highly clean, Covid-friendly' a lot of things like that to basically signal to their customers, 'We are a safe location.'"

It works: Those hosts are seeing more reservations, according to Guesty data. The firm is working to ensure all hosts can offer such contactless, cleaner stays to prospective guests, said Rabin.

InsureMyTrip, for its part, is seeing a 6% increase in vacation-unit rentals over 2019, along with a decrease in hotel bookings, said Golden. "It's a trend that's just starting to happen, but I do expect we'll start to see more of this as people look to travel closer to home for vacation."

If anyone booked without a travel advisor during this period, they learned they should have.

Anne Scully

president, McCabe World Travel

Other areas of travel and tourism from pricing and flexibility to insurance and booking methods are also evolving:

Flexibility: Once you've paid, you are now, in many cases, free to cancel flights, accommodations and other travel components almost up to the last minute. "All the vendors really need the revenue stream, and so they offer this kind of flexibility at the moment," said Rabin. "The biggest chance that they have to recoup a lot of the losses for a weak summer is in a strong winter," so they're doing what they can to encourage bookings.

Scully at McCabe World Travel would like to see another change when it comes to prepayment. "When we give a hotel, a tour operator or a cruise line money, those funds for that client should be held in a kind of escrow," she said. "They don't get to use it for marketing or for something else, so when something happens, they have to give clients back money that they paid in good faith."

Pricing: Costs for travel autumn-onward have not dropped much. "Most of the vendors really understand that their path to profitability and recovery in 2020 is trying to protect their prices into winter season," said Rabin. "And so we see that most of them, for very obvious reasons, want to actually sacrifice the flexibility and not sacrifice the margin."

Duration: Rabin said short-term accommodations rentals, once typically between 3.5 and 5 days, are trending longer in duration, with an average 8.5- to 9-day stay. The trend stared a few weeks back when urbanites were booking month-long escapes from city centers that pushed the length of the average stay up "but now we see it as something that's really a sustainable trend, for the last month or so."

Types of trip: Apart from close to home road trips, people seem willing to consider booking vacations that normally require a year or more of advanced planning, said ASTA's Richter. "While some travelers are booking for 2021, it really is going to depend on the traveler and where they're going," she said.

African safaris, for example, require a year or more in advance of booking, especially for popular times of the year. "Those are the types of planning discussions that travel advisors are having with some of their clients," she said. "You also have to think about all of the destination weddings and honeymoons that were put on hold and need to be readjusted, and then maybe readjusted again, and again."

Travel insurance: Travel insurance, once an afterthought shunned by travelers looking for a bargain, may seen an uptick. "Now more people than ever are aware of travel insurance and how it could possibly help them," said Golden at InsureMyTrip.com. "Every time we've had an event like this in the past, there's been an uptick in travel insurance that sticks."

Before 9/11, about 7% of people bought travel insurance; after a surge in post-attack sales, the figure reached around 15%, she said. "We expect there will be a similar rise after coronavirus," Golden said. "It's now spiked pretty dramatically." Twenty-five percent to 30% of travelers will buy travel insurance going forward, the firm estimates.

Advisor Scully has sold a lot of travel insurance of late, especially the comprehensive kind. "We upgraded our clients on insurance to 'cancel for any reason,'" she said, noting she also offers clients medical evacuation services. "Whenever we're taking a client's money and they say, 'I'm not going to insure this,' the first thing I'll say is 'Are you comfortable losing $25,000 should you not be able to travel?'"

Travel advisors: The rise of Internet booking engines and online travel agencies from the mid-90s hit the traditional travel agent industry hard. But the trouble many travelers have had getting self-booked plans refunded or rescheduled amid the pandemic may fuel a renaissance in the fortunes of agents, who've now rebranded themselves as "travel advisors."

"If anyone booked without a travel advisor during this period, they learned they should have," said Scully at McCabe World Travel. "Trying to even call the airlines because the phones were just so jam-packed could take 16 hours, could take two to three days."

It's not just consumers who are noticing. "Our partners, our hotel partners, our cruise partners, our airline partners, our partners on land, they all know moving ahead, how valuable that travel advisor will be to their future growth," said Scully.

"The role of the travel advisor has evolved so much and we are not merely transactional agents anymore," said Richter at ASTA, whose thousands of members represent 80% of all travel sold in the U.S. through the travel advisor distribution channel. "We believe strongly that the future will have a heavy emphasis on the travel advisor facilitating the future of travel."

She favorably compared the roles advisors can play in both travel and personal finance. "During this crisis, folks who are concerned about their 401(k), savings and investments, they're talking to their financial advisors, [who] are helping them reassess and make short-term and long-term adjustments to their financial portfolio," said Richter. "The same is true for savvy travelers.

"They are working with their travel advisor to adjust their short-term and long-term travel goals, and it's a relationship that is ongoing."

Read more:

Travel changed after 9/11; Here's how it will look after the Covid-19 pandemic finally recedes - CNBC

Long dissatisfied with the doctor treating his diabetes, Reginald Relf decided to fight through whatever was causing his nagging cough. But then his temperature spiked and his breathing became so labored that he reluctantly took his sisters advice to visit a doctor.

The staff at an urgent care clinic in suburban Chicago sent him home, without testing him for Covid-19 but after advising him to quarantine.

So Mr. Relf, a 50-year-old African-American engineer, settled into his mothers basement. A week later, after he was found dead, his sister, Ami Relf, was left shaken.

When I finally get him to go to seek help, hes turned away, she said. If he was a middle-aged white woman, would they have turned her away? Those are questions that haunt me.

The coronavirus has left tens of thousands of grief-stricken American families struggling to make sense of the seemingly random terror it inflicts, sickening many but only taking some lives.

But for many black families, mourning coronavirus deaths brings an added burden as they wonder whether racial bias may have played a role.

Decades of research shows that black patients receive inferior medical care to white patients. A long history of experimentation, exploitation and mistreatment has left many African-Americans deeply suspicious of the medical establishment. Now comes Covid-19, and the fear among many families, social scientists and public health experts that racial bias might be contributing to the disproportionately high rate at which the novel coronavirus is killing African-Americans.

Americans of all races may have experienced less than ideal care in recent months in an overwhelmed health care system, and it is not uncommon to hear stories of people who visited health professionals for treatment, only to be turned away.

But African-American patients enter the health care system with distinct disadvantages, experts say. There is less access to quality health care in many black communities, research shows, and black people are more likely to suffer from diabetes, hypertension and other underlying conditions that make Covid-19 particularly fatal.

So, should providers misinterpret or ignore coronavirus symptoms in black patients, there is a higher likelihood that the results could be grave, experts say.

The countrys largest professional organization representing black doctors is calling on federal health agencies to study the role bias may have played in the testing and treatment of African-Americans for Covid-19.

I think what we will find is race is a factor, said Dr. Oliver Brooks, president of the organization, the National Medical Association.

In previous studies, doctors have been found to have downplayed African-Americans complaints of pain, given them weaker pain medication for broken bones and withheld cardiac treatments from black patients who needed them. Research suggests that the decisions are the result of ingrained assumptions, cultural ignorance and hostile attitudes toward African-Americans.

The C.D.C. said in a statement to The New York Times that it did not have data to quantify the role of implicit bias in Covid-19 deaths. But the agency added, Becoming aware of and reflecting on ones own biases to help ensure they do not impact decisions is a potentially lifesaving step for clinicians to undertake.

When Ms. Relf made an appointment for her brother at the Loyola Center for Immediate Care in River Forest, Ill., in late March, she said she was hopeful that the clinic would be able to test and treat him for the coronavirus. He had become extremely lethargic with persistent coughs and chills, she said.

Before Mr. Relf left the clinic, he called his sister complaining that the staff would not test him because he did not have a fever. He sounded defeated, Ms. Relf said.

Quarantine at home for 7 days, his discharge papers said. Infection control will contact you regarding eligibility for testing.

The clinic set up an appointment for him to see his regular doctor 11 days later. Mr. Relf never made it. One of his brothers went to check on him after he stopped answering his phone and found his lifeless body crumpled in front of a couch. A posthumous test confirmed that Mr. Relf had Covid-19.

A spokeswoman for Loyola Medicine said in an email that privacy laws prevented it from discussing Mr. Relfs case specifically, but that Loyola did not discriminate based on race, age, gender or socioeconomic status.

It is difficult to know if any individual medical decision was affected by bias.

Still, a 2003 report commissioned by Congress on racial and ethnic disparities in health care found that even controlling for income and insurance access, Racial and ethnic minorities tend to receive a lower quality of health care.

Significantly, the report added, these differences are associated with greater mortality among African-American patients.

A pilot study by Rubix Life Sciences, the biotech research firm, compared the severity of Covid-19 symptoms exhibited by more than 27,000 patients during hospital visits in seven states with the treatment they received.

The study, which has not gone through peer review, showed that black patients were six times less likely to get treatment or testing than white patients, said Reginald Swift, the founder of Rubix.

Dr. Brooks, medical director at Watts Healthcare in Los Angeles, explained the issue this way: When we walk into an E.R., what they sometimes see is not a patient who is suffering from respiratory illness, they see a black man here who needs something.

Gary Fowlers family believes that the minimizing of his symptoms by doctors ultimately cost him his life.

Mr. Fowler, 56, who is black, had developed a deep, worrying cough, a fever and labored breathing, said one of his sons, Keith Gambrell. Over the course of five days, Mr. Fowler was sent home by three hospitals in metro Detroit, Mr. Gambrell said. A week later, Mr. Fowler died sitting in a blue recliner in his bedroom. He tested positive for the coronavirus after his death.

The three hospitals where his family said he sought care disagreed with the familys account. A spokesman from one of the hospitals, Detroit Receiving Hospital, said, there is no record of this individual coming to Detroit Receiving Hospital for any type of treatment. The other two hospitals disputed that Mr. Fowler was denied care.

Mr. Fowlers death added to the grim tally of deaths in Detroit, a city with a majority African-American population that has come to tragically symbolize the viruss devastation of black America.

Kaila Corrothers believed that her mother, Deborah Gatewood, did not have to be part of that tally.

Ms. Gatewood, 63, developed a high fever in mid March. But in four visits over six days, she was sent home with nothing more than Tylenol and cough medicine from the suburban Detroit hospital where she worked as a phlebotomist for 31 years, her daughter said.

Days after that last visit, Ms. Gatewood became so weak at home that her daughter insisted she go to the hospital again.

No, theyre not going to take me, Ms. Corrothers recalled her mother saying.

But Ms. Gatewood collapsed and an ambulance rushed her to a different hospital, where she tested positive for the coronavirus and was placed on a ventilator.

On April 17, three weeks after being admitted, her heart, kidney and lungs failed, and she died.

Ms. Corrothers said she could not say whether the fact that her mother was African-American played a role in her treatment.

In her visits to the emergency room of her employer, Beaumont Hospital in Farmington Hills, Mich., Ms. Gatewood never presented with symptoms severe enough to warrant admission, a hospital spokesman said in a statement. Given the shortage of testing supplies, patients with mild symptoms were not tested and told to quarantine at home, but return if their condition deteriorated, the statement said.

The lack of resources in some hospitals and the overwhelming number of cases likely have played more of a role than bias in the negative outcomes for African-Americans, some public health experts said.

But, in another case that has raised concern of medical bias, the family of Robert Johnson Jr. cannot help but think that doctors could have done more for him.

He seemed to embody many coronavirus risk factors: 49 and black, he had diabetes, hypertension, a low-functioning kidney and a double amputation.

The day before Easter, he woke up too weak to leave his bed, eat, or tell his mother what precisely hurt.

The next morning, Mr. Johnsons fever soared to 103.3 degrees. He was rushed to the emergency room at Yale New Haven Hospital. His mother, Gloria Johnson, 71, called the hospital hours later and was told her son had been given the green light to return home after receiving a chest X-ray that showed signs of pneumonia. The hospital did not test him for the coronavirus.

Ms. Johnson brought her son Easter dinner that night after his discharge. He had no appetite but she insisted he taste a few spoonfuls of yams. When she called the following morning to check on him, he didnt answer.

She hurried to his apartment only to find him unresponsive in his bed. Ms. Johnson watched as emergency responders tried to revive him.

I thought, Oh my God, what if they had given him the Covid-19 test or even kept him overnight for observation? What would the outcome be? she said.

The medical examiner confirmed that Mr. Johnson had died of complications from the coronavirus and diabetes, Ms. Johnson said.

A spokesman for Yale New Haven Health said in a statement that they understand the familys concern. The hospital was confident in the care provided to Mr. Johnson, but his case was under review, the spokesman said.

After Mr. Johnsons burial in a graveside service in New Haven, his mother was preparing to have his old apartment packed and cleaned when she received one last call from the Yale hospital.

They were calling, she said, to schedule Mr. Johnsons Covid-19 test.

Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.

Continued here:

Questions of Bias in Covid-19 Treatment Add to the Mourning for Black Families - The New York Times

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported today that since Friday there were eight new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 927 cases statewide. There were no new deaths, which held at 53. There has not been a new death since Thursday's report. Total hospitalized for COVID-19 or under investigation increased by six to 21 total. The number officially recovered is up 40 to 777. The total tested is 20,048.

GovernorPhil Scott announced Friday that child care centers can reopen June 1 and summer day camps will be able to open this summer, provided they can follow safety guidelines expected to be issued next week. State officials acknowledged opening child care programs will be an important part of ensuring Vermonters can get back to work, asmodelingcontinues to indicate a slow in the spread of COVID-19.

The coronavirus is spreading much slower in Vermont than in any state in the Northeast (see graph above). This week, New Hampshire's rate increased from cases doubling every three weeks to every two weeks. Meanwhile, cases in Vermont are doubling every 12 weeks, which is among the slowest rates in the nation.

The state also hopes to have over-night camps available this summer. At this point they are working on protocols that would allow out-of-state campers to come to the state. As for all other activities, like for the newly reopened golf courses, out-of-staters are not welcome yet. And anyone coming into the state for any reason must self-quarantine for 14 days. So far, this has not been enforced.

Also today, the Labor Department saidabout 8,400 individuals did not receive their PUA unemployment benefits this week. They will be paid next week. This is due to an issue with payments, as some claimants were errantly receiving more than their calculated benefit, causing them to go into overpayment. The update will correct the issue and going forward will ensure that benefit amounts are accurate.

Education officials also providedguidance on end-of-the-year gatherings. Large gatherings will not be permitted through the end of the school year, and events should be virtual. Schools are encouraged to plan creatively with their communities for opportunities to celebrate milestones and graduations in ways that are safe and supportive of students and their achievements.

All traditional high school graduations are therefore canceled. All end of year gatherings and graduations shall be designed to ensure equal access and participation by all affected students.

GovernorPhil Scott announced Wednesday that Vermonters can participate in outdoor recreation and limited social interactions under strict health and safety precautions, asstate modelingcontinues to indicate a slow in the spread of COVID-19.Read the Governors press release.

While theStay Home, Stay Safe orderremains in effect, the Governorslatest orderallows for certain social activities if Vermonters follow outlined safety measures:

The Governors order,Addendum 13, includes additional health and safety guidelines for these interactions, including following safety and hygiene protocols, limiting non-essential travel, and protecting those in at-risk categories, who should continue to stay home.

Read the Health Departments guidelineson how to weigh the risks and connect with family and friends safely.

Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD, said at Wednesdays press conference that as the state reopens, Vermonters should consider keeping a contact journal a list of other people who you have been in close contact with each day. If you did get sick, this would make it easier to get in touch with those people and so they can take proper precautions to prevent further spread of COVID-19.

As we begin to enjoy the outdoors in Vermont, remember to take theusual precautionsto stay safe and healthy. Ticks are out, so make sure you know how to Be Tick Smart:healthvermont.gov/BeTickSmart.

For more outdoors information, visit:https://fpr.vermont.gov/recreation/outdoor-recreation-and-covid-19

Governor Phil Scott on Monday announced that limitedelective medical procedures could resume. These procedures had been put on hold as Vermonts health care system focused on preparing for, and responding to, COVID-19.

The Governors decision comes as state modeling continues to show spread of COVID-19 has slowed thanks to Vermonters physical distancing efforts and thestates ability to track and trace outbreaks of COVID-19 has become more robust.

Health care providers that meet specific criteria to protect patients and clinicians from possible infection, can begin non-essential outpatient clinic visits, diagnostic imaging and outpatient surgeries and procedures.

Some examples include:

Providers may also begin to perform outpatient surgeries and procedures that have a minimal impact on inpatient hospital bed capacity and protective equipment levels, including those performed in the office or ambulatory surgical center. They must follow additional criteria.

Some examples include:

Opioid-related fatalities decreased in 2019

Opioid-related fatalities in Vermont have decreased for the first time since 2014, the Health Department announced Tuesday.Newly released preliminary datashow a 15% decline in the number of deaths attributed to opioid misuse down from 130 in 2018 to 111 in 2019.

Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD said that our strategies to meet this public health challenge are making a difference, but even a single death tied to opioid use is too many.

Vermonts efforts have included providing rapid access to medication-assisted treatment, patient education and rules governing prescription monitoring, the creation of a statewide network for naloxone distribution, safe drug disposal, syringe service programs, a statewide network of recovery centers, and building strong community partnerships.

Read the press release

Health Department to open additional COVID-19 testing sites

A pop-up site in Colchester will be open on Saturday, May 9 to offer COVID-19 virus testing for workers on the frontlines of Vermonts pandemic response. The specimen collection site is one of several to be opened around the state in the coming days for health care workers, first responders (EMS, fire, and law enforcement), and child care providerscurrently serving essential workers.

The clinic is by appointment only and is not open to the general public.

Organized by the Department of Health and the states Enhanced Testing and Contact Tracing Task Team with support from the Vermont National Guard and EMS agencies, the clinics are designed to increase current testing volumes five-fold to meet thegoal set by Governor Phil Scott to conduct 1,000 tests per day.

For more information about the clinic,read the press release.

The data dashboard onhealthvermont.gov/covid19now includes the estimated number of people recovered from COVID-19.

We calculate this recovery estimate in two ways:

Collecting recovery data is not something epidemiologists normally do in disease investigation. Because of this new challenge, this method provides us our best estimate, and many other states are reporting recovery data this way.

The number of people recovereddoes nottell us who is actively sick with COVID-19 in Vermont. This is because:

Read more info about our data by clicking onAbout Dashboard Data New Questions on People Recovered above the data dashboard.

Current COVID-19 Activity in Vermont

As of 11:00 a.m. on May 10, 2020

Total cases*

927

Currently hospitalized

5

Hospitalized under investigation

16

Total people recovered

777

Deaths+

53

Total tests

20,048

People being monitored

24

People completed monitoring

845

*Includes testing conducted at the Health Department Laboratory, commercial labs and other public health labs.

+Death occurring in persons known to have COVID-19. Death certificate may be pending.

Hospitalization data is provided by theVermont Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Coalition and is based on hospitals updating this information.

Find more information on new data dashboard athealthvermont.gov/covid19by clicking on the map of Vermont.

Vermonters with mild symptoms of COVID-19 can be tested

The Health Department is encouraging all Vermonters with even mild symptoms to contact their health care provider to get tested. This includes parents of children who have symptoms that could be related to COVID-19.

Your provider will refer you to a hospital or health center near you that can perform the test. Testing is free, and testing sites are following precautions to make sure you are safe. If you dont have a health care provider, call 2-1-1 to connect with acommunity or hospital-connected clinic.

Be sure youknow the symptoms associated with COVID-19, which have been expanded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In addition to fever, cough and shortness of breath, symptoms may include:

Health care professionals are urged to ensure Vermonters with any symptoms be tested. The state is expanding itstesting and contact tracing capabilitiesand is ready with the necessary supplies and resources. We are relying onhealth care professionals to help achieve this important public health goal.Visithealthvermont.gov/covid19-providersfor more information.

By being tested for any associated symptoms, Vermonters can help us quickly identify and isolate outbreaks, and better understand COVID-19 in Vermont.

Map of Cases by Town - Frequently Asked Questions

Follow this link:

VDH COVID-19 Update: 927 total cases, no new deaths and the path to restart Vermont - Vermont Biz

Lansing Michigan's COVID-19 death toll reached 4,551 Sunday, but the numbers of hospitalizations and new infections continued to trend downward two months after the state confirmed its first cases of the virus.

On Sunday, the state reported 25 new deaths and 382 new cases, pushing the total number of confirmed cases to 47,138, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Michigan hasn't experienced a day with at least 1,000 new cases since April 29. The state reported its first cases of COVID-19 two months ago on March 10.

The 25 new deaths were the lowest daily total since March 29.

The Sunday numbers came a day after the Department of Health and Human Services updated data on COVID-19 recoveries in Michigan. As of Friday, 22,686individuals were considered recovered here because they were still alive 30 days after the onset of symptoms.

The state updates the recovery figure once a week on Saturday. The figure covers through Friday.

As recoveries have grown in Michigan, the percentage of people testing positive for the novel coronavirus and the number of hospitalizations have decreased statewide in recent days.

For the seven-day period ending Friday, Michigan reported the most tests conducted yet: 75,782. Of those, 6,055 or 7.9% were positive, according to state data.

Two weeks earlier, from April 18 through April 24, the state reported 43,113 total tests with 7,157 positives or 16.6%.

As of Friday, Michigan's tracking showed 1,437 COVID-19 inpatients statewide, less than half the 2,889 inpatients reported two weeks earlier on April 24.

Testing results and hospitalizations are two factors that Michigan health officials are watching as they decide when to lift additional restrictions that are meant to stem the spread of the disease.

As of Sunday afternoon, Michigan ranked seventh among all U.S. states for the number of confirmed cases and fourth for the number of deaths linked to the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.

cmauger@detroitnews.com

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Michigan's COVID-19 death toll hits 4,550, but new infections trending down - The Detroit News

A new strain of Coronavirus, COVID 19, is spreading around the world, causing deaths and major disruption to the global economy.

Responding to this crisis requires global cooperation among governments, international organizations and the business community, which is at the centre of the World Economic Forums mission as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.

The Forum has created the COVID Action Platform, a global platform to convene the business community for collective action, protect peoples livelihoods and facilitate business continuity, and mobilize support for the COVID-19 response. The platform is created with the support of the World Health Organization and is open to all businesses and industry groups, as well as other stakeholders, aiming to integrate and inform joint action.

As an organization, the Forum has a track record of supporting efforts to contain epidemics. In 2017, at our Annual Meeting, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was launched bringing together experts from government, business, health, academia and civil society to accelerate the development of vaccines. CEPI is currently supporting the race to develop a vaccine against this strand of the coronavirus.

Read more:

COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 10 May - World Economic Forum