Updates
Herman Cain, US Ex-Presidential Candidate, Dies After Contracting Covid-BBC News
Mr. Cain, 74, was hospitalized after being diagnosed with the disease earlier this month."Herman Cain - our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us - has passed away," a message posted on his official website said. He was a supporter of President Trump and is one of the most high-profile Americans to die with the virus. His social media accounts had been providing regular updates on his condition. On 7 July, a post from his Twitter account said "doctors are trying to make sure his … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
Families File First Wave of Covid-19 Lawsuits Against Companies Over Worker Deaths-The Wall Street Journal
Employers across the country are being sued by the families of workers who contend their loved ones contracted lethal cases of Covid-19 on the job, a new legal front that shows the risks of reopening workplaces. WSJ, … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
Health Experts Urge A Shutdown Do-Over As COVID-19 Cases Surge-NPR
A coalition of health professionals is urging the nation's leaders to step back from the push to reopen the economy and shut down nonessential businesses to prevent the loss of more lives from the spiraling pandemic. NPR, … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
‘A Huge Experiment’: How The World Made So Much Progress On A Covid-19 Vaccine So Fast-STAT
Never before have prospective vaccines for a pathogen entered final-stage clinical trials as rapidly as candidates for Covid-19. Just six months ago, when the death toll from the coronavirus stood at one and neither it nor the disease it caused had a name, a team of Chinese scientists uploaded its genetic sequence to a public site. That kicked off the record-breaking rush to develop vaccines — the salve that experts say could ultimately quell the pandemic. STAT, … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
Young People Are Infecting Older Family Members In Shared Homes-The Washington Post
As the death toll escalates in coronavirus hot spots, evidence is growing that young people who work outside the home, or who surged into bars and restaurants when states relaxed shutdowns, are infecting their more vulnerable elders, especially family members. The Washington Post, … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
After 99 Days Of Success, Virus Returns To Haunt Vietnam-The Associated Press
For 99 days, Vietnam seemed to have defeated the coronavirus. There wasn’t a single reported case of community transmission. Not a single death. A handful of cases were caught and isolated at the border, but otherwise people were returning to their normal lives. The country of 96 million people was hailed globally as a standout success. But then a week ago, an outbreak began that has now grown to 43 cases in six parts of the country. The Associated Press, … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
COVID-19 Tanks U.S. Economy In Second Quarter, Outlook Shaky-Reuters
The U.S. economy contracted at its steepest pace since the Great Depression in the second quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic shattered consumer and business spending, and a nascent recovery is under threat from a resurgence in new cases of coronavirus. Reuters, … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
Gohmert Blames Mask For Positive COVID-19 Test-The Hill
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) is questioning whether his positive coronavirus test could have been linked to his face mask. Gohmert, one of several House Republicans who have been notable in not wearing masks at the Capitol, told KETK-TV, a Fox News affiliate, that he'd been wearing a mask more frequently. The Hill, … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
Americans Are Dying Of Covid-19 And Trump Is Pouting About Fauci-CNN
President Donald Trump's aides almost got him to become a serious leader in this age of pandemic. After they showed him evidence that voters in "our states" (Republican ones, that is) were falling ill and dying -- and that this wasn't good for him politically -- Trump resumed pandemic press briefings and even let himself be photographed wearing a face mask. CNN, … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
How Covid-19 Could Give Kim Jong Un A Doomsday Weapon-Politico
North Korea recently surprised the world by announcing it is developing a Covid-19 vaccine, joining a high-stakes race to show off its scientific chops. But experts increasingly believe the famously secretive Kim Jong Un could also have a more nefarious goal in mind: Using the humanitarian crisis to beef up his biological weapons arsenal. Politico, … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
US Senate COVID-19 Funding Bill Includes $4B For Global Response-Devex
The U.S. Senate’s coronavirus supplemental funding bill unveiled Monday includes only about $4.4 billion for global COVID-19 relief efforts, far less than advocates had pushed to include. Development experts have been pushing for about $20 billion in funding for the global response in this next — and potentially final — supplemental COVID-19 funding bill. Devex, … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
U.S. Small Businesses Face Mass Closures Without More Pandemic Aid-Reuters
After surviving two strokes at age 27, Olivia Colt threw herself into starting a catering business, a lifelong dream. Now with the coronavirus pandemic forcing cancellations of her customers’ weddings and events, she has slashed her staff from 25 to six and tried to drum up new business by selling groceries online. She secured a $100,000 forgivable loan under the U.S. Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and another $150,000 loan under a federal program usually used for natural disasters. She … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
Harvested Antibodies Now Being Tested As A Prevention Tool Against COVID-19-NPR
If you're bitten or scratched by an animal with rabies, your doctor can give you a shot to prevent the virus from taking hold in you and causing an infection. The same concept is now being put to the test for the coronavirus. Most people who get sick with COVID-19 produce antibodies in their blood that seem to protect them from reinfection. A study is now underway to see whether an infusion of those antibodies can protect someone who has been exposed to the virus and is at high risk of … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
Coronavirus Research Updates: Mutations Allow Virus To Elude Antibodies-Nature
Mutations in SARS-CoV-2 might help the virus to thwart potent immune molecules. Theodora Hatziioannou and Paul Bieniasz at the Rockefeller University in New York City and their colleagues engineered a version of the vesicular stomatitis virus, which infects livestock, to make the spike protein. They then grew the virus in the presence of neutralizing antibodies. The spike protein in the engineered viruses acquired mutations that allowed the viruses to escape recognition by a range of … Continue Reading
July 28, 2020
Miami Marlins' Season On Hold After More Players Test Positive For Covid-19-CNN
The remainder of the shortened 2020 Major League Baseball season saw itself further imperiled Tuesday after a coronavirus outbreak on the Miami Marlins prompted the league to postpone the team's games through Sunday. The halt to the Marlins' season less than a week after it opened follows reports by ESPN and The Athletic that four more of its players have tested positive. CNN, … Continue Reading
July 28, 2020
Donald Trump Jr Suspended From Tweeting After Covid Post-BBC News
The action followed a post by Donald Trump Jr containing a video clip discussing the benefits of hydroxychloroquine. Some, including President Trump, have suggested the anti-malaria drug works as a preventative measure against coronavirus, despite medical studies that indicate the contrary. BBC News, … Continue Reading
July 28, 2020
Virus-Linked Hunger Tied To 10,000 Child Deaths Each Month-The Associated Press
The lean season is coming for Burkina Faso’s children. And this time, the long wait for the harvest is bringing a hunger more ferocious than most have ever known. The Associated Press, … Continue Reading
July 28, 2020
Safety Fears Over Lack Of Translated Virus Advice-BBC News
A lack of translated coronavirus guidance is jeopardising the safety of non-English speakers in the UK, a joint letter to the health secretary claims. The government said it has translated public health information into 25 languages, reaching a "wide audience". But campaigners say it is a "limited range of languages" and the translations can take weeks to be updated when advice or rules change. BBC News, … Continue Reading
July 28, 2020
WHO Says COVID-19 Pandemic Is 'One Big Wave', Not Seasonal-Reuters
The World Health Organization on Tuesday warned against complacency about new coronavirus transmission in the northern hemisphere summer, saying that this virus did not behave like influenza that tended to follow seasonal trends. Reuters, … Continue Reading
July 28, 2020
Pandemic Is Overwhelming U.S. Public Health Capacity In Many States. What Now?-NPR
When the coronavirus pandemic began, public health experts had high hopes for the United States. After all, the U.S. literally invented the tactics that have been used for decades to quash outbreaks around the world: Quickly identify everyone who gets infected. Track down everyone exposed to the virus. Test everyone. Isolate the sick and quarantine the exposed to stop the virus from spreading. NPR, … Continue Reading