Tag Archives: COVID

The New York Times reports: The Senate on Tuesday will consider the nomination of Representative John Ratcliffe [photo], Republican of Texas, to be director of national intelligence, its first hearing since the coronavirus pandemic sent its members home a month ago. The 9:30 a.m. hearing will be unusual, with a measure of social distancing enforced. Few lawmakers normally choose to …

Newsweek reports: Scientists have identified an antibody in a lab that they say can prevent the novel coronavirus from infecting cells. The team hopes the antibody could be used to create treatments for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. The team, whose research was published in the journal Nature Communications, have been exploring whether what are known as monoclonal …

The New York Daily News reports: Steve Mnuchin has some good news and some bad news. The Treasury Secretary said Monday that more stimulus would be coming soon to help an economy crippled by coronavirus. But Mnuchin also said it’s “too hard to tell” whether international travel will be possible this year as the pandemic wreaks havoc across the globe. …

France 24 reports: China’s state broadcaster CCTV on Monday attacked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s “insane and evasive remarks” over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, further fuelling Sino-US tensions. Pompeo on Sunday said “enormous evidence” showed the virus originated in a lab in China, doubling down on previous claims that have been repeatedly denied by the World Health …

The Hill reports: The ad frames Trump’s response to the pandemic, including his ban on travel from China, as effective at mitigating the spread of the virus, which has infected more than 1 million people and killed 67,686 people in the U.S., according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 40,000 people arrived in the U.S. on direct flights …

Newsweek reports: Officials from six administrations across the Northeast addressed a new inter-state “purchasing consortium” during New York’s latest coronavirus news conference on Sunday. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a partnership allowing leaders to combine resources in an effort to obtain personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies. In addition to New York, the collaboration involves New Jersey, …

The Daily Beast reports: White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow defended his infamous assertion in late February that the coronavirus pandemic had been contained “pretty close to airtight,” telling CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Sunday that his remarks were factual at the time. Noting that there appears to be a disconnect within the Trump administration between public health experts and …

NBC News reports: British scientists developing a potential vaccine for the coronavirus hope to see a “signal” as to whether their vaccine candidate is working by June, one official involved in the effort told “Meet the Press” Sunday. Sir John Bell, the Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, where one of the leading efforts to develop a vaccine is …

Bloomberg News reports: U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said “enormous evidence” shows the novel coronavirus outbreak began in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, but didn’t provide any proof for his claims. “I can tell you that there is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan,” Pompeo said on ABC’s “This Week.” “These are …

ABC News reports: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo released the initial results of the state’s antibody testing Saturday. The state has tested just over 15,000 people for antibodies as of May 1, a positive test for antibodies means the person has had COVID-19 and has since recovered. Cuomo says the results are weighted and of the 15,103 people sampled statewide, …

CNBC reports: The Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for Gilead Sciences remdesivir drug to treat the coronavirus, President Donald Trump announced Friday. Trump made the announcement in the Oval Office alongside Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day. “We want to thank the collaborators that brought remdesivir to this point and many of our people that have been part …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: State health officials have confirmed an additional 1,000 cases of the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing Georgia’s total infections above 27,000. As of noon Thursday, the Georgia Department of Public Health was reporting just over 26,000 confirmed cases. That number now stands at 27,134, according to data released at 12:25 p.m. Friday. At …

CBS News reports: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that all K-12 schools and colleges in the state will stay closed for the rest of the school year. Cuomo called it the “best course of action to keep students, educators and staff safe” and said schools will continue to provide distance learning. “We must protect our children. Every parent …

USA Today reports: Madonna revealed that she has tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. “Took a test the other day. And I found out that I have the antibodies,” the singer, 61, said in her latest Madame X-themed “Quarantine Diary” on Instagram Thursday. “So tomorrow,” Madonna added, “I’m just going to go for a long drive in a car, and I’m …

The New York Times reports: As the death toll from the coronavirus over eight weeks surpasses the total American military casualties in eight years of major combat in Vietnam, Mr. Trump has led no national mourning. In his daily news conferences, he makes only perfunctory references to those who have died as he stiffly reads opening remarks, exhibiting more emotion …

Bloomberg News reports:  The coronavirus pandemic is likely to last as long as two years and won’t be controlled until about two-thirds of the world’s population is immune, a group of experts said in a report. Because of its ability to spread from people who don’t appear to be ill, the virus may be harder to control than influenza, the …

NBC News reports: The federal government placed orders for well over 100,000 new body bags to hold victims of COVID-19 in April, according to internal administration documents obtained by NBC News, as well as public records. The biggest set was earmarked for purchase the day after President Donald Trump projected that the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus might not …

The New York Daily News reports: A Walmart store was forced to close after nearly two dozen employees test positive for coronavirus. Worcester, Mass., officials shuttered the superstore Wednesday when 23 essential workers — not equipped with protective gear — became infected with the potentially deadly virus, according to a press release late that afternoon. “The City is ordering that …

CNBC reports: Vice President Mike Pence wore a mask during a visit to an Indiana facility making ventilators Thursday, two days after igniting a storm of criticism for failing to put on a mask for a tour of the renowned Mayo Clinic despite coronavirus restrictions there. Pence was touring the General Motors plant in Kokomo, Indiana, with Transportation Secretary Elaine …

The Associated Press reports: The response from the federal Bureau of Prisons to the growing coronavirus crisis in prisons has raised alarm among advocates and lawmakers about whether the agency is doing enough to ensure the safety of the nearly 150,000 inmates serving time in federal facilities. New figures provided by the Bureau of Prisons show that out of 2,700 …