Tag Archives: pandemic

Biden: I’d Shut Down Country If Scientists Advised It

ABC News reports: Former Vice President Joe Biden said in an exclusive interview with ABC “World News Tonight” Anchor David Muir on Friday that as president, he would shut the country down to stop the spread of COVID-19 if the move was recommended to him by scientists. “I would shut it down; I would listen to the scientists,” Biden told …

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Pence Predicts “Miracle” Vaccine By The End Of The Year

The Independent reports: Vice President Mike Pence has responded to Joe Biden‘s acceptance speech criticism of the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying he believes there is “a miracle around the corner.” In an interview on CNN on Friday, Pence was asked how many Americans would lose their lives due to the pandemic by the end of the year. “As …

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Labor Dept: Jobless Claims For Week Rise To 1.1 Million

CNBC reports: The number of people filing for unemployment benefits last week was greater than expected, raising concern about the state of the economy as lawmakers struggle to move forward on a new coronavirus stimulus package. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims for the week ending Aug. 15 came in at 1.106 million. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected …

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FL Passes 10K COVID Deaths, 5K Just In Last Month

The South Florida SunSentinel reports: More than 10,000 people have now died from COVID-19 in Florida, according to the latest state pandemic data released Wednesday. The updated death toll comes after the state Department of Health reported 174 more resident deaths that happened in recent weeks but were just confirmed, following a surge of coronavirus cases this summer. Florida, which …

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FDA Halts Approval For Plasma COVID Treatment

The New York Times reports: Last week, just as the Food and Drug Administration was preparing to issue an emergency authorization for blood plasma as a Covid-19 treatment, a group of top federal health officials including Dr. Francis S. Collins and Dr. Anthony S. Fauci intervened, arguing that emerging data on the treatment was too weak. The authorization is on …

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Pope Francis: The Rich Shouldn’t Get COVID Vax First

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis on Wednesday warned against any prospect that rich people would get priority for a coronavirus vaccine. “The pandemic is a crisis. You don’t come out of it the same — either better or worse,″ Francis said, adding improvised remarks to his planned speech for his weekly public audience. “We must come out better” from …

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Cuomo: Gyms Can Open At 33% Capacity Next Week

Gothamist reports: Governor Andrew Cuomo announced new rules for gyms to be able to reopen around New York State this morning, saying they would be allowed to open at one third capacity as early as next Monday. According to the new guidelines, gyms can reopen at 33% capacity as long as HVAC changes are made. Masks must be worn inside …

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NZ Delays National Election After Auckland Outbreak

The BBC reports: The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, has postponed the country’s general election by a month amid a spike in coronavirus cases. The vote was due to take place on 19 September but will now be held on 17 October instead. Ms Ardern said on Monday that the new date would allow parties “to plan around …

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CDC Updates Guidance On Post-COVID Immunity

The New York Times reports: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated their guidance recently to suggest that people who have recovered from the virus can safely mingle with others for three months. It was a remarkable addition to the body of guidance from the agency, and its first indication that immunity to the virus may persist for at …

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1500 Gym Owners Sue New York State Over Lockdown

Gothamist reports: A group of over 1,500 gym owners from across the state, including at least 500 located in New York City, have filed a class action lawsuit against Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York state, and the state attorney general in an attempt to force the state to allow them to reopen. The businesses involved in the suit include CrossFit, …

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Pharmas Test Drugs That Deliver COVID Antibodies

The Associated Press reports: With a coronavirus vaccine still months off, companies are rushing to test what may be the next best thing: drugs that deliver antibodies to fight the virus right away, without having to train the immune system to make them. Antibodies are proteins the body makes when an infection occurs; they attach to a virus and help …

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Florida Reports 8800 New COVID Cases After Miami Lab Turns In “Backlog” Of 4000 Cases Dating Back To June

The Miami Herald reports: Florida’s Department of Health on Wednesday confirmed 8,109 additional cases of COVID-19, pushing the state’s known total to 550,901. An additional 212 Florida resident deaths brings the statewide resident death toll to 8,765. Miami-Dade County reported 4,141 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 30 new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. The county now has …

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40 Family Members COVID+, Child Hospitalized, After Symptomatic Woman Attends West Virginia Funeral

The Huntington Herald-Dispatch reports: More than 40 members of a family tested positive for coronavirus after an infected relative from another state attended a funeral. Polly Williams, who resides on Jenny’s Creek in Wayne County, West Virginia, was saddened to hear of the death June 30 of her relative who lived in Alabama. Little did she realize the circumstances surrounding …

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FL Breaks Deaths Record, Gov Shrugs Off Risk To Kids

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Florida logged a new record for the most coronavirus deaths announced in a day with 277 on Tuesday. Tuesday’s record brought the statewide death toll to 8,685 people, according to the Florida Department of Health. The weekly death average increased to 166 people dead per day. The previous high was 257 deaths on July 31, …

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College Big Ten Conference Cancels All Fall Sports

EPSN reports: Big Ten Conference presidents and chancellors voted Tuesday to postpone all fall sports seasons, including football, with the hopes of playing in the spring, it announced Tuesday. “The mental and physical health and welfare of our student-athletes has been at the center of every decision we have made regarding the ability to proceed forward,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin …

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97,000 Kids Tested COVID+ In Last Two Weeks Of July

The Washington Post reports: More than 97,000 U.S. children tested positive for the coronavirus in the last two weeks of July, more than a quarter of the total number of children diagnosed nationwide since March, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. The report cited data from 49 states, New York City, Washington, …

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Texas AG: Local Governments Can’t Delay Evictions

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton advised today that local Texas governments’ attempts to delay evictions for renters grappling with the COVID-19 recession amounted to rewriting state law — something they can’t do, he said in nonbinding legal guidance. “While local officials do possess certain emergency powers … statewide eviction procedures far exceed the requirement that those …

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Florida COVID Hospitalizations Break Weekly Record

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Florida closed out the week with a record for weekly reported hospitalizations due to COVID-19, as the state’s case total and death toll continued to grow. From Sunday to Sunday, the state saw 3,355 hospitalizations, a new record for COVID-19 admissions in one week. In the span of five days alone — Tuesday to Saturday — …

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AP: Europeans Alarmed By Unchecked US Outbreaks

The Associated Press reports: With confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. hitting 5 million Sunday, by far the highest of any country, the failure of the most powerful nation in the world to contain the scourge has been met with astonishment and alarm in Europe. “Don’t they care about their health?” a mask-clad Patrizia Antonini asked about people in the …

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New Zealand Goes 100 Days Without New COVID Case

Business Insider reports: New Zealand has made it 100 days without a single new local case of COVID-19, the country’s Ministry of Health announced Sunday. The public health milestone comes as coronavirus cases are spiking in other countries, including nearby Australia. The total number of cases in the US surpassed 5 million Sunday — by contrast, New Zealand has only …

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