More than 150 health professionals and medical experts are urging politicians to shut down the country again in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. “The best thing for the nation is not to reopen as quickly as possible, it’s to save as many lives as possible,” they said in a letter sent to the Trump administration, members of Congress and state governors this week.
The letter criticized the officials for reopening too soon and not doing enough during the shutdown to prepare. It calls for increased testing capacity and additional production of personal protective equipment.
“In March, people went home and stayed there for weeks, to keep themselves and their neighbors safe. You didn’t use the time to set us up to defeat the virus. And then you started to reopen anyway, and too quickly,” the letter said. “Right now we are on a path to lose more than 200,000 American lives by November 1st. Yet, in many states people can drink in bars, get a haircut, eat inside a restaurant, get a tattoo, get a massage, and do myriad other normal, pleasant, but non-essential activities.” The letter is a stark contrast to messaging from President Donald Trump, who has been encouraging states and schools to reopen and stay open. On Thursday, he again said that schools need to bring students back for in-person learning so that parents can get back to work. “The Council of Economic Advisers estimates that 5.6 million parents will be unable to return to work if schools do not reopen this year. That’s a tremendous problem,” he said at the White House. “It’s a tremendous problem. Schools have to open safely, but they have to open.” The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control released new school guidelines Thursday night after promising the documents for more than a week. The guidance places a heavy emphasis on children returning to school, but it does recommend that local officials consider closing schools if there is substantial, uncontrolled spread of the virus in the area. While some of the nation’s largest school districts have moved to start the school year online, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that students be “physically present in school” as much as safely possible. The president has consistently downplayed the resurgence of the virus in the U.S. in recent weeks. He only on Tuesday acknowledged that the situation will “get worse before it gets better.” Officials on Thursday reported the country has surpassed 4 million cases of the virus.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and White House adviser on the coronavirus pandemic, warned Wednesday that COVID-19 may never be eradicated. “I think with a combination of good public health measures, a degree of global herd immunity and a good vaccine, which I do hope and feel cautiously optimistic that we will get, I think when we put all three of those together, we will get control of this, whether it’s this year or next year. I’m not certain,” Fauci told the TB Alliance, an organization dedicated to the development of medication for tuberculosis. At the same time, Fauci said “I don’t really see us eradicating it.” He claimed that the virus is different from SARS, a virus that was contained after it emerged in the early 2000s. “I have never seen infection in which you have such a broad range literally no symptoms at all in a substantial proportion of the population to some who get ill with minor symptoms to some who get ill enough to be in bed for weeks,” Fauci said. “Others get hospitalized, require oxygen, intensive care, ventilation and death. The involvement with the same pathogen is very unique.” Fauci’s comments contradict public remarks by President Trump, who has frequently downplayed the virus and claimed that it would disappear. “It’s going to leave. it’s going to be gone. It’s going to be eradicated,” Trump said in April. During a press briefing on Monday, Trump admitted that the current outbreak is likely “to get worse before it gets better.”
Spain has recorded its highest daily rise in new coronavirus cases since the beginning of the deescalation process, with 971 infections detected in 24 hours on Thursday, compared to Wednesday’s figure of 730. According to the latest figures from the Spanish Health Ministry, which now only offers disaggregated data from Monday to Friday, the daily rise of 241 new cases is the largest increase recorded since May 8, when the government began to roll back its coronavirus lockdown rules.
Replying to media questions at a government press conference on Thursday, María José Sierra, from the Health Ministry’s Coordination Center for Health Alerts, said: “This may already be a second wave.”
France on Friday recommended not traveling to Catalonia due to the surge in cases there. “We strongly urge French citizens to avoid traveling to that territory until the health situation there improves,” said Prime Minister Jean Castex on Friday. And Norway will impose a 10-day quarantine on travelers from Spain starting on Saturday due to the spike in cases, the Norwegian government said on Friday. The Spanish Foreign Ministry has published a list of countries currently applying restrictions on travelers from Spain (updated before Norway made its announcement).
✈🚫 Restricciones a los viajes de ciudadanos provenientes de #España ⤵️
ℹ️ Consulta en nuestra web la lista actualizada a las 14:45 horas de hoy:
Defense Minister Margarita Robles said on Friday that “in theory” there are no plans to decree a new national state of alarm like the one that kept people mostly confined to their homes for three months between March and June. Instead, Robles said that the government wants to “support the work” of regional authorities in their own fight against the spread and effects of Covid-19. In an interview on the private television network Antena 3, the minister also asked authorities in regions experiencing significant transmission spikes to “reflect” on their own management of the crisis. Without mentioning the Catalan government specifically, Robles recalled that some regional authorities harshly criticized the central executive for its handling of the crisis earlier this year, claiming that things would be different when they got their powers back. But “we are now seeing that it’s not that easy or simple,” she said. The rise in coronavirus cases is being felt across Spain, with the cumulative incidence of the virus tripling in the past two weeks. According to Thursday’s report, the Spanish regions of Aragón and Catalonia recorded the highest number of new Covid-19 infections, with 415 and 182, respectively. Both regions have recorded community transmission of the virus: in Lleida province and Barcelona city in Catalonia, and in Zaragoza province in Aragón. Sierra described the situation in these two areas as “the most delicate,” although in Lleida the number of new cases has begun to stabilize. Madrid also saw a rise in daily coronavirus infections, with the figure jumping from 70 on Wednesday to 102. Meanwhile in Navarre, where regional authorities have introduced new lockdown rules in a neighborhood of Pamplona due to a large Covid-19 outbreak, the number of new cases was half – 66 on Thursday, compared to 132 the day before.
Nightclubs and nighttime venues have become a new hotspot for Covid-19 outbreaks.Joan Mateu / AP
The age of new coronavirus cases continues to fall as outbreaks at parties and nighttime venues lead to more infections among young people. A few days ago, the average age was 48, and by Tuesday it had dropped to 45. Sierra, however, warned on Thursday that a “certain upwards trend” in cases has been detected among people over the age of 60. This trend is of concern to the Health Ministry, given patients in this age group are at greater risk of experiencing complications. “We are worried because age is the factor most closely associated with the severity [of the disease],” said Sierra.
Dr Deborah Birx issued the grave warning Wednesday during a call with hundreds of state and city leaders
The 11 cities include: Baltimore, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and St Louis
Dr Birx warned that the outbreak currently plaguing cities in Sunbelt states, like Phoenix and San Antonio, was now moving north
She warned leaders of the 11 cities that they should take ‘aggressive’ steps to stem their current outbreaks
Her warning came as the number of cases reported in the United States passed 4 million on Thursday
The head of the White House coronavirus task force, Dr Deborah Birx, has warned that 11 major cities – including Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Baltimore – need to take ‘aggressive’ steps to mitigate COVID-19 outbreaks. Dr Birx issued the grave warning on Wednesday during a phone call with hundreds of state and city leaders. The 11 cities she mentioned include: Baltimore, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and St Louis.
Dr Birx warned that the outbreak currently plaguing cities in Sunbelt states, like Phoenix and San Antonio, was now moving north, according to audio of the call obtained by the Center for Public Integrity.
Dr Deborah Birx, who leads the White House task force, issued the grave warning on Wednesday during a phone call with hundreds of state and city leaders ‘What started out very much as a southern and western epidemic is starting to move up the East Coast into Tennessee, Arkansas, up into Missouri, up across Colorado, and obviously we’re talking about increases now in Baltimore,’ she said. ‘So this is really critical that everybody is following this and making sure they’re being aggressive about mitigation efforts.’ She warned leaders of the 11 cities that they should take ‘aggressive’ steps in order to stem their current outbreaks. Dr Birx said it was vital for health officials to contract trace patients testing positive in areas where test positivity was increasing. ‘When you first see that increase in test positivity, that is when to start the mitigation efforts,’ she said. ‘I know it may look small and you may say, ‘That only went from 5 to 5-and-a-half [percent], and we’re gonna wait and see what happens’. If you wait another three or four or even five days, you’ll start to see a dramatic increase in cases.’
Indiana: Cases in the state of Indiana have been increasing since mid-June. The city of Indianapolis is on the list of 11 cities that Dr Birx has warned of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh currently has 6,817 confirmed COVID-19 cases
Baltimore, Maryland: There are currently 9,841 infections in Baltimore with cases trending upwards since late June
Columbus, Ohio: Columbus currently has 11,877 coronavirus infections Her warning came as the total number of coronavirus cases reported in the United States passed 4 million on Thursday, reflecting a rapid acceleration of infections in the country since the first case was recorded on January 21. It took the country 98 days to reach 1 million cases but just 16 days to go from 3 million to 4 million. The case total indicates that at least one in 82 people in the United States have been infected. As the pandemic has spread from the early epicenter of New York to the South and West, federal, state and local officials have clashed over how to ease lockdowns imposed to curb the infection rate, including in some states whether to rollback reopenings. The ordering of face coverings, a common practice around the world and recommended by the federal government’s own health experts, has also become highly politicized, with some Republican governors particularly resistant. Hostility to the idea appeared to be dwindling this week, including from the Republican administration of President Donald Trump, who once dismissed mask-wearing as an effort to be politically correct. Trump, who faces falling poll numbers over his handling of the health crisis ahead of the November election, has long refused to wear a mask in public but this week encouraged Americans to do so. While Trump did not issue a national mandate, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir on Thursday cited the importance of masks to bring the virus under control. ‘We have to do our mitigation steps: wear a mask, avoid the crowds. We won’t see hospitalizations and deaths go down for a couple of weeks because (they are) lagging indicators, but we are turning that tide,’ Giroir told Fox News Network. He also said the time it currently takes to get coronavirus test results back needs to be reduced.
BILL Gates has warned that multiple doses of any coronavirus vaccine could be necessary as he slammed Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic.
Microsoft billionaire Gates said “serious mistakes” have been made by the White House as he predicted schools could be closed until fall 2021.
Speaking during an interview with Norah O’Donnell on CBS News, Gates said he had faith in the development of a coronavirus vaccine. However, he warned it could take an “unbelievably big number” of doses to beat the virus. He said: “None of the vaccines at this point appear like they’ll work with a single dose. “That was the hope at the very beginning.” The philanthropist – who is worth $98 billion, the second-richest man in the world – has offered £300million to help fund research into the vaccine. Gates also described the closures of schools as the “biggest cost” of the pandemic after deaths as he said classes likely won’t be all back until fall 2021. He said: “This next academic year does hang in the balance. It is extremely important.” More should be done to help schools take learning online to ensure kids get their educations, he said. The 64-year-old tech boss now spends most of his times working with the Global Health division of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He had been warning of the threat posed to humanity by pandemics since 2015 before the coronavirus outbreak.
During the interview, Gates was also heavily critical of the Trump administration – with the US having the highest death and case count in the world with 146,192 and 4.1million.
Gates said: “Some of the policies were a mistake. Opening up bars – the economic benefit versus the infection risk – a lot of policies like that made it a mistake.” The Microsoft mogul emphasized that social distancing, wearing masks and developing a vaccine are now key in beating Covid-19. He conceded however some of the “serious mistakes” were made because of a lacking of understanding of the virus. Gates said Europe responded better to the pandemic than the US – with its leaders “communicating with a clear voice”. And he also condemned reports that Trump is silencing experts like Dr Anthony Fauci. He said gagging experts was “holding us back” and said you could “never have predicted” the butting of heads between scientists and the White House. Dr Fauci has been feuding with Trump, with anonymous officials even briefing against him by releasing a list of his mistakes over Covid-19. President Trump insisted that the US has the best mortality rate in the world during a briefing at the White House this week. Gates however said Trump’s claim was “not even close” – adding “by almost every measure, the US is one of the worst”. He added: “We actually had criteria for opening up with cases declining, and we opened up with cases increasing.”
(Bloomberg) — Recovering from Covid-19 may not offer much lasting protection from future infections for those with only mild cases, according to a report that suggests caution regarding so-called herd immunity as well as the durability of vaccines. The correspondence in the New England Journal of Medicine outlined research on antibodies taken from the blood of 34 patients who had recovered after symptoms began, with a second after about 86 days, or less than three months. The researchers found that antibody levels fell quickly, with a half-life of about 73 days between the two time frames. The loss of antibodies occurred more quickly than with SARS, an earlier type of coronavirus infection. The antibody response is being closely studied by scientists worldwide for indications of how long-lasting immunity may be. While there’s little evidence to suggest reinfections are broadly occurring, health experts have yet to pin down specifics. The latest findings raise concern that protection from reinfection may not last long in those with mild symptoms, which accounts for the majority of cases. Further studies will be needed “to define a quantitative protection threshold and rate of decline of antiviral antibodies beyond 90 days,” according to the researchers led by F. Javier Ibarrondo, from the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles. While the protective role of antibodies against infection isn’t fully understood, they are generally considered a good representation of some protection against infection in general, according to the report. A recent study from King’s College London showed that the level of antibodies may drop to a degree that makes them undetectable as soon as three months after infection.
One of the great mysteries of the coronavirus is how quickly it rocketed around the world. It first flared in central China and, within three months, was on every continent but Antarctica, shutting down daily life for millions. Behind the rapid spread was something that initially caught scientists off guard, baffled health authorities and undermined early containment efforts — the virus could be spread by seemingly healthy people. As some workers return to offices, children prepare to return to schools and those desperate for normalcy again visit malls and restaurants, the emerging science points to a menacing reality: If people who appear healthy can transmit the illness, it may be impossible to contain.
“It can be a killer and then 40 percent of people don’t even know they have it,” said Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute. “We have to get out of the denial mode, because it’s real.”
Researchers have exposed the frightening likelihood of silent spread of the virus by asymptomatic and presymptomatic carriers. But how major a role seemingly healthy people play in swelling the ranks of those infected remains unanswered — and at the top of the scientific agenda. The small but mighty coronavirus can unlock a human cell, set up shop and mass produce tens of thousands of copies of itself in a single day. Virus levels skyrocket before the first cough, if one ever arrives. And astonishing to scientists, an estimated 4 in 10 infected people don’t ever have symptoms. “For control, to actually keep the virus from coming back, we’re going to have to deal with this issue,” said Rein Houben, a disease tracker at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The dire toll of more than 580,000 worldwide deaths from the coronavirus has faded to the background as cities lift restrictions. But the slyness of the virus remains on the minds of many scientists, who are watching societies reopen, wondering what happens if silent spreaders aren’t detected until it’s too late.
Travelers with no coughs can slip past airport screens. Workers without fevers won’t be caught by temperature checks. People who don’t feel tired and achy will attend business meetings.
And outbreaks could begin anew. As early as January, there were signs people could harbor the virus without showing symptoms. A 10-year-old boy in China who traveled to Wuhan had no symptoms but tested positive along with six others in his family who had coughs and fevers. More troubling was a report out of Germany: A business traveler from China spread the virus to colleagues in Munich, even though she appeared healthy. Still, many scientists remained unconvinced. Some questioned whether the Chinese businesswoman truly didn’t have symptoms. They suggested she might have had mild ones she attributed to jet lag. The concept of people unwittingly spreading disease has never been an easy one to grasp, from the polio epidemic of mid-century America to the spread of HIV decades later. At the turn of the 20th century, a seemingly healthy New York cook named Mary Mallon left a deadly trail of typhoid infections that captivated the public and led to her being forced into quarantine on an East River island. “Typhoid Mary” remains a haunting symbol of silent spread. As COVID-19 emerged, health officials believed it would be like other coronaviruses and that people were most infectious when showing symptoms like cough and fever, with transmission rare otherwise. “We were thinking this thing is going to look like SARS: a long incubation period and no transmission during the incubation period,” said Lauren Ancel Meyers, a disease modeler at the University of Texas at Austin. At U.S. airports around the country, travelers returning from hot spots including China who didn’t have symptoms were allowed to go on their way. “We were reassuring ourselves and the public that contact with an asymptomatic person was not a risk,” said Dr. Jeff Duchin of King County, Washington, where the first major U.S. cluster of coronavirus cases broke out at the Life Care nursing home. Behind the scenes, scientists like Meyers were sharing their alarming finding with health officials. Meyers had assembled a team of students who scoured websites of Chinese health departments looking for dates of symptom onset in situations where there was enough information to figure out who infected whom. Between Jan. 21 and Feb. 8, they found several cases where the person who brought the virus home didn’t develop symptoms until after infecting a family member. For example, a woman in a Chinese city with few cases got sick after her husband returned from a trip to a city with a large outbreak. He didn’t get sick until later. “When we looked at the data, we said, ‘Oh no, this can’t be true,’” Meyers said. “It was shocking.” Finding more than 50 such cases, Meyers immediately shared the analysis with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — on Feb. 20 at precisely 1:18 a.m., according to her records. The agency responded a few hours later with questions. Meyers and the CDC exchanged extensive emails, going over what could be behind the numbers. Was the virus really spreading that fast and before people felt sick?
The resort closed a loophole some guests were using to remove their mandatory face masks
Be our guest — with some exceptions. That seems to be Disney World’s pandemic motto, as the beloved theme park struggles to keep visitors safe and socially-distanced while still providing a fun and memorable experience after partially reopening on July 11. Some restaurants and attractions remain closed in the Walt Disney Co.’s DIS, 0.33% Orlando, Fla. resort, for example, and guests can’t hug and take selfies with the costumed characters like Mickey and Minnie Mouse anymore. Guests must also get their temperatures checked before entering the park, and face masks are required at all times — except when a guest is actively eating or drinking. Problem is, that dining exception has created a mask loophole: Some guests were seen strolling the reopened Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom with their masks off while they sipped drinks and noshed pretzels. So the park has updated its mask policy to specify that guests shouldn’t walk and eat or drink at the same time. “You may remove your face covering while actively eating or drinking, but you should be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing,” the revised guidelines read. What’s more, an EPCOT cast member told Walt Disney World News Today that “guests are now being asked to find a safe spot six feet from other guests before removing their masks to eat and drink.” The stricter social distancing rules have been met with mixed reactions on Twitter TWTR, -0.22% and the Facebook-owned FB, -0.81% Instagram. Some critics complain that the safety and sanitary measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have sapped the joy from visiting the Happiest Place on Earth. Others argue that this is an example of personal rights being violated. “Dictating to customers that they cannot walk and eat or drink is absurd,” wrote one reader. “Are we now ‘Nazi Germany?’ Have all our freedoms been taken away?” “No character meet ups. No fireworks. No parades. Can’t walk and eat and drink,” tweeted another, who then asked what is “the point” of even going? Others applauded the move, such as a Tampa Bay Times reporter who has noticed guests using refreshments as an excuse to pull down their masks in neighboring Florida theme parks Busch Gardens and SeaWorld. “Disney is on to you folks who take their mask off to eat and drink,” she tweeted. Some guests supporting the measure also said that the updated policy makes them feel safer, and also serves to better protect Disney park employees.
