Everyday The Infection Rate, Hospitalizations And Deaths Keep Rising
Postal slowdown threatens election breakdown
In 24 hours, signs of a pre-election postal slowdown have moved from the shadows to the spotlight, with evidence emerging all over the country that this isn’t a just a potential threat, but is happening before our eyes. If you’re the Trump administration, and you’re in charge of the federal government, remember that a Pew poll published in April found the Postal Service was viewed favorably by 91% of Americans. There’s pretty high brand equity for the organization that got soldiers’ letters back from the front lines, delivered care packages to your summer camp, and shoved your college acceptance through the front door. Louis DeJoy, a top Trump donor, was sworn in as postmaster general in June. Since then:
- Social media exploded with reports from Oregon, Montana, Manhattan and Pennsylvania that the Postal Service was unbolting and hauling away mailboxes. “Some of the boxes scheduled to be removed from downtown Billings are nearly overflowing daily,” Julie Quilliam, president of the Montana Letter Carriers Association, wrote on Facebook, per AP.
- The Postal Service backed off Friday, telling NBC News: “We are not going to be removing any boxes … After the election, we’re going to take a look at operations.”
- The WashPost scooped that the Postal Service sent letters July 29 to 46 states and D.C. “warning that it cannot guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the November election will arrive in time to be counted.” The Post said that could mean that even if people “follow all of their state’s election rules, the pace of Postal Service delivery may disqualify their votes.”
- And high-speed sorting machines are being yanked from processing plants.
Of note: Joe Biden is seizing on the postal fiasco, saying on Friday at a virtual fundraiser, per a pool report:
- “I was joking earlier with a couple on the call. I wonder if you’re outside trying to hold down your mailboxes. They’re going around literally with tractor trailers picking up mailboxes. You oughta go online and check out what they’re doing in Oregon. I mean, it’s bizarre!”
Do N95 respirators provide 95% protection level against airborne viruses
National Center for Biotechnology Information
Background: Respiratory protection devices are used to protect the wearers from inhaling particles suspended in the air. Filtering face piece respirators are usually tested utilizing nonbiologic particles, whereas their use often aims at reducing exposure to biologic aerosols, including infectious agents such as viruses and bacteria.
Methods: The performance of 2 types of N95 half-mask, filtering face piece respirators and 2 types of surgical masks were determined. The collection efficiency of these respiratory protection devices was investigated using MS2 virus (a nonharmful simulant of several pathogens). The virions were detected in the particle size range of 10 to 80 nm.
Results: The results indicate that the penetration of virions through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-certified N95 respirators can exceed an expected level of 5%. As anticipated, the tested surgical masks showed a much higher particle penetration because they are known to be less efficient than the N95 respirators. The 2 surgical masks, which originated from the same manufacturer, showed tremendously different penetration levels of the MS2 virions: 20.5% and 84.5%, respectively, at an inhalation flow rate of 85 L/min.
Conclusion: The N95 filtering face piece respirators may not provide the expected protection level against small virions. Some surgical masks may let a significant fraction of airborne viruses penetrate through their filters, providing very low protection against aerosolized infectious agents in the size range of 10 to 80 nm. It should be noted that the surgical masks are primarily designed to protect the environment from the wearer, whereas the respirators are supposed to protect the wearer from the environment.
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The rich and famous are fleeing Hollywood in droves
Coronavirus have turned the City of Dreams into a cesspit plagued by junkies and violent criminals
Gold’s Gym has become synonymous with the Hollywood Dream. Set just a few hundred yards from the ocean in sun-kissed Venice Beach, Los Angeles, Gold’s was the backdrop for Pumping Iron, the 1977 documentary which followed a young, unknown Austrian bodybuilder called Arnold Schwarzenegger as he prepared for the Mr Universe contest. The film turned him into an overnight sensation. He would go on to become a global superstar, marry a member of the Kennedy clan, and become Governor of California. Yet today Gold’s sits amid post-apocalyptic scenes which have consumed much of LA, turning the City of Dreams into an urban nightmare from which people are fleeing in droves.
Makeshift tents line the popular tourist destination of Venice Beach. ‘For Sale’ signs are seemingly dotted on every suburban street as the middle classes, particularly those with families, flee for the safer suburbs, with many choosing to leave LA altogether
A makeshift tent city made up of flapping tarpaulins and cardboard boxes surrounds the gym on all sides. Junkies and the homeless, many of whom are clearly mentally ill, walk the palm-lined streets like zombies – all just three blocks from multi-million-dollar homes overlooking the Pacific. Stolen bicycles are piled high on pavements littered with broken syringes.TV bulletins are filled with horror stories from across the city; of women being attacked during their morning jog or residents returning home to find strangers defecating in their front gardens.
Today, Los Angeles is a city on the brink. ‘For Sale’ signs are seemingly dotted on every suburban street as the middle classes, particularly those with families, flee for the safer suburbs, with many choosing to leave LA altogether.
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Radio Free Wall Street
I Just Can’t Hold It In Anymore
As you know, I went quiet the past few days as my research confirmed some shocking information. As I put myself on cook and rolled it around my brain the last few days, I regard this as one of my most important Radio Free Wall Street shows ever.
Latino and Black populations hit hard in hotspots
Research published Friday from the CDC also showed that in hotspot counties across the US, Black and Latino people were hit hard by the virus, with a majority of the counties reporting disparities on coronavirus cases in one or more racial or ethnic groups. “These findings illustrate the disproportionate incidence of Covid-19 among communities of color, as has been shown by other studies, and suggest that a high percentage of cases in hotspot counties are among person of color,” said the authors. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, health officials say collecting coronavirus impact data by race helped them better strategize a response to the pandemic. “[It] helped us alter our strategy so we could increase our outreach, add additional testing sites, just really help our communities of color prevent their exposure to Covid-19,” said Jeanette Kowalik, commissioner of health at the Milwaukee Health Department.
Kowalik said the data drove conversations that wouldn’t have taken place if officials weren’t aware more people of color were impacted by the virus.
With new evidence and data on the virus emerging almost weekly, health officials now have another warning: the risk of death from coronavirus-related heart damage seems to be far greater than previously thought, the American Heart Association said. Inflammation of the vascular system and injury to the heart occur in 20% to 30% of hospitalized coronavirus patients and contribute to 40% of deaths, the association said Friday. Dr. Mitchell Elkind, the association’s president, said that the cardiac complications of Covid-19 could be “devastating” and linger after recovery. The AHA said research indicates coronavirus could lead to heart attacks, acute coronary syndromes, stroke, blood pressure abnormalities, clotting issues, heart muscle inflammation and fatal heartbeat irregularities. It’s a statement that’s long been hinted by coronavirus patients across the country, whose bodies were attacked in different ways by the coronavirus. In Florida, a 21-year-old suffered heart failure while in the hospital and weeks since his recovery, his heart rate is still monitored and he’s on medication for his blood pressure — medications his doctors have said could continue for at least another year.There is a critical need for more research, Elkind said.”We simply don’t have enough information to provide the definitive answers people want and need.”
New CDC guidance says Covid-19 rates in children ‘steadily increasing’
CDC warns US coronavirus death toll may reach 200K in weeks
(CNN)Health experts say children make up more than 7% of all coronavirus cases in the US — while comprising about 22% of the country’s population — and the number and rate of child cases have been “steadily increasing” from March to July. The data was posted alongside updated guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for pediatricians that also includes what is known about the virus in children. “Recent evidence suggests that children likely have the same or higher viral loads in their nasopharynx compared with adults and that children can spread the virus effectively in households and camp settings,” the guidance states. Transmission of the virus to and among children may have been reduced in spring and early summer due to mitigation measures like stay-at-home orders and school closures, the CDC says. But now, schools and universities across the country are reopening and in some cases have had to readjust their approach following positive tests among students and staff. How to safely welcome students back has been an ongoing debate between local and state leaders as some push for a return to normalcy and others fear returning to class could prove deadly for some. In some cases, teachers have opted to resign rather than risk contracting the virus.
“So if I’m put into a classroom of 30 or more kids, it’s a small room, there’s one exit, the ventilation isn’t all that great for schools,” Arizona teacher Matt Chicci, who quit his job, told CNN. “It’s not a good situation.”
In Georgia, where several districts reopened in recent weeks, more than 1,000 students and staff were asked to quarantine following cases of coronavirus or exposures to someone infected. North Paulding High School, which came under scrutiny when a student shared a photo of a crowded hallway days after school reopened, reported 12 cases in school and 21 total cases during the week of August 8 to 14. The Paulding County School District (PCSD) says, “Cases in School is the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 who spent at least some time on a school campus during the week reported.”The phrase “total cases” refers to the “Cases in school” and also “Students/staff who may have been out of school for any reason and tested positive; Students/staff who were identified as close contacts in another case and then tested positive while in quarantine; Virtual students who are enrolled at the school where they are listed but learn remotely online,” the district says. In Illinois, health officials are looking for people who attended an unofficial “mini-prom.” At least five cases were linked to the event and 40 close contacts were identified.
While some US officials — including the President — have downplayed the risk coronavirus positions on children, the new CDC guidance notes children can develop severe illness and complications, even if that risk is lower compared to adults. The rate of hospitalizations among children is increasing, the guidance says, and among those hospitalized, one in three children is admitted to intensive care — the same as adults.
In the US, more than 5.3 million people have been infected with the virus and at least 168,446 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Fed’s Kashkari: COVID-19 raging out of control in US
Worst face masks: Bandanas, neck gaiters may be more harmful than no mask at all
DURHAM, N.C. – Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are choosing neck gaiters as their go-to face covering. The ease with which they can slide up and down the face makes them a favorite among runners and hikers. Now, however, a new study suggests this lightweight, breathable fabric may be worse at blocking the coronavirus than wearing no face mask at all. Researchers at Duke University say bandanas and neck gaiters are among the worst choices for face coverings when it comes to blocking fluid droplets.
To study how well face masks prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Duke team focused on fluid droplets coming from the mouth when people speak. To do this, they used an inexpensive apparatus made from cheap and easily obtained laboratory materials. It consists of a box, a laser, a lens, and a cell phone camera. The study in the journal Science Advances shows most types of face masks block fluid droplets from traveling far from the mouth. Despite this discovery, not all face coverings perform as well as others. The best masks are N95 masks without valves. These types of masks are commonly used by healthcare workers and in medical facilities. Researchers say surgical or polypropylene face coverings and fabric (cotton) masks also work relatively well. In contrast, bandanas and neck gaiters do not block fluid droplets well at all. Study authors explain that neck gaiters cause larger fluid droplets to break up into smaller particles. This increases droplet counts and could allow particles to hang around in the air for longer periods of time. This, in turn, could raise the likelihood that someone wearing a neck gaiter transmits COVID-19 to others nearby. “Wearing a mask is a simple and easy way to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” senior author Eric Westman says in a university statemen. “About half of infections are from people who don’t show symptoms, and often don’t know they’re infected. They can unknowingly spread the virus when the cough, sneeze and just talk.” Westman adds that 99 percent of infectious droplets can be stopped before reaching another person if everyone wears a functioning face mask. “In the absence of a vaccine or antiviral medicine, it’s the one proven way to protect others as well as yourself,” he says.
Covid-19 death toll rivals fatality rate during 1918 flu epidemic, researchers say
The increase in deaths in New York City during the early months of the covid-19 pandemic rivals the death toll there at the peak of the 1918 flu pandemic, according to an analysis published Thursday. The comparison, published online in the medical journal JAMA Network Open, found that the number of deaths from all causes was roughly equal during the two peak months of the flu epidemic and the first 61 days of the current outbreak. The H1N1 flu pandemic eventually killed 50 million people a century ago, about 675,000 of them in the United States. The current pandemic has claimed at least 746,000 lives worldwide, about 162,000 of them in the United States, according to a tally kept by The Washington Post.
“For anyone who doesn’t understand the magnitude of what we’re living through, this pandemic is comparable in its effect on mortality to what everyone agrees is the previous worst pandemic,” said Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who led the team that conducted the data review.
(The AIDS epidemic has killed more than 700,000 people in the United States since it began in 1981.)
The Post has reported that the United States recorded about 37,100 excess deaths in March and the first two weeks of April, nearly 13,500 more than were attributed to covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, during that time. The report was based on an analysis of federal data conducted for The Post by a research team led by the Yale School of Public Health.