Category: Breaking News

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UK imposes quarantine for Britons returning from Spain

‘Everyone is panicking’: UK quarantine decision shocks Britons in Spain

Requirement to self-isolate on return to Britain will further damage tourism industry.

 

 

News that the British government had imposed a two-week quarantine on those returning from Spain quickly soured the Saturday night mood in the Brew Rock beach bar in Altea, Alicante – and across the rest of the country. The need for returning Britons to self-quarantine will further hobble a tourist sector that had already been preparing for a difficult summer in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Spain went into one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns nine days before the UK, and the wearing of face masks in public places has been compulsory since 21 May. “Now to be hit with this is just unbelievable,” said Griffin. “Honestly, it’s just unbelievable. A lot of businesses have slowly but surely started to open their doors and take their staff off [temporary furloughs] and now to be faced with this is just another knock-back.” The timing of the British government’s announcement was also questioned by people at Madrid’s Barajas airport.

America faces an epic choice …

… in the coming months, and the results will define the country for a generation. These are perilous times. Over the last three years, much of what the Guardian holds dear has been threatened – democracy, civility, truth. The country is at a crossroads. Science is in a battle with conjecture and instinct to determine policy in the middle of a pandemic. At the same time, the US is reckoning with centuries of racial injustice – as the White House stokes division along racial lines. At a time like this, an independent news organisation that fights for truth and holds power to account is not just optional. It is essential.

The Guardian has been significantly impacted by the pandemic. Like many other news organisations, we are facing an unprecedented collapse in advertising revenues. We rely to an ever greater extent on our readers, both for the moral force to continue doing journalism at a time like this and for the financial strength to facilitate that reporting.

We believe every one of us deserves equal access to fact-based news and analysis. We’ve decided to keep Guardian journalism free for all readers, regardless of where they live or what they can afford to pay. This is made possible thanks to the support we receive from readers across America in all 50 states.

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Coronavirus ravaged Florida, as Ron DeSantis sidelined scientists and followed Trump

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – As Florida became a global epicenter of the coronavirus, Gov. Ron DeSantis held one meeting this month with his top public health official, Scott Rivkees, according to the governor’s schedule. His health department has sidelined scientists, halting briefings last month with disease specialists and telling the experts there was not sufficient personnel from the state to continue participating. “I never received information about what happened with my ideas or results,” said Thomas Hladish, a University of Florida research scientist whose regular calls with the health department ended June 29. “But I did hear the governor say the models were wrong about everything.” DeSantis, a Republican, this month traveled to Miami to hold a roundtable with South Florida mayors, whose region had emerged as a novel coronavirus hot spot. But the Republican mayor of Hialeah was shut out, weeks after saying the governor “hasn’t done much” for a city disproportionately affected by the virus. As the virus spread out of control in Florida, decision-making became increasingly shaped by politics and divorced from scientific evidence according to interviews with 64 current and former state and administration officials, health administrators, epidemiologists, political operatives and hospital executives. The crisis in Florida, these observers say, has revealed the shortcomings of a response built on shifting metrics, influenced by a small group of advisers and tethered at every stage to the Trump administration, which has no unified plan for addressing the national health emergency but has pushed for states to reopen. DeSantis relies primarily on the advice of his wife, Casey, a former television reporter and host, and his chief of staff, Shane Strum, a former hospital executive, according to multiple Republican political operatives, including a former member of his administration.

“It’s a universe of three – Shane and Casey,” said one Republican consultant close to DeSantis’s team who spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer a candid assessment.

Continue reading “Coronavirus ravaged Florida, as Ron DeSantis sidelined scientists and followed Trump”

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US tops 1,000 coronavirus deaths 4 days in a row as experts urge the country to shut down

(CNN)Coronavirus deaths in the US topped 1,000 four days in a row last week amid ongoing debates on the return of school and mask mandates. The country recorded 900 new virus-related deaths Saturday, down from the 1,130 reported Friday. Since the beginning of the pandemic, at least 146,460 Americans have died from the virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And models project that there will be up to 175,000 deaths linked to the virus by August 15, according to an ensemble forecast published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects there will be around 165,000 US deaths by that time. The grim patterns come as several states have reported record-breaking numbers of new cases and deaths in the past weeks. Some local leaders, including Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, have mentioned the possibility of a second stay-at-home order as officials warn of strained testing labs and overwhelmed hospitals. And on Thursday, more than 150 prominent medical experts, scientists, teachers, nurses and other experts signed a letter urging leaders to shut the country down and start over to contain the rampant spread of the virus. “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 read, which was sent to the Trump administration, members of Congress and state governors. As the country’s caseload and death toll climbs, at least four states reported record-breaking numbers since Friday.

California, which is leading the nation with the most recorded coronavirus cases, reported 159 deaths linked to the virus Friday — the highest number recorded in a single day since the start of the pandemic. That number comes just a day after the state’s previous daily record of 157 deaths. More than half of all virus-related deaths in the state come from Los Angeles County, where more than 4,260 deaths have been reported. The state has had more than 446,450 reported infections, according to Johns Hopkins.
Georgia also broke a new single-day record Friday, reporting at least 4,813 new coronavirus cases. Health officials reported 3,787 new cases Saturday. More than 165,180 people have tested positive in the state, according to Johns Hopkins.
Oregon reported nine new coronavirus-related deaths Friday, breaking its record for most reported fatalities in a single day since the pandemic began. Those deaths were recorded in people aged 61 years or older. Health officials in the state reported 396 new cases, bringing the state’s total to more than 16,100.
For the second day in a row, Hawaii reported a record number of new cases, identifying 60 new positive tests Friday, according to health officials. On Thursday, Hawaii reported 55 new cases. Hawaii has had at least 1,620 reported infections, according to Johns Hopkins.
“Some of the cases we’re reporting today are associated with existing clusters, known cases and household spread, but others are new, unassociated cases that indicate increasing community spread,” Health Director Bruce Anderson said in a statement.

Florida’s youngest victim was a 9-year-old girl

In Florida, a state that has beat its own record of new cases several times in recent weeks, coronavirus hospitalizations have jumped by nearly 80% since July 4, according to data released to CNN by the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). And across the state, at least 50 hospitals have no ICU beds available, a number similar to last weekend’s. Last week, a 9-year-old girl with no pre-existing conditions became the state’s youngest coronavirus victim. Her family says Kimora “Kimmie” Lynum was taken to a local hospital to treat a “very high” fever.
The girl’s cousin and family spokesman Dejeon Cain said the hospital instructed the family to return home. After doing so, the young girl complained of not feeling well and collapsed. She didn’t have a detectable heartbeat, Cain added.
Her family says they don’t know where the child contracted the virus, as she had appeared healthy and had spent the summer at home.

Texas hospital could send patients home to die

In Texas, which broke a record for virus-related deaths last week, doctors inside one hospital along the US-Mexico border may decide to send patients home to “die by their loved ones” due to limited resources, officials said. Officials in Starr County announced they’re creating committees to review patients’ cases at the Starr County Memorial Hospital — where at least 50% of patients admitted to the hospital’s emergency room have tested positive for coronavirus. “Unfortunately, Starr County Memorial Hospital has limited resources and our doctors are going to have to decide who receives treatment, and who is sent home to die by their loved ones,” Starr County Judge Eloy Vera wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday. “This is what we did not want our community to experience.” Earlier this month, the governor ordered a statewide mask mandate and urged residents to heed the precautions in order for businesses and the economy to remain open.
As the state grapples with controlling the spread of the virus, Gov. Greg Abbott also had to issue a disaster declaration for 32 counties after Hurricane Hanna made landfall Saturday evening.

CDC in favor of reopening schools

Continue reading “US tops 1,000 coronavirus deaths 4 days in a row as experts urge the country to shut down”

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Why the World Worries About the Virus 2.0 Nuclear Option

Shuttering businesses, grounding airlines and ordering people to stay home was hard enough the first time. The thought of having to do it all over again is something world leaders don’t want to even contemplate. From Italy to New Zealand, irrespective of how well the virus was contained, governments acknowledge that fresh waves of the deadly coronavirus are likely and that the policy tools to mitigate the damage are limited. The hope is that localizing quarantines to towns, cities and regions will be enough to snuff out bouts of infections as they come. U.K.’s Boris Johnson was reluctant to order a lockdown and then ended up in intensive care fighting for his life after contracting Covid-19. Yet he finds the idea of isolating the nation again so off-putting that he compared it to a nuclear deterrent: “I certainly don’t want to use it.” French Prime Minister Jean Castex, was equally blunt: “We won’t survive, economically and socially.”

With the world facing its worst recession since the Great Depression and U.S. President Donald Trump fighting for re-election in November, voters are on edge. Politicians of all stripes are looking for ways to ease the pain—not add to it—as fear morphs into anger and discontent.

“Populations can be summoned to heroic acts of collective self-sacrifice for a while, but not forever,” political scientist Francis Fukuyama, author of “The End of History and the Last Man,” wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine. “A lingering epidemic combined with deep job losses, a prolonged recession, and an unprecedented debt burden will inevitably create tensions that turn into a political backlash—but against whom is as yet unclear.” The political calculus is to try and it ride it out. Yet while efforts to get people back to stores, restaurants, bars and hairdressers demonstrate the urgency among governments of reviving economies, they also show the risks.

Europe’s hardest-hit country, Britain, reopened pubs and is now finding spikes in virus cases. Johnson, who aims to return to “significant normality” by Christmas, on Friday said his government is preparing the health service for a second wave of infections over the winter. A day later, the Department for Transport removed Spain from the government’s list of safe countries to travel to following a jump in infections there. Populations have already shown they are restless. Spain had a similar trajectory to Italy and in Madrid the resentment spilled into the streets. In Serbia, a jump in cases prompted President Aleksandar Vucic, just re-elected in a landslide, to try and impose another curfew only for him to reverse course in the face of violent protests. The situation is so desperate in Croatia, which relies on tourism more than any other country in the EU, that it pivoted from lockdown mode to embracing the Swedish model that allows bars and shops to stay open and there is no limit to size of public gatherings. Nowhere is the disconnect between the health risk and reticence to lock down more pronounced than in the U.S., the worst-hit nation with more than 140,000 dead and the number of infections soaring in battleground states Trump needs to win. But as far back as May, the president made his priorities clear. The approaches have been so different it’s impossible to predict what governments will do when there is an agonizing trade off between deaths and the economy.

However unpalatable, the need to shut everything down may ultimately be forced upon leaders.

Back in the U.S., Trump has resurrected his White House briefings on the virus in an attempt to reassure Americans he has the pandemic under control and life is going back to normal. On Thursday, though, he scrapped the highly attended Florida convention for the Republican Party he had been keen to hold for 20,000 ardent supporters.“The country is in very good shape, other than if you look south and west—some problems,” he said. “That will work out.”

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California posts daily record of coronavirus deaths

California posted its biggest daily rise of coronavirus deaths on Friday as the number of people who died from the disease over the past 24 hours in the state reached 159. The total number of deaths from COVID-19 in the state now stands above 8,000, the California Public Health Department confirmed. 9,718 new coronavirus patients were registered over the past 24 hours. California is now the worst-hit US state by COVID-19 as the total number of registered cases in the Golden State surpasses total cases recorded in New York. Four counties in Southern California each reported at least 20 deaths, while the entire Bay Area recorded seven. The statewide seven-day average rose over 100 for the second time of the pandemic to 101 deaths per day over the past week, 60% higher than a month ago. The statewide case count grew by 9,725 keeping that seven-day average steady at about 9,660 cases per day. Its seven-day positivity rate has begun to move in the wrong direction after briefly plateauing around 7% — on Thursday it hit 8%, a threshold Gov. Gavin Newsom and state health officials have identified to stay below. The average number of new cases has increased 112% in a month (4,562 per day vs. 9,660), while the number of tests has increased by about 53% (79,880 per day vs. 122,000). In that time, hospitalizations statewide have also more than doubled, to 7,171 as of Tuesday. There was a steep drop off Wednesday to 6,825 hospitalized patients according to the state, but officials attributed that to a change in the reporting system that resulted in historical data from 39 facilities not being included. There hadn’t been a single-day decrease in patients of that magnitude, about 4.8%, up to this point; even the largest single-day increase was about 3%. Meanwhile, intensive care units in 12 counties were reported to be at or near capacity by the state health department on Thursday. Less than 20% of ICU beds were available in the following counties: San Benito (100% full), Kings (93.8%), Fresno (92.9%), Placer (88.2%) San Joaquin (86.4%), Sacramento (86.4%), Madera (84.6%), Merced (83.7%), Stanislaus (84.6%), Tulare (82.5%), Imperial (82.4%) and Butte (81.6%). That data has fluctuated significantly, from eight counties on Monday to four Wednesday, up to 12 in its most recent update. But the majority of those listed have been where cases and hospitalizations have been rising faster than elsewhere in the state. All those listed with the exception of Imperial, Butte and Placer counties border each other in the Sacramento-San Joaquin valleys. The number of patients hospitalized in those nine counties has more than tripled (313%) in the past month to 1,269 as of Tuesday, or about 25.38 per 100,000 residents, almost three times the rate of the Bay Area (9.5 per 100,000) and even more than Los Angeles County (22.1 per 100,000). Once again, Los Angeles accounted for the largest share of the state’s death toll with 49 new fatalities Friday. But it was a slightly smaller percentage of the total deaths because neighboring counties also reporting at least 20 COVID-19 deaths: Orange (22), San Bernardino (21) and Riverside (20). In the Bay Area, San Francisco and Alameda counties each reported two new fatalities, followed by one apiece in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Napa counties. The seven-day average of deaths here (8.29 per day) continued to rise higher than it has been since April 26 but remained well below other areas of the state. Los Angeles, with about 10 million residents vs. the Bay’s 8 million, has reported about 40 deaths per day over the past week; it’s been 30 per day in surrounding Southern California counties, population 11.3 million; in a swath of Central California, almost twice as many people are dying each day from the virus, despite a population 2 million smaller than the Bay Area. After its latest morbid record, the state’s death toll stood at 8,178, according to data compiled by this news organization. Of those, 52% have occurred in Los Angeles County, despite it accounting for about a quarter of the state’s population. The Bay Area, which has about 20% of California’s population, accounts for about 9% of its death toll to date. California surpassed New York for the most total cases earlier this week, though it also has about twice the population. Its cumulative case count stood at 431,664 on Thursday, the same day the country went over 4 million total cases.

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California posts daily record of coronavirus deaths

California posted its biggest daily rise of coronavirus deaths on Friday as the number of people who died from the disease over the past 24 hours in the state reached 159. The total number of deaths from COVID-19 in the state now stands above 8,000, the California Public Health Department confirmed. 9,718 new coronavirus patients were registered over the past 24 hours. California is now the worst-hit US state by COVID-19 as the total number of registered cases in the Golden State surpasses total cases recorded in New York. Four counties in Southern California each reported at least 20 deaths, while the entire Bay Area recorded seven. The statewide seven-day average rose over 100 for the second time of the pandemic to 101 deaths per day over the past week, 60% higher than a month ago. The statewide case count grew by 9,725 keeping that seven-day average steady at about 9,660 cases per day. Its seven-day positivity rate has begun to move in the wrong direction after briefly plateauing around 7% — on Thursday it hit 8%, a threshold Gov. Gavin Newsom and state health officials have identified to stay below. The average number of new cases has increased 112% in a month (4,562 per day vs. 9,660), while the number of tests has increased by about 53% (79,880 per day vs. 122,000). In that time, hospitalizations statewide have also more than doubled, to 7,171 as of Tuesday. There was a steep drop off Wednesday to 6,825 hospitalized patients according to the state, but officials attributed that to a change in the reporting system that resulted in historical data from 39 facilities not being included. There hadn’t been a single-day decrease in patients of that magnitude, about 4.8%, up to this point; even the largest single-day increase was about 3%. Meanwhile, intensive care units in 12 counties were reported to be at or near capacity by the state health department on Thursday. Less than 20% of ICU beds were available in the following counties: San Benito (100% full), Kings (93.8%), Fresno (92.9%), Placer (88.2%) San Joaquin (86.4%), Sacramento (86.4%), Madera (84.6%), Merced (83.7%), Stanislaus (84.6%), Tulare (82.5%), Imperial (82.4%) and Butte (81.6%). That data has fluctuated significantly, from eight counties on Monday to four Wednesday, up to 12 in its most recent update. But the majority of those listed have been where cases and hospitalizations have been rising faster than elsewhere in the state. All those listed with the exception of Imperial, Butte and Placer counties border each other in the Sacramento-San Joaquin valleys. The number of patients hospitalized in those nine counties has more than tripled (313%) in the past month to 1,269 as of Tuesday, or about 25.38 per 100,000 residents, almost three times the rate of the Bay Area (9.5 per 100,000) and even more than Los Angeles County (22.1 per 100,000). Once again, Los Angeles accounted for the largest share of the state’s death toll with 49 new fatalities Friday. But it was a slightly smaller percentage of the total deaths because neighboring counties also reporting at least 20 COVID-19 deaths: Orange (22), San Bernardino (21) and Riverside (20). In the Bay Area, San Francisco and Alameda counties each reported two new fatalities, followed by one apiece in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Napa counties. The seven-day average of deaths here (8.29 per day) continued to rise higher than it has been since April 26 but remained well below other areas of the state. Los Angeles, with about 10 million residents vs. the Bay’s 8 million, has reported about 40 deaths per day over the past week; it’s been 30 per day in surrounding Southern California counties, population 11.3 million; in a swath of Central California, almost twice as many people are dying each day from the virus, despite a population 2 million smaller than the Bay Area. After its latest morbid record, the state’s death toll stood at 8,178, according to data compiled by this news organization. Of those, 52% have occurred in Los Angeles County, despite it accounting for about a quarter of the state’s population. The Bay Area, which has about 20% of California’s population, accounts for about 9% of its death toll to date. California surpassed New York for the most total cases earlier this week, though it also has about twice the population. Its cumulative case count stood at 431,664 on Thursday, the same day the country went over 4 million total cases.

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You Can Wipe Your ASS with your Paper mask

I need you to get away from paper MASK filters, even HEPA is not enough. I need you to go full face mask and respirators with screw in UPLA filter canisters. As you know we have a clean hands policy. And that means we do not sell or recommend specific vendors. That way there is no chance of a conflict of interest. Conflict of interest is the norm in this day and age especially with popup’s invading your space every time you go to the internet. SO I am going to point you in the right direction and I am sure you will find suppliers.

Paper masks like the N95 filters are just plain not good enough anymore. WE ARE NO LONGER FIGHTING DROPLETS. BUT A VIRUS THAT IS SPREADING AS AN AEROSOL… more contagious than ever!

DO THIS TODAY! WHEN THIS GETs OUT THEY WILL RUN OUT!

I want you to go to the full face respirators with the NATO 40mm screw on filter. There are 2 types I recommend. The first one pictured is very common, very comfortable and takes the right cartridges (as you expect the cartridges they supply with the masks are shit) the new PL3 filters for sure 100% according to experts filters all, all coronavirus particles.

There is another type that is powered respirator. It has an air pump with a rechargeable battery in it.

Please note the air tube where it connects to the mask should be 40mm. That way if the battery goes dead you can simply unscrew the hose and attach the canister filter direct.

These masks are only as good as your canister filter. I have VAST experience using this equipment and there is a relatively inexpensive cartridge that works period, full stop, end of statement.

3M Powerflow P3 Filter, 450-00-02P

The filters are NATO 40mm size P3 UPLA (Ultra Low Penetration) air filter cartridge. This is a step above a HEPA filter. The UPLA can filter out 99.9999+% of viruses to .12 micron. Aerosol virus mystery and problem solved. Enjoy, Nick!

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N95 its effective only 95% of the time! Up your game to UPLA

Our knowledge base is constantly evolving and expending. I am very concerned about the aerosol component of the coronavirus spread. This explains the explosion in infections. Even among people who isolated. It’s the visitors even though they have masks and are sanitizing. We found the answer and it ain’t pretty.

Do HEPA air purifiers filter out the COVID-19 virus?

A CDC microscopic image of the COVID-19 virus.

The short answer is we don’t have any direct research to verify if a HEPA air purifier reduces transmission of COVID-19 however, according to Professor Jeffrey Siegel at the University of Toronto, “we can infer from what we know for similar viruses, like SARS, there is reason to think air purifiers might help in some situations.”

How many microns in size is the COVID-19 virus?

The COVID-19 virus is approximately 0.125 Micron or 125 nanometers in diameter. (Source: National Library of Medicine)

However, it often travels in biological aerosols from coughing and sneezing which range in size from 0.5-3 Micron.

How does HEPA filtration work?

HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air and is a filtration rating that captures microbes, dust, and particulates down to 0.3 Micron.

But what does that really mean and how do they work?

The U.S. Department of Energy first termed HEPA as a filtering specification for suppliers of filtration products based on how effective they were at particle removal.

HEPA filters consist of a complicated mix of filaments and fibers that carry a static charge which lures various microbes and particles like a magnet.

While the particles travel through the air filtration system, they’re captured and retained within the filter. Additionally, an interesting scientific effect occurs known as Brownian Motion which causes particles in certain media states (such as fluid) to bounce around and become trapped.

Hepa filtration in action.

How do N95 or KN95 face masks compare to HEPA air purifiers?

You may see or hear about people wearing surgical masks or N95 or KN95 rated masks to prevent themselves and others from being exposed to Covid-19. One important thing to note is that these masks are not as effective as HEPA air purifier systems which is more efficient than KN95/N95. Nick Note: I’ve got something even better. It’s the ULPA P3 canister filter. See story Wipe your ass with your N95 mask.

Continue reading “N95 its effective only 95% of the time! Up your game to UPLA”

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Texas coronavirus deaths rising as hospitals reach ICU capacity

“Our hospitals look like war zones”: Texas battling influx of COVID-19 cases