Category: Breaking News

(Bloomberg) — A lifting of the ban on travel to the U.S. from Great Britain could still be months away, and in a worst case may not come until a coronavirus vaccine is available, Dr. Anthony Fauci told a U.K. newspaper. The U.S. infectious diseases specialist made the comment in a wide-ranging interview with The Telegraph on Sunday, in which he also expressed hope that one or more of the vaccines now in development could be ready by the end of 2020 or early 2021. “It’s going to be really wait and see. I don’t think there’s going to be an immediate pullback for those kinds of [travel] restrictions,” Fauci said. “Looking at what’s going on with the infection rate, I think it’s more likely measured in months rather than weeks.” Close to 4 million people from the U.K. visit the U.S. in a typical year. The U.S. and U.K. rank one and three in the number of deaths attributed to the virus, and numbers one and five in the number of reported cases. The U.S., with some exceptions, banned travel from China, the U.K. and the European Union earlier in the year, and followed up with a ban in May on most travel from Brazil as Covid-19 cases spiked there. Many countries have their own restrictions on incoming travelers to tamp down outbreaks, including outright bans or enforced quarantines. Fauci, a member of the now mostly mothballed White House coronavirus task force, continued to warn against a second wave of Covid-19 infections in the U.S., even as many states are still facing their first full wave of illnesses. ”I would hope to get to some degree of real normality within a year or so. But I don’t think it’s this winter or fall,” Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the newspaper. The U.S. recently passed the 2-million mark for cases, although earlier epicenters like New York and New Jersey have seen the pandemic tail off after aggressive action to shut down economic activity. “It is not inevitable that you will have a so-called ‘second wave’ in the fall, or even a massive increase, if you approach it in the proper way,” Fauci said.

Beijing is going through an important test in its fight against COVID-19, and if it is not handled well, will cause a second wave of the outbreak, according to the chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “Like the rest of the country, most of the population in Beijing is susceptible to COVID-19. Fortunately, Beijing found it early and moved fast,” Zeng Guang, the CDC epidemiologist, told Chinese media on Saturday, warning that the Beijing regional outbreak could bring a second wave. This test that Beijing is going through is the biggest one after the whole country experienced a calm period, Zeng noted. Zeng revealed that preliminary results from viral gene sequencing show that the virus strain in Beijing this time does not resemble the type widely circulating in the country. Two samples have already been tested, and more tests are needed to determine where the epidemic is headed, he noted. Chen Xi, an associate professor of public health at Yale University, also suggested making a comparison of types of viral gene sequencing from different countries, to determine whether the virus detected in Beijing is from the origin nations of salmon. The novel coronavirus was detected on a chopping board used by a seller of imported salmon at Xinfadi market. China imports about 80,000 tons of chilled and frozen salmon each year, mainly from Chile, Norway, Faroe Islands, Australia and Canada, according to news site Jiemian.com. A preliminary investigation showed those confirmed cases may have been in contact with the contaminated environment at the Xinfadi Market or had contact with people who were affected, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of Beijing municipal center for disease prevention and control, said at a press conference on Saturday.

She said the possibility of more COVID-19 infections cannot be ruled out.

Beijing reported 36 more confirmed COVID-19 cases on Saturday, health authorities said on Sunday. Twenty-seven worked at the Xinfadi Market and nine others had a direct or indirect connection with the market. As of press time, Beijing had reported a total of 43 confirmed cases over three consecutive days. The Beijing Xinfadi Market became a new COVID-19 hot spot after confirmed cases reported in the capital city in the last three days were all traced back to the city’s largest vegetables wholesale market. Chen told the Global Times on Sunday that residents don’t have to worry about the outbreak in Beijing as present, as China has gained vast experience in fighting against COVID-19, first from Wuhan, then Shulan in Northeastern China. Beijing is capable of preventing the sporadic cases from spreading, Chen believed.

https://youtu.be/PuFRygzeUKY

SYDNEY — Much of the world’s population has spent what’s felt like an eternity inside their homes these past few months. When the lockdown ends, however, one new study says that may change in a big and potentially permanent way.

Researchers from the University of Sydney suggest COVID-19 may be the latest global event which could trigger millions of people relocating around the world. The study says their scientific model shows mass migration is commonly triggered by epidemics, civil unrest, and wars. Between the coronavirus outbreak and fallout from the tragic killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, fed up Americans could certainly be seeking residence elsewhere.

“While many countries’ borders are now closed, making migration virtually impossible, a post-pandemic world might look very different,” says Professor Mikhail Prokopenko in a university release.

The authors point to significant, world-changing events as a major cause for people seeking to find a safer and more stable place to live, either temporarily or permanently. The study notes that the largest migration in Europe’s history took place at the end of World War II. Millions relocated and settled in Australia following the war’s end in 1945.

Wars and diseases may be the most dramatic triggers for seeking a new place to live, but they’re not the only ones. Prokopenko says even the constant stream of news about unsettling events can push people to consider leaving town.

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“Epidemics are examples of wider contagion phenomena which also include social segregation, ‘infodemics’ – waves of misinformation, and social unrest,” explains Prokopenko. “Our theoretical modelling suggested that, when faced with either threat or opportunity, people tend to avoid risks, seek an advantage, or both.”

The study, published in Scientific Reports, adds that more recent crises like the Syrian civil war and the Ebola virus outbreak in 2015-16 triggered similar migration events. Unlike Ebola, which affected a small portion of the world, researchers believe the global reach of COVID-19 will spark a wave of similar decisions among residents in many countries.

“We showed that large-scale collective behaviors, such as migration, can result from very small changes in human decision-making” says study author Nathan Harding.

Harding adds even minor re-assessments about your safety, your financial well-being, or your health can lead to a “tipping point” in terms of deciding to resettle somewhere else.

A second wave of coronavirus is emerging in the U.S., and it’s raising alarms as new infections push the overall count past 2 million Americans.

According to a report by the Bloomberg News, in pockets across the U.S., a fresh onslaught of the novel coronavirus is bringing challenges for residents and the economy. These localized surges have raised concerns among experts even as the nation’s overall case count early this week rose just under 1%, the smallest increase since March, the report said. According to the report, these recent numbers are cause to question whether a new wave is about to occur:

• On Wednesday, Texas reported the highest one-day total since the pandemic emerged – 2,504 new coronavirus cases, and a 4.7% jump in hospitalizations to 2,153, the fourth consecutive daily increase.
• Florida, which is a month into its reopening, reported 8,553 new cases this week – the most of any seven-day period.
• A daily tally of new cases in Arizona has abruptly spiked in the last two weeks, hitting an all-time high of 1,187 on June 2.
• California’s hospitalizations have risen in nine of the past 10 days, and are at their highest since May 13.

Continue reading “Modern Black Plague is BACK”

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Friday declared that a “second wave” of the coronavirus was not descending upon the country, even as cases of Covid-19 are spiking in more than a dozen states.

“There is no emergency. There is no second wave. I don’t know where that got started on Wall Street,” Kudlow told “Fox & Friends.”

Although Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, acknowledged he is “not the health expert,” he said he had spoken with the administration’s top public health officials “at some length” Thursday evening. “They are saying there is no second spike. Let me repeat that. There is no second spike,” he said. “What you do have is certain spots are seeing a little bit of a jump up. Some small metropolitan areas are seeing it. The CDC and the health people are all over it. They’ve sent some task forces out to deal with it,” Kudlow added, partly attributing increases in Covid-19 cases to more widespread testing availability. Kevin Hassett, another economic adviser to the White House, told Fox News he had spoken to Dr. Deborah Birx, the administration’s coronavirus response coordinator, earlier Wednesday morning, and conceded “there are some embers flaring up in a few places.” Hassett specifically cited incoming data from Arizona and South Carolina as showing “some cause for concern,” but remained largely dismissive of the notion of a second wave of the coronavirus. “For sure, the battle is not over,” he said. “But the trends that have been so positive in recent weeks, we’ve not deviated sharply from them — although there are some hotspots around the country.” The remarks from the two top aides come as new coronavirus hotspots continue to emerge across the United States, with 18 states reporting an increase in Covid-19 case counts, including spikes in Arizona, Florida and Texas. Additionally, hospitalizations have been rising rapidly in at least nine states since Memorial Day. Experts have described the uptick as a rebound from the first wave of the coronavirus in the U.S. rather than a second wave, but are cautiously viewing the nationwide protests against racism as potentially contributing to even greater levels of infection. More than 113,000 Americans have died as a result of Covid-19 as of Friday morning, and the total number of confirmed cases in the U.S. has surged beyond 2 million. About 5,000 to 6,000 Americans are expected to die every week from Covid-19 from now until July 4, experts predict.

• Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, estimates that the COVID-19 death toll will surpass 200,000 within the next three months
• The dire prediction exceeds estimates from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation model
• That model forecasts there will be about 60,000 more deaths, bringing the total to 169,890 by October 1
• The predictions of an additional onslaught from the novel coronavirus comes shortly after the US surpassed two million cases on Wednesday
• The number of infections in the US is now at 2,000,464 and the death toll has increased to 112,924
• Though some countries are close to the one million mark, the US is the only nation to not only surpass that mark, but double it
• Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, estimates that the COVID-19 death toll will surpass 200,000 within the next three months One hundred thousand more Americans will die from coronavirus by September, doubling the country’s current death toll, a Harvard expert has predicted. Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, estimates that the COVID-19 death toll will surpass 200,000 within the next three months.

‘We right now have about 800 to 1,000 Americans dying from coronavirus each day. If we don’t have anymore spikes during summer… over the next three months, we’ll cross the 200,000 mark,’ he told NBC’s Today on Thursday. Continue reading “100,000 more Americans will die from coronavirus before September – double the current number”

(Bloomberg) — As many as 25,000 U.S. stores could close permanently this year after the coronavirus pandemic devastated an industry where many mall-based retailers were already struggling.

© Bloomberg A worker wearing a protective mask and gloves cleans an entrance door at the Yuba Sutter Mall in Yuba City, California, U.S., on Wednesday, May 13, 2020. Yuba Sutter Mall is the first mall in California to re-open, after California’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, said in an interview Wednesday morning that the state is prepared to enforce its stay-at-home rules if needed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.Nick Bit: this shit won’t work… its all a show!

The number would shatter the record set in 2019, when more than 9,800 stores closed their doors for good, according to a report from retail and tech data firm Coresight Research. Most of the closures are expected to occur in malls, with department stores and clothing shops predicted to be among the hardest hit. “If the anchor tenants close stores in the mall, other tenants are likely to follow suit,” Coresight Chief Executive Officer Deborah Weinswig said in the report, which put the expected range at 20,000 to 25,000. “Department and large apparel-chain store closures in malls will therefore create a ripple effect that spells bad news for malls.”

The U.S. has the most retail selling space per capita of any country and the lowest sales per square feet, according to commercial real estate company Cushman & Wakefield.

Most retailers have been reluctant to shrink their store networks, but the pandemic has forced many to rewrite their playbooks. American retailers went dark in mid-March in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, and — even though states are now beginning to ease restrictions — many shops are still shuttered or only providing limited service. As of June 5, retailers have planned about 4,000 permanent store closures, including hundreds by J.C. Penney, Victoria’s Secret and Pier 1 Imports. In March, before the extent and duration of the virus lockdown was clear, Coresight estimated that about 15,000 stores would shutter in 2020. Alongside the closures, the firm expects to see another spate of bankruptcies as debt-laden retailers are pushed over the edge. Fifteen major retailers have already filed this year.

Infections near 2 million in the US with more than 110,000 dead

• President Trump’s infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci issued a grim assessment of the coronavirus Tuesday
• He called the ongoing pandemic his ‘worst nightmare’ and insisted the fight against its spread is far from over
• The White House advisor said although he knew it was possible for an outbreak like this could occur, he was surprised by how ‘rapidly he took over the planet’
• He said the coronavirus is far more complicated than HIV – a disease he has dedicated his career studying – because of its varying degrees of severity
• Fauci added that vaccines will be the only way to completely curb the coronavirus’ spread, however he did voice confidence one would be found soon
• Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

Continue reading “Fauci admits coronavirus has become his ‘worst nightmare’ and ‘it is not close to over yet’”