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Coronavirus Update

The nation is still dealing with rising numbers of cases of the coronavirus, and is now also dealing with new variants of the disease linked to different countries. There have been many cases throughout the U.S. of the U.K. variant, which appears to be more contagious than any strain we have seen so far in this country. In an effort to control the rising case numbers, President Biden is aiming to roll out more vaccines across the country, and, to help Americans get back on their feet, he is also focusing on getting his COVID relief package passed. Biden is hopeful that there is some degree of normalcy to come; to help us get there, he is promising to send out 6 million at-home tests by the end of this summer, so Americans can get back to activities such as work and school.

Covid Relief Package Status

hundred dollar bills in stacks on top of each other. — *The covid-19 relief package will likely be passed which will offer some relief to Americans who lost their jobs.*

On early Friday morning, February 5, the Senate passed a budget resolution which brought Congress one step further toward passing a new COVID-19 relief bill. The Senate-amended budget resolution then returned to the House, where it passed by a final vote of 219-209. The budget resolution now agreed on by both chambers of Congress will allow Democrats to pass the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package without worrying about a filibuster from Republicans. The relief package includes another round of stimulus checks, this time in the amount of $1,400 for Americans making less than $50,000.

Coronavirus Variants Identified Across The U.S.

The U.S. has reported more than 600 cases of coronavirus variants across 33 states. The majority of the cases are of the more contagious variant from the United Kingdom. So far, Florida has had the highest number of cases, 187, followed by California with 145.

“A recent study from the U.K. showed that [the variant] might be somewhat more deadly in the sense of making people sicker and certainly leading to death more,” Fauci told CNN on Thursday. “It might become dominant because it seems to be very efficient in spreading from person to person.”

There have been 5 cases of the variant from South Africa in South Carolina and Maryland. In addition, Minnesota has identified 2 cases of the strain linked to Brazil.

Model Forecasts 630,000 Deaths By June 1

According to the latest forecast from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, an estimated 630,000 people in the U.S. will die from COVID-19 by June 1.

“The balance between new variant spread and associated increased transmission and the scale-up of vaccination in our most likely scenario suggests continued declines in daily deaths through to June 1,” it said. “Daily deaths have peaked and are declining. By June 1, 2021, we project that 123,600 lives will be saved by the projected vaccine rollout.”

Coronavirus Vaccines Rolloutcovid-19

A total of 36,819,212 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the U.S., about 63% of the 58,380,300 doses that have been distributed, according to data published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Biden administration announced this week that their plan for a vaccine rollout using local pharmacies, dubbed the federal retail pharmacy program, will launch on Feb. 11. The nation’s pharmacies have the capacity to administer 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in a 30 day period, but will need enough doses to do so, according to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS).

“Ultimately NACDS member pharmacies can meet and exceed the 100 million vaccinations in a month threshold, yet it’s important to understand that the supply of vaccines remains the rate limiting factor in the vaccination effort,” Steven Anderson, the organization’s president and CEO, said.

The government is expected to ship one million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine to U.S. pharmacies starting on February 11. At the same time, some states are finding ways to administer more doses of the vaccines they already have:

South Dakota governor Kristi Noem signed an executive order which will allow dentists to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
Houston is prioritizing distribution of their vaccine supply for more vulnerable populations and “underserved communities.”
New York’s Yankee Stadium began serving eligible people residing in the Bronx the morning of February 5th.
San Francisco’s Moscone Center will open as a vaccination center .
Maryland will have 2 large vaccination sites, including Six Flags America in Bowie to serve eligible people.

In addition, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell has written to President Biden, committing to use every team stadium as a mass vaccination site.

Schools Reopening

The CDC plans to release guidance on school reopenings soon. “Our goal is to get children back to school,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday. “Schools should be the last places closed and the first places open. Our goal is to make sure in getting children back to school that we do so both with the safety of the children and the safety of the teachers in place.”

“Among the things that we need to do to make sure that schools are safe is to make sure that the community spread of the disease is down,” Walensky said. “We are actively working on the guidance, the official guidance, which will be released in the week ahead.”

Coronavirus Update: Week 16

With the coronavirus pandemic still hitting our country hard, many are hoping that a vaccine is on the horizon. While President Trump is claiming that a vaccine will be ready for distribution before election day (November 3rd), most scientists and health officials are not promising the same, and warn that we may not have one until at least the summer of 2021. In the meantime, health officials are reiterating how important it is that everyone continues to wear a mask to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Unfortunately, some states are not following these guidelines, including Georgia, where a picture taken by a student of a high school with packed hallways and only 10% of students wearing masks went viral this week. With the increase in deaths from coronavirus multiple weeks in a row, parents around the country are afraid that their schools will look like the one in Georgia. Now the largest school districts in the country, as well as many smaller ones, are opting to make learning 100% virtual this fall.

U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Rises For 5th Straight Week

When the first wave of the pandemic seemed to be easing up a little, many states began to slowly reopen. For the past 5 weeks since these reopenings, the death toll from the virus has been on the rise. The number of deaths last week rose to 7,591, which is up 11.5% from the previous week. According to the COVID Tracking Project, more people died in the first week of August than did in the whole month of March.

Health Researchers Say Face Masks Are The Simplest Way To Fight The Spread

In a recent televised town hall, Dr. Chris Murray, a researcher behind the coronavirus model from the University of Washington, said that face masks are the most inexpensive and effective way for people to help fight the spread of the coronavirus. “It’s rare that you see something so simple, so inexpensive, so easy for everybody to participate [in] and have such an extraordinary impact in the US, but also all over the world actually. It’s quite extraordinary,” Murray told CNN during its global coronavirus town hall the night of August 6th. different kinds of face masks

Trump Says Vaccine Might Be Available By Election Day, Scientists Say Otherwise

Trump is hopeful that a vaccine for the coronavirus will be ready for distribution by election day, which he thinks “wouldn’t hurt” his chances of being re-elected. Vaccine scientist Peter Hotez, professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, on the other hand, does not think that any vaccine will have been proven safe by election day. Rather, he foresees that a vaccine will be readily available by the 3rd quarter of 2021.

“It takes time to show that these vaccines actually work in people, as they do in laboratory animals, and that they are safe,” Hotez said. He expressed hope that several vaccines will be made available in the near future, but noted that it might take a year to gather safety data on them and obtain regulatory approval for their widespread use.

Trump Signs Executive Order Encouraging American Manufacturing Of Health Supplies

On Thursday, August 7, President Trump signed a long-awaited executive order that would require the federal government to buy certain pharmaceuticals and medical supplies from American factories. The hope is that this order will help keep America from relying on China and other nations for drugs and medical supplies.

“If we’ve learned anything from the China virus pandemic, it is simply that we’re dangerously overdependent on foreign nations for our essential medicines, for medical supplies like masks, gloves, goggles, and the like, and medical equipment like ventilators,” White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro said Thursday. “We are dangerously dependent, at this point in time, for essential medicines.”

Georgia High School Pictures Draws Attention, Leaving 2 Students Suspended

A photo taken by a student at North Paulding High School in Dallas, GA, showed students, many without masks, packed into a hallway on the first day of school. Another picture was taken by another student on the second day of school, and both students were suspended after posting the pictures on Twitter. They were suspended for 5 days for ”using a phone in the hallway without permission.”

The superintendent of the Paulding County School District, Brian Otott, defended his system’s reopening plan, saying that the pictures were taken out of context, and that the kids were in the hallways briefly while switching classes. Masks are not required at the school, because Georgia does not require people to wear masks in public, despite the CDC’s guidelines.

Data Shows High Numbers Of Non-White Children Are Dying

According to data released in an internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, nationwide numbers of coronavirus cases among people under 18 years of age from March 1 to August 3rd are highest among non-white children. The breakdown shows that children infected with coronavirus were:

40% Hispanic
34% White
19% Black

According to the memo, those children who died from the disease were:

38% Hispanic
34% Black
25% White

Coronavirus Update: Week 15

Many businesses are operating remotely, schooling is being done virtually, weddings have been postponed, masks and social distancing are the new norm, and it seems like no one has been left untouched by the rising death toll. On Wednesday, July 29, more than 1,400 coronavirus related deaths were reported nationwide- that equates to about one death every minute. Multiple states have been seeing record-high numbers of cases and deaths, and although numbers continue to climb, President Trump has dismissed any talk of another national shutdown. Instead he is urging children to go back to school, as well as urging coronavirus patients who have recovered from the disease to donate plasma in the hope that this will help treat those who are infected.

res gates locked with a padlock and chains — *Having another widespread shutdown is “not a viable option.”*

Trump Dismisses Wider Shutdowns

Trump has made clear his position that having another widespread shutdown is “not a viable option.”

“The primary purpose of a shutdown was to ‘flatten the curve,’” to prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed and to buy time for new treatments and therapies”, Mr. Trump said in a briefing at the White House. “And we’ve done that,” he said.

“A blanket shutdown to achieve a temporary reduction in cases is certainly not a viable long-term strategy for any country,” said Mr. Trump.

The Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Expires July 31st

The CARES Act that was passed in March provided an extra $600 in unemployment benefits to those who lost their jobs to the pandemic, but those benefits expired at the end of July. The GOP has now proposed a stimulus package called the HEALS (Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools) Act, which would reduce the extra unemployment benefit from $600 to $200 per week

The question of how much to give unemployed individuals has been a sticking point between Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Democrats are pushing to give the full $600 for the rest of the year, while Republicans argue that this extra money would be a disincentive to return to work. Many on the right have stated their belief that people who receive these benefits would choose to stay home rather than go back to work.

“Both Republicans and Democrats agree that in these extraordinary times it makes sense for the federal government to provide historic additional help on top of normal unemployment,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. “But the speaker [of the House] and the Democratic leader say they won’t agree to anything unless the program pays people more to stay home than to work.”

the back of a kid walking down a road with a backpack on. — *Dr. Anthony Fauci said last week that “we should try as best as we possibly can to get the children back to school.”*

Dr. Fauci Says Children Should Go Back To School

Dr. Anthony Fauci said last week that “we should try as best as we possibly can to get the children back to school… Because we know the consequences on the children when they’re kept out of school, as well as the downstream deleterious, unintended consequences on families, of parents who have to get off work to take care of their kids,” Fauci said during CNN’s global coronavirus town hall on the night of Thursday, July 30.

The noted infectious disease expert is urging people to send their children to school on a case-by-case basis, depending on the number of coronavirus cases in their area. “So if you have a level of virus that really is very, very low, then you could likely proceed with impunity, depending on the local situation, with getting the child back to school with no restrictions. If you’re in an area where there is some virus involved, the local authorities may do things like try to modify the school situation,” Fauci added.

Coronavirus Model Projects 230,822 Deaths in US By November

Based on the current situation, The University of Washington is projecting that there will be 230,822 deaths from the coronavirus by November.

“If 95% of Americans wore masks each time they left their homes, infection rates would drop, hospitalizations would drop, and forecasted deaths would drop,” said Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at IHME. “Unfortunately, people let down their guard until the media reported the risk of increased infections.”

Several States Report Record-High Numbers In One Day

On Thursday, July 30, Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio recorded their highest ever numbers of cases in a single day:

Mississippi reported 1,755 cases
Missouri reported more than 1,600 cases
Ohio reported 1,733 cases

Arizona, Florida, and Mississippi also reported record-high deaths in a single day:

Arizona had 172 deaths
Florida had 252 deaths
Mississippi had 48 deaths

New Jersey’s Numbers On The Rise Again

New Jersey had been seeing its lowest numbers since the pandemic began, but case numbers have been rising for the past week, with the state averaging about 416 new cases per day. Some are blaming parties that were thrown in Middletown, NJ and Jackson, NJ for the spread of the virus all over the state.

Hawaii Reports High Case Numbers Second Day In A Row

On Thursday, July 30, 124 new cases were reported in Hawaii, which is a 14% increase over the previous day’s report. The Mayor of Honolulu is considering closing all bars on the island of Oahu for 3 weeks. The proposal is waiting for the Governor’s approval.

Trump Urges Recovered Coronavirus Patients To Donate Plasma

President Trump issued a national call-to-action asking people who have recovered from the virus to donate plasma in order to help others who are fighting it. People who recover from the disease have virus-blocking antibodies in their blood weeks after recovery, which can be transfused into people who are sick, helping to boost their immune systems.

“If you’ve had the virus, if you donate, it would be a terrific thing,” Trump said on a visit to the American Red Cross headquarters. “We really need donations of the plasma. To those that have had the virus, you’ve gotten through this. And I guess that means you have something very special there.”

Johnson & Johnson Create Coronavirus Vaccine That Protects Monkeys

The company Johnson & Johnson has created an experimental vaccine that is showing promising results: it seems to have protected monkeys from becoming infected with the coronavirus. “This week has been good — now we have two vaccines that work in monkeys,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University who was not involved in the studies. “It’s nice to be upbeat for a change.”

Although this vaccine candidate is showing good results so far, scientists involved in the project are not rushing large-scale trials in humans because they do not want to take any shortcuts.

Coronavirus Update: Week 14

Coronavirus continues to spread through the US like wildfire, with cases now topping 4 million. Some states, like California, are still seeing a large rise in case numbers, and death tolls in other states are rising everyday. Although these numbers continue to soar, many districts are planning to reopen schools for in-person learning in the fall. The CDC has said that children are less likely than adults to get the virus and so should be able to begin in-person learning. President Trump agrees with the CDC’s assessment and has offered aid to those districts that open schools for in-person learning. Amid all of this virus spread and confusion over reopening schools, there is a glimmer of hope: the government has reached an agreement with Pfizer to produce hundreds of millions of doses of a covid-19 vaccine, which they hope to get out to the public by late fall.

US Surpasses 4 Million Coronavirus Cases

On Thursday, July 23, the US officially recorded 4,032,430 cases of coronavirus, with a quarter of that number coming in within the last 15 days. So far there have been at least 144,167 deaths.

“We’ve rolled back essentially two months’ worth of progress with what we’re seeing in number of cases … in the United States,” Dr. Ali Khan, dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Public Health, told CNN on Thursday.

California Sets Record With Most Daily Coronavirus Deaths

The death toll topped 8,027 in California, with the state’s average daily number of deaths reaching 157. On July 23, the state saw 12,040 new Coronavirus infections, which was slightly below the previous day’s total of 12,807. California is currently recording the highest numbers of new daily cases in the nation.

The Health Director of Los Angeles said on Wednesday, July 23 that “COVID-19 appears to be on track to claim more lives in L.A. County than any other disease other than coronary heart disease.”

Georgia Passes 150,000 Confirmed Coronavirus Cases

Georgia’s Department of Public Health reported 3,314 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, July 22. This brings the total number of cases in the state to a minimum of 152,302. The total death toll for the state is 3,335 so far; the state saw 81 deaths on July 22, which was their second highest daily number of deaths.

New CDC Guidelines Now In Favor of Opening Schools

Last week the CDC issued strict guidelines for the reopening of schools, with which President Trump expressed strong disagreement. Now they have changed their guidelines to favor reopening schools, stating that children aren’t as likely to suffer from coronavirus as adults and are also less likely to spread the disease to adults. The guidelines recommend that local officials should close schools if the virus cannot be controlled in that area.

caucasian child with red hair sitting at a desk with a mask on — *“Children appear to be at lower risk for contracting Covid-19 compared to adults.”*

“The best available evidence indicates that Covid-19 poses relatively low risks to school-aged children,” an unsigned statement said. “Children appear to be at lower risk for contracting Covid-19 compared to adults. To put this in perspective, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of July 17, 2020, the United States reported that children and adolescents under 18 years old account for under 7 percent of Covid-19 cases and less than 0.1 percent of Covid-19-related deaths.”

“CDC does not currently recommend universal symptom screenings (screening all students grades K-12) be conducted by schools,” the guidelines read. “Parents or caregivers should be strongly encouraged to monitor their children for signs of infectious illness every day,” they add. “Students who are sick should not attend school in-person.”

Trump On Reopening Schools

At a news conference on Thursday, July 24, Trump talked more about his plan for school reopenings. He announced the new CDC guidelines and said that the White House is recommending that the Senate include $105 billion in aid money for schools- but only if schools reopen in-person. If a district chooses not to reopen schools for in-person learning, then he believes that the money should go to parents who are homeschooling, private schools, and religious schools.

Some Schools Require Corona Waiver Before Returning

Some school districts are requiring that parents sign Covid-19 waivers before their children can go to school in-person. So far California, Florida, Missouri, and South Carolina have introduced these waivers. These waivers basically state that if a child gets sick or dies from coronavirus, the school will not be held accountable.

Trump Administration & Pfizer Create Deal to Produce 100 Million Doses Of Covid-19 Vaccine

Pfizer has reached a $1.95 billion agreement with the government to produce 100 million doses of its covid-19 vaccine, which they hope to get to the public by the fall. The vaccine would be completely free to Americans, as long as it is given by healthcare providers.

Pfizer is working on the vaccine with German company BioNTech. They began clinical trials in April, and Pfizer has so far been reporting positive results. “If the ongoing studies are successful, Pfizer and BioNTech expect to be ready to seek Emergency Use Authorization or some form of regulatory approval as early as October 2020,” the company said in a statement.

Second Stimulus Check Underway

Senate and White House negotiators said on Wednesday, July 22 that they have reached a deal on a piece of their stimulus package. The stimulus package is still being worked on, and is to hopefully be released by next week. So far, we know it will include a $1,200 stimulus check; however, it is still in the works as to who will qualify for the money. United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the proposal might only allow those who make $40,000 or less to receive a check.

“The president’s preference is to make sure that we send out direct payments quickly so that in August people get more money. There is no question this worked before,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC on Thursday.

Coronavirus Update: Week 13

Over the past few weeks, coronavirus has been surging in almost every state, forcing two states to order refrigerated trucks for storing bodies, many states to shut back down, and some to begin considering a new stay-at-home order. Almost all states’ governors have issued mask mandates to try and reduce the number of cases, and some large chain stores have also announced mandatory mask policies. Even amid this resurgence of the virus, the White House is urging schools to reopen in a few short weeks, and many districts are planning to do so.

39 US States Report An Increase In New Cases

The United States reported more than 77,255 new cases on Thursday, July 16. This is the largest number of cases in a single day since the pandemic began. Thursday’s record numbers included:

More than 5,000 cases in Bexar County, Texas, which contains San Antonio, where numbers spiked in part because of a backlog in test reporting.
13.965 cases reported in Florida
8,544 new cases reported in California; Los Angeles County reported 4,592 new cases
3,441 cases reported in Georgia

The following states recorded their highest single-day death tolls on Thursday, July 16:

semi-truck on the road — *Cases are on the rise in all states, but especially in Texas & Arizona, where they are in need or refrigerated trucks to store dead bodies.*

Texas reported 174 Covid-19-related deaths
South Carolina reported 69 Covid-19-related deaths
Florida reported 156 deaths

Texas & Arizona Bring In Refrigerated Trucks

As the coronavirus surges, Texas and Arizona are bringing refrigerated trucks into their hardest hit areas to store hundreds of bodies. Texas funeral home directors are facing up to 93 deaths per day, so the Federal Emergency Management Agency has ordered 14 refrigerated trucks to support the state’s current 8 trucks that were ordered in April. Arizona’s Maricopa county ordered 14 coolers to hold up to 280 bodies.

No Cruises Until Late September

In March, the CDC announced on its website that cruise ship travel was to be suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. In their “No Sail Order and Suspension of Further Embarkation,” the CDC had first suspended cruise ship travel until July 24; the CDC has now extended the order until September 30.

Mask Mandates Continue in Many States

States around the country have issued mandates requiring that masks be worn in public, especially indoor public spaces. Studies have shown that wearing masks when going out can help reduce the number of cases. Combining mask wearing with avoidance of crowded places like bars and restaurants could help keep counties from having to shut down again.

“In the hot zones, we really need like almost 90% of people to be wearing masks out in the public when they’re interacting with other people,” Admiral Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, said at an HHS briefing. He continued, “We know that 50 to 60 to 70% in some areas are traced to a single bar, and then the secondary spread from that. Being indoors in close quarters over a long period of time is just a recipe for spread.”

Stores Requiring Masks

Some U.S. retailers have announced that they will require customers to wear masks inside their stores. The stores that are implementing masking policies include:

Starbucks is requiring everyone to wear masks as of July 15.

Target– starting August 1st

Kroger– policy began July 22
CVS- policy began July 20
Walmart– policy began July 20
Kohl’s– policy began July 20
Starbucks– policy began July 15
Best Buy- policy began July 16
Costco– policy began in May

Miami Mayor Close To Issuing Stay-At-Home Order

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has said that he is very close to issuing a new stay-at-home order for his city. “There is very little, if any of federal and state guidance on how and what metric we need to use to close,” Suarez told Wolf Blitzer on CNN’s “The Situation Room.” “So we’re developing all of that on our own. And we’re faced with making these tough decisions in the next few days if things don’t improve radically.”

“The situation is dire,” Suarez said. “I don’t want to sugarcoat it or I don’t want to downplay it in any way. Our hospitalizations are at the highest level. Our ICUs are double what they were back then and our vents have surpassed the high point. The death rate will continue to go up if we don’t take any more dramatic measures.”

He said that he will most likely issue the new order in the next few days or within the next week.

White House Demands Schools Reopen

At a press briefing, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany made clear that President Trump is in support of opening schools fully without any kind of remote learning. “When he says open, he means open in in full, kids being able to attend each and every day at their school,” McEnany told reporters. “The science should not stand in the way of this.”

“We encourage localities and states to just simply follow the science, open our schools. It’s very damaging to our children,” she said. “There’s a lack of reporting of abuse, there’s mental depression that is not addressed, suicidal ideations that are not addressed when students are not in school.”

Many are not worried that the kids themselves will get sick, but that they will spread it around the community. So despite Trump’s push for in-school learning, many districts announced they will not return for in-person learning, and some will try a hybrid of in-person and remote learning.

PA Governor Considering Pulling The Plug On Reopening Schools

Despite push from the White House to open schools, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said he is willing to “pull the plug” on reopening schools if the surge continues in his state. He attributed the new outbreak to interstate travel, and he is worried that cases will continue to spike once students are back in school. He also believes that he may not have to pull the plug, because teachers and students will most likely choose not to return to schools in the fall.

Russian Hackers Try To Hack Into Vaccine Research

Russian intelligence has been targeting health care organizations in order to try and steal vaccine research data. According to the National Security Agency, APT29, or Cozy Bear, a hacking group that is associated with Russian intelligence, has been taking advantage of the chaos of the pandemic to hack into our systems using malware and spear-phishing.

“APT29 has a long history of targeting governmental, diplomatic, think-tank, health care and energy organizations for intelligence gain so we encourage everyone to take this threat seriously and apply the mitigations issued in the advisory,” said Anne Neuberger, the NSA’s cybersecurity director.

“We condemn these despicable attacks against those doing vital work to combat the coronavirus pandemic,” said Paul Chichester, the director of operations for Britain’s National Cyber Security Center.