Suspension Lifted of Georgia Student Who Posted Photos of Crowded Hall – The New York Times

The widely circulated photo from North Paulding High School in Dallas, Ga., showed students crowded into a packed hallway on their first day back to classes since the coronavirus outbreak shuttered schools in the spring. Few were wearing masks, and there was little sign of social distancing. Then on Day 2, there was another.

The photos, which were shared on social media and cited in news reports, have quickly come to symbolize a chaotic first week back in U.S. classrooms. Schools in states where students have returned, including Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Indiana, have had to initiate quarantines and in some cases shut down classrooms and entire schools temporarily after positive cases emerged.

A 15-year-old student at North Paulding, Hannah Watters, was initially suspended for five days for posting images of the crowded hallways on Twitter, according to her mother, Lynne Watters, who said she filed a grievance with the school on Thursday.

By Friday, Hannah said, her suspension had been lifted and wiped from her record, with the schools principal calling her mother to tell her that she could return to class on Monday.

Although she agreed that she had breached the schools policy, which prohibits filming students and posting their images to social media without their consent, Hannah said in an interview that she did not regret doing so as the images had shed light on the crowding and lack of social distancing in her school.

My mom has always told me that she wont get mad at us if we get in trouble as long as its good trouble, Hannah said, invoking the famous phrase of Representative John Lewis, the civil rights leader who was laid to rest in Atlanta last week. Youre bettering society and bettering the world, so those consequences dont outweigh the end result.

The high school and school district did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The superintendent of the Paulding County School District, Brian Otott, had defended his systems reopening plan, saying in a letter to the community after the hallway photos circulated that the scenes were taken out of context. Students only remained in the hallways briefly while switching classes, he wrote, and the school was following recommendations issued by the Georgia Department of Education.

But he acknowledged, There is no question that the photo does not look good.

Masks are not required at the school, Mr. Otott said, though the administration strongly encourages them for students and staff members.

Wearing a mask is a personal choice, and there is no practical way to enforce a mandate to wear them, he wrote, adding that more than 2,000 students attend the high school.

Updated Aug. 7, 2020

The latest highlights as the first students return to U.S. schools.

The districts guidelines say staff members will do their best to require students to maintain social distancing, but note that it would not be possible to enforce social distancing in classrooms or on school buses unless it is a class or a bus with fewer students.

A spokesman for the Georgia Department of Public Healths northwest district, which includes Paulding County, said the agency offers advice about best practices for controlling the spread of the virus, but choices about what to do in schools are ultimately up to local officials.

Each school system makes its own decisions, said the spokesman, Logan Boss, adding that the department does not monitor schools to see if they are complying with its recommendations.

The high school opened for the school year on Monday even though there had already been reports of a coronavirus outbreak among members of the football team. Mr. Boss said he was not aware of students or staff members testing positive at North Paulding High, but he added, Theres widespread community transmission in Paulding County.

For Hannah, her return to class next week will be an anxious one. There is still the worry over the virus, and now also the stress of wondering how other students will respond to her having shared the images of the crowded hallway.

Going back, Im probably going to be just about as nervous as I was the first day of school, she said, adding that she hopes people realize that she posted the pictures to advocate for the safety of everyone in the building.

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Suspension Lifted of Georgia Student Who Posted Photos of Crowded Hall - The New York Times

20 new coronavirus cases have been reported in Maine – Bangor Daily News

Another 20 cases of the new coronavirus have been detected in Maine, health officials said Friday.

Fridays report brings the total coronavirus cases in Maine to 4,014. Of those, 3,599 have been confirmed positive, while 415 were classified as probable cases, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

New cases were reported in Androscoggin (10), Cumberland (6), Kennebec (1) and York (3) counties, state data show.

The agency revised Thursdays cumulative total to 3,994, down from 3,997, meaning there was a net increase of 17 over the previous days report, state data show. As the Maine CDC continues to investigate previously reported cases, some are determined to have not been the coronavirus, or coronavirus cases not involving Mainers. Those are removed from the states cumulative total.

No new deaths were reported Friday, leaving the statewide death toll at 124. Nearly all deaths have been in Mainers over age 60.

So far, 393 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 10 are currently hospitalized, with five in critical care and one on a ventilator.

Meanwhile, four more people have recovered from the coronavirus, bringing total recoveries to 3,479. That means there are 411 active and probable cases in the state, which is up from 398 on Thursday.

A majority of the cases 2,236 have been in Mainers under age 50, while more cases have been reported in women than men, according to the Maine CDC.

As of Friday, there have been 186,632 negative test results out of 192,323 overall. Just over 2.5 percent of all tests have come back positive, Maine CDC data show.

The coronavirus has hit hardest in Cumberland County, where 2,075 cases have been reported and where the bulk of virus deaths 69 have been concentrated. It is one of four counties the others are Androscoggin, Penobscot and York, with 558, 152 and 668 cases, respectively where community transmission has been confirmed, according to the Maine CDC.

There are two criteria for establishing community transmission: at least 10 confirmed cases and that at least 25 percent of those are not connected to either known cases or travel. That second condition has not yet been satisfied in other counties.

Other cases have been reported in Aroostook (33), Franklin (45), Hancock (35), Kennebec (170), Knox (27), Lincoln (34), Oxford (53), Piscataquis (3), Sagadahoc (54), Somerset (33), Waldo (62) and Washington (12) counties.

As of Friday morning, the coronavirus has sickened 4,888,070 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 160,157 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

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20 new coronavirus cases have been reported in Maine - Bangor Daily News

Saying goodbye to dying wife likely cost 90-year-old ‘Romeo’ his life. He had no regrets, family says. – USA TODAY

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LAKELAND, Fla. Not even the risk of acquiring a possibly fatal disease could deterSam Reck from seeing his dying wife a final time.

Three weeks after a deathbed reunion with his beloved JoAnn, Sam Reck has followed her into everlasting rest. The couple were christened asRomeo and Juliet for their distant visits at Florida Presbyterian Homes, where pandemic restrictions prevented closer contact.

Reck, 90, died Saturday after contracting COVID-19, the viral illness that claimed his wife on July 12, family members said. He died at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, just as JoAnn had.

Holly Reck of Orlando, one of Sams two grown children, acknowledged that her father probably became infected while visiting JoAnn at the hospital.

Most likely, and he knew the risks, she said Monday. There wasnt anything any of us could have done to have talked him out of that. He would have gotten himself there one way or the other to see her. I do believe that.

Scott Hooper, JoAnn Recks son from her first marriage, confirmed that.

After Sam tested positive for COVID, I asked him if he regretted his visit to the hospital, Hooper wrote in a Facebook post. Without pause he replied, Not one second. He said no matter what happens, he was very happy he had the opportunity to say goodbye and hold her hand one more time.

Sam and JoAnn Reck, married nearly 30 years, received national attention after aMay story in The Ledger described the anguish of their forced separation during the pandemic. Residents of Florida Presbyterian Homes in Lakeland, they were barred from close contact after an executive order from Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended visits to nursing homes.

JoAnn Reck, 86, diagnosed with dementia about a year ago, lived in a skilled nursing area at Florida Presbyterian Homes, while Sam lived in a nearby apartment on campus. Before the governors order, the couple spent most waking hours together in JoAnns room.

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With help from the facilitys staff, Sam and JoAnn devised a way of seeing each other regularly. He would perch on a balcony outside his second-floor apartment, while she sat in a shady dining area below.

Those thrice-weekly assignations prompted the staff at Florida Presbyterian Homes to call the Recks Romeo and Juliet. In Shakespeares romantic tragedy, the young lovers prevented by family conflict from direct meetings secretly converse at night as Juliet leans from her window to find Romeo waiting below.

In Shakespeares play, young Juliet takes her own life, unable to accept family dictates keeping her apart from her lover. Romeo finds her in a vault and soon drinks poison to join her in death.

Though the balcony sessions seemed a romantic way of accommodating the separation, JoAnn endured anguish and failed to understand why Sam no longer spent his days with her.

I think they had gone through so much emotional stress the prior three months because they couldnt see each other, really, they couldnt touch each other, Holly Reck said. Even though they were able to see each other from the balcony, it wasnt the same. My father would go every day and spend eight hours or more with her, and then COVID happened. So I think it really took an emotional toll on both of them.

JoAnn Reck, in the courtyard, talks with her husband, Sam Reck, on the balcony at Florida Presbyterian Homes in Lakeland, Florida, in May. When Joann was moved from their apartment into the skilled nursing area of the facility, the couple were separated due to a state mandate closing nursing home visits. However, they would meet three times a week in this distant setting.(Photo: [PIERRE DUCHARME/THE LAKELAND LEDGER])

In July, JoAnn Reck developed a cough and fever and displayed drowsiness, prompting her transfer to the hospital, where a test confirmed she had COVID-19. Family members decided not to have her placed on a mechanical ventilator, and instead she moved to the palliative care unit.

The hospital staff allowed family members to visit JoAnn as she neared death. A photo that Scott Hooper shared later showed Sam wearing full protective gear, including a gown, two face masks and surgical gloves.

In the photo, Sam sits beside JoAnns bed, staring raptly toward her upturned face. She died hours later.

After being reported in The Ledger, the story of JoAnn Recks death gained international attention.

Holly Reck said she had to refrain from visiting her father in the hospital because she cares for her elderly mother and feared bringing the virus into her home. She said she held daily video-chat sessions with her father after he entered the hospital July 24.

Reck expressed gratitude to Hooper and his wife, Julie, for offering to visit Sam at the hospital, where they found him in the same room in which JoAnn Reck had taken her final breaths.

I was very appreciative because I didnt want my dad to be alone when he passed, and thankfully they were there with him when he passed, Holly Reck said. So that meant a lot to me, that they were willing to risk that and be with him.

Sam Reck spent his career working for the National Park Service at various sites in eastern states, finishing his career in Boston. After retirement in the late 1980s, he moved to Jacksonville, and at a church event he met JoAnn, who was recently widowed.

Sam, a devotee of bluegrass music, had a collection of instruments, and JoAnn embraced the genre. The couple traveled in a Winnebago to attend bluegrass festivals as far away as Canada, and they sometimes performed as Sam played guitar or banjo and JoAnn played autoharp and sang.

The couple moved to Lakeland in 2005 to be closer to their grown children in Central Florida. They lived in an apartment at Florida Presbyterian Homes before JoAnns dementia forced her move into the skilled nursing area.

Sam Reck on the final visit with his wife, JoAnn: "They suited us all up in all protective gear. We might have looked rather ominous, but we could hold her hand and talk to her to try to reassure her that we loved her."(Photo: [PIERRE DUCHARME/THE LAKELAND LEDGER])

After the governors order in March, Sam Reck proposed an arrangement under which he would spend all day in JoAnns room and return home at night, not having any contact with anyone outside the skilled nursing unit. The administration at Florida Presbyterian Homes noted that the governors order allowed for no exceptions.

Reck wrote directly to DeSantis at least once to plead his case and expressed disappointment at getting no response.

More than 40 elder-care centers in Polk County have reported at least one case of COVID-19 among residents or employees, and at least 143 of the countys 271 COVID-related deaths are linked to such facilities.

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As of Monday afternoon, Florida Presbyterian Homes reported only one resident and one staff member positive with COVID-19.

I will miss Sam greatly, Joe Xanthopoulos, CEO and executive director of Florida Presbyterian Homes, said Monday by email. We often had robust discussions about politics, COVID, religion. Sam was a very smart man who loved his wife and had great strength of faith.

In his Facebook post, Hooper wrote that his mother, depressed after the death of her first husband, reluctantly accepted her pastors suggestion to attend a church social, at which Sam asked her to dance and they immediately connected.

In the past year, my mom suffered with dementia and Sam helped her get through her daily struggle, Hooper wrote. She was moved into a skilled nursing floor. He would drive his scooter every morning and stay with her all day until he kissed her goodnight and went back to his room. Thank you Sam, for everything you have done for our family, and for loving my mother. We all love you. I know you are now back with my mom playing bluegrass music together.

Holly Reck said she and her father had a meaningful conversation via FaceTime a few days before he died, when he was still alert and coherent.

He told me he had lived a good life, she said. He never expected to live to 90, and the most important thing to him was that he had taken care of his family, and he let me know how much he loved all of us and I let him know how much I loved him and how much I appreciated everything he had done for me as a father through the years.

In addition to his two grown children, Sam Reck leaves behind five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. The family is still considering plans for a service.

The cremated remains of Sam and JoAnn Reck will be interred together in a memorial garden on the campus of Florida Presbyterian Homes.

Follow Gary White on Twitter @garywhite13.

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Saying goodbye to dying wife likely cost 90-year-old 'Romeo' his life. He had no regrets, family says. - USA TODAY

Coronavirus in Pa.: 758 new cases as infections have dropped in recent days – PennLive

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 758 new coronavirus cases Friday, continuing a decline in new infections over the past week.

The number of new cases has dipped in recent days, after steadily climbing since the middle of June. Over the past seven days, the state has reported, on average, 747 new cases each day. During the previous seven-day period, the state recorded more than 900 new infections, on average, each day. The health department hasnt reported 1,000 new cases in a single day since July 28.

Since the pandemic began, 117,279 Pennsylvanians have contracted the coronavirus, according to the health department.

Across Pennsylvania, 7,297 deaths have been tied to COVID-19, including 15 new fatalities reported Friday. More than two-thirds of the states coronavirus deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes.

Fewer people are dying or requiring hospital care, compared to the peak of the virus in the spring. But Gov. Tom Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine expressed concern over the rise of cases throughout late June and July, especially as more young adults were getting infected.

Between July 31 and August 6, the state administered 148,658 coronavirus tests. There were 24,388 test results reported to the department Thursday by 10 p.m.

Since the pandemics first cases in Pennsylvania were reported, 1,199,620 people have tested negative, the health department said.

A closer look

The state data show the trend of new cases over recent weeks.

July 4-10: 5,135 new cases, an average of 733 per day

July 11-17: 5,602 new cases, an average of 800 per day

July 18-24: 6,093 new cases, an average of 870 per day

July 25-31: 6,477 new cases, an average of 925 per day

Aug. 1-7: 5,231 new cases, an average of 747 per day

The governor has said the state is continuing to boost its testing capacity. The state has been averaging about 22,000 tests per day, far above the peak in April, when about 8,000 tests were done each day.

Were going to continue to build up our testing and contact tracing, Wolf said in a news conference Thursday.

The governor also said the state needs to do a better job of turning test results around, as some are waiting for up to two weeks to get their results.

Wolf said Thursday the states positive test rate is just under 5 percent, a level health care experts has said is a level indicating problems controlling the spread of the virus.

On Thursday, Wolf recommended high schools hold off on sports until Jan. 1, 2021. The governors office later said it was a strong recommendation but not a mandate.

Republican lawmakers criticized Wolfs recommendation and said schools should decide on their own about the fall sports schedule and whether to move forward. The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, which oversees high school sports, said it would release a statement Friday afternoon.

Nursing homes

Statewide, 4,968 coronavirus deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and personal care homes.

There are 19,860 residents in long-term care facilities who have contracted COVID-19, along with 4,122 employees. A total of 23,982 in those facilities have been infected. Cases have been found at 872 long-term care facilities in 61 counties.

Statewide, 8,573 health care workers have been infected with the coronavirus.

The health department said 77 percent of all Pennsylvanians who have been infected have recovered. The department considers patients to have recovered when they are 30 days beyond the date of infection or the onset of symptoms.

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.

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Coronavirus in Pa.: 758 new cases as infections have dropped in recent days - PennLive

Do You Want to Be a Vaccine Volunteer? – The New York Times

Only a Phase 3 trial allows researchers to study if their vaccine works. They do this by enrolling tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of volunteers, giving one-half of the group to two-thirds of them the vaccine, and giving the rest a placebo or an alternative treatment. They do not expose anyone to the coronavirus, but they try to enroll a large enough group in locations with enough cases that they can bank on some people getting infected in the normal course of their lives. They then evaluate whether the vaccine reduced the frequency of acquiring the infection and lessened the severity of the disease in the test group, Dr. Corey said.

Theres no guarantee that youll actually be protected from the coronavirus at any phase of a vaccine trial, no matter how hyped the product has been. By a Phase 3 trial, of course, theres more to suggest that it works than a Phase 1 trial. But you might not get the vaccine at all. It might be an inactive placebo or an alternative intervention.

Researchers have to give these to some subjects to create a control group, said Nir Eyal, the director of the Center for Population-Level Bioethics at the Rutgers School of Public Health.

Otherwise what do you compare the results to? Dr. Eyal asked.

During the Ebola outbreak, there was a push to try to run efficacy trials without a control group, he said. But eventually most researchers came around to the idea that, without a control group, a study would tell them basically nothing because as with the coronavirus its spread is mercurial, and very different in different areas at different times.

It could be a few hundred or a few thousand dollars. It varies by the trial.

What you are doing is providing compensation for time and trouble, said Dr. Daniel Hoft, director of the Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development.

Organizers try to avoid creating a financial incentive. So even if they could pay much more, they dont.

If the money seems extraordinarily attractive to you, think again, Arthur L. Caplan, a bioethicist, said. You dont want to let compensation blind you to the need to pay attention to the risks.

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Do You Want to Be a Vaccine Volunteer? - The New York Times

Trump threatens executive action if no deal is reached in coronavirus stimulus talks – CNBC

After coronavirus aid talks between Democratic leaders and the Trump administration ground to a halt Friday, President Donald Trump threatened to take executive action if the sides fail to reach a deal.

Negotiators emerged from a 90-minute meeting in the Capitol on Friday appearing to have made minimal progress toward bridging a gulf over spending to combat a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Both Democrats and White House officials pointed to fundamental disagreements over how to address the crisis, making it unclear when they could agree on legislation that could pass both chambers of Congress.

Speaking to a ballroom packed with members of his New Jersey country club on Friday evening, Trump said he would "act under [his] authority as president to get Americans the relief they need" if Congress fails to strike an agreement with his administration. He said his pending executive orders would extend lapsed enhanced unemployment benefits through the end of the year at an unspecified level, continue an expired eviction moratorium and indefinitely suspend federal student loan payments. They would also suspend the payroll tax through December.

Because Congress controls federal spending, it is unclear what power Trump has to extend those programs. Trump said he was "not at all" worried about the legality of the moves. Earlier Friday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said it would "take us a little bit of time to finalize [the executive orders] and process them."

Negotiators House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows made minimal progress toward a relief deal over more than a week and a half of talks. It is unclear now when they will restart discussions on legislation.

Leaving Friday's meeting, Schumer called the huddle "disappointing." He and Pelosi said the White House again rejected their offer for Democrats to cut the asking price for their legislation by $1 trillion and for the Trump administration to increase its proposed spending by the same amount.

"I've told them, 'Come back when you are ready to give us a higher number,'" Pelosi, a California Democrat, told reporters.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), speaks next to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, August 7, 2020.

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

Mnuchin indicated he would not come to the table again unless Democrats changed their tune on pandemic relief. He said he and Meadows "will be back here any time to listen to new proposals."

House Democrats passed a roughly $3 trillion relief package in May, and Republicans last week proposed a bill that costs about $1 trillion. Schumer has said Democrats would not accept legislation that puts less than $2 trillion into the pandemic response.

Pelosi has indicated that she could cut back spending by making some programs expire earlier than originally proposed.

Democrats and Republicans appear to have come closer to an accord on issues including direct payments of up to $1,200 to Americans and extending a moratorium on evictions from federally backed housing. They have failed to bridge a gulf on how to continue enhanced federal unemployment benefits, help schools reopen safely during the pandemic, and aid state and local governments facing budget shortfalls during the outbreak.

In a tweet Friday, Trump said he had "no interest" in Democrats' request for nearly $1 trillion in state and local relief.

"We are going a different way!" he wrote.

In a letter to colleagues Friday, Pelosi outlined several areas of disagreement. It notably did not mention jobless benefits.

It would take a massive effort for Democrats and the White House to even reach the outline of a deal soon. But the clock is ticking: the expiration of both the $600 per week enhanced federal unemployment benefit and the eviction moratorium late last month have left millions of Americans scrambling to cover bills and remain in their homes.

The U.S. added 1.76 million jobs in July despite a resurgence in coronavirus cases that forced many states to pause or reverse their economic reopening plans. The unemployment rate fell to 10.2%, but was still higher than at any point during the 2008 financial crisis.

In a joint statement after the jobs report release Friday, Pelosi and Schumer said the data shows "that the economic recovery spurred by the investments Congress has passed is losing steam and more investments are still urgently needed to protect the lives and livelihoods of the American people."

Democrats have insisted on extending the jobless benefit long term at $600 per week. The White House has made several counteroffers, reportedly proposing extra payments of $400 per week into December.

On Friday, Mnuchin said the Trump administration has not received compromise offers on either unemployment insurance or state and municipal relief.

With no agreement on Capitol Hill, Trump who has not participated in face-to-face talks has plotted how to act on his own.Pelosi told CNBC on Thursday that she thinks the president has the power to extend the eviction moratorium, and urged him to do so.

Schumer, though, cautioned Trump on Thursday against taking executive action. He indicated an order could get held up in court.

"An executive order will leave millions of people out. It will be litigated. It won't be effective, and things will get worse," the New York Democrat said Thursday.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Schumer added that an executive order would be inadequate because it would not include money for schools and Covid-19 testing and treatment.

Both the Senate and House left for the weekend after Thursday's sessions. The chambers have delayed their planned August recesses as they anticipate votes on a pandemic relief package.

Complicating matters in Congress, the talks have taken on bitterness less than three months before the general election. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., finds himself stuck between conservative senators who don't want to spend more money and swing-state Republicans who need to win their races in November for the GOP to keep its majority in the chamber.

He will likely have to rely on strong Democratic support to get a bill through the Senate.

For now, a moment of unity looks far away. Pelosi went as far as to say Meadows "slammed the table and walked out" of a meeting on Thursday.

Meadows disputed the account.

"It's fabricated," he said.

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Trump threatens executive action if no deal is reached in coronavirus stimulus talks - CNBC

Dad who got coronavirus after son went out with friends is released from hospital – NBC News

A Florida father whose battle with COVID-19 led his wife to publicly plead for young people to take the coronavirus seriously was released from the hospital Thursday.

John Place and his entire family tested positive for the coronavirus after his 21-year-old son fell ill and learned that a friend he had hung out with was infected, Place's wife said in a Facebook Live video in June.

Place, who is diabetic, got sick the day after Father's Day and suffered the most serious symptoms in his family. He was hospitalized and placed on a ventilator after his condition worsened.

On Thursday, family and friends gathered outside Westside Regional Medical Center in Plantation, about six miles west of Fort Lauderdale, to celebrate his release.

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In a Facebook Live video shared by his wife, Michelle Zymet, Pharrell Williams' "Happy" blared in the background as the group all wearing face masks eagerly awaited Place's arrival. When he was wheeled outside, the crowd erupted in cheers.

Place, wearing a T-shirt that read "I'm Alive," appeared to get emotional as he waved to the crowd and hugged his family.

"I want to thank all the doctors and nurses and health care professionals here at Westside Regional Medical Center. They saved my life," he said outside the hospital. "And to all the nurses and doctors out there, you're doing an amazing job. Thank you so much. I feel great!"

Following Zymet's Facebook Live video last month about her husband's plight, she said in an interview with MSNBC that she had pleaded with her son not to go out because she was concerned about the family getting sick.

"The younger generation, they just don't get it. They don't care; they don't think. I'm not quite sure what it is they don't get," she said on MSNBC. "Our son, he was cooped up for a while and when the state lifted up and you could get out again and we weren't in quarantine, he decided he wanted to go out and hang out with his friends."

She said she decided to share her story to encourage younger people to take the virus seriously.

"We are trying to open everyones eyes that by not wearing a mask, washing your hands frequently and by not social distancing you are putting yourself at risk and of those at home that you love ... each and every day," she wrote in a Facebook post.

Place told NBC Miami that he has a lot of things planned now that he's out of the hospital.

"This is a life-changing experience," he said. "I'm going to make the best of it. I have new plans and things that I'm going to do to hopefully make a difference. First thing I want to do is donate plasma as soon as I can because somebody helped save my life with their plasma."

Minyvonne Burkeis a breaking news reporter for NBC News.

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Dad who got coronavirus after son went out with friends is released from hospital - NBC News

Texas allows some visits in nursing homes with no active coronavirus cases – The Texas Tribune

Need to stay updated on coronavirus news in Texas? Our evening roundup will help you stay on top of the day's latest updates. Sign up here.

For the first time in nearly five months, visitors will be allowed in Texas nursing homes on a limited basis, state health officials announced Thursday evening, reversing a policy intended to keep the states most vulnerable populations safe from a pandemic that has proved especially deadly for older people.

Residents of Texas long-term care facilities have been separated from their family and friends for more than 140 days, since Gov. Greg Abbott shut down visitation in mid-March.

At assisted-living facilities, some indoor visits will be permitted, provided there are plexiglass barriers, there are no active cases of the novel coronavirus among residents and there are no confirmed cases among staff in the last two weeks. Physical contact between residents and visitors will not be permitted, state officials said.

The restrictions are tighter on nursing facilities, which must test staff members weekly and can offer only outdoor visits.

This is a rapidly evolving situation and we are constantly assessing what actions are necessary to keep residents and staff safe in these facilities, said Phil Wilson, the acting executive commissioner of Texas Health and Human Services Commission. By following these procedures and rules, facilities can more effectively prevent the spread of COVID-19 and help us achieve our shared goal of reuniting residents with their families and friends.

The dramatic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases across Texas in June and July led to another surge in long-term care facilities, with 57% of nursing homes still reporting at least one active case Thursday. Deaths in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities account for more than a third of Texas death toll.

Despite the need to protect a high-risk population, families and advocates have been urging the state to allow for limited visitation.

Families are just desperate right now to be able to see their loved ones, Alexa Schoeman, deputy state ombudsman in HHSCs office of the long-term care ombudsman, said in an interview last week.

Kevin Warren, president and CEO of the Texas Health Care Association, called Thursdays announcement a great step forward. In an interview last week, he said reconnecting families with their loved ones was a priority and that it should be done as quickly as we can.

Some Texas lawmakers had been agitating for a policy change for weeks. Last month, state Rep. Scott Sanford, R-McKinney, and state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, along with dozens of other signatories, asked state health officials to loosen restrictions on visitations for patients with memory difficulties and mental disabilities.

We will not stand to let these Texans fall through the cracks, they wrote.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story said inside visits would be allowed at long-term care facilities. Inside visits will only be allowed at assisted-living facilities, but not nursing homes. Both are considered long-term care facilities.

Texas Health Care Association has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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Texas allows some visits in nursing homes with no active coronavirus cases - The Texas Tribune

As cases in Africa pass one million, Nigeria has tested less than 1% of its population. Here’s why. – CNN

As of early Friday morning, Africa had recorded a total of 1,008,154 cases, and more than half of these are in South Africa.

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, of the World Health Organization, said the cases are a small fraction of the global count but low testing in many African countries means infections have been under-reported.

The health agency said while testing facilities have increased in some countries compared to when the outbreak began in February, Africa still fell behind the global benchmark.

"The challenge is how to decentralize these tests available in states and in countries like Nigeria where we need to get to people in the local governments," the agency's program manager for emergency response for Africa, Dr. Michel Yao told CNN.

Long test result turnaround time

Nigeria, the African nation with the largest population, has tested less than one percent of its 200 million inhabitants as of Friday, and some in the country say getting a coronavirus test can be challenge.

On Monday, the state's governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, announced that worship centers can accommodate half their capacity during services and restaurants are back in business, citing a steady decline in cases.

There are concerns that people there are self-managing their symptoms at home. Lagos has tested 66,431 samples so far, a fraction of its 20 million residents.

One resident told CNN he waited for two weeks to get a test at a government laboratory after he fell ill in June.

"I was going there many times, and it was not until my daughter made many calls, and I ran into a doctor friend who was at the hospital that day that I was able to do the test," Segun Bello-Osagie said.

Patient turned back

Bello-Osagie said a nurse turned him back at the first hospital where he sought treatment when he became sick.

"I was not allowed into the consulting area, and the nurse was shouting that I should not come in even though I was wearing a face mask, and she was dressed like an astronaut," Osagie-Bello told CNN.

"She said, 'We can't help you here, we don't attend to Covid people here,' even though I hadn't even been tested."

She referred him to a government hospital in the city attending to coronavirus cases. Osagie-Bello said he went home instead, fearing he may not endure the long drive and traffic to the hospital.

He said he began using herbal therapies that many claimed had helped them when they had similar symptoms while he self-isolated at home.

Osagie-Bello says that even though the government has proactively deployed measures to check the virus spread, the delays patients face could discourage them from going to hospitals.

"I know some people who have had symptoms suspected to be Covid-19 gave up on getting testing," he told CNN. He added that some hospital officials may tell patients to come back the next day.

Chike Ihekweazu, director of the Nigerian Center for Disease Control, acknowledged the slow turnaround time for testing and said the response was partly due to the challenge the country faced initially trying to repurpose its laboratories to test for the virus.

Ihekwaezu said South Africa in contrast, which has the highest numbers of testing on the continent and the highest numbers of cases, was able to easily do this.

"We recognise that improving access to testing for COVID-19 is a major priority. We will continue to work closely with other stakeholders and partners to ensure that Nigerians can be tested in a timely manner that will also contribute to the control of this outbreak," Ihekweazu told CNN.

Another barrier to testing is cost, according to Mobihealth International CEO Funmi Adewara, whose organization is among those assisting laboratories with Covid-19 test sample collection, says.

Private facilities charge $132 for tests in addition to the cost of processing the tests. The fee, she says, is prohibitive for a majority of Nigerians without health insurance. Many hit by the economic impact of Nigeria's five-week lockdown to tackle the pandemic.

"How many people have that kind of money to pay for this test?" Adewara said.

She add that Nigeria's testing model excludes asymptomatic carriers, a critical data point that could give health officials a clearer insight into the outbreak in the country.

"We haven't tested enough to the point that we have data to interpret the pattern of infections if we're only testing those with symptoms, but the good thing is that the mortality rate seems low going by official figures," Adewara told CNN.

Dealing with a new virus

There are now more testing facilities but Yao with the WHO said the global demand for test kits has limited Africa's testing capabilities as international suppliers prioritize requests from countries in Europe, Latin America and the US with larger caseloads than most African countries.

But the African Union in partnership with aid organizations, including the WHO and the Jack Ma Foundation, has launched an initiative to aggregate demand across African countries to mobilize suppliers to produce more kits, according to Yao.

"We need to test wider and wider, not only those who are sick to be more confident so we're not swimming in the dark," Yao said

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As cases in Africa pass one million, Nigeria has tested less than 1% of its population. Here's why. - CNN

Infections Swamp the U.S., Which Recorded 42% of All Its Coronavirus Cases in July – The New York Times

The U.S. reels as July cases more than double the total of any other month.

The United States recorded more than 1.9 million new infections in July, nearly 42 percent of the more than 4.5 million cases reported nationwide since the pandemic began and more than double the number documented in any other month, according to data compiled by The New York Times. The previous monthly high came in April, when more than 880,000 new cases were recorded.

The virus is picking up dangerous speed in much of the Midwest and in states from Mississippi to Florida to California that thought they had already seen the worst of it.

Gone is any sense that the country may soon get ahold of the pandemic. The seven-day average for daily new infections has hovered around 65,000 for the past two weeks, more than doubling the peak average from the spring, when the country experienced what was essentially its first wave.

In many states, distressed government officials are re-tightening restrictions on residents and businesses, and sounding warnings about a rise in virus-related hospitalizations.

Across the country, deaths from the virus continued to rise after a steep drop from the mid-April peaks of about 2,200 a day. At the start of July, the average death toll was about 500 per day. Over the last week, it has averaged more than 1,000 daily, with many of those concentrated in Sun Belt states.

The Northeast, once the viruss biggest hot spot, has improved considerably since its peak in April. Yet cases are now increasing slightly in New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, as residents move around more freely and gather more frequently in groups.

The picture is similarly distressing overseas, where even governments that would seem well suited to combating the virus are seeing surges.

New daily infections in Japan, a country with a long tradition of wearing face masks, rose more than 50 percent in July. Australia, which can cut itself off from the rest of the world more easily than most, is battling a wave of infections in and around Melbourne. Hong Kong, Israel and Spain are also fighting second waves.

None of those places has an infection rate as high as the one in the United States, which has the most cases and deaths in the world.

Top U.S. officials work to break an impasse over the federal jobless benefit.

Hours after unemployment benefits for tens of millions of Americans lapsed, administration officials arrived on Capitol Hill on Saturday morning for a rare meeting with top congressional Democrats to discuss a coronavirus relief package and work to break an impasse over new aid as the American economy continues to shudder.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, who hosted the meeting with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York in her Capitol Hill suite, emerged after three hours and said the discussion was productive in terms of moving us forward, but they remained far apart on a number of issues. They declined to offer specifics, but said that staff would meet on Sunday and that the principal negotiators would again convene on Monday for another meeting.

Here we have this drastic challenge and what they were saying before is, Were going to cut your benefit, Ms. Pelosi said. Thats, shall we say, the discussions were having.

This is not a usual discussion, because the urgency is so great healthwise, financial health-wise, she added.

Also in attendance were Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, and Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary. (Mr. Mnuchin observed before entering Ms. Pelosis suite that it was just another working day in the Capitol.)

Among the largest sticking points in the discussion is a $600 weekly federal jobless benefit that became a lifeline for tens of millions of unemployed Americans, while also helping prop up the economy. The aid expired at midnight as officials in Washington failed to agree on a new relief bill, but Mr. Meadows and Mr. Mnuchin said there were signs that the two sides could begin to reach common ground, including on reviving a federal moratorium on evictions and funding for schools and child care.

Theres things we agree on. Theres things we dont agree on, Mr. Mnuchin said after the meeting. Were trying to narrow down the things we dont agree on. Obviously any negotiation is a compromise.

Joblessness remains at record levels, with some 30 million Americans receiving unemployment benefits. More than 1.4 million newly filed for state unemployment benefits last week the 19th straight week that the tally had exceeded one million, an unheard-of figure before the pandemic.

Nearly 11 percent of Americans have said that they live in households where there is not enough to eat, according to a recent Census Bureau survey, and more than a quarter have missed a rent or mortgage payment.

The benefits expiration will force Louise Francis, who worked as a banquet cook at the Sheraton Hotel in New Orleans for nearly two decades before being furloughed last spring, to get by on just state unemployment benefits, which for her come to $247 a week.

With the $600, you could see your way a little bit, said Ms. Francis, 59. You could feel a little more comfortable. You could pay three or four bills and not feel so far behind.

The aid lapsed as Republicans and Democrats in Washington remained far apart on what the next round of virus relief should look like.

Democrats wanted to extend the $600 weekly payments through the end of the year, as part of an expansive $3 trillion aid package that would also help state and local governments. Republicans, worried that the $600 benefit left some people with more money than when they were working, sought to scale it back to $200 per week as part of a $1 trillion proposal and have begun to push the prospect of doing a short-term package that deals with just a few issues, including the unemployment insurance benefit.

Theyve made clear that theres a desire on their part to do an entire package, Mr. Mnuchin said of Democrats. Weve made clear that were really willing to deal with the short-term issues, pass something quickly and come back to the larger issues so were at an impasse on that.

Democrats have rejected a short-term proposal.

Its outbreak untamed, Melbourne goes into even greater lockdown.

Officials in Melbourne, Australias second-largest city, announced stricter measures on Sunday in an effort to stem an outbreak that is still raging despite a lockdown that began four weeks ago.

For six weeks starting Sunday, residents of metropolitan Melbourne will be under curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. except for purposes of work or giving and receiving care.

As under the current lockdown, acceptable reasons for leaving the house include shopping for essential goods and services, medical care and caregiving, and necessary exercise, work and study. But food shopping is now limited to one person per household per day and outdoor exercise is limited to one hour per person per day, both within five kilometers of home. Public gatherings are limited to two people, including household members.

In explaining the new measures, Premier Daniel Andrews said that the high rate of community transmission, including 671 new cases reported in the state of Victoria on Sunday, suggested the virus was even more widespread than known.

Youve got to err on the side of caution and go further and go harder, he said.

Less stringent restrictions are being introduced in the rest of the state starting at midnight on Wednesday, and further measures regarding businesses will be announced on Monday.

Victoria has had a total of 11,557 cases, almost all of them in metropolitan Melbourne, and 123 deaths.

Global roundup

An estimated 17,000 Germans packed the heart of Berlin on Saturday, defying public health requirements to maintain a safe distance from one another, or cover their noses and faces, before Berlin police moved to break up the demonstration against the countrys efforts to fight the spread of coronavirus.

The protest, under the motto Day of Freedom a title shared by a 1935 Nazi propaganda film by Leni Riefenstahl was supported by known neo-Nazi groups and conspiracy theorists, along with Germans who say they are fed up with the government-imposed restrictions on public life. Germany enforced a strict lockdown from mid-March that has been lifted in stages since the end of April, but large public gatherings are still banned and requirements for wearing masks on public transportation and in all stores remain.

A majority of Germans support the measures, but public health officials worry that people are becoming more lax, as the past weeks have seen a rise in new infections. On Saturday, 955 new cases were reported, compared with 580 two weeks ago.

Protesters at the demonstration blew whistles, heckled and jeered anyone wearing a mask, and carried the red, white and black flag of the 19th-century German Empire. They also carried signs equating the government-imposed restrictions to the Nazis forcing Jews to wear yellow stars. One banner, emblazoned with images of Chancellor Angela Merkel, her health minister and leading German public health officials, as well as Bill Gates, demanded: Lock Them Up Already!

Here are some other developments from around the globe:

South Africa on Saturday surpassed 500,000 coronavirus infections, according to Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, fifth most in the world. More than 10,100 new cases had been recorded, South Africas Department of Health said, adding virus-related deaths had risen to 8,153. South Africa in March quickly became Africas first epicenter and the first country on the continent to impose a severe lockdown, restricting travel between provinces.

Belgium on Saturday announced that its number of confirmed coronavirus infections had doubled in one week. On average about 448 people per day tested positive from July 22 to July 28, the Belgian health authorities said. The city of Antwerp was of particular concern, officials said.

Kuwait on Saturday began to resume some commercial flights after a five-month suspension. It announced that flights would remain suspended from 31 countries, including India, China and Brazil. Flights are also still barred from some countries that were once major hot spots, such as Spain and Italy, but not the United States, which remains a global epicenter. Kuwait, with its relatively small population, has one of the highest infection rates in the world. Its 1,618 cases per 100,000 people is the sixth highest globally, according to a New York Times database.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain announced that lockdown measures that were set to be lifted Saturday would continue for two more weeks, as case numbers in the country rise. Restrictions remain on indoor performances, casinos, wedding receptions and other gatherings, which Mr. Johnson said he knew would come as a real blow to some people. But it was necessary to apply the brake pedal, he said, in order to stem the spread of the virus.

In Vietnam, the city of Danang plans to test its entire population for the coronavirus, the local authorities said, after dozens of cases there showed how the disease can stalk even places that were thought to have eradicated the virus. As the country went more than three months without reporting any local transmission or even a single death from the virus, up to 800,000 domestic tourists flocked to Danang, a coastal city known for its golden beaches. Vietnam has now recorded three deaths and almost 600 cases, although many are returnees in quarantine.

As of Saturday night, Mexicos confirmed death toll of 47,472 was the worlds third highest behind the United States and Brazil. Britain ranked fourth, with 495 fewer deaths. The number of new reported infections in Mexico has been climbing since May and topped 9,000 for the first time on Saturday, bringing the countrys caseload to nearly 435,000.

Officials in Poland are considering new lockdown restrictions after the country reported record numbers of new coronavirus cases for three days in a row. The health minister told a local radio station this could include reducing the number of people allowed to attend weddings, according to Reuters. The country has reported 46,346 total cases and 3,650 deaths.

Thirty-six crew members aboard a Norwegian cruise ship tested positive for the virus, Hurtigruten, the ships operator, said in a statement over the weekend. None of those who tested positive showed any symptoms, the statement said. According to the company, 387 guests who may have been exposed to infected crew members during two trips on the ship in July will self-quarantine in accordance with Norways public health regulations.

Representative Ral M. Grijalva, Democrat of Arizona, has tested positive for the coronavirus three days after isolating because he came into contact with another lawmaker who had contracted it.

Mr. Grijalva, who has no symptoms, is the 11th lawmaker to test positive, according to a tally maintained by GovTrack.

It is unclear where he contracted the virus, but Mr. Grijalva has been in self-isolation since Wednesday, when Representative Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican who has frequently spurned wearing a mask during the pandemic, said he had tested positive. Mr. Grijalva said he had had extended contact with Mr. Gohmert during a congressional hearing held by the Natural Resources Committee, the panel that he leads.

While I cannot blame anyone directly for this, this week has shown that there are some members of Congress who fail to take this crisis seriously, Mr. Grijalva, 72, said in a statement on Saturday, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to Mr. Gohmert. Numerous Republican members routinely strut around the Capitol without a mask to selfishly make a political statement at the expense of their colleagues, staff, and their families.

A spokesman for Mr. Grijalva said he would quarantine for two weeks in Washington, and some of the representatives staff would also be tested.

Mr. Grijalvas diagnosis comes as lawmakers and the many aides and staff members who shuttle in and out of the Capitol daily are grappling with the lack of consistent procedures for protecting one another. Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, have so far rejected enforcing a rapid-test system for Capitol Hill similar to the one used at the White House, particularly given testing shortages and delays around the country.

In addition to the lawmakers who have tested positive, the virus has spread among the workers who quietly power the Capitol. At least 27 Capitol Police employees, 33 contractors on a construction site and 25 employees of the Architect of the Capitol have tested positive, and dozens more have entered voluntary isolation because of exposure, according to a tally from Republicans on the House Administration Committee.

Florida, home to one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the United States, braced for the arrival of Isaias on Saturday.

The states battle with the virus could make evacuating homes and entering community shelters especially risky. Friday was the third consecutive day that Florida broke its record for the most deaths reported in a single day, according to a New York Times database.

Floridians spent Saturday preparing for wind gusts up to 80 miles per hour and dangerous coastal surf.

The storm was downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm, after it raked parts of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and battered the Bahamas. State officials said Isaias would probably regain its strength as the evening progressed. Dont be fooled by the downgrade, warned Gov. Ron DeSantis at a news conference.

Mr. DeSantis said that the division of emergency management had been working at its most active level since March, allowing them to actively plan for hurricane season even while responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Early in the pandemic, he added, the division created a reserve of protective equipment for hurricane season, including 20 million masks, 22 million gloves and 1.6 million face shields.

Forecasters said Saturday that the storms projected path had shifted slightly eastward, and that the storm could potentially make landfall over Palm Beach, Jacksonville and other coastal cities.

Up the coast, officials in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina states where there has been a dramatic rise in new reported coronavirus cases since mid-June were closely monitoring the storm.

Earlier, the storm hit the Bahamas as it is grappling with a rapid increase in the number of coronavirus infections that has only accelerated in recent days, in what health officials are calling a second wave.

A golfer tests positive midway through a PGA Tour event, withdrawing while tied for second place.

Branden Grace wasnt feeling well on Friday night, after the second round of the Barracuda Championship in Truckee, Calif., so he contacted PGA Tour officials and arranged to be tested for the coronavirus on Saturday morning.

When the test came back positive, Grace had to withdraw from the tournament while he was tied for second place.

Given my position on the leaderboard it was a difficult decision, but nonetheless, the correct one for my fellow competitors & the volunteers, Grace, a 32-year-old South African who has won one event in his career on the tour, wrote in a statement he posted on Twitter.

Graces infection will prevent him from participating next weekend in the P.G.A. Championship in San Francisco, the first mens major tournament of the year, which was postponed for three months.

Since the PGA Tour resumed in early June after a three-month shutdown, several golfers including the highly ranked Brooks Koepka and Webb Simpson have had to withdraw from tournaments because they, their caddies or a close relative tested positive.

The disruption, however, has not been nearly as broad as the one in Major League Baseball, which on Saturday announced four more positive tests among members of the St. Louis Cardinals traveling party one player and three staff members and postponed the teams weekend series with the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Cardinals, who also had two players receive positive tests on Friday, now have six positives in their traveling party and have become the second team, after the Miami Marlins, to experience an outbreak less than two weeks into the truncated M.L.B. season. The Marlins have had 20 people, including 18 players, test positive since last Sunday.

And the Boston Red Sox announced that starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, 27, who had been infected before the start of the season, will not play this year after developing myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart.

The hosts of a summer camp in Georgia said over the weekend that they regretted hosting the lakeside retreat in June, after health officials said more than three-quarters of tested campers and staffers had been infected.

The virus quickly spread through Camp High Harbour, which is run by the YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta, in June, after a teenage counselor got chills and later tested positive. The camp began sending children home the next day, and shut down not long after, but at that point, about 260 campers and staff members had already been infected, according to a report issued Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report said that the C.D.C. had data for 344 campers and staffers who were tested, and that there were about 250 more whose data the C.D.C. did not have.

The C.D.C. did not name the camp, but the YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta soon acknowledged that it was Camp High Harbour, which is held in northern Georgia.

Parrish Underwood, the YMCA branchs chief advancement officer, said the YMCA had hosted the camp at the request of some parents who hoped it would allow for normalcy in their childrens lives.

This weighed heavily in our decision to open, a decision in retrospect we now regret, Mr. Underwood said in a statement.

All campers passed screenings of some kind, he said, and the counselor who first tested positive for the coronavirus had provided a negative test and had no symptoms when he first arrived.

The C.D.C. said the camp had required staff members to wear masks but did not require the children to do so. The report found that the camp also did not open windows and doors to increase circulation and that campers stayed overnight in cabins, with an average of 15 people sleeping in each.

Georgia was one of the first states to reopen restaurants, movie theaters and other public gathering places in April. Gov. Brian Kemp has recently been urging districts to reopen their classrooms, and one high school opened on Friday, its scheduled start date.

Since mid-June, the state has had a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, and it is now reporting an average of more than 3,000 cases and 45 deaths each day.

One of the most important aspects of curtailing the spread of the virus is understanding where people are being infected. This week the Maryland Department of Health released new data from its contact-tracing program that provides an informative if limited view of the patterns of behavior of people who tested positive.

The numbers do not show where virus transmission occurred only what activities people had engaged in. After conducting contact-tracing interviews with people with the virus, the state found:

44 percent had attended a family gathering.

23 percent had attended a house party.

23 percent had dined indoors at a restaurant.

23 percent had dined outdoors at a restaurant.

54 percent worked outside the home.

25 percent worked in health care.

The health department did not say how many patients were interviewed, or when people had attended the events.

Im really excited to see that theyre putting data on this out, said Dr. Crystal Watson, an assistant professor in the department of environmental health and engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. But its a little hard to interpret.

Dr. Watson said it would help to know if people had worn masks at the family gatherings and practiced social distancing. She said she was struck by the fact that only 12 percent of the people interviewed were workers in the restaurant and food service industry, given the risks of exposure.

Here are some other developments from around the United States:

The cumulative death toll in Florida surpassed 7,000 on Saturday after a surge in deaths in the state over the past week. Florida recorded 257 deaths on Friday, a single-day record that also represented nearly one-fifth of all the deaths reported in the United States that day.

Three staffers and one player for the St. Louis Cardinals tested positive for the virus, prompting the team to postpone a game on Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers for the second day in a row. The team had announced that two other players tested positive on Friday.

Single-day records for cases were reported in Oklahoma and Puerto Rico, each with over 1,000.

The Navajo Nation Council passed a $651 million bill responding to the economic crisis created by the pandemic. The bill includes funding for water projects, power lines, broadband and casino employees who have been laid off. The funding for the bill comes from the Navajo Nations share of $8 billion in federal coronavirus relief funding that was designated for tribes. The situation has been stark in the Navajo Nation, where high infection rates have created a crisis in the largest reservation in the United States.

The Serum Institute, which started out years ago as a horse farm and is exclusively controlled by a small and fabulously rich Indian family, is doing what few other companies in the race for a vaccine are doing: mass-producing hundreds of millions of doses of a vaccine candidate that might not even work.

But if it does, Adar Poonawalla, Serums chief executive and the only child of the companys founder, will become one of the most tugged-at men in the world. He will have what everyone wants, possibly in greater quantities before anyone else.

Originally posted here:

Infections Swamp the U.S., Which Recorded 42% of All Its Coronavirus Cases in July - The New York Times

COVID-19 in Illinois updates: Heres whats happening Wednesday – Chicago Tribune

After weeks of defending a proposal to reopen Chicago Public Schools this fall, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson announced Wednesday that the new school year will begin with remote learning instead.

They said the decision was based on public health guidelines and feedback from parents, and that the district will aim to move to a hybrid model, with schools reopened, in the second quarter.

The switch to an all-remote learning plan comes as teachers union leaders were planning to convene the organizations House of Delegates next week and consider a process that eventually could lead to a strike if CPS didnt agree to start the school year with full remote learning, sources said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Illinois health officials Wednesday reported 1,759 new known cases and 30 additional fatalities. The total number of known infections in Illinois now stands at 186,471 and the statewide confirmed death toll is 7,573.

Heres whats happening Wednesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:

12:57 p.m.: Second stimulus check updates: Where things stand in high-level Washington talks on the huge coronavirus response bill

After more than a weeks worth of meetings, at least some clarity is emerging in the bipartisan Washington talks on a huge COVID-19 response bill.

An exchange of offers Tuesday and a meeting devoted to the U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday indicates a long slog remains, but the White House is offering some movement in House Speaker Nancy Pelosis direction on aid to states and local governments and unemployment insurance benefits. Multiple issues remain, but some areas of likely agreement are coming into focus.

12:55 p.m.: Touchless entry, ionizing HVAC: In the time of COVID-19, these 3 new luxury residences are making sure theyre outfitted for pandemic life.

It was a happy accident that Parkline Chicago, a forthcoming 26-story complex in the Loop, will feature a touchless experience for residents upon entry. As they walk through the front doors, onto the elevator and into their apartment or condo, they wont touch a thing.

Its one of the features that Parkline and two other new luxury residential developments in Chicago might have planned as a neat detail prior to 2020, but find to be much more vital in a world grappling with COVID-19. Co-working space, rooftop gardens teeming with produce and other amenities are increasingly considered essential for people who are spending more time at home for social distancing reasons.

In the cases ofParkline Chicago,PorteandThe Orchard, COVID-19 actually sped up project completion, because most construction was considered essential during the stay-at-home order, developers said. Now or soon to be on the market, these apartments, condos and town homes are a glimpse at what new developments might look like in the time of COVID-19.

12:24 p.m.: Illinois Holocaust Museum to hold annual fundraiser online this fall because of COVID-19

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie announced Wednesday it plans to host its annual soiree virtually this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The event is free and scheduled for Sept. 2, according to a news release. The museums Womens Leadership Committee plans to stream it live from a studio and feature a musical performance by Katie Kadan, a Chicago native who was a 2019 finalist on NBCs The Voice, among others.

While we are sad that we cannot gather in person this year, we are excited to take the event virtual and feel it is the best way to continue raising funds to support the museums important work, the committees president, Juliet Gray, said in the release.

The benefit is the museums signature event and aims to raise funds to combat hatred, prejudice, and indifference, and to inspire others to speak out for whats right turning powerful lessons of history into positive actions today, according to the release. The museum recommends donations of $200 at the soiree.

12:05 p.m.: 1,759 new known COVID-19 cases, 30 additional deaths

Illinois health officials Wednesday reported 1,759 new known cases and 30 additional fatalities. The total number of known infections in Illinois now stands at 186,471 and the statewide confirmed death toll is 7,573. Within the past 24 hours, officials report 46,668 tests completed.

11:01 a.m.: New University of Chicago imaging center will aid COVID-19 research

University of Chicago Medicine plans to create a massive database of medical images of COVID-19 patients such as X-rays and CT scans that researchers can use to help them better understand and fight the illness, with support from a $20 million federal grant.

The images will be collected at a new center at the University of Chicago and be open source, meaning the material will be available to researchers around the world. The center expects to collect more than 10,000 images in its first three months.

This will speed up the sharing of new research on COVID-19, answering questions about COVID-19 presentation in the lungs, the efficacy of therapies, associations between COVID-19 and other co-morbidities, and monitoring for potential resurgence of the virus, Maryellen Giger, a professor of radiology at University of Chicago, said in a news release.

Giger will lead the center along with leaders from the American College of Radiology, the Radiological Society of North America and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

11 a.m.: CDC warns coronavirus measures could disrupt detection of rare, paralyzing polio-like disease in children

Health experts once thought 2020 might be the worst year yet for a rare paralyzing disease that has been hitting U.S. children for the past decade.

But they now say the coronavirus pandemic could disrupt the pattern for the mysterious illnesses, which spike every other year starting in late summer.

Scientists say its possible that mask wearing, school closures and others measures designed to stop spread of the coronavirus may also hamper spread of the virus suspected of causing the paralyzing disease.

Dr. David Kimberlin, a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, called it the million-dollar question.

"We just simply don't know right now," said Kimberlin, who is co-leader of a national study to gather specimens from children who develop the paralyzing condition.

The pandemic is dominating public health work right now, but officials are trying to draw attention to the polio-like condition they call acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday made a public call for parents and doctors to watch for it, and act.

10:55 a.m.: Joe Biden wont travel to Milwaukee for 2020 Democratic National Convention because of concerns over the coronavirus

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden will not travel to Milwaukee to accept his partys White House nomination because of concerns over the coronavirus.

That's according to a Democrat with knowledge of the decision who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity to discuss planning.

The move is the latest example of the pandemics sweeping effects on the 2020 presidential election and the latest blow to traditional party nominating conventions that historically have marked the start of fall general election campaigns.

10:45 a.m.: Northwestern football workouts still on hold after a player tests positive for COVID-19, while Illinois will start camp Thursday

Northwestern football remains in pause stemming from a players positive COVID-19 test late last week, a school official told the Tribune on Wednesday.

As a result of its own strict protocols, Northwestern officials used contact tracing to determine that more than two dozen players needed to be quarantined. They will need to test negative to be released and cleared for workouts.

The Wildcats hope to return to the field by Friday, which is the allowable start date for a contact practice per NCAA rules.

NU is one of six Big Ten schools that has paused its football workouts, joining Ohio State, Maryland, Rutgers, Indiana and Michigan State.

9 a.m.: Chicago Public Schools shelves hybrid reopening plan, as officials announce remote learning plan for new school year

After weeks of defending a proposal to reopen Chicago Public Schools this fall, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson announced Wednesday that the new school year will begin with remote learning instead.

They said the decision was based on public health guidelines and feedback from parents, and that the district will aim to move to a hybrid model, with schools reopened, in the second quarter.

The decision to begin the 2020-2021 CPS school year remotely during the first quarter is rooted in public health data and the invaluable feedback weve received from parents and families, Lightfoot said in a release. As we build out this remote learning model and seek to establish a hybrid learning model in the second quarter, we will continue to support and collaborate with parents and school leaders to create safe, sustainable learning environments for our students.

8:57 a.m.: Will movie theaters survive? Cinemark lost $170 million last quarter, but its optimistic.

The third largest movie theater company in the world has taken a nearly $230 million hit this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, but leadership at Cinemark and analysts are optimistic about the prospects of reopening theaters.

Plano, Texas-based Cinemark posted a loss of $170 million for the three-month period that ended June 30, telling investors Tuesday that it's "been working diligently to prepare for reopening our theatres within this new operating environment."

The companys second quarter results reveal just how deeply the coronavirus pandemic has threatened the movie theater industry.

8:30 a.m.: US companies pulled back on hiring in July, ADP payroll report says

U.S. businesses sharply reduced hiring last month, suggesting that resurgent COVID-19 infections slowed the economic recovery as many states closed parts of their economies again and consumers remained cautious about spending.

U.S. firms added just 167,000 jobs in July, payroll processor ADP said Wednesday, far below Junes gain of 4.3 million and Mays increase of 3.3 million. Julys limited hiring means that according to ADP the economy still has 13 million fewer jobs than it did in February, before the viral outbreak intensified.

ADPs figures suggest that the job markets recovery is stalling and will likely fuel concerns that the governments jobs report, to be released Friday, will show a similar slowdown.

7:27 a.m.: Virgin Atlantic, 49% owned by Delta, files for US bankruptcy protection

Virgin Atlantic, the airline founded by British businessman Richard Branson, filed Tuesday for protection in U.S. bankruptcy court as it tries to survive the virus pandemic that is hammering the airline industry.

The airline made the Chapter 15 filing in U.S. federal bankruptcy court in New York after a proceeding in the United Kingdom.

A spokeswoman for Virgin Atlantic said the bankruptcy filing is part of a court process in the United Kingdom to carry out a restructuring plan that the airline announced last month. The process is supported by a majority of the airline's creditors, and the company hopes to emerge from the process in September, she said.

A Virgin Atlantic lawyer said in a court filing that the company needs an order from a U.S. court to make terms of the restructuring apply in the U.S.

6:35 a.m.: Lightfoot, schools and health officials expected to make announcement on public schools

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Chicago Public Schools chief Janice Jackson and city Health Commissioner Allison Arwady were scheduled to make an announcement Wednesday morning regarding the 2020-2021 school year, according to the mayors office.

The Tribune reported Tuesday that CPS planned to announce as soon as Wednesday that the school district would start the school year with all-remote learning. The move comes as the Chicago Teachers Union planned to hold a meeting of its House of Delegates next week, in preparation for a possible strike if the Chicago Board of Education were to go through with a plan to begin school in-person, while allowing parents to opt for remote learning.

6 a.m.: As COVID-19 keeps university fall plans in doubt, community colleges see boost as affordable option closer to home

In some ways, community colleges are better equipped to weather the coronavirus pandemic than traditional four-year universities. Unlike larger institutions, community colleges dont rely on revenue from residence halls which will plummet if students dont return to campus for fear of getting sick.

And local two-year colleges could become more appealing to families who dont want to pay top-dollar tuition for virtual instruction. Very few universities are discounting the cost of attendance despite offering most classes online.

Over the summer, several community colleges in Illinois including College of Lake County, Harper College in Palatine and College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn reported upticks in enrollment. Now, the colleges are watching to see if that trend continues for fall.

Madeleine Rhyneer, vice president and dean of enrollment at the education research firm EAB, said the numbers will likely fluctuate until classes start next month and students are forced to make final decisions.

If a bunch of students who are committed to four-year schools in the next three weeks say, You know what? Im just not doing that. Im going to defer for a year ... or Im going to withdraw and reapply a year from now or six months from now, then I think we definitely could see a bump in community college enrollments, Rhyneer said.

Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.

Here are five stories about COVID-19 from Tuesday.

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COVID-19 in Illinois updates: Heres whats happening Wednesday - Chicago Tribune

A Wisconsin county says a resident was ‘reinfected’ with COVID-19, though scientists have no proof that can happen yet – Appleton Post Crescent

La Crosse County health officials reported Tuesday that a resident has been reinfected with COVID-19, though scientists studying the virus have yet to report a case that was confirmed to be a reinfection, and not a flare-up of a previous infection.

According to a Facebook post from the La Crosse County Health Department, the person first tested positive for COVID-19 more than three months ago.

The Centers for Disease Control and Preventionon July 22 said there had been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 reinfection, but scientists continue to investigate the possibility.

The La Crosse County Health Department was not immediately available for comment Tuesday evening, but health officials did respond to questions earlierTuesday on the department's Facebook page.

In response to a Facebook comment askingwhether the infection could possibly be "one long case," the health department said it was considering the case a reinfection and cited guidance from the CDC: "If a positive test occurs more than 3 months after a persons symptom onset, clinicians and public health authorities should consider the possibility of reinfection."

The patient's symptoms "were not the same the second time," the health department said in response to another question,thoughhealth officials did not share what those symptoms are.

In a July 22 story in The New York Times, scientists said it would be extremely rare for someone to become reinfected with COVID-19, but not impossible.

And people who've been infected with related coronaviruses "appear to become susceptible again at around 90 days after onset ofinfection," according to the CDC.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests the antibodies produced by the immune system to fight COVID-19 may only last a few months in people with mild cases. But once infected, the immune system remembers how to make fresh antibodies if needed, according to a story byThe Associated Press.

There is also a growing recognition among scientists and doctors that it's possible for the virus to lay dormant for months and then flare up again insome patients.

It is difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person has been reinfected with COVID-19, said Dr. Nasia Safdar,who studies infectious disease at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is medical director of infection control at UW Health.

Certain conditions have to be met to prove a reinfection, Safdar said. A person first has to recover from the original infection and then be infected with a strain of the virus that is either different from what they had before or that can be "cultured," meaning grown in a lab and proven to be a live, viable virus "and not just a persistent presence" of the original COVID-19 infection.

Safdar said most labs are not equipped to culture for COVID-19 because its hazardous.

In the absence of that, the best you can do is have some sort of criteria that if a certain amount of time has elapsed and somebody comes up with still a (positive test),it may be reinfection."

But that doesn't necessarily prove a reinfection, she said, because scientists have learned that people still test positive for the coronavirus "several weeks after the first infection."

Cases that have been reported as "reinfections" could instead be a person's first encounter with the virus, after a person's initial test was a false positive.

La Crosse isn't the only county in the U.S. to report a reinfection. Also Tuesday, Todd County in Kentucky reported that a single patient was counted asa reinfectionbecause more than 90 days had passed between positive tests.

As of Tuesday, there have been 844 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in La Crosse County. Four people are hospitalized and one person has died.

RELATED:These Wisconsinites survived COVID-19, but 'recovery' hasn't meant a return to normal

RELATED:Tony Evers says he has 'no secret plan' to mandate virtual instruction for schools

Contact Natalie Brophy at (715) 216-5452 or nbrophy@gannett.com. Followher on Twitter @brophy_natalie.

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A Wisconsin county says a resident was 'reinfected' with COVID-19, though scientists have no proof that can happen yet - Appleton Post Crescent

‘Big Brother’ returns with color-coded pods and no hugs amid coronavirus pandemic – CNN

The housemates identities are still under wraps -- even host Julie Chen Moonves said she doesn't know who the 16 people are who will be living in the house. The potential castmates have been quarantined leading up to the premiere, according to Chen Moonves.Production flew in "a bunch of people, more than 16," Chen told CBSN Los Angeles.

"Some people I thought were definitely going in the house, they tested positive for Covid-19 so they couldn't go in," Chen Moonves said.

In a separate interview with SiriusXM, Chen Moonves explained that production staff who are essential to get the show on air wear masks and take weekly Covid-19 tests.

"I'm the only person that's not going to be wearing a mask for the limited time when I'm on television, but when we're in commercial or what have you, that mask is going on," she said.

Crew also wear color-coded lanyards and can only be in the areas that are marked with their color.

"So let's say you're in the orange pod and your lanyard and ID has orange on it. You can only go into the spots where orange can go into," Chen Moonves explained.

On screen, when a houseguest gets evicted, social distancing will mean no more shaking hands and no hugs with the host.

Reflecting on the 20 years since "Big Brother" debuted in the US, Chen Moonves said her approach to hosting has evolved over time.

"Season 1, I was terrible," she said. "Let's just say what everyone knows: I was the Chenbot. I deserved that name because I was robotic. I came from a news background and I was asked to do this show and I thought, 'Okay, I'm going to be really straight, with no personality, because my original dream was one day to be a correspondent on '60 Minutes.' And I was told if I do this reality show, I probably am shutting and sealing that door shut from ever going through it. I'm going to prove them wrong.' They were right, by the way. I was never asked to do 60 Minutes."

Chen Moonves said she's grown into the role.

"I finally learned how to embrace the Chenbot," she said. "The stars of the show are the ones in the house. I'm just the conductor of this train. So sometimes letting my personality show. I learned that also from I did eight years on 'The Talk,' where again, I had to learn how to not be so newsy and just not editorialize and kind of bring a little bit of my real personality to the table. So it's been a journey for me."

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'Big Brother' returns with color-coded pods and no hugs amid coronavirus pandemic - CNN

Biden will not travel to Milwaukee for the Democratic National Convention amid coronavirus pandemic – CNBC

Vice President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 27, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Getty Images

WASHINGTON Former Vice President Joe Biden and the rest of the speakers scheduled to take the stage at the Democratic National Convention later this month will not travel to Milwaukee in person for their speeches, convention organizers announced Wednesday.

Citing the coronavirus pandemic, organizers said the speakers will avoid Milwaukee "in order to prevent risking the health of our host community as well as the convention's production teams, security officials, community partners, media and others."

The announcement came as both Democratic and Republican convention committees scramble this week to make final arrangements for conventions that have been upended by the pandemic, which has surged in the past month.

Democratic speakers are expected to include former President Barack Obama, presumptive nominee Joe Biden and his yet-to-be-announced vice presidential running mate.

"From the very beginning of this pandemic, we put the health and safety of the American people first. We followed the science, listened to doctors and public health experts, and we continued making adjustments to our plans in order to protect lives," said DNC Chair Tom Perez in a statement accompanying the announcement.

Instead of traveling to Milwaukee, Biden will deliver his program-topping acceptance speech from his home state of Delaware on Aug. 20, organizers said. The Democratic National Convention will air on television and online each night from 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET Aug. 17-20.

Biden is not the only major candidate this year whose convention plans are up in the air. Incumbent President Donald Trump also has yet to announce where he plans to deliver his acceptance speech, which is slated to take place a week after Biden's speech.

One idea that's reportedly being considered is for Trump to deliver his acceptance speech from the South Lawn of the White House. Such a move, however, would likely draw scrutiny from government ethics experts. While the president is exempted from the Hatch Act, it is still frowned upon to commandeer federal property maintained by taxpayers in order to hold purely political events.

As word spread through Washington on Wednesday that Trump's acceptance speech might be held on White House grounds, at least one Senate Republican was already skeptical of the idea.

"Is that even legal?" said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, when NBC asked him about a possible convention speech at the White House. "Anything on federal property would seem to me to be problematic," added Thune, who is the second highest-ranking Republican in the Senate.

The Republican National Convention was originally scheduled to take place in Charlotte, North Carolina, but Trump abruptly yanked the convention speeches from the host city in early June, after the state's governor refused to guarantee that the attendees would be allowed to ignore face mask and social distancing requirements.

Republican convention speeches were then moved to Jacksonville, Florida, after the Trump-allied GOP governor there, Ron DeSantis, assured the president that the event could have a pre-coronavirus look and feel.

But within days of Trump's announcement that Jacksonville would be the site of a GOP convention "celebration," coronavirus cases in Florida began to soar. By the last week of July, it became clear that Jacksonville could no longer be the site of a major gathering either.

"The timing for this event is not right. It's just not right with what's been happening," Trump said on July 23, announcing the cancellation of the Florida arm of the convention. In its place, he said, "We'll have a very nice something."

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Biden will not travel to Milwaukee for the Democratic National Convention amid coronavirus pandemic - CNBC

Coronavirus and Weddings: Take It Seriously – The New York Times

Rules and Regulations Vary by State

State laws vary when it comes to weddings. Some wedding spaces are governed by the same rules as restaurants, meaning they can accommodate a certain percentage of their overall capacity. In Arkansas, for example, you can fill venues to 66 percent capacity. So an event in a 1,000-person ballroom can legally host 666 guests. In other states events are limited to the size of the group. In parts of New York, for example, gatherings are limited to 50 people regardless of the space.

Ms. Bett said many of her clients feel safer with smaller affairs. I have clients doing private, intimate ceremonies, because no one is making a big stink about those, she said. No one wants to be the new epicenter of the outbreak.

But even weddings with the tightest guest list arent immune to the coronavirus.

Sunshine Borrer, 26, a veterinary technician in Houston, attended her sister-in-laws wedding in Crockett, Texas, which has a population of 6,000. It was a real small town, she said. Covid wasnt something I was super concerned about. The 30-person wedding was held outdoors, but the after party was in a small bar area of an indoor restaurant.

It took about a week for her symptoms to develop. She tested positive for Covid-19, along with the bride and groom, another couple, and the brides daughter. Fortunately all cases were mild.

She noticed there is no etiquette for how to communicate a coronavirus outbreak to wedding guests. The bride and groom maybe told the people they were living with, but that was it, she said. They told one of my other sisters-in-law, and she is a nurse, so she took it upon herself to tell people.

Ms. Chism said it was her oldest son, not the bride and groom, who alerted wedding guests to the virus exposure. If it were me I would have been on the phone calling every single person, she said. But it wasnt me.

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Coronavirus and Weddings: Take It Seriously - The New York Times

Coronavirus question: How long will it take after Ive been exposed to the virus for me to test positive? – NJ.com

NJ Advance Media has launched a daily coronavirus question, a service in which our reporters provide answers to commonly asked questions about the epidemic that has hit hard in New Jersey.

Todays coronavirus question is answered by Dr. David Cennimo, an infectious disease specialist who teaches at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

Q: How long will it take after Ive been exposed to the virus for me to test positive?

A: There is no clear answer. According to Cennimo, it looks like a test can detect the coronavirus between one and two weeks after a person has been exposed to it. But, he believes this number may actually closer to between five and seven days for the majority of people testing positive for the virus.

Still, because the answer remains uncertain, Cennimo agrees that individuals should quarantine for at least 14 days after arriving from coronavirus hotspots per the states recommendation.

Is a face mask really effective in preventing the spread of the virus?

Is a second wave of the coronavirus inevitable?

Can the virus be spread through meat products and vegetables?

Is it dangerous to participate in a protest during the outbreak?

What kind of mask should I wear?

Is it safe to fly now?

What is the likelihood of being an asymptomatic carrier?

Should I work from home until there is a vaccine?

If you would like to submit a question about the coronavirus, please email your question to coronavirus2020@njadvancemedia.com.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Caroline Fassett may be reached at cfassett@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.

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Coronavirus question: How long will it take after Ive been exposed to the virus for me to test positive? - NJ.com

Brexit chaos: MPs will get vote to block post-Brexit trade deals and halt progress – Daily Express

The international trade secretary says that parliament is entirely able to block post-Brexit trade deals. This is despite warnings from Conservative MPs that their counterparts in Washington and Brussels will have more say. However, ministers say they would not drop a ban on chlorinated chicken and that any deals must protect our NHS.

Britain is currently chasing deals with the United States, Japan and the European Union.

Senior Tories have demanded specific votes on future accords.

However, international trade secretary Liz Truss, who flew to Washington at the weekend for talks, said that MPs were already free to block the ratification of pacts.

Last week, she said: Its an important principle" that parliament can block a given free trade agreement.

She said this can be done through the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act process.

She added: "Its entirely possible for parliament to block any free trade deal.

"In addition, parliament could also not vote for the domestic legislation, any domestic legislation required as well.

"Parliament is entirely able to do that if it does not support a given free trade agreement.

JUST IN:China's military spending SOARS as experts call for de-escalation

The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act does not provide binary votes on treaties.

However, MPs can stymie ratification by passing opposition motions.

Ms Truss said Britain will be at pretty much the same level as Canada in terms of parliaments ability to scrutinise pacts.

However, she said Britain will have stronger system of checks and balances than Australia and New Zealand.

READ MORE:

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Ms Truss said that she was in her job to get a good deal for Britain.

The international trade secretary said she wants a deal that will benefit British farmers, business, and consumers.

She said: "I dont want to strike a deal that is not going to command the support of parliament, but there is that check and balance in the system that parliament can block the ratification of a free trade deal.

This comes after Jonathan Djanogly, a former Conservative justice minister, launched an unsuccessful attempt to ensure that all trade agreements faced a parliamentary vote before they were signed last month.

A dozen Tory rebels backed his proposal, including Theresa Villiers, the former cabinet minister.

Mr Djanogly complained that the procedures highlighted by Ms Truss were hopelessly out of date.

He said: Now that we have left the EU, the idea that we should have less scrutiny than the EU is a poor one.

"All of the legislators in the US, the EU and Japan will have more access rights to negotiation papers than UK MPs and they will get a vote on approval of the draft deal.

"We should have the same.

The UK and EU finished the latest round of talks about the future trading relationship between the two entities in London last week.

The UKs chief negotiator David Frost said the UK must face the possibility that it will not agree a deal on its future relationship with the EU by the end of the year.

Mr Frost said with less than six months to go until the end of the Brexit transition period, the UK must "continue preparing for all possible scenarios" for once that deadline passes.

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Brexit chaos: MPs will get vote to block post-Brexit trade deals and halt progress - Daily Express

As covid-19 continues to bite, council turns attention to Brexit and ‘mystery’ over funding – Teesside Live

Mystery about how Brexit will hit the coffers of a Teesside council has prompted pleas for answers from the Government.

Responding to the coronavirus crisis has taken up most of the attention of authority chiefs in 2020.

But council account sheets still indicate the situation is unclear when it comes how the UKs exit from the European Union will impact local authorities.

Middlesbrough Councils draft accounts for 2019/20 showed how covid-19 has superseded Brexit during the first half of this year.

However, officials have warned the countrys future relationship with the European Union was still unclear.

The report added: Planning still continues within the council - particularly around a 'no deal' scenario with contingency plans already developed

What the eventual agreed arrangement will be, and what this might mean in financial terms, subsequent risks and impacts on the councils budget, and (its) financial plans are still unclear.

Labour councillor Denise Rooney asked about the risks Brexit could bring to the authority at the latest corporate audit and governance committee.

Council accounts chief Justin Weston said Brexit had taken a back seat but hadnt had a massive impact on the councils finances in 2019/20.

However, Cllr Teresa Higgins feared there was no detail of what was replacing EU funding in the region.

Its been promised for years and its so important for the Tees Valley, she said.

We need to find out where the Government is going to produce money - particularly in the Tees Valley.

We got quite a lot of money and thats going to stop - Im a bit concerned there is still no detail of a replacement."

The Labour councillor later added: I understand theyve found a few money trees - I wish theyd shake a few branches down this end.

The Tees Valley was allocated 173m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) between 2014 and 2020.

This saw the region rank among the top in the UK for EU funding.

The UK formally left the European Union on January 31 and is still in an 11-month transition period.

This is set to end on December 31 when a new trading relationship will begin under a new UK-EU deal, or there will be a no deal scenario if no agreement is reached.

Negotiations are continuing.

When it came to future funding after Brexit, the Government says a Shared Prosperity Fund will replace EU structural funding in a bid to tackle deprivation over a number of years.

Meanwhile, the UK will continue to be part of EU programmes in the wider Multi-annual Financial Framework in the coming years.

A spokesman from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: We have left the EU, but we continue to participate in EU funding programmes as these wind down.

Projects will receive funding until the end of the current programme in 2023.

We will target the UK Shared Prosperity Fund at the UKs specific needs, and will, at a minimum, match the size of European structural funds in all four nations.

We are working closely with interested parties across the country as we develop this fund and to allocate all remaining EU funding.

Figures from the House of Commons library showed the Redcar constituency backed Leaving the EU most strongly on Teesside in 2016 - with 67.7% voting for Brexit.

Middlesbrough (64.5%), Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (65.3%) and Stockton North (66.3%) and Stockton South (57.8%) were all above the national average for voting leave.

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As covid-19 continues to bite, council turns attention to Brexit and 'mystery' over funding - Teesside Live

Protection for UK Victims while in EU to Disappear after Brexit Transition Ends – Byline Times

David Hencke reports on the decision of the Government and EU not to include the current EU Victims Rights Directive as part of the Brexit negotiations

Survivors and victims of domestic violence and other criminal attacks will no longer receive the protection afforded to them by British courts when they are in the EU once the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December, a Government minister has informed MPs.

Both the UK Government and the EU have decided not to include the current EU Victims Rights Directive as part of the negotiations with the European Commission.

The directive allows any UK court order, including restraining and stalking orders, to be automatically applicable in the 27 EU countries, including when a person was on holiday there, without having to resort to separate civil action.

So far, it has not been used heavily but MPs on the European Scrutiny Committee say that, when new domestic abuse orders come into force under legislation now going through Parliament, it would have applied across the whole of the EU.

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Alex Chalk, a junior minister at the Ministry of Justice, told MPs that neither the EUs nor the UKs draft legal texts on future law enforcement and criminal justice cooperation make any reference to the European Protection Order.

He said that there is no comparable fallback option after transition as the European Protection Order is a unique European Union law-based mechanism. As a consequence, an individual seeking a protective order after transition will need to secure a domestic (civil) protection order from the EU member state that they are visiting.

Bill Cash, Conservative chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee, said: From 1 January 2021, it will no longer be possible for orders made by UK courts to safeguard an individual against a criminal act that may endanger their life, physical, psychological or sexual integrity, dignity or personal liberty to be recognised and enforced in a foreign jurisdiction if that individual moves (even temporarily) to an EU member state

There will no longer be a relatively simple mechanism for ensuring, for example, that the domestic abuse protection orders envisaged in the Domestic Abuse Bill will be recognised and enforced within the EU.

The minister has said that protection for victims will continue in the UK as the Government intends to incorporate the directive into retained EU law in England Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

MPs on the committee are not pursuing the matter further but have alerted Parliaments Women and Equalities Committee, the Justice Committee, the Home Affairs Committee, and Joint Committee on Human Rights about the change.

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Protection for UK Victims while in EU to Disappear after Brexit Transition Ends - Byline Times

Coronavirus and Brexit causing increased costs for produce importers – The Grocer

The spectre of food price increases is hanging over the fresh produce category, despite the easing of lockdowns in both the UK and in mainland Europe, importers have warned.

Low flight capacity among the major carriers has forced fruit & veg importers to rely on more expensive modes of getting produce into the UK. That issue had been further compounded by the lack of clarity from government over post-Brexit trade arrangements, said fresh-cut fruit supplier Blue Skies.

The business, which relies on air services to fly its produce from sites across the globe, warned the sector expected increased costs to continue as scheduled flights had not come back online as quickly as it had hoped.

It is a little more expensive to operate, said Blue Skies CEO Hugh Pile. We have been using freighters and ghost flights, which are more expensive than using an airline carrying passengers.

Although costs had started falling from a peak of 50% higher than normal in May, it was still about 25% more expensive to ship produce, Pile added, due to the need to often bring produce by road to the UK from the European airports that had welcomed the ghost flights.

He stressed Blue Skies remained in a strong position, despite these logistical challenges. However, he warned the added complexity of shipping produce to the UK could ultimately lead to more difficulties once the UKs Brexit transition ended in December.

The level of nervousness increases as you get closer to that date and that combines with the fact information [from government] is just too vague, Pile said. We could go in a myriad of directions at the moment.

One point of clarity thats needed is on the freedom of movement of produce. We need confidence in a seamless customs process for fresh produce. We all know the strict nature of grocer depot times. If there was a 6pm deadline but the stuff gets there at 10pm, thats a write-off of those goods hours are critical.

Blue Skies has also called for clarity from the government on the status of migrant labourers, with 98% of its UK workforce coming from eastern Europe. More detail was also required on tariffs, as it was currently in the process of negotiating tenders with retailers.

His concerns were echoed by perishable logistics company PML, which warned cost increases for imported produce were inevitable due to the need to add on the cost of customs clearance.

If you look at Dover, its not ready for inspections at the moment, said PML sales director Nick Finbow.

Its all assumption at the moment. Are inspections going to be allowed to take place inland? Theres talk of this truck stop in Ashford. Whats going to be at that stop? Are they going to have customs and plant health people there? Its a catch-22 situation which is very frustrating for the industry.

One positive on the horizon, however, was that some airfreight could ultimately become lower in the long-term as carriers mothballed or retired older aircraft.

More fuel-efficient aircraft are being put in place British Airways have started to use Airbus A350s for long-haul flights and the Boeing 787s. So rates can come down to more manageable levels, said Finbow.

PML has even moved to set up its own air charter service to fill the current gap in the market for fresh produce carriers, though the service was in its early stages, Finbow stressed.

The news comes after the publication of a report from the Efra committee, which warned a disorderly end to the transition period could pose an even bigger danger to UK food security than coronavirus.

Originally posted here:

Coronavirus and Brexit causing increased costs for produce importers - The Grocer