26 March 2020 - Salt Lake City

While some missionaries will remain and complete their regular term of service, many others will be released early

The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent the following letter March 26, 2020, to Church members around the globe. See the latest updates on how COVID-19 is impacting Saints worldwide.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In our letter of March 20, 2020, we indicated that the original term of service for missionaries brought back early to the United States would likely be reduced to accommodate the large number of missionaries returning from around the world.

As we evaluate changing conditions, further adjustments will be made.

To all missionaries who have served and are continuing to serve in these unique circumstances we express our deep gratitude. We love and pray for our missionaries and their families. We are grateful for the continued prayers and support of parents, loved ones, and Church members as we make every effort to help them remain safe and well in these challenging times.

Sincerely,

The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Style Guide Note:When reporting about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please use the complete name of the Church in the first reference. For more information on the use of the name of the Church, go to our online Style Guide.

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Further Adjustments to Missionary Service - The Church of ...

Contributed BySarah Jane Weaver, Church News editor

Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ remains a sacred priority for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, even in the current circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Church statement

In another response to the COVID-19 pandemic, temporary adjustments will be made to missionary work in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, leaders announced Monday morning.

Missionaries will continue to be called to serve and assigned to labor in missions worldwide, according to a statement from Church leaders. Missionary recommendations will continue to be received, and missionary assignments for worldwide service will continue to be made.

However, in an effort to adapt to constantly changing conditions and out of an abundance of caution, Church leaders are implementing temporary adjustments to missionary service.

These changes include the following:

Young missionary elders currently serving in missions within the United States and Canada who would complete their mission on or before September 1, 2020 may be released after they have served for 21 months. The length of service for sister missionaries serving in the United States and Canada will not be impacted by the adjustments.

Young missionaries with health issues and senior missionaries may be released from service.

Some missionaries may be temporarily reassigned to another mission.

Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ remains a sacred priority for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, even in the current circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Church leaders in a statement. We continue to monitor the spread of this condition and its impact on missionaries worldwide. We take very seriously the health and safety of our missionaries and of those they teach.

Young missionaries needing to work primarily from their apartments will continue teaching using technology, studying the scriptures, and Preach My Gospel, language learning, family history, online community service and other activities as identified by the mission president, according to the statement.

In addition, missionaries are encouraged to stay in contact with their families frequently and to take opportunities to leave their apartments for periods of exercise and fresh air, while observing wise guidelines for personal contact.

Church leaders will continue to monitor conditions and make further adjustments as needed. As a Church, we express our love and appreciation for all missionaries as they strive to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ and share His love wherever they serve, wrote leaders in the statement.

Family history missionaries work on computers and do paperwork.

Missionary work has been impacted by epidemics during other times in history.

Missionary work in Hong Kong was affected by theSARS outbreak in 2003.And following an outbreak of Ebola in Liberia, missionaries were moved out of the West African nation in August 2014; young missionaries returned in September 2015.Missionary work was also disrupted in Madagascarfollowing an outbreak of the plaguein October 2017.

In June 2009, the spread ofswine flu promptedChurch leaders to change MTC drop-off protocols. In addition, a suspectedstomach flu/norovirusimpacted 250 Latter-day Saint missionaries in the Provo Missionary Training Center in January 2013.

The Church slowed the expansion of Latter-day Saint missions during World War II. Missionary work continued, however, despite many men being drafted into military service.

Missionaries smile as they meet together outside in Mexico.

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Church Announces Adjustments to Missionary Work, Will ...

White House adviser Peter Navarro claimed Donald Trump was being tongue-in-cheek when he claimed to have asked public health officials to slow down coronavirus testing.

Trump made the remark at a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday evening.

On Sunday, Navarro also told CNNs Jake Tapper he did not hear me wrong when he claimed without foundation that the virus was a product of the Chinese Communist party.

China created this pandemic, the trade adviser said. They hid the virus. They created that virus. And they sent over hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens here to spread that around and around the world.

Whether they did that on purpose, thats an open question. But thats a fact.

Experts agree Covid-19 originated in Wuhan province, most likely in a market where live animals are sold. Trump and allies have sought to blame China for the spread of the virus, some advancing the conspiracy theory that it was created in a military lab.

Navarro told CNN: In 2006, in a book I wrote called The Coming China Wars. On page 150, I predicted that China would create a viral pandemic that could possibly kill millions.

Why did I do that at the time? Because the whole structure of that authoritarian, repressive, non-transparent society is geared towards giving us exactly what they given us, which is a pandemic.

As the Guardian reported in April, Navarro was first recruited by Trump because he wrote a string of books about the Chinese strategic threat one called Death by China despite having spent almost no time in the country and having no grasp of the language.

Five of Navarros books cited a China hand with a particularly pithy turn of phrase called Ron Vara, who turned out not to exist. The name is an anagram of Navarro and the imaginary expert operated as an alter ego, confirming the authors views.

Navarros latest comments about China were as incendiary as Trumps remarks about testing were, to many, alarming. Experts have sought to dampen fears that the US may face a second wave of infections, but only because the first isnt over.

When you have 20,000-plus infections per day, how can you talk about a second wave? Dr Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health told the Associated Press. Were in the first wave. Lets get out of the first wave before you have a second wave.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the US has confirmed more than 2.2m cases and nearly 120,000 Covid-19 deaths. The real numbers are believed to be higher.

New cases have shown sudden rises in several states, but not just due to testing many states, most Republican-led are seeking to reopen from lockdown. The wearing of masks and other public health guidelines has become a political fault line, with many Americans refusing to follow such advice.

Saturdays rally in Tulsa took place amid climbing case numbers in Oklahoma and against pleas from local health officials not to stage the event at all. Six campaign staffers tested positive, but in his speech Trump said the bad part of widespread testing is that it leads to logging more cases.

The president had already used racist language aimed at China, referring to Covid-19 as kung flu. He then described testing as a double-edged sword. The US had now tested 25 million people, far more than other countries, Trump said, adding: When you do testing to that extent, youre gonna find more people, youre gonna find more cases. So I said to my people slow the testing down.

Navarro insisted Trumps comment was tongue in cheek and made in a light moment. To Tappers contention that a deadly pandemic, where almost 120,000 Americans have died might not be really a good subject for a light moment, Navarro said: He takes that absolutely seriously.

On Sunday, Oklahoma reported a record number of new cases, at 478. The states previous record of 450 new cases in a day, was set on Thursday.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden criticized Trump for putting politics ahead of the safety and health of Americans. House speaker Nancy Pelosi said the president was ethically unfit and intellectually unprepared to lead.

Also on CNN, Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a potential Biden running mate, said: This is no time to joke. Even if it were a joke, which it was not, it was an inappropriate joke. Do you think the people, the 120,000 families out there who are missing their loved ones thought it was funny?

Acting homeland security secretary Chad Wolf told NBCs Meet the Press the White House coronavirus taskforce is working with governors to make sure the US can open up this economy in a safe and reasonable way.

I think thats what were seeing, he said.

Wolf told CBSs Face the Nation the task force was on top of all of these outbreaks, including in Arizona, Texas, Florida and other states having hot spots. The administration, he said, had sent medical equipment, staff and personnel to assist with reopening efforts.

Bottoms also condemned Trump for staging his rally in Tulsa, the site of a historic race massacre, after a month of protests and civil unrest over racism and police brutality, subjects he skipped entirely during his speech.

That rally was an embarrassment, she said. It was absolutely what the nation does not need right now. He did not speak about healing. He did not recognize any of the racial tensions that are happening across our country.

Instead, he does what he always does. He continues to try and divide us and really inflames the worst in people. And so I just hope that this is a good sign that the country is moving on from him.

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Peter Navarro: Trump call to slow Covid-19 testing was 'tongue-in-cheek' - The Guardian

As her father lay dying in a hospital bed in Arizona, after testing positive for Covid-19, Lina Washington pleaded with him to keep fighting.

When they hung up, Washington scrolled through Instagram. She saw stories of friends and former classmates drinking and socializing at crowded bars and clubs, even as coronavirus infections rose exponentially across the state. Yet there they were, smiling, maskless, as if the threat had disappeared and life returned to normal.

Would they be so reckless, she wondered, if they knew that just a few miles away doctors and nurses were toiling around the clock to save her fathers life?

People dont think that it can happen to them, Washington, a high school friend and classmate, told me during a phone interview this week. And that carelessness, that hubris, that arrogance may have cost my dad his life.

Robert Edward Washington Jr died on 11 June from complications related to the virus, less than a month after returning to work as a security guard at a tribal casino in Chandler.

In the days since his death, Washington, a television sports reporter in Sacramento, California who grew up in the Phoenix area, said she has been on a warpath, demanding accountability and leadership from public officials and business leaders in the state. She has directly challenged Arizona governor Doug Ducey over his response to the pandemic, and implored him to do more to protect vulnerable residents.

His death was preventable, she said. Im speaking out to ensure nobody else has to feel this pain.

In the last few days, as new coronavirus cases in Arizona have climbed to their highest levels of the pandemic, Washington amplified her calls for stricter safety precautions. She has given interviews to every local TV news station and has spoken to the Arizona Republic. Nationally, she has been featured on ABC and MSNBC.

Some of her sharpest criticism has been expressed on Twitter.

I know my AZ friends arent taking this seriously, Washington tweeted on Thursday. I see what Old Town & Mill Ave look like every weekend on IG & its obscene. Youre putting people like my dad at risk by not wearing a mask at the very least. A Covid-19 death happened to me & could happen to you. Wake up.

On Friday, Washington filmed herself walking inside a Walmart in Tempe, after she saw multiple customers shopping without masks.

If you get sick, you get sick, she said an employee told her. She proceeded to call out Ducey in the tweet, writing: WHERE IS THE ACCOUNTABILITY?!

Two days earlier, Ducey had said he would no longer prohibit local governments from requiring face masks to slow the spread the virus, a reversal that came amid mounting pressure from mayors and public health officials. Wearing a mask for the first time at a news briefing, he conceded that coronavirus was widespread in the state and urged Arizonans to act responsibly to protect one another.

Gila River Hotels & Casinos, which operates Lone Butte, where Washingtons father worked, announced on Thursday that it would temporarily close for two weeks to protect the health and safety of our team members and guests, as the Gila River Indian Community moved to make protective face coverings mandatory on community lands.

This move comes after the death of one of your employees, my dad, who returned to work on 15 May, Washington responded.

It was the same day Arizona lifted its stay-at-home order.

Were open, Phoenix! the casino tweeted that morning, encouraging guests to come and reclaim your fun.

Washington said she begged her father to stay home. But he was stubborn, a trait she says she inherited. He told her he needed to work, to ensure he had health and life insurance.

That night, he worked at the security desk, Washington said, exposing him to nearly every customer. Employees were required to wear protective gear. Guests of the casino were encouraged to wear masks but not required to do so.

Washington said her father called her the next day and expressed his concern. He told her 80% of the people waiting to get into the casino at 4.30 in the morning werent wearing masks.

Within 10 days of him returning back to work he had tested positive for Covid and two weeks after that he was dead, she said.

I really wonder how many people were in that line that I knew, that we probably went to school with, she said, adding: I know so many people who would do that. Because its Arizona, and we dont really care about one another in ways like other communities do. Especially people who look like me and my dad.

Washingtons fathers death came amid a national reckoning over racism in America that has affected her professionally and personally. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, she helped start a community art project to benefit black youth organizations in Sacramento. It was just getting off the ground when she learned her father was ill.

It was a perfect storm, a black woman, in news, with a dad in the hospital with coronavirus, she said. It just all came down at once and then my worst fears were realized.

Washington said she was initially hesitant about speaking out. As a sports reporter, she would rather be talking about the Sacramento Kings NBA season than her own tragedy. But she said she felt a responsibility to use her platform to seek accountability and raise awareness.

Im just grateful that me expressing my pain is making a difference and putting a face to Covid in Arizona, she said.

Robert Washington was 68. He was a diabetic and had overcome prostate cancer. His daughter said they were acutely aware of the virus unequal toll on Black Americans, who are 2.3 times more likely to die from the disease than white Americans.

The last time Washington saw her father in person was in March. During a visit to Arizona, she asked him to sit for an interview.

Filmed in his backyard, Robert Washington recalled his adolescence in Ohio. A talented athlete, he excelled in nearly every sport he played. Football earned him a full scholarship to the University of Notre Dame in the early 1970s.

He was a devoted father who took her to dance, taught her to drive and prepared her for the challenges she would face as a black woman in an industry dominated by white men.

She also credits him with kindling her love of sports. When she was young, he who would take her to work at his shoeshine stand at what was then America West Arena, so she could watch the Phoenix Suns play.

He was my best friend, she said, her voice breaking. I wish I could call him right now.

Washington will lay her father to rest in Arizona on Sunday, Fathers Day.

Originally posted here:

Daughter speaks out after her father dies of Covid-19: 'It was preventable' - The Guardian

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent the following letter April 16, 2020, to Church leaders around the globe. Also see the latest updates on how COVID-19 is impacting Latter-day Saints..

We are grateful for the efforts many of you are making to follow the directions carefully from national, state, and local leaders in many countries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is also taking appropriate precautions and is providing assistance to those in need.

Under the present circumstances and under conditions that may exist in the future, the Church and its members will faithfully exhibit our commitment to being good citizens and good neighbors.

Attached to this letter are documents that explain administrative principles for the Church during challenging times. Directions are enclosed for essential ordinances, blessings, and other Church functions to guide leaders through the current crisis and the challenging days that are ahead.

These documents are issued in response to the disruptions in Church procedures and member activities caused by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. They should provide guidance as long as this pandemic exists in a particular country or region. Other directions may be issued later.

Sincerely,

The First Presidency

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First Presidency Letter on Administrative Principles in ...

A crowd of supporters wait for a Trump campaign rally on Saturday. This is the first political rally since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images hide caption

A crowd of supporters wait for a Trump campaign rally on Saturday. This is the first political rally since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Six campaign staffers working on the advance team for President Trump's rally in Tulsa, Okla., have tested positive for COVID-19, the campaign said Saturday. Trump is still attending the rally.

"Per safety protocols, campaign staff are tested for COVID-19 before events. Six members of the advance team tested positive out of hundreds of tests performed, and quarantine procedures were immediately implemented," Tim Murtaugh, the campaign communications director, said in a statement. He added that none of those staffers or anyone in immediate contact with them will attend the rally. "As previously announced, all rally attendees are given temperature checks before going through security, at which point they are given wristbands, face masks and hand sanitizer."

Those face masks, however, will not be required, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters during a briefing Friday afternoon.

"I won't be wearing a mask," she said. "It's a personal decision. I'm tested regularly. I feel that it's safe for me to not be wearing a mask, and I'm in compliance with CDC guidelines, which are recommended but not required."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone wear "cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain." The Trump campaign is requiring that everyone who attends the rally sign a waiver releasing the campaign and the president of any liability if guests are exposed to COVID-19.

This is the first Trump rally since the pandemic began spreading across the U.S. in February and comes amid a wide dispute over whether the rally should even take place. On Friday, the Oklahoma Supreme Court rejected an appeal in a lawsuit filed this week by a group of Tulsa residents who were fighting to have organizers enforce social distancing measures. The lawsuit said that the rally could increase the spread of COVID-19, because it is held indoors at a 19,000-seat center in Oklahoma, a state that has seen a spike in the virus. Tulsa was also supposed to be under curfew for the weekend, but it was lifted on Friday.

"Last night, I enacted a curfew at the request of Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin, following consultation with the United States Secret Service based on intelligence they had received," Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said in a statement. "Today, we were told the curfew is no longer necessary so I am rescinding it."

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6 Trump Staffers Test Positive For COVID-19 Ahead Of Tulsa Rally - NPR

Its still unclear how good COVID-19 tests are at finding these presymptomatic cases, but the timing of the test matters. As soon as the coronavirus finds its way into a new host, it hijacks cells to copy itself. The amount of virus builds over this time, peaking at or right before symptom onset, which can take two to 14 days but usually takes an average of five or six. Accordingly, public-health authorities have advised getting tested about four days after exposure.

Read: The protests will spread the coronavirus

This is a reasonable recommendation, given the knowns, but surprisingly little data exists on how early COVID-19 tests can detect infection before symptom onset. One model using COVID-19 cases from seven previously published studies suggests that the false-negative rate is 100 percent on day one of exposure, which falls to 38 percent on day five (when symptoms on average appear) and then a minimum of 20 percent on day eight. But in combing the literature, the researchers behind this model found only one case where a patient was tested before feeling sickas part of a cluster at a chalet in the French Alps. Moreover, the model doesnt address a whole other set of people who never develop symptoms at all. It gave no information about people who are permanently asymptomatic, Justin Lessler, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University who co-authored that study, told me.

More data are likely to come soon. On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration released recommendations for labs and manufacturers that want to validate COVID-19 tests in people who dont have symptoms. (Currently, no tests are FDA-authorized for screening asymptomatic people.) Testing large numbers of asymptomatic peoplesuch as by pooling samplesto identify potential silent carriers will also be an essential part of the reopening strategy for schools and businesses.

Read: COVID-19 can last for several months

For individuals, however, the FDA cautions that negative results do not rule out infection. It asks that asymptomatic tests include this statement: Negative results must be considered in the context of an individuals recent exposures, history, presence of clinical signs and symptoms consistent with COVID-19. And this, in the face of imperfect COVID-19 tests, is key to interpreting a negative result. It depends on your probability of having COVID-19 in the first place.

Consider again the decision to visit elderly relatives after a negative test. If you have symptoms or you work in a place where youre at high risk for exposure, then even with a negative test, you might want to think really hard about it, Steven Woloshin, a co-director of the Center for Medicine and Media at the Dartmouth Institute, explained to me. If youre at low risk because you live in some remote area, youre practicing social distancing, you always wear a mask, and you feel fine, a negative test is probably a true negative. So even with widespread testing, social distancing and masks will continue to be important for controlling the spread of COVID-19.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.

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What a Negative COVID-19 Test Really Means - The Atlantic

ENID, Okla. The state COVID-19 numbers continue to increase, with 478 new cases and one death reported on Sunday, June 21, 2020, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

A Grady County woman in the 65 and older age group who tested positive for COVID-19 has died, according to OSDH data, bringing the overall total of deaths associated with the virus to 369.

There were two more cases in Northwest Oklahoma reported Sunday, one each in Kingfisher and Major counties, reported in Hennessey and Ringwood, respectively, according to OSDH data.

State numbers

There are 10,515 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma, an increase of 4.76% over Saturday's 10,037. Of those cases, 2,615 of those were active and 7,513, or 71.45%, were recovered, including 117 since Saturday's OSDH report.

Those numbers compare to a statewide cumulative total of 6,418 and 649 active cases just more than three weeks ago, according to May 30 OSDH data. The numbers have steadily climbed by 61% and 25%, respectively, since that time.

Cumulative totals of those testing positive in the state as of Sunday were 184 in the 0-4 age range, 573 in the 5-17 age range, 3,410 in the 18-35 age range, 2,342 in the 36-49 age range, 2,025 in the 50-64 age range and 1,981 in the 65 and older age range. The 18-35 age group continues to gain cases at a higher rate, with 228, nearly half the single day total, on Sunday.

The average age of those with COVID-19 is 44.8, according to OSDH data. Of those testing positive, 5,350, or 50.89%, have been female, and 5,091 or 48.42%, have been male. Seventy-four are listed as "unknown" gender, according to OSDH data on Sunday.

There has been a case of COVID-19 confirmed now in 76 of 77 counties, as OSDH data shows Shattuck in Ellis County has recorded its first case.

Of the overall 369 deaths in the state, 297, or 80.49%, have been 65 and older; 58, or 15.72%, have been in the 50-64 age group; 8, or 2.17%, have been in the 36-49 age group; and 6, or 1.63%, have been in the 18-35 age group. More men, 188 or 50.95%, than women, 181 or 49.05%, have succumbed to the virus, according to OSDH on Sunday. The average age of those who have tested positive for COVID-19 who have died is 75.1, according to OSDH.

Data shows deaths per county are 66 in Tulsa County; 65 in Oklahoma County; 40 in Cleveland County; 38 in Washington County; 17 in Wagoner County; 16 in Delaware County; 10 in Caddo County; 9 in Muskogee County; 8 in Osage County; 7 each in Creek, Greer, and Kay counties; 6 in Texas County; 5 in Comanche, Grady and Rogers counties; 4 each in Adair, Mayes, McClain and Pottawatomie counties; 3 each in Canadian, Jackson, Pittsburg, Seminole and Sequoyah counties; 2 each in Cotton, Lincoln, McCurtain, Ottawa, Pawnee and Pontotoc counties; and 1 each in Bryan, Carter, Cherokee, Choctaw, Garfield, Garvin, Latimer, Leflore, Logan, Major, McIntosh, Nowata, Payne, Stephens and Tillman counties.

COVID-19 data released Sunday for Northwest Oklahoma counties shows Garfield with 55 cases, 46 recovered andone death, an86-year-old Garfield County woman, in April;Kingfisher with 19 cases, 12 recovered; Blaine with 14 cases, 10 recovered;Woodward with 12 cases, eight recovered; Major with eight cases, five recovered and one death, awoman in the 18-35 age group; Woods with five recovered cases;Grant with two recovered cases; and Alfalfa with one recovered case.

CumulativeCOVID-19 cases by city or townin Northwest Oklahoma include 52 in Enid (nine active); 10 in Woodward (three active); nine in Hennessey (six active); six each in Kingfisher and Watonga (one active); five each in Alva and Okarche (one active); four each in Fairview (one active); and Geary (one active); two each in Lahoma, Longdale (1 active) and Ringwood (one active); and one each in Cashion (1 active) Dover, Fort Supply (one active), Garber, Jet, Lamont, Laverne, Medford, Mooreland and Okeene, according to data released by OSDH on Sunday. Residents living in areas with under 100 in population or those with unknown addresses may be recorded as "other."

COVID-19 cases per county in Oklahoma as reported by the Oklahoma State Department of Health Sunday, June 21, 2020. SOURCE: OSDH

COVID-19 cases per city in Oklahoma as reported by the Oklahoma State Department of Health Sunday, June 21, 2020. SOURCE: OSDH

COVID-19 testing

State Health Department officials areencouraging Oklahomans to get testedfor COVID-19, saying recently that due to adequate supplies, residents no longer need to exhibit symptoms or report exposure to someone with the virus to get in line for testing.

Free testing for COVID-19 is ongoing at the Garfield County and other state Health Departments. Testing is by appointment only for Blaine County, 521 W. 4th, Watonga, (580) 623-7977; Garfield County, 2501 S. Mercer, Enid, (580) 233-0650; Grant County, 115 N. Main, Medford, (580) 395-2906; Kingfisher County, 124 E. Sheridan, courthouse annex room #101, Kingfisher, (405) 375-3008; Major County, 501 E. Broadway, Fairview, (580) 227-3362; Noble County, 300 Fir St., Perry, (580) 336-2257; Woods County, 511 Barnes St., Alva, (580) 327-3192; and Woodward County, 1631 Texas Ave., Woodward, (580) 256-6416. For a full list of county drive-through testing, go tohttps://coronavirus.health.ok.gov/drive-thru-testing. Some health department also advise the public to check their Facebook pages for more information regarding testing.

Emergency warning signs for COVID-19 are trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion or inability to arouse, bluish lips or face, according to the CDC. More information can be found athttps://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html.

Those with symptoms of COVID-19 should call ahead to local emergency rooms. Those with minor symptoms should contact their regular physicians.

Resources and information on COVID-19 can be obtained by calling 211 or going tohttps://covidresources.ok.gov/.

BREAKING NEWSon the COVID-19 threat and its impact is available athttps://www.enidnews.com/virusand isfree for all readers. That includes information on closings and cancellations.

Get full-access breaking news via text alerts at https://enidnews.com/textalerts.

For more local, state, national and global COVID-19 pandemic news, go tohttps://enidnews.com/news/covid19.

All breaking news is fully accessible on theEnid News & Eaglewebsite.

Information also can be found athttps://coronavirus.health.ok.gov/andhttps://www.cdc.gov/.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

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OSDH: 478 new COVID-19 cases, another death reported Sunday in Oklahoma - Enid News & Eagle

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TABC suspends West 6th Street bars permit for violating COVID-19 protocols - KXAN.com

CLEVELAND, Texas Cleveland ISD has suspended all student activities until next month after two families tested positive for coronavirus, according to a letter posted Saturday to the school district website.

The school district said the cases were linked to the band, cheer and athletic summer programs.

The district said all activities have been suspended until July 5.

Its unclear if that case is connected to the two families. Administrators said anyone who may have been exposed has been notified and their families.

The district plans to give another update next week.

Heres the full statement posted to the Cleveland ISD website:

"As we continue honest, factual and open communication within Cleveland ISD during COVID-19, this message is to notify everyone that Cleveland ISD has had two families with confirmed positive tests for COVID-19. These positive tests have been associated with band, cheer, and athletic summer programs. I have deemed it to necessary, in the best interests of all students and staff, to suspend all student activities through Sunday, July 5, 2020.An update will be provided during our Wednesday, June 24, 2020, Cleveland ISD Facebook Live program at 11 a.m. You can also contact Steve McCanless at smccanless@clevelandisd.org if you have any questions or concerns regarding COVID-19.

As always, the safety and health of our students and staff are the priority during this outbreak. Thank you for your support.Respectfully, Chris TrotterSuperintendent of Schools"

MORE COVID-19 NEWS ON KHOU.COM

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Cleveland ISD suspends all student activities after families test positive for COVID-19 - KHOU.com

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- As illnesses go, Nick Watney likely proceeded like someone who simply was not at his best. He certainly was not violently ill Friday when he showed up at Harbour Town Golf Club. And despite warm, humid temperatures, he felt well enough to attempt to play the second round of the RBC Heritage.

But he knew something might be amiss due to the Whoop band he wears around his arm, a tool many golfers use as a way of regulating their health.

Watney, who tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday and withdrew from the tournament, relayed to Rory McIlroy via a text that an elevated respiratory rate via that band first told him "maybe I could have it.''

1 Related

And so Watney, 39, conveyed that to tour officials, consulted a physician, took another COVID-19 test -- he was negative for the one he took on Tuesday -- and then awaited the results at the course, while going about his business to prepare for the second round of the tournament.

It's fair to question why he was allowed to proceed in that manner, and perhaps that is a flaw in the PGA Tour's health and safety protocols as part of the coronavirus pandemic.

Why would you allow a symptomatic person to come to the course and practice?

Then again, doesn't Watney deserve credit for seeking medical attention when it's quite possible he could have tried to carry on and not said anything?

Therein lies the danger of banning someone who has "symptoms'' -- while also highlighting that no system can be perfect and there is some risk involved as sports attempt to come back after a lengthy shutdown.

"I hope not because it's not about yourself, right?'' McIlroy said when asked Saturday if he could see someone not reporting symptoms if they otherwise felt OK. "This virus isn't about ... most people that get it that are healthy are going to recover from it and be OK, but it's the people that you can infect. That's the big risk. I'd like not to think that people, if they were symptomatic, that they wouldn't report.''

And yet perhaps a player not in McIlroy's tax bracket might consider doing just that. Maybe he believes the risk is worth it, because he's in contention or needs the FedEx Cup points or sees an opportunity to make money after being denied that chance for so long.

There might be a hole in the PGA Tour's policy, but at least Watney took it upon himself to investigate.

"At this point, with who we have out here ... you have some older caddies out here, a lot of people out here. You have to err on the side of caution,'' U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland said. "Nick Watney is one of the nicest guys we have on tour. I hear he feels horrendous that he might infect someone else, which definitely wasn't the intent at all. I feel horrible for him, wish him the best.

"But for anybody's case, you better play it safe.''

As it stands now, the tour's policy allows a player who has been tested but not yet received a result to use practice areas. But he is not allowed to use the facilities, such as the locker room or clubhouse. Is that enough?

Perhaps a separate practice area could be set up. Maybe more of an emphasis on staying away from others until the result is known. While extreme, if as was the case on Friday when Watney was waiting for a result, hold his tee time so that there is not a rush to prepare and put yourself around others.

The tour also continues to stress to players and caddies their own responsibilities. It is not requiring them to stay in a specific hotel and it is not enforcing any lockdown orders away from the course. And depending on the area of the country the tour visits, outside variables come into play.

Carlos Ortiz told a story about the packed restaurants on Hilton Head Island, how he wanted to visit a few of them but ultimately decided to leave due to the crowds.

"It's a 30-minute wait and once you get in there, there's no social distancing, packed tables right by each other, kids running around,'' Ortiz said after shooting 63 at Harbour Town on Saturday. "Nobody wearing a mask. We talked about it on Tuesday when we saw it. We were like, "Oh, somebody's going to get corona here. It's crazy how busy it is here.''

Ortiz said he felt "paranoid'' when he learned of Watney's positive test.

"I think it's just a warning,'' he said. "We just need to be more careful.''

There is nothing to suggest Watney did anything but get unlucky. He did not test positive when he arrived on Tuesday. A few days later, he was feeling symptoms, and now the PGA Tour has its first COVID-19 case.

Watney, who has five PGA Tour victories, must now self-isolate in South Carolina for 10 days at the Tour's expense. There were 11 others the PGA Tour identified as having come in contact with him this week, all were tested on Friday, with the results negative.

McIlroy was not among those tested, feeling he was not close enough to Watney at any time to warrant it.

But he also knows this is a week-by-week endeavor. Positive tests are inevitable. Avoiding complacency remains the way for golf to continue safely.

"Starting up, people weren't nave,'' he said. "Statistically and looking at the numbers, someone was going to get it, and even being as careful as you can be, things happen, and you pick it up from somewhere.

"We're still in the middle of a pandemic. I think we've done really well to start golf again and get back up and play golf tournaments. I don't think anyone was blind to the fact that someone could catch the virus, and it's a shame that Nick did. But it's one case, and as long as it's contained to that and we move forward, we can keep playing.''

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How PGA Tour pro Nick Watney's positive COVID-19 test revealed the need for ongoing adjustments - ESPN

Early results of a new study from University of Oxford researchers show that dexamethasone improved survival in some patients with COVID-19. Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

Early results of a new study from University of Oxford researchers show that dexamethasone improved survival in some patients with COVID-19.

Earlier this week, researchers in the United Kingdom announced preliminary results from a clinical trial that showed a low-cost steroid called dexamethasone appeared to lower the risk of death in patients with COVID-19.

The researchers said the anti-inflammatory drug reduced the number of deaths in COVID-19 patients on ventilators or oxygen alone by one-third.

But details of the study did not accompany the announcement. And the announcement followed several prominent revisions in the advice that researchers have given around the coronavirus in recent weeks.

Which is why Dr. Kirsten Lyke, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, warns that a premature endorsement for the treatment can carry risks.

Lyke, who is running a coronavirus vaccine trial, said that, particularly when dealing with a new kind of virus, we "need to be extremely cautious" when rolling out treatments that have not gone through a rigorous vetting process.

"This is a press release, so they're going to basically give us sort of the bottom line," Lyke said about the dexamethasone announcement in an interview with NPR's Weekend Edition. "But there's a lot to unravel."

Dexamethasone has been successful at treating inflammatory conditions like arthritis and asthma. The research team behind the trial wanted to figure out whether the drug could also alleviate lung inflammation in COVID-19 patients.

"Many of us would like to see the peer review paper to understand how these people were randomized, who was not randomized. That's important to know," Lyke said.

But, in a world not pressured by a pandemic, a legit vetting process like that can take years, said Lyke. And she worries that a hasty embrace of the drug could do more harm than good.

"People really want to get results out quickly," she said. "But at the same time, if things are released too early or there's harm that occurs from the intervention, that really erodes public trust."

Lyke said researchers need to be mindful to avoid a scenario where, as was the case with the drug hydroxychloroquine, a treatment is championed before it has a chance to stand up to strict scientific scrutiny.

That wasn't the first instance of confusion over messaging related to the science around the coronavirus. For example, public health officials' guidance on whether the public should wear masks initially fluctuated until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially recommended face coverings in April.

Lyke acknowledged the early mixed messaging was "frustrating" for researchers and the public alike, but reminded that one line of messaging around face coverings has been consistent.

"Typically, we say that using a mask doesn't necessarily protect you. It protects other people," she said. "It's really useless if you're the only one wearing it in a crowd. It has to be the entire crowd."

In order for such evidence-based health measures to work in the fight against the coronavirus, she said, everyone has to participate.

"There's a lot of individualism in the United States, but the pandemic and the virus don't really respect the individualism," said Lyke. "I think we need to really be stepping up as a group and protecting each other."

NPR's Elena Schwartz and Ed McNulty produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Emma Bowman produced the story for Web.

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Doctor Warns Of Risks In Rush To Embrace A COVID-19 Treatment - NPR

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Clemson University & City officials announce increased COVID-19 detection within community - FOX Carolina

The CDC will be conducting a survey in parts of Manassas, Manassas Park and Prince William Co. in Virginia starting Monday in response to the coronavirus.

This article was written by WTOPs news partnerInsideNoVa.comand republished with permission. Sign up forInsideNoVa.coms free email subscriptiontoday.

As part of its COVID-19 response, the Centers for Disease Control will be conducting a survey in communities in Manassas, Manassas Park and Prince William County beginning Monday, June 22.

The survey is part of an effort to help stop the spread of the coronavirus in ZIP codes with more positive cases and in the Latino community, which has seen a disproportionate impact from the virus.

The three ZIP codes in the area of the city, 20109, 20110 and 20111, are among the top ZIP codesin the state for COVID-19 cases.

All three have seen cases more than double in the past month.

As part of the CDC study, a team will go house-to-house with a 30-question survey.

Questions will be related to health care and COVID-19. The survey is completely voluntary and no personally identifiable data will be collected.

The information collected will help the health professionals at the Prince William Health District and the CDC understand what resources are most needed by the community, the city release noted.

The CDC may also reach out by telephone as they are looking for some participants who have tested positive in the past.

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CDC to conduct COVID-19 survey house-to-house in Manassas area - WTOP

Americas top public health expert has warned the nation it is still in the first wave of coronavirus infections and deaths, as six states report record numbers of new cases amid continued rapid easing of lockdown restrictions.

Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House coronavirus taskforce, expressed worry about new hotspots for infections in major US states, while also advising that personally, I would not attend Donald Trumps first political rally in months, due on Saturday, in Oklahoma, where vast crowds are expected despite rising Covid-19 cases.

Arizona, Florida, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas reported record increases in coronavirus cases on Tuesday, while Nevada recorded its highest ever number of single-day cases.

In recent days North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama have reportedly set new highs in seven-day rolling average of Covid-19 cases, as many states have allowed some businesses and public spaces to reopen after months of restrictions.

As New York and other places are coming down, others are going up, Fauci, who is also the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the Boston Globe about different areas seeing decreases or increases in new cases.

Obviously, were concerned about it.

Despite Oklahomas alarming rise in coronavirus cases a record 591 new cases were reported on Monday, and cases in the state rose by 68% last week Donald Trump will hold a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahomas second-largest city, on Saturday his first since March, when the pandemic took hold in the US.

Fauci said he personally would choose not to attend such an event due to the risk of contracting coronavirus. And he warned that talk of whether the US was now experiencing a second wave of Covid-19 cases was premature.

We are seeing infections to a greater degree than they had previously seen in certain states, including states in the south-west and in the south, Fauci told the Daily Beast. I dont like to talk about a second wave right now, because we havent gotten out of our first wave.

Oklahoma health officials are urging anyone attending the rally to get tested before arriving, and then to self-isolate afterwards and get tested again. People over 65 have been told to stay at home. The Trump election campaign will recommend the indoor audience wear masks, but is not going to mandate it.

The Oklahoma governor, Kevin Stitt, a Republican, said officials would try to make sure the event was as safe as possible. Ultimately, the president doesnt ask for permission before he goes to places, said Stitt on Wednesday.

The mayor of Tulsa, GT Bynum, also a Republican, said he would not attend the rally.

Vice-President Mike Pence has claimed the US has slowed the spread, and both Pence and the president have claimed the worrying increase in coronavirus cases is due to more testing.

Fauci said this was not true.

When you look at the number of hospitalizations, and you see some of the states say, Oh my goodness, Im having more hospitalizations than I had before, that cannot be due to increase in testing. That has to be due to increase in real cases, he told the Globe.

Hospitalizations are continuing to rise in the states reporting infection increases.

At Tucson medical center in Arizona on Monday, only one intensive care unit bed out of 20 was available.

ICU to be expanded, hopefully, in coming days, Dr Steven Oscherwitz, an infectious disease expert at the hospital, said in a tweet on Monday night. Not sure where people needing ICU care will be able to go, since most AZ [Arizona] hospitals are pretty full now.

Better contact your governor (quickly!)

I dont like to talk about a second wave right now, because we havent gotten out of our first wave

In Florida, 260 workers at the Orlando international airport tested positive for coronavirus, the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, said. DeSantis said almost 500 workers had been tested at the airport after two people contracted the virus.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he would monitor the impact of the mass anti-racism protests the city has seen before allowing more businesses to reopen.

Were all mindful we had a very unique situation with the protests, De Blasio said on Wednesday, according to NBC News.

In Oklahoma Trump supporters have been camping outside the rally venue for days, despite the risks.

Tulsa residents and business owners were thwarted in their attempt to block the rally, which will take place at the indoor, 19,000-capacity BOK Center, on Tuesday. Residents had filed a lawsuit in an effort to have the rally cancelled, to protect against a substantial, imminent, and deadly risk to the community, but a judge refused the request.

On Monday Trump who has previously lied about the number of people at his rallies and events said almost 1 million people had requested tickets for the event.

Fauci has warned people against attending the rally, which had originally been planned for Friday, a date which marks the end of slavery in the US, before the Trump campaign switched the date amid widespread criticism.

Asked if he would personally attend the campaign rally, Fauci said: No.

Im in a high-risk category. Personally, I would not. Of course not, he said. With regard to Trumps rallies, Fauci said outside is better than inside, no crowd is better than crowd and crowd is better than big crowd.

Tulsas chief public health officer, Bruce Dart, and the Tulsa World newspaper have urged Trump to cancel the rally.

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Fauci says US 'still in the first wave' as six states see record Covid-19 cases - The Guardian

That call would be the beginning of a 12-day journey that would end in tragedy.

"I can't tell you how a perfectly healthy 16-year-old boy can be making his own peanut butter sandwich late Wednesday night, getting his own tea out the fridge and head up to bed like any other teenager in the state or in the country is doing. And then within 24 hours is fighting for his life," Dawn said.

Andre, an easygoing sophomore at Lawrence North High School, loved YouTube and knew everything about video games; for his birthday in April, he asked for a game that wasn't set to be released until December, and his parents planned on getting it for him when it was released. He also loved photography and annoying his siblings and excelled at basketball and bowling.

Born prematurely at 25 weeks, he and twin sister Abby spent months in the hospital before they were brought home and later adopted by Dawn and her husband, Johnny. Though Andre was diagnosed with moderate autism, his parents were fierce advocates and he thrived with a positive attitude and a smile on his face. "He always just flew through," said Dawn.

In fact, Andre was the only family member who did not leave the house at all. But the virus has proven to be a wily foe, circulating in some communities before public health officials realized it was there. It found vulnerable people like Andre Guest despite all recommended precautions.

After Dawn left for work that morning, Andre normally self-sufficient asked his dad for help getting a drink. Odd. At 1:30 p.m., when Johnny went to check on Andre, the teen said he was tired, but, Johnny said, "his speech was really slurred. He could still understand me and answer me." A short time later, when Andre fell down in the bathroom, Johnny called his wife.

By the time Dawn got home, Andre had lost the ability to grip objects, he had trouble standing, his head and eyes were rolling, he could not hold his body weight up, and he appeared confused. She called an ambulance, which rushed Andre to the nearest emergency room, which transferred the critically ill teen to Riley Hospital for Children.

Although Andre had no underlying medical conditions, the first thing doctors discovered was that he had developed Type 1 diabetes his blood sugar was a dangerous 1,500 milligrams per deciliter, more than 10 times normal. Type 1 diabetes frequently comes to light for the first time in the setting of an infection.

Because he had a fever and cough and was breathing hard, he was tested for Covid-19. Negative. But the doctors were having trouble controlling the teen's blood sugar usually fairly straightforward with an insulin infusion in a first episode of diabetes. At the same time, his temperature kept rising and his breathing deteriorated even with increasing supplements of oxygen. A second Covid test came back positive and he was moved to a Covid unit.

Johnny and Andre's two sisters were subsequently swabbed, and they, too, were positive, though they had only mild fevers and fatigue. Dawn, who was at the hospital with Andre, decided not to get tested because, according to Riley's policy, if she tested positive she would not be allowed back into the hospital until she tested negative twice.

A few days later, Andre was on a ventilator, and doctors, trying to understand and treat his quickly changing illness, even tried "proning" placing him on his stomach to improve lung capacity.

Still, his mother thought he'd survive. He was getting superb care, and his blood sugar was finally at normal levels suggesting the worst of the infection had passed. He was young and had always been resilient.

On the morning of April 27, that hope quickly evaporated. His blood sugar spiked. His arterial line began to clot, suggesting coagulation problems that have been a hallmark of the disease. He went into cardiac arrest and, despite chest compressions, succumbed.

Andre is among the small number of children who have died of Covid-19 and Indiana's first recorded victim under age 18.

"They were wonderful there," Dawn said. "Every nurse and every doctor. I can't complain. We just didn't get the results that we wanted."

Despite stay-at-home restrictions, Andre's death resulted in an outpouring of support from the community. Letters and cards arrived from teachers recollecting their favorite encounters with the teen.

More than 70 cars drove by the Guests' house to express their condolences in a memorial organized by Lawrence Township where Andre attended school.

Marion County Northeast Special Olympics retired Andre's team basketball jersey No. 54 and sent it to the family's home.

With this virus, "you are taking care of your community, as much as you're taking care of yourself. You have no idea if you're a carrier or if you've touched something that has it on there," said Dawn.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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Healthy teenager who took precautions died suddenly of Covid-19 - CNN

The Xinfadi Agricultural Wholesale Market in Beijing in February. The market was shuttered on 13 June after it became the center of a new COVID-19 outbreak.

By Dennis NormileJun. 17, 2020 , 4:55 PM

Sciences COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center.

Beijings confirmation of a COVID-19 case on 11 June ended a run of 55 days without reported local transmission. Since then, the outbreak has burgeoned and the city has responded with fierce determination to rein it in. As of today, it has tested 356,000 people, confirming 137 cases, according to a news report by Xinhua, the state-owned news agency. The city has locked down some residential compounds, closed all schools, and canceled hundreds of flights.

Virtually all of the infections have been linked to a massive wholesale food market that has been temporarily shuttered. The link to the market has triggered comparisons to the seafood market in Wuhan that played a role at the early stages of the pandemic, and speculation that the virus arrived in fish imported from Europe. But the real source of the outbreak is still a mystery.

Beijing reported its last case of local COVID-19 transmission in mid-April. The current outbreak began when a man with no history of recent travel visited a doctor on 10 June with a fever and chills. He tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and was hospitalized the following day. Officials think he or a close contact was infected at the Xinfadi Agricultural Wholesale Market, a massive 112-hectare complex housing 2000 stalls selling produce, seafood, and meat with 10,000 customers and workers visiting daily, according to Xinhua. This led to the massive effort to test market workers, customers, and even residents of nearby neighborhoods.

Authorities have reported that a number of surfaces in the market tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, including a cutting board in a booth handling imported salmona finding that has drawn lots of attention in the local media. There is no evidence coronaviruses infect fish, but one hypothesis is that infected workers in Europe contaminated the fish or its packaging during processing. Genomic sequencing shows the viral variant behind the new outbreak is related to strains China has found in people returning from Europe, according to a China Daily report that quotes Yang Peng, an official with the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control. In addition to seafood, Yang suggested imported meat as a possible source. But he acknowledged that a market employee or visitor may have picked up the virus elsewhere and simply spread it to other people at the market. Where exactly the virus came from is still uncertain,Yang said.

Dirk Pfeiffer, a veterinary epidemiologist at the City University of Hong Kong, doubts the virus arrived at the market in fish: I think it is much more likely, and therefore plausible, that it was brought to the market by infected humans.If the contaminated seafood hypothesis is true, other places handling European salmon should have seen outbreaks, adds epidemiologist Keiji Fukuda of the University of Hong Kong. The genomic sequence, which has not been made public yet, could offer more clues, he says.

Six months ago, many of the earliest COVID-19 cases were linked to another market, the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China. Such markets host dozens to hundreds of independent operators offering a range of meat, seafood, and produce, and sometimes live wild game. Many scientists believe SARS-CoV-2 likely originated in bats and may have passed through an intermediate host before jumping to humansperhaps at the Wuhan market.

But Pfeiffer says the meat and live animals sold at the markets may not be the only reason viruses spread there. The sheer volume of people passing through and working in the markets and the suboptimal hygienic conditions inherently represent an increased risk for amplification of virus.The humid, chilled air at markets may provide an environment in which viruses thrive.

The virus return to Beijing is another cautionary tale to not take anything about COVID for granted,Fukuda says. With the vast majority of the world population susceptible to infection and the virus still circulating, it is possible for any country, including [those] that have made major efforts to reduce transmission, to experience an outbreakhe says.

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Source of Beijing's big new COVID-19 outbreak is still a mystery - Science Magazine

The data are now overwhelming, from here in the U.S. and all around the world, that this infection is a grave threat to the elderly and chronically ill, but generally mild for younger, generally healthy people, said Katz in an interview.

Its also clear that many of the worried projections about social determinants of health and the consequences of mass unemployment are confirmed. We have, indeed, seen rising rates of addiction, domestic violence and mental duress.

We also know much more now, Katz continued, about the risks of exposure. This virus is not transmitted all that easily. Many people with transient, ordinary exposures dont get infected because of low exposure dose, partial resistance to this pathogen, or both.

All of this provides actionable intelligence, Katz argued. We can and must do a far better job of protecting the frail and elderly, especially in nursing homes, and all of those with serious chronic disease, he said. Then the rest of us can go about our business, but with policies in place to regulate any interactions we might have with higher-risk people, so we protect them, and with reasonable precautions for our own sakes, like wearing masks, practicing social distancing and avoiding crowded indoor settings, that limit exposure to high doses of coronavirus and our ability to pass it along.

We also can see now with cases spiking in locations around the country that did not experience an early wave of infection and are now opening up haphazardly how right it was to warn about the dangers of just flattening the curve without a risk-stratification strategy, added Katz. A flattened curve delays cases, it does not prevent them, because no immunity has been developed.

To get back to normalcy requires widespread immunity to the coronavirus, which happens in only two ways.

One is a vaccine that is safe, effective, mass produced and universally distributed. That would be the best solution, and God willing, a vaccine will come in the fall and everyone can get back to work safely in subsequent months. But it may not, and we cant just keep the economy on hold.

Excerpt from:

Is Trump Trying to Spread Covid-19? - The New York Times

Along with scientists, many others, including legislators, former health agency leaders, and members of past investigatory commissions, are now saying that well need something similar to make sense of the Covid-19 pandemic. At least five proposals to launch an inquiry have been circulated in the House of Representatives, according to an analysis by the Congressional Research Service.

Given the colossal catastrophe we've experienced, there needs to be something of that ilk as a way of pulling the country together and laying down in a very clear way what happens next, says J. Stephen Morrison, director of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, DC, think tank. It needs to be done with investigative authority, and it's going to require exceptional leadership and speed.

We shouldnt think that, once we get to a vaccinewhenever that isand once were able to arrest this virus, that well be able to rest easy, Morrison continues. We are in a new era of more frequent, higher-impact, higher-velocity zoonotic threats.

The first task of any coronavirus equivalent of the 9/11 Commission would be simply to establish one narrative of the pandemic, because Americans have experienced its effects so differently depending on where they live. (New York, the hardest-hit state, has had more than 388,000 cases; Montana, with slightly more than 600 cases, has suffered least.) But just as with the World Trade Center attacks, examining how the US failed this year will require acknowledging the multiple ignored warnings, some from the federal government and others from academic research, that an overwhelming pandemic was on the way. (Within Morrisons CSIS, the Commission on Strengthening Americas Health Security predicted last November: The United States remains woefully ill-prepared to respond to global health security threats.)

But another part of the examination of 9/11 involved creating new structures in the government to stand up defenses against future attacks, such as the Department of Homeland Security. The already evident needs for preventing another pandemic catastrophe include shoring up deep stockpiles of supplies such as medications and personal protective equipment. Covid-19 might lead also to new federal initiatives or federal funding of academic initiatives. Last week, for instance, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, which in September 2019 wrote one of the reports predicting a coming pandemic, proposed that Congress create a national center for epidemic forecasting, a disease-prediction agency modeled on the federal entities that warn Americans against catastrophic weather in time to protect themselves.

The way this epidemic has gone has been the US government reaching out in an ad hoc way to modelers, who are mostly in universities or in the private sector, and getting them to answer questions on the fly, says Tom Ingelsby, the centers director and an infectious disease physician. We would never accept that for predicting hurricanes.

At the same time that they made that proposal, the Hopkins researchers also presented Congress with a plan for a $1.5 billion program, shared across multiple federal agencies, that could rapidly produce antivirals, vaccines, and diagnostic tests when theyre needed. That price tag indicates what one of the struggles of learning from Covid-19 is going to be: deciding how much money the country is willing to commit in advance to protect against threats whose arrival is unpredictable.

Its attitudes toward spending, after all, that helped turn the US Covid-19 response into a catastrophe. That includes both federal cutstake the National Security Council disbanding its global health security team and the White House slashing the CDCs budgetand private sector decisions, such as corporations offshoring mask manufacturing in order to reduce their labor costs.

Read all of our coronavirus coverage here.

Perplexingly, theres another facet of homeland security for which the US has no difficulty organizing long-term spending. The Department of Defense forecasts its weapons needs and designsand procures its jets and transport vehiclesover decades. It commits federal money years in advance of deploying anything it buys.

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Covid-19 Is Bad. But It May Not Be the Big One - WIRED

For Immediate Release: June 15, 2020

Espaol

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning health care providers about a newly discovered potential drug interaction related to the investigational antiviral drug remdesivir, which has received emergency use authorization for the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with severe disease.

Based on a recently completed non-clinical laboratory study, the FDA is revising the fact sheet for health care providers that accompanies the drug to state that co-administration of remdesivir and chloroquine phosphate or hydroxychloroquine sulfate is not recommended as it may result in reduced antiviral activity of remdesivir. The agency is not aware of instances of this reduced activity occurring in the clinical setting but is continuing to evaluate all data related to remdesivir.

In addition, the FDA revised the fact sheet for health care providers to clarify dosing and administration recommendations and to provide additional safety data and supporting data from clinical trials conducted by both the National Institutes of Health and the drug sponsor, Gilead Sciences Inc. The fact sheet for patients and caregivers was also updated to include additional information about possible allergic reactions and to alert patients to tell their healthcare providers if they are taking chloroquine phosphate or hydroxychloroquine sulfate.

Over the course of this unprecedented pandemic, the FDA has issued emergency use authorizations for a variety of medical products after evaluating the available scientific evidence and carefully balancing any known or potential risks against the benefits of making these products available during the current public health emergency. We understand that, as we learn more about these products, changes may be necessary based on new data such as todays updates for health care providers about a potential drug interaction and other important information about using remdesivir to treat COVID-19 patients, said Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., acting director of the FDAs Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. As we have done throughout the pandemic, the FDA continues to evaluate all of the emergency use authorizations issued and their related materials and will continue to make changes as appropriate based on emerging science and data.

Following an evaluation of the emergency use authorization criteria and the scientific evidence available, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) in May 2020 allowing for remdesivir to be distributed in the U.S. and to be administered intravenously by health care providers, as appropriate, to treat suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients hospitalized with severe disease. The safety and efficacy of remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 continue to be evaluated, and preliminary clinical trial results have shown that on average, patients treated with remdesivir had more rapid time to recovery.

The EUA requires that fact sheets about using remdesivir in treating COVID-19 be made available to health care providers and to patients and caregivers. These fact sheets include information on possible side effects such as: increased levels of liver enzymes, which may be a sign of inflammation or damage to cells in the liver; and allergic reactions, which may include low blood pressure, high heart rate, low heart rate, shortness of breath, wheezing, angioedema (for example, lip or tongue swelling), difficulty swallowing, rash, nausea, vomiting, sweating, shivering and respiratory distress.

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nations food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

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06/15/2020

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Warns of Newly Discovered Potential Drug Interaction That May Reduce Effectiveness of a COVID-19 Treatment...