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Everything You Need To Know About Cyberpunk 2077s Anime, Edgerunners – Fiction Talk

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

During the first of many planned live stream updates for the upcoming game Cyberpunk 2077 (dubbed as Night City Wire Episodes), CD Projekt Red announced a partnership between themselves, streaming juggernaut Netflix, and the Japanese animation studio, Trigger Inc.

Netflix has made itself fairly familiar with both companies before; having produced The Witcher television show (originating as a series of novels that was later adapted and popularised into a highly successful trilogy of video games by CDPR), as well as curating Studio Triggers previous works, and subsequently licensing their latest anime series, BNA: Brand New Animal.

Based on the 1988 pen and paper role-playing game, Cyberpunk as a franchise has garnered a lot of attention in recent years, due to media outlets and fans alike contributing to the ever-growing hype-spiral since the teaser trailer in 2013. We may have hit peak hype seven years on, but even still, its no wonder that there is interest in the opportunities to expand the franchise (especially since, as of writing, the game wont be released for another three months!).

Those of you who are well versed in the anime industry will be familiar with their productions, and perhaps even their staff. Comprised of notable Gainax alumni, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is to be helmed by those whove worked on a number of quintessential anime properties, such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gurren Lagann, and FLCL. Although the studio is relatively new, the team behind Trigger Inc. has already forged its own legacy as pioneers of action within the anime sphere from the get-go.

With an explosive debut like 2013s Kill la Kill, Trigger left its mark on the anime worlds stage. Instantly establishing a unique art style by way of an overtly expressive, aggressive, diverse, and flamboyantly fluid movement Kill la Kill indulges in its extremes, constantly finding ways to push things further.

Even the premise is absolutely barmy: Transfer student vows to uncover her fathers murderer, leading her into stumbling upon a sentient sailor school uniform; which, together they pursue to dismantle her schools fashion-obsessed hyper-authoritarian regime, wielding only a longsword (thats half of a pair of scissors), and a sheer determination for revenge

This being said, the series is acutely aware of itself; a series where the layers of meta anime tropes can get so dense, that the show itself has its own character and personality.

Where Kill la Kill allows itself to be the crazy horse, high off sticky-toffee apples; the reigns are reeled in when it comes to their next hit Little Witch Academia. A quirky, light-hearted tale of an idealistic and aspiring non-magic born witch, who attends a prestigious academy where it becomes painfully evident that she is severely inept. On the surface, LWA deals with confronting the cynicism and expectation from her peers to be professional; but our protagonist wears her influences on her sleeve, chiefly, her love of a magic performer. All she desires to be is a source of joy and light in the world, where the broader magical society looks down at entertainers as lowly.

Though it is still very much a Trigger production with its trademark chaotic energy and slapstick extremism, the franchise exercises some restraint on the excessive, as it focuses on the more whimsical and magical, as evident in its inspiration of western (namely, British) contemporary novels & mysticism as seen in the likes of the Harry Potter series (and The Worst Witch although that may be too much of a deep cut for those not from the UK!).

As for their latest release, BNA: Brand New Animal demonstrates the best of both aforementioned worlds; developing a structured formula through its plot, characters, and thematic devices. Taking elements of fantasy and action from each show, you get the sense that Trigger as a studio has been honing its craft as a production company throughout the series.

The show deals with the differences and similarities of people who identify as separate from each other in this case, humans and their disdain for anthropomorphic humanoids (known as Beastmen and not to be confused with Beastars a different anthropomorphic Netflix anime series). BNA centers around a teen runaway who inexplicably transforms from Human to Beastman, as she seeks solitude and a solution for her condition in the only city dedicated to Beastfolk.

The mold for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners has been cast and ready to be set since Trigger Inc. released BNA: Brand New Animal. The premise of both these titles parallel neatly along with one another young vagabond vies to survive in a city filled with problems outside their own. Its not hard to imagine that the ultra-violence and creativity of Kill la Kill would seep into the fabric of Edgerunners either; nor would it be a stretch to envision how much of Night City (where the action of Cyberpunk takes place) could come alive, like BNAs Anima City, or as fantastical as Little Witch Academias Luna Nova Academy, and Kill la Kills Honn City.

We dont know too much about the more nuanced aspects of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, other than what was told from a press release shortly after the formal announcement: A ten-episode series following a street kid making his way up the ranks in wetwork as an Edgerunner (an elusive, high ranking mercenary). Within the lore of the pen and paper series, Edgerunners serve as one of the archetypes available to the player. The Street-kid class is unique to the upcoming video-game, presenting the role as more of a rookie merc than an established hired gun.

Hopefully, sooner rather than later, the Corpos at Netflix or the Rockerboys of CD Projekt Red & Trigger Inc. will release more details about the much-anticipated anime adaptation.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is set to premiere on Netflix in 2022

List of those who are confirmed to be working on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners:Director: Hiroyuki Imaishi (Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, Promare)Assistant Director: Masahiko tsuka (Gurren Lagann, Promare)Creative Director: Hiromi Wakabayashi (Kill la Kill)Character Designers: Yoh Yoshinari (Little Witch Academia, BNA: Brand New Animal) Yuto Kaneko (Little Witch Academia)Screenplay Writers: Yoshiki Usa (SSSS.GRIDMAN, Promare)Masahiko tsuka (Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, Promare).Composer: Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill series).

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Everything You Need To Know About Cyberpunk 2077s Anime, Edgerunners - Fiction Talk

Cyberpunk 2077 May Repeat the Mistakes of Skyrim | Game Rant – GameRant

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

While Cyberpunk 2077 will likely be many's game-of-the-year pick this fall, one aspect from the game's previews has been universally criticized.

There's no doubt thatSkyrim is one of the best RPGs on the market. The expansive, seemingly never-ending homeland of the Nords housed numerous expansive quests, bolstered by its free-form RPG mechanics that allowed for unique characters. While sword-wielding warrior builds were probably some of the more common progressions inSkyrim, the melee combat did have its fair share of functional clunkiness. Now, it seemsCyberpunk 2077 is tackling a similar issue with its own melee combat.

Granted, in all fairness,crafting a fully-fledged RPG in a cyberpunk setting means nailing down the gunplay and the unique cyberware abilities first. Even still, one of the most common complaints from early previews of Cyberpunk 2077 has beenthe lackluster melee combat in the game's current state. Visual feedback and evoking weight in melee combat was an issue inSkyrim that CD Projekt Red will likely need to address withCyberpunk 2077, despite being so close to release.

RELATED:Cyberpunk 2077 Developer Addresses Fan Concerns Regarding the Game

For RPGs, it's tough to balance the priorities in development depending on what type of game is being made. ForCyberpunk 2077, melee combat will be just as much of a core gameplay mechanic as the gunplay is. Multiple media previews of the game consistently praised the gunplay as being pretty fantastic for an expansive RPG that's also a first-person-shooter. As for the melee combat, the general consensus is that it's sub par and doesn't necessarily have enough weight or visual feedback behind it for bare knuckle brawling to be enjoyable.

Skyrim evokes a similar problem too, as melee combat just doesn't have enough weight to punches or attacks. Across all weapons, visual and audio cues that make a hit seem strong and impactful just aren't really present in Skyrim. Enemies all start to feel like butter that the Dragonborn is slicing through, and not because the player's character is overleveled. Opponents don't always flinch or fall over when attacked, so combat ends up looking like aWorld of Warcraft combat scenario where one person swings and then the other swings. The player and the enemy's health gauges deplete over time, but the game doesn't evoke the feeling that either is truly fighting another person.

CD Projekt Red's development team has recognized this feedbackand has stated publicly it wants to make improvements toCyberpunk 2077's melee combat in the remaining development time before launch. That gives about three months time for the team to make any tweaks/adjustments beforeCyberpunk's November launch window.Cyberpunk 2077's senior gameplay designer Pawel Kapala has stated thatthe team has fully recognized the issues with melee combat and has already made great strides towards improving it. Kapala specifically mentions visual feedback and the weight of connecting hits on an enemy, a common criticism ofSkyrim's combat.

Of course withSkyrim, the fix nowadays is just to mod the game, which frankly is acceptable for a Bethesda game that's nearly 11 years old now. But forCyberpunk 2077 and CD Projekt Red, that's not the answer for a game that has quite good gunplay already. Plus consideringThe Witcher's solid sword fighting combat, settling for subpar just isn't the move here.CD Projekt Red and Kapala theoretically have enough development time between now and release to hone and refine the combat to evoke a more natural feeling.

RELATED:Cyberpunk 2077 Poll Shows Which Lifepath is Most Popular

Now that's not to say melee combat will become a simulatoryUFC-like experience, as any kind of animation overhaul would take far too long at this point in the development cycle. More than likely the existing combat animations and fighting systems already inCyberpunk 2077 will receive visual and haptic feedback changes to make melee combat more natural. That could be anything from enemy behavior when getting hit by light/strong attacks, adjusting the blocking animation, camera behavior during fistfights, and numerous other minutiae. Often it's the little details that players don't even think about that can bring combat down.

Honing and refining the existing animations and combat feel is all that's likely for now, but it should be enough to make melee combat serviceably good inCyberpunk 2077. Hopefully, CD Projekt Red makes enough adjustments so melee doesn't become a damper on what would otherwise could be many's game-of-the-year pick this fall.

Cyberpunk 2077 launches on November 19 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Stadia, PS5, and Xbox Series X versions are planned to release in 2021.

MORE:Cyberpunk 2077 Needs to Avoid Skyrims NPC Problem

Here Are the 10 Highest Rated Games of 2020 So Far

Not actually a distant relative of Bob Dole, Rob Dolen is a Features Writer for Game Rant. Big fan of expansive lore and game analysis, video games are cool. Freedom Fighters is underrated. Probably not good at competitive Halo anymore.

Cyberpunk 2077 May Repeat the Mistakes of Skyrim | Game Rant - GameRant

The World of Cyberpunk 2077 Beyond Night City | Game Rant – GameRant

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

Cyberpunk 2077 is arguably one of the most anticipated games of the entire decade. In fact, that anticipation has lasted for almost the whole decade, as multiple delays mean that the first teaser trailer was released over 7 years ago.

Cyberpunk 2077 will be set in the vibrant and violent metropolis of Night City, in the Free State of Northern California. The rest of the Cyberpunk world, however, is also very different from the real. Here are a few key places in the world of Cyberpunk that, though players wont be visiting them in game, are sure to have an influence on Night City and its inhabitants.

RELATED:Areas of Cyberpunk 2077's World Have Been Impacted by Global Warming

The timeline of Cyberpunk and its affects on the world has undergone some different iterations, but in general fans can expect Cyberpunk 2077 to expand upon the timeline and political landscape established in Cyberpunk 2013 and 2020.

For a start, Cyberpunk 2077's Night City used to be Coronado City, California, and isrenamed in 1998 to Night City to honor its founder, Richard Night, after he was mysteriously killed. That same year, the landscape of Californiais changed by a huge earthquake registered at 10.5 on the Richter scale, killing 65000 people in Los Angeles and putting 35% of the city underwater.

New York is also heavily damaged back in 1993 when a small nuclear bomb is detonated by Colombian Drug-lords, killing 15,000 people. In 1998, a drought ravages the Midwest, and over the course of the coming century, chaos in America causes the Unification War which is triggered bythe establishment of Texas and Alaska as free states due to their huge oil reserves and ends in every other state fighting for independence for similar economic reasons.

In Central and South America, over one million contract workers are abandoned in 2010 at the end of the Second Central AmericanConflict War (2003-2010) becoming Nomads and triggering an event called The Long Walk as they tried to return home.

In Europe, the Soviet Union still collapses, but instead becomesthe Union of Sovereign Soviet Republics, keeping its Communist character but giving each state greater independence in a similar way to the USA's new divisions. The United Kingdom falls into political turmoil as the British Monarchy and a new faction called the Martial Law Authority battle for power of the nation.

In Germany, Hamburg is bought by the Euro Business Machines corporation and is peacefully declared an independent nation in 2005. Many other European countries are thrown into chaos over the course of the 21st century. Greeces government is ousted by a military coup in 2007, for example, and becomes an increasingly aggressive force in the region, causing relationships with Turkey to deteriorate further.

In 2013, Portugal sells itself to avoid bankruptcy, while the next year Vatican III is established with the neo-Catholic reformation, abolishing celibacy and allowing female priests. As a result, new conservative sects spring up worldwide. However, the Eurodollar, also called "eddies", becomes the main currency in both Europe and across the world in everywhere outside of the Soviet Sovereign Republics. This is the currency used in Night City.Under this economic union, thenon-Soviet European nations form the European Community.

Japan is one of the biggest military and economic powers in both Asia and the world of Cyberpunk at large. The mega-corporation Arasaka is established in Tokyo and dominates much of the new third world, which now includes America. In 2020, Arasaka began developing its own private army, and during the following Fourth Corporate War, the Japanese government nationalized the corporations' assets within its control to facein the international community, but was unable to reign in the company abroad.

China regains Hong Kong from Britain in 1997 but subsequently loses it to a biological weapons attack. By 2045, Hong Kong is enclosed within a 100-foot wall in order to stop the disease caused by the attack from spreading. It becomes a central base for Alt Cunningham, once girlfriend of Keanu Reeves character Johnny Silverhand, who by then has become a powerful AI. The Second Corporate War takes place between 2008 and 2010 in the South China sea, which destroys millions of lives in the region and causes a huge refugee crisis.

RELATED:Cyberpunk 2077 Dev Responds to Calls for Official Cookbook

In 1997, an event called The Meltdown takes place in Libya, which is covered by a radioactive cloud that also affectsAlgeria and Tunisia, temporarily halting the Islamic Movements. Risk tourism becomes a fad among Europes rich, though they avoid Algeria, dubbed the most dangerous country in the region. By 2019, an Islamic fundamentalist movement reemerges in Algeria after the country suffers considerably as a satellite state of the European Community.

New Zealand becomes host to the Papua New Guinea government in exile when Indonesia invades the country, renaming it East Irian Jaya. In 2010, experimental nano-tech designed to help clean up radioactive waste in Southern Australia gets out of control, taking over huge parts of the desert.

Australia's failure to recognize Aboriginal land causes both protests in the country and boycott from abroad, including New Zealand. Drought hits Adelaide,Australia in 2016, exacerbated by the pollution in the remaining water supply. Arasaka funds a desalination plant so that the Australians can make sea water potable, but in accepting their offer the Australians increase the corporation's influence over their nation.

Cyberpunk 2077 may be set in Night City, but there's no doubt the wider world will have a huge impact on what players can expect from the metropolis. Fans of Cyberpunk will know that nations themselves are increasingly less relevant than mega-corporations, making the far-reaching influence of companies like Arasaka felt all over the world. As a result, the world of Cyberpunk is very multicultural, with a particularly strong Japanese influence.

Furthermore, players can expect to see characters from all over the world who have set up new lives in Night City. With constant refugee crises as disasters and droughts devastate regions annually, Night City is sure to be as diverse as it is divided. For fans of Cyberpunk who want to find out more about the world and timeline of Cyberpunk at large, they can turn to the sourcebooks released for the table top games to which CD Projekt Red's upcoming title is a sequel. It remains to be seen how closely the studio sticks to all the details, but fans can be confident that the world of Cyberpunk will likely feel at once freshand strangely familiar.

Cyberpunk 2077launches November 19 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with PS5, Stadia, and Xbox Series X versions also in development.

MORE:Cyberpunk 2077's Star-Studded Voice Actor Cast List

World of Warcraft: Did Blizzard Just Tease The Return of Teldrassil?

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The World of Cyberpunk 2077 Beyond Night City | Game Rant - GameRant

Cyberpunk 2077 Is An RPG First, One Dev Reassures Fans (VIDEO) – Don’t Feed the Gamers

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

The recent installment of Night City Wire showed off some impressive gameplay, more on the music, and a lot of weapon action that will be featured in the game. However, after the episode, one developer made sure to reiterate that Cyberpunk 2077 is an RPG first, even with all of the FPS elements.

During a recent Discord discussion with Netrunner 2077 and some members of the community, senior quest designer Miles Tost made sure to reassure everyone that Cyberpunk 2077 is primarily a role-playing game. After all, we saw a lot of shooty bits in the recent Night City Wire episode, and the game is in a first person perspective, which has thrown some folks off. However, rest assured, for the title will run deep with the RPG goodies.

As for how much of an RPG Cyberpunk 2077 is, well, weve seen plenty so far. Everything from choosing a lifepath and customizing your character, to all of the dialogue that comes with these choices as well as the decisions that will need to be made, its going to be deep. Hell, players dont even need to finish the main story to beat the game, so you know there is some interesting things going on there that are related to the role-playing side of things. Plus, fans can go the entire game without killing anyone, so take that, FPS. Seriously, though: Cyberpunk 2077 is an RPG.

Cyberpunk 2077 is set to officially arrive on November 19th for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. As we approach the dreaded Day 91, lets brace for either disappointing news or one really good meme from the devs. Keep it tuned to Dont Feed the Gamers as this story develops, and for other gaming goodness going on right now, check out the following:

What say you, choombas? Excited to dive into Cyberpunk 2077 when it arrives later this year? Have you ever doubted the RPG-ness of the game? Sound off in the comments section below, and be sure to follow DFTG on Twitter for live gaming and entertainment news 24/7!

If you enjoy this writers work, please consider supporting them bytossing a KoFi their way! Every little bit helps and aims to keep DFTG independent and free of bias. Thank you so much for your support!

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Cyberpunk 2077 Is An RPG First, One Dev Reassures Fans (VIDEO) - Don't Feed the Gamers

From Cyberpunk 2077 to God of War: video games that will become anime and comics – Asap Land

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

The past year has seen the announcement of a multitude of reinterpretations, spin-offs and adaptations of videogame productions ready to bring their imaginaries to new media. You can easily range between genres and expressive channels: just think of the awaited TV series of The Last of Us or the success of the three anime seasons dedicated to Castlevania. An intriguing trend, which in no way seems to be going to slow down in the foreseeable future. The coming months will in fact be full of projects capable of drawing the attention of video players in the direction of other forms of entertainment, ranging from comics dedicated to God of War is Horizon: Zero Dawn to themed Netflix series Cyberpunk 2077 or Dragon's Dogma. We therefore propose an overview of the main ones comics and anime productions dedicated to video games currently in progress. Enjoy the reading!

We can only open our review with a production dedicated to one of the most anticipated titles of this year: Cyberpunk 2077. Ready to ferry players towards the next-gen, CD Projekt RED's ambitious RPG will debut on the gaming market on November 19th. The Polish software house, however, does not hesitate to already look to the future of IP, with an intriguing project destined to see the light in the course of 2022.

With the announcement of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the intention to expand the game universe through a anime series, created in collaboration with none other than Netflix. It will be to shape it TRIGGER study, a famous Japanese animation studio that has produced series such as Kill la Kill is Little Witch Academia, in addition to the feature film Promare. The team is not new to forays into the gaming world; on this front we can for example cite the work done on the Action RPG indivisible, for which the art team created the introductory sequence and some animations.

In presenting the project, the Polish software house affirmed the strong desire not to reproduce in an animated key what will be the contents of Cyberpunk 2077. For this reason, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners will tell a completely autonomous story, but set in the same universe as the video game. The background will still be the neon lights and dark alleys of Night City, but every other constituent element, starting from the characters, will be different. CD Projekt aims to make the series a potential entry point for the exploration of RPG, through a production capable of being attractive both for gamers and for those who do not know Cyberpunk 2077.

The narrative arc of Cybepunk: Edgerunners will unfold over ten episodes, and will tell the story of a street boy. Against the backdrop of a Night City that never sleeps, in which the human being has made the transformation of the body through artificial grafts a real religion, the protagonist will turn into an outlaw and a mercenary, to face a life in which hears of have nothing more to lose. Intriguing detail, the anime will be embellished with the soundtrack of Akira Yamaoka, former Sound Designer of the series silent Hill. For further details, on the pages of Everyeye you will find a preview of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, written by our Alessio Micheloni.

At home CD Projekt RED, however, were not satisfied with an animated series to accompany the debut of the new IP. Intended to support the franchise of The Witcher, the latter it will also turn into a comic production; specifically, what appears to be a spin-off of Cyberpunk 2077, published by Dark Horse Comics. entitled Cyberpunk 2077: Trauma Team, the work accompanies us to the discovery of the Trauma Team International, one of the great Megacorporations of the paper GDR of Cyberpunk. Specialized in the recovery and rescue of its policyholders, the company offers medical assistance services to be implemented in every context and conducted for this reason by paramedics in combat gear.

A paradox like any other that takes place in the streets of the dystopian Night City, within which the story of Nadia. The protagonist is in fact a paramedic assistant who was involved in a rescue mission that ended in tragedy. The only survivor, the woman agrees to put her skills at the service of a further recovery operation for Trauma Team International. Nadia and her new team, however, will soon find themselves embroiled in an even more lethal and dangerous situation.

To give shape to the comic we find an interesting creative duo: the script bears the signature of Cullen Bunn (Harrow County, Uncanny X-Men), while the drawings are the work of none other than Miguel Varderrama (Giants). At the moment, it is not known what the exact number of books they will make up is Cyberpunk 2077: Trauma Team, but the first issue is expected for the next September 9.

Let's stay in the world of comics to discuss an IP that is already more than established, which over the years has become a real Sony icon. Following the huge critical and public success of Cory Balrog's God of War for PlayStation 4, Kratos in fact, he made his debut in print with a prequel adventure. Released in 2018, the God of War miniseries offered us a brief but intriguing insight into the relationship that binds the Ghost of Sparta to Faye and the young Atreus, as well as the inner struggle experienced by the protagonist to tame his own inner fury.

Well, a further comic production now returns to place itself among the events narrated in God of War III and in God of War, with the promise of taking us even further back in time. The new miniseries, baptized God of War: Fallen God, brings together the same artistic tandem of the previous saga, with Chris Roberson to the script, Tony Parker to the drawings and Dan Jackson to colors. Published in English by Dark Horse, the story narrated in God of War: Fallen God will unfold in four volumes, to follow the fate of Kratos at the end of the first videogame trilogy.

After ending the bloody hunt for Zeus, the Phantom of Sparta he now seems eager to leave everything behind, including his homeland. Deluding himself that he can control what his soul has turned into after the relentless pursuit of ferocious revenge, Kratos takes his steps towards a mysterious desert. On the sands he now paints bloody footprints, in a path that will bring his fury to unleash against the only enemy now at hand: himself. A battle that the protagonist does not seem to be able to win and that will lead him dangerously close to the abyss of madness. Originally expected for summer 2020, with the first volume out on June 24, God of War: Fallen God was postponed by Dark Horse following the COVID-19 emergency. The publishing house has announced that the miniseries will debut in the course of 2021, but at the moment a precise launch date is not available.

Let's stay at Sony, to briefly present another comic production inspired by a first party title of the videogame giant. We are talking about Horizon: Zero Dawn, an appreciated open-world that originally debuted on PlayStation 4 and recently also landed on PC. Developed by Guerrilla Games, a team known for their work on the Killzone, the game is shaped with the advanced Decima Engine, the graphic engine that later, offered by its authors to Kojima Productions, would also give shape to the Death Stranding by Hideo Kojima.

The entrance of Horizon: Zero Dawn in the world of comics is signed by Titan Comics, a publishing house that has assembled a very interesting creative team. In fact, we find the script Anne Toole, one of the authors involved in the drafting of the events narrated in the video game, flanked by the drawings by the artist Ann Maulina. Also in this case, the printed word will not reproduce what has already been experienced by console and PC users, but will offer a unreleased story arc, which is placed after the events narrated in the open-world.

At the center of the events we will find the character of Talanah, strong and skilled huntress, bewildered by the sudden death of dear friend Aloy, protagonist of the creation of Guerrilla Games. To complicate her existence the sudden emergence of a new and dangerous threat, which will force her to give up all her courage. Engaged in yet another hunt, Talanah will discover that a new generation of mechanical creatures are now trampling the earth's soil. The first volume of the series has debuted in the USA on 5 August. While waiting to learn where its evolution will lead us, the reading of Horizon: Zero Dawn could represent an interesting appetizer waiting for Horizon: Forbidden Lands, the sequel to the PS4 game, expected exclusively on PlayStation 5 in the course of 2021.

After the extraordinary success of the debut season of The Witcher TV series, Netflix has no intention of limiting investments in the franchise, which is also preparing to welcome a anime-style feature film. The reconstruction of the world of the Strigo carried out by the streaming giant obviously lays its foundations in the novels of Andrzej Sapkowski, but the imagery and aesthetics of The Witcher also draw heavily from videogame works by CD Projekt RED.

A short distance from the announcement of The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, Netflix confirmed that the protagonist of the film will be Vesemir, the witcher who followed Geralt of Rivia's training. The production will take us on a journey into the past, at a time when Vesemir himself began his training as a Witcher, after being claimed by the mysterious Deglan through the Law of Surprise, made famous by the TV series.

To sign the project, we find two prominent characters in the script: Lauren Schmidt Hissrich is Beau DeMayo, respectively showrunner of The Witcher and author of the third episode of the series, "Traitor Moon". In terms of aesthetics and animations, it will be MIR study to affix their signature a The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. Korean animation team, the latter is best known for their work on The Legend of Korra.

Is always Netflix is the parent company that hides behind a further revival in an anime key of a videogame universe: that of Dragon's Dogma. RPG signed by Capcom and debuted on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 during 2012, the title later found space on other platforms. In the revised edition Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, the game has in fact also landed in PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch libraries.

In this case, the anime it seems to present itself more as an adaptation that not as an extension of the imagery created by Capcom. The synopsis proposed by Netflix does not differ significantly from the plot of the dark fantasy adventure. The protagonist identified for Dragon's Dogma he is therefore a boy determined to embark on a journey in search of revenge. The object of his hatred is none other than a dragon, responsible for having ripped out his heartwhile allowing him to stay alive.

With his chest scarred by a deep scar, the young man will find himself taking an active part in a centuries-old conflict, which sees dragons opposing the mysterious figure of Arisen, chosen to face the mythological creatures. The making of the anime of Dragon's Dogma was entrusted by Netflix to the animation studio Sublimation, former creator of 009 Re: Cyborg is Walkin Meat. The wait to be able to observe the result of the production effort will not be long: the debut of the series is in fact expected on Netflix for the 17 September 2020.

From a Capcom IP we pass to a Square Enix production: The World Ends with You. Released for the first time on Nintendo DS in 2007, the peculiar RPG signed by Testusya Nomura sees the protagonist Neku Sakuraba, a young Japanese expert in Shibuya, a well-known district of Tokyo. Not even time to realize what happened to him, that boy finds himself involved in the "Game of Demons", a tournament that pits the unfortunate victims against each other in a series of challenges hatched by cynical Shinigami. The prize up for grabs? Come back to life!

On the occasion of this year's Anime Expo Live, Square Enix has announced plans to make an anime series inspired by The World Ends with You, with release expected for 2021. A first teaser trailer presented us with what will be the aesthetic solution adopted by the animators stationed at the animation studios DOMERICA (Flying Witch Petit) is Shin-Ei Animation (Mysterious Joker, Doraemon).

Interesting element, Square Enix confirmed that The World Ends with You: The Animation will not propose a simple adaptation of the video game, but, on the contrary, will make some intriguing changes. Among these figures, for example, the desire to update the production, painting a contemporary Shibuya and not strictly linked to its 2007 version. At the moment, however, distortions of the narrative plot seem to be excluded, but to be sure it will be necessary to wait for new information. For further details, on the pages of Everyeye you will find a rich preview of The World Ends With You: The Animation, by our Antonello "Kirito" Bello.

Finally, we close our roundup with two productions not officially announced, both linked to home IPs Blizzard Entertainment. As we told you in our special on the Overwatch and Diablo anime series, a bizarre leak seems to have revealed the intention to transpose the two fascinating universes into the world of animation.

References to the productions were in fact revealed on Nick van Dyk's Linkedin profile, former president of Activision Blizzard's film and TV division. Subsequently removed, the latter have not yet found confirmation from the videogame giant. However, very few potential details were leaked on that occasion; for Overwatch, in particular, only a generic one was mentioned "animated series". A little richer the picture traced for Diablo, apparently destined to land on Netflix in a "anime style TV adaptation"BlizzCon 2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 emergency, but it will be replaced by a digital event scheduled for early 2021: could this be the right occasion to find out more?

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From Cyberpunk 2077 to God of War: video games that will become anime and comics - Asap Land

2021 Genesis GV80 Preview: Hands On With the New Luxury SUV – AutoGuide.com

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

Ive seen the Genesis GV80 more this year than some family members.

Some of that has to do with, well, you know, but the other reason is that this mid-size SUV is a monumental model for the fledgling luxury brand. Ask anybody on the street what sells in the 2020 car market and theyll tell you its SUVs. Genesis has been racking up awards pretty much since inception for its cars, but the volume play was always going to need to be a high-rider.

Thats why we spent a portion of a day with the GV80as well as the G80, which will get its own preview articlepoking around the impressive new rig. Since its debut at the start of the year, Genesis has slowly trickled out more information on what prospective buyers can expect when it touches down soon. Its still a little while before we can drive it, but here are the highlights from our hands-on time with the new SUV.

Photo by Harry Zhou

Both Kia and Hyundai have been killin it with sales of the Telluride and Palisade. It wouldve been easy for Genesis to simply crib that platform for its first SUV. Instead, the brand is underpinning the GV80 with a foundation of its own design, one that also supports the 2021 G80 mid-size sedan. The rear-drive-based architecture should afford the GV80 the necessary level of dynamicism to challenge the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLEthough of course, well have to wait until proper go behind the wheel to know for sure.

Of course, the GV80 will also offer all-wheel driveand in fact, only that in Canada. Two turbocharged engine options will be available in both markets: a 2.5-liter four-cylinder and a 3.5-liter V6. The larger engine will only be available with AWD. These are both powerful engines, with the smaller model putting out an even 300 hp and 311 lb-ft, while the six-pot produces 375 hp and 381 lb-ft. For those keeping score at home, those stats compare favorably to the four- and six-cylinder models from the Germans.

Photo by Harry Zhou

Genesis may have debuted its current design language on the facelifted 2020 G90 sedanfull review on that coming later this monthbut the GV80 is the first clean-sheet example of the look. The face, with the bold diamond-shape grille and the twin-line headlights framing it, isnt subtle. But move around to the side and the flanks are clean and unfussy. The designers have split the difference between upright practicality and high-angle style for the rear hatch glass too, emphasizing the rear haunches. Enormous wheels are par for the course these days, and the GV80 obliges with massive 22-inch wheels in this pre-production form. Smaller rolling stock will be available too.

While Im sure not everyone will dig the new family look, its just that: familial. With the opportunity to look at the GV80 and G80 together, theres a cohesiveness to their looks without falling into Xerox territory. The GV80 is not simply a higher-riding G80 station wagon.

Genesis Canadas Jarred Pellat explains that designer SangYup Lee looks at the lineup as a chess set. When you look at a chess set, maybe its a marble set or a wood set, you can tell that all the piecesthe pawns, the rook, the queen and the kingtheyre all from the same family, explains Pellat. They all have the same finishes, they all have that same identity. But theyre all a different shape, they all have their own unique character. Thats what the Genesis lineup is becoming.

Photo by Harry Zhou

Coming in either two- or three-row forms, the GV80 will likely be more of a family-hauling road trip machine than any Genesis before it. So the automaker has loaded it up with a laundry list of features, both standard and optional, that should help melt away the miles for driver and passengers alike.

Lets start with the Road Active Noise Cancellation (RANC). The system uses sensors and microphones dotted around the car to pick up exterior noise, and then pumps opposing sound waves through the sound system to cancel it out. It results in what Genesis is calling one of the quietest cars you can buy. Optional massaging seats should also go some way to relieving stress on the road.

The GV80 features an augmented reality navigation system. Similar to other setups on the market, this displays a live feed from the front camera on the central infotainment screen, with arrows overlaid. The nose of the GV80 also houses sensors to scan the road ahead to pre-emptively adjust the suspension for any uneven surfacesa segment first. Again, well have to reserve judgment for our first drive, but all of the above should combine to provide a serene mile-muncher.

Not all of the GV80s family-friendly appeal comes from high tech toys, either. One of the simplest design features is the height of the exterior door panels. The door takes the sill section with it on opening, ensuring no mud or road grit gets all over your pant leg on entrance or exit. Clever.

As I mentioned earlier, the GV80 will be more of a family vehicle than previous Genesis models. To that end, it comes with a panoply of standard safety features to keep you and yours safe. These include the usual automated emergency braking, lane keep assist, and blind spot warning systems. The latter uses side-mounted cameras to show a live feed in the infotainment screen whenever a turn signal is active. In addition, the GV80 will feature a rear cross-traffic alert and a driver attention warningon every trim.

Higher tech includes a machine learning-powered adaptive cruise control. This world-first application learns from the driver and then applies their habits to its own driving when active. Highway Driving Assist II is a partially-autonomous driving aid that helps in heavy traffic, including performing safe lane changes when the driver activates the turn signal.

Should the worst happen, the GV80 is equipped with 10 airbags. These include a segment-first central airbag between the driver and front passenger, keeping them safely separated in the case of an accident.

Photo by Harry Zhou

If youre considering the GV80, please do yourself a favor: buy one of the unique interior color schemes.

Nothing says old money quite like another somber, black leather interior. The GV80 offers a unique green-and-brown interior scheme that sets it apart from the pack. Diamond-quilted leather seats look good and are eminently adjustable. Even the little kneepads lining the center console are diamond-quilted. The fit and finish, even on this pre-production model, feels well on par with the establishment.

The overall interior design is calming and minimalist. A huge 14.5-inch touchscreen sits atop the dash, though users can also interact with it via a center console-mounted dial. Thisand all the dials found inside the GV80has that sort of tactile response found on a classic iPod. It clicks as you spin it, but can also be poked and prodded for simpler four-direction navigation. The center of the scroll wheel also accepts handwriting.

These multiple input options were an intentional part of the design according to Genesis; the goal is to allow users to interact with the GV80 in whichever way they find most comfortable. Thats important: this is the biggest rethink of the brands infotainment since launch, and these systems ease-of-use are increasingly important to customers. Look no further than the annual J.D. Power Initial Quality Study, where Genesis scored as the top luxury brand for 2020. On initial encounter, the new system is naturally more complicated than the current one, but not so much that a few minutes of fiddling doesnt fix.

Theres other trick tech in here too. Look ahead of the steering wheel and youll find a head-up display and the worlds first 3D digital instrument panel. Its a clever bit of kit that I cant trick during my short time with it, but those that prefer a flat display will be happy to know it can be turned off.

Photo by Harry Zhou

So a static poke around the GV80 suggests the upstart will upset the established order when it lands later this year. With an entry price of $49,925 for a rear-drive four-pot in America including destination, it will seriously undercut rivals while maintaining a level of luxury buyers expect for that sort of sum. Canadians will be looking at $64,500 to hop inthough part of that has to do with standard all-wheel drive and added features. But the most important question remains: how does it drive?

Like it did to so many other car launches this year, COVID-19 delayed the GV80s roll-out too. Well be getting behind the wheel soon though, and then well really know for sure whether or not Genesis has another hit on its hands. Based on this latest meeting with the GV80 however, and the young brands track record, we wouldnt bet against it.

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2021 Genesis GV80 Preview: Hands On With the New Luxury SUV - AutoGuide.com

We Can Sue, Too: An Interview with Brooke Goldstein, Founder of The Lawfare Project – The Jewish Press – JewishPress.com

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

Photo Credit: Mark Harkin / Wikimedia

When Kuwait Airlines refused to sell tickets to Israelis, The Lawfare Project sued, forcing it to cancel all its inter-European flights and its popular JFK-London route.

When Saudi Arabia wouldnt allow Israeli players to participate in a chess tournament two years ago, The Lawfare Project again sprung into action, and the International Chess Federation ultimately moved the tournament to Russia.

Numerous Jewish organizations protest insults against Jews or Israel, but The Lawfare Project was founded 10 years ago to fight back in a very specific way: through the courts. And so far, it has achieved some remarkable victories.

To learn more, The Jewish Press recently spoke to its founder, Brooke Goldstein.

The Jewish Press: Whats your background?

Goldstein: I was born and raised in Canada. I went to McGill University and then to Cardozo Law School.

I come from a very proud Zionist Jewish family. My grandparents are Holocaust survivors, and I was raised with a love for my identity. I hope to give the same love for Jewish history and the Jewish people to my children.

Why did you start The Lawfare Project?

When I was in law school, I worked as in-house counsel for Daniel Pipes at the Middle East Forum, and I was also running The Legal Project, which was a litigation defense fund for people in the counter-terrorism and moderate Muslim communities who were being sued for speaking about radical Islam.

I started studying where the money for these lawsuits came from and learned that there were hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars being funneled through organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Muslim Legal Fund.

I also studied how organizations like the ACLU and NAACP operate, and it occurred to me that the way that you really make change in this country is through seminal civil rights lawsuits.

I realized, though, that there has never been a Jewish litigation defense fund or a Jewish civil rights movement in this country. So in 2010 I founded The Lawfare Project, and since then we have filed over 80 groundbreaking civil rights cases in almost 20 jurisdictions around the world.

What would you say have been your biggest victories?

The most recent significant victory was a settlement we entered into with the National Lawyers Guild. We sued the National Lawyers Guild which is one of the oldest lawyers guilds in the United States for discrimination against our client, an Israeli company.

The guild had passed a resolution not to do business with Israelis, but enforcing such a resolution violates New York States anti-discrimination law. Just like you cant have a restaurant with a sign No Chinese allowed or a bar with a sign No blacks allowed, you cant have a business and say, No Israelis allowed.

Our client had attempted to buy ad space in the National Lawyers Guild annual journal, and the guild sent an e-mail back saying: Sorry, we dont do business with Israelis. So we sued them. The National Lawyers Guild realized it didnt have a case, so it settled with us and changed its anti-discrimination policy.

Its quite significant because it shows that if you engage in BDS, you will be held accountable, you will be sued, and eventually if youre stupid enough to go to court you will be held liable. In this case, they did the smart thing and settled and reversed their policy. Theyre doing business now with the Israeli company.

Is it true that you once successfully sued Google?

We have a lawyer who operates out of Europe, and he filed a legal action against Google. We ended up reaching an understanding with Googles lawyers to block defamatory content against the Jewish people, including material that promotes Nazi ideology and denies the Holocaust.

Our lawyer in Europe is now working very closely with Googles in-house counsel to make sure Google is following its own policy and abiding by European law, which is actually much more strict on Internet providers and search engines [than America] when it comes to content that defames people because of their race or ethnicity.

You also apparently once successfully blocked Hamas or Hezbollah from broadcasting in America.

Yes, that was actually one of our first legal actions. An intern who was working with us pointed out that Hamas TV and Hezbollah TV were being broadcast illegally in the United States through two U.S.-based companies. So we were able to put together a legal memo and share it with law enforcement, and they took down the two channels.

One of your more impressive victories is one you scored against Kuwait Airways. Can you talk a bit about that?

Its actually an ongoing action. We forced Kuwait Airways to cancel its route from JFK to London because its illegal in this country to discriminate against someone based on his or her national origin, which is exactly what Kuwait Airways is doing. [It bars Israeli from its flights.]

Weve also filed several actions against Kuwait Airways in different European jurisdictions. Some have been more successful than others, but we were successful in the sense that we got Kuwait Airways to cancel all its inter-European flight paths.

The last challenge is to work with European countries to ensure that their anti-discrimination laws are enforced even for Kuwait Airways flights that fly to Kuwait because we believe its completely unacceptable in the 21st century in the West to allow companies to do business in our countries and make money while engaging in barbaric discrimination.

Your organization has also been involved in fighting European laws that require products made in the West Bank to be labeled as such. Can you talk about that?

We were retained by Psagot, which is an Israeli winery in Judea and Samaria, and we challenged a French regulation that required Jewish products made in Judea and Samaria to be labeled a certain way which is discriminatory.

We ended up going all the way to the European Court of Justice, but in a really stunning ruling last November, it basically said that consumer protection requires labeling products to indicate anything a consumer may desire to know vis--vis ethics, and this includes whether or not a product is made by a Jew or a Muslim in the so-called disputed territories.

It was an outrageous and shocking decision that will have enormous implications and ripple effects. It has really opened the floodgates for consumers to sue companies for all sorts of things. For example, if youre buying a product form the United States and you want to know whether the owner of the manufacturing company voted for Trump, you should be able to demand, as an ethical consumer, that that information appear on the label.

I think courts are quickly going to realize how untenable enforcement of this European Court of Justice ruling really is.

Whats the most recent case youve taken on?

Well, we recently filed a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to find out what was really was behind the blatant discriminatory treatment of the Jewish community when it came enforcing coronavirus regulations.

I think its pretty obvious that [Mayor Bill] de Blasio singled out the Jewish community. He blamed the Jewish community for the spread of the coronavirus and threatened members of the Jewish community with arrest.

You cant treat two categories of people differently based on their religion or viewpoint. The government cant say its okay to gather to protest for Black Lives Matters, but its not okay to gather to pray. If you have a regulation, it has to be applied equally across the board to all people regardless of their religion or skin color.

How many lawyers does The Lawfare Project have?

Right now, we have four full-time in-house staff including myself. We have one lawyer who works for us based out of Europe, based in Spain. And then we have a network of over 400 lawyers and over 35 major law firms that have dedicated themselves to working pro bono, or reduced rate, on cases we bring to them.

Why would they work pro bono or at a reduced rate?

Ive spent the last 11 years of my life recruiting firms and lawyers really, the best of the best. We have the top law firms and minds in the world working on our cases.

I think our cases appeal to them because were really at the forefront of the Jewish civil rights movement. Were using the legal system in a way that enforces the basic civil rights of the Jewish community which should have been done 50 years ago.

I think theyre also very moved by the quality of the cases and the plight of the plaintiffs that we bring to them. One of our clients, for example, was punched in the face at Temple University and subjected to anti-Semitic epithets. Theres no place for this in the United States or in the 21st century.

You once said the change you can make with one lawsuit or even one legal letter is enormous. So you dont even have to go to court? A letter does the trick?

Yes. And Id like to think that most of the time the people we write letters to have just forgotten what their obligations are under the law. Were just reminding them, and they do the right thing.

How often does a letter work?

Very often. Id say nine out of 10 times. A lawsuit is always the last resort. You dont want to waste your time and money in a court.

And were not in this game for monetary damages. Were in this game to change the national dialogue, to remind people and educate people that Jews deserve equal protection; that the civil rights laws that apply to other communities to the black community, to the Muslim community, and to women also apply to Jews.

Some people believe our country is too litigious. By taking all these actions, are you contributing to this litigious atmosphere? Or is it your contention that if every other group is doing it, we have to do it as well and that the benefits outweigh the costs?

The beautiful thing about living in a liberal democratic society is that the way you enforce change is not through violence. Its through lobbying, legislation, and the court system. Its a beautiful thing that if you have been wronged, you are able to negotiate a settlement with someone or go to a court of law and have a judge rule on the dispute.

Were not rioting. Thats not how we enforce change in this country. We enforce change civilly by using the court system. And Jews have every right to enforce their civil rights. The rights enjoyed by women, by blacks, and others in this country are all products of seminal civil rights cases that were brought to the courts, and they changed the fabric of our society.

When people accuse us of being a litigious society, the last thing I think theyre talking about is civil rights litigation. Were not talking about ambulance chasers. Were talking about plaintiffs bringing extraordinarily important cases before the courts of law of this country to enforce principles that every other minority community will benefit from.

As a minority community, we deserve equal protection. And thats the way forward to launch a civil rights campaign in this country to demand that we be treated with respect like every other minority community.

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We Can Sue, Too: An Interview with Brooke Goldstein, Founder of The Lawfare Project - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

This Trawlers Haul: Evidence That Antibodies Block the Coronavirus – The New York Times

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

A fishing vessel that left Seattle in May returned with an unexpected catch: the first direct evidence in humans that antibodies to the coronavirus can thwart infection.

More than a hundred crew members aboard the American Dynasty were stricken by the infection over 18 days at sea. But three sailors who initially carried antibodies remained virus-free, according to a new report.

Although the study is small, it addresses one of the most important questions in the pandemic: whether the immune response to one bout with the virus protects against reinfection.

Knowing the answer to this question is critical for vaccine design and epidemiology, tweeted Jesse Bloom, an evolutionary biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and one of the studys authors.

The study was posted online last week and has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. Still, the finding set off optimistic chatter among scientists, who have been relying on monkey studies for evidence of antibodies potency.

I thought it was very exciting good enough news that I was telling my family about it, said Michal Tal, an immunologist at Stanford University who was not involved in the work.

Several research teams have reported that an encounter with the virus triggers a robust immune response in most people, including in those who may have been only mildly ill. And the vaccine candidates now in trials also seem to elicit strong neutralizing antibodies, the kind that can block the virus.

But the amount of those antibodies needed to prevent the virus from returning is unclear. Scientists measure neutralizing antibodies in titers, an indication of their concentration in the blood.

The three sailors who remained protected from the virus had widely varying titers; two had only moderate quantities, a finding the researchers said was reassuring.

People have been so worried about the titers, and the titers going down, Dr. Alexander Greninger, a virologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, said.

The results indicate even moderate titers prevented reinfection in a situation in which exposure to the virus was high, he said: These are attainable titers, right? Hopefully, itll be helpful to see, and makes make me very optimistic about the vaccines.

The American Dynasty carried 113 men and nine women. All crew members had been tested for both virus and antibodies as part of a routine screening before setting sail. (The researchers did not have access to the results from two members.)

The trawler returned to shore after 18 days at sea when a crew member became ill enough to need hospitalization. The sailors were tested for the presence of virus and antibodies again and for up to 50 days after their return.

The three sailors confirmed to have neutralizing antibodies did not test positive for the virus during the course of the study; 103 of the remaining 117 became infected.

These numbers may be small, but theyre highly significant, Dr. Greninger said.

A lot of people, when they see this are like, Oh come on, it could be due to random chance, he said. In fact, the likelihood that the results are just chance is extremely low, he added.

Updated August 17, 2020

Other experts agreed. Just looking at the numbers, it becomes clear that its unlikely that all of these three people were protected by chance, said Florian Krammer, an immunologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

Dr. Krammer and his colleagues are tracking antibody levels in people who have recovered from the coronavirus once to see at what point they might be vulnerable to reinfection. The team began with people in New York, but the virus is circulating at such low levels in the city now that Dr. Krammer and his colleagues have had to expand the study to other locations.

Data from vaccine trials also will identify the antibody titers required to disarm the virus. But in the meantime, this is the first evidence in humans, Dr. Krammer said. It made my weekend.

The study raised other questions. Based on the Abbott Architect assay, six of the 120 people tested before the boats departure had antibodies to the virus indicating prior exposure.

But when the researchers reanalyzed those samples using more sophisticated tests, only three of the six were confirmed to have antibodies, suggesting that three test results were false positives.

The Abbott test is advertised as returning fewer than one false positive for every 100 samples. Thats a little concerning that the Abbott may be a little less specific than we thought, Dr. Tal said.

The researchers also looked at antibodies in the blood, as most teams do. But those levels may not be the same as those in the nose or in saliva, the two major entry points for infection, Dr. Tal added.

Were looking in the wrong place, she said. If we want to look at protection from reinfection, we need to be looking in the nose.

This Trawlers Haul: Evidence That Antibodies Block the Coronavirus - The New York Times

NIH imposes ‘outrageous’ conditions on resuming coronavirus grant targeted by Trump – Science Magazine

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

Michael Lauer, deputy director for extramural researchat the National Institutes of Health

By Meredith WadmanAug. 19, 2020 , 10:55 AM

Sciences COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Heising-Simons Foundation.

The National Institutes of Health is requiring a small nonprofit research organization to take unusualand perhaps impossiblesteps to end a controversial suspension of an NIH grant related to bat coronavirus research in China. NIHs conditions for reinstating the funding to the EcoHealth Alliance are outrageous, former NIH Director Harold Varmus told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in an article published today that first reported the agencys demands.

The controversy began in April, after President Donald Trump complained about NIHs grant to the EcoHealth Alliance because it involved researchers at Chinas Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). Conservative commentators, Trump, and Trump administration officials have asserted, without evidence, that the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 escaped from WIV. Shortly after Trumps complaint, NIH abruptly canceled the grant, stating that its goal of studying bat coronavirus spillovers into humans did not align with agency priorities. NIHs move drew extensive criticism from the scientific community.

Last month, NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research Michael Lauer sent the EcoHealth Alliance a letter stating the agency was reinstating the grant, but also instantly suspending it again pending the completion of certain actions. (ScienceInsider has now independently reviewed a copy of the 8 July letter.)Among the conditions included:

NIH declined interview requests for Lauer and agency Director Francis Collins, saying in a statement: NIH does not discuss internal deliberations on specific grants.

The EcoHealth Alliance said in a statement that NIHs letter cynically reinstates and instantly suspends the EcoHealth Alliances funding, then attempts to impose impossible and irrelevant conditions that will effectively block us from continuing this critical work.

Varmus, one of 77 Nobel laureates who wrote to current NIH Director Francis Collins in May demanding that he review the grants initial cancellation, told WSJ that NIHs list of conditions for reinstating the funding is outrageous, especially when a grant has already been carefully evaluated by peer review and addresses one of the most important problems in the world right nowhow viruses from animals spill over to human beings.

Peter Daszak, the EcoHealth Alliances president, called out Collins in an interview with ScienceInsider today, saying: It undermines biomedical science to give in to politics. I think thats a failure. And I think that Dr. Collins fell at the first hurdle. When challenged by the White House to cancel this grant he just gave in.

Jeremy Berg, who directed NIHs National Institute ofGeneral Medical Sciences from 2003 to 2011, notes that Collins is a political appointee who serves at the presidents pleasure. (Berg was also editor-in-chief of the Science family of journals until 2019.) He says: The question for anybody in [such] a leadership position is: Is there a line that you are not willing to cross? And that you think it would be more appropriate to stand on principle and resign rather than to give in? In my view, that line has been crossed with this.

With reporting by Kai Kupferschmidt.

*Update, 19 August,5:10 p.m.: This story has been updated to include additional material from NIHs 8 Julyletter to the EcoHealth Alliance,a statement from NIH,and comments from Jeremy Berg and Peter Daszak.

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NIH imposes 'outrageous' conditions on resuming coronavirus grant targeted by Trump - Science Magazine

Coronavirus updates: University of North Carolina temporarily suspends fall sports; Pope warns against the rich getting vaccine first – USA TODAY

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

You can work from home without feeling so isolated. Here are some great ways to stay connected with your team. USA TODAY

Florida, one of the hardest hit states from the coronavirus, just registered its 10,000th death due to COVID-19.

It came after the state recorded 174 new deaths Wednesday, giving it a total that's fifth highest among states around the country. It has recorded more than 584,000 cases of COVID-19 so far.

The virus, meanwhile, continues to play havoc with colleges' attempts to reopen classes.

A day after officials at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill decided to pivot to online classes afterat least four clusters of outbreaks in student living spaces, North Carolina State University reported its firstcluster of positive cases in off-campus housing.Also Tuesday, the University of Notre Dame said it was movingto online classes for two weeks in hopes that infections won't surge.

And sports fans who thought they could get a break from the coronavirus fallout can't catch a break: new NFL rules will keep mascots and cheerleaders -- as well as sideline reporters -- off the field.

Some significant developments:

Today's numbers:The U.S. has 5.4million confirmed infections and more than 171,000 deaths. Worldwide, there have been more than 781,000deaths and 22.1 million cases, according toJohn Hopkins University data.

What we're reading:Wearing a mask inpublic restrooms should be mandatory during thepandemic, researchers say, because there'sincreasing evidence that flushingtoilets and now urinals can release inhalable coronavirus particles into the air.

This file will be updated throughout the day. For updates in your inbox,subscribe to the Daily Briefing.

Tourists visiting The Strip could befueling the pandemic,according to a ProPublica investigation. An analysis of smartphone data during four days,a Friday to Monday in mid-July,revealed how most of theU.S.is connected to Las Vegas a likely hot spot of COVID-19 spread.

During that time frame, about 26,000 devices were identified on The Strip, according to data mined by the companiesX-ModeandTectonix. Some of those smartphones thentraveled to every state on the mainland except Maine.

Heres a look at where those devices ended up during thosesame four days, according to Propublica:

The cellphone analysis highlights a reason the virus keeps spreading and shows how travel to Las Vegas could be fueling the pandemic, according to health officials.

Ed Komenda, Reno Gazette Journal

Just 48 hours after saying a COVID-19 outbreak on campuswouldn't affect plans to play football this fall, the University of North Carolina has suspended all athletic activities through at least Thursday afternoon. In addition, all recreational facilities on the Chapel Hill campus willbe closed to students, coaches and staff.

"After consulting with our health experts and University leadership, we are taking this action to protect our students, coaches and staff,''UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham said. "We want to make sure we continue to do everything we can to ensure that that our teams, campus and community remain healthy.''

The school welcomed students back to campus for in-person classes last week, butafter at least four clusters of COVID-19 outbreaks,university officials reversed course and moved all classes online.

Steve Gardner

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp defended his administrations handling of the coronavirus pandemic in fiery remarks Wednesday after a report from the White House coronavirus task force said Georgia led the nation last week in new cases per capita.

The White House report, dated Aug. 16, recommends several steps to curb the virus that Kemp has declined to take, including closing bars and issuing mask mandates in counties with 50 or more active cases.

Kemp was among the first governors to ease earlier restrictions this spring, and while infections declined for weeks afterwards, they began to rise in June and peaked in late July.

First reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the report says Georgias small gains are fragile and statewide progress will require continued, expanded, and stronger mitigation efforts, including in all open schools.

Kemp insisted Wednesday that other markers hes watching paint a different picture.

Associated Press

Puerto Ricos governor announced Wednesday that she will place the U.S. territory on a 24-hour lockdown every Sunday as part of stricter measures to fight a spike in coronavirus cases.

Gyms, theaters and bars will remain closed and only restaurants with outdoor areas will be allowed to seat people, but at 25% capacity. Gov. Wanda Vzquez said violators will be shut down for a month.

In addition, beaches will remain open only to those doing exercise such as runners and surfers, and businesses, malls and banks will be allowed to operate at only 25% capacity.

The new measures go into effect Saturday and will remain in place until Sept. 11. Face masks remain mandatory.

We have to adjust to living in a new reality, Vzquez said, blaming the jump in cases on careless people.

Associated Press

Cheerleaders and mascots will not be allowed to be on the field during NFL games this season.

The league-wide policy was part of new protocols unveiled Wednesday in conjunction with the NFL Players Association, a person familiar with the decision told USA TODAY Sports' Jarrett Bell. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Previously, some of these decisions were being left to individual teams.

Sideline reporters and pregame panelists also will not be allowed on the field level, per the agreement.

Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz

A new study casts doubt on whether a virus can be transmitted by breast milk.

The study found only one of 64 samples of breast milk from 18 women in the U.S. who had become infected with the virustested positive. Further tests found that the virus couldn't replicate, making it unable to potentially infect a breast-fed infant.

The study by was conducted jointly by researchers at the University of California campuses in San Diego and Los Angeles and the results were published Wednesday in the online edition of the medical journal JAMA.

We hope our results and future studies will give women the reassurance needed for them to breastfeed. Human milk provides invaluable benefits to mom and baby, said Dr. Grace Aldrovandi, co-principal investigator of the study and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at UCLA Mattel Childrens Hospital.

Chinese government officials were involved in a coverup about the coronavirus, but not at the national level, says a U.S. intelligence report obtained by the New York Times.

Officials in the Wuhan and Hubei provinces in central China, where the virus first appeared, attempted to keep China's central leadership in Beijing from knowing key information about the early outbreak, concludes the report compiled by several U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA. Local officials feared reprisal from the central government.

The report, prepared in June with a mix of classified and unclassified data, backs the overall view that Communist Party officials hid important information from the World Heath Organization even as they sought to get details on the outbreak themselves from recalcitrant local officials.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused China of a coverup, alleging the virus could have been stopped much faster if it had been more forthcoming.

Deaths in Florida from the coronavirus surpassed 10,000, while teachers and state officials argued in court over whether in-person schools should reopen this month.

Florida reported 174 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total confirmed deaths to at least 10,067 the fifth-highest death toll in the nation. The state reported an additional 4,115 confirmed coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 584,047. The positivity rate for coronavirus testing in Florida has averaged about 11.4% during the past week.

There were 5,351 patients being treated for the disease in Florida hospitals on Wednesday, down from peaks above 9,500 patients in late July.

Meanwhile, Floridas largest teachers union is seeking an injunction from a judge in Tallahassee to stop schools from reopening by this Friday.

Associated Press

Dreamed of actually snagging tickets to screenings at a major film festival? Because of the coronavirus pandemic, you make be able to see the films from your living room.

The festivals are where critics and insiders get early peeks at movies either slated for theaters or those hoping to receive the kind of breakout attention that will get them there. Because of the virus, the festivals have gone virtual streamed to living rooms.

The New York Film Festival is kicking off Sept. 25 with an opening night featuring Steve McQueens Lovers Rock, and will premiere two other of the Black filmmakers works, Mangrove and Red, White and Blue, part of the same anthology. Also on tap: Chloe Zhaos anticipated Nomadland with Frances McDormand, Sam Pollards documentary MLK/FBI, and the documentary Time, about a woman trying to get her husband released from his 60-year prison sentence.

Jeff Friday, founder of the American Black Film Festival, which runs through Aug. 30, has already seen the positives of making the move to virtual. Usually, 10,000 film fans show up for his annual June event in Miami; this year, he's predicting 200,000 people interested in streaming more than 90 films celebrating Black cinema, as well as panel discussions featuring Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins, Candyman director Nia DaCosta, Mary J. Blige, Lena Waithe and Gabrielle Union.

Brian Truitt

Bars that cater to members of the LGBTQ community are not just bars: they serve as community hubs and safe spaces for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer folks.So when they had to shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, those spaces were lost. Fighting back, some have launched crowdfunding campaigns to stay afloat until they are full back in business.

The owner of Harlem's Alibi Lounge, one of the only Black-owned LGBTQ bars in New York City, unveiled a campaign in May that has raised more than $166,000 and counting.

Julius Bar part of the National Register of Historic Places, the oldest gay bar in New York City and one of the oldest continually operating bars in the city overall has raised more than $97,000 via a GoFundMe campaign since early July.Its Greenwich Village neighbor, the Stonewall Inn, has raised more than $320,000 on the platform.

When, all of a sudden, a pandemic like COVID-19 tells you that you have to isolate, that you have to stay home and if you go to a bar, you go to a restaurant, you could be at a high risk to be exposed to the virus, it makes people not even think twice," said Alibi Lounge owner Alexi Minko. "They decide, Well, in that case I am not going to a bar, Im not going to a restaurant until I know that its safer.

Alex Biese, Asbury Park Press

Many furloughed workers were not being immediately called to report back to duty, a new study finds.In an analysis of its small business clients, payroll service Gusto found that only 37% of workers who were initially furloughed in March and 47% of those who were furloughed in April had returned to their jobs by July. Furthermore, among those furloughed in March who were able to go back to work, nearly 25% had their wages reduced.

Furloughed workers are counted as unemployed when determining the jobless rate, which means the fate of those still in limbo could drive unemployment up or down in the coming months.

Since April, the jobless rate has slowly declined, but if a large number of furloughed workers are able to return to their employers, we could see those numbers drop even more. That would spell good news for an economy that's stuck in a recession. On the other hand, a large chunk of furloughed workers could be permanently laid off in the coming months, too.

Maurie Backman, The Motley Fool

Pharmacists in all 50 states are now allowed to give childhood vaccinations under a new directive aimed at preventing future outbreaks of measles and other preventable diseases.

Alex Azar, the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, took the step using emergency powers he has during the coronavirus epidemic, which was declared a public health emergency.The directive announced Wednesday will temporarily preempt restrictions in 22 states starting this fall.

The move is designed to help prevent vaccination rates from falling during the pandemic, Azar said.

Separately, Massachusetts officials announced Wednesday that they will require flu vaccinations for all students, from child care to college. The vaccinations are required by Dec.31. Home-schooled students and those who are studying entirely remotely are exempted.

Associated Press

The New York Police Department announced its created a task force specifically to deal with a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.

There have been 21 reported anti-Asian hate crimes leading to 17 arrests since March around the time the pandemic intensified in the United States, whichChief of Detectives Rodney Harrison told reporters is higher than normal Tuesday.

"Thisincrease was cultivated due to the anti-Asian rhetoric about the virus that was publicized and individuals began to attack Asian New Yorkers either verbal attack or physical assault," Harrison said. "We saw a spike in every borough throughout the city."

N'dea Yancey-Bragg

A patron who spent hours inside a bar during the Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota, which ended last Sunday, has tested positive for COVID-19, health officials confirmed.

The person spent nearly six hours atOne-Eyed Jacks Saloon on Aug. 11. State officials are encouraging anyone at the bar to monitor themselves for any symptoms of the coronavirus.

The 2020 Rally drew more than 460,000 vehicles during the 10-day event, according to a count South Dakota transportation officials released Tuesday. The event was scaled down, but face coverings were not required during the event.

Michael Klinski, Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Pope Francis on Wednesday cautioned against prioritizing future coronavirus vaccines based on wealth. Deviating fromhis plannedweekly public address, he said that "we must come out better" from the COVID-19 pandemic.

How sad it would be if for the COVID-19 vaccine priority is given to the richest," he said. The pandemic has laid bare the difficult situation of the poor and the great inequality that reigns in the world."

The pontiff added that the vaccine should be "universal and for all," rather than "the property of this nation or another," not naming any countries in particular.

At least two dozen Maine residents tested positive for COVID-19 after a wedding reception in rural Maine the states first outbreak linked to a social gathering.

About 65 people attended theindoor event at the Big Moose Inn in Millinocket, said Maine CDC spokesman Robert Long. About 18 people in attendance and around 10others who came into contact with attendees all tested positive, according to WABI-TV in Bangor, Maine.

The owner of the Big Moose Inn could face a $10,000 fine if the state's executive orders limiting group gatherings to 50 were violated, officials said.

R-0 may be the most important scientific term youve never heard of when it comes to stopping the coronavirus pandemic. USA TODAY

During the pandemic, people are talking a lot about children missing classes, graduations and proms. What has received far less attention, child development experts say, is the impact the pandemic is having on the youngest children: babies, toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners.

Birth to age five is a critical time for child development, research shows, and new data from the Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development Early Childhood Household Survey Project (RAPID-EC Project) shows caregiver distress is cascading down to young children in ways science shows can be toxic in the short- and long-term.

The project has been conducting weekly surveys since April and has found caregivers of young children are experiencing distress, material hardship and loss of emotional supports. Since the project's data is sequential, it also is able to show a chain reaction. When a family is stressed about meeting basic needs, the next week they report more emotional distress, and the week after report increases in their child's emotional distress.

"if you can't buy food or you can't pay your rent, that you are experiencing the kind of stress that is going to be toxic to your children,"said RAPID project director Phil Fisher.

Alia E. Dastagir

Nearly 80 teachers in Utah's Salt Lake County have resigned or retired as in-person classes are set to resume at schools this year, the Salt Late Tribune reported.

The Tribune tallied 79 teachers who left their posts due to concerns about COVID-19. At least 16 of the resignations came in the last week, the newspaper reported.

Salt Lake County has the highest number of virus cases in the state, and teachers leaving the classroom told the newspaper that they'd rather resign or retire now than return in the fall, risking their own health or the health of their students.

Were just being told to jump in like nothing is wrong, Jan Roberts, a teacher of32 years who just retired, told the Tribune. Its not OK.

Health officials have identified a COVID-19 cluster at another North Carolina university.

A statement from North Carolina State University confirmed on Tuesday that Wake County health officials identified of COVID-19 cases at off-campus housing east of the Raleigh, North Carolina, campus.

The school said several people who have tested positive as part of this cluster have been identified, including some who are N.C. State students. Contact tracing has been initiated with direct communication to anyone known to have been in close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the school.

The school said reports indicated a party or some type of gathering was hosted at the location on or around Aug. 6. The notice said it was not known how many people were at the gathering, but encouraged anyone who attended to visit their personal healthcare provider or Student Health Services.

Switching from in-person to online schooling has been hard on many families and on their budgets.

About one-quarter of parents say theyve gone into debt to pay for their kids at-home school expenses, and many blame the cost of their kids breakfasts and lunches when they switched to learning remotely from home.

A survey from Credit Karma examines how this school year could affect household finances. More than half of parents say they expect to spend slightly to significantly more on school supplies, the survey of more than 1,000 parents found.

The reasons for the debt are higher grocery prices and the sudden switch to at-home schooling in March.

See more here:

Coronavirus updates: University of North Carolina temporarily suspends fall sports; Pope warns against the rich getting vaccine first - USA TODAY

Faster test results and ‘robust’ immune response may offer hope of curbing the pandemic, experts say – CNN

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

Tests have been delayed and in short supply as the United States surpassed 5.4 million cases, leaving many uncertain about their risk of spreading the virus. And as researchers rush to develop vaccines, they've had little evidence to tell if antibodies that protect against Covid-19 last long enough to get the virus under control. But developments from researchers Monday brought optimistic outlooks to both fronts.

SalivaDirect, a test that does not require specialized supplies and can deliver results in less than three hours, could be available to the public in a matter of weeks, according to Anne Wyllie, an epidemiologist at Yale School of Public Health who was part of the team responsible for the protocol.

"It skips so many steps up front, so it makes it much more amenable to be used as a surveillance tool like in schools or universities," Dr. Brett Giroir, the White House coronavirus testing coordinator, told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday.

And though many are in early stages and have not been peer-reviewed, a recent batch of studies show that humans -- even those with mild symptoms -- have a "robust" immune response to coronavirus that could provide evidence that a vaccine could protect the public for more than just a short period of time, said Dr. Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

"This is very good news and it's optimistic," Lipkin said Monday. "You know, it is a bit of blue sky that we've been looking for."

How long that protection lasts is still unclear, but the studies indicate it could last for months.

The outbreaks at universities continue

Campus life is returning to full swing as college students come back to school -- and now several universities are reporting coronavirus outbreaks.

Add North Carolina State University, where there are two clusters of cases, to the list of schools with outbreaks on or near campus.

Eight members of the Greek Life system have tested positive for Covid-19, school spokeswoman Lauren Barker said in a statement.

Those students live in chapter houses that are either university-owned or privately owned.

Officials at the school said they were also notified by the Wake County Health Department of another cluster at an off-campus housing facility. The health department said reports indicated there was a gathering there August 6.

As part of the university's contact tracing program, close contacts have been advised to quarantine for 14 days, which in some cases could mean the entire house being quarantined, Barker said.

The university announced Tuesday that undergraduate students will shift to online classes for the next two weeks.

"We have seen a dramatic increase in the number of positive cases of Covid-19 in your first weeks back on campus," the Rev. John I. Jenkins, university president, said. "The spike in cases is very serious. And we must take serious steps to address it."

Analysis from contact tracers has shown that most infections have been the result of off campus gatherings, Jenkins said.

Some K-12 school districts are seeing outbreaks too.

In Florida, more than 25 districts are due to have started in-person instruction by week's end. Three districts -- in Baker, Bradford and Martin counties -- reported having to place students in quarantine after a week of in-person classes. Martin County alone has quarantined 321 students, district spokeswoman Jennifer DeShazo said Tuesday.

The school district -- the country's second-largest with more than 600,000 students -- is beginning the new school year without in-person classes. The hope, Superintendent Austin Beutner told CNN Tuesday, is to build a foundation for when the district opens for in-person learning.

"If we want to keep schools from becoming a petri dish and we want to keep all in the school community safe, we need to test and trace at schools," he said.

Study: No apparent racial difference in Covid-19 death rates if there's equal access to health care

The research found no difference in mortality among Black and White patients hospitalized for coronavirus infection, after adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical factors.

Dr. Baligh Yehia of Ascension Health in Missouri and colleagues studied 11,210 adult coronavirus patients between February and May in 92 hospitals across 12 states. They found no statistical difference in the risk of mortality between White and Black patients, after adjusting for age, sex, insurance status, comorbidity, neighborhood deprivation and site of care.

Of the 11,210 patients, 37.3% were Black. Black patients were younger, more likely to be women and more likely to have Medicaid insurance than their White counterparts. Black patients were also more likely to have other health conditions such as asthma, cancer, chronic kidney disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes, hypertension and obesity.

About 63.7% of patients were hospitalized and 39.4% were Black. After adjusting for outside factors, the team found that mortality was 19.2% among Black patients and 23.1% among White patients. The overall mortality rate was 20.3%.

Similar rates of Black and White patients needed an intensive care unit. Among those in the ICU, 35.2% of Black patients died and 36.4% of White patients died.

"Although current reports suggest that Black patients represent a disproportionate share of COVID-19 infections and death in the United States, in this study, mortality for those able to access hospital care did not differ between Black and White patients after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and comorbidities."

They called for additional research on coronavirus mortality by race.

CNN's Annie Grayer, Jamiel Lynch, Artemis Moshtaghian, Topher-Gauk Roger, Amanda Watts, Lauren Mascarenhas, Jason Hanna, Eric Levenson, Naomi Thomas and Jen Christensen contributed to this report.

Why Pooled Testing for the Coronavirus Isn’t Working – The New York Times

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

Pooling accounts for about one-third of the samples that are processed at Poplar, Mr. Sweeney said, adding that percentage is going to get much higher.

But in many other regions, experts are having trouble clearing the hurdles to benefit from pooling in part because needs differ so vastly from institution to institution, and even from test to test.

Theres been a lot of concerns about all the challenges, said Dr. Bobbi Pritt, director of the clinical parasitology laboratory at Mayo Clinic, which processes tens of thousands of coronavirus tests each week, but has yet to roll out pooling.

Experts disagree, for instance, on the cutoff at which pooling stops being useful. The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions coronavirus test, which is used by most public health laboratories in the United States, stipulates that pooling shouldnt be used when positivity rates exceed 10 percent. But at Mayo Clinic, wed have to start to question it once prevalence goes above 2 percent, definitely above 5 percent, Dr. Pritt said.

And prevalence isnt the only factor at play. The more individual samples grouped, the more efficient the process gets. But at some point, poolings perks hit an inflection point: A positive specimen can only get diluted so much before the coronavirus becomes undetectable. That means pooling will miss some people who harbor very low amounts of the virus.

Updated August 17, 2020

Are we going to cause harm if we miss them? I think thats still a difficult question to answer, Dr. Liesman said. These people may be less likely to pass the virus to others, and may be at lower risk of getting severely ill. But thats no guarantee. Some might simply be early on in their infection.

Pooling can also be onerous for lab technicians many of whom have been working grueling hours for months on end. Though simple in theory, batching samples is tedious and time-consuming, as researchers carefully transfer precise amounts of liquid from one tube to another hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times over.

Originally posted here:

Why Pooled Testing for the Coronavirus Isn't Working - The New York Times

Coronavirus outbreak linked to wedding reception in Maine – CNN

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

The wedding guests attended a reception on August 7 at Big Moose Inn in Millinocket, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The Big Moose Inn is a 37 acre property that includes a restaurant, cabins and campgrounds near Baxter State Park. The Inn has hosted weddings since the 1970s and can accommodate 100 guests in their Fredericka's Restaurant, according to their website.

"Right now, we do not know if the outbreak originated at the Big Moose Inn or whether there may have been additional sites of transmission at other points during the gathering," Dr. Nirav Shah, Maine CDC director, said during a news conference on Tuesday.

He added that the reception was a connecting point for the group and the agency is still investigating the outbreak.

"What we know right now is that the reception that occurred there on August 7 was a connecting point and that there may have been other sources of transmission in addition to the reception at Big Moose Inn," Dr. Shah said.

CNN reached out to Big Moose Inn for comment and did not receive a response.

On Monday, Maine CDC announced the wedding reception had approximately 65 guests. In total, 24 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in connection with the event, according to the agency. They added that 18 of those cases were individuals who attended the reception and six others who had close contact with reception attendees.

The agency is conducting contact tracing for guests, staff and people who might have had close contact with individuals with confirmed cases. They encourage anyone who attended the event and has symptoms to contact their health care provider.

"What I think is really important about this situation is that it is another reminder that Covid-19 exist everywhere in Maine and it can spread really quickly when large groups of people gather," Dr. Shah said.

"I ask everyone to remember this situation as you attended social gatherings of your own," Dr. Shah said. "Things like wearing a face covering and maintaining physical distancing is as important today as any time in the outbreak investigation."

CNN's Dave Alsup contributed to this report.

COVID-19 UPDATE: Gov. Justice hosts Dr. Deborah Birx, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, to discuss West Virginia virus response – West…

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney among those in attendance

CHARLESTON, WV Prior to his regularly scheduled COVID-19 press briefing today, Gov. Jim Justice hosted Dr. Deborah Birx, Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, at the West Virginia Capitol to discuss efforts being made to combat the spread of COVID-19 and safely reopen the state.

Dr. Birx, you see her on TV all the time, she is amazing, Gov. Justice said. She has incredible energy and unbelievable knowledge. She's traveled all across the country. The great work that shes doing and her dedication to West Virginia and this nation is amazing. And I can very proudly say that she was tickled to death with the things were doing in West Virginia.

In an interview with members of the media following a roundtable with state leaders at the Culture Center, Dr. Birx praised West Virginia for executing an effective virus response.

We really wanted to hear how West Virginia got it right and continues to get it right, Dr. Birx said. I think what Ive been convinced is its really a partnership and teamwork, coming together to create self-sufficiency through innovation, and its really been translating to every West Virginian, putting them first and then communicating how important every West Virginian is to each other.

Dr. Birx specifically commended Gov. Justice and state leaders for developing what she called a remarkable plan to safely reopen schools across the state. The plan uses a scientific metric to evaluate the safety level in each county and a color-coded map system to let parents, students, teachers, and faculty know what precautions will be taken to ensure the safety of their communities.

Were going to put it in our governors report next week and Im worried that West Virginia is going to get a call from another 49 governors, Dr. Birx said. To really lay out the metrics of where every county is, making that visible to every single parent, and linking that to school choice and then very clear guidances of what to do depending on what your category is.

I was very excited to talk about this and take this to other governors, Dr. Birx continued. I think the reason why I like it is its practical, its something that every county and every state can do, its understandable, and most importantly, its implementable. And thats really what I got from this visit, is this attention to detail but not detail for the having of detail but detail that translates into better service for West Virginians.

West Virginia represents exactly what we want to see across the country a common sense approach based on the data, local data, that people use to keep themselves safe and that they understand, Dr. Birx said.

Gov. Justice and Dr. Birx were joined by U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Congressman Alex Mooney for a discussion at the Governor's Mansion and the follow-up roundtable at the Culture Center.

Among those also in attendance for the discussions with Dr. Birx were West Virginia Coronavirus Czar Dr. Clay Marsh, DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch, State Health Officer Dr. Ayne Amjad, State Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch, West Virginia National Guard Adjutant General Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, and several of the states leading experts in medicine, education, business and more.

After the conclusion of the discussions with Dr. Birx, Sen. Capito and Rep. Mooney joined Gov. Justice for his latest COVID-19 press briefing.

Weve had an incredible experience this morning by hearing Dr. Birx, who is a terrific health leader at the COVID Task Force with the Vice President, Sen. Capito said. Weve all seen her on TV, but I can tell you theres nothing like seeing her in person and seeing how inspirational she is and the message that shes led in this country. She said shes thrilled to be coming to West Virginia because its a green state, she hasnt been able to see too many green states and she wanted to know what was the key to our relative success, and I think she came away with a couple things: the Governors leadership, constant communication.

Thank you, Governor, and your team for your leadership in this important time, Rep. Mooney said. We should all be encouraged that West Virginians from across our state are supporting, protecting, and standing by one another during this unprecedented time.

Dr. Birx also praised the Governor's indoor face covering requirement, the state's expansive collection of COVID-19 data, the state's commitment to full testing residents and staff at every nursing home in West Virginia, the Governor'sCOVID-19 Advisory Commission on African AmericanDisparities, and the development of innovative products like reusable masks and sanitization equipment.

WEST VIRGINIA UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DROPS AGAIN; REMAINS BELOW NATIONAL AVERAGE Also during his briefing Wednesday, Gov. Justice announced that West Virginia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 9.9% for the month of July.

The national unemployment rate for July was 10.2%.

Since April, when state unemployment levels reached 15.9%, more than 47,000 jobs have been recovered across West Virginia.

Before the pandemic, West Virginia had historic economic growth that led to a 4.7% unemployment rate statewide.

GOVERNOR ADDS SELF-EMPLOYED, SOLE PROPRIETORS TO THOSE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS Also on Wednesday, Gov. Justice announced that he is opening up hisWest Virginia CARES Act Small Business Grant Programto sole proprietorships and self-employed individuals in West Virginia.

Any sole proprietor or self-employed person, in operation on or before March 1, 2020, is now able to apply for up to $2,000 in grant funding.

Meanwhile, any West Virginia-based small businesswith 1-35 employees, in existence on or before March 1, 2020 is still able to apply for up to $5,000 in grant funding. Over 2,300 of these applications have been submitted to date, with more than $9.5 millionbeing awarded so far.

Businesses planning to apply must first be registered as a vendor with the State to be eligible. Guidelines for the grants and instructions on how to apply are available atGrants.wv.gov.

The application will remain open until Sept. 30, 2020.

MON COUNTY BARS TO REOPEN ON AUG. 31 Gov. Justice also announced that, after one final extension to countywide bar closure in Monongalia County, these facilities will be able to open at the end of this month, provided that they adhere to a list of additional safety guidelines.

On Wednesday, Gov. Justiceissuedan executive order, extending the closure of all bars in Mon County for an additional 11 days.

The extension was requested by West Virginia University and the Monongalia County Commission, with WVU students returning to campus in Morgantown this week.

The new order extends the countywide bar closure until Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, at 12:01 a.m. Gov. Justice pledged that this will stand as the reopening date, barring amajor uptick in case numbers or another unforeseen circumstance and provided that all safety guidelines are properly followed.

We're not going to have dance floors, we're not going to have live entertainment, and we're going to have to expand the ability to go outdoors, Gov. Justice said.

Click here to view the safety guidelines that will be required for the reopening of bars in Monongalia County.

The countywide bar closure was originally established underExecutive Order 52-20, first extended underExecutive Order 55-20, further extended underExecutive Order 58-20, and extended again under Executive Order 60-20.

The order keeps all Monongalia County bars closed for the on-premises consumption of food or drinks or occupancy by the general public. However, customers are still permitted to pick up food or drinks to be taken away.

The order maintains that patrons are allowed to be seated, for dining, at tables and bar tops within "bar areas" of restaurants, hotels, and other similar facilities, subject to the same limitations that are in place for restaurants.

FUNDING BEING SENT TO VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS Also on Wednesday, Gov. Justice announced that the $4.19 million that he pledged to support West Virginia'svolunteer fire departments is now ready for distribution.

Each of the state's 419 VFDs will receive $10,000.

Our firefighters have all meant so much to us during this pandemic, but especially the ones who do so on a voluntary basis, Gov. Justice said. I love being able to get this money out because, at the end of the day, this is going to help us save more lives.

GOV. JUSTICE DIRECTS WORKFORCE WEST VIRGINIA TO APPLY FOR LOST WAGE ASSISTANCE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FUNDS Additionally Wednesday, Gov. Justicedirected WorkForce West Virginia to apply for the Lost Wages Assistance Payments grant through the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA).

As I have said, we cannot let our people that are sitting out there with no job not knowing how in the world theyre going to pay rent, or keep from being evicted, or making their car payment, or putting food on the table just sit out there and wilt on the vine, Gov. Justice said. "We've got to get some money flowing to help West Virginians in need."

Upon approval by FEMA, this grant will allow WorkForce West Virginia to provide an additional $400 per week in assistance payment to those receiving Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits due to COVID-related impacts. FEMA disaster relief funds will cover $300 of the new weekly payment and the other $100 will come from West Virginias allocation of the federal CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund. Lost Wage Assistance was established after Congress did not reauthorize the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program, which provided an extra $600 payment to eligible UI claimants.

Click here to read more

COVID-19 CASE NUMBERS UPDATE Additionally Wednesday, Gov. Justice reported modest improvement once again in some of West Virginia's COVID-19 case numbers, announcing that the number of active cases and COVID-19-related hospitalizations continue to trend down.

Meanwhile, West Virginias statewide rate of COVID-19 transmission also known as Rt is currently tied for the 8th-best such rate in the country,dropping to 0.90 today. If a given statesRt value is above 1.0, it means the virus will spread quickly, while values under 1.0 mean infections are slowing. West VirginiasRt has remained under 1.0 every day since July 6, 2020; the same day that the Governor instituted hisStatewide Indoor Face Covering Requirement.

Click here to view the latest COVID-19 data

UPDATE ON CHURCHES, LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES Also Wednesday, Gov. Justice announced that church-related outbreaks remain active in three counties across West Virginia: Cabell, Taylor, and Wood counties. These outbreaks account for about 44 total cases combined.

The Governor added that there are now 26 outbreaks in long-term care facilities across the state, with extra attention being paid toGrant Rehab and Care Center in Grant County,Cedar Ridge Center in Kanawha County,Trinity Healthcare in Logan County,Princeton Healthcare Center in Mercer County,Pine Lodge Nursing Home in Raleigh County, andRosewood Nursing Home in Taylor County.

When it comes to our nursing homes, all of our people have been unbelievable, from the staff, to the National Guard, to the DHHR running to the fire and doing testing, Gov. Justice said. But Ill say again, weve just got to be super careful about going out of state and bringing this stuff back to these vulnerable populations.

FREE COVID-19 TESTING Gov. Justice also updated the schedule of upcomingfree community COVID-19 testingevents taking place over the next several weeks at various dates and times in multiple counties across the state.

The effort is part of a plan to provide free optional testing to all residents in several counties that are experiencing higher rates of COVID-19 transmission. It targets residents who have struggled to be seen by a physician or do not have insurance to pay for testing. However, other residents, including those who are asymptomatic are welcome to be tested.

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COVID-19 UPDATE: Gov. Justice hosts Dr. Deborah Birx, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, to discuss West Virginia virus response - West...

COVID-19 Daily Update 8-19-2020 – West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

The West Virginia Department of Health andHuman Resources (DHHR) reportsas of 10:00 a.m., on August 19, 2020, there have been 369,546 total confirmatory laboratory results receivedfor COVID-19, with 8,801 total cases and 166 deaths.

DHHRhas confirmed the deaths of a 72-year old female fromCabell County and a 69-year old female from Kanawha County. Each deathreported is a solemn reminder of the seriousness of this disease, said Bill J.Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary. We send our sympathy to these families andurge all West Virginians to continue following the guidelines to protect eachother.

CASESPER COUNTY: Barbour (33), Berkeley (748), Boone(124), Braxton (10), Brooke (79), Cabell (478), Calhoun (7), Clay (18),Doddridge (6), Fayette (178), Gilmer (18), Grant (131), Greenbrier (95),Hampshire (90), Hancock (115), Hardy (64), Harrison (247), Jackson (172),Jefferson (309), Kanawha (1,122), Lewis (28), Lincoln (111), Logan (380),Marion (203), Marshall (131), Mason (77), McDowell (67), Mercer (245), Mineral(128), Mingo (204), Monongalia (1,003), Monroe (22), Morgan (33), Nicholas(40), Ohio (284), Pendleton (47), Pleasants (14), Pocahontas (42), Preston(131), Putnam (228), Raleigh (310), Randolph (218), Ritchie (3), Roane (20),Summers (19), Taylor (86), Tucker (11), Tyler (15), Upshur (40), Wayne (221),Webster (7), Wetzel (45), Wirt (7), Wood (290), Wyoming (47).

Pleasenote that delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from thelocal health department to DHHR. As case surveillance continues at the localhealth department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain countymay not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual inquestion may have crossed the state border to be tested.Such is the case of Greenbrier,Jefferson, Mineral, and Ohio counties inthis report.

Thedashboard located at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov has been updated to include theschool alert system, a 7-day trend and a cumulative summary among many otherfeatures.

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COVID-19 Daily Update 8-19-2020 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

Masks blunt the spread of coronavirus but not all are created equal – The Guardian

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

Masks have been found to be one of the most effective tools at blunting the transmission of the coronavirus, but not all face-coverings are created equal.

Researchers at Duke University recently ignited a debate over bandannas and neck gaiters earlier this month when they published findings on the effectiveness of 14 different face coverings at filtering respiratory droplets and found significant differences in performance.

The study, which was published in the journal Science Advances, found that fitted N95 respirators performed the best, followed by surgical masks and cotton masks that had a layer of synthetic material between two layers of cotton. (The US is still experiencing shortages of N95 respirators, so experts say those should be reserved for frontline healthcare workers.)

Neck gaiters performed the worst at suppressing the respiratory droplets that could infect others, followed by bandannas. But not everyone thinks this is a finding we should live by. The New York Times even exhorted its readers to save the gaiters!

For [the neck gaiter], we actually saw what seemed to be an increase in the particle numbers, said Martin Fischer, one of the reports authors, on a press call. We attribute that to the mesh fabric actually dispersing some of those droplets. He said more, smaller particles could linger in the air longer than large droplets that might be expelled without a mask.

But a subsequent report by researchers at Virginia Tech found that gaiters provided similar protection to other cloth masks recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and that a doubled-over gaiter provided more protection than a single-layer one.

It is possible that the composition of the gaiters used in the studies played a role. Wrapped around this whole [debate] is the issue of the fabrics that havent been well tested, said Eric Westman, one of the Duke study authors. Duke researchers used a gaiter made of a polyester-spandex blend, while the Virginia Tech study used one 100% polyester gaiter and another that was similar in composition to the Duke gaiter.

So which masks are most effective at preventing the spread of droplets? Its hard to precisely know right now.

But Fischer, of the Duke study, suggested this general rule: If you have two masks and one of them is really easy to see through and easy to breathe through and another one [is] not, its probably a good bet that the thicker one will perform better.

Saskia Popescu, an epidemiologist at George Mason University and the University of Arizona, recommended using surgical masks or three-layered cotton ones for the time being. I dont think we should take either study to mean we cant wear certain masks, but rather that for those with concerning findings, perhaps avoid them until we have additional research, she said .

Meanwhile an earlier study published in July in the journal Thorax found that double-layer cloth face coverings performed significantly better at reducing the droplet spread caused by coughing and sneezing than single-layer cloth masks, but noted that single-layer face coverings are still better than no face covering. In that study, surgical masks also outperformed cloth masks.

The general consensus worldwide is that masks work, and everyone should wear a mask, said Westman.

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Masks blunt the spread of coronavirus but not all are created equal - The Guardian

August 19 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine – Bangor Daily News

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

Another 25 new coronavirus cases have been reported in Maine, health officials said Wednesday.

Wednesdays report brings the total coronavirus cases in Maine to 4,234. Of those, 3,799 have been confirmed positive, while 435 were classified as probable cases, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The agency revised Tuesdays cumulative total to 4,209, up from 4,196. 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 Wednesday, leaving the statewide death toll at 127. Nearly all deaths have been in Mainers over age 60.

So far, 403 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, nine people are currently hospitalized, with two in critical care and one on a ventilator.

Meanwhile, 13 more people have recovered from the coronavirus, bringing total recoveries to 3,662. That means there are 445 active and probable cases in the state, which is up from 432 on Monday.

Heres the latest on the coronavirus and its impact on Maine.

Portland Public Schools officials have pitched a comprehensive plan to return to classrooms on Sept. 14, after the Maine Department of Education and Center for Disease Control and Prevention cleared them to do so. But about 15 percent of district employees have asked for a waiver from returning to their school buildings, citing heightened risks from the coronavirus and childcare conflicts among their concerns. Schools officials have contracted with Falmouth-based KMA Human Resources Consulting, a private firm, to help determine which Portland teachers may work remotely and which ones should return to the classroom this fall. Nick Schroeder, BDN

Health care advocates in Maine are waiting to see if a deadlocked Congress will boost a federal Medicaid funding match provision as the state prepares across-the-board spending cuts due to the coronavirus pandemic. Caitlin Andrews, BDN

Building supply, online and automobile sales all rose by double digits in June, although other parts of Maines economy still are down significantly compared to last year, new tax data from Maine Revenue Services showed. Lori Valigra, BDN

The Maine Principals Association expects to make its recommendation regarding the high school fall sports season on Aug. 27. The recommendation to be presented to the MPAs Interscholastic Management Committee might include going forward with all fall sports cross country, field hockey, football, golf, soccer and volleyball. It also might recommend a partial slate of sports during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic or having no high school sports at all when students return to classes. Ernie Clark, BDN

On Tuesday, the day after state health officials confirmed a coronavirus outbreak of at least two dozen cases connected to an Aug. 7 wedding reception in Millinocket, some residents of the Katahdin region were shocked that their area had been hit by such a large virus outbreak while others believed it was simply a matter of time before the virus hit. Eesha Pendharkar, BDN

As of Wednesday evening, the coronavirus has sickened 5,516,639 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 172,667 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

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August 19 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine - Bangor Daily News

Few signs of collective mourning as the US tops 170,000 coronavirus deaths – CNN

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

President George W. Bush delivered words of comfort and encouragement at the packed National Cathedral in Washington, where four former US presidents as well as political and religious leaders gathered on a gray cloudy morning that gave way to bright sunshine.

"Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time," Bush said. "But goodness, remembrance and love have no end. The Lord of life holds all who die, and all who mourn."

For days mourners poured into houses of worship. Church bells tolled. The dead were remembered at candlelight vigils across the country.

Nearly two decades later, in the midst of another national tragedy that has the US surpassing 170,000 deaths from Covid-19, there have been few signs of collective mourning among Americans.

Hospitals and nursing homes shut its doors and placed Covid-19 patients in isolation. Priests administered last rites over the phone. Helpless families said farewells the same way. Funerals were canceled, postponed or held online. Mass gatherings were prohibited.

"Without a way to gather with others to mark a loss, to acknowledge the loss, we are left with an intensified sense of isolation and also, often, a heightened sense of self reproach, anxiety, and what used to be called melancholy," says Judith Butler, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of "Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence."

"Gathering gives people a way to acknowledge the loss, to test the reality of the loss with others, to bring back the memory of the person in the context of the living, and to affirm the possibility of living on. But to deal with loss in utter isolation, or to have loss sanitized through curves and graphs, leaves us without the means we need to affirm life in the wake of loss."

'An enormous sadness'

"The marshaling of the war metaphor ... is consistent in an attempt to rally the American people to unify but to unify around very specific things," said Micki McElya, a professor of history at the University of Connecticut and author of "The Politics of Mourning: Death and Honor in Arlington National Cemetery."

"And that has been largely not marking death, marking tragedy or marking the horror of the ongoing lack of a meaningful response or any attempt to remedy the mistakes of earlier aspects of the response, but to really focus on, 'This is what Americans do." And to kind of appeal to patriotism and nationalism, frankly, in order to encourage people to rally and feel united in shopping and in the economy, in the things that the administration is choosing to push forward."

Still, focusing solely on Washington's response to the pandemic would be letting the American public broadly off the hook, McElya said.

"We need to really consider this and talk about this as a collective national failure," she said. "One certainly encouraged by our leadership. But people have to submit or commit to that narrative, and so many have, and that's an enormous sadness."

Protests as a public act of mourning

"Our tendency to honor the deceased is also related to who is lost," he said.

"And when those figures who die are celebrities, when they are young people, children and so on, when they are heroic figures -- think of the death of the first responders from collapsed World Trade Center in New York -- it's easy to valorize, to validate and collectively mourn such losses."

That the deaths of members of disenfranchised and marginalized communities do not generate the same "upwelling of compassion and concern" as that of a child or first responder "requires us to seriously scrutinize our values," Neimeyer said.

Butler said the victims of the pandemic have come to be recognized in the ongoing national protests over the deaths of George Floyd and other African Americans.

"I think Black Lives Matter is in some ways about mourning," she said. "They were mourning those lives, standing for the value of those lives, publicly gathering in sorrow and in rage... I think that is a public act of mourning at the same time that it is a public act of protest."

The pandemic is 'a rolling thunder'

Americans have also navigated profoundly unsettling times in recent months -- the loss of jobs and everyday routines, social isolation and the disappearance of support networks.

"At some level, we are grieving much that we cannot even easily name, and for which there are no rituals of support," Neimeyer said. "There's no High Mass offered for your loss of security, or there's no ritual by which we bury or inter a career or a job that we lost."

The trauma is compounded by the fact that no end to the pandemic appears in sight.

"It's not that we have suffered these losses and are now trying to take stock of them," Neimeyer said. "We continue to suffer them. It's a rolling thunder. It's not a storm that has passed through. We're in the thick of it."

Butler said the statistical curves and graphs counting the dead inform people about "what is an acceptable level of illness and death in order to reopen the economy."

"We are thus asked to accept that death is necessary, to agree to 'an acceptable level of death' and business and universities that reopen in the midst of a surge are also reckoning on how much death is acceptable," she said.

"It leads us to accept deaths that are preventable ... and it makes us cold, if not cruel, in the face of calculated levels of acceptable death. So, in my mind, it is the absence of collective mourning, forms of gathering, and acknowledgment in conjunction with this calculation of acceptable death that leaves us without a sense of the value of life."

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Few signs of collective mourning as the US tops 170,000 coronavirus deaths - CNN

Opinion: There is a safe, healthy path forward from the ravages of the coronavirus – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

Robert N. Golden and Joseph E. Kerschner Published 6:00 a.m. CT Aug. 19, 2020

You do not have to be a doctor to understand the terrible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Wisconsin, new COVID-19 infections continue to rise. The virus has killed more than 1,000 Wisconsinites almost 225 in the past 30 days alone. Similar trends are occurring nationwide.

Our country needs a new path forward in the battle against the virus. The states two medical schools the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin are heading up this fight by launching innovative COVID-19 clinical trials, developing rapid diagnostic testing, studying the complexities of this virusand increasing our capacity to offer telehealth and virtual visits. Our physicians, nurses and other health care professionals are working tirelessly.

But these frontline fighters need support from everyone to limit the spread of this virus.

The Association of American Medical Collegesrecently released a road map to reset the nations approach to the pandemic. It proposes evidence-based steps for immediate action.

Wisconsins medical schools support this plan. COVID-19 has not been contained by the current patchwork approach. To win the war against this virus, we desperately need an organized plan of attack particularly for supplies, testingand standards.

Combating COVID-19 requires robust and intact supply chains. Shortages in laboratory equipment, personal protective equipmentand other vital medical supplies (which our institutions and others throughout Wisconsin have already encountered) leave everyone vulnerable. We have conserved PPE and developed creative approaches to obtain and make new PPE, but its not enough.

The AAMC plan urges the federal government to invoke the Defense Production Act or other means to increase domestic production of such supplies. So no facility is caught short, the government should set thresholds and develop regional warehouses and stockpiles, with attention to greatest-need areas.

To fight effectively, we need to know where the enemy is. That requires testing. We embrace AAMCs recommendation for enhanced COVID-19 daily testing to identify flare-ups. This will require federal coordination of testing and supply levels. We need a central web portal for records so we can react swiftly to shortages in testing supplies. We also need rapid delivery of test results. This is critical. Since COVID-19 spread often occurs before an infected person shows symptoms, three things are essential: readily available testing, rapid reporting of resultsand contact tracing when an individual is positive.

We need consistent tactics to battle this virus. We support national standards for face coverings. Our nation needs uniform criteria for stay-at-home orders, reopening businessesand in-person instruction at K-12 schools. We support the AAMCs guidance for face coverings. While there are horrible disparities among certain populations, and some location-specific challenges, the biology of the virus does not vary from city to city or state to state. National standards will allow all communities to make informed decisions.

These steps must be taken immediately. The road map also charts a longer-term path forward to help minimize or prevent the next pandemic, because a lasting peace in this war requires planning.

We encourage the people of Wisconsin to support this road map, which provides a clear path away from the ravages of COVID-19 and toward a safe, healthy state.

Robert N. Golden, MD, is dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Joseph E. Kerschner, MD is dean of theMedical College of Wisconsin School of Medicine.

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Opinion: There is a safe, healthy path forward from the ravages of the coronavirus - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Researchers hope this old-fashioned treatment will work for coronavirus – CNN

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Danzig

It's the latest development in the effort to use a 19th century treatment to help 21st century patients.

The contract with the DoD's Joint Acquisition Task Force is to develop a new convalescent blood plasma process that makes more serum-derived products, and faster.

President Donald Trump and US health leaders have done a full court press to encourage people who survived Covid-19 to donate plasma to help those who are sick.

Two weeks ago, on a tour of the Red Cross, Trump implored people to volunteer to donate plasma "as soon as you can."

"We have a lot of people that would heal, would get better. As soon as you can, please," Trump said.

A Victorian solution to a modern problem?

Since the Victorian era, doctors have used this treatment to fight severe cases of the flu. The treatment has also shown success with two other deadly coronaviruses - MERS and SARS. Yet it will take studies to prove that it works to treat Covid-19. Absent other treatments, doctors have opted to use the treatment as it was still being studied.

Doctors try the old treatment

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit New York City hard in March, doctors desperate to save patients weren't sure what might help. Plasma from recovered Covid-19 patients showed some early promise. For professionals used to relying on scientific evidence and established facts, there was -- and still is -- little to work with.

"We probably changed what we were doing on a daily basis."

To see what worked, Bouvier and team did a retrospective analysis on data collected from 39 patients.

Even in that small group, convalescent plasma stood out.

"We don't have definitive answers yet, but we are on the way to getting definitive answers and, I would say, that the evidence, while imperfect, is promising," Bouvier said.

Convalescent plasma, Woodcock said, is an option that can be "feasible fairly quickly." Woodcock, said it's a treatment the government is trying to accelerate, even before the government knows if it works.

Early results in China

Early on, a handful of small studies in China looked promising.

Trying the treatment in the US

Among 25 hospitalized patients with Covid-19, seven days after the convalescent plasma treatment, nine showed some improvement and seven were discharged from the hospital. By day 14, 19 had improved and 11 were discharged. There were no safety issues.

Still, it's not clear if the treatment was the reason these patients improved; the study results would need to be reproduced in a larger group of patients.

First 'maybe,' then 'possibly,' now 'probably'

Dr. Arturo Casadevall, one of the researchers, called convalescent plasma the "good news story" of the pandemic.

"When we first started this effort if you had asked 'do you think it's going to work?' I would have said 'maybe,'" Casadevall said. "Since then I progressed to 'possibly,' and now, I am at 'probably.'"

Casadevall wants more research to prove it works.

"To really be certain you need to complete the randomized clinical trials," Casadevall said. "But the good thing has been that there have been multiple reports that have been encouraging, including my clinical trials from Wuhan that had to be stopped prematurely."

That trial was stopped when the flood of patients slowed to a trickle and there weren't enough patients to test the therapy.

The challenges

The number of cases can also impact how much of the therapy is available. Unlike with a monoclonal antibody therapies that can be made in the lab, this treatment relies on volunteers.

"It is a limited resource," Woodcock said Monday. That's why there has been a concerted push to get more donors. Even Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been enlisted to urge people to donate.

Typically, one donor's plasma can treat two or three people and the original donor can come back and donate again within a couple of weeks.

But there are only so many donors, Woodcock said, and scientists are starting to think there is only a month-long window in which people have enough antibodies in their blood to help someone else fight the disease. But again, they need more research to know for sure.

But there was no placebo group. Without that comparison, it's hard to know if the treatment made the difference.

The treatment be a difficult one to get right. Monoclonal antibody treatments, by contrast, are made by scientists in the lab. They pick the antibody that works best in the lab to neutralize the virus and reproduce it in the lab. Such Covid-19 antibody therapies are in clinical trials now, too.

With convalescent plasma, patients get all the antibodies in that plasma, not just those carefully engineered to fight the virus. Every donor's plasma is a little bit different and some may have more antibodies that protect against the virus better than others.

"Convalescent plasma, I think we need to have more caution about that," Dr. Anthony Fauci said recently. "You want to make sure you do it right."

The push

Woodcock, who said the US government is trying to accelerate these plasma drives, thinks there may be an additional benefit to convalescent plasma that goes beyond treating someone's symptoms.

"I think people feel very helpless in the face of this," Woodcock said. "This is something that everyone can contribute who's been infected."

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Researchers hope this old-fashioned treatment will work for coronavirus - CNN

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