Tennessee Coronavirus: Another big jump in cases to 93,936, up by 3,140 – WATE 6 On Your Side

Posted on by

Sevier County schools to discuss reopening Monday

Pelosi: GOP in 'disarray' over COVID rescue bill

Positive COVID-19 case at Alcoa Middle School

McEnany: Schools, teachers considered 'essential'

Biden: Trump won't do 'hard work' to open schools

Knoxville Chamber releases June COVID-19 economic impact survey

Nashville doctor: Reopening schools too quickly may be dangerous

Pandemic impacting girls' soccer season

Regal pushes back reopening date again

Hamblen Co. Schools pushes back start date by more than a month

Knoxville Mayor Indya Kinncanon: 'We have to take action as a community against the spread of COVID-19'

Knox County Health Department briefing on coronavirus on Friday, July 24, 2020

Coronavirus in Tennessee: Hamblen County Schools delay start of semester to September

Trump says some schools may need to delay opening

AMC Theatres postpones reopening again as summer blockbusters are delayed due to coronavirus

'Face It. Masks Fight COVID-10' campaign

New projections on hospital capacity discussed by Knox Co. Board of Health

Fauci: US needs to 'regroup' amid virus surge

Food City: Mask mandate for customers to begin July 23

NCAA lays out plan for playing but warns of surging pandemic

Read the original post:

Tennessee Coronavirus: Another big jump in cases to 93,936, up by 3,140 - WATE 6 On Your Side

China is rewriting the facts about Covid-19 to suit its own narrative – The Guardian

Posted on by

China has been here before. During the Sars crisis in 2002 and 2003 it hid cases, censored doctors and withheld information from the world for four months. Nearly 800 people died.

Fast forward to 2020. The successor to Sars appeared, and has so far caused 600,000 deaths and more than 15 million infections worldwide. The Chinese government says it has been open, transparent and responsible throughout; its critics say not open, transparent or responsible enough to avert disaster.

After Sars, China built a nationwide disease surveillance network and formidable bioscience capacity. It invested in research on bat coronaviruses. Disease control chiefs said it could stop another outbreak. But in 2020 none of these preparations were enough to offset risks coming from other directions: ever more rigid top-down politics inside China and a globetrotting population with direct international flights from Wuhan.

Last December patients started turning up in Wuhans hospitals with pneumonia symptoms that didnt respond to treatment. Doctors were quick to send samples for genetic sequencing which soon revealed a coronavirus closely resembling Sars. Chinese scientists warned the new virus was also contagious, spread by respiratory droplets and on surfaces. But both in Wuhan and in Beijing, health authorities sought to minimise the story, first insisting there was no reason to suspect the virus was transmitted by humans and later that the risk was low.

Frontline doctors didnt agree. They tried to warn each other on social media, but were swiftly silenced, some forced to sign police confessions that they had spread misinformation.

The Hong Kong microbiologist Prof Yuen Kwok-yung had helped to identify Sars back in 2003. As soon as he saw the social media posts from Wuhan, he urged the Hong Kong government to take public health precautions. He told Panorama: If you dont make use of every hour, you are in big, big trouble.

Instead, from 31 December to 20 January, Chinas political leaders played down the risks of the virus, squandering the lead their doctors and scientists had given them.

Beijing is naturally sensitive about its early handling of what has gone on to become a global catastrophe. At home its censorship is so overwhelming that it can control the timeline and edit the facts to suit its narrative. Since January, censors have assiduously deleted documentary evidence and added events and comments retrospectively to suggest leadership engagement. Seven months on, the silencing of doctors and scientists continues, while some Chinese citizens who have tried to preserve inconvenient facts or present a different version of the narrative have disappeared.

As a result, there is no meaningful challenge inside China to the official version of events. According to this version, as soon as Beijing had clear evidence of human transmission of the virus it publicly announced it, and prepared tough control measures including the lockdown of Wuhan on 23 January.

The truth is more complex. For example, Beijing certainly had a key part of its evidence on human transmission a week earlier than the official version admits. On 12 January, Yuen diagnosed a family with the novel coronavirus in Shenzhen, 700 miles from Wuhan. Only some members of the family had been to Wuhan. Yuen immediately alerted authorities in Beijing.

But between the beginning of the year and the lockdown, 5 million people left Wuhan for destinations in China and beyond. Prof Andrew Tatem of the University of Southampton told Panorama: If the same interventions that were put in place on 23 January had been put in place on 2 January, we may have seen a 95% reduction in the number of cases.

The Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, told the BBC: The Chinese health authorities notified WHO on 31 December in the shortest possible time. In fact it was the WHO that had picked up reports of the outbreak on the internet and on 1 January sought answers from the Chinese government. China responded two days later.

Chinas response time has been much faster than during the Sars outbreak 17 years ago, but most close observers of the Chinese Communist party say full transparency is never its first instinct and that under the leadership of Xi Jinping, information control has grown ever tighter. Challenged on the silencing of doctors and scientists in early January, a key government adviser, Prof Li Lanjuan, told us: To announce its contagiousness, if it is not yet confirmed, would cause public panic. Therefore we must be responsible to the public, and ascertain the facts first.

Some governments have demanded an international investigation in China to determine the origins and early spread of the virus. The Chinese government says it will join a global inquiry into the pandemic but only when the crisis is over. It says it should not be blamed as it is a victim too, and that its tough measures to combat the Wuhan outbreak prevented hundreds of thousands of infections and bought the world time.

Dr Ali Khan spent much of his career in the US Centers for Disease Control and says the world now needs to think ahead. We cant afford to do this again. If some countries having an outbreak [are] deciding to not share that information, there have to be consequences.

But what consequences? The WHOs regulations on protecting against the international spread of disease are legally binding, but there are no sanctions for countries that fail to adhere to them. In recent weeks, western governments have begun adopting a tougher tone towards Beijing on a range of issues, but there is little sign of a concerted international push for new WHO inspection powers to tackle future disease outbreaks. Indeed, the US has just withdrawn funding for the WHO, alleging that the global health body served as Beijings puppet during the early stages of coronavirus.

For now, we are left hoping that Chinas leadership has learned its own lessons about the need to act faster to protect its own public and the world.

Carrie Gracie is a BBC newsreader and presenter and former China editor for BBC News

Panorama: Chinas Coronavirus Cover-Up is on BBC One, Monday 27 July, 7.30pm

Read more:

China is rewriting the facts about Covid-19 to suit its own narrative - The Guardian

Can Covid-19 Coronavirus Cause Hearing Problems Even With No Other Symptoms? – Forbes

Posted on by

Evidence suggests that the Covid-19 coronavirus may affect your ear and hearing, even if you are ... [+] otherwise asymptomatic. But how strong is this evidence. (Photo: Getty)

Seemingly every week more evidence emerges that the Covid-19 coronavirus is like a really bad box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.

Well, hear is more to consider. Some scientific publications have suggested that the virus may affect your hearing. In fact, theres the possibility that hearing loss could occur even if you dont have any other symptoms. So you think that youve gotten away with no symptoms from a Covid-19 coronavirus infection, but is that really the case?

Just take a look at a post on Medium by Shin Jie Yong, who describes himself on the site as a 20 year old neurobiology postgrad in Malaysia with the life goal of being able to afford a place with dogs. While his article didnt specify exactly why his current place cant have dogs or how much money would be required to have a doggified place, it did list some of the evidence that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may have an ear-ry effect.

For example, he cited a letter published in the American Journal of Otolaryngology. It wasnt one of those, hey, how are you doing or you move me, and it isnt my bowels letters. Instead this was a very, very brief case report letters that mentioned the case of an old female in Thailand who was diagnosed with Covid-19 and suffered from hearing loss. This letter contained very few details about the case, including what the authors considered old. So this letter alone didnt provide too much evidence and probably deserved a letter grade of a D minus.

Earning better than a D minus was a subsequent publication in the American Journal of Otolaryngology. This publication was certainly more substantive as it detailed a study conducted by M.W.M.Mustafa of the Qena Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University in Egypt. Mustafa administered hearing tests to 20 people who had tested positive for Covid-19. Now twenty isnt a lot unless you are talking about people in an elevator. But it is certainly more than one. None of the study participants had any other known symptoms from the infection. The study participants were between 20 and 50 years of age and had no history of hearing loss either. Nevertheless, they performed significantly worse than normal on some parts of the hearing tests, including the high frequency pure-tone thresholds and the transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) amplitudes.

Then, there was the letter published in Acta Otorhinolaryngologica Italica. This letter was more of a case series than a formal study. It described six patients, ranging from 22 to 40 years of age, who had more typical Covid-19 symptoms like fever, cough, and shortness of breath as well as seemingly ear-related symptoms. Two had vertigo, with one case being very mild. Four had ringing in the ears. All six had some type of hearing loss, more on one side.

Of course, just because you test positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus doesnt mean that the virus is responsible for everything that you are suffering. So Yong did mention a letter published in the International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology that had the following title: Dont forget ototoxicity during the SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) pandemic! It isnt super common for the title of a scientific publication to have an exclamation point at the end of it. Nevertheless, this letter was to warn health professionals that a number of medications being tried to treat the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can have ototoxicity. While the OTO is apparently a magical order that was founded in Germany in 1901 and focused on sex magic, in this case, oto instead stood for ear. Thus, ototoxicity means toxic to or may damage the ear. The list of drugs that are potentially ototoxic includes chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, remdesivir, favipiravir and lopinavir. Thus, could hearing problems be the result of medications taken rather than the virus? Perhaps.

On the flip side, it wouldnt be too surprising if the virus were to somehow affect ear function. After all, as Yong pointed out, other viruses such as the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), the herpes zoster virus (HZV), the cytomegalovirus, the measles virus, and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can affect the ear and cause ear-related symptoms.

Furthermore, theres already been growing evidence that the virus seems to know no boundaries, kind of like that guy who will mention his testicles during a a dinner party or a work meeting. Cases have shown that the virus may spread well beyond the respiratory tract into the nervous system. For example, in a research letter published in JAMA Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, a team from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (Kaitlyn M. Frazier, MD, Jody E. Hooper, MD, Heba H. Mostafa, MBBCh, PhD, D(ABMM), and C. Matthew Stewart, MD, PhD) described how they detected SARS-CoV2 in the mastoid or middle ear of three patients.

All in all, the evidence to date merely suggests that the Covid-19 coronavirus can affect your ears and potentially leave you with some hearing loss. More studies woule be necessary to form firmer conclusions. Future studies should entail testing more and a wider variety of patients, preferably with hearing tests before and after infection. Plus, its not clear how long such effects may last so following patients for longer periods of time would provide further insight.

Nevertheless, any possibility of hearing loss needs to be taken seriously. Hearing loss is already of significant problem around the world. In the U.S., approximately one in three people between the ages of 65 and 74 has hearing loss, and nearly half of those older than 75 has difficulty hearing, according to the National Institute of Aging (NIA). But hearing loss is not just an issue for older adults. The Hearing Loss Association of American (HLAA) website has a statistic that one in five teens experience some degree of hearing loss. If the Covid-19 coronavirus could indeed affect your hearing, will this pandemic make all of these statistics worse?

The widespread use of face masks may help reduce the transmission of the Covid-19 coronavirus but ... [+] can make it more challenging for the hearing impaired who rely on reading lips for communication. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

The pandemic has already brought new challenges to those with existing hearing issues. As Janice S. Lintz, CEO, Hearing Access & Innovations, pointed out, the coronavirus prevents people from lip reading since people are wearing face masks. If Covid-19 coronavirus infections end up adding to the total number of people suffering from hearing loss, Lintz added that this will make a bad situation worse.

This would make an already complex infection even more complex. This would be further evidence that a single number alone like deaths or hospitalizations cannot capture the full impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus. It is not just like a cold or the flu. Chances are that your immune system has never seen a virus like this. That means that your body is a wonderland to the virus, but not in a John Mayer type of way. Scientists are rushing to figure out what this virus can do to your body. The rush to re-open prematurely and return society to normal, which by the way aint going to happen anytime soon, for political and business reasons can have bad, long-standing consequences. Instead, people have to listen to science. Heck not listening could end up affecting your hearing in more ways than one.

Go here to see the original:

Can Covid-19 Coronavirus Cause Hearing Problems Even With No Other Symptoms? - Forbes

Who Gets the Covid-19 Vaccine First? Heres One Idea – The New York Times

Posted on by

When a coronavirus vaccine becomes available, who should get it first?

A preliminary plan devised by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this spring gives priority to health care workers, then to people with underlying medical conditions and older people. The C.D.C. has not yet decided whether the next in line should be Blacks and Latinos, groups disproportionately affected by the coronavirus.

But lets suppose that health care workers and people with underlying medical conditions use up the first doses of the available vaccine. Should some be held in reserve for Black and Latino people? What about bus drivers and train conductors? Perhaps teachers or schoolchildren should get it so they can return to classrooms with peace of mind.

If shortages happen, most of the nation will have no chance to get the initial lots of a vaccine under the C.D.C.s plan. And as the United States combats a soaring number of coronavirus cases, rising demand for drugs and maybe ventilators is expected. They, too, will need a fair system of distribution.

One solution that is starting to attract the attention of public health experts is a so-called weighted lottery, which gives everyone a chance at access, although some get a better shot than others.

Doctors and ethicists rank patients, deciding which groups should be given preference and how much. First-responders, for example, may be weighted more heavily than, say, very sick patients who are unlikely to recover.

The goal is to prevent haphazard or inequitable distribution of a treatment or vaccine when there isnt enough to go around. Such a system has already been used in allocations of remdesivir, the first drug shown to be effective against the coronavirus.

This is all very new, said Dr. Douglas White, an ethicist and vice chairman of the department of critical medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, which began using a weighted lottery last month to distribute remdesivir.

Patients have accepted the results, even when they lost in the lottery and ended up being denied the drug, he added.

I speculate that is because we are very transparent about the reason and the ethical framework that applies to everyone who comes into hospital, whether that is the hospital president or someone who is homeless, he said.

To allocate the drug, Pittsburgh doctors decided that the lottery would give preference to health care workers and emergency medical workers. The doctors also weighted the odds to favor people from economically disadvantaged areas, who tend to be mostly Black and Hispanic.

People with other illnesses and limited life spans, like end-stage cancer patients, had the odds weighted against them, giving them a smaller chance to win in the lottery. The system did not consider age, race, ethnicity, quality of life, ability to pay or whether a patient has a disability.

The lottery began in early June, Dr. White said: We had 64 patients. We had to make the supply of remdesivir last at least two weeks. We only had enough to treat one in four patients.

They had a brief respite from the lottery when cases began falling and supplies of remdesivir seemed adequate. But on Sunday, with cases rising again and enough remdesivir for only about half the patients who could be helped by taking it, the hospital system was forced to go back to a lottery.

A weighted lottery will be used in South Carolina if the swelling number of patients causes a shortage, said Dr. Dee Ford, an infectious disease specialist at the Medical University of South Carolina and a member of an advisory group to the state health department. So far, she said, the states supply of remdesivir remains adequate.

Dr. White and his colleagues were considering a weighted lottery before the remdesivir shortage began. And so were other ethicists, like Dr. Robert Truog at Harvard Medical School who had learned about the system when hed feared a ventilator shortage in March.

He consulted with Dr. White, who had developed a system that awarded points to severely ill coronavirus patients depending on their estimated likelihood of surviving. After Dr. Truog and his colleagues published a paper on ventilator distribution, Dr. Truog said, we got a call from an economist at M.I.T.

The economist, Parag Pathak, told Dr. Truog that he and other economists had spent years thinking about how to allocate resources, and have developed and successfully used weighted lotteries.

For example, Dr. Pathak told him, such systems are used allocate spots in oversubscribed charter schools, giving preference to children from certain neighborhoods. Dr. Truog was intrigued, but it turned out that there were enough ventilators, so a lottery was not needed.

Updated July 23, 2020

But remdesivir was another story, Dr. White and Dr. Truog realized: The shortages were not just possible; they were happening.

When remdesivir shortages began, we felt that a lottery system would be a much better allocation methods than a point system, he explained. His group and Dr. Truog developed a weighted lottery for remdesivir, and the Pittsburgh hospitals began using it.

They also noted another advantage: Weighted lotteries can allow researchers to find out, in a rigorous way, which subgroups of patients do best with a new drug or vaccine.

That is because allocation within a group is random. The distribution is, in effect, a randomized, controlled clinical trial. The only difference between, say, people over age 60 who got the drug and those who did not is the toss of a coin in the lottery.

For that reason, outcomes can reveal how well a drug or vaccine works for subgroups of people.

That sort of analysis has been done to study the variations in students performances at different schools, answering questions like: Did students with higher test scores do just as well with or without a charter school? Did the school benefit those who were not doing well in their neighborhood schools?

A large, federal clinical trial showed that remdesivir slightly improved recovery times for hospitalized patients. That study, though, was not designed to show whether some groups like younger people, or those who were earlier in the course of their infection benefited more than others.

These outcome data are buried in the patients electronic health records. Were the patients participating in a weighted lottery, it would be far easier to see who benefited and who did not from remdesivir.

Similar questions can be addressed if a vaccine were to be distributed with such a lottery. But getting that data would be more complicated, because vaccine distribution may involve tens of millions of people.

Still, in principle, lottery data about a vaccine can be as useful as randomized clinical trial data, Dr. Pathak said.

We would like to get people to think ahead about how vaccines are allocated, he said. There is no way we can vaccinate everybody, so we have to think about whats fair and whats just.

View original post here:

Who Gets the Covid-19 Vaccine First? Heres One Idea - The New York Times

Kudlow says coronavirus relief will include $1,200 checks and extension of eviction moratorium – CNBC

Posted on by

Larry Kudlow, director of the U.S. National Economic Council, speaks to members of the media at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, April 7, 2020.

Jim Lo Scalzo | Bloomberg | Getty Images

White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said Sunday that the next round of coronavirus relief will include $1,200 stimulus payments to Americans and the Trump administration will lengthen the federal eviction moratorium.

"There's a $1,200 check coming, that's going to be part of the new package," Kudlow said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union."

Republicans have finalized the next relief bill, worth about $1 trillion, and will introduce it Monday.The legislation is set to provide temporary and reduced extension of unemployment benefits, another round of stimulus checks, liability protection for businesses and funding to help schools restart. It will also include $16 billion in new funds for testing and tax incentives to encourage companies to rehire employees.

"The check is there, the reemployment bonus is there. The retention bonus is there," Kudlow said of the next relief legislation. "There will be breaks, tax credits for small businesses and restaurants."

"It's a very well rounded package," Kudlow added. "It's a very well targeted package."

Kudlow also said the administration plans to lengthen the federal eviction moratorium, which has protected millions of renters in the last four months from getting evicted.

Cities across the U.S. have been bracing for a surge of evictions when the moratorium expired on Friday. The moratorium covered renters in building with mortgages backed by the government. Lawmakers and housing advocates have called for a nationwide eviction ban along with rent cancellations and other forms of housing relief.

The $600 weekly supplement to state unemployment checks that was imposed in March ended over the weekend. Democrats want to extend the aid while Republicans are set to reduce the subsidy, arguing that extended aid is a disincentive for unemployed Americans to find work.

Kudlow said the administration's plan to cap unemployment benefits on approximately 70% wage replacement is "quite generous by any standard." Last week, Republicans were considering extending the insurance benefit at a reduced level of $400 per month, or $100 a week, through the rest of the year.

As negotiations continue, it's not yet clear when the potentially reduced unemployment supplement would go into effect. The U.S. unemployment rate has surged to above 10% because of the pandemic, with nearly 32 million Americans now receiving unemployment benefits, according to the Labor Department.

Even as cases surge across the South and West, Kudlow remained optimistic about a U.S. economic recovery: "The odds favor a big increase in job creation and a big reduction in unemployment," he said.

The U.S. has reported more than 4 million coronavirus cases and at least 146,484 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Go here to see the original:

Kudlow says coronavirus relief will include $1,200 checks and extension of eviction moratorium - CNBC

Diabetes highlights two Americas. One where COVID is easily beaten, the other where it’s often devastating. – USA TODAY

Posted on by

Pressure to create a coronavirus vaccine is increasing by the day, but for a safe vaccine to enter the market, it takes time. USA TODAY

Dr. Anne Peters splits her mostly virtual work-week between a diabetes clinic on the west side of Los Angeles and one on the east side of the sprawling city.

Three days a week she treats people whose diabetes is well controlled. They have insurance, so they can afford the newest medications and blood monitoring devices. They can exercise and eat well. Those generally more affluent West LA patients who've gotten COVID-19 have developed mild to moderate symptoms feeling miserable, she said but treatable, with close follow-up at home.

"By all rights they should do much worse, and yet most don't even go to the hospital," said Peters, director of the USC Clinical Diabetes Programs.

On the other two days of her work week, it's a different story.

In East LA, many patients didn't have insurance even before the pandemic. Now, with widespread layoffs, even fewer do. They live in food deserts, lacking a car or gas money to reach a grocery store stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables. They can't stay home, because they're essential workers in grocery stores, health care facilities and delivery services. And they live in multi-generational homes, so even if older people stay put, they are likely to be infected by a younger relative who can't.

They tend to get COVID-19 more often and do worse if they get sick, with more symptoms and a higher likelihood of ending up in the hospital, or dying, said Peters, also a member of the leadership council of Beyond Type 1, a diabetes research and advocacy organization.

"It doesn't mean my east side patients are all doomed," she emphasized.

But it does suggest that COVID-19 has an unequal impact, striking people who are poor and already in ill health far harder than healthier, better off people on the other side of town.

Tracey Brown has known that for years.

"What the COVID-19 pandemic has done is shined a very bright light on this existing and pervasive problem," said Brown, CEO of theAmerican Diabetes Association. Along with about 32 million others roughly 1 in 10 Americans Brown has diabetes herself.

"We're in 2020 and every 5 minutes, someone is losing a limb" to diabetes, she said. "Every 10 minutes, somebody is having kidney failure."

Americans with diabetes and related health conditions are 12 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than those without such conditions, she said. Roughly 90% of Americans who die of COVID-19 have diabetes or other underlying conditions. And people of color are over-represented among the very sick and the dead.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

The data is clear: people with diabetes are at increased risk of having a bad case of COVID-19, and diabetics with poorly controlled blood sugar are at even higher risk, said Liam Smeeth, dean of the faculty of epidemiology and population health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He and his colleagues combed data on 17 million people in the U.K. to come to their conclusions.

Diabetes often comes paired with other health problems obesity and high blood pressure, for instance. Add smoking, Smeeth said, and "for someone with diabetes in particular, those can really mount up."

People with diabetes are more vulnerable to many types infections, Peters said, because their white blood cells don't work as well when blood sugar levels are high.

"In a test tube, you can see the infection-fighting cells working less well if the sugars are higher," she said.

Peters recently saw a patient whose diabetes was triggered by COVID-19, a finding supported by one recent study.

Going into the hospital with any viral illness can trigger a spike in blood sugar, whether someone has diabetes or not. Some medications used to treat serious cases of COVID-19 can "shoot your sugars up," Peters said.

In patients who catch COVID-19 but aren't hospitalized, Peters said she often has to reduce their insulin to compensate for the fact that they aren't eating as much.

Low income seems to be a risk factor for a bad case of COVID-19, even independent of age, weight, blood pressure and blood sugar levels, Smeeth said."We see strong links with poverty."

Some of that is driven by occupational risks, with poorer people unable to work from home or avoid high-risk jobs. Some is related to housing conditions and crowding into apartments to save money. And some, may be related to underlying health conditions.

But the connection, he said, is unmistakable.

Peters recently watched a long-time friend lose her husband. Age 60 and diabetic, he was laid off due to COVID, which cost him his health insurance. He developed a foot ulcer that he couldn't afford to treat. He ignored it until he couldn't stand anymore and then went to the hospital.

After surgery, he was released to a rehabilitation facility where he contracted COVID. He was transferred back to the hospital where he died four days later.

"He died, not because of COVID and not because of diabetes, but because he didn't have access to healthcare when he needed it to prevent that whole process from happening," Peters said, adding that he couldn't see his family in his final days and died alone. "It just breaks your heart."

Now is a great time to improve diabetes control, Peters added. With many restaurants and most bars closed, people can have more control over the food they eat. Getting rid of commuting leaves more time for exercise.

David Miller with his girlfriend Margaret Lowell and their dog Lola.(Photo: David Miller)

That's what David Miller has managed to do. Miller, 65, of Austin, Texas, said he's stepped up his exercise routine, walking for 40 minutes four mornings a week at a nearby high school track. It's cool enough at that hour, and the track's not crowded, said Miller, an insurance agent, who's been able to work from home during the pandemic. "That's more consistent exercise than I've ever done."

His blood sugar is still not where he wants it to be, he said, but his new fitness routine has helped him lose a little weight and bring his blood sugar under better control. Eating less remains a challenge. "I'm one of those middle-aged guys who's gotten into the habit of eating for two," he said. "That can be a hard habit to shake."

Miller said he isn't too worried about getting COVID-19.

"I've tried to limit my exposure within reason," he said, noting that he wears a mask when he can in public. "I honestly don't feel particularly more vulnerable than anybody else."

Smeeth, the British epidemiologist said even though they're at higher risk for bad outcomes, people with diabetes should know that they're not helpless.

"The traditional public health messages don't be overweight, give up smoking, keep active are still valid for COVID," he said. Plus, people with diabetes should prioritize getting a flu vaccine this fall, he said, to avoid compounding their risk further.

(For more practical recommendations for those living with diabetes during the pandemic, go to coronavirusdiabetes.org.)

In Los Angeles, Peters said, the county has made access to diabetes medication much easier for people with low incomes. They can now get three months of medication, instead of only one. "We refill everybody's medicine that we can to make sure people have the tools," she said, adding that diabetes advocates are also doing what they can to help people get health insurance.

Controlling blood sugar will help everyone, not just those with diabetes, Peters said. Someone hospitalized with uncontrolled blood sugar takes up a bed that could otherwise be used for a COVID-19 patient.

Brown, of the American Diabetes Association, has been advocating for those measures on a national level, as well as ramping up testing in low-income communities. Right now, most testing centers are in wealthier neighborhoods, she said, and many are drive-throughs, assuming that everyone who needs testing has a car.

Her organization is also lobbying for continuity of health insurance coverage if someone with diabetes loses their job, as well as legislation to remove co-pays for diabetes medication.

"The last thing we want to have happen is that during this economically challenged time, people start rationing or skipping their doses of insulin or other prescription drugs," Brown said. That leads to unmanaged diabetes and complications like ulcers and amputations. "Diabetes is one of those diseases where you can control it. You shouldn't have to suffer and you shouldn't have to die."

Contact Weintraub at kweintraub@usatoday.com

Health and patient safety coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input.

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/07/27/diabetes-and-covid-two-americas-health-problems/5445836002/

Go here to read the rest:

Diabetes highlights two Americas. One where COVID is easily beaten, the other where it's often devastating. - USA TODAY

Slowly, Italy Is Waking From the Coronavirus Nightmare – The New York Times

Posted on by

Mistakes were made: the area around Bergamo was not declared a no-go area; family doctors were left on their own; patients were brought into hospitals where doctors and nurses were infected; tests for the general population were unavailable for too long.

But Italy coped.

Northern Italians showed resilience; Central and Southern Italians stayed at home, even though the epidemic was less visible there. Here and there, young crowds gathered dangerously, with the cover of night life, beach life, politics, football, even an air show in Turin. But on the whole, Italy stuck to the rules.

From early March to early May, the country found itself with its back to the wall; and thats a position where we Italians give our best. We can be disciplined, but somehow we dont like to admit it, as if it might damage our reputation.

Of course some things didnt work. We were the first in Europe to shut down the schools, and well be the last to reopen them (on Sept. 14, hopefully). For millions of Italians with young children and small apartments, working from home turned out to be a nightmare. And political squabbles, after a lull, restarted. The political parties sniff an early election, and are jockeying for position.

This slows down all decisions. Despite endless consultations, Mr. Conte has not made up his mind about the European Stability Mechanism, whose funds are earmarked for health expenditure. And, more important, he hasnt decided how to allocate Italys share of the E.U. Recovery Fund. This has complicated negotiations at the recent European Council in Brussels, and has given suspicious northern countries led by the Netherlands an excuse to stall. But in the end, predictably, an agreement was found.

Last Tuesday, after 90 hours of negotiation led by the European Commission, the 27 leaders of the European Union agreed to look forward. The 2021-2027 budget will be 1.8 trillion euros: of these, 750 billion will go to the post-Covid recovery fund, called Next Generation E.U. (390 billion will be in aid, 360 billion in loans). Italy one of two countries in Europe hardest hit by the pandemic, alongside Spain will be the main beneficiary. Each Italian citizen, on average, will receive 500 euros; each German and each Dutchman will shell out 840 and 930 euros respectively.

Europe may be hyper-regulated; but in an emergency, rules and regulations help to keep the situation under control. Slowly and painfully, the European Union is getting out of it. Some countries suffered more than others; but none was refused help, nor did any refuse it. As of July 20, 135,000 deaths had been reported among the 445,000,00 people living in the Union. The day before, for the first time since February, Lombardy where I live, and where it all started for Italy registered no coronavirus deaths. We are still worried, but we can finally breathe.

Beppe Severgnini, an editorial writer and editor at Corriere della Sera, writes regularly about Italian and European politics, society and culture.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

Go here to see the original:

Slowly, Italy Is Waking From the Coronavirus Nightmare - The New York Times

Spike in U.S. Cases Far Outpaces Testing Expansion – The New York Times

Posted on by

New statewide mask orders were issued on Wednesday by the Republican governors of Ohio and Indiana and by Minnesotas governor, a Democrat. And city officials in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore issued new, tougher new mask orders as well.

The latest mask mandates came a day after Mr. Trump, who has long resisted wearing masks and at times even disparaged them, made his most robust call for wearing them yet, urging: When you can, use a mask. Some of the nations largest retail chains, including Walmart, Winn-Dixie and Whole Foods, have also moved to require customers to wear them.

Asked if he favored such mandates, Mr. Trump said Wednesday evening that it should be up to the governors I think all are suggesting if you want to wear a mask, you wear it, he said and that he would decide over the next 24 hours whether to require masks be worn on federal properties in Washington and at the White House.

But several more governors decided the time for masks had come.

Weve got to get this virus under control, Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio said Wednesday as he issued a statewide mask order that will take effect Thursday evening. Wearing a mask is going to make a difference.

We all want kids to go back to school, we want to see sports, we want to see a lot of different things, we want to have more opportunities in the fall, said Mr. DeWine, who had previously ordered people only in the states hardest-hit counties to wear masks. And to do that, its very important that all Ohioans wear a mask.

Gov. Eric Holcomb of Indiana, a Republican, said Wednesday that he would sign an order mandating masks in most public settings beginning Monday. As we continue to monitor the data, weve seen a concerning change in some of our key health indicators, he said on Twitter. Hoosiers have worked hard to help re-open our state & we want to remain open.

In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order Wednesday requiring residents to wear masks in indoor stores and other public indoor spaces beginning Saturday. Mr. Walz said that the state would distribute masks to people and businesses in underserved communities.

See the rest here:

Spike in U.S. Cases Far Outpaces Testing Expansion - The New York Times

Why Trump is trying to change his tune on coronavirus – CNN

Posted on by

Sure, he's still saying the virus will magically disappear and the CDC is strongly suggesting that kids go back to school in person, so take this "change in tone" with a grain of salt. But the President is certainly changing his tack (for now) on a number of pandemic-related problems.On Tuesday, Trump added this caveat about the virus: "It will probably unfortunately get worse before it gets better."

After tweeting an image of himself wearing a mask, he urged Americans to wear them -- though he has yet to make any sort of federal mandate.

And on Thursday, Trump cancelled events for the GOP convention in Jacksonville, Florida, and instead will go back to Charlotte, North Carolina as originally planned.

What's behind it all? One word: Polling.

Advisers have said the slip in polls spurred Trump's decision to don a face mask in public as well as his return to the press briefing room. But, but, but: There are only 102 days until Election Day.

The Point: Clearly the numbers matter enough to Trump to make some changes. But will admitting the obvious fact that things will get worse -- or abandoning hastily made plans to hold a new convention -- be enough to turn the tide?

See more here:

Why Trump is trying to change his tune on coronavirus - CNN

U.S. Hits 4 Million Cases Of Coronavirus Adding A Million New Cases In Just 15 Days – NPR

Posted on by

People walk along King Street last week in Charleston, S.C. South Carolina is one of many states in the U.S. struggling with a rising number of coronavirus cases. Sean Rayford/Getty Images hide caption

People walk along King Street last week in Charleston, S.C. South Carolina is one of many states in the U.S. struggling with a rising number of coronavirus cases.

Updated at 4:52 p.m. ET

Another day, another mind-boggling milestone: 4 million people in the U.S. have tested positive for the coronavirus. The U.S. hit the 3 million mark just 15 days ago.

That's according to a tracker from Johns Hopkins University.

More than 143,700 people have died from the virus in the U.S. nearly twice as many as Brazil, the country with the second-highest number of fatalities.

Case numbers continue to rise in most U.S. states and territories.

While confirmed cases have surpassed 4 million, federal health officials have said the actual number is likely many times higher. "Our best estimate right now is that for every case that was reported, there actually were 10 other infections," Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said last month.

No part of the country has been untouched by the virus. The New York metro area was the first epicenter in the U.S., and the city became a ghost town amid skyrocketing case numbers. It is now gradually reopening.

New hot spots emerged in June and July: California, Texas and Florida now have large numbers of cases, and Arizona and Louisiana have especially significant case numbers compared with the size of their populations.

People wearing face coverings wait to shop at Walmart on Wednesday in Burbank, Calif. The state has seen more than 425,000 cases, including more than 12,000 new cases on Wednesday. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

People wearing face coverings wait to shop at Walmart on Wednesday in Burbank, Calif. The state has seen more than 425,000 cases, including more than 12,000 new cases on Wednesday.

California now has more than 425,000 confirmed cases. The state had two days in a row this week with more than 12,000 new cases.

Florida set a grim new mark of its own Thursday: 173 deaths in one day, along with more than 10,000 new cases. Florida is now behind only California and New York in total cases. Miami-Dade County is the state's epicenter, with a positivity rate near 20%.

In Arizona, the rate of cases per 100,000 residents is 2,127.5 which is to say, more than 2% of the population.

So where is the U.S. now, compared with where the experts projected the country might be?

At the end of March, a model from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation cited by the White House projected this: "Nationwide, a total of 82,141 COVID-19 deaths (range of 39,174 to 141,995) are currently projected through the epidemic's first wave. US COVID-19 deaths are estimated to rise through April 15, the country's projected peak of deaths per day."

The U.S. is still in the first wave, and the number of deaths has exceeded the high end of that projection. And that predicted peak on April 15? According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, the U.S. had its highest peak so far on July 16, when there were more than 77,000 new cases.

One trend in recent weeks has been more cases among young adults. State and local officials have noted rising case numbers among those in their 20s and 30s, warning that it's important to keep practicing social distancing, mask wearing and hand washing because young people can spread the virus to more vulnerable populations, even if they are less likely to get severe cases of COVID-19.

But the U.S. is rife with mixed messages: Restaurants in many places have reopened for indoor dining, even though it's become clear that the virus spreads most readily indoors.

In recent days and weeks, many governors and mayors have mandated that people must wear masks in public places. But in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp overruled local government requirements for face coverings and sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for her efforts to require masks.

The rising case numbers suggest that little will be resolved by the time school begins next month an issue vexing parents, governments, employers and the students themselves.

See the original post:

U.S. Hits 4 Million Cases Of Coronavirus Adding A Million New Cases In Just 15 Days - NPR

Hoping to Understand the Virus, Everyone Is Parsing a Mountain of Data – The New York Times

Posted on by

I think people tend to cherry pick what they want to see, to confirm their biases, she said.

She has been hesitant to place much stock in statistics on deaths caused by coronavirus, for instance. I see a lot of use of the fatality statistics, which are incomplete, Dr. Smith said. You do have deaths from coronavirus, but we know those are undercounted. For me, at least, that is not a particularly useful metric. But those are the type of statistics that some people grab onto.

Perhaps the most telling numbers are trend data examining which direction a community or state seems to be heading, said Michael T. Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesotas Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.

Theres no magic number for any of this, Dr. Osterholm said. This is more like a windshield where youre looking at everything in front of you. Its not one piece of data. Its all of it coming together.

In 1918, newspapers in cities across the United States published daily tallies of the sick and the dead from the flu pandemic, said John M. Barry, the author of The Great Influenza, and public health officials made policy decisions accordingly, based on the data.

Todays elected officials have far more granular data to consider.

In Chicago, Dr. Arwady, the city health commissioner, has a call with Mayor Lori Lightfoot every morning, discussing the citys total cases, deaths, the seven-day average for testing and detailed hospitalization numbers, among other metrics.

Data to me is one of the best ways to make it real for people, Dr. Arwady said. She often tries to steer Chicagoans to look at coronavirus numbers broken down by ZIP code, so that they understand the risk they face in their own neighborhoods. Mostly, I want people to feel like Covid is in their lives.

Read more from the original source:

Hoping to Understand the Virus, Everyone Is Parsing a Mountain of Data - The New York Times

Understanding Bankruptcy: How to File & Qualifications

Posted on by

What Is Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is a court proceeding in which a judge and court trustee examine the assets and liabilities of individuals and businesses who cant pay their bills. The court decides whether to discharge the debts, and those who owe are no longer legally required to pay them.

Bankruptcy laws were written to give people whose finances have collapsed, a chance to start over. Whether the collapse is a product of bad decisions or bad luck, lawmakers could see that in a capitalist economy, consumers and businesses who fail financially need a second chance.

And nearly all who file for bankruptcy get that chance.

Ed Flynn, of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), did a study of PACER stats (public court records) from Oct. 1, 2018, through Sept. 30, 2019, and found that there were 488,506 Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases completed in that fiscal year. Of them, 94.3% were discharged, meaning the individual was no longer legally required to pay the debt.

Only 27,699 cases were dismissed, meaning the judge or court trustee felt like the individual had enough resources to pay his or her debts.

Individuals who used Chapter 13 bankruptcy, known as wage earners bankruptcy, were almost evenly split in their success. Slightly less than half of the 283,412 Chapter 13 cases completed were discharged (126,401) and 157,011 were dismissed, meaning the judge felt the person filing had enough assets to handle his or her debts.

The individuals and business who file for bankruptcy have far more debts than money to cover them and dont see that changing anytime soon. In 2019, bankruptcy filers owed $116 billion and had assets of $83.6 billion, almost 70% of that was real estate holdings, whose real value is debatable.

What is surprising is that people not businesses are the ones most often seeking help. They have taken on financial obligations like a mortgage, auto loan or student loan or perhaps all three! and dont have the income to pay for it. There were 774,940 bankruptcy cases filed in 2019, and 97% of them (752,160) were filed by individuals.

Only 22,780 bankruptcy cases were filed by businesses in 2019.

Most of the people filing bankruptcy were not particularly wealthy. The median income for the 488,506 individuals who filed Chapter 7, was just $31,284. Chapter 13 filers were slightly better off with a median income of $41,532.

Part of understanding bankruptcy is knowing that, while bankruptcy is a chance to start over, it definitely affects your credit and future ability to use money. It may prevent or delay foreclosure on a home and repossession of a car, and it can also stop wage garnishment and other legal action creditors use to collect debts, but in the end, there is a price to pay.

There is no perfect time, but one rule of thumb to keep in mind is the length of time it will take to pay down your debts. When asking yourself the question Should I file for bankruptcy? think hard about whether it is going to take more than five years to pay your debts off. If the answer is yes, it might be time to declare bankruptcy.

The thinking behind this is that the bankruptcy code was set up to give people a second chance, not to punish them. If some combination of mortgage debt, credit card debt, medical bills and student loans has devastated you financially and you dont see that changing, bankruptcy might be the best answer.

And if you don't qualify for bankruptcy, there is still hope.

Other possible debt-relief choices include a debt management program or debt settlement. Both of these typically need 3-5 years to reach a resolution, and neither one guarantees all your debts will be settled when you finish.

Bankruptcy carries some significant long-term penalties because it will remain on your credit report for 7-10 years, but there is a great mental and emotional lift when youre given a fresh start and all your debts are eliminated.

Like the economy, bankruptcy filings in the U.S. rise and fall. In fact, the two are as connected as peanut butter and jelly.

Bankruptcy peaked with just more than two million filings in 2005. That is the same year the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act was passed. That law was meant to stem the tide of consumers and businesses too eager to simply walk away from their debts.

The number of filings dropped 70% in 2006, to 617,660. But then the economy tanked and bankruptcy filings increased to 1.6 million in 2010. They retreated again as the economy improved and have gone down about 50% through 2019.

That may change significantly in 2020 as the economic impact of COVID-19 forces many individuals and small businesses to declare bankruptcy.

Filing for bankruptcy is a legal process that either reduces, restructures or eliminates your debts. Whether you get that opportunity is up to the bankruptcy court. You can file for bankruptcy on your own, or you can find a bankruptcy lawyer. Bankruptcy costs include attorney fees and filing fees. If you file on your own, you will still be responsible for filing fees.

If you cannot afford to hire an attorney, you may have options for free legal services. If you need help finding a lawyer or locating free legal services, check with the American Bar Association for resources and information.

Before you file, you must educate yourself on what happens when you file for bankruptcy. Its not simply a matter of telling a judge Im broke! and throwing yourself at the mercy of the court. There is a process a sometimes confusing, sometimes complicated one that individuals and businesses must follow.

The steps are:

There are several types of bankruptcy for which individuals or married couples can file, the most common being Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is generally the best option for those with a low income and few assets. It is also the most popular form of bankruptcy, making up 63% of individual bankruptcy cases in 2019.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a chance to get a court judgment that releases you from responsibility for repaying debts and you also permitted to keep key assets that are considered exempt property. Non-exempt property will be sold to repay part of your debt.

By the end of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process, the majority of your debts will be discharged and you will no longer have to repay them.

Property exemptions vary from state to state. You may choose to follow either state law or federal law, which may allow you to keep more possessions.

Examples of exempt property include your home, the car you use for work, equipment you use at work, Social Security checks, pensions, veterans benefits, welfare and retirement savings. These things cant be sold or used to repay debt.

Non-exempt property includes things like cash, bank accounts, stock investments, coin or stamp collections, a second car or second home, etc. Non-exempt items will be liquidated sold by a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee. Proceeds will be used to pay the trustee, cover administrative fees and, if money allows, repay your creditors as much as possible.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years. While it will have an immediate impact on your credit score, the score will improve over time as you rebuild your finances.

Those who file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy will be subject to the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts Chapter 7 means test, which is used to weed out those who might be able to partially repay what they owe by restructuring their debt. The means test compares a debtors income for the previous six months to the median income (50% higher, 50% lower) in their state. If your income is less than the median income, you qualify for Chapter 7.

If its above the median, there is a second means test that may allow you to qualify for Chapter 7 filing. The second means test measures your income vs. essential expenses (rent/mortgage, food, clothing, medical expenses) to see how much disposable income you have. If your disposable income is low enough, you could qualify for Chapter 7.

However, if a person has enough money coming in to gradually pay down debts, the bankruptcy judge is unlikely to allow a Chapter 7 filing. The higher an applicants income is relative to debt, the less likely a Chapter 7 filing will be approved.

Chapter 13 bankruptcies make up about 36% of non-business bankruptcy filings. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy involves repaying some of your debts in order to have the rest forgiven. This is an option for people who do not want to give up their property or do not qualify for Chapter 7 because their income is too high.

People can only file for bankruptcy under Chapter 13 if their debts do not exceed a certain amount. In 2020, an individuals unsecured debt could not exceed $394,725 and secured debts had to be less than $1.184 million. The specific cutoff is reevaluated periodically, so check with a lawyer or credit counselor for the most up-to-date figures.

Under Chapter 13, you must design a three- to five-year repayment plan for your creditors. Once you successfully complete the plan, the remaining debts are erased.

However, most people do not successfully finish their plans. When this happens, debtors may then choose to pursue a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If they don't, creditors can resume their attempts to collect the full balance owed.

Chapter 9: This applies only to cities or towns. It protects municipalities from creditors while the city develops a plan for handling its debts. This typically happens when industries close and people leave to find work elsewhere. There were just four Chapter 9 filings in 2018. There were 20 Chapter 9 filings in 2012, the most since 1980. Detroit was among those filing in 2012 and is the largest city ever to file Chapter 9.

Chapter 11: This is designed for businesses. Chapter 11 is often referred to as reorganization bankruptcy because it gives businesses a chance to stay open while they restructure the debts and assets in order to pay back creditors. This is used primarily by large corporations like General Motors, Circuit City and United Airlines, but can be used by any size business, including partnerships and in some rare cases, individuals. Though the business continues to operate during bankruptcy proceedings, most of the decisions are made with permission from the courts. There were just 6,808 Chapter 11 filings in 2019.

Chapter 12: Chapter 12 applies to family farms and family fishermen and gives them a chance to propose a plan to repay all or part of their debts. The court has a strict definition of who qualifies, and its based on the person having regular annual income as a farmer or fisherman. Debts for individuals, partnerships or corporations filing for Chapter 12 cant exceed $4.03 million for farmers and $1.87 million for fishermen. The repayment plan must be completed within five years, though allowances are made for the seasonal nature of farming and fishing.

Chapter 15: Chapter 15 applies to cross-border insolvency cases, in which the debtor has assets and debts both in the United States and in another country. There were 136 cases of Chapter 15 filed in 2019. This chapter was added to the bankruptcy code in 2005 as part of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. Chapter 15 cases start as insolvency cases in a foreign country and make their way to the U.S. Courts to try and protect financially troubled businesses from going under. The U.S. courts limit their scope of power in the case to only the assets or persons that are in the United States.

The overriding principle of bankruptcy is that it gives you a fresh start with your finances. Chapter 7 (known as liquidation), wipes away debt by selling non-exempt possessions that have some value. Chapter 13 (known as the wage earners plan) gives you an opportunity to develop a 3-5 year plan to repay all your debt and keep what you have.

Both equal a fresh start.

Yes, filing for bankruptcy impacts your credit score. Bankruptcy remains on your credit report for 7-10 years, depending upon which chapter of bankruptcy you file under. Chapter 7 (the most common) is on your credit report for 10 years, while a Chapter 13 filing (second most common) is there for seven years.

During this time, a bankruptcy discharge could prevent you from getting new lines of credit and may even cause problems when you apply for jobs.

If you are considering bankruptcy, your credit report and credit score probably are damaged already. Your credit report may improve, especially if you consistently pay your bills after declaring bankruptcy.

Still, because of the long-term effects of bankruptcy, some experts say you need at least $15,000 in debt for bankruptcy to be beneficial.

Bankruptcy does not necessarily erase all financial responsibilities.

It also does not protect those who co-signed your debts. Your co-signer agreed to pay your loan if you didn't, or couldn't pay. When you declare bankruptcy, your co-signer still may be legally obligated to pay all or part of your loan.

Most people consider bankruptcy only after they pursue debt management, debt consolidation or debt settlement. These options can help you get your finances back on track and won't have a negative impact on your credit as much as a bankruptcy.

Debt management is a service offered by nonprofit credit counseling agencies to reduce the interest on credit card debt and come up with an affordable monthly payment to pay those off. Debt consolidation combines all your loans to help you make regular and timely payments on your debts. Debt settlement is a means of negotiating with your creditors to lower your balance. If successful, it directly reduces your debts.

To learn more about bankruptcy and other debt-relief options, seek advice from a local credit counselor or read the Federal Trade Commission's informational pages.

Read the original here:

Understanding Bankruptcy: How to File & Qualifications

Hemp companies in financial trouble have legal bankruptcy options not offered to marijuana operators – Hemp Industry Daily

Posted on by

(This is an abridged version of a story that appears in the July issue of Marijuana Business Magazine.)

In a recession, there are bound to be business casualtiesparticularly in a high-risk, nascent industry such as hemp.

Hemp companies have experienced a perfect storm of obstacles since legalization in late 2018an uncertain regulatory environment, overproduction in 2019, ongoing challenges with access to banking and financial services and, now, COVID-19. In short, the odds are stacking up against hemp entrepreneurs.

Bill Hilliard, CEO of Winchester, Kentucky-based Atalo Holdings, a hemp and CBD company that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in April, said the current, challenging state of the hemp market stems from a number of factors that are beyond the control of most hemp companies, including regulatory uncertainty due to a delay of guidelines from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the continued struggle to secure financial services from lenders and credit card-processing companies.

Were in good company in our bankruptcy here in Kentucky; four of the primary participants in (Kentuckys 2014 hemp pilot) research program have all sought bankruptcy protection, Hilliard said.

Overproduction during the 2019 crop year was a result of the USDA being aggressive about finding a new agricultural crop for the American farmwith support from the industry, Hilliard said.

We led the charge and we supported that 100%. But they were so enthusiastic that no one contemplated that we would have the massive production that American farmers produced in 2019, he said. At the same time, everyone was expecting that the FDA would come out with some guidance on what the markets were for CBD, and, of course, that hasnt really materialized in a meaningful way so far.

Bankruptcy Basics

Before 2014, cannabis companies of any kind generally were not eligible for bankruptcy protection under federal law, including ancillary businesses that derived any portion of their revenue from cannabis. But that changed for hemp and CBD businesses after hemp cultivation was permitted through state-led pilot research programs under the 2014 Farm Bill and subsequently legalized as a commodity under the 2018 Farm Bill and removed from the Controlled Substances Act.

Today, companies associated with hemp and its derived products can legally file for bankruptcy, but their counterparts in the marijuana industry cannot, because marijuana remains a federally illegal controlled substance.

Filing for bankruptcy protection helps companies that have found themselves underwater financially to either liquidate their assets to pay debts or to reorganize their business and finances to continue operating.

To read more about legal hemp bankruptcy options click here.

Laura Drotleff can be reached at [emailprotected]

Read the original:

Hemp companies in financial trouble have legal bankruptcy options not offered to marijuana operators - Hemp Industry Daily

For the record: Building permits and bankruptcies | Business – Tulsa World

Posted on by

BUILDING PERMITS

(Listed by owner, tenant or building name. This weekly update lists new commercial construction, expansions and enlargements of more than $50,000. Information is from initial applications and is subject to change. Dollar amount is valuation declared by owner.)

19-049306 Aeroflex 2, 1660 N. Mingo Road, shell building, $4,113,000.

20-061309 Grand Bank/21 Century Park, 2642 E. 21st St., alteration, $300,000.

20-064195 Tri-Angle, 4555 S. Harvard Ave. alteration, $130,000.

20-061228 Vandever Lofts, 16 E. Fifth St., alteration, $85,000.

19-041634 Vagabonds Inc. RV Park, 123 S. Gilcrease Museum Road, alteration, $75,000.

BUSINESS BANKRUPTCIES

(Weekly update includes filings classified as business in the numerical list of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District in Tulsa, and which also list business as nature of debt on bankruptcy document.)

20-11180-R Matthew Wilhelm Bailey, 18740 E. 42nd St., assets and liabilities: not available, attorney: Michael S. Jones, chapter 7.

Read more:

For the record: Building permits and bankruptcies | Business - Tulsa World

CEOs And Executives Of Companies Filing For Bankruptcy Make Millions – Forbes

Posted on by

Neiman Marcus CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for The Business ... [+] of Fashion)

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw over 3,600 corporations file for bankruptcy protection. These companies include iconic American brands, such as J.C. Penney, Hertz, J. Crew,

Pier 1, Brooks Brothers and Neiman Marcus. Many of them attribute their dire situations to the virus outbreak. It's a convenient scapegoat that deflects the blame. The reality is that a majority of companies were mismanaged, piled on too much debt, engaged in stock buybacks that left them without emergency funds, paid their CEOs and executives lavishly and were not in sync with their customers nor innovated to stay current with the changing climate and trends.

According to Reuters, a large number of the big companies that sought out bankruptcy protection awarded millions of dollars in bonuses to their executives within months before filing. Their reporting shows that a number of companies, including J.C. Penney and Hertz, approved bonuses as few as five days before seeking bankruptcy protection. This may be due to a 2005 bankruptcy law that prohibits companies from paying executives retention bonuses while in bankruptcy. This prepayment looks like exploiting a loophole.

After over 100 years in business, the once-beloved retailer, J.C. Penney, filed for bankruptcy protection and paid out millions of dollars to top executives right before it happened. In a regulatory filing, it was disclosed that J.C. Penney CEO Jill Soltau received a $4.5 million bonus. Three top executives, including chief financial officer Bill Wafford, chief merchant officer Michelle Wlazlo and chief human resources officer Brynn Evanson each received a $1 million payout.

Hertz, the well-known car rental company thats been an enduring American fixture at airports, handed out over $16 million in bonuses days before filing for bankruptcy. Hertz paid a $700,000 bonus to chief executive Paul Stone. Chief financial officer Jamere Jackson was awarded $600,000 and chief marketing officer Jodi Allen received $189,633, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Your fondly remembered childhood pizza and arcade game emporium, Chuck E. Cheese, filed for bankruptcy. The go-to birthday party place for kids CEO David McKillips lamented that the pandemic period has "been the most challenging event in our company's history." However, McKillips is "confident" about its future. He should be, as McKillips was personally taken care of. Despite the challenging times ahead, the company gave around $3 million in retention bonuses to its three top executives before the bankruptcy was announced. McKillips received $1.3 million, President Roger Cardinale got $900,000 and CFO Jay Howell was awarded $675,000.

Shopping-mall mainstay GNC paid out about $4 million in cash bonuses to top executives, prior to its Chapter 11 filings.The rewardsofficially called retention bonusesfor failing included $2.2 million for CEO Kenneth Martindale, who joined the company in September 2017. He was paid $7.1 million in 2019. The chief financial officer received $795,000 and three other C-level executives were awarded a total $918,000.

Despite the decreasing fortunes of large oil and gas producer Chesapeake Energy, CBS News reported that last year its CEO, Doug Lawler, remained the highest-paid CEO in Oklahoma with $15.4 million in compensation. Prior to filing for bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported, Chesapeake also offered 21 high-ranking employees cash-retention payments totaling about $25 million. According to Equilar, Lawlers realized pay through the end of last year totaled more than $48 million.

Upscale-clothing retailer Neiman Marcus is requesting a federal bankruptcy court in Texas to allow about $10 million in pay raises for CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck and other executives. The compensation is said to be critical to day-to-day operations and will ensure the companys success during the bankruptcy process.

Bloomberg estimates, Out of the 100 companies that have filed for bankruptcy since the Covid lockdowns began, 19 of these companies have committed to paying a total of $131 million in retention and performance bonuses.

The usual excuse is that the management team needs to be financially taken care of to shepherd their companies through the arduous bankruptcy proceedings. They claim that the bonuses could be clawed back under certain circumstances, but that rarelyif everhappens.

Outside observers understandably question the legitimacy of costly retention bonuses, as it's going to the very same management groups that got their respective companies into these messes. Critics also point to the fact that workers are laid off by the thousands and not afforded any enhanced packages. These are the rank-and-file folks who roll up their sleeves and do all of the heavy lifting, interact with customers and are the lifeblood of the companies.

To be fair, running large, diversified global businesses is not easy. Doing this during an unprecedented pandemic is excruciatingly hard, especially if youre in a sector that depends upon human-to-human interactions or were forced to shut down due to the federal and state mandates. It's reasonable to compensate management fairly for their efforts, as well as the anxiety and uncertainty they face.

What infuriates people is that the companies clearly have a two-tier system: the senior executives and CEOs are financially looked after, whereas the average worker is not taken into consideration. Arguably, the top brass have the financial wherewithal to weather the storm and have accumulated enough contacts and connections to land on their feet somewhere else in a high-end, cushy role.

The average worker at a company that is going through bankruptcy confronts a different reality. Theyre unceremoniously tossed out into a cruel and unforgiving job market, in which 51 million Americans have recently filed for unemployment. The competition for a new job is ridiculously competitive. There are hiring freezes and layoff announcements on a nearly daily basis.

The oversized bonus rewards could almost be tolerated if the same consideration was offered to their workers too. Until this happens, confidence in our capitalistic system will continue to erode. The average American will feel that it's rigged against themfavoring the rich and powerful and ignoring the hardworking middle and working classes.

Read the original:

CEOs And Executives Of Companies Filing For Bankruptcy Make Millions - Forbes

How Congress is preventing a Medicare bankruptcy during COVID-19 | TheHill – The Hill

Posted on by

The novel coronavirus continues to spread throughout the country and is showing no signs of cessation. Thats bad news for seniors, and in more ways than one. Everyone knows of the disproportionate health risks the nations elderly face from this virus, but the threat it poses to Medicare the federal health insurance program that those over the age of 65 rely upon for their medical needs has received far less attention.

It shouldnt come as a surprise that COVID is running the government program dry. It was already in dire straits before the pandemic. A 2020 trustee report found that parts of it will run out of money as early as 2023 and become insolvent by 2026. However, with Medicare Part B now covering all coronavirus testing costs, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also waving Medicare participation conditions, the system could come to a breaking point in a matter of years.

Over 61 million Americans 18-percent of the population depend on Medicare for their health needs. Even with Medicares assistance, approximately 7.5 million seniors still cant afford the out-of-pocket costs of their drugs. Put simply, the nation cant afford to let the system buckle. Congress must come to terms with a solution that ensures this pandemic does not jeopardize the programs solvency. Thankfully, representatives from both sides of the aisle recently crafted a solution that will eliminate a sizable chunk of the added pandemic-induced strains.

This month, Sens. John CornynJohn CornynCongress set for messy COVID-19 talks on tight deadline Mnuchin: It 'wouldn't be fair to use taxpayer dollars to pay more people to sit home' Congress set for brawl as unemployment cliff looms MORE (R-Texas) and Michael BennetMichael Farrand BennetTom Cotton rips NY Times for Chinese scientist op-ed criticizing US coronavirus response Our national forests need protection and Congress can help Hillicon Valley: Facebook considers political ad ban | Senators raise concerns over civil rights audit | Amazon reverses on telling workers to delete TikTok MORE (D-Colo.) introduced the Increasing Access to Biosimilars Act (IABA). This bipartisan bill, previously introduced in the House by Reps. Richard HudsonRichard Lane HudsonHow Congress is preventing a Medicare bankruptcy during COVID-19 Cook shifts 20 House districts toward Democrats American meat producers must leverage new technology to protect consumers, workers MORE (R-N.C.), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), and Brian FitzpatrickBrian K. FitzpatrickOvernight Energy: House passes major conservation bill, sending to Trump | EPA finalizes rule to speed up review of industry permits House passes major conservation bill, sending it to Trump's desk House votes to block funding for nuclear testing MORE (R-Pa.), will create a pilot program that incentivizes providers to use low-cost biosimilar drugs in the Medicare program whenever possible.

The benefit that providers making greater use of biosimilars will provide to preserving Medicares finances is unquestioned. These drugs, developed to be similar to already-existing FDA medicines, cost up to 30 percent less than brand-names, and a 2017 RAND study estimated that they could save the U.S. health care system as much as $150 million over a 10-year period.

In the past, public policy analysts have questioned how the government can encourage doctors and hospitals, which often reflexively prescribe brand-names, to change course. Thats where the beauty of IABA comes in. The bill puts that concern to bed by implementing a shared-savings program to make the use of biosimilars just as beneficial to providers as it is for the Medicare program itself.

The bills focus on extending collective benefits should provide doctors and hospitals with every incentive they need to participate in the legislations pilot program. These care centers have always actively looked for ways to cut costs to make up for underpayments from Medicare, but the COVID crisis has increased their budget consciousness tremendously and for good reason. According to one estimate, the pandemic has already brought them $202 billion in revenue losses over the last four months. It has caused a significant number of hospital closures this year already, while plenty of other care centers are operating on margins and hanging on by a thread. Providers and facilities would be foolish not to take part in IABA when it can amount to the difference between life or death of their businesses and practices.

Beyond the intuitive sense that this shared-savings program makes for both Medicare and hospitals is the historical evidence that these types of government initiatives work. For example, not long ago, CMS created a Medicare Shared Savings Program for providers who participate in Accountable Care Organizations (ACO). It saved ACO participants almost $740 million in 2018 and $1.84 billion from 2013-2015. Given these dramatic results, its no wonder why both Democrats and Republicans are so eager to extend the benefits to seniors and providers that operate outside of ACOs.

In this time of great need and great political division, Congress deserves commendation for formulating a solution to this issue of great public importance for our nations seniors. IABA will benefit the U.S. health care system not only during this pandemic, but in the years beyond it as well. House Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiWhite House, Senate GOP race to finalize coronavirus package ahead of Monday rollout Congress set for messy COVID-19 talks on tight deadline Sunday shows - Coronavirus relief, stimulus talks dominate MORE (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellWhite House, Senate GOP race to finalize coronavirus package ahead of Monday rollout Congress set for messy COVID-19 talks on tight deadline AFSCME launches ad calling for trillion in relief aid for local governments MORE (R-Ky.) should leverage this rare sign of legislative branch unity to their advantage by calling this important bill for a vote now when it would matter most.

James L. Martin is president of the 60 Plus Association, which represents 5 million seniors nationwide.

See the article here:

How Congress is preventing a Medicare bankruptcy during COVID-19 | TheHill - The Hill

Several Beaches Closed to Late Arrivals Amid Covid Concerns – East Hampton Star

Posted on by

Ditch Plain Beach in Montauk on Saturday afternoon looked like pre-pandemic times from the air.

Several East Hampton beaches were temporarily closed to late-arriving beachgoers on Saturday as officials tried to enforce Covid-19 restrictions on the busiest day since the Fourth of July weekend.

Police have been spread thin on weekends, handling high call volumes and trying to monitor businesses and beaches.

Roads to Two Mile Hollow in East Hampton Village and Atlantic Avenue and Indian Wells Beaches in Amagansett were blocked by police in the afternoon, when temperatures readed the mid-80s.

"Parking reached capacity at both Indian Wells and Atlantic Avenue yesterday. We have continued the reduced available parking spaces to aid in maintaining the capacity on the sand to meet the state guidelines and help promote social distancing," East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo said.

Drop-offs at the road ends were allowed, and both lots were only closed for about an hour, as vehicles left others were let in. Ditch Plain main parking lot was full and only open to drop-off for a while on Saturday, he said.

"We are fortunate that beachgoers are able to spread out in both directions from the parking lots and the lifeguards and Marine Patrol continue to make the rounds ensuring distancing is being practiced. The compliance with mask-wearing in the parking lot and while entering and exiting the beaches is a challenge, as it is hot and people just want to get onto the sand, but, again, our lifeguards serving as ambassadors at the beaches has been working very well," Chief Sarlo said.

The number of Covid-19 cases among East Hampton Town residents remained low. New York State reported a single new confirmed case of the novel coronavirus within the town,from someone who lives in Montauk.

An unknown is the rate of positive Covid-19 cases among visitors and vacation-home owners; testing information is sorted by permanent address. Someone who may have contracted the virus in the Hamptons, but who lived elsewhere would not be counted in local results.

As the pandemic has swept around the world, vacation destinations have been a problem for health authorities.

In Spain, beaches, bars, and nightclubs have been put under new lockdown restrictions after turning into coronavirus hot spots, the Associated Press reported on Sunday. Some European Union countries and the United Kingdom have advised vacationers to avoid the beaches around Barcelona in particular.

In East Hampton people with four-wheel-drive vehicles were able to reach normally secluded spots to beat the heat, with hundreds of pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles spread out for miles on Napeague in East Hampton Town. Others parked far away and walked, carrying beach chairs and coolers to reach Main Beach in East Hampton Village.

The East End of Long Island has largely avoided the high rate of coronavirus cases elsewhere in Suffolk County. As of Saturday, East Hampton Town's total positive case count was 235. Springs had 75 Covid-19 cases, the most of any sample in the town.

Excerpt from:

Several Beaches Closed to Late Arrivals Amid Covid Concerns - East Hampton Star

Pools and beaches hit capacity during scorching heat – News 12 Westchester

Posted on by

Pools and beaches across the Hudson Valley are reaching capacity quickly during this latest round of heat.

Officials are urging swimmers to get to their locations early today because they will likely fill up fast due to COVID-19 capacity limitations.

Sunday, the Taconic State Park near the Copake area reached its 50% limit just before 10 a.m. Lake Welch Beach at Harriman State Park and Bear Mountain State Park also closed.

WEATHER: Check the full forecastMORE COVERAGE: Beat The Heat

Anthony F. Veteran Park is limited to Greenburgh residents only due to safety protocols. You also need a reservation in advance to get in.Sprain Ridge Park is open to Westchester residents, and is first come, first serve.

The Hommocks Pool in Larchmont, where an employee tested positive for the virus, has had to close for the time being. However, the Mount Pleasant Pool and community center are reopening this morning after two lifeguards tested positive.

Lake Tiorati Beach is off limits to swimmers due to harmful algae blooms that are toxic to pets and people.

See the original post:

Pools and beaches hit capacity during scorching heat - News 12 Westchester

Its really devastating us: Beach towns fear they wont survive a summer of COVID-19 – USA TODAY

Posted on by

BETHANY BEACH, DELAWARE Its noonish on a Friday in mid-July and this quaint beach town is bubbling to life.

A steady parade of cars crawls alongside the two-block long jumble of shops and restaurants leading to the beach. Face-mask-wearing couples, families and clutches of young women stroll down wide, brick-accent sidewalks in leisurely intervals.

And Mangos, the towns trendy beachfront restaurant, already has drawn a handful of patrons to its 348-seat dining area and 70-seat patio.

Not bad for a mostly sunny beach day in the time of coronavirus.

Except that on a normal summer Friday in any other year, the cars on Garfield Place would be at a virtual standstill, the sidewalks an ever-flowing river of beachgoers.And Mangos would be packed as it kicks off a weekend-long party.

Restaurants and stores across the U.S. are fighting to stay in business amid COVID-19spikes and sharply reduced sales as many patrons shy away out of contagion fears or capacity limits. But few merchants are under fire like those in Americas beach towns, which earn the vast majority of their annual sales from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

The stakes are higher, the losses, amplified.

2 Americas:COVID is dividing the nation:One part hopes for an extension of federal unemployment and stimulus. The other is saving and spending.

Unmotivated to work?Are Trump and the GOP right that the $600 unemployment bonus is discouraging work?

Our businesses have 12 weeks to make money to survive the rest of the year, says Lauren Weaver, executive director of the Bethany-Fenwick Chamber of Commerce, noting that sales for the towns 75 or so beach-district merchants are down 40% to 70% compared witha year ago. A lot of them are not going to survive.

Typically, the weather makes or breaks a beach towns fortunes. Nowadays, its area virus outbreaks, ever-changing government mandates and lingering supply shortages. In Bethany, some shops are trying outside-the-box strategies to make up lost revenue before the summer fades away.

Other beach communities are in more dire shape. Governors in California, Florida and Texas closed many beaches this month amid infection surges.

Bethany Beach boardwalkHandout

Store, restaurant and amusement park sales in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, are down more than 50% versus last summer, in part because Gov. Phil Murphy abruptly scrapped plans to let restaurants reopen for indoor dining in late June following COVID-19 surges in other states, says Michael Redpath, head of the Seaside Heights Business Improvement District

Others are faring surprisingly well. Revenue for merchants in Ocean City, Maryland, is down just 20% to 25%, says Susan Jones, head of the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association. She partly credits the citys decision to reopen its beaches relatively early in mid-May and mount an aggressive advertising campaign.

Bethany is in the middle of the pack. Its part of a string of Southern Delaware beach towns, including Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach, that generate more than $3.5 billion in annual revenue, according to Southern Delaware Tourism. The upscale community which largely draws families from the Washington D.C. area and northeastern states who favor house and condo rentals over hotels typically sees its population swell from about 1,100 to 20,000 in the summer.

An aerial view of Bethany Beach, Delaware.Delaware Tourism Office

On June 1, after a 2-month coronavirus shutdown, Bethanys downtown stores and eateries reopened at 30% capacity (its now 60%) and beaches were opened to out-of-state visitors. But the path back to normalcy has been anything but smooth.

In late June, several teens staying in a Dewey Beach rental unit tested positive for the virus, potentially exposing others in Dewey and more than 100 people at crowded gatherings in Rehoboth. The outbreak prompted Gov. John Carney to shut down area bars just before the critical July 4th holiday. They had reopened only two weeks earlier.

Days later, New Jersey,New YorkandPennsylvaniarequired residents traveling to Delaware to quarantine for 14 days upon their return. The Bethany Beach Ocean Suites Hotel with an average daily summer rate of $799 was flooded with cancellations, lowering occupancy from 100% to 70%, says general manager LorrieMiller.

It was a bit rough, she says.

The quarantine mandate was recently liftedbut then reinstated by New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Other speed bumps to recovery remain as well. Gone are evening concerts and movies at the boardwalk bandstand. And the town restricted several parking lots to local residents to reduce beach density, wiping out 20% of 1,250 spots.

Even with thinner crowds, businesses are struggling to hire employees with the J-1 visa summer exchange program suspended during the pandemic. Many local high school and college students simply wont work. Some young adults, or their parents, fear catching the virus. Others didn'twant to give up the $1,000 a week in enhanced unemployment benefits they'vepocketedafter losing their jobs in the early days of the crisis, business owners say.

In response, the Ocean Suites hotel bumped up its hourly wage by a dollar and is handing out $1,000 bonuses to employees who stay through the summer, Miller says.

In the business district, printed and electronic signs warning visitors to wear face masks are everywhere, often within feet of each other. Nearly every shop greets patrons with hand sanitizer. So-called ambassadors in white sports shirts emblazoned with code enforcement join police in enforcing mandates to wear masks except on the beach and stay eight feet apart.

Few Bethany businesses have been hit as hard as Mangos, a clapboard-sided money-printing machine on the beach since 1997. The airy, festive restaurant, overlooking the ocean and dominated by a blue-accented mural of the sea, has helped define Bethany Beach.

Garfield Parkway in Bethany BeachPaul Davidson

You come to the beach, you come to Mangos, says Alex Heidenberger, who co-owns the restaurant, and 13 others in Delaware and the D.C. area, with his father and brother.

Heidenberger snared a $250,000 forgivable federal loan to rehire nearly all of the 90 or so employees he laid off during the states shutdown. When bars were allowed to reopen in mid-June, Heidenberger figured he was off and running.

But when Gov. Carney decided to shut them down again before the July 4th weekend, I cried, Heidenberger says. Although customers can drink alcohol at tables, they cant sit or stand at Mangos two bars. The holiday crowd was already skimpy after the towns annual parade, fireworks and concert were canceled. Mangos revenue, he says, fell by $300,000 in the weeks before and after July 4th, accounting for the bulk of the $400,000 in losses the restaurant has sustainedduring the crisis.

To take two steps back, that is the worst possible scenario, says Heidenberger, a tall, bearded 40-year-old who sports a red bandana that doubles as a face covering and the rangy, muscled physique of his lifeguard years.

Liquor, he says, accounts for mostof his profits since its costs make up just 14% of revenue while food costscomprise nearly a third of sales. Youre taking away from us the thing that makes the most money, Heidenberger says, suggesting that closing bars sends young adults to house parties, where theyre more likely to be infected.

During the good times, he says, the restaurant generated about $200,000 a week in sales, and its $2 million in summer revenuemade up more than 80% of the yearly total. This summer, he says, Mangos sales have been halved.

Its really devastating us, he says. Im operating at a loss.

Heidenberger, meanwhile, grapples with a relentless barrage of coronavirus-related woes. A server or manager spends time with someone who tested positive and is out onquarantine for a couple of weeks. Several other employees freak out, quit and must be replaced.

Heidenberger spends an inordinate share of his time asking patrons to put on a face covering if they walk maskless to the restroom, inevitably elicitinga profanity-laced response.

Recently, he received only half the 30 liquor cases he ordered because of worker shortages at a warehouse, forcing him to scavenge for the rest at his family's other restaurants.

Every day is a new challenge its just exhausting, he says.

Heidenberger, who typically draws about $20,000 a month in profit from the restaurant, now receives nothing. He says he hasnt paid the mortgage on his home the past four months. He served lifeguard duty for a couple of weeks, mostly to help a beach crew depleted by COVID-19 quarantines but also to make some cash.

Im working harder than I have ever worked in my life, he says, adding that he puts in about 80 hours a week at the two restaurants. Yet, I have no money… This is all I think about. I dont sleep.

To generate extra revenue, Heidenberger recently held a Bingo night, doling out gift certificates to winners, and hes planning a trivia night. This, he says, isnt Mangos sweet spot.

Mangos is cool, he says. Bingo isnt cool.

Will the restaurant make it through the summer?

I dont know what the future is going to be, Heidenberger says, noting his family already has closed two restaurants in D.C. as a result of the pandemic. At the same time, he says, This is all I know. This is what I love.

Other Bethany merchants are getting creative too. With sales down about 30% from last year, Alison Schuch, owner of Fells Point Surf, has placed Quick Response codes on her shop window next to outfit-draped manikins. Customers fearful of entering the store can point their cell phones at the QR codes, taking them to Fells Points website so they can buy the items.

Alison Schuch, owner of Fell's Point SurfHandout

It truly is window shopping, she says.

Schuch also has gotten out of her comfort zone, staging Facebook Live events and advertising on Instagram to drive web traffic.

When customers enter the store, a sales associate asks if she can sanitize their hands. Many gladly consent, holding their hands out for a spritz. One woman complies with a wince. Sometimes, customers turn and walk out. Were constantly cleaning, Schuch says.

With many Americans still working from home and rarely going out, Schuch is more prominently displaying sweatshirts and T-shirts. She also has switched from some brand-name clothing to private label outfits to take advantage of Americans desire to support local businesses. Yet her total stock is down about 30%, she says, because of virus-related closures at overseas factories that produce board shorts, some bathing suits and other items.

Im just trying to figure out how to make up for lost revenue in a small period of time, she says. Things are really tight, she adds, noting she isnt turninga profit.

Tom Chillemi, owner of Comics and GamingHandout

Across the street, at Comics and Gaming, sales of comic books -- priced from about $4 to $2,000 -- are down about 40% this summer, says owner Tom Chillemi. So hes juicing traffic by putting 20 comic books in a sealed paper bag and selling the DC or Marvel grab bag -- a $100 value, Chillemi says -- for just $20, stacking rows of them on shelves near the entrance.

I know everybodys money is tight and I want to give them something that has value, he says.

Overall, though, he says hes losing money, hunkering down and drawing on savings from his seven good years.

On the boardwalk, business at Tidepool Toys & Games held up well in June but fell by about a third in July, sayco-owners Lori and Sandy Smyth. Some customers are hesitant to visit the store, and the couple had to remove their popular toy demonstration table because of infection risks. So theyve been conducting Facetime sessions to reach the homebound, giving video tours of their offerings, which lean toward classics such as Wiffle Balls, frisbees, hula hoops, toy cars, and Rubiks cubes.

Spike balls and other in-demand products are in short supply because of factory closures in China. Partly filling the gap are puzzles and other home-centered games, Sandy says. While he doesnt expect to turn a profit this summer, he reckons hell make money for the year. He credits the stores prime boardwalk location and the fact that about half its sales are in the off season.

Well be ok, he says.

Lori and Sandy Smyth, co-owners of Tidepool Toys & GamesHandout

A broader recovery, though, depends on the willingness of Bethany Beach visitors and residents to venture out again. The narrow beach was a sea of blue and orange umbrellas Friday but thats partly because much of it has been erased by erosion and high tide. And many visitors are confining themselves to the beach.

Jeanie and Jay Blomquist of Bethesda, Maryland, both 51, are eating out once every couple of weeks instead of their usual three times-a-week summer ritual, and only outdoors. And theyre no longer sauntering into stores.

I just dont shop anymore, Jeanie says as she sips a drink in a beach chair. If I dont need to do it, I dont do it.

Adds Jay, If you go and get ice cream, you cant lick it with your mask on.

This story is the second in an occasional series about workers, families and business owners struggling to cope with the coronavirus pandemic in the summer of 2020.

Contributing: WUSA9, Meredith Newman of the (Wilmington, Delaware) News Journal

Maryland restaurant uses 'bumper tables' amid virus

Diners in a Maryland beach town are gathering at eateries again with a little help from inflatable inner tubes on wheels. The bumper tables allow people to keep six feet from each other at Fish Tales in Ocean City during the coronavirus pandemic. (May 19)

AP

The rest is here:

Its really devastating us: Beach towns fear they wont survive a summer of COVID-19 - USA TODAY

Many head to local swimming holes, beaches as temperatures near 100 degrees – KPTV.com

Posted on by

'); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body #mrd-alert"+ alertCount).append(""+val.title+""); // if (window.location.hostname == "www.kmov.com" || window.location.hostname == "www.kctv5.com" || window.location.hostname == "www.azfamily.com" || window.location.hostname == "www.kptv.com" || window.location.hostname == "www.fox5vegas.com" || window.location.hostname == "www.wfsb.com") { if (val.poly != "" && val.polyimg != "") { $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body #mrd-alert"+ alertCount).append('"+val.ihtml+""); $("#expandable-weather-block .weather-index-alerts").show(); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body h2").css({"font-family":"'Fira Sans', sans-serif", "font-weight":"500", "padding-bottom":"10px"}); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body p").css({"font-size":"14px", "line-height":"24px"}); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body span.wxalertnum").css({"float":"left", "width":"40px", "height":"40px", "color":"#ffffff", "line-height":"40px", "background-color":"#888888", "border-radius":"40px", "text-align":"center", "margin-right":"12px"}); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body b").css("font-size", "18px"); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body li").css({"font-size":"14px", "line-height":"18px", "margin-bottom":"10px"}); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body ul").css({"margin-bottom":"24px"}); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body pre").css({"margin-bottom":"24px"}); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body img").css({"width":"100%", "margin-bottom":"20px", "borderWidth":"1px", "border-style":"solid", "border-color":"#aaaaaa"}); $("#expandable-weather-block .modal-body #mrd-alert"+ alertCount).css({"borderWidth":"0", "border-bottom-width":"1px", "border-style":"dashed", "border-color":"#aaaaaa", "padding-bottom":"10px", "margin-bottom":"40px"}); }); } function parseAlertJSON(json) { console.log(json); alertCount = 0; if (Object.keys(json.alerts).length > 0) { $("#mrd-wx-alerts .modal-body ").empty(); } $.each(json.alerts, function(key, val) { alertCount++; $("#mrd-wx-alerts .alert_count").text(alertCount); $("#mrd-wx-alerts .modal-body ").append(''); $("#mrd-wx-alerts .modal-body #mrd-alert"+ alertCount).append(""+val.title+""); // if (window.location.hostname == "www.kmov.com" || window.location.hostname == "www.kctv5.com" || window.location.hostname == "www.azfamily.com" || window.location.hostname == "www.kptv.com" || window.location.hostname == "www.fox5vegas.com" || window.location.hostname == "www.wfsb.com") { if (val.poly != "" && val.polyimg != "") { $("#mrd-wx-alerts .modal-body #mrd-alert"+ alertCount).append(''); } else if (val.fips != "" && val.fipsimg != "") { // $("#mrd-wx-alerts .modal-body #mrd-alert"+ alertCount).append(''); } // } //val.instr = val.instr.replace(/[W_]+/g," "); $("#mrd-wx-alerts .modal-body #mrd-alert"+ alertCount).append(val.dhtml+"

Instruction

Read more:

Many head to local swimming holes, beaches as temperatures near 100 degrees - KPTV.com