Category Archives: Covid-19

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is the first pandemic in history in which technology and social media are being used on a massive scale to keep people safe, informed, productive and connected.At the same time, the technology we rely on to keep connected and informed is enabling and amplifying an infodemic that continues to undermine the global response and jeopardizes measures to control the pandemic.

An infodemic is an overabundance of information, both online and offline. It includes deliberate attempts to disseminate wrong information to undermine the public health response and advance alternative agendas of groups or individuals. Mis- and disinformation can be harmful to peoples physical and mental health; increase stigmatization; threaten precious health gains; and lead to poor observance of public health measures, thus reducing their effectiveness and endangering countries ability to stop the pandemic.

Misinformation costs lives. Without the appropriate trust and correct information, diagnostic tests go unused, immunization campaigns (or campaigns to promote effective vaccines) will not meet their targets, and the virus will continue to thrive.

Furthermore, disinformation is polarizing public debate on topics related to COVID-19; amplifying hate speech; heightening the risk of conflict, violence and human rights violations; and threatening long-terms prospects for advancing democracy, human rights and social cohesion.

In this context, the UN Secretary- General launched the United Nations Communications Response initiative to combat the spread of mis- and disinformation in April 2020. The UN also issued a Guidance Note on Addressing and Countering COVID-19 related Hate Speech (11 May 2020).

At the World Health Assembly in May 2020, WHO Member States passed Resolution WHA73.1 on the COVID-19 response. The Resolution recognizes that managing the infodemic is a critical part of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic: it calls on Member States to provide reliable COVID-19 content, take measures to counter mis- and disinformation and leverage digital technologies across the response. The Resolution also calls on international organizations to address mis- and disinformation in the digital sphere, work to prevent harmful cyber activities undermining the health response and support the provision of science-based data to the public.

The UN system and civil society organizations are using their collective expertise and knowledge to respond to the infodemic. At the same time, as the pandemic continues to create uncertainty and anxiety, there is an urgent need for stronger action to manage the infodemic, and for a coordinated approach among states, multi-lateral organizations, civil society and all other actors who have a clear role and responsibility in combatting mis- and disinformation.

We call on Member States to develop and implement action plans to manage the infodemic by promoting the timely dissemination of accurate information, based on science and evidence, to all communities, and in particular high-risk groups; and preventing the spread, and combating, mis- and disinformation while respecting freedom of expression.

We urge Member States to engage and listen to their communities as they develop their national action plans, and to empower communities to develop solutions and resilience against mis- and disinformation.

We further call on all other stakeholders - including the media and social media platforms through which mis- and disinformation are disseminated, researchers and technologists who can design and build effective strategies and tools to respond to the infodemic, civil society leaders and influencers - to collaborate with the UN system, with Member States and with each other, and to further strengthen their actions to disseminate accurate information and prevent the spread of mis- and disinformation.

Excerpt from:

Managing the COVID-19 infodemic: Promoting healthy behaviours and mitigating the harm from misinformation and disinformation - World Health...

TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of 10:00 a.m., September 22,2020, there have been 522,329 total confirmatorylaboratory results received for COVID-19, with 14,384 totalcases and 317 deaths.

DHHR has confirmed the deaths of an 89-year old male from HarrisonCounty, a 50-yearold female from Fayette County, a 66-year old male from Mercer County, an 82-yearold female from Kanawha County, and a 72-year old male from Kanawha County. Wemourn with all families suffering the loss of loved ones during this horriblepandemic, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary.

CASESPER COUNTY: Barbour(48), Berkeley (948), Boone (200), Braxton (10), Brooke (112), Cabell (737),Calhoun (24), Clay (35), Doddridge (18), Fayette (577), Gilmer (32), Grant(152), Greenbrier (120), Hampshire (102), Hancock (144), Hardy (82), Harrison(342), Jackson (252), Jefferson (422), Kanawha (2,377), Lewis (38), Lincoln(156), Logan (585), Marion (258), Marshall (160), Mason (138), McDowell (80),Mercer (404), Mineral (165), Mingo (366), Monongalia (1,936), Monroe (147),Morgan (53), Nicholas (92), Ohio (358), Pendleton (52), Pleasants (16),Pocahontas (59), Preston (149), Putnam (521), Raleigh (479), Randolph (237),Ritchie (10), Roane (48), Summers (46), Taylor (119), Tucker (17), Tyler (15),Upshur (61), Wayne (361), Webster (7), Wetzel (50), Wirt (12), Wood (352),Wyoming (103).

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

Pleasevisit the dashboard located at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more information.

Free COVID-19 testing locations areavailable today in Cabell, Fayette, Kanawha, and Putnam counties:

Cabell County, September22, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM, YMCA Kennedy Center, 5800 Ohio River Road, Huntington,WV

Fayette County, September22, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM, J.W. and Hazel Ruby WV Welcome Center, 55 Hazel RubyLane, Mt. Hope, WV

Fayette County, September22, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Midland Trail High School, 26719 Midland Trail, Hico,WV

Kanawha County, September22, 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM, A More Excellent Way Life Center Church, 504 VirginiaStreet West, Charleston, WV (flu shots offered)

Putnam County, September22, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Teays Valley Baptist Church, 3926 Teays Valley Road, Hurricane,WV

Testing is available to everyone, including asymptomatic individuals. Upcoming testing events will be held this week in Boone, Cabell, Jackson, Logan, Marion, Mingo, Monongalia, Putnam, Summers, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. For more testing locations, please visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx.

See the article here:

COVID-19 Daily Update 9-22-2020 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

AGGRESSIVE TESTING EFFORTS CONTINUE TO RAMP UPDuring Wednesdays briefing, Gov. Justice announced that he will provide additional CARES Act funding to the West Virginia National Guard and West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources in support of their efforts, working alongside local health departments, to continue ramping up the Governors Aggressive Testing program across the state.

We need to make provide the resources that our people need to be able to do all this testing, which is why I was happy to push this additional funding through, Gov. Justice said. Were already ramping up our testing significantly. But someway, somehow weve got to do even more.

Earlier this week, the Governor announced that any time a county moves to Red or Orange status, free COVID-19 testing sites will be set up in that county within 24 hours. Testing in these counties will be offered on a continual basis until their numbers improve.

Any time a county moves to Gold status, at least one free testing event per week will be held in that county until their numbers improve.

I urge everyone to take advantage of the free testing opportunities all over our state, Gov. Justice said. As we keep testing and testing, we might identify a few people who didnt know they had it and stop it from spreading. But more often than not were going to get good results. Youll see the numbers in your county go down and well begin to move in a way to where our kids can go to school, play sports, and do all kinds of other things safely.

For instance, in Kanawha County, our positivity rate is down to 5.6 percent, Gov. Justice continued. If we can get you down below 5 percent, youd be Gold. You see how close that is? We need to get you there. You have got to go get tested.

The rest is here:

COVID-19 UPDATE: Gov. Justice tested live on-air as Aggressive Testing program continues to ramp up; all West Virginia counties out of Red status -...

TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of 10:00 a.m., September 21,2020, there have been 519,175 total confirmatorylaboratory results received for COVID-19, with 14,171 totalcases and 312 deaths.

DHHR has confirmed the deaths of an80-year old female from Kanawha County and a 75-year old male from KanawhaCounty. We send our sympathy to these families and urge all WestVirginians to continue to protect our residents, saidBill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary.

CASESPER COUNTY: Barbour(46), Berkeley (947), Boone (198), Braxton (10), Brooke (107), Cabell (724),Calhoun (24), Clay (34), Doddridge (18), Fayette (569), Gilmer (29), Grant(152), Greenbrier (120), Hampshire (100), Hancock (141), Hardy (82), Harrison(341), Jackson (247), Jefferson (419), Kanawha (2,317), Lewis (38), Lincoln(156), Logan (582), Marion (255), Marshall (159), Mason (136), McDowell (80),Mercer (401), Mineral (164), Mingo (356), Monongalia (1,902), Monroe (148),Morgan (52), Nicholas (88), Ohio (356), Pendleton (52), Pleasants (17),Pocahontas (59), Preston (149), Putnam (509), Raleigh (473), Randolph (236),Ritchie (10), Roane (49), Summers (42), Taylor (116), Tucker (15), Tyler (15),Upshur (60), Wayne (356), Webster (7), Wetzel (49), Wirt (10), Wood (348),Wyoming (101).

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

Pleasevisit the dashboard located at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more information.

Free COVID-19 testing locations areavailable today in Boone, Kanawha, Lincoln, Mingo and Ohio counties:

Boone County, September21, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Boone County Health Department, 213 Kenmore Drive, Danville,WV

Kanawha County, September21, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Nitro High School, 1300 Park Avenue, Nitro, WV (flushots offered)

Lincoln County, September21, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM, Lincoln County Health Department, 8008 Court Avenue,Hamlin, WV

Mingo County, September21, 2020, 1:00 PM 4:00 PM, Parking lot across from Giovannis Pizza, US 52, Kermit,WV

Ohio County, September21, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM, The Highlands (Power Center - lower parking lot), 565Cabela Drive, Triadelphia, WV

Testing is available to everyone,including asymptomatic individuals. Formore testing locations this week, visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx.

Continue reading here:

COVID-19 Daily Update 9-21-2020 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

64 higher income economies have joined the COVAX Facility, a global initiative that brings together governments and manufacturers to ensure eventual COVID-19 vaccines reach those in greatest need, whoever they are and wherever they live. These 64 economies include commitments from 35 economies as well as the European Commission which will procure doses on behalf of 27 EU member states plus Norway and Iceland.

By pooling financial and scientific resources, these participating economies will be able to insure themselves against the failure of any individual vaccine candidate and secure successful vaccines in a cost-effective, targeted way.

The 64 members of the Facility will be joined by 92 low- and middle-income economies eligible for support for the procurement of vaccines through the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), a financing instrument aimed at supporting the procurement of vaccines for these countries. This means that 156 economies, representing roughly 64% of the global population in total, are now either committed to or eligible for the COVAX Facility, with more to follow.

With the Commitment Agreements secured, the COVAX Facility will now start signing formal agreements with vaccine manufacturers and developers, which are partners in the COVAX effort, to secure the doses needed to end the acute phase of the pandemic by the end of 2021. This is in addition to an ongoing effort to raise funding for both R&D and for the procurement of vaccines for lower-income countries via the Gavi COVAX AMC.

COVAX is now in business: governments from every continent have chosen to work together, not only to secure vaccines for their own populations, but also to help ensure that vaccines are available to the most vulnerable everywhere, said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which is coordinating the COVAX Facility. With the commitments were announcing today for the COVAX Facility, as well as the historic partnership we are forging with industry, we now stand a far better chance of ending the acute phase of this pandemic once safe, effective vaccines become available.

The COVAX Facility is part of COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, which is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health Organization (WHO) working in partnership with developed and developing country vaccine manufacturers, UNICEF, the World Bank, Civil Society Organisations and others.

The allocation of vaccines, once licensed and approved, will be guided by an Allocation Framework released today by WHO following the principle of fair and equitable access, ensuring no participating economy will be left behind. Policies determining the prioritization of vaccine rollout within economies will be guided by recommendations from the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), which has recently released a Values Framework laying the groundwork for subsequent guidance on target populations and policies on vaccine use.

COVID-19 is an unprecedented global crisis that demands an unprecedented global response, said WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Vaccine nationalism will only perpetuate the disease and prolong the global recovery. Working together through the COVAX Facility is not charity, its in every countrys own best interests to control the pandemic and accelerate the global economic recovery.

The commitment of fully self-financing economies will now unlock vital funding and the security of demand needed to scale up manufacturing and secure the doses needed for the Facility. CEPI is leading COVAX vaccine research and development work, which aims to develop at least three safe and effective vaccines which can be made available to economies participating in the COVAX Facility. Nine candidate vaccines are currently being supported by CEPI; eight of which are currently in clinical trials.

This is a landmark moment in the history of public health with the international community coming together to tackle this pandemic. The global spread of COVID-19 means that it is only through equitable and simultaneous access to new lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines that we can hope to end this pandemic, said Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI. Countries coming together in this way shows a unity of purpose and resolve to end the acute phase of this pandemic, and we must now work closely with vaccine manufacturerswho play an integral part in the global responseto put in place the agreements needed to fulfil COVAXs core aim: to have two billion vaccine doses available by the end of 2021. Today, we have taken a great leap towards that goal, for the benefit of all.

The success of COVAX hinges not only on economies signing up to the COVAX Facility and commitments from vaccine manufacturers, but also filling key funding gaps for both COVAX research and development (R&D) work and the Gavi COVAX AMC to support participation of lower income economies in the COVAX Facility.

Governments, vaccine manufacturers (in addition to their own R&D), organisations and individuals have committed US$ 1.4 billion towards vaccine R&D so far, but a further US$ 700-800 million is urgently needed to continue to move the portfolio forward in addition to US$ 300 million to fund WHOs SOLIDARITY trial.

The Gavi COVAX AMC has raised around US$ 700 million from sovereign donors as well as philanthropy and the private sector, against an initial target of US$ 2 billion in seed funding needed by the end of 2020. Funding the Gavi COVAX AMC will be critical to ensuring ability to pay is not a barrier to accessing COVID-19 vaccines, a situation which would leave the majority of the world unprotected, with the pandemic and its impact continuing unabated.

The Commitment Agreements also commit higher income governments to provide an upfront payment to reserve doses by 9 October 2020. These funds will be used to accelerate the scale-up of vaccine manufacturing to secure two billion doses of vaccine, enough to vaccinate one billion people assuming the vaccine requires a two-dose regimen. Further details on these upfront payments are available in Gavis COVAX Facility Explainer.

As well as procuring doses for participating economies, the COVAX Facility will also maintain a buffer of doses for emergency and humanitarian use.

Participating country comments

COVID-19 poses serious health concerns to people everywhere, and thats why Canada is committed to working with partners around the world to end the pandemic, said the Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. Equitable, timely, and affordable access to a safe and effective COVID vaccine will be critical to help protect peoples health. Canada supports the objectives and principles of the COVAX Facility as the only global pooled procurement mechanism for countries to collaborate on this monumental undertaking. Our country is a part of this important global response.

New Zealands commitment to the COVAX Facility supports access to vaccines against COVID-19 for other countries too, said Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand.

COVAX and the idea of equal access to a COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of ability to pay, is not just a moral imperative, it is the only practical solution to this pandemic. Protecting everyone is the only way we can return our world our trade, tourism, travel, business to normal, said the Honourable Dr Edwin G. Dikoloti, Minister of Health and Wellness for Botswana. We urge those countries who have not yet signed up to do so. Let us work together to protect each other.

Immunisation saves lives. Investing in immunisation infrastructure helps strengthen health systems. We have seen this time and again through our work with Gavi and Alliance partners, said Dr Lia Tadesse, Minister of Health for Ethiopia. By being a part of the COVAX Facility and the AMC we can continue this work and protect our citizens - and the world - against the impact of COVID-19.

With COVAX, the world is joining forces and proving that together, we are stronger and together, we can defeat this pandemic, said Ekaterine Tikaradze, Minister of Health for Georgia. Georgia will be joining the COVAX Facility to give our citizens the best chance at having access to safe vaccines. By doing this, we also make sure health care workers and other high risk persons all over the world have access to these life-saving tools, helping to bring the pandemic under control and we can all recover and rebuild.

Joining the COVAX Facility was not a difficult decision not only will this give Kuwaiti citizens access to COVID-19 vaccines as they become available, it will also mean our friends and partners outside our borders also get access, said His Excellency Sheikh Dr Basel HumoudAl-Sabah, Minister of Health of the State of Kuwait. We need a global solution to this global pandemic: we believe COVAX is that solution.

We believe international cooperation a global effort is key, said Dag-Inge Ulstein, Minister of International Development for Norway. We must continue to work for equitable access to vaccines, tests and treatments. To defeat the coronavirus pandemic, well-off countries need to act swiftly and boldly to make vaccines and treatments available to those who cannot afford to pay themselves. With the commitments to the COVAX facility we are heading in the right direction.

This is a hugely important initiative, which could offer us a path out of the acute phase of this pandemic and a return to normality, said His Excellency Dr Ahmed Mohammed Obaid Al Saidi, Minister of Health of the Sultanate of Oman. I would urge every country that has not yet done so to sign up, for all our sakes. It is far better for us to work together than apart.

Partner comments

The history of vaccines will be defined by our response to COVID-19; the COVAX facility is at the epicenter of this response. Industry is at the forefront in vaccines development and manufacturing leading to supplies of several billion doses within the next few years, said Mr. Sai D. Prasad, President of the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN). The COVAX facility will have a major impact on lives, livelihoods and accelerate the return to normalcy for countries. The DCVMN is fully engaged with its partners to enhance its mission of global public health and to leave no one behind.

It is very encouraging to see so many countries move from talk to full commitment, said Thomas Cueni, Director General of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (IFPMA). The Facility can only work, and equitable access can only be achieved, if there is solidarity between rich and poorer countries. Today vaccine makers who have the unique skills and expertise to scale up manufacturing to levels never seen before, stand ready, together, to take up the challenge of providing two billion doses of yet unknown COVID-19 vaccines. This is no mean feat, as it requires doubling existing capacity in record time. Today, marks a significant step forward, and is a historic mark of solidarity which has the power to bring the acute phase of this pandemic to an end; and we are proud to be part of this unique endeavour to leave no one behind.

Uniting our efforts through COVAX must guarantee fair allocation and equitable delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine to those who need it most, and not just those who can afford it, said Jagan Chapagain, Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. We all have a moral and public health imperative to protect the poor in rural communities as the affluent in cities, the old in care homes as the young in refugee camps. The power of our humanity and the success of COVAX will be measured by how we collectively protect the most vulnerable among us."

"Global cooperation must be the cornerstone of our global response to COVID-19, said Kevin Watkins, Chief Executive of Save the Children. The COVAX Facility has the potential to help ensure universal and equitable access to future COVID vaccines. For this to happen, we need to ensure people in low- and middle-income countries get their fair share and can access the vaccines they need to help overcome the biggest public health and child rights crisis of our generation."

Seeing such unity in the face of the COVID-19 crisis gives us confidence that, together, we can ensure the equitable delivery of COVID vaccines globally, said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. With our globe-spanning supply chain and on-the-ground presence across 190 countries, UNICEF is proud to support this historic effort.

Notes to editors

A COVAX Facility Explainer document is available on the Gavi website here:, as well as a Q&A from Gavi CEO Seth Berkley here.

The full list of fully self-financing economies that have submitted both binding Commitment Agreements and non-binding Confirmations of Intent to Participate, as well as the 92 low- and middle-income countries eligible for the Gavi COVAX AMC, is available here.

About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the worlds children against some of the worlds deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation over 760 million children and prevented more than 13 million deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 developing countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningitis and yellow fever vaccines.After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation andreaching the unvaccinated children still being left behind, employing innovative finance and the latest technology from drones to biometrics to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency.Learn more atwww.gavi.organd connect with us onFacebookandTwitter.

The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organizations that fund Gavis workhere.

About CEPI

CEPI is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organisations, launched at Davos in 2017, to develop vaccines to stop future epidemics. CEPI has moved with great urgency and in coordination with WHO in response to the emergence of COVID-19. CEPI has initiated nine partnerships to develop vaccines against the novel coronavirus. The programmes are leveraging rapid response platforms already supported by CEPI as well as new partnerships.

Before the emergence of COVID-19, CEPIs priority diseases included Ebola virus, Lassa virus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, Nipah virus, Rift Valley Fever and Chikungunya virus. CEPI also invested in platform technologies that can be used for rapid vaccine and immunoprophylactic development against unknown pathogens (Disease X).

About WHO

The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.

For updates on COVID-19 and public health advice to protect yourself from coronavirus, visit http://www.who.int and follow WHO on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube

About ACT-Accelerator

The Access to COVID-19 Tools ACT-Accelerator, is a new, ground-breaking global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. It was set up in response to a call from G20 leaders in March and launched by the WHO, European Commission, France and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in April 2020.

The ACT-Accelerator is not a decision-making body or a new organisation, but works to speed up collaborative efforts among existing organisations to end the pandemic. It is a framework for collaboration that has been designed to bring key players around the table with the goal of ending the pandemic as quickly as possible through the accelerated development, equitable allocation, and scaled up delivery of tests, treatments and vaccines, thereby protecting health systems and restoring societies and economies in the near term. It draws on the experience of leading global health organisations which are tackling the worlds toughest health challenges, and who, by working together, are able to unlock new and more ambitious results against COVID-19. Its members share a commitment to ensure all people have access to all the tools needed to defeat COVID-19 and to work with unprecedented levels of partnership to achieve it.

The ACT-Accelerator has four areas of work: diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines and the health system connector. Cross-cutting all of these is the workstream on Access & Allocation. More information on the ACT Accelerator is available here.

Go here to see the original:

Boost for global response to COVID-19 as economies worldwide formally sign up to COVAX facility - World Health Organization

ThebleaknewsfromILO Director-General Guy Ryder coincided with anupdatedmid-yearforecastfrom the UN body.

Lowerandmiddle-incomecountrieshavesuffered most, withan estimated 23.3 per centdrop in working hours equivalent to240 millionjobs -in the second quarter.

Previously, the ILO had suggested a 14 per cent averagedrop inglobal working time, equivalent to the loss of 400 million jobs, relative to the fourth quarter of 2019.

Workers in developing nations had also seen theirincomedropmore than 15 per cent, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder told journalists inGeneva.

On top of this, these are the places where there are the weakest social protection systems, so there are very few resources or protections for working people to fall back upon,he said.If you look at it regionally, the Americas were worst-affected,with losses of 12.1 per cent.

Mr. Ryder highlighted that while the Governments of richer countries had shored up their economies with hundreds of billions of dollars, poorer nationshad beenunable to do the same.

Without such fiscal stimulus, working hours losses would have been 28per centbetween April and June,instead of 17.3per cent, he insisted.

Nonetheless,State financialsupporthas led to the emergence of an extremely worryingfiscal stimulus gapbetweenwealthyeconomiesandthe developing world,amounting to $982 billion, Mr. Ryder warned.

Itrunsarisk ofleading us topost-COVID world with greater inequalities between regions, countries, sectors andsocialgroups, he said.Its apolar opposite to the better worldthatwe want to build back,and itreminds usall, that unless we are allable to overcome and get out of this pandemic, none of us will.

Althoughthe $982 billionglobalstimuluspackagewas a staggering sum, the ILO Director-General noted thatlow-income countries needed a fraction of this figure - $45 billionto support workers in the same way as wealthier nationshad done,whilelower-middle-income countries required theremaining$937billion.

Other data from the ILO Monitor indicates that for the thirdfiscalquartercovering July to September,12.1per cent ofglobal working time will be lost, which is equivalent to345millionfull-timejobs.

The finalquarterof the yearenvisagesa significant worsening ofthesituationfor workerssince the UN agencys lastassessment in June, with a minimum8.6per cent drop inglobal working time up fromup from 4.9per centmid-yearcorrespondingto 245million full-timejobs.

To protect workers and economies everywhere, Mr. Ryder warned against any premature loosening ofsupport forhealth measuresaimed at combating the pandemic, in view of increasing infection rates in many countries.

Support for jobs and incomesshould besustained into next year,heinsisted, while also calling for finding ways to increasetechnical help and official developassistance to emerging economies.

It was also important toprioritiseincomesupport for thehardest-hit groups, namelywomen,young people and informal workers, he added.

See the article here:

Impact on workers of COVID-19 is 'catastrophic': ILO - UN News

Even before the COVID-19 recession, distressed communities across the United States lacked sufficient jobs. The pandemics effects will further damage these local areas, while pushing even more places into economic distress. Without intervention, even a robust national recovery may leave many communities behind. Communities responses will be hindered by a lack of resources, and their residents will suffer from lower earnings and increased social problems.

As a solution, this paper proposes a new federal block grant to create or retain good jobs in distressed communities and help residents access these jobs. The block grant would provide long-term flexible assistance to increase local earnings and ensure those gains are broadly shared.

Distressed communitieswhich house almost one-sixth of the U.S. populationare those in which the employment rate of prime-age workers (ages 25 to 54) is significantly below the national average. Without policy intervention, distressed communities tend to stay distressed; a 10-year block grant to these communities will empower local leaders to address the lack of job opportunities that keeps these areas persistently distressed.

The block grant would help distressed communities by funding economic development and employment services, including business advice for smaller businesses, land development, infrastructure, job training, better information for residents on job opportunities, and support programs to improve job retention. Economic development services can increase job creation while employment services increase residents job access. Research has shown these services to be cost-effective. The block grant would run for 10 years at $12.8 billion annually, for a total of $128 billion in federal budget costs.

The program also has accountability requirements. For federal approval, local leaders would put together a 10-year plan that addresses the distressed areas labor market problems. To reduce policies that hurt distressed areas, grants would be conditioned on states capping costly business tax incentives in non-distressed areas. The block grant would focus job-creation efforts in distressed communities on infrastructure and public services to businesses, which are more cost-effective than incentives in creating jobs.

Distressed communities are diverse in racial and ethnic composition, and above the national average in their percentage of residents who are Black and Latino or Hispanic. Boosts in employment rates in these areas would particularly benefit lower-income groups, who are more likely to be out of work. This program would significantly improve job opportunities for residents of distressed areas and help the nations recovery become a tide that truly lifts all boats.

Read the full paper and its proposal for a new federal block grant to create or retain good jobs in distressed communities and help residents access these jobs.

See the article here:

Helping Americas distressed communities recover from the COVID-19 recession and achieve long-term prosperity - Brookings Institution

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

WAUKESHA - Against a backdrop of again-rising coronavirus cases statewide and locally, Waukesha County has stepped up certain public health initiatives, though no new enforcement measures are planned, following the county's trend sincethe pandemic's early days.

Mindful of the fact that COVID-19 cases were expected to climb in the fall, the county's public health department in particular has concentrated on the use of trained contact tracers to get a handle on where and how the virus is being transmitted.

Other efforts already in place since spring have also been heightened, including free testing sites as part of what Linda Wickstrom, public information officer for the Department of Health & Human Services& Emergency Operations Center, called a "four-pronged approach."

Waukesha County saw a single-day record-high 172 cases as recently as Sept. 17, with another 100 cases reported in the most recent data Sept. 21, according to the county's COVID-19 dashboard. That outpaced spikes in late July and in the first half of Augustand was more than triple the highest number, 52, through May.

It also mirrored state reports, which topped 2,500 twice on Sept. 18 and 19, according to Wisconsin data.

CORONAVIRUS IN WISCONSIN SCHOOLS: Search and track COVID-19 cases

Wickstrom said the county has not been caught off guard by the recent spikes. In fact, to a large extent, it was anticipated.

"For months, Waukesha County Public Health has been aware of and preparing for a potential increase in COVID-19 cases in the fall," she said. "It was anticipated in spring that an increase could occur later in the year due to a combination of factors including Labor Day activities, schools reopening, and individuals spending more time indoors as the weather cools down."

Given that reality, the health department beefed up its infrastructure "to historically unforeseen levels" by addressing four areas: contact tracing, COVID testing, data collection and educational partnerships.

Contract tracingrequires more staffing as cases increase, and the county has responded in kind, Wickstrom said, increasing the number of contact tracers from eight initially to a staff of more than 200 that also includes support staff and specialists.

"The new team consists of contact tracers, disease investigators and administrative staff that were hired, trained, and onboarded to track and stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the community," she said.

The number of contact tracers was aided by a partnership with Carroll University that created a structured training program. In all, 114 contact tracers were added to the county's staff through that program.

Carroll wasn't alone among educational institutions now playing a role in pandemic control efforts.

A line forms outside the Waukesha County Expo Center on July 22, before the opening of a free COVID-19 drive-thru testing site. By the end of September, there will have been eight community drive-thru test events at the expo center. The Wisconsin National Guard conducts the tests.(Photo: Scott Ash / Now News Group)

"Waukesha County is working in partnership with all public school districts and dozens of private schools in the county to engage staff in initial contact tracing efforts to ensure faster response to positive cases," Wickstrom said. "Schools have direct access to disease investigators for guidance regarding specific situations related to the virus."

She added that the county also worked with school boards and district administrators on safety protocols and other COVID-related plans for the new school year.

The county also partnered for more testing events, a rare occurrence during the onset of the pandemic because of the lack of access to testing kits. By the end of September, eight community drive-thru test events at the Waukesha County Expo Center will have taken place, Wickstrom said. Each event now offers 600 tests, 200 more than previous events at the center.

RELATED: COVID-19 testing site overwhelmed as Waukesha County deals with sharply rising coronavirus infections

That's on top of several other testing sites offered by the county by appointment.

Even the county's dashboard offering a daily snapshot of what's going on within the county in the pandemic battle has been revised. The website now reflectsactive child cases within school district boundaries, hospital capacity data andCOVID-19 trends over a 14-day period.

The extension of Gov. Tony Evers mask mandate on Tuesday, extending the requirement for indoor masks through Nov. 21, has again raised questions about how the county will enforce violations.

When it comes to enforcement, the county has continued along the same path it initiated in spring, relying on the public's reports to various officials and no data on when and where complaints have been focused.

"Waukesha County had processes in place prior to the pandemic that made it quick and uncomplicated for constituents to email or call their local elected officials and the Department of Health and Human Services," Wikstrom said. "During the pandemic, staff within Public Health and Environmental Health have been responding by email or phone conversation regarding residents concerns over and interpretation of State orders. The county appreciates how residents have reached out with the desire to help keep our community safe."

The county also continues to stress guidelines for safety protocols aimed at the general population, including six-foot social distancing, mask usage for closer contact, frequent hand cleaning and avoidance of other people, especially those who are already ill or infected.

Wickstrom said the county's response acknowledges its awareness of the rising coronavirus infectionnumbers as well as the tendency for people to become complacent, requiring health officials to again stress the need for caution.

"COVID-19 does not become less contagious because some people become tired of it," she said in a summary of measures the county hopes people will continue to abide by.

Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Read or Share this story: https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/waukesha/2020/09/23/waukesha-county-trying-combat-rising-number-covid-19-cases/5866470002/

Continue reading here:

How is Waukesha County dealing with the rising number of coronavirus cases? - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

New data analysis of the ongoing French Cohort of Myocardial Infarction Evaluation (FRENCHIE) registry reveals a decline in hospital admission for acute myocardial infarction following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown.

Although the reasons for such findings can only be speculative, the investigators noted that this marked decrease should encourage public health officials to provide appropriate messages that especially target those that are wary of utilizing health services during the pandemic.

Jules Mesnier, MD, of the University of Paris, and colleagues used registry data to quantify changes in myocardial infarction-related hospital admissions following the lockdown in France. Their assessment also compared admission changes between patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI).

The FRENCHIE registry, which includes 21 participating centers, captures within 48 hours of symptom onset patients who present with either STEMI or NSTEMI. Therefore, Mesnier and colleagues used this timeframe to define recent acute myocardial infraction.

The investigators collected data over an 8-week period, which covered 4 weeks preceding lockdown and 4 weeks following it.

Patients admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19 who had subsequently developed myocardial infarction were excluded in their analysis. On the contrary, patients admitted for myocardial infarction who were then diagnosed with COVID-19 were included.

The primary outcome sought by the investigators was change in number of hospital admissions for all types of myocardial infarction, NSTEMI, and STEMI between the weeks preceding and following lockdown.

Additional objectives included further subgroup analyses of admission change and overall change in mortality between both periods.

Thus, the team reported that between February 17 and April 12, 2020, a total of 1167 patients were consecutively admitted to the hospital for recent acute myocardial infarction. Of the total, 583 had STEMI and 584 had NSTEMI.

Overall admission decreased from 686 to 481 between the periods (-30% [incidence rate ratio, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.51-0.70]).

Furthermore, admissions for STEMI decreased from 331 to 252 (-24% [IRR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.62-0.85]), and admissions for NSTEMI decreased from 355 to 229 (-35% [IRR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.55-0.76)].

Patients who were 80 years (n = 208) had a more noticeable decline than those who were younger (IRR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.48-0.86).

They also noted that this decrease in admission had no association with regional COVID-19 prevalence or subgroup characteristics, such as gender, history of diabetes, history of hypertension, and smoking habits.

In-hospital mortality was numerically higher after the lockdown than before it25 (5%) of 481 patients vs 23 (3%) of 686, respectively. However, the team did not consider it statistically significant.

Such trends, therefore, may likely be attributed to patient fears of exposure to the virus in the hospital.

These concerns might have been amplified by the general message that people should stay at home., they wrote.

Another notable explanation may involve reduced exposure to air pollution, a known trigger of acute myocardial infarction. The investigators did not consider both explanations to be mutually exclusive.

Mesnier and team acknowledged a need to conduct the study with a longer survey period beyond the first month and after the end of lockdown.

Meanwhile, health authorities should be fully aware of the current situation in order to deliver appropriate public health messages, they concluded. This is crucial in countries still fighting COVID-19, but also in the case of a second wave in countries that are past the first wave of the pandemic, or in case another pandemic occurs in the future.

The study, Hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction before and after lockdown according to regional prevalence of COVID-19 and patient profile in France: a registry study, was published online in The Lancet Public Health.

See the original post:

COVID-19 Lockdown Linked to Decline in Acute Myocardial Infarction Hospitalizations - MD Magazine

Nearly 1,200 students and 12 staff members at the University of Colorado Boulder have confirmed cases of COVID-19 in an outbreak that dwarfs any the state has seen so far.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported 1,198 students had confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, and 104 were considered probable cases as of Wednesday.

Boulder County health officials said one CU student was hospitalized with COVID-19, but has since been discharged.No deaths have been linked to the CU Boulder community outbreak.

On a campus with about 35,000 students, that means roughly one out of every 29 has tested positive. Previously, the state health department had reported smaller individual outbreaks tied to CU Boulder, most of them in fraternities or sororities.

The total far exceeded the previous largest outbreak in the state, at the Sterling Correctional Facility, where 622 people have been infected infected and three have died.

State officials have said infections among college-aged people are driving Colorados current uptick in coronavirus cases, though as of last week all age groups were seeing increased transmission. Younger people are at much less risk of complications from the virus, though, and hospitalizations have remained low and stable across the state.

On Monday, CU Boulder announced a transition to remote learning for at least two weeks in an effort to control the surging COVID-19 cases on campus. The move could become permanent if students continue spreading the virus via social gatherings, the universitys administration said.

Days earlier, university and local public health officials had questioned whether switching to remote learning was the answer, because they believed transmission of the highly contagious virus was happening at off-campus gatherings rather than in classrooms.

Our recent actions voluntary self-quarantine and a temporary shift to remote instruction are designed to contain this outbreak, Chancellor Phil DiStefano said in statement. Most of our students are working hard to comply with all of the health and safety guidelines we have set forth for the campus, and we know this will continue as will our collaboration with the county and the state in all of our efforts.

Before the change to remote learning, Boulder County public health officials recommended all students abide by a two-week self-quarantine that still allowed them to attend classes and go out for necessities, but asked them not to socialize in person.

CU officials said they were ramping up enforcement efforts, including increased police patrols in areas where parties were occurring. The university also forced nearly 200 students living in a Williams Village dorm to vacate their rooms with a couple days notice to make room for additional quarantine space on campus.

Chana Goussetis, spokeswoman for Boulder County Public Health, said its too early to tell if the strategies to curb transmission are working. Some people dont immediately test positive because they dont have high-enough concentrations of the virus in their noses, so the effects of an event where the virus spread might not show up until a week later.

We are hopeful, though, that increased enforcement, testing and education, along with the temporary move to remote learning, will help to reverse the trend in new cases, she said. Anecdotal observations by our staff has shown a reduction in the number of large gatherings among CU students, so this is a good sign.

The state health departments weekly data also showed new outbreaks at two sororities at Colorado State University and five Greek life organizations at the University of Denver:

Outbreaks at Regis University, Colorado College, CSUs Kappa Sigma fraternity, an unspecified Colorado University sports team and DUs Ritchie Center, Dimond Family residential village and gymnastics team remained stable, with no new cases reported in the last week.

An outbreak is considered over when four weeks have passed with no new cases linked to a specific location or event.

Read more:

More than 1,200 infected in CU Boulders COVID-19 outbreak now the largest in Colorado by far - The Denver Post