Domestic Updates The Abbott diagnostic test (not to be confused with its antibody test), was said to have near perfect accuracy, but a new report says that it may miss half of positive cases. A recent analysis found that the Abbott diagnostic test missed at least 1/3 of positive cases and as many as 48% when using the currently …
Senate Hearing Today, top coronavirus experts spoke to the senate via webcam. Dr. Fauci and the Director of the CDC, Dr. Redfield, echoed a unified sentiment of concern over premature reopening and warned that premature reopening will result in countless deaths, waves of secondary outbreaks and a further setback to economic recovery. Important takeaways from …
Global Updates Boris Johnson held a press conference on Sunday to announce Britain’s reopening plan, but many felt that it just left the country confused. Johnson said that people could return to work who were not capable of WFH, but encouraged those who can to continue to do so. He also announced that Britain will be …
Domestic Updates Two reports have been published on the predicted trajectory of the virus, they both support the idea that this first wave of social distancing will not be our last. The first, published by the University of Minnesota, describes three possibilities following the current wave: (1) “peaks and valleys” that gradually diminish over a year …
Global Updates Researchers in Canada and Switzerland have published a new report that says heat and humidity have little to no effect on the spread of the pandemic, and that the virus “doesn’t need favorable conditions” to spread. The report also says that while heat has nothing to do with the spread of Covid-19, public health interventions …
Domestic Updates President Trump first announced that the coronavirus task force will be replaced with a new “advisory body”, during what the administration is referring to as phase 2 of the nationwide response. President Trump is now saying that the task force won’t be replaced, but that its focus will shift from response to reopening. In a …
Domestic Updates Several federal agencies and President Trump have asked for the CDC to revise their reopening guidelines. They feel that the guidelines are too regressive, especially for houses of worship. The Trump administration is receiving backlash for supposedly trying to bury the CDC guidelines. 3.2 million people filed for unemployment last week, bringing the total # of claims to 33 …
Domestic Updates Starting tonight, the NYC’s subway system will shut down from 1-5 am so that trains can be disinfected. Researchers at the Broad Institute in Cambridge MA have come up with a possible diagnostic test based on a gene-editing technology known as Crispr. Each test would cost only $6 and they would be very easy to use, (like …
Domestic Updates An internal report from the White House, written by the CDC and FEMA projects the fears of public health experts; reopening will lead to an increase in daily # of cases and deaths. The report predicts that the US will see around 200,000 new cases each day by the end of May, up from about …
Global Updates In Malaysia, around 700 undocumented migrants, including children, were rounded up & detained as the police inspector general said that Malaysia cannot allow migrants “to move freely” during its lockdown. Malaysia will open most businesses starting Monday. 3 boats carrying hundreds of Rohingya refugees have been prevented from docking in both Bangladesh and Malaysia amid the …
