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 recommended dry nasal swabs. The White House currently uses the Abbott diagnostic test.
- Cal State has officially cancelled all in-person classes for the fall and will continue with remote learning for its 23 schools and 480,000 students.
- Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, has announced that all employees can continue to WFH indefinitely, regardless of reopening.
- New York State officials are now investigating over 100 cases of the pediatric inflammatory syndrome linked to Covid-19. In the last 24-hours, 30 more cases have been reported in NYC. 57% of the cases are found in children and teens ages 5-14.
- NYC will open 12 more miles of streets to pedestrians-only in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, and Mayor de Blasio said that the city will also add 9.2 miles of protected bike lanes.
- The popular UWash model used by the White House has increased its projection of US fatalities, once again. Now up another 10,000, the model predicts that 147,000 Americans will die from the virus by early August.
- Gilead, the makers of Remdesivir, have said that they will donate its existing supply of 1.5 million vials worldwide, with 40% reserved for the US.
- Canada and the US will likely extend a ban on nonessential travel until June 21.
- According to cell phone data, 25 million more people traveled outside their homes last week in comparison to the previous 6 weeks. Michigan recorded the highest degree of change.
- Washington D.C. has extended its stay-at-home policy until June 8.
- The AG in Texas warned officials in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio that their requirements and restrictions, such as required masks in public, are unlawful.
- New York continues to report under 200 Covid-related deaths a day, Gov. Cuomo has given a 4th NY region the green light to reopen, and many counties will resume elective surgeries- NYC is not one of them.*attaching the link to Gov. Cuomo’s press conference from today, May 13th.
Global Updates
- Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and other Latin American countries are experiencing death-tolls that are 3-5X the normal amount compared to a non-pandemic year. Manaus, Brazil a remote city home to 2 million people in the Amazon rainforest, is being hit especially hard as it cannot obtain the medical aid that it needs. The area is home to hundreds of indigenous people.
- Colombia has bolstered its military presence along the Colombian/Brazilian border as cases rise in the Amazonas province and Brazil becomes the next global hotspot for the outbreak.
- McGill University in Canada has cancelled all in-person classes for the fall and will continue with remote learning.
- Many “travel bubbles” have opened across Europe and the world. Germany & Austria, The Baltic States, Australia & New Zealand- officials are reopening their borders to neighboring nations and will allow for free movement between them.
- Germany will open its borders with Austria, Switzerland and France by mid-June.
- Iceland will reopen to all travelers on June 15. International travelers will either have to pay for a diagnostic test upon landing or quarantine for 14 days. Iceland’s economy is heavily reliant on tourism.
- The US Embassy in Tanzania has reported that the city of Dar es Salaam is completely overwhelmed with cases and that the risk of contracting the virus in the country is “extremely high”.
- Hong Kong has reported two new locally-transmitted cases and one imported case after 3 weeks of no new infections.
- Schools and universities in Beijing will reopen in June with staggered opening dates for each grade. Universities in Beijing have been told to reopen on a voluntary basis so long as they have control measures in place.
- New Zealand has confirmed no new cases for the 2nd day in a row and Thailand has confirmed no new infections for the first time since March 9th.
- All 54 countries in Africa have now reported cases of the virus.
- The UN confirmed that it has active cases in a displaced persons camp in South Sudan which houses around 30,000 people. Similarly, cases have been identified in a migrant camp in Greece’s Aegean Islands.
- Dubai will reopen public parks and make private beaches available to hotel guests. Restaurants and shopping malls have also reopened at limited capacity.
- Gilead Sciences has reached agreements with 5 generic drug makers in India and Pakistan to produce remdesivir for 127 low-income or lower-middle income countries.
- Russia has reported more than 10,000 cases for the 11th day in a row. It falls behind the US in most confirmed cases in the world.
- Iran, Pakistan and Indonesia have recorded record surges in daily # of confirmed cases
This list has been curated by @jamieplancher