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 pregnancy tests). The results of their study have not yet been released nor peer reviewed.
- Researchers at two Harvard-affiliated hospitals are utilizing a proven form of gene therapy to develop a vaccine, they hope to test their vaccine on humans later this year.
- The Dept. of Health released new statistics that says more than 1,600 people who died in NY nursing homes without a confirmed diagnosis are being presumed to have died from the virus.
- The Senate has returned to Capitol Hill for the first time in 40 days, desks were covered by plexiglass shields, each senator wore a mask and the floor had markings to show a measured 6 ft distance.
- Gov. Newsom took sizable steps in reopening California. He will allow some stores to reopen on Friday, and allow individual counties to ease restrictions further, such as reopening restaurants with modifications to capacity. He will also reopen two Orange County Beaches- San Clemente and Laguna.
- US based Pfizer and the German company BioNTech began testing their experimental vaccine on humans. They hope to have a vaccine for emergency use ready by September.
- Across Texas prisons, some 1,275 inmates have tested positive and at lease 22 prisoners have died, with 12 under review.
- The Univ. of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation model has increased its death projection to more than 130,000 fatalities by August, from earlier estimates of about 60,000. This is similar to the leaked report by the CDC and FEMA that predicts reopening will lead to a massive increase in daily case #s and fatalities. Former FDA chief Scott Gottlieb said in a recent interview that the country was not seeing the declines in new cases that he would have hoped for.
- Malls and restaurants that have reopened in both Georgia and Texas are reporting empty stores and a low level of customers- indicating that while they are allowed to venture out, many people are choosing to stay home.
- Gov. Cuomo has released 7 requirements that each of NY’s 10 regions must meet in order to reopen.
Global Updates
- Doctors in France at the Avicenne and Jean Verdier hospitals (near Paris), retested samples from patients diagnosed with atypical pneumonia in December and January for the coronavirus. One patient’s respiratory samples came back positive for Covid-19; the patient was admitted to the hospital on December 27, 2019, and he had not traveled abroad since August 2019. The staff tested this patient’s sample several times to rule out a false positive.
- Similar to reports from the US, the UK’s chief scientific advisor has said that the early Covid-19 cases in the UK were most likely imported from European Countries and not China.
- Starting Thursday, the Indian government is set to bring thousands of Indian citizens home. They will use multiple jumbo jets and naval warships to repatriate citizens.
- A teleconference was held on Monday with leaders from across the EU as well as Japan, Canada, Australia, and Norway to pledge funding for the development and production of a vaccine. Countries ranged in their pledges from 200,000 to 1.1 billion- total pledged = around 8 billion. The US and Russia did not participate, China attended the teleconference but did not pledge any funding.
- Germany continues to report a decrease in their transmission rate, which now stands at 0.71.
- Lebanon has extended restrictions on travel to May 24. They have outlined a five-phase plan for reopening, restaurants are allowed to reopen this week at 30% capacity. The gov’t believes that 75% of people in Lebanon are in need of aid, and there have been violent protests over rising hunger and poverty.
- Baseball has started up again in Taiwan and South Korea will start their season on Tuesday. No fans allowed, however, Taiwan has placed cardboard cutouts of fake fans in their stadiums. Players and coaches must maintain a certain distance from one another.
- The director of the European Center for Disease Prevention says the wave of transmission in Europe has passed its peak with the exception of Bulgaria, and that while Poland, Romania, Sweden, and Britain have passed their peaks, there have been no significant changes or decreases seen in those countries for the last 2 weeks.
- Today, the UK has surpassed Italy’s death toll, with a total of 29,427 reported fatalities.
- Macron was stated saying that France will most likely limit all international travel throughout the summer, but that they will know more in June.
- Nigeria has recorded its highest single-day infection rate, with most cases being recorded in Lagos. This comes one day after Nigeria began its 6-week phase-out reopening plan.
- 3,500 volunteers spread across 81 cities in Turkey are using around 4,500 3D printers to make face shields for healthcare workers along with other PPE.
- China and South Korea began easing quarantine requirements for some business travelers over the weekend.
- Hong Kong has increased the # of people allowed to gather at one time from 4 to 8, they have also reopened more businesses such as restaurants, gyms, and hair salons with temperature checks and physical distancing in place. This has come after Hong Kong has reported 2 weeks of no new, locally transmitted cases.
- Against the argument that children cannot transmit the virus onto adults, two studies show that they can. Researchers in China estimate that closing schools won’t stop an outbreak but it can reduce the surge by about 40 to 60%. Researchers in Germany found that children who test positive, have just as much of a viral load as adults, and in some cases more.
- A newly published report shows that scientists in the Netherlands have created an antibody that can defeat the virus in a lab. More studies are needed to show how definitively and accurately the antibody kills the virus.
This list has been curated by @jamieplancher