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 million, over the last 7 weeks.
- In more than half of the states that have reopened, case #’s are rising. The White House had released guidelines that said states should wait until they see a consistent decline in confirmed cases before reopening, but more than half of the reopened states have ignored this recommendation.
- New research that analyzed the genetic sequence of the virus definitively shows that New York was the primary source of the US outbreak, not Washington or California.
- Gov. Cuomo continues to announce a relatively flat and consecutive death toll for New York. In the last 24 hours, 231 New Yorkers died from the virus.
- Gov. Cuomo also announced the NYC will offer 140,000 free antibody tests to New Yorkers, a hotline to call, and make an apt will be released Friday and priority will be given to people living in the most affected areas.
- 64 children have been hospitalized in New York with the inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID. Louisiana, Mississippi, and California have all recorded similar cases and currently have children hospitalized. At least 50 cases have been recorded in Europe, including Britain, France, Switzerland, Spain, and Italy.
- A new study from Mount Sinai in New York shows that 1. timing is everything with antibody testing and more importantly, 2. the level of antibodies do not significantly differ in COVID-positive patients, regardless of symptoms, age or sex. 624 people who all had positive diagnostic tests were then tested for antibodies. The first round of testing showed that 511 had high antibody levels, 42 had low levels and 71 had none. A week later, all but 3 had antibodies. The next step is to definitively prove that having antibodies will protect against reinfection.
- Starting on Friday in LA, florists, toy stores, music stores, book stores, clothing stores, and sporting goods may offer curbside pickup. On Saturday, LA will open its parks, trails, and golf courses.
Global Updates
- A top humanitarian specialist at the UN said that vulnerable nations will need $6.7 billion in humanitarian aid, in order to combat the pandemic. Of particular concern, the UN noted that: Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zimbabwe will reach their peaks anywhere from 3-6 months from now, and are in grave danger of rising conflict, hunger and poverty amid the pandemic.
- At least 50 cases of the inflammatory syndrome seen in children have been recorded in Europe, including Britain, France, Switzerland, Spain and Italy. One 14 year old boy has died in Britain.
- Restrictions in Moscow have been extended until May 31. Construction and Industrial workers will return to work on Tuesday but everyone else will continue WFH. Mayor Sobyanin of Moscow reported that the # of cases in Moscow is 3X higher than the # of confirmed cases and that between 2% and 2.5% of the city’s population, around 300,000 people, have contracted the virus.
- Japan has joined the US in approving emergency use of Remdesivir as a Covid-19 treatment for critically-ill patients.
- France will lift some restriction measures on Monday, but border and travel restrictions will remain in place. France’s borders will remain closed until at least June 15, except for essential workers. Travel within France will also be limited- anyone traveling father than 60 miles away from their home will be required to show a certificate of clearance.
- Weddings and other religious ceremonies will resume in Italy on May 18 under strict safety measures. Priests will identify the max. capacity of the church that guarantees that worshippers will be able to stand 1 meter apart, at all times. Everyone will have their temperature checked before entering, anyone with a temp above 99.5 Fahrenheit will not be admitted. Everyone will have to wear a mask for the entirety of the service and the Priests will wear gloves. Hand sanitizer will be everywhere and after every service, the church must be sanitized.
- China has not reported any new deaths in 22 days and no new domestic cases have been reported in 4 days. All mainland counties are now at a “low risk” level.
- Pakistan will begin lifting restrictions on Saturday. Even though cases are on the rise in Pakistan, Prime Minister Khan has announced that the economic toll of lockdown is too overwhelming to continue.
- Scotland will extend their restriction measures until the end of May. The government has said that their r0 still hovers around 1, making it too risky to reopen.
- Africa has only recorded around 51,000 cases out of 3.76 million cases recorded globally. Testing capabilities are severely limited in most African nations, but even so, the number of cases jumped 38% in the past week.
- Brazil registered a record number of cases and deaths on Wednesday, prompting many officials to push for a full lockdown in high-density areas like Rio. Officials are also concerned over the rising case numbers of Brazil’s indigenous population (around 850,000 who live in remote areas of the Amazon).
- The UK accepted 400,000 medical gowns from Turkey but they now say that all of the Turkish PPE is useless and faulty. The NHS is now looking for another source to supply PPE.
This list has been curated by @jamieplancher