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 like social distancing, are extremely successful in curbing the spread of the virus. A similar report published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine was sent to the White House for review. Click here & here to read summaries of both reports by the NYTimes.
- India has begun their massive repatriation effort- they hope to bring at least 15,000 Indian citizens back home, many of which are migrant workers stranded in the Persian Gulf. All returning citizens must quarantine for 14 days once they return home.
- According to data leaked to the NYTimes in collaboration with anonymous testimony by doctors in Mexico City, the Mexican government is underreporting their death-toll and case count by at least 3X the true number.
- A new report from researchers in Hong Kong claims that Covid-19 has a much higher transmissibility rate than SARS, and that eyes may be one of the most prominent ways that Covid-19 is spreading from person to person. The study reports that the eyes of positive Covid patients contain virus particles at 80-100X more than SARS. Some children in Hong Kong have been wearing protective goggles in public. *more on this on Sunday.
- Australia outlined a slow, 3-step reopening plan, with states and territories in control of the timeline. The plan sees Australia’s economy fully reopening by July if the virus can stay contained. As of now, AUS records only 20 new infections each day.
- Many of Russia’s oligarchs have shelled out millions of dollars and utilized their companies’ supply-chain logistics to curb the spread of the virus.
- Facebook and Google have announced that they will allow workers who can WFH, to continue to do so through the end of the year. Facebook announced that they will reopen some offices on July 6.
- Kuwait has imposed a nationwide lockdown starting Sunday until the end of May.
- The UK’s death toll has increased by at least 626 deaths in the past day. The UK is expected to announce its reopening plan and an easing of restrictions on Sunday. The Health Minister has said that England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will probably reopen at different times.
- Brazil’s cases have spiked to 135,106 including 9,146 deaths (confirmed) and they recorded their highest 24-hour death toll, but President Bolsonaro continues to dismiss the pandemic and announced that the worst had passed for Brazil.
- Norway and Denmark have eased more restrictions. In Norway, 20 people can now meet up as long as they stay 6 ft. apart, and public events with up to 200 people will be allowed starting on June 15.
- Spain will decide today in which regions bars, restaurants and places of worship will reopen. Signs point towards Madrid and Catalonia staying under lockdown. In Barcelona, beaches reopened from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. which swimming and jogging allowed.
- The # of cases in Russia rose by more than 10,000 in 24 hours, for the 6th straight day. Dr. Ryan of the WHO says that this may be because Russia has stepped up its testing initiative, but warns that the country is also seeing an increase in deaths.
- South Korea is monitoring a small outbreak among Seoul nightclubs, in evidence that extreme vigilance and contact-tracing must remain in place in order for countries to safely reopen. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at least 15 people have confirmed cases of the virus linked to the clubs in Itaewon.
- Amid reopening, Pakistan recorded a record surge in new cases (25,000). The country is now reporting some of the biggest daily increases in new infections in the world.
- Guatemala is facing a crisis in communication amid the pandemic. Around 40-60% of the Guatemalan population speaks an indigenous language and officials are finding it extremely difficult to spread accurate information regarding covid-19 due to the language barriers.
- Nearly 20,000 low-risk prisoners in South Africa are set to be released in order to curb the spread of the virus in prisons.
- Hong Kong continues to reopen their economy as new cases have been in the single digits for the last 18 days, with 11 days showing 0 new infections. All new infections are residents returning from overseas who then enter into quarantine.
- Israel has reported fewer than 50 new cases a day and restrictions have been lifted with malls, gyms and some schools reopening on Sunday.
Domestic Updates
- Gov. Cuomo announced that as of yesterday, 73 children in the New York area are hospitalized with what doctors are calling, “pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome”- which they suspect is linked to Covid-19. In extremely sad news, a 5 year old boy died in Manhattan at Mount Sinai on Thursday from this syndrome, and officials in Westchester County at Maria Fareri Childrn’s Hospital said that a child being treated for the same syndrome died last week from neurological complications. No information has been released on if the children had underlying medical conditions.
- Gov. Cuomo did express that he finally felt like New York was ahead of the virus, a monumental announcement for the hardest hit city in the Country.
- Cook County, Ill., which includes Chicago, and New York City report the highest count of new infections per day in the country, LA falls behind them with the 3rd highest daily count of new infections.
- Lincoln, NE, Des Moines IA, & St. Cloud, MN as well as parts of Western KY are seeing a rapid rise in case #s while Miami, Detroit and New Orleans have seen improvements with decreasing case #’s over the last few weeks.
- At least 1,031 of the roughly 2,800 employees at the Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Waterloo, Iowa, have tested positive for Covid-19. Production resumed on Thursday after a brief shutdown.
- In order for counties in California to reopen more widely, each county must prove that there have been no virus-related deaths in the past 14 days and that testing is available for 75% of residents within a 30-minute drive in urban areas and an hour in rural areas.
- Amtrak Acela rail service in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast will partially resume services on June 1. All passengers will be required to wear face masks and each train will only serve at a 50% capacity.
- The Labor Dept. now reports that unemployment rates are at 14.7%, a level only seen before during the Great Depression. Experts are saying that the unofficial number is probably closer to 20%.
- In all of Brooklyn, NY through March 17-May 4, police arrested 40 people for violating social-distancing. 35 people were black, four were Hispanic and one was white. Mayor de Blasio announced that starting this weekend, a larger police presence will be seen at Hudson River Park in Manhattan and Domino Park in Brooklyn to limit crowd sizes.
- Gov. Murphy of NJ said that all NJ beaches should be opened by Memorial Day, with social distancing guidelines in place.
- NYC will deploy 1000 contact-tracers but de Blasio has decided that it will be run by the Health and Hospitals public system, rather than the NYC Health Dept. Many people feel that this move is a departure from the norm and will backfire.
- Alabama will reopen most of society on Monday. Gatherings of all sizes and all types will be approved, if people maintain 6 feet of distancing. Restaurants will be allowed to reopen at a 50% occupancy rate and gyms may reopen with cleaning methods and social distancing in place.
- Vermont is now allowing small gatherings of up to 10 people, but the stay-at-home order has been extended.
- Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said that he plans to start reopening on May 18 and that this will include restaurants.
- A personal valet to VP Pence has tested positive for Covid-19, and a personal valet to President Trump tested positive yesterday. Trump is reportedly tested on a daily basis.
- The FDA has approved emergency use authorization for an at-home diagnostic saliva test. The test was created through Rutgers Infinite Biologics lab.
This list has been curated by @jamieplancher